Harmonious musical accord. Harmony Tutorials

Dmitry Nizyaev

The classical course of harmony is based on a strictly four-voice texture, and this has a deep justification. The fact is that all music as a whole - texture, form, laws of melody construction, and all conceivable means of emotional coloring - comes from the laws of human speech, its intonations. Everything in music comes from the human voice. And human voices are divided - almost arbitrarily - into four registers in height. These are soprano, alto (or "mezzo" in vocal terminology), tenor and bass. All the countless varieties of human timbres are just special cases of these four groups. Simply, there are male and female timbres, and there are high and low ones among both - these are the four groups. And, strange as it may seem, four voices - different voices - are exactly that optimal quantity, necessary for voicing all the consonances existing in harmony. Coincidence? God knows... One way or another, let's take it for granted: Four voices are the basis.

Any texture, no matter how complex and cumbersome you create it, will essentially be four voices; all other voices will inevitably duplicate the roles of the main four. Interesting note: the timbres of instruments fit perfectly into the four-voice scheme. Even the ranges of notes available to them are almost identical to the ranges of human voices. Namely, in a string group: the role of the soprano is played by the violin, the mezzo by the viola, the tenor by the cello, and the bass by the double bass, of course. In the woodwind group, in the same order there are: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon. Brass: trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba. It’s not for nothing that I list all this. You can now easily replace the tones of one group with another, without worrying about the pitch range, without rewriting the melodies. You can easily transfer music for a string quartet to the same wind quartet, and the music will not suffer, since the roles of the voices, the structure of their melodies, technical limitations, emotional colors- correspond to each other in the same way as in human voices.

So, rule one: we will do everything in four voices. Secondly, since we do not pursue arrangement goals, but only study the interaction of consonances (just as mathematics does not mean physical apples or boxes by numbers, but operates with numbers in general), then we do not need any tools. Or rather, anyone capable of producing four notes at once will do, piano by default. In addition, for the sake of the purity and transparency of our thinking, we will write examples and exercises in the so-called “harmonic” texture, that is, vertical “pillars”, chords. Well, perhaps occasionally it will be possible to give a more texturally developed example to show that the law being studied is valid in such conditions. Rule three: exercises or illustrations on harmony are written on a piano (i.e. double) staff, and the voices are distributed equally among the lines: on the top - soprano and alto, on the bottom - tenor and bass. The spelling of stems in these conditions differs from the traditional one: regardless of the position of the note head, the stem is always directed upward for the soprano and tenor, and always downward for the rest. So that the voices in your eyes are not confused. Fourth: if we need to name a polyphonic consonance with words, the notes are listed from bottom to top, indicating the sign (even if it is in the key), okay? Fifthly - this is VERY important - never replace, say, C-sharp with D-flat in harmony, even though it is the same key. Firstly, these notes still have different meanings(they belong to different keys, have different gravity, etc.), and secondly, despite the generally accepted opinion, they actually even have different pitches! If we start talking about tempered and natural tuning (I don’t know yet whether this will happen), then you will be convinced that C-sharp and D-flat are completely different notes, there is nothing in common. So let’s agree for now: such a substitution of one sign for another can only happen “for a reason,” and not at will. This is called “enharmonism” - we will have such a topic in the future. Well, let's begin by praying...

STEPS

All the patterns studied by harmony are absolutely repeated in any key; they simply do not depend on the name of the tonic. Therefore, in order to express one or another consideration that is suitable for any key, we cannot use the names of notes. For convenience, the scale of any key is provided with numbers that replace the names of the notes, and these conventional numbers are called steps. That is, the very first, main sound of the scale - it doesn’t matter what note it is, and what mode it is - becomes the first step, then the count goes up to the seventh step (in C major, for example, it’s “B”), after which it follows first again. We will depict the numbers of steps in Roman numerals "I - VII". And if we discover that, for example, between D and F (II and IV degrees of C major) there is an interval of a minor third, then you can rest assured that the same interval will be between the II and IV degrees of any major, no matter what impossible signs there are nor were they at the key. Convenient, isn't it?

SODINARY

We we already know that a triad is a combination of three notes arranged in thirds. To make you feel at ease among triads, I advise you to practice building triads from arbitrary notes both up and down. Moreover, it would be good to be able to do this simply instantly, combining three methods: pressing them on the keys (even imaginary ones), singing them in order to memorize their colors, and singing them silently, in the imagination. This is how “inner hearing” is cultivated, which will help you have sounding music right in your head, continue working right on the street, and in addition will give you the opportunity, rarely available to anyone, to “lead”, “sing”, and track several melodic lines in your mind at once (after all, with your voice you cannot cover more than one melody at a time!).

You have already been told that there are four types of triads: major, minor, augmented and diminished. But these are just words, names. But are these words associated in your mind with coloring? What emotions does the word “reduced” evoke in you? Here the inner ear is at your service, and you feel the relative “minor” (due to the abundance of small thirds) and the cutting “alive” dissonance (diminished fifth). The result is a sad, painful, full of pain, and at the same time coloring that smacks of oriental exoticism. You were also told what fret is. We already know that if we “select” for work among absolutely identical semitones several, located in a certain way on the keyboard, then the concept of tonic appears, gravity appears, in a word, unequal relationships between the selected notes. The mode is the whole set of gravity, stability of a certain specific set of sounds. Let us now introduce a new term - “diatonic”. This is something like a coordinate system within which all events take place. That is, we are dealing with only seven keys out of twelve in each octave, and the remaining five do not seem to exist for us. These seven keys are the diatonic scale, the diatonic scale, the current coordinate system for key and mode data, is that clear? Any sound that does not belong to this scale is no longer considered “diatonic”, but “chromatic” (in a given key). And now let's return to our triads. From theory lessons you know that a major triad consists of major and minor thirds, right? But this is out of tone. But within the diatonic scale of the same C major, the combination of mode degrees and their gravity comes to the fore, while the intervals between them lose all interest. For example, a major triad from the note “F” really consists of a major (F-la) and a minor (A-do) third, and this does not mean anything, it is a faceless and uncolored definition. And if we press the triad “fa - do - la”, then it turns out to consist of a fifth and a sixth, and does not fit this definition! But in the conditions of the key of C major, our triad takes on meaning: it is a subdominant triad, regardless of the location of the notes within it. The characters and desires of each note become noticeable in it.

“F” is quite firmly on its feet, but is not averse to going to “E”. Because “F” is the prima, the main sound of the chord, and if it is resolved into “E”, it will become just the third of a new chord - and it’s more pleasant for anyone to be the first guy in the village than the small fry in the city! “La” is an unstable and indecisive sound, although it smiles. Judge for yourself: “la” is not the leader here either, and after permission, he will have nothing better to do than to be the furthest from the tonic. However, “A” is still a major, major third, and therefore radiates optimism. "Before" is a completely different matter. She is above everyone, she is on the right path, she will become a queen (that is, tonic) and at the same time she will not have to lift a finger. “Do” will remain in its place, and honor and respect will come to it on its own. Here is the event “fa-la-do... mi-sol-do”, containing many emotions and adventures at once. You can guess that in a different key, when the F major triad is on a different level, each of its notes will have completely different colors and emotions, and will gravitate differently. Let's draw this conclusion - learning how this or that chord is built is still not enough! The most interesting thing with this chord will happen only in the key. And from the point of view of harmony, any triad should be called not major or minor - this is now not the main thing - but a triad of one or another level, or one or another functional group. Moreover, it can be built not only by thirds, don’t you agree?

Now let’s just see what triads we have in major and minor. I don’t think this should be memorized, it will be remembered gradually on its own; Let's just follow up. To do this, let’s take a natural (that is, the main, unmodified) major scale, and measure a triad from each of its degrees. We shouldn’t care whether the thirds are major or minor, we just have to measure out the degrees one at a time, remaining in the given diatonic scale, okay?

And so on. Having built everything that is possible, we get the following list for the major: I degree - major; II - minor; III - minor; IV - major; V - major; VI - minor; VII - reduced. And for minor: I degree - minor; II - reduced; III - major; IV - minor; V - minor; VI - major; VII - major.

Let's summarize: in both modes the triads of the main degrees (I, IV, V) coincide with the main mode. The mediant and submediant (III, VI) have the opposite mode. The triads of the introductory steps (these are II and VII, adjacent to the tonic) just need to be remembered; they do not fit into the symmetrical scheme. So that you don’t have to return to the question of where and what triads are located in the key, practice:

1. Find the tonic of a triad (for example, the triad “B-flat - D - F, major: in what keys can it occur; what is the tonic if this triad is the VI degree? Or the III? Or the IV?).
2. Construct triads of any degrees in any key. For a while! Tips: For now, build triads in the classical form, as you learned in music theory lessons. Don’t invent any appeals just yet. For now, the task is to find out what notes a chord consists of, but the location of the notes, even in what octave, is not important yet. Secondly, try not to get too used to C major, try to work in any key. It depends on your flexibility and independence from the number of key signs whether you will be able to apply at least something in life. No information should be stored in your head in the form of note names. Otherwise, knowing that “do-e-sol” is a major triad, you do not recognize the same triad in the notes “a-flat - do - e-flat”, understand? Be more versatile! In the next lesson, when you are already clicking these steps and triads like nuts, we will learn how to connect them with each other and try to color some melody with them.

EXPRESSIVE MEANS OF MUSIC

Harmony: What is harmony in music

Is there anything more beautiful than the power of harmony?
I would like to see a manifestation of some kind of divine love here,
Find out its origin and establish a connection with other forces that hold the Universe together...
Ptolemy

“Harmony” is one of the most important concepts musical art. What does it mean? Obviously, the word “harmony” arose far beyond music: after all, people have long called beauty and proportionality harmony, wherever it manifests itself - in an architectural structure, a state of mind or a human figure. The ancient Greeks used the word “harmony” to define even periods of peaceful life, free from wars and upheavals. And this same word - so rich in meaning, so polysemantic - was chosen from many others to express the deep meaning of music, the most important thing that distinguishes it from other forms of art.

However, in man - the creator of language - there has always been a desire to poeticize the world of things, especially beautiful and sublime things. Some concepts contain a whole fairy tale, huge world images that connect a variety of phenomena: harmony, order, firmament, space...

Therefore, it is no coincidence that the word “harmony” (the Greek word harmonia is translated as consonance, harmony, proportionality), which includes all these meanings, in music refers to the expression of its fundamental and basic property - euphony. Euphony as order in the kingdom of sounds, harmony in the distribution of intervals, chords, modes and their successions - this is musical harmony: not the universal “harmony of the world,” but harmony as the art of musical beauty.

Like any art, music has its own “material”: what it consists of and what its sound is based on. Like color in painting, words in literature, marble in sculpture, so sound in music is its core, the “primary element” from which a musical work is born.

However, the presence of primary elements is not yet beauty, just as any arbitrary order of sounds is not beauty. Music begins only when its sounds are organized according to the laws of harmony - natural laws to which a musical work inevitably obeys. These laws are obligatory not only for music: after all, in other arts, the artist certainly takes into account the natural properties of each material. “A sculptor is capable of creating only what marble itself already conceals” - these words of the great sculptor Michelangelo equally apply to music, the power of influence of which largely depends on its submission to the laws of nature and the peculiarities of human perception.

When we talked about melody, we repeatedly compared it with intonations human voice. The beauty of the voice, the expressiveness of the voice - these properties, perceived and greatly enhanced by the melody, largely constitute the secret of its charm. But melody is part of harmony! In how it is born and what it consists of, one can see not only the influence of speech or singing, but its subordination to the same laws of euphony, which come from the depths of music itself, stem from the properties of sounds and only thanks to this influence the human soul.

Melody is only one of the many elements of musical language, only one musical voice. Often this voice is the most audible, the most noticeable. But sometimes it opens the way to other means of musical expression.

Here is a fragment of the melody in front of you. One motive seems to “hang” in it, which hardly develops. (Fragment from Prelude No.4 in e-moll, Op.28 by Chopin, melody).

The motive is beautiful. But this is not enough for a full-fledged melody. There are almost no musical events here. Meanwhile, this is one of the most brilliant works of Fryderyk Chopin, his Prelude in E minor. And there are a lot of events here. But not in melody.

This is what the melody sounds like along with the accompaniment.

Listen to the chords in your left hand. What subtle shades of mood are conveyed in the constant changes of harmony. And listen to how, against the background of this harmony, a single melodic motif suddenly began to sparkle with all its colors - each time in a different way. A great virtuoso pianist, Chopin does not make any puzzling passages here, so as not to distract attention from the beauty of the shimmering harmonic harmonies. But, look, when in the penultimate measure of our example a small rhythmic revival occurs in the melody, harmony, on the contrary, the whole measure stands on one chord, so as not to distract from the melody. In works of genius, different means of expression are able to give way to each other in time.

We became acquainted with a new means of musical expression - harmony.

Harmony takes on special expressive meaning in fairy-tale musical images, where unusual harmonies help to depict the unreal, magical world of a fairy tale.

The world of fairy-tale elves is depicted in Felix Mendelssohn's orchestral overture A Midsummer Night's Dream. That's how he heard the image of the funny, angular, cheerful elf Puck. (A fragment sounds).

And here are two more musical fairy tales - the plays “Nanny’s Tale” and “Baba Yaga” from “ Children's album» Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Which of these two examples do you think is about Baba Yaga? (Fragments are heard).

Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov - Great master musical fairy tale. “The Snow Maiden”, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, “The Golden Cockerel”, “Kashchei the Immortal” - all these fairy-tale operas were written by Rimsky-Korsakov. This is what the orchestral introduction to the second, magical scene of his epic opera “Sadko” sounds like. Listen to the mysterious unusual combinations chords: (a fragment sounds).

In musical fairy tales, harmony often becomes more important than melody. But not only fairy-tale images are accessible to harmony. Remember how in Chopin's prelude the harmony expresses the subtlest changes of mood. Harmony can be thoughtful, or it can be mischievous. Prokofiev uses harmony in an interesting, unexpected and varied way in his cycle of piano pieces with the unusual title “Fleetiness.” Here are fragments of two plays of this cycle - the first and fifteenth.

The music of the first “Fleetingness” is similar to clouds floating in the sky with their subtly changing shapes. The harmony glides just as elusively and whimsically from chord to chord.

And the fifteenth play is a funny “horror story”. Sharp chord “spines” - dissonances - slightly frighten, but make you laugh more.

Prokofiev - composer of the twentieth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a “revolution” of expressive means in music took place. And Prokofiev was one of the first “musical revolutionaries”. You may have noticed that his music is very different from our previous examples from music XVIII and XIX centuries. Composers of the 20th century began to bolderly use dissonance and other unusual means of musical expression - for example, clusters (from the English “cluster” - “bunch”). Place your palm on the keyboard and listen to the harmonic patch sounding under your palm. This is a cluster. It's a bit like a noise sound percussion instrument. But this is also harmony!

Dissonance- “prickly”, unpleasant to the ear consonance, which nevertheless has a peculiar bright expressiveness. The basis of dissonances are seconds, sevenths and tritones.

Consonance- calm, pleasant to the ear consonance, based on thirds, fifths, octaves. Consonances are good in quiet, calm music, but in dramatic or comic images consonances alone are not enough.

Cluster- a harmonic “noise spot” formed by the simultaneous sound of several adjacent sounds.

The presence of harmony is noticeable in any work. In its highest, most harmonious manifestations, it acts as a continuously flowing light, in which, undoubtedly, there is a reflection of unearthly, divine harmony. Many composers have works marked by such “higher” harmony - Mozart, Schubert, etc. In such works, the flow of music bears the stamp of sublime peace and balance. This does not mean, of course, that they lack dramatic development, the hot pulse of life is not felt.

In music, absolutely serene states rarely arise. The outstanding pianist V. Sofronitsky correctly noted: “Real great art is red-hot, boiling lava, and on top there are seven armor plates.” His words convey the idea that in true art, peace and balance indicate the presence of spirit, a powerful restraining will, rather than unclouded serenity.

And yet music knows harmonious enlightened states, far from conflict, permeated with light and peace. One such piece is the Prelude in C major, which opens his piano cycle The Well-Tempered Clavier.

Let's listen to the sound of the Prelude in C major. Why does her music seem so bright, so peaceful, detached from everything petty and vain? Probably, first of all, this is facilitated by the nature of the musical flow: quiet, unhurried, without any disruptions or surprises. Nothing in the prelude changes the initially chosen movement - neither the rhythm, evenly pulsating from the beginning to the end of the work, nor the texture, just as steadily “singing” each chord in sounds... And only the harmony endlessly fluctuates, flickers, turning into major and minor consonances, then slightly darkened by unstable chords, then again pacifying. In these subtle flickerings, in this play of consonances, it clearly reveals itself driving force harmony, built on the opposition of light and dark, unsteady and solid, sad and joyful.

Questions and tasks:
1. What is harmony, what role does it play in music?
2. In what musical images is harmony more important than melody, why?
3. What are consonance and dissonance? What is their expressive role in music?
4. What new features appeared in harmony in the twentieth century? What is a cluster?
5. To what phenomena of life or art would you apply the word “harmony”? Name the harmonious and disharmonious buildings, streets, objects that surround your life.

Presentation

Included:
1. Presentation - 16 slides, ppsx;
2. Sounds of music:
Rimsky-Korsakov. Fragment from the opera “Sadko”, mp3;
Chaikovsky. “Baba Yaga” from “Children’s Album”, mp3;
Chaikovsky. “Nanny’s Tale” from “Children’s Album”, mp3;
Chopin. Prelude No. 4 in E minor, op.28 melody (fragment), mp3;
Chopin. Prelude No. 4 in E minor, op.28, mp3;
Bach. Prelude. C major. HTC, mp3;
Mendelssohn. Fragment from the overture "A Midsummer Night's Dream", mp3;
Prokofiev. Fleetness, op.22 No. 1, mp3;
Prokofiev. Fleetingness, op.22 No. 15, mp3;
3. Accompanying article, docx.

As a result of the vibration of some elastic body, for example a string, a metal sheet, a wooden plate, etc., a wave-like propagation of longitudinal vibrations of the air medium occurs, which are called sound waves. Sound waves travel in all directions and at the same speed. These sound waves (vibrations) are picked up by our hearing aid and transmitted through nervous system into the brain, exciting the sensations of sound.

A person perceives a fairly large sound spectrum. This spectrum can be divided into two types: sounds of noise nature and musical sounds, although this division is somewhat arbitrary, since in modern music both of them are used equally.

The nature of sound is determined by four main properties: height, volume, timbre, duration.

The pitch of the sound depends on the frequency of the vibrating body (sound source): the more frequent the vibrations, the higher the sound, and vice versa. The volume depends on the range of oscillatory movements of the sound source: the greater the range of oscillations (amplitude), the louder the sound, and vice versa.

The duration of the sound depends on the duration of the vibrations of the source.

It's called timbre quality characteristic sound, i.e. its color. It is thanks to this characteristic that we distinguish a huge number of musical instruments, voices and even noise sounds. The timbre of a sound depends on the presence of “partial” tones or, in other words, overtones (harmonics), as well as on their ratio in volume and the presence or absence of the fundamental tone in the sound spectrum.

Overtone (harmonic) system

The shape of a sound wave has a rather complex structure, since the oscillating (sounding) body vibrates not only along its entire length, but also in all parts, which generates additional sound waves that add up to the main wave. These additional waves (harmonics) differ from the main wave (fundamental tone) in the frequency of vibration, in other words, the pitch of the sound. Harmonics are always higher in frequency than the fundamental tone.

If we take the frequency of the fundamental tone as one, then the numbers of harmonic oscillations will be expressed in the series prime numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, etc. This series of sounds formed by the overtones of the fundamental tone is called natural scale. And if we take the sound up to the major octave as the fundamental tone, we get the following series of sounds (Fig. 1.1).

Rice. 1.1. Natural scale:

Scale, musical structure

A series of sounds that are in certain sound relationships with each other is called a scale, and each sound individually is called a step of the scale. In musical practice, 88 sounds are mainly used, distinguished by pitch. Frequency characteristics These sounds range from 16 to 5000 Hz, which corresponds to the piano range from A subcontractave to D fifth octave. The main steps of the scale are given seven independent names: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, A, Si, and they correspond to the white keys on the piano. These seven basic sounds are periodically repeated, covering the entire scale, this is due to the fact that every eighth sound repeats the first, but at double the frequency, that is, it corresponds to the first harmonic and completely merges with it. The part of the scale that includes all seven basic degrees is called an octave. The names of the octaves from bottom to top: Subcontroctave, Controctave, Large octave, Small octave, First octave, Second octave, Third octave, Fourth octave, Fifth octave.

Modern musical structure is built from the note A of the first octave, tuned to a frequency of 440 Hz.

Each octave is divided into 12 equal parts, called semitones. This type of tuning is called tempered. A semitone is the narrowest distance between two adjacent sounds in a musical scale. The distance formed by two semitones is called a whole tone.

Each major step can be upgraded or downgraded. The newly obtained stages are called derived stages.

That is why the names of the derivative stages come from the main stages. An increase in the main degree by a semitone is called a sharp and is designated #, a decrease is called a flat (designation is b). For example: C-sharp, B-flat, etc. It is possible to raise and lower the basic degrees by two semitones, the derivative degrees will be designated as double-sharp-x, or double-flat-bb, respectively. The process of increasing or decreasing the basic levels is called alteration. Bekar is another sign of alteration, which means the cancellation of the action of the previous sign of alteration. Alteration signs can be random or key. Random signs are written immediately before a note and act only on a given sound for one measure. Key signs are placed to the right of the key and are valid throughout the entire work or until they are canceled.

Since any basic step can be raised or lowered, a situation arises where differently named derivative steps will have the same height. The equality of steps that have the same height, but differ in name and designation, is called enharmonism. For example: C sharp and D flat. We can say that these sounds are enharmonically equal.

Music writing signs

To denote sounds of different pitches, special symbols are used - notes. Notes are written on five lines called a staff or stave. By means of the initial line, five parallel lines are combined into one line. The rulers are counted from bottom to top (Fig. 1.2).

Rice. 1.2. Counting rulers:

Notes are written on the staff on the rulers and between them (Fig. 1.3). In addition to the main five lines, short additional lines are used for individual notes. The additional lines are counted: the lower ones - down from the staff, the upper ones - up (Fig. 1.4).

Rice. 1.3. Writing notes:

Rice. 1.4. Writing notes on additional rulers:

To indicate different durations of sounds, a vertical stick (stem) and horizontal “tails” or lines are added to the note to group sounds of the same duration (Fig. 1.5).

Rice. 1.5. Writing calms:

When writing notes of different durations and heights, there is a rule for writing stems - up to the third line of the staff, the stems are written down, from the third line - up.

In addition to the main durations, musical notation uses signs that increase the duration:

• dot - placed to the right of the note and increases its duration by half;
• two dots - increase the duration of the note by half and another quarter;
• league - a concave line connecting adjacent sounds of the same pitch, and the duration of the sound will be equal to the sum of the notes being tied;
• pause - a break in the sound is called a pause; pauses have the same duration as notes (Fig. 1.6).

In order to assign a certain pitch to the lines and spaces of the staff, there are keys. Currently, three main keys are used:

• treble clef, or G clef (Fig. 1.7) - means that the G sound of the first octave is written on the second line of the staff;
• bass clef, or F clef (Fig. 1.8) - means that the F sound of a small octave is written on the fourth line of the staff;

Rice. 1.8. Bass clef:

• keys up to (Fig. 1.9) - means that on the line falling in the middle of the key, the sound up to the first octave is written. This clef is used much less frequently than the treble and bass clefs, and is intended mainly to reduce the number of additional lines.

Meter. Rhythm. Tact. Time signature. Pace

The uniform alternation of strong and weak beats is called meter.

The strong beat is the stressed beat or louder relative to the weak beat.

There are simple and complex meters. There are two types of simple meters: bipartite and tripartite. A two-beat meter contains one strong beat and one weak beat, a three-beat meter contains one strong and two weak ones.

Complex meters come from the fusion of simple ones, for example, if you combine a two-beat meter and a three-beat one, you get a five-beat one, etc. (Fig. 1.10).

Rice. 1.10. Complex five-beat meter:

The distance from one strong beat to another is called a beat and in musical notation is denoted by a bar line; in what follows, we will denote the border of a beat (bar line) with the symbol “|”. In the case of complex meter, the second downbeat is considered relatively strong.

Rhythm is formed by dividing strong and weak beats into equal or unequal parts (Fig. 1.11).

Rice. 1.11. Various rhythmic patterns:

The time signature is indicated by two numbers on the key after accidental signs, one above the other (Fig. 1.12).

Rice. 1.12. Time Signature:

The top number indicates the number of beats in a measure, and the bottom number indicates the duration of each beat.

Syncope is a shift in emphasis (stress) from a strong beat to a weak beat (Fig. 1.13).

Rice. 1.13. Syncope:

Tempo is the speed of movement in music. It is one of the means of expressiveness in music; it depends on the content of the musical work and its emotional orientation. To determine the tempo and its changes, special terms are used (mainly in Italian) or the digital designation of the metronome, i.e. how many beats should sound per minute (Fig. 1.14).

Slow pace:

• Largo - widely;
• Lento - drawn out;
• Adagio - slowly;
• Grave - hard.

Moderate pace:

• Andante - calmly, slowly;
• Andantino - more mobile;
• Moderate - moderately;
• Sostenuto - reserved;
• Allegretto - lively;
• Allegro moderate - moderately fast.

• Allegro - coming soon;
• Vivo - lively;
• Vivace - livelier;
• Presto - fast;
• Prestissimo - very fast.

• molto - very;
• assai - quite;
• con moto - with mobility;
• commodo - convenient;
• pop troppo - not too much;
• non tanto - not so much;
• sernpre - all the time;
• meno mosso - less mobile;
• piu mosso - more mobile;
• ritenuto - restraining;
• ritardando - delaying;
• allargando - expanding;
• rallertando - slowing down;
• accelerando, stingendo - accelerating;
• animando - being inspired;
• stretto - squeezing;
• a tempo - at tempo;
• tempo primo - initial tempo.

Intervals

Interval - the distance between two sounds taken simultaneously or sequentially. The sounds of an interval, taken sequentially, form a melodic interval. The sounds of an interval taken simultaneously form a harmonic interval. The lower sound of the interval is called the base, the upper one is the apex. The interval has a qualitative and quantitative value. The quantitative value of an interval is the number of steps that make up the interval. The qualitative value of an interval is expressed by the number of semitones and tones that make up the interval. Melodic intervals can be ascending or descending. Intervals formed within an octave are called simple, there are only eight of them. To name intervals, numerals in Latin are used, which indicate which step will be the top of the interval (Fig. 1.15):

• prima - 1, first step (sounding two sounds in unison);
• second - 2, second;
• third - 3, third;
• quart - 4, fourth;
• fifth - 5, fifth;
• sixth - 6, sixth;
• septima - 7, seventh;
• octave - 8, eighth.

The qualitative value of the interval is denoted by the words: pure, small, large, reduced, increased. The following intervals are formed between the main steps of the scale (Table 1.1).

Table 1.1. Intervals between scale steps:

Rice. 1.16. Intervals (qualitative value):

All of the listed intervals (Fig. 1.16) are called basic or diatonic and are formed between the degrees of natural major and minor.

Each diatonic interval can be increased or decreased. This can be done by lowering or raising one of the steps of the interval by a semitone. Such intervals are called chromatic (Fig. 1.17).

Rice. 1.17. Chromatic intervals:

Moving the sounds of an interval, the upper one down an octave or the lower one up an octave, is called interval reversal. As a result of reversing such an interval, a new interval arises. Pure intervals turn into pure ones, small ones into large ones, large ones into small ones, increased ones into decreased ones and vice versa. If you add up such an interval, then its inversion will be an octave, that is, the quantitative value will be equal to six tones.

In addition to simple intervals, there are compound intervals. The distance between sounds in such intervals is more than an octave (Fig. 1.18):

• nona - 9, a second through an octave;
• decima - 10, third through the octave;
• undecima - 11, a quart through an octave;
• doudecima - 12, fifth through octave;
• tercidecima - 13, sixth through the octave;
• quartdecima - 14, seventh through the octave;
• fifth decimal - 15, octave through octave.

All compound intervals, just like simple ones, can be pure, large, small, increased or decreased.

All intervals are divided into consonant and dissonant intervals. Consonance is a merging sound, dissonance is a sharp, non-merging sound.

Consonant intervals include:

• pure prima, pure octave - a very perfect consonance;
• pure fourth and fifth - perfect consonance;
• thirds and sixths are imperfect consonance.

Mode and key

The system of relationships between stable and unstable sounds is called a mode. There are a huge number of modes in music, but today the major and minor modes are most widespread in professional music.

A major mode is a mode whose stable sounds form a major or major triad. Major mode consists of seven sounds. The initial, most stable level of the mode is called the tonic. The arrangement of sounds in order of increasing pitch is called a scale. The sounds that form a scale are called degrees. The steps are indicated by Roman numerals. steps major scale(fret) form a sequence of seconds: 6.2, 6.2, m.2, 6.2, 6.2, 6.2, m.2. (Fig. 1.19).

In addition to the digital designation, each fret step has its own name:

• Stage I - tonic (T);
• Stage II - descending introductory sound;
• III stage - mediant;
• IV stage - subdominant (S);
• V stage - dominant (D);
• VI stage - submediant;
• VII stage - ascending introductory sound.

The tonic, subdominant and dominant (T, S, D) are called the main degrees of the mode. The first, third and fifth degrees of the mode are stable and form a tonic triad - the basis of the mode. The second, fourth, sixth and seventh degrees of the fret are unstable. Unstable steps gravitate towards stable steps (Fig. 1.20).

The most acute gravity is halftone.

Rice. 1.20. Fret gravity:

The height at which the fret is located is called the key. The name of a key comes from the name of the sound taken to be the tonic and the addition of a word indicating the mode. For example: C major, F minor, etc.

Since tonality can be built from any sound, different tonalities may contain both higher and lower degrees. In musical practice, seven sharp and seven flat keys are used. Tones that differ from each other by one key sign are called related because they have six sounds in common. The distance between the closest related keys is a perfect fifth. Sharp keys, in order of relationship, give the series of keys shown in Fig. 1.21.

Rice. 1.21. Sharp keys in order of relationship:

Flat tones, in order of kinship, are formed a fifth down and give the row shown in Fig. 1.22.

As you have already noticed, in each subsequent related key, both sharp and flat, another key sign is added. Key characters are added in a strictly defined order:

• sharps: Fa, Do, Sol, Re, A, Mi, Si;
• flats: Si, Mi, La, Re, Sol, Do, Fa.

Rice. 1.22. Flat keys in order of relationship:

Quite often in music there are, in addition to natural major, harmonic and melodic types. Harmonic major differs from natural major in that it has a lower sixth degree (Fig. 1.24).

Melodic major is a little less common; its difference from natural major is that its sixth and seventh degrees are lowered (Fig. 1.25).

Rice. 1.23. The order of placement of key signs:

Rice. 1.24. Harmonic major:

Rice. 1.25. Melodic major:

A minor mode is a mode whose stable sounds form a small or minor triad. The minor triad is constructed as follows.

The first and third degrees form a minor third, the third and fifth - a major third, the interval between the first and fifth degrees is a perfect fifth. The distance between successive sounds of the scale is as follows: tone, semitone, tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone. This mode is called natural minor (Fig. 1.26).

Rice. 1.26. Natural minor:

In addition to the natural minor, the harmonic minor and a little less often the melodic minor are very often found in music.

The harmonic minor differs from the natural minor in that it has a raised seventh degree (Fig. 1.27).

The melodic minor differs from the natural minor by raised sixth and seventh degrees when moving up, and when moving down it sounds like a natural (Fig. 1.28).

Minor keys are in the same relationship as major keys (Fig. 1.29, 1.30).

Rice. 1.27. Harmonic minor:

Rice. 1.28. Melodic minor:

Rice. 1.29. Minor sharp keys up by fifths:

Rice. 1.30. Minor flat keys in fifths down:

Chords, triads

A chord is a combination of three or more sounds arranged in thirds. A chord consisting of three sounds is called a triad.

The chord is always built from the bottom sound upward.

There are four types of triads:

• a major triad, or major, consists of b.3 + m.3 (Fig. 1.31);
• minor triad, or small, consists of m.Z + b.Z (Fig. 1.32);
• the augmented triad consists of b.Z + b.Z (Fig. 1.33);
• the diminished triad consists of m.Z + b.Z (Fig. 1.34).

If the sounds of a triad or any other chord are arranged in thirds, this type of chord is called the main one. The bottom sound of a triad in its basic form is called the prima, the middle third and the top fifth. Triads, like intervals, have inversions that are obtained by moving the lower sound up an octave. Any triad has two inversions. The first inversion is called a sextachord, the second - a quartersextacord (Fig. 1.35).

Rice. 1.35. Triad inversions:

Triads built on the I, IV and V degrees of major and minor are called main triads and have their own independent names (Fig. 1.36):

• triad of the 1st stage - tonic (T);
• fourth stage triad - subdominant (S);
• The triad of the V stage is dominant (D).

Rice. 1.36. Main triads:

Triads built on all other degrees of major and minor are called secondary triads (Fig. 1.37).

Rice. 1.37. Secondary triads:

The given examples of main and minor degrees, as you noticed, relate to natural major and natural minor. In other types of major and minor, random signs will appear.

The letter designation of triads consists of two elements, Latin letter, indicating the degree on which the triad is built, and in the case of the minor - the small Latin letter m. For example: C major - C, D minor - Dm.

Chords consisting of four sounds arranged in thirds are called seventh chords. There are only seven main types of seventh chords (Table 1.2), (Fig. 1.38-1.44).

Table 1.2. Seventh chords:

Rice. 1.38. Large major seventh chord. Rice. 1.39. Small major seventh chord. Rice. 1.40. Major minor seventh chord.

Rice. 1.41. Small minor seventh chord. Rice. 1.42. Extended seventh chord. Rice. 1.43. Half diminished seventh chord. Rice. 1.44. Diminished seventh chord.

Seventh chords, like triads, have inversions. Each seventh chord has three inversions (Fig. 1.45):

• quintessex chord - designated (5/b);
• tertz chord - indicated (3/4);
• second chord - designated (2).

A chord that consists of five sounds arranged in thirds is called a non-chord. The most widespread are two types of non-chords (Fig. 1.46):

3 large dominant non-chord - designated (d); I am a small dominant chord - denoted by (дд).

Rice. 1.46. Non-chords:

But, in principle, non-chords can be built from any type of seventh chord by adding a third to it.

In addition to the above chords, many others are used in musical practice. For example, chords in which a fifth (from the root tone) is used instead of a third. Such chords are denoted by the prefix SUS4:

SUS4 (sus chords) (Fig. 1.47) or seventh chords - C7SUS4 (Fig. 1.48).

Rice. 1.47. Chords with fifths. Rice. 1.48. Seventh chords with fifths.

Chords with added degrees (notation add) and chords with missing degrees (omni) are also used.

For example, Cadd9, C7omni5 (Fig. 1.49).

Rice. 1.49. Chords with skipped steps:

There are also altered chords, i.e. chords with chromatically changed degrees. It's very simple: just raise or lower any (except the prima and third) degree of the chord, and you will get a new, altered chord. A rising chord is indicated by a "+" or "#" sign. reduction - sign "-" or "b". For example, C7-5 (C7b5) (Fig. 1-50) or C9+5 (C9#5) (Fig. 1.51).

Rice. 1.50. Seventh chords with lower degrees. Rice. 1.51. Seventh chords with raised steps.

Rice. 1.52. Advanced chords:

All these chords can also be altered; any steps can be added or subtracted to them according to the same principle as with seventh chords.

The list of chords used can be continued indefinitely, but this is the topic of a separate book. It would be appropriate to talk about some more ways of forming chords. Chords can be built not only by thirds, but also by fourths (quart chords), fifths and other intervals. For example, quarter chords (Fig. 1.53).

Rice. 1.53. Quarter chords:

There is a group of chords called polychords. A polychord is a combination of two or more chords; combinations of two chords are more often used, for example, a combination of C and A, C and Gm, etc. (Fig. 1.54).

Rice. 1.54. Polychords:

In musical practice, chords belonging to the “sonorant” type are often used. A sonorant chord is a chord constructed “without rules”, in other words, it is a random combination of any number of sounds, aimed at creating a certain sound effect (Fig. 1.55).

Rice. 1.55. Sonorant type chords:

Harmonic functions of chords

All existing chords, as a rule, belong to three main harmonic functions: T, S, D (tonic, subdominant, dominant).

The tonic group of chords includes chords of degrees I, III, VI, since they each have two common sounds with the tonic triad (Fig. 1.56).

Rice. 1.56. Tonic group chords:

The subdominant group includes chords of IV, II, IV degrees, since they have two common sounds with the subdominant triad (Fig. 1.57).

Rice. 1.57. Subdominant group chords:

The dominant group includes chords of V, VII, III degrees, since they have two common sounds with the dominant triad (Fig. 1.58).

Rice. 1.58. Dominant function chords:

Harmonization of main steps with triads

In musical practice, there are various ways of presenting musical thoughts, called musical composition. There are two main warehouses:

• polyphonic structure - all voices have equal rights, and each voice can be assigned a melodic function at any time;
• homophonic structure - the melody is assigned to one of the voices, and the rest perform a subordinate function, in other words, the function of accompaniment.

Rice. 1.59. Melody for harmonization:

Let's now try to analyze possible chords for accompaniment (see Fig. 1.59).

In the first and second measures, the notes G and E sound, which are the fifth and third of the tonic triad. The melody, as a rule, begins with the tonic function, so you can confidently place a C chord under these measures. In the next, third measure, three of the four sounds belong to the dominant function, although there are two sounds (D and F) that can also be attributed to subdominant. You can check by ear which sounds better. We are confident that you will settle on the dominant one. The next, fourth bar is definitely the tonic. Next, we analyze the remaining four measures in the same way. As a result, you should get the following harmonic sequence: T - T - D - T - S - T - D - T or in alphanumeric form: C - C - G - C - F - C - G - C.

A very convenient form of presentation of the harmonic grid is four-voice. It comes from the presentation of the voices of a mixed choir and is written on two staves. The lowest voice is called bass, then up are tenor, alto, soprano. Here is an example of the above harmonic sequence (Fig. 1.60).

Rice. 1.60. Harmonic sequence:

Close and wide arrangement of chords is used for harmonization.

When placed closely, the intervals between the three upper sounds should not exceed a fourth. When placed wide, these distances can range from a fifth to an octave. The previous example is a narrow chord arrangement (see Fig. 1.60).

There are two ways to connect chords: harmonic and melodic.
You should remember some more rules of harmonization.

• In triads with a four-voice presentation, as a rule, the fundamental tone is doubled; doubling can occur in any of the three upper voices.
• Each sound of the melody must be functionally defined, i.e., which chord it is part of (T, S, D).
• If a given sound can be part of two or more chords, then you need to look ahead to avoid unwanted sequences like D - S.
• The first and last chord of the construction is most often a stable function - the tonic; sometimes, if the construction begins from the beat, it can be a dominant, less often a subdominant.
• Repeating a chord with weak beat on the strong beat is undesirable.
• The bass should be an undulating line with a small range (within 1.5 octaves).
• The bass should not allow two jumps of a fourth or fifth in a row.

Rice. 1.63. Moving Chords:

Moving chords is used for ease of vocal guidance and variety of melodic line.

Any musical work unfolds in time and represents something unified in thought and whole in form, but at the same time it is divided into separate components (sections). Such components are separated from each other by caesuras. Caesura is the moment separating the end of one construction from the beginning of another. The simplest structure, carrying only one thought (topic), is called a period. The period is usually divided into two equal formations, called a sentence. Each sentence and ultimately the period ends with a certain harmonic turn, which is called a cadence or cadence. According to their location, cadences are middle and final. Typically, medial cadences end in an unstable function S or D and thereby provide a connection between sentences. The second sentence usually ends with a tonic.

Cadenzas ending with an unstable chord are called half cadences and come in two types:

• half authentic, ending with dominant harmony;
• half plagal ending in subdominant harmony.

• authentic - D - T;
• plagal S - T;
• full S - D - T.

The cadence quartet-sex chord delays the appearance of the dominant, that is, it is, in fact, a delay; the bass is doubled in it (Fig. 1.64).

Rice. 1.64. Cadence quartsextchord:

Using sixth chords in harmonization: In sixth chords, either the root note or the fifth is doubled. Sixth chords are inherently less stable than basic triads, so they are used to add more fluidity to the presentation. When connecting sixth chords, it is necessary to monitor the voice leading; movement in parallel octaves and fifths is not advisable (Fig. 1.65).

Rice. 1.65. Parallel octaves and fifths:

Main seventh chords, dominant seventh chord D7

A dominant seventh chord is a seventh chord, which is built on the V degree of the fret and belongs to the most common dissonant chords.

The dominant seventh chord is used both in full and incomplete form.

An incomplete dominant seventh chord is a seventh chord with a missing fifth and a doubled prima (Fig. 1.66).

Rice. 1.66. Incomplete dominant seventh chord:

There can be any chord before D7 (Fig. 1.67). Resolution D7. can be used in both half and full cadences: Inversions of D7 are usually used in full and are resolved into a tonic based on modal gravity, i.e., unstable sounds into stable ones (Fig. 1.72).

Rice. 1.72. Resolving dominant seventh chord calls:

As mentioned above, the direction of movement of harmonic development is determined by the formula T - S - D - T. This formula covers all the most important harmonic combinations. Any function of this formula can be represented not only by the main triad of the group, but also by any secondary chord. You can make a table of the main groups of chords (Table 1.3).

Table 1.3. Basic chord groups:

These three groups also include altered chords. Most often, in addition to the main chords of the group, the triad of the VI degree is used in the tonic group, which is a temporary replacement for the tonic and assumes the further development of musical thought. The middle cadence ending with the VI step is called interrupted (Fig. 1.73).

In the subdominant group, II6, II7 are most often used, enhancing the subdominant function or replacing the S-triad in the main form (Fig. 1.74).

In the dominant group, the most widespread chord is VII7, which has significant tension (Fig. 1.75).

All of the above seventh chords are called major chords. The use of a complete functional system introduces great variety into the composition of harmonic turns and cadences, since each function can be represented by any chord of its group.

Rice. 1.73. Tonic group of chords. Rice. 1.74. Subdominant group of chords. Rice. 1.75. Dominant chord group

For example, authentic revolutions: T - D - T; T - D7 - T.

Passing sounds

All of the above chords can be altered, that is, in these chords any degree can be changed by a chromatic semitone up or down, with the exception of the prima and third in the tonic triad and the prima in the subdominant and dominant. Alteration in chords serves to enhance modal tendencies or give a special flavor to a musical episode. For example, in jazz compositions simple triads and seventh chords are very rarely used; often a major major seventh chord, maj7, is used as the mode center.

Passing sounds are sounds that appear on a weak time in a gradual movement between two chord sounds in an ascending or descending direction. A passing sound connects a given chord with its movement or another chord (Fig. 1.76).

Rice. 1.76. Passing sounds:

Passing sounds can appear not only alternately in different voices, but also simultaneously in two, three or four. In this case, it is undesirable for the movement to be carried out by parallel fifths or triads. Quadruple passing sounds are formed from the parallel movement of three sounds in one direction and a bass in the opposite direction (Fig. 1.77).

Rice. 1.77. Parallel passing sounds:

Passing sounds can be not only chords of the tertian structure, but also any other (Fig. 1.78).

Rice. 1.78. Passing sounds of the Netertz structure:

An auxiliary sound is a sound placed between the main chord sound and its repetition and located one step higher or lower than the main one. Just like passing sounds, auxiliary sounds can be double, triple and quadruple (Fig. 1.79).

Rice. 1.79. Auxiliary sounds:

Detention, organ point

The simplest retention is formed by prolonging or repeating the previous chord sound in the same voice (Fig. 1.80).

Rice. 1.80. Detention:

Retentions can be double, triple, quadruple and sometimes have a non-tertian structure.

In Fig. 1.81 is an example various types detention.

Rice. 1.81. Detentions:

An organ point, or pedal, is a sound sustained or repeated in the bass while a succession of different harmonies occurs in the other voices. The organ point turns the bass voice into an independent one. As a rule, two main types of organ points are used - tonic and dominant. An organ point can be viewed as an expansion and complication of a certain harmonic function.

The organ point on the tonic helps to establish the tonic function and, as a rule, is used at the end of the musical structure (Fig. 1.82).

Rice. 1.82. Tonic organ point:

The dominant organ point serves as an extension of the dominant and is used mainly where it is necessary to strengthen the dominant function or concentrate greater instability (Fig. 1.83).

Rice. 1.83. Dominant organ point:

An organ paragraph can also consist of more sounds. But most often this is a combination of tonic and dominant functions (Fig. 1.84).

The organ point can be presented in various rhythmic figurations (Fig. 1.85).

Rice. 1.85. Organ item in the form of rhythmic figuration:

Also, an organ point can be created by alternating the main tone with its auxiliary sound, which is called melodic figuration (Fig. 1.86).

Rice. 1.86. Organ item in the form of melodic figuration:

Complication of initial harmonization

For greater clarity, let's return to Fig. 1.60. The functional structure of the famous song is as follows: T - /T - /D - /T - /S - /T - /D - /T/. Now let’s pay attention to the first two measures; the tonic function dominates in them; they can be left unchanged, since at the beginning of the construction the predominance of the tonic function can be considered a positive beginning. But since we are trying to complicate the initial harmony, we can experiment in the second measure. As you know, the tonic function, in addition to the tonic triad, includes steps III and VI, we suggest trying them in the second measure. Very soon you will see that they do not sound very correct. However, you can try modifying the tonic itself, that is, use, for example, a large tonic seventh chord. In digital form it will look like this: C - Cmajy. Try playing this option, it is quite acceptable. In the third measure, the following options are possible: D - DVII7 or D - D7, in digital form - G - Bdim7+, choose the most suitable one for you. In the fourth measure, on the second beat you can substitute a small tonic seventh chord, which will be a temporary dominant seventh chord to the subsequent chord, i.e. C - Cj.

The next, fifth bar can be represented as S -S II2, or digitally as F - F76.

Sixth measure: T - TDIII or C - Em(7). The seventh measure can look like K46 - DJ or bII7 - D7, which in digital form is C/G - G7 or Db7 - G7. And in the final, eighth measure on the tonic function, such complication options as T - S - T, T - SII7 - T, T - SII7b5 - T are possible. In digital form: C - F - C, C - Dm7 _ C, C - Db7b5 - T. As a result, the harmonic sequence for a given melody can look like this:

C - / Cmaj7 / G - Bdim7+ / C - C7 / C - Em(7) / C/G - G7, or Db7 - G7 /: C - F - C, or C - Dmy - C, or C - Db7b5 - T/.

This harmonization contains new notations: C/G - which means “the triad C is taken on the bass G.” Also given is a new chord Db7 and Db7b5. Any two chords of the dominant group whose primas are separated by a tritone interval are interchangeable.

Of course, any of the above harmonic sequence chords can be complicated by alteration, harmonization of each sound of the melody, delays, organ points, etc. It all depends on the sense of proportion and on your artistic taste.

Sequences

The upward or downward movement of melodic material is called a sequence. The first link of a sequence is called a motive. A sequence is the simplest technique in developing a melody. If the sequence does not go beyond the initial key, then it is called diatonic (Fig. 1.87).

Rice. 1.87. Diatonic sequence:

If a melodic sequence is accompanied by the sequential movement of the remaining voices, then it is called harmonic (Fig. 1.88).

Harmonic sequences can consist of chords of any kind, i.e. triads and their inversions, seventh chords and their inversions, altered chords and non-tertian chords. The number of sequence links cannot be less than two, more often three or four. Sequence links may be spaced from each other by a certain interval, or there may be a variable interval between them.

Rice. 1.88. Harmonic sequence:

Along with diatonic sequences, chromatic sequences are very often used in harmony. These sequences are formed by the use of secondary subdominants and dominants. A side subdominant or dominant is a chord that is in the relationship of a subdominant or dominant to one of the chords of a given key. For example: C - F, where C is a secondary dominant to F, or the sequence C - G, where C is a secondary subdominant to G.

The triad into which a secondary dominant or subdominant resolves takes on the meaning of a temporary tonic (Fig. 1.89).

Rice. 1.89. Modulation:

Modulation is the transition to a new key and the completion of a musical structure or part of it in it. Modulation is one of the most important harmonic factors in the development of a musical work, because either parts of a work or a musical work of short duration are monotonal. The relationship of keys that appears during the development of a piece of music is similar to the relationship of chords in a single-tone structure. In other words, there is a main key and there are secondary keys. Tones vary in degree of relatedness; the more common sounds and chords, the closer the tones. On this basis, the closest keys are those keys whose tonics are included in the diatonics of the given original key. This diatonic relationship of tonalities forms the first degree of relationship.

For a major, in the first degree of kinship there are the tonalities of its dominant, subdominant and all three secondary parallel ones, as well as the tonality of the minor subdominant (Fig. 1.90).

Rice. 1.90. Keys of the first degree of kinship for major:

For a minor, in the first degree of kinship there are the tonalities of its dominant, subdominant, three secondary parallel ones and the tonality of the major dominant (Fig. 1.91).

Rice. 1.91. Keys of the first degree of kinship for minor:

The common chord for two keys, through which modulation occurs, is called an intermediate chord. The number of intermediate (common) chords between tonalities of the first degree of kinship ranges from seven to two. Following the intermediate chord, a modulating chord appears, the role of which is to more clearly identify the new key. As a modulating chord, unstable consonances of various functions are desirable: S, SII7, D7, K46 and their altered versions with a more pronounced desire for resolution. The final cadence in a new key begins with a modulating chord.

In musical practice, there are four degrees of relationship between tonalities. In this book we will not go into the jungle of theory and will limit ourselves to the general rules for constructing modulation, which are applicable for any degree of relationship. Modulation into any key of these four degrees of kinship is carried out:

• through a common chord between keys;
• through deviation (temporal modulation) into the key of the general chord;
• through repeated modulation from a given key to the most distant of the keys of the first degree of kinship, forming a chain leading to the desired key;
• through sudden modulation - a dissonant chord is taken on a weak beat, requiring immediate resolution into the tonic of a new key, then the final cadence;
• using a modulating sequence, for example D7 - T, with the step most suitable for the given case.

Blues period and blues sequences

Blues is of great importance in development modern music And musical styles. The structure of the blues period differs from the classical one. Blues harmonicas have their own specific taste.

So, the blues period consists of 12 bars, that is, it has a non-square structure.

Below are blues sequences in the keys of C major and A minor, which you can use in your work, if necessary transposing them into the desired key, fortunately, it is very simple on the computer.

• C/C/C/C/F/F/C/C/G7/G7/C/C/
• C/C/C/C7/F/F/C/C/G7/F7/C/C/
• C7 /F7/C7 /C7 /F7/F7/C7 /C7 /D7/G7/C7 / C7 /
• C7 /F7/C7 /C7 /F7/F7/C7/A7/D7/G7/C7 / C7 /
• C7 /F7/C7 /C7 /F7/F7/C7/A7/Dm7/G7/C7 /Dm7-G7/
• C7 / F7 / C7 / C7 / F7 /Bb7/ C7 / A7 /AB7/ F7 / C7/AB7- G7 /
• C7 / F7 / C7 /Gm7- C7 / F7 / Bb7/ C7 /Em7- A7 / Dm7/ G7 / Et7-A7/Dm7- G7 /
• C7 / F7 / C7 /Gm7- C7 / F7 / Bb7/ Em7/ A7 / Dm7/ G7 / Em7- A7/Dm7- G7 /
• C7 / F7 / C7 /Gm7- C7 / F7 / F#mrB7 / C7- B7 / Bbr G7 / Dm7/ G7- F7 / Em7- A7 / Dm7- G7 /
• Fmaj7 / Bm7-E7 / Am7-D7 / Dm7-C7 / F7 / F#dim7 / Em7- A7 / Ebm7-Ab7 / Dm7- G7 / Abm7-Db7 / C7- G7 / Dm7- G7 /
• Am /Am /Am76/ Am / Dm / Dm/Am / Am/E7 / E7 / Am /Am /
• Am / Dm / Am /Am / Dm / Dm / Am / Am / Em / Fm / E7 / Am /
• Am7 / Dm7 / Am7 / Am7 / Dm7-5 / Dm7 / Am7 / Am7 / Em7 / Fdim / E7 / Am /
• Am7 / Dm7 / Am7 / Am7 / Dm7_5 / Dm7 / Am7 / Am7 / B7 / Bb7-5 / Am / Am /

Appendix 1 contains harmonic tasks, melody harmonization tasks and bass harmonization tasks. All proposed tasks have only one goal, to help you master this difficult subject. Once again we would like to remind you of the main steps in solving these problems:

1. Play a melody or bass on the instrument, listening carefully to it.
2. Determine the mode and key.
3. Determine the belonging of sounds to certain modal functions. The more options you have, the better there will be to choose from.
4. Determine the cadence revolutions.
5. If you are faced with the task of harmonizing a melody, first outline the bass line; if you need to harmonize the bass, try (based on all of the above) to add a melody to it.
6. Substitute middle voices based on the harmonization rules that were outlined in this chapter.

This concludes the chapter on elementary music theory and harmony. Of course, the scope of this book does not allow us to fully cover all sections of this endless topic, but we are confident that the beginning of your friendship with music theory has been made, which means that with desire and appropriate work, your knowledge will become more reliable and deeper.

Music is an integral part of our lives and accompanies us almost everywhere - it sounds on TV and radio, in theater and cinema. People's taste preferences in this matter are different. Some people like classics, while others like hard rock or pop, or a varied combination of them.

Harmony as a science

In any matter there is such a thing as harmony. Many works have been written on this topic in different time periods. The main associations that arise with this word are calmness and tranquility. It can be traced literally in all spheres of human life, philosophical foundations of the universe.

Many cultural and religious principles of various peoples of the world praise and consider it the basis human life. Harmony with oneself fills life with meaning and creates favorable conditions to develop it and maintain connections with other people.

Music and harmony

Harmony in music is no exception. The harmonious sound of instruments in an orchestra or group, pleasant to the ear motifs that you want to hum and listen to over and over again... The combination of many notes, tones and keys also includes this concept. There is even a whole science that answers the question of what musical harmony is.

It describes and studies certain rules and patterns of comparing notes in different styles and keys from a technical and compositional point of view. Their consonance determines the logical sequence. There are several areas in which the definition of “harmony in music” is applied:

• Musical mode.
• Style.
• Accordica.
• Individual specificity of author's works.

It reveals and denotes a peculiar relationship and interconnection of various rather specific musical and artistic elements and combinations inherent specifically to music.

With all the simultaneous sincerity, eccentricity, and classical construction of the works, they are connected by the highest logic of the combination of sounds. She helps various compositions speak and convey the author's message to listeners. Without such high organization and compliance with many rules, laws and concepts, numerous world musical masterpieces would not have been born.

History of the musical concept

Music has been around for a long time. People have been studying sounds and their combinations since ancient times. Although the concept itself was somewhat different from the modern one. It contained a deeper philosophical meaning. Therefore, harmony in music was considered as a combination of music and the Universe, cosmic harmony, which should coincide with the human soul. There was even a comparison between music and architecture as its static manifestation, in which harmony and coherence of forms, materials and all elements also reigned.

Music in its various manifestations is a unique way of modeling the world, a way of life, which famous and not so famous musicians and composers saw in their own way and tried to embody. It is worth noting that the creation and study of music and its laws is directly related to human speech, its logic, consistency, purity, frequency and intonation.

Chronology of study this concept originates back in Ancient Rome, China, and is gradually gaining momentum in its expansion. This is also related to the study of the concepts of sound, intervals, keys, modes, and modalities. The greatest study and development of the concept of harmony appeared in the Middle Ages, in the mid-16th century, and develops until modern musical and scientific discoveries. As new musical instruments were discovered, the form of development from a single-voice sound combination to multi-voice music became more complex. And the term “harmony in music” also underwent changes.

Properties of harmony

Notes are transformed into sounds, then tones and chords arise, and a work is born. It is quite difficult for a person who does not carefully study the musical device to determine the degree of combination of all elements. The ear is the perception of melody and motive. Tragic, romantic, comedic genre of works... Through the close connection of sounds, the mood, emotional experiences of the characters or the author who experiences everything are conveyed.

For a long time, cinema was accompanied only by music played by musicians, conveying messages through it and revealing additional features actors who worked only with the help of facial expressions. In this vein, we can safely say that the harmony of the soul is music in any of its manifestations.

Manifestation of Harmony

If we talk about its manifestations, they are built on opposites and close connections of a number of elements. They seem to repeat human nature, in which there is so much coherence and disagreement at the same time. This is what gives musical harmony such inconsistency, complete interconnection and complementation of sounds, tones, chords and modes.

A musical composition consists of several components - rhythm, melody, harmony.

Moreover, if rhythm and melody are like a single whole, then harmony is what decorates any piece of music, what makes up the accompaniment that you dream of playing on the piano or guitar.

Musical harmony is a set of chords, without which not a single song or piece will be complete, full-sounding.

Properly chosen harmony caresses the ear, ennobles the sound, allowing us to fully enjoy the wonderful sounds of a piano, guitar or instrumental ensemble. The melody can be sung, the harmony can only be played. (By the way, you can also sing harmony, but not for one person, but for at least three, provided that they can sing - this is what choir and vocal ensemble artists are trained to do).

A play or song without harmony is like an uncolored picture in books for children - it is drawn, but there is no color, no tints, no brightness. That is why violinists, cellists, domrists, and balalaika players play accompanied by an accompanist - unlike these instruments, you can play a chord on the piano. Well, or play domra or flute in an ensemble or orchestra, where chords are created due to the number of instruments.

In music schools, colleges and conservatories there is a special discipline - harmony, where students study all the chords existing in music theory, learn to apply them in practice and even solve harmony problems.

I will not delve into the jungle of theory, but will tell you about the most popular chords used in modern compositions. Often they are the same. There is a certain block of chords that wander from one song to another. Accordingly, a lot of musical works can be performed on one such block.

To begin with, we determine the tonic (the main note in a musical composition) and remember, along with the tonic, the subdominant and dominant. We take a scale step and build a triad from it (one note at a time). Very often they are enough to play a simple piece. But not always. So, in addition to the triads of the main steps, triads of the 3rd, 2nd and 6th steps are used. Less often – 7th. Let me explain with an example in the key of C major.

Examples of chord progressions

I put the chords in descending order of their popularity:

C major

• C major, F major, G major (these are the main triads of the mode);
• Li minor (this is nothing more than a triad of the 6th degree);
• E major, less often - E minor (triads of the 3rd degree);
• D minor (2nd degree);
• si – diminished triad of the 7th degree.

And this is another option for using the 6th degree triad in musical compositions:

But the fact is that these musical harmonies are characteristic only if the note DO is taken as the tonic. If suddenly the key of C major is inconvenient for you, or the piece sounds, say, in D major, we simply shift the entire block and get the following chords.

D major

• D major, G major, A major (1st, 4th, 5th steps - main triads)
• B minor (6th degree triad)
• F# major (3rd degree triad)
• E minor (2nd degree)
• to # reduced 7th stage.

For your convenience, I will show a block in a minor key, slightly different degrees are popular there and it can no longer be said that the chords of the 3rd and 2nd degrees are rarely used. Not that rare.

La Minor

A standard set of chords in A minor looks like this

Well, in addition to the standard ones - 1, 4 and 5 steps - the base of any key, the following harmonies are used:

• A minor, D minor, E major (main);
• E seventh chord (related to E major, often used)
• F major (6th degree triad);
• C major (3rd degree triad);
• G major (2nd degree triad);
• A major or A seventh chord (the major of the same name is often used as a kind of transitional chord).

How to find tonic

A question that torments many. How to determine the tonic, that is, the main tonality from which you need to start when searching for chords. Let me explain - you need to sing or play a melody. The note it ends on is the tonic. And we determine the mode (major or minor) only by ear. But it must be said that in music it often happens that a song begins in one key and ends in another, and it can be extremely difficult to decide on the tonic.

Only hearing, musical intuition and knowledge of theory will help here. Often the completion of a poetic text coincides with the completion musical text. Tonic is always something stable, affirming, unshakable. Once the tonic has been determined, it is already possible to select musical harmonies based on the given formulas.

Well, the last thing I would like to say. The flight of creative inspiration of a composer can be unpredictable - seemingly completely unpredictable chords sound harmonious and beautiful. This is already aerobatics. If only the main steps of a scale are used in a musical composition, then this is called a “simple accompaniment.” It is really simple - even a beginner can pick them up with basic knowledge. But more complex musical harmonies are closer to professionalism. That’s why it’s called “picking” chords for a song. So, to summarize:

1. We determine the tonic, and for this we play or hum a melody and look for the main note.
2. We build triads from all degrees of the scale and try to remember them
3. We play chords in the blocks indicated above - that is, standard chords
4. We sing (or play) a melody and “pick” a chord by ear so that they create a harmonious and beautiful sound. We start from the main steps; if they are not suitable, we “feel” for other triads.
5. We rehearse the song and enjoy our own performance.

As a tip, it’s convenient to select musical harmonies along with the sound of the original on a music center, computer or tape recorder. Listen to it several times, and then take a fragment, say 1 verse, and pause it, play it on the piano. Go for it. Selecting musical harmonies is a matter of practice.