# G Dominant 7th piano chord (G7)

G7 contains G, B, D and F. A major triad with the minor seventh added on top. Every note is a white key.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/dominant-7th/g/
- Entity: chord:dominant-7th:g
- Notes: G B D F
- Formula: 1 3 5 ♭7
- Intervals from root: P1, M3, P5, m7
- Interval stack (semitones): 4 3 3
- Also written: G7, G7, G dominant 7th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | G | Perfect unison | 0 |
| 3 | B | Major third | 4 |
| 5 | D | Perfect fifth | 7 |
| ♭7 | F | Minor seventh | 10 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on G, finger 2 on B, finger 3 on D, finger 5 on F. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | G | G3 B3 D4 F4 | 7 | 10 st, 138 mm |
| First inversion (G7/B) | B | B3 D4 F4 G4 | 6/5 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Second inversion (G7/D) | D | D4 F4 G4 B4 | 4/3 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Third inversion (G7/F) | F | F4 G4 B4 D5 | 4/2 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | G3 B3 D4 F4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | B3 D4 F4 G4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | D4 F4 G4 B4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | F4 G4 B4 D5 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | D3 G3 B3 F4 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | B2 G3 D4 F4 | 18 st, 248 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | G2 D3 B3 F4 | 22 st, 303 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root ♭7 3 | G2 F3 B3 | 16 st, 220 mm | subset | omits D |
| Guide tones, 3 and ♭7 | B3 F4 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits G and D |
| Rootless close | B3 D4 F4 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits G |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C major | V7 | Dominant, wants to resolve |
| A minor | ♭VII7 | Subtonic |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (3)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| V, I | C major | V7 | G7 to Cmaj7 | G7 opens the phrase |
| ii, V, I | C major | V7 | Dm7 to G7 to Cmaj7 | 2 tones held from Dm7 |
| ♭VII, i | A minor | ♭VII7 | G7 to Am7 | G7 opens the phrase |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| G9 | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | adds A | 4 |
| G | 1 3 5 | drops F | 3 |
| Gmaj7 | 1 3 5 7 | F becomes F♯ | 3 |
| Gm7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | B becomes B♭ | 3 |
| Gaug7 | 1 3 ♯5 ♭7 | D becomes D♯ | 3 |
| G7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | B becomes C | 3 |
| G6 | 1 3 5 6 | F becomes E | 3 |
| Gadd9 | 1 3 5 9 | F becomes A | 3 |
| Gmaj9 | 1 3 5 7 9 | F becomes F♯, A | 3 |
| Gm9 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 | B becomes B♭, A | 3 |
| Gm | 1 ♭3 5 | B, F becomes B♭ | 2 |
| Gaug | 1 3 ♯5 | D, F becomes D♯ | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {7, 11, 2, 5}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 4, 7, 10]
- Normal order: [11, 2, 5, 7]
- Prime form: (0258)
- Forte number: 4-27
- Interval vector: <012111>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| G3 | 55 | 196.00 Hz |
| B3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |
| D4 | 62 | 293.66 Hz |
| F4 | 65 | 349.23 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in G7?

G7 contains G, B, D and F. The formula is 1, 3, 5, ♭7.

### How do you play G7 on piano?

Play G, B, D and F together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. Every note is a white key.

### What are the inversions of G7?

4 positions: root position G B D F, G7/B, G7/D, G7/F.

### What keys contain G7?

2: V7 in C major, ♭VII7 in A minor.

### What is the difference between G7 and G9?

Adds A. 4 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy G7 for small hands?

The guide tones, 3 and ♭7 voicing, B3 F4, spans 6 semitones or about 83 mm.

### What are the frequencies of G7?

From G3 at A440 in 12-TET: 196.00, 246.94, 293.66, 349.23 Hz.

### What is the set class of G7?

Prime form (0258), Forte 4-27, interval vector &lt;012111&gt;.

### How do I transpose G7 to another key?

Keep the 1, 3, 5, ♭7 formula on the new root. C7 is C, E, G, B♭; C♯7 is C♯, E♯, G♯, B.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:dominant-7th:g
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12