Seventh chords are extensions of the basic triads. Simply put, all that is needed is to add a 7th above the root, and you have a seventh chord. Seventh chords also come in many flavours, which are major, minor, dominant, half diminished and diminished. Typically we create them by taking a triad and adding a 7th to the triad. Which 7th we add, depend on which triad we take whether its major, minor or even dimished. We can also create them by stacking thirds, major and minor thirds from our root note.
| Chord Type | Symbol | Degrees |
|---|---|---|
| Major 7th | M7, maj7, △7 | R - M3 - P5 - M7 |
| Minor 7th | m7, min7, −7 | R - m3 - P5 - m7 |
| Dominant 7th | 7 | R - M3 - P5 - m7 |
| Half-Diminished 7th | min7b5, ø7 | R - m3 - T/♭5 - m7 |
| Diminished 7th | dim7, o7 | R - m3 - T/♭5 - M6/♭m7/♭♭7 |
Note: For degrees above, m: minor, M: major, P: perfect, T: tritone, ♭: flattened version of the note.
Chords below are not necessarily playable grips (Gmin7 for instance), but in general the options for notes you have access to based on the the open chord triad shape. You may need to get creative to make a grip out of the notes given, or adjust the grips by excluding certain notes. The key to a 7th chord though it to at least involve the R - 3rd - 7th so you knowthe quality of the chord. (Obviously diminshed versions require a 5th to denote that it is diminshed)
