# Minor seventh

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Minor_seventh
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Minor_seventh.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_seventh
> Source revision: 1334433549
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

This article is about the interval. For the chord, see [Minor seventh chord](/source/Minor_seventh_chord).

Musical interval

minor seventh Inverse major second Name Other names flat seventh Abbreviation m7, ♭7 Size Semitones 10 Interval class 2 Just interval 16:9[1] or 9:5[2] Cents 12-Tone equal temperament 1000 Just intonation 996 or 1018

In [music theory](/source/Music_theory), a **minor seventh** is one of two [musical intervals](/source/Interval_(music)) that span seven [staff positions](/source/Staff_position). It is *minor* because it is the smaller of the two sevenths, spanning ten [semitones](/source/Semitone). The [major seventh](/source/Major_seventh) spans eleven. For example, the interval from A3 to G4 (in [scientific pitch notation](/source/Scientific_pitch_notation)) is a minor seventh, as the note G4 lies ten semitones above A3, and there are seven staff positions from A3 to G4.

- Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can [download the audio file](https://upload.wikimedia.org/score/6/1/612sif2espkz89swgydz18ul3oxnr7m/612sif2e.mp3).

[Diminished](/source/Diminished_seventh) and [augmented](/source/Augmented_seventh) sevenths span the same number of staff positions, but consist of a different number of semitones (nine and twelve, respectively).

## Use

Minor seventh intervals rarely feature in melodies (and especially in their openings) but occur more often than major sevenths[*[according to whom?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions)*]. A well-known example, in part due to its frequent use in theory classes, is found between the first two words of the phrase "There's a place for us" in the song "[Somewhere](/source/Somewhere_(song))" in *[West Side Story](/source/West_Side_Story)*.[3] Another well-known example occurs between the first two notes of the introduction to the [main theme music](/source/Theme_from_Star_Trek) from *[Star Trek: The Original Series](/source/Star_Trek%3A_The_Original_Series)* [theme](/source/Musical_theme).[4]

The most common occurrence of the minor seventh is built on the [root](/source/Root_(chord)) of the prevailing [key](/source/Key_(music))'s [dominant](/source/Dominant_chord) [triad](/source/Triad_(music)), producing the all-important [dominant seventh chord](/source/Dominant_seventh_chord).

During the *[common practice period](/source/Common_practice_period)* the minor seventh was prescribed as a dissonance, requiring resolution to a consonance.[5]

## In other temperaments

Minor seventh [Play](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a5/Minor_seventh_on_C.mid/Minor_seventh_on_C.mid.mp3)[ⓘ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Minor_seventh_on_C.mid) equal tempered or [just](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e2/Greater_just_minor_seventh_on_C.mid/Greater_just_minor_seventh_on_C.mid.mp3)[ⓘ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Greater_just_minor_seventh_on_C.mid).

In [just intonation](/source/Just_intonation) there is both a 16:9 "*lesser* just minor seventh", also called the "Pythagorean small minor seventh",[6]([Play](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e9/Lesser_just_minor_seventh_on_C.mid/Lesser_just_minor_seventh_on_C.mid.mp3)[ⓘ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lesser_just_minor_seventh_on_C.mid)) equivalent to two perfect fourths stacked on top of each other, and 9:5, called the "*greater* just minor seventh" ([Play](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e2/Greater_just_minor_seventh_on_C.mid/Greater_just_minor_seventh_on_C.mid.mp3)[ⓘ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Greater_just_minor_seventh_on_C.mid))[7][8] equivalent to a perfect fifth and a minor third on top of each other. An interval close in frequency is the [harmonic seventh](/source/Harmonic_seventh). ([Play](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/dd/Harmonic_seventh_on_C.mid/Harmonic_seventh_on_C.mid.mp3)[ⓘ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harmonic_seventh_on_C.mid)) [9]

## See also

- [Minor seventh chord](/source/Minor_seventh_chord)

- [Musical tuning](/source/Musical_tuning)

- [List of meantone intervals](/source/List_of_meantone_intervals)

- [Harmonic seventh](/source/Harmonic_seventh)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Haluska (2003)](#CITEREFHaluska2003), p. xxiv Pythagorean minor seventh.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Haluska, Jan (2003). "Just minor seventh". *The Mathematical Theory of Tone Systems*. p. xxiii. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8247-4714-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8247-4714-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Neely_3-0)** Neely, Blake (2009). *Piano for Dummies*. p. 201. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-470-49644-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-470-49644-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Contemporary_4-0)** Wyatt, Keith; Schroeder, Carl; Elliott, Joe (2005). *Ear Training for the Contemporary Musician*. p. 69. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7935-8193-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7935-8193-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Benward; Saker (2003). *Music: In theory and practice*. Vol. I (7th ed.). p. 53. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-07-294262-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-07-294262-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Novel_6-0)** Breakspeare, Eustace J. (1886–1887). "On certain novel aspects of harmony". *Proceedings of the Musical Association*. 13th Session: 113–131, esp. 119.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Perrett, Wilfrid (1931–1932). "The heritage of Greece in music". *Proceedings of the Musical Association*. 58th Session: 85–103, esp. 89.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Partch, H.](/source/Harry_Partch) (1979). [*Genesis of a Music*](/source/Genesis_of_a_Music). p. 68. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-306-80106-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-306-80106-X).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Dunn, David (2000). [*Harry Partch: An anthology of critical perspectives*](https://books.google.com/books?id=kIKar6TykE4C&q=septimal+comma&pg=PA34). p. 34 – via Google.

v t e Intervals Twelve- semitone (post-Bach Western) (Numbers in brackets are the number of semitones in the interval.) Perfect unison (0) fourth (5) fifth (7) octave (12) Major second (2) third (4) sixth (9) seventh (11) Minor second (1) third (3) sixth (8) seventh (10) Augmented unison (1) second (3) third (5) fourth (6) fifth (8) sixth (10) seventh (12) octave (13) Diminished unison (−1) second (0) third (2) fourth (4) fifth (6) sixth (7) seventh (9) octave (11) Compound ninth (13 or 14) tenth (15 or 16) eleventh (17) twelfth (19) thirteenth (20 or 21) fourteenth (22 or 23) fifteenth (24) Other tuning systems 24-tone equal temperament (Numbers in brackets refer to fractional semitones.) Neutral quarter tone (1⁄2) second (1+1⁄2) third (3+1⁄2) major fourth (5+1⁄2) minor fifth (6+1⁄2) sixth (8+1⁄2) seventh (10+1⁄2) Just intonations (Numbers in brackets refer to pitch ratios.) 7-limit septimal quarter tone (36:35) septimal third tone (28:27) septimal chromatic semitone (21:20) septimal diatonic semitone (15:14) supermajor second (8:7) subminor third (7:6) supermajor third (9:7) subminor fifth (7:5) supermajor fourth (10:7) subminor seventh (7:4) Higher-limit minor diatonic semitone (17-limit) Other intervals Groups Microtone 5-limit Comma Pseudo-octave Pythagorean interval Subminor and supermajor Semitones Pythagorean limma Pythagorean apotome Major limma Quarter tones Quarter tone Septimal quarter tone Undecimal quarter tone Commas Pythagorean comma (23.5 cents) Syntonic comma (21.5 cents) Holdrian comma (22.6 cents) Septimal comma (27.3 cents) Lesser diesis (41.1 cents) Greater diesis (62.6 cents) Septimal diesis (35.7 cents) Diaschisma (19.5 cents) Semicomma (10.1 cents) Septimal semicomma (13.8 cents) Kleisma (8.1 cents) Septimal kleisma (7.7 cents) Schisma (1.95 cents) Breedsma (0.72 cents) Ragisma (0.4 cents) Measurement Cent Centitone Millioctave Savart Others Wolf Ditone Semiditone Secor Incomposite interval List of pitch intervals

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Minor seventh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_seventh) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_seventh?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.