In this lesson we are going to use an A major shaped barre chord to play Dominant 7th chords.

I start by reviewing the open position A7 chord. This is the shape we will use to make a movable barre chord shape we can move up and down the fretboard to play Dominant 7th chords rooted on the A string. Place your index finger across the first fret in order to barre all the strings. Place your ring finger on the D string two frets higher than the barred fret finger, in this case the third fret of the D string. Place your pinky on the B string two frets higher than the barred fret finger, in this case the third fret of the B string. Make sure you can clearly hear the A, G and high E strings ringing at the first fret where your index finger is barring them.

Strum the chord one string at a time very slowly to make sure that each note is sounding as clearly as possible. Then you can go ahead and strum the chord, lightly grazing the pick over each string quickly right after one another. Practice strumming a lot. It will come in handy. Once you can strum down, then try to strum back and forth.

Now you are ready to try the next step. Slide your hand up the fretboard maintaining the shape of the barre chord! Refer to the image notation to learn which chord you are playing based upon the root note you are holding on the A string.