Chapter 23: The Advanced Master Framework – Using the BAGED System for 7th Chords

You have done some incredible work, learning a toolkit of 20 advanced 7th chord shapes! Right now, they might feel like a bunch of separate pieces. This chapter is where we connect them all into one single, integrated system. This is how you go from just knowing advanced chords to using them naturally and musically.

We're not learning anything new here; we are simply assembling all the parts you've already mastered. This is the BAGED system for 7th chords, and it's the key to really unlocking the entire fretboard for advanced harmony.

20 Shapes → 1 Unified Advanced System → Complete Harmonic Mastery

Let's get started.

The System: The BAGED Framework for 7th Chords

The same great, common-sense framework you learned for basic chords applies here, too. The system is identical. The shapes are just our new "upgraded" 7th chords.

For any 7th chord, these five shapes always appear in the same order as you move up the neck: B-A-G-E-D. It's a simple, repeating pattern. You already know it, and now we're just going to apply it to these new, richer-sounding chords.

• This is what the C major 7th chord looks like rooted on all these 5 strings.