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Adventure

Musical

Example

Adventure

Secret

Score

Adventure

Animated

Score

C7 flat 5 and F#7 flat 5

In bars 26 and 27, we come to a very unique sounding chord that is perfectly suited for adventure music. Because of its unique construction, we can identify this chord either as an F#7 with a flatted 5 or as a C7 chord with a flatted 5:

If you look at the notes of the chord that the French horns play in bars 26 and 27, you will see that the bottom 2 notes (C and E) are the first 2 notes of a C chord:

The top 2 notes, F# and A# (enharmonic Gb and Bb), are the first 2 notes of an F# chord. When all 4 notes sound together as a chord, you hear this wonderful sounding harmony.

This chord can function the same way as an F#7 chord or a C7 chord. As an F#7 chord, it prepares the ear to go to a B chord. (F#7 is the Dominant V chord in the key of B). Experiment with the many uses and different positions of this chord. (See also, Creating a 7 flat 5 chord.)

By the time we arrive at bar 28, we discover that our previous F#7 or C7 chord, with the flatted 5, resolves to the key of B our new key. Here, the violins return to our original theme in this new key. At bar 40, we modulate up a minor 3rd to the key of D where the French horns play one final, short variation of our theme:

Modulating up a minor 3rd elicits a very different emotional impact than modulating up a major 3rd.  Whereas, the major 3rd jump evokes a feeling of firmly establishing a new key, the minor 3rd jump always feels like a temporary move. This turns out to be the case as we return to the key of B in our last bar.