Music Fundamentals A Balanced Approach

In Modules 11 and 13 we studied three-note chords called triadsand used them to harmonize melodies, a
defining feature of Western music called “tertian harmony,” or harmonies built on the interval of the third. In
addition to triads, composers have harmonized melodies using “tertian” chords made of four notes, and even
five or more notes.

The four-note chord is called the seventh chord,named for the interval of the seventh created between the
lowest and highest notes of the chord. Subsequent chords with more notes are named from the interval number
between their root and highest notes.

371

SEVENTH CHORDS

Originally, composers used sevenths as added notes to a melody and its harmony—they were non-chord tones that created

dissonances (intervals that required a resolution). By the eighteenth century, sevenths became an accepted part of a composer’s

harmonic vocabulary; eventually, they were used extensively by some composers (such as Claude Debussy) and in jazz and some

popular music.

Historical note: Seventh chords

Triad Seventh

chord

Ninth

chord

Eleventh

chord

7 9 11

372 Qualities of Seventh Chords

373 Dominant Seventh Chords

374 Two Methods of Writing Dominant Seventh Chords

376 Harmonizing Music in Major Keys Using Triads or Dominant
Seventh Chords in Root Position

377 Inversions of Dominant Seventh Chords

377 Figured Bass Symbols for Seventh Chords

379 Harmonizing Music in Major Keys Using Inverted

Dominant Seventh Chords

379 Chord Progressions Using Dominant Seventh

Chords in Major Keys

381 Dominant Seventh Chords in Minor Keys

383 Workbook

MODULE 15 SEVENTH CHORDS