E7, A7, D7, G7 & C7
In this video
Seventh chords are the most obvious embellishment for the Blues or Bluesy sounding playing.
We simply add another note (the flattened seventh degree) to the familiar three-note major chords we already know.
But to be clear, these are dominant seventh chords, not major sevenths, creating that characteristic blues sound!
The beauty is that most are "as easy as lifting a finger" from chords you already know:
E7 is just the open E major with the third finger lifted
A7 lifts the middle finger from A major
Main Learning Points:
• E7: lift third finger from E major, ensuring string 4 rings out
• A7: two methods - lifting middle finger from first-position A, or lifting index from second-position A
• D7: reverse triangle shape (same as B7) applied to D major chord position
• B7: essential for all blues playing (in the turnaround for example)
• C7 and G7: larger stretches but just a variation on the open chords we know
• How seventh chords signal upcoming chord changes in song progressions