C, G, F and seventh chords

Guitar · Open chords and strumming · Level 2 · 15 min

With C, G and F you can accompany hundreds of songs in C major. F is the first hard chord: the index finger covers the two top strings. The “small F” below is a step towards the full barre.

Seventh chords

Adding a (minor) 7th to a major chord creates a tension that wants to resolve: the colour of blues and cadences. The open shapes are often easier than the plain chords!

M:4/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=66
K:C clef=treble-8
"C"[CEGce]4 | "F"[FAcf]4 | "G7"[G,B,DGBf]4 | "C"[CEGce]4 |]

C → G7 → C: finger 1 almost stays put! Always look for shared or neighbouring fingers between two chords and move them as little as possible.

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