Seventh Chords

This lesson is part of the Fundamentals of Twelve-Tone Equal Temperament category.

Objectives

• Students will be able to construct any type of seventh chord with a given note as root, third, fifth, or seventh.
• Students will be able to invert any type of seventh chord with a given note as root, third, fifth, or seventh.
• Focus on: MM, Mm, mm, dm, dd, mM chords.
• Student will be able to derive seventh chords from a major and minor scale.
• Student will be able to notate 7th chords in various notations (figured bass or lead sheet notation).

Resources

Readings

• OpenMusicTheory: Triads & Seventh Chords
• MusicTheory.Net Tutorial:
  • Seventh Chords Part 1, Part 2
  • Seventh Chord Inversion
• Teoria.com Tutorial:
  • Seventh Chords

• Music Theory for Musicians and Normal People:
  • Diatonic Seventh Chords
• How Music Works:
  • 7.2 Chord Inversion
  • 7.3 Alternate Chord Symbols
  • 7.4 Slash Chord Notation
• Hutchinson, Music Theory for the 21st Century Classroom
  • Chapter 8.1: Introduction to Seventh Chords
  • Chapter 16.2: Figured Bass Inversion Symbols
  • Chapter 16.5: Additional Information
• Tobey, A Feeling for Harmony: Figured Bass Chord Inversions
• Music Notes Now: A Complete Guide to Chord Symbols

Tools

• Teoria.com Chord Constructor
• Teoria.com Geometrical Chord Constructor

Class Activities

• Discussion and definition of seventh chord types including classical and lead sheet naming conventions
• Construction and performance of a given seventh chord

Assignments

• Writing seventh chords
• Identifying seventh chords

Drills

• Teoria.com
  • Seventh Chord Identification
  • Seventh Chord Construction from Chord Symbol
  • Seventh Chord Construction

• Musictheory.net
  • Chord Construction
  • Chord Identification
  • Keyboard Chord Identification
  • Fretboard Chord Identification