Talk:Dyad (music)

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[edit] Harmonic/melodic

I think that a dyad is just as likely to be harmonic as melodic. Hyacinth 09:34, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Power chord

I removed the following text because it does not seem all that relevant to the article -- a power chord is but one example of a dyad, and it is no more relevant here than any other interval.

A much more common and modern name for some dyads is the power chord, usually built of the root and the perfect fifth (in rock'n'roll guitar riffs, it may be replaced by the root's major sixth or minor seventh). The power chord is known to be pioneered by Link Wray.

--ArthurDenture 04:43, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

Moreover, the term "power chord" implies electronic distortion and high volume--more so than it does any particular dyad--, and, in any case, it isn't a good idea to mix indiscriminately rock and roll journalistic slang with music theory. TheScotch 05:54, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Spelling

isnt it spelt diad?

It appears that diad is a variant spelling of dyad (remember we're transliterating from Greek) for some usages, but I've never encountered this spelling in musical contexts. Since in diatonic, dia is a preposition (prepositions are variously translated) and does not refer to a number, some confusion may result from spelling it diad in musical contexts. So if we were allowed to choose, it would still seem to me to be a bad idea. I don't think we are allowed to choose, though; I think we are obliged to follow existing practice. TheScotch 21:08, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Well, why would two-note chords be spelled "dyad" and three-note chords be spelled "triad"? Wouldn't it make more sense to have "diad" and "triad"? We don't call three-note chords "tryads" after all. I, for one, have seen it spelled "diad" on plenty of occasions with regards to music.

Please sign your remarks.

Re: "Well, why would two-note chords be spelled 'dyad' and three-note chords be spelled 'triad'?":

Possibly so as to avoid confusion with diatonic, as I already explained. Please actually read what you purport to be replying to. In any case, as I also already explained, we are obliged to follow existing practice.

"I, for one, have seen it spelled "diad" on plenty of occasions with regards to music.":

You need to specify where precisely. TheScotch 19:05, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

An automated search for dyad in the on-line version of the Grove Dictionary of music returns twenty references, each meaning "a set of two notes or pitches". A search for diad in the dictionary returns one reference only, Diad Rustavels, the (presumably) Russian title of a piece by a Soviet composer which translates into English as To the Great Rustavelli. TheScotch 19:18, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Re: "Well, why would two-note chords be spelled 'dyad' and three-note chords be spelled 'triad'?":

I suppose I should have pointed out more plainly that the above is a false analogy. As I originally remarked, we're transliterating from Greek here. Greek uses a different alphabet from that of English (which uses the Roman alphabet). The Greek word for two is spelled delta-upsilon-omicron. The Greek word for three is spelled tau-rho-iota-alpha. These words have no letters in common at all. TheScotch 06:15, 14 July 2007 (UTC)