Saturday, October 21, 2023

Seventh chords

I've watched a few YouTube videos that purport to talk about seventh chords; normally they show the most frequent chords and ignore the more exotic varieties. I am going to put my point of view forward. First, some definitions: a seventh chord has four notes (root, third, fifth, seventh), and so has three intervals, where each interval can be either a minor or a major third. Thus there are 23 = 8 different seventh chords. That's actually not true, as there are a few really exotic chords that have a flat 5 (i.e. the interval between the third and fifth is a diminished third).

Name Third Fifth Seventh Notes in C
Dominant 7 Major Minor Minor C E G Bb  
Major 7 Major Minor Major C E G B  
Minor 7 Minor Major Minor C Eb G Bb  
Minor Major 7 Minor Major Major C Eb G B  
Half diminished 7 Minor Minor Major C Eb Gb Bb  
Fully diminished 7 Minor Minor Minor C Eb Gb Bbb  
7#5 Major Major Diminished C E G# Bb  
7b5 Major Diminished Minor C E Gb Bb  
Major7b5 Major Diminished Major C E Gb B  
Major7#5 Major Major Minor C E G# B  

I've ranked the chords in approximately their frequency of use. I have used on occasion the 7#5 that sounds like an enhanced dominant seventh and I have used here and there the Major7b5, but I have never used or even seen the Major7#5 - this sounds like a fully diminished seventh chord, but it isn't.

Some of these chords, when inverted, give other chords; for example, C minor 7 in the first inversion is the same as Eb6 (Eb G Bb C), and C half diminished 7 in the first inversion is Ebm6 (Eb Gb Bb C). There are only three fully diminished chords, as the same notes in different inversions give differently name diminished sevenths - C Eb Gb Bbb, Eb Gb Bbb C, Gb Bbb C Eb and Bbb (A) C Eb Gb - are all the same.

I suppose that theoretically there are even more exotic chords, such as C Eb G# Bb, which might be called Cmin7#5. This sounds remarkably consonant when playing it on the piano, as the G# makes the chord sound like Eb6sus4, especially if it is played in first inversion with Eb in the bass.

There's a very easy chord shape on the guitar for FMajor7b5: first play an open position E chord (x22100), then move the fingers up a fret, leaving the top two strings to ring out (x33200). These notes are C,F,A,B,E. The first three notes are an F major chord, the fourth note is the flat fifth and the fifth note is the major seventh. 



This day in history:

Blog #Date TitleTags
5821/10/2006Busy morningProgramming, Randy Newman, Paul Simon
64221/10/2013Paul KleePersonal, Bristol Grammar School
108421/10/2017Sumptuous Saturday Seven - baked hake with potatoes and vegetablesCooking

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