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chordal

American  
[kawr-dl] / ˈkɔr dl /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or resembling a chord.

  2. of or relating to music that is marked principally by vertical harmonic movement rather than by linear polyphony.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of chordal

First recorded in 1610–20; chord 2 + -al 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Probably because at the time many of the time signatures and chordal progressions that Miles used were over the head of a young guitar player still functioning in the blues and folk idioms.

From Los Angeles Times May 25, 2026

His chordal shapes are different than mine but I’m following the rhythm to make sure I’m staying in the pocket.

From Los Angeles Times May 11, 2026

When Delaney first asks how she patterns a particularly complex chordal progression, she responds simply: “It was easy. Orange and teal go together.”

From Washington Post Apr. 20, 2023

The piece “hushing,” by inti figgis-vizueta, played out over archival video of Tender as a child; the intense chordal pounding of the piece had the feel of eerie, silent-film piano accompaniment.

From New York Times Mar. 12, 2023

This sounds odd to us, since we take it for granted that the tune of a piece of music sits on top of its chordal accompaniment.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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