Topmusicanswers
Dominant: a major chord, built on the tone a perfect fifth above the tonic, used to form authentic, half, and deceptive cadences. Plagal: a cadence type (disputed by some) moving from a chord without the leading tone to the tonic chord.
- What does plagal mean in music?
- What is the meaning of the word plagal?
- Why is it called plagal?
- What is plagal and authentic?
What does plagal mean in music?
plagal. / (ˈpleɪɡəl) / adjective. (of a cadence) progressing from the subdominant to the tonic chord, as in the Amen of a hymn. (of a mode) commencing upon the dominant of an authentic mode, but sharing the same final as the authentic mode.
What is the meaning of the word plagal?
1 of a church mode : having the keynote on the fourth scale step — compare authentic sense 4a. 2 of a cadence : progressing from the subdominant chord to the tonic — compare authentic sense 4b.
Why is it called plagal?
A plagal mode (from Greek πλάγιος 'oblique, sideways, athwart') has a range that includes the octave from the fourth below the final to the fifth above. ... In Byzantine modal theory (octoechos), the word "plagal" ("plagios") refers to the four lower-lying echoi, or modes.
What is plagal and authentic?
The general difference is threefold. Range. Authentic has a higher range usually from the subtonic to the octave. Plagal has a smaller range, or at least the melody does not deviate too far from the tonic: it is often between four steps below to the fifth above.
