Seventh chords[edit]

Pitch constellationsof seventh chords.

Main article:Seventh chordSee also:Jazz and pop notation for seventh chordsSeventh chords are tertian chords (see above), constructed by adding a fourth note to a triad, at the interval of a third above the fifth of the chord. This creates the interval of a seventh above the root of the chord, the next natural step in composing tertian chords. The seventh chord built on the fifth step of the scale (the dominant seventh) is the only one available in the major scale: it contains all three notes of the diminished triad of the seventh and is frequently used as a stronger substitute for it.

There are varioustypes of seventh chordsdepending on the quality of both the chord and the seventh added. In chord notation the chord type is sometimes superscripted and sometimes not (e.g.Dm7,Dm7, andDm7are all identical).

ComponentintervalsChord symbolNotesAudio

ThirdFifthSeventh

Diminished seventhminordiminisheddiminishedCo7, Cdim7C EGB

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Half-diminished seventhminordiminishedminorC7, Cm75,C7(5)C EGB

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Minor seventhminorperfectminorCm7, Cmin7,C7, C7C EG B

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Minor major seventhminorperfectmajorCm(M7),Cm maj7,C(j7),C7,CM7C EG B

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Dominant seventhmajorperfectminorC7, C7, Cdom7C E G B

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Major seventhmajorperfectmajorCM7, Cmaj7, C7, C7, C7, Cj7C E G B

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Augmented seventhmajoraugmentedminorC+7, Caug7, C7+, C7+5, C75C E GB

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Augmented major seventhmajoraugmentedmajorC+(M7), CM7+5, CM75, C+j7, C+7C E GB

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Extended chords[edit]Main article:Extended chordSee also:Jazz and pop notation for extended chords

Dominant thirteenthextended chord: C E G BD F A

play(helpinfo). Theupper structureor extensions, i.e. notes beyond the seventh, in red.

Extended chords are triads with further tertian notes added beyond the seventh; the ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords. After the thirteenth, any notes added in thirds duplicate notes elsewhere in the chord. All seven notes of the scale are present in the chord and adding more notes does not add new pitch classes. Such chords may be constructed only by using notes that lie outside the diatonic seven-note scale (See#Altered chordsbelow).