Hey Friend,
Hats off to Brad for taking a stab at answering my question from yesterday, which was, "Can you tell me how we would make a minor 7 chord?"
Really. Tell me, 'cause I don't have a clue!
Okay, just kidding.
A minor 7 chord is made when you flatten your third note - so it's a minor chord with the minor 7 note added in. We're going to notate it similar to how we notate a minor chord - The letter name of the chord with a lower case 'm' followed by a '7.'
The minor 7 has a melancholy sound to it - not as sad as a regular minor chord, but there's definitely something there to tug at the heart.
Getting back to an example, a Dm7 chord is again constructed from the D major scale.
D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, (D)
Take the D, F#, A and C# notes. Then flatten the third and seventh notes, making them D, F, A and C. The exercise files ( download here) show the root inversion, played at the eighth fret. Obviously, this isn't the most convenient placement of the chord, so feel free to use the second example on a regular basis. This is the second inversion, and we play it right down in the open position.
Remember, right now I'm just giving you examples of the chord forms, rather than focusing on a key or specific chords. Again, the idea is to get you used to the sound of these chords. No matter what key your working with, the various chords will sound correct as you play them in relation to the key.
If you want a good reference song to hear the effectiveness of the minor 7 chord in action, listen to the intro section of " Sara Smiles" by Hall & Oates. Enjoy!
Peace~
Dave | 
