Lesson 30: 7th Chords
This lesson teaches 7th chords, an important set of chord types
used in many songs.
Before taking this lesson, you should know:
You already know that a
triad is a 3-note chord; the 3 notes in a triad
are called the
root, the
3rd, and the
5th.
7th chords have an additional note, called the "7th". So, the notes in
a 7th chord are called:
Root 3rd 5th 7th
The 3rd, 5th, and/or 7th can all be raised or lowered by a half-step or two to
make many different
types of 7th chords. In this lesson, we'll just
learn the 3 most common 7th-chord types:
- Dominant 7th chord (chord symbol: just 7)
- Major 7th chord (chord symbol: maj7)
- Minor 7th chord (chord symbol: m7)
Let's start with the
major-7th chord; it's not the most common 7th
chord, but it's the easiest one to explain first. The major-7th chord consists
of the
1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th notes of a major scale. Symbolically, its
formula is:
Major 7th chord: 1 3 5 7 (degrees of a major scale)
Next, we have the
dominant-7th chord, which is actually the most common
7th chord. The dominant-7th chord is just like the major-7th chord,
except
you lower the 7th a half-step. Thus, its formula is:
Dominant 7th chord: 1 3 5 ♭7
Finally, the formula for the
minor-7th chord is:
Minor 7th chord: 1 ♭3 5 ♭7
Putting it all together, the formulas for these 3 chord types are:
| Major 7th chord: |
1 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Dominant 7th chord: |
1 | 3 | 5 | ♭7 |
| Minor 7th chord: |
1 | ♭3 | 5 | ♭7 |
Here are reference tables for the notes in these chords:
| Major 7th Chords |
| Chord Symbol |
Root |
3rd |
5th |
7th |
| A♭maj7 |
A♭ | C | E♭ |
G |
| Amaj7 |
A | C♯ | E |
G♯ |
| B♭maj7 |
B♭ | D | F |
A |
| Bmaj7 |
B | D♯ | F♯ |
A♯ |
| Cmaj7 |
C | E | G | B |
| D♭maj7 |
D♭ | F | A♭ |
C |
| Dmaj7 |
D | F♯ | A |
C♯ |
| E♭maj7 |
E♭ | G | B♭ |
D |
| Emaj7 |
E | G♯ | B |
D♯ |
| Fmaj7 |
F | A | C | E |
| F♯maj7 |
F♯ | A♯ |
C♯ | E♯ |
| G♭maj7 |
G♭ | B♭ |
D♭ | F |
| Gmaj7 |
G | B | D |
F♯ |
| Dominant 7th Chords |
| Chord Symbol |
Root |
3rd |
5th |
7th |
| A♭7 |
A♭ | C | E♭ |
G♭ |
| A7 |
A | C♯ | E |
G |
| B♭7 |
B♭ | D | F |
A♭ |
| B7 |
B | D♯ | F♯ |
A |
| C7 |
C | E | G |
B♭ |
| C♯7 |
C♯ | E♯ |
G♯ | B |
| D♭7 |
D♭ | F | A♭ |
C♭ |
| D7 |
D | F♯ | A |
C |
| E♭7 |
E♭ | G | B♭ |
D♭ |
| E7 |
E | G♯ | B |
D |
| F7 |
F | A | C |
E♭ |
| F♯7 |
F♯ | A♯ |
C♯ | E |
| G♭7 |
G♭ | B♭ |
D♭ | F♭ |
| G7 |
G | B | D | F |
| Minor 7th Chords |
| Chord Symbol |
Root |
3rd |
5th |
7th |
| Am7 |
A | C | E | G |
| B♭m7 |
B♭ | D♭ | F |
A♭ |
| Bm7 |
B | D | F♯ |
A |
| Cm7 |
C | E♭ | G |
B♭ |
| C♯m7 |
C♯ | E |
G♯ | B |
| Dm7 |
D | F | A | C |
| D♯m7 |
D♯ | F♯ |
A♯ | C♯ |
| E♭m7 |
E♭ | G♭ |
B♭ | D♭ |
| Em7 |
E | G | B | D |
| Fm7 |
F | A♭ | C |
E♭ |
| F♯m7 |
F♯ | A |
C♯ | E |
| Gm7 |
G | B♭ | D |
F |
| G♯m7 |
G♯ | B |
D♯ | F♯ |
When you understand how to construct these 7th chords, go on to
Lesson 31: 7ths Games to practice
and test yourself.
