The 7th chord is a chord consisting of Major or Minor triad plus a note that is a minor seventh above the chord's root.

So, basically, you take the chords you already know, and add a flatted 7th note to the chord.

For example, a C Major (C) chord, consists of the following notes: C,E,G

A C Seventh (C7) chord, consists of the following notes: C,E,G with an additional Bb

 

As stated in the previous paragraph, a 7th chord adds a flat 7th note to the Major or Minor chord.

There is also another type of 7th chord, a Major 7th, with the signature maj7.

A Major 7th chord means that we are adding a Major 7th to the existing Major or Minor chord.

 

When you see the signature (Cmaj7), understand that it means that we are adding a Major 7th.

So when you see the signature Cmaj7, this can be slightly confusing. You might think that it means C Major chord,

and even though the C is a Major chord, it means that we are adding a Major 7th.

The normal signature for a C Major chord is: C. So when we see Cmaj7, it means we are adding a Major 7th to a C Major Chord.

 

A Cmaj7 chord is a C Major Chord (C,E,G), with a Major 7th interval (B).

 

C7: C,E,G,Bb and a Cmaj7: C,E,G,B

 

As with all chords, there are other ways to fret a chord. These are beginner recomendations to their fingerings

 

Here is the C Major Chord:

 

Here is the C7 Chord, we add the Bb on the G string:

 

Here is the Cmaj7 Chord, we add the open B on the B string:

 

The notes of the A7 Chord are: A-C#-E-G

 

The notes of the Am7 Chord are: A-C-E-G

 

The notes of the G7 Chord are: G-B-D-F

 

The notes of the B7 Chord are: B-D#-F#-A

 

The notes of the Bm7 Chord are: B-D#-F#-A

 

The notes of the D7 Chord are: D-F#-A-C

 

The notes of the Dm7 Chord are: D-F-A-C

 

Seventh Chords definitely expand on the sound of a Major or Minor Chord.

 

As stated above, these are recommended fingerings for beginners.

We will continue our dive into chords, as well as chord construction in later tutorials.