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

œœ œœI(Tonic) A

œœœ œœ œ

œœ œEn

Jœœœ Jœœ œœ œœ œœel con da do del

œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ JœœCar men mi ren (lo)que

œœ ..œœ œœ œœ œœ ‰ rœœha su ce di do mu

V(Dominant) E7

- - - - - -

& # # # ..6 œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ..œœ œœrió el cher i fe may

Jœœ ‰ . Rœœ œœ Jœœor que dan do

œœ œœ œœ Jœœ œœRo mån her id o

I(Tonic) A ..˙̇- - - - - -

[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.