Picardy third
Encyclopedia
A Picardy third is a harmonic
device used in European classical music.
It refers to the use of a major chord of the tonic
at the end of a musical section
which is either modal
or in a minor key
. This is achieved by raising the third
of the expected minor triad
by a semitone
to create a major triad
, as a form of resolution
.
For example, instead of a cadence
ending on an A minor
chord
containing the notes A, C, and E, a tierce de Picardie ending would consist of an A major
chord containing the notes A, C#, and E. Note that the minor third between the A and C of the A minor chord has become a major third in the tierce de Picardie chord.
The Picardy third does not necessarily occur at the end of a section: it can be found at any perfect cadence or plagal cadence where the prevailing key
is minor.
's cantata Ich habe genug, BWV 82 in G Minor at a cadence in the right-hand of a realised continuo
part.
What makes this cadence a tierce de Picardie is shown by the red natural sign – instead of the expected B flat (which would make the chord minor) the accidental gives us a B natural, making the chord major.
Listen to the final four measures of "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say" with and without Picardy third (harmony by R. Vaughan Williams
).
Other examples include the last chord in the first movement of Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D minor
, the final chord of Bach's 'Little' Fugue in G minor for organ
, and the final chord in Gregorio Allegri
's Miserere Mei, Deus
. The Bach examples are good illustrations of the "stable" character of a Picardy third, while the Miserere Mei can easily be interpreted as "bittersweet".
Listen here:
Thomas Bateson
's 15th century madrigal
'Your Shining Eyes' features use of the Picardy third in bar 16. A more modern example is found in The Beatles
' "And I Love Her
", which closes on a D major chord from a final passage in the key of F major/D minor. Other modern examples include "Roundabout
" by the band Yes
, "Sweet Child o' Mine
by Guns N' Roses
, and the Black Sabbath
classic "N.I.B.
" where the final guitar riff over an E power chord
ultimately slides down
to and sustains G.
in his Dictionnaire de Musique (1767): that this form of ending survived longest in church music, and due to the great number of cathedrals in the historical French province of Picardy
. More plausible is the idea that the North of France, and Flanders, were influential in the development of contrapuntal music
in the fifteenth century.
Robert Hall hypothesizes that, instead of deriving from the Picardy
region of France, it comes from the Old French word "picart," meaning "pointed" or "sharp" in northern dialects, and thus refers to the musical sharp that transforms the minor third of the chord into a major third.
In medieval music
, such as that of Machaut, neither major nor minor thirds were considered stable intervals, and so cadences were typically on open fifth
s. Examples of the Picardy third can be found throughout the works of J.S. Bach
and his contemporaries, as well as earlier composers such as Thoinot Arbeau
and John Blow
.
This practice began to decline in the late sixteenth century and by the Classical era had been more or less discarded, although examples can be found in works by Haydn
and Mozart
. In the Romantic
era, those of Chopin's nocturne
s that are in a minor key almost always end with a Picardy third. A notable structural employment of this device occurs with the Finale of the Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony
, where the motto theme makes its first appearance in the major mode.
It is notable that in the first book of J. S. Bach's The well-tempered clavier
composed in 1722, only one of the twenty-four minor movements fails to end in a Picardy third, whereas in the second book, composed in 1744, fourteen end without it. (Manuscripts vary in some of these cases. This is the case with the single exception in the first book, the G-minor fugue, which, according to the present Bach Gesellschaft edition, is thought to have been originally composed in G minor, accounting for the natural sign rather than sharp on the third of the final chord.)
, this is equivalent to saying the major chord occupies a lower location in the harmonic series relative to the minor chord.) However, psychoacousticians
cannot explain why this difference is perceived by the ear
as being more or less "stable".
In addition, the harmonics of the minor chord have a dissonance
closer to the fundamental harmonic compared to a major chord, which creates more beat
s. Thus a major chord is more consonant
than a minor one, and is therefore interpreted by the human ear
as being more "stable".
. For example, in performances of the "Rosary" Violin Sonatas by Heinrich Ignaz Biber
, many continuo players add variety to the frequent repetitions in movements consisting of variations by adding the occasional Picardy third. However, over-indulgence of this liberty could weaken the work's structure.
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
device used in European classical music.
It refers to the use of a major chord of the tonic
Tonic (music)
In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...
at the end of a musical section
Musical form
The term musical form refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it describes the layout of a composition as divided into sections...
which is either modal
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
or in a minor key
Minor scale
A minor scale in Western music theory includes any scale that contains, in its tonic triad, at least three essential scale degrees: 1) the tonic , 2) a minor-third, or an interval of a minor third above the tonic, and 3) a perfect-fifth, or an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic, altogether...
. This is achieved by raising the third
Third (chord)
In music, the third factor of a chord is the note or pitch two scale degrees above the root or tonal center. When the third is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed triad, the chord is in first inversion ....
of the expected minor triad
Minor chord
In music theory, a minor chord is a chord having a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth.When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a minor triad....
by a semitone
Semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....
to create a major triad
Major chord
In music theory, a major chord is a chord having a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a major triad...
, as a form of resolution
Resolution (music)
Resolution in western tonal music theory is the move of a note or chord from dissonance to a consonance .Dissonance, resolution, and suspense can be used to create musical interest...
.
For example, instead of a cadence
Cadence (music)
In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...
ending on an A minor
A minor
A minor is a minor scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The harmonic minor scale raises the G to G...
chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
containing the notes A, C, and E, a tierce de Picardie ending would consist of an A major
A major
A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
chord containing the notes A, C#, and E. Note that the minor third between the A and C of the A minor chord has become a major third in the tierce de Picardie chord.
The Picardy third does not necessarily occur at the end of a section: it can be found at any perfect cadence or plagal cadence where the prevailing key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
is minor.
Example
Here is an example from Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's cantata Ich habe genug, BWV 82 in G Minor at a cadence in the right-hand of a realised continuo
Figured bass
Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones, in relation to a bass note...
part.
What makes this cadence a tierce de Picardie is shown by the red natural sign – instead of the expected B flat (which would make the chord minor) the accidental gives us a B natural, making the chord major.
Listen to the final four measures of "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say" with and without Picardy third (harmony by R. Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
).
Other examples include the last chord in the first movement of Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D minor
Double Violin Concerto (Bach)
The Concerto for 2 Violins, Strings and Continuo in D Minor, BWV 1043, also known as the Double Violin Concerto or "Bach Double", is perhaps one of the most famous works by J. S. Bach and considered among the best examples of the work of the late Baroque period. Bach wrote it between 1730 and 1731...
, the final chord of Bach's 'Little' Fugue in G minor for organ
Little Fugue in G minor, BWV 578
Fugue in G minor, BWV 578, "Little", is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach sometime around his years at Arnstadt ....
, and the final chord in Gregorio Allegri
Gregorio Allegri
Gregorio Allegri was an Italian composer of the Roman School and brother of Domenico Allegri; he was also a priest and a singer. He lived mainly in Rome, where he would later die.-Life:...
's Miserere Mei, Deus
Miserere (Allegri)
Miserere, full name "Miserere mei, Deus" by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri, is a setting of Psalm 51 composed during the reign of Pope Urban VIII, probably during the 1630s, for use in the Sistine Chapel during matins, as part of the exclusive Tenebrae service on Wednesday and Friday of Holy...
. The Bach examples are good illustrations of the "stable" character of a Picardy third, while the Miserere Mei can easily be interpreted as "bittersweet".
Listen here:
- "Miserere", MusicaFicta.org.
- "Concerto for Two Violins", Msn-Cnet.com.com.
Thomas Bateson
Thomas Bateson
Thomas Bateson, Batson or Betson was an English writer of madrigals in the early 17th century.He is said to have been organist of Chester Cathedral in 1599, and is believed to have been the first musical graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. He served as Vicar Choral and organist of Christ Church...
's 15th century madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
'Your Shining Eyes' features use of the Picardy third in bar 16. A more modern example is found in The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "And I Love Her
And I Love Her
"And I Love Her" is a song recorded by The Beatles, written mainly by Paul McCartney . The fifth track on their third album, A Hard Day's Night, it was released 20 July 1964 with "If I Fell" as a single by Capitol Records in the United States, reaching #12 in Billboard.The Beatles performed "And I...
", which closes on a D major chord from a final passage in the key of F major/D minor. Other modern examples include "Roundabout
Roundabout (song)
"Roundabout" is the opening track for the 1971 album Fragile by British progressive rock band Yes. The song was written by singer Jon Anderson and bassist Chris Squire. In January 1972, an edited version of the song was released as a single with "Long Distance Runaround" on the B-side. "Roundabout"...
" by the band Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, "Sweet Child o' Mine
Sweet Child O' Mine
"Sweet Child o' Mine" is the third single by American rock band Guns N' Roses, and the third from their 1987 debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction. Released on August 17, 1988, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the band's first and only number-one single in the U.S...
by Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
, and the Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
classic "N.I.B.
N.I.B.
"N.I.B." is a song released by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It first appeared as the fourth track on the band's 1970 eponymous debut album, Black Sabbath. The lyrics are in the first person from the point of view of Lucifer...
" where the final guitar riff over an E power chord
Power chord
In music, a power chord is a chord consisting of only the root note of the chord and the fifth interval, usually played on electric guitar, and typically through an amplification process that imparts distortion...
ultimately slides down
Glissando
In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...
to and sustains G.
History
The origins of the term are obscure. An idea that was repeated as fact for some time, but which turns out to have no provable basis, was that expounded by Jean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
in his Dictionnaire de Musique (1767): that this form of ending survived longest in church music, and due to the great number of cathedrals in the historical French province of Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
. More plausible is the idea that the North of France, and Flanders, were influential in the development of contrapuntal music
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
in the fifteenth century.
Robert Hall hypothesizes that, instead of deriving from the Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
region of France, it comes from the Old French word "picart," meaning "pointed" or "sharp" in northern dialects, and thus refers to the musical sharp that transforms the minor third of the chord into a major third.
In medieval music
Medieval music
Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century...
, such as that of Machaut, neither major nor minor thirds were considered stable intervals, and so cadences were typically on open fifth
Perfect fifth
In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...
s. Examples of the Picardy third can be found throughout the works of J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
and his contemporaries, as well as earlier composers such as Thoinot Arbeau
Thoinot Arbeau
Thoinot Arbeau is the anagrammatic pen name of French cleric Jehan Tabourot . Tabourot is most famous for his Orchésographie, a study of late sixteenth-century French Renaissance social dance...
and John Blow
John Blow
John Blow was an English Baroque composer and organist, appointed to Westminster Abbey in 1669. His pupils included William Croft, Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell. In 1685 he was named a private musician to James II. His only stage composition, Venus and Adonis John Blow (baptised 23 February...
.
This practice began to decline in the late sixteenth century and by the Classical era had been more or less discarded, although examples can be found in works by Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
and Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
. In the Romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
era, those of Chopin's nocturne
Nocturne
A nocturne is usually a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night...
s that are in a minor key almost always end with a Picardy third. A notable structural employment of this device occurs with the Finale of the Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony
Symphony No. 5 (Tchaikovsky)
The Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was composed between May and August 1888 and was first performed in St Petersburg at the Hall of Nobility on November 6 of that year with Tchaikovsky conducting. It is dedicated to Theodore Avé-Lallemant.-Structure:A typical...
, where the motto theme makes its first appearance in the major mode.
It is notable that in the first book of J. S. Bach's The well-tempered clavier
The Well-Tempered Clavier
The Well-Tempered Clavier , BWV 846–893, is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach...
composed in 1722, only one of the twenty-four minor movements fails to end in a Picardy third, whereas in the second book, composed in 1744, fourteen end without it. (Manuscripts vary in some of these cases. This is the case with the single exception in the first book, the G-minor fugue, which, according to the present Bach Gesellschaft edition, is thought to have been originally composed in G minor, accounting for the natural sign rather than sharp on the third of the final chord.)
Scientific explanation
It may be possible for the aural effect of the Picardy third to be described scientifically - a major triad can be found in the 4th, 5th, and 6th harmonics of a major chord, while the minor triad can be found higher in the 10th, 12th, and 15th harmonics of its respective chord. (In the language of the harmonic seriesHarmonic series (music)
Pitched musical instruments are often based on an approximate harmonic oscillator such as a string or a column of air, which oscillates at numerous frequencies simultaneously. At these resonant frequencies, waves travel in both directions along the string or air column, reinforcing and canceling...
, this is equivalent to saying the major chord occupies a lower location in the harmonic series relative to the minor chord.) However, psychoacousticians
Psychoacoustics
Psychoacoustics is the scientific study of sound perception. More specifically, it is the branch of science studying the psychological and physiological responses associated with sound...
cannot explain why this difference is perceived by the ear
Ear
The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....
as being more or less "stable".
In addition, the harmonics of the minor chord have a dissonance
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
closer to the fundamental harmonic compared to a major chord, which creates more beat
Beat (acoustics)
In acoustics, a beat is an interference between two sounds of slightly different frequencies, perceived as periodic variations in volume whose rate is the difference between the two frequencies....
s. Thus a major chord is more consonant
Consonance
Consonance is a stylistic device, most commonly used in poetry and songs, characterized by the repetition of the same consonant two or more times in short succession, as in "pitter patter" or in "all mammals named Sam are clammy".Consonance should not be confused with assonance, which is the...
than a minor one, and is therefore interpreted by the human ear
Ear
The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....
as being more "stable".
Interpretation
When a composer has not directly indicated a major or minor chord to be played it is occasionally acceptable to add Picardy thirds to a work in the interests of variety, especially in earlier music. This would usually be a decision made by the continuo players in a chamber workChamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
. For example, in performances of the "Rosary" Violin Sonatas by Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber von Bibern was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. Born in the small Bohemian town of Wartenberg , Biber worked at Graz and Kroměříž before he illegally left his Kroměříž employer and settled in Salzburg...
, many continuo players add variety to the frequent repetitions in movements consisting of variations by adding the occasional Picardy third. However, over-indulgence of this liberty could weaken the work's structure.
Related chords
A similar effect, often used, is created with a deceptive cadence leading to the flattened sixth (for example, in C major, replacing the expected tonic chord with A flat major); this effect utilizes the lowered third but without affirming the tonic key.Popular music / Notable examples
- BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
- HammerklavierPiano Sonata No. 29 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 is a piano sonata widely considered to be one of the most important works of the composer's third period and among one of the great piano sonatas...
, slow movement