hexachord

American  

[hek-suh-kawrd] / ˈhɛk səˌkɔrd /

noun

Music.

1. a diatonic series of six tones having, in medieval music, a half step between the third and fourth tones and whole steps between the others.

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hexachord British  

/ ˈhɛksəˌkɔːd /

noun

1. (in medieval musical theory) any of three diatonic scales based upon C, F, and G, each consisting of six notes, from which solmization was developed

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Etymology

Origin of hexachord

First recorded in 1685–95, hexachord is from the Late Greek word hexáchordos having six strings. See hexa-, chord ¹

Example Sentences

“I used the hexachord, but transposed, that I had used to generate the old String Trio, which is now 50 years old,” he said.

From New York Times

But Babbitt’s music, despite its use of concepts with names like superarray and all-combinatorial hexachord, sparkles with a hip lucidity.

From New York Times

Hexachord, hek′sa-kord, n. a diatonic series of six notes, having a semitone between the third and fourth.

From Project Gutenberg

Running longitudinally, there are four channels in it if it is a tetrachord; six, if it is a hexachord; eight, if it is an octachord.

From Project Gutenberg

Following out his system, he applied the newly acquired syllables to each of the hexachords—for instance, the lowest hexachord, G A B C D E, which was called hard, became ut re mi fa sol la; the second, which was called natural, C D E F G A, also became ut re mi fa sol la; and the third, which was called soft, F G A B♭ C D, became likewise ut re mi fa sol la.

From Project Gutenberg