PAGE
INDEX
6.6.1 The
Key to Boldly Going Way Beyond the “Three-chord Wonder”
6.6.2 Unrest and Direction: The Magic of V – I
6.6.3 Harmonic “Scale Neighbours”
6.6.4 The Harmonic Scale: Will the Circle Be Unbroken?
6.6.5 Families Within the
Circle
6.6.6 Which Direction Home?
6.6.7 The Melodic Scale: Two Directions Home
6.6.8 How Does it Feel to Move Clockwise Round the Harmonic
Scale?
6.6.9 How Does it Feel to Move Counterclockwise? (Hint: The Cat
Wants Back In)
6.6.10 The Harmonic Scale: One Direction Home
6.6.11 Fixing Another “Minor” Problem
6.6.12 Harmonic Motion and “Musical Punctuation”
(Cadence)
~ • ~ • ~ • ~
6.6.1
THE
KEY
TO BOLDLY
GOING
WAY
BEYOND
THE “THREE-CHORD
WONDER”
Usually, you think of a scale as an ordered sequence of single
notes. Chapter 4 was all about identifying melodic intervals, scale
degrees, and the organization of melodic scales.
Does
the same apply to harmony? That is, having identified the various harmonic
degrees (chords) and harmonic intervals (chord changes, also called chord
progressions), can they be organized into harmonic scales—harmonic equivalents
of melodic scales?
And if
so, does that mean there’s a guaranteed way to write a chord progression that
holds together? Sounds like it “knows where it’s going”?
The answer is yes.
Few songwriters know about it, though.
The harmonic equivalent of a melodic scale is called a harmonic
scale, or scale of harmonic degrees. It’s a powerful musical phenomenon.
You’re about to learn to make creative use of it.
There
are 12 such harmonic scales, one for each pair of relative keys—major and
relative minor (or vice versa).
In the
following sections, you’ll learn how easy it is to create chord progressions
that sound “different” from your run-of-the-mill “three-chord wonders.” And yet
natural and attractive to the ear.
True, many great songs have only three basic chords. But the
same three basic chords also show up in zillions more awful songs.
Tune
and lyrics notwithstanding, most songwriters simply don’t know how to create
beautiful chord progressions because they have zero knowledge of harmonic scales
and how to use them. Once you understand how easy it is to use harmonic scales,
you won’t ever have to worry about writing lame chord progressions again.
6.6.2
UNREST
AND DIRECTION:
THE
MAGIC
OF V
–
I
Recall from Chapter 4 that, in melodic scales,
two scale degrees (notes of the scale) “point” strongly towards scale degree 1,
namely, its two neighbors, scale degree 2 (from above) and scale degree 7 (from
below). Scale degrees 2 and 7 have both unrest and direction.
For example, in this scale:
C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C
the note D strongly seeks resolution (unrest) down (direction) to C, and B strongly seeks resolution (unrest) up (direction) to
C.
Unrest and direction.
In
harmony a parallel situation obtains. But in harmony, only one harmonic degree,
or chord, “points” strongly towards harmonic degree I, not two chords.
The only chord in harmony that has both unrest and direction
is harmonic degree V (“the five chord”).
1. As Table 43 below shows, the notes comprising harmonic
degree V include scale degree 7 and scale degree 2. Both of
these notes point strongly to the tonic note of the key, scale
degree 1.
TABLE 43
Notes Comprising Harmonic Degree V (“The Five Chord,” As They Say In Nashville)
5th Note Up From Root
(Interval of a third)
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
3rd Note Up From Root
(Interval of a third)
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
1
|
2
|
Root of Triad
(Scale Degree)
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
2. Recall
from Chapter 5 that the more scale notes two keys have in common, the more
closely they’re related. And keys having tonic notes a fifth apart have six out
of seven scale notes in common. (For example, the key of C major and the key of
G major have 6 of 7 scale notes in common.)
3. The simplest frequency ratio after the octave (1:2) is the ratio
that corresponds to the fifth (2:3).
For
all of these reasons, the harmonic interval (chord change or chord progression)
V – I plays the same role in harmony as do melodic intervals 7 – 1 and 2 – 1 in
melody.
The V – I chord
change is the strongest, most natural chord progression in harmony.
Just
as melodic intervals 7 – 1 and 2 – 1 impart both unrest and direction with
respect to the tonic note, so the harmonic interval V – I imparts both unrest
and direction with respect to the tonic chord—the chord built on scale degree 1.
6.6.3
HARMONIC
“SCALE
NEIGHBOURS”
Just as scale degrees 7 and 2 are scale neighbours of the tonic note
in melody, so in harmony the V chord is the scale neighbour of the
tonic chord.
And
that means the chord change V – I is the smallest scale
move you can make in harmony. The V chord and the I chord are,
therefore, harmonic scale neighbours.
This is precisely the opposite of the situation in melody.
For example, in the key of C major:
• Melodically,
the notes B and C are close together. They’re melodic scale neighbours. The notes
C and G are as far apart as you can get—definitely not melodic scale neighbors.
• Harmonically,
the chords C major and G major are close together. They’re harmonic scale
neighbours. But the chords C major and B major are far apart—definitely not
harmonic scale neighbours.
Wanted: Musical Marriage Counsellor
Think of harmony and melody as opposite sexes.
In melody, the fifth is the furthest note from the tonic. But in
harmony, the fifth is the closest chord to the tonic.
Opposites in a fundamental way.
When they’re together, harmony and melody usually get along. Sometimes they
fight. Paradoxically, such fighting often sounds delightful.
When they divorce, melody functions fairly well on its own. But
harmony does not. By itself, poor harmony flounders, and must
find a way to reconcile with melody.
|
6.6.4
THE
HARMONIC
SCALE:
WILL THE
CIRCLE
BE
UNBROKEN?
To construct a harmonic scale (scale of chords), here are the chords
to start with, the basic chords for any given key (in Nashville Number
notation):
I IIm IIIm IV V VIm VIIº
The next step is to arrange these chords with each chord the
smallest distance apart harmonically (just as, in a melodic scale, the
notes are the smallest distance apart as you go up or down the
scale stepwise, from note to note). That means the root of each
chord would be a fifth apart, since, in harmony, a fifth progression is
the smallest harmonic distance.
A major difference between a melodic scale and a harmonic
scale would be this:
• A
melodic scale begins with scale degree 1 and ends with scale degree 1 (8)—two different notes.
That’s because, in melody, the octave matters.
• In harmony, the octave does not matter.
Therefore, a harmonic scale would need to begin with harmonic degree I and also
end with harmonic degree I—the same chord. As
pointed out above, a chord is a chord is a chord. No
distinction is made between a chord played in one octave and
the same chord played in a different octave.
Since the first and last chords in the harmonic scale are the
same chord (the tonic chord, I), what shape, then, must a harmonic
scale take?
If a harmonic scale must begin and end with the same chord ...
The harmonic scale must necessarily
take the shape of a circle.
That’s
the only way the harmonic scale could begin and end with the same chord.
Figure 47 shows how the chords of a harmonic scale are
arranged in fifth progressions, and in the shape of a circle.
FIGURE 47
The Harmonic Scale: Basic Structure

6.6.5
FAMILIES
WITHIN
THE CIRCLE
The first thing you notice about the chords in
Figure 47 above is that they clump together. The major chords form a little
family of three on the right side of the harmonic scale. The minor chords form
another little family of three on the left side. (Isn’t that sweet?)
The
diminished chord (VIIº)—no doubt trained as an expert in family group dynamics
and conflict resolution—appears to bridge the two families.
The next thing you might notice is that all but one of the intervals
between the roots of the chords is five semitones apart (a fifth
progression down, going clockwise; a fifth progression up, going
counterclockwise). The exception is the interval between the root of the IV
chord and the root of the VIIº chord (six semitones).
Later
in this chapter, you’ll see how this little anomaly helps explain why composers
have a hard time working with the Church modes (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian,
Mixolydian, Locrian) when it comes to constructing palatable-sounding chord
progressions.
6.6.6
WHICH
DIRECTION
HOME?
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
—BOB DYLAN (“Like A Rolling Stone”)
Next, try an example. Replace the Nashville Numbers with the chords of a representative key—actually a pair of relative
keys— and try out the harmonic scale. Use the keys of C major and A minor
(Figure 48):
FIGURE 48
Harmonic Scale, Key of C Major / A
Minor

So far, so good. But this harmonic scale needs some tweaking.
If you
play the harmonic scale clockwise, starting from C major and ending with C
major, your brain senses natural, directed harmonic motion. The progression is
definitely “going somewhere.”
It
pulls out of Dodge City (the C major chord) and moves smoothly to Fowler (the F
major chord). It feels like you’re on your way to somewhere. The sense of motion
continues as the harmonic train moves from town to town on a grand circle tour.
Tyrone, Richfield, Johnson City, Garden City, Cimarron. Finally, it pulls into
Dodge City once more. With that last harmonic interval (G – C), there’s no
mistaking the feeling of arriving back home.
Now,
try going the other way around, from the chord C major to G major to D minor,
and so on. You’ll soon find that something’s amiss. When you try to take the
grand circle tour counterclockwise, your train gets lost and ends up somewhere
between Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and Dildo, Newfoundland (yes, there is such a
town).
Even
though you eventually arrive back home, your brain does not sense that your
train has arrived home. It’s Dodge, seemingly. But nobody’s around that you’d
recognize. Where’s Marshall McDillon? How come Doc Yada-Yadams is sober and
hardly ever performs brain surgery? Since when did Ms Puma start playing the
flute? How come Sadie and Ellie Sue’s store is full of mules instead of horses?
In a
minute, you’ll find out what went wrong in the counter-clockwise trip. But
first, a brief revisit to the interval dynamics of the melodic scale.
6.6.7
THE
MELODIC
SCALE:
TWO
DIRECTIONS
HOME
In melody, as you move up the scale, from scale
degree 1 to 2 to 3, and so on, your brain senses a feeling of “going
away”—paddling against the current— until you reach scale degree 5.
Then,
as you continue in the same direction (away from scale degree 1), you sense that
the current reverses itself. And you find yourself somehow paddling with the
current, even though you haven’t turned around.
It’s
the current that reverses, not you. The current even carries you home.
But it’s not the same home you left. Instead of “home” being scale degree 1,
it’s scale degree 1 (8). Yet your brain still perceives 1 (8) as “home.” That’s
the important thing (Figure 49 below).
Your brain has evolved to expect complex
frequency ratios to resolve to simpler frequency ratios. And what’s the
simplest? The tonic note of the octave: scale degree 1, or scale degree 1 (8).
FIGURE 49
Melodic Scale: Two Directions Home

This
also happens when you move down the melodic scale, from scale degree 1 (8) to 7
to 6. Again, your brain senses that you’re padding against the current. Until
you reach scale degree 5. Then you sense reversal of the current and paddle
downstream until you get home to scale degree 1.
So, in
melody, you can get home by either ascending or descending the melodic scale.
The most powerful forces for resolution are the melodic intervals 7 – 1 (8) and
2 – I.
In melody, there are two directions home.
In harmony ... maybe not.
6.6.8
HOW
DOES
IT
FEEL
TO MOVE
CLOCKWISE
ROUND
THE HARMONIC
SCALE?
Have another look at Figure 48 above, (key of C major/A minor).
Suppose you start at the C major chord. To stay within the circle,
you have two choices:
1. You can progress clockwise to F major; or
2. You can progress counterclockwise to G major.
Suppose you start by playing four bars of the C major chord on
your guitar or piano to establish tonality. Then progress clockwise to
the F major chord and play a few bars. How does it feel?
Your brain senses a purposeful, natural harmonic move. A
feeling of moving ahead, of going somewhere.
It
doesn’t matter if you start by playing the C major chord in a high octave, then
move to the F major chord in a lower octave, or vice-versa. Either way, you
sense a purposeful, natural, comfortable harmonic progression.
How come?
When you progress from C major to F major, you move from
these notes
C – E – G
to these notes:
F – A – C
When
you leave the C major chord and move to the F major chord, your brain wonders,
“What’s going on? The chord has changed. Looks like the new chord is assuming
the role of the tonic chord—at least for the moment.”
Therefore . . .
1. The
scale relationship of the note E in the C major chord (the chord being left
behind) with respect to the root note F (the foundation note) in the new chord,
F major, is 7 – 1 (8).
Your brain feels a strong sense of satisfaction when the note
E in the C major chord resolves to the root note F in the new
chord, F major.
2. Similarly,
the scale relationship of the note G in the C major chord (the chord being left
behind) with respect to the root note F in the new chord, F major, is 2 – 1.
Your brain feels a strong sense of satisfaction when the note
G in the C major chord resolves to the root note F in the new
chord, F major.
These
two simultaneous moves—E moving up to F (7 – 1) and G moving down to F (2 – 1)
combine to provide your brain with a feeling of assured, inevitable harmonic
motion.
Resolution from complex to simple frequency ratios has taken
place.
6.6.9
HOW
DOES
IT
FEEL
TO MOVE
COUNTERCLOCKWISE?
(HINT:
THE
CAT
WANTS
BACK
IN)
What happens when you go the other way around the circle?
Again, start by playing four bars of the C major chord to establish
tonality. Then progress counterclockwise to the G major chord and
play a few bars. How does it feel?
Your
brain senses a desire to get right back to C major. It’s like opening the door
to let Tritone the cat outside. A minute later, the cat wants back in.
What’s
going on?
When you progress from C major to G major, you move from
these notes (the notes that comprise the C major chord):
C – E – G
to these notes:
G – B – D
When you leave the chord C major and move to the chord G
major, your brain at first tries to accept the G major chord as
assuming the role of the tonic chord.
But it
doesn’t work out. Your brain feels no sense of purposeful, forward motion.
When you leave the C major chord and move to the G major
chord, your brain senses that:
1. The
scale relationship of the note E in the C major chord (the chord being left
behind) with respect to the root note G in the new chord, G major, is 6 – 1.
This does not in any way reinforce G as a potential new tonal
centre.
2. Similarly,
the scale relationship of the note C in the C major chord (the chord being left
behind) with respect to the root note G in the new chord, G major, is 4 – 1.
With this interval move, your brain senses no reinforcement
of G as a potential new tonal centre.
If the new chord, G major, is supposed to be the new tonic, how
did the old chord, C major, yield its power as tonal centre?
The answer is, C major did not yield its power.
The notes C and E in the C major chord do not provide any
significant propulsion to resolve to the root note G in the new chord,
G major.
In fact, when you progress from C major to G major, your brain
senses exactly the opposite of “harmonic resolution.” It correctly senses
that the chord change from C major to G major has created
harmonic tension—not resolved it.
How does it feel? It feels unstable, restless. Your brain expects
resolution back to the C major chord. (The cat wants back in.)
If you then do exactly that, progress from the G major chord back
to the C major chord, the same interval dynamics apply as if you
were progressing from C major to F major. When you move from G
major to C major ...
1. The
scale relationship of the note B in the G major chord (the chord being left
behind) with respect to the root note C (the foundation note) in the new chord,
C major, is 7 – 1 (8).
So, your brain feels a strong sense of satisfaction when the
note B in the G major chord resolves to the root note C in the
new chord, C major.
2. Similarly,
the scale relationship of the note D in the G major chord (the chord being left
behind) with respect to the root note C in the new chord, C major, is 2 – 1.
Your brain feels a strong sense of satisfaction when the note
D in the G major chord resolves to the root note C in the new
chord, C major.
These
two simultaneous moves—B moving up to C (7 – 1) and D moving down to C (2 – 1)
combine to provide your brain with a feeling of assured, inevitable harmonic
motion. Just like moving from the C major chord to the F major chord. Again,
resolution from complex to simple frequency ratios has taken place.
6.6.10
THE
HARMONIC
SCALE:
ONE
DIRECTION
HOME
In melody, you have two directions home—by
ascending through 7 to 1 (8), or by descending through 2 to 1.
But in
harmony, as you’ve just seen, you have only one direction
home—by descending the circular harmonic scale (moving
clockwise).
In harmony, your brain senses the descending fifth progression
of V – I as “coming home.” Just as, in melody, it senses scale movements of 7 –
I (8) and 2 – 1 as “coming home.”
So,
it’s necessary to tweak the harmonic scale by adding arrows to show clockwise
(descending fifth) natural direction of motion (Figure 50 below).
FIGURE 50 Harmonic Scale: One Direction Home

In
harmony, when you paddle clockwise, you paddle with the current. When you paddle
counterclockwise, you paddle against the current (with one small exception—third
progressions—coming up in a while).
Or,
you could say that, clockwise, you sail with the wind; counterclockwise, you
sail against the wind. You have to mind your sheets, too. In sailing, sheets are
lines attached to sail corners that control sail positions relative to the wind.
So if three of them are blowin’ in the wind, your boat will not be terribly
manoeuvrable. That’s what you get when you knock back too many margaritas ...
you sail three sheets to the wind.
6.6.11
FIXING
ANOTHER
“MINOR”
PROBLEM
So, the natural direction of motion as you
progress from chord to chord through the harmonic scale has been nailed down.
It’s
clockwise.
Still, the harmonic scale needs more work. Some of the harmonic
intervals have less directional strength than others.
As
always, an example reveals the problem. Once again, swap the Nashville Numbers
of Figure 50 above for the chords of a pair of relative keys—C major and A
minor, this time with the directional arrows added (Figure 51 below):
FIGURE 51 Harmonic Scale: Key of C Major / A
Minor

You’ve
probably noticed that the progression Em – Am does not quite measure up to the
confident, resolved sound of, say, G – C.
When you progress from E minor to A minor, you move from
these notes:
E – G – B
to these notes:
A – C – E
As
usual, your brain checks out the new chord against the one left behind for signs
that the new chord is assuming the role of the new tonic chord—at least for the
moment. And here’s what it finds:
1. The
scale relationship of the note G in the E minor chord (the chord being left
behind) with respect to the root note A (the foundation note) in the new chord,
A minor, is ♭7 – 1 (8), not 7 – 1 (8).
Your brain senses only a moderate sense of satisfaction
when the note G in the E minor chord resolves to the root
note A in the new chord, A minor.
2. The
scale relationship of the note B in the E minor chord (the chord being left
behind) with respect to the root note A in the new chord, A minor, is 2 – 1.
Your brain feels a strong sense of satisfaction when the note
B in the E minor chord resolves down to the root note A in the
new chord, A minor.
Together,
these two simultaneous moves—G moving up to A (♭7 – 1) and B moving down to A (2
– 1) combine to provide your brain with only a moderate feeling of harmonic
motion.
Why
isn’t it a strong feeling of harmonic motion? Because the G – A move is ♭7 – I
(8), not 7 – 1 (8).
Recall from Chapter 5 that a semitone interval has considerably
more inherent tension than a whole tone interval, because a
semitone is derived from a more complex frequency ratio (16:15),
compared with a whole tone (9:8).
In the
major diatonic scale, a semitone between 7 and 1 (8) points strongly at 1 (8).
That’s why the note occupying scale degree 7 is called the leading tone,
but only if it’s a semitone from 1 (8).
So,
it’s necessary to provide that Em chord with a leading tone, to make it strongly
directional with respect to the Am chord. The way to do this is to sharpen the G
in the Em chord, converting it into an E major chord.
When you do that, and progress from E major to A minor, you
move from these notes:
E – G♯ – B
to these notes:
A – C – E
Now
the relationship of the note G♯ in the E major chord (the chord being left
behind) with respect to the root note A (the foundation note) in the new chord,
A minor, is 7 – 1 (8), a semitone.
The
chord progression in the harmonic scale therefore becomes III – VIm (instead of
IIIm – VIm). Now the chord change has a strong directional quality (Figure 52).
FIGURE 52 Harmonic Scale with III In Place of IIIm

In the
key of C major / A minor, when you play the chord changes, you can easily sense
that the chord progression E – Am has much stronger directed quality than Em –
Am.
To generalize, any descending fifth progression of two chords
must have a major triad as its first chord in order to impart strong
directed motion that terminates in a feeling of resolution. The second
chord may be either a major or minor triad.
For
instance, if you want to convey a feeling of strong directed motion to the chord
progression IIm – V (e.g., Dm – G), you have to change the IIm to II, converting
the progression to II – V (e.g., D – G).
Voice Leading, Counterpoint, and All That
Voice leading refers to continuity in the way one note moves
successively to the next—such as the notes of one chord moving (“leading”) to
the notes of the next chord. It’s also called part
writing because a “voice” is also called a “part,” such as the “guitar part”
or the “bass part” or the “lead vocal part.”
You usually associate voice leading with counterpoint—the musical technique
of writing or playing two or more “voices” as melodies that move simultaneously.
J. S. Bach’s fugues, for instance. Or rounds, such as “Row Row Row Your Boat
Gently Down the Stream” or “Three Blind Mice” or “Frere Jacques (Are You
Sleeping?).” That’s counterpoint. Voice leading refers to how those various
melodic lines behave with respect to each other. For example, if three different
melodic lines are moving together, each contributes one note to a continuously
changing three-note chord.
Composers tend to heed certain maxims of counterpoint, such as:
• Voices
that move in parallel third or sixth intervals sound fine—go ahead and use ‘em.
• Voices
that move in parallel fifths or octaves sound bad—avoid ‘em.
• A major seventh (leading tone) should ascend to the
octave.
• A flat seventh should descend to the sixth.
And so on.
Bands or groups that perform harmony vocals tend to observe these rules when
they work out the harmony parts—even though the singers may not realize it.
You can’t really separate counterpoint from harmony. Even if you’ve never
heard of voice leading as it applies in counterpoint, you’ve almost certainly
used it in your own music.
For example, when a backup singer sings harmony “by ear” to the lead vocal
line, he or she uses contrapuntal motion.
• It’s parallel motion when the lead and harmony voices
move together, separated by the same type of interval,
such as major and minor thirds, or major and minor sixths.
• It’s similar motion when the lead and harmony voices move
together, but are separated by varying types of intervals.
• It’s oblique motion when one voice or part remains at the
same pitch while the other moves upwards or downwards.
• It’s contrary motion when one voice moves down the scale
while the other moves up.
|
6.6.12
HARMONIC
MOTION
AND “MUSICAL
PUNCTUATION”
(CADENCE)
That dang harmonic scale still isn’t quite
finished. Before completing it, now’s the time to introduce an important
component of musical structure. (Much more on structure in Chapter 8.)
As you no doubt know, small groups of notes and chords form
musical units (usually two to eight bars) called phrases. These units
combine into larger structures such as periods, verses, bridges,
choruses, sections, movements, and so on.
Musical
structure parallels the organization of verbal discourse, with its phrases,
sentences, stanzas, and paragraphs. That’s not surprising, considering the
intimate linkage in the brain between music and language.
The resolution at the end of a musical phrase is called a
cadence. A cadence has melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic
properties. It normally signals a return to the prevailing tonal centre.
By a
wide margin, the descending fifth progression, V – I, is the most common, most
important, and strongest harmonic cadence in music. When a musical phrase ends
with a V – I progression, it sounds like “the end”—the end of that phrase,
verse, chorus, or whatever the prevailing structure may be.
The V
– I cadence has quite a few names:
• Full close
• Full cadence
• Perfect cadence
• Perfect close
• Authentic cadence
• Dominant cadence
• Final
cadence
(They couldn’t make up their minds.)
Other cadences include:
• Deceptive
cadences such as V – VIm and V – IV. They’re called “deceptive” because your
brain expects to hear V – I, but gets “deceived,” and hears V – VIm or V – IV
instead. This prolongs and heightens the expectation of eventually getting to
the tonic chord.
• Imperfect
cadences such as I – V and II – V. When a phrase ends with a progression like
this, your brain knows it ain’t the end yet, and fully expects the music to
continue to a more “final-sounding” resolution..
• Plagal
cadence, IV – I, so called because this is the “amen” sung at the conclusion of
a hymn.
But V
– I is the only cadence in music in which directed tension
gets completely resolved.
The V chord is known as the dominant chord. (The female V
chord is known as the dominatrix chord.) That’s because it’s through the
V chord that the I chord derives its power as the tonal chord.
The V chord dominates harmonic action through its exclusive
directional relationship with the tonic chord. If you were playing
musical chess, the V chord would be the queen (the most powerful
player on the board) and the I chord would be the king.
The V
– I cadential progression maintains tonality in the midst of a maelstrom of
rapidly changing melodic intervals and shifting harmonic tensions.
In melody, all scale degrees have both tension and direction with
respect to the tonic note (except the tonic note itself, of course). But
in harmony...
• Only one harmonic degree, the V chord, has both tension and
direction with respect to the tonic.
• Only one harmonic degree, the tonic chord in root position,
has no tension and no direction.
• All other chords have tension but no direction with respect to
the prevailing tonality.
The restful, balanced tonic chord makes possible the necessary
contrast that gives all the other chords their edgy, restless, tense,
and exciting qualities.
For
example, in the key of C major, the F major chord, even though it’s a simple
triad, has tension, simply because it’s not the
tonic chord.
The constituent notes of the F major chord belong comfortably in the
key of C major. But playing the F major chord does not point your
brain back to the tonic chord, C major.
Same
goes for the other chords in Figure 51 above—except G major. As the V chord,
it’s the only chord that points directly at the C chord.
The
chord movement V – I serves pretty much the same punctuation function in music
as the period does in written language. In music, a cadence marks the end of a
phrase. It’s a definite break, usually followed by a period of several seconds
before the next phrase starts.
Spoken
language does not have an equivalent to music’s cadence. When you talk, you
use phrases and sentences, of course, but you don’t pause for several seconds at
the end of every phrase and sentence. You just keep on talking until you’re
finished.
IMPORTANT:
• In
a spoken conversation, you
don’t need to remember and keep track of every word
because mentalese records the gist.
Each word has symbolic (referential) meaning that relates to
your already-memorized vocabulary of words.
• But in music, you do need to structure the music so that the
listener can keep track of the phrases as they unfold in time
because music does not carry referential meaning. You need
to repeat phrases often, and you need to pause between
phrases, usually via cadences. Without cadences in music,
your brain has a hard time taking it all in.
That’s
one function of the cadence. The other main one is to reinforce tonality.
In a full cadence, the melody usually comes to rest on the tonic
note, a longer-than-usual note in an emphatic metrical position. These
emphatic characteristics remind the brain which note is the tonal
centre.
An
imperfect cadence (also called a half
cadence or partial cadence) creates a sense of expectation. You’ve only stopped
at a roadhouse for a burger and fries, but home is coming up, a little farther
up the road. Often at the end of the next phrase. When a full cadence does not appear at the
end of the next phrase, the brain really begins to wonder where
things are going.
You can easily hear cadences performing their functions in any
well-structured popular song, such as "Happy Birthday" (Figure 53), which has
the following cadences:
I — V
V — I
I — IV
FIGURE 53
Cadences In a Popular Song: “Happy Birthday”
|
Happy
|
I
birthday to
|
V (imperfect cadence)
you. Happy
|
V
birthday to
|
I (full cadence)
you. Happy
|
I
birthday, dear
|
IV (imperfect cadence)
El - vis. Happy
|
I V
birthday to
|
I (full cadence)
you.
|
It’s
not that V – I is always used as a period or full stop. In music, the V – I
cadence also shows up in many subtle, often transient ways, depending on the
musical context.
Deceptive and imperfect cadences serve roughly similar
functions in music as commas and semicolons serve in written
language. But, again, no equivalent exists in spoken language.
In the
minor mode, the chord progression III – VIm serves as the “V – I” (the “perfect
cadence") equivalent, because scale degree 6 of the major mode is the tonic note of the minor mode.
Enough
about cadences, already. It’s almost time to move on to the final tweak of the
harmonic scale. After which it’s on to the fun stuff (finally): how to use
harmonic scales to create beautiful, powerful chord progressions. With lots of
examples in the form of some of the world’s greatest songs.