Dominant 7th Chords Part 2 - A7 Chord

This article looks at the dominant seventh chords with its root note on the fifth string of the guitar.


Here are the notes on the fifth string:

Notes On The Fifth String

We'll use the key of A Major. Using the same music theory we used in the first part, Dominant 7th Chords, counting whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half, the notes of the A Major scale are:

A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A.

Using the 7th chord formula, the notes of the A7 chord are the first, third, fifth, and flatted seventh notes of the major scale, which are:

A, C#, E, and G.

Here are three possible variations of the A7 chord with the root note, A, being played at the open fifth string. Notice how I've shown the open sixth string being played. As I explained with the A Major chord, the lowest note played should be the root note of the chord. Because the open sixth string, E, is part of the chord, I think you can choose yourself whether to play it or not, see how it sounds.

First version of the A7 chord. The notes are E, A, E, G, C#, E. There are many finger combinations you can use with this chord, I'll let you pick the one you're most comfortable with. You can use the first and second fingers, the second and third fingers, or the third and fourth fingers

A7 Chord

For the second version of the A7 chord below, I would bar the second, third, and fourth strings with the first finger. You can fret the first string with the second, third, or fourth finger. It depends on what chord you're changing from or to. Experiment to find the best combination for you. The notes are E, A, E, A, C#, G.

A7 Chord

The last version of the A7 chord is one that you probably won't find in the chord books and is a mix of the first two. You can use either the first, second, and third fingers for this or the second, third and fourth. The notes are E, A, E, G, C#, and G.

A7 Chord

We're now going to take these chords and move them up to the third fret to make a C7 chord, the root note being the C on the third fret of the fifth string.

The notes of the C Major scale, probably the easiest and first scale you learn because there's no sharps or flats in it, are:

C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C.

From this, the notes of the C7 chord, made up of the first, third, fifth, and flatted seventh notes of the C Major scale, are:

C, E, G, and Bb.

This is the first version of the C7 chord at the third fret. The notes are G, C, G, Bb, E, and G.
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C7 Chord

Second version of the C7 chord. Notes G, C, G, C, E, and Bb.

C7 Chord

Last version of the C7 chord. Notes G, C, G, Bb, E, and Bb.

C7 Chord