The A Major and A7 Chords
Shown next are the fingering diagrams for two new chords, A major and A7. Notice that the A7 chord is an A chord with one note added - the flattened seventh (G).
A Major - Root Position
The A major chord is constructed from the A major scale (see Appendix 2). Using the major chord formula on the A major scale, gives the notes A, C# and E. Play the A chord and its two inversions with both your left and right hands in various positions on the keyboard.
A Seventh - Root Position
The A seventh chord is also constructed from the A major scale. Using the seventh chord formula on the A major scale, gives the notes A, C#, E and G. Practice playing the A7 chord and its three inversions using both your left and right hands in various positions on the keyboard.
The following two exercises introduce the A and A7 chords. Experiment with your own chord inversions and progressions. Exercise 33 the key of G major and Exercise 34 is in the key of C major.
In 12 Bar Blues in the key of D, D is the root chord (I) and the other two chords used are the G chord (IV) and the A7 chord (V7). Using the pattern in Lesson 6 gives the following 12 Bar Blues in key of D. To add interest to this Blues progression, seventh chords have been used but the basic progression stays the same.
You will notice that two sharp signs have been placed on the F and C lines after each clef. This indicates that all F and C notes are sharpened. This is the key signature for D major. For more information on key signatures see Appendix 2.
It contains 2 sharps (F# and C#).
