Seventh chords can add a rich harmonic sound to a song. They can also create tritone sounds and can be found both contemporary music as well as Romantic works like Debussy’s Claire de Lune.
Just like triads, seventh chords can always be constructed so that their notes fill every line and space of a staff. A seventh chord’s quality depends on both its triad type and seventh scale degree.
Major
The major seventh chord consists of the root note plus intervals from 3rd, 5th, and 7th scale degrees above it, playing specific and predictable roles in tonal Western art music. Like all seventh chords, major sevenths must be resolved; typically this happens via falling-fifth root motion because their source notes often descend in pitch while passing over others.
Students practicing writing major seventh chords in first inversion will find this worksheet challenging and engaging. Once finished, they fill in a chord diagram while labelling every chord by name.
Students identify the quality of each chord by envisioning its major key signature and sketching its root on a staff, along with notes which represent third, fifth and seventh inversions above it. If needed accidentals (for instance if playing C major chords with C sharp as major tone) must be added; otherwise they are left unsharpened (e.g. E and G sharpened).
Minor
Students use this sheet to practice writing major, minor, diminished and augmented seventh chords in a given key. Additionally, it serves as a handy chord spelling reference guide when learning new chords.
As with triads, seventh chords are named according to their quality. When stacked in closed spacing, a seventh chord resembles an extra-long snowperson with three middles and a head.
Certain seventh chords tend to act in predictable ways and serve the same functions in tonal music. For instance, the ii6/5 chord often appears when common-tone preparation is not possible and its chordal seventh resolves downwards by step; this occurs because its seventh often arises as a melodic event rather than harmonic one.
Dominant
Named dominant seventh chords, these types of chords feature a major triad with a flattened seventh and an interval of tritone to produce the distinctive sound and desire to resolve into tonic chords.
And this is exactly why so many composers utilize dominant seventh chords – whether composing rock music, blues, or jazz, dominant seventh chords often provide tension-creating elements and help give songs memorable hooks.
To create a dominant seventh chord, simply build a diatonic triad from any scale degree and add a flattened seventh. Or you could play a regular triad with an added flat seventh for an alternative approach that creates the dominant sound. These chords may be marked using roman numerals or lead sheet symbols.
Half-diminished
A half-diminished seventh chord is a seven-note chord whose notes can be stacked into minor thirds. This chord’s properties correspond with scale degrees in every major key and its characteristics remain the same in every major key.
To identify a semi-diminished chord, start with its root or lower note – typically D for C major chords in C# key signature – then determine its major key signature and any accidentals which apply. As an example, D should be sharp but in this instance is natural in this particular instance.
Assuming you know which key the chord belongs in, take a look at its note interval quality chart and identify its triad and seventh. Use enharmonic equivalence if necessary to respell it; these chord qualities remain constant across keys so memorizing them may prove helpful.
Fully-diminished
A fully diminished chord may sound dissonant at first listen, but its discordant qualities don’t grate quite as strongly as major second intervals do. Instead, this type of chord creates tension while creating the need to resolve it in jazz listeners’ ears.
A fully diminished chord in C major contains all minor thirds. Its base chord consists of a B minor triad and C minor seventh, and its name can be written out by drawing its root on the staff and adding notes a third, fifth and seventh above it (i.e. drawing an extra-long snowperson).
Like its triad counterpart, seventh chord quality is indicated by its first word; this is because most pedagogic names for seventh chords combine triad with interval qualities.