E major 7th chords

The Solution below shows the E major scale 7th chords, (I7, ii7, iii7, IV7, V7, vi7, viiø7) on a piano, with mp3 and midi audio.

The Lesson steps then explain the 7th chord construction from this scale, and how to name the quality of each chord based on note intervals.

For a quick summary of this topic, and to see the chord quality chart for this scale, have a look at Scale chord.

Keys in this scale
KeyCC#DbDD#Eb[E]E#FbFF#GbGG#AbAA#BbBB#Cb

Solution - 7 parts

1. E major chord I7

This step shows the tonic 7th chord of the E major scale.

The E major chord I7 is the E maj 7 chord, and contains the notes E, G#, B, and D#.

This tonic 7th chords root / starting note is the 1st note (or scale degree) of the E major scale.

The roman numeral for number 1 is 'I', and is used to indicate this is the 1st chord in the scale. It is in upper case to denote that the chord is a major chord.

E major 7th chord 1 is E major 7th

Chord names for E major chord 1
Chord positionLinka/b/c/d notationFigured bass notation
Root positionE major 7th chord in root positionIaI7
1st inversionE major 7th chord in 1st inversionIbI65
2nd inversionE major 7th chord in 2nd inversionIcI43
3rd inversionE major 7th chord in 3rd inversionIdI2
bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

2. E major chord ii7

This step shows the supertonic 7th chord of the E major scale.

The E major chord ii7 is the F# min 7 chord, and contains the notes F#, A, C#, and E.

This supertonic 7th chords root / starting note is the 2nd note (or scale degree) of the E major scale.

The roman numeral for number 2 is 'ii', and is used to indicate this is the 2nd chord in the scale. It is in lower case to denote that the chord is a minor chord.

E major 7th chord 2 is F-sharp minor 7th

Chord names for E major chord 2
Chord positionLinka/b/c/d notationFigured bass notation
Root positionF# minor 7th chord in root positioniiaii7
1st inversionF# minor 7th chord in 1st inversioniibii65
2nd inversionF# minor 7th chord in 2nd inversioniicii43
3rd inversionF# minor 7th chord in 3rd inversioniidii2
bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

3. E major chord iii7

This step shows the mediant 7th chord of the E major scale.

The E major chord iii7 is the G# min 7 chord, and contains the notes G#, B, D#, and F#.

This mediant 7th chords root / starting note is the 3rd note (or scale degree) of the E major scale.

The roman numeral for number 3 is 'iii', and is used to indicate this is the 3rd chord in the scale. It is in lower case to denote that the chord is a minor chord.

E major 7th chord 3 is G-sharp minor 7th

Chord names for E major chord 3
Chord positionLinka/b/c/d notationFigured bass notation
Root positionG# minor 7th chord in root positioniiiaiii7
1st inversionG# minor 7th chord in 1st inversioniiibiii65
2nd inversionG# minor 7th chord in 2nd inversioniiiciii43
3rd inversionG# minor 7th chord in 3rd inversioniiidiii2
bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

4. E major chord IV7

This step shows the subdominant 7th chord of the E major scale.

The E major chord IV7 is the A maj 7 chord, and contains the notes A, C#, E, and G#.

This subdominant 7th chords root / starting note is the 4th note (or scale degree) of the E major scale.

The roman numeral for number 4 is 'IV', and is used to indicate this is the 4th chord in the scale. It is in upper case to denote that the chord is a major chord.

E major 7th chord 4 is A major 7th

Chord names for E major chord 4
Chord positionLinka/b/c/d notationFigured bass notation
Root positionA major 7th chord in root positionIVaIV7
1st inversionA major 7th chord in 1st inversionIVbIV65
2nd inversionA major 7th chord in 2nd inversionIVcIV43
3rd inversionA major 7th chord in 3rd inversionIVdIV2
bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

5. E major chord V7

This step shows the dominant 7th chord of the E major scale.

The E major chord V7 is the B dom 7 chord, and contains the notes B, D#, F#, and A.

This dominant 7th chords root / starting note is the 5th note (or scale degree) of the E major scale.

The roman numeral for number 5 is 'V', and is used to indicate this is the 5th chord in the scale. Just like a major chord, the dominant 7th chord is constructed using a major third interval,so the roman numeral is shown in upper case.

E major 7th chord 5 is B dominant 7th

Chord names for E major chord 5
Chord positionLinka/b/c/d notationFigured bass notation
Root positionB dominant 7th chord in root positionVaV7
1st inversionB dominant 7th chord in 1st inversionVbV65
2nd inversionB dominant 7th chord in 2nd inversionVcV43
3rd inversionB dominant 7th chord in 3rd inversionVdV2
bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

6. E major chord vi7

This step shows the submediant 7th chord of the E major scale.

The E major chord vi7 is the C# min 7 chord, and contains the notes C#, E, G#, and B.

This submediant 7th chords root / starting note is the 6th note (or scale degree) of the E major scale.

The roman numeral for number 6 is 'vi', and is used to indicate this is the 6th chord in the scale. It is in lower case to denote that the chord is a minor chord.

E major 7th chord 6 is C-sharp minor 7th

Chord names for E major chord 6
Chord positionLinka/b/c/d notationFigured bass notation
Root positionC# minor 7th chord in root positionviavi7
1st inversionC# minor 7th chord in 1st inversionvibvi65
2nd inversionC# minor 7th chord in 2nd inversionvicvi43
3rd inversionC# minor 7th chord in 3rd inversionvidvi2
bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

7. E major chord viiø7

This step shows the subtonic 7th chord of the E major scale.

The E major chord viiø7 is the D# half-dim7 chord, and contains the notes D#, F#, A, and C#.

This subtonic 7th chords root / starting note is the 7th note (or scale degree) of the E major scale.

The roman numeral for number 7 is 'vii', and is used to indicate this is the 7th chord in the scale. Just like a minor chord, the half-diminished 7th chord is constructed using a minor third interval, so the roman numeral is shown in lower case.

The half-diminished symbol 'ø' is placed after the roman numerals to indicate this is a half-diminished 7th chord.

E major 7th chord 7 is D-sharp half-diminished 7th

Chord names for E major chord 7
Chord positionLinka/b/c/d notationFigured bass notation
Root positionD# half-diminished 7th chord in root positionviiøaviiø7
1st inversionD# half-diminished 7th chord in 1st inversionviiøbviiø65
2nd inversionD# half-diminished 7th chord in 2nd inversionviiøcviiø43
3rd inversionD# half-diminished 7th chord in 3rd inversionviiødviiø2
bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

Lesson steps

1. Piano key note names

This step shows the white and black note names on a piano keyboard so that the note names are familiar for later steps, and to show that the note names start repeating themselves after 12 notes.

The white keys are named using the alphabetic letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, which is a pattern that repeats up the piano keyboard.

Every white or black key could have a flat(b) or sharp(#) accidental name, depending on how that note is used. In a later step, if sharp or flat notes are used, the exact accidental names will be chosen.

Sharp and flat note names

The audio files below play every note shown on the piano above, so middle C (marked with an orange line at the bottom) is the 2nd note heard.

bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

2. E major scale notes

This step shows the scale note names that will be used to construct all 7th chords that harmonize with those scale notes.

The piano keyboard below contains the notes of the E major scale.

Starting from the 1st scale note, each lesson step below will take each note in turn and construct a 7th chord using that note as the root / starting note of that chord.

The 7th chord will be built using only the notes of the scale we are interested in.

Identifying the 4 notes in the chord

7th chords are built using the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th notes of a scale, so the first 7th chord below will constructed a chord using notes E, G#, B and D#.

E major scale
No.12345678
NoteEF#G#ABC#D#E

The second 7th chord below will repeat this, but this time starting on the 2nd note, so its notes will be F#, A, C# and E - ie. the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th positions relative to that 2nd root note.

This pattern is repeated for all 7 notes in the scale, resulting in 7 seventh chords.

E major scale

Identifying the chord quality

Although the above method identifies each 7th chord notes from the scale used, it does not identify the complete chord name including its quality.

Should each 7th chord that we build be called diminished, half-diminished, minorminor-major, dominant, major, augmented, or augmented-major ?

Every 7th chord must have one of these quality names.

To decide the name the chord quality, each step below will use note intervals to calculate how many half-tones / semitones / piano keys between the root and the 3rd, 5th and 7th notes.).

Taken together, the combination of the 3rd, 5th and 7th note intervals will define the complete 7th chord quality name.

The steps below will show how this works for each 7th chord in turn, but in practice it might just be easier to memorize the triad quality table in the Scale chord summary for each scale type.

bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

3. 1st 7th chord in E major scale

This step shows how to identify the notes and the name of a 7th chord whose root note is the 1st scale degree of the E major scale.

Identifying the 4 notes in the chord

The table below shows the E major scale, ordered to show the 1st note as the first column in the table.

To identify the 7th chord note names, use the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th columns / scale degrees, which are notes E, G#, B, and D#.

E major scale from note #1
No.1234567
NoteEF#G#ABC#D#

Identifying the chord quality

To identify the 7th chord quality that has these notes, begin by counting the number of half-tones / semitones between the root and each of the notes.

For the 3rd interval (note 2 on the diagram) the distance between E and G# is 4 half-tones.

Now look at the complete Note interval table, and identify the note interval that has a distance of 3 half-tones (first column), and with an interval no. of 3 (last column).

The note interval name for the 3rd note / scale degree is therefore major, also called M3 for short. More details of this interval are at E-maj-3rd.

Repeating this for the 5th note / scale degree, the distance between E and B is 7 half-tones, and the note interval name is perfect (P5). More details of this interval are at E-perf-5th.

Again the 7th note / scale degree, the distance between E and D# is 11 half-tones, and the note interval name is major (M7). More details of this interval are at E-maj-7th.

Finally, we have the name of the three note intervals of this 7th chord, and can now lookup the name of the 7th chord quality having these intervals.

Looking at the Seventh chord table, the name of the 7th chord quality having major(M3), perfect(P5) and major(M7) note intervals is major 7th.

And so the complete 7th chord Name prefixes the root note, E, onto this quality, giving us the E maj 7 chord.

E major 7th chord

Scale chord names using a,b and c notation

The chord symbol I could be followed by the letter a to indicate that it is E major 7th chord in root position (ie not inverted) - E major scale chord Ia.

Instead, I could be followed by the letter b to indicate that it is E major 7th chord in 1st inversion - E major scale chord Ib.

Letter c could be used to indicate that it is E major 7th chord in 2nd inversion - E major scale chord Ic.

Finally, letter d could be used to indicate that it is E major 7th chord in 3rd inversion - E major scale chord Id.

Scale chord names using figured bass notation

In place of the a-d symbols above, figured bass symbols could be used to indicate chord positions after I:

So in this key, I7 refers to the E major 7th chord in root position.

For 7th chord inversions, I65 refers to the E major 7th chord in 1st inversion, I43 refers to the E major 7th chord in 2nd inversion, and I2 refers to the E major 7th chord in 3rd inversion.

The next scale chord

The next step will need to calculate the 7th chord whose root / starting note is next scale note.

To do this, the first column we used in this step, E, will be moved to the final column of the table.

bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

4. 2nd 7th chord in E major scale

This step shows how to identify the notes and the name of a 7th chord whose root note is the 2nd scale degree of the E major scale.

Identifying the 4 notes in the chord

The table below shows the E major scale, ordered to show the 2nd note as the first column in the table.

To identify the 7th chord note names, use the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th columns / scale degrees, which are notes F#, A, C#, and E.

E major scale from note #2
No.1234567
NoteF#G#ABC#D#E

Identifying the chord quality

To identify the 7th chord quality that has these notes, begin by counting the number of half-tones / semitones between the root and each of the notes.

For the 3rd interval (note 2 on the diagram) the distance between F# and A is 3 half-tones.

Now look at the complete Note interval table, and identify the note interval that has a distance of 3 half-tones (first column), and with an interval no. of 3 (last column).

The note interval name for the 3rd note / scale degree is therefore minor, also called m3 for short. More details of this interval are at F#-min-3rd.

Repeating this for the 5th note / scale degree, the distance between F# and C# is 7 half-tones, and the note interval name is perfect (P5). More details of this interval are at F#-perf-5th.

Again the 7th note / scale degree, the distance between F# and E is 10 half-tones, and the note interval name is minor (m7). More details of this interval are at F#-min-7th.

Finally, we have the name of the three note intervals of this 7th chord, and can now lookup the name of the 7th chord quality having these intervals.

Looking at the Seventh chord table, the name of the 7th chord quality having minor(m3), perfect(P5) and minor(m7) note intervals is minor 7th.

And so the complete 7th chord Name prefixes the root note, F#, onto this quality, giving us the F# min 7 chord.

F-sharp minor 7th chord

Scale chord names using a,b and c notation

The chord symbol ii could be followed by the letter a to indicate that it is F# minor 7th chord in root position (ie not inverted) - E major scale chord iia.

Instead, ii could be followed by the letter b to indicate that it is F# minor 7th chord in 1st inversion - E major scale chord iib.

Letter c could be used to indicate that it is F# minor 7th chord in 2nd inversion - E major scale chord iic.

Finally, letter d could be used to indicate that it is F# minor 7th chord in 3rd inversion - E major scale chord iid.

Scale chord names using figured bass notation

In place of the a-d symbols above, figured bass symbols could be used to indicate chord positions after ii:

So in this key, ii7 refers to the F# minor 7th chord in root position.

For 7th chord inversions, ii65 refers to the F# minor 7th chord in 1st inversion, ii43 refers to the F# minor 7th chord in 2nd inversion, and ii2 refers to the F# minor 7th chord in 3rd inversion.

The next scale chord

The next step will need to calculate the 7th chord whose root / starting note is next scale note.

To do this, the first column we used in this step, F#, will be moved to the final column of the table.

bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

5. 3rd 7th chord in E major scale

This step shows how to identify the notes and the name of a 7th chord whose root note is the 3rd scale degree of the E major scale.

Identifying the 4 notes in the chord

The table below shows the E major scale, ordered to show the 3rd note as the first column in the table.

To identify the 7th chord note names, use the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th columns / scale degrees, which are notes G#, B, D#, and F#.

E major scale from note #3
No.1234567
NoteG#ABC#D#EF#

Identifying the chord quality

To identify the 7th chord quality that has these notes, begin by counting the number of half-tones / semitones between the root and each of the notes.

For the 3rd interval (note 2 on the diagram) the distance between G# and B is 3 half-tones.

Now look at the complete Note interval table, and identify the note interval that has a distance of 3 half-tones (first column), and with an interval no. of 3 (last column).

The note interval name for the 3rd note / scale degree is therefore minor, also called m3 for short. More details of this interval are at G#-min-3rd.

Repeating this for the 5th note / scale degree, the distance between G# and D# is 7 half-tones, and the note interval name is perfect (P5). More details of this interval are at G#-perf-5th.

Again the 7th note / scale degree, the distance between G# and F# is 10 half-tones, and the note interval name is minor (m7). More details of this interval are at G#-min-7th.

Finally, we have the name of the three note intervals of this 7th chord, and can now lookup the name of the 7th chord quality having these intervals.

Looking at the Seventh chord table, the name of the 7th chord quality having minor(m3), perfect(P5) and minor(m7) note intervals is minor 7th.

And so the complete 7th chord Name prefixes the root note, G#, onto this quality, giving us the G# min 7 chord.

G-sharp minor 7th chord

Scale chord names using a,b and c notation

The chord symbol iii could be followed by the letter a to indicate that it is G# minor 7th chord in root position (ie not inverted) - E major scale chord iiia.

Instead, iii could be followed by the letter b to indicate that it is G# minor 7th chord in 1st inversion - E major scale chord iiib.

Letter c could be used to indicate that it is G# minor 7th chord in 2nd inversion - E major scale chord iiic.

Finally, letter d could be used to indicate that it is G# minor 7th chord in 3rd inversion - E major scale chord iiid.

Scale chord names using figured bass notation

In place of the a-d symbols above, figured bass symbols could be used to indicate chord positions after iii:

So in this key, iii7 refers to the G# minor 7th chord in root position.

For 7th chord inversions, iii65 refers to the G# minor 7th chord in 1st inversion, iii43 refers to the G# minor 7th chord in 2nd inversion, and iii2 refers to the G# minor 7th chord in 3rd inversion.

The next scale chord

The next step will need to calculate the 7th chord whose root / starting note is next scale note.

To do this, the first column we used in this step, G#, will be moved to the final column of the table.

bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

6. 4th 7th chord in E major scale

This step shows how to identify the notes and the name of a 7th chord whose root note is the 4th scale degree of the E major scale.

Identifying the 4 notes in the chord

The table below shows the E major scale, ordered to show the 4th note as the first column in the table.

To identify the 7th chord note names, use the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th columns / scale degrees, which are notes A, C#, E, and G#.

E major scale from note #4
No.1234567
NoteABC#D#EF#G#

Identifying the chord quality

To identify the 7th chord quality that has these notes, begin by counting the number of half-tones / semitones between the root and each of the notes.

For the 3rd interval (note 2 on the diagram) the distance between A and C# is 4 half-tones.

Now look at the complete Note interval table, and identify the note interval that has a distance of 3 half-tones (first column), and with an interval no. of 3 (last column).

The note interval name for the 3rd note / scale degree is therefore major, also called M3 for short. More details of this interval are at A-maj-3rd.

Repeating this for the 5th note / scale degree, the distance between A and E is 7 half-tones, and the note interval name is perfect (P5). More details of this interval are at A-perf-5th.

Again the 7th note / scale degree, the distance between A and G# is 11 half-tones, and the note interval name is major (M7). More details of this interval are at A-maj-7th.

Finally, we have the name of the three note intervals of this 7th chord, and can now lookup the name of the 7th chord quality having these intervals.

Looking at the Seventh chord table, the name of the 7th chord quality having major(M3), perfect(P5) and major(M7) note intervals is major 7th.

And so the complete 7th chord Name prefixes the root note, A, onto this quality, giving us the A maj 7 chord.

A major 7th chord

Scale chord names using a,b and c notation

The chord symbol IV could be followed by the letter a to indicate that it is A major 7th chord in root position (ie not inverted) - E major scale chord IVa.

Instead, IV could be followed by the letter b to indicate that it is A major 7th chord in 1st inversion - E major scale chord IVb.

Letter c could be used to indicate that it is A major 7th chord in 2nd inversion - E major scale chord IVc.

Finally, letter d could be used to indicate that it is A major 7th chord in 3rd inversion - E major scale chord IVd.

Scale chord names using figured bass notation

In place of the a-d symbols above, figured bass symbols could be used to indicate chord positions after IV:

So in this key, IV7 refers to the A major 7th chord in root position.

For 7th chord inversions, IV65 refers to the A major 7th chord in 1st inversion, IV43 refers to the A major 7th chord in 2nd inversion, and IV2 refers to the A major 7th chord in 3rd inversion.

The next scale chord

The next step will need to calculate the 7th chord whose root / starting note is next scale note.

To do this, the first column we used in this step, A, will be moved to the final column of the table.

bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

7. 5th 7th chord in E major scale

This step shows how to identify the notes and the name of a 7th chord whose root note is the 5th scale degree of the E major scale.

Identifying the 4 notes in the chord

The table below shows the E major scale, ordered to show the 5th note as the first column in the table.

To identify the 7th chord note names, use the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th columns / scale degrees, which are notes B, D#, F#, and A.

E major scale from note #5
No.1234567
NoteBC#D#EF#G#A

Identifying the chord quality

To identify the 7th chord quality that has these notes, begin by counting the number of half-tones / semitones between the root and each of the notes.

For the 3rd interval (note 2 on the diagram) the distance between B and D# is 4 half-tones.

Now look at the complete Note interval table, and identify the note interval that has a distance of 3 half-tones (first column), and with an interval no. of 3 (last column).

The note interval name for the 3rd note / scale degree is therefore major, also called M3 for short. More details of this interval are at B-maj-3rd.

Repeating this for the 5th note / scale degree, the distance between B and F# is 7 half-tones, and the note interval name is perfect (P5). More details of this interval are at B-perf-5th.

Again the 7th note / scale degree, the distance between B and A is 10 half-tones, and the note interval name is minor (m7). More details of this interval are at B-min-7th.

Finally, we have the name of the three note intervals of this 7th chord, and can now lookup the name of the 7th chord quality having these intervals.

Looking at the Seventh chord table, the name of the 7th chord quality having major(M3), perfect(P5) and minor(m7) note intervals is dominant 7th.

And so the complete 7th chord Name prefixes the root note, B, onto this quality, giving us the B dom 7 chord.

B dominant 7th chord

Scale chord names using a,b and c notation

The chord symbol V could be followed by the letter a to indicate that it is B dominant 7th chord in root position (ie not inverted) - E major scale chord Va.

Instead, V could be followed by the letter b to indicate that it is B dominant 7th chord in 1st inversion - E major scale chord Vb.

Letter c could be used to indicate that it is B dominant 7th chord in 2nd inversion - E major scale chord Vc.

Finally, letter d could be used to indicate that it is B dominant 7th chord in 3rd inversion - E major scale chord Vd.

Scale chord names using figured bass notation

In place of the a-d symbols above, figured bass symbols could be used to indicate chord positions after V:

So in this key, V7 refers to the B dominant 7th chord in root position.

For 7th chord inversions, V65 refers to the B dominant 7th chord in 1st inversion, V43 refers to the B dominant 7th chord in 2nd inversion, and V2 refers to the B dominant 7th chord in 3rd inversion.

The next scale chord

The next step will need to calculate the 7th chord whose root / starting note is next scale note.

To do this, the first column we used in this step, B, will be moved to the final column of the table.

bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

8. 6th 7th chord in E major scale

This step shows how to identify the notes and the name of a 7th chord whose root note is the 6th scale degree of the E major scale.

Identifying the 4 notes in the chord

The table below shows the E major scale, ordered to show the 6th note as the first column in the table.

To identify the 7th chord note names, use the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th columns / scale degrees, which are notes C#, E, G#, and B.

E major scale from note #6
No.1234567
NoteC#D#EF#G#AB

Identifying the chord quality

To identify the 7th chord quality that has these notes, begin by counting the number of half-tones / semitones between the root and each of the notes.

For the 3rd interval (note 2 on the diagram) the distance between C# and E is 3 half-tones.

Now look at the complete Note interval table, and identify the note interval that has a distance of 3 half-tones (first column), and with an interval no. of 3 (last column).

The note interval name for the 3rd note / scale degree is therefore minor, also called m3 for short. More details of this interval are at C#-min-3rd.

Repeating this for the 5th note / scale degree, the distance between C# and G# is 7 half-tones, and the note interval name is perfect (P5). More details of this interval are at C#-perf-5th.

Again the 7th note / scale degree, the distance between C# and B is 10 half-tones, and the note interval name is minor (m7). More details of this interval are at C#-min-7th.

Finally, we have the name of the three note intervals of this 7th chord, and can now lookup the name of the 7th chord quality having these intervals.

Looking at the Seventh chord table, the name of the 7th chord quality having minor(m3), perfect(P5) and minor(m7) note intervals is minor 7th.

And so the complete 7th chord Name prefixes the root note, C#, onto this quality, giving us the C# min 7 chord.

C-sharp minor 7th chord

Scale chord names using a,b and c notation

The chord symbol vi could be followed by the letter a to indicate that it is C# minor 7th chord in root position (ie not inverted) - E major scale chord via.

Instead, vi could be followed by the letter b to indicate that it is C# minor 7th chord in 1st inversion - E major scale chord vib.

Letter c could be used to indicate that it is C# minor 7th chord in 2nd inversion - E major scale chord vic.

Finally, letter d could be used to indicate that it is C# minor 7th chord in 3rd inversion - E major scale chord vid.

Scale chord names using figured bass notation

In place of the a-d symbols above, figured bass symbols could be used to indicate chord positions after vi:

So in this key, vi7 refers to the C# minor 7th chord in root position.

For 7th chord inversions, vi65 refers to the C# minor 7th chord in 1st inversion, vi43 refers to the C# minor 7th chord in 2nd inversion, and vi2 refers to the C# minor 7th chord in 3rd inversion.

The next scale chord

The next step will need to calculate the 7th chord whose root / starting note is next scale note.

To do this, the first column we used in this step, C#, will be moved to the final column of the table.

bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

9. 7th 7th chord in E major scale

This step shows how to identify the notes and the name of a 7th chord whose root note is the 7th scale degree of the E major scale.

Identifying the 4 notes in the chord

The table below shows the E major scale, ordered to show the 7th note as the first column in the table.

To identify the 7th chord note names, use the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th columns / scale degrees, which are notes D#, F#, A, and C#.

E major scale from note #7
No.1234567
NoteD#EF#G#ABC#

Identifying the chord quality

To identify the 7th chord quality that has these notes, begin by counting the number of half-tones / semitones between the root and each of the notes.

For the 3rd interval (note 2 on the diagram) the distance between D# and F# is 3 half-tones.

Now look at the complete Note interval table, and identify the note interval that has a distance of 3 half-tones (first column), and with an interval no. of 3 (last column).

The note interval name for the 3rd note / scale degree is therefore minor, also called m3 for short. More details of this interval are at D#-min-3rd.

Repeating this for the 5th note / scale degree, the distance between D# and A is 6 half-tones, and the note interval name is diminished (d5). More details of this interval are at D#-dim-5th.

Again the 7th note / scale degree, the distance between D# and C# is 10 half-tones, and the note interval name is minor (m7). More details of this interval are at D#-min-7th.

Finally, we have the name of the three note intervals of this 7th chord, and can now lookup the name of the 7th chord quality having these intervals.

Looking at the Seventh chord table, the name of the 7th chord quality having minor(m3), diminished(d5) and minor(m7) note intervals is half-diminished 7th.

And so the complete 7th chord Name prefixes the root note, D#, onto this quality, giving us the D# half-dim7 chord.

D-sharp half-diminished 7th chord

Scale chord names using a,b and c notation

The chord symbol viiø could be followed by the letter a to indicate that it is D# half-diminished 7th chord in root position (ie not inverted) - E major scale chord viiøa.

Instead, viiø could be followed by the letter b to indicate that it is D# half-diminished 7th chord in 1st inversion - E major scale chord viiøb.

Letter c could be used to indicate that it is D# half-diminished 7th chord in 2nd inversion - E major scale chord viiøc.

Finally, letter d could be used to indicate that it is D# half-diminished 7th chord in 3rd inversion - E major scale chord viiød.

Scale chord names using figured bass notation

In place of the a-d symbols above, figured bass symbols could be used to indicate chord positions after viiø:

So in this key, viiø7 refers to the D# half-diminished 7th chord in root position.

For 7th chord inversions, viiø65 refers to the D# half-diminished 7th chord in 1st inversion, viiø43 refers to the D# half-diminished 7th chord in 2nd inversion, and viiø2 refers to the D# half-diminished 7th chord in 3rd inversion.

This completes the set of all 7th chords that harmonize with the E major scale.

bass clef icon  Bass Clef
treble clef icon  Treble Clef

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