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Half-diminished seventh chord
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Half-diminished seventh chord
In music theory, the half-diminished seventh chord (also known as a half-diminished chord or a minor seventh flat five chord) is a seventh chord composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a minor seventh (1, ♭3, ♭5, ♭7). For example, the half-diminished seventh chord built on B, commonly written as Bm7(♭5), or Bø7, has pitches B-D-F-A:
It can be represented by the integer notation {0, 3, 6, 10}.
The half-diminished seventh chord exists in root position and in three inversions. The first inversion is enharmonic to a minor sixth chord:
In diatonic harmony, the half-diminished seventh chord occurs naturally on the seventh scale degree of any major scale (for example, Bø7 in C major) and is thus a leading-tone seventh chord in the major mode. Similarly, the chord also occurs on the second degree of any natural minor scale (e.g., Dø7 in C minor). It has been described as a "considerable instability".
The half-diminished seventh chord is frequently used in passages that convey heightened emotion. For example, the "mournful affect" of the sombre opening Chorus of J. S. Bach's St Matthew Passion (1727) features the chord on the seventh beat of its first bar and on the first beat of its third bar:
Similarly in the Et incarnatus est section from Michael Haydn's Missa Sancti Nicolai Tolentini (1768):
Et incarnatus est on YouTube from Michael Haydn's Missa Sancti Nicolai Tolentini, MH 109 performed by Le Choeur de Filles de la Maîtrise de Bordeaux
In contrast, however, one of the most striking and best known examples of a half diminished seventh can be found in a piece that expresses joyful celebration, namely the chord that follows the fanfare at the start of the Wedding March from Mendelssohn's incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream (1842).
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Half-diminished seventh chord
In music theory, the half-diminished seventh chord (also known as a half-diminished chord or a minor seventh flat five chord) is a seventh chord composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a minor seventh (1, ♭3, ♭5, ♭7). For example, the half-diminished seventh chord built on B, commonly written as Bm7(♭5), or Bø7, has pitches B-D-F-A:
It can be represented by the integer notation {0, 3, 6, 10}.
The half-diminished seventh chord exists in root position and in three inversions. The first inversion is enharmonic to a minor sixth chord:
In diatonic harmony, the half-diminished seventh chord occurs naturally on the seventh scale degree of any major scale (for example, Bø7 in C major) and is thus a leading-tone seventh chord in the major mode. Similarly, the chord also occurs on the second degree of any natural minor scale (e.g., Dø7 in C minor). It has been described as a "considerable instability".
The half-diminished seventh chord is frequently used in passages that convey heightened emotion. For example, the "mournful affect" of the sombre opening Chorus of J. S. Bach's St Matthew Passion (1727) features the chord on the seventh beat of its first bar and on the first beat of its third bar:
Similarly in the Et incarnatus est section from Michael Haydn's Missa Sancti Nicolai Tolentini (1768):
Et incarnatus est on YouTube from Michael Haydn's Missa Sancti Nicolai Tolentini, MH 109 performed by Le Choeur de Filles de la Maîtrise de Bordeaux
In contrast, however, one of the most striking and best known examples of a half diminished seventh can be found in a piece that expresses joyful celebration, namely the chord that follows the fanfare at the start of the Wedding March from Mendelssohn's incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream (1842).