Tertian

In music theory, tertian (Latin:

tertianus, "of or concerning thirds")
describes any piece, chord,
counterpoint etc. constructed from
the intervals of (major and minor)
thirds.[1] An interval such as that A progression of tertian chords in A minor (i-v-i-iv -i-v-I) ending on a
between the notes A and C Picardy third play
encompasses 3 semitone intervals
(A-B ♭ -B ♮ -C) and is termed a minor
third while one such as that between C and E encompasses 4 semitones (C-D ♭-D ♮-E ♭-E ♮) and is
called a major third. Tertian harmony (also called tertiary harmony[2]) principally uses
chords based on thirds; the term is typically used to contrast with quartal and quintal harmony
which uses chords based on fourths or fifths.

A common triad chord can be regarded as consisting of a

"stack" of two thirds. There are four permutations: A major
third stacked on a major third creates an augmented triad. A
minor third on top of a major third manifests a major triad. A
major third on top of a minor third produces a minor triad.
Finally, a minor third stacked on a minor third constitutes a
diminished triad. Quartal chord on A equals thirteenth
chord on B♭, distinguished by the
A musical scale may also be analysed as a succession of thirds. arrangement of chord factors
Play .[3]
The meantone temperament, a system of tuning that
emphasises pure thirds, may be called "tertian".

Chords built from sixths may also be referred to as tertian because sixths are equivalent to thirds
when inverted, and vice versa: any sixth can be taken as the inversion of a third. For instance the
interval C-A is a major sixth that, when inverted, gives the interval A-C, which is a minor third.

Tertian root movements have been used innovatively in chord progressions as an alternative to
root motion in fifths, as for example in the "thirds cycle" used in John Coltrane's Coltrane changes,
as influenced by Nicolas Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns.

See also
Major and minor
Mediant and submediant
Secundal
Quartal
Polychord

Sources
1. Benward & Saker (2009). Music in Theory and Practice, Vol. II, p.370. ISBN 978-0-07-310188-
0. "Tertian (third based) harmony".
2. Root, Deane L., ed. (2001). "Tertiary harmony". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and
Musicians. Oxford University Press.​
3. Benward & Saker (2009), p.279.

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This page was last edited on 9 February 2021, at 01:44 (UTC).

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