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By Tony Das Published on: Thu Apr 21, 2022
Seventh chords essentially take 3-note chords and add the seventh note on the corresponding scale. We’ll be taking the existing chords (C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, B dim) in the key of C Major and arriving at their seventh versions based on the scale. Practise playing each chord and its 7th version alternately to learn them better.
A celebrated guitarist who has performed with well-known bands for two decades, your teacher is a professional musician who has played at some of the biggest music festivals in India, and toured the UK and the Gulf as well. As a guitarist, bassist and singer, he has worked on several film scores and movie songs.
Until now, we’ve been using triads or 3-note chords in all the exercises and techniques described in the previous blogs. We’ll now explore the concept of seventh chords and how to play them on the guitar. Seventh chords essentially take 3-note chords and add the seventh note on the corresponding scale.
There are a few types of seventh chords that you need to be familiar with. We’ll use the key of C Major to explain seventh chords better. We’ll be taking the existing chords (C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, B dim) in the key of C Major and arriving at their seventh versions based on the scale. The finger positions are as follows:
C Maj7: 5th string (3rd fret), 4th string (2nd fret), 3rd string (open), 2nd string (open), 1st string (open)
Dm7: 4th string (open), 3rd string (2nd fret), 2nd string (3rd fret), 1st string (1st fret)
Em7: 6th string (open), 5th string (2nd fret), 4th string (open), 3rd string (open), 2nd string (open), 1st string (open)
F Maj7: 5th string (3rd fret), 4th string (3rd fret), 3rd string (2nd fret), 2nd string (1st fret), 1st string (open)
G7: 6th string (3rd fret), 5th string (2nd fret), 4th string (open), 3rd string (open), 2nd string (open), 1st string (1st fret)
Am7: 5th string (open), 4th string (2nd fret), 3rd string (open), 2nd string (1st fret), 1st string (open)
Bm7b5 (B minor 7 flat 5): 5th string (2nd fret), 4th string (3rd fret), 3rd string (2nd fret), 2nd string (3rd fret)
For each of these seventh chords, you can play the base chord and its 7th version one after the other to appreciate the difference. It can also be a fun practice exercise, playing each chord and its 7th version alternately. It will improve your fingering and help you transition smoothly between chords.
Similar to the seventh chords in the C Major scale, you have seventh chords in other scales too. Once the logic is clear, you should be able to arrive at them on your own. For now, practise and perfect the seven seventh chords you have just read about and learnt. In the next post, which is also the last in this series on learning to play the guitar, we will explore a set of popular songs and how to play them. Keep reading till the end.
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