{"id":11865,"date":"2016-01-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-28T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hearandplay.com\/main\/?p=11865"},"modified":"2024-10-14T17:35:37","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T01:35:37","slug":"play-seventh-chords-with-two-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hearplaymain.wpenginepowered.com\/play-seventh-chords-with-two-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Play Seventh Chords with Just Two Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seventh chords are chords<\/a> that encompass a width<\/em> of seven scale degrees.<\/p>\n

In the major scale of C:
\n
\n\u2026the seventh scale tone is B:
\n
\nTherefore, the seventh chord formed from this scale should encompass this width:
\n<\/p>\n

Formation of chords can be done by stacking thirds together.<\/p>\n

If you’ve seen past lessons on forming chords, you’ll know my easy way to do this – called picking and skipping.<\/i> For example, in C major…<\/p>\n

…you can pick any note, C for example:
\n
\n\u2026skip D (the next scale<\/strong> tone) and pick E:
\n
\n\u2026skip F (the next scale<\/strong> tone) and pick G:
\n
\n\u2026skip A (the next scale<\/strong> tone) and pick B:
\n
\nAlas, we\u2019re on B. If we stack all the notes together:
\n
\n\u2026we\u2019ll have a chord that fits into the seventh chord class we covered earlier:
\n<\/p>\n

This chord:
\n
\n\u2026is the major seventh because of the scale it\u2019s formed from (major scale):
\n
\n\u2026and the width it encompasses:
\n
\n…a seventh.<\/p>\n

Seventh chords are typically four-note chords.<\/p>\n

For beginners who are struggling with major, minor, augmented, and diminished triads and inversions, playing seventh chords usually seems challenging. This is because, unlike triads that have three notes, seventh chords have four.<\/p>\n

In this post, I\u2019ll be showing you, step-by-step, how to play only two notes on the right hand and still produce overall seventh chords.<\/p>\n

Formation of Scale-Degree Seventh Chords<\/b><\/h2>\n

The major scale has seven degrees:
\n<\/p>\n

Chords can be built from every degree of the scale (1st<\/sup> to 7th<\/sup>) using the pick and skip<\/i> technique or any other technique that you\u2019re familiar with.<\/p>\n

Here are seventh chords from the 1st<\/sup> to the 7th<\/sup> degree of the major scale:<\/p>\n

Chord 1 \u2013 C major 7th<\/sup>:
\n
\nChord 2 \u2013 D minor 7th<\/sup>:
\n
\nChord 3 \u2013 E minor 7th<\/sup>:
\n
\nChord 4 \u2013 F major 7th<\/sup>:
\n
\nChord 5 \u2013 G dominant 7th<\/sup>:
\n
\nChord 6 \u2013 A minor 7th<\/sup>:
\n
\nChord 7 \u2013 B half-diminished 7th<\/sup>:
\n
\nThere are basically four seventh chord qualities in the major scale:<\/p>\n