Previous Lessons

"Broadening Your Horizons with Pentatonics"

"Relativity and Connecting the Dots"

"Expanding your Mind with Arpeggios"

"What Does it All Mean? Building Bass Lines Using Chord Tones"

"Smooth Like Butta'"

Ben Wright plays bass for the New York City rock band Wu Li, and has toured and recorded with Jupiter One.

...And He Rested on the Seventh.
By Ben Wright
Posted: March 1, 2008
Skill level: Novice / intermediate

OK, people. We've talked about the root, 3rd and 5th. Now it's time
to talk about 7th's. For a quick refresher on triads, take a look at
"Expanding Your Mind With Arpeggios" in the HeyAllright lesson
archive. In that lesson, we built triads using roots, 3rd's and 5th's
derived from the C major scale. Adding the 7th to a chord is like
adding one more color to our palette, one more musical hue to choose
from. Let's build some chords with 7th's and start working on some
improvisational techniques using the arpeggios we've created.

Here's a C major scale.

Fig. 1

The C major 7 chord is spelled C-E-G-B. Why is this C major 7, you
ask? Well, just like the triads we built earlier, the sound of
7th chords has to do with the distance between the notes. The
root (C) and the 3rd (E) are two whole steps apart. The 3rd (E) and
the 5th (G) are one-and-a-half steps apart. The 5th (G) and the 7th
(B) are two whole steps apart, and the 7th (B) is a half step below
the octave (C). This is the structure of a major 7 chord.

Fig. 2

Remember to try and play this arpeggio up and down the neck until you
get comfortable with the sound and the shape!

Now let's build a 7th chord from the second note in the scale, D. We
know that the D triad in the key of C is minor because of the distance
between the notes. The root (D) and the 3rd (F) are one-and-a-half
steps apart, creating a minor 3rd. You could also call it a flat 3rd.
The 3rd (F) and the 5th (A) are 2 whole steps apart. The 5th (A) and
the 7th (C) are one-and-a-half steps apart, creating a minor or flat
7th. Notice also that the 7th is a whole step below the octave.

Fig. 3

When we built triads using the C major scale, we discovered three
different sounds; major, minor, and diminished. Try adding sevenths
to the remaining triads in the key of C major.

Fig.4

Hopefully you noticed that the chord beginning with the note G was
slightly different than what we've seen so far. The triad created
(G-B-D) is major, but the distance from the 5th (D) to the 7th (F) is
one-and-a-half steps, as opposed to two whole steps in the major 7
chord. This combination of a major triad with a flat 7th is called
Dominant 7. Notice also that the chord symbol is G7.

The chord beginning with the note B also has a different structure.
The triad created (B-D-F) is diminished. The distance from the 5th
(F) to the 7th (A) is two whole steps. Because the 5th is flatted in
the diminished triad, this creates a flatted seventh as well. The
resulting chord is called minor 7 flat 5.

Practice these new shapes up and down the neck of your bass in every
key! Remember that the structures we've created follow suit in any
major key. Use the Major Keys diagram in our previous lesson, "What
Does it all Mean? Building Bass Lines Using Chord Tones," which can be
found in the HeyAllright lesson archive.

It's always best to practice these kinds of things within the context
of a tune. Here's a fun way to practice these new arpeggios using the
changes from the jazz standard, "What is This Thing Called Love." I've
used eighth notes in this example. Try to build a bass line using the
quarter note feel as well. Have fun!

Fig. 5.1

Fig. 5.2.

Fig. 5.3.

Copyright © 2008 Ben Wright