Introduction

This tutorial will look at the diatonic seventh chords of the major scale. We have looked at the major scale, and we have looked at the construction of the different seventh chords. We will now look at he intersection of those two and see which seventh chords can be constructed diatonically on the major scale.

A brief recap

The major scale consists of the scale step pattern – where W is a whole step, H is a half-step, T is a tone, and S is a semitone:

W – W – H – W – W – W – H

or

T – T – S – T – T – T – S

We saw in the tutorial on the construction of seventh chords that we build these using three stacked thirds and depending upon the quality (major or minor) of those thirds we can build numerous different seventh chords.

How to construct diatonic chords for the major scale

Combining our knowledge from previous tutorials we can see which notes from the major scale combine to create seventh chords.

For example, the C major scale

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

If start on each note of the scale and stack thirds to create seventh chords using only notes from the scale, we get the following combinations of notes and examining the third qualities (major or minor) we can see that the chords that are built are as follows

• C-E-G-B – M3 + m3 + M3 – major seventh chord
• D-F-A-C – m3 + M3 + m3 – minor seventh chord
• E-G-B-D – m3 + M3 + m3 – minor seventh chord
• F-A-C-E – M3 + m3 + M3 – major seventh chord
• G-B-D-F – M3 + m3 + m3 – dominant seventh chord
• A-C-E-G – m3 + M3 + m3 – minor seventh chord
• B-D-F-A – m3 + m3 + M3 – half diminished seventh chord

So, we end up with the following chords

• C Major seven
• D minor seven
• E minor seven
• F Major seven
• G dominant seven
• A minor seven
• B half-diminished seven

Final thoughts

Diatonic seventh chords expand the harmonic palette of the major scale, offering richer color, smoother voice-leading, and more expressive progressions. Mastering them unlocks jazz harmony, classical voice-leading, pop songwriting, and more. Knowing which type of seventh chord we can use in a chord progression is incredibly useful.

If you would like to learn more about them and how they can add variety and flair to your music then please consider silver membership. Along with silver membership you will also have access to downloadable reference files and tutorials for free.