If you typically use a lot Major and Minor Triad chords in your songs, one way to spice up your songwriting would be to start adding in some Seventh chords.
Triads are the most fundamental chords. They are built beginning with a Root note. This is the note from which the chord takes its name. For instance, a C chord will have a C note as its root. Triads will also include the 3rd and the 5th. Take any note from a scale, making that the root, then add the third and fifth, and Voila! You've got yourself a chord. The 3rd will fall a half-step lower in sequence in a Minor chord than in a Major chord.
This is much clearer when viewed on a keyboard, rather than on a guitar. That is why I usually use a keyboard when demonstrating this to my students. The theory is no different on a guitar, it is just a little less clearly laid out on the fretboard.
Any of these three notes within the chord can be doubled an octave higher, and the order of the notes can be switched around. This is referred to as the particular Voicing of the chord. If you are a guitar player you have probably already realized that there is more than one way to play a G chord, by switching between open chords and bar chords for instance. This switch changes the order and the octave doublings of the root, 3rd, and 5th, which creates a new voicing of the same chord.
A Seventh chord will contain the three notes of a Triad and continue up the scale to also add the 7th. This 7th will be the last note before the Root occurs an octave higher.
For major chords there are two variations of sevenths. If the seventh is a half-step (one pitch) below the octave, the chord will be considered a Major Seventh chord, which has a somewhat pretty sound. If the seventh is a whole-step (two pitches) below the octave, the chord will be considered a Dominant Seventh chord, also commonly referred to as simply a Seventh chord, which has a more dissonant sound. For minor chords all sevenths will be a whole-step below the octave, which seems to create a more open sound, although these terms are somewhat subjective.
If you write Rock, Country, or Folk music you are most likely using a lot of Triads. You can now try changing some of the chords to Seventh chords to spice up your songs.
If you are writing R&B or Jazz you probably already have a lot of 7ths in your chords. One way to change the flavor and add variety to your chord sounds within these styles would be to reduce the chords down to triads.
If you write Blues songs you have most likely realized that the Blues utilizes Dominant Seventh chords almost exclusively. You could try turning all your blues chords into triads and playing them with a straight feel rather than a shuffle. A lot of great rock tunes have emerged from this technique. You could also try turning the I and IV chords into Major Seventh chords, which would transform your Blues Song into a Major key chord progression. (In the key of C Major I, IV, and V chords would then be Cmaj7, Fmaj7, and G7, respectively, but in C Blues they would all be Dominant Seventh chords).
The main thing is to apply experimentation with your chords. Substitute some Seventh chords for Triads and the other way around. You may just add a whole new dimension to your songs!
Triads are the most fundamental chords. They are built beginning with a Root note. This is the note from which the chord takes its name. For instance, a C chord will have a C note as its root. Triads will also include the 3rd and the 5th. Take any note from a scale, making that the root, then add the third and fifth, and Voila! You've got yourself a chord. The 3rd will fall a half-step lower in sequence in a Minor chord than in a Major chord.
This is much clearer when viewed on a keyboard, rather than on a guitar. That is why I usually use a keyboard when demonstrating this to my students. The theory is no different on a guitar, it is just a little less clearly laid out on the fretboard.
Any of these three notes within the chord can be doubled an octave higher, and the order of the notes can be switched around. This is referred to as the particular Voicing of the chord. If you are a guitar player you have probably already realized that there is more than one way to play a G chord, by switching between open chords and bar chords for instance. This switch changes the order and the octave doublings of the root, 3rd, and 5th, which creates a new voicing of the same chord.
A Seventh chord will contain the three notes of a Triad and continue up the scale to also add the 7th. This 7th will be the last note before the Root occurs an octave higher.
For major chords there are two variations of sevenths. If the seventh is a half-step (one pitch) below the octave, the chord will be considered a Major Seventh chord, which has a somewhat pretty sound. If the seventh is a whole-step (two pitches) below the octave, the chord will be considered a Dominant Seventh chord, also commonly referred to as simply a Seventh chord, which has a more dissonant sound. For minor chords all sevenths will be a whole-step below the octave, which seems to create a more open sound, although these terms are somewhat subjective.
If you write Rock, Country, or Folk music you are most likely using a lot of Triads. You can now try changing some of the chords to Seventh chords to spice up your songs.
If you are writing R&B or Jazz you probably already have a lot of 7ths in your chords. One way to change the flavor and add variety to your chord sounds within these styles would be to reduce the chords down to triads.
If you write Blues songs you have most likely realized that the Blues utilizes Dominant Seventh chords almost exclusively. You could try turning all your blues chords into triads and playing them with a straight feel rather than a shuffle. A lot of great rock tunes have emerged from this technique. You could also try turning the I and IV chords into Major Seventh chords, which would transform your Blues Song into a Major key chord progression. (In the key of C Major I, IV, and V chords would then be Cmaj7, Fmaj7, and G7, respectively, but in C Blues they would all be Dominant Seventh chords).
The main thing is to apply experimentation with your chords. Substitute some Seventh chords for Triads and the other way around. You may just add a whole new dimension to your songs!
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