Part 8: Add the seventh, one ingredient at a time · Lesson 075 / 117
Follow thirds and sevenths through four chords
Today’s one thing
Make a melody from small, explained harmonic movements.
Use Cmaj7 | Am7 | Dm7 | G7. Before the full melody, hold E over Cmaj7, G over Am7, F over Dm7 and F over G7.
E is Cmaj7's third. G is Am7's seventh. F is Dm7's third and then G7's seventh. That repeated F is especially useful: the pitch stays fixed while its chord role changes.
The “Seventh Steps” study develops these destinations into four short bars. Learn one change at a time and identify the current chord before reading the detailed note table. The purpose is to hear the harmony with a small set of meaningful targets, not to add notes simply because the chords have become larger.
On a repeat, listen for G7 moving back to Cmaj7. Your phrase can support that return without making every bar equally busy.
A concrete example
Targets: E | G | F | F. The last two Fs share a pitch but change from Dm7's minor third to G7's minor seventh.
Fretboard view
High E (string 1) is the top line, matching guitar tablature. Select a note to hear it.
The pitch locations here come directly from the written score, not a generic scale box.
These are the places used across the study, not notes to play simultaneously. A note’s role changes with the current backing chord.Play notes from a larger button list
One small map at a time. Hear the notes, then play the example without looking.
Seventh Steps
Four bars for third/seventh awareness. The form loops from G7 back to Cmaj7.
4 bars · 4/4 · 64 BPM · C major; diatonic seventh chords · Standard tuning
One four-beat count-in at the beginning. The backing continues through lead rests. The slow version keeps the same pitches. Picked-note demonstrations; technique targets are taught separately.
Bar 1 · Cmaj7
Tab numbers are frets. High E is on top. Timing is in quarter-note beats.
E4Beat 1 · 1 beatString 2, fret 5
G4Beat 2 · 1 beatString 2, fret 8
B4Beat 3 · 2 beatsString 1, fret 7
Understand the notes in this bar
The degree is measured from the overall tonic C using the parallel-major reference. The chord role is measured from Cmaj7’s root. These are two different relationships.
E4, beat 1. Degree 3 from C; major third above this chord’s root. Included in the written chord. State the major third of Cmaj7; this is a deliberate chord-tone outline.
G4, beat 2. Degree 5 from C; perfect fifth above this chord’s root. Included in the written chord. State the perfect fifth of Cmaj7; this is a deliberate chord-tone outline.
B4, beat 3. Degree 7 from C; major seventh above this chord’s root. Included in the written chord. Hold the major seventh of Cmaj7 as an explicitly included chord tone.
Bar 2 · Am7
Tab numbers are frets. High E is on top. Timing is in quarter-note beats.
G4Beat 1 · 2 beatsString 2, fret 8
E4Beat 3 · 1 beatString 2, fret 5
RestBeat 4 · 1 beatKeep counting
Understand the notes in this bar
The degree is measured from the overall tonic C using the parallel-major reference. The chord role is measured from Am7’s root. These are two different relationships.
G4, beat 1. Degree 5 from C; minor seventh above this chord’s root. Included in the written chord. Keep G as the minor seventh of Am7.
E4, beat 3. Degree 3 from C; perfect fifth above this chord’s root. Included in the written chord. State the perfect fifth of Am7; this is a deliberate chord-tone outline.
Rest, beat 4. Leave measured space in the lead while continuing to count; the backing carries the pulse.
Bar 3 · Dm7
Tab numbers are frets. High E is on top. Timing is in quarter-note beats.
F4Beat 1 · 2 beatsString 2, fret 6
E4Beat 3 · 1 beatString 2, fret 5
F4Beat 4 · 1 beatString 2, fret 6
Understand the notes in this bar
The degree is measured from the overall tonic C using the parallel-major reference. The chord role is measured from Dm7’s root. These are two different relationships.
F4, beat 1. Degree 4 from C; minor third above this chord’s root. Included in the written chord. State the minor third of Dm7; this is a deliberate chord-tone outline.
E4, beat 3. Degree 3 from C; major second above this chord’s root. Outside the written chord. Approach F from a semitone below; E is outside this Dm7 chord.
F4, beat 4. Degree 4 from C; minor third above this chord’s root. Included in the written chord. State the minor third of Dm7; this is a deliberate chord-tone arrival.
Bar 4 · G7
Tab numbers are frets. High E is on top. Timing is in quarter-note beats.
F4Beat 1 · 2 beatsString 2, fret 6
B4Beat 3 · 1 beatString 1, fret 7
RestBeat 4 · 1 beatKeep counting
Understand the notes in this bar
The degree is measured from the overall tonic C using the parallel-major reference. The chord role is measured from G7’s root. These are two different relationships.
F4, beat 1. Degree 4 from C; minor seventh above this chord’s root. Included in the written chord. The repeated F changes from Dm7’s third to G7’s seventh.
B4, beat 3. Degree 7 from C; major third above this chord’s root. Included in the written chord. State the major third of G7; this is a deliberate chord-tone outline.
Rest, beat 4. Leave measured space in the lead while continuing to count; the backing carries the pulse.
Try it, slowly
Play the four targets with one note per bar.
Learn the four-bar study slowly.
Explain the repeated F in two separate chord-relative sentences.
Check one idea
Why can the same held F describe both Dm7 and G7?
Show the explanation
Both chords contain F. Its role is a minor third above D and a minor seventh above G. The reference changes while the pitch stays fixed.
A good place to stop
You can track at least one guide tone across a chord change and explain its role.
Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.
