Minor Seventh Chords
What is a Minor Seventh Chord?
A minor seventh chord is a four-note chord, which consists of four notes: the root, the minor third, the perfect fifth, and the minor seventh.
Minor Seventh Chord Formula: 1-b3-5-b7
The formula 1-b3-5-b7 represents the intervallic structure of a minor seventh chord:
- 1: The root note of the chord.
- b3: The minor third, which is three semitones above the root.
- 5: The perfect fifth, which is seven semitones above the root.
- b7: The minor seventh, which is ten semitones above the root.
For example, in a C minor seventh chord:
- Root note (1): C
- Minor third (b3): Eb
- Perfect fifth (5): G
- Minor seventh (b7): Bb
The combination of these four notes (C, Eb, G, Bb) creates the sound of a C minor seventh chord.
Characteristics of Minor Seventh Chords
Minor seventh chords have a rich and slightly dark quality, often used to convey emotions of melancholy or introspection. They are commonly found in jazz, blues, and various other genres, adding depth and color to chord progressions.
Resolving Minor Seventh Chords
In certain musical contexts, minor seventh chords can also create resolution by moving to other chords. For example, a minor seventh chord might resolve to a minor or major chord a perfect fifth below, such as resolving a Cm7 (C-Eb-G-Bb) to F major (F-A-C) or F minor (F-Ab-C). These types of progressions are common in jazz and other genres, adding interesting harmonic movements to the music.
On a piano or keyboard, minor seventh chords are typically played by pressing the root note, the minor third, the perfect fifth, and the minor seventh.
In guitar playing, minor seventh chords are formed by pressing down specific combinations of strings and frets, following chord diagrams or finger positions.
