Diatonic Seventh Chords
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1music theory for musicians and normal people by toby w. rush
Diatonic Seventh Chords
Remember, diatonic
means “from the key .”
so a diatonic chord is one
What are they?
that only uses notes in
diatonic seventh chords are the
the key signature.
No accidentals!
seventh chords you can create using
only the notes in a particular key.
w w w
w w
w w
w w w
w w
w w
w w
& w w w w
w w
w
there are eight possible types of
Here they are
w w
w w
w
in major and
seventh chords in tertial harmony,
minor.
but the composers of the common
practice period only used five:
w w
remember:
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
C:
I
ii
iii
IV
V
vi
vii°
w w
we only
w w
major 7th
w w
w w
w w
raise the
w w
w w #
above root
w w
w w
& w w w
w w #
w w
w w
leading-tone
w w
major triad
w
over
dominant-
b
w w
w w
function
minor 7th
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
a:
i
ii°
III
iv
V
VI
vii°
harmony!
above root
major triad
in harmonic progressions, diatonic sevenths can
b
w w
be used anywhere you can use a diatonic triad with the
b
w w
same root.
˙ ˙ ˙
˙ ˙ ˙
˙ ˙ ˙
˙ ˙ ˙
minor 7th
˙ ˙ ˙
˙
˙ ˙ ˙
˙ ˙ ˙
˙ ˙ ˙
˙ ˙ ˙
˙
above root
&
˙
˙
˙
minor triad
b
w w
b b
7
7
7
7
7
V
I
IV
vii°
iii
vi
ii
V
I
w w
minor 7th
above root
diminished triad
2
∫
w w
b b
in fact, these chords can
w w
be approached and resolved
3
diminished 7th
using any of the same three
above root
5
root movements
diminished triad
as triads use.
07
we use “
” for
half-diminished sevenths
With the diatonic seventh chords, we add a
1
07
and “
” for
fourth root movement: the common root.
fully diminished sevenths.
However, this root movement can only be
used to increase tension, so going from
a seventh chord to a triad is avoided.
w w
seventh chords have four notes, so doubling in four-part
7
7
harmony is not an issue... but if you need to use irregular
V
V
V
V
w
doubling, double the root and omit the fifth.
w
w w
when using these chords in four-part writing — in
The seventh of the chord
fact, when you use any seventh chord in four-part
is always resolved down
writing, you must always, always remember to...
by step. always!
respect the seventh!
respect the seventh!
the seventh of the chord
no, i’m serious. don’t ever
is most often approached
resolve the seventh of a
by the common tone.
seventh chord any other
way.
however, it is okay to
approach the seventh
doing so will cause you
from below by a step
certain death!
or a leap, or from above
by a step.
You must never approach
the seventh by a leap from
above!
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