Minor major seventh chord
Encyclopedia
A minor major seventh chord, or minor/major seventh chord (written as mM7, mΔ7, -Δ7, mM7, m/M7, m(M7), minmaj7, m⑦, etc.) is a naturally occurring diatonic
nondominant seventh chord
in the harmonic minor scale. The chord
is built on a root
, and above that the intervals
of a minor third, a major third above that note and above that a major third (see infobox). It can also be viewed as taking a minor triad
and adding a major seventh. The traditional numerical notation
is based on the degrees
of the major diatonic scale
, and by this notation a minor major seventh chord is degrees 1, 3, 5, 7 of the major scale
. For instance, the CmM7 chord consists of the notes C, E, G, and B. The chord can be represented by the integer notation {0, 3, 7, 11}.
The chord occurs on the tonic
when harmonizing the harmonic minor scale in 7th chords
. The harmonic minor scale contains a raised seventh
, creating a half step between the seventh and the root. This half step creates a pull to the tonic that is useful in harmonic
context and is not present in the natural minor scale (also known as the Aeolian mode
). When building a chord on the fifth
or the seventh
of the minor scale, this raised seventh is present, and so both of these chords have a strong pull to the tonic. However, this same effect makes the tonic seventh highly unstable. The raised seventh in conjunction with the tonic creates the dissonant
interval of a minor second. Another source of dissonance is the augmented fifth
between the third an seventh.
The minor major seventh chord is most often used in jazz
, typically functioning as a minor tonic. Jazz musicians usually improvise with the melodic minor scale over this chord; the harmonic minor scale is also used. Additionally, Bernard Herrmann
's use of this chord - most notoriously in his score for Psycho
- has earned it the nickname, "The Hitchcock
Chord". This chord also appears in classical music
, but it is used more in the late Romantic period than in the Classical and Baroque periods.
The chord, infrequent in rock
and popular music
, is, "virtually always found on the fourth scale degree in the major mode," thus making the seventh of the chord the third
of the scale and perhaps explaining the rarity of the chord given the, "propensity of the third scale degree to be lowered as a blues alteration
." In C: F, A, C, E. Examples occur in Lesley Gore
's "It's My Party
" (see also augmented triad
), the Chiffons
' "One Fine Day
", Mariah Carey
's "Vision Of Love
", Pink Floyd
's Us and Them and the Beatles
' "Magical Mystery Tour
".
Diatonic and chromatic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony...
nondominant seventh chord
Nondominant seventh chord
In music theory, a nondominant seventh chord is a chord which is a diatonic chord that is a seventh chord but that does not possess dominant function and thus is not a dominant seventh chord....
in the harmonic minor scale. The chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
is built on a root
Root (chord)
In music theory, the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which a triadic chord is built. For example, the root of the major triad C-E-G is C....
, and above that the intervals
Interval (music)
In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
of a minor third, a major third above that note and above that a major third (see infobox). It can also be viewed as taking a minor triad
Minor chord
In music theory, a minor chord is a chord having a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth.When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a minor triad....
and adding a major seventh. The traditional numerical notation
Numbered musical notation
The numbered musical notation, better known as in Chinese, is a musical notation system widely used among the Chinese people. Some people call it the numeric notation or numerical notation, but it is not to be confused with the integer notation...
is based on the degrees
Degree (music)
In music theory, a scale degree or scale step is the name of a particular note of a scale in relation to the tonic...
of the major diatonic scale
Diatonic scale
In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note, octave-repeating musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps for each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps...
, and by this notation a minor major seventh chord is degrees 1, 3, 5, 7 of the major scale
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
. For instance, the CmM7 chord consists of the notes C, E, G, and B. The chord can be represented by the integer notation {0, 3, 7, 11}.
The chord occurs on the tonic
Tonic (music)
In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...
when harmonizing the harmonic minor scale in 7th chords
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 major triad with an added minor seventh...
. The harmonic minor scale contains a raised seventh
Seventh (chord)
In music, the seventh factor of a chord is the note or pitch seven scale degrees above the root or tonal center. When the seventh is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed chord, the chord is in third inversion ....
, creating a half step between the seventh and the root. This half step creates a pull to the tonic that is useful in harmonic
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
context and is not present in the natural minor scale (also known as the Aeolian mode
Aeolian mode
The Aeolian mode is a musical mode or, in modern usage, a diatonic scale called the natural minor scale.The word "Aeolian" in the music theory of ancient Greece was an alternative name for what Aristoxenus called the Low Lydian tonos , nine semitones...
). When building a chord on the fifth
Dominant (music)
In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...
or the seventh
Subtonic
In music, the subtonic or flattened seventh is the lowered or minor seventh degree of the scale, a whole step below the tonic, as opposed to the leading tone...
of the minor scale, this raised seventh is present, and so both of these chords have a strong pull to the tonic. However, this same effect makes the tonic seventh highly unstable. The raised seventh in conjunction with the tonic creates the dissonant
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
interval of a minor second. Another source of dissonance is the augmented fifth
Augmented fifth
In classical music from Western culture, an augmented fifth is an interval produced by widening a perfect fifth by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from C to G is a perfect fifth, seven semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to G, and from C to G are augmented fifths,...
between the third an seventh.
The minor major seventh chord is most often used in jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, typically functioning as a minor tonic. Jazz musicians usually improvise with the melodic minor scale over this chord; the harmonic minor scale is also used. Additionally, Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
's use of this chord - most notoriously in his score for Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
- has earned it the nickname, "The Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
Chord". This chord also appears in classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, but it is used more in the late Romantic period than in the Classical and Baroque periods.
The chord, infrequent in rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, is, "virtually always found on the fourth scale degree in the major mode," thus making the seventh of the chord the third
Mediant
In music, the mediant is the third scale degree of the diatonic scale, being the note halfway between the tonic and the dominant. Similarly, the submediant is halfway between the tonic and subdominant...
of the scale and perhaps explaining the rarity of the chord given the, "propensity of the third scale degree to be lowered as a blues alteration
Blue note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
." In C: F, A, C, E. Examples occur in Lesley Gore
Lesley Gore
Lesley Gore is an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party", which she recorded at the age of 16. Following the hit, she became one of the most recognized teen pop singers of the 1960s.- Biography :Gore was born in New York City, New York. She was raised in...
's "It's My Party
It's My Party (song)
"It's My Party" is a song most famously sung by American singer Lesley Gore in 1963. This song hit #1 on the pop and rhythm and blues charts in the United States. "It's My Party", peaked at #9 in the United Kingdom, becoming Gore's only major hit there...
" (see also augmented triad
Augmented triad
In music, an augmented triad is a triad, or chord, consisting of two major thirds . The term augmented triad arises from an augmented triad being a three note chord, or triad, whose top note is raised, or augmented...
), the Chiffons
The Chiffons
The Chiffons was an all girl group originating from the Bronx area of New York in 1960.-Biography:The Chiffons were one of the top girl groups of the early 1960s...
' "One Fine Day
One Fine Day (song)
"One Fine Day" has been recorded by a diverse array of artists including Susie Allanson, the Carpenters as part of the oldies medley on their album Now and Then, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, Even in Blackouts, Kids Incorporated, David Lasley, Natalie Merchant , the Mountain Goats, Aaron Neville,...
", Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's "Vision Of Love
Vision of Love
"Vision of Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It served as Carey's debut single, the first from her self-titled debut album. Written by Carey and Ben Margulies, "Vision of Love" was released on May 15, 1990 by Columbia Records. After being featured on Carey's demo tape for...
", Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's Us and Them and the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Magical Mystery Tour
Magical Mystery Tour (song)
"Magical Mystery Tour" is a song by The Beatles, the opening track and theme song for the album, double EP and TV film of the same name. Unlike the theme songs for their other film projects, it was not released as a single.-Composition:...
".
Minor major seventh chord table
| Chord | Root | Minor Third | Perfect Fifth | Major Seventh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CmM7 | C | E | G | B |
| M7 | C | E | G | B (C) |
| M7 | D | F (E) | A | C |
| DmM7 | D | F | A | C |
| M7 | D | F | A | C (D) |
| M7 | E | G | B | D |
| EmM7 | E | G | B | D |
| FmM7 | F | A | C | E |
| M7 | F | A | C | E (F) |
| M7 | G | B (A) | D | F |
| GmM7 | G | B | D | F |
| M7 | G | B | D | F (G) |
| M7 | A | C (B) | E | G |
| AmM7 | A | C | E | G |
| M7 | A | C | E (F) | G (A) |
| M7 | B | D | F | A |
| BmM7 | B | D | F | A |