Episode 24 leads you through several examples of the mediant chord.
Episode 24 leads you through several examples of the mediant chord: Beethoven (1:03), The Beatles (4:11), Radiohead (6:03), The Pixies (7:08), and The Grateful Dead (7:54).
Question of the day: When the mediant chord is used in a minor key, it appears major. What is it called when we use it in this way?
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Hi and welcome to the APsolute Recap: Music Theory Edition. Today’s episode will recap The iii (III) chord
Lets Zoom out:
We’re in Unit #5 Harmony and Voice Leading II: Chord Progressions and Predominant Function
Topic 5.4
Our Big idea is pitch
The three chord is not a super popular chord to have been used in 18th century music. In fact, it is still like a rare jewel in music today. The mediant chord is like Where’s Waldo, there is so much music to look at with the other chords and so little of the mediant chord. Nonetheless I was determined to provide you with examples of it in music so you can find the diamond in the rough.
Lets Zoom in:
The mediant chord was favored by Beethoven. In multiple instances he would make the second movement of his works toward the mediant instead of the expected dominant. It can be seen here in Sonata No. 16 Opus 31 No. 1 between the first movement, Allegro Vivace, which is in G major , to the second movement, Adagio Grazioso, which is in B major. Not only does he go to an unexpected mediant, but he also makes it major instead of what would naturally lie as a minor in the mode of G major. This piece was Beethoven’s idea of a joke (you’re laughing right?) He intended to frustrate his audience a little bit, and tease them with the unexpected. Unfortunately I can’t even get my serious compositions to sound as good as Beethoven’s jokes.
Some more current artists have creatively used it as transitional harmonies between vocal melodies, and other times, the mediant chord can create a chromatic melodic line.
Not only did we see examples of Picardy thirds from The Beatles, but they also provided clever examples of the mediant chord. In “Help” it is used in the verses. The song overall is in A major, so the mediant chord is seen as a C#minor chord. It is really interesting that this minor mediant chord leads into a minor submediant chord, which we just examined in the previous episode.
Another Beatles example is in the song “Imagine” where it is used as transitional harmonies between melodic lines of the chorus. The song is in C major, which would normally mean the mediant chord would be E minor. In this song, not only is the mediant chord used, they make it major instead of minor and also include a mediant seventh chord. The E major and E7 chords leads back to the F chord for the chorus.
In the song “Creep” by Radiohead, the mediant chord is used in a major song to create a chromatic line in the voice leading. The mediant chord would not naturally fall as a major triad, but they alter it so that it is. Kudos to Radiohead for making “Creep” a relatively somber song written in a major key.
The next example is “Where is my Mind” originally created by the Pixies. We get another call back to episode 23 with an example of the six chord being used as an alternate tonic chord. Then we immediately follow with an example of a major three chord, which would normally appear minor in this key. As with the example of “Creep” and “Imagine” the mediant is a transition chord to the subdominant. The chord progression in total, for nearly the whole song is: I vi III IV
The last example is by The Grateful Dead. Here, they cleverly use the three chord as a major in the chorus and as a minor in the verses. Both times it leads into the four chord, and it really helps keep the listener on their toes.
To recap……
The mediant chord is rarely used in music, but when it does it can create an interesting chromatic melodic line, act as a transition chord between lyrics, or be an ode to a relative key.
Coming up next on the Apsolute RecAP Music Theory Edition: 6/4 chords
Today’s Question of the day is about the mediant chord.
Question: When the mediant chord is used in a minor key, it appears major. What is it called when we use it in this way?