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Music Theory: Lesson 9
The Seventh Chords
By Zack Cart
Prerequisites:
You should be able to understand and perform the concepts and techniques outlined in the following lessons before attempting this lesson:
Ÿ Music Theory: Lessons 1-8
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In the previous lesson, we explored the diatonic triadic chords of any given major key. In this lesson, we will learn how to create more complicated chords from the four basic triads we have discussed in prior lessons.
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We know that by stacking combinations of major or minor thirds, we can create up to four different triads, each with a root, major or minor third, and diminished, perfect, or augmented fifth. If we take these four triads, and stack one more third on top of them, we will suddenly have a new breed of chord, the seventh chord.
Seventh chords are so named because, by stacking another third on top of the fifth of a triad, we create an interval which is a seventh above the root of the chord.
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Let's begin! We will use a root of C to work through each of the chord types.
If we take the basic major triad, we have a root, major third, and perfect fifth, or C, E, and G. We can now stack either of the two flavors of third on top of the fifth to create a seventh chord. If we add a major third above the G, we will get B, or a major seventh. This arrangement of Root, Major Third, Perfect Fifth, and Major Seventh is called a "Major 7th chord," often abbreviated as Maj7, or sometimes M7, although this last is confusing, as many musicians also use it to describe a different chord type.
If we had added a minor third above the fifth instead, the resulting chord would be C, E, G, Bb, which is C major with a minor seventh. In classical theory, these chords are frequently called "Major, minor 7" chords, but the term Dominant 7 is understood everywhere to describe the same seventh chord. This chord is often abbreviated as Dom7 or even just 7. Thus the symbols C Major, minor 7; C Dominant 7, C Dom7, and C7 are all used to describe this harmony with a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh.
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Next, the chords formed from a minor chord.
If we take a basic minor triad, Root, minor third, and perfect fifth, (C, Eb, G) and add a minor third above the fifth, we arrive at Bb, which is a minor seventh above C. Such a chord, with root, minor third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh, is called a "minor 7th" chord, abbreviated minor7, min7, m7, or -7. Note, that some musicians will use M7 to describe a major seventh chord and m7 to describe a minor seventh chord, while others will use either M7 or m7 to describe a minor seventh chord. To best read the symbols correctly the musician will often have to look at the other symbols in the chart, the notes in the melody, or the harmonic center of the song to figure out which chord is being described. This is one of the unfortunate effects of people's personalized notation methods!
Moving on. If we add a Major third atop the basic minor triad, we arrive at an extremely flavorful and somewhat exotic harmony. We will have added a B, or a major seventh above the root. Thus, a minor triad with an added major seventh is called a Minor, major 7th chord. (Not to be confused with the Major, minor 7th chord!)
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We can repeat this process with diminished triads, adding either a major or minor third above the fifth to create a seventh above the root.
If we add a major third, we will have created a minor seventh above the root. This chord, root, minor third, diminished fifth, minor seventh (C, Eb, Gb, Bb) is called a half diminished 7th chord, or a "minor 7 (b5)" chord.
If we add a minor third above the fifth, we arrive at a diminished seventh above the root. (C, Eb, Gb, Bbb) This chord is called a fully diminished 7th chord, or just a diminished 7.
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Finally, we have the augmented triad. The seventh chords built from it are less commonly found, but deserve to be explore all the same, even if for solely theoretical reasons.
To begin with, we have the basic augmented triad, Root, Major third, and augmented fifth.
If we add a major third atop this chord, we will find ourselves at a note which has a different name, but the same pitch as the root. To illustrate this, a C augmented triad contains the notes C, E, and G#. If we add a major third above G#, we arrive at B#, which is the same pitch as C, the root.
However, if we add a minor third, we arrive at B, which is a major seventh above C, the root. This chord, C, E, G#, B, or Root, Major third, Augmented Fifth, and Major Seventh can be known as a major 7 augmented chord, or as an augmented major seven chord.
Finally, if we add a diminished third to the chord, we arrive at the true augmented seventh chord, containing root, major third, augmented fifth, and minor seventh, or C, E, G#, Bb. This chord is flavorful, and frequently used to create a disoriented or dreamlike effect in music.
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Below is a list of the eight chord types discussed in this lesson, with a detailing of their corresponding parts.
|
Chord Name |
Root |
Third |
Fifth |
Seventh |
|
Major 7 |
Root |
Major Third |
Perfect Fifth |
Major Seventh |
|
Dominant 7 |
Root |
Major Third |
Perfect Fifth |
Minor Seventh |
|
Minor 7 |
Root |
Minor Third |
Perfect Fifth |
Minor Seventh |
|
Minor (Major 7) |
Root |
Minor Third |
Perfect Fifth |
Major Seventh |
|
Half Diminished 7 |
Root |
Minor Third |
Diminished Fifth |
Minor Seventh |
|
Fully Diminished 7 |
Root |
Minor Third |
Diminished Fifth |
Diminished Seventh |
|
Major 7 Augmented |
Root |
Major Third |
Augmented Fifth |
Major Seventh |