If you’re a pianist who plays contemporary bands or ensembles, seventh chords should be an integral component of your repertoire. Seventh chords create a more pleasing sound than their triad equivalents.
To identify a seventh chord, identify its root on the staff and write out its major triad and minor seventh. When writing these notes above them, add any accidentals from your key signature if needed.
Minor Keys
With three minor scales (natural, harmonic and melodic), there are more chords to select than in major keys. Following the same chord-building rules applies; however, more options for naming them exist (for instance the half-diminished chord has similar properties to diminished 7th but is easier to spell).
Chords built on me and le feature a major triad and minor seventh, while those constructed using sol and re with raised leading tone produce half-diminished or fully diminished chords; please see diagram for full breakdown of different possibilities.
One of the more intriguing options is the minor 6(b5), commonly referred to as the wandering seventh chord. This non-diatonic chord, often found in jazz tunes such as Wayne Shorter’s Iris, adds an inimitable, melancholic quality to music that makes it one of its own. While often part of [iio7 – V7 – i-7] progressions, it can also stand on its own without necessarily needing additional chords for accompaniment.
Major Keys
Composers frequently use seventh chords to add harmonic tension to their music. Over time, however, our ears have grown used to dissonance; therefore certain types of seventh chords have become integral elements in many styles of music–including jazz.
An example of such a chord is an augmented-major seventh chord, composed of a major triad with sharp fifth and major seventh notes, usually found on the first scale degree of major keys.
A minor 7(b5) chord consists of a minor triad with a flat fifth and minor seventh; this chord type can often be found as part of minor [iio7 – V7 – i-7] progressions.
Each kind of seventh chord offers unique qualities. To select the ideal chord for your music, it’s essential that you understand these attributes; otherwise it would be impossible to choose an effective one! To gauge its quality quickly and efficiently, simply look at its root, 3rd, 5th and 7th notes intervals.
Dominant Keys
A dominant seventh chord is a four-note chord comprised of a major triad and an interval of a seventh above its root note, typically diatonic in nature but containing potentially altered thirds as well.
To create a dominant seventh chord on the staff, begin by drawing its root, followed by notes a fifth and seventh above it (i.e. an extra-long snowperson). Any accidentals in your key signature should also apply here.
As part of our previous lessons, we discussed major, minor and dominant triads as well as diminished and augmented seventh chords. Each has their own particular sounds that combine can produce an array of emotions; often tension is created using these chords; they also add color to other chords in a progression for creating more complex melodies with increased emotional content.
Minor Minors
Chords can be constructed in various ways. Some chords use diatonic scale notes (first, third and fifth notes of any scale); while others utilize more complex intervals like ninth, eleventh or thirteenth notes of any scale.
When chords constructed from minor scales are named differently. If a chord features a flattened seventh note, it is known as minor seven, while when its seventh tone has major potential it is known as major seven.
This chord progression uses melodic minor tonality by replacing harmonic minor’s Iv7 with melodic minor’s IV7 to achieve stronger cadence resolution and create the minor tonality of its key.
Before making a commitment to a minor, it’s important to identify what it is you wish to achieve through studying it. Are you hoping to build foreign language abilities, learn programming or launch a small business? Minors offer great opportunities for fulfilling such ambitions.