Module 4- Melody, Harmony and Texture Pitch in music refers to vibrations of sound waves. These vibrations are measured in hertz (cycles per second). Therefore a musical pitch is a sound produced at a certain number of cycles per second (Wade, 2013). The faster the vibration, the higher the resulting pitch. Likewise, the slower the rate of vibration, the lower the pitch. Musical tones can be divided into two categories: determinate and indeterminate pitch. Musical pitches contain a mixture of sound waves. The one that dominates the sound is referred to as the “fundamental” pitch. All of the other waves that are produced by a pitch are referred to (in the music world) as overtones. When a pitch has a set of overtones that allow a fundamental note to dominate the sound it is a determinate pitch. Indeterminate pitch happens when the overtones of a note are not in alignment or there are conflicting fundamentals and therefore no “one” vibration dominates the sound. Another way to think about this concept is to know that instruments that have determinate pitch play notes that are typically given names (letter, number or solfege). Determinate pitch instruments include (but are not limited to): voice, piano, guitar, marimba, woodwinds, brass, chordophones, etc.… Indeterminate pitch instruments are instruments like gamelan gongs, snare drums, cymbals, triangle, etc… These instruments are generally used to keep a rhythm, to accent, or to add color. When a pitch has a set of overtones that vibrate along with the fundamental in simple ratios (see Figure 2) then it makes a harmonic pitch. Most musical instruments that have determinate pitch are harmonic (chordophones, aerophones, most electrophones). When the overtones of the pitch are mostly inharmonic (not in simple ratios) then the pitch is discernable but the timbre is unique (timpani, mallet percussion, singing bowls, tuned gongs). Figure 2 illustrates the harmonic overtones. The wavelengths pictured also illustrate the possible notes that can be played on fixed length aerophones (bugle, bottle, conch shell, etc). Tuning Pythagoras of Samos (of the Pythagorean theorem) described why some musical notes vibrate well together (harmonize) and others do not. We use lengths of string to illustrate his findings. If two strings were physically proportioned in a 2 to 1 ratio (one string is exactly two times the length of the first) and all other factors are equal then the vibrations of musical notes produced by these strings will also exist in a 2 to 1 ratio. For instance: if the long string produced a pitch at 110 hertz then the shorter one would produce a pitch at 220 hertz. This 2 to 1 ratio is so harmonious that we call these two separate notes the same pitch name. The difference between two pitches of the same note name (or 2 to 1 ratio) is called an octave. Simply put and octave is the interval between two pitches having the same note name. A musical interval is the distance between two notes/pitches. In Figure 1 the distance between any two notes of the same letter name is called an octave.
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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
& # # # 86 œœœ œœ œ
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V(Dominant) E7
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[Title][Composer]
Score
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.
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