- Home
- All exercises
- Arpeggios
- Dominant chord 1-3-5-b7-8
Dominant chord 1-3-5-b7-8
A minor seventh between the fifth and the octave – a bluesy sound.
A dominant seventh chord as an arpeggio: root, major third, perfect fifth, minor seventh, octave, then back down through the seventh, fifth and third to a two-beat root. Nine notes over an octave. The minor seventh is what gives this chord its bluesy tension; it sits a whole step under the octave and a minor third above the fifth. Sung on 'yah', which keeps the top light. Each repetition is a semitone higher, until you're near the top of your range, then the pattern comes back down the same way.
How to do it
- Listen to the chord played upward; hear the extra note between the fifth and octave.
- Sing on 'yah', treating the seventh as its own destination, not a stop on the way up.
- Watch the roll: the seventh bar sits two rows below the octave.
- Descend through the same notes. Each repetition is a semitone higher, until you're near the top of your range, then it works back down the same way.
Coach's tip: The minor seventh (b7) sits a whole tone under the octave – don't shrink that distance.
What to watch out for
The minor seventh is the trouble spot. Singers pull it up toward the octave, shrinking the whole step to a half step, or they land it too low, between the fifth and where it belongs. Hear the bluesy color before you sing it. The fifth on the way down often goes flat after the octave. Keep everything at one volume. If the octave passes start to strain, lower the range.
Who it's for
For advanced singers, and especially for anyone who sings soul, gospel or blues-influenced pop. Do it in the main block after 1-3-5-8-5-3-1, so the plain chord is fresh. Blues run (minor pentatonic) is a natural follow-up. It isn't in a preset program; add it when you want a different harmonic color.
Opens the app in your browser. Free to start, no account needed. Put on headphones first.
Related exercises
- ii–V–I arpeggios The most common chord progression in jazz, sung through its chord tones: minor seventh up, dominant down and major seventh at the end. Eighth notes in swing.
- Arpeggio to the tenth 1-3-5-8-10 A major triad through the octave up to the third above it (a tenth) and back. Almost an octave and a half – the harder relative of the 1-3-5-8-5-3-1 arpeggio.
- 1-3-5-8-5-3-1 Chord with the octave. The most popular exercise in singing lessons.
- Minor triad The broken minor chord.
- Scat warm-up in swing Root, second, third, fifth and back down – lightly, on “doo-bee”. Swing rhythm: the first note of each pair is longer, the second short, as in jazz.
- Hum with a blue third Root, second, a minor third that slides smoothly up to the major third, second and root – with lips closed. That slide from the minor to the major third is the “blue third”, a signature sound of soul and R&B.