Hey Friend,
Yesterday, we talked about 7 (7th) chords in their various forms. There’s the dominant 7, which is the most commonly used form of 7th chords. I also briefly introduced you to major and minor 7 chords.
Like harmonic scales built from major, minor and diminished chords, we can also build out harmonic scales using 7th chords. While you’re not going to see 7th chords used this way very much in Rock, it’s still good to understand what’s possible. This helps you expand your musical palette, especially if you want to play Pop, Gospel, Soul, and Jazz.
As we saw with major diatonic chords, there is a specific pattern to use with 7th chords. Here’s the C major key chord series we know and love:
I IIm IIIm IV V VIm VII°
C Dm Em F G Am B°
If we turn these chords into 7th chords, the new progression is going to look like this:
I IIm IIIm IV V VIm VII°
CM7 Dm7 Em7 FM7 G7 Am7 Bm7(b5)
That's...
C major 7
D minor 7
E minor 7
F major 7
G dominant 7
A minor 7
B minor 7 (with a flat 5 note)
Now I know this looks intimidating, but it’s not too bad. There is a little bit of a twist in there, though.
Notice the V chord. If this followed the standard major key chord series, you’d expect the G7 to be a GM7, but it’s not. It’s a dominant 7 chord. The other slight change is with the VII° chord. It’s written as a minor 7 chord with a flattened fifth note, but technically it’s the same as a diminished chord with the added 7m note (minor 7).
Don’t worry - I’m putting together exercises to help make this stuff crystal clear. For now, just read through this again and see what questions pop into your head.
Do the 7th chords make sense so far? Can you see how the chord pattern follows the same basic pattern as a major harmonic progression does?
Major Minor Minor Major Major Minor Diminished
M7 m7 m7 M7 7 m7 m7(b5)
It’s pretty close, and we’ll revisit this to make sure you understand it.
I’ll catch you tomorrow - see ya!
Peace~
Dave
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