Pieces › In the spirit of the hits

Seventh chords

Four notes for a jazzy color

Adding a fourth note to a chord changes everything. C major 7 (C-E-G-B) sounds dreamy; G7 (G-B-D-F) pulls toward a resolution on C.

First the gentle sway C – Cmaj7 – F, then the jazz sequence Cmaj7 – Am7 – Dm7 – G7.

Heard in: Imagine (John Lennon), Fly Me to the Moon, Sunday Morning (Maroon 5)

Tips

• All four fingers 1-2-3-5 stay on the keys: only one or two notes change from one chord to the next.

C – Cmaj7 – F

Listen to how the B in Cmaj7 makes the chord “float.”

The jazz chart with both hands

Cmaj7 – Am7 – Dm7 – G7, two half notes per measure. Left hand: C (2), A (4), D (1), G (5).