The diagrams below show fingerings for 4-part barre chords based on the CAGED patterns 4 (6th string root) and 2 (5th string root). Note that not every chord on this page uses a barre.
6th String Root (based on CAGED pattern 4)
Root 6 – Major 7 (maj7, M7, Δ)

Root 6 – minor 7 (min7, m7, -7)

Root 6 – dominant 7 (dom7, 7)

Root 6 – half-diminished (ø, m7b5)

5th String Root (based on CAGED pattern 2)
Root 5 – Major 7 (maj7, M7, Δ)

Root 5 – minor (min7, m7, -7)

Root 5 – dominant 7 (dom7, 7)

Root 5 – half-diminished (ø, m7b5)

4th String Root (based on CAGED pattern 5)
Root 4 – Major 7 (maj7, M7, Δ)

Root 4 – minor 7 (min7, m7, -7)

Root 4 – dominant 7 (dom7, 7)

Root 4 – half-diminished (ø,m7b5)

What to Practice
Try these three practice examples:
Harmonized Major Scale
Remember there are seven notes (called degrees) in a major scale. A chord can be built from any degree. Regardless of the key, every major scale has major 7 chords at positions 1 and 4, a dominant 7 chord at position 5, minor 7 chords at positions 2, 3, and 6, and a half-diminished (m7b5) chord at position 7. This can be written out using Roman numerals, where uppercase numerals represent major chords (any chord with a major 3rd) and lowercase numerals represent minor or diminished chords (any chord with a minor 3rd.) The small circle with a line through it next to chord vii means half–diminished.
IΔ ii-7 iii-7 IVΔ V7 vi-7 viiø
- Using 6th string root chords only, play a harmonized G major scale:
GΔ A-7 B-7 CΔ D7 E-7 F#-7b5 GΔ - Using 5th string root chords only, play a harmonized E major scale. Once the root note goes beyond fret 12 (the B7 chord), play the chords down an octave. (The B7 chord will have its root at fret 2 instead of fret 14.)
Remember the pattern, regardless of key, is:
IΔ ii-7 iii-7 IVΔ V7 vi-7 viiø - Using 4th string root chords only, play a harmonized B major scale. Once the root note goes beyond fret 12, play the chords down an octave. (The iii chord will have its root at fret 1 instead of fret 13.)
Classical Progression
Let’s take that classical progression from the 3-part barre chord practice session and add color by upgrading the 3-part chords to 4-part chords. The maj7 chords now make this sound jazzy. In fact, it’s starting to sound a lot like Still Got The Blues by Gary Moore (just in a different key). If you want to retain the classical feel, don’t use min7 or maj7 (leave them as plain old min and maj without the 7ths).
Fm7 | Bb7 | EbΔ | AbΔ |
D-7b5 | G7 | Cm7 | Edim |
Fm7 | Bb7 | EbΔ | AbΔ |
D-7b5 | G7 | Cm7 | Cm7 ||
Sunny
Let’s upgrade the chords in Sunny from 3-part chords to 4-part chords. Try using the bonus maj7 and dom7 shapes shown in the downloadable PDF at the top of this page.
A-7 | C7 | FΔ | E7 |
A-7 | C7 | FΔ | E7 |
A-7 | G-7 C7 | FΔ | Bb7 |
B-7b5 | E7 | A-7 | B-7b5 E7 || (repeat)