Explore Music Theory with clear music dictionary guides to notes, scales, chords, rhythm, harmony, melody, and musical structure.
A diminished chord is a triad built from two minor thirds stacked together, producing a tense, unresolved sound. It appears frequently in Western harmony as a passing or leading‑tone chord and is essential for creating chromatic movement.
The tritone is a musical interval spanning three whole tones, equivalent to an augmented fourth or diminished fifth. It is known for its dissonant sound and has played a pivotal role in Western harmony, theory, and composition.
The major scale is a seven‑note diatonic scale characterized by a specific pattern of whole and half steps, forming the basis of much Western tonal music.