The 7th chords chart features dissonant guitar chords which can perfectly convey tension and fear. Furthermore, these exercises serve as great training sessions in terms of learning how to utilize different finger positions on the fretboard!
Each seventh chord has an official four-part name that refers to both its triad and seventh interval components.
Major 7th
A major seventh chord adds depth, emotion and complexity to any triad. Commonly found in Jazz, R&B and Blues music as well as popular chord progressions in Pop, this class of chord can make any melody sound intimate and soulful.
To create a major 7th chord, all it takes is adding a major seventh interval above the root of any triad – for instance a G major chord has roots, major 3rd, and perfect 5th intervals; you can form one using any of the basic shapes from Lesson 6 (Emaj7, Amaj7 or movable maj7 shapes with bass note on fifth string), then adding one major seventh above its root.
Named chords can then be identified using a triad quality table; its quality determined by the notes between root, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 11th harmonics – these notes determine its sound as well as potential extensions such as 9th, 11th or 13th to change its sound further.
Minor 7th
Minor 7th chords are an invaluable asset in your harmonic toolkit, providing a nice chromatic tension to progressions or bass lines alike. They can even be augmented or diminished according to their quality (see below).
Triads will become part of your musical vocabulary fairly early on as the foundational elements for most Western music. A triad consists of the first, third and fifth scale degrees in any key.
7th chords combine the elements of both triads and sevenths above their root to add another layer of depth, meaning, and emotion – which makes 7th chords so useful and relevant in modern pop, rock, jazz music as opposed to classical music which relies more heavily on triadic chords.
Dominant 7th
Dominant 7th chords are an increasingly popular alternative to major, minor and dominant triad chords. Based on the fifth scale degree in any key, they feature an extra tone which adds power and demands resolution of their tonic chord.
As with other chord types, dominant 7th chords may be augmented, diminished or perfect in quality. Each interval quality has its own name that can be found by looking at the piano diagram above – they describe whether sharp or flat accidentals must be added to major scale notes in step 4.
These movable shapes demonstrate two methods for playing dominant seventh chords in open position with the root note on either the A or D strings, starting from either A7 or E7 shapes, using either barre chord or index finger barre chord techniques on one fret; for E7 you may also barre chord on first fret using index finger barre chord techniques, while in third inversion (G) you bar two frets by placing your index finger barring one and middle finger on fourth fret, A-string respectively.
Minor Seven Flat Five
A minor seven flat five chord can be formed by adding a major third to a diminished triad, creating a minor seventh interval that creates the distinctive flat five feature of this chord from other diminished and half diminished chords.
This type of chord is most frequently seen in minor keys, typically followed by G (or one of its variants like C7b9) – for example in C minor this would typically look like Bm7b5-G7.
Jazz musicians commonly utilize this chord in more melodic contexts; its use also forms the basis of many well-known jazz scales such as Locrian mode or Aeolian b5.
There are various shapes for m7b5 chords, but one of the most widely-used is probably the C shape, as shown below. This shape resembles that of an Am7 chord and can be easily moved around on fretboard positions. Another option would be using the root note but having a lower fifth note.