Noun
major third (plural major thirds)
(music) A musical interval of the Western twelve-semitone system consisting of four semitones and spanning three degrees of the diatonic scale. Major scales are so named because of the major third interval between the tonic and mediant of a major tonic triad. It is enharmonically equivalent to a diminished fourth.
The major third has a pitch ratio close to 34:27.
About this sound Play ( help · info ) Stravinsky used a five-tone row, chromatically filling out the space of a major third centered tonally on C (C-E), in one of his early serial compositions, In memoriam Dylan Thomas. Source: Internet
A complete legend and fonts for the notation (see samples) are open source and available from Plainsound Music Edition. citation For example, the Pythagorean major third on C is C-E while the just major third is C-E -arrow-down. Source: Internet
All triads are tertian chords (chords defined by sequences of thirds), and a major third would produce in this case a non-tertian chord. Source: Internet
For instance, an augmented third such as C–E spans five semitones, exceeding a major third (C–E) by one semitone, while a diminished third such as C –E spans two semitones, falling short of a minor third (C–E ) by one semitone. Source: Internet
For instance a major triad is a chord containing three notes defined by the root and two intervals (major third and perfect fifth). Source: Internet
Conversely, since neither kind of third is perfect, the larger one is called "major third" (M3), the smaller one "minor third" (m3). Source: Internet