Hey Friend,
So we've looked at major, minor, suspended 2 and suspended 4 triads at this point. There are a number of other chords you will see on a regular basis in Rock music (as well as the Blues, Country, Folk and Jazz genres). These are the 7 chords: Dominant 7, major 7 and minor 7.
In each instance of the various 7 chords, you begin with the base triad, whether it's a major or minor chord. Then you add the appropriate 7th note to that triad, either the minor or major seventh interval.
Let's look at the Dominant 7 chord, as this is the most common 7 chord you'll encounter.
First off, when you see a dominant 7 chord notated (in tabs), the chord chart will be shown like this: D7
That's shorthand for a D dominant 7 chord. Which is also known as a "D major minor seventh chord." I think I'll stick with dominant 7, thank you.
What's going on in the chord is a standard major triad, with a minor seventh note added to the triad.
For example, the D7 chord is made up of the notes D, F#, A and C.
Here's the scale so you can see it a little better:
D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#
As you can see, the major seventh is C#, so with a dominant 7 chord that seventh note is flattened, making a minor 7 interval (the interval is the distance between the tonic note - D in this case - and the flattened major seven.
Looking at the exercise files, I've shown the D7 chord in a root inversion, which will be fairly difficult to play based on the neck location. The more commonly used shape is in the open position, shown on the second system of the tabs (second set of lines). This is a second inversion of the D7 chord. Then you can practice shifting between the D major and D7 chords so your ears start differentiating between the two sounds.
Give them a try. Again, I want you to see these common forms and start hearing how the chords sound in relation to their various forms. Even when we shift to other keys, the same sound qualities will still apply. You'll get to the point where you can tell what kind of chord you're hearing based on how it sounds.
Have a great Friday!
Peace~
Dave |
