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Chord Progressions in Tonal Music
Chord Progressions in Tonal Music
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Preface
Chapter 1. The Basic Syntactic Structure
Introduction
Syntax in Language
Syntax in Music
Chapter 2. Static and Dynamic Harmony
Static Harmony
Dynamic Harmony
Chapter 3. Non-functional Chords
Introduction
Auxiliary Chords
Passing Chords
Appoggiatura Chords
Chapter 4. Linear Progressions
Chapter 5. Extensions within the Basic Structure
Introduction
The Dominant Prolongation
The Static Coda
Appendices
A: Voice Leading Overview
B: 20th Century Popular Music
C: Glossary of Terms
D: Glossary of Symbols
Bibliography and Web Links
Index of Musical Examples
Ver. 2.6
CHAPTER 1
THE BASIC SYNTACTIC STRUCTURE
Introduction
Conventional theories of structure in tonal music concentrate either
totally on root progression patterns (Rameau. Schoenberg, etc) or
totally on voice leading. (Schenker etc) This book is the first to
explain how root progression patterns and voice leading work
together. This book is based on a systematic analysis of root
progression patterns in a large number of tonal (and tonally
influenced) pieces of music and shows how chord progressions
(once voice leading patterns have been addressed) create musical
phrase structures similar to sentence structures in natural language.
Whilst voice leading principles are fairly well understood, what is
new in this book is the explanation of how root progressions work in
tonal music and how they interact with voice leading. When viewed
from this perspective, it is possible to demonstrate that musical
phrases are constructed in ways that show similarities with the way
sentences are structured in natural languages. This makes it
possible to explain every chord in its context within the musical
phrase rather than just in terms of the chords surrounding it.
This book is about what is normally referred to as tonal music or
music which is based on tonality. By tonal music I mean music that
is composed in a recognisable system of scales and chord patterns
as exemplified by the European classical tradition of the 18th and
19th centuries and to some extent the 20th century. Most of the
music we listen to: classical, popular music, jazz, world music, etc. is
constructed to some extent along tonal lines. People are often
puzzled about why this system, which at first sight, is so simple just a scale of seven diatonic notes (plus 5 chromatic notes)
arranged in different patterns - actually produces such a wealth of
possibilities. What I hope to show is that what gives tonal music the
ability to form these varied structures is, the way voice leading and
root progression patterns work together and the way chord
progressions are organised into musical phrase structures similar to
language structures in natural languages.
Some writers such as Weber, Schoenberg, McHose and Piston have
described chord progressions but only in terms of tables of
probabilities. These tables tell us nothing about the relationships
between the chords themselves or between the chords and musical
phrases. Schenker proposed a theory of musical structure based
totally on voice leading but this does not adequately explain how
root progressions work or how musical phrases are structured.
Please refer to the Outline Thesis and the Q and A section of this site
for further information on the history of such theories. A more
complete history is being prepared for inclusions as chapter 10
(Historical Background).
In demonstrating the role that chord progressions have in creating
syntactic structures, the author does not intend to imply that other
components of music do not also play a role. Chapter 8: Full Musical
Analyses shows the link between voice leading and chord
progressions; the link between between voice leading and motivic
and melodic structures, and the link between chord progressions
and musical phrase structures. Chapter 6: Extended Musical
Structures will further explore this subject. The Outline Thesis
explains some of the evidence for the theory presented.
Whilst Chord syntax and voice leading syntax are well documented
and understood. What is missing is chord progression syntax. This
theory is the first that attempts to accurately describe chord
progression syntax. By filling this gap we can more fully describe the
syntax of musical language.
In language, structures are formed in sentences made up of parts of
speech. The joining of these parts of speech into sentences is
governed by the rules of sentence syntax. For example, the basic
structure of a sentence in the English language can be represented
in a parsing diagram as follows:
This diagram indicates that a sentence is divided into two parts: the
subject and the predicate. The predicate is itself divided up into two
parts: the verb followed by the object. This represents the simplest
complete sentence structure and although more complex structures
are possible they all derive from this simple structure. One method
of adding complexity is by further division of the branches. For
example, the subject could be a noun or could be expanded into a
pronoun + noun or further expanded to include a noun phrase or
verb phrase.
These underlying principles also apply to musical structures, There
is one basic phrase structure in tonal music and all other phrase
structures are derived from this basic structure.
Where:
P
C
S.H.
D.H.
Cad
V
I
=
=
=
=
=
=
Phrase
Opening Section of the
Phrase
Closing Section of the Phrase
Static Harmony
Dynamic Harmony
Cadence
Dominant Chord
Tonic Chord
Summary
This theory may be summarised as follows:
All phrases in tonal music are organised into syntactic structures,
similar to those in language. These are constructed in three levels:
The phrase, the syntactic elements (of the type static harmony or
dynamic harmony) and the chords. In tonal music, complete phrases
usually terminate in a perfect cadence (chord V to I) . Static
harmony in the basic structure is made up of a prolongation of the
tonic chord by voice leading only or by oscillations between the
tonic chord and other structural chords. Dynamic harmony is made
up of chord progressions constructed mainly from strong root
progressions (rising 4th, falling 3rd and rising 2nd). This selection of
progressions for dynamic harmony I will refer to as the polarisation
of chord progressions. In order to make visible the underlying chord
progression the surface voice leading must be first accounted for.
This means some chords might appear to be structural but in fact
arise purely out of voice leading. These are not significant in the
root progression analysis. This concept can be described as
functionality. Non-functional chords include passing chords and
chords which do not have clear roots such as the diminished
seventh chord.
The basic syntactic structure may be extended by the further
expansion of one of the syntactic elements in the basic structure.
For example, the cadential V chord may be extended by dominant
static harmony to form a dominant prolongation and the cadential I
chord may be extended by tonic static harmony to form a static
coda. See Chapter 5: Internal Extensions.
Complete and incomplete structures may also be "conjoined" to
form larger structures. In some situations incomplete structures can
CHAPTER 2 (PART 1)
STATIC AND DYNAMIC HARMONY
Introduction
In the last chapter, I introduced the concept of static and dynamic
harmony and its importance in the construction of syntactic phrase
structures. In this chapter, I will further explore the nature of static
and dynamic harmony and explain how the form of these can vary
according to the style and period in which the music was written.
In order to retain interest throughout their execution, all temporal
art forms: music, the novel, theatre, cinema etc. Must vary their
degree of tension and relaxation. When you watch a play or a film,
observe how the tension varies, at one moment, static: scene
setting, mood establishing, character introducing and then at
another moment dynamic: something happens, tension is built up,
what will happen next? The mood constantly alternates between
these static and dynamic states. This is necessary to maintain the
interest. These states are easy to identify once you know about
them. They vary in length and in the degree of tension or relaxation
but they are always there.
In music, these static and dynamic episodes are created by the use
of different types of harmony. A prolongation of a single chord
creates a sense of being stationary. I will refer to this as static
Static Harmony
The simplest form of static harmony is the sustained tonic chord
elaborated only by surface voice leading. In the following example,
the tonic F chord is sustained for two bars:
The horizontal square bracket is used to show the extent of the tonic
chord (F) and will be used to underline static harmony patterns. The
tonic chord is elaborated by arpeggios, passing notes and auxiliary
notes, but no new chords are introduced. The same chord may be
sustained over several bars. The Prelude to Wagner's Rheingold is
made up entirely of a sustained E-flat harmony which lasts for 136
bars. However, the most common type of static harmony is that
made up of an oscillation between the tonic chord and other chords.
Two commonly used chords for this purpose are the primary triads:
chords IV and V, as follows:
I - [ IV ] - I
and
I-[V]-I
The square bracket will be used to indicate that a chord is used (in
this case in conjunction with the tonic) to form static harmony. This
type of chord will be referred to as an auxiliary chord by analogy
with the auxiliary note. An auxiliary note is a non-harmony note that
returns back to the harmony note. These are further discussed in
the Voice Leading Appendix and Chapter 3 (part 2). These auxiliary
chords do not create chord progressions since they return to the
chord which precedes them. The example in Chapter 1. included
chord V as an auxiliary chord.
The appearance of the tonic chord in root position whilst the chord
IV auxiliary chords are employed in second inversion emphasises
the subordinate nature of the chord IV auxiliary chords in this
example. In contrast, the two occurrences of the chord V are in root
position, indicating the arrival of the cadence. The horizontal square
bracket shows the extent of the static harmony. In this example, the
static harmony encompasses the V - I cadence, and so, this brief
phrase is made up of totally of static harmony. This topic will be
further discussed in Chapter 6.
In this example, the IV chords could be interpreted as simply the
result of auxiliary notes (shown in the examples by the letter "A")
and not functional chords in their own right: the G# and B of the
CHAPTER 2 (PART 2)
STATIC AND DYNAMIC HARMONY
Dynamic Harmony
The function of dynamic harmony is to provide a sense of moving
forward, the change of status between static and dynamic harmony
is critical in creating variety, enabling the ear to follow the phrase
syntax and in creating musical form. Rather than an oscillation
between chords, dynamic harmony in tonal music is made up of a
succession of strong chord progressions. As roots of chords can exist
on seven possible scale steps: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII each individual
root has 6 possible roots to move to (ignoring octaves and chromatic
notes). Consequently, roots may rise or fall a 2nd, rise or fall a 3rd,
rise or fall a 4th.
The reversals of these progressions: ', ' and ' are weak and are
generally (but not completely) avoided in dynamic harmony in
common practice tonal music.
It will be observed that this classification groups together root
progressions which do not involve exactly similar intervals. For
instance, the root progression could involve a descent of a major
or minor third depending on which chords are involved and whether
the tonality is major or minor. In practice, both major and minor
descending third progressions are frequent whereas both major and
minor ascending third progressions are infrequent so that this
classification adequately describes the use of root progressions. This
is because the use of root progressions is primarily a diatonic and
not a chromatic phenomenon. Chromatic harmony serves primarily
to decorate rather than create structure. For further discussion on
root progressions please refer to the Thesis section on this site.
The chord progression is by far the strongest and most frequently
used progression in dynamic harmony and when used to make the
move from V to I at the end of a phrase it forms the perfect
cadence. Of the other two progressions, the progression is
generally more common than the progression, in most
compositions, but the relative frequency varies according to style
and period of the music.
Whilst the primary triads IV and V are the most common chords
used in forming static patterns, in one key, there is only one
dynamic pattern that can be formed (starting and ending in chord I)
with these chords, using only strong progressions, as follows:
patterns, however, can be seen in music before that period but not
with the same degree of polarisation.
Techniques for strengthening progressions can be seen in the
following example from Brahms:
CHAPTER 3 (PART 1)
NON-FUNCTIONAL CHORDS
Introduction
Many theorists from Rameau to Schoenberg and Piston have
attempted to analyse chord progressions by describing patterns in
their root movements. However, none of these fully describes the
syntax of chord progressions. Please refer to the Outline Thesis and
the Q and A sections of this site for further information on the
history of such theories. A more complete description is being
prepared for inclusion in Chapter 10: Historical Background.
Previous attempts have proven inadequate because, in order to
establish clear patterns, two factors have to be taken into account in
the analysis. Firstly, as explained in the last chapter, it is necessary
to make a distinction between two types of harmony: static and
dynamic harmony. Secondly, some vertical note combinations,
whilst appearing to be independent harmonies in their own right,
arise out of voice leading. These types of movement are sometimes
referred to as melodic to distinguish them from movements which
are genuinely harmonically based. When these are discounted from
the analysis, patterns in the root progressions become clearer.
Static and dynamic harmony were described in Chapter 2. In this
chapter, I will deal with the second factor which I will refer to as
functionality.
All theories of harmony make an assumption about functionality
whether explicitly or implicitly. Most theorists would accept that
certain note combinations are not chords in their own right but arise
due to some type of melodic or voice leading movement in one or
more of the voices. They nevertheless differ in what they would
consider to be significant. I hope to present a clearer and more
objective way of defining what is functional and what is non-
It must be
It must be
It must be
It must be
end result
* One form of the augmented 6th chord (the German 6th chord)
does contain a perfect fifth, but due to the way the augmented 6th
interval resolves outwards, the chord behaves like a non-functional
chord except where it is reinterpreted and resolves like a dominant
7th chord in a new key. See Glossary: augmented 6th chord and
Chapter 7: Modulation via Chromatic Chords and also chromaticism
in the Voice Leading Appendix.
There are three types of non-functional chord that could be
confused with functional chords: The Auxiliary Chord, The
Passing Chord and The Appoggiatura Chord. The reason for
giving these chords special names is not because they have a
special significance but because they are capable of being confused
with functional chords. In reality, they arise out of voice leading just
as other surface voice leading patterns (passing notes, auxiliary
notes etc) do. The first type was introduced in the last chapter as it
is important in forming static harmony patterns. The second type
occurs frequently and in many forms. The third type is significant
mainly as a device for elaborating the cadence by extending the
dominant (and sometimes the tonic) harmony.
Before we explore each type in turn it may be useful to summarise
how we can distinguish between functional and non-functional
chords. By far the most important and defining factor is the first rule
i.e. That non-functional chords are made up from auxiliary notes,
passing notes or appoggiaturas (i.e. voice leading patterns) whereas
functional chords are not. However the additional guidelines may
also be helpful in correct identification.
FUNCTIONAL CHORDS:
The components of the chord do not arise as a result of auxiliary
notes, passing notes or appoggiaturas.
Other factors that may help in identification:
Almost always a major or minor triad (with or without an added 7th
9th etc.)
Usually on stronger beats than associated non-functional chords
Likely to be in a stronger inversion than associated non-functional
chords
Likely to be more consonant than non-functional chords
Except for alterations to the 3rd of the chord (and in cycles of 5ths),
are not usually chromatic.
NON-FUNCTIONAL CHORDS:
The components of the chord arise as a result of auxiliary notes,
passing notes or appoggiaturas.
Other factors that may help in identification:
Less likely to be a major or minor triad (with or without an added 7th
9th etc.)
Usually on weaker beats than associated functional chords
Likely to be in a weaker inversion than associated functional chords
Likely to be less consonant than functional chords
Are often chromatic.
CHAPTER 3 (PART 2)
NON-FUNCTIONAL CHORDS
Auxiliary Chords
Auxiliary chords are formed by the stepwise movement (up or down)
of one or more of the voices away from a harmony note in one chord
to form a new chord. The voice(s) then return to the originals note(s)
to re-form the original harmony. Normally the auxiliary chord is
made up solely of notes from the original chord plus notes involved
in the auxiliary movement. In this case they arise totally out of voice
leading. (But see note below on auxiliary chords in root position).
These auxiliary chords are non-functional whereas the tonic chords
surrounding them are functional. This is because the auxiliary chord
merely elaborates the main functional chord, its purpose being to
prolong the functional harmony. Auxiliary chords are used
extensively to prolong the tonic harmony in static harmony as
explained in Chapter 2. They can also be used to extend the
dominant to form a dominant prolongation. (See Chapter 5).
Sometimes auxiliary chords can be used to decorate individual
chords in dynamic harmony especially where this is slow moving but
this is not as common.
The auxiliary chord is named by analogy with the auxiliary note. The
following example contains auxiliary notes marked with an "A":
The short duration of the auxiliary note does not create a feeling of
a change in the harmony. An auxiliary chord, is an extension of the
auxiliary note such that the duration of the auxiliary note and the
way the note sounds in conjunction with the other notes of the
chord, creates a sense of a change in harmony. This type of chord
has its origins in 16th century polyphony. See Voice Leading
Appendix: Auxiliary Notes and Linear Progressions for more details.
Using the analytical symbols introduced earlier, the following
harmonic outlines indicate some of the possible auxiliary chords
within the diatonic major scale:
.
The examples a) and b) involve movement in one direction only. a)
contains two auxiliary notes: one diatonic, E rises to F and returns to
E, and one chromatic: G rises to A-flat and returns to G. The
auxiliary chord formed is the minor subdominant chord which occurs
naturally in the minor key. In b) all three notes of the tonic triad rise
a semitone and then return to the original notes. This chord is
usually referred to as the Neapolitan 6th chord and is usually
deployed in first inversion to avoid the parallel 5ths that would
otherwise arise.
The next three auxiliary chords in c) (i), (ii), (iii) are the three
possible diminished 7th chords. I've shown all three for
completeness and to introduce the terminology to be used for each
of these. See below. (i) and (ii) are common auxiliary formations, but
(iii) is more usually deployed as a passing chord between I and II as
the C - B-flat movement has a tendency to continue downward to A
rather than to return to the C. (see next section - passing chords).
The example c) (ii) could be shown with a D# instead of the Eb.
Please see note below on naming of chromatic chords.
in this way because it contains the leading note which leads to the
tonic, the dominant leading diminished seventh chord contains the
sharpened 4th degree of the scale which leads to the dominant and
the supertonic leading diminished seventh chord, because it
contains the sharpened tonic which leads to the supertonic note.
This terminology makes identification and discussion easier and
highlights the voice leading function of these chords.
CHAPTER 3 (PART 3)
NON-FUNCTIONAL CHORDS
Passing Chords
Passing chords are formed by the stepwise movement of one or
more voices from a harmony note in one chord to form an
intermediate chord or chords on the way to becoming a harmony
note in another chord. The stepwise movement may be a filling in
by one note or may be in multiple steps. If the filling in is by multiple
steps then I will refer to this as a linear progression. (See Chapter 4.)
One or more voices may be involved in similar or contrary motion.
This type of chord has its origins in 16th century polyphony. See the
Voice Leading Appendix: Arpeggiation and Passing Notes for more
details. The reason for giving these chords a special name is not
because they have a special significance but because they are
capable of being confused with genuine functional chords. In reality,
they arise out of voice leading movements just as other surface
voice leading patterns do.
For a chord to be a passing chord it must normally be made up
solely of notes retained from the preceding chord plus linear moving
notes. The one exemption to this is that chromatic auxiliary notes
are sometimes used in addition to the passing notes. This is
because of the way that voice leading patterns can be combined.
See Voice Leading Patterns Combined.
The passing chords so formed are thus non-functional and the
surrounding chords on which the movement starts and ends are
functional chords. Passing chords are used in both static and
dynamic harmony.
The passing chord is named by analogy with the passing note. The
following example contains a passing note marked with a "P":
The passing note fills in the gap between notes of adjacent chords.
It sounds whilst at least one note of the proceeding chord is
retained. The short duration and nature of the passing note does not
create a feeling of a change of harmony. The passing note usually
forms a discord with other notes of the chord, as it does here. Note:
I've shown chord ii in lower case letters to highlight the fact that it is
a minor chord.
The passing chord is an extension of the passing note such that the
duration of the passing note(s) and the way the note(s) sound, in
conjunction with other notes of the chord, creates a sense of a
change in harmony. Using the analytical symbols introduced earlier,
the following harmonic outlines indicate some of the possibilities
within the diatonic major scale:
All the passing chords in the figure above are made up of two types
of notes:
1. notes which are retained from the preceding chord (shown here
as repeated white note heads) and
2. notes that take part in the stepwise movement (shown as black
note heads annotated as "P")
Normally, if other notes are involved, the chord is not a passing
chord. The one exemption to this is that chromatic auxiliary notes
are sometimes used. These are introduced below. The curved
brackets are used to indicate that the chords within them are
passing chords. The lower case letters indicate that the chord is
minor.
The white note heads indicate notes from functional chords and the
black note heads indicate the passing notes involved in voice
leading. The note combination highlighted by an * appears at first
sight to be a chord iii in root position. However, the chord iii arises
as a result of a passing note in the melody between chord I and
chord IV. The F# is a stepwise filling in note between the G in chord I
and the E in chord IV. The bass note B arises as an arpeggiation of
the G major chord in the bass. As the chord iii is the result of a
passing note and an arpeggiation, it will be referred to as a passing
chord. The chord iii is thus the result of a voice leading movement
rather than an harmonic movement. As this is a passing chord I've
shown the iii in round brackets in this outline. I've shown the bass
arpeggiation with a slur to show the two notes belong to the same
structural chord. I've shown the descending passing note connected
to the notes it fills in between with stems and a beam to highlight
CHAPTER 3 (PART 4)
NON-FUNCTIONAL CHORDS
Appoggiatura Chords
The appoggiatura chord is named by analogy with the appoggiatura
note. An appoggiatura is a note, not normally part of a chord, which
displaces a normal note of a chord. The appoggiatura resolves onto
the displaced note whilst the chord is still sounding. An
appoggiatura, usually (but not always) creates a dissonance with
the normal notes of the chord. More than one appoggiatura may be
deployed in a chord concurrently. The following example contains
appoggiaturas as indicated at *1 and at 2*:
At *1 in bar 10, the two appoggiaturas form discords with the normal
notes of the chord and then resolve onto consonant notes of the
chord. The C appoggiatura is a compound ninth discord against the
B-flat bass and resolves onto a B-flat. This is shown as 9 - 8 in the
figured bass under the harmonic outline. The E-flat appoggiatura is
a dissonant 7th above the F of the chord and a 4th above the bass.
This resolves onto the consonant D. This is shown as 4 -3 in the
figured bass.
CHAPTER 4
LINEAR PROGRESSIONS
Where a chord progression arises out of a step by step movement in
one or more voices rather than by root progression, I will refer to
these progressions as 'linear progressions'.
Those readers who are familiar with Schenker's theory should note
that the use of the term 'linear progression' in this book is similar to,
but not exactly the same as that by Schenker. In this book, the term
is used more in line with 16th century polyphony and the traditional
rules of voice leading, rather than in the extended way used by
Schenker. By limiting its use in this way, the relationship between
root progressions and voice leading can be more clearly described
than in pure Schenkerian theory.
In the last chapter, the passing chords were created by passing
notes in one or more voices resulting in a single chord filling in
between two functional chords. An important extension of this
pattern is a series of chords created by a step by step movement in
one or more voices. I will refer to this as a linear progression. The
succession of filling in chords is neither recognisable as static
harmony nor as dynamic harmony. This does not mean, however,
that the linear progression is a third type of movement. This is
because linear progressions are always incorporated within static or
dynamic patterns. The chord succession results out of the linear
movement of one or more voices rather than a root movement. A
linear progression may be either diatonic or chromatic or a mixture
of both and may involve more than one voice in parallel motion or in
contrary motion. Where there are concurrent linear progressions
these may sometimes move at different rates. This type of
movement has its origins in 16th century polyphony. (See Auxiliary
Notes and Linear Progressions in the Voice Leading Appendix) The
reason for giving this type of movement a special name is not
because it has a special significance but because it is capable of
being confused with a genuine functional root progression. In reality,
it arises out of voice leading movement just as other surface voice
leading patterns do. The only real difference with other types of
voice leading patterns is that linear progressions can operate over a
longer duration.
The stepwise movement is always contiguous. If there is a break in
the step wise movement then the progression is not a linear
progression. In general, the same rules as for passing chords are
apparent: The passing chords in the linear progression are made up
mainly (if not completely) of notes retained from the starting chord
and linear moving notes. Occasionally, chromatic auxiliary notes are
Introduction
All harmonic structures in tonal music derive from the basic phrase
structure as explained in Chapter 1. The basic syntactic structure
can be extended in various ways, just as sentence structures in
language can be. In this chapter we will consider extensions within
the basic phrase structure and in the next chapter extensions
outside of the basic structure.
There are three types of extension possible within the basic musical
phrase structure:
1. The dominant chord of the cadence can be prolonged by static
harmony in a similar way to the way the tonic chord is
prolonged in the static harmony in the opening section. This
has the effect of extending the cadence. I will refer to this as a
dominant prolongation. This extension is very common.
2. The tonic chord of the cadence can be prolonged by static
harmony. This has the effect of delaying the end of the phrase.
This I will refer to as a static coda. This is also a common
extension to the basic structure.
3. The opening section, can be subdivided into two sections. In
this case, the initial static harmony is preceded by a dynamic
element that I will refer to as a dynamic introduction. This is a
kind of extended upbeat or lead-in to the static harmony. This
occurs less frequently than the previous two types but is an
important way of extending the opening section harmony.
The following diagram shows all three types of extension in place in
the syntactic structure. They may be present individually or in any
combination.
This diagram shows the most complete form of the syntactic
structure without external extensions:
CHAPTER 5 (PART 2)
EXTENSIONS WITHIN THE BASIC STRUCTURE
CHAPTER 5 (PART 3)
EXTENSIONS WITHIN THE BASIC STRUCTURE
The figure above shows the syntactic structure for this phrase. It
forms the repeat of the second subject in the recapitulation from the
first movement of the Sonata.
1. Bars 59. To 63: Opening Section static harmony: I [ V ] I,
repeated. The extent of the static harmony is indicated by the
horizontal bracket.
2. Bars 63 to 68: Closing Section dynamic harmony. This
completes a full cycle of 7 progressions followed by I - II - V
(one and one progression) The II to V ( D minor to G
CHAPTER 7 (PART 1)
MODULATION
In this chapter we will consider how modulation works in the context
of a theory of chord progressions and syntactic structures.
For a description of some basics on modulation, click here.
.
The first phrase is a complete phrase ending in the dominant key
(bars 1 to 8). The modulation to the dominant takes place in the
dynamic harmony of the closing section where the progression
moves the tonality from the tonic D to the cadence in the dominant
key of A major. We can describe the modulation from D major to A
major by saying that the B minor chord in bar 6 acts as a common
chord (or pivot chord) between the two keys. It would thus function
as chord VI in D major and simultaneously as chord II in A major. An
alternative interpretation is to say that the modulation is carried out
by the dynamic harmony which moves the tonality forward from D
major to the A major cadence via the chord progression made up of
one progression and one progression. The third of the E chord is
made major so that it can function correctly as the dominant chord
in the cadence.
The second phrase is a complete phrase returning to the home
tonality. It starts with a dynamic introduction which is responsible for
the modulation back to the home key. For this key change, it is not
possible to identify a common chord, because, rather than use the B
minor chord as a common chord to smooth the movement, Haydn
heightens the chromatic effect by using the B7 chord which is not a
diatonic chord in either key. A more satisfactory explanation is that
.
This use of this (otherwise uncommon) progression supports the
view that modulation functions as a conscious process whereas
syntax is largely subconscious. Please refer to the thesis section for
further discussion of this.
The book will give more details about 'direct to dominant'
modulations. Here we will concentrate on the more common types
of modulation.
CHAPTER 7 (PART 2)
MODULATION
CHAPTER 7 (PART 3)
MODULATION