Guitar Chords - 7ths in C Major

This lesson shows you the7th guitar chords in C Major. We looked at the triads in c here.

Just as there are 7 triads (3 tone chords built every other note - EON - from the Major scale - R-3-5), there are seven 7th chords (4 tone chords built every other note - EON - from the Major scale - R-3-5-7).

7th chords are the triad with a 7th tone added.

Where in the triadic chord family there were 3 qualities (Major, minor, and diminished), in the 7th chord family there are 4 (Major 7, minor 7, Dominant 7, and half diminished 7).

Half diminished 7 can also be called min7b5 (minor 7, flat 5). This name is 'paralleling' the half diminished 7 chord to the minor 7 (the only difference is a flat 5).

Practice fretting all of the chords in the Diatonic 7th set above. The fingering for Bm7b5 is included off to the right of the chord frame.

Play the Chord Scale. Once you are comfortable with playing this chord scale, write your own progression.

Keep in mind that you can strum in any rhythm and the strumming pattern provided is only one option. In the rhythm given, you miss on the and of 1 and 3. You may want to accent the downbeats of 1 and 3.

Are these the only way to play these chords?

Nope. Anytime you have the tonal content of a chord - i.e. CEGB for CMaj7 - you have the chord. Some fingerings or voicings will have better resonance or relative strength.

Let's take a look at the 'origin' of this family of chords, the C Major scale. This scale is considered a C Scale Form on I Love Guitar. Here are the tones:

Let's use the CMaj7 and G7 to show a couple more guitar chords (voicings). Always - always - experiment to find functional voicings within a given system. Your ear is very smart. It will tell you what works.

This scale above is one of 7 Major scale systems we use on I Love Guitar. It is considered a 5/4. (5th string root) 4th finger plays the root (on higher fretted version). For the C scale form at the nut (the origin) you use a 3rd finger for the root - 5/3. This will make more sense once you take a look at the I Love Guitar Major scale system.

Some other voicings of CMaj7 and G7

Are there other symbols, or ways to visually represent these guitar chords?

Yes. For a more in depth discussion, take a look at the lesson on chord formulas. Here's a helpful chart:

Guitar Chords - Triads in C Major

How chords are built from scales