1. The Six Most Common 7th
Chords
A PowerPoint Presentation by
Zach Ivy
2. Major 7th Chord
• All of the notes in this
chord are taken from the
major scale—hence the
name “major 7th.”
• It consists of the root
(also called the tonic), a
major 3rd, a perfect 5th,
and a major 7th—or in
solfège, do, mi, sol, and
ti.
• This chord is frequently
found in jazz, but also
3. Minor 7th Chord
• All of the notes in the minor
7th chord are found in the
natural minor scale, thus
the name “minor 7th.”
• It consists of the root (or
tonic), a minor 3rd, a perfect
5th, and a minor 7th—or in
solfège, do, me, sol, and te.
• This chord is frequently
found in jazz, but also more
commonly found in pop,
rock, and other musical
styles than the major 7th
4. Dominant 7th Chord
• It’s also called a 7th chord, or—
less frequently—a major-minor
7th chord.
• This chord consists of some
notes from the major scale,
and some notes from the
minor scale.
• It is made up of the root (or
tonic), a major 3rd, a perfect
5th, and a minor 7th—or in
solfège, do, mi, sol, and te.
• This is the most common 7th
5. Minor-Major 7th Chord
• This chord also takes
some of its notes
from the major scale
and some from the
minor scale.
• It consists of a root
(or tonic), a minor 3rd,
a perfect 5th, and a
major 7th—or do, me,
sol, ti, in solfège.
• This chord is found
almost exclusively in
6. Minor 7, Flat 5 Chord
• Also known as the half-
diminished 7th
• It is made up of the root
(or tonic), a minor 3rd, a
diminished 5th, and a
minor 7th—or do, me, se,
and te, in solfège.
• This chord is frequently
found in jazz and
classical music, and can
be found in most other
styles of Western music
as well.
7. Diminished 7th Chord
• Is sometimes called the
fully diminished 7th to
further distinguish it from
the half-diminished 7th.
• It consists of the root (or
tonic), a minor 3rd, a
diminished 5th, and a
diminished 7th—or in
solfège, do, me, se, and
la*.
• Like the dominant 7th, the
diminished 7th is very
common in most styles of
Western music.
*Unfortunately solfège doesn’t have a
syllable for a diminished 7th, so instead we’ll
just call it “la,” because a major 6th is the
enharmonic equivalent of a diminished 7th.
