Lesson Goal: To internalize the Major 7th Chords in all spellings… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle…
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
Basic music reading skills… the LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.
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C Major Seventh Chord
- Chord symbol: Cmaj7, CM7, or CΔ7
- Chord structure = 1-3-5-7 (Major Triad + 7)
The Cmaj7 is a C major triad (something you already know) plus one more note: B. This added note gives it a colorful, sweet, dissonant, jazzy quality.
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Uses for the CM7 Chord
The C Major Seventh chord can perform any of the following functions (using Roman Numeral Analysis)…
- Imaj7 in C Major.
- IVmaj7 in G Major.
- bVImaj7 in E Minor.
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Major 7th Chord Names, Symbols, Spellings, & Keyboard Layouts, All Keys
Lesson Goal: To name, spell, hear, and visualize the keyboard layout for the most commonly used Major 7th Chords…
About Learning to Spell Major 7th Chords
First, realize that all you need to do to build a Major 7th Chord is to add “the 7” to a major triad.
Second, learn to spell each chord just as you’d spell any four-letter word in English. For example, you spell face F-A-C-E and star S-T-A-R. Likewise, you spell a CM7 chord C-E-G-B and DM7 chord D-F#-A-C#.
C Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: CM7, Cmaj7, or CΔ7
- Spelling = C-E-G-B (C Major Triad + B)
- Common Usage: IM7 in C major, IVM7 in G major, bVI7 in E minor.
D Flat Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: DbM7, Dbmaj7, or DbΔ7
- Spelling = Db-F-Ab-C (Db Major Triad + C)
- Common Usage: IM7 in Db major, IVM7 in Ab major, bVI7 in F minor.
D Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: DM7, Dmaj7, or DΔ7
- Spelling = D-F#-A-C# (D Major Triad + C#)
- Common Usage: IM7 in D major, IVM7 in A major, bVI7 in F# minor.
E Flat Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: EbM7, Ebmaj7, or EbΔ7
- Spelling = Eb-G-Bb-D (Eb Major Triad + D)
- Common Usage: IM7 in Eb major, IVM7 in Bb major, bVI7 in G minor.
E Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: EM7, Emaj7, or EΔ7
- Spelling = E-G#-B-D# (E Major Triad + D#)
- Common Usage: IM7 in E major, IVM7 in B major, bVI7 in G# minor.
F Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: FM7, Fmaj7, or FΔ7
- Spelling = F-A-C-E (F Major Triad + E)
- Common Usage: IM7 in F major, IVM7 in C major, bVI7 in A minor.
G Flat Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: GbM7, Gbmaj7, or GbΔ7
- Spelling = Gb-Bb-Db-F (Gb Major Triad + F)
- Common Usage: IM7 in Gb major, IVM7 in Db major, bVI7 in Bb minor.
G Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: GM7, Gmaj7, or GΔ7
- Spelling = G-B-D-F# (G Major Triad + F#)
- Common Usage: IM7 in G major, IVM7 in D major, bVI7 in B minor.
A Flat Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: AbM7, Abmaj7, or AbΔ7
- Spelling = Ab-C-Eb-G (Ab Major Triad +G)
- Common Usage: IM7 in Ab major, IVM7 in Eb major, bVI7 in C minor.
A Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: AM7, Amaj7, or AΔ7
- Spelling = A-C#-E-G# (A Major Triad + G#)
- Common Usage: IM7 in A major, IVM7 in E major, bVI7 in C# minor.
B Flat Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: BbM7, Bbmaj7, or BbΔ7
- Spelling = Bb-D-F-A (Bb Major Triad + A)
- Common Usage: IM7 in Bb major, IVM7 in F major, bVI7 in D minor.
B Major 7th
- Chord Symbol: BM7, Bmaj7, or BΔ7
- Spelling = B-D#-F#-A# (B Major Triad + A#)
- Common Usage: IM7 in B major.
Major Seventh Chords: Names & Spellings (Flashcards)
Lesson Goal: To quickly learn to name and spell the most commonly used Major 7th Chords (just as you spell any four-letter word in English)…
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Major Seventh Chord Practice, All Spellings
Root position Major Seventh Chords played melodically and harmonically, arranged chromatically ascending in all spellings…
Sample at 100 beats per minute…
Major Seventh Chords, All Keys (MP3 Play Along Practice Tracks)
The benefits of playing along with a click track at various tempos cannot be overstated: very slowly at first to have enough time to “think about everything”, then fast enough to be forced to “play without thinking”.
Major 7th Practice, All Keys @ 40 bpm…
Major 7th Practice, All Keys @ 60 bpm…
Major 7th Practice, All Keys @ 80 bpm…
Major 7th Practice, All Keys @ 100 bpm…
Major 7th Practice, All Keys @ 120 bpm…
Major 7th Practice, All Keys @ 140 bpm…
Major 7th Practice, All Keys @ 160 bpm…
For a donation to the website (Donations Page) Frank would be happy to send you his personal collection of zip files that include high-res PDFs of the scores and MP3 play along practice tracks for the entire Piano-ology study aids library. This includes all practice tracks for scales, chords, and chord progressions produced to date.
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Seventh Chords Ear Training
Learning Goal: To recognize the sound-feeling of the five most commonly-used 7th chords: major, minor, dominant, diminished, and half-diminished…
Format: Downloadable MP3s that allow you to do ear training for the five main 7th chord types almost anytime and anywhere: while doing the dishes, taking a walk, or driving your car!
Important Note from Frank: Don’t get too carried away with this. Do just enough to get the gist for how each 7th chord type sounds and feels. You will get lots more experience when we study 7th chords as part of chord progressions in real music.
Ear Training Files: Seventh Chords (MP3s)
This downloadable study consists of dozens of MP3s compressed into a single *.zip file. Simply download, unzip, create a playlist, set to random play, and do ear training on the run!
Each mp3 follows the same sequence:
- A random 7th chord is played.
- Identify it by type: major, minor, diminished, dominant, half-diminished.
- After a short pause, the correct answer is given.
Listen to an example:
Successful ear training is not the fruit of trying to hear something. It is about being receptive to the sound/feeling you are experiencing and then associating that sound/feeling with something you already know–in this case the name of each 7th chord.
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