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The F#7 chord

Built from F# - A# - C# - E, the F#7 is a dominant seventh that sounds a chord that points down a fifth. It lives at the centre of blues, jazz and any song that needs a strong pull to the next chord, and it does its work quietly. Day Tripper by The Beatles uses F#7 as the chord that twists the song sideways. What follows below: the voicings worth memorising on guitar and piano, the theory in plain language, progressions in two or three different keys, and a short list of real records that lean on the chord.

Hear the F#7 in the chord builder →

Voicings for F#7

Common ways to grip the F#7 on guitar and piano. Guitar diagrams read low E to high E left-to-right; an × means muted, an open circle above the nut means an open string. Filled dots are fretted notes.

Guitar , full chord shapes

CAGED-derived voicings for F#7 across the neck. Pick the shape closest to where your hand already sits.

Guitar: E7 shape at fr.2

Notes: F# - A# - C# - E (chord tones)

Guitar: A7 shape at fr.9

Notes: F# - A# - C# - E (chord tones)

Guitar: D7 shape at fr.4

Notes: F# - A# - C# - E (chord tones)

Guitar: C7 shape at fr.6

Notes: F# - A# - C# - E (chord tones)

Guitar: G7 shape at fr.11

Notes: F# - A# - C# - E (chord tones)

Guitar , triad shapes

Three-note voicings on three adjacent strings. Light textures for arpeggios, pop layering and chord-melody work.

Triad: top-string triad

Notes: 3-note voicing on adjacent strings

Triad: middle-string triad

Notes: 3-note voicing on adjacent strings

Triad: bass-side triad

Notes: 3-note voicing on adjacent strings

Piano voicings

Root position and inversions. The bass note matters: each inversion changes how the chord sits under a melody.

Piano: root position

Notes: F# - A# - C# - E. Root F# at the bottom. The classic stacked-thirds spelling of a dominant seventh.

Piano: first inversion

Notes: A# - C# - E - F#. A# at the bottom. Common in chord-melody, walking bass lines and gentler voicings.

Piano: second inversion

Notes: C# - E - F# - A#. C# at the bottom. A floating, suspended feel often used in hymns and ballads.

Piano: third inversion

Notes: E - F# - A# - C#. E at the bottom. The seventh in the bass , a smooth jazz favourite.

The theory behind F#7

Spell out the F#7 and you get F# - A# - C# - E. The intervals from the root are root, major third, perfect fifth, minor seventh, which is the recipe for a dominant seventh. In a closely related major key the chord plays the role of passing chord; in a closely related major key it shows up as passing chord. Its preferred next move is resolve down a fifth to the next chord, which is what makes it useful in blues and gospel.

Progressions that use F#7

Short progressions that put the F#7 to work. Each one is shown in a different key so you can pick the one that suits your singer.

I→IV→V key of C major

F#7 (as passing colour)

This chord appears as a borrowed or passing chord in many major-key progressions.

→ Build this in the chord builder

Songs that feature F#7

Real records where this chord does structural work. No lyrics quoted, just the title and artist so you can pull up a copy and hear it in context.

Day Tripper by The Beatles. F#7 colour as part of the song's twist.
Crossroads by Cream. F#7 within the blues form (modulated).
Hound Dog by Elvis Presley. F#7 within a modulated take of the form.

Related chords

Chords a step away from the F#7 in the songwriting circle, the natural neighbours when you want a substitution.

NeighbourC#m NeighbourB NeighbourBm NeighbourB7

Keys where F#7 lives

The keys where this chord turns up diatonically. Open any key page for the full set of progressions that lean on it.

C major A minor

More songwriting tools

Got the chord but still wrestling with the lyric? Find the right rhyme in RhymeForge, or break a writer's block with the unexpected word-pair generator in CollisionLab. Need to map a full progression? The chord builder on the home page is where the F#7 fits into context. All free, no signup.

About the chord builder

The Undercover Zest chord progression builder is a free interactive tool that maps every diatonic and borrowed chord in every key. Click a Roman numeral to hear it, drag chords into a progression, then audition voicings, inversions and tensions until the song clicks.

This page is a static reference for the F#7. For interactive playback, voice-leading hints and substitution suggestions, open the chord builder above.