In what Richard Wagner opera is the very first chord a half-diminished seventh chord?

zbeckabee

The Tristan chord is a chord made up of the notes F, B, D# and G#. More generally, it can be any chord that consists of these same intervals: augmented fourth, augmented sixth, and augmented second above a root. It is so named as it is the very first chord heard in Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_chord The "Tristan chord" is sometimes described as a half-diminished seventh chord; however, the term "Tristan chord" is typically reserved for a very specific harmonic function, especially determined by the order of the notes from bottom to top, and sometimes even the way the chord is spelled. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-diminished_seventh_chord Jul 06 08, 5:30 PM

Gnarzikans

Yes, that is quite correct. The Tristan chord, however, is indeed a half-diminished seventh chord just with a specific voicing (F, B, D# and G# or any chord with the same intervals); thus all Tristans are half-diminished sevenths but not all half-diminished sevenths are Tristans. Hats off Becka. Jul 06 08, 5:42 PM