Make Your Chords Sound 'Fancy' (Using 7ths In Your Songs)

7th chords are so beautiful and common in music. They can instantly transform the sound of a basic chord to make it more fancy and 'dreamy'.

So you know how to play 7th chords. But how do you actually USE them in songs?

I have some great tips on ways to make practicing 7th chords fun and musical. It'll also help you to incorporate 7th chords into your playing:

- The chords and progression we'll be using - 0:24
We're in the key of D, and we're using a progression I'll call the 4-3-2-1 progression. So we'll be using the first four chords in the D Major scale.

Those are D - Em - F#m - G. And because we're practicing 7ths we need to make them all 7ths.

So they'll be DMaj7 - Em7 - F#m7 - GMaj7

- What do actually do with them - 1:11
The first exercise is to play these 7th chords in a broken, descending pattern. Start with the 4 (The GMaj7) and work your way back down to the DMaj7.

- Sound Familiar? Name this popular song - 1:44

- Some technical things to remember - 2:02
Your wrist is a really important part of these exercises. Remember to rotate it slightly as you play the broken chords, that will allow you to play them faster, and it will remove tension in your fingers. Also, remember to sit up with your back straight!

- Make it sound dreamy - 2:12
Now that we've played the chords in a 4-3-2-1 pattern, it's time to mix them up. Play around with these four chords and experiment with different progression orders. Try playing some of the chords broken up, and others as full chords.

Also, try experimenting with chord inversions. Remember -- the 7th does NOT always have to be at the top of the chord!

To explore more chords, check out our FREE series on chords:

Or to learn hundreds of popular songs, try 500 Songs in 5 Days:

And we have another free series for absolute beginners. Getting Started On The Piano:

And make sure to follow us on social!

[PianoteOfficial]

Who can name the song this sounds like at 1:44 ?

[englishlane]

Let me comment even before watching the video. Thanks alot PİANOTE for the continued support. I am a piano beginner and an English teacher for that matter. As a teacher, I want to say that you are the best piano teacher so far on the internet!!. Thanks so much for the great work you do

[pandapanda]

I love how she breaks it down, while learning on my own it took me quite some time to get comfortable with it

[A_R_T]

I became such a better pianist learning from you. For a long time I hit a wall and became uninspired, but now I have a reignited flame in learning. I spend 2 plus hours a day playing and practicing these lessons, I cannot thank you enough.

[danyoung]

thanks so much. I'm a guitarist, and drummer then learned what being a true bass player is through jazz funk and Motown for a band hired into but something was missing until I discovered the piano gives you all instruments at once now After transposed rock songs I was looking into finding more jazz, soul, R&B and your video has helped me understand what I need to focus a lil more on, thank you!!

[nechialee]

Lisa you are such an awesome teacher, you have taken me into a whole new world of beautiful music, thanks Lisa couldn't have done it without you.

[miriamjohnson]

Amazing! Thanks so much for this tip. You are an excellent motivating teacher.

[piratepudge]

As always very helpful and informative.

[garfieldcinco]

This is helpful! I love the way you teach.Thank you so much. 😊😊💞💞💞

[geralynpalacol]

WOW! The 1st 60 seconds of this Tutorial sound soooo BEAUTIFUL!!! Looking forward to watching the whole thing😍. THANK YOU LISA😂😂😂

[purewillow]

as usual, a super tutorial from lisa :)

[ThaWolfe]

Bravo short usable burst of color, you are a wonderful teacher and will be a blessing to many keyboard players And I am on that list, thank you so much

[UriahBennett]

Love Lisa’s vids. Some of the best piano tutorials ever. Always straight to the point and give you immediately useful techniques.

[zekiyezeynepsahin]

Very beneficial.. Thanks a lot.. I appreciate your encouragement for experimenting the different arrangement of notes.. Avoiding the robotic playing is so important.Great teacher..

[p.rivera]

Love your videos! They are soo helpful! 👏🏽❤️😊

[djongz]

Very beneficial. Also kudos on the hair color it works

[ProfeARios]

Another great lesson. Thank you for sharing.

[lindareese]

Thank you very much for lessons Lisa!!!

[Bazzguit]

Hey Lisa! I was taking a glimpse of the courses at your website and was hoping to find a course about 'tricks and tips' just as how to play broke chords (like in this one) and enhancing minor progressions video. I'll keep an eye if you ever release a course/library of these tricks to take arrangements to the next level. Wishing you an amazing 2020!

[NikosAravanis]

7th chords can also give that "jazz" vibe while you play them and feel like a pro :P