Grade 8 Music Theory, Unit 8, Lesson 7 of 9
Brainlag Music

Quartal chords and clusters

Music theory, 20th-century techniques, 10 minutes

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Chords built in 4ths, and notes packed a step apart.

Not in 3rds

A quartal chord is built in perfect 4ths; a whole-tone chord from notes a whole tone apart; a tone cluster from neighbouring notes packed a 2nd apart, at least one of them a semitone.

D, G, C, F: perfect 4ths stacked, a quartal chord

The rest of this lesson and its 4 practice questions are in Brainlag Music Theory.

Screen 1 of 2, free to read.

  • 4 exam-style questions, marked as you go, each with a worked solution
  • Anything you get wrong is saved to your flashcards