Basic chord theory and construction....page 4 of 4

As a final example, lets now assume you want to play an A seventh (A7) chord.

This is where some guitarists get confused especially with other band members who have no idea of music theory and just know a few chords as 7th chords. So lets get this part straight here.

There are basically 3 types of 7th chords which are all completely different. These chords are :

* Major 7th Chords     (written as maj 7)     (chord formula: 1 - 3 - 5 - 7)

* Minor 7th Chords     (written as m7)     (chord formula: 1 - b3 - 5 - b7)

* Dominant 7th Chords     (written as 7)    (chord formula: 1 - 3 - 5 - b7)

Most often the chord type referred to is the Dominant 7th chord. This is the bluesy sounding seventh chord often played. So if you are in a band and someone says play an A seventh, play the Dominant 7.....if they say "no thats wrong", then say, " well which did you mean, A major 7th, minor 7th or Dominant 7th?".

So the A dominant 7th chord has the formula  1  -  3  -  5  -  b7

Lets refer back to the A major diatonic scale again....