Arpeggio · B7 · Piano
The B7 arpeggio is B – D♯ – F♯ – A — chord tones 1 3 5 ♭7. B7 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 B, D♯, F♯, A on the two-octave keyboard is marked, with the root in gold. Press play to hear a one-octave arpeggio, or tap any note.
Visualizer
Piano
Guitar · standard tuning
Play runs the arpeggio up and down one octave. 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.
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval from B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | unison (0 semitones) |
| 3 | D♯ | major 3rd (4 semitones) |
| 5 | F♯ | perfect 5th (7 semitones) |
| ♭7 | A | minor 7th (10 semitones) |
Goes with: B Mixolydian (B C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯ A). Voicings: B7 voicings on piano.
Common questions
B – D♯ – F♯ – A. As chord tones: 1 3 5 ♭7. Played one after another instead of together, that is the arpeggio.
B7 is the V chord — the engine of every cadence, and every bar of a blues. Its character is tense, pulling toward its resolution.
B Mixolydian (B C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯ A) — the arpeggio is the skeleton of that scale, so practise them together.
Play B – D♯ – F♯ – A ascending from B, then descend; then start from each chord tone in turn (inversions) so your hand knows the shape from any note.
Keep going
Same arpeggio on guitar · Dominant 7th hub · chord-scale theory.
Other arpeggios from B