chromaticism
Non-diatonic note use
Chromaticism in music is the use of notes outside a piece's main scale, creating tension, color, or emotional intensity.
A chromatic scale moves entirely by half steps, including all twelve pitches within an octave.
Composers use chromaticism to heighten drama or blur tonal centers: Wagner's operas are famous for their chromaticism.
The term extends to any art emphasizing rich color variation.
Notes sounded simultaneously
- progressionSequential forward movement
- scaleMeasure of relative size
- twelve-toneSerialism using all pitches
- atonalityAbsence of key signature
serialism · interval · tritone · diminished · augmented · altered · extension · substitution
Minimum Western musical interval
- half-stepSmallest Western musical interval
- alterationAct of modifying
- modulationVarying signals to transmit
- tensionStretched or strained state
resolution · dissonance · consonance · accidental · sharp · flat · auxiliary · embellishment
Color's specific character
- pigmentColor-imparting material
- spectrumContinuous range of values
- saturationState of complete permeation
- tintFaint color addition
shade · coloration · iridescence · prismatic · rainbow · vibrancy · brilliance · intensity
Molecule's tint-causing portion
- absorptionProcess of taking in
- spectroscopyStudy of light-matter interaction
- RGBAdditive color model
- CMYKSubtractive color model
Pantone · refraction · optics · light · photoreceptor · electromagnetic · nanometer
chord
Notes sounded simultaneously
- progressionSequential forward movement
- scaleMeasure of relative size
- twelve-toneSerialism using all pitches
atonality · serialism · interval · tritone · diminished · augmented · altered · extension · substitution · bebop
semitone
Minimum Western musical interval
- half-stepSmallest Western musical interval
- alterationAct of modifying
- modulationVarying signals to transmit
tension · resolution · dissonance · consonance · accidental · sharp · flat · auxiliary · embellishment · ornament
hue
Color's specific character
- pigmentColor-imparting material
- spectrumContinuous range of values
- saturationState of complete permeation
tint · shade · coloration · iridescence · prismatic · rainbow · vibrancy · brilliance · intensity · luminosity
chromophore
Molecule's tint-causing portion
- absorptionProcess of taking in
- spectroscopyStudy of light-matter interaction
- RGBAdditive color model
CMYK · Pantone · refraction · optics · light · photoreceptor · electromagnetic · nanometer
- music termsmelody, tempo, rhythm, harmony, beat
- Music Techniquescounterpoint, fugue, harmony, chord progression, modulation
- Romantic MusicBeethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Tchaikovsky
- jazz techniquesbebop, blue notes, comping, improvisation, licks
- Late RomanticismMahler, Brahms, Wagner, Bruckner, Tchaikovsky
- harmonyharmony, chord, chords, triad, triads
monochrome, chromatic, chromosome, polychrome, chroma, polychromatic, achromatic, monochromatic, chromatography