Get a greater grip on harmony
Learn to figure out seventh chords by ear by with 27 songs.
Harmony is like the emotional fabric of music.
As soon as that first chord rings out, you immediately get a sense of the mood of the song.
I’ll admit: I’m a sucker for a great chord progression. Which is why I’m excited to share this course with you.
This course picks up where ‘Make Your Ears Awesome: Chord Progressions’ left off and where we really start to explore richer harmonies.
One of the first tools songwriters reach for to infuse a song with extra harmonic color and emotion: seventh chords.
So in this course, we’ll be figuring out chord progressions by ear that include seventh chords. To be precise:
- Dominant Chords
- Major Seventh Chords
- Minor Seventh Chords
I’ll introduce each of these seventh chords with a lesson that shows you what to listen for and what that particular seventh chord might sound like to you. Then, of course, we’ll go ahead and practice figure out some songs with that seventh chord in it! In the last section, we’ll mix things up and figure out songs that have several seventh chords in them. Check out the course overview below for more detail.
- Sean
How it works
- Mark, from the UK
Enroll Now
- Anne, from Germany
Course Overview
Section 1: Dominant Chords
We’ll start with the bluesy dominant chord. But the dominant is used in so much more than just blues. We’ll see the dominant chord in six songs.Section 2: Major Seventh Chords
In section 2, we’ll hear the lush, bittersweet, happy/sad sound of major seven chords in action in five songs.Section 3: Minor Seventh Chords
Our last seventh chord is the minor seventh. A subtle addition to minor chords that removes some of the drama and gloominess and adds a more relaxed, everything’s-not-that-bad feel to it. You’ll figure out five songs featuring minor seventh chords.Section 4: Spot that Seventh
In this section, you’ll figure out six songs. They either use dominant chords, major seventh chords or minor seventh chords. But I’m not telling which!Section 5: Mixing it Up
The final challenge! We’ll check out six songs that mix up the various seventh chords we’ve seen so far. You’ll hear how the combination of seventh chords create wonderfully rich harmonies.Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some questions you might have! Any other questions? Feel free to email me at any time at just(at)stringkick.comWhat artists are the songs by?
This course features songs by Echo and the Bunnymen, Cold War Kids, Nouvelle Vague, Alicia Keys, Death in June, America, J.J. Cale, U2, Queen, Kings of Convenience, Sharon van Etten, Neill Young, Does it Offend You Yeah?, Jenny Lewis, Eric Clapton, Madeleine Peyroux, DJ Shadow, Elliot Smith, Lovin’ Spoonful, John Hiatt, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Arctic Monkeys and Broken Bells. Hopefully you'll discover some new favourites!What format is the course in?
The course consists of 32 lessons, structured into five sections. Each section starts with a lesson that explains a little about what you'll be learning next. Then, we'll figure out out a bunch of songs by ear together. On each songs I'll provide some hints, instructions or advice. You fill out what you think are the correct chords and check your answer. The course automatically keeps track of where you are, so just jump in wherever you left off, whenever you have the time.What chords do I need to know for this course?
Your basic open chords. So to be precise that’s: E, Em, F, G, A, Am, C, D and Dm. The seventh chords you need to know are: E7, A7, B7, C7, D7, Fmaj7, Amaj7, Cmaj7, Dmaj7, Em7, Am7, Bm7 and Dm7.How is this course different from the other 'Make Your Ears Awesome' courses?
All these courses focus on figuring out songs by ear, but there's a difference in difficulty. Here's the order I recommend:
Level 1: Kick-Starter Level 2: Riffs and Melodies and Riff Hall of Fame Level 3: Chord Progressions and Essential Sevenths
You can take all the courses with the All Access Pass.
