Seventh Heaven Essential 7th Chord Foundation

Seventh chords represent your first step into extended harmony, adding sophisticated color and movement to progressions that would sound ordinary with just major and minor triads. By adding the seventh interval to basic triads, these chords create harmonic richness that appears in every musical style from blues and jazz to rock and country. This collection focuses on the most practical seventh chord forms, emphasizing dominant 7th chords that create forward motion in progressions, plus two essential non-dominant sevenths that every guitarist should know. The magic of seventh chords lies in their ability to create tension and resolution—they naturally want to move somewhere, making them perfect for creating sophisticated chord progressions that hold listener interest. These eight shapes will transform your rhythm playing from basic to professional while teaching you how chord extensions function in real musical contexts.

E Dominant 7th

The gateway seventh chord that requires only one finger change from open E Major, demonstrating how seventh intervals transform familiar sounds into something more complex. E7's dominant function makes it naturally want to resolve to A Major, teaching you the fundamental principle of dominant-to-tonic motion that drives Western harmony.

A Dominant 7th

This user-friendly seventh chord uses the same basic fingering as A Major with just the third finger lifted, showing how seventh harmony often simplifies rather than complicates fingering. A7 appears constantly in blues progressions and creates strong resolution to D Major, making it essential for understanding functional harmony.

D Dominant 7th

A compact seventh chord that demonstrates how seventh intervals can be voiced on different string sets while maintaining the characteristic sound. D7's fingering pattern develops finger independence between adjacent frets and teaches precise finger placement essential for clean chord execution.

B Dominant 7th

The most challenging basic seventh chord, B7 requires finger stretches and precise placement that develop advanced fretting technique. This chord's dominant function in the key of E Major makes it indispensable for rock and blues progressions, while its technical demands prepare you for more complex chord forms.

G Dominant 7th

This full six-string seventh chord spans from the 3rd fret to open strings, teaching you to coordinate complex fingerings while maintaining clean string separation. G7's rich voicing demonstrates how seventh chords can incorporate both fretted notes and open strings for maximum resonance and fullness.

C Dominant 7th

Your first moveable seventh chord introduces barre-style technique while providing a template for creating dominant seventh chords anywhere on the neck. This shape requires coordinated finger pressure and demonstrates how seventh chords function in closed position voicings without open string resonance.

G Major 7th

Bonus: This major seventh chord reveals the dreamy, jazz-influenced sound that major sevenths create, contrasting sharply with the driving tension of dominant sevenths. GMaj7 teaches you that not all seventh chords want to resolve—major sevenths create stability and color rather than forward motion.

E Minor 7th

Bonus: The easiest extended chord on the guitar, requiring just one finger while creating sophisticated minor seventh harmony. Em7 demonstrates how minor seventh chords provide emotional depth and modern sound, appearing frequently in contemporary music across all genres.

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