triadic

[ trahy-ad-ik ]

adjective

1. being or relating to a triad, or group of three, especially a group of three closely related people or things:

   Red and blue form two parts of a triadic color scheme that also includes yellow or a neutral color such as black, gray, or white.

2. Music. being or relating to a chord of three tones, especially one consisting of a particular tone with its major or minor third and its perfect, augmented, or diminished fifth:

   We can add to this progression by putting a triadic major chord at the beginning of each bar.

Word History and Origins

Origin of triadic¹

First recorded in 1780–90; triad ( def ) + -ic ( def )

Example Sentences

From there, I enjoyed the first 75 minutes of a radical yet sensitive take on Morton Feldman’s “Triadic Memories,” with Conrad Tao on piano and Tyshawn Sorey on percussion.

From New York Times

Next up for Tao is an appearance at Bang on a Can‘s Long Play Festival in Brooklyn on the first weekend of May. The pianist here will be joined by another exceptional modernist, percussionist Tyshawn Sorey, for a performance of Feldman’s “Triadic Memories.”

From Los Angeles Times

But it does show that the memories of triadic harmony, so close to the Russian tradition, return in new ways in the works of both Feldman and Glass.

From Los Angeles Times

Cordoni describes this resolution strategy involving a third pig as a “triadic conflict mechanism.”

From Washington Post

In fact, the common harmonic tradition that includes everything from Baroque counterpoint to modern rock is often called triadic harmony.

From Literature