Voicings · C7 · Piano
C7 is spelled C – E – G – B♭ (1 3 5 ♭7) — the V chord — the engine of every cadence, and every bar of a blues. Here are 6 ways to voice it on piano: close position, drop 2, drop 3, shell, rootless a, rootless b. Every diagram is playable — press play to hear the chord, or “roll it” to hear the voices one by one, low to high.
The voicings
Root, third, fifth and seventh stacked within one octave — the reference voicing (piano; too tight to finger on guitar).
Take the close voicing and drop its second-highest voice an octave. The most-used four-note voicing on guitar and in piano left hands.
Drop the third-highest voice of the close voicing an octave: a wide, open sound.
Root, seventh and third only. The fifth is dropped — it adds nothing to the chord's identity — leaving a light, clear voicing.
Bill Evans-style left-hand voicing: the third on the bottom, the ninth on top, the bass player supplies the root.
The companion rootless voicing with the seventh on the bottom. Alternate A and B so the top voice moves by step through a ii–V–I.
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | unison |
| 3 | E | major 3rd |
| 5 | G | perfect 5th |
| ♭7 | B♭ | minor 7th |
Arpeggio: C7 arpeggio on piano. Scale: C Mixolydian.
Common questions
C, E, G, B♭ — chord tones 1 3 5 ♭7. Rootless voicings add the 9th, D, and leave the root to the bass.
The shell voicing: C – B♭ – E in the left hand. Three notes that carry the whole identity of the chord.
Start from the close voicing C E G B♭ and drop the second note from the top an octave: G – C – E – B♭. It spreads the chord so it fits the hand — and on guitar it fits four adjacent strings.
C7 is the V chord — the engine of every cadence, and every bar of a blues. Its character is tense, pulling toward its resolution.
Keep going
Same chord on guitar · Dominant 7th hub.
Other chords from C