Module 4- Melody, Harmony and Texture
Transcript of Module 4- Melody, Harmony and Texture
Module4-Melody,HarmonyandTexture
Pitchinmusicreferstovibrationsofsoundwaves.Thesevibrationsaremeasuredinhertz(cyclespersecond).Thereforeamusicalpitchisasoundproducedatacertainnumberofcyclespersecond(Wade,2013).Thefasterthevibration,thehighertheresultingpitch.Likewise,theslowertherateofvibration,thelowerthepitch.Musicaltonescanbedividedintotwocategories:determinateandindeterminatepitch.
Musicalpitchescontainamixtureofsoundwaves.Theonethatdominatesthesoundisreferredtoasthe“fundamental”pitch.Alloftheotherwavesthatareproducedbyapitcharereferredto(inthemusicworld)asovertones.Whenapitchhasasetofovertonesthatallowafundamentalnotetodominatethesounditisadeterminatepitch.Indeterminatepitchhappenswhentheovertonesofanotearenotinalignmentorthereareconflictingfundamentalsandthereforeno“one”vibrationdominatesthesound.Anotherwaytothinkaboutthisconceptistoknowthatinstrumentsthathavedeterminatepitchplaynotesthataretypicallygivennames(letter,numberorsolfege).Determinatepitchinstrumentsinclude(butarenotlimitedto):voice,piano,guitar,marimba,woodwinds,brass,chordophones,etc.…Indeterminatepitchinstrumentsareinstrumentslikegamelangongs,snaredrums,cymbals,triangle,etc…Theseinstrumentsaregenerallyusedtokeeparhythm,toaccent,ortoaddcolor.
Whenapitchhasasetofovertonesthatvibratealongwiththefundamentalinsimpleratios(seeFigure2)thenitmakesaharmonicpitch.Mostmusicalinstrumentsthathavedeterminatepitchareharmonic(chordophones,aerophones,mostelectrophones).Whentheovertonesofthepitcharemostlyinharmonic(notinsimpleratios)thenthepitchisdiscernablebutthetimbreisunique(timpani,malletpercussion,singingbowls,tunedgongs).Figure2illustratestheharmonicovertones.Thewavelengthspicturedalsoillustratethepossiblenotesthatcanbeplayedonfixedlengthaerophones(bugle,bottle,conchshell,etc).Tuning
PythagorasofSamos(ofthePythagoreantheorem)describedwhysomemusicalnotesvibratewelltogether(harmonize)andothersdonot.Weuselengthsofstringtoillustratehisfindings.Iftwostringswerephysicallyproportionedina2to1ratio(onestringisexactlytwotimesthelengthofthefirst)andallotherfactorsareequalthenthevibrationsofmusicalnotesproducedbythesestringswillalsoexistina2to1ratio.Forinstance:ifthelongstringproducedapitchat110hertzthentheshorteronewouldproduceapitchat220hertz.This2to1ratioissoharmoniousthatwecallthesetwoseparatenotesthesamepitchname.Thedifferencebetweentwopitchesofthesamenotename(or2to1ratio)iscalledanoctave.Simplyputandoctaveistheintervalbetweentwopitcheshavingthesamenotename.Amusicalintervalisthedistancebetweentwonotes/pitches.InFigure1thedistancebetweenanytwonotesofthesameletternameiscalledanoctave.
Figure1:Pianokeyboardwithletternotenames
This2/1octaveratioisalsoillustratedinFigure2inbottomtwowavelengths. Figure2:HarmonicPartials/OvertoneSeries
Allinstrumentsarenottunedthesameoreventothesamepitchsets.Wheninstrumentsaretunedtomaketheratiosscientificallypure(inthemannerofFigure2)thisiscalledjustintonation.WhiletheearpreferspureintervalstheyarenotpracticalformuchWesternmusic.IntheWesternworldmostinstrumentsarenottunedtojustintonation.Instead,Westerninstrumentsaretypicallytunedtoequaltemperament.Inequaltemperamenttheoctaveisdividedintotwelveequidistantpitches.Whenthisisdonethepurityofthescientificratiosislost.Thismeansthatfixedpitchinstrumentslikekeyboardsandguitarsarenotcompletely“intune”accordingtojustintonation.This“impure”tuningisnecessarytoplaymusicthatmovesbetweendifferingscales/keyareas.InWesternmusicsomegenresofmusicutilizejustintonation.Thisisprimarilythecasewheninstrumentsdonothavefixedpitch(fretlesschordophonesfromtheviolinfamily,humanvoice).Somegenresthatutilizescientifictuning/justintonationarebarbershopharmony,choirmusic,andstringquartets.Somehighlyproducedmodernpopandelectronicdancemusicutilizejustintonation.Thecomputerisnowusedtoproducemuchmusicthathas“pure”intervals.Indianmusicalsoutilizesjustintonation.Eventhoughthereareseveralfixedpitchandfrettedinstruments(likethesitar)usedinIndianmusicintonationisnotaproblembecausethereisnotmovementbetweendifferingkeyareas. IntheWesternworldemphasisisplacedontuningtoastandardpitchset.Thisallowsmusicianstoplaytheirinstrumentsindifferinggenresandensembles.Theuseofthepianoinvariousgenresillustratesthis.MostAmericaninstrumentsarenowadaystunedtoA440standard(A442inEuropeandAsia).Thisisoftenreferredtoas“concertpitch”.Inrecordingstudiosandmusicclubsdigitaltunersareusedtohelpkeepinstrumentsintune.Thesetunerscanbeclippedontoinstrument,pluggedintoelectrophonesordownloadedtosmartphones.Priortotheuseofelectronictunerstuningforksandpitchpipeswerecommon.Largeacousticensemblestypicallytunetogetherbeforeplayingmusic.Inorchestrasanoboeplayerplays“concertpitch”(A440)foreachsectionofinstrumentstomatchpriortotheconductor“takingthepodium.”Mostinstrumentscanmakeslightadjustmenttoeitherraisethepitchifitistoolow(flat)orlowerthepitchifitistoohigh(sharp).Whenalloftheinstrumentshavematchedpitch(areintune)thentheconcertbegins.Theactofplayingmanyinstrumentscausesthemtogooutoftune.Continualpluckingorbowingofstringsloosensthetensiononthem,makingthemgoflat.Temperatureandhumidityalsoaffectthepitchofmanyinstruments.Brassandwoodwindinstrumentstendtoplaysharpinhotweatherandflatincolderconditions.Thisaffectsmarchingbands,whichoftenperforminextremeweatherconditionsrangingfromthehotsunshineofalatesummerfootballhalftimeshowtothecoldairinaholidayparade. Inothercultureshavingastandardpitchisnotprioritized.Wherethepitchliescandependonculturalnorms.AsCathyKiroe-SmithstatesinMusicalJourneys,2013,“InmanyAfricancountries,forexample,pitchismoreofanapproximationthanascienceandperformerswillplayoninstrumentsregardlessofwhethertheyareperfectlyintunewiththeinstrumentsplayedbyfellowperformersornot.”InIndonesiaeachgamelanensembleistunedonlyinrelationtotheinstrumentswithin.Thismeansthatnotwogamelanensembleshavethesametuning.Because
ofthisindividualinstrumentsfromonegamelancannotbeperformedwithanothergamelan.Thiswasalsothecasewithtraditionalsikuripan-pipeswherecommunitieswoulddeveloptheirowntuning.ContemporarysikupipesareoftentunedtoWesternpitches.Othertraditionalinstrumentsthatareplayedaloneareoftennotsubjectedtostandardizedtuning.Thisistrueofsoloflutesfoundaroundtheglobe.ChurchorgansinEuropearetunedtoavarietyofconcertpitchesrangingfromA425throughA456.Singerscanmaketheadjustmentstothesepitcheswitheasewhilefixedpitchinstrumentslikepianos,keyboardpercussion,andfrettedchordophonesarelimitedinorganswithwhichtheycouldperform.Intonation
Havingagoodsenseofintonationmeansthatonecanrecognizeifapitchisproducedattheproperfrequency.Thisisaskillthatalmostallcandevelopgiventimeandpractice.InAmericanculturetheterm“tonedeaf”isoftenappliedincorrectlytoonewhohasyettodevelopagoodsenseofintonation.Tonedeafnessisamusicaldisordercalledamusia.Theoppositeoftonedeafnessisperfectpitch.Perfectpitchisarareconditionthroughwhichsomeonehavingitcanrecognizeexactvibrationswithoutareference.Researchersestimatethatperfectpitchoccursinroughly1in10,000people(Sachsetal.1995,621).Instrumentswithindeterminate(drums)and/orfixedpitch(piano,guitar,computer)donotrequiredevelopmentofintonationtothelevelofotherinstruments.Developmentofintonationtakesmuchtimeandispartofthereasonfortheseparationofstringprogramsfromwind,percussion,andchoirprogramsinAmericanschools.
Melody Melodyisacollectionofpitchesthatareplayedinsuccession.Melodyisoftenthefocalpointofthelistenerwhenexperiencingmusic.Althoughtherecanbeabstractmelodies,inmostgenresmelodiesarea“tune”thatisusedtoidentifythepieceofmusic.Ifyouaregoingtotellsomeoneaboutasongorpiecethatyouheardyouwouldprobablystartbysingingthemelodyforthem.
Whenlisteningtomusicwithanearforanalysisofthemelodythefirststepistoidentifytheinstrument(s)thatareperformingit.Inpopulargenresthemelodyisoftenthesetofnotesthatareperformedwithlyricsbythehumanvoice.Inlargeensemblesthemelodyoftenshiftstodifferinginstrumentsandtimbregroupings.Insomecasesthemelodyissunginharmony(orharmonized).Thismeansthatinstrumentsplaythemelodyatdifferingpitchesbutsimilarintervalsandrhythms.Theresultisoftenchords/harmony.
Thesecondconsiderationwhenlisteningformelodyiswhetherornotthemelodyispre-composedorimprovised.Improvisationistheprocessofcomposingandperformingmusicatthesametime.Whilesomemusicisspontaneousinvention(freejazz)mostimprovisationistheproductofmuchdisciplinedtrainingandpractice(Bakan2012,29).Somegenres(Jazz,Blues)havesectionsofmelodythatareimprovisedandothersthatarepre-composed.Anotherpracticethatoftenisimprovisedontopre-composedmelodiesisornamentationofthemelody.Ornamentsarecultural“decorations”ofthemelodyinstylizedwaysbyaddingsmall
twists,turnsandextranotestothemelody.ThisisacommonpracticeinArab,Indian,EastAsian,Celtic,andWestAfricantraditions.
ScalesandMelodicModes
Thethirdconsiderationwhenanalyzingmelodyistoconsiderwhatcollectionofpitchesisinthemelody.Mostoftenmelodiesarebuiltuponscales.Ascaleormelodicmodeisaseriesofpitchesthatarepresentedinascendinganddescendingorder.Scalesareusedtobuildmusicalpieces.Whenthesescalesholdmorerulesforperformanceandextra-musicalassociationstheyarecalledmodes. Asmentionedaboveintervalsarethedistancebetweentwomusicalnotes.Someintervalsaremoreimportantthanothers.Thisisbecausesomeintervalsaremoreconsonant/pleasingtotheearthanothers.ThewavelengthsinFigure2showarelationshipmovingupwardawayfromconsonanceonthebottom.Theoctaveisthemostimportantinterval.Nextinimportancearethe“perfect”intervalsofafourthandafifth.TheMajorthird,theminorthirdandthenMajorsecondfollowtheperfectintervals.Themostdissonant/leastimportantintervalsaretheminorsecondandthetritone.InWesternpracticetheoctaveisdividedbytwelveequalhalf-stepsorminorseconds(alsocalledsemitones).OnFigure1therearetwelvenotesbetweeneachpitchofthesamelettername.Whenalltwelvepitchesareplayedinascendinganddescendingorderitiscalledthechromaticscale.Becausethechromaticscalecontainsonlyoneinterval(½step)thereisnotsenseofonenotebeingmoreimportantthantheothers.Thismeansthatthechromaticscaleisoftenusedtoexpressanun-settledorshiftingquality.DiatonicMajorandMinorscales ThescalesthatareusedforamajorityofWesternmusicarethetwoformsofthediatonicscale.Diatonicscalesaresevennotescalesthatcontainaseriesofwholeandhalfsteps.Becausetheyhavedifferingintervalsthereisahomepitchthatistherestingpitchor“home”pitchwithinthescale.Thisnoteiscalledthetonic.IntheCdiatonicscalethenoteCisthetonicpitch.Diatonicscalescanbebuiltonalltwelvenotesasthetonic.Therearetwoformsofthediatonicscalecalleddiatonicmajoranddiatonicminor.TheyeachconsistofaseriesofwholeandhalfstepsasillustratedinFigure3.Onewholestepequalstwohalfsteps.Figure3:3DiatonicMajorScales,3DiatonicMinorScales
Major Whole Whole Half Whole Whole Whole Half Cmajor C D E F G A B CGmajor G A B C D E F# GFmajor F G A Bb C D E FMinor Whole Half Whole Whole Half Whole WholeCminor C D Eb F G Ab Bb CGminor G A Bb C D Eb F GFminor F G Ab Bb C Db Eb F
ThemelodiesofmostsongsintheWesterntraditionarebuiltusingthenotesofthemajororminorscales.Generallythenotesofthemajorscaleareculturallyunderstoodtosound“happy”or“light”whilethenotesoftheminorscalesound“sad”or“down”.Ifoneplaysallofthewhitekeys(naturals)ofapianofromCtoCthenitwillbeaCmajorscale.CMajoristheonlymajorscalethatcanbeplayedwithoutplayingtheaccidentals(blackkeys).LikewisetheAminorscaleisplayedonallofthenaturalsfromAtoA.Figure4givesallofthemajorandminorkeyswithcorrespondingkeysignatures(numberofsharpsorflats).Figure4:TheCircleofFifths
ByJustplainBill(Ownwork)[GFDL(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)viaWikimediaCommons
Thereisahierarchyofpitchesineachscale.Themostimportantpitchisthe
firstscaledegreeandiscalledtonic.Thedominantpitchisthesecondmostimportantpitch.Itisthefifthdiatonicscaledegree.Sub-dominantisbuiltonthefourthscaledegreeandisalsoconsideredimportant.
Whenreferringtopitchesitisstandardnowinthewesttouseletternames.Traditionallymostculturesusesomesystemofsolfege.Solfegeusessyllablestonamepitchesinrelationtoscales.Inthewesterndiatonicmajorscalethesolfegesyllablesaredo,re,mi,fa,sol,la,ti,dowiththetonicnotebeingdo.Theadvantageoflearningsolfegeisthatsingerscansingthesamemelodyinallkeyswithoutadjustingthenotenames.
PentatonicScaleThepentatonicscaleisascalethathasbeenusedbymanycultures.Thepentatonicscalehasfivenotes.Theminorformofthisscalehasaminor3rd,wholestep,wholestep,minor3rd,wholestep.ThisscalecanbeplayedonalloftheblackkeysofapianostartingandendingonE-flat.Themajorformofthisscalecontainsthenotesofamajordiatonicscalewithoutthefourthandtheseventhscaledegrees.Indifferingformsthepentatonicscaleisutilizedasaprimaryscaleinmuchsub-SaharanAfricanmusic,far-EastAsianmusic,andGamelanmusicfromIndonesia.ThegamelansystemsoftuningpelogandslendroutilizepentatonicscalesthathavenothingtodowiththeWesterndivisionoftheoctave.BluesScaleThemostcommonbluesscaleisaminorpentatonicscalewithanaddednote.Thisscalecanbeplayedoveranychordina“blueschordprogression”.Thismakesitessentialtoboththebluesandjazzgenres.Seefigure5.Figure5:CMinorPentatonicandCBluesScales
MinorPentatonic MinorBluesMelodicModesofSouthwestAsia,SouthCentralAsia,NorthAfrica
InmanyMiddleEasternculturesthereisanaestheticemphasisplacedonthepresentationofwords.Thisisevidencedbythepoeticlegacytheregion.Thiscanalsobeheardinthemelodicpresentationofpoetry.Singersuseornamentationandembellishmenttoaddtotheemotionalcontentandmeaninginperformance.Melodyisaprimaryelementinmusicfromthispartoftheworld.Traditionalmusichasnoharmonyandsometimes,asisthecasewithrecitationoftheQur’an,hasnosteadybackgroundpulse.Theexpressionoftheemotionsinamelodyisahighlydevelopedskill.
Insteadofdividingtheoctaveinto12semitones,MiddleEasternmusichas24microtonestochoosefrom.ThisallowsformorenuancedmelodicvariationthanintheWesternmusicalworld.Italsocausesmuchmusicfromthistraditiontosound“outoftune”fromaWesternperspective.Thesemicrotones(orquartertones)existbetweenthenotesofapianoandotherWesterninstruments.ThereforemuchMiddleEasternmusiccannotberepresentedorrecreatedusingWesterninstrumentsandnotation.Forinstance:ThenotesofMaqamRastmelodic
C F G C
Eb Bb
C F G C
Eb F# Bb
modeandtheCmajorscalecanbeseeninFigure6.NotethatapianocannotproducethequarterflatEandB.
ThetermforthescalesoftheArabic,Persian,Jewish,andTurkishmusicalworldismaqam.Maqamarenotsimplyscaleslikeinthewest.Insteadtheyaremelodicmodesthathaveextramusical/emotionalassociations.LikeWesternscalesmaqamusuallydividetheoctaveintosevennotes(heptonic).UnlikeintheWesternmusicalworld,maqamarenotthoughtofasonegroupingofsevenbutinsteadtheyaremostoftentwofour-notetetrachordsthatarestackedontopofeachother.Thelowestnoteinthelowertetrachordisanoctavebelowthehighestnoteintheuppertetrachord.Themostimportantnote(tonic)isthefirstnoteofthelowertetrachordandthesecondmostimportantnote(dominant)isthefirstnoteoftheuppertetrachord.Inanyonepiecetheremaybeavarietyoftetrachordsusedfordifferingsections.Eachtetrachordhasitsownexpressivequalitiesandextra-musicalassociations.Categoriesofmaqamarebasedupontheirlowertetrachords(regardlessofthevarietyofuppertetrachords).TheFigure6showstwoofthemorecommonmaqamusingwesternletternameswiththetetrachords.Figure6:MaqamrastandMaqamhijaz
MaqamrastinCC D E(microtone
flat)F G A B(microtone
flat)C
Lowertetrachord Uppertetrachord MaqamhijazinD D E-flat F-sharp G A B-flat C D
Lowertetrachord UppertetrachordIndianRaga
InIndiathesetofpitchesfromwhichapieceisconceivedisknownasaraga.TherearemanyHindustani(northIndian)andCarnatic(SouthIndian)ragas.Eachofthemdictatesboththenotesthatperformerswillchooseforthemelodyandalsorulesforhowtheperformerwillperformthesenotes.Mostragascontainsevenascendingpitcheswithadifferingsevendescendingpitcheswithinanoctave.LikemusicfromtheArabicworldextra-musicalassociations,microtonesandornamentationsareimportantcomponentsoftheperformanceofragas.Specificragasareassociatedwithtimesofthedayandseasonsoftheyear.Inadditiontohavinga“roadmap”forimprovisationeachragaalsohasarepertoireofpre-composedmelodiesthatarepasseddownorallythroughthetradition.Asidefromthesesmall“compositions”notwoperformancesofaragawillbeexactlyalike.
MuchIndian“classical”musicisbasedonalongimprovisationofmelodyonthegivenragaandrhythmictalabeingperformed.InHindustanicultureacommonensembleperformingaragawouldconsistofasitar,atambura,andtabla.InCarnatictraditionstheensemblewouldalsobeatriobutthecommoninstrumentationwouldincludeavina,tambura,andmrdangam.Ineachoftheseensemblesthemainchordophoneinstrumentperformstheraga(sitar,vina)while
thedrumsanddronesaccompany.IntheCarnatictraditionthehumanvoiceplaysamoreprominentroleinthemusic.Whenthevoicesingsaragaitusuallyusesasolfegesystemcalledsargaminwhichthesingerusesthefollowingsyllables:sa,ra/ri,ga,ma,pa,dha,da/ni,sa.LikeinotherexamplesofscalesthereisahierarchyofnoteswithsaactingastheequivalentoftheWesterntonic.Tosomeonenotfamiliarwiththepracticeorthelanguageitmightappearthatthesingerisspeakingwordswithmeaning.Thatisnotthecase,thesyllablessimplyindicatepitchheight. Analyzingmelody:
1. Whatinstrumentisperformingthemelody?2. Isthemelodypre-composedorisitimprovised?Isitornamented?3. Whatscaleormelodicmodeservesasthefoundationforthe
melody?4. Describetherange,direction,andmotionofthemelody.
Harmony
Melodyisacollectionofpitchesplayedinsuccession.Harmonyisacollectionofpitchesplayedatthesametime.Therulesandaestheticsthatdeterminetheproperuseofharmonydifferbetweencultures.Forexample,thewaysthatharmonyisusedwithinJapaneseGagakudiffersfromthewaysthatitisutilizedinWesternmusic.Someculturesdonotutilizeharmonyasanelementofmusic.SomeexamplesofmusicthatdoesnottraditionallyutilizeharmonyincludeIndonesianGamelan,IndianClassical,ArabicandPersian,NativeAmerican,andAboriginalAustraliangenres.HarmonyhasbeenutilizedanddevelopedasanelementinJapaneseGagaku,Sub-SaharanAfrican,andWesternstylesincludingEuropeanartmusic,andWesternpopulargenres.
Westernharmonylargelyfunctionsonabasisknownastonality.Tonalityisaconceptthatrecognizesthetonicnoteofadiatonicscaleasthemostimportant“home”or“central”pitchfromwhichthemusicbeginsandends.Whenconsideringharmony,thetonalcenter(tonic)isachordbuiltonthefirstscaledegree.Somemusicshiftstonalcenterswithinthepiece.Whenthemusicshiftsfromonediatonickeyareatoanotheritiscalledamodulation.Mostmodulationsareimperceptibletotheuntrainedlistener.Modulationsbetweenmajorandminorkeyscansometimesbediscernabletotheuntrainedear.IntherecitativeQuandjevousaimerai?fromtheoperaCarmenthereisamodulationfromfminortoFMajorjustbeforetheend.ThissetsupamodulationfromFMajortodminorforthestartofthearia:L'amourestunoiseaurebelle(Habanera).TheHabaneraalsomodulatesfromdminortoDMajor.Thesekeyareasdictatethenoteschosenforboththemelodyandtheharmony.
Achordisgenerallydefinedasthreeormorepitchessoundingsimultaneously.Thetonicchordisbuiltbyplayingthefirst,third,andfifthnoteofthescalesimultaneously.IfthetonalityofapieceisCmajorthenthetonicchordcontainsthenotesC,E,andG(SeeFigure7).
Figure7:Tonic,Sub-dominant,andDominantsinCdiatonic-major
Scaledegree 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th OctaveCmajorscale C D E F G A B CTonicchord“Cmaj” C E G Sub-dominantchord“Fmaj” F A CDominantchord“Gmaj” D G B Becausethetonicchordisthe“homechord”,intonalmusicitisthecentralharmony.Thedominantandsub-dominantchordsarealsoveryimportantandarebuiltonthefifthandfourthnotesofadiatonicscale.
Majorandminordiatonicchordsareconsideredtobeconsonantchords.Consonanceisrepresentedbyintervalsorchordsthatsoundrelativelystableandfreeoftension.Theoppositeofconsonanceisdissonance.Dissonanceisrepresentedbyintervalsorchordsthatsoundtenseandunstable.Westernfunctionalharmonyutilizestheprincipalthatthemusicwillstartwithconsonantharmonies,movetomoredissonantharmoniesandintheendofferrelaxation/reliefbyreturningtoconsonance.Themovementbetweenconsonanceanddissonanceprovidesmotiontodepthtothemusic.Intonalmusic(musicwithfunctionalharmony)thismovementhappensbetweenchords.Aestheticsthatdeterminewhatisconsonantandwhatisdissonantdifferfromculturetocultureandfromgenerationtogeneration.AninterestingexampleofthisisintraditionalchoralsingingfromBulgaria.Inthisculturesecondsareconsideredtobeconsonant.IncontemporaryAmericanpoptheseintervals(andchordsbuiltusingthem)areconsideredtobedissonant.
AdefiningfeatureofWesternArtmusicisthedevelopmentofharmonystartingintheMedievalstyleperiod.Inabroadsensetonalmusichasapeakinpurelydiatonicmusic(usingnotesofmajorandminordiatonicscales)intheClassicalstyleperiod.IntheRomanticperiodcomposersstretchedthepossibilitiesoftonalmusicbyaddingdramaticdissonancesandfarreachingharmoniestothetraditionaltonalfoundationsthatwereestablishedduringthepreviousperiods.BytheTwentiethcenturymanycomposersbelievedthattraditionaltonalitywasexhaustedandold-fashioned.TheresultofthiswasthattheTwentiethcenturystyleperiodinWesternArtmusicsawanormalizationofdissonance.Muchmusicfromtheperiodexploredthepossibilitiesofsonoritiesthatexistedoutsidetherulesoffunctionalharmony/tonality.Thisisadefiningfeatureofthisperiodofmusic.Whenlisteningtoitonemaybesurprisedbythelackofcomfort(ortheoddness)feltwithinmanyworks.Thisisoftenadirectresultofthenormalizationoftraditionaldissonances.Whenmusicdeniestherulesoftonalitybynothavingacentraltonalityitisreferredtoasatonalmusic.Learningthemusicaltheorybehindfunctionalharmonyandatonalpracticetakesmany“classically”trainedWesternmusiciansyearsofclasses,lessons,practiceandstudytomaster.
Westernpopularandfolkgenresgenerallyutilizesimpleharmoniesthatarediatonicandfunctionallytonal.Mostmusicwithinthesegenrescontainsarepetitivesequenceofmovementbetweenseveraldiatonicchords.Thisiscommonlyknownasachordprogression.Thesechordprogressionsoftencontain
onlythreeorfourchords.InmajordiatonickeysthechordsofTonic(builtonscaledegree1),Sub-dominant(scaledegree4)andDominant(scaledegree5)areoftenusedtobuildsongs.Invocalgroupsthereisoftenonesingerwholeadsbysingingthemelodywhiletheothersharmonizethatmelodybycombiningvoicestosingchords.Inpopularbandsinstrumentsthatcanplaychords(guitar,piano)oftenplaythechords/harmonywhilesingersprovidethemelody.
TraditionalMexicancorridosareoftensungoveratwo-chordprogressionthatalternatesbetweenonlythetonicanddominantchords.Figure8showsthechordsalongwiththelyricsofthefirstverseofElCorridodeGregorioCortezasperformedbyRamónAyala.Atwo-chordprogressionbetweentonicanddominantallowsthemusiciantostartandfinishwithconsonancerepresentedbythetonicchordandmovetoamore“dissonant”arearepresentedbythedominantchord.Inthispiecetheharmonyisthechordsplayedontheguitarwhilethevoicesarethemelody.Anotherinterestingaspectofthemelodyisthatitissunginharmonybytwosingerswhosingathirdapart.
Figure8:ElCorridodeGregorioCortezmelodywithchords
Theadditionofthesub-dominantchord(IV)tothetonicanddominant
expandstheharmonicpossibilitiesofachordprogression.Thesethreechordsaretheharmonicfoundationofmanypopsongs.Itisinterestingtonotethateachofthesechordsliesnexttoeachotheronthecircleof5ths(Seefigure4).Whenaskingguitaristswhatthefirstchordsarethattheylearnedtheyoftenreplywiththreeadjacentchordsonthecircleof5ths:(F,C,G)or(G,D,A).Thetonic,dominant,andsub-dominantchordsareusedtobuild“threechord”songs.Examplesofthreechordsongsusingtonicdominantandsub-dominantcanbeseenbyfollowingthislink:
Theblueschordprogressionisaspecificsequenceofthetonic,dominant,andsub-dominantchordsthatservesastheharmonyforthebluesgenre.AccordingtoSteveValdezinhisbookAHistoryofRockMusic,4theditionthebasicbluesstructurewasinspiredbychordsusedinbasicchurchhymnsfromGreatBritain,ScotlandandIreland.African(American)slavesassimilatedthemintotheirownmusicandcreated“theblues”.Inthe1910sand1920stheblueschordprogressionbegantocodifyintothetwelve-barbluesprogression.Inthisprogressionthetonic
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chord(I)istheharmonicfoundationofthefirstfourbars.Itisfollowedbyatwobarharmonyofthesub-dominant(IV)chord.Afterreturningtotonic(I)fortwobarsitthenmovestodominant(V)fortwobarsandendswithtwomorebarsoftonic(I).Each“bar”ormeasurehasfourbeatswithabackbeatemphasison2and4.ThefullprogressionisillustratedinFigure9.Tomodernmusicians“playingtheblues”oftenmeansplayingapiecethatutilizedthe12bar-bluesprogression.Thebluesandpentatonicscalescanbeusedtoimprovisemelodiesovertheharmonyofthebluesprogression.
Figure9:12-BarBluesProgression
Bar1Tonic(chord)=I
Bar2Tonic=I
Bar3Tonic=I
Bar4Tonic=I
> > > > > > > >1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4Bar5Sub-Dominant=IV
Bar6Sub-Dominant=IV
Bar7Tonic=I
Bar8Tonic=I
> > > > > > > >1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4Bar9Dominant=V
Bar10Dominant=V
Bar11Tonic=I
Bar12Tonic=I
> > > > > > > >1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Byaddingmorechordstothetraditionalthreesongwritersbuildmorecomplexchordprogressions.Inmuchmusicthechordaddedisaminorchordbuiltonthesixthscaledegree(sub-mediant/vi).Manypophitsfromthe1950sand60susedthe“doowop”progressionoftonic,sub-mediant,sub-dominant,dominant(I-vi-IV-V)tocreatea“hit”sound.Morerecentlythetonic,dominant,sub-mediant,sub-dominant(I-V-vi-IV)progressionhasbeenusedtocreatemanyhits.Therearemanyonlinevideosinwhichmusiciansdemonstratethisconceptbyplayingthesamechordprogressionwhilemovingthroughmanypopularmelodies.
AstheageofEuropeancolonialismgiveswaytotheinternetrevolutionWesternmusicalinfluencescanbefoundinculturesacrosstheglobe.Thisoftenmanifeststhroughtheadditionofharmonyintopopularandtraditionalgenres.HarmonycannowbeheardwithinBollywood,K-pop,J-pop,andArabicpopularmusic.SometimesitisusedintraditionalWesternwayswhileoftenitissimplyusedasaneweraestheticpreferencethatisnotboundtoWesterntraditions.
Analyzingharmony:1. Isthereharmonywithinthemusic?2. Ifso,whatinstrument(s)areplayingtheharmonicpart?3. Whatscaleormelodicmodeservesasthefoundationforthe
harmony?
4. Istheharmonyarepetitivechordprogression?Ifso,whatisthechordprogression?
MusicalTexture
MusictheoristsoftenutilizetextureasanelementofmusicthathelpsguideunderstandingofthecomplexdifferencesbetweenthemanygenresofWesternArtMusicthatwerecreatedoverthepastmillennium.Musicaltextureishowmelodyandharmonyarecombinedwithinapieceofmusic.Becausetextureisonlyconcernedwiththesetwoelementsitisnotoftenusedtoanalyzemusicfromculturesthatdonotutilizeharmony.Itisimportanttounderstandthatpurelyrhythmic(drumming)partsarenotconsideredwhenanalyzingthetextureofapieceofmusic.
Therearethreeprimarymusicaltextures:Monophony-Monophonicmusiccontainsonemelodywithnoharmonicaccompaniment.Musicalworksthathaveonlyonemelodicinstrumentperformingareoftenmonophonic.Monophonictexturecanalsooccurwhenmanyinstrumentsareplayingthesamemelodyatthesametime.Gregorianchantisanexampleofamonophonicgenre.MusicoftheshakuhachiandNativeAmericanflutesismostlymonophonic.WhenpeoplegathertosingHappyBirthdaytheystriveforamonophonictexture.Whenapieceofmusiccontainsonemelodywithanaccompanyingdrone(RagaJog)thedroneisoftennotconsideredandthereforethetexturemaybecalledmonophonic.Homophony-Homophonicmusiccontainsonemelodyandharmonicaccompaniment.ThisisthemostcommonlyheardtextureinWesternArtmusicandcontemporarypopularmusic.Theharmonyisoftenplayedonaninstrumentthatcanperformmorethanonenoteatthesametime.Instrumentslikethepianoandtheguitarareusedinmodernpopmusictoplaythechordswhilesingersoftenperformthemelody.Despitethecomplextimbres,melodies,andrhythmsofWesternArtmusicthemostcommontextureishomophony.Whenchoirsandvocalgroupssingfour-partharmony(chords)inwhichallofthevoicesmoveinunisonrhythmtheresultingtextureishomophony.Theuppervoiceinthesecasesisthemelodywhiletheothervoicesaretheharmonicaccompaniment.Thismusicissometimesreferredtoasbeinghomorhythmic.Polyphony-Polyphonicmusiccontainstwoormoredifferingmelodieshappeningsimultaneously.ThereismuchpolyphonicmusicfromboththeRenaissanceandBaroquestyleperiodsinWesternArtmusic.InClassical,Romantic,andTwentiethCenturystylessmallerpolyphonicsectionsoflargeworksoffercontrasttothelargelyhomophonictextures.Polyphonyiscomplexor“thick”sounding.Itisnotoftenheardinpopularmusic.Polyphonicmusicmayormaynothaveharmonicaccompaniment.
Thefourthtextureisonethatalsocontainsonemelodybuthasvariationsonthemelody.Heterophony-Heterophonicmusiccontainstwoormorevoicesplayingvariationsofonemelodyatthesametime.Thisisacommontextureofsomefolktraditionsinwhichmelodiesarepreviouslyknowntothelisteners(AmazingGrace)andeachperformerwantstoaddtheirownstyletotheperformance.
Analyzingtexture:1. Doesthemusichaveoneormoremelodies?2. Doesthemusichaveharmony?3. Didyoudisregarddronesanddrums?4. Whatisthetexture?Doesitchangewithinthepiece?
ReferenceList:Bakan,MichaelB.2012.WorldMusic:TraditionsandTransformations.2nded. NewYork:McGraw-Hill.Kilroe-Smith,Catherine.2013.MusicalJourneys.Dubuque,IA:KendallHunt.Kubic,Gehard.1994.TheoryofAfricanMusic,VolumeI.London:Universityof
ChicagoPress.Paredes,Américo.1958.WithHisPistolinHisHand:ABorderBalladandIt’sHero.
Austin,TX:UniversityofTexasPress.Sacks,Oliver,G.Schlaug,L.Jancke,Y.HuangandH.Steinmetz.1995.MusicalAbility.
Science268,(5211May):621-22.Wade,BonnieC.2013.ThinkingMusically:ExperiencingMusic,ExpressingCulture.
3rded.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.WikimediaCommons.“HarmonicPartialsonStrings.svg.”LastmodifiedJuly8,2008. AccessedOct.31,2016.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Harmonic_partials_on_strings.svg.Worland,Randy.“DemonstratingtheEffectofAirTemperatureonWindInstrument
Tuning.”Presentedatthe161stAcousticalSocietyofAmericaMeeting,May26,2011.AccessedNov.5,2016.http://acoustics.org/pressroom/httpdocs/161st/Worland.html
Valdez,Stephen.2006.AHistoryofRockMusic.4thed.Dubuque,Iowa:Kendall/Hunt.