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Chapter 2 of 8

Open Dominant Seventh Chords

Seventh chords add a bluesy, soulful quality to progressions and are extremely common in folk, country, rock, and blues. They are built by adding a flatted seventh (the ♭7) interval to a major chord. Many of these open shapes are simple modifications of the basic open chords you already know.

For example, the A7 chord in open position uses just two fingers — middle on the 2nd fret of the D string and index on the 2nd fret of the B string — leaving the G string open. That open G string naturally provides the ♭7 note (G is the ♭7 of A major), giving the chord its dominant 7th character. The D7 chord uses the same skeleton as D minor but lifts one finger away: index on the 1st fret of the B string, middle on the 2nd fret of the G, and ring on the 2nd fret of the high E. The fretting of the C (1st fret of the B string) provides the ♭7 that defines D7. The E7 chord is essentially an open E major with the ring finger lifted off the D string, allowing the open D note (the ♭7) to ring.

Other open seventh chords use slightly fuller shapes. The G7 chord requires three fingers spread across the neck: index on the 1st fret of the high E, middle on the 2nd fret of the A, and ring on the 3rd fret of the low E; the F note at the 1st fret of the high E serves as the ♭7. The B7 chord is one of the more complex open-position chords, using all four fingers: index on the 1st fret of the D string, middle on the 2nd fret of the A, ring on the 2nd fret of the G, and pinky on the 2nd fret of the high E, strummed from the A string down. Mastering these shapes rounds out the basic open chord vocabulary.

All chapters
  1. 1Open Chords: The Foundation of Guitar Playing
  2. 2Open Dominant Seventh Chords
  3. 3Movable Forms: Barre Chords and Power Chords
  4. 4Reading Chord Diagrams
  5. 5Strumming and Fingerpicking Patterns
  6. 6Tuning, the Fretboard, and the Capo
  7. 7Chord Progressions and Key Families
  8. 8Lead Techniques, Guitar Anatomy, and Notation

Drill it

Reading is not remembering. These come from the Guitar Chords deck:

Q

How do you play an open A major chord on guitar?

Place your index finger on the 2nd fret of the D (4th) string, middle finger on the 2nd fret of the G (3rd) string, and ring finger on the 2nd fret of the B (2n...

Q

How do you play an open A minor (Am) chord?

Place your index finger on the 1st fret of the B (2nd) string, middle finger on the 2nd fret of the D (4th) string, and ring finger on the 2nd fret of the G (3r...

Q

How do you play an open C major chord?

Place your ring finger on the 3rd fret of the A (5th) string, middle finger on the 2nd fret of the D (4th) string, and index finger on the 1st fret of the B (2n...

Q

How do you play an open D major chord?

Place your index finger on the 2nd fret of the G (3rd) string, ring finger on the 3rd fret of the B (2nd) string, and middle finger on the 2nd fret of the high...