Dominant 7th chords are also called 7th chords as well as Major-Minor chords. In the accompanying video I present a “counting” method to quickly count the distance between the 4 notes of a dominant 7th chord, in half-step increments.

The formula is “Root-4-3-3”: “root-note” – count up 4 half-steps – then 3 half-steps, and another 3 half-steps again.

There are other ways to define and play 7th chords that are a little more advanced (you need to know your major scales to do it…), so I wanted to help you identify this very common chord just in case you aren’t familiar with all 12 major scales yet.

And, if you aren’t familiar with all your major scales, why don’t you join me in my 12-month series, “12 scales in 12 months”? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dqk9G0Fgt4&t=4s