7 sharp and flat five

Difficulty: intermediate

7#5 and 7b5 are 7th chords with altered (sharp or flat) 5ths. These chords are not common in some styles of music, like pop, but are helpful to study for jazz, classical, and theoretical purposes. First, let's examine some shapes starting with the root note of A on the sixth string.

A7#5

4321E##5C#3Gb7AR

7#5 is constructed with the 1st, 3rd, #5th, and b7th notes of the major scale. An A7#5 chord contains A, C#, E# (F), and G.

We use E# instead of it's enharmonic equivalent, F, because we are raising the 5th (E) by one half step.

Let's now study shapes starting with the root note of D on the 5th string.

D7#5

4141F#3Cb7A##5DR

7#5 is constructed with the 1st, 3rd, #5th and b7th notes of the major scale. D7#5 contains D, F#, A#, and C.