Dominant seventh
A chord built from a major triad with a flattened seventh above the root, the strongest chord for creating forward motion.
The dominant seventh contains both a major third and a flattened seventh, and the tension between them is what drives resolution: the third pulls upwards and the seventh downwards, so the chord wants to move to the tonic. This is the engine of blues, where every chord in a twelve-bar can be a dominant seventh, and equally of classical harmony, where it precedes the final chord. In practice it is the most common seventh chord a guitarist plays.
Example: A chord containing a root, major third, perfect fifth and flattened seventh, such as G, B, D and F, is a dominant seventh.
See also
Related
- PageSeventh chord
- PageChord progression
- PageBlues
- PageAugmented chord
- PageBlue note
- PageBlues scale
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley