7 chords cheat sheet PDF

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Summary

I was struggling to understand the types of 7 chords, so I created this cheat sheet as a reference for myself and then as a help for my private music students. It covers almost everything in class about 7 chords, plus some additional info....

Description

7 Chords 7 chords are 4-note chords. They consist of a triad (1-3-5) and a 7th, that is, the 7th note above the root of the chord. (Ex: C-E-G-B)

There are a total of 16 different types of 7 chords, but only 5 of them are commonly used in music: • • • • •

Major 7 chord Minor 7 chord Dominant 7 chord (or major-minor 7 chord) Minor 7 flat 5 chord (or half-diminished 7 chord) Diminished 7 chord

Triads are major or minor based on only what the 3rd is. 7th chords, however, have two intervals that can be either major or minor: the 3rd and the 7th. When you add in the possibilities of augmented or diminished intervals, you can see why there are so many different types of 7 chords.

A major 7 chord must be major in both the 3rd and the 7th, with a perfect 5th.

A minor 7 chord must be minor in both the 3rd and the 7th, with a perfect 5th.

But the most commonly used 7 chord has a major 3rd and a minor 7th, making it a major-minor 7 chord. Since most of the time this chord is built on the 5th scale degree of a song (V, so V7 chord), it is also commonly referred to as the dominant 7 chord, regardless of whether it’s actually the dominant in a particular song—just because “dominant 7” is way quicker and easier to say than “major-minor 7” and because almost all of the time, it will be the dominant within a key that uses that chord. And since this is the most commonly used 7 chord, it’s shortened even more in chord charts and lead sheets to “C7” or “A7” or “B♭7”—in other words, the root of the chord, and a 7. So whenever you see just the letter and then a 7, you know that to build that chord, you take whatever the letter name is, and build up a major third, perfect 5th, and minor 7th, and you have your chord.

Less commonly used is the half-diminished 7 chord, or minor 7 flat 5 chord. This is a minor 7 chord (minor 3rd, minor 7th) with a diminished 5th, or tritone.

The fully diminished 7 chord has both a diminished 5th and a diminished 7th, as well as a minor 3rd. This chord is easy to make because the interval between every 2 notes is a minor 3rd. (Ex: C-E♭-G♭-B♭♭)

The most complicated part of 7 chords is that each of them can be written at least 3 ways.

This chart shows (almost) every way to write each of the five common 7 chords. Examples are in C Major, so remember that whenever C is written, that is the root. It could also be A7, Dmaj7, F ♯o7, etc.

Symbol

Cmaj7 C Major 7 Cm7 C7 ø

Other Names or Symbols

Full Name

CM7 CΔ C⑦

C minor 7

C-7

C7

Dominant 7, V7, major-minor 7

C 7

C half-diminished 7

CO7

C diminished 7

Minor 7 flat 5 C ½ dim 7 Cm7♭5 Fully diminished 7 Cdim Cdim7

Intervals

Major 3rd Perfect 5th Major 7th Minor 3rd Perfect 5th Minor 7th Major 3rd Perfect 5th Minor 7th Minor 3rd Diminished 5th (tritone) Minor 7th Minor 3rd Diminished 5th (tritone) Diminished 7th

Tones (in C Major)

C-E-G-B

C-E♭-G-B♭

C-E-G-B♭

C-E♭-G♭-B♭

C-E♭-G♭-B♭♭

Here is the same chart with examples given in B flat major: Symbol

B♭♭maj7 B♭ Major 7 B♭♭m7 B♭♭7

B♭M7 B♭Δ B♭⑦

B♭ minor 7

B♭-7

B♭ 7

Dominant 7, V7, major-minor 7

ø

B♭♭ 7 B♭ half-diminished 7 B♭♭O7

Other Names or Symbols

Full Name

B♭ diminished 7

Minor 7 flat 5 B♭ ½ dim 7 B♭m7♭5 Fully diminished 7 B♭dim B♭dim7

Intervals

Major 3rd Perfect 5th Major 7th Minor 3rd Perfect 5th Minor 7th Major 3rd Perfect 5th Minor 7th Minor 3rd Diminished 5th (tritone) Minor 7th Minor 3rd Diminished 5th (tritone) Diminished 7th

Tones (in C Major)

B♭-D-F-A

B♭-D♭-F-A♭

B♭-D-F-A♭

B♭-D♭-F♭-A♭

B♭-D♭-F♭-A♭♭...