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Key of C, A major 7th is from C - B. No problem. Key of G major, a major 7th from G, does that land on F or F# please?
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F#
(A simple way to find it , is to think: 7th note of the Major scale)
Rob
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Another way to think of it is that a major 7th is a half-tone down from the tonic. Learn your interval inversions:
unison <=> octave second <=> seventh third <=> sixth fourth <=> fifth major <=> minor perfect <=> perfect
So major seventh inverted is minor second.
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F#
(A simple way to find it , is to think: 7th note of the Major scale) Thanks Rob... Obvious question (for me). Why please? Simply to remain within the scale? If I see Fb on the score, does that become a minor 7th? I'm looking at intervalic reading, and finding intervals more of a handful than I thought!
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Tks, inversions seem logical. Intervals (atm) less so!
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G-F# is a major seventh, the interval between the tonic and the seventh note of the major scale. In G major the key sig is F# so the seventh note is F#.
G-F is a minor seventh, one semitone below the major seventh.
G-Fb is a diminished seventh, one semitone below the minor seventh.
Think of the notes on the staff rather than keys on the keyboard and they might be easier to understand.
Richard
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G-F# is a major seventh. G-F is a minor seventh, one semitone below the major seventh. G-Fb is a diminished seventh, one semitone below the minor seventh.
Think of the notes on the staff rather than keys on the keyboard and they might be easier to understand. Thanks Richard. +1 on using the staff over kbd. More thinking time needed - E.g. quote (wikipedia) "Augmented intervals are wider by one semitone than perfect or major intervals, while having the same interval number (i.e., encompassing the same number of staff positions). Diminished intervals are narrower by one semitone than perfect or minor intervals of the same interval number." which seems not to match your Major, minor, diminished? Or am I misinterpreting that source?
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Where does it not match mine?
Perfect intervals (fifth and fourth), when lowered or raised, become diminished or augmented respectively.
Non-perfect intervals (2nd, 3rds, 6ths and 7ths, within the octave) are major or minor. They become augmented or diminished from there.
Richard
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Where does it not match mine?
Perfect intervals (fifth and fourth), when lowered or raised, become diminished or augmented respectively.
Non-perfect intervals (2nd, 3rds, 6ths and 7ths, within the octave) are major or minor. They become augmented or diminished from there.
So, going down from the maj 7th, we step to minor, then diminished? F#, F, Fb? Why did I ever think intervals were straight forward
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Look like you've got it. For completeness you can add the augmented seventh, G-Fx - effectively another spelling of the octave. What's not straightforward?
Richard
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The names of intervals are all derived from the major scale. What intervals actually are minus names (how many semitones and whole tones) is a second way of looking at it. The "what they are" is like a measuring stick telling you how many centimeters or inches something is (the semitones are the centimeters). Names - which you are dealing with - are closely tied to written music and thus actual note names.
When dealing with interval NAMES (as you are doing here) you always go from the Tonic of that scale. Or conversely, consider the bottom note to be the Tonic of the major scale that starts on that note, in that major key. So in G major you have the notes in the key of G major / of a G major scale. Therefore M7 = GF#. If you want to know about DF#, then start with the D major scale/key - F# is in that key, so that is a major third.
The notes going from the Tonic and belonging to that major key/scale, will always be major or perfect (perfects are P1, P4, P5, P8). After that there are the rules you have quoted: M3 lowered by 1 semitone is m3, raised by 1 semitone (DFx) is augmented etc.
Intervals also have a tonal quality that you should train your ear toward. M3 and m3 are often described as "happy" vs. "sad". It's a distinct sound.
For our "measuring stick", the M3 is 4 semitones apart: (climbing up from C to C#, D, D#, E), while m3 (C Eb) is 3 semitones apart. When you go enharmonic, C D# will give you exactly the same sound on the piano, but you'll call it aug2, but our "measuring stick" and our ear, and the piano keys, will all tell us that we still have those same 3 semitones.
So to summarize, we have: - the names - "what it is" (as semitones etc.) - the sound quality unique to that interval
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Thanks for the explanation Keystring. My usage is intervalic reading, hence tonic based is only of use 1/7th of the time :-) Expansion appreciated.
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Thanks for the explanation Keystring. My usage is intervalic reading, hence tonic based is only of use 1/7th of the time :-) Expansion appreciated. If your purpose is to read by intervals then you don't really need to worry about the tonic because you are reading intervals relative to the previous note. But your comment about 1/7th chance of each note is incorrect. In real music intervals like 2nd or 3rds will occur much more frequently than, for example the major or minor 7th.
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Thanks for the explanation Keystring. My usage is intervalic reading, hence tonic based is only of use 1/7th of the time :-) Expansion appreciated. Your question went in the direction of "named" intervals (major 7th specifically) and those go along the Tonic base. A lot of times the taught theory is too abstract and narrow and thus not that practical, which is why I gave the three aspects. In intervalic reading you've got music in a given key most of the time, esp. when you're starting out so you'll know which are the black keys in that chain of 7 notes. If two notes are on adjacent spaces or lines then you know that these are thirds and constitute a "skip" on the keyboard. A line and space touching = adjacent keys. The seventh is just below an octave. 5th is your five fingers, while 4th is one below, and 6th is one above. There are lots of angles and aspects, and after a while you internalize all of them.
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My question has been answered thank you.
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