Minor 7th Chords

By now, you should be seeing the advantage to using the Triad/Interval combination to describe 7th chords. We have now seen the Major and Dominant 7th's, so now we will look at the Minor 7th chord. Minor 7th chords are formed using a Minor Triad/Minor Interval combination. (Notice that the Major 7th is Major/Major, and the Minor 7th is Minor/Minor. This will make it easier to remember.)

As an example, let's form a C Minor 7th chord.

  1. A Minor 7th chord is made up of a Minor triad, and a Minor 7th interval.
  2. The name of the chord gives us the root, that is, C.
  3. We know that a C minor triad is made up of C, Eb, and G.
  4. The Minor 7th Interval above C is Bb.
  5. Therefore, the notes C, Eb, G, and Bb make up the C Minor 7th chord.

C Min 7th

Let us follow the same procedure again to form a F Minor 7th chord.

  1. A Minor 7th chord is made up of a Minor triad, and a Minor 7th interval.
  2. The name of the chord gives us the root, that is, F.
  3. We know that a F Minor triad is made up of F, Ab, and C.
  4. The Minor 7th Interval above F is Eb.
  5. Therefore, the notes F, Ab, C, and Bb make up the F Minor 7th chord.

C Min 7th

We now expand our chart to include the Minor 7th chord construction. Notice that both the Major 7th and Dominant 7th columns are shaded, being the most common forms of the 7th chord. Again, this shading also helps us to visually see the relationship between the different types of chords.

Here is the chart as applied to a C chord: