Topic: Johann Sebastian Bach and the Diatonic System of Music.

Content: What is the system of music that we employ in the West, and where and
how did it arrive on the scene. All of what we are studying fits into and is
incorporated into the diatonic system of music. It contains, but is not limited to:
 7 natural pitches or scale degrees comprising an octave,
Which
 Set up a system of notes, which when sounded simultaneously are referred to
as chords,
Which
 Create a I chord or tonic key center, a IV or subdominant chord, and a V or
Dominant chord,
Which
 Sets up an effect on the ear of the listener, causing the phenomenon of
tension and release, or dissonance and consonance,
Which
 Is highlighted by the presence of a leading tone, within a dominant 7th chord,
that needs to resolve to the tonic, and go Home!

Furthermore, this system employs 12 major and 12 minor keys, that are
represented and displayed by the Circle of Fifths, and in Bach’s Well Tempered
Clavier.
In the distant past, during the Medieval and Renaissance periods of history,
Church music used the modes which we have spoken about already. This Church
modal harmony lacked the decisiveness of the diatonic system. It lacked the pull
of the V7 chord to the I chord, and the harmony was thus haphazard and arbitrary:
lacking an Authentic Cadence. Through a series of exceptions to the rules
governing the use of church modal harmony, diatonic musical harmony, or the
diatonic system gradually emerged. It reached a zenith with Bach.
Instructions/Activities: Please follow the link below to a short video on Johann
Sebastian Bach’s importance. He was in fact a Titan that was prolific, inventive,
and paved the way for everything that followed.
Link: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?
q=Johann+Sebastian+Bach&view=detail&mid=A02DF7985F3DD9532B59A02D
F7985F3DD9532B59&FORM=VIRE
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-xfw5dAjPE

Deadlines/Deliverables: The first link will bring you to a short video about the
Grandmaster himself: Johann Sebastian Bach. The second will take you to a very
brief breakdown of the circle of fifths. Both are only beginning videos. You can
YouTube or google many more items on the internet. Please endeavor to do so, and
journal your thoughts and impression’s on Bach, his relevance to our diatonic
system of music, how the circle of fifths relates to the diatonic musical system, or
anything else you find intriguing or revealing. Please compose a paragraph or two
and turn it in at Remind no later than next Monday.