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Exercises on Dominant Seventh Chords

The notes of the dominant 7th chord are the first, third, fifth and seventh notes of the dominant scale (or major scale with a flat 7th). So, the C dominant 7th chord is made up of C, E, G and Bb.
In each of the exercises, a two-measure pattern of notes is played. Listen to the pattern, then play it in the next two measures.
I would recommend developing your ability to identify the pitches by working with the first two or three minutes of each exercise before going further into the exercises. Don't worry about mistakes. The goal is to increase your ability to identify the notes, so even if you are not able to achieve total confidence with the exercises, you are still developing your ear training skills.

The notes that are played will be the concert key notes C, E, G and Bb.
  C instruments (like the flute) will play their notes C, E, G and Bb.
  Bb instruments (like the tenor saxophone) will play their notes D, F#, A and C.
  Eb instruments (like the alto saxophone) will play their notes A, C#, E and G.

The notes of the 7th chord are referred to as the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th of the chord. This refers back to their position in the dominant scale.
The 1st note (C in the C dominant 7th chord) is also called the 'root' of the chord. When the root is the lowest of the chord tones, the chord is in 'root position'.
When the chord is played with the 3rd (E in the C dominant 7th chord) as the lowest note, the chord is in '1st inversion'.
When the chord is played with the 5th (G in the C dominant 7th chord) as the lowest note, the chord is in '2nd inversion'.
When the chord is played with the 7th (Bb in the C dominant 7th chord) as the lowest note, the chord is in '3rd inversion'.

The Exercises
  • Root position
     
    C instrumentsBb instrumentsE instruments
    Top Note BbCG
    Third Note GAE
    Second Note EF#C#
    Bottom Note CDA

  • 1st Inversion
     
    C instrumentsBb instrumentsE instruments
    Top Note CDA
    Third Note BbCG
    Second Note GAE
    Bottom Note EF#C#

  • 2nd Inversion
     
    C instrumentsBb instrumentsE instruments
    Top Note EF#C#
    Third Note CDA
    Second Note BbCG
    Bottom Note GAE

  • 3rd Inversion
     
    C instrumentsBb instrumentsE instruments
    Top Note GAE
    Third Note EF#C#
    Second Note CDA
    Bottom Note BbCG

  • Combined Notes (Notes from all positions)
©2014 Brad Johnson
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