music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

, the dominant seventh flat five chord is a seventh chord composed of a

root note In music theory, the concept of root is the idea that a chord can be represented and named by one of its notes. It is linked to harmonic thinking—the idea that vertical aggregates of notes can form a single unit, a chord. It is in this sense ...

, together with a major third, a

diminished fifth Diminished may refer to: *Diminution In Western music and music theory, diminution (from Medieval Latin ''diminutio'', alteration of Latin ''deminutio'', decrease) has four distinct meanings. Diminution may be a form of embellishment in which ...

, and a minor seventh above the root (1, 3, 5 and 7). For example, the dominant seventh flat five chord built on C, commonly written as C⁷⁵, is composed of the pitches C–E–G–B: : It can be represented by the

integer notation In music, a pitch class (p.c. or pc) is a set of all pitches that are a whole number of octaves apart; for example, the pitch class C consists of the Cs in all octaves. "The pitch class C stands for all possible Cs, in whatever octave positio ...

. This chord is enharmonically equivalent to its own second inversion. That is, it has the same notes as the dominant seventh flat five chord a tritone away (although they may be spelled differently), so for instance, F⁷⁵ and C⁷⁵ are

enharmonically equivalent In modern musical notation and tuning, an enharmonic equivalent is a note, interval, or key signature that is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature but "spelled", or named differently. The enharmonic spelling of a written no ...

. Because of this property, it readily functions as a pivot chord. It is also frequently encountered in tritone substitutions. In this sense, there are only six "unique" dominant seventh flat five chords. In diatonic harmony, the dominant seventh flat five chord does not naturally occur on any scale degree (as does, for example, the

dominant seventh chord In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord, is a seventh chord, usually built on the fifth degree of the major scale, and composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. Thus it is a major triad tog ...

on the fifth

scale degree In music theory, the scale degree is the position of a particular note on a scale relative to the tonic, the first and main note of the scale from which each octave is assumed to begin. Degrees are useful for indicating the size of intervals and ...

of the major scale e.g. C⁷ in F major). In classical harmony, the chord is rarely seen spelled as a seventh chord and is instead most commonly found as the enharmonically equivalent French sixth chord. In

jazz harmony Jazz harmony is the theory and practice of how chords are used in jazz music. Jazz bears certain similarities to other practices in the tradition of Western harmony, such as many chord progressions, and the incorporation of the major and minor ...

, the dominant seventh flat five may be considered an altered chord, created by lowering the fifth of a dominant seventh chord, and may use the whole-tone scale, as may the

augmented minor seventh chord The augmented seventh chord, or seventh augmented fifth chord, or seventh sharp five chord is a seventh chord composed of a root, major third, augmented fifth, and minor seventh (1, 3, 5, 7).Garner, Robert (2007). ''Mel Bay Presents Essential Musi ...

, or the Lydian 7 mode, as well as most of the

modes Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...

of the

Neapolitan major scale In music, the major Neapolitan scale and the minor Neapolitan scale are two musical scales. Both scales are minor, in that they both contain the note a minor third above the root. The major and minor Neapolitan scales are instead differentiated ...

, such as the

major Locrian scale In music, the major Locrian scale, also called the ''Locrian major scale'', is the scale obtained by sharpening the second and third notes of the diatonic Locrian mode. With a tonic of C, it consists of the notes C D E F G A B. It can be described ...

, the

leading whole-tone scale In music, the major Locrian scale, also called the ''Locrian major scale'', is the scale obtained by sharpening the second and third notes of the diatonic Locrian mode. With a tonic of C, it consists of the notes C D E F G A B. It can be described ...

, and the

Lydian minor scale Lydian may refer to: * Lydians, an ancient people of Anatolia * Lydian language, an ancient Anatolian language * Lydian alphabet ** Lydian (Unicode block) * Lydian (typeface), a decorative typeface * Lydian dominant scale or acoustic scale, a music ...

Dominant seventh flat five chord table

Chords for guitarists

Dominant seventh flat five chords for a guitar in standard tuning. (left is the low E string, number is the fret, x means mute the string) * A⁷⁵: xx6778 * B⁷⁵: x23245 * C⁷⁵: x34356 * D⁷⁵: xx0112 * E⁷⁵: 010130 * F⁷⁵: xx3445 * G⁷⁵: xx5667

References

{{Chords Altered chords Seventh chords

Dominant seventh flat five chord table

Chords for guitarists

See also

References