Main content

The Power of Three

Tom Service explores the appeal of the musical interval of the third. He asks why a major third can feel positive, a minor third sad, plus he discusses the tritone.

From medieval English music to the Everly Brothers - what is it about the musical interval of the third that sounds so attractive? Why does a major third tend to feel positive, and a minor third tend to feel sad? Nature or nurture? And what about their dark cousin, the tritone - the so-called "Devil in Music" - what on earth can be that sinister about a couple of notes?

Tom Service is joined by Dr Adam Ockelford to try and find some answers.

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Fri 27 Nov 2020 16:30
成人论坛 Radio 3

More episodes

Previous

Hay Festival 2017

Next

I Got Rhythm

See all episodes from The Listening Service

Music Played

  • Henry Purcell

    Sound the trumpet, real. Britten for 2 voices and piano

    Performer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson. Performer: John Mark Ainsley. Performer: Graham Johnson. Music Arranger: Benjamin Britten.
    • Hyperion.

  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah, Pt.1, no.12; For unto us a child is born [chorus]

    Performer: Monteverdi Choir. Performer: English Baroque Soloists. Performer: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
    • Phiips.

  • L茅o Delibes

    Sous le d么me 茅pais (Lakm茅)

    Singer: Ren茅e Fleming. Singer: Susan Graham. Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: Sebastian Lang-Lessing.
    • Decca.

  • Johannes Brahms

    Symphony no. 4 (Op.98) in E minor, 1st movement; Allegro non troppo

    Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker. Performer: Claudio Abbado.
    • DG.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Mass (BWV.232) in B minor, Pt.1; Christe eleison [SS duet]

    Performer: Dunedin Consort and Players. Performer: John Butt.
    • Linn.

  • Felice & Boudleaux Bryant

    Bye Bye Love

    Performer: The Everly Brothers.
    • Bye Bye Love.
    • Cadence.

  • Boudleaux Bryant

    All I Have To Do Is Dream

    Performer: The Everly Brothers.
    • All I Have To Do Is Dream / Claudette.
    • Cadence.
    • 1.

  • anon

    Scolica Enchiriadis

    Performer: Tonus Peregrinus.
    • Sacred Music from Notre-Dame Cathedral.
    • Naxos 鈥�.

  • John Dunstable

    Quam pulchra es - antiphon MB.44 for 3 voices

    Performer: Tonus Peregrinus.
    • John Dunstaple - Sweet Harmony.
    • Naxos.

  • Cher

    Believe

    Performer: Cher.
    • Believe.
    • Warner Bros. Records.

  • Henry Purcell

    Funeral Music for Queen Mary - drum recessional

    Performer: Equale Brass Ensemble. Performer: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
    • Erato.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Concerto for piano and orchestra no.27 (K.595) in B flat major; 1st mvt; Allegro

    Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra.
    • Decca.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Concerto for piano and orch no. 3 (Op.37) in C minor, 1st mvt; Allegro con brio

    Performer: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Performer: Bernard Haitink.
    • Sony.

  • Franz Schubert

    String Quartet in G major (D.887)

    Performer: Amadeus Quartet.
    • DG.

  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony no 6. First movt

    Performer: Philharmonia. Performer: Lorin Maazel.
    • Mahler: The Complete Symphonies.
    • Signum Classics.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Mass (BWV.232) in B minor, Pt.1; Kyrie eleison [chorus]

    Performer: Dunedin Consort and Players. Performer: John Butt.
    • Linn.

  • Cole Porter

    Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye

    Performer: Ella Fitzgerald.
    • Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book.
    • Verve.

  • Black Sabbath

    Black Sabbath

    Performer: Black Sabbath.
    • Black Sabbath.
    • Vertigo.

  • Camille Saint鈥怱a毛ns

    Danse macabre - symphonic poem (Op.40) [with solo violin]

    Performer: Kyung-wha Chung. Performer: Philharmonia Orchestra. Performer: Charles Dutoit.
    • Decca.

  • Igor Stravinsky

    The Firebird Suite

    Performer: 成人论坛 Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.
    • Sony.

  • Gustav Holst

    The Planets - suite (Op.32), Mars, the bringer of war

    Performer: Liep膩ja Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Richard Hickox.
    • I.M.P. CLassics.

  • Primus

    South Park Theme

    Performer: Primus.
    • Chef Aid: The South Park Album.
    • American Recordings.

  • Danny Elfman

    The Simpsons theme

    • Songs In The Key Of Springfield.
    • Rhino Records.

  • Leonard Bernstein

    Maria

    Performer: Leonard Bernstein.
    • West Side Story.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Claude Debussy

    Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune

    Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker. Performer: Sir Simon Rattle.
    • EMI.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Prelude and fugue; Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, bk.2 no.17 (BWV.886) A flat major

    Performer: Angela Hewitt.
    • Hyperion.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 11 Jun 2017 17:00
    成人论坛 Radio 3
  • Sun 25 Nov 2018 17:00
    成人论坛 Radio 3
  • Sun 22 Nov 2020 17:00
    成人论坛 Radio 3
  • Fri 27 Nov 2020 16:30
    成人论坛 Radio 3

Why do we call it 'classical' music?

Tom Service poses a very simple question (with a not-so-simple answer).

Six of the world's most extreme voices

From babies to Mongolian throat singers: whose voice is the most extreme of all?

How did the number 12 revolutionise music?

How did the number 12 revolutionise music?

How Schoenberg opened a new cosmos for composers and listeners to explore.

Why are we all addicted to bass?

Why are we all addicted to bass?

Bass is everywhere, but why do we enjoy it? Join Tom Service on a journey of discovery.

Watch the animations

Join Tom Service on a musical journey through beginnings, repetition and bass lines.

When does noise become music?

We like to think we can separate 鈥渘oise鈥� from 鈥渕usic鈥�, but is it that simple?

Podcast