Hey Friend,

You’re probably not going to be excited about this, but probably the easiest way to play 7th chords in all their forms in one place is by barre chord. You best just resign yourself to the fact that barre chords are an essential tool for the working guitarist!

The sooner you bite the bullet and fight through strengthening your index finger, the easier this is going to go. 

I’ve been providing barre chord versions of every chord we’ve studied so far, but I’ve been a nice guy and not demanded that you pay special attention to the barre chords. I guess this is because I’ve got a soft heart, but maybe Drill Sergeant Dave needs to make a showing (unless you’ve been a good recruit, doing ALL your exercises...)?

Save your cryin' for your mama!

As I worked on the exercise files last night, I was looking at all the various forms of each chord, and the vast majority of the chord shapes are more complex than what the barre versions provide. Overall, 7th barre chord forms are just easier to play, and that's where I’m putting my focus for you.

Save your cussing - it won’t help you. Barre chords are here to stay, and the sooner you accept it, the faster you’ll be playing those chords with ease. As Nike says, Just Do It!

At this point, I’m going to hold off on creating exercises that show all the neck positions for each 7th chord. It’s not very likely you’ll need to know them unless you’re heavy into Jazz. As long as you know the main barre positions for each, you’ll be in good shape.

Speaking of shapes, besides a strong index finger, you’ll only need to know five chord shapes for 7th chords. That’s total for both root 5 and root 6 barre chords.

I hope to have the first exercise done tonight, so rest your fingers up - they’re going to get a barre chord workout!

Have a great day!

Peace~

Dave