D                 Dsus4            D               Dsus2
E +-2======-2==-2==-3======-3==-3==+-2======-2==-2==-0======-0==-0==+
B |-3======-3==-3==-3======-3==-3==|-3======-3==-3==-3======-3==-3==|
G |-2======-2==-2==-2======-2==-2==|-2======-2==-2==-2======-2==-2==|
D |-0======-0==-0==-0======-0==-0==|-0======-0==-0==-0======-0==-0==|
A |--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
E +--------------------------------+--------------------------------+
	

Dominant Seventh Chords

The first and most important type of seventh chord to learn is the dominant seventh chord. In fact, this type is so common that it is usually referred to simply as a seventh chord. It is a major chord with an added minor seventh note. The minor seventh interval is also sometimes referred to as a dominant seventh, so that's where the name comes from.

Dominant seventh chord interval formula: root, major third, perfect fifth, minor seventh.

So, for example, the notes in a G dominant seventh chord, written simply as G7, are G, B, D, and F. Notice that all those notes come from the C major scale. And this is a pattern. The seventh chord formed starting with the fifth note in a major scale and taking every other note is a dominant seventh. So just remember, the fifth chord is a seventh. Easy, right? To increase confusion, this is often written as V7. Notice also that this chord contains the two notes on either side of the tonic: that B and that D straddle the C. Along with the natural tension that a minor seventh chord contains, this makes the dominant sevent great for leading into the tonic chord. Try playing a G7, then a C major a few times. You will clearly hear the tension and resolution. This is a powerful tool that is used a lot in song composition. In fact, the song Sweet Dream Baby, by Roy Orbison uses only two chords: F, and C7 (which is the V7 chord in the key of F).

Here are some common dominant seventh chords and the most common ways to play them. One thing to note is that the C7 shape that is most commonly played in the open position on guitar is not technically a complete seventh chord, since it doesn't include the fifth note, the G. This would more properly be written as C7(no 5). It sounds close enough to a full C7 that most people don't care, though. Click on any chord name to see more ways to play it at The Chorderator.

A7

Notes: A, C#, E, G

B7

Notes: B, D#, F#, A

C7

Notes: C, E, G, Bb

D7

Notes: D, F#, A, C

E7

Notes: E, G#, B, D

G7

Notes: G, B, D, F

Major Seventh Chords

A major seventh chord is a major chord with a major seventh note added.

Major seventh chord interval formula: root, major third, perfect fifth, major seventh.

A C major seventh chord, for example, is written as Cmaj7 or CM7 (with a capital M), and contains the notes C, E, G, B. In the major scale, the four-note chords formed off of the root note and the fourth note are major sevenths. So in the key of C, the C and the F. These are often written as Imaj7 and IVmaj7.

A major seventh chord builds less tension than a dominant seventh, and so is a good chord to end a song on, if you want to go for a jazzy but kind of relaxed feel. I consider it to have an almost island-y sound.

Here are some common major seventh chords and the most common ways to play them:

Amaj7

Notes: A, C#, E, G#

Cmaj7

Notes: C, E, G, B

Dmaj7

Notes: D, F#, B, C#

Emaj7

Notes: E, G#, B, D#

Fmaj7

Notes: F, A, C, E

Gmaj7

Notes: G, B, D, F#

Minor Seventh Chords

A minor seventh chord is a minor chord with the dominant seventh added

Minor seventh chord interval formula: root, minor third, perfect fifth, minor seventh.

A D minor seventh chord, for example, is written as Dm7, and contains the notes D, F, A, C. In the major scale, the four-note chords formed off of the second, third, and sixth notes are minor sevenths. So in the key of C, you have Dm7, Em7 and Am7. These are often written as iim7, iiim7, and vim7.

A minor seventh chord can be used any place the regular minor chord would normally be used if you want a slightly more complex sound. One nice thing about minor sevenths is they are very close to the relative major chord. For example, if you look at the shape of the Am7, you'll notice it's like a C major chord, but you just pick up your third finger and play the fifth string open. So if you have a song where you're transitioning from a C to an Am, you can play an Am7 instead, and keep a sense of continuity. (Read about relative minors.)

Here are some common minor seventh chords and the most common ways to play them. Click on any chord name to see more ways to play it at The Chorderator.

Am7

Notes: A, C, E, G

Bm7

Notes: B, D, F#, A

Dm7

Notes: D, F, A, C

Em7

Notes: E, G, B, D

Minor Major Seventh Chords

Yes, it is really called "minor major seventh." It's a minor chord with an added major seventh note.

Minor seventh chord interval formula: root, minor third, perfect fifth, major seventh.

We're starting to get into the lesser used chords, at least in popular music. The minor major seventh chords come about when we form four-note chords from the harmonic minor scale. Starting from the first and third notes, specifically. For example, taking every other note in the A harmonic minor scale, we get an AmMaj7, which contains the notes A, C, E, G#.

I actually really like the sound of these chords, though they may sound a bit "dated" in modern music. They're like the chord you hear when the gritty private detective learns a startling new clue in a 1940s movie. They're pretty easy to play, so give them a shot and see if you can work them into some songs. Again, they can be used in place of any minor chord, but probably should be used a little more sparingly than minor sevenths. Let's see if we can create a rebirth of their popularity.

"Common" may be too strong a word, but here are some major minor seventh chords that are relatively easy to play (for such a little-used chord type, it has some surprisingly easy open shapes):

AmMaj7

Notes: A, C, E, G#

BmMaj7

Notes: B, D, F#, A#

CmMaj7

Notes: C, Eb, G, B

DmMaj7

Notes: D, F, A, C#

EmMaj7

Notes: E, G, B, D#

And so on, and so on...

That's probably enough chord types for one lesson. If there is interest, in the future I will tackle diminished sevenths, half-diminished sevenths, augmented sevenths, and all kinds of happy extensions.

Reference

Here is how the C major scale harmonizes with four-note chords:

Four-note chords in the C major scale

Imaj77	iim7	iiim7	IVmaj7	V7	vim7	viidim7
C major seventh	D minor seventh	E minor seventh	F major seventh	G dominant seventh	A minor seventh	B diminished seventh

Here are the chord types covered in this lesson:

Common seventh chord types

Triad	Added seventh	Chord name	Example
major	minor 7th	dominant seventh	C7
	major 7th	major seventh	Cmaj7
minor	minor 7th	minor seventh	Cm7
	major 7th	minor major seventh	CmMaj7

Major chords

Major chords are the ones you'll likely play most often. When someone says, "Hey man, play a C," they mean a C major chord. Major chords show up everywhere in rock, pop, and folk music. They have a sort of triumphal sound, somewhat happy. Very nice.

The formula for a major chord is root, major third, perfect fifth. I'll explain what that means with an example.

Let's build a C major. First, what we call the "root note." That's the C. The root note is the note the chord is named after. So the root note of a G chord is G, the root note of an A# is A#, etc. If there were a note named Ralph, we could construct a Ralph Major. But there isn't, so never mind.

Next, we look at the formula. Next up is the major third. From the intervals lesson, we know that a major third is four half-steps, so we can count up: C#, D, D#, E. Viola! The next note is E.

Next in the formula is the perfect fifth. I can never remember how big a perfect fifth is, but looking back to the intervals lesson (I told you to bookmark it!), I see it is seven half-steps. Counting up: C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G. (Remember, there is no note between E and F or between B and C.) That gives us a G, which is the third and final note.

Now we have the notes in a C major chord: C, E, and G. Here's one way to play it on guitar: (Note that this is a music theory lesson, not really a beginning guitar lesson. The chord charts are here for reference, but if you're just learning to play, you'll want a more specific guitar playing lesson.)

• Listen to a C chord.
• See more ways to play a C on guitar, using the Chorderator.

We can do the exact same thing for any major chord. Try G major, for example. The root is obviously G, the major third is B, and the perfect fifth is D. A G major chord contains the notes G, B and D.

Here's one way to play a G on guitar:

• Listen to a G major chord.
• See more ways to play a G major on guitar, using the Chorderator.

Here are the rest of the most common major chords for guitar, along with the most common way to play each of them. Click on a chord name to see more ways to play it in the Chorderator.

E major

Notes: E, G#, B

F major

Notes: F, A, C

A major

Notes: A, C#, E

Minor chords

Next in line for the throne of King of Chord Types is the minor chord. It's very similar to the major chord, but instead of a major third, it has a minor third. So the formula is root, minor third, perfect fifth. A minor third, as you know, is one half-step lower than a major third.

Minor chords tend to sound a little more relaxed, maybe a bit sadder, than major chords.

To get a C minor chord from the C major, we can just lower the major third one half-step, so it becomes a minor third. Instead of C, E, and G, we now have C, Eb, and G. Shorthand for C minor is Cm.

• Listen to a Cm chord.
• See how to play a Cm on guitar, using the Chorderator.

Here are the rest of the most common minor chords for guitar, along with the most common way to play each of them. Click on a chord name to see more ways to play it in the Chorderator.

D minor

Notes: D, F, A

E minor

Notes: E, G, B

A minor

Notes: A, C, E

Power chords

Remember I said above that chords are three or more different notes played at once? Well, I lied, sort of. There are these things called power chords. According to the previous definition, power chords are not technically chords, because they only contain two different notes. But they are used so commonly in rock music I decided to include them here anyway. The formula for a power chord is root, perfect fifth. Often the root is repeated an octave higher, but that still counts as just one unique note.

If you take a minor chord or a major chord and remove the third, you end up with a power chord. Power chords are neither major nor minor, making them sort of ambiguous. They are perfect for punk rock, where major chords would sound too cheerful, but you don't want to delve into the minor chords and end up sounding like Yanni. They're also wicked easy to play.

Power chords are also called 5 chords, since they only have the root and the fifth. So you'll see something like C5 or Eb5.

• See how to play a C5 chord, using the Chorderator.

Diminished chords

It's pretty easy to imagine playing with the intervals that make up major and minor chords, shifting them up or down a half-step or more. Take a minor chord, and lower the perfect fifth a half-step, and you get the formula root, minor third, diminished fifth. That's called a diminished chord. These chords sound disturbing and Alice-In-Chains-ish. Shorthand for C diminished is Cdim. (You'll sometimes see other symbols for diminished, but for the purposes of this website, I'll stick to "dim", since it's easier to type and include on a webpage.)

• Listen to a Cdim chord.
• See how to play a Cdim on guitar, using the Chorderator.

Augmented

Similarly, if you take a major chord and raise the perfect fifth to an augmented fifth, you get an augmented chord, with the formula root, major third, augmented fifth. These are pretty uncommon in rock, pop, or folk music. They do pop up in jazz. Shorthand for augmented is "aug".

• Listen to a Caug chord.
• See how to play a Caug on guitar, using the Chorderator.

Study

Here's a little quiz to test how well you've learned the definitions. Feel free to refer back to the above list.

How did you do? Once you think you have a grasp of the names, you can try your ear at the Ear Trainer (audio chord quiz) on this site. Start nice and easy, with just a few chord types included in the test, then slowly add some more until you get good at naming them. It's a fun little game, and will improve dramatically your ability to recognize and reproduce chords.