Chords with roots on the A string: C Major 7 and D Minor 7

C Major 7 and D Minor 7 are two very commonly used chords.

Notice the ellipse around the 1st finger in the chord diagrams. It should be laying flat on the neck, as a bar, playing the notes not sounded by the other fingers. If you move the Dm7 chord down 2 frets (towards the tuning pegs) , it becomes a Cm7. Practice shifting from the CMaj7 shape to the Cm7 shape. Do this slowly remembering that clean tones are what you want to hear.

Click on the diagrams for an MP3 audio example.

Click here if you’re not sure how to read the chord blocks.

This chord progression has a nice jazzy sound to it and is a great way to learn these chord shapes. Use the chord diagrams above to play this progression.

For the EbMaj7, play the shape on the 6th fret.
For the DbMaj7, play the shape on the 4th fret.

For the Em7, play the shape on the 7th fret.

Click on the chord chart for an MP3 audio example.

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