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The Dominant 7th Chords Guitar Lesson

Home > Guitar Lessons > Beginners > Basic Guitar with David Anthony > The Dominant 7th Chords
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David Anthony

The Dominant 7th Chords

The dominant 7th chords are some of the most popular chords in jazz and blues music. They are also widely used in all other genres. Learning these chords is absolutely necessary regardless of which genre or style you play.

Taught by David Anthony in Basic Guitar with David Anthony seriesLength: 32:00Difficulty: 2.5 of 5
Chapter 1: (1:06) Introduction David Anthony provides some introductory music.
Chapter 2: (0:39) About This Lesson This lesson covers basic fingerings for Dominant 7th chords. Dominant chords create tension. For this reason, they typically need to be resolved. A dominant chord will typically be resolved to its tonic or home base chord. In the blues and jazz genres however, the dominant chord frequently functions as tonic. This is typically referred to as a “bluesy tonic.”
Chapter 3: (3:57) Reading Chord Charts A chord chart provides a miniature representation of a portion of a vertical guitar fretboard. Think of a guitar hanging on the wall or sitting on a guitar stand.

There are three basic components to a chord chart.
1. Fret Indicator - Since the chord diagram only shows a portion of the fretboard, a fret indicator is used to indicate exactly where on the neck the chord is to be played.

2. Fingering Indicator - At the top of the diagram, the Fingering Indicator can be found. If there is an “X” in the indicator, the designated string is not to be strummed, or muted by the left hand. If a string is marked with an “O”, it is to be played open. Otherwise, the numbers in the indicator represent the left hand fretting fingers to be used.

3. Note Indicator - This component, usually consisting of a solid black circle, indicates the location (fret number and string) where the left hand plays.
Chapter 4: (4:53) The A7 Chord The “open” A7 chord is the easiest of the dominant chords. Be sure to master this one before moving on to the other chords in this lesson. A7 is a great chord to practice to observe left-hand technique. When playing any chord, you should be playing on the very tips of your fingers. Do not flatten/straighten any of your knuckles. Your left hand should look like a claw when playing guitar.

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for a diagram of this chord.
Chapter 5: (3:34) B7 Chord Most beginning players find the B7 chord very difficult for a couple reasons. All four of the left-hand fingers must be used to fret this chord. Also, the fingering for B7 in no way resembles the fingering of its parent B major chord. For these reasons, extra practice time should be devoted to mastering B7.

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for a diagram of this chord.
Chapter 6: (3:16) C7 Chord To form a C7 chord, just add one note to the basic “C” chord that you have already learned. The added note is the seventh of the chord, Bb, which gives the chord its dominant sound. Simply fret the G string at the third fret with your pinky, and you’ve got a C7 chord!

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for a diagram of this chord.
Chapter 7: (2:54) D7 Chord If you are having problems remembering the fingering for a D7 chord, it might help to think of its fingering shape as a triangle on its side. Your first and third fingers form the base of the triangle, while your index finger creates the top of the triangle.

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for a diagram of this chord.
Chapter 8: (3:09) E7 Chord The open E7 chord can be played two different ways. Both are valid choices for an E7 chord, but they each have very distinct sounds. The first option, which David presents in the lesson, is derived from the basic E chord shape. If you change the fretted note on the D string to an open note, the resulting chord is an E7.

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for a diagram of this chord.

An E7 chord can also be formed by adding a D note on the B string. First, start with the basic E chord. Then, fret the 3rd fret of the B string with your pinky. With this pattern, all six strings will still be strummed.
Chapter 9: (2:27) The 7th Chords The shape presented in this scene is a basic three-note structure. Otherwise, in order to play an F7 chord, you would have to play a barre chord. (Barre chords will be discussed in later lessons.) F7 requires that you mute the 5th string with the index finger of your left hand. Don’t actually fret the note. Just rest your finger lightly on the string so it is unable to vibrate.

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for a diagram of this chord.
Chapter 10: (2:51) G7 Chord Similar to the E7 chord, the G7 chord can be played a few different ways. The first chord grip involves all four left-hand fingers. This shape might be quite difficult for beginners especially when played in the context of a chord progression.

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for a diagram of this chord.

Playing the following notes can also form a G7 chord:
6th string: third fret, third finger
5th string: muted
4th string: open
3rd string: open
2nd string: open
1st string: 1st fret, 1st finger
Both chord shapes should be learned to provide you with more options.
Chapter 11: (2:46) Final Thoughts After completing this lesson you have mastered all of the “open” dominant 7th chords. In the lessons to come, the minor 7th and major 7th chords will be discussed.
  • Dominant Chords in Tablature
  •  
  • F7 Chord
  • A 7th Chord
  • B7th Chord
  • C7 Chord
  • D 7th Chord
  • E7th Chord
  • G7 Chord
  •  



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Member Comments about this Lesson

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joeman123joeman123 replied on March 27th, 2011

On the G7th in the supplemental content the 4th finger on the B string is not shown, but yet it is shown in the video? I'm a little confused as to which chart I should go by? I've seen a few like this come to think of it actually. I just want to know what I should be going by the teacher or the content?

jboothjbooth replied on March 28th, 2011

It can be played either way. Technically you would probably want to play it the way in the supplemental content because it is easier, but you can play it however you like :) Remember, one of the most important lessons for guitar is that there are multiple variations of each chord and none are necessarily wrong or right.

joeman123joeman123 replied on March 30th, 2011

Oh ok awesome. Thanks for the response, that explains a lot for me.

alandkylealandkyle replied on November 19th, 2010

Most all your lessons require me turning up my volume everytime you speak or turning down my volume when you strum . Consider turning down your amp or speaking louder so volume level can stay the same for the entire lesson, thanks

jboothjbooth replied on November 20th, 2010

That's really just because of the microphones we used a very, very long time ago when this was filmed. It won't happen in new lessons.

guitarguy316guitarguy316 replied on August 14th, 2008

I like this bluesy style of guitar. However, I think Davd is tuned down a half-step here. I tuned my guitar with the online tuner and he is still down a half-step!

shiroshiro replied on March 3rd, 2009

ok but think about it. with an online tuner u still have to use your ear for the most part, whereas maybe he used an electric tuner, which gets it bang on...so the person who uses the online tuner is most likely to be off IMO

tpendletontpendleton replied on September 17th, 2008

yeah dude, he isn't down a half step though, i tried that he is just out of tune.

matt_routleymatt_routley replied on October 1st, 2010

pretty sure he's playing drop D

vulg4rvulg4r replied on March 23rd, 2008

Why did you give us the finger in the E7 portion =[

nessanessa replied on March 24th, 2008

Hahaha, that's funny.

patrick carbajalpatrick carbajal replied on January 23rd, 2010

how do u get the perfect E sound on ur guitar?

patrick carbajalpatrick carbajal replied on January 23rd, 2010

how do u get the perfect E sound on ur guitar?

Basic Guitar with David Anthony

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David Anthony is an acoustic guitar aficionado. In this series you will learn basic concepts that are essential to playing any style of guitar music.



About David Anthony View Full Biography David Anthony was born David Anthony Volckmann, on November 9th, 1982, in the small town of Mount Hope, NY. As a child he absorbed the church flavored musical environment that his parents provided. With this influence he realized at a young age that music would not simply be a passive experience for him. It was not until the age of 15 that he decided to string up his first guitar. Relying solely on his father for his foundational chord knowledge, he quickly became enamored with the possibility of endless melodic structures, and the goal of becoming a fantastic player himself.

His early shredder influences came from Kirk Hammet of Metallica. During his first few years of guitar playing, he developed a very workable knowledge of pentatonic, major and minor scales. Over the years his musical interests swayed from rock to standards, from jazz to classical, and a strong love of the art of flamenco guitar; Spanish finger style. It was not until the age of 18 that he decided to surround himself entirely with the music of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. This influential exclusivity enabled him to learn more about thinking outside of the musical box. In one year he had learned than in the prior 3 years. Picking up multiple ways to structure melodies, create chords and use different modes, his writing and improvisational abilities grew exponentially. In his senior year of high school, he was responsible for the development of the first Musical Appreciation class in the schools history, and had aided the instructor in the teaching of those classes.

After high school, his focus started to rest mainly in writing. With this he realized that he would need additional, abstract influences to develop a unique style of writing. After a couple more years of playing in a small band, and writing some decent material, he greeted 2004 with a move to Nashville, TN. There he found the exact influence that would change his opinion of the guitar forever. Attempting to weed out a strong foundation in shredding and solo techniques, he began learning finger style guitar, and quickly realized the options that his door would open for him.

As he picked up more complex chord structures and jazz scales, his style became a passion for him that continues to drive him and push him to learn more. He feels strongly about the connection between musical input and the music you write. He notes that his subconscious pool of influence, developed from the music he listens to, is almost directly responsible for the type of music that he writes. He adamantly believes that in order to create a unique, soulful style, the pool must remain unpolluted by substandard music. What's that mean? As David puts it, "If you don't want to play crap, don't listen to crap."

David currently teaches Jazz guitar in Fort Collins, Colorado, with plans to move back to Nashville in the spring to pursue a career in writing.

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