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== Dominant Seventh ==
== Minor/Major Seventh =={|class="wikitable"! Member Notes !! Spelling !! Ex.|-| (R m3 P5 M7) || Rm{{maj}}{{7}} (R = Root Note) ''or'' Rm maj{{7}} || Dm{{maj}}{{7}}, (D F A C{{s}}) ''or'' Dm maj{{7}top}|}
The '''minor/major seventh''' chord is a particularly rare chord. It is the diatonic i=== Half Diminished ==={{7Crumbs|blue2|4|7th Chords#Dominant Seventh|Dominant|7th Chords#Major Seventh|Major|7th Chords#Minor Seventh|Minor|7th Chords#Half Diminished|Half Diminished|7th Chords#Fully Diminished|Fully Diminished|7th Chords#Minor/Major Seventh|Minor/Major|7th Chords#Augmented Seventh|Augmented}} chord of harmonic minor.
R m3 P5 M7
-m3- -M3- '''-M3-'''
----P5----
'''----a5----'''
'''-------M7-------'''
If you remove the root from this chord, you are left with an augmented triad. You can hear it inside this chord - it sounds unsettling, but it also sounds lost like there is no chord that can easily resolve it, other than to treat the M7 like a suspension and resolve it down to a m7, giving you a Minor 7th Chord. I like arpeggiating this chord. It's more stable (clearer root/tonality) than a simple augmented or diminished chord, but it shares their open-ended mysterious tone.
{|
|+ Fingering Charts
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''' ''' |-|-|-|
'''5''' |i|-|-|
'''3''' |i|-|-|
'''7''' |)|m|-|
'''5''' |)|-|r|
'''R''' |i|-|-|
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'''5''' |i|-|-|
'''3''' |)|r|-|
'''7''' |)|m|-|
'''5''' |)|-|p|
'''R''' |i|-|-|
''' ''' |-|-|-|
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''' ''' |-|-|-|-|
'''R''' |i|-|-|-|
'''7''' |)|-|-|p|
'''3''' |i|-|-|-|
'''R''' |-|-|r|-|
''' ''' |-|-|-|-|
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'''3''' |-|m|-|
'''7''' |-|-|p|
'''5''' |-|-|r|
'''R''' |i|-|-|
''' ''' |-|-|-|
''' ''' |-|-|-|
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'''7''' |i|-|-|-|
'''5''' |-|r|-|-|
'''3''' |-|m|-|-|
'''R''' |-|-|-|p|
''' ''' |-|-|-|-|
''' ''' |-|-|-|-|
|}
== Half Diminished ==
! A{{7}} !! Am{{7}} !! B{{7}} !! Bm{{7}}
|}
{|
! B{{hdim7}} !! B{{fdim7}} !! C{{7}} !! C{{maj}}{{7}}
|-
||-|-|r|-|
||-|i|-|-|
|}
{|
! D{{7}} !! Dm{{7}} !! D{{maj}}{{7}} !! D+{{7}}
|-
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{|
! E{{7}} !! Em{{7}} !! E{{maj}}{{7}} !! E{{hdim7}}
|}
{|
! F{{maj}}{{7}} !! G{{7}} !! G{{maj}}{{7}}
|-
= Why/When 7ths? =
= Q & A ={{loud|Congratulations! You are ready to move on to [[Contents#Advanced Lessons|the advanced lessons]].}}
<div class="item-wrap">{{top}}<div class="trail blue"><span class="text">[[B Diminished{{Intermediate Lesson Crumbs|B dim]]</span><span class="text">[[Other Open String Chords|Open Chords]]</span><span class="text">[[Music Theory - Minor Keys|Minor Keys]]</span><span class="text">[[Harmonic Minor and Augmented Chords|Harmonic Min]]</span><span class="text">[[Barre Chords|Barre Chords]]</span><span class="text">[[Suspended Chords|Sus Chords]]</span><span class="text">[[Applying Rhythm to Chords|Rhythm]]</span><span class="text">[[Circle of Fifths|Circle of 5ths]]</span><span class="text">[[G Major and E Minor|G Maj and E Min]]</span><span class="text">[[5th Position|5th Pos]]</span><span class="text">[[Scales for all Positions|All Pos]]</span><span class="text">[[CAGED]]</span><span class="text current">[[7th Chords]]</span></div></div>13}}
→Why/When 7ths?
{{Top-Level Crumbs|1}}
{{Lesson Crumbs|2}}
{{Intermediate Lesson Crumbs|13}}
'''Seventh Chordschords''' extend our basic Root-3rd-5th triad chords by adding a 7th (R-3-5-7). This extra note adds an additional degree of harmonic complexity to chords. They can be used to strenghthen or weaken the resolve of cadences, as well as simply making things more interesting. It gives us a much greater variety of chords to choose from.
== PreReqs ==
== Varieties of 7th Chords =={{Crumbs|blue|1|7th Chords#Varieties of 7th Chords|Varieties|7th Chords#Common Open Position Voicings|Open Pos. Voicings|7th Chords#Diatonic Chords|Diatonic Chords|7th Chords#Why/When 7ths?|Why/When 7ths?}} === Dominant Seventh ==={{Crumbs|blue2|1|7th Chords#Dominant Seventh|Dominant|7th Chords#Major Seventh|Major|7th Chords#Minor Seventh|Minor|7th Chords#Half Diminished|Half Diminished|7th Chords#Fully Diminished|Fully Diminished|7th Chords#Minor/Major Seventh|Minor/Major|7th Chords#Augmented Seventh|Augmented}}
{|class="wikitable"
! Member Notes !! Spelling !! Ex.Example
|-
| (R M3 P5 m7) || R{{7}} (R = Root Note) || G{{7}}, (G B D A)
|}
The '''Dominant Seventhdominant seventh''' is the most common 7th chord. It is the dominant 7th (V{{7}}) chord of the Major and Harmonic Minor scales. The m7 in the chord above the major triad enhances the tension of the dominant chord and its resolution to tonic. It contains the following intervals:
R M3 P5 m7
'''R''' |i|-|-|
''' ''' |-|-|-|
|}
{|
|
''' ''' |-|-|-|
{|
|+ Open Position Fingering Charts
! E{{7}} !! E{{7}} !! G{{7}} !! A{{7}} !! C{{7}} !! D{{7}}
|-
|
'''R''' o|-|-|
''' ''' ||-|-|
|}
{|
! C{{7}} !! D{{7}}
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'''3''' o|-|-|-|
|}
{{top}} === Major Seventh ==={{Crumbs|blue2|2|7th Chords#Dominant Seventh|Dominant|7th Chords#Major Seventh|Major|7th Chords#Minor Seventh|Minor|7th Chords#Half Diminished|Half Diminished|7th Chords#Fully Diminished|Fully Diminished|7th Chords#Minor/Major Seventh|Minor/Major|7th Chords#Augmented Seventh|Augmented}}
{|class="wikitable"
! Member Notes !! Spelling !! Ex.Example
|-
| (R M3 P5 M7) || R{{maj}}{{7}} (R = Root Note) ''or'' R maj{{7}} || C{{maj}}{{7}}, (C E G B) ''or'' C maj{{7}}
|}
The '''Major Seventhmajor seventh''' is a fairly common 7th chord (also sometimes written as {{maj}}{{7}}). It appears as on the I and IV chords diatonic to the major keys. The M7 typically needs some space to prevent it from sounding overly dissonant. If the octave is stacked on top the M7, you get the inversion of the M7, the m2 interval, which is very dissonant. Overall, I find this chord sounds quite peaceful; however, it still has a bit of tension. This makes it work great for jazz or if you want to use the tonic without feeling fully resolved. It contains the following intervals:
R M3 P5 M7
|}
{{top}} === Minor Seventh ===The '''minor seventh''' is a very common 7th chord. It appears as the ii{{7}}, iii{{7}}, and vi{{7}} in major keys; i{{7}}, iv{{7}}, and v{{7}} in natural minor; and iv{{7Crumbs|blue2|3|7th Chords#Dominant Seventh|Dominant|7th Chords#Major Seventh|Major|7th Chords#Minor Seventh|Minor|7th Chords#Half Diminished|Half Diminished|7th Chords#Fully Diminished|Fully Diminished|7th Chords#Minor/Major Seventh|Minor/Major|7th Chords#Augmented Seventh|Augmented}} in harmonic minor.
{|class="wikitable"
! Member Notes !! Spelling !! Ex.Example
|-
| (R m3 P5 m7) || Rm{{7}} (R = Root Note) || Dm{{7}}, (D F A C)
|}
The '''minor seventh''' is a very common 7th chord. It appears as the ii{{7}}, iii{{7}}, and vi{{7}} in major keys; i{{7}}, iv{{7}}, and v{{7}} in natural minor; and iv{{7}} in harmonic minor.
R m3 P5 m7
|}
{|class="wikitable"
! Member Notes !! Spelling !! Ex.Example
|-
| (R m3 d5 m7) || R{{hdim}}{{7}} (R = Root Note) || B{{hdim}}{{7}}, (B D F A)
|}
{||+ Open Position Fingering Charts|-! F{{s}}{{hdim}}{{7}} !! F{{hdim}}{{7}} !! B{{hdim}}{{7}}|-| ''' ''' ||-|-|-|-| '''5''' ||i|-|-|-| '''3''' ||-|p|-|-| '''7''' ||-|r|-|-| '''3''' o|-|-|-|-| '''R''' ||-|m|-|-|| ''' ''' ||-|-|-| '''5''' o|-|-|-| '''3''' ||r|-|-| '''7''' ||m|-|-| '''5''' ||-|p|-| '''R''' ||i|-|-|| '''5''' ||i|-|-|-| '''R''' o|-|-|-|-| '''7''' ||-|r|-|-| '''3''' o|-|-|-|-| '''R''' ||-|m|-|-| ''' ''' ||-|-|-|-||} {{top}} === Fully Diminished ==={{Crumbs|blue2|5|7th Chords#Dominant Seventh|Dominant|7th Chords#Major Seventh|Major|7th Chords#Minor Seventh|Minor|7th Chords#Half Diminished|Half Diminished|7th Chords#Fully Diminished|Fully Diminished|7th Chords#Minor/Major Seventh|Minor/Major|7th Chords#Augmented Seventh|Augmented}}
{|class="wikitable"
! Member Notes !! Spelling !! Ex.Example
|-
| (R m3 d5 d7) || R{{dim}}{{7}} (R = Root Note) || B{{dim}}{{7}}, (B D F A{{f}})
|}
The '''fully diminished seventh chord''' is quite rare for diatonic chord progressions; however, it is very handy for [[Modulation|modulating ]] between keys. It serves as a pivot chord between basically any 2 keys. It is also useful to enter an atonal feel, where chromatic or octatonic scales can play over the chord. It is the diatonic vii{{dim}}{{7}} of harmonic minor.
R m3 d5 d7
|}
{{top}} == Augmented = Minor/Major Seventh ==={{Crumbs|blue2|6|7th Chords#Dominant Seventh|Dominant|7th Chords#Major Seventh|Major|7th Chords#Minor Seventh|Minor|7th Chords#Half Diminished|Half Diminished|7th Chords#Fully Diminished|Fully Diminished|7th Chords#Minor/Major Seventh|Minor/Major|7th Chords#Augmented Seventh|Augmented}}
{|class="wikitable"
! Member Notes !! Spelling !! ExExample|-| (R m3 P5 M7) || Rm{{maj}}{{7}} (R = Root Note) ''or'' Rm maj{{7}} || Dm{{maj}}{{7}}, (D F A C{{s}}) ''or'' Dm maj{{7}}|} The '''minor/major seventh''' chord is a particularly rare chord. It is the diatonic i{{7}} chord of harmonic minor. R m3 P5 M7 -m3- -M3- '''-M3-''' ----P5---- '''----a5----''' '''-------M7-------''' If you remove the root from this chord, you are left with an augmented triad. You can hear it inside this chord - it sounds unsettling, but it also sounds lost like there is no chord that can easily resolve it, other than to treat the M7 like a suspension and resolve it down to a m7, giving you a Minor 7th Chord. I like arpeggiating this chord. It's more stable (clearer root/tonality) than a simple augmented or diminished chord, but it shares their open-ended mysterious tone. {||+ Fingering Charts| ''' ''' |-|-|-| '''5''' |i|-|-| '''3''' |i|-|-| '''7''' |)|m|-| '''5''' |)|-|r| '''R''' |i|-|-|| '''5''' |i|-|-| '''3''' |)|r|-| '''7''' |)|m|-| '''5''' |)|-|p| '''R''' |i|-|-| ''' ''' |-|-|-|| ''' ''' |-|-|-|-| '''R''' |i|-|-|-| '''7''' |)|-|-|p| '''3''' |i|-|-|-| '''R''' |-|-|r|-| ''' ''' |-|-|-|-|| '''3''' |-|m|-| '''7''' |-|-|p| '''5''' |-|-|r| '''R''' |i|-|-| ''' ''' |-|-|-| ''' ''' |-|-|-|| '''7''' |i|-|-|-| '''5''' |-|r|-|-| '''3''' |-|m|-|-| '''R''' |-|-|-|p| ''' ''' |-|-|-|-| ''' ''' |-|-|-|-||} {{top}} === Augmented Seventh ==={{Crumbs|blue2|7|7th Chords#Dominant Seventh|Dominant|7th Chords#Major Seventh|Major|7th Chords#Minor Seventh|Minor|7th Chords#Half Diminished|Half Diminished|7th Chords#Fully Diminished|Fully Diminished|7th Chords#Minor/Major Seventh|Minor/Major|7th Chords#Augmented Seventh|Augmented}} {|class="wikitable"! Member Notes !! Spelling !! Example
|-
| (R M3 a5 M7) || R+{{7}} (R = Root Note) || C+{{7}}, (C E G{{s}} B)
|}
{{top}} == Common Open Position Voicings =={{Crumbs|blue|2|7th Chords#Varieties of 7th Chords|Varieties|7th Chords#Common Open Position Voicings|Open Pos. Voicings|7th Chords#Diatonic Chords|Diatonic Chords|7th Chords#Why/When 7ths?|Why/When 7ths?}}
{|
|-
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A{{7}}<br>
<pre>
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Am{{7}}<br>
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B{{7}}<br>
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Bm{{7}}<br>
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B{{hdim7}}<br>
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B{{fdim7}}<br>
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C{{7}}<br>
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o|-|-|-|-|
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C{{maj}}{{7}}<br>
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o|-|-|-|-|
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D{{7}}<br>
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Dm{{7}}<br>
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D{{maj}}{{7}}<br>
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D+{{7}}<br>
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E{{7}}<br>
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o|-|-|-|-|
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Em{{7}}<br>
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o|-|-|-|-|
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E{{maj}}{{7}}<br>
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o|-|-|-|-|
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E{{hdim7}}<br>
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o|-|-|-|-|
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F{{maj}}{{7}}<br>
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F{{maj}}{{7}}<br>
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F{{s}}{{hdim}}{{7}}<br>
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G{{7}}<br>
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G{{maj}}{{7}}<br>
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{{top}} == Diatonic Chords =={{Crumbs|blue|3|7th Chords#Varieties of 7th Chords|Varieties|7th Chords#Common Open Position Voicings|Open Pos. Voicings|7th Chords#Diatonic Chords|Diatonic Chords|7th Chords#Why/When 7ths?|Why/When 7ths?}}
Only dominant 7ths, minor 7ths, major 7ths, and half diminished 7ths are diatonic to the major and natural minor scales.
The fully diminished 7th is also diatonic to the [[Exotic Scales|octatonic diminished scales (Whole-Half and Half-Whole)]].
=== Sample Progressions === {{top}} == Why/When 7ths? =={{Crumbs|blue|4|7th Chords#Varieties of 7th Chords|Varieties|7th Chords#Common Open Position Voicings|Open Pos. Voicings|7th Chords#Diatonic Chords|Diatonic Chords|7th Chords#Why/When 7ths?|Why/When 7ths?}}
In general, 7ths can be used to get a more complex sound than a basic triad. Added on top of major/minor triads typically makes them feel less resolved. This is particularly handy for the Dominant 7th, as the dominant (V) chord is generally desired to feel tense, seeking resolution to the tonic (I or i). Adding a 7th to the tonic triad weakens its sense of resolution; however, it still serves as tonic and is the guiding beacon for the harmony. The tonic 7th can give a feeling of incomplete resolution, making the music feel more relaxed and flowing than seeking completion.
''The most common use of 7th chords comes in the form of '' V{{7}} - I (or V{{7}} - i) ''progressions.''
As noted for the augmented 7th and half diminished 7th Chords, the 7th helps add consonance and lightens the feel of the basic triad, while adding a richer harmony to it and making it feel more complex. complExample I recommend always using the half diminished 7th over the triad when diatonic to the current key, especially as the vii{{hdim}}{{7}} chord of a major key.
Sevenths can also be desirable for voice leading purposes. Or it may simply be implied by a melody line.
Fully diminished and minor/major 7th chords are particularly dissonant and create a particularly unresolved feeling. The fully diminished 7th chord can also be used to signal an atonal feel.
{{top}} == Homework ==* Learn the different varieties of 7th chords, in terms of their names and the intervals against the root note.* Learn at least 1 barre chord shape for each variety of 7th chord* Learn all the diatonic 7th chords for C Major/A Natural Minor in open position.* Learn all the diatonic 7th chords for A Harmonic Minor in open position.* Learn several chords that are non-diatonic are non-diatonic to C Major/A Minor in open position.* Know that the V{{7}}-I or V{{7}}-i is possibly the strongest harmonic resolution possible in Western music.* Play the sample progressions above.* Play progressions from previous lessons, particularly the circle progression, substituting in 7th chords. Get a feel for when 7th chords are appropriate and when they are not, based on the harmonic function of the chord as well as the style of music.* Create your own progressions, substituting in diatonic 7th chords.
= Related Lessons = Q & A ==
== Related Lessons ==
* [[C Major Chord]]
* [[E Minor, D Minor, and A Minor Chords]]
* [[Music Theory - Diatonic Chord Progressions]]
* [[B Diminished]]
* [[Music Theory - Minor Keys]]
* [[Harmonic Minor and Augmented Chords]]
* [[Extended Chords]]
[[Category:Guitar]]