Dominant 7th chords are often used in blues and rock music, but it’s a chord that not many people will be familiar with. Below I’ve mapped out the notes of the A Major triad which results in the familiar CAGED pattern. Then I added the 0 – 10 interval, in this case G to show all the notes of the A7 chord.
Fret Formula: 0 – 4 – 7 – 10
Notes: A – C# – E – G
As you can see below this gives you several different ways to play this chord. In fact each of the 4 inversions are shown. An inversion is a way to play a chord with a note other than the root note as the lowest note. The Root position is with the A as the lowest note, the 1st inversion is with the C# as the lowest note, the 2nd inversion is with E as the lowest note and the 3rd inversion is with the G as the lowest note in the chord voicing.
More Blues and Blues Rock theory lessons check out Blues Theory Revolution
About Neill Like many guitar players Neill struggled to understand music theory until he learned about the inherent properties of the instrument that in fact make it the best instrument for learning theory on. His specialty is helping people who fear they are too old to learn music theory. Visit the GTR Store to support his work.