• Eight Seventh Chord Types And How To Master Them

    in Chords & Progressions,Experienced players,Piano

    In this lesson, we’re focusing on eighth seventh chord types as well as how they can be mastered.

    Seventh chords are commonly used in a variety of music styles — especially the dominant seventh chord — which is commonly used as a passing chord.

    Learning and mastering these eighth seventh chord types and how they are formed will add 96 chords to your chord arsenal. However, you must give this lesson your undivided attention for the next 15 minutes or so.

    Let’s get started by refreshing our minds on  seventh chords.

    A Short Note On Seventh Chords

    Although there are so many ways to define a chord, a chord according to Jermaine Griggs “is an aggregate of three or more related notes (agreeable or not), which may be played or heard together.”

    Seventh chords are basically a class of chords that encompass a seventh interval.

    “So, What’s A Seventh Interval…”

    Notwithstanding that there are other ways to determine the size of an interval, a seventh interval is one in which the distance between the two notes encompasses seven scale steps.

    For example, the interval between C and B:

    …is a seventh interval because there’s an encompassing of seven scale steps.

    “What Is A Seventh Chord?”

    Any chord that encompasses a seventh interval is classified as a seventh chord.

    For example, the C major seventh chord:

    …is classified as a seventh chord because it encompasses a seventh (C to B):

    Due to the fact that most seventh chords are formed using third intervals, it’s common to have four notes in most seventh chord:

    The root

    The third

    The fifth

    The seventh

    Formation Of Major Seventh Chord Types

    The term major seventh in this lesson, refers to chords that have the major seventh interval and we’re focusing on four of them:

    The major seventh chord

    The minor [major seventh] chord

    The augmented major seventh chord

    The diminished major seventh chord

    Let’s take a closer look at each of them!

    The Major Seventh Chord

    The major seventh chord is a product of the following:

    A major triad

    A major seventh interval

    Using any known major triad and major seventh interval, the major seventh chord can be formed.

    “Check This Out…”

    The D major triad:

    …and the D major seventh interval:

    …altogether produces the D major seventh chord:

    Formula: Major seventh interval + Major triad = Major seventh chord

    “Check Out All The Major Seventh Chords On The Keyboard…”

    The C major seventh chord:

    The Db major seventh chord:

    The D major seventh chord:

    The Eb major seventh chord:

    The E major seventh chord:

    The F major seventh chord:

    The Gb major seventh chord:

    The G major seventh chord:

    The Ab major seventh chord:

    The A major seventh chord:

    The Bb major seventh chord:

    The B major seventh chord:

    The Minor [Major Seventh] Chord

    The minor [major seventh] chord is a product of the following:

    A minor triad

    A major seventh interval

    Using any known minor triad and major seventh interval, the minor [major seventh] chord can be formed.

    “Check This Out…”

    The F minor triad:

    …and the F major seventh interval:

    …altogether produces the F minor [major seventh] chord:

    Formula: Major seventh interval + Minor triad = Minor [major seventh] chord

    “Check Out All The Major Seventh Chords On The Keyboard…”

    The C minor [major seventh] chord:

    The C# minor [major seventh] chord:

    The D minor [major seventh] chord:

    The Eb minor [major seventh] chord:

    The E minor [major seventh] chord:

    The F minor [major seventh] chord:

    The F# minor [major seventh] chord:

    The G minor [major seventh] chord:

    The G# minor [major seventh] chord:

    The A minor [major seventh] chord:

    The Bb minor [major seventh] chord:

    The B minor [major seventh] chord:

    The Augmented Major Seventh Chord

    The augmented major seventh chord is a product of the following:

    An augmented triad

    A major seventh interval

    Using any known augmented triad and major seventh interval, the augmented major seventh chord can be formed.

    “Check This Out…”

    The D augmented triad:

    …and the D major seventh interval:

    …altogether produces the D augmented major seventh chord:

    Formula: Major seventh interval + Augmented triad = Augmented major seventh chord
    “Check Out All The Augmented Major Seventh Chords On The Keyboard…”
    The C augmented major seventh chord :

    The Db augmented major seventh chord :

    The D augmented major seventh chord :

    The Eb augmented major seventh chord :

    The E augmented major seventh chord :

    The F augmented major seventh chord :

    The Gb augmented major seventh chord :

    The G augmented major seventh chord :

    The Ab augmented major seventh chord :

    The A augmented major seventh chord :

    The Bb augmented major seventh chord :

    The B augmented major seventh chord :

     

    The Diminished Major Seventh Chord

    The diminished major seventh chord is a product of the following:

    A diminished triad

    A major seventh interval

    Using any known diminished triad and major seventh interval, the diminished major seventh chord can be formed.

    “Check This Out…”

    The D diminished triad:

    …and the D major seventh interval:

    …altogether produces the D diminished major seventh chord:

    Formula: Major seventh interval + Diminished triad = Diminished major seventh chord
    “Check Out All The Diminished Major Seventh Chords On The Keyboard…”
    The C diminished major seventh chord :

    The C# diminished major seventh chord :

    The D diminished major seventh chord :

    The Eb diminished major seventh chord :

    The E diminished major seventh chord :

    The F diminished major seventh chord :

    The F# diminished major seventh chord :

    The G diminished major seventh chord :

    The G# diminished major seventh chord :

    The A diminished major seventh chord :

    The Bb diminished major seventh chord :

    The B diminished major seventh chord :

    Formation Of Minor Seventh Chord Types

    The term major seventh in this lesson, refers to chords that have the major seventh interval and we’re focusing on four of them:

    The dominant seventh chord

    The minor seventh chord

    The augmented seventh chord

    The half-diminished seventh chord

    Let’s take a closer look at each of them!

    The Dominant Seventh Chord

    The dominant seventh chord is a product of the following:

    A major triad

    A minor seventh interval

    Using any known major triad and major seventh interval, the dominant seventh chord can be formed.

    “Check This Out…”

    The D major triad:

    …and the D minor seventh interval:

    …altogether produces the D dominant seventh chord:

    Formula: Minor seventh interval + Major triad = Dominant seventh chord
    “Check Out All The Dominant Seventh Chords On The Keyboard…”
    The C dominant seventh chord:

    The Db dominant seventh chord:

    The D dominant seventh chord:

    The Eb dominant seventh chord:

    The E dominant seventh chord:

    The F dominant seventh chord:

    The Gb dominant seventh chord:

    The G dominant seventh chord:

    The Ab dominant seventh chord:

    The A dominant seventh chord:

    The Bb dominant seventh chord:

    The B dominant seventh chord:

    The Minor Seventh Chord

    The C minor seventh chord:

    The C# minor seventh chord:

    The D minor seventh chord:

    The Eb minor seventh chord:

    The E minor seventh chord:

    The F minor seventh chord:

    The F# minor seventh chord:

    The G minor seventh chord:

    The G# minor seventh chord:

    The A minor seventh chord:

    The Bb minor seventh chord:

    The B minor seventh chord:

    The Augmented Seventh Chord

    The augmented seventh chord is a product of the following:

    An augmented triad

    A minor seventh interval

    Using any known augmented triad and minor seventh interval, the augmented seventh chord can be formed.

    “Check This Out…”

    The C augmented triad:

    …and the C minor seventh interval:

    …altogether produces the C augmented seventh chord:

    Formula: Minor seventh interval + Augmented triad = Augmented seventh chord

    “Check Out All The Augmented Seventh Chords On The Keyboard…”

    The C augmented seventh chord:

    The Db augmented seventh chord:

    The D augmented seventh chord:

    The Eb augmented seventh chord:

    The E augmented seventh chord:

    The F augmented seventh chord:

    The Gb augmented seventh chord:

    The G augmented seventh chord:

    The Ab augmented seventh chord:

    The A augmented seventh chord:

    The Bb augmented seventh chord:

    The B augmented seventh chord:

    The Half-diminished Seventh Chord

    The half-diminished seventh chord is a product of the following:

    A diminished triad

    A minor seventh interval

    Using any known major triad and minor seventh interval, the dominant seventh chord can be formed.

    “Check This Out…”

    The C diminished triad:

    …and the C minor seventh interval:

    …altogether produces the C half-diminished seventh chord:

    Formula: Minor seventh interval + Diminished triad = Half-diminished seventh chord

    “Check Out All The Half-diminished Seventh Chords On The Keyboard…”

    The C half-diminished seventh chord:

    The C# half-diminished seventh chord:

    The D half-diminished seventh chord:

    The D# half-diminished seventh chord:

    The E half-diminished seventh chord:

    The F half-diminished seventh chord:

    The F# half-diminished seventh chord:

    The G half-diminished seventh chord:

    The G half-diminished seventh chord:

    The A half-diminished seventh chord:

    The Bb half-diminished seventh chord:

    The B half-diminished seventh chord:

    Final Words

    Congratulations!

    Getting to this point let’s me know that you’re serious about learning how seventh chords can be formed using major and minor seventh intervals and regular triads:

    Major triads

    Minor triads

    Augmented triads

    Diminished triads

    Go ahead and commit these chords to memory as much as you can and in a fraction of time, you’ll have a more sophisticated chord vocabulary.

    See you in the next lesson!

     

     

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    Chuku Onyemachi

    Head of Education at HearandPlay Music Group
    Onyemachi "Onye" Chuku is a Nigerian musicologist, pianist, and author. Inspired by his role model (Jermaine Griggs) who has become his mentor, what he started off as teaching musicians in his Aba-Nigeria neighborhood in April 2005 eventually morphed into an international career that has helped hundreds of thousands of musicians all around the world. Onye lives in Dubai and is currently the Head of Education at HearandPlay Music Group and the music consultant of the Gospel Music Training Center, all in California, USA.

    Related posts:

    1. Introduction To The Cycle Of Seventh Chords
    2. A Lesson On The Scale Degree Seventh Chords Of The Melodic Minor Scale
    3. Revealed: The Formation Of Major Seventh Chords Using The Diminished Octave Interval
    4. Play it the way YOU want to play it: Exploring Chord Voicings!
    5. Chord Quiz: “What Do You See?” (Part 1)
    6. Choral Perspectives To The A&B Voicings Of Major Seventh And Minor Seventh Chords
    7. A Lesson On The Seventh Chord Types For The Diminished Triad


    Related posts:

    1. Introduction To The Cycle Of Seventh Chords
    2. A Lesson On The Scale Degree Seventh Chords Of The Melodic Minor Scale
    3. Revealed: The Formation Of Major Seventh Chords Using The Diminished Octave Interval
    4. Play it the way YOU want to play it: Exploring Chord Voicings!
    5. Chord Quiz: “What Do You See?” (Part 1)
    6. Choral Perspectives To The A&B Voicings Of Major Seventh And Minor Seventh Chords
    7. A Lesson On The Seventh Chord Types For The Diminished Triad



    Tagged as: augmented major seventh chord, augmented seventh chord, diminished major seventh chord, dominant seventh chord, half-diminished seventh chord, major seventh chord, minor seventh chord


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