C7 to F7
Improvising Over Dominant 7th Chords
In this lesson we will focus on staying in 5th position and use both scales and arpeggios to improvise over a simple 2 chord progression going from C7 to F7.
These are both dominant 7th chords and are considered V chords. In this lesson we will treat them as the V chord in major keys.
So C7 would be the V chord in the key of F major and we will use the 5th mode of an F major scale called C Mixolydian. So over C7 we will play C Mixolydian.
You can think of it as playing in the key of F major or playing an F major scale from C to C.
F7 would be the V chord in the key of Bb major and we will use the 5th mode of a Bb major scale called F Mixolydian.
You can think of it as playing in the key of Bb or playing a Bb major scale from F to F.
Note: Because we only use 7 alphabet letters, counting back 5 is the same as counting up 4. This can make it easier to figure out a V chord. Let's take a closer look:
A B C D E F G
If you count back five from E you get A. If you counted up 4 from E you would also get A.
C Mixolydian
The fretboard to the left shows a 1 octave C Mixolydian scale in 5th position. You can think of as Mixolydian mode being the 5th mode of a major scale. So in this case C is the 5th of an F major scale. If you build and F major scale you will learn that it is: F G A Bb C D E F
You can also think of a Mixolydian mode as a major scale with a b7th degree. In other words, build a major scale and lower the 7th note one half step. So build a C major scale and lower the 7th: C D E F G A Bb C
The fretboard on the right shows all the notes in 5th position belonging to the key of F major. Notice you could play a 2 octave C Mixolydian scale.
F Mixolydian
The fretboard to the left shows a 1 octave F Mixolydian in 5th position and we will use this to play over the F7 chord. F7 is the 5th chord in the key of Bb. Build a Bb scale and you get: Bb C D Eb F G A Bb
So play from F to F but in the key of Bb and you are playing F Mixolydian.
F G A Bb C D Eb F
You can also think of the mixolydian scale as a major scale with a lowered 7th degree (b7).
The fretboard to the right shows all the notes in 5th position in the key of Bb.
Notes:
Since both scales have a Bb (we could also say both keys have a Bb), you only need to concern yourself with the E and Eb.
Use the E over the C7 chord and Eb over the F7 chord. All of the other notes are shared by both keys.
Using Arpeggios
C7
It is also a good idea to practice just the arpeggios.
To the left is a 5th position C7 arpeggio.
To the right is a 5th position F7 arpeggio.
Once you are comfortable with both the scales and arpeggios, try going up the scale and coming down the arpeggio and then up the arpeggio and coming down the scale.
F7
