Chromatic mediant

Chromatic mediants in C major and a minor.

In music, chromatic mediants, "are altered mediant and submediant chords."^[1] A chromatic mediant relationship is a relationship between two sections and/or chords whose roots are related by a major third or minor third, contain one common tone, or share the same quality, i.e. major or minor. For example, in the key of C major the diatonic mediant and submediant are E minor and A minor respectively. Their parallel majors are E major and A major. The mediants of the parallel minor of C major (C minor) are E♭ major and A♭ major, and their parallel minors are E♭ minor and A♭ minor, totaling four chromatic mediants for that key. Thus an E major chord is one of six chromatic mediant chords in C major and the keys of C major and E major share a chromatic mediant relationship.

Chromatic mediants are usually in root position, may appear in either major or minor keys, usually provide color and interest while prolonging the tonic harmony, proceed from and to the tonic or less often the dominant, sometimes are preceded or followed by their own secondary dominants, or sometimes create a complete modulation.^[1]

Some chromatic mediants are equivalent to altered chords, for example ♭VI is also a borrowed chord from the parallel minor, VI is also a secondary dominant of ii (V/ii), and III is V/vi, with context and analysis revealing the distinction.^[1]

Chromatic mediant from Tchaikovsky's Chant sans paroles, op. 2, no. 3, mm. 43-45

Play . Note ♭VI in root position (over the tonic pedal) and the repeated return to I (D♭ and F, respectively), characteristic of chromatic mediant root movement.^[1]

Chromatic mediant chords were rarely used during the baroque and classical periods, though the chromatic mediant relationship was occasionally found between sections, but the chords and relationships became much more common during the romantic period.^[1]

Sources

1 2 3 4 5 Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p.201-204. Seventh Edition. ISBN 978-0-07-294262-0.

Chords

By form

Triad	Major Minor Augmented Diminished Suspended

Seventh	Major Minor Dominant Dominant seventh flat five Diminished Half-diminished Diminished major Minor-major Augmented major Augmented minor Altered seventh Nondominant Harmonic seventh

Extended	Ninth Eleventh Thirteenth Upper structure Dominant 7♯9 Polychord Tone cluster

Added / omitted	Sixth Augmented sixth Lydian Seven six

Specific	Alpha Bridge Complexe sonore Dream Elektra Farben Grandmother Magic µ Mystic Northern lights Petrushka Psalms So What Tristan Viennese trichord

General	Mixed interval Secundal Tertian Quartal Synthetic chord

By function

Diatonic	Tonic Dominant Subdominant Supertonic Mediant Submediant Leading / Subtonic

Altered	Approach Borrowed Chromatic mediant Neapolitan Passing

Secondary	Secondary dominant Secondary leading-tone Secondary supertonic

Other	Common Contrast Primary triad Subsidiary

Techniques

Other

Chromaticism

Altered chord Augmented sixth chord Borrowed chord Chromatic fourth Chromatic mediant Diatonic and chromatic English cadence False relation Neapolitan chord Polymodal chromaticism

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Chromatic mediant

See also

Sources