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Exercises on Minor Seventh Chords

The notes of the minor 7th chord are the first, third, fifth and seventh notes of either the natural minor or the dorian scale. So, the C minor 7th chord is made up of C, Eb, 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 working with the first two or three minutes of each exercise before going further in 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, Eb, G and Bb.
  C instruments (like the flute) will play their notes C, Eb, 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 minor scale.
The 1st note (C in the C minor 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 (Eb in the C minor 7th chord) as the lowest note, the chord is in '1st inversion'.
When the chord is played with the 5th (G in the C minor 7th chord) as the lowest note, the chord is in '2nd inversion'.
When the chord is played with the 7th (Bb in the C minor 7th chord) as the lowest note, the chord is in '3rd inversion'.

The Exercises
  • Root position
     
    C instrumentsBb instrumentsEb instruments
    Top Note BbCG
    Third Note GAE
    Second Note EbFC
    Bottom Note CDA

  • 1st Inversion
     
    C instrumentsBb instrumentsEb instruments
    Top Note CDA
    Third Note BbCG
    Second Note GAE
    Bottom Note EbFC

  • 2nd Inversion
     
    C instrumentsBb instrumentsEb instruments
    Top Note EbFC
    Third Note CDA
    Second Note BbCG
    Bottom Note GAE

  • 3rd Inversion
     
    C instrumentsBb instrumentsEb instruments
    Top Note GAE
    Third Note EbFC
    Second Note CDA
    Bottom Note BbCG

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