Moving beyond Neo-Riemannian Triads: Exploring a Transformational Model for Seventh Chords

Abstract

Initial work applying the theories of neo-Riemannian triadic transformations has focused primarily on late nineteenth-century chromatic repertoire, particularly the operas of Richard Wagner.1 While the analytical insights provided have proven rich and stimulating, a fundamental problem has also arisen: the composers whose works seem best suited for neoRiemannian analysis rarely limited their harmonic vocabulary to simple triads. The first section of this paper examines this problem with a particular emphasis on dominant and half-diminished seventh chords, harmonies which are prominent in the chromatic repertory and which share many characteristics with the consonant triads on which the neo-Riemannian theories have been built. This examination leads, in the second section of the paper, to the creation of a new model for these seventh chords. The paper closes with a preliminary exploration of some analytical applications of the new model.