How to Play the Wonderful Guitar 7th Chords [with charts]

Get this:

Without memorizing guitar 7th chords, you can EASILY play ANY 7th chord.

I mean, there are like hundreds of 7th chords out there!

Now:

This article will teach you the “hows,” so that you won’t have to memorize hundreds of stuff.

It also includes charts you can download for free.

Whether you choose to memorize and/or learn, this will totally be helpful to you!

So, shall we start?

Guitar 7th Chords

You can choose between these two:

• Understand the theory behind the 7th chords; or
• Memorize all the 7th chords

Let me give you a hint:

Go for the first one!

It’s so much easier than you think.

Memorizing is also easy but here’s the thing:

The common 7th guitar chords variations are major, minor, dominant, major seven flat 5, and diminished 7. Since there are 12 notes in an octave, that’ll be a total of:

60 7th chords.

Those are just the simple ones!

If you learn the “behind the scenes” of 7th chords, it’ll be SO MUCH EASIER than memorizing hundreds of chords.

Trust me on this one.

If you do, any 7th chord will be easy as pie.

Let’s start, shall we?

If you want to skip to 7th chord charts, click here.

How to Make 7th Chords on Guitar

Before anything else:

I’m assuming you know all the basic chords at this point.

Even then, we have to dive into the very basics of scale, intervals, chords, and finally, 7th chords.

For straightforward visual understanding, I will use a piano side-by-side with a guitar.

1. Study Scales [Basics]

We have to talk about semi-tone and tones to easily understand scales.

Let’s get on to it:

Semi-tones are also known as half-steps. An example of this is when you move from one fret to the next fret beside it (ascending or descending).

Look at these images for better understanding. 

B to C or vice versa

D to D# or vice versa

F# to G or vice versa

Here’s a fun fact:

The guitar may have 2 or more the same notes all around the fretboard. An example of this is a semi-tone from G to G#.

It can be played with either of these two patterns.

This is one of the reasons why pianos are visually easier, but of course,  I like guitar better!

Tones are composed of two semi-tones. (Also called a whole step, full step, or full tone)

So, if you move two frets above or below, that interval will be a tone.

C# to D# or vice versa

G to A or vice versa

Bb to C or vice versa

Now:

Scales are notes played in order and sound good together. Harmonies and melodies of a song are usually written based on a scale.

Let’s use major scale as an example.

The formula for a major scale is tone, tone, semi-tone, tone, tone, tone, semi-tone.

Look at this image as an example:

So, why do you need to learn the basics of a scale?

Well, here’s the thing:

Major or minor scales are the very foundation of most chords.

Basically, you create chords based on their respective scale.

Click here to learn more about scales.

2. Learn Chords

Now:

Let’s talk chords.

You may know a lot of chords by now. Hopefully you also have the basic skill in playing barre chords (it will come in handy for this lesson).

But do you know the “why” or “how” behind it?

(To be honest, in my beginner days, I didn’t even bother learning this. Without knowing that it could make my life easier.)

The fundamental definition of chords is:

A set of three or more notes played together, creating harmony.

Here’s the deal:

If you pick any three (or more) notes from a scale, you have a chord!

Little something extra:

These formulas are the most common ones you’ve probably used and will be using.

Let’s use a major triad and minor triad as examples.

Take a look at what a C major chord looks like.

The root note (1) is C, major third (3) is E, and the pefect fifth (5) is G.

You might be wondering, how come the C chord in guitar plays 5 strings?

Here’s the kicker:

All the notes played are still the same as the major triad C-E-G, with additional C-E from the 2nd and 1st string.

You can also play a C chord in guitar with just the 5th, 4th, and 3rd strings, with the same finger positions (excluding index finger). That’s still a C Major chord.

But with the addition of 2nd and 1st string or (C, E notes), the sound is more vibrant. Don’t you agree?

Just remember that the root note should still be C. (This is why the 6th string (E), is muted.)

Now:

Let’s try a minor triad.

Fundamentally, a minor chord is composed of a root note (1), a minor third (b3), and a perfect fifth.

To create a Cm, you use the same notes as the C major. Instead of a major third, we’re gonna use minor third. 

Essentially, just a flattened third note, or a semi-tone lower. In this case, the E, will become Eb, so C – Eb – G.

That’s how you make chords. But what about the guitar 7th chords?

3. Create 7th Chords for Guitar (Guitar 7th Chords Explained)

7th chords are triads, joined with one more note, the seventh.

Since it’s composed of 4 notes now, should we call it quads? (Pun intended)

Here’s the thing:

If you didn’t have the basic idea of a scale, you might add the wrong 7th note.

The 7th note that you need to add is the 7th note IN that particular SCALE.

Let’s use F major scale as an example for this one.

To create F major chord we’ll use (1-3-5) formula.

To make it a 7th chord, we’ll add the 7th note of the F major scale (1-3-5-7).

Voila! That’s how easy it is to create a 7th chord!

The only downside of this is you still have to learn and memorize scales. But trust me when I say:

There are numerous benefits when learning scales, especially when you really want to improve your guitar skills!

Most Common Guitar 7th Chords Chart (PDF included)

Here are the most common or most used 7th chords of all time:

If you chose to memorize, these are probably the chords you’ll be seeing a lot.

Yes, I examined 100 random songs and wrote down the chords they’re using. Here’s the data if you want proof:

These are basically random songs (I played on shuffle mode in Spotify, “liked songs”). So, there are multiple genres, including rock, country, pop, blues, reggae, etc.

Then, I looked up the chords for each song and wrote them down. 

I didn’t transcribe because it would have taken me weeks or even months! (Unfortunately, it’s not my forte).

Here’s something you should know for the following chord charts.

I chose the “easiest variations” for each chord. In fact, for each chord, there are different variations (easy, medium, and hard).

So, the “easy” variation I chose is based on how comfortable it is for me to play, with beginners in mind. It also includes the ideal guitar chord finger position.

Major 7th Chords Guitar

Fun Fact: Major chords are known for their joyful sound.

These chords are written as “ChordLetter-Maj-7“.

For example, “GMaj7“.

Here are the guitar major 7th chords you should know about. And, of course, the ideal finger position.

Major 7th chords guitar chart:

Minor 7th Chords Guitar

If the song is all up or joyful, it will be just dull, eh? Hence minor chords are here to make a song more complete.

Minor chords are typically sad sounds. With both happy and sad sounds, songs seem more alive!

You can write minor 7th chords as “ChordLetter -m-7.” Just like Am7.

With that said, here are the guitar minor 7th chords you need to know about:

Dominant 7th Chords Guitar

Dominant chords are used to create tension. When you play it, it’ll be like pulling you to play the next chord or note.

Don’t get confused with dominant and major 7th chords.

When you see an A7, that’s an A dominant 7.

If it’s Amaj7, that will be an A major 7.

Notice that when there’s no “major” or “minor” in the 7th chord name, it’s most likely a dominant chord 

Here are the dominant 7th guitar chords you should know about:

Songs with 7th Chords

Song Title	Singer	Chords	7th Chords	Difficulty
Walking the Dog	Rolling Stones	A7, A, D, E7, D7	A7, E7, D7	Easy
Rock Around the Clock	Bill Haley & His Comets	A, A7, E7, D7	A7, E7, D7	Easy
Fix you	Coldplay	C, Em, Am7, G, F	Am7	Easy
Breakeven	The Script	C, G, D, Em, Am7	Am7	Easy
Happier	Ed Sheeran	Am7, F, C	Am7	Easy
Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay	Otis Redding	G, B7, C, A, E, D, F	B7	Easy
I wanna hold your hand	The Beatles	C, D, G, Em, B7, Dm7, Am	B7, Bm7	Easy
Love Lies	Khalid	D#m, F#, B7sus2, A#m, B	B7sus2	Easy
Bitter Sweet Symphony	The Verve	E, Bm7, Dsus2, A, Dsus2/E	Bm7	Easy
Dynamo of Volition	Jason Mraz	D5, G5, F#5, F5, Bm7, F#m7, G, A9	Bm7, F#m7	Easy
Coyotes	Jason Mraz	Cm7, Eb, Fm, Ab, G	Cm7	Easy
Drive	Incubus	Em, Cmaj7, Asus2, G, C, Am, A	Cmaj7	Easy
Ironic	Alanis Morissette	D, G, Em, F, C, Cmaj7	Cmaj7	Easy
Take Me Home Country Roads	John Denver	G, G/D, Em, D, C, D7, D/F#, F	D7	Easy
Blue Suede Shoes	Elvis Presley	A, D7, E7	D7, E7	Easy
Slow Hands	Niall Horan	C, F, Am, G, E, E7	E7	Easy
High Hopes	Panic! at the disco	C, C/B, Am, F, E7, G	E7	Easy
That'll be the day	buddy holly	E7, D, A, B, E	E7	Easy
Before you accuse me	Eric Clapton	E7, A7, B7	E7, A7, B7	Easy
Folsom Prison Blues	Johnny Cash	E, E7, A, B7	E7, B7	Easy
We are never getting back together	Taylor Swift	Cadd9, G, D, Em7, D/F#	Em7	Easy
You're Beautiful	James Blunt	G/F#, G, Em7, Cadd9, D/F#	Em7	Easy
Misery Business	Paramore	Em, D, C, Em7, Cadd9, G	Em7	Easy
Mustang Sally	Wilson Picket, The Commitments	C, C7, F, F7, G	F7	Easy
One	U2	Am, Dsus2, Fmaj7, G, C	Fmaj7	Easy
Don't Start now	Dua Lipa	Dm, Am, C, Fmaj7, G	Fmaj7	Easy
Señorita	Shawn Mendes	Am, C, Fmaj7, Em, G	Fmaj7	Easy
It's a beautiful day	Michael Bublé	C, G, G7, Am, F, E, E7	G7, E7	Easy
Sugar	Maroon 5	Db, Bbm7, Ebm7, Gb, D/G, Bm7, Em11, D, G	Bbm7, Ebm7, Bm7	Intermediate
Twist and Shout	The beatles	D, G, A, A7, Bb, B, B, C, C#, D9	A7	Intermediate
Hey Jude	The beatles	D, A, A7, G, D7, Bm, Em, C, G7, C7, F, Dm, Bb, F7, Fm, Eb	A7, D7, G7, C7, F7	Intermediate
Stay with me	Sam Smith	Am7, F, C, Gsus, Am, G, G#dim	Am7	Intermediate
Live Forever	Oasis	G, Em, D, Am, Am7, C, FM7, Fadd9, F	Am7, FM7	Intermediate
Let it be	The beatles	C, G, Am, Am7, Fmaj7, F6, F, E, D	Am7, Fmaj7	Intermediate
Monster	Paramore	Em, B7, C, D, Am, G/B, G, D/F#	B7	Intermediate
Killing me softly with his song	Roberta Flack	Em, Am, D7, G, A, D, C, Fmaj7#11, E, Am7, B7	D7, Fmaj7#11, Am7, B7	Intermediate
Girl You'll be a woman soon	Neil Diamond	Gm, F, C, Am, Eb, D7sus4, D7, Em, D, A, B7	D7sus4, D7, B7	Intermediate
Haven't met you yet	Michael Bublé	C, F, Dm7, Am, G, Em, D, A, Bm, F#m	Dm7	Intermediate
It will rain	Bruno Mars	C, Em, Dm, Am, G, F, Gsus2, E7, Cmaj7	E7, Cmaj7	Intermediate
FRIENDS	Anne Marie	Am, C, F, E7sus4, E7, G, D5, E5	E7sus4, E7	Intermediate
Fight Song	Rachel Platten	G, Em, Cadd9, G/B, D, Em7	Em7	Intermediate
Leave your lover	Sam Smith	D, Asus4, Bm, G, Em7, G/F#, F#m, E7, A, Em	Em7, E7	Intermediate
Going Down Slow	Blues Standard	Am7, Am6, Bdim, G7, F#7, F7, C7, B7, Bb7, F#m, C, Bb, A, G#, G, F#, E, F#m/A, D7, E7	Am7, G7, F#7, F7, C7, B7, Bb7, E7	Challenging
Close to you	Carpenters	Cadd9, C, B7, Bm, Em, G, C6, E, E7, Am, D, Db, Dbadd9, C7, Cm, Fm, Ab, Db6, F, F7, Bbm Eb, Abmaj7	B7, E7, C7, F7, Abmaj7	Challenging
More than Words	Extreme	G, Cadd9, Am7, C, D, Em, Bm7, D/F#, D7, G7, Cm, Em7, Bm, G/B	Am7, Bm7, D7, G7, Em7	Challenging
The Scientist	Coldplay	Bm7, G, D, Dsus2, A/D, D6, A/E, Asus4, A, Dmaj7, Dsus2/C#	Bm7, Dmaj7	Challenging
Fly me to the moon	Frank Sinatra	Am, Dm7, G7, Cmaj7, F, Dm, E7, A7, C, E, Fm,Em, G	Dm7, G7, Cmaj7, E7, A7	Challenging
Stacy's mom	Fountains of Wayne	E, A, D, G, B, G#m, C#m, Cdim, G#7, C, Em, B7, D#dim	G#7, B7	Challenging
It's my life	Bon Jovi	Am, Fadd9, Dm7, Dm6, Dm, F, G/D, G/B, C, Dsus4, D, Esus4, E, G, Gsus4/A	Dm7	Challenging
Bohemian Rhapsody	Queen	Em7, A7, D7, Am7, G, Em, G7, C, Am, G#, F#, G/B, Bdim7, D7/A, D, Am/G#, Am/G, Am/F#, Am/F, Am/E, Dm, Fm, Bb, A, B, F, A#, C#, Cdim, C/E, D#dim, Dm7, D#7 G#m D#, Ab, E, F/G, F/C, Gm/Bb, Bbdim, D/F#, Ddim/F	Em7, A7, D7, Am7, G7, Bdim7, D7/A, Dm7	Challenging
A whole new world	Zayn Malik, Zhavia Ward	D, D/G, Bm, A/C#, Em, F#7, Bm/A, G, A, D/F#, Bm7, E7, A7, Bbdim7, D7, C, Dsus4, F, F/Bb, Dm, C/E, Gm, Dm/C, Bb , F/A, Dm7, G7, C7, Dbdim7, F7, Eb, F/C, Bbmaj7, Gm7, Csus4	F#7, Bm7, E7, A7, Bbdim7, D7, Dm7, G7, C7, Dbdim7, F7, Bbmaj7, Gm7	Challenging
Killer Queen	Queen	Am, G7/B, C, Em, C7, F, Fm, C/G, F/G, G7, E7, G, B7, D7, Bm, F#7, D/F#, E7/G#, A, F#, D, G/D, C/D, E, Gm	G7/B, C7, G7, E7, B7, D7, F#7, E7/G#	Challenging
Jar of Hearts	Christina Perri	Bm, D, A, Em, G, D/F#, D5/A, Gm, A/C#, F#, Bm7/A, E/G#, Gdim7	Gdim7	Challenging

RESOURCES

Download links for the common guitar 7th chords: major, minor and dominants.

• 14 Most Common Guitar 7th Chords
• Major 7th Chords Guitar
• Minor 7th Chords Guitar
• Dominant 7th Chords Guitar

Final Words of Advice

Guitar 7th Chords are easy to understand, and they sound wonderful! 

You can even apply it to simple songs and create a more beautiful sounding piece!

Here’s the thing:

Whether you chose to understand or simply memorize, you still chose wisely by learning about 7th chords.

I mean, there is no better way to improve your skills than to study and practice, right?

Anyway, have fun on your musical journey!