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How To Use Dominant 7th Chords

Dominant 7th chords are called “dominant” because they are a common substitution for the dominant chord in a song. The dominant chord being the 5th of the tonic or V.

A dominant 7th chord creates a little tension and they sound like they want to resolve to the tonic chord creating a V-I progression.

Listen to the examples below. Hear how the the dominant 7th chord is resolved by the tonic chord.

C7-F

A7-D

G7-C

E7-A

D7-G