Minor arpeggio

[chopithoven]

Which is the name of the following arpeggio, much used by Beethoven, for example in his Appassionata (if it has any particular name):
minor mode arpeggio which proceeds by thirds, and whose fifth and seventh grades are diminished by one semitone.
For example, a c minor arpeggio of this type would be C-Eb-F#-A-C.

[Peter]

You actually answer your own question as the arpeggios are known as diminished 7ths!

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'Man know thyself'

[chopithoven]

Originally posted by Peter:
You actually answer your own question as the arpeggios are known as diminished 7ths!

Why are they called dimished 7ths if their 5th is also diminished? That name is clearly discriminative, because if the 5th were not diminished it wouldn't be the same arpeggio.

[Peter]

Originally posted by chopithoven:
Why are they called dimished 7ths if their 5th is also diminished? That name is clearly discriminative, because if the 5th were not diminished it wouldn't be the same arpeggio.

It is simply that the diminished 7th chord consists of minor 3rd, diminished 5th and diminished 7th. The chord is sometimes thought of as an incomplete dominant minor 9th. Hope that helps! I realise it isn't easy to grasp, but you'd need to have a proper course in harmony to appreciate it.

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'Man know thyself'

[chopithoven]

Understood.