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A minor seventh is the smaller of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span seven diatonic scale
Diatonic scale

In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps, in which the half steps are maximally separated....
 degrees. The prefix 'minor' identifies it as being the smaller of the two (by one chromatic semitone), its larger counterpart being a major seventh
Major seventh

A major seventh is the larger of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span seven diatonic scale degrees. The prefix 'major' identifies it as being the larger of the two ; its smaller counterpart being a minor seventh....
. The minor seventh is abbreviated as m7 and its inversion
Inversion (music)

In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices....
 is the major second
Major second

A major second , also called a whole step or a whole tone,One source says step is "chiefly US."The preferred usage has been argued since the 19th century:...
. Its most common occurrence is built on the root of the prevailing key
Key (music)

In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a certain key, such as in the key of C or in the key of F-sharp....
's dominant triad
Triad (music)

In music and music theory, a triad is a three-note chord that can be stacked in thirds. Its members, when actually stacked in thirds, from lowest pitched tone to highest, are called:...
, producing the all-important dominant seventh chord.

A minor seventh in just intonation
Just intonation

In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequency of notes are related by ratios of whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval; in other words, the two notes are members of the same harmonic series ....
 corresponds to a pitch ratio of 16:9 or 9:5, while in an equal tempered tuning it is a ratio of 1:210/12 (approximately 1.782), or 1000 cents, 3.910 cent
Cent (music)

The cent is a logarithmic scale unit of measure used for musical interval . Typically cents are used to measure extremely small intervals, or to compare the sizes of comparable intervals in different tuning systems, and in fact the interval of one cent is much too small to be heard between successive notes....
s sharper than the 16:9 ratio and 17.596 cents flatter than the 9:5 ratio.

An interval close in magnitude is the harmonic seventh
Harmonic seventh

The harmonic seventh interval , also known as the septimal minor seventh, is one with an exact 7:4 ratio . This is somewhat less than and is "sweeter in quality" than an "ordinary" minor seventh, which has a just-intonation ratio of either 16:9 or 9:5, or an equal-temperament ratio of 1000 cents....
, with an exact 7:4 ratio (e.g., the three-quarter point of the octave, 1.75), which makes it quasi-harmonically significant.






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A minor seventh is the smaller of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span seven diatonic scale
Diatonic scale

In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps, in which the half steps are maximally separated....
 degrees. The prefix 'minor' identifies it as being the smaller of the two (by one chromatic semitone), its larger counterpart being a major seventh
Major seventh

A major seventh is the larger of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span seven diatonic scale degrees. The prefix 'major' identifies it as being the larger of the two ; its smaller counterpart being a minor seventh....
. The minor seventh is abbreviated as m7 and its inversion
Inversion (music)

In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices....
 is the major second
Major second

A major second , also called a whole step or a whole tone,One source says step is "chiefly US."The preferred usage has been argued since the 19th century:...
. Its most common occurrence is built on the root of the prevailing key
Key (music)

In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a certain key, such as in the key of C or in the key of F-sharp....
's dominant triad
Triad (music)

In music and music theory, a triad is a three-note chord that can be stacked in thirds. Its members, when actually stacked in thirds, from lowest pitched tone to highest, are called:...
, producing the all-important dominant seventh chord.

A minor seventh in just intonation
Just intonation

In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequency of notes are related by ratios of whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval; in other words, the two notes are members of the same harmonic series ....
 corresponds to a pitch ratio of 16:9 or 9:5, while in an equal tempered tuning it is a ratio of 1:210/12 (approximately 1.782), or 1000 cents, 3.910 cent
Cent (music)

The cent is a logarithmic scale unit of measure used for musical interval . Typically cents are used to measure extremely small intervals, or to compare the sizes of comparable intervals in different tuning systems, and in fact the interval of one cent is much too small to be heard between successive notes....
s sharper than the 16:9 ratio and 17.596 cents flatter than the 9:5 ratio.

An interval close in magnitude is the harmonic seventh
Harmonic seventh

The harmonic seventh interval , also known as the septimal minor seventh, is one with an exact 7:4 ratio . This is somewhat less than and is "sweeter in quality" than an "ordinary" minor seventh, which has a just-intonation ratio of either 16:9 or 9:5, or an equal-temperament ratio of 1000 cents....
, with an exact 7:4 ratio (e.g., the three-quarter point of the octave, 1.75), which makes it quasi-harmonically significant. This interval is about 969 cents, or one-third of a semitone flatter than the equal-temperament minor seventh.

The minor seventh is considered a mildly dissonant
Consonance and dissonance

In music, a consonance is a harmony, Chord , or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance ? considered unstable . The strictest definition of consonance may be only those sounds which are pleasant, while the most general definition includes any sounds which are used freely....
 interval, more dissonant than the thirds and sixths, but considerably less dissonant than the minor second and major seventh
Major seventh

A major seventh is the larger of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span seven diatonic scale degrees. The prefix 'major' identifies it as being the larger of the two ; its smaller counterpart being a minor seventh....
.

See also

  • Musical tuning
    Musical tuning

    In music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* #Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* #Tuning systems, the various systems of Pitch used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical basis....
  • List of meantone intervals
    List of meantone intervals

    The following is a list of intervals of meantone temperament. These intervals constitute the standard vocabulary of intervals for the Western common practice era....