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Seventh ChordsSeventh chords are common in most styles of contemporary and traditional music (though there are many songs that consist of only triads). In this section we will go over the three most common types, major 7, minor 7 and dominant 7. There many types of seventh chords and the remaining will be discussed in Jazz Seventh Chords A seventh chord is just a triad with an interval of a seventh above the root note. Here are the three types in the key of C:
A major 7 chord is a major triad with the major seventh scale degree; it consists of the notes one, three, five and seven. The chord symbol is maj7 or sometimes a triangle followed by a 7. A dominant 7 is a major triad with the minor seventh scale degree; it consists of the notes one, three, five and flat seven. The chord symbol is just a 7 and occasionally you could see it written as dom7. A minor 7 is a minor triad with the minor seventh scale degree; it consists of the notes one, flat three, five and flat seven. The chord symbol is min7, -7 or m7. Learning all these seventh chords in all 12 keys is essential to playing jazz, as well as many other styles of music. you can go back and review
Intervals
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Triads
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