tetrachord

American  

[te-truh-kawrd] / ˈtɛ trəˌkɔrd /

noun

Music.

1. a diatonic series of four tones, the first and last separated by a perfect fourth.

---

tetrachord British  

/ ˈtɛtrəˌkɔːd /

noun

1. (in musical theory, esp of classical Greece) any of several groups of four notes in descending order, in which the first and last notes form a perfect fourth

---

Other Word Forms

• tetrachordal
  adjective

---

Etymology

Origin of tetrachord

First recorded in 1595–1605, tetrachord is from the Greek word tetráchordos having four strings. See tetra-, chord ¹

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tetrachord

That’s true even during the exposition’s most hot-to-the-touch passage, a high-flown tetrachord of B, F sharp, F and E that emerges in the 16th minute.

From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2022

It is more difficult to be certain of the exact tuning of each note within a tetrachord.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

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 The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio

From a supposed resemblance to the notes of the chromatic tetrachord, the term is applied to a succession of notes outside the diatonic scale, and marked by accidentals.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 3 "Chitral" to "Cincinnati" by Various

With this as a measure he attempted to place the tones of the tetrachord, or Greek scale of four tones, which was the unit of their tonal system.

From A Popular History of the Art of Music From the Earliest Times Until the Present by W. S. B. (William Smythe Babcock) Mathews

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---