Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar Blog With Steve Krenze

Course Walk-Through: Session 6 – Minor 7th & Suspended

Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Alright, I've given you more than an month to practice Session 5 and it's time to move on! Session 5 introduced you to simple chords - the basics. Like I say each time, be sure to go back to previous sessions to continue practicing and building that base. Session 6 will cover more chords - minor 7th and suspended chords. (est. time 3 weeks)

Open Minor Seventh Chords

These chords build on the basic chords you learned in Session 5. They are variations of the basic chords and use similar fingerings - thus the importance of repeatedly practicing the basic chords. Here are three minor seventh chords. Note: the small 'm' in the chord name stands for 'minor' as the '7' stands for 'seventh'.

The hardest chord for you will most likely be the Dm7 as this is a very beinning introduction to barre chords. It uses your first finger (index finger) to cover the first and second strings. It helps to invert your knuckle in order to put proper pressure on the strings. At first it may be difficult, but like everything with guitar, the more you practice, the easier it will become.

Exercise

There are many exercises you can do to practice new chords. You can even make them up on your own. As long as you are switching between chords, you are practicing. Here is one exercise to practice the Am7 chord:

Open Suspended Chords

Suspended chords usually involve the fourth finger (pinkey) and they typically come after a major chord (remember these from session 5?). Here are three popular suspended chords.

Exercise

Here is one example of an exercise to practice the Esus chord. The Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar lesson book that comes with the course contains multiple exercises to help you practice.

Open Chord Exercises

Try some of these exercises for additional practice of Minor Seventh and Suspended chords as well as various strumming patterns.

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