{"id":29,"date":"2021-04-12T17:41:55","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T00:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/blog\/?p=29"},"modified":"2022-11-02T18:17:06","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T01:17:06","slug":"7th-chords-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/7th-chords-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"7th Chords Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Once you\u2019ve learned all your <\/span>beginner guitar chords<\/span><\/a> you might be wondering what comes next. 7th chords are a great next step because they give you an easy way to add flavor to basic major and minor chords by adding just one new note.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are four primary types of 7th chords. In this guide, we will be covering all four — major 7 chords, dominant 7 chords, minor 7 chords, and minor 7 flat 5 chords. By the end of this article, you will be able to both understand and play 7th chords confidently. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we dig into this lesson, you\u2019ll need a solid knowledge of how guitar chords are made. First, you\u2019ll want to make sure you know the <\/span>8 basic principles of guitar music theory<\/span><\/a>. Once you\u2019ve got those concepts down, you can learn how to make major chords and minor chords<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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Learn to play the songs you love even faster with our interactive practice tool inside the Guitareo members’ area. Start your 7-day free trial today!<\/p>\n

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Major 7 Chords<\/strong>
To make a major 7 chord, start out with a basic major triad. You’ll have a root, a major 3rd, and a 5th. <\/p>\n\n\n

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To turn that into a major 7 chord you just need to add the 7th scale degree. In this case, we’re using a C major triad with the notes C, E, G. To turn it into a C major 7 chord we just need to add the B note.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Dominant 7 Chords<\/strong>
Dominant 7 chords are very similar to major 7 chords and only differ by one note. To turn a major 7 chord into a dominant 7 chord, you just need to lower the added note by a half step. So you’ll have a root, 3rd, 5th, and a flat 7. Which means if we’re still using our C major triad, we’d be adding a B flat. This chord is commonly used in blues music.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Minor 7 Chords<\/strong>
To make a minor 7 chord, you’ll continue where you left off with a dominant 7 chord. From there, you just need to lower the 3rd. So your major 3rd becomes a minor 3rd. This shape can be a little impractical, and it’s only being shown for the sake of understanding how the chord is made. It’s recommended to use a more simple shape in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Minor 7 Flat 5 Chords<\/strong>
The last 7th chord we’ll look at is the minor 7 flat 5 chord (or m7b5). This chord isn’t used too often, but it’s the naturally occurring 7th chord in a key, so it’s worth knowing. For this chord, all we need to do is take a minor 7 chord and lower the 5th.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Try each of these chords out and work on understanding the theory behind them. They’re a great way to add some flavor to your playing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

5 Most Beautiful Chords for Beginners<\/a><\/strong>
If you want to add some more spice to your guitar chord arsenal, check out this lesson from Ayla. You’ll learn how to play five beautiful chords even a beginner can pull off!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to improve your guitar skills even faster?<\/strong> Unlock our interactive practice tool and stay motivated as you learn from the most inspiring teachers inside the Guitareo members\u2019 area. Click the button below and start your 7-day free trial today:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Once you\u2019ve learned all your beginner guitar chords you might be wondering what comes next. 7th chords are a great next step because they give you an easy way to add flavor to basic major and minor chords by adding just one new note. There are four primary types of 7th chords. In this guide, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2100,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29\/revisions\/2100"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}