Major 7th

11 semitones — bright tension that pulls toward the octave

Degree 7Solfège: tiNotation: M7

The major 7th, or leading tone, is an interval of 11 semitones — one semitone below the octave and the inversion of the minor 2nd. It is sharply dissonant against the root, pulling strongly upward to resolve; this pull is what makes the V–I cadence feel final. It is the defining note of the major 7th tetrad and appears in ionian and lydian.

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The instrumentTap a note to hear it.
The major 7th in the harmonic series
f2f3f4f5f6f7f8f8f completes 8 cycles in one period of the sum8 cycles9f10f11f12f13f14f15f15f completes 15 cycles in one period of the sum15 cycles16fsum15:8 — the higher note vibrates 15 times for every 8 of the lower: harmonics 15 and 8 of one fundamental15:812¢ — this pure ratio is 12 cents narrower than the equal-tempered major 7th an instrument plays; a semitone is 100 cents−12¢7: the major 7th — the interval's degree above the root, as the app writes it7The sum repeats every 8 cycles of 8f — the shorter this is, the more simply the two notes fit together, and the more consonant the intervalrepeats every 8 cycles16 cycles of 8f
Harmonic seriesEach row is one harmonic of the note — n times the fundamental's frequency, about 1/n of its strength — faster and fainter as it climbs. The rows in ink are where the chosen interval first arises. The bottom row is the one your ear actually receives: those rows added, a single wave. The shaded band is one repeat of it — the shorter that pattern, the sooner the ear settles on it as one sound. Harmonics 8 and 15 — the ratio 15:8: a major 7th. Together they repeat every 8 cycles of the lower note — the shorter that pattern, the sooner your ear has heard it come round enough times to settle on one sound. Equal temperament tunes it 12¢ wider.

Related

Contained byIntervalsRelatedSolfègeMajor 7thIonian (Major)LydianMinor 2ndDissonance