Some Quick A7 Chord Theory A7 is short for A dominant 7. The A7 chord is produced by taking the 1 (root), 3, 5 and b7 of the A Major scale.
Seventh chords are four note chords built by stacking thirds on top of a root note. They're called seventh chords because the top note in the stack is related to the root by a seventh interval. Seventh chords are essential in functional harmony for the role they play in dominant sevenths.
A7 is what is called a “dominant 7th chord”. It is based on a major triad, but adds a minor 7th note to create the dominant 7th chord. This creates a very classy and elegant sound, that is neither major nor minor sounding, but actually both at the same time. If you want a complete piano chord guide PDF – click here.
The name comes from the fact that the flat seventh occurs naturally in the scale built upon the root when it functions as the dominant (i.e., the fifth degree) of some major diatonic scale.
The A7 chord is made up of the notes A, C#, E, and G.
The A7 chord is a major triad with the flat 7th, G natural added to form a four-voice chord. In the key of A major the three sharp notes of its key signature are F#, C# and G#.
So, "A7" = A, plus major 3rd (C#), plus perfect 5th (E), plus minor 7th (G). The other possibilities are: "Am7" = A, plus minor 3rd (C), plus perfect 5th (E), plus minor 7th (G).
V7) chord to non dominant chord (ex. I maj7). One of the main reasons seventh chords are important in jazz is that they add a sense of dissonance and tension to the music. Jazz musicians often use seventh chords to create a sense of tension and release, which can add a sense of drama and excitement to the music.
The difference is the kind of 7 you use. A "regular" G7 (also called a "dominant seventh" chord) is a G-major chord with the minor seventh added, so it's G B D F. A "Gmaj7" or "GM7" is a G-major chord with the major seventh added, so it's G B D F#.
Dominant 7 chords are very similar to major 7 chords and only differ by one note. To turn a major 7 chord into a dominant 7 chord, you just need to lower the added note by a half step. So you'll have a root, 3rd, 5th, and a flat 7. Which means if we're still using our C major triad, we'd be adding a B flat.
A7 chords with alternative bass notes
Theory: A7/G# is identical with Amaj7/G# (3rd inversion of Amaj7). A7/F# could be seen as an inversion of A13 with the ninth and the eleventh omitted. A7/F could be seen as an inversion of A13 with the ninth and the eleventh omitted.
So this way, Beethoven has practically brought us all the way up the chromatic scale using these 7th chords.
The 5th chord found in a scale is known as the dominant, because it is the "most important" interval (among other things, it's the first harmonic other than the octave). The dominant is also spelled in roman numeral, like this: V. A dominant seventh chord is a chord built upon the dominant of a major diatonic scale.
A dominant chord is a major triad built on the fifth scale degree of either a major scale or a minor scale. Major triads consist of a root note, a major third, and a perfect fifth. A dominant seventh chord adds an additional scale degree—the flat seventh (also called a dominant seventh).
An E7 adds one note to the original triad; it's comprised of E, G#, B, and D. The D is the key note here. That is the “7” of the E7. Because it's only one whole step away from the root note (E), it creates a tension that begs to be resolved.
The name diminished refers to the interval between the root note (R) and the fifth note (dim5 or ♭5) in the chord. It's smaller compared with major and minor chords. That's what diminishing means—making something smaller.
Dmaj7 is short for D Major 7th chord. It is based on a major triad, but adds a major 7th note to create the major 7th chord. This creates a very open and pleasing sound, with a distinct major quality. If you want a complete piano chord guide PDF – click here.
The major seventh chord has a much softer sound than the dominant seventh. Again, it is created by taking a major triad, but this time adding a note a major seventh (11 semitones) above the root. e.g. a major seventh chord on C contains the notes C-E-G-B (B is a major seventh/11 semitones above C).
Jazz harmony is notable for the use of seventh chords as the basic harmonic unit more often than triads, as in classical music. In the words of Robert Rawlins and Nor Eddine Bahha, "7th chords provide the building blocks of jazz harmony."
They work as interesting substitution chords, they can smooth out chord progressions, and they can add unexpected tension to your music. A suspended chord is neither major nor minor because the third has been replaced with either a fourth or a second.
A dominant seventh chord is most often built on the 5th note of the scale. For example, in the key of D major, the dominant seventh chord is an A7 chord, because A is the fifth note of the D major scale.
The A7 sus 4 chord (A7 suspended 4) contains the notes A, D, E, and G. It is produced by taking the 1 (root), 4, 5 and b7 of the A Major scale. It can be viewed as an A7 chord with a 4 instead of 3, or an A sus 4 chord with an added b7.