| Inverse | major second | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | ||
| Other names | - | |
| Abbreviation | m7 | |
| Size | ||
| Semitones | 10 | |
| Interval class | 2 | |
| Just interval | 16:9[1] or 9:5[2] | |
| Cents | ||
| Equal temperament | 1000 | |
| 24 equal temperament | 1000 | |
| Just intonation | 996.09 or 1017.596 | |
In classical music from Western culture, a seventh is a musical interval encompassing seven staff positions (see Interval (music)#Number for more details), and the minor seventh is one of two commonly occurring sevenths. The minor quality specification identifies it as being the smallest of the two: the minor seventh spans ten semitones, the major seventh eleven. For example, the interval from A to G is a minor seventh, as the note G lies ten semitones above A, and there are seven staff positions from A to G. Diminished and augmented sevenths span the same number of staff positions, but consist of a different number of semitones (nine and twelve).
Minor seventh intervals are featured in melodies less often than the rarely featured major sevenths, at least the openings, with the best-known exception being the first two notes of the main theme from Star Trek: The Original Series theme.[3] Other examples include the first two words of the phrase "There's a place us" from the song "Somewhere" in West Side Story.[4]
The most common occurrence of the minor seventh is built on the root of the prevailing key's dominant triad, producing the all-important dominant seventh chord.
Harry Partch distinguishes between the 16:9 "small just 'minor seventh'" and the 9:5 "large just 'minor seventh'".[5] A minor seventh in just intonation, also known as Pythagorean small minor seventh, typically corresponds to a pitch ratio of 16:9[6] (Pythagorean small minor seventh ) or 9:5 [7] (5-limit large minor seventh), while in an equal tempered tuning it is a ratio of 25/6:1 (about 1.782), or 1000 cents, 3.91 cents wider than the 16:9 ratio and 17.60 cents narrower than the 9:5 ratio.
An interval close in frequency is the harmonic seventh, or septimal minor seventh,[8] with an exact 7:4 ratio (i.e., 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 (1000 cents).
Consonance and dissonance are relative, depending on context, the minor seventh being defined as a dissonance requiring resolution to a consonance[9]
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