Hey Friend,
Since we have covered what the various 7th chords look and sound like, I thought the next logical step is to start using them in some actual progressions.
The exercise today takes its lead from a standard key of A progression, but I’ve made a couple substitutions to spice it up a bit.
Normally, with an A major key progression, you’d have the following standard triads:
I IIm IIIm IV V VIm VI°
A Bm C#m D E F#m G#°
As you’ll see in the PDF, the standard progression is I IIIm IIm IV, but the second two chords have been changed.
What we have now is I IIIm IIm7 Vm, with the IIm changing to a minor 7th chord and the IV to a minor chord.
Now hindsight being what it is, I should’ve put a system with the normal, un-substituted chords in the exercise first, but I didn’t think to do that until this morning. I’ll remember to do that in the next exercise so you can hear the differences.
So before you play through the exercise today with the substitutions, play the progression as if it were written with the standard chords. Here you go:
I IIIm IIm IV
A C#m Bm D
Strum through this a half-dozen times to get the sound in your ears.
Now get out the exercise file and play it as it’s written:
I IIIm IIm7 IVm
A C#m Bm7 Dm
The Bm7 is not that far a departure from the standard Bm in the key of A (you're simply adding the minor 7 note), but Dm takes you outside the key. That’s okay though, because the chord is only there to create a bit of tension until you return to the key with the A chord.
This technique is used all the time to change the emotional feel, even if it’s only for a single beat. This causes your brain to stop and re-evaluate the emotional direction of the riff. It’s a great way to keep the listener intrigued and actively listening.
Here are the exercise files:
As you can see, the rhythm isn't just straight strums. I tried to make this a little more interesting for you today.
Hope you like it - have a Rockin’ Friday!
Peace~
Dave
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