mediant

me·di·ant

M0189600 (mē′dē-ənt)n. The third tone in a diatonic musical scale, determining the major or minor quality of the tonic chord.

[Italian mediante, from Late Latin mediāns, mediant-, present participle of mediāre, to be in the middle, from Latin medius, middle; see medium.]

mediant

(ˈmiːdɪənt) n (Music, other) music a. the third degree of a major or minor scaleb. (as modifier): a mediant chord. [C18: from Italian mediante, from Late Latin mediāre to be in the middle]

me•di•ant

(ˈmi di ənt)

n. the third tone of an ascending diatonic scale. [1720–30; < Italian mediante < Late Latin mediant- (s. of mediāns)]

Thesaurus

Noun

mediant - (music) the third note of a diatonic scale; midway between the tonic and the dominantmusical note, note, tone - a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound; "the singer held the note too long"music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner

Mediant

in music, the designation for chords that are a third above or below the tonic, that is, at the third (III) and sixth (VI) degrees of the major or minor scale.

In its more restricted meaning, the mediant (or upper mediant) denotes the chord of the III degree (the chord of the VI degree in this case is called the submediant, that is, the lower mediant). The same terms are used to designate the corresponding tones, that is, III and VI degrees of the scale. The mediant chords occupy an intermediary position between the basic ones: III between I and V; VI between I and IV. From this is derived the dual function of the mediant chords: III is a weakly expressed dominant, VI a weakly expressed subdominant. At the same time, III and VI can fulfill some functions of the tonic. This also determines the expressive significance of the mediant chords, their softened and veiled contrast with the tonic, and the softness of the changes in the third when a joining with the tonic, subdominant, and dominant occurs.

IU. N. KHOLOPOV

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Words related to mediant

noun (music) the third note of a diatonic scale

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