Seventh Chord Usage

When playing by ear, it is very important to know many different chords and the places to use them. That is what makes playing by ear so interesting. One of the easiest ways to make your paino playing sound fuller is to use seventh (7) chords. First you must know how to make a 7th chord. If you don't know how, visit the Piano By Ear Chart on the homepage at www.thepianobyear.com.

When you are playing a song, there are 3 major chords that you use. 1, 4, & 5. In the key of C those numbers are identified as C, F, & G chords. (Please note I'm speaking of chords, not notes.) So, during a song, you switch back and forth (usually) between the chords, C, F, & G. You can add a seventh chord when moving from 1 to 4 or from 5 to 1. In the key of C that would mean:

1. When you are at the 1st change (playing the C chord) during a song and you are going to be moving to F chord at the next change, you can use C7 chord inbetween.

2. When you are at the 5th change (playing the G chord) and you are going to be moving back to the 1st change (C), you can use G7 chord inbetween.

This technique is very useful and will change the sound of your piano playing.

HINT: You can also use augmented chords in the same way, using the rules above.