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Sharine Borslien's avatar

Mike, I missed hearing the fourth tone in your previous video. It is a Minor Seventh above the Root (three half-steps above the fifth). The four notes are E, G#, B, and D. When played together, they form an E Dominant Seventh chord, or E7.

In modern musical parlance, this would be called "the I chord" in the key of E ("I" being the Roman numeral for the Arabic One). It would be the I chord in E blues (or jazz or some rock). There are other common positions for this chord in other keys, but I think it's best to keep our analysis simple.

The way it is being sounded in the recorded transmission is ordered as in Western music theory study: We would play each separate note of the chord from root to third to fifth to seventh. Typically, we would then sound the chord with all four notes played simultaneously. Our friends did not do that (although we know they could have since they have previously played chords), so they must have a reason for playing the notes separately.

Perhaps they are dropping clues:

> Color, as in E "blues"

> E being the fifth letter, hence, the number 5

> The pronounced sound E ("ee") being associated with their name

> The words "Dominant" and/or "Seventh" (as in the name of the chord E Dominant Seventh)

> Generally speaking, the word "chord" means "related notes in music," so maybe they are hinting at music being a way for us to relate, and in this case, harmoniously

> Blues chords (dominant seventh chords) have a unique quality that inspires an innate sense of anticipation, so perhaps they are hinting at "more to come"

> The high pitches could refer to "steps to higher consciousness"

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