the tonal scale in harmony

8/8/2019 The Tonal Scale in Harmony

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MT50'86


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Cornell University LibraryMT 50.P86The tonal scale in^l^SSKStiMii^^^^^^^

3 1924 021 633 023

CORNELLUNIVERSITYLIBRARY

MUSIC


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The original of tiiis book is intine Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions inthe United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924021633023


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MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY

MODERN CHORDSEXPLAINED

WITH MUSICAL EXAMPLES FROM THE WORKSOF C. DEBUSSY, RICHARD STRAUSSAND GRANVILLE BANTOCK

ARTHUR G. POTTER.

LondonW. REEVES, 83 CHARING CROSS ROAD, W.C.MCMX


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Printtd by The New Tem^c Press, Croydon.


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MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED.THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY.

Introductory.

I F composers had awaited on theory to justify theirmethods the greatest works would never have

existed. Theory has always lagged behind, timidlyfar to the rear of practice ; only in fact by disregardingthe former have the boldest creative spirits achievedepoch-making work. It was common knowledge in histime that Purcell was a blundering experimenter, Bachdid not write correct fugue, Beethoven perpetrated uglyprogressions, Wagner was a charlatan, Richard Strausswas and remains to many a danger-signal, and ClaudeDebussy a nightmare. The question is not whetherthese men's music was or is the greatest work of theirperiod but whether theory has the right to condemn


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2 MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED.achievements which aesthetics and the trend of musicalart generally have accepted as admirable. We thinkthat theory has no such right, but that it ought to waithumbly and gladly upon practice and stamp by sys-tematic approval the use of means which have beenused to noble purpose and performance. Theory haswaited upon practice, but at too great a distance offand only acquiesced when the moral support of thetheorist had become quite superfluous as far as theparticular composer-innovator was concerned. Tomake theory not only keep pace with practice butalways to leave an outlet available upon paths stilluntrodden is our aim. Instead of clogging the wheelsof advancement, as they have done so far, theories inthis treatise supply an incentive to further and moredaring innovations.That an advanced system of harmony theory is re-

quired will be readily admitted, for even the most up-to-date theorists have not frankly faced the difficultiesof the latest schools of composition. All along whathad been done admirably in practice was often cata-logued under the head of exceptions to some rule. Yetit can be shown that those very exceptional passageswere the finest and most characteristic in the works


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 3concerned. Here the aesthetic requirements were in ad-vance of the theoretic system, and the former only wonthe day through superior truth and beauty. With theexperience gained, therefore, by a retrospect of thehistory of the relations of theory and practice downto the present time, it is not a very daring thing toaccept practice on its merits as practice and to maketheory tally with it. Theory hitherto has been milkfor musical babes; for young giants it was very in-adequate nourishment. The young giant indeedspeedily out-grew it, and sought his own sustenancein forbidden places. So that the plan pursued inquoting examples from even classic works and then in-structing the student to avoid such methods on accountof some theoretic objection was analogous to telling agrown man that mother's milk is the only food forhim. A strict schooling is an advantage as long asit does not result in permanently stunting mentalgrowth. We think that the bogie of forbidden pro-gressions, etc., has often maimed and frustrated spon-taneous expression of very good ideas and resulted inthe perpetration of some ugliness which may have been"more correct." Requiring new idioms and newmethods, new ideas should justify themselves and the


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4 MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED.imagination be left unprejudiced one way or the other.To face the problem candidly and fearlessly is to

discover in it most fascinating elements, and to justifymuch that is still under the> unspoken ban of thetheorists. For much still remains over after all theusual exceptions have been catalogued. It is exactlythis quantum that affords the advanced theorist themost happy results when treated with the candour hecan bring to bear on it. And now our policy dealswith this question specifically and in detail. Broadlystated, we go on the assumption that if the effect ismusical, the means used must be right; and that ifexisting theory condemns the means then the theoryis wrong and must be re-cast to classify that means,already justified in practice.The unique feature of our system of harmony is

that it is so inclusive in application that no exceptionsor forbidden progressions are required. The final ap-peal is, of course, to the aesthetic sense, the effect beingthe objective, and anything to that end permissible.This gives full rein to the creative instinct, lookingupon what is unusual not as exceptional, and havingan open mind as to the use of either usual or unusualmeans.


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 5The outstanding trait of modem music is un-

doubtedly its greater use of dissonance for effect.Whereas the classic masters looked upon the assonanceas the basis of harmony, its essential content, themoderns recognise in dissonance their chief means foreffect. As the development of the harmony instinctwent on dissonance came more and more into promin-ence. We find Bach dwelling with infinite relish andan engaging fondness upon an ordinary dominantseventh, or a diminished seventh, and extracting fromthe former an exquisite expression of sweetness whichbefore his day was associated solely with assonantchords. Later we find Wagner lingering upon andreiterating dominant ninths with an equal relish; infact this is one of this master's mannerisms. The artof dissonance has so developed that to-day it is thepredominant harmonic factor, and tends to greaterand greater acuteness as well as greater insistency inuse. Put broadly, it may be said that the older menused dissonance as a welcome break to the prevailingassonance, while the moderns use assonance as a reliefto the prevailing dissonance in their compositions. Dis-sonance, having its rise in the casual clash of movingparts in the polyphonic period, came gradually to be


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6 MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED.valued for its own sake and accordingly systematisedon a harmony basislooked at perpendicularly in-stead of horizontally, as in the polyphonic period.This explains much that, looked at either way alone,would be considered somewhat harsh and unpleasant.

Since Purcell's time a distinct tendency is observableto get away from the stiff diatonic relationships ofchords; this tendency becomes so marked in themoderns that the older diatonic systems no longersatisfy the student in search of a working hypothesisregarding scales. In fact certain passages in themodern are incapable of analysis on any diatonicscale. These passages we here propose to elucidateand systematise. So far the recognised theorists haveattempted no explanation but are unanimously silenton the subject. Not a single example of this type ofharmony can we discover in any of the textbooksbefore the publica singular fact, seeing that, amongmany others, two eminent composers, Strauss andDebussy use progressions and scales on this newsystem very largely. This element in the latest workswhich we call the tonal scale element, is not a merepassing phase but an integral and essential part ofthe technique of composition, and accordingly deserves


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 7attention from the theorist who would attempt to coverthe ground of contemporary practice.

In the following chapters we assume that the studenthas mastered the orthodox methods of harmony, andproceed to apply our new system, offering a morethorough harmonic analysis of the most modern phasesof the science than has hitherto been proffered by anytheorist.


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I

-QROFESSOR PROUT, the most erudite of English"^ theorists in music carries his examples and ex-planations as far as Wagner, but does not dealwith Richard Strauss, Claude Debussy or the com-posers of similar schools. The theory of harmonyand composition brought so far by Dr. Prout seems tohalt there as if recognising the presence of some newelement in the more recent men's work which is notsusceptible of the same kind of explanation and classi-fication as that of Wagner and his predecessors. Thisnew element is something outside the old conception ofdiatonic and chromatic scales. We propose to call it"tonal" because it introduces for the first time intotheory the use of a consistent system of tonal scales,scales consisting of successive full tones.


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the tonal scale in harmony.Tonal Scales:

II. ^PSE^^^^i -P^ ^- etc.It will be readily seen that there can be only two

tonal scales. Further, that any note of either of theseis as important as any other.

(1)

Some Tonal Chords:(2) (3) (4) (S) (6) (7)

etc.

>J-;|=:ij*=ijzg^^j-

The above are a few examples of tonal chords. Eachchord must have notes drawn alone from the particulartonal scale to which it belongs.

If all notes in a scale are of equal importance, therecan be no dominant nor tonic as in the older systems.The abolition of dominant and tonic elements thusadmits of a hitherto undreamt of freedom of move-ment in harmony. Thus is abolished the fettered range


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10 MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED.of the diatonic system which recognised its tonic anddominant in a key as landmarks only to be departedfrom under very strict regulations. Hitherto the tonalscale and its chords have only been used in conjunc-tion with the diatonic scale, so that the ear has beengranted its customary hold on tonality. But the intro-duction of the tonal scale and chords has altered thewhole aspect of that tonality and has given the com-poser an immensely wider range of modulation bymeans which are of a mobility impossible with the olddiatonic and chromatic systems. The whole frame-work of the key-systems has now been loosened andrendered more elastickept more, as it were, in a stateof solution. So that composers can take greater andmore sudden departures from the key of the momentthan formerly. This tendency may ultimately workout in absolute abolition of the key system now in use.Tonality being something merely in terms of what theear can localise, and a constantly developing factor,may, in time, become a purely subtle instinct apart fromdiatonic key systems altogether. Meanwhile, the feel-ing of tonality is preserved by the constant recurrenceof diatonic passages even in the most advanced music.

Scales are purely arbitrary and have changed with


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. IIthe evolution of the human ear. And the so-calledmajor and minor scales of the diatonic system have nomore right to monopolise the art than the ancientecclesiastical modes or the scale systems of ancientIreland, China or India have. And further, the tonalscale has already justified its use by aesthetic results.So that theory has now to adjust itself to that newscale.A scale which has no tonic and no dominant on

which to establish its harmonic system must have re-course to a different basis. What is that basis ?


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II

T T 7HEN composers, ostensibly writing in the dia-tonic system, used the chord of the French

sixth, unconsciously they were writing in the tonal scale.Also when they used the chord of the augmentedtriad they were writing in the new scale. In manycases it was possible for them to explain away theaugmented interval by calling it a passing note ora suspension. But Henry Purcell in the allegromoderate of the overture to "Dido and ^neas" usesthis chord in a way that cannot be explained away aseither a passing note or a suspension. The absurdityof the old explanation of the origin of the Frenchsixth is apparent from the fact that it had to be derivedfrom two roots. Of course, modern theorists have dis-

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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 1carded this two-root hypothesis, but we claim thattheir derivation is equally false. This chord like thatof the augmented triad is really a tonal chord, belong-ing solely to the tonal scale. The older theorists wereobliged to explain these chords in their own waybecause they were not conscious of the existence of thescale involved. But that scale, so long in creeping intounconscious use, has now become an actual realityutilised certainly along with the diatonic scale, but anintegral and important factor in modern composition.Some of these chords have been treated as diatonic

by resolution, but their intervals are essentially tonaland they belong of right to the tonal scale. Moderncomposers use these chords with a freedom that seemsto preclude the use of the term "resolution," but onlyfrom the standpoint of the old orthodox rules ofresolution. Even the ordinary dominant seventh ishandled in a freer way and the whole trend of practiceis totally to disregard the old set methods of "resolv-ing" all dissonances whatsoever. Chords nowadaysprogress so that the intervals merely readjust them-selves regardless of the resulting assonance ordissonance.

In regard to the use of the tonal scale and its chords


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14 MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED.in conjunction with the diatonic scale, the former con-stitute a kind of neutral ground as regards tonality orthe sense of key. The feeling of tonality is suspendedfor the time being, all keys being equally relative totonal scales and chords. A glance at the practice ofmodern composers proves this. The use of the tonalscale and its chords as well as the unusual methods ofresolving diatonic chords are part and parcel of themodern tendency towards the utmost freedom of pro-gression. So that the only rule for the progression ofparts at the present stage is as follows : There must bela connecting link between successive chords of a notecommon to each or of one or more parts moving withinthe interval of a tone or semitone, the other parts beingfree in movement. The ear accepts this limited move-ment of some of the parts as a satisfactory bridge tothe new chord.To chords derived from the tonal scale, which has no

dominant or tonic denominator, we have not givenindividual names. Perhaps a system of terminologywill be evolved for tonal chords, but at present termsderived from the diatonic system would only beconfusing.


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONV. 15Example A i.

Overture to " Dido and ^neas " (Purcbll).K^^ :.p-=:-^=:etc.M^-

Example A2.AlUgr* mcdtraio. )|N-' i^-mmmm'^- '^^* * - '

quiv-ei ing with cold, We cbat-ter, chat-ter, chat-ter, etc..4. .m. M. M. -?--!----- AL jk. .. .^. J? jr

.- - r_**' I MZZMZue. -P ^-maaateE5E33E|3=i=3îa3E3EÊSEp

______ etc.:q-âi rarijnj:

:q=q-q=iThis group of examples from works by Henry Pur-

cell we refer to later.


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 17

illfeEXAMFLb B." Peli&is et M6lisande " (Debussy) 138.

etc.

t=^^f= Tcrr ^m^^-^?^^fi:^^^. J=U= ^=S^^y-'^^'^ l ' :r:

:r-:?^=,r..9-ss^sl|^i^ ?=p^ fedzIn this example the first two chords define the key as

E flat minor and the two upper parts move a tone.The first chord is a secondary seventh upon F, thesecond a third inversion of a dominant seventh on Bflat. The next chord is the characteristic chord in thebar, and is tonal. It is connected with the precedingchord by having F in common. It passes back throughthe same two chords to another characteristic chord,which is also tonal. The three lower parts all move atone. The voice part at the beginning of the next barremains stationary. But note the chord which accom-panies it. The third part from the bass is changedchromatically to half a tone higher but immediatelyfalls back to its original position in the chord which istonal. This part is of interest, the D natural being


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1 MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED.by way of a grace note for expressive purposes, anddoes not essentially alter the tonal character of thechord. The musical and dramatic phrase ends here, anew phrase starting with the C flat major chord.

Example C.Intro. " Pellias et MelUande" (page 2).

(2.^^m^^^pp |-B , r-, , P ==- PPiS-^SyiS^tig^i^=^^Vi-^aziz=z.-iz:zzi= - l-feg-This is a fine example of a complete phrase in tonal

harmony. A complete tonal scale is embodied in thephrase. The progression to the chord suggesting Dminor is simply accomplished by the A flat rising halfa tone. The second chord in bar three is a secondaryseventh on F ; the next is a s choi-d, in reality a | withthe fourth as a passing note.


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 19Example D." PellJas et M^lisande " (p. I2j.^^^m

m-=^z 4u=tz

I

--Sl=:

m-'0"

The chords in bar two are tonal, the bass ultimatelyrising half a tone to B natural and the D remainingcommon to both bars. The chord on B natural is thefirst inversion of a secondary seventh on G sharp, andprogresses to a chord, the intervals of which are thoseof a diminished seventh. According to the notationthe chord is a first inversion, but as it stands it ex-


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20 MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED.presses the intervals of a diminished seventh chord, thepassage not being diatonic and the notation beingpurely arbitrary.The chord formed where the A sharp, C diarp aad

F natural occur next demands attention. The ex-planation of this chord is so significant of the methodsof the latest composers' harmony that we defer it to anew section. Looking back at the opening of this ex-ample two chords of the secondary seventh, the firstin its root position and the second in its first inversionare to be noted.

Example E." Pelle'as et Melisande," (Dbbussv), p. i8.Voice. jj^z^=z:ttMzrtr=g-^=p=g: =1=

^i-i=z^-g=iz]^i|s=^^^ etc.-?s-^-^ -^ Fft5-r=r-f-r-P =- =- IIIThe first and second are dominant ninths on A flat

the third chord is a major triad on B natural or itsenharmonic C flat. The accompaniment here containsthe real bass, the melody in the voice having the effect


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 21of being above the bass though acoustically it is belowthe real bass.

Example F."Salome" (Strauss), V.S., p. 45.

-#*- %^-.i3-'^ *j^= 1?i^-^prrftg^U- fe.

Eg=t?-

=s-etc.

-'L>-

^" leai :fea:The first chord is a 6-4; the next is a tonal chord.

It is impossible to explain this chord on a minor thir-teenth because the fifth in the vocal part is a dimin-ished one. The resolution takes place according torule ; the C is common to both chords and certain partsrise half a tone in the progression to the first inversion


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22 MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED.of C minor. Note the bold tonal writing for the voice.There is no mistaking that the voice part in bar two,and in the latter half of bar three and all bar four ispurely tonal. Such passages can only be sung withfacility on the basis of a tonal scale, and by franklyrecognising and becoming familiar with that scale.Its effect in declamation approaches more nearly thatof the natural inflections of the speaking voice thanthe diatonic scales.

Example G."Salome" (Strauss), p. 46.

m^^^ -i -^Sg=^g^ ^:^

s/z fppE=^i^fe^=t= !|^

etc.

The first chord is a secondary seventh, third inver-sion. Some chromatic passing notes and then a tonalchord. The chord formed by the B, A, D and F sharpis also a secondary seventh ; the other notes are merelypassing notes. The chords in the passage resolveaccording to the rule.


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 23Example H.

"Elektta" (Strauss), p. 61.

$ -a Nir-I- =^-P-P^^ 4a;m^u'^m 1= 15=

dim. PP ^ espress.m

Ti' 5^-c^ :i 3f S^etc.

The first chord in this example is a tonal chord con-sisting of four notes of a tonal scale. The D sharp inthe left hand is a grace note anticipatory of the chordwhich follows, a major triad on B. The chord in thesecond bar we will deal with later. Those on D andC sharp which follow are tonal and resolve accordingto our rule.


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24 MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED.

EXAMPLB OF A TONAL CADENCB. J."Omar Khayyam (GaANViLLB Bantock). (Sj).

SOPRANO.^^ PPt^ EiE^EE ;^^Tenor.mC:p: -f: 1 r-

)i^fc?

Ms5;i5 j J ! W 3EIL-ft.|t=p2::z -If^:^,^53 ^^ ;r3^=q5s=liEEla|fe-E^g:|^^=gzg^^^p

l?*tli^*' -S^*'-? "^--iP-- ijjfl*"-;: --;-T -i"-^it^qr=g=a^^^=^^;. rin?r _ J j:tv


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 25

-M^0^etc.

.^-4,I-t'^ i:*iji^iiis^siiWj,j-.^.-.gr-.;r*- m,

Can espress.estress. I I l/-> Piri

This is a sample of a tonal cadence ; four bars of thepassage are purely tonal.


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Ill

'T'HE principle of pedal notes either in the bass,middle or upper parts is a recognised one. The

moderns, notably Debussy and Strauss, carry thisprinciple to its logical extreme by sustaining notone or two notes only as a pedal, but whole chords.Startling as this may seem at first sight the principleis identical with that of classic usage. The acousticlaw involved is very simple. The ear having becomereconciled to the note or notes constituting the pedalat the outset, becomes as it were unconscious that thepedal is still sounding in conjunction with notes thatare no longer in the same harmonic relations to it. Butif the note constituting the pedal were played withmany of the chords which occur in a pedal passagewithout the preparation necessary to a pedal theywould be in violent discord. Here the rule for pre-

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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 27paration so dear to the classic mind enters into thecase. On the contrary, however, the modern ear con-siders the preparation of discords unnecessary. Andfurther the moderns extend the pedal principle notonly to single notes but to complete chords. Thus wearrive at the point where two completely distinctchords are sounded together producing considerablediscordance. In example (D), bar three, the firstchord is the first inversion of a secondary seventh.This combination lasts for a minim's length. Afterthis certain notes, the root, third and fifth are keptsounding like pedal notes, while there enters a foreignchord standing in no relation to this combination. Thenew chord is the minor triad of A sharp (the fifthbeing written as F, instead of E sharp), which passes,the pedal notes still sounding, and the next chord is adominant seventh retaining the pedal notes. This is avery simple example of the use of a pedal chord inconjunction with an extraneous chord. Except thatthe pedal is not merely a single note, but a chord,classic men would accept its use as orthodox enough.A further stage in the application of the same princi-ple, wherein two extraneous chords sound simul-taneously, is where neither has the preparation which


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28 MODERN CHORDS EXPLAINED.constitutes a pedal. That is to say, both chords areattacked simultaneously. And we arrive at the start-ling fact of two distinct and distantly related chordsconstituting an harmony. This is the principle under-lying the chord at bar two, example (H) from the"Elektra" of Strauss. This chord consists of twocomplete, non-related triads in root position, viz., themajor common chords of E flat and C, with G as anote common to both. In example (I) the distinctness

Example X."Elektra" (Stradss).

Ss

of the two triads forming the chord is emphasised bythe notation adopted by the composer, who does notattempt to relate the triads by enharmonically jug-gling with his notation. Here we have a genuine two-root chord, with both roots actually sounding. Thuswe have a real example of the two-root principle sowrongly applied by Banister to the French sixth inhis efforts to explain a chord whose root was not ex-


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 2gpressed. Later harmonists feeling the weakness of hisexplanation have discarded it, but have given no betterexplanation. But the significance of the whole matteris that Banister actually postulated a two-root princi-ple, only now applied in practice.

Reverting back to example (A) it will be seen thatas far back as the seventeenth century a great com-poser by a singular instinct used chords which to theear of that day must have sounded like chords of theminor thirteenth and minor sixth on the dominant gonewrong and, in fact, very harsh, to those days. Whereasthe true explanation is that Purcell anticipated achord of ultra-modern harmony in a scale fated ulti-mately to rival and possibly oust the diatonic scale inwhich he wrote. So that his "crude experiments"were more prophetic and significant than orthodoxtheorists dared to admit, and were condemnedaccordingly.


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THE TONAL SCALE IN HARMONY. 3with the most imaginatively beautiful and magicaleffects, effects never before dreamt of. This is a sub-ject for future research for theorists.

But apart from instrumental timbres and their har-monic possibilities, the modern use of anticipatorynotes, pedal notes, passing notes, suspensions andauxiliary notes of all kinds, is an immense field forfuture development. While the principle remains thesame, the use is so developed and extended that thesame terms can hardly any longer apply. The prac-tice is so altered that new terms will shortly benecessary.A modern composer is not one who consciously and

deliberately uses certain far-fetched harmonies andprogressions founded on an arbitrary scale, but onewho intuitively and in spite of certain orthodox ruleswrites as he feels whether the means used be ultra-modern or not. In a word the aesthetic value of whathe expresses does not depend on the elaborateness ofhis harmonic technique. Undoubtedly, however, themost striking feature in modern composition is cer-tainly the growing use of the tonal scale, and ofchords founded exclusively on the tonal scale.


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the tonal scale in harmony

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