Why is it called Maj7?

[Auggie Doggie]

Originally posted by Picker Ok... Good so far... So how does the dominant 7th fit in? Is there a difference between a C7 and Cdom7? Or are they just different names for the same thing? Yes, C7 = Cdom7. The name 'dominant 7th' is usually incorrectly used, but it's a name that has stuck. Just remember that by 'dominant 7th', we mean a major triad PLUS a minor 7. Had a teacher once tell me that there are only three sounds in music - major, minor, and dominant. I could never make any sense of this. While I understand that approach, it's not one that I like. It refers to the overall function of a chord as it is heard, but it's oversimplified and incomplete. I think that was Joe Pass' concept; it has its place, especially with regards to listening, but for the nuts & bolts stuff, it's lacking. When we get to 4 note chords is when my mind really starts bending.

 

 

If you understand how to build diatonic triads from a scale, then 4 note chords shouldn't present any new dificulty.

 

For example, in C major, to build the chords, you pick a note and leap-frog twice to get your triads:

 

C D E F G A B = C major

 

(you can do that starting on any note, of course)

 

To get 7th chords, just leap-frog one more time:

 

C D E F G A B = Cmaj7 (the 'B' is a major 7th above the root note)

 

and for a dominant 7 chord...

 

G A B C D E F = G7 (the 'F' is a minor 7th above the root note G, which is what we simply label as a _7)

[Auggie Doggie]

Originally posted by Tatanka In cheat-sheet fasion, Auggie Doggie, you rule and I just save all your posts. Thanks a lot for all your input.

Glad to be of help!

[Picker]

Yeah... I can see that for regular chords. What starts bending the mind is things outside the regular leapfrog method.

for example.

CFGD (to pick somthing at random)

Could be thought of as several different things depending on what you use as the root. It's all relative.

[gennation]

If you want a pretty straight ahead tute on chord building/extensions...check out my site.

Read through the Intervals lesson, it'll give a good foundation as to how basic chord are created. Then go through the Chord Construction tute to look at indepth chord extensions.

It'll clear up alot as to what to call stuff and why it's called what it is.

[gennation]

Btw, this has been a cool discussion. I've learn some of the history stuff that I never knew, thx.