Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom

When notating seventh chords with Roman numerals, there are a few conventions to follow. An uppercase Roman numeral means a major triad and a lowercase Roman numeral means a minor triad. Adding “7” after a Roman numeral means there is a minor seventh between the root and seventh of the chord. Therefore, ${\text{V}}^7$ means a major triad with a minor seventh between the root and seventh and ${\text{vi}}^7$ means a minor triad and a minor seventh between the root and seventh. Add “M7” for a major seventh chord (e.g., $\text{I}{\text{M}}^7$). The half-diminished symbol (${}^{ø}{}^7$) means there is a diminished triad with a minor seventh from root to seventh. The diminished symbol (${}^{\circ }{}^7$) on a seventh chord means the triad is diminished and the distance from the root to seventh is a diminished seventh.

Below are the diatonic seventh chords used in major and minor and their Roman numerals.