The steps below will detail the minor 7th triad chord quality in the key of E. Without this 3rd note, suspended chords tend to have an open and ambiguous sound.

Musically, this is interesting, since it is usually the 3rd note of the scale that defines the overall character of the chord as being major (typically described as 'happy') or minor ('sad'). removed completely, and replaced by either the 2nd note of the major scale - a suspended 2nd, or more commonly by the 4th note of the major scale - a suspended 4th. Unlike all of the above qualities, Suspended triad chords do not use the 3rd note of the major scale (at all) to build the chord. Suspended 7th chords - using the 2nd or 4th scale notesĪ suspended chord is known in music theory as an altered chord because it takes one of the above chord qualities and modifies it in some way. In fact, these 7th chords are based on triad chords - the first 3 notes of any 7th chord are identical to a specific triad chord quality, with one extra note added to make it a 7th chord. It is these variations of the 3rd, 5th and 7th notes that give each one a distinctive sound for any given key (eg. Triad chord qualities using the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th scale notesĪll of these 7th chord qualities are based on the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th notes of the major scale piano diagram above.ĭepending on the chord quality, the 3rd, 5th and 7th scale note names of the major scale above might need to be adjusted up or down by one or more half-notes / semitones / piano keys. 7th chord qualitiesħth chords exist in eight different chord qualities, which are diminished, half-diminished, minor, minor-major, dominant, major, augmented, and augmented-major.Įach chord quality name is the name of the entire chord as a whole, not its individual notes (which will be covered later). Whereas a triad chord contains 3 notes, a 7th chord contains 4 notes that are played together or overlapping.

This step defines a seventh chord, names the 7th chord qualities and identifies the notes that vary between them.

E flat minor bass