Chroma

A Greek word which means literally "color".

It is generally used in music to indicate the perceived sensation of pitch disregarding the note's "octave" registration.

[from Joe Monzo, JustMusic: A New Harmony]

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Chroma, Chromatikon (Greek: "color", "colored", "chromatic")

The genus with a minor third and two semitones.

Neo-Chromatic is used to describe the permutation(s) of the intervals which place the minor third in the middle of the tetrachord. Such tetrachords are found in

Byzantine liturgical music,


some Near Eastern music


and in European music which uses the Harmonic Minor and Gipsy scales.




[from John Chalmers, Divisions of the Tetrachord]

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