Seventh Chords.

Seventh chords are one of the most important chords for guitar playing or any other instrument. I have a close friend who is violinist and he tells me that seventh chords are one of the most important chords for violinists also.

So what are these seventh chords. To understand these chords, we must memorize some formulas. I know memorizing chord formulas is a pain however if we memorize them, it will be good for us in the future.

Three formulas we need to learn are the following

Major 7th - 1 3 5 7

Minor 7th - 1 3b 5 7b

Dominant 7th - 1 3 5 7b

b represents flat

There are more dominant seven chords but I will cover them in the future. There is one dominant chord in every key or diatonic scale. The 7th chords have sound that resembles tension and chaos. Whenever you play a 7th chord, try to play a normal chord after the 7th chord and you will notice the difference. You will realize that a tension has been resolved.

I will be listing the diatonic 7th chords that are in the key of C. I use the C key because it doesn't have a sharp or a flat and it's easy to explain music theory with the help of C scale.

The following are open 7th chords in the scale of C:

C major 7

e----------------
b----------------
g----------------
d-----2-----------
a--------3--------
e----------------

D minor 7

e-1---------------
b-1---------------
g---2-------------
d----------------
a-x---------------
e-x---------------

x means you should not play these strings.

E minor 7

e----------------
b------3----------
g----------------
d--2--------------
a--2--------------
e----------------

F Major 7

e----------------
b-1---------------
g----2------------
d-------3---------
a-x---------------
e-x---------------

x means you should not play these strings.

G dominant 7

e-1---------------
b----------------
g----------------
d----------------
a----2------------
e------3----------

A minor 7

e-------3---------
b-1---------------
g----2------------
d----2------------
a----------------
e----------------

The next lesson that I will post will be about movable seventh chords. Practice these chords and try to learn the diferent sound of these chords. As we all know. all musicians should have good ears. At one point of time, we should be able to listen to a song or a chord and then play it on the guitar.