Non-Tertian Chords (Quartal & Quintal)
Understand how stacking intervals other than thirds (fourths and fifths) creates quartal and quintal harmonic structures.
Beyond Thirds: Alternative Stacking
Tertian harmony stacks thirds to form triads, seventh chords, and beyond. However, harmony can be constructed using other intervals. Quartal harmony stacks fourths (e.g., C - F - Bb), while quintal harmony stacks fifths (e.g., C - G - D). These intervals offer a spacious, open, and suspended sound with less directional tension, widely used in modern classical, jazz, and ambient music.
Open Harmonic Landscapes
Stepping outside the tertian paradigm introduces quartal and quintal sounds, creating vast, ambient, and modern textures that break free from traditional resolution rules.