Heptachord

The heptachord ( Gr. , Latin : heptachordus - seven-string ) is a musicological term of the Greeks, which was still used in the Middle Ages. A heptachord denotes either the major seventh or a diatonic sequence of seven notes, described as a combination of two tetrachords. Often the sequence efgabcd is given as heptachord.

$\ relative c '{refga bes cd}$

.

The heptachord was also a form of the lyre (plucked instrument) , with just seven strings in a diatonic tuning from the root to the seventh. How the instrument or the seven-step ladder sounded in practice is unknown.

Individual evidence

↑ August Rossbach , Rudolf Westphal : Metrics of the Greek dramatists and lyric poets along with the accompanying musical arts. Part 2, Department 1: Rudolf Westphal: Harmonics and Melopoeia of the Greeks. Teubner, Leipzig 1863, p. 87 .
^ William Smith (ed.): Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities . 2nd Edition, improved and enlarged. Walton and Maberly et al., London 1853, p. 721 .

[Westphal1863-1] August Rossbach , Rudolf Westphal : Metrics of the Greek dramatists and lyric poets along with the accompanying musical arts. Part 2, Department 1: Rudolf Westphal: Harmonics and Melopoeia of the Greeks. Teubner, Leipzig 1863, p. 87 .

[Smith1853-2] William Smith (ed.): Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities . 2nd Edition, improved and enlarged. Walton and Maberly et al., London 1853, p. 721 .