Music Theory:
Understanding Seventh and Extended Chords

THEORY: SEVENTH and EXTENDED CHORDS

There are four primary seventh chords in
major scale diatonic harmony and one other
seventh quality chord found in the harmony
of the harmonic minor scale.

The Major Scale's Seventh Chords:

1). Major 7th = 1, 3, 5, 7

2). Minor 7th = 1, b3, 5, b7

3). Minor 7(b5) = 1, b3, b5, b7

4). Dominant 7 = 1, 3, 5, b7

Harmonic Minor's Seventh Chord:

The Harmonic Minor scale has another popular seventh chord built upon it's leading tone (the VII th degree).

- Diminished 7th = 1, b3, b5, bb7

COMPOUND INTERVALS/EXTENDED CHORDS:

Compound Intervals are used to extend
chords beyond an octave. The Extended
Chords include: 9th, 11th and 13th types.

The Extended Chords we see most often are built on the; Major, Minor and Dominant chord types, i.e., Ma9, Mi9, Dom.9.