tips & tricks for the rhythmically & harmonically-challenged
Posts tagged diatonic
Wanna Play Pop, R&B, or Jazz? Then You Must Know the Diatonic 7th Chords Too!
Nov 28th
Oops! That looks like my longest article title yet! But it got you looking, right? Cool 
Now that you know what the major scale diatonic triads are (check out my post on diatonic triads here), it’s time to expand the wee little triad to include it’s cooler, modern-sounding fourth note, that is to stack another note on top to make a Diatonic 7th chord.
Diatonic 7th Chords of the Major Scale
Here are the seven Diatonic 7th chords in the key of C Major:
Notice how just one additional note has given a slight twist to the chord qualities. The main quality of the chords are still there. With the exception of two of the chords, the major chords still retain their major quality sound and are still in the major chord family; the same goes with the minor chords. However, the 7th note has given each chord an extra bite, or a slightly more sophisticated quality, apart from contributing to a fuller, richer sound.
Now, the next important thing to look at are the chord symbols relative to each chord’s position (or chord degree) in the scale:
| Chord Degree | Chord | Chord Degree | Chord |
|
I |
Cmaj7 |
V |
G7 |
|
II |
Dmi7 |
VI |
Ami7 |
|
III |
Emi7 |
VII |
Bmi7b5 |
|
IV |
Fmaj7 |
|
|
The I and IV chords are both major 7th chords. The chord symbol is now represented by a capital letter along with ma7 or maj7.
The II, III and VI chords retain their minor chord quality to become minor 7th chords. The chord symbol is now represented by a capital letter along with mi7 or min7, sometimes you will also see this -7 (minus sign followed by the 7).
The two chords that take on different qualities are chords V and VII. Chord V is especially important to note because the added fourth tone has changed the major quality triad to one that is now called the dominant 7th chord. The chord symbol comprises simply the 7 next to the capital letter.
The Importance of the V7 Chord
The dominant 7th chord contains the 4th and 7th degrees of the major scale. If you take a look at the keyboard, you will notice that these two notes are part of two sets of white key halfstep intervals. For example, G7 consists of the notes G-B-D-F — B is the 7th and F is the 4th. These two notes form the core structure of a dominant 7th chord and give it the “active” sound that calls for a resolution to a stable chord, which is usually chord I of the key.
Listen to the chord again, followed individually by the 7th and 4th notes and finally the 7th and 4th notes sounded together (forming a tritone interval).
G7-chord-and-its-tritoneIn this case, G7 will move naturally and completely (or resolve) to C. Notice how and where each note moves from V7 (SO-TI-RE-FA) to I (DO-MI-SO-DO). Breaking the notes down to solfeg, you will see a very natural and organic movement in music, i.e. SO moves (up a perfect 4th or down a perfect 5th) to DO; TI resolves up a halfstep to DO; and FA resolves down a halfstep to MI.
In short, the V7 is a signpost to the key of a song or composition, since there is only one such chord quality in a major key. For example, if we see this chord progression, Gmi7-C7, there’s a great probability that we are in the key of F major; or G major, if it’s this progression: C-D7.
And finally, the last chord of the scale on the seventh degree, VII, is now a minor 7th with a flatted 5th. The chord symbol is a capital letter along with mi7b5, mi7(b5), min7b5, or min7(b5).
Traditionally, this chord is referred to as a half diminished. However, in pop and especially jazz music, we view this chord as having a minor chord quality rather than a diminished one.
So this wraps up all the seven diatonic 7th chords of the major scale. In the next post, I will show you how just by using these seventh chords, a simple song can be tweaked to sound more sophisticated. Meanwhile, learn and play them in all keys!
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7 Important Chords Every Musician Should Know
Nov 5th
And these are the Seven Diatonic Chords of a Key!
What are diatonic chords?
I am always struck by how many musicians are still completely confused or clueless about the importance of diatonic chords and how chords are related to each other within a key.
Simply put, diatonic chords are chords that belong and come from the same scale. Most classically-trained pianists know how to play their major and minor scales very well. But some may not understand the significance of the chords that are associated with the scale.
Let’s take a look at a C Major Scale:
If we stack another two notes a third apart (skip a key each on the keyboard) above each scale note, we immediately form the seven (7) diatonic triads of the C Major scale or key.
If we give a number to each chord of the scale (we usually use Roman numerals to represent chords, e.g. I, II, III, etc.; Arabic numerals to represent scale notes, e.g. 1, 2, 3, etc.), we will have the following chords from this C Major scale:
| Chord No. | Chord | Chord No. | Chord |
| I | C | V | F |
| II | Dmi | VI | Ami |
| III | Emi | VII | Bdim |
| IV | F |
Notice that the I, IV and V chords, i.e. C, F and G are all major quality chords. The chord symbol is just represented by a capital letter.
The II, III and VI chords, i.e. Dmi, Emi and Ami are minor quality chords. The chord symbol may be represented as a capital letter along with mi, min or – (minus sign.)
Lastly, the VII chord, i.e. Bdim is a diminished quality chord. The chord symbol may be represented as a capital letter along with dim or a degree sign.
Once you understand this concept in one key, it will apply to all keys. Hence, if you take the key of G major, you will find these seven diatonic triads:
Notice they all have the same chord quality sound and chord symbols according to the position in the major scale!
Why are these diatonic chords important?
Every melody note comes from a scale that forms the key of the song. Hence, it is only logical that the chords that go well with the melody will also come from the same scale!
Let’s take the old favorite “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
The melody uses the first six notes of the C Major scale. Hence, we can safely say that this melody is in the Key of C.
Now, in order to put chords to (or harmonize) this melody, we simply start by looking at the seven C Major diatonic chords. If we do it systematically you will find the following:
| Melody note | Available chords | Melody note | Available chords |
| C | C, F, Ami | F | F, Dmi, Bdim |
| D | G, Dmi, Bdim | G | C, G, Emi |
| E | C, Emi, Ami | A | F, Dmi, Ami |
Notice each melody note has at least three chords that contain that note.
Notice also that both major and minor chord qualities are available for each note. Melody notes D and F can also be harmonized with a diminished quality chord.
Interestingly, you will observe that the C, F and G major chords, i.e. I, IV, V seem to feature prominently in the choices. That is because major chord qualities are considered strong chords or primary chords in harmonization, i.e. they get first priority, followed by the minor chords which are considered secondary chords. The major and minor chords are always considered the strong choices — major being the strongest of the two.
Hence, the best and simplest harmonization for this song is as follows:
Primary triads of I, IV and V also contain all the seven notes of a major scale. In other words, the seven notes of a major scale can easily be found in any of the three chords.
So it’s worthwhile mastering this fundamental harmonic concept of diatonic triads. Learn and play them in all keys!
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