Major 7th Chords For Piano

Major 7th Chords – Root, 3rd, 5th, 7th

Good morning, this is Duane. Today we’re going to take a look at major seventh chords for the piano. Last time we took a look at minor 7th chords. Before that we took a look at dominant 7th chords, but today we’re going to take a look a major 7th chords. A major 7th chord is made out of a root, third and fifth and the major 7th. It’s very easy to form. You just pick out the root, 3rd, 5th and the major 7th of whatever key you’re in, whatever scale you’re basing your playing on. It’s a familiar sound, isn’t it? You’ve heard this, of course. That’s a major 7th chord right there. I arpeggiated it up the keyboard. Major 7th. Let’s go through all the major chords and add a major 7th to it. That’s a major triad based on the C major scale and the 7th degree of the scale is right there, isn’t it? If I add that major 7th to the root, 3rd and 5th, I have a major 7th chord.

In sheet music it’s usually notated as Maj7. If it just says C7, what they mean is that. They mean play the dominant 7th chord, but major 7th chord they say so. They say Maj or major sometimes, 7th, Maj7. What’s the F chord? It’s based on the F scale. It goes like that. If I take the root 3rd, 5th and major 7th that’s F major 7th. Of course, it’s the same in both ends. You understand that. Here’s the G major scale. If I take the root 3rd, 5th and the 7th degree of the scale that’s G major 7. If I played that that would be called a dominant 7th, but that’s the 7th scale note. That’s what I add. Here’s the D major scale. If I take the root 3rd, 5th and major 7th, that’s D major 7th. E is like that, E major. If I take the major 7th, it’s right there. Here’s the A triad, A major triad. If I add the 7th, the major 7th, it’s right there. Incidentally, notice the major 7th is always a half step away from the octave note. It’s easy to find in that regard. Here’s the D flat major triad. If I take the seventh note of the scale, there it is.

E flat major 7th. A flat major 7th. G flat major 7th. B flat major 7th and B major 7th. That’s really all there is to it, major 7th chords. So far we’ve had dominant 7th chords, minor 7th chords and major 7th chords. Then again tomorrow we’ll take up a new form of 7th chords. There are several that you need to be familiar with, but that’s it for major 7th chords. If you enjoyed this little series of video tips, come on over to www.playpiano.com and sign up for a series of video tips, so you don’t miss anything. Thanks for being with me. We hope to see you there. Bye-bye for now.

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