Lower One Note Every 7th Chord Makes Sense

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If you can play a barre chord, you already know every 7th chord — you just need to lower one note.
In this guitar lesson, I break down 7th chords on guitar in a simple, logical way by showing how major 7, dominant 7, minor 7, and half-diminished (m7♭5) chords all come from the same basic barre chord shapes you already know.
Instead of memorizing complex jazz chord shapes, you’ll learn how small interval changes inside familiar E-shape and A-shape barre chords completely change chord quality. This approach makes guitar chord theory easier to understand and much easier to apply on the fretboard.
We start by transforming barre chords into different 7th chord qualities by lowering one note at a time. Then we map those chords to the key using chord numbers, showing how to harmonize a key on guitar instead of relying on isolated patterns.
Finally, we apply these shapes to a jazz and blues–style chord progression, so you can hear how these 7th chords actually function in real music and learn how simple refingerings give you better control over arpeggios and voice leading.

In this lesson you’ll learn:
How every 7th chord comes from a barre chord
How lowering one note changes chord quality
Major 7 vs dominant 7 vs minor 7 vs half-diminished chords
How to use A-shape and E-shape barre chords
How to harmonize a key using 7th chords
How to apply jazz and blues chords on guitar
This lesson is designed to help intermediate guitar players understand how chords actually work — so the fretboard feels connected instead of confusing.

0:00 Intro – Lower One Note
1:29 Where 7th Chords Come From
2:49 Same Chord, New Fingering
7:31 Harmonizing the Key
9:34 Blues–Jazz Progression