The Min7 chord is a beautiful way to enhance the minor chord. It gives it some extra colour and depth. It sounds kind of contemplative and a bit more sophisticated than your standard minor chord. It’s a graceful chord.

The minor 7th chord is used widely in every style of music and today we’re going to learn how to play it in a different set of varieties and build it from the ground up.

We’re going to look at “open” Minor 7th chords (open strings involved), moveable Min7 chords (no open strings involved) with the root note starting at the Low E (6th string), A-string (5th string) and the D-string (4th string), and finally some more beautiful sounding min7 chords you might not have played before, but are an asset to your chord vocabulary.

MIN7 CHORD CONSTRUCTION – MUSIC THEORY

A minor chord consist of the root (1), flatted third (b3) and fifth (5) notes (1 b3 5) of the major scale. The minor 7th chord (min7) consists of the root (1), flatted third, fifth and flatted seventh notes (1 b3 5 b7) of the major scale. That means only the b7 is added to the minor chord.

For example, if you take the notes of the C major scale = C D E F G A B C
The C minor chord (Cm) consists of the notes: C Eb G (1 b3 5)
The C minor 7 chord (Cm7) consists of the notes: C eb G Bb (1 b3 5 b7)

Another example: A major scale = A B C# D E F# G# A
The Amin chord consists of the notes: A C E (1 b3 5)
The Amin7 chord consists of the notes: A C E G (1 b3 5 b7)

This way you can build or analyze any Min7 chord:

Note: In the chord diagrams above: the black dots above the nut are open strings, and the letters in the dots indicate the note names.

POPULAR MIN7 CHORD SONG EXAMPLES

A nice and clear example of a min7 chord song is “Long train running” by the Doobie brothers switching from Gm7 (root on the A-string) to Cm7 (root on the low E-string), Ain’t no sunshine by Bill Whithers uses the Am7, Dm7 and Em7 chord, but also the famous intro of Heart of gold by Neil Young starts off with an Em7 chord.

In just about every jazz song minor 7th chords are used. Listen to songs like All the things you are and Fly me to the moon that are enriched with min7 sounds.

“OPEN” MIN7 CHORDS

The chord diagrams below show the most common “open” Min7 chord shapes. “Open” means there are open strings played in the chord.
The numbers on the dots in the chord diagrams below indicate the finger positioning: 1 = index finger, 2 = middle finger, 3 = ring finger, 4 = pinky
The “x” on top means that string is muted. The “o” means you play an open string.

MOVEABLE MIN7 CHORD SHAPE (root note Low E-string)

The chord diagrams below shows a moveable Min7 chord shape. A moveable chord shape means you can move the entire chord shape up or down the neck to any key. The lowest note in the chord on the low E-string (6th string) is the root note and determines the name of the chord. 

You can see it’s the same Min7 chord shape each time, but it moves up the fretboard starting on the 1st fret, then to the 3rd fret, 5th fret, 7th fret and so on. (see the green fret numbers next to the diagram). Of course, you can also move up to F#m7 (2nd fret), G#m7 (4th fret), Bbm7 (6th fret) and so on.

If you take a look at the third diagram on the left, it has the root note on the Low E-string, 5th fret, which is an “A” note, so the name of the chord is Amin7. The root determines the name of the chord.

MOVEABLE MIN7 CHORD SHAPE (root note A-string)

The chord diagrams below are moveable Min7 chord shapes with the root note on the A-string (5th string). This is the lowest note in the chord and determines the name of the chord. Move the chord shape up or down the neck to any key.

MOVEABLE MIN7 CHORD SHAPE (root note D-string)

The chord diagrams below are moveable Min7 chord shapes with the root note on the D-string (4th string). Again, the lowest note in the chord (the root note) determines the name of the chord.

OTHER GRACEFUL MIN7 CHORD SHAPES

In the chord diagrams below you can see even more beautiful and ‘moveable’ minor7 chord shapes. You can move each chord shape up and down the neck and play them in any key you like. Listen to their unique sounds. Some of them have nice fingerings which often have my preference and are likely to stick with me.

PRACTICAL ASSIGNMENTS:

• Practice and memorize the open Min7 chords.
• Practice and memorize the Min7 moveable chord with the root on the 6th string in different keys.
• Practice and memorize the Min7 moveable chord with the root on the 5th string in different keys.
• Practice and memorize the Min7 closed chord with the root on the 4th string in different keys.
• Practice an Fmin7 with the root on the 6th, 5th and 4th string.
• Practice a Amin7 with the root on the 6th, 5th and 4th string.
• Practice every single chord name with the root on the 6th, 5th and 4th string using the cycle of fourths to go through all 12 keys.
• Listen to the popular minor 7th chord songs and try to recognize their minor 7th sounds.
• Incorporate your favorite min7 chords into your song practice so they become a part of your playing style.

If you have any questions or anything else, please leave them in the comments below. I appreciate it.

Stay safe!

I hope you are doing okay with everything that is going on now. These are crazy times, but we have to make the best of it. We have to help each other out while keeping a safe distance, be considerate of others, smile to people to relieve a bit of their burden, but with all that don’t forget yourself along the way. Being kind to yourself too. Have a bit of fun. Try to enjoy the present moment.

For those of you who stay at home, you might have some more time on your hands now to enjoy the guitar, develop a nice practice routine, and make some good progress. Well, here’s a great guitar workout for you…

Practicing melodic intervals really developed my skills to solo and improvise over major chord progressions. Just by going through the scale intervals on a regular basis you are training the muscle memory for your fingers and acquiring the vocabulary for your creative mind to help you shape your musical brain and come up with melodic ideas. It’s an exercise that is not to be underestimated.

In this lesson we are going to learn “melodic intervals in 3rds” following the major scale. We’ll practice these 3rd intervals over 5 different scale shapes/positions across the neck, so we’ve got a great workout for you! Don’t worry we’ll take it step by step.

Make sure you know the major scale in 5 shapes/positions before you start this lesson, but on the other hand you can also skip that for now if you just became excited to dive into this lesson. You can always come back to that later. I can imagine you want to try at least the first exercise to know what we’re talking about here. I totally understand.

Another upside is that the exercises will train your ear to recognize 3rd intervals. This will improve your aural skills, which is a important part of becoming an accomplished musician (Try to sing along the notes as you play the exercises). The practice of playing the intervals will also increase your dexterity. A win-win situation in many ways.

Music Theory 3rd Intervals

If you don’t like music theory you can skip this part, but you might pick up a thing or two that will eventually make you an awesome guitar player. I’ll keep it short this time.

An interval is the difference in pitch between two sounds. There are harmonic intervals and melodic intervals. Harmonic intervals are played simultaneously (two notes played together at the same time) and melodic intervals are played in sequence, one after the other. In this lesson we play melodic intervals.

For example we use the G major scale in 5 different shapes/positions. The G major scale consists of the notes : G A B C D E F# G. If you play a scale in thirds it means each note in the scale is followed by the third note in that scale. The first note G follows up by the third note B, then you play the second note of the scale A which follows up by a C and so on. So you get the notes: G-B, A-C, B-D, C-E, D-F#, E-G, G-B. These are a combination of major thirds and minor thirds, but before I get totally sidetracked I’ll go into that in another lesson. Promise! Now let’s focus on the practice.

How to Practice the Major Scale in 3rds

We all have different skill levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced) so I suggest you start with practicing the first shape / position 1. Practice it slowly. Make sure all the notes sound clean and clear. Memorize each exercise thoroughly and learn the scale ascending and descending.

Move on to the next shape when you can play the first shape comfortably and confidently off the top of your head. If you’re a beginner just learn the first shape/position 1. If you’re an intermediate or advanced guitar player you can learn all shapes, but take your time with it. Let it sink in. Become one with it. Enough said…

Enjoy the ride!

Major scale 3rd intervals – Shape / Position 1

Major scale 3rd intervals – Shape / Position 2

Major scale 3rd intervals – Shape / Position 3

Major scale 3rd intervals – Shape/Position 4

Major scale 3rd intervals – Shape / Position 5

Today we’re going to learn how to play Maj7 chords and how to build them from scratch.

The Major 7th chord is a mesmerising chord which is commonly found in jazz music, but also in pop music and world music it is regularly used to express a beautiful hypnotizing or dream-like sound.

We’re going to look at open Major 7th chords (open strings involved), moveable Maj7 chords (containing no open strings) with the root note located on different strings, starting at the Low E (6th string), A-string (5th string) and the D-string (4th string), and Maj7 bar / barre chords.

First things first, let’s take a look how to build a major 7 chord.

CHORD CONSTRUCTION / ANALYSIS

Major chords consist of the root, 3rd and 5th notes of the major scale (1 3 5). The major 7th chord (Maj7) consists of the root (1), 3rd, 5th and 7th notes of the major scale (1 3 5 7). That means the 7th note of the major scale is added to the major chord.

For example, if you take the notes of the C major scale = C D E F G A B C
The Cmaj7 chord consists of the notes: C E G B (1 3 5 7)

If you take the D major scale = D E F# G A B C# D
The Dmaj7 chord consists of the notes: D F# A C# (1 3 5 7)

This way you can build or analyze any Maj7 chord:

Note: In the chord diagrams above: the black dots above the nut are open strings, and the letters in the dots indicate the note names.

Here are some popular songs that use the major 7 chord:
Old friends by Paul Simon starting with Fmaj7 and Cmaj7, capo on 4th fret.
Something by The Beatles: Amaj7 chord (second chord of the verse)
Maybe tomorrow by Stereophonics: Ebmaj7 chord (first chord of the song) Under the bridge by the Red hot chili peppers: Emaj7 chord (at the end of each verse).

OPEN MAJOR 7TH CHORDS

The chord diagrams below show the most common “open” Maj7 chords shapes. “Open” means there are open strings played in the chord.
The numbers on the dots in the chord diagrams below indicate the finger positioning: 1 = index finger, 2 = middle finger, 3 = ring finger, 4 = pinky
The “x” on top means that string is muted. The “o” means you play an open string.

MOVEABLE MAJ7 CHORD SHAPE (ROOT NOTE LOW-E / 6TH STR.)

The chord diagrams below show a moveable Maj7 chord shape. A moveable chord shape means you can move the entire chord shape up or down the neck to any key. The lowest note in the chord on the low E-string (6th string) is the root note and determines the name of the chord.

You can see it’s the same Maj7 chord each time, but it moves up the fretboard starting on the 1st fret, then the 3rd fret, 5th fret, 7th fret and so on. (see the green numbers next to the diagram). Of course, you can also move up to F#maj7 (2nd fret), G#maj7 (4th fret), Bbmaj7 (6th fret) and so on.

If you take a look at the third diagram on the left, it has the root note on the Low E-string, 5th fret, which is an “A” note, so the name of the chord is Amaj7. The root determines the name of the chord.

Notes: Make sure you mute the A-string and high e-string. Press the root note with your first finger while gently placing (without pressing) that entire finger across the strings to mute the A-string and high e-string.

MOVEABLE MAJ7 CHORD SHAPE (ROOT NOTE ON A-STRING)

The chord diagrams below are moveable Maj7 chord shapes with the root note on the A-string (5th string). This is the lowest note in the chord and determines the name of the chord.

MOVEABLE MAJ7 CHORD SHAPE (ROOT NOTE ON D-STRING)

The chord diagrams below are moveable Maj7 chord shapes with the root note on the D-string (4th string). Again, the lowest note in the chord (the root note) determines the name of the chord.

Other Beautiful Maj7 chord shape variations

In the chord diagrams below you can see even more beautiful ‘moveable’ major7 chord shapes. You can move each chord shape up and down the neck and play them in any key you like. The two Maj7 chords on the right are Maj7 bar chords. Try all of them and hear for yourself which one you like best.

Assignments:

• Practice the open Maj7 chords and memorize them well.
• Practice and memorize the Maj7 moveable chord with the root on the 6th string in different keys.
• Practice and memorize the Maj7 moveabel chord with the root on the 5th string in different keys.
• Practice and memorize the Maj7 closed chord with the root on the 4th string in different keys.
• Practice an Fmaj7 with the root on the 6th, 5th and 4th string.
• Practice a Gmaj7 with the root on the 6th, 5th and 4th string.
• Practice every single chord name with the root on the 6th, 5th and 4th string using the cycle of fourths to go through all 12 keys.
• Incorporate the maj7 chords in your regular practice routine and use them in songs so they become second nature.
• Practice and memorize the other beautiful maj7 chord shapes and incorporate these into your playing as well.

Have a fabulous weekend!

If you have any questions or remarks, leave them in the comments. I’d appreciate it.

So why do you want to learn jazz chords? Well, jazz chords will spice up and enrich your playing. It doesn’t even matter if you want to play jazz or not, the chords are perfectly suited for/and regularly used in pop, blues, country, flamenco, and other styles of music.

It’s a good collection of chord types and flavors to add to your chord vocabulary, and expand your skill set. You will come across these chords one way or another in the songs you always wanted to learn. So, if you don’t have these chords under your belt yet, now is the time.

If you do want to step up your playing and learn jazz, these chords are a great start and a solid foundation. There are an endless amount of chords used in jazz, but you can already come a long way with just these 15 easy and popular beginner jazz chords.

Chord Types

In the chord diagrams below we got five rows of chord types:
Maj7 – min7 – dom7 – min7b5 and diminished 7th.
Every row contains three chord shapes with each chord starting the root note (red notes in the chord diagrams below) on a different string. The root note is usually the lowest sounding note in a chord, and determines the key and name of the chord.

The first chord shape starts with the root on the Low E string. The second chord shape starts with the root on the A-string, and the third chord shape starts with the root on the D-string.

Moveable Chord Shapes

All the chord shapes are a moveable chord shapes that can be played in every key just by moving the chord up or down the fretboard. As I already mentioned, the root note determines the name of the chord. For example: The root note of the Gmaj7 chord is a G note. If you move the entire chord (shape) up a half step (1 fret) on the neck the root note is G#, which means the chord name is G#maj7. This goes for all the chords. If you move the Cmaj7 chord down a half step the root note becomes “B”, which means the chord name is Bmaj7, and so on.

The numbers on the dots indicate the fingering for each chord. 1 = first finger, 2 = second finger, 3 = third finger, 4 = fourth finger (pinky), and the red note indicates the root note. An X means that string is muted usually with the help of one of the fingers you are using to press the notes.

Now let’s take a look at the chords:

Maj7 Chords
A major 7th chord is a 4-note chord (often played with duplicate notes because of the six strings of the guitar). The chord sounds kind of dreamy and jazzy. The major 7th chord (Maj7) consists of the root (1), 3rd, 5th and 7th notes of the major scale 1-3-5-7. So a major the 7th note of the major scale is added to the major chord. For further explanation on chord structure see How to use Chord formulas.

Min7 Chords
The min7 chord is also a 4-note chord and has a melancholy sound to it. The minor 7th chord (m7) consists of the root, minor 3rd, 5th and flatted (b) 7th notes of the major scale (1 b3 5 b7).

Dom7 Chords
The dominant 7th chord is a typical blues chord, but also regularly used in jazz. The dom7 consists of the root, 3rd, 5th and flatted (b) 7th notes of the major scale (1 3 5 b7).

Minor 7b5 Chords
The minor 7b5 chord (m7b5), also called “half diminished” consists of the root, minor 3rd, flatted (b) 5th and flatted (b) 7th notes of the major scale (1 b3 b5 b7)

Diminished 7th
The diminished 7 chord (dim7) has a dissonant sound. It consists of the root, minor 3rd, flatted (b) 5th and double flatted (bb) 7th notes of the major scale (1 b3 b5 bb7). Which makes the double flatted 7th enharmonically the same as a major sixth. (bb7 = 6)

Assignments:

• Practice and memorize all the chords
• Learn all the notes on the E A and D string to identify the keys and names for each chord as you move them up and down the neck.
• Practice the chord shapes in different keys, each time speak out loud the root note and the name of the chord.
• Apply the chords to some of the following jazz songs and progressions:
• Top 20 Easy Popular Jazz Guitar Chord Songs
• 5 Beautiful Ways to Play a II-V-I Jazz Chord Progression

Have a great jazz practice!

Diminished chords are considered “dissonant” because of their tonal instability. They create a sense of tension and drama, and have a strong drive toward tonal resolution, meaning that, they want to move to a more final and stable sound (consonance). This is why they are often used in music, they can make a song more captivating, stirring, and charismatic.

The Dim Chords
There are different types of diminished chords: There is the diminished (dim) chord, the half diminished chord (m7♭5) and the diminished 7th chord (dim7). The diminished chord itself is not used very often, the half diminished and diminished 7th chord are more commonly used.

Dim Chord Analysis
Compared to a minor chord (1 – ♭3 – 5), the diminished chord has a flat 5th (♭5), the half diminished chord adds a flatted 7th (♭7) on top of that, and the diminished 7th chord adds a double flatted 7th (♭♭7).

Here are the chord formulas:
Major chord = 1 – 3 – 5
Minor chord = 1 – ♭3 – 5
Diminished chord = 1 -♭3 -♭5
Half diminished chord = 1 -♭3 -♭5 -♭7
Diminished 7th chord = 1 -♭3 -♭5 -♭♭7

Let’s take C as the root for example:
C major = C – E – G
C minor = C – E♭ – G
C dim = C – E♭ – G♭
Cm7♭5 (half dim) = C – E♭ – G♭ – B♭
C dim7 = C – E♭ – G♭ – B♭♭ (or simply “A”)

How to Play Diminished 7th Chords
The diminished 7th chord is made up of minor third intervals. That means all the notes are three semitones (3 frets) away from each other. This specific feature of the chord makes it possible to move the chord 3 frets up the fretboard each time and the chord will remain the same.

We start with a dim7 chord shape played on highest four strings. As you can see below from left to right, we move the diminished chord shape 3 frets up each time. Start the chord shape on the 1st fret, then move up to the 4th fret, the 7th fret and finally the 10th fret. Of course, you can move it up as far as you like.

You can see below that the 4 notes E♭, A, C and G♭ are present in all four chord shapes, only each time they are positioned on different strings. Any of the four notes in the chord can be the root note. So you can name all 4 diminished chord shapes to each of the four notes: Cdim7, E♭dim7, Adim7, and G♭dim7.

The next dim7 chord shape below is played on the middle 4 strings. Again, move the diminished chord shape 3 frets up each time, starting on the 2nd fret, the 5th fret, 8th fret and then on the 11th fret.

The last diminished 7th chord is starting on the low E-string. Bar the D and B string with your first finger.

How to Use Diminished 7th Chords in a Chord progression

It’s great to know how to play diminished 7th chords, but it’s even greater if you know how to apply it to a chord progression. Let’s take a closer look:

The major scale whole-half step formula =
Whole – Whole – Half – Whole – Whole – Whole – Half (2 – 2 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 1 in frets)

You can insert a diminished 7th chord between every of these whole steps.

Example:
C major scale = C – Dm – Em – F – G – Am – Bdim – C
Now insert a Dim7 Chord between every whole step:
C- C#dim7 – Dm – D#dim7 – Em-F – F#dim7 – G – G#dim7 – Am – A#dim7 – Bdim – C

Here are some chord progressions examples using the chord sequence above:

Chord progression 1: / C / C#dim7 / Dm / G /
Chord progression 2: / C / Em / D#dim7 / Dm G /
Chord progression 3: / C / G / G#dim7 / Am F /
Chord progression 4: / C / Em / F / F#dim7 / C Am / F G /

Of course you can apply this to every key. For example:
G major scale = G – Am – Bm – C – D – Em – F#dim – G
Insert a Dim7 Chord between every whole step:
G- G#dim7 – Am – A#dim7 – Bm-C – C#dim7 – D – D#dim7 – Em – Fdim7 – F#dim – G

Assignments:
– Practice and memorize all three dim7 chord shapes thoroughly.
– Practice playing each chord shape 3 frets up each time.
– Create your own chord progressions using the examples above.
– Use different dim7 chord shapes throughout your chord progressions.
– Incorporate the dim7 chords in your playing and daily practice.

Have fun!

Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice ~ Anton Chekhov

Usually you start out learning easy guitar songs, and then you move onto blues, rock or country and when you’re ready to be challenged and expand your horizon even more you might want to consider to focus on jazz.

Learning jazz really opens up a whole new world of possibilities and makes guitar playing even more interesting and exciting. Even if you’re not into jazz and it’s not really your style, learning from jazz will benefit any style of playing.

To begin with jazz it’s nice to learn playing some jazz chord songs. Jazz progressions are really fun to play and will broaden your chord vocabulary and musical knowledge.

You can get your hands dirty with this list of popular jazz songs performed by many great jazz players and artists. You can click the song title and start listening to the song. The “Chords” link will give you the basic jazz chords to the song.

Next to the song title I mentioned the artist who performed the song, and not the songwriter. If you’re interested in who composed the music you can google “song title” + wiki.

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Pick one song to begin with, listen to the song a couple of times, learn the chords, the progressions, listen to it again, take it easy one step at a time, have patience and practice it daily. Keep it at and you will get it under your belt. You’ll be rewarded.

Enjoy!

1 – Autumn leaves – Nat King Cole – Chords – More Chords

2 – All of me – Frank Sinatra – Chords – More Chords

3 – The girl from Ipanema – Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim – Chords – More Chords

4 – Summertime – Billy Holiday – Chords – More Chords

5 – Take the A train – Duke Ellington – Chords

6 – All the things you are – Ella Fitzgerald – Chords – More Chords

7 – There will never be another you – Nat King Cole Chords

8 – I get a kick out of you – Frank Sinatra – Chords – More Chords

9 – Have you met miss Jones – Ella Fitzgerald – Chords – More Chords

10 – Fly me to the moon – Frank Sinatra – Chords – More Chords

11 – Body and soul – Billy Holiday – Chords – More Chords

12 – On Green Dolphin Street – Ella Fitzgerald & Joe Pass – Chords

13 – Georgia on my mind – Dean Martin – Chords – More Chords

14 – Night and day – Frank Sinatra – Chords – More Chords

15 – Sweet Georgia Brown – Louis Armstrong – Chords

16 – They can’t take that away from me – Frank Sinatra – Chords – More Chords

17 – Black Coffee – Peggy Lee – Chords

18 – Bye bye Blackbird – Dean Martin – Chords – More Chords

19 – Satin dol – Ella Fitzgerald – Chords – More Chords

20 – Stella by starlight – Ella Fitzgerald Chords – More Chords

The dominant 7th chord is a chord that you will find in a lot of popular songs and many styles of music. In fact it’s the most essential chord type in blues music and one of the defining characteristics that defines the blues sound. But even if you’re not into blues, you want to make this chord part of your guitar vocabulary.

The dom7 chord comes in various shapes and sizes. We start with the “open” dom7 chords which are great for beginners and work our way up to more intermediate level dom7 chords: “The moveable chords”.

We’ll first take you through some basic dominant 7th music theory, we’ll show you the different types of dom7 chords and shapes, and then apply the chords to the song.

Let’s dive in!

Chord Analysis

The Dom7 chord is simply a major triad with a flatted seventh (b7).
The major triad consists of the root (1), the major third (3) and the perfect fifth (5).
So the Dom7 chord formula = 1 3 5 b7

Let’s take a Cdom7 (also called “C7”) chord as an example.
We look at the C major scale: C D E F G A B C and we take the root (1st), 3rd, 5th and b7th note of that scale and you get the notes: C-E-G-Bb. So a Cdom7 (C7) chord consists of the notes: C E G Bb

Let’s take another example: Adom7 (also called “A7”)
A major scale = A B C# D E F# G# A
Dom7 chord formula = 1 3 5 b7
Adom7 (A7) chord = A C# E G

Open Dom7 chords

Open chords are chords that use open strings and are often the easy chords. Here are the most important open Dom7 chords:

Moveable chords

The F chord (see below) is a closed chord shape (it has no open strings) which makes it a moveable chord. Open strings are barred, muted or simply not played.

A moveable chord can be moved up and down the neck and can therefor be played in all keys. The red note indicates the root note. The name of the root note also determines the name of the chord. In this case the root note is an F note so the chord is F major. Wherever you play this chord shape on the neck just find the root note and you have the name of the chord.

Example: If you move any of these closed (F7) chord shapes up a whole step (2 frets) you get G7. Move any of the chord shapes up 2 whole steps (4 frets) you get A7.

Chord Application

In a chord progression the Dom7 chord is traditionally used for the V chord leading to the I chord. So you get V7 – I or V7 – i. (e.g. G7 – C or G7 – Cm) or (e.g. E7 – A or E7 – Am)

Having said that, the dom7 can be applied everywhere depending on the song and creativity of the artist.

The dominant 7th chord is also the key player in blues music and played throughout the 12 bar blues progression.

Here’s a 12 bar blues in the key of A:

/ A7 / A7 / A7 / A7 / D7 / D7 / A7 / A7 / E7 / D7 / A7 / E7 /

Songs with Dom7 chords:

The verse of the song Can’t buy me love by The Beatles consists of solely dom7 chords. Check it out:
Chorus:
/ Em / Am / Em / Am/ F6 / G6 /
Can’t buy me love…..
Verse:
/ C7 / C7 / C7 / C7/
I’ll buy you a diamond ring my friend…
/F7 / F7 / C7 / C7 /
I’ll get you anything my friend…
/G7 / F7 / F7 / C7/
Cause I don’t care too much for money…

Sitting waiting wishing by Jack Johnson is also a beautiful example packed with dom7 chords.
Verse:
/ Am / Am7 / G / G7 / F / F7 / C / C7 /
Well I was sitting, waiting, wishing, You believed in superstitions, Then maybe…
/ Am / Am7 / G / G7 / F / F7 / C / C7 /
The Lord knows that this world is cruel, I ain’t the Lord, no I’m just a fool…

Practice the guitar chords and practice the songs.
Have a good one!

The 6th chord has a really nice flavor of it’s own. It’s probably not one of the first obvious chords you will learn when you start out, but the 6th chord is used in many popular songs and is a favorite in jazz music.

The chord is often used in intros or as a final chord at the end of a song, but also to add a breath of fresh air throughout a chord progression.

Today we will learn the most common types of 6th chord shapes:
– Open major 6th chords
– Minor 6th chords
– Moveable (closed) 6th chords

Let’s spice up your chord vocabulary and play a bit out of the box.

Enjoy the flavors!

OPEN MAJOR 6TH CHORDS

There is often confusion over the chord symbols 6 and Maj6, but these are interchangeable. So “C6” is the same as “Cmaj6”.

A Major chord consist of the root, 3rd and 5th notes of the major scale (1 3 5). The major 6th chord (Maj6) consists of the root, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of the major scale (1 3 5 6). So the 6th note of the major scale is added to the major chord.

Major chord formula = 1 3 5
Maj6 chord formula = 1 3 5 6
C chord = C E G
CMaj6 chord = C E G A

A popular song that uses a Maj6 chord at the end of a song (G6 chord to be precise) is “She loves you” by The Beatles. And “Fool on the Hill” also by the Beatles begins with a D6 chord. In fact, The Beatles repertoire is loaded with 6th chords.

MINOR 6TH CHORDS

The minor 6th chord (m6) consists of the root, minor 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of the major scale.

Minor chord formula = 1 b3 5
Minor6 chord formula = 1 b3 5 6
C chord = C Eb G
Cm6 chord = C Eb G A

MOVEABLE 6TH CHORDS

A moveable chord can be moved all across the neck. A moveable (closed) chord means there are no open strings in the chord. So now with one chord shape you can play the Maj6 chord in any key.

For example if you take the C6 chord (see image below, first chord from the left). The note on the low E-string is your root note. In this example it’s located on the low E-string, 8th fret, which is a C note. If you move this entire chord up a half step (1 fret) it becomes a C#6 chord. Your root note has now moved up to the 9th fret low E-string which is a C# note. (So if your root note is a C# note that means your chord is C#Maj6.

Move the entire chord up another half step your root note becomes an D note so your chord becomes Dmaj6.

The same principle applies to all moveable (closed) chords. The root note determines the name of the chord.

If you take the C6 chord, second chord from the left, here the root note is located on the A-string, 3rd fret. On the Cm6 chord, second chord from the right, the root note is located on the low E-string, 8th fret. And the root note on the Cm6 chord, first from the right, is located on the A-string, 3rd fret.

If we move the Cm6 chord (second from the right) down the neck one fret at a time you get: Cm6, Bm6, Bbm6, Am6, Abm6, Gm6 and so on.

ASSIGNMENTS:

– Practice all the 6th chords in this post.
– Listen carefully to the sounds of the 6th chords. Create a feeling or picture that you associate with the sound of the 6th chords and try to memorize it.
– Play songs with 6th chords and see how they are applied.
– Locate the root of the moveable chord shapes and practice them in different keys.

Guest post by Matt Warnock (jazz guitarist and educator)

Learning how to play jazz guitar chords can seem like a tough hill to climb. There always seems to be new chords that you need to learn, and each of these chords has myriad variations and fingerings to work out on the guitar. But, while there are a lot of options when learning jazz guitar chords, you don’t have to learn every shape before you can begin making music.

By starting with a few easy jazz chord shapes, one popular jazz rhythm, and five classic jazz progressions, you’ll build your confidence with jazz chords in no time. This lesson will help you do just that, build your confidence, have fun learning jazz chords, and expand your jazz chord knowledge all at the same time.

Easy Jazz Chord Shapes

To begin your study of these easy jazz chord exercises, you’ll need to get a few chord shapes under your fingers. Each of these chords uses three notes, only the most essential notes, to make them easy to finger on the guitar.

Take a few minutes to become familiar with these chords, and then move on to the next section where you’ll add rhythm and harmonic movement to these shapes. If you aren’t 100% comfortable with any of these shapes, not to worry, as you’ll be working them throughout this lesson, so you’ll become more comfortable with each shape over time.

When playing the chords in this lesson, you only need to play the strings indicated in the grids. So, if a string has a dot you pluck it with your picking hand. If a string doesn’t have a dot, you don’t pluck that string.

Maj7 Chords

7 Chords

m7 Chords

m7b5 Chords

Freddie Green Rhythm

Before you take these new chord shapes to popular jazz progressions, you can learn about a classic and easy jazz rhythm on the guitar. Freddie Green was a legendary jazz guitarist who played with the Count Basie Band.

During his time with the band, he made a name for himself by using a steady four quarter-note per bar approach to jazz guitar comping. This steady rhythm gave him a strong swing feel, and a personalized approach to playing jazz standards on guitar.
Since he began using this rhythm, it’s not only being called “Freddie Green Comping,” it’s also been used by every jazz guitarist who followed in Freddie’s footsteps.

Here’s an example of this rhythm over a C7 chord to get you started. You’ll be using this rhythm for every example in the chord progressions below, so if it’s still a bit new, not to worry, you’ll have lots of practice with it in this lesson.

Major ii V I IV

In this first jazz chord exercise, you’ll be studying one of the most popular, if not the most popular, progression in jazz, the ii V I IV chord progression. Used in countless jazz standards, this progression is essential learning for any jazz guitarist when studying chords in the practice room.

To get you started with this progression, here’s an example that begins with the iim7 chord on the 6th string and moves to each closest chord shape from there. As well, you’ll be using the easy jazz chord shapes from the previous section, and the Freddie Green rhythm you learned earlier in this lesson.

In this second example, you’ll start with the iim7 chord on the 5th string and move to each closest chord from that starting point.

After you can play each position on its own with confidence, you can begin moving between these positions in your studies.
As well, if you feel ready, you can transpose these chords to other keys as you move them around the fretboard in your woodshedding.

Major I VI ii V Turnaround

In this next chord progression, you’ll be learning a slight variation of the previous changes as you learn a popular jazz turnaround progression. Turnarounds are used in jazz to “turnaround” the chords back to the top of a section, or the entire tune.

They do this by starting on the Imaj7 chord, then moving through a series of chords until you “turnaround” to the Imaj7 again in your comping. In this case, the chords used to turn the changes back around are Imaj7, VI7b9, iim7, and V7.
Here’s an example of these chords with the Imaj7 chord on the 6th string, and all subsequent chords moving with as little space as possible from that first chord.

After you’ve learned the first example, you’ll move on to the second progression, where you’ll start with the Imaj7 on the 5th string and move to each closest chord from there.

With both turnaround progressions under your fingers, you can work on mixing them together in your jazz chord practicing.
As well, you can practice these chords in other keys as you work on moving them around the fretboard in your practice routine.

Minor ii V I

Moving into minor key changes, you’ll know learn how to play a minor ii V I chord progression in your studies.
When playing a minor ii V I, the chords are iim7b5, V7alt, and Im7. So, the roots move in the same way as a major ii V I, but the chord qualities are different in the minor key progression.

Here, you’ll be learning two different ways to comp through minor ii V I chords on the guitar. The first example begins with the iim7b5 chord on the 6th string and moves to the closest V7alt and Im7 chord from that starting point.

In this second example, the iim7b5 chord is played on the 5th string, moving to the closest V7alt and Im7 chords from that beginning chord change.

After you can play each of these examples from memory, work on mixing them together in your studies. This’ll mean moving between the first and second position on the fretboard as you comp over minor ii V I chord changes. Lastly, if you feel ready, you can practice either or both of these examples in other keys as you take these shapes around the fretboard in the practice room.

Take the A Train Progression

Famously recorded by Duke Ellington, this Billy Strayhorn tune is a jazz classic. Apart from being a fun tune to play, “Take the A Train” features an important jazz chord progression that you can study in the woodshed. The first eight bars of this jazz standard is built in the key of C, but also contains a II7 chord (D7 in the key below) to spice things up a bit.

To help you practice this important chord progression, here’s a chord study using the easy jazz chords you learned earlier and the Freddie Green rhythm. Feel free to learn this study in four-bar chunks before piecing it all together.

And, as always, use a metronome or backing track at a slow tempo when first learning this study. From there, you can speed up the tempo as you push yourself further with this progression in the woodshed.

Jazz Blues Progression

The final chord progression that you’ll practice in this lesson is the jazz blues progression. Knowing how to comp with confidence over jazz blues changes is essential for any guitarist exploring jazz in the practice room. Whether you’re doing gigs, hitting up the local jazz jam session, or just playing at home, the jazz blues form is a great way to express yourself as a jazz guitarist.

Here’s an example of how to comp over a Bb jazz blues using the easy jazz chord shapes from the start of this lesson, and the Freddie Green rhythm. Go slow with this exercise, and feel free to learn it in four-bar phrases, before piecing those phrases together to form the progression as a whole.

After you can play the example as written, move on to comping over a jazz blues progression but use your own chord shapes. This’ll help you increase your comping skills, and dig deeper into this important jazz chord progression at the same time.

Do you have a question about these easy jazz chord exercises? Post it in the comments section below.

About the Author

Matt Warnock is a Canadian jazz guitarist and educator. During his career, Matt has performed and taught throughout the world. He’s also the author of 10 jazz guitar eBooks, including the free Beginner’s Guide to Jazz Guitar. Matt believes that, with the right guidance and motivation, anybody can play jazz guitar.

When I first learned the theory behind extended chords, it opened up a whole new world for me. All these mysterious chord names made finally sense.

I would use the chords for my own material, incorporate them into some of my favorite guitar songs and started learning some wicked jazz tunes.

Once you play around, experiment and incorporate these chords into your playing it will make guitar playing really fun and colorful.

If you’re new to chord construction then first check out How to Use Chord Formulas and Their Benefits and How to Play The Most Common Types of 7th Chords. These posts will give you the basic chord theory you need.

Let’s dive in…

Triads and 7th Chords

Extended chords are the 9th, 11th and 13th chords.

To understand the chord structure of extended chords we must first know the major and minor triad and three types of seventh chords. We use the “C” chord as an example to show the chord names.

The major chord consists of the root, third and fifth note of the major scale (1-3-5) = C
The minor chord consists of the root, flatted third and the fifth (1-b3-5) = Cm
The dominant 7th chord consists of the root, third, fifth and flatted seventh (1-3-5-b7) = C7
The minor 7th chord consists of the root, flat third, fifth and flat seventh (1-b3-5-b7) = Cm7
The major 7th chord consists of the root, third, fifth and seventh (1-3-5-7) = Cmaj7

As you can see chords are based on third intervals (1-3-5-7). To create the extended chord, we need to stack up another third interval.

9th Chords

For these three types of 7th chords there are also three types of 9th chords:
The dominant 9th, minor 9th and major 9th.

The dominant 9th chord consists of root, third, fifth, flatted seventh and ninth (1-3-5-b7-9) = C9
The minor 9th chord consists of root, flat third, fifth, flat seventh and ninth (1-b3-5-b7-9) = Cm9
The major 9th chord consists of the root, third, fifth, seventh and ninth (1-3-5-7-9) = Cmaj9

Notes: Extended chords have many notes. The thing is you have to deal with only six strings and practical chord fingerings so here and there you are allowed to omit some of the notes. In this case you can leave out the 5th because it’s the least important note. It doesn’t effect the overal sound of the extended chord.

Extended chords are extensions of the 7th chord, therefor the (b)7th is always present in the extended chord. Also the 9th seems here pretty important since it’s a 9th chord.

11th Chords

The three types of 11th chords are: dominant 11th, minor 11th and major 11th.

The dominant 11th chord: 1 – 3 – 5 – b7 – 9 – 11 = C11
The minor 11th chord: 1 – b3 – 5 – b7 – 9 – 11 = Cm11
The major 11th chord: 1 – 3 – 5 – 7 – 9 – 11 = Cmaj11

Note: The major 3rd and the 4th (4th is the same as 11th) clash and create dissonance (which doesn’t sound very pretty), therefor the third is often omitted in the C11 and Cmaj11 chord. Originally this would change the name of the chords. C11 becomes C9sus4. Cmaj11 becomes Cmaj9sus4. Still the chords are often notated as an 11th chord.

Also the 5th can be omitted. Leave in the (b)7th and the 11th.

13th Chords

The three types of 13th chords are: dominant 13th, minor 13th and major 13th.

The dominant 13th chord: 1 – 3 – 5 – b7 – 9 – 11 – 13 = C13
The minor 13th chord: 1 – b3 – 5 – b7 – 9 – 11 – 13 = Cm13
The major 13th chord: 1 – 3 – 5 – 7 – 9 – 11 – 13 = Cmaj13

Note: The 5th, the 9th and 11th can be omitted. Leave in the (b)7th and 13th.

An extended chord doesn’t change the quality of the chord it only adds more flavor to the overal sound.

Tip: All the extended chords shown above are closed chords and can be played in every key. The 1 is the root of the chord and determines the name of the chord. In the examples above the root note is “C”. Move any of the chords up a half step and “C” becomes “C#”, move up another half step and it becomes “D” and so on.

Assignments:

1 – Learn the extended chords in different keys.

2 – Experiment and substitute a dominant 9th chord for a dom7th chord when you play a song.

3 – Substitute a major 13th chord for a major 7th chord.

4 – Experiment using extended chords in songs.

5 – Memorize the extended chords in this post.

Have a great one!