Dominating The 7th

10 mins per example

Though many of the greats play by instinct, often not knowing the ‘official’ names for the sounds they are creating, getting acquainted with a few general music harmony and theory terms can save the aspiring soloist time. This is not to deny the many solos that have been created using a ‘pure’ pentatonic approach, but the opportunity to expand our vocabulary is one we usually can’t resist…

So to get a little theoretical (unartistic even!) for just a second, if we were to compile a list of the most frequently used musical devices in the blues, the dominant 7th would feature very close to the top (depending on the player). If you’ve played a 7th chord, you’ve already heard how this gives a more complex harmonic sound than a ‘straight’ major or minor. What we are looking at in this issue is targeting or emphasising the use b7), of this dominant 7th (sometimes called which is already present as the 5th note in the minor pentatonic scale (E,G, A, B, D), allowing us to specifically pinpoint that sound.

But why is it called the 7th when it is the 5th note? Where numbers are used in chordal harmony, they always refer to the notes’ numerical position in the major scale – the starting point for all Western harmony. If you count through a major scale of E up to the seventh note you get a D#. By flattening or loweringb this by a semitone, you get your dominant/ 7 – D. Ultimately, this is about sparking some new ideas rather than trying to get too academic about it all. If you can hear the difference between major and minor, you b7ths can train yourself to recognise by ear, too. I hope you enjoy the examples and see you next time!