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ATJGENER'S
EDITION
No.9198HARMONY
SIMPLIFIED
OR
THE
THEORY
OF
THE
TONAL FUNCTIONS
OF
CHORDS.
BV
DR.
HUGO
RIEMANN,
Professor of Musical Science at Leipzig University
TRANSLATED
FROM THE
GERMAN.
THIRD
IMPRESSION
AUGENER
LTD.
LONDON
Printed in
England
by
AUGENER
Ltd.,©e&tcatefc
TO
PROFESSOR
EBENEZER
PROUT.
B.A.,Professorof MusicintheUniversityofDublin,etc.
THE DISTINGUISHED PIONEER OF MUSICAL PROGRESS.
CONTENTS.
Introduction pagei.
(Harmony
—
Melody—
Tone relationship—
Overtones—
Undertones—
Majoichord and minor chord
—
Thethree functions—
Modulation.)CHAPTER
I.—
Writing Confined
toPure
PrincipalHarmonies
(Tonic
and
Dominants) page10.§I. Overclangs and Underclangs. §2. Four-part writing
—
The writing ofsingle chords. §3. Plain-fifth step
(T—D
and°T—
°S)—
The con-nection of chords—
Consecutive octaves—
Chordsof six-four(-Z?Jand S\i)-§4. Contra-fifth step(T—S
and"T—
°D)—
Complete (bi-lateral)cadences. §5. The whole-tone step (S
—
D
and°D
—
°S)—
Consecu-tivefifths
—
Thetritone—Score. § 6. Theturnofharmony(+
T
—
"J?and
°T—
+D)—
Contra-fifth change
{°S—
Z>+) andfifth-change (°S—
+S
and
"D
—
+-D)—
Diminished and augmented part-progressions—
Falserelation
—
Modulation.CHAPTER
II.—
Characteristic Dissonances
—
Parallel-Clangs—Leading-Tone-Change
Clangs page55.§ 7. The characteristic dissonances
{D
1 ,
S
vn ,S
6 ,D
vl )—
Treatment ofdissonant tones
—
Alto clef— Figuration with passing andauxiliary notes.§8. Chordsofseven-three(IP1
—
$
vu
)andparallelclangs(Tp, Sp,
Dp,
"Sp; °Tp, °Sp, °Dp, +-Dp)
—
Treatment of feigning consonances—
Doubling of the third allowed
—
Third change—
Leading-tone change—
Minor-thirdchange
—
Whole-tonechange—
Tritonechange—
Tenorclef—
Third step
—
Minor-third step—
Leading-tone step. §9. Dorian sixth,Mixolydianseventh, Neapolitan sixth,Phrygian second,Lydian fourth
—
Thechurchmodes
—
Revival of these as meansof expression—
Close—
Half-close
—
Deceptive-close—
Contra-whole-tone change—
Tritone step—
Chromatic-semitone change
—
Augmented-sixth change—
Double-thirdvi
Contents.
CHAPTER
III.—The
Theory
of Dissonance—
Sequences-Intermediate
Cadences
page107.§10. Completionof theTheoryofDissonance
—
Passing dissonances—
Prepareddissonances
—
Altered chords—
Unprepared dissonances—
Syncopatedfiguration. §II. Sequences
—
Thesequence as melodicimitationofhar-mony formations
—
Five-part writing, §12. Intermediate cadences—
(Inserted)and[omitted] harmonies
—
The notationfortransposinginstru-ments.
CHAPTER
IV.—
The Change
ofTonal
Functions(Modula-tion) page141.
§13. Change of meaning of the simplest harmony steps
—
Characteristicfiguration. § 14. Modulating power ofharmony steps. § 15. Modula-tions by means of chords of seven-three and of minor nine-three
—
Enharmonic Change. § 16. Modulations bymeans of the third-change
clangs. §17. Modulations by meansof bolder harmonicprogressions (leading-tonesteps, third steps,etc.). § 18. Modulation bymeansofthe
mostfar-reachingharmonysteps(tritone step, etc.). § 19. Independent
creationof musical sentences
—
Period formation. § 20. Pedal-point andmodulatingsequence.
Exercises:pages 11, 16, 20, 21, 23,25-28, 30-34, 39-43. 5°-54. 64-69,
82-83, 85-87, 104-106, 118-120, 126-127, I
33-,4°> 180-187.
Explanation of
the
Terminology
and
the
Chord
Signsin Alphabetical
Order
... page191HARMONY
SIMPLIFIED.
INTRODUCTION.
The
Theory
of
Harmony
is thatofthe logicallyrationaland
technically correctconnectionofchords (thesimultaneous sounding of
several notes of different pitch).
The
natural laws for suchconnection can
be
indicated with certaintyonly if the notes ofsingle chords
be
regarded not as isolatedphenomena,
butratheras resulting
from
themotions of the parts; chordsuccessions arisefrom
simultaneousmelodicmotion ofseveralparts.The
history ofmusic
teaches usthatsimultaneousmelodic progressioninseveralparts
was
practisedand more and more
perfected for centuriesbeforethe idea of
harmony
inthemodern
sense (chord)was
evenconceived.
Thus
harmony,in so far as itmay
be
defined ascomposition inseveral parts(polyphony), takesrootin melody.
Melody
is the logically rationaland
aesthetically satisfactorymotion of a
part
through notes ofdifferent pitch.With
regard tothe aestheticlawsfor
melody
formation,we
refer the student tothephilosophy of
music
(cf the author's"Catechism
of Musical.-Esthetics " [f'
Wie
horen wirMusik
"]).As
the foundation ofrational
motion
inmelody
common
to allagesand
allraces, thehistoryof
music
suggests the diatonicscale, the simplestepsucces-sionofthenaturalnotesof ourpresentnotesystem:
with itsregular insertionof a semitone step{b c, e/), alternately
after
two and
threewhole-tone steps.The
age of tbisfundamentalscale,counting
by
thousands ofyears,and
the respectinwhich
ithas
been
held, are a sufficient guarantee that it is ademand
ofnature, that it is logical
and
necessary; indeed, even irregularconstructionsof
melody
may
be
tracedback
to this foundation.The
notesof this fundamentalscalestandinsuch relation toone
another as the ear can
apprehend
with certainty,and
as areexpressed in acoustics
and
mathematics
by
certain simplenumerical ratios.
These
ratios, are thesame
as thosewhich
2
Introduction.
produce
the notes,and
of the air that conveysthem
to ourear.Such
simpleratiosof vibratingstringsorcolumns
of airenclosedin tubes, or
—
ifwe
put aside reasoningon
physicalgrounds
and
only takeinto considerationperception
by
hearing—
suchrelationsof notes to
one
another (recognisedby
theear)as allow of theirappearing musically intelligible
and
rationalwhen
sounded
insuccession,are calledharmonic (fromthe
Greek
apfiofaiv=
tojoin),and, indeed, these are after all the
same
relationswhich
havetobe
regardedas standard in viewing the combinations of severalparts, harmonies in the sense recognised nowadays. Just as
harmony,
then, (aschord
succession) hasreferred us tothemelody
of single voices, so
melody
(as asuccession of notes standing inharmonic
relation toone
another)refers us again tothe original laws ofharmony,
so thatwe
must
say:Every
noteof a melodyowesitscBstheticeffect in great
measure
(viz.,abstractingfrom
theeffect
produced by
itsabsolute pitch, orby
the fact thatitrepre-sents a rising or falling of the melody-line) to its
harmonic
meaning.
And
by
theharmonic meaning
ofanotewe
understandits relation,as accurately perceivedbythe ear, toothernotes of the
same
melody
or—
in composition in several parts—
to notes ofother
accompanying
melodies.One
note
compared with other notes (we shall speaknow
only of notes
whose
relation is recognisedby
the ear ashar-monic and
intelligible) is either itselfthefixedpoint, theprima
ratio, starting
from
which the others are considered, or,con-versely,it is in its turn cofisidered in its relation to some other
note; in the former case it is, therefore, the starting point of
reference for other notes
—
theprime
; in the latter,a note tobe
referredtothe prime,
and whose
distance fromit is expressed bythe ordinal
number
corresponding to the degree in thefunda-mental scale
which
the note occupies, countingfrom
the prime.So,e.g., if
we
compare
cwithg, either c istheprime
and
theng
the fifth stepmeasured
from cupwards
; org
isthe prime,and
then c isthe fifth stepmeasured
downwards from
g
(under-fifth).
The
generalname
for the distance of notes from eachother,
measured
by
the degrees of the fundamental scale, isInterval.
The
verdict of the ear declaresthoseintervals simplest—
i.e.,understands
them
with the greatest certainty,and
requires pureintonation for
them most
inexorably—
which
mathematics
and
physics reduce to the simplest numerical ratios, either
by
measuring the duration of vibrations in time or the extent of
sound-waves in space, or
by
dividing a tightly stretched stringin variousways. Startingwith thelatter as
more
convenientand
more
easily intelligible,we
shall find thatthe simplest division of thestringis intotwo
halves; eachhalf of thestringthengives theoctaveof the note
sounded by
thewhole
string,and
both halvesIntroduction.
3the unison, 1 : 1,will
be
more
easilyunderstood than thatof thewhole
tothehalf, 1 : '/,.Next
to thesetwo
comes
the ratio ofthe
whole
to the third part (1 : '/3)> to
which
themusical intervalof the twelfth (fifth of the octave) corresponds; then follow
1 :
7
4
=
double octave, 1 :1
/5 (major) third of thedouble octave,
1 : '/efifthofthe
double
octave,or octave ofthe twelfth; innotes,if
we
take c forthewhole
string:If, conversely,
we
start with a higher note, e.g., thrice-accentede (<? 3
),
and
try to find those easily understood noteswhich
liebelow
e\ then doublingthe length of the string will have to takethe place of halving, i.e., if
we
takethe length of e3as=
1, the
note
which
corresponds totwice the length of the string (2) willbetheunder-octaveof e3
, thereforee'; a' willcorrespondtothree
times the length, ex
to four times, c<to five times,
and a
to sixtimesthelengthof thestring: in notes,
—
Intervals
which
are greaterthantheoctavethemusician does notconceive in their total extent, but divides
them
withthehelp ofthe octave, e.g., twelfth
=
octave -+- fifth, fifteenth=
octave-f-octave, seventeenth
=
octave+
octave+
(major)third, etc.The
octave is themost
easily understood of allintervals (fortheunison isnotreally
an
interval, as the distancebetween
thetwo
notes is equal to zero); notes which standat thedistanceof
an
octave
from
each other are similarlynamed
in ourmodern
notesystem, as has
been
thecustom
for thousands of years,and
areregarded as repetitions ofthe
same
note in another region of thedomain
of sound.The
melodic fundamental scale (see above)passesthrough a set of six strange notes
and
at the 8th degreereaches the octave, the
most
easily intelligible note; but thefragments of the
two
harmonic
naturalscales, i.e., the two seriesof notes having the closest
harmonic
relation, the so-calledovertone series
and
undertone series,which
we
have
alreadycon-sidered, prove that even if the intermediate degrees of the
melodic
fundamental scale are not all directly related to oneparticular note, still they are connected with
one
anotherby
the relations
found
in theharmonic
natural scales. If,in-stead of referring the notes from \ to \, or from 2 to 6, to 1,
4
Introduction.
immediately find a
number
of the intervals of the fundamentalscale.
Fifth. Fourth. Major Minor
Third. Third.
Fifth. Fourth. Major Minor
Third. Third.
And
ifwe
followup
thedivision of the stringbeyond
\, orthemultiplication
beyond
six times,we
find the missing smallerintervals, the
major
and minor
second,and
besidesthese, indeed, anabundance
of intervalswhich
our note-system ignores:and
fromc=i: Wholetones.
*
Semitone.h
h
(9 l"> /" /n /«3 /« /"S '« frome3=i : Wholetones.*
Semitone.In the overtone series the notes
marked
* are, accordingtothe verdict of ourears, tooflat
compared
with the correspondingones in our note-system; in the undertone series theyare too
sharp. It is, therefore, evident that theattempt to fill
up
theoctave with the intermediate degrees thus gained,
must have
aresultcontradictory to thatof ourmusical experience; the fourth
octaveof the
harmonic
natural scale deviates in three notesand
in fiveintervals from themelodicfundamental scale:
and
8th to 16thOvertone.
^
8thto16thUndertone, j.
Introduction.
5The
ear entirely rejects the replacing of thefundamentalscaleby
eitherof theabove,because in both the secondsfrom
the&th tothe 16th partial tone continually become smaller (/), while the
fundamental scale, as already remarked, is a mixture of major
and minor
seconds.The
ear altogether fails to understand the7th,
nth,
13th,and
14th tones of theharmonic
natural scales,and
refuses to recognisetheintervals,formed
by them
with theirneighbouring notes
and
their fundamental note (1), as fit formusical use.
The
riseand
foundation of the natural melodicscale cannot
be fathomed
in thismanner
(the attemptwas
made
first
by
F. A. Vallotti).If
we
examine
thetwo harmonic
natural scales passingaway
intoinfinitywith their intervals continually
becoming
smaller, itis clear that if our musical system is to
be
derived fromthem
at all,
we
must make a
stopsomewhere; forour systemknows
noquarter-tones,
which
thenext octavemust
introduce. Letus,then,firstsharpen ourgaze,
and
eliminate those notesfrom each serieswhich
are related to othernotesinthe series,justasthelatter areto the fundamental note, i.e., let us distinguish
between
notesrelated in the first
and
second degree,and
regard the notes3 . 2
=
6, 3 . 3=
9, 3 . 4=
12, 3 .s
=
15,etc.,and
'/3
.
7,=7
6)
Vs • Vs
=
Vs.U
U
=
7«» Vs•Vs=
'In; respectively, as nearestrelated to the notes 3
and
7
3>as belonging tothem and
derivedfrom
them,and
similarly with notesfoundby
divisionby
'/tor '/s
and
multiplicationby
4, 5, etc.: !"-e-1 1 '/. Vs [V.•
VJ
'Is [V.•V
3] 7, [V.•'/. • '/.,Vs •V
3> 1*
6
Introduction.
Only
the following then,remain
as the directlyrelatednotesof eachseries:
and
:5 7 ii ij
Of
allthe primaryrelated notes, our ears recognise only thefirst ones (upto
\ and
5 respectively),as the asterisksshow,and
refuse to recognise all the following ones,
which
appear out oftune.
Those
thusremainingare : the octave, fifthof the octave,and
third of the double octave in each direction; ifwe
shiftthese into the nearest position to
one
another,which
we
may
do
on
account of the similarsound
of octave-notes, thereremain
ineach case only two notes towards the filling
up
of theoctaveinterval, viz., the (major!)third,
and
thefifth:i.e., of theovertone series only a
major
chord (overclang) is left,ofthe undertone series only a
minor
chord (underclang), bothconsisting ofprime,
major
third,and
perfect fifth, the formermeasured
upwards, thelatterdownwards.
" There are only three directly intelligible intervals: octave,
[major] third,
and
[perfect] fifth" (MoritzHauptmann).
Allotherintervalsaretobeexplained musically
and
mathematicallyastheresultsofmultiplication
and
involutionofthese three, e.g.,theminor
third as -=-. -j-(3
L
:
S
L
=
,aL
=
6/s)> the
whole
toneas-
—
third '* ' '5/ octave
/
3L
• 3L
\
.i, v third-fifth /*/, . 3L
1h
—
/»_
9/ \ the
semitone as ( -L*—
12-—n
.\
2—'*/
octaveV
2 h6These
secondary relationshipsnow
disclose the significance ofthose degrees in the melodic fundamental scale
which
hithertoseemed
enigmatical: for the scale consists not only of directrelatives of
one
note, but of relatives in thesecond
degree aswell as in the first,
and
is, therefore, explicable not only inone
single way, but in various ways.
The
ancientGreek
theorists(Pythagoras) looked
upon
the scale as a chain of fifths•f
c, g, d, a, e, b,and
as such it contains relatives even to theIntroduction,
^(3JY 720
(prime), (b as sixth fifth of
/
=
~-
=
1—?). Sincethe signi2 ^I2
ficance of the third-relationship of notes has
been
recognised(cf. the author's "
Katechismus
der Musikwissenschaft," p. gand
following), it is simpler to refer themelodic
fundamentalscale to
one
principal note (prime) with itsthirdand
fifth,and
its
upper
and under
fifths withtheirthirdsand
fifths: I 4,8
Introduction.
the under-fifth is the so-called under-dominant or subdominant
(indicated briefly
by
S); but also the contra-clang of the tonic,i.e., the underclang of the
same
principal tone,may
appear assubdominant.
We
always indicate underclangsby
anought;
thus °
5
istheunder-dominant
when
aminor chord
;in c major,
—
Similarly, starting with
an
underclang (minor chord), the.under-clang of its under-fifth is under-dominant (°S)
and
theunder-clang of its upper-fifth is upper-dominant ("£>), but also the
contra-clang of the tonic (theoverclang ofits prime)
may
appearas upper-dominant
(D
+); the overclang
we
generally indicateby
thesimplechord-signs, T,
D,
S,withoutany
index, butindoubt-fulcases take the precaution to indicate it
by
a +in oppositiontothe°
: thusin
a
minor,—
While
our musical system, aswe
have
seen, admits partialtones as representatives of a clang onlyas far as theintervalof
the third (cf. p. 6), it does not recognise a representation of a
key
by
a clangbeyond
the fifth-clangs, i.e.,although the naturalrelationshipof theupper-
and
under-third clangsisbeyond doubt
(e.g., the
e major
chord is easily intelligible beside thecmajor
chord as overclang ofits third), yet it is not possible for the
e major
chord to represent thekey
of c major,and
itgenerallymakes
its appearance, aswe
shall see, as a secondary relative(dominant of the parallelkey,
which
we
shallbe
able to explainmore
fullylater on).We
may
therefore state the following prin-ciples,which
explainand
developthe titleof thebook
:Introduction.
gI. There are only
two
kinds ofclangs: overclangsand
under-clangs; alldissonant chords areto be conceived,explained,
and
indi-catedas modificationsofoverclangs
and
underclangs.II. There are only three kinds oftonalfunctions{significance
within tfie key),namely, tonic,dominant,
and
subdominant.In
thechange ofthesefunctionsliesthe essenceofmodulation.
By
keeping both these principles well in mind,we
succeed ingiving the theory of
harmony
a form thoroughly simpleand
easily comprehensible,
and
in formulating the prescriptionsand
prohibitions forthe progression of parts in a
much
more
definiteHarmony
Simplified.
[Chap,iCHAPTER
I.WRITING
CONFINED TO
PURE
PRINCIPAL
HARMONIES
(tonic
AND
dominants).
§ I.
OVERCLANGS
AND
UNDERCLANGS.
From
thecombination of a tone{prime)with its {major)upper-third
and
upper-fifth arises the overciang{major chord);from
itscombinationwithits(major) under-third
and
under-fifth, theunder-clang{minorchord).
To
learn with certainty toknow
and
to treat alloverclangsand
underclangs, withwhich
alonewe
are at presentoccupied,and
towhich
all that remains is easily attached as bywork,we
must
impress firmlyon
ourminds
the fifth-succession of thenaturalnotes:
f
cg
d
a e b{to be learntby heart fluently backwards
and
forwards),and
alsothethree{major) thirds without chromaticsigns:
f
a, c e,and
g
b.The
series of fifths is extendedby
repeatingthem
with sharps,flats,doublesharps,
and
doubleflats(/#, c%, g\, etc., b\f, e\>, aP,etc. fx, cx,g*, etc., i>bb, ebb, «bb, etc.), in addition to
which
we
need remark
only that the connecting fifths ofthese series(viz.,those arrived at
by
correction of the fifth bfiwhich
is toosmall
by
a semitone, namely, b:/$
and
bfy:f
and
also b% :/*
and
b$b fib,which
are derived from thesame
degrees) arethe only fifths with unequal signature. In the case of thirds
we
have
toconsiderwhether the particular third isone
of thoseindicated
above
as to be learntby
heart, orone
derivedfrom
them
: fornaturallyallthoseon
thesame
degrees {c% : e\, c*p ;efy,g$
:bjjf,
gb
:bb,f%
:a%,fO
:a\>, etc.)must
have similarsig-nature, while those derived from the four remaining (d
:f
a: c,e :g,b:d),
which
aretoo smallby
a semitone,must have
unequalsignature, just like thefifth b :
f
(a%
before theupper
note ora1?before the lower, or again a
f
before thelower noteand
ax
before the upper, or a b before the
upper
noteand
a bb beforechap, i.]
Tonic
and
Dominant
Harmonies.
ii istExercise.
—
All
the thirds arrived at in thismanner
{in all31) are to be completed as overclangs
by
addingtheupper-fifth of the lower note,
and
as underclangsby
adding theunder
fifthof theupper
note; e.g., the thirdc:e=
c e
g
=
coverclang(c+,also indicatedsimplyby
c),a
c e—
eunderclang (°e).This
first
exercise
isunder
no circumstancestobedispensedwith.
Another
very useful preparatory exercise(second
exer-cise) consists in the construction of all possible overclangs
and
underclangs, starting with each element of the clang,e.g., if e
be
given as the third ofan
underclang, the othernotes (prime
g%
and
under-fifth c#) are to besupplemented
;
if
by
1, 3, 5we
understand the prime, third,and
fifth ofthe overclang,
and
by
I, III, V, the prime, third,and
fifthof the underclang, this exercise will
be
thoroughly carriedout
by
lookingupon
every note in turn as 1, 3, 5, I, III,and
V,and
adding the other notes of the clangs (as far asthe boundaries of notation will allow, i.e., stopping
where
threefold chromatic signs
would
become
necessary), e.g., ifwe
takethenote^Jfasthe starting-point
:
13-
B
g=^r4£Eg:g
Ein
The
more
thoroughlythese preparatory exercises areworked
outtheless
we
shallneed
tofearvague
notions about keysand
theirprincipalharmonies.
§ 2.
FOUR-PART
WRITING.In the introduction
we
pointedout, as the taskofthetheory ofharmony, instruction in
"the
logically rationaland
technicallycorrect connection of
chords";
we
must
first of allmake
thesupplementary
remark
that four-part writing, in the course ofcenturies,has
proved
itselfthemost
appropriateform
forexercisesin this connection, because of its being at the
same
time soample
as not tomake
toomany
restrictions necessary,and
simple
enough
not tobe
overladenand
unwieldy.The
fourparts
from whose
simultaneous melodic progressionchordsresult,are appropriately represented as the
four
principalspecies ofthehuman
voice,and
are called afterthem
soprano, alto,tenor,and
r2
Harmony
Simplified. [Chap.i.fashion with the
two
most
familiar clefs, trebleand
bass, theformerforthe
two upper
parts (sopranoand
alto), the latterforthe
two
lowerparts(tenorand
bass);two
parts are tobe
writtenon one
stave,on the upper thesoprano with the note stemsturnedupwards
and
the alio with the stemsdownwards,
onthelowerthetenorwithstems
upwards
and
the basswithstemsdownwards,
e.g.:More
particular directions for the actualcompass
of eachsingle voice are not at present necessary, as it is not as yet a
matter ofrealcomposition forvoices. If
we
confine thesopranoand
bass asfar
aspossible within the lines, so that only veryexceptionally the soprano proceeds as high as
the bass as
low
as&
, then with the help of the rules
-»-to be given directly for the distance of the parts
from
one
another, the
motion
of the partsina range of pitchwhich
corre-spondsto theiractual
compass
willnaturally follow.As we
are towrite infour
parts,and
as theconcords(over-clang
and
underclang),which
for the present alone requirecon-sideration, containonlythree notes of different
name,
eitherone
part
must
alwaysbe
silent (a possibilitywhich
we
do
not takeintoaccountatall, asit
would
put astop to the four-partwriting),or
one
notemust
be introduced intwo
parts—
must, as it istermed,
be
"doubled." This"doubling"
may
occur either inthe
same
toneregion or inanother octave; thelatteris generallypreferable, as it secures greater fulness of sound.
The
note bestadapted
for
doubling in the overclang is theprime
—
in theunder-clang, the under-fifth.
The
latter assertion requiresareason.A
singular acoustical
phenomenon
—
the attendantsounding ofover-tones
—
accompanies
everynote of our musical instruments (alsovoices) with the
whole
series of upper harmonicsshown
in theintroduction (pp. 3-4),
and
the first few of these in particularsound
with considerable force; thus especially the third partialtone,the twelfth (fifthof the octave), is distinctlyaudible,
and
insuch a
measure
that the omission of the correspondingchord-noteinwritingisscarcely perceptible; thereforeinthe
minor chord
as well as in the major, if all three notes of the
chord
cannotconveniently
be
introduced(forreasons tobe
discussed later on),theupper note ofthe interval ofthe fifth
may
be omitted withoutchap,i.]
Tonic
and
Dominant
Harmonies.
13simultaneous production of the twelfth, the lower note of the
interval of the fifth is the best bass-note even in the underclang*
and
may
appropriatelybe
doubled.The
underclang, which,on
account of the peculiar
dependence
of its noteson
a higherprincipal note, appears to tend
downwards,
first receives a firmbasis through the choice of the under-fifth for its bass-note,
whence by
way
of the nearest overtones it projectsupwards
again, without, however, itsnature being disturbed
by
thisassimi-lation tothe formation ofthe overclang.
A
certaincontradiction,indeed, cannot
be
deniedbetween
the third of theclangand
the5th partial tone of the bass-note thus chosen, which,
though
comparatively weak, is still audible (e.g., in the e underclang
[a
minor
chord],the 5th partial tone ofthe bass-notea
is c%,which
opposes thethird ofthe chord (c),and
somewhat
detractsfrom the physical
euphony
of theminor
chord); butthe peculiarsadness in the character of the
minor
chordby no
means
arisesfrom
the harshness of this sound, but ratherfrom
the indicated* Inordermorefullyto explain thesomewhat strange-lookingfactthat in the
underclang the fifth forms thefundamental note,wesubmit thefollowing short considerations:
—
Unlessallsigns arefallacious,there hasbeena time whichdidnotunderstand
the third as part, orrather
—
becausethatremote agedidnotknowmusicinparts—
-as representative ofa harmony, butrather stopped short, inits recognition of relations of tones, at the fifth, thesimplest relation after the octave. Theold
Chinese and Gaelic scales donot possess the semitone, whichresults fromthe introduction ofthe third as representative of a harmony. Also the older
en-harmonicgenusof the Greeksisprobablyto be explainedasarestrictionto the
fifth as representative ofa harmony(cf.Riemann, "DictionaryofMusic," under
"Pentatonic Scales''). Fora musicwhich does not understand thethirdas a
representative of a harmony, the double modality ofharmony is, ofcourse, an
unrevealedsecret
—
forinstance,the followinggroupoftones: Tonic.Subdominant. Dominant.
is neither
C
major norC
minor,or,perhaps, theone aswellasthe other. Onlywhenthethirdbecamerecognised as representative ofa harmony,the distinction
ofrelations of tones as eitherupwards (overtones) or downwards (undertones) received practical importance and theoretical consideration. Itis impossiblefor
usheretodevelopthisthoughtsofullyasits importancewoulddeserve: weonly
remarkthatthe factofthefifthbeing amucholderandnaturallymoreprominent
representativeofaharmony,exertsitsinfluence in this,that the third, as it was
recognised much lateras possible representative ofa harmony, so even nowis
regarded only asa sortofcomplementaryand distinctive factor ofharmony
—
asafactornecessary, indeed, tomakeharmonycompleteand unambiguous, but one which,allthe same, appears only as accessory, ifcomparedwiththetwo funda-mentalpillarsofharmony(prime andfifth,whetherover-fifth orunder-fifth),that
were much earlier recognised and stand in a much simpler relation to each
other.
Thereisyetanotherconsideration tobe takenintoaccount. Tonesthatstand
atthe distanceofan octavefrom each other areconsidered bythe musicianas
identical. (No arithmetician has as yet solved the problem why it is that no
involution ofthe interval of the octave produces a dissonance, whilewe under-stand eventhesecondfifthasa dissonance); and hence theoryandpractice ofall
times and nations agree in limitingmelodiesor parts ofa melodybythe octave
i4
Harmony
Simplified.
[Chap.i.downward
derivation of the notes.But
this contradiction does,indeed, explain the aversion of earlier
composers
to finishing amusical piece with the complete
minor chord
; their expedient,however,incases
where
they didnot introducethemajor chord
—
omission ofthe third
—
isnow
no
longer customary;on
thecon-trary,
we
nowadays
desire to hear that notewhich
alone decideswhether
we
have
an
overclang oran
underclang before us.Therefore the third
must
not be omitted either in theoverclangorunderclang; but it
must
also not be doubled, for then the clangobtains a striking sharpness. This doubling of the third is
particularly
bad
when
it isproduced
by
two
parts proceedingin the
same
direction. Let us put these directions together so as tobe
easily surveyed,and
the result in the followingform
will beeasily
remembered
as equallyapplicable to overclangand
underclang(with
@
an
overclang, withm
an
underclang)._maybe omitted, butmayalsobe doubled.
=n
mustnotbeomitted,andgenerally notbe doubled,-goodbass-note{fundamentalnote),bestfordoubling.
As
theaim
of plain four-part writing is theharmonious
com-bination of four partsprogressing melodiously, adisagreeableeffect
will betheresult ifthe parts stand at too great a distance
from
voice). Theconception ofthe interval of the fifthas the prototypeofharmony
producedbyonlytwotone-,presupposesthe identityof octave tones; forsimpler
than the ratio 2:3(fifth) isthe ratio 1:3(twelfth). Thethird appears,in the
seriesof related notes,onlyafterthesecond octave:
c
ia
. . c . .g
. . c- . . e'345
and
Ei,. .
G
. . < . .g
. . g>5 4 3 3 1
Itsabsolutely simplest relation tothe principal tone, accordingly, representsan interval which transcends the range ofan ordinaryvoice. There can belittle
doubt, therefore, that the natural limitation of the human voice—that musical instrument which is the oldestandthetype and standard ofall others—even in
primeval times, has suggested the vicarious useofoctave tones in the repre-sentation oftonerelations; andhenceitisneitherchance norarbitrariness thatwe are accustomed toconceive harmonyin that form whichplaces the constituent notesinclosest proximity, so thatbetween the two moreimportanttones—which, withoutaninversion of the relation ofaboveand below,cannot be placedcloser
than at the interval ofa.fifth—the thirdentersas a middlelink,as-wellinthe case of theoverclangasinthatoftheunderclang:
c . .
g
. . eand
eg . . c . .g
3 3 5
532
Onlythisgenesis
—
which must be considered not asexcogitatedarbitrarilyorashavinggrown bychance, butas resulting necessarilyfromnature—fullyexplains the factthat also in the chord of
C
minorihe c,although not prime, but fifthforms the fundamentalnote. If the third werequiteon the same level with thefifth, itwouldseemproperto construct theminor chord on it asfoundation
;
Chap,i.j
Tonic
and Dominant
Harmonies.
15one
another. Observation of the practice of the great mastersand
close examination of thesound
of different combinations,have
led to the strict rule, that the greatest distance allowedbetweenthe
two
highestparts (sopranoand
alto)isa?ioctave,which,however, isnolonger admissible between the two innerparts, while
the bass, vvhich is
added
more
for the sake of completenessand
good
foundation,may
atpleasure beremoved
furtherfrom
thetenor.
Our
exercisesalwayskeep tothe naturalrelativeposition ofthehigher
and
lowerparts, i.e.,a lowerpartmust
notcross overahigher
one
(crossingofparts).As
has alreadybeen
hinted several times, the basspart
asactual basis readily takes the
fundamental
notesofclangs, i.e., theprime
(1) in theoverclangand
the under-fifth(V)in the underclang;for the beginning of a period this is certainly to be recommended,
fortheclose it isstrictly the rule,
and
alsointhecourse ofwork
itis at
any
time good, unless the bass,which
should also be amelodious part,
be
by
thismeans
condemned
to incoherentgroping about with large intervals (cf the directions for the
melodious connection of chords
which
follow below).There
areno
rules directing the use of certain notes of the chord for theother parts, though there can be
no doubt
that, at least inthemajo'r key, to begin
and
especiallyto close themelody
with thefundamental note (1,
V)
gives greater decisionand
repose,and
istherefore particularly appropriate for the special melody-part, the'
soprano, atleast forthe close of fairlylong
movements.
We
arenow
ina position to arrange single chords in fourpartsin such a
manner
thatthey willsound
well, e.g.,the c-majorchordin the followingforms:
(a)Fundamentalnoteinthe Eass,anddoubled.
-4-1
—
I- .<=!_,_<=!_(Allgood.)
r—
'-t—
T
(i)Thirdinthe Bass. (c)Fifthinthe Cass.
(Allgood.) (All good.)
Here
at (b) in four cases the fifth hasbeen
doubled, towhich16
Harmony
Simplified.
[Chap.I.mostly necessary; temporary rule
—
if the fifth is in the bass, it
must
be doubled.The
following positions of thechord
are notgood, butfaulty
:
J
17-\
A
fewcases with omission ofthefifthmay
alsobe
given,(«) i i i i (*)
i i i
(Good.) (Bad.)
Of
18 (b)we
may
remark
that, in four-partwriting, accordingto our strict rules, doubling of thethird,
which
for thepresentisto
be
avoided altogether, sounds verybad
if the fifth be omitted.We
shallcome
across further restrictions as regardsthird-doubling
and
also fifth-doublingdirectly.3RD
Exercise.
—
Write out anumber
ofmajor
and minor
chords after the pattern of 16
—
18, adding the qualification"good "or
"bad."
§ 3. PLAIN-FIFTH STEP
(CONNECTING
THE
TONIC
WITH
THE
PLAIN-FIFTH
CLANG
IT—
D
AND
°T—"S).
We
now
take a considerable step forward in attempting toconnectthe
two
harmonies nearest related to eachother, namely,the
harmony
of a tonicand
its plain-fifth clang.By
plain-fifthclang
we
understand that clang of thesame
mode
as the firstclang,
which
has as itsprime
the fifth of the latter. In theconnectionof these
two
clangs,the progressionofthepartsisquiteanalogousin both
major
and minor modes,
buttheaestheticsignifi-canceisverydifferent,
inasmuch
asinmajor
this connectionentailsrising, in minor, falling, thus in the first case strengthening the
major
character, in the latter,strengthening theminor
character.It
would be
a complete misunderstanding of the peculiarand
important aesthetic significance of the clang-mode,
were
we
toexpectthe
downward movement
inminor
to havethesame
effectas the
upward
movement
in major.The
plain-fifth clangis, inmajor, the nearest related clang
on
the overtone side (theChap.I.)
Tonic
and
Dominant
Harmonies.
17side (the under-dominant);the one, therefore, soars upwards, the
otherdives
downwards,
theformercaseentailing, forthe returntothetonic,a sinking
downwards,
thelatter,arisingaloft.These two
simplest combinations ofharmonies
leaddirectlytothe
most
important rulesfor theconnection of chords. Ifwe
chose torepresent the
harmonic
relationship of these couples ofchords in such a
manner
that for the plain-fifth step in majoreachpart roseafifth,
and
inminor
fellafifth:we
shouldbe
doing about all that custom,good
taste,and
judgment
forbid; thiswould
mean
simplyplacing thetwo
chordsside
by
sidewithoutany
actual connection,and
lettingthe partsproceed so evenlytogether that not
one
ofthem
would be
reallyindependent
; butthat,on
the contrary, eachwould
appeartobe
dragged in the
same
directionby
the others.But
the principallaw of part-writing is that each
part
should go itsown
naturalroad,
and
itshoulddo
this as melody, i.e., not by the degrees ofthe natural
harmonic
scale (Introduction, p. 3), butby
those ofthemelodic (diatonic)scale. Since, as
we
know
(cf. p. 12),everynote has its overtone series sounding with it, suchparallel,
con-secutiveprogressions of
two
parts in octaves asabove
at 19 (a)between
sopranoand
bass,and
19 (b)between
altoand
bass,do
not really
amount
to two-part writing, but onlyto strengthenedunison. Therefore, it is strictlyforbidden for two [real] parts
laying claim to independence (as is always the casewith ourfour
parts) to proceed parallel to each other in octaves ; indeed, in
consequence
of the similarsound
of octave-notes,which
easilydeceivethe ear asregards toneregion, itisnot even allowablefor
two
real parts to proceedby
contrarymotion
from
notes of thesame
name
tonotes of thesame
name
(d):
,W
!, 8
'J, 15 1 1 (*)
(Wrong.)
But
we
must
immediatelyremark
that these consecutive octavespro-ceedingby leapare not nearlysodisagreeable as thoseproceedingby
i8
Harmony
Simplified.
[Chap.I.by
step haveinmuch
greatermeasure
theeffectofreal parts, i.e.,of melodies,
and
therefore disappoint us all the more, iftheircourse suddenly
becomes
identical,and
they blend into one.The
same
is trueofconsecutive fifths[cf. 19(a)and
19(b)between
tenor
and
bass]; inthe case of fifths proceedingby
leap,itis lessthesimilarity of
motion
than thedisconnectedness of thechordsand
thewant
of melodious progression that strikes usdisagree-ably, whereas,in the case of fifths rising or falling
by
step, itis the parallelmotion
itselfwhich
is the principalfaultand
causesso disagreeable
an
effect. Fifthsby
leap in contrarymotion
:21. i
indeed, often occur in the
works
of the best masters.No
recommendation,
however, can be given to their use, norto thatof octaves
by
leap in contrary motion,much
less to that ofoctaves
and
fifthsby
leap in parallel motion.The
studentwho
wishes togetacquainted withthe regular
methods
of part-writing,tolearn to
know
thenormal
paths,and
to acquireand
make
ahabit of naturalness, smoothness,
and
fluency in theprogression ofparts, so that
he
may
judge for himselfwhat he
is doingwhen
heturns
away from
thestraightroad,must
abstainfrom
thementirely.Intheconnection of
harmonies
withwhich
we
areat presentoccupied, namely, the plain-fifth step
and
its inversion, the"retrograde plain-fifth step," or "plain-fifth close," there is
no
reason for
making
use of octavesand
fifths,either in similarorcontrarymotion, ifthe simplest
fundamental
law for
themelodiousconnectionofchords
be
observed. Thisis:Every part
shouldtrytoreacha noteofthe
new
harmony
by the nearestway.From
thismain
principle it follows that (1),when
two
harmonies
have
notes incommon,
the lattermost
appropriatelyremain in the
same
parts (" notes incommon
are kept in thesame
part"); (2),progressions by step are always preferable to those by
leap,
and
steps of ambior
second (semitone progressions,leading-tone
steps)are specially tobe recommended.
In
progression by secondsrests the actual healthylife of melody(therefore, the scale is really at all times the
normal
basis ofmelody)
;and
this is applicableeven tothe freest,boldestmelody
formation.
Leaps
are not, indeed, excluded in melody;on
thecontrary, theyform the
most
effective factors(vigorous arousing,sudden
collapse of energy, etc.); but they entail subsequentcomplete, or, at least, partial, filling
up
ofthegaps bymeans
ofsingle-step progressions.
Chap.I.
Tonic
and
Dominant
Harmonies.
»9touched
upon
several times, is generallyemancipated
in greatermeasure from
thelawof progressionby
seconds; the bassreadilytakes the
fundamental
notes ofthe harmonies(1,V), particularlyatthebeginning
and end
(cf. p. 15), butmay
at all times correctlyproceed in seconds through other notes ofthe harmonies; it
may
also take the thirds of harmoniesbyleap, butthen readilyreturns
(to fill
up
the gaps), for the specificallymelodic reasons alreadyindicated.
But
it isaltogetherwrong
for
thebasstoproceedby leapfrom
the fifth ofthemajor
chord orprime
oftheminor
chord;
proceeding by leap to thisnote(5, I),
which
is contradictory to thefundamental note(therefore,not appropriatefor thebass),should
also be avoided, particularly
on
the accented beat of the bar,excepting in cases
when
this doubtful bass-notebecomes
funda-mental note of the next chord(i.e., in the case of a
"chord
ofsix-four,"to
which
we
shall refer furtheron
; cf. remarks aboutExample
26).If, after this rather detailed discussion, which, however,
exhaustspretty wellallthe rulesfor part-writing,
we
againattemptto connectthe tonic with its plain-fifth clang, the result will
be
quitedifferentfrom thatreachedat 19 (a)—(b)
:
The
seven progressions in thisexample
are transitions fromthefirstform of the c-major
chord
given inEx. 16, to the chordof G-major; theyare all good,
though
the third (c)and
the last(g) only
under
thepresupposition that the basswill not proceedby
leap from the fifth.The
first (a) isabsolutelynormal, as thebass proceeds
from
fundamental notetofundamental note,and
inboth
harmonies
the latter is doubled, the note incommon
(g)remains in the tenor(o), the leading-tone step(c—b) is
made
inthe soprano,
and
also the fourth part (alto) proceedsby
second.At
(b)—(c) the bassmoves
melodically to the thirdand
fifthrespectively,
and
the progressionfrom fundamental to fundamentalisnot
made
at all,as the othercalsoproceedsby second
[at(l>)soprano
c"—d",
at (c) sopranoc"—
b'}.Thus
thedoubling ofthefifth isbroughtabout,
which
we know
tobe
allowed.At
(d) theprogression 1
—
1 (c"—
g'),normal
for the bass,is transposed intothe soprano,
which
is also at all times permissible.The
cases(e)—(g)are the freest; at (e)
and
(/), themeans
of connectionby
sustainingone
note is missing; at(<?)and
(g)the leading-tonestep is also missing.
But
these progressions are also allowableHarmony
Simplified.
[Chap.I.were reached
by
stricterprogressionofthe parts,and
also that theG-major
chord
proceedwith betterconnection. Severalsuchprogres-sions following
one
another withoutrealmelodic
supportwould
be unwarrantable for the
same
reasons as those inExample
19.On
the otherhand, the following progressions are faulty:W
<« 3 to. . <<0. , to. _ J (/)
U
)3 '
8 '8 IS
(a): consecutive octaves
between
sopranoand
bass : (b): thesame
fault, but aggravatedby
the doubling of the third of thedominant.
{Rule
:Doubling
thethird of themajor
upper-dominantand
minor
under-dominant, equivalent to thedoubling
of
the
leading-note,
is at all times—
even in contrary motion—
a bad
mistake]
; (c)
: toogreat a distance
between
altoand
tenor; (d)
and
(e): thesame between
sopranoand
alto ;(/)
: consecutive
octaves[by leap]
between
sopranoand
bass ; (g): the same, butincontrary
motion
[lessstriking, but not to beapproved
of].4TH
Exercise.—
Imitation ofthe seven differentprogressionsin
Example
22, starting with the 11 other forms of the c-majorchord
given inExample
16(a) (carryingoutstrictlythe directionsfor the distance of the parts from
one
anotherand
fortheir totalcompass).
The
conditions for writinginminor
are almost thesame
asin
major
; theplain-fifth clang (the under-dominant, °S) hasone
notein
common
with the tonic (°T) (theA-minor
chord [°e] with theD-minor
chord [°a~], thenotea), and thereis the possibility ofmaking
aleading-tone step(e—f)
; on the otherhand, itmust be
noticed thatthetreatment ofthe
V
asfundamental
noteand
as theone
best for doubling, stipulates a differenceinthe progression, asnot the V, but the I has the possibilityofproceeding by secondin
either direction (e
—
dund
e—f). Therefore, inminor, doublingoftheI willoccur
more
frequentlythan doubling of the 5 in major,which
only confirms the correctness of the view that theminor
and major
chords are constructedon
opposite principles.The
following are
normal
progressions inminor
in imitation of thefirst
form
ofExample
16 (cf. Ex. 22):
Chap.I.]
Tonic
and
Dominant
Harmonies.
Here
at (d)—
(/) theleading-tone step ismissing; a certaindisturbance of the facility of
motion by
the doubling of the V,which
arisesfrom
the imitation of the major, cannotbe
denied;
for thisreason, the doubling of the prime often occursin minor,
excepting at the beginning
and
close; also, in the course ofdevelopment, the bass often takes the third,
by which
means
greater mobility isgained :
STH
Exercise.
—
Imitation of the progressions inExamples
24,25, starting with a considerable
number
of otherminor
chords.We
now
proceedforthefirsttime to theworking
out of acon-tinuous
example
in8 bars,which
will give us occasion for a fewmore
observations.Take
the exercise:TD
IT
7.?
\D
..\T..\DT\
D
T\
5 5
In the first place,
we
must
give a short explanation of this figuring.The
signs T,D
we
have
explained(T=
major
tonic,D
=
major
upper-dominant); thenumbers
r, 3, 5, writtenbelow
orabove, implythat the particular note (prime, third, fifth) isto
be
in the lowest or highest part; the two dots (. .) indicaterepetition of the
same
harmony
(but the alteration of the positionis always allowable
and
generally advisable); the perpendicularstrokesare the bar-lines, (P, the time-signature.
No
particularkeyisprescribed;
on
the contrary, all theexamplesgiven in this speciesof notation are intendedfor
working
out i?i all keys(or at leastin a large
number
of keys). Ifwe
go
to work,and
choose forthebeginningthefirstpositionof 16(a), inthe
key
ofA-major, theattemptwill probablyturn outthus:
T
D
26. <
(Firstmodel example.)
It should be well noted that the middleparts are here
2*
Harmony
Simplified.
(Chap.I.sustain notes as far as possible,
and
generallymove
within asmallcircle.
Only
when
thesame
harmony
(. .) occurs twice insuccession [at (a) in the 2nd, 3rd,
and
4th bars], progressionby
secondsis naturallydiscontinued (as there can be no stepof asecond between notes ofthe
same
clang),and
all the parts (as inbar 2), orat least several,
move
by
leap.Such
change ofposition ofa
harmony
should deliberatelybemade
use ofin ordertogain agoodprogression to thefollowing/ the studentshouldinsuchcases
always findout
which
position is rendereddesirableby the bass-noterequired
for
the next chord.—
At
(b) the bass leaps to the fifth,which,
on
p. 19,we
indicated as unadvisable in connectingdifferentharmonies.
But when,
as in this case, onlythe position ofharmony
changes, itmay
be
done
without hesitation (also,proceeding
by
leapfrom
thefifthto the third or the fundamentalnote of the
same
chord is admissible); but at thesame
time acase occurs here,
which
we
notedon page
19 asan
exception,when
even
withchange
ofharmonies
the bassmay
proceedby
leap to the fifth: the fifth is sustained
and becomes
fundamentalnote (of the dominant).
We
will not delay the explanation ofthis rule unnecessarily: the tonic with the fifth in the bass
(T
s),
which
generallyappearsaslastchord buttwo
(antepenultimate),and
which
isfollotved by the doininant leadingtotheclosingtonic, is, in reality, not tonic harmony, but rather a dissonantform
ofthedominant, the so-called
Chord
ofsix-four,i.e., the
dominant
enters withtwo
strange notes, namely, thifourth
and
sixth,which
tenddownwards
to the thirdand
fifthof the chord, that is to say, with
two
suspensions. It is truewe
shall not treat of suspensions tillmuch
lateron;
but thischord
formation is so indispensable,even
for the simplest littlepassages, that it
seems
imperatively necessaryto introduce it atthe very beginning of the exercises,
and
to explain it properly.The
chord
of six-four is the first of the examples of dissonantchords
under
the cloak ofconsonance
(feigning consonances),which
we
shall oftencome
across; the doubling ofthe bass-note, absolutely necessary in the chord ofsix-four, does not reallymean
doublingof thefifth, but,
on
the contrary, doubling ofthefunda-mental note (1 of the dominant).
The
student is tobe
warned,inresolving thechordofsix-fourintothe plain
dominant
harmony
(Jf), against doubling the fifth, particularly in similar motion,
when
it sounds simplyhorrible:And
thus thenew
numbers
4and
6 appear in ourchord
semi-chap,i.j
Tonic
and
Dominant
Harmonies.
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tone higher than the third, the latter the plain (major) sixth
lying a
whole
toneabove
the fifth. Finally, at (c), in theclosing chord,
we
have the first case of necessary omission ofthe fifthbefore us, because the
prime
is prescribedfor the highestpart.
Exercises
6—
n,
inmajor
(to beworked
out inallmajor
keys
up
toc| major
and
c\> major).(6)
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N.B.
—
The
note-signs after the last figure of each exerciseintimate the duration of the closing chord: thosewritten
under
the beginning of Exercise 11 indicate the
rhythm
tobe
carriedthrough.
Exercises
12—
17, inminor
(tobe
worked
out in allminor
keys). (12)
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(3,. IIII I I III I III I VI v I v •24
Harmony
Simplified.
[Chap.i.We
must
here, before all,supplement
the explanation of thefiguring.
As
already indicated, the °alwaysdemands
an
under-clang;
Roman
numbers, for indicating intervalsmeasured
down-wards, likewise
show
thatwe
have todo
withan
underclang,sothat the°is then superfluous. Inthelast
example
the counterpartin
minor
of thedominant
chord ofsix-four inthemajor
key,which
is wellintelligible, isintroduced; naturally
we
must
avoid placingthe i in the bass, for then the chord
would
appear merely astonic; similarly, the i
must
be
doubled, for, aswe
shall see,dissonant notes
must
never be doubled. Thisminor chord
ofsix-four is wanting inthe principal
means
of effect of the chord of six-four inmajor
—
the tension causedby
the fourthand
sixthas suspensions
from
above of the thirdand
fifth,and
relaxedby
theirdownward
resolution. It is just this higher or lowerposition, this
upward
ordownward
relation,which
produces the different effect ofmajor
and
minor, as the relations are notcongruent, but only symmetrical.
A
second series ofexercises willnow
follow (hereand
throughthecourseof the
book)
which
are distinguishedfrom
thefirst, inthatone
part
isgivencompletely (consequentlyalsothekey).One
given
part
oftenmakes
the bestand
most natural connectionofhar-monies impossible; if,e.g., for the
harmony
step tonic-dominant,the
melody
stepfrom thirdtothird is given,then the leading-tonestepis
made
impossible(as theleading-notemust
notbe
doubled).In these examples the harmonies are not indicated as tonic,
dominant,
and
subdominant, butby
smallitalicletters (c, °e)indi-cating their principalnotes (1, I).
In working
out, thepupilis toindicate thefunctions ofthe
harmoies
(viz., their significanceastonic or dominant, etc., but without the
numbers which
referonly totheprogression of parts); in these first exercises thisis a
verysimple matter, but later
on
it willbecome more
and
more
difficult,
and
must, therefore,be
made
a dutyfrom
the verybeginning, if theattemptlater
on
is nottoprovea failure.Take
the following
example
:
(Soprano.)
N.B.
—
Where
Only numbers, or +, or °, without clang-letteror without .. , areplaced
by
a note, it is itself(major or minor)prime;
where
there isno
figuring at all (see the fifth note), itis major prime; the
number,
then, indicates the particular noteforthe bass; only wherethe latterisgiven, the
number
indicatesthe note for the highestpart.