4.13: Predominant Seventh Chords

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Page ID: 232684

Mark Gotham, Kyle Gullings, Chelsey Hamm, Bryn Hughes, Brian Jarvis; Megan Lavengood, and John Peterson
VIVA - Virtual Library of Virginia

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Key Takeaways

This chapter discusses the predominant seventh chords ii⁷, IV⁷, vi⁷, and iii⁷.
ii⁷ and its inversions are the most common predominant seventh chord, and Example 2 shows which inversions of ii⁷ are more common than others.
When writing with predominant seventh chords, two general principles apply with respect to the treatment of the chordal seventh:
- Approach the chordal seventh by step or common tone.
- Resolve the chordal seventh down by step.

Earlier, we saw how adding a chordal seventh to the dominant strengthened its drive toward the tonic. In this chapter, we see that something similar can be accomplished by adding a chordal seventh to predominant chords: it can intensify their motion to the dominant (Example 1). Adding a seventh to ii chords is common; it also occurs with the other predominant chords (particularly IV and vi), but less frequently. All predominant seventh chords share two general guidelines for the treatment of a chordal seventh:

The chordal seventh is usually approached by step or common tone.
The chordal seventh resolves down by step.

A link to an interactive elements can be found at the bottom of this page.

Example 1. A predominant seventh chord in Josephine Lang, “Dort hoch auf jenem Berge”

Adding a chordal seventh to ii

Example 2 lists the various inversions of ii⁷ from more common to less common. We’ll discuss each in turn.

[table id=46 /]

Example 2. Inversions of ii⁷ sorted by relative degree of commonality.

ii $^6_5$

\[\mathrm{ii^6_5}\]

A link to an interactive elements can be found at the bottom of this page.

Example 3. Writing with ii $\mathit{^6_5}$ .

ii⁷

ii⁷ is typically found near the end of a phrase (Example 1). In addition to following typical writing procedures and treatment of the chordal seventh, there are two main issues to be aware of when writing with ii⁷:

The chord is often preceded by tonic, and it’s best to use I⁶ rather than I to avoid potential parallels,
When ii⁷ resolves to V⁷, either ii⁷ or V⁷ will need to be incomplete to avoid causing a voice-leading problem (Example 4).

A link to an interactive elements can be found at the bottom of this page.

Example 4. Writing with ii⁷.

ii $^4_2$

\[\mathrm{ii^4_2}\]

A link to an interactive elements can be found at the bottom of this page.

Example 5. Writing with ii $\mathit{^4_2}$ .

ii $^4_3$

\[\mathrm{ii^4_3}\]

A link to an interactive elements can be found at the bottom of this page.

Example 6. Writing with ii $\mathit{^4_3}$ .

Other predominant sevenths

The remaining predominant sevenths, IV⁷, vi⁷, and iii⁷ are not nearly as common as ii⁷ and its inversions. Among them, IV⁷ and vi⁷ are more common than iii⁷, which makes sense given that $\mathrm{iii}$ as a triad isn’t very common in the first place. Both IV⁷ and vi⁷ tend to show up as root-position chords when they’re used, and vi⁷ only shows up as a harmony connecting the tonic area to the strong predominant area, and not as part of a deceptive motion (in other words, V⁷ to vi⁷ is not common). Example 7 shows sample voice leading involving these chords. It follows typical writing procedures and treatment of chordal sevenths.

A link to an interactive elements can be found at the bottom of this page.

Example 7. Writing with IV⁷ and vi⁷.

Assignments

Predominant Seventh Chords (.pdf, .docx). Asks students to realize figured bass and analyze.

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Adding a chordal seventh to ii

ii

ii7

ii

ii

Other predominant sevenths

ii $^6_5$

ii⁷

ii $^4_2$

ii $^4_3$