Dominant Seventh Chords

So, having explored major seventh chords just now, we're going to move on to another type of chord in which the seventh is flattened. This is called a dominant seventh.

Example in Key of D

• In the key of D, the one chord would normally be D major 7 with a C sharp.
• If we flatten the 7th, that chord becomes D7.

Contextualization

• This chord is normally found in the key of G on the fifth note, so you can see that those notes come from the scale of G major.
• However, the piece we're going to play, Dominant Dissonance, is in the key of D, but it has the flattened seventh as the tonic or I chord.
• This is called blues tonality. The flattened seventh is an important part of the blues sound.

Getting Familiar with the Chord

Let's get familiar with this chord by playing the arpeggios or broken chords of the different inversions:

• Root Position:
• First Inversion: Thumb on F sharp
• Second Inversion:
• Third Inversion: Has the seventh on the bottom

Since this is a four-note chord, it has four different positions: root position, first inversion, second inversion, and third inversion.

Exploring Melodic Choices

Now, Dominant Dissonance actually explores more adventurous melodic choices than just the notes of the chord. This is because:

• Dominant seventh chords, out of all the chord types, can accommodate more dissonance and a greater variety of melodic choices than any other chord.

Examples of Dissonance

For instance, they sound great with:

• The second (E)
• The sixth (B)

In fact, those notes are often included in the chord symbol.

• D7 with an E would be called D9, because the second and ninth are basically the same notes.
• If you put A, you could also have a G, which would be the 11th.
• The sixth would be called a 13th. This is because, if you count up the scale of D from C: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. So the sixth is the 13th note from the root.

Understanding Chord Symbols

Sometimes you see that in chord symbols. So if you see D9 or D13, you have to know that it's really D7 with an added second or an added sixth.

Experimenting with Notes

We're not only going to use those notes but also notes like this:

• A minor third (that's actually dissonant)
• The chord's got a major third in.

We could also try a flat five. Both of those are quite dissonant.

However, you get that sound a lot, especially in the music of composers and pianists like Thelonious Monk. He loved to play that flat five sound. The minor third, or the sharp nine, as it's sometimes called, is also a classic blues discord.

Conclusion

So in Dominant Dissonance, I'd like you to really have fun and experiment with all these note choices. Don't worry if they sound wrong!

This is about trying things out and enjoying yourself, and it's all in D.

Remember:

You can try and play any notes you like!