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Seventh chord - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Seventh chord
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a


seventh above the chord's root. When not otherwise specified, a "seventh chord"
usually means a dominant seventh chord: a major triad together with a minor
seventh. However, a variety of sevenths may be added to a variety of triads,
resulting in many different types of seventh chords, as described below.
In its earliest usage, the seventh was introduced solely as an embellishing or
Dominant seventh chord on C Play.
nonchord tone. The seventh destabilized the triad, and allowed the composer to
emphasize movement in a given direction. As time passed and the collective ear of
the western world became more accustomed to dissonance, the seventh was allowed to become a part of the chord itself,
and in some modern music, and jazz in particular, nearly every chord is a seventh chord. Additionally, the general
acceptance of equal temperament during the 19th century reduced the dissonance of some earlier forms of sevenths.

"A ranking by frequency of the seventh chords in major would be


approximately that shown."[1]
Play V7 (Dominant),
IVM7 (Major),

vi7,

ii7 (Minor),
IM7, or

vii7 (Half-diminished),

iii7.

Contents
1 Classification of seventh chords
1.1 Tertian
1.2 Non-tertian
2 Types of seventh chords
2.1 Dominant seventh chord
2.2 Harmonic seventh chord
2.3 Major and minor seventh chords
2.4 Half-diminished seventh chord
2.5 Diminished seventh chord
3 Inversions
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Classification of seventh chords


Most textbooks name these chords formally by the type of triad and type of seventh; hence, a chord consisting of a major
triad and a minor seventh above the root is referred to as a major/minor seventh chord. When the triad type and seventh
type are identical (i.e. they are both major, minor, or diminished), the name is shortened. For instance, a major/major
seventh is generally referred to as a major seventh. This rule is not valid for augmented chords: since the
augmented/augmented chord is not commonly used, the abbreviation augmented is used for augmented/minor, rather than
augmented/augmented. Additionally, half-diminished stands for diminished/minor, and dominant stands for major/minor.
When the type is not specified at all, the triad is assumed to be major, and the seventh is understood as a minor seventh (e.g.
a "C" chord is a "C major triad", and a "C7" chord is a "C major/minor seventh chord", also known as a "C dominant
seventh chord"). For symbols used for seventh chords, see also Popular music symbols#Seventh chords.

Tertian
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The most common chords are tertian, constructed using a sequence of major thirds (spanning 4 semitones) and/or minor
thirds (3 semitones). Since there are 3 third intervals in a seventh chord (4 notes) and each can be major or minor, there are
8 possible combinations, however, only seven of them are commonly found in western music. The augmented augmented
seventh chord, defined by a root, a major third, an augmented fifth, and an augmented seventh (i.e., a sequence of 3 major
thirds), is a rarely used tertian seventh chord. The reason is that the augmented seventh interval is enharmonically
equivalent to one entire octave (in equal temperament, 3 major thirds = 12 semitones = 1 octave) and is hence perfectly
consonant with the chord root. The seven commonly used chords are listed in the table below:
Seventh chords used in Western music
Common name

Chord on C

Major seventh

Common
symbols
on C

Intervals from root

Quality of consecutive
thirds

Third

Fifth

Seventh

1st

2nd

3rd

Cmaj7
CM7
C

major

perfect

major

major minor

major

Cmin7
Cm7
C-7

minor

perfect

minor

minor major

minor

C7

major

perfect

minor

major minor minor

play

Minor seventh
play

Dominant seventh
play

C7
Cdim7

Diminished seventh

minor diminished diminished minor minor minor

play

Cm7

Half-diminished
seventh
play

Minor major seventh

play

C-7 (5)
C

Cmmaj7
CmM7
Cm7

minor diminished

minor

minor minor

major

minor

major

minor major

major

perfect

C-7
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Cmaj7 (5)
C+M7

Augmented major
seventh
play

major augmented

major

major

major

minor

C+7

Non-tertian
Seventh chords can also be constructed using augmented or diminished thirds. These chords are not tertian and can be used
in non-tertian harmony. There are many (mathematically - 64) chords that can be built, however, only few of them are used
and are listed in the table below:

Common name

Augmented
seventh
(formally
augmented/minor
seventh)

Commonly used non-tertian seventh chords


Common
Intervals from root
Quality of consecutive thirds
Chord on C
symbols
Fifth
Seventh 1st
2nd
3rd
on C Third

aug7
+7

major augmented

minor

major

major

diminished
(equiv.
major
second)

minor

augmented
(equiv.
perfect
fourth)

play

Diminished
major seventh

mM75
minor diminished
-75

major

minor

play

Dominant
seventh flat five

75

major diminished minor

major diminished

major

play

In tuning systems other than equal temperament there are further possible seventh chords. In just intonation, for example,
there is the harmonic seventh.

Types of seventh chords


Dominant seventh chord
A dominant seventh chord, or major-minor seventh chord is a chord composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and
minor seventh. It can be also viewed as a major triad with an additional minor seventh. It is denoted using popular music
symbols by adding a superscript "7" after the letter designating the chord root.[2] The dominant seventh is found almost as
often as the dominant triad.[3] The chord can be represented by the integer notation {0, 4, 7, 10}.
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Seventh chord - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Of all the seventh chords, perhaps the most important is the dominant seventh. It was the first seventh chord to appear
regularly in classical music. The name comes from the fact that the flat seventh occurs naturally in the chord built upon the
dominant (i.e. the fifth degree) of a given major diatonic scale. Take for example the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C):

The note G is the dominant degree of C major - its fifth note. When we arrange the
notes of the C major scale in ascending pitch and use only these notes to build a
seventh chord, and we start with G (not C), then the resulting chord contains the

Dominant seventh chord (V7) in C,


G7.

four notes G-B-D-F and is called G dominant seventh (G7). The note F is a minor
seventh from G, and is also called the dominant seventh with respect to G. However,
the 'dominant' seventh is used on notes other than the dominant, such as the subdominant.

Harmonic seventh chord


The harmonic seventh chord is a dominant seventh chord formed by a major triad
plus an harmonic seventh interval.

Harmonic seventh chord on C


Play tempered.

The harmonic seventh interval is a minor seventh tuned in the 7:4 pitch ratio, one of
the possible "just ratios" defined for this interval in just intonation (slightly below
the width of a minor seventh as tuned in equal temperament). Sometimes called a
"blue note", the harmonic seventh is used by singers, through note bending on
guitars, and on other instruments not restricted to equal temperament. An often
heard example of the harmonic seventh chord is the last word of the modern
addition to the song "Happy Birthday to You", with the lyrics, "and many more!"

The harmony on the word "more" is typically sung as a harmonic seventh chord.[4]
Frequent use of the harmonic seventh chord is one of the defining characteristics of blues and barbershop harmony;
barbershoppers refer to it as "the barbershop seventh". Since barbershop music tends to be sung in just intonation, the
barbershop seventh chord may be accurately termed a harmonic seventh chord. The harmonic seventh chord is also widely
used in "blues flavored" music. As guitars, pianos, and other equal-temperament instruments cannot play this chord, it is
frequently approximated by a dominant seventh. As a result it is often called a dominant seventh chord and written with the
same symbols (such as the blues progression I7 - V7 - IV7).

Major and minor seventh chords

Major seventh chord on F, IV7 in C.

While the dominant seventh chord is


typically built on the fifth (or dominant)
degree of a major scale, the minor seventh
chord is built on the second, third, or sixth
degree. A minor seventh chord contains the
same notes as an added sixth chord. For
example, C-E-G-B can function as both a
C minor seventh and an E flat added sixth
(Id chord).

Minor seventh chord on d, ii7 in C.

Major seventh chords are usually constructed on the first or fourth degree of a scale, (in C or G major: C-E-G-B). Due to
the major seventh interval between the root and seventh (C-B, an inverted minor second), this chord can sometimes sound
dissonant, depending on the voicing used. For example, Bacharach and David's Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head opens
with a major chord followed by a major seventh in the next measure.
The major seventh is sometimes notated as 7 (a delta chord) or just a (which has the same meaning).

Half-diminished seventh chord

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A half-diminished seventh chord is a seventh chord built from the seventh degree of a major scale. It's considered "halfdiminished" because a fully diminished seventh has a double-flatted seventh,
making it enharmonically the same as a major sixth. The half-diminished seventh
chord uses a minor seventh over the root of a diminished triad.
Example: (in the key of C major) b-d-f-a.

Diminished seventh chord


Leading-tone seventh chord (vii7) in

A diminished 7th chord is made of three


C major, b7.
superimposed minor 3rds (e.g. B-D-F-A),
which is two tritones a minor third apart (e.g.
B-F, D-A). The diminished 7th chord has been used by composers and musicians
for a variety of reasons over time. Some reasons include: as a symbol of Sturm und
Drang; modulation; and for characterisation. The diminished 7th chord is seen more
frequently in late classical and romantic period works but is also found in Baroque
and Renaissance period works, though not as frequently.
A comparison of the Diminished 7th
and Dominant 7th (b9) Chords

All of the elements of the Diminished 7th chord can be found in the Dominant 7th
(b9) chord as seen in a comparison of the two chords.

Inversions
There are four different inversions. Seventh chord inversions are as
follows:
GBDF
BDFG

Inversions of seventh chord

DFGB
2 FGBD

See also
Dominant seventh flat five chord
Diminished major seventh chord
Augmented seventh chord
Augmented major seventh chord

References
1.
2.
3.
4.

Kostka & Payne (1995). Tonal Harmony, p.225. Third Edition. ISBN 0-07-300056-6.
Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p.77. Seventh Edition. ISBN 978-0-07-294262-0.
Benward & Saker (2003), p.199.
Mathieu, W.A. Harmonic Experience. Inner Traditions International; Rochester, Vermont; 1997. ISBN 0-89281-560-4, pg. 126

External links
Tim Smith's 7th chord identification (http://www2.nau.edu/tas3/harm2/7ths/7ths.html) and construction
(http://www2.nau.edu/tas3/harm2/7ths/7thsb.html) drills in Javascript
fretjam Guitar Theory - 7th Chords on Guitar (http://www.fretjam.com/guitar-chord-theory-3.html)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Seventh_chord&oldid=656251943"
Categories: Seventh chords

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This page was last modified on 13 April 2015, at 10:02.


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