Dominant Chords

The basics of chord construction has pretty much been covered in the previous pages. All other chord types use the same idea, the only differences lie in what notes need to be altered.

Dominant chords contain the same notes as major chords with the exception of a flat seventh. The term "dominant" or "Dom" is rarely used in the chord name itself, so when you see chords named C7, E7, F#7 etc, these are all dominant chords and shouldn"t be confused with major or minor. In other words, C7, Cmaj7, Cmin7 are all different chords. C7, C9, C11 and C13 are all dominant chords.

Scale formulas:

• Seventh: 1 - 3 - 5 - b7
• Ninth: 1 - 3 - 5 - b7 - 9
• Eleventh: 1 - 3 - 5 - b7 - 9 - 11
• Thirteenth: 1 - 3 - 5 - b7 - 9 - 11 - 13

Examples in C

• C7 consists of the notes C E G Bb
• C9 consists of the notes C E G Bb D
• C11 consists of the notes C E G Bb D F
• C13 consists of the notes C E G Bb D F A

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