Adding the Seventh

So far all your chords have been triads — three notes (root, third, fifth). Seventh chords add a fourth note: the seventh degree of the scale. This extra note adds richness, tension, and colour.

Major 7th (Cmaj7): warm, dreamy, jazzy. Used in bossa nova, R&B, neo-soul.
Minor 7th (Am7): smooth, mellow, slightly melancholy. Blues, jazz, soul.
Dominant 7th (G7): tense, wants to resolve. Blues, rock, jazz — the quintessential blues chord.

How They're Built

Major 7: Root + Major 3rd + Perfect 5th + Major 7th — one semitone below the octave. Beautiful, floating quality.

Minor 7: Root + Minor 3rd + Perfect 5th + Minor 7th — both the 3rd and 7th are flattened. Dark but smooth.

Dominant 7: Root + Major 3rd + Perfect 5th + Minor 7th — major triad with a flattened 7th. The tension between the major 3rd and minor 7th creates a "pull" toward resolution.

Open Seventh Chord Shapes

The most useful open voicings are often simpler than their triad versions:

Am7: Remove your ring finger from Am — open G string becomes the b7
Em7: Remove your ring finger from Em — let string 4 open
G7: G chord but add index on fret 1 of string 1
D7: D chord but lift your middle finger — open string 1 gives you the b7 of D
Cmaj7: C chord but lift your index finger — open string 2 (B) is the major 7th of C

Tab Examples

Am7:       Em7:       Cmaj7:     G7:        D7:
e|--0--|  e|--0--|  e|--0--|  e|--1--|  e|--2--|
B|--1--|  B|--0--|  B|--0--|  B|--0--|  B|--1--|
G|--0--|  G|--0--|  G|--0--|  G|--0--|  G|--2--|
D|--2--|  D|--0--|  D|--2--|  D|--0--|  D|--0--|
A|--0--|  A|--2--|  A|--3--|  A|--2--|  A|-----|
E|-----|  E|--0--|  E|-----|  E|--3--|  E|-----|

Compare each to its triad version — usually just one finger changes.

e|--0---0---0---0--|--0---0---0---0--|--1---1---1---1--|--1---1---1---1--|
B|--0---0---0---0--|--1---1---1---1--|--1---1---1---1--|--0---0---0---0--|
G|--0---0---0---0--|--0---0---0---0--|--2---2---2---2--|--0---0---0---0--|
D|--2---2---2---2--|--2---2---2---2--|--0---0---0---0--|--0---0---0---0--|
A|--3---3---3---3--|--0---0---0---0--|-----------------|--2---2---2---2--|
E|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|--3---3---3---3--|

A classic ii-V-I jazz turnaround with the vi chord.

Chord Diagrams

Am7

X O O O

O O O

Tips

Seventh chords add sophistication to any progression

Dominant 7ths (like G7 or E7) create tension that resolves to the next chord

Replace every V chord with V7 for stronger resolution

Am7 and Em7 are great for mellow fingerpicking

Practice Exercises

Learn each open seventh chord shape and check all strings ring

Play Cmaj7-Am7-Dm7-G7 with fingerpicking

Replace every V chord in songs you know with V7

Try Em7-Am7-Cmaj7-D7 as a mellow fingerpicking progression

Seventh Chords

Adding the Seventh

How They're Built

Open Seventh Chord Shapes

Tab Examples

Common open seventh chords

Jazzy progression: Cmaj7 - Am7 - Dm7 - G7

Chord Diagrams

Tips

Practice Exercises

Adding the Seventh

How They're Built

Open Seventh Chord Shapes

Tab Examples

Common open seventh chords

Jazzy progression: Cmaj7 - Am7 - Dm7 - G7

Chord Diagrams

Tips

Practice Exercises

More from Stage 4: Intermediate