Module 10 mini-test

1. What notes are in Cmaj7?

2. What notes are in C7?

3. What's the difference between those two chords?

4. What is the formula for Cm7?

5. What does Cm7♭5 mean?

6. What is the difference between Cø7 and C°7?

7. What seventh-chord quality occurs naturally on V in a major key?

8. What are the diatonic seventh-chord qualities in a major key?

9. What is ii–V–I in C major?

10. What is iiø–V–i in A minor?

Answers

1. C E G B
2. C E G B♭
3. Cmaj7 has a major 7th; C7 has a minor 7th and is a dominant seventh chord.
4. 1 ♭3 5 ♭7
5. Minor seventh chord with a flattened fifth: 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7
6. Cø7 = C E♭ G♭ B♭; C°7 = C E♭ G♭ B𝄫.
7. Dominant 7
8. maj7 – m7 – m7 – maj7 – 7 – m7 – m7♭5
9. Dm7 → G7 → Cmaj7
10. Bm7♭5 → E7 → Am

The most important practical takeaway is:

The 3rd tells you major versus minor; the 7th often tells you whether the chord is stable, dominant, or part of a richer progression.

And once you can see Dm7–G7–Cmaj7 not as twelve individual notes but as ii–V–I with guide tones moving smoothly, you're starting to read harmony the way working pianists do.

Module 11 will now focus entirely on ii–V–I: why it is so central to jazz, how to play it comfortably in every key, several useful piano voicings, how to recognize it by ear, and how to begin improvising through it rather than merely playing the chords.