Major seventh arpeggios

Chapter Three: Seventh Chords

In this chapter, we're going to move on from triads and start talking about seventh chords, which come in three types (at least at this level):

• Major Seventh
• Dominant Seventh
• Minor Seventh

Major Seventh Chords

Let's start with major sevenths. The formation of this chord comes from the major scale.

• Take the root, third, and fifth (the triad).
• Add the seventh note, and there's your major seventh.

This chord is sometimes written with a triangle (Δ).

Arpeggio Exercise

If you play it in the left hand and perform the arpeggio in the right hand, use all the fingers of the right hand:

• Fourth finger on the seventh
• Little finger on the root at the top

This is a great exercise because it really strengthens the little finger. Most people have a weak little finger, so I recommend this exercise on any seventh chord. For now, stick to major sevenths.

Application in Music

The piece we're going to play, "Dream On," contains six of these major seventh chords:

• G major seven
• F major seven
• E flat major seven
• A flat major seven
• D flat major seven
• C major seven

Because you don't normally get so many major sevenths together in the same piece, it produces an open, dreamy sound with a rather ambiguous sense of key or tonality.

Practice Tips

In preparation, practice not only one-octave arpeggios around all those keys, using the same fingering for any key.

Two Octave Arpeggio

Now, let's do that over two octaves. Here it is over G major 7:

1. You're going to put the thumb underneath.
2. Use your little finger at the top.

For the black note arpeggios, you'll need to adjust your fingering:

• For instance, in D flat, start with the second finger and put the thumb on the first white note.

Fingering for Arpeggios

The fingering sequence will be:

• 2, 1, 2, 3
• Then, coming down: 4, 3, 2, 1

Try that on E flat. Make sure you get familiar with those six different arpeggios in both one octave and two octaves.