Skip to content
11.1 · Sevenths & Jazz

The four 7th flavors

A triad is two stacked thirds. Stack one moreand you get a seventh chord. Four notes, and a whole new wardrobe of moods. Jazz lives here, but so do soul, R&B, bossa, and half the film music you know.

One more skip

Same recipe as ever: root, skip, skip. Then skip once more. Hear the triad grow a 7th.

The four flavors on C

Two thirds set the triad's mood; the last third picks the finish. Play all four. Same root, four different rooms.

Cmaj7: Major triad + major 3rd on top. Soft lamplight. Bossa nova, neo-soul, dreamy intros.

C7: Major triad + minor 3rd. The pushy one. It leans hard toward a chord a fifth below.

Cm7: Minor triad + minor 3rd. Minor with the edges rounded off. Smooth, mellow, lo-fi.

Cø7: Diminished triad + major 3rd. Suspended mid-air. Jazz uses it to start minor landings.

Hear the pull

The dominant 7th is the restless one. Listen to C7 refuse to sit still. Then let it land where it wants to go (F).

Quiz

1 / 3

A seventh chord is…

Score 100% on every quiz and game to complete this lesson.A 7th on every step →