How to Play 7th Chords in Jazz Guitar

Series Summary

Music is one of the primary forms of communication on Earth. Whether the use of tones and melodies developed before, after, or in conjunction with spoken language is unknown; yet music is unique in that it helps us to talk to each other in ways that language cannot achieve.

Jazz music was born in New Orleans as Dixieland; and it had an instantly recognizable swing and swagger to it. Since then, it has developed into a style of music particularly suited to improvisation, and a lot of jazz musicians use the form as a backdrop to play more freely expressed riffs and melodies; to expand on general musical themes.

Jazz guitar music, in particular, is rooted in minor 7th chords and diminished 3rds; its sound is as distinctive as any in the jazz family. Often accompanied by a piano and a double bass, jazz guitar players rely on a smooth sounding tone, complex chord constructions, and syncopated arpeggios to create their part. In this free instructional video clip series for jazz guitar beginners, learn how to get the jazz sound. Our expert will give you tips and techniques for creating a walking bass line, staying out of the mud with your guitar tone, and playing arpeggios. Also, get advice on what types of pickups and strings work best for playing jazz guitar.

Video Transcript

"Hello! My name is Dustin, and I am going to talk about 7th chords. We are limited as to how much theory we can get into in such a short video, but I can teach you a little bit about the types of chords used in jazz. The main type of chord used in jazz is the 7th chord. The 7th chord goes beyond the simple triad and includes the 7th scale degree, which gives the chord a little bit more color. I will show an easy system to building your 7th chords based on a C root, and you can apply this system to all the different keys and find your 7th chords easily that way. So start with the C major scale and count up 7 degrees, on the 8th degree this scale just starts over on 1…now to build a major 7th chord you want to include the 1, the 3, the 5 and the 7th scale degrees, so find these within your scale… put them in any order you want… and now you have a major 7th chords wherever you want, just put those notes in whatever order up and down the neck. Now for a minor 7th chord you want to use the 1 the flatted or lowered 3rd degree, the 5 and the flatted or lowered 7th degree, so find those notes within your C major scale… put those in whatever order you want, and you have a C minor 7th chord and the last type of 7th chord is the dominant 7th chord, which includes the 1, the 3, the 5 and the flatted or lowered 7th scale degree. So find these notes within your scale… put them together in whatever order you want… and now you have a C dominant 7th chord wherever you want. So practice this system in all the keys, and you will easily have your hands full of 7th chords up and down the neck. "