10 semitones · pure 9:5, or the barbershop 7:4
The minor seventh
Ten semitones, a whole step short of an octave. It's the seventh in a dominant seventh chord, and it sounds open but restless, wanting to move.
Three pure sizes
A minor seventh has three pure tunings. 9:5, the one this page plays, is about 18 cents (a cent is a hundredth of a semitone) wider than a piano's and fits a minor seventh chord. 16:9, two pure fourths stacked, is about 4 cents narrower: so up to fa in a tune. The barbershop seventh, 7:4, is 31 cents narrower than a piano's: in a dominant seventh it lines its overtones up with the others, so the chord rings.
Finding it by ear
There's no well-known public-domain tune that starts with one, though you may know it from Somewhere in West Side Story ("There's a"). Or find it from the octave: sing up an octave, then down a whole step. Or hear it as so up to fa, the root and seventh of a dominant chord.
More intervals
- Minor secondOde to Joy (after the repeated first note)
- Major secondHappy Birthday (after the repeated first note)
- Minor thirdGreensleeves
- Major thirdWhen the Saints Go Marching In
- Perfect fourthAmazing Grace; Here Comes the Bride
- Tritone
- Perfect fifthTwinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (after the repeated first note)
- Minor sixthThe Entertainer (its first high note)
- Major sixthMy Bonnie Lies over the Ocean
- Major seventh
- OctaveTake Me Out to the Ball Game
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Questions
What is a minor seventh?
An interval of ten semitones: C to B♭, or G to F.
What is a barbershop seventh?
A minor seventh tuned to the ratio 7:4, 31 cents under the piano's, as barbershop quartets aim to sing it in a dominant seventh chord. That low seventh makes the chord ring.
How do I tell a minor seventh from a major seventh?
A major seventh is one semitone wider, a half step short of the octave, and sounds sharp and tense; a minor seventh, a whole step short, sounds more relaxed.
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