MUSIC THEORY

Mod 41

• Subject of the Day:  Seventh Chords
• Reading Assignment: None
• Written Assignment:
• Semester Schedule

Some things to remember when dealing with seventh chords:

• Dominant 7th chords are generally approached and left smoothly
• Dominant 7th in root position almost always resolves to tonic in root position
• Dominant 7th chords in all inversions will resolve to complete tonic chords.
• Dominant 7th in first inversion will always resolve to a root position tonic
• Dominant 7th in 2nd inversion most usually falls between a tonic chord in root position and  tonic in 1st inversion
• Dominant 7th in 3rd inversion always resolves to a tonic chord in 1st inversion
• With very few exceptions the tritone is resolved in dominant 7th chords
• Incomplete dominant 7th does not resolve well to the submediant chord
• With very few exceptions the 7th of all seventh chords resolve down by step
• Sevenths of all chords will usually be approached from the same note (suspension figure) or from a step above (passing tone figure) or from a step below (neighboring tone figure)

 

If you still have questions, contact Dr. Bartolotta at wbartolo@odu.edu.