Dominant 7th Guitar Chords

Seventh chords are formed by adding a seventh note to one of the basic triads. Seventh chords are used frequently in Jazz and Blues, as well as modern Rock.

Depending on which triad you use, and whether the seventh note is flattened or not, can alter the sound and feel of the seventh chord. Dominant 7th guitar chords are also referred to as “major minor 7th chords.

In the basic Blues progression, dominant seventh chords almost always follow IV and V sequence.

Dominant 7th Guitar chords are formed by playing a major triad with a diminished, or flattened seventh note. This is one fret below the lead note, or seventh note of the major scale, on which the triad is based. In most cases, it is possible to leave out one note in a four, or five note chord, while still retaining its identity and distinct sound.

In a major chord, the dominant, or fifth note can be left out, without losing too much of the sound. In the case of seventh chords, you have to retain the third note and the seventh, or else the important tones are left out, and the chord becomes a regular major chord, or diminished triad.

A major 7th chord is formed from the following notes in a scale: 1 3 5 7, and it is written as Cmaj7 or C7. The dominant 7th is the major 7th, but with a half diminished seventh note, thus the following notes are used: 1 3 5 b7, and it is written as C7. What makes this chord so unique, is that it uses a very strong triad, in the form of the major chord 1 3 5, followed by a minor seventh in relation to the root of scale.

The tone that makes the dominant seventh so important, is the tritone, which is a diminished fifth, or augmented fourth, formed between the third and seventh of the chord. The tone and the two notes “define” the scale that is being used. For example, in the key of A Major, the dominant seventh chord is  E7. The notes in E7 are E G# B D. The distance between the 3rd and the 7th of this chord, is a tritone, or diminished 5th. In no other major scale will you find both G# and D.

Dominant 7th guitar chords are often used for leading to the root, or I chord. For this reason, dominant sevenths are substituted for other chords in progressions, to lead back to the root. This why dominant sevenths feature so prominently in Blues shuffles.

To practice finding and forming dominant sevenths on the guitar fretboard, first picture where the major triads are located. Finding the seventh note is easy enough, then simply lower the seventh by one fret, and you have the necessary notes to form the dominant seventh chord boxes.

The voicing of the dominant seventh guitar chord should be easy for your fingers to fret properly. Once you have the individual notes figured out, don;t restrict yourself to forming the chords with the root as the lowest note. The fingering is just too impractical in most cases.

Try to barre as many notes as you can, and become comfortable with two easy voicings per seventh chord you learn. This allows you to make quick, clean transitions to the dominant seventh chords when you are playing.

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