My Problem

I seem to have this problem that when i change for example from Amaj to A7 there doesnt seem to be much difference in terms of sound. Must be my equiptment. WHat do you think it is my pickups, guitar in general (its a really basic one, about £130) or maybe its the amp although my amp is fairly good.

Anyone know?

how are you playing the two chords?

You should here a faint difference, especially if you play A, A dominant7th, D

How are you playing the chords?

Most play Amaj like x02220, and A7 like x02020.

Make sure you aren't muting the open G string. Pick each note of the chord seperately, and you should hear the difference. Ir shouldn't be anything to do with the guitar or the amp, it's just a case of training your ears to spot the difference.

Playing A7 xo2223 will give you a more discernible sound.

Yeah, I play it how deefa said and it sounds a lot different to me.

Hey doz nice to see you back. You haven't been around in a while.

Hi guys, i am talking about when i play the bar chord way. when i play 002220 to 002020(a7) i can tell the difference but it hardly noticeable when i play 577655 compared to 575655(a7), dont know why?

Try :-

57x685 (Dampen x with 2nd finger whilst covering 7 )

@ Doz :-

How ya doin' cocker?
We though you'd died and gone to punk heaven!

I have the same problem sometimes. I usually find that it's because I'm accidentally muting the D string because I'm pressing the wrong way with my barring finger.

Try plucking each note individually, and you will probably find that one note doesn't ring out as clearly as the others. Just move your fingers around until you can hear each note clearly.

The reason it sounds the same is because that is being probably muted is the dominant 7th (in this chord, G). Other than the G, all the notes of A and A7 are the same, so if it's muted, it will sound the same.

Just haven't been getting onto my laptop much in the past month. Probably be live and kicking again when I start to get bored again, :P.

JustJeff kind of touched on this, but you need to resolve the Dominant 7th chord. Dominant 7th chords really don't serve a purpose other than being resolved. Try playing a Dmaj chord right after an Amaj chord, then do the same with A7 by playing Dmaj right after it, you'll hear a difference then.