Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Are you confused about how dissonant seventh chords work? Do you want to know how to make them sound incredibly good? Have you ever looked in a chord dictionary, seen a diagram of a crazy seventh chord, played it, and then wondered: “How am I going to use that thing?” That’s because dissonant harmony sounds tense and unstable. Keep reading What Does Dissonance Mean for Basic Seventh Chords? to learn how to make them sound smooth and satisfying.
This article uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.
What Does Dissonance Mean for Basic Seventh Chords #1: Moving to a Resolution
What does dissonance mean for basic seventh chords? Dissonant harmonies sound rough, and they feel like they need to move to a consonant harmony.
The New Harvard Dictionary of Music defines consonance and dissonance as:
… consonant intervals (pairs of pitches) are those that are treated as stable and not requiring resolution. Dissonant intervals are those regarded as having an instability that requires resolution to consonance. (197)
Because of this, dissonant harmony is not normally used alone:
- A dissonant chord is one that usually wants to move to a point of resolution (i.e., to a triad that is less dissonant).
- They can be extremely valuable as a means of pushing a song forward.
- However, dissonant harmonies can be tricky, because they’re often fussy about which chord they’ll resolve to and still sound good.
What Does Dissonance Mean for Basic Seventh Chords #2: How Do You Resolve a Dissonance?
One of the most dissonant intervals is the tritone:
- It’s also called a sharp fourth or flat fifth.
- In the soundtrack below, can you hear that it sounds rough?
- Because of this it requires a special resolution.
Mobile users: for best results reading the music, rotate your screen 90o to the right.
Tritone Dissonance:
The tritone needs to either expand or contract by a half-step:
- The notes B and Cb are different ways of writing the same pitch.
- All that’s different is how they’re “spelled”.
- Therefore, the same tritone (B/Cb and F) can be resolved in two different directions.
- The first measure of the example below resolves to C and E.
- The second measure resolves to Bb and Gb.
- This means that if you resolve the tritone in one direction you’ll land in the key of C.
- However, if you resolve the tritone in the other direction you’ll land in the key of Gb.
Resolving Dissonance:
If you fill in the notes around the dissonant tritone, you’ll get two chord progressions:
C Major V7 to I:
This is one of the most basic chord progressions, because V7 to I is built into every key:
- The G7 resolves to a triad a fifth below (C major), and the Db7 in the next example also resolves to a triad a fifth below (Gb major).
- V7 is known as the dominant seventh.
- It’s called this because the resolving tritone is so powerful that it dominates the progression.
Gb Major V7 to I:
For more information on Roman numeral analysis:
What Does Dissonance Mean for Basic Seventh Chords #3: What Is a Sub V7 Resolution?
Of course, you don’t have to stay in just one key. Instead, you can have some fun substituting harmonies.
For instance, the V7 harmonies shown in the previous two examples both have these notes: B/Cb and F:
- Db7 = Db F Ab Cb
- G7 = G B D F
Therefore, you can create a Sub V7 progression by swapping a V7 harmony in one progression for the V7 in the other:
- The tritones still resolve correctly, but you’re messing around with the destination key.
- Instead of resolving to a triad a fifth below, you’re now resolving to a triad that’s a half-step below.
- You can use this chord to surprise your listeners. It’s also a good way to modulate.
Just make sure that it doesn’t clash with your melody notes.
Sub V7 Progression:
Final Thoughts
Takeaway points:
- Dissonant harmonies sound rough and unstable. They feel like they must move to a consonant harmony.
- The dominant seventh is a basic songwriting chord and is easy to use once you get the hang of it.
- The Sub V7 chord is a great way to surprise your audience and is also a good way to modulate.
Have fun writing!
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© 2025 Geoffrey Keith
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