Topmusicanswers
Quartal harmony refers to chords stacked entirely (or mostly) in fourths. Quintal harmony refers to chords stacked entirely (or mostly) in fifths. Secundal harmony refers to chords stacked entirely (or mostly) in seconds.
What are quartal chords used for?
Quintal chords, created by 5th intervals, have a similar effect. Quartal chords can be used as 1-chords, as 4-chords, as passing chords… almost anywhere. In fact, you've probably marveled at jazz players using them and because of their distinct sound, you couldn't even tell what the player was doing!
What is quartal chords in piano?
The term “quartal” in music refers to the interval of a fourth. When musicians refer to quartal voicings they are referring to chords that are built using intervals of a fourth (as opposed to intervals of a third, like major or minor triads, which are referred to as “tertian”).
How do you do quartal chords?
In music, quartal harmony is the building of harmonic structures built from the intervals of the perfect fourth, the augmented fourth and the diminished fourth. For instance, a three-note quartal chord on C can be built by stacking perfect fourths, C–F–B♭.
