Identifying seventh chords

In aural skills class, we are practicing identifying seventh chords. This is second nature for guitarists and pianists who play anything jazz-related, but I appreciate that it’s harder for singers and players of monophonic instruments. Here’s my reference guide to the four (non-diminished or –augmented) seventh chords.

Dominant sevenths

This is the “default” seventh chord, the one that’s just named with the number seven in the chord symbol. For a good chunk of European musical history, it was the only seventh chord. Bach and his contemporaries sometimes used major and minor sevenths, but they didn’t think of them as independent vertical entities, just something that emerged temporarily from counterpoint.

In Western European tradition, if you see a C7 chord, it is the V7 chord in the key of F (or F minor), and you are probably about to hear an F (or Fm) chord. In current popular music, though, C7 can be a tonic chord, a IV chord, or just about anything else.

If you leave out the root of C7, the other three notes form an E diminished triad, which contributes to the chord’s sense of drama.

In the Beatles’ recording of “Twist and Shout”, the “ahhhh ahhhh ahhhhh ahhhh” part arpeggiates an Ab7 chord (A-flat, C, E-flat and G-flat) that resolves to Db on the next “shake it up baby”.

Here are some songs for practicing hearing, singing and playing your dominant seventh chords. “Within You Without You” by the Beatles is an endless Db7.

“India” by John Coltrane is an endless G7 (with a lot of other stuff happening around it).

“Shhh/Peaceful” by Miles Davis is an endless D7 (with a lot of other stuff happening around it).

Major sevenths

These chords were once considered very dissonant, but jazz taught us to hear them as smooth and creamy.

If you leave off the root of Cmaj7, the rest of the chord forms an E minor triad. Maybe that’s why maj7 chords sound so wistful.

It’s rare for a piece of music to sustain a single major seventh chord for a long time, but you sometimes hear it in the artsier styles of electronic dance and ambient music. This Doc Scott track is built around an endless Fmaj7.

 

Minor sevenths

This chord is one of the building blocks of jazz, R&B, funk and hip-hop. It’s a grown and sexy sound.

If you leave off the root of Cm7, you get an Eb major triad.

It is easy to find grooves based on a single minor seventh chord, some of which are extremely long. “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” by the Temptations is almost fourteen minutes of Bbm7.

“Spiritual” by John Coltrane is ten minutes of Cm7.

“Overtake Overtake Don Overtake” by Fela Kuti is half an hour of Gm7.

Minor major sevenths

A minor triad with a major seventh on top of it! Mysterious! This chord is rare outside of jazz, but for the sake of completeness, I’ll include it.

If you leave the root off of Cm(maj7), you get an E-flat augmented triad. Hitchcockian!

The last chord of the James Bond theme music is Em(maj7) (along with an added ninth on top.)

“Chelsea Bridge” begins with alternating Bbm(maj7) and Abm(maj7) chords.

“Us and Them” by Pink Floyd has a nice Dm(maj7).

I am not aware of any music that sustains a min(maj7) chord for any length of time, but if someone has done it, let me know in the comments.

Here’s an interactive Noteflight explainer of these chords.

There are also diminished seventh chords and half-diminished and augmented seventh chords and other more exotic variants, but that’s a subject for another post (and another week of aural skills).

The circle diagrams in this post were made using the aQWERTYon – try it yourself!