Understanding Seventh Chords in Improvisation

Okay, so the next thing I'd like to talk about regarding improvisation is when we come across seventh chords.

What is a Seventh Chord?

If you're unfamiliar with these and you've got the Rock School syllabus, do check out the technical exercises. They're really useful. You have lots of examples of seventh chord voicings and arpeggios that go with those as well. They will really help you out.

To briefly cover what a seventh chord is:

• Definition: It's a type of extended chord.
• Triad: A three-note chord. Major and minor chords are triads we've probably used since day one, since you picked up the guitar.
• Extended Chords: When you add notes to those triads, you have more notes in the chord, which generally sounds more complex due to the additional notes competing for your attention.

Types of Seventh Chords

The three types of seventh chords are:

1. Minor Seventh
2. Major Seventh
3. Dominant Seventh

Let me just play you an example of each of those now:

• Minor Seventh: A kind of moody, bluesy vibe.
• Major Seventh: For example, C major seven has a much more dreamy, jazzy vibe.
• Dominant Seventh: This one has more of an upbeat blues flavor, fitting less into the moody blues category.

Chord Construction

There are varying constructions of those chords. If it's something you're interested in looking at, chat with your teacher about the chord construction of these chords. Again, this is also covered in the Rock School syllabus if you have those books.

Improvisation Concepts

Now let's look at some blues-based improvisation ideas and how we can really target the seventh note.

We've talked about chord tones before. Now, with seventh chords, we have an additional chord tone to contend with: the seventh degree.

Example Chords

The two seventh chords I'm going to play with now are:

• Dominant Seven (A7): This looks similar to a standard A major chord, but I've removed my little finger to include an extra G note along with the root, third, and fifth.
• D7

I'm going to set that up on a loop and start playing through the chord tones of each one. You'll hear how the seventh sounds along with the root, third, and fifth.

"Here we go. There's our A7 and our D7."

Seventh Tone Improvisation

So let's play some seventh zone:

• Notes: That's my seventh to the root, third to the seventh.

I got a bit carried away there; that was good fun! You can see how enjoyable it can get.

What I wanted to demonstrate is how cool the seventh sounds over those dominant seventh chords. It has a real pull to it.

In those early phrases, I resolved the seventh up to the root note of that chord (A and D), utilizing the flattened seven. You can create some really cool, authentic blues ideas with just those two notes alone, playing with the octaves and the positions.

Expanding Improvisation

I then branched out and began improvising with the other chord tones as well. You'll often find that the two chord tones with the strongest relationship to the overall vibe and sound of a chord are:

• Third
• Seventh

They play a significant role in the sound. You might think the root note is also crucial, and it is; however, that root note is usually covered by other instruments in an ensemble. Thus, the guitarist may not necessarily need to play it.

Creative Exploration

You can achieve some fantastic sounding blues ideas by focusing on small sections of a seventh chord.

Here's another demonstration with A7 to D7, only using the flattened seventh and the third:

• Over A
• Over D

You can hear how, without needing the root note, you can still imagine what those chords sound like in their fuller contexts.

It's essential to experiment and gain control over spotting the seventh and honing in on it alongside the third. You can develop either rhythmic or melodic ideas focusing on these two fundamental chord tones.

Conclusion

This is well worth giving a try next time you encounter any type of seventh chord. While we've demonstrated with dominant sevenths, the same concepts apply to:

• Minor Seventh: Use the flattened third and flattened seventh.
• Major Seventh: Use the major third and major seventh.

So give it a go and have fun!