Seventh chords are an easy and effective way to add tension into your music, featuring only four note tetrad chords with stacking thirds and sevenths above the root note.
An advanced guitarist needs an arsenal of chords for advanced guitar playing. These chords feature movable shapes without open strings for effortless playback up and down the neck.
Major Seventh
Major seventh chords or “maj7 chords,” can add great energy and momentum to a song and are frequently employed by R&B artists.
To play a major seventh chord, simply add an interval of a major third to a regular major chord – for instance if starting with G major the interval between its first two notes is equivalent to a major third and add F# on top for an F# major 7 chord!
When playing a major seventh chord, be sure to place all four fingers on the strings simultaneously to avoid barred sounds and any uncomfortable fingerwork. Since these chords can be more challenging under your fingers than other types, make an effort to memorize them – it will pay off! These chords are great in various genres but especially R&B music where their smooth soulful atmosphere makes for emotive love songs or emotional ballads.
Minor Seventh
Minor seventh chords – commonly referred to as m7 chords – can add depth and color to your music by providing another way of adding the flat 7th tone. Simply consider it as a minor triad with its flat seventh note added on.
These chords tend to have less tension and produce a more melancholic sound, making them suitable for many styles of music.
You can create m7 chords in any key by altering the root note of the triad. Notes shown between parenthesis are extensions (sharp sevenths, flat elevenths and flat thirteens). They add tension or mellowness to enhance any given chord’s tone.
Drop 2 minor seventh chords can be created by reducing both major 3rd and 5th by one half step to form A, C, and G voicings; they often serve as strong cadences that sound full and powerful.
Dominant Seventh
No matter if you play rock guitar or blues, dominant seventh chords should be an essential part of your repertoire. Not only are they powerful tension-builders but many popular songs utilize these chords as part of their chorus building structure.
A dominant seventh chord consists of a major triad with an additional minor 7th added above it, creating its distinctive tension-filled sound by juxtaposing dissonant intervals that need to be resolved.
These intervals can be resolved in various ways, which makes the dominant seventh chord so versatile. You can use it to transition easily between major and minor triads (or major and diminished triads) simply by flattening out the seventh note.
To construct a dominant seventh chord, start with any open C major triad and add a minor 7th to it – this gives a Cmaj7 chord which is easy to create and very popular.
Jazz Seventh
Classical harmony relies largely on three note chords called triads; jazz music largely uses seventh chords – four note chords consisting of root, major 3rd, 5th and 7th scale degrees – creating unique flavors within jazz music. These seventh chords give it its unique signature sound.
Jazz musicians most commonly employ three standard seventh chord qualities for jazz: major 7, minor 7b5, and dom 7. However, other voicings known as drop 3 voicings (wherein the highest note in close position chord has been dropped an octave down) can also be found within jazz songs.
A Lydian Scale Major 7 chord shares similar structure with Cmaj7 chord, except it uses a sharp 4th instead of an avoid note (F). Most improvisers do not play this chord with a flat 4th as it would clash with chord below it and create dissonance in their playing. Although very different than its Cmaj7 cousin, knowing how to create one adds jazziness to your playing.