Improvising 401 - 7th Chords

Now it will get interesting. 7th chords are compound chords, right? 

Remember: 

Ma7 chords contain a major triad from the root and a minor triad from the 3rd.

• Mi 7 chords contain a minor triad from the root and a major triad from the b3.
• Dom 7 chords contain a major triad from the root and a diminished triad from the 3rd. 

Play through the progression once playing the pentatonic scale based on the root of the chord, and the second time play the pentatonic scale based on the 3rd of the chord. 

Example: For the C ma7 chord play the C major pentatonic first, and then the E minor pentatonic. For the D mi7 chord play the D minor pentatonic first, and then the F major pentatonic. 

For dominant chords it a little different - you want to simply use the major pentatonic scale with the addition of the b7 - yielding a 6 note scale. 

For example: G7 - play the G major pentatonic with an F.  Hang on the F to really sell the diminished sound.

Basically, if you want to sound like the triad built from the root of the chord, play the pentatonic built from the root of the chord.  But, if you want to play pentatonics and sound more like the 7th chord, as opposed to the basic triad, you want to accentuate the upper triad, so therefore you play the pentatonic built from the 3rd of the chord you are playing over.

Get used to going back and forth between each of these approaches, and get a feel for selling the 7th chord sounds differently than you would regular triads. 

Jam Tracks:

1.  A 1 4 5 7th Chords

2.  Bb 1 6 2 5 7th Chords

3.  C 1 4 5 7th Chords