B7♯5 Chord Voicings on Guitar: 3 Ways to Play It

B7♯5 voicings on guitar

B7♯5 is spelled B – D♯ – G – A (1 3 ♯5 ♭7) — a dominant that wants extra tension before resolving down a fifth. Here are 3 ways to voice it on guitar: drop 2, drop 3, shell. Every diagram is playable — press play to hear the chord, or “roll it” to hear the voices one by one, low to high.

3 ways to play B7♯5.

Sound

Root in gold, other voices in teal. Tap any note.

Drop 2

G · B · D♯ · A

Take the close voicing and drop its second-highest voice an octave. The most-used four-note voicing on guitar and in piano left hands. Strings E-A-D-G, frets 3-2-1-2.

Drop 3

D♯ · B · G · A

Drop the third-highest voice of the close voicing an octave: a wide, open sound. Strings A-G-B-e, frets 6-4-8-5 (position 4).

Shell (1–7–3)

B · A · D♯

Root, seventh and third only. The fifth is dropped — it adds nothing to the chord's identity — leaving a light, clear voicing. Strings A-G-B, frets 2-2-4.

Chord tone	Note	Interval
1	B	unison
3	D♯	major 3rd
♯5	G	minor 6th
♭7	A	minor 7th

Chord tone

Note

Interval

unison

D♯

major 3rd

♯5

minor 6th

♭7

minor 7th

Arpeggio: B7♯5 arpeggio on guitar. Scale: B Whole tone.

B7♯5 voicings FAQ.

What notes are in B7♯5?

B, D♯, G, A — chord tones 1 3 ♯5 ♭7.

What is the easiest B7♯5 voicing on guitar?

The shell voicing (root, seventh, third) on strings A, G, B: three notes, one comfortable shape, and it still sounds unmistakably like B7♯5.

What is a drop-2 voicing?

Start from the close voicing B D♯ G A and drop the second note from the top an octave: G – B – D♯ – A. It spreads the chord so it fits the hand — and on guitar it fits four adjacent strings.

Where does B7♯5 appear?

B7♯5 is a dominant that wants extra tension before resolving down a fifth. Its character is floating, whole-tone.