Seventh chords add another level of harmony to progressions. They come in all forms; major, minor or diminished–each offering something distinctively different.
7th chords can be found both in jazz music as well as modern and pop. This chart provides 4-part names, common names, chord symbols and formulas for all nine varieties of 7th chords.
Scales
Chords are an integral component of jazz harmony and often found in contemporary music. Chords can also be utilized when improvising over chord changes in other genres like rock, pop and funk music.
Seventh chords are formed from triads which in turn are built upon scales; as such, their quality depends on which scale forms its base.
The dominant seventh is one of the most frequently encountered seventh chords, typically added as an additional minor seventh to a major triad in blues progressions for its slightly dissonant sound.
Major
First up will be the major seventh chord, found throughout many forms of contemporary music as well as classic works like Claude Debussy’s “Claire de Lune.” Major 7ths have an attractive sound often used in love songs.
These chords are essential for beginning jazz musicians. Understanding them will provide a solid basis in reading charts on gigs or studio sessions, while they also act as building blocks that will allow you to advance further with chord progressions.
Minor
Minor seventh chords consist of a minor triad and minor seventh above its root note, often represented by its chord symbol Cma7 or Bmi7. Knowing about minor seventh chords is particularly useful in more contemporary genres like pop and rock that often use major sevenths.
Within a minor key, seventh chords can be identified by their quality rather than by scale degree, making them easier to remember since these qualities remain the same across every key.
To determine the qualities of a seventh chord, draw its root on a staff and add any accidentals from its key signature above it. Next, create an extra-long snowperson representing notes a third, fifth, and seventh above the root (see diagram below), which represent its qualities.
Augmented
Augmented chords are popularly utilized in jazz guitar music and often produce a Moorish sound. Used both as dominant substitutes and chromatic passing chords with linear functions, these chords can create a rich aural experience.
An augmented 7th chord is an augmented triad with a raised 5th. This chord often occurs naturally within whole tone scales (scales which include major and minor intervals separated by an interval of one whole tone).
Augmented chords may seem complex at first glance, but they’re actually quite straightforward. Each chord features its own signature note interval quality which defines its overall personality – the augmented 7th is no exception!
Dominant
Dominant seventh chords are one of the key 7th chords to know for functional harmony, constructed by taking a major triad and adding its fourth tones into a minor 7th interval – producing an expanded sound typical in blues and rock music.
These voicings may be played using either hand; in general, bass notes should not be included in most instances.
Jazz musicians depend on these chords as a key tool for improvisation and creating tension and drama through improvising, as they’re able to move freely between keys. Their interval qualities also create great drama; when voice leading is taken into consideration they also resolve beautifully into triads due to voice leading, as seen when an E from an example C7 chord resolves upward a semitone towards F and down one semitone towards A respectively.