7th Chords

7th Chords

by Todd Lefever

Learning to play the diatonic triad arpeggios in each position is a great way to learn fingering patterns for playing melodies, riffs and licks. Triads, which consist of three notes: root, third and fifth are the basic and the smallest possible arpeggios.

A seventh chord is a triad with an additional note, the seventh, added above the fifth. The seventh adds color to a basic triad.  Seventh chords, like triads are commonly found in many styles of music (they are especially prevalent in jazz music).  For this reason it is also important to learn play the diatonic seventh chord arpeggios in each position.

For example, in the 5th position, in the key of F major, the diatonic seventh arpeggios (in order, from low to high) are:

Am7:  A   C   E   G     (6th, 5th and 4th strings)

Bbmaj7:       Bb  D   F   A    (6th, 5th and 4th strings)

C7:   C   E  G   Bb    (6th, 5th and 4th strings)

Dm7:  D   F   A   C     (5th, 4th and 3rd strings)

Em7b5:    E  G   Bb  D   (5th, 4th and 3rd strings))

Fmaj7:  F   A   C   E    (5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings)

Gm7:      G   Bb  D  F   (4th, 3rd and 2nd strings)

Am7:  A   C   E   G    (4th, 3rd and 2nd strings)

Bbmaj7:        Bb  D   F   A  (4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st strings)

C7:   C   E   G   Bb   (3rd, 2nd and 1st strings)

Dm7:  D   F   A   C    (3rd, 2nd and 1st strings)

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