Major seventh

Major seventh  Play (help·info)

major seventh

Inverse	minor second
Name
Other names	supermajor seventh
Abbreviation	M7
Size
Semitones	11
Interval class	1
Just interval	15:8[1]
Cents
Equal temperament	1100
24 equal temperament	1150
Just intonation	1088

In classical music from Western culture, a seventh is a musical interval encompassing seven staff positions (see Interval (music)#Number for more details), and the major seventh is one of two commonly occurring sevenths. It is qualified as major because it is the larger of the two. The major seventh spans eleven semitones, its smaller counterpart being the minor seventh, spanning ten semitones. For example, the interval from C to B is a major seventh, as the note B lies eleven semitones above C, and there are seven staff positions from C to B. Diminished and augmented sevenths span the same number of staff positions, but consist of a different number of semitones (nine and twelve).

The easiest way to locate and identify the major seventh is from the octave rather than the unison, and it is suggested that one sings the octave first.^[2] For example, the most commonly cited example of a melody featuring a major seventh is the tonic-octave-major seventh of the opening to "(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow".^[2] "Not many songwriters begin a melody with a major seventh interval; perhaps that's why there are few memorable examples."^[3]

The major seventh occurs most commonly built on the root of major triads, resulting in the chord type also known as major seventh chord or major-major seventh chord: including I⁷ and IV⁷ in major.^[4] "Major seven chords add jazziness to a musical passage. Alone, a major seventh interval can sound ugly."^[5]

A major seventh in just intonation most often corresponds to a pitch ratio of 15:8 ( play (help·info)); in 12-tone equal temperament, a major seventh is equal to eleven semitones, or 1100 cents, about 12 cents wider than the 15:8 major seventh. In 24-tone equal temperament a supermajor seventh, semiaugmented seventh or, semidiminished octave, 23 quarter-tones, is 1150 cents ( Play (help·info)). The small major seventh is a ratio of 9:5,^[6] now identified as a just minor seventh. 35:18, or 1151.23 cents, is the ratio of the septimal semi-diminished octave.^[7]

The major seventh interval is considered one of the most dissonant intervals after its inversion the minor second. For this reason, its melodic use is infrequent in classical music. One piece that makes use of the major seventh is "The Hut on Fowl's Legs" from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition; another is the closing duet from Aida, "O terra addio."

Pythagorean major seventh on C  Play (help·info), five Pythagorean perfect fifths.

Under equal temperament this interval is enharmonically equivalent to a diminished octave (which has a similar musical use to the augmented unison).

The major seventh chord is however very common in jazz, especially 'cool' jazz, and has a characteristically soft and sweet sound: think of the final chord in The Girl from Ipanema. The major seventh chord consists of the first, third, fifth and seventh degrees (notes) of the major scale. In the key of C, it comprises the notes C E G and B.

See also

• List of meantone intervals
• Major seventh chord
• Minor seventh
• Musical tuning

Sources

1. ^ Haluska, Jan (2003). The Mathematical Theory of Tone Systems, p.xxiii. ISBN 0824747143. Classic major seventh.
2. ^ ^{a b} Keith Wyatt, Carl Schroeder, Joe Elliott (2005). Ear Training for the Contemporary Musician, p.69. ISBN 0793581931.
3. ^ Neely, Blake (2009). Piano For Dummies, p.201. ISBN 0470496444.
4. ^ Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p.229. Seventh Edition. ISBN 978-0-07-294262-0.
5. ^ Starr, Eric (2007). The Everything Rock & Blues Piano Book: Master Riffs, Licks, and Blues Styles from New Orleans to New York City, p.84. ISBN 1598692607.
6. ^ Royal Society (Great Britain) (1880, digitized Feb 26, 2008). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Volume 30, p.531. Harvard University.
7. ^ Haluska, Jan (2003). The Mathematical Theory of Tone Systems, p.xxv. ISBN 0824747143.