Chord Structure Part 2
Dominant 7th Chords
In
Chord Structure Part 1
I talked about the 4 types of triads. These triads can be built on top of each
other as you can see with the Dominant 7th chords below.
TO MAKE A DOMINANT 7TH CHORD THE INTERVALS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
ROOT - MAJOR THIRD - 3RD - MINOR THIRD - 5TH - MINOR THIRD - 7TH
NOTICE THIS CHORD IS BUILT OFF OF A MAJOR TRIAD. ALSO NOTICE
THAT THE THE TOP PART OF THIS CHORD IS A DIMINISHED TRIAD(2
MINOR THIRDS).
IF WE LOOK AT EACH OF THE FOLLOWING CHORDS INDIVIDUALLY, WE SEE
THAT WHEN THE SEVENTH CHORD IS MADE, AN EXTRA ROOT IS
LOWERED BY A WHOLE STEP MAKING THE SEVENTH CHORD.
The 7th's are shown below with a
. If you move your finger up 2 frets from the 7th, you will have your standard major chord again. (This doesn't work with the B 7th).
7th Chords:
|
Chord
|
String
|
Note
|
Interval
|
7th
|
Chord
|
String
|
Note
|
Interval
|
7th
|
|
A 7th:
|
E
|
E
|
5th
|
|
B 7th:
|
E
|
Not Played
|
-
|
|
|
|
A
|
A
|
Root
|
|
|
A
|
B
|
Root
|
|
|
|
D
|
E
|
5th
|
|
|
D
|
D#
|
3rd
|
|
|
|
G
|
G
|
7th
|
|
|
G
|
A
|
7th
|
|
|
|
B
|
C#
|
3rd
|
|
|
B
|
B
|
Root
|
|
|
|
E
|
E
|
5th
|
|
|
E
|
F#
|
5th
|
|
|
Chord
|
String
|
Note
|
Interval
|
7th
|
Chord
|
String
|
Note
|
Interval
|
7th
|
|
D 7th
|
E
|
Not Played
|
-
|
|
E 7th
|
E
|
E
|
Root
|
|
|
|
A
|
A
|
5th
|
|
|
A
|
B
|
5th
|
|
|
|
D
|
D
|
Root
|
|
|
D
|
D
|
7th
|
|
|
|
G
|
A
|
5th
|
|
|
G
|
G#
|
3rd
|
|
|
|
B
|
C
|
7th
|
|
|
B
|
B
|
5th
|
|
|
|
E
|
F#
|
3rd
|
|
|
E
|
E
|
Root
|
|
|
Chord
|
String
|
Note
|
Interval
|
7th
|
Chord
|
String
|
Note
|
Interval
|
7th
|
|
F 7th
|
E
|
Not Played
|
-
|
|
G 7th
|
E
|
G
|
Root
|
|
|
|
A
|
Not Played
|
-
|
|
|
A
|
B
|
3rd
|
|
|
|
D
|
Eb
|
7th
|
|
|
D
|
D
|
5th
|
|
|
|
G
|
A
|
3rd
|
|
|
G
|
G
|
Root
|
|
|
|
B
|
C
|
5th
|
|
|
B
|
B
|
3rd
|
|
|
|
E
|
F
|
Root
|
|
|
E
|
F
|
7th
|
|
YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT THE C 7TH WAS NOT SHOWN IN THE ABOVE EXAMPLES. THE REASON WHY IS THAT IT IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. HERE IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE:
|
Chord
|
String
|
Note
|
Interval
|
7th
|
|
C 7th
|
E
|
Not Played
|
-
|
|
|
|
A
|
C
|
Root
|
|
|
|
D
|
E
|
3rd
|
|
|
|
G
|
Bb
|
7th
|
|
|
|
B
|
C
|
Root
|
|
|
|
E
|
E
|
3rd
|
|
THE ABOVE CHORD IS MISSING A 5TH. CAN THIS STILL BE A TRUE CHORD WITHOUT A 5TH? THE ANSWER IS YES. HERE IS SOME EXPLANATION:
WHEN MAKING CHORDS, THE 3RD AND THE 7TH ARE CONSIDERED COLOR TONES. THIS MEANS THAT THESE NOTES MUST RING OUT IN ORDER FOR THAT CHORD TO SOUND TRUE. THE MOST EXPENDABLE NOTE IS THE 5TH AND THE SECOND MOST EXPENDABLE NOTE IS SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH THE ROOT. WHAT IS MEANT BY EXPENDABLE IS THIS: IF YOU ARE MAKING A 7th CHORD, MAKE SURE THAT YOUR FINGERING INCLUDES THE 3RD
AND THE 7TH. IF THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE, FIRST TRY THE CHORD WITHOUT THE 5TH AND IF THAT STILL DOES NOT WORK TRY IT WITHOUT THE ROOT. YOU WILL FIND THIS VERY IMPORTANT WHEN MAKING CHORDS TO THE 9TH, 11TH, OR EVEN 13TH.
Back Home
Back to Lesson 4(No Frames)
Guitar Lessons /
Guitar Links /
Eric's MP3's /
Eric's GuitArt /
Sign Guestbook /
View Guestbook /
E-Mail Eric