Expanding your repertoire with additional chords is always beneficial, regardless of where your guitar-playing journey may lead. Doing so will expand both musical vocabulary and add variety to your music.
Chord sequences or progressions form the backbone of many popular songs. You’ll soon be playing your favorite tunes by learning these time-tested sequences!
1. Dmaj7
Dmaj7 chord is an ideal place to begin when learning to compose jazzy-sounding tunes, producing a jazzy and smooth tone that suits many chord progressions and songs. Furthermore, its tonal qualities change depending on its location within it – choosing it may depend on which chord fits better with the overall song tone or simply personal taste.
To create a Dmaj7 chord, apply the significant seventh chord formula (1-3-5-7) to D major scale notes, and you have your Dmaj7 guitar chord!
The Dmaj7 chord is moveable, meaning it can be played in various positions on the fretboard. This feature makes it ideal for creating chord progressions as it allows you to experiment with different sounds and forms; for instance, its fifth position derived from a regular D chord could also be moved up two frets to create more open-sounding chords.
Dmaj7 is not only one of the most accessible major seventh chords to play on guitar; it is also an extremely versatile chord. Constructed from a major triad with the addition of a major seventh, this makes a straightforward formation on the fretboard and is suitable for playing using any fingering pattern.
Like most major seventh chords, Dmaj7 can be altered through augmentation and diminution to achieve various tones. Augmenting adds an F# note, while diminuendo gives a more truncated central seventh sound; both versions are popular among musicians looking to add something different and unique to their progressions.
This chord can add an excellent layer of tension or release depending on its implementation into any song, whether minor or significant key pieces are involved. Furthermore, it makes an ideal root chord choice in a progression.
Add this chord to your repertoire for added complexity in chord progressions. It provides ample tonal options and works across many genres of music, pairing well with major seventh chords such as Am7, Gmaj7, and Bbmaj7. If switching between them smoothly is challenging, try practicing several strums of each first before gradually increasing the tempo until transitions between them go without incident.
2. Am7
This chord can add tension to a progression. It works exceptionally well in blues and rock songs, contrasting with other chords in the passage and featuring an additional minor sound quality.
There are various approaches to playing this chord; some might make more sense ergonomically, while others might sound better to your ear. To find one that feels right and sounds best for you, the key is learning the basics before exploring different versions on your fretboard until you find one that sounds and feels just right for you.
One great benefit of Am7 chord progressions is their versatility; you can play them from any position on the fretboard without changing your fingering patterns – an invaluable ability when moving up or down the scale without relearning every chord progression every time a fundamental changes.
One great feature of the A7 chord is its versatility: you can combine it with other extended chords to produce rich, full sounds when playing significant keys. Cmaj7, Em7, and Fmaj7 work exceptionally well to achieve this effect.
This chord also works perfectly within augmented chords, significant triads with a sharp fifth note. One easy way to recognize an augmented chord is if each message is two whole steps higher than its preceding note.
An Am7 chord would consist of notes A, C#, and G – an iconic chord found throughout jazz and funk music that adds tension and drama to a progression.
It is not as prevalent in country music songs as E chord songs, yet its use remains highly relevant and worth learning how to play if you want to play country guitar. If that’s your goal, familiarizing yourself with this chord should be part of the learning experience.
To play this chord, place your index finger on the second fret of the B string (second string). Move other fingers accordingly while also muzzling the lower two lines so they do not ring out unintentionally. Finally, strum the chord twice with your strumming hand to complete your performance.
3. Gmaj7
Gmaj7 is one of the most versatile major seventh chords to include in your repertoire due to its distinctive sound and because it opens up additional strumming patterns and chord progression options. It is an excellent choice for beginner guitarists seeking some variety in their playing and for advanced guitarists seeking to expand their harmonic vocabulary.
Adding new chords to your guitar chord vocabulary is integral to honing your technique and growing as a musician. These new chords will provide more options when songwriting and improvising, and they may even help break through writer’s block and keep practice sessions more exciting!
There are various ways of writing the Gmaj7 chord, but usually, you’ll see it referred to as Gmaj7 or G central 7. The capital “M” distinguishes it from its lowercase cousin Gm7 (G minor 7).
To play the Gmaj7 chord, it is necessary to place your index finger on the 1st string 2nd fret and middle finger on the 2nd string 3rd fret – followed by placing your ring finger on 3rd string 4th fret and pinky on the 4th string 5th fret – just as for the playing an open G chord. Once this is in place, strum five strings down from the low E string while muting the A string.
The open Gmaj7 chord is an extremely popular major seventh chord with a distinctive sound that makes it stand out among other major seventh chords. Perfect for beginning students as it requires no barre and can be played in any key. Once mastered, move onto the Gmaj7 chord in the third position for further practice!
The Gmaj7 chord in the third position can be challenging, yet it provides an exciting sound that sets it apart from other major seventh chords. Typically found in jazz music, its distinctive sound often pairs well with musicians’ smooth jazz styles – Motopony’s song “Wait for Me” offers an example where this chord adds an airy and relaxing element that perfectly complements its soothing melody.
4. Bbmaj7
Bbmaj7 chords combine a significant triad with an added primary 7th to create their distinctive sound, commonly found in jazz and soul music, where plain major and minor chords may sound flat or uninviting. Maj7 chords also feature prominently in R&B and pop music genres, where their open, pleasing sound contributes to creating more melodic textures.
To successfully perform this chord, a solid understanding of your fretboard and neck is required. An interactive guitar chord chart such as ours can help by showing exactly where each finger should be placed on the fretboard – once this step has been accomplished, it becomes much more straightforward to pick up this chord!
This song utilizes the Bbmaj7 as an accompaniment for vocal melody, a bridge section (paired with Dmmaj7 and Cmaj7) for a more dissonant feel, and a tonic chord in its introduction and outro.
This chord offers much potential, as you can use it across various musical genres. Furthermore, its notes from a significant scale allow it to be combined with any arpeggio starting on its root; here’s an example of such an arpeggio used over a C7 vamp using some jazzy tones from C Mixolydian mode that adds some flashy character!
This song’s chord progression is relatively basic and an excellent way to start with jazzy chords. Once you master its basic shapes, more complex arrangements and expanded repertoire become possible. Furthermore, this technique helps develop finger memory as you’ll constantly have to put your fingers into new positions, which Govan and Larry Carlton highlight as one tangible benefit of learning music theory.
