Summary:
Chapter 4 unwinds the second of the five principal musical parameters: harmony—which is given the anthropomorphic simile of the “internal body of music”—by virtue of its essential defining role despite surface opaqueness. The chapter begins with a set of introductory sections on the varied use of the term “harmony” and its basic concepts: chords, chord progressions, keys, and the distinction of consonance and dissonance. It continues with the more involved concepts of tonality, cadences, modulation, and harmonic patterns. It then moves into the “tricky” side of harmony, exploring extended chords, chromaticism, and atonality, among other complexities. It concludes with a welcome look at the simpler harmonic elements of modes, drones, and harmonic stasis.
Supplements:
( More on the varied meanings of “harmony” ):
Initially, “harmony” referred to various theoretical scales and “tones”, the broad “science” of music and those who study it, and topics ranging from politics to the cosmos. As Carl Dalhaus notes, “In the course of history it was indeed not the meaning of the term ‘harmony’ that changed but the material to which it applied and the explanations given for its manifestation in music.”
( Examples of pop / rock songs using the I-V-vi-IV chord pattern ):
To cite but a few pop/rock songs with the I-V-vi-IV chord progression: “All too Well” (Taylor Swift); “Beast of Burden” (The Rolling Stones); “Don’t Stop Believin’” (Journey); “I’m Yours” (Jason Mraz); “Let it Be” (The Beatles); “Paradise” (Coldplay); “Party in the U.S.A.” (Miley Cyrus); “With or Without You” (U2), etc. Dynamic lists can be found on various sites on the Internet, including Wikipedia .
( More on the potential origins of the blues chord progression ):
Indeed, some have traced the Blues progression to such “ancient” harmonic cycles as the Passamezzo moderna (I–IV–I–V–I–IV–I-V–I); see Schuler, Manfred. “Vom Passamezzo Zum Blues.” Musica 16 (1962): 65-66.
( More on the nonchord and passing tones ):
Non-chord and passing tones likely began as informal or improvised occurrences, and as inevitable products of counterpoint (melodies moving simultaneously); regardless, they gradually became formalized as the use of chords themselves became formalized, from the 18th century. Among other common types include: a neighboring tone (moving stepwise away from a chord tone, above or below, and back again), an appoggiatura (a non-chord tone that skips before resolving to a chord tone of a second chord), and a suspension (a note from a first chord held over to a second chord, as a non-chord tone, before resolving), among others.
( More on chromaticism in the post-Baroque era ):
This should not suggest, moreover, that chromaticism was absent during the 18th century, including in the music of Mozart and Haydn—notably as reflected in the “ Sturm und Drang ” (storm and stress) artistic movement, culminating in the 1770s. See Dyson, George, and William Drabkin. “Chromatic.” Grove Music Online (2001).
( More on relevance of church modes after the early Middle Ages ):
Although the Church modes continued to be referenced in theoretical treatises dedicated to polyphonic well into the Renaissance, their practical relevance to composition had by the 14th century become rather moot.
( More on practical and historical shift from modality to tonality ):
The path from modality to tonality involved multiple competing theories attempting to address the changing harmonic and compositional landscape. In simple terms, the path led from attempts to update the original 8-mode Church modes, expanded at times to 12 or more distinct modes, to a system of two fundamental “scales”—major and minor—transposed to 12 keys; technically, this can be seen as reducing the modes to 2: ionian (becoming the major scale) and aeolian (become the minor scale).
It is, moreover, no coincidence that the shift came at roughly the same time as the rise of figured bass—a shorthand technique of vertical sonorities over a bass part via notes and numbers, from the late 16th century (see Figure 7.23). Tepid theoretical discussions of “chords” can be traced back to at least 1600, such as the German theorist Joachim Burmeister, who described chords as three “conjugate” notes (basis, media, suprema)—without using the term “triads”, and with no clear concept yet of root position or inversion. See Rivera, Benito V. and Ruhnke, M., “Burmeister, Joachim.” Grove Music Online (2001); Williams, Peter and David Ledbetter. “Figured bass.” Grove Music Online (2001).
( More on the “exotic” sound of early music to modern ears ):
This is especially true for the polyphonic music of the Middle Ages (11th-14th centuries), during which time sounding triads appear less frequently and where the use of vertical dissonances (2nds and 7ths) was more sanctioned within phrases, etc. The shift toward a harmonic language more akin to our own day began in England in the early 15th century—where a penchant for 3rds was more marked than had been on the Continent. Indeed, this style—most famously represented by the composer John Dunstaple—was termed “ la contenance anglois ” (the English countenance). Its ensuing embrace to the Continent, in the works of Guillaume Dufay, for example, marked the beginning of the musical Renaissance. See Fallows, David. "The contenance angloise: English influence on continental composers of the fifteenth century." Renaissance studies 1, no. 2 (1987): 189-208.
( More on interchangeability and distinction of “pedal point” versus “drone” ):
Technically, however, a pedal point is a sustained bass pitch over changing chords or other moving parts. The expression originated in an organist’s ability to hold a low pedal note with the foot while movement took place with the hands.
Principal Bibliography:
Carl Dahlhaus et al., “Harmony,” Grove Music Online
Walter Piston, Harmony , 5th ed. (New York: W. W. Norton. 1987)
Peter Van der Merwe, Roots of the Classical: The Popular Origins of Western Music (Oxford University Press, 2004)
External Links:
"Harmony" (Encylopaedia Britannica)