Part 8: Add the seventh, one ingredient at a time · Lesson 068 / 117
Hear two kinds of seventh
Compare major and minor sevenths above the same root.
A major seventh is eleven semitones above a reference; a minor seventh is ten. From C, they are B and Bb. Both use the seventh-letter relationship C through B.
Compare C–B and C–Bb, returning to C between them. The upper notes differ by one semitone. This is the interval distinction that separates Cmaj7 from C7 later.
A seventh is not simply “the next note after a chord shape.” Its meaning comes from the root reference. Nor does a note with a 7 label automatically sound the same over every harmony.
Keep the exercise as two notes today. You already understand adding a third and fifth to build triads; in the next session, we will add one of these sevenths to a familiar triad.
Hear it
Sevenths
Audio fileFour-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.
A concrete example
C–B = major seventh, 11 semitones. C–Bb = minor seventh, 10. On the B string from C fret 1, the upper notes are frets 12 and 11.
Fretboard view
High E (string 1) is the top line, matching guitar tablature. Select a note to hear it.
Play notes from a larger button list
One small map at a time. Hear the notes, then play the example without looking.
Try it, slowly
- Play C–B slowly.
- Lower B to Bb and compare.
- Repeat the same comparison above A: G# is its major seventh and G its minor seventh.
Check one idea
Which seventh above C is one semitone below the next C?
Show the explanation
B, the major seventh. Bb is two semitones below that upper C and forms a minor seventh above the lower C.
A good place to stop
You can construct both sevenths with a fixed reference.
Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.