chordal
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or resembling a chord.
-
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
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.
On its 1990s albums, Matthews’s guitar — often acoustic — was the band’s only chordal instrument, joined in light-fingered counterpoint by saxophone, violin, bass and drums for staccato grooves that blended folk, funk and jazz.
From New York Times • May 22, 2023
Not a lot, just some tweaking to make it a little more interesting in a chordal sense.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2022
But Walker’s signature feel for contrast — including alternations between motifs that ring out and peremptory chordal bursts — is still evident.
From New York Times • Jan. 27, 2022
But for a beguiling four-note theme in the first movement and a handful of charitable segues into fleeting chordal consensus, there was plenty of current but not a lot of raft.
From Washington Post • Nov. 12, 2021
But for Josquin, chordal harmony was too useful a tool in illuminating the text to worry about its effect on the modes.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.