Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
by Barrie Nettles
Berklee
COLLEGE OF MCSIC
Copyright c 1987 Berklee College of Music
All rights reserved.
HARMONY I
Harmony deals with the study of chords and their relationship to one another The
understanding of harmonic practice is essential to the uncerstanding co the
ianguage of music. As in learning any language, the first step in the learning
process is the develooment of a vocabulary
THE STAFF
The foundation of our notation system is a grid of five lines caLLed a staf
The position of notes placed on the staf visually represents relative “highness” or
“lowness” of pitches.
CLEFS
Each line and space of the staf may be assigned a letter name. The letter
names are arranged alphabetically in ascending order: A B C D E F G. The location
of the letter names is determined by a clef placed at the beginning of the staf.
The following example uses the F clef (also known as the bass clef). The F clef
locates F below "middle C" on the fourth line of the staf
Harmony
2
The G clef, also known as the treble clef, locates G above "middle C" on the second
l ine of the staf.
The C clef locates "middle C" on the middle line (or, in some cases, on the
fourth l ine) of the staf.
Note that the music alphabet goes from A to G, and then starts over
When two staves and the treble and bass clef are used together, the
result is caned the Grand Staf or Great Staf.
Harmony
3
LEGER LINES
Small lines called leger l ines are added to extend the staf
Notice that the notes in the spaces directly below or directly aocve do not
need added }eger lines.
2) the clefs, which locate Pitch names given to lines and soaces of the
3) the leger lines, which extend the five lines of the staf for higher or lower
pitches.
Harmony
Homework numbers:
ACCIDENTALS
The foregoing information about the Grand Staf covers the letter names of the
white keys on the keyboard. What about the other five notes (the black
In order to maintain the 'Integrity of the alphabet, the other five •-æs are
represented as alterations of the basic seven pitches. The terms -sea are
sharp and flat. Sharp = 1 /2 step hiaher, written as
written as A "C Z is the pitch W 2 steo above C and 1 /2 step below D. The
sharp sign is placed before the note for reading purposes.
Harmony
Harmony
AS Witn snarps, flats are olaced before the notes to wrycn they acc, .
Note that there are two oocjons for naming the five black key pitc n es
etc.). When there are two (or more) same Ditch, it is said that
enharmonic spel ling is being appl iea
f
Harmony
Once a sharo or a flat has occurrea In a measure, there must be a means of
cancelling (neutral izing) it so the note reverts to i ts unaltered The svmocl
used for this is a natural ( Col lectively, snarps, naturals are called
accidentals.
I— ave
Homework numbers. 4, 6, 7, 8
Fg
A scale is a semes of ascending or descending notes in a stepwise pattern.
Harmony
This Is a chromatlc scale. 't uses ali the notes between tne F's and all the
pitches move by 1 /2 step. (Chromatic implies 1 /2 step." )
This is the
familiar C
major scale.
The same notes can be used to begin and end _at diferent points in the
order of notes:
I 1 2
NAME CHARACTERIST!CS
/ 2 steps between degrees ( Parallel tc "C
Ionian (major)
Dorian 2-3
phrygian
Lydian
MixolyCian
Aeolian (minor)
Harmony t
1 3
Scales may also be described by comparing them to the paral lel major or
minor scale.
lowered.
Lydian mode may be described as a major scale with the 4th degree rmsed:
(4
)
Locrian mode may be described as a minor scale with the•2nd and aeorees lowered:
-3
Homework numbers: 9, 1 0
Harmony
KEY SIGNATURES
Key signatures allow us to place the required accidentals of the various scales
at the beginning of a piece of music. They are placed directly to the riéht of
the clef.
The reader, before reading the music, wi ll look at the key signature æ•nc *ictlce the
accidentals to be used for all the afected notes. With the the key
o
signature at the beginning, the key is recognizable immec',eteiy ven if there is a lot of
subsequent chromatic alteration.
Refer to the homework for scales. The sequence of examples was not arbitrary (C,
G, D, A, etc.). This sequence is the result of a phenomenon which you will see
throughout the study of music. (t is caned the cycle of 5ths. To be logically
sequenced, the building of key signatures follows the cycle of Sths. The placement
and position of the flats in a key signature foilows the cycle down in fifths:
RIGHT WRONG
The best way to recognize any key is to know the number of sharps or flats used for
it. Another way to recognize the key signature is:
l ) For flat keys, the key is represented by the flat ?EFORE tne lasc flat.
2) For sharp keys, the key js a half step ABOVE the last snaro.
3) The key signature of one flat is F major. The key signature or no snarps
or flats is C major
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I
Note that there no necessity to use leger l ines for the piacement of any
accidentals in a key signature. Unl ike the general rules concerning Zhe use of
accidentals, key signatures afect all notes of the name regardless of their
octave.
Homework number: I
Harmony
2 3 4 S 5th 2 3 4 4th
The intervals in a major scale between the first note and the other notes are
perfe
ct major major major major urnson 2nd 3rd 4th 6th 7th octave
if a major interval is made smaller by a half-step (by lowering the too note or
raising the bottom note) the major interval becomes minor:
Harmony
minor rmnor minor minor 2nd 3ra 6th 7th
tIg
NOTE. Intervals may occur as melodic intervals (one note following the
other), as the minor 2nd and minor 3rd in the above example, or as harmonic
intervals (both notes together) as the minor 6th and tninor 7th above.
Notice that in all intervallic rel.ationships, one must first count the number of
staf degrees involved, and then qualify the relationship.
Major and perfect intervals made larger by .a 1 /2 step are callec augmented
intervals:
double
double double dim. 5th dim. 6th dim. oct.
Here are the basic rules and names (when examining the distance -om the
first note of a major scale upwards):
Homework numbers: 1 2, 1 3.
I 21
tNVER30N OF INTERVALS
Harmony
Intervals describe the distance between two notes. The notes invoived can appear
ana sound in two ways:
When an interval is inverted, the note names involved are still 'ne same, and
the intervallic relationship follows a pattern, in the above example, one
interval is a major 2nd; the inversion is a minor 7th. Some simple
rules for inversion of intervals follow:
"9" minus the number of the interval equals the ±nverslon interval:
minus minus
5) Dimanished intervais
Doubie
Dtm. 4th Aug. 5th
3) Double augmented
Doub ie Doub
Aug. Sth Dim. 4th
E
r; to correctly produce an Inversion ot any inter-vat, Che tottom O!t. rn ffiust De
raised one octave or the top pltcn must öe lowerec one octave. The of a
oerfect umson becomes a perfect octave and Vice verqa•
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23
The tritone interval (augmented 4th) is a special case. Unltke anv other interval,
when it is inverted, the number and quai ifier change, buc it remains a tritone.
Homework number: 1 4.
TR!ÅDS
we have 100k ec 2t a l one -.n scale Eir.cat'tcrts anu sit. catnot
I
•ons. NTN, W : l Diace . use q t c descnoe three major J
minor. augmented, and diminished ("Perfect'C
Above each note -tn the scale wi n be glacec two more 3 :c.hes - r 3rd above
the note from the S,cz2e second pitch a ord aoove i.l,c -
Ali tne pitcnes used to bul la the chotös are rrcm tne key ef C major
diatonic C major
The diatonic triads in the key C ma icr contain three Of the fc,ur
t.maaic structures (rna ior, minor, and di:ninisned) relationships w ithin each
cnord are studied, these three chora types an,} tteF cnaracterist•.cs can oe
2) MINOR TRIADS. chords intervals of a minor 3rd and perter? from the
root respectively:
D rmn E min A Imin
Harmonv t 2S
Note that in al } cases, the letter name of the triad signifies the note This note is
caned the root of the chord.
In addition, each chord will be identified with a Roman numeral recresentlnc the
scale degree of the bottom pitch:
"min" is the abbreviation for minor. Also used, thouah not universally, is the
minus sign (which will remain the choice for this course).
"A minor" will be notated in this course "A-
I maj l i min
Harmony 26
The fourth type of triad, besides major, rmnor and diminished, is the
augmented triad. It is abbreviated either "aug" or The augmented triad has a
major 3rd and an augmented 5th from the root:
The augmented triad is not diatonic to any major key. Its usage wili be discussed
later,
There is one more type of chord. It is a very common chord in contemporary music,
and it doesen't fit the normal pattern of stacked thirds. is the 'suspended 4th"
chord. The chord symbol used is sus4. A suspendec fourth chord (sus4) is a triad in
which the 4th degree replaces the decree
G(sus4) G-(sus4)
To summarlze;
C maj
Major triads are constructed with major 3rds and perfect 5ths
from the root:
Minor triads are constructed with minor 3rds and perfect Sths from the
root:
Augmented triads are constructed witn major 3rds and augmented 5ths
from the root:
Homework number: ! S.
SEVENTH CHORDS
Chords with a major 3rd, perfect 5th and major 7th from the root def ire
cmaj7 Fmaj7
major
7th
chord
Chords with a minor 3rd, perfect 5th and minor 7th from the root define a:
minor 7th
chord
A chord Witn a major 3rd, perfect 5th and minor 7th from cne root aeftnes a:
G7
dominant 7th
chord
A chord with a rrnnor 3rd, diminished 5th and minor 7th from the root defines
a:
3-7(bS)
minor 7(b5)
chord
it helos to compare these seventh chords with the triads on which they are
The chords built on C and F are major triads with major 7ths:
cmaj7 Fmap
The chords bui lt on D, E and A are minor triads with minor 7ths•
The chord symbols for seventh chords which will be used in this course are:
maj 7 = major triad w/major 7th major triad w/minct 7th -7 = minor triad
w/minor 7th -7(b5) = dim. triad w/minor 7th
1 1 -7
C map D-7
Harmony 30
I
There are other 7th chord structures which are not diatonic to a ma 10t key•
The +7 (augmented 7th chord) which consists of an augmented triad with a minor
7th:
The 0 7 (diminished 7th chord) which consists of a dirmnished triad with a diminished
7th.
C dim7
C-(maj7)
Harmony
Notice in the chord symbol, the represents the basic cnord sound (rmnor) whi le tne
"(maj7th)" indicates the 7th quality. The parenthesis necessary to keep rmnor and
major from being confused.
The major 6th chord and the -6 (minor 6th) chord which consist of a major or
minor triad respectively and an "added" 6th degree:
The dominant 7(sus4) chord which consists of a suspended 4th with a minor 7th:
G7(sus4) G-7(sus4)
Homework number: 1 6.
Harmony 32
131
INVERSION OF CHORDS
The basic rule for inverting triads is the same as that for intervals: bring the bottom
pitch up an octave. There are as many positions of inversion for a triad as there are
notes In the chord (i.e. three in a triad).
If the root is positioned on the bottom (where it would normally be for naming
purposes) the chord is in root position:
c
The second inversion is accomplished by bringing the toot and the 3rd uo an octave:
One more inversion would bring the chord back to root position. Notice that
there are three possible choices for the top note of any triad.
Harmony
Since seventh chords contam four notes, there are four positions or possible:
Root position:
C ma j 7
2. 1 st inversion with the root on too and the 3rd on the bottom
2nd inversion with the root and 3rd brought to tne too ano on the bottom:
4. 3rd inversion with the toot, 3rd and 5th örougnt to the too
7th on the oottom:
Homework numbers. i 7, 1 9, 20
I
TFNSICNS
No matter what the inversion is, all the intervals in a triad or 7th less than an
octave in size.
There are now 2 ! intervals in this chord! A 7th chord in root position has 6, a triad 3. The
number Of intervals has more that tripled from those of •the 7th chord, while the 7th chord
has only tw.ice as many as the triad. In addition to the intervals which are less than one octave,
there are now compound intervals (the 9, I I th and 1 3th). Some facts about these extended
7ths chords should be recoanized:
The added pitches are not chord tones of the 7th chords,
Because of this tense relationship with the cnord tones of the 7th chora,
these extensions are called tensions. l , 3, 5 and 7 are the chord tones; 9, I
and 1 3 form the basis for the chord's possible tensions. Here a maj7 chord
with its possible tensions:
33
The 9th (D) is a major 9th above the root; the I I th (F) is a minor 9th above the 3rd; th
1 3th (A) is a major 9th above the 5th. The tensions wnicn sound best wil l be those
Harmony
major 9th above a chord tone, (A minor 9th interval 'is extremely harsh sounding.) In
the fol lowing examples al l tensions ere :hose a major 9th above the chord tones:
The 1 3th (A) Is a major 9th above tne 5tn; I ) Is a major gcn aoove the 3rd; 9
(D) is a major 9th above the root. Notice that tension I is not identified as
"augmented I Tensions are laöeled as fol lows:
8
The chart of available tensions for all chord changes is on the following page.
Most of the available tensions are those which are a major 9th above a chord
tone. Any available tensions that ate not a major 9th aoove a chord tone are
listea separately as exceptions.
Maj 7 Is- included in the list as a soeclai tension situation available on certain
chord structures.
I
AVAILABLE TENSIONS
Harmony
EXCEPTIONS TO THE
AVAILABLE TENSIONS
AVAILABLE AJ 9TH ABOVE A
TENSIONS WHEN DIATONIC
CHORD" TONE RULE
TO KEY
All available tensions must be a maj 9th above each chord tone
and diatonic to the key.
9
09, b5(see rnte l),
All available tensions must be a maj 9th above each chord tone
and diatonic to the key.
Note
- b5 is a special tension situation involving an alteration of the 5th.
Note 2
- The available tensions on dim 7th chords are not numbered 9, I
1 3, etc. Unlike other 7th chords, a major or minor 9th above
each chord tone results in four possible tensions, not three.
Harmony
numbering system to 1 3 will not work here. Specific available tensions for dim 7ths will be
wn-when the chords are snown in context.
: 36
Tensions which would not normally be available MUST be included in the chord symbol:
Any diatonic chord may progress to any other diatonic chord. The control factor is the
relationship between the roots of the chords called root motion and falls into
three categories
l ) The strongest diatonic root motion is movement down in 5ths (tne cycle of
Sths).
The tensions available are determined by the function of the chord in -,.he the tensions
that are diatonic to the key and the that are major eth above a chord tone.
Imaj7 Vil-7(b5) 1 1 1 -7
V 7 to I is the
in the key,
stronaest diatomc root motion a special analysis symbol.
The arrow wi l l always be used to show dominant resolution down a perfect fifth.
2) Root motion down a diatonic 4th is also strona although not as stone as root
motion down a diatonic 5th.
Harmony
3) Stepwise root motion is a l i ttle more subtle than root moc P ion or and
5ths.
4) The other diatonic root motion is down or uO ln- Chit-as. Movement down is more
common than movement up.
V(sus4)
In reviewing all of the previous examples, take note that they are repeated If an
ending point sought, the best final chord will be the chord. The I chord may be
followed by any other chord because it represents a point of harmonic arrival
Harmony
39 (SUS 4) CHORDS
The V7(sus4) chord is usually built on the dominant degree of the key:
D7(sus4)
The strength of dominant resolution lies in the root motion of a oerfect 5th down.
Since the V7(sus4) does not contain a tritone, its diatonic function dependent on
context:
V7(sus4) V 7
Another observation concerning the V7(sus4) chord can be seen if the structure is categorized
as having a subdominant upper structure (since the tritone is not present). The chords sound
subdominant but the root is dominant.
The above two chords each contain a subdominant sounding upper structure and the dominant
degree of the key as their root.
E l-7 over S of the key and IVmaj-7 over 3 of the key are both subtle versions of V7(sus4) and
snould be analyzed as sucn:
- (11-7) over 5 of the key and the 'V (I Vmaj7) over 5 ot the key can be seen as chord-
structures derived from the extended structure of the V7(sus4):
c Cmaj7 D7(sus4), l ,
D D
e h
Diatonic cho cs names basea the location of t eir
IV
Tonic:
Subdominant:
Dominant:
tffæ)
Harmony
stucture
tne root mctlons are not the same, thcuah the meiodles are; the
melody and reharmonization choices must be compatable; the
ongnal resolutions of the two dominant chords are no longer cown a
pefect fifth (the normal expected re;olutjon for V 7 or
V'7(sus4) is aown a perfect fifth the I chord),
43
VI-7 V7(sus4)
CADENCE
The term cadence means melodic and/or harmonic movement to a point of rest.
That point of rest is the cadence.
Dominant cadence:
Subdominant cadence:
D(sus4)
IV to I V/domjnant root to I is even more subtle because the mot l cn '.rcm the
subdominant to dominant only involves root motion from I V to V cne Key
Harmony
The 1 1-7 to V 7 to I cadence is very strong since all the root motion is down in
perfect 5ths. This particular variation of the full cadence is so strong that some
styles of contemporary music rely on it almost exclusively:
4-6
HOMEWORK n identify, by
3) Identify, by pitch name, all the following notes in two of the C clefs.
H、℃NY | HCtIEWCR.K
HARMONY
7) identify by name all the Ditches. Then, place the number for all notes of cne
chord on the aoorooriate key of the keyboard below. The firm IS
comoletea.
HARMONY
and m Inor:
' B minor
MAJOR sca;-
Number of
'-harps
o
r
F major
HARMONY I HOMEWORK 55
sharps
or flats:
Ab major
G mimr
HARMONY I HOMEWORK
F Dorian
I l ) Write the key signatures for the following keys and iaentlfy the
missing tonai ity:
major
_
minor
— major 3b major major
HART-ICNY
HARMONY
1 2) Complete the fol lowing chart ot intervals from the key of highest Pitch
diatonic. Use the appropriate accidentals.
Diatonic Djatornc interval Diatormc intervai
interval: recuceo by Increasea by
I / 2 steo: /2 steo:
İ ı0
HARMONY
Diatonlc increaseo ov
reouced oy 1 /2 step:
HARMONY
I HOMEWORK
val Diatonic
interval
by
/2 step:
i
HARMONY
1 3) Rewrite this melody
HOMEWORK 63
Gb Gb(sus4) z.
Ci
*
sus4)
HARF--ONY HCt!E\N'C•P.K 06
HARMONY
HARY.CNY *CYIEWCRK
Ab mal 7 Ab-( maj7) Ab6 Ab— 6
AO-
Ab auq7
7( öS) Ab 7 ( sus4)
H A RMC N Y f
z _ ( maj 7)
F z aug7
bS) F z 7 ( SuS4)
36 3-6
'
B aug7 37 ( sus4)
A 7 ( SiJS4)
D aug7
sus4) G dim 7
G aug7
71
1 8) Complete this triadic chord progression öy adcing the rema!ning chord tones
beneath the melody pitches. Then indicate, beneath the cncrd, the inversion
using the fol lowing:
74
20) Complete this harmonization of the cycle of fifths by Diactng the remaining
chord tones beneath the melody pitches. Then indicate the inverSion for each
chord.
22) Realize cnord symbols for this piano oart. Place in parenthesE the tensions