Dominant Seventh Inversions
Dominant seventh chords also contain four different notes.
When the third (3) is the lowest note of the chord shape, the chord is said to be the first inversion. The chord symbol for the first inversion of the Bb seventh chord is written as Bb7/D. The following diagram illustrates the first inversion of the Bb seventh arpeggio pattern, which contains the notes D (3), F (5), Ab (b7) and Bb (1), in that order.
First Inversion Bb7/D
When the fifth (5) is the lowest note of the chord shape, the chord is said to be the second inversion. The chord symbol for the second inversion of the Bb seventh chord is written as Bb7/F. The following diagram illustrates the second inversion of the Bb seventh arpeggio pattern, which contains the notes F (5), Ab (b7), Bb (1) and D (3), in that order.
Second Inversion Bb7/F
When the flattened seventh (b7) is the lowest note of the chord shape, the chord is said to be the third inversion. The chord symbol for the third inversion of the Bb seventh chord is written as Bb7/Ab. The following diagram illustrates the third inversion of the Bb seventh arpeggio pattern, which contains the notes Ab (b7), Bb (1), D (3) and F (5), in that order.
Third Inversion Bb7/Ab
Note: These diagrams also show how an arpeggio pattern can be played in different ways.
The next example combines inversions of the Bb seventh arpeggio patterns.
Example 18 only uses inversions and incorporates open strings.
Examples 19 and 20 combine dominant 7 arpeggios with inversions and open strings.
Minor Chord
The formula for the construction of a minor chord is 1 b3 5 i.e., a minor chord consists of the first, flattened third and fifth notes of the major scale. It must be remembered that this formula, although used to construct a minor chord, is based upon the notes of the major scale.
For example, the C minor chord (Cm) consists of the first, flattened third and fifth notes of the C major scale (i.e., C, Eb , G).
