I hope you liked B7 from the last chord tutorial, because today is all about 7th chords.
Again, don’t worry about exactly what a 7th chord is for now: the next few tutorial posts will cover scales and chords in more (but hopefully accessible) detail.
All of today’s 7th chords are really easy, requiring hardly any new information, only two fretting fingers, and no difficult stretching:
A dominant 7th (A7) this is *just* like A – which you already know – but without the middle-position finger. Your fingers go: 2nd finger on the D string, 2nd fret; 3rd finger on the B string, 2nd fret. Play all the strings except low E.
A minor 7th (Am7) *just* like Am, but without the middle-position finger. Your fingers go: 1st finger on the B string, 1st fret; 2nd finger on the D string, 2nd fret. Play all the strings except low E.
C major 7th (Cmaj7) *just* like C, but without the first finger’s position. Your fingers go: 2nd finger on the D string, 2nd fret; 3rd finger on the A string, 3rd fret. Play all the strings except low E.
E dominant 7th (E7) *just like E, but without the middle-position finger. Your fingers go: 1st finger on the G string, 1st fret; 2nd finger on the A string, 2nd fret. Play all the strings.
You already know the drill regarding memorising chord shapes and practicing switching between them, so I’m going to stop boring you by repeating those instructions in every chord tutorial.
Since the theory behind chords is still a post or two away, I’ll leave you with a tantalising question: how does the emotional feel of a dominant, major, or minor 7th differ from that of the regular major and minor chords you already know?
How have you been finding the chord tutorials? Too easy? Too difficult? Let me know in the comments, and remember to follow Acoustic Notes on Twitter (@acnotesblog) or Facebook to be notified when new posts go up!
Happy playing!
P.S. Song of the day: Runaway by Mr Little Jeans
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