Subminor and supermajor
In music, a subminor interval is an interval that is noticeably wider than a diminished interval but noticeably narrower than a minor interval. It is found in between a minor and diminished interval, thus making it below, or subminor to, the minor interval. A supermajor interval is a musical interval that is noticeably wider than a major interval but noticeably narrower than an augmented interval. It is found in between a major and augmented interval, thus making it above, or supermajor to, the major interval. The inversion of a supermajor interval is a subminor interval, and there are four major and four minor intervals, allowing for eight supermajor and subminor intervals, each with variants.
diminished | subminor | minor | neutral | major | supermajor | augmented | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
seconds | D | ≊ D | D♭ | D | D | ≊ D | D♯ |
thirds | E | ≊ E | E♭ | E | E | ≊ E | E♯ |
sixths | A | ≊ A | A♭ | A | A | ≊ A | A♯ |
sevenths | B | ≊ B | B♭ | B | B | ≊ B | B♯ |
Traditionally, "supermajor and superminor, [are] the names given to certain thirds [9:7 and 17:14] found in the justly intoned scale with a natural or subminor seventh."