Concept Of Tonality Research Articles

Diatonic Illusions and Chromatic Waterwheels: Edward Elgar's Concept of Tonality

In a 1915 article for the Westminster Gazette, Edward Elgar described chromatic major-third cycles as waterwheels, which are adjuncts to a house. If this metaphor is read tonally, then the ‘house’ in question might be thought of as a tonic. Chromaticism – the ‘waterwheel’ – serves to power this tonic, in much the same way that actual waterwheels power mechanical processes in the buildings to which they are affixed. Contrary to modern neo-Riemannian theories, then, which stress the origin of chromatic progressions in ‘non-tonal’ syntaxes, I argue that Elgar experienced tertiary chromaticism as being tonally grounded.
 The ‘Romance’ from Elgar’s Violin Sonata, Op. 82, might be taken as a practical elucidation of this waterwheel theory if the same qualities ascribed by Elgar to foreground chromatic-third cycles are projected onto background structures too (i.e. progressions which present surface harmonic content in massive rhythmic augmentation). However, the Romance’s structural chromaticism only becomes apparent when it is demonstrated that the movement’s background is sometimes dissimulated by diatonic foreground illusions. The ‘house’ Elgar’s ‘waterwheel’ powers, then, cannot be assumed to be a particular diatonic collection. In this case, it is a single chord, which can be set off as a tonal centre in a number of ways, both diatonic and chromatic.

ОСНОВНЫЕ ТЕОРЕТИЧЕСКИЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ, СВЯЗАННЫЕ С ПОНЯТИЕМ ТОНАЛЬНОСТИ ТЕКСТА

The undertaken research is devoted to the analysis of the concept of text tonality in modern linguistics. The article discusses the definition of the concept of tonality in Russian, English, French and Chinese dictionaries. In studies on the linguistics of the text, the concept of tonality is defined as a category in which the emotional-volitional attitude of the author of the text is reflected. Within the framework of the cognitive approach, it is considered as a complex category in which the determined tonality of the text depends not only on the speaker's personality, his individual understanding of the subject of speech (associations and assessment of the subject), but also on his level of culture, emotional mood. Over the past 20 years, the concept of sentiment has been actively used in the field of computational linguistics, in international research on automatic text analysis. The term «tonality» (or «sentiment») refers to the emotional assessment expressed in the text. The interpretation of this concept is directly related to the emotional component. It is quite logical that the emotive function of language is distinguished in linguistic literature, the purpose of which is to implement a specific form of emotional communication of people. So, the concepts of tonality and emotivity come into close connection with each other, but nevertheless they cannot be considered identical, since tonality as a category of text is a broader concept than emotivity. This is due to the fact that tonality has some polarity, while emotivity is represented by a palette of emotions and can refer the text to either a positive or negative tonality.

Importance of Mode Tetrachords in The Tonal and Modal Music Education

The concepts of modality and tonality which are often confused with each other have indubitable importance in music education. Unlike the concept of tonality which indicates the pitch of the sounds, modality is used in different cultures music as well as in western music culture. In case, Tetrachords systems which constitute the basis of modes also constitute the major stones of tonality. Opposing to hard and strict rules of Western music, makam Tetrachords in eastern music do not remain in the same place, and further show differences as descending and ascending scales. Apart from that tonic (durak) and dominant (guclu) called maye istinat in Azerbaijan has always come to the fore. Therefore, all compared scales on the base of these important pitches are handled music differently in every culture. In this study, firstly, tonal music modes and their combination methods are examined, and secondly it is aimed to compare the modal music of Azerbaijan and Turkey according to their scales, but also this study examines their importance in the music education system. This study is important to light the way for students in their educational process and also provide the opportunities to compare the examples of folk music with western music.

Review of Joe Mulholland and Tom Hojnacki, The Berklee Book of Jazz Harmony (Berklee Press, 2013) and Dariusz Terefenko, Jazz Theory: From Basic to Advanced Study (Routledge, 2014)

[1] Jazz theory texts have certainly come a long way since the 1970s and 1980s, when generalities and street talk often took precedence over serious academic rigor. The textbooks under review here are both robust volumes with much to offer the educated musician. Joe Mulholland and Tom Hojnacki primarily address jazz harmony-though they cannot avoid touching upon other fronts-in a way that is at once both conservative and forward-looking. They are the chairs of the Harmony Department at the Berklee College of Music, and their textbook, The Berklee Book of Jazz Harmony, presents a system that has been taught there since the 1960s.(1) The scope of Dariusz Terefenko's Jazz Theory: From Basic to Advanced Study is considerably broader. It addresses topics that do not always appear in jazz theory texts, such as jazz rhythm, music fundamentals (a very thorough treatment), and even post-tonal jazz with a primer on pc-set theory.[2] Both books include digital audio resources. Terefenko provides a play-along DVD and a companion website.(2) The website is open to everyone, requiring no password and stipulating no window of time for user access. It features ear-training exercises, recordings of examples, appendices, and an extensive workbook of written exercises. Mulholland and Hojnacki provide a CD with recordings of original compositions that serve as examples in the text. The Berklee Book would benefit from including some opportunities for readers' self-assessment. However, for the present edition such objectives are somewhat beyond (or peripheral to) the intent of the book, which is simply to introduce Berklee's harmonic system to new readers.[3] Despite their differences, these books do have enough in common to invite comparison. Consider the following passages, excerpted from relatively early chapters in each, where the authors differentiate jazz from other tonal musics. Mulholland and Hojnacki do this at the very outset:One thing that distinguishes mainstream jazz harmony from other tonal styles is the tremendous amount of harmonic color that arises due to the pervasive use of tertian extensions of the basic chord types. Jazz musicians refer to these notes as tensions.Jazz harmony is also characterized by a strong progressive drive or forward propulsion analogous to the rhythmic character of the music. (1)While the authors dedicate most of their energy to explaining jazz's "tremendous amount of harmonic color," they pay more than lip service to the "forward propulsion analogous to the rhythmic character of the music." In several cases, they even go so far as to consider how that propulsion works within jazz's rhythmic framework (a topic addressed in more detail below).[4] Terefenko makes a comparable statement that summarizes an introduction to tonic, pre-dominant, and dominant functions:As will be demonstrated time and time again, functional tonality in jazz has different properties than that of common-practice classical music. These properties are represented by a unique set of rules dictating the unfolding of harmonic function, voice-leading conventions, and the overall behavior of chord tones and chordal extensions. (26)Shortly thereafter, he makes the following observation about the relationship between harmony and rhythm, which further aligns his theory of jazz with that of Berklee's method:In this early exposition of harmonic progressions, we cannot ignore other important factors that contribute to the concept of tonality, such as metric placements and duration of chords. (31-32)[5] Claims that jazz is a different kind of tonal music are hardly profound. However, they are significant simply because jazz theory texts do not normally make such observations. These authors use similar differentiations to situate their discourses within spaces that allow critical inquiry from academically informed readers. In doing so, they establish points of departure for presenting innovative ideas on such topics as harmony and form. …

Studies on the origin of harmonic tonality

Dahlhaus. Studies on the Origin of Harmonic Tonality. Translated by Robert O. Gjerdingen. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990. xv, 389pp. ISBN 0-691-09135-8 It is hard to disagree with the claim, printed on the jacket of this book, that Carl Dahlhaus was without doubt the premier musicologist of the postwar generation. He is an impressive model for the profession, both for the wealth of topics he approached and for the thoroughness with which he broached the most perplexing issues. The prospect of writing a critical review of a significant work by an author of this stature is daunting, would it be merely for the level of scholarship displayed on every page. This book addresses issues that are so central to every domain of musicology that to greet it with servile deference would be just as unprofessional as dismissing it with the back of one's hand as outdated. Thus what should have been a straightforward book review has grown into an article-length essay. Not only are the issues approched vital to us all, they are also treated by the most eminent spokesperson of an intellectual tradition standing at the core of German music-theoretic life. Dahlhaus is whole-heartedly, but very clearmindedly, a follower of Riemann, and this book is a most exhaustive verification of the historical limits of the latter's theory of harmonic tonality. While recent publications may point to a resurgence of interest in Riemann' s theoretical work on our continent, its current influence on North American academia pales in comparison with the sustained prestige it enjoys in central Europe, in particular in the teaching of harmony. Our vantage point is that of North American theory of the 90' s, impressed as it is with Schenkerianism and with Schoenberg' s theory of harmony. In our perspective, the attention granted by Dahlhaus to these two authors is less than satisfactory (barely 36 lines are devoted to Schenker, and Schoenberg's classification of chord progressions is dispatched in two sparse footnotes). This discrepancy between an almost exclusive reliance on Riemann, on the one hand, and a lack of interest in Schenker and Schoenberg, on the other, is revealing of the abyss separating the intellectual tradition to which this book belongs from ours. It is also a yardstick of the challenges awaiting the North American reader of this translation. Following a short introduction, the book is divided into four chapters: 1. The theory of harmonic tonality; 2. Intervallic and chordal composition; 3. Mode and system; and 4. Analyses. The first chapter is essentially polemical, extensively discussing the theories of Fetis (the father of the concept of tonality), Rameau, and Sechter, as read in the light of Riemannian concepts. The second chapter deals with the transition from the intervallic approach to composition prevalent in the Middle Ages to the chordal approach of thoroughbass harmony. This chapter is by far the most extensive and most impressive in terms of scholarship - the notes alone extend over 26 pages! Equipped with his unique mastery of both the repertoire and the literature, Dahlhaus relentlessly chases misconceptions, most of which are to be ascribed to anachronistic readings either of the music or of the theory. The third chapter follows the development of the tonal system, trying to pinpoint the historical moment when the modal system has definitely been displaced, again carefully dodging the pitfalls of anachronism. While the book is well worth reading just for its wealth of musical examples, the process is reversed in the final chapter: rather than illustrating theoretical problems with the analysis of ad hoc examples, Dahlhaus scrutinizes three representative and homogeneous repertoires (motets by Josquin, frottoias by Cara and Tromboncino, and madrigals by Monteverdi) from a variety of angles. This comprehensive approach is open-ended in more than one way: a number of issues are raised which had to be ignored in previous chapters, and many questions are left unanswered. …

Tonality and perception: Musical scales primed by excerpts fromThe Well-Tempered Clavier of J. S. Bach

The psychological relevance of the musicians' concept of tonality was tested in the context of the music of J. S. Bach. Musically trained listeners were instructed to sing the musical scale that first came to mind immediately after hearing short excerpts from Preludes of J. S. Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier. For each Prelude, the tonic (first note) and the mode (major or minor) of the scale produced were compared to the tonic and mode designated by Bach. Results indicated that listeners (1) often established the designated tonic and mode within the first four notes of the piece; (2) within the first four bars, often established tonalities different from that of the designated key, a tendency that increased by the eighth bar; and (3) reestablished the tonic in the last four bars. These observations validate, in general, music-theoretic assumptions about the listener's hearing of tonality, and raise issues regarding the salient relations that engage the cognitive structures underlying tonality perception.

Elementary School Children' s Concept of Tonality

The study was conducted over a five-year period simultaneously with a study of children' s vocal ranges. Data were drawn from 1, 062 testings of 496 children, including 40 who comprised three longitudinal (L) groups. Results were derived from ascending and descending major scale patterns and a child-selected song. The concept of tonality (scales and songs) is a “ learned” concept, not related at a significant level to voice range. The sample population performed better on song singing; the L groups performed better on scale singing. Consistent teaching of both tasks is required in order for children to develop a concept of tonality in their elementary years. Individual differences among the three L groups were noted. The study indicated that performance testing avoids verbalization problems encountered by receptive/interpretive testing. Positive responses of children to non-Western musics may be due to the lack of differentiation among tonal systems or to other factors that are more easily discerned: loudness, timbre, or rhythm.

Re: A New Concept of Tonality (?)

Re: A New Concept of Tonality (?)

Towards a New Concept of Tonality?

Towards a New Concept of Tonality?

On the Enjoyment of Listening to Music

Aristotle saw the basis for all art forms in the principle of imitation. He claims that music has a special position among the arts because it imitates not the external aspects of objects, but character in his language, the passions and virtues. Psychoanalysis has taught us that phenomena in adult life which are seemingly unintelligible and indefinable take on new meaning when understood in terms of chronologically early experiences. Pleasure is experienced when psychological tension is relieved or when such relief is anticipated shortly. As long as the emphasis is placed on the action of the moving picture, the music cannot be mastered and enjoyed by the listener. In special circumstances even the attentive listener will be frustrated in his attempt to achieve pleasure. Such is the case when he is confronted with music, the form of which is entirely unfamiliar. The artistic necessity for the mastery of auditory stimuli also sheds new light on the concept of tonality.

Challenge to Musical Tradition: A New Concept of Tonality

Challenge to Musical Tradition: A New Concept of Tonality

Challenge to Musical Tradition. A New Concept of Tonality

Challenge to Musical Tradition. A New Concept of Tonality