Dominant 7th Chords

Have you ever had the experience when you're learning something and the teacher tells explains it to you and you completely understand it. . .

Then, you get home, and while you remember the feeling that you understood it, you don't remember what you actually understood?

This happens to me all the time when I get the explanation of why the alto saxophone is an E flat instrument and the trumpet is a B flat instrument. I remember that the explanation made sense, but I have no recollection of what exactly it was.

One of the most common experiences my students have is the understanding of dominant 7th chords. They sort of know what they are, it makes sense in a lesson, but when I ask questions to check for understanding, I can see it's not there, yet.

With repetition, it's usually 6 or 7 months were it starts making sense, a little, but then it disappears, and comes back.

I made this video for my students, both to reassure them that it's normal to not get it on the first or second time it's explained, but to give them something that they can refer to so at some point it sinks in.

I'd love to hear your experiences with the dominant 7th chord explanation and how you teach it. Or, if you are a student, if this makes any sense at all.

The 2 octave scale card shown in the video can be found here:

2 Octave Major Scale and Cadence Card

Buy Now

Happy Playing!

Sarah