The 7th Chords

Another chord family that you'll find helpful in making your music sound more pleasing is the 7th chords. These can be used in blues songs rather than the major chord to give it a signature "bluesey" sound. But they can also be utilized as a transition chord in rock and country.

They're most often used as a 7th of the major chord just prior to a change to the next chord. For example, if we go back to "Your Cheatin' Heart" we could alert the rest of the players that a change was about to occur by adding a C7 at the appropriate beat. Here's how it would look, starting at the beginning...

(C) Your cheatin' heart will (C7) make you (F) weep.
You'll cry and (G) cry and try to (C) sleep.
But sleep won't come the (C7) whole night (F) through.
Your cheatin' (G) heart will tell on (C) you.

That's a fairly simple explanation and example, but if you'll play around with it a little, you'll probably find a lot more opportunities to use those 7th chords.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, leave them below by clicking on that "comment" thing.