Whether you're new to the 7 string guitar and wanting to get going, or your a seasoned player looking to break out of the box, I'd like to share with you 13 chord shapes for the 7 string guitar that I've found very useful. We're going to cover 5 categories: Major, minor, dominant 7, augmented, and diminished. Most of these chords will have C as the root, just to simplify things. Notes with an asterisks * are optional. You can also download this in a GP5 format which can be opened in GuitarPro or the free TuxGuitar.
Major
C Maj7
e -
b 1*
G 4
D 2
A -
E 3
B 1
C Maj7#11 Drop 3
This one is a little more complex since you have to bar the 7th and 6th strings with your middle finger.
e 0*
b 0*
G 11
D 9
A 7
E 8
B 8
Db Maj7
e 1*
b 1
G 1
D 3
A 4
E -
B 2
C Maj7 - Drop 3
e -
b -
G 4
D 5
A 3
E -
B 5
Minor
C Min7 add9
e -
b 3
G 3
D 1
A -
E -
B 1
C Min7
e -
b 1*
G 3
D 1
A 1
E 3
B 1
C Min9 - Drop 3
e 3*
b 3*
G 7
D 5
A 3
E -
B 4
Dominant 7
(These are taken from the Animals as Leaders song Modern Meat!)
C7
e -
b 1*
G 3
D 2
A 3
E -
B 1
C7#9
e -
b 4
G 3
D 2
A -
E -
B 1
Diminished
C Min7b5
e -
b -
G 3
D 4
A 3
E -
B 4
C Fully Diminished
e -
b 1
G 2
D 4
A 3*
E -
B 1
Augmented
C Aug
e -
b -
G 1
D 2
A 3*
E 4*
B 1
C Maj7#5
e -
b 12
G 9
D 10
A -
E -
B 9
I hope you have found these helpful. As usual, feel free to reach out with any questions or comments! - Zach