Frequently, when we finish playing and older classical transcription in band or sometimes modern pieces trying to sound more classical, the director gets all excited and asks “does anyone know what the name of that chord was that ended that piece?”, we all know it must be a Picardy third because that is the only time we get asked that type of question. The other time there is excitement not related to any music theory is when we "stick the landing" which means we all finish at the same time. But what is a Picardy third?
From Wikipedia, “A Picardy third, Picardy cadence or in French, tierce Picardy, is a major chord of the tonic at the end of a musical section that 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”. What!? I play music for fun and while I like to know some music theory so I can answer Jeopardy questions, I really need to have the theory explained in very basic and descriptive terms for me to understand. A brief survey on the web helped explain the term a little more. Basically, it is a technique that began in earnest around the 15th-16th century and used frequently during the Baroque era where a piece of music that was written in a minor key ends with a major chord. For those that really need more descriptive help here, music written in a minor key is often described as moody or sad sounding and music written in a major key is often described as happy. So adding a Picardy third to the end of a piece was the musical equivalent of creating a happy ending to an otherwise sad sounding song. And of course a description with an example is always helpful. To hear a notable example of the use of Picardy thirds, listen to the ends of each section of the Coventry Carol as performed by the U.S. Army Band Chorus. The button below will take you to a Wikipedia page with a recording of the piece. Some composers are more subtle in its use and it is more difficult to hear but if you know what to listen for, the moody sound that turns happy at the end, you will now be able to impress friend and exclaim “Did you just hear that Picardy third!” when you hear it played on the radio.
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AuthorDaniel Zarka Archives
March 2019
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