MusicLesson 1 of 2 in the course Scales and harmony

Chord Structure, History, and Harmonic Analysis

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 3 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

A chord is one of the basic ways music combines pitches. This lesson introduces the definition of a chord, distinguishes chords from arpeggios and chord progressions, and traces how chords became central to musical composition.

A chord is the sound of two or more musical notes played at the same time. The most common kind of chord has three notes and is called a triad. Chords with more than three notes also occur, including extended chords, added-tone chords, and tone clusters.

All flashcards

What is a chord?
A chord is the sound of two or more musical notes played at the same time.
What is a triad?
A triad is a chord with three notes, the most common basic chord size.
What is an arpeggio?
An arpeggio, or broken chord, is a chord whose notes are sounded one after another rather than all at once.
What is a chord progression?
A chord progression is a series of harmonies arranged to serve a musical direction or purpose, such as reinforcing the tonic or moving toward a new pitch center.
What does figured bass communicate?
Figured bass uses numbers with a bass line to indicate the harmony that should be played above each bass note.

Quiz questions

  1. Which intervals above the root define a major triad?Answer: A major third and a perfect fifth.
  2. In a traditional dominant seventh resolution to the tonic, how do the seventh and leading tone commonly move?Answer: The seventh descends by step, and the leading tone ascends by step.
  3. In Roman numeral analysis, what do the numerals identify?Answer: Chords in relation to scale degrees and the key.
  4. What distinguishes a tone cluster from a typical triad?Answer: It groups notes separated by small intervals, such as seconds.
  5. In the simplest form of early organum, how was the added melody related to the plainsong?Answer: It moved at a perfect interval, such as a fourth, fifth, or octave.

Based on the Wikipedia article Chord (music), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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