3 Different Ways to Play the E7 Guitar Chord

The E7 chord isn't used as frequently as some other seventh chords in music, but it's still relatively common in folk songs and Christmas tunes that are popular to play on the guitar.

Practically everyone can hum or sing "Home on the Range," which uses the E7 chord when it's played and sung in the key of E. "Kum Ba Yah" is played with the easy chord progression A-D-E7. The Christmas favorite "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" includes E7.

Finally, the song "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," which was made famous by the Coca-Cola Company in a groundbreaking 1971 commercial and which still appears periodically to this day, features the E7 chord.

E7 includes the notes E, B, D, and G#. There are several different ways you can play E7 on your guitar.

Basic E7 Guitar Chord

The most common version of the E7 chord is extremely easy to play. Place your index finger on the G string in the first fret, and your middle finger on the A string in the second fret.

This finger combination produces the notes low E, B, D, G#, B and high E to make your E7 chord. With this chord, you play all six strings of your guitar.

Alternative Ways to Play the E7 Chord

Although the version of the basic E7 chord described above is the simplest way to play this chord, there are many other possible ways to play E7.

For example, you can play it as a barre chord, with your index finger producing a barre on the seventh fret, your middle finger on the D string in the ninth fret, and your ring finger on the B string in the ninth fret. This produces the notes E, B, D, G#, B. You don't play the low E string with this version of the E7 chord.

You also can produce the E7 chord with your index finger on the G string in the first fret, your middle finger on the A string in the second fret, your ring finger on the D string in the second fret, and your pinky finger on the B string in the third fret. This produces the notes low E, B, E, G#, D, high E.