I was instructed by my bass guitar teacher to memorize the chords in the key of C down as an exercise, writing down these so I can refer back as needed. The pattern for naming chords in any key follows a recipe: Major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished
| Note | Chord (with 7th) | Degree | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| C (root) | C major 7th | I | Ionian |
| D | D minor 7th | ii | Dorian |
| E | E minor 7th | iii | Phrygian |
| F | F major 7th | IV | Lydian |
| G | G dominant 7th | V | Mixolydian |
| A | A minor 7th | vi | Aeolian |
| B | B minor 7th flat 5 | vii° | Locrian |
Classifying the functions of these chords
- C major 7th is the tonic, and provides a "home" for resolution (what our ear expects to hear at some point in a song), and carries the notes C, E, G, B
- D minor 7th carries the notes D, F, A, C (F major is a subset)
- E minor 7th carries the notes E, G, B, D (G major is a subset)
- F major 7th carries the notes F, A, C, E and we classify this as subdominant
- G dominant 7th carries the notes G, B, D, F and we classify this as dominant
- A minor 7th carries the notes A, C, E, G (C major is a subset)
- B minor 7th b5 carries the notes B, D, F, A
For the chords that carries a subset, I imagine one could also approximate them to the subset's function. For example, E minor 7th could be played as an alternative to G dominant 7th since there is an overlap.
Practice
Starting with my index finger over the root note on the A string, we play each note of the chord as an arpeggio descending and ascending, then move to the next note and repeat. I should call out the name of each note as I play it to also get some work on fretboard memorization down.
As a bonus, since each chord is within a different mode, I should also play the notes of that mode, then the arpeggio.