hi.. umm.. basic 7 chords are supposed to have an extra note flattened a whole tone when compared to major chords right? the only difference between a c major chord and a c 7 chord is the extra A sharp note on the g string... so i am guessing... tht's the extra note but you're moving it up 3 frets compared to an open c major chord instead of flattening it by a whole tone....i am guessing its cuz an A note is a half tone lower in pitch than a g note... i just thought of this...but even then why not just an A note instead of the A sharp note that the c7 chord contains?

I do not understand what you are talking about.. Don't compare the 7th chords to major chords, compare them to Major 7th chords.

A C Major chord contains only: 1-3-5

A C Major 7 chord is built with the formula: 1-3-5-7

A C Dom. 7(C7) chord is built with this formula: 1-3-5-b7


So using the C Major scale, just plug in the corresponding scale degrees:

So, the C Major scale is: C(1)-D(2)-E(3)-F(4)-G(5)-A(6)-B(7)

Now tell me what notes make up each of those three chords.

i guess tht means a c major is made up of C, E and G....
a c major 7 is made up of C E G and B
i know that a c7 is made up of C E G and Bb or A#... the third note on the g string but umm i dont really get it....
i have a book which says this about dominant 7th chords... " what makes a 7th chord distinct? the 8th note in the major scale, or run of notes, is "flattened" or lowered in pitch, in this case by one whole tone less than it would be in a major chord. you might find this note referred to as the minor 7th, b7th or dominant 7th".... thts why i compared major chords and basic 7th chords..... i figured from this description that a 7th chord is just like a major chord ..the only difference being.... one note, a whole tone less than another note in the major chord.... this theory worked for me on A7 in which u unfret g string from the second fret playing a g instead of an A in an A major chord.....it works with D7 too where the b string is fretted at the 1st fret.... again if u compare this to a d major chord....u shift 2 frets back on the b string to get a D7 from a D major..... same goes for E7...the e major chord contains the note E on the d string....(2nd fret)....remove this finger lowering the pitch by a whole tone back to a D ...u get an E7....i cant use this logic to explain to explain a C7 chord though....which is why i am guessing that i am probably wrong......your explanation helped but i am having trouble with one thing..... ure saying that "
A C Dom. 7(C7) chord is built with this formula: 1-3-5-b7" and " the C Major scale is: C(1)-D(2)-E(3)-F(4)-G(5)-A(6)-B(7)" umm where is the the note b7 in this scale........i googled b7 or minor 7th notes and umm i couldnt make much sense of what i saw there.... thanks for ur help

Yeah, so the "b" symbol means the note is lowered 1 half step.

So 1-3-5-b7 in the Key of C= C-E-G-Bb

It would be incorrect to say that a C7 chord has a A#, because an A is a 6th away from C, we want some type of 7th, so it has to be a B, even though the notes sound the same.

I personally would not think of a 7th chord that way, ie, adding one note that is a whole step below...etc....

A 7th chord is really a: Major minor 7th chord

Because it is a Major triad with a minor 7th added from the root.

So C-E-G= C Major

Now add the minor 7th, which is Bb. C to Bb is a minor 7th interval.

And now you have, C-E-G-Bb= C7

I think you should spend some time working on writing out the 7th chords in various keys... So start with C Major, you just build thirds off of the root C, and stay in the key; and notate what chords they are.

C-E-G-B= CMaj7

D-F-A-C= Dm7

E-G-B-D= Em7


You finish it. And do this in other keys as well.

Crap, I forget about that pdf...