Total Guitar

You know it from…

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The Beatles–I Saw Her Standing There Eric Clapton–Before You Accuse Me Prince – Kiss

Howitworks…

Just like the others we’ve looked at, a dominant chord starts with a major b 7th chord. This time though we add a into the mix. So, for example, the notes of C major are: CD E F G A B; a C chord uses C, E and G; the seventh note is B, b 7th but we need it to be a so lower it to Bb Bb to give CE G as our ‘dominant’ C7.

When to use it…

In a one-chord jam

E7, E9 or E11 work well in a onechord jam. If you play a solo use the E Mixolydian mode (E F# G# A B C# D) for a steady sound or the E minor pentatonic scale (EG A B D) for a blues vibe.

In a 12-bar blues

E-A-B is a classic 12-bar blues chord progressio­n. Simply switch to dominant 7th chords (E7-A7-B7) for a much edgier and typically bluesy sound.

Use dominant chords heavily in funk, rock and blues

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