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 ...

, a nondominant seventh chord is both a

diatonic chord Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair ...

and a

seventh chord A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the chord's root. When not otherwise specified, a "seventh chord" usually means a dominant seventh chord: a major triad together with a minor ...

, but it does not possess dominant

function Function or functionality may refer to: Computing * Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards * Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system * Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-oriente ...

, and thus it is ''not'' a

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 ...

. Since the V and

vii VII or vii may refer to: the Roman numeral 7 Art and entertainment * The Vii, a video game console * vii, leading-tone triad, see diminished triad * ''VII'' (Blitzen Trapper album) * ''VII'' (Just-Ice album) * ''VII'' (Teyana Taylor album) * ...

chords are the dominant function chords, the "major minor seventh" V⁷ and "half-diminished seventh" vii⁷ are the dominant seventh chords. Since the nondominant function chords are I, i, ii, ii, iii, III, IV, iv, vi, and VI, the nondominant seventh chord qualities include the

augmented major seventh chord In music, an augmented major seventh chord or major seventh sharp five chord is a seventh chord composed of a root, major third, augmented fifth, and major seventh (1, 3, 5, 7). It can be viewed as an augmented triad with an additional major seven ...

major seventh chord In music, a major seventh chord is a seventh chord in which the third is a major third above the root and the seventh is a major seventh above the root. The major seventh chord, sometimes also called a ''Delta chord'', can be written as maj7, M7, , ...

minor major seventh chord A minor major seventh chord, or minor/major seventh chord (also known as the Hitchcock Chord) is a seventh chord composed of a Root (chord), root, minor third, perfect fifth, and major seventh (1, 3, 5, and 7). It can be viewed as a minor triad w ...

minor seventh chord In music, a minor seventh chord is a seventh chord composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a perfect fifth, and a minor seventh (1, 3, 5, 7). For example, the minor seventh chord built on C, commonly written as C–7, h ...

, and major minor seventh chords that do not possess dominant function, such as, in

melodic minor In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which al ...

, IV. To analyze seventh chords indicate the quality of the triad;

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

: I,

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

: ii, half-diminished: vii, or augmented: III+; and the quality of the

seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

; same: ⁷, or different: or . With

chord letters Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ( ...

used to indicate the

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

and

chord quality Musicians use various kinds of chord names and symbols in different contexts to represent musical chords. In most genres of popular music, including jazz, pop, and rock, a chord name and its corresponding symbol typically indicate one or more ...

, and add ⁷, thus a seventh chord on ii in C major (minor minor seventh) would be d⁷. As with dominant seventh chords, nondominant seventh chords usually progress according to the

circle progression A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

, thus III+ resolves to vi or VI,Benward & Saker (2003), p.232. for example. When possible, as in circle progressions,

resolve Resolve may refer to: * ''Resolve'' (Lagwagon album) * ''Resolve'' (Last Tuesday album) * "Resolve" (song), by the Foo Fighters *'' The Resolve'', a 1915 American silent short drama film * "Resolve" (''One Tree Hill'' episode) *''Resolve'', a Brit ...

the seventh of nondominant seventh chords down by

step Step(s) or STEP may refer to: Common meanings * Stairs#Step, Steps, making a staircase * Walking * Dance move * Military step, or march ** Marching Arts Films and television * Steps (TV series), ''Steps'' (TV series), Hong Kong * Step (film), ' ...

to the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

of the following chord.Benward & Saker (2003), p.233-34.

References

{{Chords Seventh chords

See also

References