Re: What 7th Chords Go with What Major Keys?
Originally Posted by
Sherry Cadenhead
So, which 7th chords go with G, C, D and A major? When I go through my "jam" book, I find tunes in G major can have D7, G7, B7. With C major I see C7 and G7. With D major, I see A7, E7, F#7. With A major I see C#7, E7, Bm7.
There seems to be a bit of overkill in this, as well as inconsistency. I'll try to sort it out.
Bear in mind dominant 7ths are often, if not usually, used for leading to another chord - though not always.
Starting with those chords in G. D7 is usually used to lead back to the G. (V7 - I) G7 is often used to lead to C (I7 - IV), and a typical use would be, in a 12-bar I-IV-V blues, for it to be the 4th chord in the first line leading to the 1st chord in the second line, a IV chord. That D7 would typically be used as the 2nd chord in the third line, to lead back to the G as a resolve.
OK, I've lost you. Here is the typical chord structure for a 12-bar blues:
I I I I7
IV IV I I
V V7 I I
There are loads of variations. Here are most of them, all smeared together:
I IV I I7
IV IVm I I7
V V7 I V7
What that B7 is doing there puzzles me just a bit. It is not naturally occurring in the key of G. But it could be used very effectively to lead to Em, the relative minor of G. (III7 - VIm)
I'm also puzzled by the list of chords for the key of D. E7 isn't naturally occurring in the key of D. It's the II7, which could be leading to the A7 (V7) back to D. The F#7 could be doing the same as the B7 in the key of G as above - leading to Bm, the relative minor of D. (III7 - VIm)
I'm also puzzled by the list of chords for the key of A. That C#7 could be used to lead to F#m, the relative minor of A. (III7 - VIm) But you have an F#7 instead.
Anyway, I sense your eyes glazing over so I'll stop. But before I go I will point out that what lowtone2 is quite true. Those are the 7th chords in the key of C. And those are transposable to all keys. It might be better to get used to the number system. So that would be IM7 IIm7 IIIm7 IVM7 V7 VIm7 VII-7
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