F#7 Chord
F#7 adds E to the F sharp major triad. That flat seventh makes it useful before a chord whose root lies a fifth below F sharp.
- Notes: F sharp-A sharp-C sharp-E
- Symbol: F#7
- V7 in B major
- Flat seventh
F#7
How to play an F#7 chord
Notes: F# - A# - C# - EF#7
Root position
F# - A# - C# - E1st inversion
A# - C# - E - F#2nd inversion
C# - E - F# - A#3rd inversion
E - F# - A# - C#
Where does F#7 belong?
In B major, F#7 acts as V7 and points toward the tonic.
Play the role cards to hear how its surrounding chords change the job it does; Diatonic Chords explains the basic numbered roles.
- DominantV7
It resolves to B: A sharp rises to B and E falls a half step.
BEF#7V7B - Minor-key dominantV7
The same pull in B minor, where harmonic minor supplies the raised A sharp.
BmEmF#7V7Bm - Blues homeI7
In a 12-bar blues the home chord is itself a 7 chord, and it does not need to resolve.
F#7I7B7F#7C#7 - Secondary dominantII7
In E major it borrows a pull toward B, the V of that key.
EF#7II7BE
Progressions to try
- BEF#7B
F#7 is V7 in B major; hear its seventh and third lean into the last chord.
- BmEmF#7Bm
The same dominant shape leads into a minor tonic in B minor.
- F#7B7F#7C#7
In F# blues, the tonic itself carries a seventh; the loop returns to F#7 without losing that blues color.
- EF#7BE
F#7 briefly acts as a secondary dominant, pointing toward the chord after it rather than the main tonic.
Which shape should you use?
On guitar, start with 242322, a barre at the 2nd fret. Press the barred notes evenly and mute any strings marked x. The x-9-11-9-11-9 shape gives you another position when the neighboring chords sit elsewhere on the neck.
On ukulele, start with 3424, played at the 2nd fret. The 6667 grip moves the chord to another register.
On piano, play F sharp-A sharp-C sharp-E. Move F sharp up an octave to reach the first inversion, A sharp-C sharp-E-F sharp; the notes remain the same while the lowest voice changes.
What are the inversions?
F sharp is the root, A sharp the major third, C sharp the fifth and E the flat seventh, ten semitones above the root.
- Root position: F sharp-A sharp-C sharp-E, with F sharp lowest.
- First inversion: A sharp-C sharp-E-F sharp, written F#7/A# if A sharp is lowest in the whole arrangement.
- Second inversion: C sharp-E-F sharp-A sharp, written F#7/C# if C sharp is lowest in the whole arrangement.
- Third inversion: E-F sharp-A sharp-C sharp, written F#7/E if E is lowest in the whole arrangement.
A slash chord names the note in the bass, not merely the lowest note under one hand. Chord Inversions shows how to read that distinction.
How does F#7 differ from F#maj7?
Keep F sharp, A sharp and C sharp; raise the seventh from E to E sharp. The result is F#maj7, whose major seventh changes the pull. Try that one-note change on piano, then use the comparer to hear it in the full chord. See F#maj7 for the other chord's full spelling and roles.
F#7
F# - A# - C# - EF#maj7
F# - A# - C# - E#