Seventh
As a seventh also Septim , sept or Sept (from latin septimus "the seventh ") is known in which a music interval , the seven tone levels of a diatonic , heptatonic scale spans (eg. C → H ). The seventh is the complementary interval to the second .
In a narrower sense, the seventh also means the seventh degree of the respective scale . When not the interval but the pitch is meant, the more precise term seventh tone is sometimes used.
variants
Note example: Seventh intervals The seventh can appear in four variants. Common are:
- the major seventh (a) has 11 semitones and
- the minor seventh (b) has 10 semitones.
The major seventh is characteristic of the major scale, the minor seventh for the minor scale. Less common are:
- the excessive seventh (c) and
- the diminished seventh (d),
the notation accidentals requires. These intervals can be confused enharmonically with the octave or the major sixth .
| interval | Semitones | example | Reversal interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) | major seventh | 11 (5 whole tones + 1 semitone) | C-H , D-Cis | small second |
| (b) | minor seventh | 10 (5 whole tones) |
D – C , C – B Beginning of the title melody of Starship Enterprise (upwards) |
great second |
| (c) | excessive seventh | 12 (6 whole tones) | C – His , Es – Dis | diminished second |
| (d) | diminished seventh | 9 (3 whole tones + 3 semitones) | D-Ces , Cis-B | excessive second |
In European vocal music , sevenths were avoided for a long time and only increasingly used in baroque music as part of the doctrine of affect . In the harmonic movement, however, the seventh remains important in classical and popular music to this day, especially as a constituent part of the diminished seventh chord .
In connection with the partial tones , e.g. B. in organ registers , the 7th partial is called the seventh or natural seventh . This seventh has a frequency ratio of 7: 4 to the next lower octave. In this context, the designation seventh, major seventh or major seventh for the 15th partial tone, which has a frequency ratio of 15: 8 to the next lower octave, is rare.
For brass instruments with valves (e.g. trumpet, French horn, tuba) or slide (e.g. trombone), the natural seventh means that the 7th partial must be blown instead of a major or minor seventh realized with the help of valves or a slide.
Audio samples
- minor seventh:
- upwards
- downward
- major seventh:
- upwards
- downward
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ M. Honegger, G. Massenkeil (ed.): Das große Lexikon der Musik Volume 4, Herder 1976, page 194
- ^ Walter Opp: Handbuch Kirchenmusik , Volume 1, Merseburger 2001, page 235. ISBN 3-87537-281-6