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Revision as of 15:46, 10 August 2002 edit63.84.204.99 (talk) Added discussion of popular chord notation, chord function, chord inversion, diatonic major key chord table, discussion of the relationship between key, scale, and chord quality, clarifications← Previous edit Latest revision as of 09:25, 27 May 2024 edit undoRobertogamerxxx (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users19,428 edits →Art and music 
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{{wiktionary|chord}}
* In ''']''', a chord is a ] whose endpoints both lie on a ]. The ] ] of any chord passes through the circle's center.
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* In reference to ''']''', ] refers to the distance between the front and back of a wing, referred to as the leading and trailing edges, measured in the direction of the normal airflow. The term chord was selected due to the curved nature of the wings surface.
<!-- MoS:Disambiguation - prefer ONE LINK per entry, short descriptions. -->
* In ''']''' a chord is two or more pitches sounded simultaneously. Chords are named according to the notes of the ] that they contain.
<!-- Avoid piping, external links, and red links with little article potential -->
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'''Chord''' or '''chords''' may refer to:
{{TOC right}}
== Art and music ==
* ], an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously
** ], a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning
* ], 1970s British mod revival band
* ], 1950s American doo-wop group
* ], a c.1715 painting by Antoine Watteau
* ], a comic book character who is the former mentor of the New Warriors


== Mathematics ==
The remainder of this article is about the musical chord.
* ], a line segment joining two points on a curve
* ], an edge joining two nonadjacent nodes in a cycle


== People ==
---------
* ], American actor and musician
* ], a Swedish hiphop/reggae artist


== The Triad == == Programming ==
* ], a concurrency construct in some object-oriented programming languages
The most commonly used chords, that form the basis of western diatonic harmony are composed of '''triads''': a root note, the third of a relevant scale, and the fifth. For example, an ] of the C ] consists of the notes: C D E F G A B C.
* ], a peer-to-peer protocol and algorithm for distributed hash tables (DHT)


== Science and technology ==
http://meta.wikipedia.com/upload/c_maj.png ''Fig 1. The C major scale''
* ], a line crossing a foreground astronomical object during an occultation which gives an indication of the object's size and/or shape
* ] (CHORD), a proposed successor to the ]<!--https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.01777, 1911.02108, 1910.02889 Seems article-worthy as success of CHIME makes funding likelier; will use ideas from ]-->
* ], the distance between the front and back of a wing, measured in the direction of the normal airflow. The term chord was selected due to the curved nature of the wing's surface
* Chord in ] construction – an outside member of a truss, as opposed to the inner "webbed members"
* In British railway terminology, a ] can refer to a short curve of track connecting two otherwise unconnected railway lines.
*], the capability to perform an action when holding multiple buttons on a computer mouse.
*], a computer device allowing for input based on pressing multiple keys simultaneously


== See also ==
* Animal taxonomy ] (chordata) and eponymous ]
* {{lookfrom}}
* {{intitle}}
* ]


{{disambiguation}}
The triad formed using the C note as the root would consist of C(root), E(third) and G(fifth), and these comprise a C major chord (the designation major denotes the fact that the E is four semitones ] higher than the root note.

http://meta.wikipedia.com/upload/c_triad.png ''Fig 2. C, E and G - The C major triad''

Using the same scale (and thus, implicitly, the key of C major) a chord may be constructed using the D as the root note. This would be D(root), F(third), A(fifth), which comprise the chord of D ], since the third, F, is a ''minor'' third (three semitones) higher than the root.

=== Types of triads ===

As well as major and minor, there can also be ''augmented'' and ''diminished'' triads. These four are referred to collectively as the ''quality'' of the chord. For instance a triad built on top of a root D in the key of C would be said to have a ''minor quality''.

Augmented triads are composed of a major 3rd but an augmented 5th (meaning the top note has been increased by one semitone.) Diminished triads have a minor 3rd and a diminished 5th (same as a minor triad, except the top note has been lowered by a semitone.) These rules summarise the type of triads encountered so far:

*Major triad: root, major 3rd, perfect 5th
*Minor triad: root, minor 3rd, perfect 5th
*Augmented triad: root, major 3rd, augmented 5th
*Diminished triad: root, minor 3rd, diminished 5th

Each note has a function within the chord, the note the chord is built on is called the ''root'' of the chord, the second note a third above it is called the ''third'' of the chord, and the third note a third above the second note is called the ''fifth'' of the chord. This is true of all triads, regardless of ''key'', ''inversion'', or ''quality''. For example, in an F chord, F is always the root, A (sharp, natural or flat) is always the third, and C(sharp, natural, or flat) is always the fifth.

Tonal music relies upon a ] to indicate the natural relationships between the major and minor chords that result from the natural ] relationships. For instance, in any major key, the ''quality'' of a chord built on the fifth note of the scale will be major. This is because of the constant relationship between the tonal intervals of major scale. Chords are notated by the scale degree of their root, although there are many different conventions for indicating the ''quality'' and ''inversion'' of the chord. For Example, since the first scale degree of the C major scale is the note C, a triad built on top of the note C would be called the ''one'' chord, which might be notated 1, I, or even C in which case the assumption would be made that the ] of the particular piece of music in question would indicate to the musician what function a C major triad was playing, and that any special functioning of the chord outside of it's normal diatonic function would be inferred due to context.

Chords are also said to have a function in their diatonic scale, which relates to the expected resolution of each chord within a key. The strongest form of motion has root movement by fifth, which is the characteristic sound used as finality in most music of the baroque and classical periods, and is also exploited to ] a piece of music into a different key. The chord function for a major scale is as follows:

*The I, III and VI chord are said to have a Tonic Function, due to the fact that they have a stable sound and do not have a tendency to resolve. When a ] resolves to a III or IV chord, it is called a Tonic Substitution, because the stable III or VI chord is being used as a substitute for the expected I chord.

*The VII and the V chord are said to have a Dominant Function, and they have a strong tendency to resolve to other chords. The five down a perfect fifth to the I chord and the VII chord up a minor second to the I chord, due to the expected resolution of the ], or the highly unstable diminished fifth which is present in a diatonic VII chord.

*The II and IV chord's have Subdominant Function, partially due to the fact that they are a fifth away from the Dominant chords of a key, and partially because in their own Tonic keys, their respective Dominant chords are built on the root notes of the stable Tonic function I and VI. They are also referred to as Dominant Preparation chords, and are used to approach a Dominant function chord. The progression IV-V-I, (subdominant, dominant, tonic) is by far the most common chord progression in all of music, and can be found in an astonishingly wide variety of styles, forms, and genres.

The spellings of the diatonic triads of the C major scale are given in the following table, along with their quality, name, and function"

: I -- C E G -- major -- C major -- tonic
: ii -- D F A -- minor -- D minor -- subdominant
: iii -- E G B -- minor -- E minor -- tonic
: IV -- F A C -- major -- F major -- subdominant
: V -- G B D -- major -- G major -- dominant
: vi -- A C E -- minor -- A minor -- tonic
: vii dim-- B D F -- dim. -- B dim -- dominant

There is another type of chord function, ], which is reserved for non-diatonic chords, or chords that do not occur naturally in the diatonic key, and will be dealt with separately under the heading ''Modal Interchange''.

=== Inverted Triads ===

Triads are said to be inverted when a note other than the root is the lowest note played. There are three types of inversions, or ''positions'', for triads.

*Root position is when the chord is played in ascending thirds with it's root note in the bass.

*First Inversion when the chord consists of a major or minor sixth and a major or minor third, and the third of the chord is in the bass

*Second Inversion when the chord consists of a perfect or, less common, augmented or diminished 4th, and a major or minor sixth, with the fifth of the chord in the bass.

Various compositional techniques in classical music have made use of inversion for a variety of interesting effects.

=== Naming and Chord Notation===

Triads are sometimes named using roman numerals after their position in the scale of the key of the piece. For example in the key of C major any triad with C as its root is named I. A triad beginning on a E (the third note of the scale of C major) would be named III etc... Written in lowercase next to the roman numeral of the triad is its particular ] (a description of which notes have been moved up an octave.) A ''first inversion'' triad has an 'a' in its name (eg. the first inversion of chord V is Va.) A ''second inversion'' triad has a 'b', and a ''third inversion'' triad has a c.

Possibly more common is the use of ] as a means of notating chord inversions, particularly in music from the ] period. Figured bass uses a combination of ]s and ]s to indicate the function of the chord (given by the roman numeral) and the chord's inversion (given by the arabic figured bass). For instance, a first inversion chord would have the designation 6/3 since there is a note a sixth and a third above the bass note. Common practice shortens this to just the 6 since it is the characteristic interval of the inversion.

Patterns with the type of chords found in major keys can be seen when using this naming scheme:

*In a major key, the major triads are: I, IV, V
*In a major key, the minor triads are: II, III, VI
*In a major key, the triad on VII is diminished

Another common form of notation makes use of lower case roman numerals to denote minor chords, so the chords would be written I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii dim.

There are a number of ways that a diminished chord can be notated, the most common being the use of a small superscript circle, or the abbreviation '''dim.''' being written next to the chord.

Also common is the use of a minus sign to indicate minor chords. Using this system, the triads of the major scale would be written: I, II-, III-, IV, V, VI-, and VII dim. The superscript circle is also occasionally used to indicate a diminished chord in this system.

== Seventh Chords ==
=== The dominant seventh ===

Latest revision as of 09:25, 27 May 2024

Chord or chords may refer to:

Art and music

Mathematics

People

Programming

Science and technology

  • Chord (astronomy), a line crossing a foreground astronomical object during an occultation which gives an indication of the object's size and/or shape
  • Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio-transient Detector (CHORD), a proposed successor to the CHIME radio telescope
  • Chord (aeronautics), the distance between the front and back of a wing, measured in the direction of the normal airflow. The term chord was selected due to the curved nature of the wing's surface
  • Chord in truss construction – an outside member of a truss, as opposed to the inner "webbed members"
  • In British railway terminology, a chord can refer to a short curve of track connecting two otherwise unconnected railway lines.
  • Mouse chording, the capability to perform an action when holding multiple buttons on a computer mouse.
  • Chord keyboard, a computer device allowing for input based on pressing multiple keys simultaneously

See also

Topics referred to by the same term Disambiguation iconThis disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Chord.
If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Category: