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Interval: major seventh
You sing a note, leap 11 semitones up and come back.
Root, major seventh, root: a leap of eleven semitones and back, the root held two beats. The major seventh is a semitone short of the octave, and that closeness is what makes it hard: the ear wants to round it up. It's a tense, bright interval heard in jazz-influenced pop. Three notes at a slow tempo on 'lah'. Each repetition is a semitone higher, until you're near the top of your range, then the pattern comes back down the same way.
How to do it
- Listen to the piano leap almost an octave, then return.
- Hear the top note as just under the octave, then sing it lightly on 'lah'.
- Check the roll: the top bar is one row below where an octave would be.
- Each repetition starts a semitone higher, until you're near the top of your range, then it works back down the same way.
Coach's tip: Sing the top note lighter than the bottom one. Big intervals need a “gear change”.
What to watch out for
The most common error is singing a full octave instead of the seventh, which reads yellow or red on the high side. The second is landing too low, near a minor seventh. Both mean the interval isn't yet in your ear; listen to the piano twice before singing. Keep the top light; pushing makes it sharp and tight. If the top notes feel like a strain, lower the range.
Who it's for
For advanced singers with a reliable octave leap and a good ear. Do it in the main block after Interval: major sixth and before Interval: octave, so you can feel the one-semitone difference. Major scale (octave) also depends on a well-placed seventh. Not part of a preset program; choose it from the Intervals category.
Opens the app in your browser. Free to start, no account needed. Put on headphones first.
Related exercises
- Interval: octave You sing a note, leap 12 semitones up and come back.
- Interval mix 1-3-1-5-1-8-1 Bigger and bigger leaps from the same base.
- Octave leap with a strong top An octave leap and a held peak, then a fresh start on the top note and a way down through minor-pentatonic notes to the root.
- Wide intervals, no piano Leaps across the major scale, interleaved: fifth, third, sixth, fourth, seventh and octave. You hear only the first note – intonation without help, like an a cappella choir.
- Scat warm-up in swing Root, second, third, fifth and back down – lightly, on “doo-bee”. Swing rhythm: the first note of each pair is longer, the second short, as in jazz.
- Major pentatonic Five notes that almost all pop runs are built from.