Supplemental Material for Page 10 (Chapter 1)
Dominant 7th Chords
A7, D7, & E7
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General info about page 10:
This page introduces dominant 7th chords. You now know the three main types (or "qualities") of chords: major, minor, and dominant. If major chords sound bright & happy, and minor chords seem dark or sad, dominant chords have direction. That is, they want to move on (and "resolve") to some other chord.
About the chord symbols and names of the chords:
A quick overview: (See also: "About the Chord Symbols" on page 6.)
The chord symbols for major chords are simply upper case letters: "C" means to play a C major chord. The term "major" is usually assumed, and omitted in both print and speech.
For minor chords, some abbreviation of the word "minor" is added: "min", "mi", "m" (always lower case), or a minus sign (" — ") are all reasonably acceptable.
For dominant chords, the number 7 is added to the simple upper case letter and the word "dominant" is omitted in both print and speech (except for clarification).
About the six chord combinations:
The first (top) three chord pairs simply work the newly presented dominant chords back & forth, in the same format as pages 2, 4, and 6. This is the most efficient way to familiarize your brain and fingers with the new shapes. The other three chord pairs (E7 to A, D7 to G, and A7 to D) are especially important. These are examples of the dominant chords resolving as expected. (E7 "wants" to go to A, etc.) Since these are the expected resolutions (also called "cadences"), they turn up commonly in songs. Be able to play them comfortably. Also, be sure your guitar is in tune as you practice these; train your ear to recognize these "right" sounding chord combinations.
About the progressions:
Progression 1 uses all three of the presented dominant chords in a commonly used pattern. Again, use your ear; notice that each dominant chord naturally flows to the next, finally resolving on the G.
Progression 2 is similar, but the middle two chords are minor. Again, these progressions are designed to help your ear identify the chord qualities. Listen to how this progression differs from the first. Without looking, you should be able to tell whether someone plays progression 1 or 2. If possible, try it with a friend or teacher.
Progressions 3 and 4 further illustrate the sound qualities and tendencies of the dominant chords, with D becoming D7, then resolving to G, A7 resolving to D, and E becoming E7, then resolving to A.
About the alternate fingerings:
These are some other acceptable ways to play the chords. Basically, A7 is like A (major) with the 3rd string open, and/or the first string played at the 3rd fret (instead of open). E7 is like E with the 4th string open and/or the 2nd string played at the 3rd fret.
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