Finding Seventh Chord Shapes All Over the Fretboard

Browse through a guitar songbook and you’ll see the names of chords (called chord symbols) written above the staff. Sometimes those symbols are accompanied by chord diagrams, but not always. Even if you know an option or two for chord forms, there are always different ways to play them. Having choices keeps your fretting hand from jumping around too much in search of the next chord. In this lesson, you’ll see that you can use familiar three-note chords, or triads, to find smooth and easy ways to play different types of seventh chords. 

Follow the formulasA seventh chord has one note added to a triad. We’ll be forming four different seventh chord types for this lesson. Starting with triads, the formulas, all based on the root note D, are shown in Figure 1.

Learn Some Shapes and Their Notes Now let’s apply these chords to the fretboard. The open D chord is a good place to start in following a line one fret at a time to form seventh chords. From low to high, the fretted notes in that triangle-shaped D chord are A, D, and F#, or the fifth, root, and third, respectively. The root note (D) is found on the third fret of the second string. As shown in Example 1, move that note down by a half step, or one fret, and that puts you on C#, which is the major seventh of a D chord, making a Dmaj7 chord. Lower that note by another fret to land on C natural, the flatted seventh of a D chord, giving you D7.

Move to MinorThe highest note in that D chord form is F#, which is the major third. Lower it by a half step to land on F natural, for a D minor triad. If you’re still fretting that C on the second string, you’re now playing a Dm7 chord (the first shape in Example 2), formed by barring the top two strings with your first finger on the first fret. 

You have easy access to a Dm7b5 chord by following the path you’ve been on. Lower the A on string 3, fret 2, by a half step to find arrive at Ab. You can bar the first three strings to form this chord, also known as D half-diminished seventh. 

Build Chords from Another RootLet’s suppose we need an Fmaj7. We can use that straight-line shape we made for Dmaj7. Move that up to the fifth fret (playing the notes C, E, and A) for Fmaj7. But there’s a catch—the open D string doesn’t work as the bass note anymore. Here’s the fix: Rearrange your fingers to leave your first finger free. A third-finger barre across strings 1–3 at the fifth fret works well. Stop the third-fret F on string 4 with your first finger. Now you can go through all four of the seventh chords you are learning, transposed to be Fmaj7, F7, Fm7, and Fm7b5 (Example 3). Notice that the third of the chord is always the highest note using these forms. That will help as you transpose the form to other chords you need.

The A triad played on the second fret of string set 2–4 is another common form we can use to find more seventh chords. First, name the three fretted notes: E, A, and C#. Notice that those notes are the fifth, root, and third of the chord, respectively, just like the order of notes arranged in the D chord. For this lesson, we’ll add an A on string 1, fret 5. Do this by barring the first four strings at the second fret, using your fourth finger to play the high A (Example 4).

Now that the root is the high note, it will be easy to visualize and follow the line of descending half steps to form seventh chords. Down a half step from A is G#, the major seventh. Catch that note with your third finger to form Amaj7. Turn G# to G by using your second finger on the third fret, giving you an A7 chord. 

To play the Am7 chord, you’ll need to rearrange your fingers so that you can flatten the third—that is, turn C# into C, with your first finger. With your fourth finger still holding the note G, your second and third fingers can cover the notes E and A on the second fret. For Am7b5, lower the fifth (E) to play Eb with your first finger. As shown in the two different chord frames, you can bar the first fret or use four fingers for this form. 

Take the Fifth—In the BassAll of these A chords can use the open A string as the bass note. However, using the fifth in the bass instead of the root makes these chords moveable. The fifth is a strong bass note sound. The rest of the notes sound unmistakably like the intended quality without needing an open-string bass note. Try out a C chord this way with the fifth fret barred on the first four strings. Take it through the paces by moving to Cmaj7 and then flatting the seventh, the third, and the fifth as you did with the A chords, as shown in Example 5.

You can quickly transpose your way to other seventh chords by finding the seventh on the first string instead of looking for the root. Taking the time to find and practice new chord forms pays off by offering efficient chord changes. That economy of motion results in a smooth sound whether the song you’re practicing has triads, seventh chords, or a mix of each—and all of that is more pleasing to guitarists and listeners alike.