Music Theory

anathematized_one · 06-08-2013, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord Larehip

Sure? "Dia-" means "across" to the best of my knowledge. Like diametric--"measure across".
Diatonic = "Across the tones"

I would also advise the OP to ear train BEFORE delving too deeply into theory and notation or he might get sidetracked. It's important to develop a good ear for music before doing anything else.

Depends on origin.

diatonic (adj.)
c.1600, from French diatonique, from Latin diatonicus, from Greek diatonikos, from diatonos "extending; pertaining to the diatonic scale," from dia- (see dia-) + teinein "to stretch" (see tenet).

In Greek, literally translates as "through the tones" but means, even in original context with DIATONIC, 7-tone scale (that's what they understood as being "through the tones"). Just like schizophrenia literally translates from Greek as "split mind" but that's not the understanding they had of it (they didn't at all believe it to be the mind being split in two or anything like that).