Map it slowly
Find A on string 6 at fret 5. Play string 6, fret 5; string 6, fret 9; string 5, fret 7; string 4, fret 5; string 4, fret 7. Use a relaxed position and release pressure between repetitions. String 1 is high E.
Arpeggio · A7 · Guitar
A7 arpeggio on guitar
The A7 arpeggio is A – C♯ – E – G — chord tones 1 3 5 ♭7. A7 is the V chord — the engine of every cadence, and every bar of a blues; its sound is tense, pulling toward its resolution. Below, every A, C♯, E, G on the fretboard is marked, with the root in gold. Press play to hear a one-octave arpeggio, or tap any note.
Visualizer
A7 on the fretboard.
Guitar · standard tuning
Piano
RootChord toneBeing played
Tempo100 bpm
Show
Sound
Play loops the arpeggio up and down one octave (switch Loop off for a single pass) in the position starting at fret 5. Tap any marked note to hear it. “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Your next 10 minutes
Make A Dominant 7th part of your playing
Make a short phrase
Play A – C♯ – E – G in quarter notes at 60 bpm. Repeat starting from C♯, wrapping back to A. Do not speed up until every attack is even.
Hear it in context
Alternate C♯ and G above a sustained A. These are degree 3 and ♭7. End a four-bar phrase on either one instead of always returning to the root.
Listen for this: A7 has the colour “tense, pulling toward its resolution”. Name the degrees as you play, so you can recognize the sound in another key rather than remembering only a shape.
Understand the sound
A7: from a pattern to a musical choice
What gives A7 its identity?
The third and flat seventh form a tritone. Hear those two notes first, then hear how they move when the dominant resolves.
Here the third is C♯, and degree ♭7 is G. Play A in the bass and compare these voices individually before combining them.
Turn the arpeggio into a melody
Try C♯ – E – G – A as quarter notes, then repeat the first note and omit the last. The second phrase uses the same harmony with a different shape.
Sound the strings separately before playing them together. If a note is muted, adjust the finger angle instead of squeezing harder.
Your guitar checkpoint
Start with A on string 6, fret 5. The next note C♯ is on string 6, fret 9. Name both notes aloud before playing, then find the same two pitches in another octave.
Before moving on, close the diagram and name the notes: A · C♯ · E · G. Then play a two-bar phrase from memory and leave two bars of silence.
On piano
A7 on the keyboard.
Reference
A7 — chord tones & intervals.
| Chord tone | Note | Interval from A |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | unison (0 semitones) |
| 3 | C♯ | major 3rd (4 semitones) |
| 5 | E | perfect 5th (7 semitones) |
| ♭7 | G | minor 7th (10 semitones) |
Goes with: A Mixolydian (A B C♯ D E F♯ G). Voicings: A7 voicings on guitar.
Take it to the bandstand.Practice Radio streams endless changes to play the A7 arpeggio over through all twelve keys, with the chord and scale shown live — plus ear-training and call & response modes.
▶ Open Practice RadioCommon questions
A7 arpeggio FAQ.
What notes are in a A7 arpeggio?
A – C♯ – E – G. As chord tones: 1 3 5 ♭7. Played one after another instead of together, that is the arpeggio.
What is a A7 chord used for?
A7 is the V chord — the engine of every cadence, and every bar of a blues. Its character is tense, pulling toward its resolution.
Which scale goes with A7?
A Mixolydian (A B C♯ D E F♯ G) — the arpeggio is the skeleton of that scale, so practise them together.
How do I practise the A7 arpeggio on guitar?
Start on the root A on the low E string at fret 5 and play E-string fret 5, E-string fret 9, A-string fret 7, D-string fret 5, D-string fret 7. Then play it descending, then in eighth notes with a metronome, then use it in a short phrase over a suitable chord.
Keep going
Dominant 7th arpeggio in every other key.
Same arpeggio on piano · Dominant 7th hub · chord-scale theory.
Other arpeggios from A