This fundamentals chapter initiates a study of harmony that is threaded throughout subsequent composition chapters in Part IIa. In this chapter, you will be introduced to major and minor scales, key signatures, intervals, and the concepts of consonance and dissonance before exploring triads and seventh chords in major and minor keys, inverted chords, and related chord symbols.
3.1 Comparison of chromatic and whole tone scales3.2 The intervallic structure of the diatonic collection3.3 The step pattern of the C major scale3.4 The step pattern of the E major scale
3.5 Scale degrees of the major scale3.6 Explanation of scale degree names3.7 Scale degree tendencies in major keys3.8 “A Whole New World” theme (Alan Menken)
3.9 Interval sizes created above middle C in the C major scale3.10 Interval qualities and associated interval sizes3.11 Interval qualities and their corresponding half step quantities3.12 Intervals above tonic in major keys
3.13 Intervals below tonic in major keys3.14 Simple intervals related by inversion3.15 An interval of second and its related compound interval of a ninth3.16 Common compound intervals and their related simple intervals
3.17 Consonant and dissonant intervals3.18 Williams, theme from Jurassic Park3.19 Major key signatures and the circle of fifths3.20 C major and its relative minor, A minor
3.21 Relative keys and the circle of fifths3.22 Comparison of parallel keys on the keyboard and staff notation3.23 Comparison of scale degree tendencies in parallel keys3.24 The ascending forms of minor
3.25 Intervals of the natural minor scale above and below tonic3.26 The C major triad in three musical contexts3.27 The four triad qualities3.28 The diatonic triads of C major and Eb major
3.29 The diatonic triads in A natural minor3.30 The chromatically-altered minor key triads of common practice tonality compared with the diatonic triads of the relative major3.31 Root Position, first inversion, and second inversion D major triads3.32 Arrangement of Clarke, Trumpet Voluntary, mm.1-4
3.33 Five common seventh chord qualities3.34 Diatonic seventh chords in C major3.35 A comparison of seventh chords in A minor3.36 An A7 chord in root position and all inversions
3.37 Arrangement of Clarke, Trumpet Voluntary, mm.1-8
Flashcards
Click on the word to get the definition
harmony
a primary component of music relating to pitch combinations such as chords.
scale
an ordered series of notes arranged in a specific pattern of intervals that encompasses an octave.
chromatic scale
an ordered series of half step intervals encompassing an octave.
whole tone scale
an ordered series of whole step intervals encompassing an octave.
diatonic collection
a collection of seven different notes (plus a repeated note, creating an octave interval above the first) arranged in such a way that five of the adjacent notes are separated by whole steps while two are separated by half steps; these half step intervals are additionally spread apart from one another as evenly as possible within the collection.
tonic
a focal note that serves as a key’s gravitational center within a piece of tonal music.
scale degree
a member of a scale that is indicated by a caret-topped number reflecting its position relative to tonic.
interval size
an indication of the general distance between pitches expressed as a number reflecting the sheer number of letters within the musical alphabet A–G that are involved in the span from the first note to the second note.
interval quality
a secondary indication of the specific distance between pitches that form more general interval sizes, expressed as a letter.
enharmonically equivalent intervals
intervals that sound the same and possess the same number of half steps but are labeled differently (and function differently), as their constituent pitches are spelled differently.
tritone
a dissonant interval that spans six half steps (or three tones) and may be spelled as an augmented fourth or diminished fifth.
interval inversion
a change in the pitch ordering of an interval’s constituent tones, such as when the lower note of an interval becomes the higher note by being placed in a higher octave (or vice versa).
compound intervals
intervals that are larger than an octave.
chord extensions
chord members that create compound intervals above the root.
dissonance
the perceptual sensation of tension engendered by certain intervals, notably those whose frequency ratios are relatively complex.
consonance
the perceptual sensation of stability engendered by certain intervals, notably those whose frequency ratios are relatively simple.
key signature
a patterned arrangement of accidentals in music notation that signifies the key of a given section or piece of music (by including the related scale’s accidentals).
relative keys
keys that share the same key signature but possess different tonics.
parallel keys
keys that share the same tonic but possess different key signatures and different modes.
natural minor
diatonic mode that is similar to a natural minor scale with a lowered second degree and features a step pattern of H–W–W–W–H–W–W.
subtonic
the seventh degree of a scale that is positioned a whole step below tonic.
harmonic minor
the minor scale that is similar to a natural minor scale but possesses a raised seventh degree, creating a leading tone. The harmonic minor scale has the interval pattern W–H–W–W–H–W+H–H, with “W+H” corresponding to the interval of an augmented second.
melodic minor
the minor scale that is similar to a natural minor scale but with raised sixth and seventh degrees in its ascending form, such that its final ascending tetrachord is the same as that of the major scale. The descending version of the scale is the same as the natural minor scale.
triad
a tertian harmony composed of three pitch classes.
seventh chord
a tertian harmony composed of four pitch classes.
voicing
the specific arrangement of a harmony in pitch space, pertaining to the spacing, doubling, and/or omission of the chord tones.
close position
a voicing that involves chord tones placed as close as possible to one another in pitch space.
open position
a voicing that involves chord tones placed relatively far apart in pitch space, such that the chord spans more than an octave.
contrapuntal voices
melodically independent layers in a piece of music that combine in a coherent fashion.
bass
the lowest-sounding contrapuntal voice within a musical texture.
arpeggiation
a melodic and rhythmic figure involving a succession of leaps between chord tones.
Alberti bass
a particular style of bass arpeggiation that is characterized by a pitch contour sequence of low-high-medium-high.
Roman numerals
analytical symbols used to identify chords’ root scale degrees, qualities, and functions within a key.
root position
a chord position featuring the root as the lowest sounding note.
first inversion
a chord position featuring the chordal third in the bass.
second inversion
a chord position featuring the chordal fifth in the bass.
third inversion
a chord position featuring the chordal seventh in the bass.
