Questions tagged [harmony]
For questions about the "vertical" aspects of music and how to build and study them.
1,368 questions
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Pieces or parts of pieces containing only harmony?
I am listening to some pieces where the whole composition or some internal parts seem to contain only harmony/chords without producing a discernible melody. Is this some particular technique or we can ...
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Does anyone have tips or tricks for remembering the function of mode harmony?
When I mean by that, I understand how the 7 modes are constructed:
Ionian: Major scale with no alterations
Dorian: natural minor scale with 1 alteration: #6
Phrygian: natural minor scale with 1 ...
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Is there a 'best' key for a male/female song duet
This question may be naive or badly formed, as I'm neither a musician or a songwriter. Please be kind.
I gather that there are certain keys that are easier for ordinary male singers, and others that ...
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bVI Root Substitution [closed]
Curious as to why this substitution of the root for a ♭VI chord works. It's pretty standard but I don't get the theory of it. I recently saw it being used in the context of a ii - V - I to delay the ...
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Jarring F natural in Bartok's "Former Friends"
I'm trying to wrap my head around the awfully jarring - it hurts my ears so bad, I literally can't bring myself to play it - F natural in m16 of Bartok's "Former Friends" from his Book 1 for ...
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Distance measurement in chords and harmony
I've been searching and thinking about this a lot since my mind got opened up to this possibility.
Is there any musical theory "formalism"/framework that deals with measuring the distance ...
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Reason for 4-voice music octave rule
As far as I know, a basic rule of 4-voice music is:
-The two intervals between the upper 3 voices should not be wider than an octave, and when moving on to the next chord, each voice should proceed as ...
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If a chord has a note from an extension in the bass, is that note still an extension? [duplicate]
This question stems from a recent discussion I had with a friend, neither of us are academically trained musicians. A chord was described as a Gm9/C. My point of view was that the C note makes it a ...
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What is the term for swapping parts in a harmony?
What is the technical term given to the technique where parts of a choir switch or swap their parts in a harmony?
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What is the function of C#7 in the key of D?
I'm trying to understand function of a chord in Miguel Llobet's arrangement of Canço del Lladre. I marked my interpretation of the chords in the excerpt below. The chord symbols in parenthesis are ...
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Would anyone be able to help name this progression?
I've had trouble coming up with a name for this progression and was wondering if there is a jazz term or if it's a type of cadence.
Cm7 D7 Gmaj7
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G# major vs Ab major in the Liszt's Les Preludes
In this video at 6:21, the instructor says that
In measure 62 of Liszt Les Preludes (image below), the intonation is difficult if you think of as a "G sharp major."
Instead, it will be ...
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How to reharmonize a sample already with heavy harmony?
If one is to reharmonize a sample, let's say, a full song with its own chords that can be clearly heard, how can one make sure the new chords do not clash with the existing ones? I want ...
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Is the chord progression of this short piece C-G7-C?
Is the chord progression of this short piece C-G7-C? I'm new to music theory and want to confirm my understanding.
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Are chromatic submediants in minor actually sus2 chords?
I was playing around with some progressions in the harmonic minor scale and realized that this progression sounds the same as a chromatic submediant chord progression (i–vi) but here it is written as ...
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Db - Ab - Abb - Fb: What is this chord?
In Chopin's Nocturne in Bb minor, Op. 9, No. 1, m. 19, b. 4-6, we have a left-hand arpeggio comprising, in order, Db2 - Ab2 - Db3 - Abb3, while the right hand plays Fb.
This harmony sits between Db ...
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Harmonic Voices Alongside Counterpoint
I'm writing a piece for a rather large ensemble:
full string section
SATB choir plus soloists
2 of oboe, bassoon, and trombone
c-g timpani
In one of the sections, the chorus sings a fugato while the ...
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Chopin - Waltz in C Sharp Minor (Op. 64 No. 2) analysis
This is the piece I want to discuss: Waltz in C♯ minor.
You can listen to it on YouTube here (played by Arthur Rubinstein) with added music score, or on musescore.com here (played as MIDI) also with ...
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How to read movable scale chart for A minor pentatonic?
I bought a guitar chart and it has this figure for moveable minor pentatonic scale:
I know the number 1 box pattern of the minor pentatonic scale (Justin guitar course). I play it starting on the 5th ...
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What is the function of the last chord in Final Fantasy VIII's "Liberi fatali"?
For over twenty years now I've been confused by the final chord in one of the most famous video-game openings of all time.
For a piece that bounces around between A and D with a bit of E♭ and D♭ ...
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Is there an alternative notation for polychords that won't be confused with slash notation?
We have a terrific guide on slash notation, a notational practice in which, for example, Gm/D means a G-minor triad with a D in the bass (i.e., in second inversion). A polychord, though, is indicated ...
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Seemingly unsolvable SATB harmonization
Was working on the following exercise in RCM Harmony 9 - it seems like there's no solution if you follow all the SATB rules.
It's in F# minor, so looking at the second note, we see that it's tonic (...
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Why does this progression with a G# instead of a G in the bass make sense?
In the C, Ami, F, & G7 progression (or I, vi, IV, V7 and back to I) a standard for the 1950's but used in 1938 for "Blue Moon." There is a progression I use Cmaj7, C#dim6, Fmaj7, G/b9, ...
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How to write a bass line in classical style?
Folks:
I am trying to add bass to this melody. A good style of doing bass is the following link - Ennio Morricone’s Once Upon A Time In The West. The first 60 seconds should give a clear demonstration ...
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Why does this intro chord progression work?
I use this sequence of chords, Dmaj7, C#mi7, Emi7, E7, Eaug, Amaj7(A C# G# E), A#5#3 (A F A D), Amaj7 as an introduction for songs "Try a Little Tenderness" and "No, You Don't Know Me.&...
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what is the oldest use of 9th chords in western music and when did they become popular
From page 752, of Laitz's The Complete Musician 4th edit.
''(...) By continuing the process of stacking thirds, these composers added another third above the seventh, creating a ninth chord; by adding ...
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How are the Imperial March intro harmonies best interpreted on piano?
I'm wondering how the below is most effectively performed on piano. I've solved the 'rhythm problem' (i.e., the very rapid triplet repetitions) by using both hands via piano 'split' feature — each ...
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Harmonizing Melodies a 3rd or 4th Below
When writing second parts for melodies, I've read that a good starting point can be to write something basically parallel either a 3rd above or a 3rd below.
In both major and minor keys, the 3rd below ...
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How to determine if a song is in F#Aeolian or D Lydian or Ab Locrian
Hello how are you? :) delighted to be here in my first post, I am a graduate of Sound Engineering and I am currently studying modern harmony in a self-taught way, I have been able to understand the ...
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Composing romantic pieces
I am a fan of the organist Wolfgang Seifen. Recently, he played a piece which fascinated me: An arabesque in the style of German romanticism. (Hear it)
Being myself interested in improvisation, I did ...
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Non Diatonic Harmonization?
First of all, I'm a self taught musician. I have a basic understanding of music, and I can play piano too. I understand the theory behind diatonic scales and how the harmony works. I have learned ...
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Should I continue my classical study (avoiding parallel 5ths and octaves)
I just want to make pop tunes but I do take my hobbie seriously.
Do the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Stevie wonder avoid parallel 5ths/octaves? Have any of you studied their sheet music and ...
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Avoid Notes while playing chords over chords [closed]
im just wondering how people work with avoid notes when playing chords over a drone chord.
If you watch this video of this song i really enjoy I noticed this composer uses a bunch of avoid notes over ...
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Can the final cadence of Dvorak 9 Finale (D7/A - E) be viewed as a plagal cadence?
The finale of Dvorak 9 in E minor cadences D7/A - E. I heard from somewhere that it can be viewed as one kind of a plagal cadence and I'm wondering if that's true.
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Harmony Lines for Pentatonic Melodies
I found this great video on harmonizing pentatonic melodies. By harmonize in the case I mean creating second lines to go with a melody, rather than finding a suitable chord progression.
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Harmonic analysis of J.S. Bach's Prelude in Cm (BWV 847)
I sometimes try to analyze the harmony of a Bach prelude to understand how chords change, and how he manages to shift from one key to another. Here is the prelude in Cm BWV 847 (source image, MP3 here)...
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An accented or a non-accented passing tone?
Okay, this might seem like a silly question, but I didn't find a quick answer through Google, so here it goes. I was just sketching a little pastiche in the style of Bach in the key of B minor. I ...
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Why is this augmented 4th bad ? 16th century counterpoint
I'm studying 16th century counterpoint.
My book says, when writing a melody for second species, augmented 4th or augmented 5th shouldn't occur between strong beat and a strong beat.
But this is not ...
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Is this untreated major seventh acceptable because of the tonic pedal? (recapitulation of the 1st mov. of Mozart's Piano Sonata nº 7, K.309)
I am referring to the G-F# in m. 123. We are in G major, as I understand, heading to a PAC (m. 126) that will be reinterpreted as a half-cadence when the subordinate theme starts at m. 127.
I am ...
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what's the role of Ebmaj7 on this Ebmaj7 D7#9 Gm9 progression?
I'm trying to understand this chord progression:
Ebmaj7 D7#9 Gm9
Ebmaj7 F#dim7 Gm9 Bb13
I know from D7#9 to Gm9, that's a V-i.
But where's the Ebmaj7 coming from? Does it come from the relative major ...
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Is consecutive 8’s on resolving the 7s in the weak beat against the rules ? 16th century counterpoint 3part 2nd and 4th species fusion
This is my exercise on 3part 2nd and 4th species fusion 16 century counterpoint.
Is consecutive 8’s on resolving the 7s in the weak beat against the rules ?
(At measure 5,6 between the soprano and ...
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Can a Round Modulate?
I've been messing around with simple 2-part rounds recently, and also with modulation. The question occurred to me, can a round modulate? Initially I though not, since it would involve having parts in ...
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Seems to fit all 3 PAC criteria and yet I'm told it's a root position IAC?
So, as I have been looking for examples of the 3 different types of IAC(Imperfect Authentic Cadence), I run into this:
A cadence that looks like a PAC(Perfect Authentic Cadence) on paper, but which I'...
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Difference between bVII and vii (diminished 7th) triad
I came across a chord progression called the Mixolydian Vamp denoted as :
I bVII IV I,
but I don’t recognize bVII. What is its relation to the diminished 7th diatonic triad (vii degree)?
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Harmonisation when ascending with melodic minor
I've just learned that baroque music often uses the melodic minor when ascending but the natural minor when descending.
But what I don't understand is how the harmonisation is since I assume ascending/...
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Does moving from V to vii°7/ii count as a Deceptive Resolution?
I'm curious about this because I saw exactly this kind of thing in a Mozart piece I analyzed a while back when looking for Deceptive Resolution examples. The first cadence evasion was undoubtably a ...
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What is the theoretical explanation of D/F# chord in this turnaround?
Here is the sequence in harmonic Am. What is the function of D/F# in terms of tonal harmony. Borrowed chord from parallel major? Chromatic inflection?
Am-D/F#-F-E-A
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To add chords to a song, is playing the chord that carries the melody equivalent to playing the melodic note as note 1, 3 or 5 of the chord?
When I was learning how to play songs on piano by ear, I didn't know how to add chords to a song melody. What I found on videos and on the Web was that you select a chord that carries the melodic ...
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Harmonic Analysis: How would you interpret these 4 bars? Var. 18 Rhapsody by Rach
Great community I've stumbled upon. It's been some time since I've done harmonic analysis and I'd appreciate some thoughts about these four bars towards the end of the 18th Variation.
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Clarification on Schoenberg's "pivot tones" in minor from Theory of Harmony
While going through chapter 5 I have multiple times had to amend my understanding of the four instructions Schoenberg gives on the usage of the sixth and seventh degrees of the minor scale. My ...