Welcome back to another edition of Guitar 101. We are going to continue where we left off last time talking about three-toned chords.
A very important tri-tone is the dominant seventh. This chord is fairly easy to play, and it can be used in a myriad of ways to help spice up a song. It is used a lot in blues music because of its soulful flavor. It contains both a major third and a minor seventh, somehow combining both scales in a way that creates both resonance and dissonance, allowing for a unique and very satisfying sound.
As I mentioned, playing a seventh tri-tone is pretty easy. To construct the chord, you first want to find the root note of the chord you want to play on one of the two thickest bass strings, E or A. Then the major third will be found on the next string up and one fret back. The minor seventh will be found on the next string up from that, on the same fret as the root note.
When you play the chord, your fingertips will be on the points of a triangle. Use your middle finger to fret the root, your index finger to fret the third, and your ring finger to fret the seventh. This chord is very versatile, and it sounds good played both clean and overdriven.
An easy way to practice this chord is to insert it into a 12-bar blues. Use the seventh to replace the major or minor chord voicings that you would usually play.
It is important at this point to note that, because of the nature of the guitar strings and their tonal relationships, all of these three-toned chords will maintain identical shapes whether the root is on the low E string or the A string.
Another simple yet effective three-toned chord is the major seventh. It is formed from the root, the fifth and the seventh tone of a major key. If you play the root on the E string, then you will play the fifth on the A string, and the major seventh on the D string. For a G major seventh tri-tone, then, you would play a third-fret E-string G with your index finger. Then your ring finger would play the fifth-fret A-string D, and your middle finger the fourth-fret D-string F# to complete the major seventh.
If you play the root on the A string, then you will play the fifth on the D string and the major seventh on the G string. Just think of it as moving the same pattern to a different set of strings. The basic shape stays the same, only the position changes. And remember, the root forms the foundation for the dominant chord voicing. If you want to play an A#7, then the root needs to be A#, and you can build the rest of the chord around that one note.
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