Chapter 3Harmony: Musical Space

HarmonyDescribes the VERTICAL events in music—

the simultaneous sounding of notes to form chords and the progression (or movement) of one chord to the next.

Chord – THREE or more notes (an Interval is

not a chord)Triad – “Tri” = three. So triad is three NOTES

(a chord)Question: A triad is a chord, but is a chord

always a triad?

ScalesA collection of pitches arranged in ascending or

descending order.Do re mi fa so la ti do (Like in Sound of Music)

Our most common Western scale consists of 8 notes; the first note and last (the “do”) is an octave (an interval). The “do” is considered the tonic or main note (serves as the home base).

The “do” and scale used affects the tonality.Chords are built on scale notes; the notes used

depend on the type of chord a composer wants. (See page 18, Camptown Races). In this example you can see the horizontal melody and the vertical harmony.

More on HarmonyConsonance Dissonance Beautiful/PleasingAccording to our text,

“provides a sense of relaxation and fulfillment.”

UGH! Not pleasingMeant to introduce

conflict or instability

In other countriesSimpler harmonies, i.e., a drone bass.

Listening ActivityHaydn, Surprise Symphony (p. 19)

1. How many phrases do you hear before the loud “surprise” chord? (2, 4 or 6)

2. How would you describe the harmony? (Simple, chords following the melody OR complex, more independent from the melody)

3. Would you consider this selection’s harmony more: consonant or dissonant?

4. Do you think the opening is in a: Major key (sounding happy) or Minor key (sounding sad)

Chapter 4: The Organization of Musical SoundsOctave Divided into 12 equal half stepsChromatic Scale = all 12 half steps in

succession

More than you wanted to know!Sharps #, Flats Whole steps (Obviously, 2 half steps)Major vs. Minor (and tonality)

Major scales: WWHWWWH Minor scales: WHWWHWW

Diatonic vs. ChromaticDiatonic sounds more stable, because it draws most of its material from the notes of the scale it uses.Chromatic sounds a little wilder, because it often departs from the key of the piece and uses tones that are not considered part of the scale.

Other scale types

Pentatonic (pent for 5—look at the black notes on the piano)

Tritonic (a three-note pattern found in the music of some African cultures)

MicrotonesWhole-toneOctatonic

ChordsText definitions:

Active chords vs. rest chords. Active don’t make us feel like the music is complete. Rest chords do. Active chords “seek to be completed.”

Tonic (I), Dominant (V) and Sub-Dominant (IV)

Lastly . . . Modulation – Moving from a “home” key to a

different key. Composers felt it created tension.

Transposition – Taking a piece in one key and moving it “intact” to another key. If a singer is singing a piece and finds it “too low” or “too high,” he/she often will ask an accompanist to move it to another key.