Minor 7 Chords
Although this lesson doesn’t include any minor 7 chords, I thought it would be best to outline how minor 7 chords are constructed and their chord spellings.
To show contrast to the dominant 7 chord earlier in this lesson, I’m going to build a minor 7 chord on A.
As you might recall A7 uses the notes A C# E G, Amin7 uses the notes A, C, E, G. As you can see the minor seventh is still there (G) but the major third interval has now changed to a minor third interval (C).
This new change gives us the chord spelling 1, b3, 5 b7
All minor 7 chords create a signature sound due to their interval make-up. It is true that they will sound different to each other due to the notes but the overall sound and feeling behind the chords follow a similar pattern just like major 7 and dominant 7 chords.
Once again numbers without b signs means they are major and numbers with b signs means they are minor (flattened/flat).
Major Dominant and Minor
Amaj7 notes – A, C#, E, G# – Amaj7 spelling – 1, 3, 5, 7
A7 notes – A, C#, E, G – A7 spelling – 1, 3, 5, b7
Amin7 notes – A, C, E, G – Amin7 spelling – 1, b3, 5, b7
As you can see all of the above chords based on the root of A only have one or two notes different. A and E remain the same throughout while C# and G# change to C and G.
Back to the Chord Progression
It’s finally time to find all these notes on your bass. We want to first outline the arpeggio (notes of each chord but played separately) of each chord in the progression. This is the first set to playing walking basslines.
Exercise 1
Bar 1 shows us the notes of A7 – A C# E G
Bar 2 shows us the notes of Dmaj7 – D F# A C#
Bar 3 shows us the notes of Gmaj7 – G B D F#
Bar 4 shows us the notes of Cmaj7 – C E G B
Even if you use a straight C major without the major seventh attached for your chord progression, you should include the major seventh when walking to give the bassline its consistent movement through the chords.
Exercise 2
One of the best ways to experiment and improve your walking basslines is being able to walk ascending and descending from every chord you encounter. Since we are walking down through each chord, the intervals are reversed, giving us the following patterns:
Bar 1 – A7 descending – A G E C#
Bar 2 – Dmaj7 descending – D C# A F#
Bar 3 – Gmaj7 descending – G F# D B
Bar 4 – Cmaj7 descending – C B G E