How to Play Seventh Chords in Jazz Guitar

A seventh chord is a chord of three notes (triad) plus the seventh note in a scale. It is used to add color to a basic triad and is the most common type of chord in jazz. The following steps will show how to play seventh chords in jazz guitar.

Instructions

1. Study the construction of a triad. While this term may theoretically refer to any three notes, in Western music it almost always refers to three notes in the diatonic scale that serves a tonal function.

2. Examine the most common types of seventh chords for jazz guitar. The simplest types are formed by the first, third, fifth and seventh notes in a scalar mode. The first, fifth and sixth scalar modes are most commonly used for forming chords in Western music.

3. Observe the major seventh chord that is based on the major scale. This is the first scalar mode and has the intervals 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2 and 1 where these numbers are the number of half-tones (1/12 of an octave) separating the notes. The major seventh chord has intervals of 4, 7 and 11 or C, E, G and B in the key of C.

4. Inspect the dominant seventh chord based on the diatonic scale's dominant (fifth) tone. Beginning at the fifth note for the intervals given in Step 3, see that the intervals for this mode are 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1 and 2. The dominant seventh chord has intervals of 4, 7 and 10 or C, E, G and Bb in the key of C.

5. Look at the seventh chord based on the diatonic scale's sixth tone. This mode is also called the minor scale and has the intervals 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2 and 2. The minor seventh chord has intervals of 3, 7 and 10 or C, Eb, G and Bb in the key of C.