A seventh

Chords are made up of tones. As D major is the full name of a specific collection of tones, A seventh is also specific. We call chords first by their by their root tone, D or A for example, and then by another name to indicate which specific collection of tones are added to that root. Examples of these other names are major or minor or dominant seventh or major sixth and on and on. Think of these second names as different kinds of side dishes which can accompany an entree.

Musicians mix tones together to make chords, just as painters mix pigments to create new shades of color. And as the sounds become more complex, so do the names. Not to worry.

Figuring out what various collections of notes are called and why they are so named is less important at this point, than gaining control of your hands so you can change chords smoothly and strum and pluck the strings in a musically fortunate way.

Finger a D chord again. This time, lift your ring finger off the second string, third fret. This leaves your index finger on the third string, and your middle finger on the first string, both at the second fret.

Study for a minute, the relationship of these two fingers. Both at the second fret, a string between them.

If you moved each of these fingers toward the ceiling one string, they'd both still be at the second fret but now, your index finger would be on the fourth string and your middle finger on the second string.

That's the chord form when plucked or strummed sounds the collection of tones known as A dominant seventh, or A seventh for short. Or A7.

Without strumming, move the position called A7 toward the floor one string, so your index finger is back on the third string and your middle finger is back on the first string, both at the second fret. Add then, your ring finger to the second string, third fret, and you're back at D.

Again without strumming, change back to A7. Watch your fretting hand as you change from A7 back to D and back again. The idea here is for your hand to learn what these chord forms feel like, so you can change by feel when you're thinking about other things.

The study of technique is the study of the human body in motion, or in our case, the fingers of your fretting hand in motion. A guitarist with good chord-changing technique is one who has eliminated a lot of unnecessary motion when changing from one chord form to another. Keep your hand close to the fret board when you change, feeling your way across the strings from D to A7 and back.

Try making this change to a rhythm. Finger a D chord, and tap your foot to a slow and steady beat. Again without strumming, count out two measures or eight beats, along with the rhythm you are tapping. Change to A7 again counting out two measures. We could write this little exercise down on paper, each chord symbol representing one measure, or four beats:

D    D    A7    A7

Tap out your rhythm slowly enough so you can change chords right on the beat. D, two, three, four, D, two, three, four, A7, two, three, four, A7, two, three, four. Do it slower. Repeat.

If it's a little awkward and takes longer to change chords than you had hoped, keep wiggling your fingers as you count until they begin to do what you want them to. They will.

Maybe it's not so awkward. Maybe you're able to do this easily, without a lot of fumbling and worry. Rejoice!

Let's add our strum. when on a D chord remember to begin your strum from the fourth string. When fingering an A7 chord, begin your strum from the fifth string. D, two, three, four, D, two, three, four, A7, two, three, four, A7, two, three, four. Repeat.