Piano for Beginners 6th ED - 2016 UK

Playing minor seventh chords

Put what you have learnt into practice

T

he minor seventh, notated as m7, lifts the

mood of a minor triad and stops it from

sounding quite so glum. Unlike a major

seventh chord, a minor seventh enables

you to add the seventh note without clashing with

the overlying melody, allowing you to be more

experimental. However, do be cautious not to

confuse it with a 7 or M7 chord as this produces the

wrong kind of experimental sound!

The minor seventh chord is formed of four notes:

a root, minor third and perfect fifth (collectively a

minor triad) with the addition of a seventh note (the

seventh tone in the minor scale of the root note).

This is why it may sometimes called the minor minor

seventh. Here is a worked through example: to play

Dm7 first find the minor triad (D-F-A). Remember

to leave your fifth finger or thumb free to complete

the chord. The minor seventh will be three

semitones above the perfect fifth, in this example,

C. Alternatively count two semitones down from

the root note to locate the minor seventh. Unlike a

simple minor triad a minor seventh will have a third

inversion beginning on the 7th itself; Dm7 in the

third inversion would be C-D-F-A. When playing the

third inversion in the left hand you may find it easier

to use the fingering 5 - 4 -2-1. Similarly the fingering

1 -2- 4 - 5 is often more comfortable when playing the

first inversion in the right hand.

Minor seventh

chords

Minor sevenths can transform a plain minor triad

“Minor seventh lets you

add the seventh note without

clashing with the melody”

Fm7 (F-A -C-E )

Practise locating the chord in its root position using the fingering 1 -2- 3 - 5 in

the right hand and 5 - 3 -2- 1 in the left. Move to the first inversion and then the

second, repeating until you feel comfortable with the sound and structure.

Dm7 (D-F-A-C)

Here you have only been given the notation for the root, second and third

inversions – the third starting on the seventh itself. It’s up to you to identify the

first inversion – remember to start on the minor third.

Top tip

Minor major

seventh chords

There is one type of chord we haven’t

covered here: the minor major seventh

(mM7). To play an mM7 chord, you

must flatten the third (like a minor

triad) but not the seventh. So, for

CmM7, you play C-Eb-G-B. The latter

three notes are actually an

Eb augmented triad, which

gives the mM7 a

mysterious feel.