THE LANGUAGE OF HARMONY

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Claude Powers
5 years ago
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1 THE LANGUAGE OF HARMONY The diatonic scale is a starting place for available chords to choose from in your score. These chords are triads built on the root of each degree. Each scale degree has a name and number. The first scale degree is called the Tonic or the I chord. There are major and minor chords within the diatonic scale- designated in upper and lower case. Below is a chord- mapping tool we will fill in later. You proceed in a progression of chords (you may skip chords going forward) and can only come back to certain chords as shown by the arrows. After leaving the tonic the point is to eventually get back to the tonic or chord of repose. In the staff below make a chordmap for the chords of the diatonic scale in the key of C major. Fill in the notes and label the name and number for each triad.

THE LANGUAGE OF HARMONY Chords are built on the various scale degrees. The position of the chord in the scale determines how one chord tone relates to the other.

2 THE LANGUAGE OF HARMONY Chords are built on the various scale degrees. The position of the chord in the scale determines how one chord tone relates to the other. You can call it tonal harmony, functional harmony or just the language of harmony. The primary triads of the scale are major I, IV, V. The root relationship of the IV (Subdominant) and V ( Dominant) are perfect 5ths from the I (Tonic). The dominant (V) is a 5 th above the tonic and the subdominant (IV) is a fifth below the tonic. These three provide structure in building progressions. Basic opening progressions are I-V, I-IV, or 1-IV-V. Progressions of harmonic phrases are completed or closed by returning to the tonic. The closing progressions are V-I, IV-I, and IV-V-1. An example of the opening chord progression 1-V is found in Dvorak s New World Symphony. The key of the piece is in D major and the diatonic scale is shown on the chord map. The notes in bar one F#-A-F#-D fit with a chord of D major (I), and the notes in bar two E-A-E fit with a chord of A major (V).

3 The melody contains notes that are not part of the underlying harmony chord. In bar 1, there is an E that isn't part of the chord of D major. In bar 2, there are two F#s that are not part of the chord of A major. These are non-chord notes. The notes that fall on the beat are * chord notes. Notes falling on an off-beat can be either chord notes or non-chord notes. The I-V opening progression of Beethoven Sonata, Op. 2, No 3 is given below. I The progression is completed when the dominant 7 th chord resolves to the tonic. V The opening progression I-IV is often completed by returning to the I as shown in Schumann, Album for the Young, Op. 68, 10. The IV chord often progresses to a V chord. The Bach Chorale In Allen Mein Taten illustrates the progression I-IV-V. The I IV-V chord progression is sometimes called the the little chord progression that could.

4 In review, the scale degrees and names of the major scale thus far are: I Tonic ii iii IV Subdominant V Dominant vi vii o The chart below shows opening and closing progressions using the primary triads of the scale and the chord map illustrates progressions towards the dominant (V) and back to the tonic. OPENING CLOSING I-V- V-I 1-V- IV 1 I-IV- IV-I IV-V- V-I The remaining triads of the scale are called secondary. The secondary triads provide tonal variety and give color to the harmony. They will be the next topic. In the staff below make a chordmap for the chords of the diatonic scale in the key of D major. Fill in the notes and label the name and number for each triad. Sources: Harmonic Materials in Tonal Music, Greg A Steinke., A Geometry of Music, Dimitri Tymoczko.

5 SECONDARY TRIADS The secondary triads are ii, iii, vi, and vii o. They are called the supertonic, mediant, submediant and leading tone. I ii Supertonic iii Mediant IV V vi Submediant vii o Leading Tone Let s take a look at the ii scale degree called the Supertonic. It is pre-dominant because it leads or progresses towards the dominant (V). The chord map illustrates the progression of the ii towards the dominant. The addition of the ii scale degree to the chord map makes possible the progression ii-v-i. The progression ii-v-i offers a structured starting place to study chords and improvisation. Each secondary triad is related to a primary triad through two common tones and because of that they can substitute for the primary triads. Remember the progression IV-V-1? If you substitute the secondary triad ii for the primary triad IV what do you get? You get ii - V- 1, one of the most useful chord substitutions ever and the most popular chord progression in modern music. Before moving on with ii-v-1 we will tackle the 7 th chords.

6 INTRODUCTION TO SEVENTH CHORDS A seventh tone consists of four tones and is written by adding a note a 3 rd above the 5 th of a triad. This changes the basic triad into a more complex chord and improves the sound. Seventh chords introduce dissonance and urgency of resolution. For now, we are concerned with the following: Major 7 th Dominant 7 th Minor 7 th It s easy to confuse these. The Major 7 th is the note a half step lower than the root. The Dominate 7th and the Minor 7 th are two half steps lower than the root. On the keyboard they look like this: C maj7 C7 Cm7

The Baroque 3/4. ca Based on the writings of Anna Butterworth: Stylistic Harmony (OUP 1992)

The Baroque 3/4. ca Based on the writings of Anna Butterworth: Stylistic Harmony (OUP 1992) The Baroque 3/4 ca 1600-1750 Based on the writings of Anna Butterworth: Stylistic Harmony (OUP 1992) NB To understand the slides herein, you must play though all the sound examples to hear the principles