Lesson 5 - seventh chords

Sometimes basic major and minor chords may sound a little bit empty to you. In this case you can add b7 or 7 for fuller sound.

When is a seventh chord in any song, but you don't know it or have problem to grasp it, you can play it as simple major/minor chord. E.g. if in a song are chords Dm7, Fmaj7 and G7, you can play them as Dm, F and G…

• b7/7 (ten/eleven semitones up from 1)
  This is minor/major seventh. It helps a lot to chord sounds fuller.

These are three the most known seventh chords: minor 7, major 7, dominant 7. For their creation we use this table of intervals. The root tone will be F:

• Minor 7 (min7 or m7, e.g. Cmin7 or Cm7)

For creation of the minor 7 chord, use the same intervals as in classic minor chord, so 1-b3-5 and add b7 to it. So whole chord consists of 1-b3-5-b7.

Now try to play any m7 chord. If you don’t know how to start, try this:

string D: press 4th fret (1)
string G: press 2nd fret (b3)
string B: press 2nd fret (5)
string high E: leave open (b7)

Play this four strings and you can hear F#m7 (Gbm7) chord because 1 lies on F#(Gb). It is a quite difficult to handle this, but next examples will be easier :)

• Major 7 (maj7, e.g. Cmaj7)

Here you use classic major chord 1-3-5 and add 7. So whole chord is 1-3-5-7.

Now try to play it on guitar:
D: press 4th fret (1)
G: press 3rd fret (3)
B: press 2nd fret (5)
high E: press 1st fret (7)

This is F#maj7 (Gbmaj7) chord.

• Dominant 7 (dom7 or only 7, e.g. Cdom7 or C7)

Again you use major chord 1-3-5, but now add b7. So this chord consists of 1-3-5-b7.

Try it:
D: press 4th fret (1)
G: press 3rd fret (3)
B: press 2nd fret (5)
high E: leave open (b7)

This is F#7 (Gb7) chord.

Look at other seventh chords (in the application) and learn how they are created...

Exercises for this lesson:

As in lesson 3 draw the lower part of the fretboard (6 horizontal lines - strings, 6 vertical lines - frets), write number 1 anywhere and then complete this fretboard with other intervals. Now you can start to create seventh chords. I remind, that min7 chords consist of 1-b3-5-7, maj7 chords consist of 1-3-5-7 and dom7 chords consist of 1-3-5-b7.

It will help you when you tag all searched intervals with circle. Then you start to think, which four tagged intervals to choose. It has to meet the two conditions: 1 has to be the deepest tone and you have to be able to grasp it by left hand.

Next: Lesson 6 - any-fret chords

Other lessons:

Lesson 1 - first steps

Lesson 2 - intervals

Lesson 3 - tones

Lesson 4 - first chords

Lesson 6 - any-fret chords

Lesson 7 - chord progression I

Lesson 8 - chord progression II

Lesson 9 - arpeggios

Lesson 10 - scales