Seventh chords for guitar can add great depth and color to songs, which makes learning them essential for guitarists.
A seventh chord can be created by adding one additional note to a standard triad chord. There are five types of seventh chords, each having their own distinct sound.
Major 7th Chord
A major 7th chord can be formed by adding a seventh interval above the root note of a triad, such as C major with C, E and G; when added together with major 7ths it produces C-E-G-B; this chord can be found frequently used in many popular genres including rock and country music and is typically indicated with the symbol “maj7”.
Simply think of 7th chords as two parts — triad plus seventh added together. This will make them much simpler to understand and learn for beginners, especially. Once you master these shapes confidently, they can open up a world of musical opportunities!
Minor 7th Chord
Minor seventh chords can add depth and emotion to your songs. While dissonant at times, when used appropriately they can create an amazing tension-inducing and bittersweet soundscape that will add something special.
To create a minor seventh chord, you require two components – a minor triad plus a flat fifth (e.g. A C E G). For help in finding these triads, referring to the table of scale chord summary chords below.
This chord type is also known as a minor seventh with a flat five, as its composition simply requires flattening the fifth to create it. Perfect for jazz progressions as well as some snappy funk progressions. Learn to play it using our beginner backing track – moving at 85 BPM so as not to prove too difficult for newcomers!
Half-Diminished 7th Chord
One of the lesser-known 7th chords is the Half-Diminished 7th Chord, which resembles a minor seventh chord but features a flat ninth instead of major one for its signature sound when used within minor scale music.
Half-diminished seventh chords serve many different functions. They’re frequently used as the second chord of a minor scale progression and lead directly into a dominant V chord; additionally they work great as secondary dominants for chord soloing or melodies.
They can be built above any note by following an interval pattern, for instance constructing a Bm7(b5) chord by starting at its root note B and adding intervals of minor third (D), major third (E), then minor third again (F). This technique can be applied in any key, making the shape easily moveable up or down the neck while clawhammer picking or muted fifth string as needed.
Open 7th Chord
By adding a flat seventh to a major triad, its sound becomes fuller. This type of chord can be found often in funk music, offering another dimension to your rhythm guitar playing.
Open 7th chords are derivative of major triads but add one fret lower notes; due to this fact they are sometimes known as “Dominant Seventh” chords; however they don’t actually function as such.
As a jazz musician, it’s essential that you become acquainted with open seventh chords. They provide a beautiful modal sound and can be highly emotional – take Ella Fitzgerald’s rendition of George Gershwin’s ‘Autumn Leaves’ by Ella Fitzgerald as an example – you’ll hear all kinds of seventh chord qualities in her rendition such as major, minor, dom and minor 7s with major 7b5 chords to give an idea of their effect! – it shows just how they can drastically change a song’s personality!