The 7th Chord Family (Part 1)

So far, we have been learning about triads (three-note harmony/chord) and their inversions. How about I tell you that there are tons of chord options out there that you can learn and sound better.

The chords in the 7^th chords family posses an extra note added to a triad, hence it is a four-note harmony (chord)

The most commonly used chords in the 7^th chord family are the

1. Major 7^th chord (Maj7)
2. Minor 7^th chord (min7)
3. Dominant 7^th chord (Dom7 or simply the 7^th chord)
4. Diminished 7^th chord (Dim7)
5. Half Diminished 7^th Chord (or min7b5)

In this lesson, we will examine the Major and Minor 7^th chords respectively.

Let’s discuss the finger placement for a four-note harmony like chords in the 7th chords family.

Simply use fingers 1,2,3 & 5 on the right hand and 5,3,2 & 1

Hence, if you were to place a C Major 7th Chord (CEGB)

Right Hand:

C is finger #1 (thumb)

E is finger #2 (pointer)

G is finger #3 (middle finger)

B is finger #5 (little finger)

Left Hand:

C is finger #5 (little finger)

E is finger #3 (middle finger)

G is finger #2 (pointer)

B is finger #1 (thumb)

Now we can safely proceed…

Major 7^th Chord

The Major 7^th chords originate from the Major Triads with an extra added Major 7^th note.

Structure: 1+3+5+7

The Major 7^th note added is a Major 3^rd (2 whole steps) from the 5^th.

Hence, if you were to find a C Major 7^th Chord (Cmaj7)

C E G (C Major Triad) + B (B is 2 whole steps or a Major 3^rd interval from the 5^th note G)

Thus, C Major 7^th chord is CEGB

Let’s see if you can do the F Major 7^th chord.

Minor 7^th Chord

When you add a Minor 7^th note to a Minor Triad, you get a Minor 7^th Chord.

Structure: 1+b3+5+b7

The Minor 7^th is a minor 3^rd (Whole and half step) from the 5^th note.

Hence, the D minor 7^th chord is

D F A (D minor triad) + C (Minor 7^th) = DFAC (D minor 7^th Chord)

Can you try and create the A minor 7^th Chord?

Chord Reference Image :