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Flat 7th and 7th Note: Difference in Harmonic Resolution
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The scale relationship of the note B in the E minor chord (the chord being left behind) with respect to the root note A in the new chord, A minor, is 2 – 1.
Your brain feels a strong sense of satisfaction when the note B in the E minor chord resolves down to the root note A in the new chord, A minor.
Together, these two simultaneous moves—G moving up to A (♭7 – 1) and B moving down to A (2 – 1) combine to provide your brain with only a moderate feeling of harmonic motion.
Why isn’t it a strong feeling of harmonic motion? Because the G – A move is ♭7 – I (8), not 7 – 1 (8).
Recall from Chapter 5 that a semitone interval (the 7th note moving to the tonic) has considerably more inherent tension than a whole tone interval (the flat 7th leading to the tonic), because a semitone is derived from a more complex frequency ratio (16:15), compared with a whole tone (9:8).