In music theory, a diminished seventh is an interval encompassing nine semitones, or a particular chord containing this interval. Music theory is the field of study that deals with the Mechanics of music and how Music works In Music theory, the term interval describes the relationship between the pitches of two Notes Intervals may be described as vertical A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest Musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music and it is considered the This article describes musical chords in traditional Western styles

Diminished seventh interval

The interval of a diminished seventh is an interval spanning seven scale degrees and containing nine half steps. In Music theory, the term interval describes the relationship between the pitches of two Notes Intervals may be described as vertical In Music theory, a scale degree is the name of a particular note of a scale in relation to the tonic (the note of the scale that is considered It is one half-tone smaller than a minor seventh and is enharmonically equivalent to a major sixth. A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest Musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music and it is considered the A minor seventh ( is the smaller of two commonly occurring Musical intervals that span seven Diatonic scale degrees In modern Music and notation, an enharmonic equivalent is a Note ( enharmonic tone) interval ( enharmonic interval) or A major sixth ( is the larger of two commonly occurring Musical intervals that span six Diatonic scale degrees Its inversion is the augmented second. In Music theory, the word inversion has several meanings There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and An augmented second is Enharmonically equivalent to a Minor third ( in Equal temperament, but is not the same interval in other meantone tunings

The diminished seventh is used quite readily in the minor key, where it is present in the harmonic minor scale between the seventh scale step and the sixth scale step in the octave above. Minor Scale was a test conducted by the United States Defense Nuclear Agency (now part of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency) involving the detonation Minor Scale was a test conducted by the United States Defense Nuclear Agency (now part of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency) involving the detonation In Music, an octave ( is the the use of which is "common in most musical systems

In an equal tempered tuning, a diminished seventh is equal to nine semitones, a ratio of 1:2^9/12 (approximately 1. Equal temperament is a Musical temperament, or a system of tuning in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical Frequency ratio. 682), or 900 cents. There is no standard just tuning of this interval, but one possibility, assuming the flat submediant is a perfect (5:4) major third below the octave, and the leading tone to be 15:16, would lead to an interval of 128:75, about 925 cents. In music just intonation is any Musical tuning in which the frequencies of Notes are related by Ratios of Whole numbers Any interval

Diminished seventh chord

A comparison of the Diminished 7th and Dominant 7th (♭9) Chords

A diminished seventh chord is a seventh chord comprising a diminished triad plus the interval of a diminished seventh above the root. A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a Seventh above the chord's root. Generally in Music, a diminished chord ( is a minor chord which has a Diminished fifth in it In Music the root ( basse fouhuhuhe) of a chord is the note or pitch upon which that chord is perceived or labelled as being built

The most common form of the diminished seventh chord is one which includes the leading tone, as well as the second, fourth, and flatted sixth (flat submediant) scale degrees. In Music theory, a leading-tone (called the leading- note outside the US is a note or pitch which resolves or "leads" In Music, the submediant is the sixth tonal degree of the Diatonic scale. These notes occur naturally in the harmonic minor scale, but this chord also appears in major keys, especially after the time of Bach, where it is "borrowed" from the parallel minor. Minor Scale was a test conducted by the United States Defense Nuclear Agency (now part of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency) involving the detonation In Music, the parallel minor or tonic minor of a particular major key is the minor key with the same tonic; similarly the parallel major

Seventh chords may also be rooted on other scale degrees, either as secondary function chords temporarily borrowed from other keys, or as appoggiatura chords: a chord rooted on the raised second scale degree (D♯-F♯-A-C in the key of C) acts as an appoggiatura to the tonic (C major) chord, and one rooted on the raised sixth scale degree (A♯-C♯-E-G in C major) acts as an appoggiatura to the dominant (G major) chord. Secondary dominant (also applied dominant) is a type of chord used in musical Harmony. These chords may be referred to as "secondary diminished seventh chords" or as a subclass of secondary dominants.

In jazz, the diminished seventh chord is often based on the lowered third scale degree (the flat mediant) and acts as a passing chord between the mediant triad (or first-inversion tonic triad) and the supertonic triad: in C major, this would be the chord progression E minor - E♭ diminished - D minor. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States In Music, the mediant is the third degree of the Diatonic scale, being the "middle" note of the tonic

Diminished seventh root

Music theorists have struggled over the centuries to explain the meaning and function of diminished seventh chords. Currently, two approaches are generally used. The less complex method treats the leading tone as the root of the chord, and the other chord members as the third, fifth, and seventh of the chord, the same way other seventh chords are analyzed. A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a Seventh above the chord's root.

The other method is to analyze the chord as an "incomplete dominant ninth", that is a ninth chord with its root on the dominant, whose root is missing or implied, as shown in the diagram above right. In Music or Music theory a ninth is the Note nine Scale degrees from the root of chord (counting the root itself and also Walter Piston has long been the champion of this analysis. ^[1]

The dominant ninth theory has been questioned by Heinrich Schenker. Heinrich Schenker ( June 19, 1868 - January 13, 1935) was a Music theorist best known for his approach to Musical analysis He explained that although there is a kinship between all univalent chords rising out of the fifth degree, the dominant ninth chord is not a real chord formation. ^[2]

Inversions

This chord may be regarded as three superimposed minor third intervals (e. A minor third ( is the smaller of two commonly occurring musical intervals compounded of two steps of the Diatonic scale. g. B-D-F-A♭) or two tritones a minor third apart (e. The tritone ( Tri - or three and tone) is a Musical interval that spans three whole tones. g. C-F♯, E♭-A).

All of the chord's inversions have the same sound harmonically. Because of the chord's symmetrical nature (superimposing more minor thirds on top of the the dim 7 produces no new notes), there are only three different diminished seventh chords possible.

The diminished seventh chord can appear in first, second, or (least common) third inversion. In Music theory, the word inversion has several meanings There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and Each inversion is enharmonic with another diminished seventh chord, and 19th-century composers in particular often make use of this enharmonic to use these chords for modulations. In modern Music and notation, an enharmonic equivalent is a Note ( enharmonic tone) interval ( enharmonic interval) or In Music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key ( tonic, or tonal center) to another Percy Goetschius calls it the "enharmonic chord. "^[3]

Using Piston's incomplete-ninth analysis, a single diminished seventh chord, without enharmonic change, is capable of the following analyses: V, V of II, V of III (in min. ), V of III (in maj. ), V of IV, V of V, V of VI (in min. ), V of VI (in maj. ), V of VII (in maj. ). Since the chord may be enharmonically written in four different ways without changing the sound, we may multiply the above by four, making a total of forty-eight possible interpretations. ^[4]

References