- Appoggiatura
- A dissonance that occurs on a metrically strong position. Metrically displaced neighbor, passing or escape tones are all examples of appoggiaturas. While the dissonance occurs on a metrically strong position, the resolution of the dissonance occurs on a metrically weak portion of the beat. Appoggiaturas can be approached by step or skip. Also see Accented Passing Tone.
- Accented Passing Tone
- An accented passing tone could be considered an appoggiatura or dissonance that occurs on a weak beat. Although this is an oxymoron, since appoggiaturas by definition occur on strong beats, it does make some sense. The dissonance occurs on a weak beat, but the resolution of the dissonance occurs on a weaker portion of the beat. Therefore, the dissonance does occur on a stronger portion of the beat in relation to its resolution. Accented passsing tones, as their names imply, are approached and left by step.
- Cadential 6/4
- Often at cadences, the root position dominant is preceded by a chord that has the same bass note as the dominant, but contains the notes of the tonic triad. Since the chord contains the
notes of the tonic, it seems logical to label the chord I6/4. However, this label implies that the chord is somehow functioning as a tonic. Unfortunately, while the label may appear to classify the chord, it obscures the actual harmony and the function of the sixth and fourth above the dominant bass. The purpose of the sixth and fourth above the bass is to embellish and therefore intensify the domiant harmony. The fourth is a suspension that delays the entrance of the leading tone over the dominant bass. The fifth can also be delayed by suspending the sixth above the bass. The double suspension produces and apparent tonic chord in second inversion, but the underlying harmony is still V. Consequently, the apparent tonic triad is simply the product of voice leading motions, and therefore does not serve any tonic function. In fact, the cadential 6/4 produces an interesting reversal. Since scale degree 1 produces the interval of a perfect fourth above the dominant bass, scale degree 1 is a dissonance requiring resolution rather than a stable goal of motion. The leading tone, scale degree 7, becomes the note of resolution and the goal of motion. The notation V6/4--5/3 captures the double suspension function over a dominant harmony.
- Cross Relation
- A cross relation is a chromatic succession that has been split between two voices. That is, one of the notes in the chromatic succession has been displaced by an octave or more. In progressions, cross relations can produce a harsh sound as a result of the interval of the major 7th formed by the two notes. The dissonance is most noticable when the notes of the cross relation are in the outer voices. To lessen the effect of the dissonant interval, put one note of the cross relation in an inner voice.
- Fifth Motion
- Fifth motion is another way of saying harmonic motion. Since the fifth is the interval that defines the triad, it is also the interval that defines the progression of one chord to another as opposed to prolonging a single chord. Contrapuntal progressions move by step and most often serve to proglong a single harmony.
- Hidden Fifth
- Approaching fifths or octaves by similar motion can produce the same effect as approaching fifths or octaves by parallel motion. Adding a passing tone to a hidden fifth produces a parallel fifth, for example. Since the parallel fifth is implied by a missing note, approaching fifths or octaves by similar motion is called hidden fifths or octaves. (See Example 3, in the Neapolitan section of Lecture Notes.)
- Linear Chords
- Essentially, a chord that results from linear motion. For example, if you have a chord in root position that moves to its first inversion and some of the upper voices imitate the bass motion, the interval of the third will separate the notes in some voices. The interval of the third in the bass can be filled in with a passing tone. We would not call the passing tone a chord. However, if the remaining voices were connected with passing and neighbor notes, a chord suddenly appears. In this case, the chord is the product of linear motion.
- Mixture
- Although parallel major and minor scales have the same tonic, their pitch content is different. Since these scales share the same tonics, the same scale degree numbers and consequently the same or nearly the same function can be assigned to pitches with different names. For example, E natural and Eb are both scale degree 3 in C major and C minor, respectively. Since these pitches share the same functional name, they can substitute for one another. Eb can appear in a piece in C major and still function as scale degree three and vice versa. The introduction of pitches from the parallel scale is called mixture. The minor mode has a kind of built in mixture, since you can always introduce the sixth and seventh scales degrees from the parallel major. Composers have used mixture for a variety of reasons. See the Goal of Tonal Motion section of the Neapolitan discussion in Lecture Notes.
- Scale Degree
- Scale degree refers to the location of a pitch within the ordering of pitches that produce a scale. For example, the first pitch of a scale is scale degree 1. Scale degree also has a functional meaning in the syntax of tonal music. Scale degrees can influence the harmonic unfolding of sections of music, and the progression of scale degrees through unify a complete work.
- Tendency Tone
- A Tendency tone is a note that is a half-step away from another note. The note is also dependent. That is, it usually forms a dissonance with another note, and therefore, needs to resolve to a note a half-step away. The 4th and 7th scale degrees in major are tendency tones, since whenever they appear, they have a "tendency" to move to scale degrees 3 and 8, respectively. Any note can become a tendency tone by chromatic alteration. For example, although scale degree 4 usually moves to scale degree 3, #4 moves to a new goal, scale degree 5.
- Tonicization
- Tonicization is a process that temporarily allows a chord other than the tonic to
function as a goal of motion or point of stability, and therefore, function as a temporary tonic. A chord is said to be "tonicized," when it is preceded by its own dominant, dominant seventh, seven chord, or diminished seventh. That is, the dominant determined by the key of the chord. Tonicization is a local event, unlike modulation, which implies establishing a new key center and continuing in the new key. Any chord, except VII, in a major key can be preceded by its own dominant. Any chord in the natural minor, except II, can be preceded by its own dominant.
- Voicing
- Voicing refers to the vertical distribution of the pitches of a chord above the bass. When the root of a triad is in the bass, we describe the voicing of chords as chords in either open or close position. In open position, in between any two members of the chord, another chord tone could be insterted. In close position, no other chord tones could be inserted between two members of the chord.
Page last updated 3/29/97
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