The Most Familiar Cadence In Western Music Has A Very Funny Name
Soundcheck | Feb 12, 2014
The Diatonic Phrygian Tetrachord is not, in fact, the name of an instrument invented by Dr. Seuss -- though if it was, it would make four notes, descending (ahem) from the tonic, down a whole step, down a whole step, down a half step to the fifth.
In other words, it would create the sound of the bass in this song:
David Garland, host of WNYC's Spinning On Air, has compiled more than 50 tracks that feature this distinctive musical footprint known as the Andalusian Cadence. In a conversation with Soundcheck's John Schaefer, Garland argues that the Diatonic Phrygian Tetrachord may be the most-used theme in Western music, and he explains how -- and why -- you can hear this sonic architecture in everything from "Greensleeves" to *NSYNC.
