Improvising over maj7 chords

[dbsfgyd1]

Its a slow country piece in regular time. I could get through the whole thing simply by playing root notes but when it comes to the maj7 it sounds like a bum note.

Considering the note of the root and maj7 is a minor 2nd interval (in your case an A natural and an Ab in the same chord) it’s not surprising to hear some dissonance. If you can’t hear the the Major 3rd and 5th notes of the chord well it can make that conflict stick out like a sore thumb. In the inversion of the chord, it’s best not to have those two notes side by side. My advice is to play the root either an octave about the maj7 or an octave below. JMO.

 

[micguy]

The 7th in a major chord is a half step from the root. If you play the 7th low (in the bass region), and the guitars (or keys) are playing the root, you're gonna clash all to hell -notes a half step from each other, down low are mud city. If you stick to the root, you can't be wrong - if someone else is playing the 7th too low(yes, that an happen, and may be what's happening to you) it's their job to clean that up - they are causing the conflict. Playing the 5th also puts you close to the 7th (if the guitars or keys are playing it low), so again, the root is your friend on these complex chords. If you want to play other notes in the chord, you need to understand what else is going on around you to make sure you're not going to cause issues.

 

[IamGroot]

Seek and Ye shall find... in the scales list

 

[IamGroot]

E Ionian| Amaj7 Lydian, B Mixolydian| F#m7 Dorian| C#m Aeolian

1 (4 5) 2 6

 

[Malafaia]

Man I really miss this kind of post, thank you all for questions and answers.

@Yonni good luck on your exam!

 

[JonathanPDX]

If you use your ear and ignore the chart, what note sounds right over the Maj7 chord?

 

[BBQisgood]

What’s the key signature? E major?

 

[Carl Hillman]

This has been getting me all week. I’m trying to improvise a bass line over a chart with some maj 7 chords in it but if I play the root on the “one” for those chords it doesn’t sound good. For example:

E | Amaj7 B | F#m7 | C#m

Its fine on the rest of the progression but when I get to that Amaj7 it sounds off. Same happens with Emaj7 Ebmaj7 or Abmaj7 etc. any tips? What am I doing wrong here? Am I missing a key bit of theory?

(Edited: I see that you are supposed to be improvising a bass line, not soloing.)

Playing the root of a Major 7th chord should not only sound good, but "right".

It's possible that the chords on the backing track are voiced with the major 7th too low.

But, the simplest explanation would be that the chart and the backing track don't agree.

 

[KenD]

I agree with some of the other responses here; just to flesh it out a bit. Playing the root note of a chord cannot be wrong per se UNLESS it is clashing with the melody or some other instrument playing the maj7 at the same time. Playing both at the same time is going to create dissonance and a grating tension. You need to fit a different chord tone into your line at that beat.

 

[HolmeBass]

You’re improvising a bass line, so using roots should be a strong choice. But if it sounds wrong don’t force it! Pick other chord tones for that chord. The C# on the downbeat, followed by the A, encloses the root of the following B major chord. You could also go C# to G#, or G# to C# on the way to B.

The point is if the A on the downbeat sounds bad to you, don’t force it.

 

[N4860]

If the root doesn't sound good, maybe try a rest? Maybe it's a part of the song where the melody just needs to break through.

 

[Bill Murray]

If the root sounds bad; what you’re playing is not the root. The chord chart is wrong (meaning it doesn’t match the music).

If you’re ear is good enough to hear a poor note choice than you should be able jam along until your ear tells you it sounds good. Trust yourself and forget what the paper says to do.

 

[Rib 13]

E Ionian| Amaj7 Lydian, B Mixolydian| F#m7 Dorian| C#m Aeolian

1 (4 5) 2 6

Was just about to post the numbers and say it's diatonically correct but ya beat me to it

The issue here is the IV chord, which Lydian utilizes a sharp4......this is going to have the same effect as a diminished chord if utilized and will sound wonky with most things but especially country music

 

[doran.dragic]

Considering the note of the root and maj7 is a minor 2nd interval (in your case an A natural and an Ab in the same chord) it’s not surprising to hear some dissonance. If you can’t hear the the Major 3rd and 5th notes of the chord well it can make that conflict stick out like a sore thumb. In the inversion of the chord, it’s best not to have those two notes side by side. My advice is to play the root either an octave about the maj7 or an octave below. JMO.

But you wouldn't voice a major 7th chord that way, right? In a piano voicing you'd play the major 7 and then then 9 if it's stacked in thirds or the major 3 if it's stacked in fourths.

 

[Ekulati]

Oh boy, another one.

You need to be clear on one thing first: are you a) SOLOING or b) NOT soloing?

If a, then yes, you can and probably should play lines that contain all the chord tones, plus creatively, some non chord tones. So in C you would hit some B naturals in your solo.

But if you're not soloing, you have to ONLY EMPHASIZE THE ROOT NOTE, on strong beats, etc. If not soloing, you should only VERY JUDICIOUSLY hit that B natural (assuming C). That's because guess what, in order for a sonority to SOUND as a major 7th, you need BOTH NOTES TO BE SOUNDING, in the correct order: root on the bottom, maj 7th on top. This is VERY simple yet critical.

We bass players tend to get so crazy sometimes when we learn about theory concepts out of context. Thanks Interwebs!

 

[Lobster11]

The answer is almost surely in the melody: What notes are being played on the piano over that Amaj7 chord? My guess is that it's G# (seventh of Amaj7), which would clash with the root A being only a half-step away, and/or the D# (from Lydian mode) which would create a tritone against the root A.

 

[Mushroo]

The issue here is the IV chord, which Lydian utilizes a sharp4......this is going to have the same effect as a diminished chord if utilized and will sound wonky with most things but especially country music

Incorrect. There is no D# in an AMaj7 chord. Let's not muddy the waters, please! I do not think it is the OP's teacher's intent for this exam, for the students to reharmonize the song with 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. I do not think that is what the exam is testing.

AMaj7 = A C# E G# any way you slice it, and I betcha this is the "correct" answer the teacher is looking for on the exam.

If you choose to add a wonky-sounding #4 or #11 to this chord (perhaps because you have "Lydian mode" on the brain) then that's your business. You are playing different chords than the notated chords, so this would be an example of you "re-harmonizing" the song. AMaj7 and AMaj7#11 are two very different-sounding chords (as a few minutes sitting at the piano will easily demonstrate).

 

[Bonafide]

Great advice provided. I will add its also entirely possible the chart is wrong / and or ambiguous. Happens often. Your ear is the best tool here. On occasion I have been given charts at a sub gig for special request and it's a rough guide at best. You listen as you go with it.

 

[Rib 13]

Incorrect. There is no D# in an AMaj7 chord. Let's not muddy the waters, please! I do not think it is the OP's teacher's intent for this exam, for the students to reharmonize the song with 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. I do not think that is what the exam is testing.

AMaj7 = A C# E G# any way you slice it, and I betcha this is the "correct" answer the teacher is looking for on the exam.

If you choose to add a wonky-sounding #4 or #11 to this chord (perhaps because you have "Lydian mode" on the brain) then that's your business. You are playing different chords than the notated chords, so this would be an example of you "re-harmonizing" the song. AMaj7 and AMaj7#11 are two very different-sounding chords (as a few minutes sitting at the piano will easily demonstrate).

I was referring to it being diatonically correct using Lydian in the diatonically correct IV position if...I know there isnt a D# in an AMaj7 chord....Not muddying any waters: Some folks play patterns......

 

[Mechanical]

I agree with everyone else that if you're playing the root on the 1 and it sounds wrong, it probably ain't the root.

Forget chord tones in a solo. Think diatonic and chromatic. Over A Major 7, you can play any of these diatonic notes A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G# and it will sound "in".

https://www.basicmusictheory.com/a-major-scale

You can also play any chromatic note (or notes) and sound "out" but you have to bring it back in to the familiar.

The first thing you should do is learn the melody. What is the melody doing over the changes? Once you have the melody, you can quote a bit of it over the change that you're having difficulty with and it will sound pretty good I bet.