Songwriters often limit themselves to Major and Minor Triad chords. One way to make songs more interesting is by adding Seventh chords.
Triads are the most fundamental chords. They are built beginning with a Root note. This is the note from which the chord takes its name. For instance, a C chord will have a C note as its root. Triads will also include the 3rd and the 5th. Take any note from a scale, making that the root, then add the third and fifth, and Voila! You've got yourself a chord. The 3rd will fall a half-step lower in sequence in a Minor chord than in a Major chord.
This is much clearer when viewed on a keyboard, rather than on a guitar. That is why I usually use a keyboard when demonstrating this to my students. The theory is no different on a guitar, it is just a little less clearly laid out on the fretboard.
Any of the notes in a Triad can be repeated an octave higher or lower. They can be flipped around, making variations of the same chord. These variations are called voicings. If you play an open G chord on guitar, that is one voicing of a G chord. A G chord played in the barred position would be another voicing.
Continuing in the manner above, a seventh chord will contain the Root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th note from the starting point within a scale. The seventh will occur one note before the Octave, the octave being a repeat of the Root note at a higher pitch.
There are two kinds of Seventh chords derived from major triads and one kind derived from minor triads. A Major chord with a 7th note occurring a half-step below the octave is called a Major Seventh chord. A Major chord with a 7th note occurring a whole-step below the octave is called a Dominant Seventh chord. Major Seventh chords have a pretty sound while Dominant Seventh chords (also know simply as Seventh chords) are quite dissonant sounding. All Minor chords that contain a 7th will be called Minor Seventh chords, and will have 7th notes located a whole-step below the octave. They can be thought of as having more of an open sound.
Rock, Folk, and Country songs use mostly Triads. To switch it up, you can try substituting some of these with Seventh chords.
On the other end, Jazz and R&B songs utilize a lot of Seventh chords from the start. To switch these up, try changing some of those Seventh chords to triads.
If you write Blues songs you have most likely realized that the Blues utilizes Dominant Seventh chords almost exclusively. You could try turning all your blues chords into triads and playing them with a straight feel rather than a shuffle. A lot of great rock tunes have emerged from this technique. You could also try turning the I and IV chords into Major Seventh chords, which would transform your Blues Song into a Major key chord progression. (In the key of C Major I, IV, and V chords would then be Cmaj7, Fmaj7, and G7, respectively, but in C Blues they would all be Dominant Seventh chords).
So add a few sevenths, and take a few away. Open up some new sound palates for your songs with sevenths, and you will quickly find yourself in Seventh Chord Heaven.
Triads are the most fundamental chords. They are built beginning with a Root note. This is the note from which the chord takes its name. For instance, a C chord will have a C note as its root. Triads will also include the 3rd and the 5th. Take any note from a scale, making that the root, then add the third and fifth, and Voila! You've got yourself a chord. The 3rd will fall a half-step lower in sequence in a Minor chord than in a Major chord.
This is much clearer when viewed on a keyboard, rather than on a guitar. That is why I usually use a keyboard when demonstrating this to my students. The theory is no different on a guitar, it is just a little less clearly laid out on the fretboard.
Any of the notes in a Triad can be repeated an octave higher or lower. They can be flipped around, making variations of the same chord. These variations are called voicings. If you play an open G chord on guitar, that is one voicing of a G chord. A G chord played in the barred position would be another voicing.
Continuing in the manner above, a seventh chord will contain the Root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th note from the starting point within a scale. The seventh will occur one note before the Octave, the octave being a repeat of the Root note at a higher pitch.
There are two kinds of Seventh chords derived from major triads and one kind derived from minor triads. A Major chord with a 7th note occurring a half-step below the octave is called a Major Seventh chord. A Major chord with a 7th note occurring a whole-step below the octave is called a Dominant Seventh chord. Major Seventh chords have a pretty sound while Dominant Seventh chords (also know simply as Seventh chords) are quite dissonant sounding. All Minor chords that contain a 7th will be called Minor Seventh chords, and will have 7th notes located a whole-step below the octave. They can be thought of as having more of an open sound.
Rock, Folk, and Country songs use mostly Triads. To switch it up, you can try substituting some of these with Seventh chords.
On the other end, Jazz and R&B songs utilize a lot of Seventh chords from the start. To switch these up, try changing some of those Seventh chords to triads.
If you write Blues songs you have most likely realized that the Blues utilizes Dominant Seventh chords almost exclusively. You could try turning all your blues chords into triads and playing them with a straight feel rather than a shuffle. A lot of great rock tunes have emerged from this technique. You could also try turning the I and IV chords into Major Seventh chords, which would transform your Blues Song into a Major key chord progression. (In the key of C Major I, IV, and V chords would then be Cmaj7, Fmaj7, and G7, respectively, but in C Blues they would all be Dominant Seventh chords).
So add a few sevenths, and take a few away. Open up some new sound palates for your songs with sevenths, and you will quickly find yourself in Seventh Chord Heaven.
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