Arpeggio
E♭ 7
Dominant
- Formula
- 1 3 5 ♭7
- Notes
- E♭ G B♭ D♭
Notation
Fretboard — frets 0–24
Degrees
| Degree | Note | Interval | Semitones | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E♭ | perfect unison | 0 | The root — the tonal centre every other note is heard against; land on it and the sound resolves. |
| 3 | G | major third | 4 | The major third — the bright note that makes a quality major; it defines the chord's colour and pulls gently toward the root. |
| 5 | B♭ | perfect fifth | 7 | The perfect fifth — the root's strongest companion; it anchors every triad and stacked-seventh quality. |
| ♭7 | D♭ | minor seventh | 10 | The minor seventh — the dominant's engine; a whole step under the root, it turns a triad into a 7 chord and drives the resolution. |
About this arpeggio
The dominant seventh is the engine of tonal harmony: a major triad with a minor seventh on top. The major third and the minor seventh form a tritone, the most unstable interval in the system, and that tension is what makes the chord want to resolve down a fifth. Blues uses it as home, jazz uses it as the gateway to the tonic, and every cadence in between leans on it. It is also the chord that accepts the most alterations — flat and sharp ninths, sharp elevens, flat thirteenths — which is why it sits at the centre of the dictionary. Listen for the tritone and where it wants to go.
How to practise this arpeggio
- Play the tritone between the third and seventh slowly and hear the pull.
- Resolve the chord down a fifth and feel the tritone collapse.
- Use it as the V chord in a ii–V–I and accent the seventh.
- Play the same shape on each string set and listen for the bluesy edge.