Major and Minor 7th chords are among the most colorful chords in music. The beautiful, dreamy sound of a Major 7th chord can be easily added to any chord progression to change the character of the music you are playing. Or think about country and folk music played with Minor 7th chords all the time.
But what are the basics of a major and minor 7th chord on the guitar and how can we implement the 7th chords into our playing.
In this fingerstyle guitar lesson, I am going to show you how to transform 12 chord progressions from basic chords to 7th chords.
We will learn:
- How to play 7th chords in a chord progression.
- What makes a major 7th chord.
- Difference between major and minor 7th chord.
- What is a Dominant 7th chord?
- 1. Major 7th chord – Four chord progressions
- 2. Minor 7th chord – Four chord progressions
- 3. Dominant 7th chord – Three chord progressions.
- Bonus lesson: Most common 7th chord shapes.
How to Play 7th Chords in a Chord Progression
You should start with a chord progression played with simple chords, for example, C, G, Am, and F. Then, change some of the chords from basic to 7th: Cmaj7, G, Am7, and Fmaj7.
Sounds easy right?
The problem with the 7th chords is that, because they have a very colorful sound, they don’t easily fit in all the chord progressions.
Soul, R&B, Pop, Folk, Jazz, and Blues are among the music genres the 7th chords fit the most. Bear that in mind when you think about adding 7th chords to your chord progressions.
What Makes a 7th Chord?
The 7th chords are basic chords played the additional major or minor 7th. They are also called “Extended chords.” There are three different 7th chords families.
- Maj7 – Major chord with the major 7th.
- Min7 – Minor chord with the minor 7th.
- Dominant 7 – Major chord with the minor 7th.
So how do you go from playing a basic chord to a 7th chord?
A basic chord, also called triad, is the most simple chord in music and consist of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th note of the scale. When you play a C major chord, you are playing the note C, E and G which are, you guess, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th.
To play a C major 7th chord (Cmaj7), you should add the note B to the basic C major chord. The notes of the chord will now be C, E, G, and B.
Major and Minor 7th Interval
An interval is a distance between two notes.
The distance between the note C and B is an interval of a 7th.
The 7th though can be either major or minor depending on how many frets there are between the root note and the 7th.
Let me explain.
There are eleven frets between the note C and B. This is called a “Major 7th” interval, which is used for the Maj7 chord.
So, how about the minor 7th?
The distance between the note C and Bb is ten frets. This is called a “Minor 7th” interval which is used for the Min7 and Dominant 7th chord.
What’s the Difference Between the Major 7th and Minor 7th Chord?
Now that you learned how to recognize the intervals for the major and minor 7th let’s learn how to play the chords.
The Major 7th chord is a major chord played with the major 7th. On the music charts, the chord is written like this “Cmaj7”, “Dmaj7”, etc.
Let’s take a look at the Gmaj7 chord.
We can break it down into a G major chord (G B D) played with the major 7th F#.
There are two Maj7 chords in the major scale. Precisely, on the I and IV degree.
Let’s take the C major as an example.
The C major and F major chord (I and IV degree) become Cmaj7 and Fmaj7.
The Minor 7th chord is a basic minor chord played with the minor 7th. It is written like this “Cm7”, “Dm7”, etc.
Let’s take the A minor chord as an example. To play the Am7 chord, you will play the basic A minor (A C E) with the 7th note G.
There are three min7 chords in the major scale: On the II, III and VI degree.
The D minor, E minor, and A minor become Dmin7, Emin7, and Amin7.
What’s a Dominant 7th Chord?
The Dominant 7th chord is a major chord played with the minor 7th. It is also called “the Blues chord” because of its bluesy sound.
Let’s take the E7 as an example. The E7 chord is a major chord (E G# B) played with the minor 7th D.
There is one Dominant 7th chord in the C major scale, precisely on the V degree and it’s simply written with a number 7 next to the chord.
Now that we have learned the three families of 7th chords let me show you how to incorporate them into your playing.
1. The Major 7th Chords
In this section, I am going to show four chord progressions played with the Maj7 chord.
We will learn:
- Chord progression #1 – Cmaj7 | Fmaj7 | Cmaj7 | G |
- Chord progression #2 – Gmaj7 | Em7 | D | Cadd9 |
- Chord progression #3 – Emaj7 | C#m9 | Amaj7 | Badd11 |
- Chord Progression #4 – Dmaj7 | Bm | Gmaj7 | Asus4 |
Chord progression #1 – Cmaj7 | Fmaj7 | Cmaj7 | G |
Let get started with this simple chord progression in C major.
We can play two major 7th chords in a row to create a dreamy, beautiful chord progression.
Chord progression #2 – Gmaj7 | Em7 | D | Cadd9 |
The Gmaj7 chord is one of my favorite chord on the guitar.
This chord shape can be quite stretchy so practice it slowly. I am also playing a beautiful Em7 chord and Cadd9 chord which add a lot of color and folk vibe.
Chord progression #3 – Emaj7 | C#m9 | Asus2(#11) | Badd11
The chord progression #3 is one of my favorite chord progression on guitar.
The Emaj7 chord sounds beautiful and dreamy while the C#m9 is more of a Jazzy chord played with minor 7th and major 9th.
Don’t bother too much about the Asus2(#11). It’s a big name for a simple chord.
Chord Progression #4 – Dmaj7 | Bm | Gmaj7 | Asus4
The last chord progression is in D major key, and it’s mainly played with maj7 chords.
You will also learn the Asus4 chord, which is an A major chord with the 1st, 4th, and 5th. This chord doesn’t have the 3rd so we can determine if it’s major or minor, hence “Suspended.”
2. The Minor 7th Chords
Let me show you four chord progressions played with the Min7 chord.
We will learn:
- Chord progression #1 – Am7 | Dm7 | G| Am7 |
- Chord progression #2 – Em7| Cadd9 | G | Dsus4 |
- Chord progression #3 – Bm7 | G | A | Bm7 |
- Chord progression #4 – F#m7 | Amaj7 | E | F#m7 |
Chord progression #1 – Am7 | Dm7 | G| Am7
Let’s start with a folk chord progression in A minor. The chords are pretty simple but watch out for the Dm7 which is played with a small bar chord on the top two strings.
Chord progression #2 – Em7| Cadd9 | G | Dsus4
Another great chord progression played with minor 7th chords.
This time we are in E minor, and we are playing one of the most popular chord progression on guitar.
Chord progression #3 – Bm7 | G | A | Bm7
A simple chord progression in B minor.
The G and A major chord are pretty simple to play, but the Bm7 will be played with a bar-chord so take it step-by-step.
Chord progression #4 – F#m7 | Amaj7 | E | F#m7
A less common chord progression in F#m played with minor and major 7th chords.
3. The Dominant 7th Chords
It’s time to explore the Dominant 7th chord and its bluesy sound.
We will learn:
- Chord progression #1 – C | C7 | F | G7 | C |
- Chord progression #2 – Am | Dm | E7 | Am |
- Chord progression #3 – Em | D | C | B7 |
Chord progression #1 – C | C7 | F | G7 | C
In this chord progression, we are transitioning from a C major chord to a C7 chord. This is a quite common chord progression in Blues and Jazz music.
Chord progression #2 – Am | Dm | E7 | Am
A beautiful chord progression in A minor.
In this example, the E7 resolve to the A minor chord beautifully in what classical musicians call “Perfect cadence.”
Chord progression #3 – Em | D | C | B7
Spanish chord progression played with triplets.
Bonus Lesson: Most Common 7th Chord Shapes
In this section, I am going to show you the most common 7th chord shapes on the guitar.
All the chords you will learn in this section are played without open strings, so it’s easy to transpose them in different positions of the neck. Make sure you memorize where the root note of the chord is so that you can move the chords according to the chord progressions you want to play.
The root note of the chord is indicated with a white dot.
We are going to have a look at:
- The 7th chords with the root note on the 6th string.
- The 7th chords with the root note on the 5th string.
- The 7th chords with the root note on the 4th string.
The 7th Chords With the Root Note on the 6th String
The 7th Chords With the Root Note on the 5th String
The 7th Chords With the Root Note on the 4th String
