Rootless dominant seventh chords

Exploring Dominant Chords in a Minor Key

So, apart from the sharp five in a dominant chord in a minor key, you might also have the flat 5. These notes are often played at the top of a rootless voicing, for instance, like the shapes that you used in part one when you played rootless blues.

Example: D7 Chord

Here's an example of some of the three-note shapes that you might get for a D7 chord:

• I'm going to play a D in the bass.
• But if you take that away, the right hand shape will be rootless.

Here are all the shapes with a third on the bottom:

• That one's actually got the root on top, but we're going to move that root up a semitone.
• At the moment, we're playing 3-7-root.

This is now going to become 3-7-flat 9 with an E flat on top, because D9 would have an E on top.

• We can also sharpen the 9th and make it D7 sharp 9.
• The only note that's moving is the top note. The other notes are the third and seventh.

A7 Chord Variations

Now, we do the opposite shape over A7, for instance:

• Starting with A7 with a flattened fifth, I have seventh on the bottom, third, and fifth.
• In this case, I've flattened the fifth already.

If I remove the E flat and replace it with E, then we're back to an ordinary E7 (7-3-5).

• I can raise that a semitone and make it a 7-sharp 5.
• I can keep going one more and it makes that a 13.

The 13th is the same note as the 6th.

• If I count up from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, that's the F sharp.
• So that's like an A7 chord with a 6th in it, really commonly used shape in the right hand and in the left hand.

Introducing "St. James's Infirmary"

The next tune we're going to play, St. James's Infirmary, uses shapes like this in the left hand, but it also employs what I would call slash chords.

• When you see a chord like A7 over E, that means you've got to play E in the bass.
• You can do that in one hand by making use of inversions.

Generating Bass Lines

Using these inversions, you can generate:

• Rising bass lines:

  • That's the bass line.
  • Here are the chords.

• I'm going next to each other, up and down.

• I could keep going, following the scale.

• Descending bass lines:

  • You'll hear and play both of these in the tune.

  • Here's a descending bass line on D minor, a very common movement.

    • The bottom note there is D minor over C sharp or D minor major seventh, if you like.
    • D minor seven with C in the bass and D minor six with the sixth in the bass.

If you put a G in the root, that would be G9.

We're going to put all these voicings and left-handed shapes to use in St. James Infirmary, which is a traditional tune from New Orleans.