Lesson Goal: To quickly internalize the Minor 7th Chord 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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D Minor Seventh Chord
- Chord Symbol: Dm7, Dmin7, or D-7
- Chord Structure: 1-b3-5-b7 (Minor Triad + b7)
- Character: dark, sometimes cool, sometime introspective, sometimes soulful.
The Dm7 chord is a D minor triad plus the note C.
Notice how the additional note C adds some color to the already dark sounding D minor triad.
Uses for the Dm7 Chord
The D Minor Seventh chord can perform any of the following functions (using Roman Numeral Analysis)…
- ii7 in C Major (often as part of a Dm7-G7 chord progression).
- part of a Dm7-G7 secondary dominant that tonicizes any C or Cm Chord.
- i7 in D Dorian.
- i7 or iv7 in Minor Blues.
- vi7 in F major.
- iii7 in Bb Major.
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Minor 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 Minor 7th Chords…
About Learning to Spell Minor 7th Chords
First, realize that all you need to do to build a Minor 7th Chord is to add “the b7” to a minor 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-Eb-G-Bb and Dm7 chord D-F-A-C.
C Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: Cm7, Cmin7, C-7
- Spelling: C-Eb-G-Bb (C Minor Triad + Bb)
- Common Usage: ii7 in Bb Major… vi7 in Eb Major… iii7 in Ab Major… i7 in C Dorian or C Minor Blues.
C Sharp Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: C#m7, C#-7
- Spelling: C#-E-G#-B (C# Minor Triad + B)
- Common Usage: ii7 in B Major… vi7 in E Major… iii in A Major… i7 in C# Dorian or C# Minor Blues.
D Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: Dm7, D-7
- Spelling: D-F-A-C (D Minor Triad + C)
- Common Usage: ii7 in C Major… vi7 in F Major… iii in Bb Major… i7 in D Dorian or D Minor Blues.
E Flat Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: Ebm7, Eb-7
- Spelling: Eb-Gb-Bb-Db (Eb Minor Triad + Db)
- Common Usage: ii7 in Db Major… vi7 in Gb Major… i7 in Eb Dorian or Eb Minor Blues.
E Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: Em7, E-7
- Spelling: E-G-B-D (E Minor Triad + D)
- Common Usage: ii7 in D Major… vi7 in G Major… iii in C Major… i7 in E Dorian or E Minor Blues.
F Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: Fm7, F-7
- Spelling: F-Ab-C-Eb (F Minor Triad + Eb)
- Common Usage: ii7 in Eb Major… vi7 in Ab Major… iii in Db Major… i7 in F Dorian or F Minor Blues.
F Sharp Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: F#m7, F#-7
- Spelling: F#-A-C#-E (F# Minor Triad + E)
- Common Usage: ii7 in E Major… vi7 in A Major… iii7 in D Major… i7 in F# Dorian or F# Minor Blues.
G Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: Gm7, G-7
- Spelling: G-Bb-D-F (G Minor Triad + F)
- Common Usage: ii7 in F Major… vi7 in Bb Major… iii7 in Eb Major… i7 in G Dorian or G Minor Blues.
G Sharp Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: G#m7, G#-7
- Spelling: G#-B-D#-F# (G# Minor Triad + F#)
- Common Usage: vi7 in B Major… iii7 in E Major… i7 in G# Dorian or G# Minor Blues.
A Flat Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: Abm7, Ab-7
- Spelling: Ab-Cb-Eb-Gb (Ab Minor Triad + Gb)
- Common Usage: ii7 in Gb Major.
A Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: Am7, A-7
- Spelling: A-C-E-G (A Minor Triad + G)
- Common Usage: ii7 in G Major… vi7 in C Major… iii7 in F Major… i7 in A Dorian or A Minor Blues.
B Flat Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: Bbm7, Bb-7
- Spelling: Bb-Db-F-Ab (Bb Minor Triad + Ab)
- Common Usage: ii7 in Ab Major… vi7 in Db Major… iii7 in Gb Major… i7 in Bb Dorian or Bb Minor Blues.
B Minor 7th
- Chord Symbol: Bm7, B-7
- Spelling: B-D-F#-A (B Minor Triad + A)
- Common Usage: ii7 in A Major… vi7 in D Major… iii7 in G Major… i7 in B Dorian or B Minor Blues.
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Minor Seventh Chord Names & Spellings (Flashcards)
Lesson Goal: To quickly learn to spell the most commonly used Minor 7th Chords (just as you spell any three-letter word in English…
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Minor Seventh Chord Practice, All Spellings
Root position Minor Seventh Chords played melodically and harmonically, arranged chromatically ascending in all spellings…
Sample at 100 beats per minute…
Minor 7th 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”.
Minor 7th Practice, All Keys @ 40 bpm…
Minor 7th Practice, All Keys @ 60 bpm…
Minor 7th Practice, All Keys @ 80 bpm…
Minor 7th Practice, All Keys @ 100 bpm…
Minor 7th Practice, All Keys @ 120 bpm…
Minor 7th Practice, All Keys @ 140 bpm…
Minor 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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learn more… Chords & Chord Progressions
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