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Questions tagged [harmony]

For questions about the "vertical" aspects of music and how to build and study them.

2 votes
0 answers
79 views

Was this chord substitution chart part of a larger harmony system?

I recently rediscovered in my files several photocopied sheets of chords similar to the one below. A friend (deceased in 2014) gave them to me many years ago. There are a total of 11, covering keys ...
Theodore's user avatar
  • 2,993
3 votes
1 answer
114 views

Is this a melody or harmony?

I was playing four 9th chords in a 4/4 time signature. All whole notes. Then I shortened some of of the notes of each chord by a quarter or half note by playing them late. For example, in a Cmaj9 ...
MusicQuestions7's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
80 views

Purpose of interlude in Bach WTK II, Fugue 16

This is an excerpt of Bach WTK II, Fugue 16 (mm. 15-20). The part I have marked red is (in my opinion, hope not be mistaken) an interlude between the last entrance of the theme in the bass and the ...
AGuyCalledGerald's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
1k views

How to handle songs whose scales are neither major or minor in harmonic mixing?

Harmonic mixing typically relies on the circle of fifths, often renamed as the "Camelot wheel" in the context of harmonic mixing. However, that circle/wheel only contains two scales: major ...
Franck Dernoncourt's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
129 views

In Organum and Species Counterpoint why is one of the voices always in whole notes?

Edit: It was pointed out to me that counterpoint spawned from the Organum style of music. For more context, here’s information from two sources I just read. “Two styles of Organum existed during this ...
Lecifer's user avatar
  • 994
4 votes
1 answer
191 views

In the musical texture “monody”, can the underlying harmony be provided with a single voice?

According to these wiki pages (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monody https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophony), in Monody, ”one solo voice sings a melodic part, usually with considerable ornamentation, ...
Lecifer's user avatar
  • 994
-1 votes
1 answer
153 views

What is the proper way to write an accompaniment part without using instruments? (Vocals Only) [closed]

I really want to be able to write songs without the need of using an instrument. At first I was thinking it was as simple as starting with a drone in order to keep the lead voice in tune, but a great ...
Lecifer's user avatar
  • 994
3 votes
1 answer
191 views

What is the difference between background, middle ground, and foreground?

Is the idea of structural levels background, middle ground, and foreground only studied in schenkerian analysis? I’m still viewing the background as the simplest layer of a song, which to me would be ...
Lecifer's user avatar
  • 994
5 votes
1 answer
156 views

How to analyze introduction of Rachmaninoff's Paganini variation?

I'm trying to analyze the introduction of Rachmaninoff's Paganini variations (picture below). I'm thinking the whole thing is a sequence and I only have to analyze the first two measures. The F# makes ...
Haytham's user avatar
  • 51
4 votes
2 answers
147 views

Voice Leading in Göncz’s completion of Contrapunctus 14

My question relates to the attached extract from Zoltan Göncz’s completion of Bach’s Contrapunctus 14 from The Art of Fugue, and specifically the chord marked with the arrow. To my mind, it appears to ...
Chris Benton's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
122 views

Babylon Sisters intro . Harmony?

in the Babylon sister intro, What is going on with the F#/E- A7b5-Ebmin7 ? ( my sheet music says Ebmajsus4 ) Just wanted advice on how to label The chord functions. I’ve circled the part in blue on ...
Boaz's user avatar
  • 81
0 votes
1 answer
130 views

how to theoretically understand that chords are compatible? [closed]

how can we theoretically understand that chords are compatible? let's imagine that there is a chord X1 and X2, what rules/conditions must these chords follow in order to be compatible? I have a ...
Asd Fgh's user avatar
  • 11
-3 votes
1 answer
227 views

When given the soprano and bass parts, how do I figure out the alto and tenor?

I missed one class and now I don't understand how to do this assignment plz help
sillysnail417's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
141 views

How do I analyse these chords in this chorale?

I’m playing some chorales and I can’t figure out how to analyse these highlighted chords. I think these chords share the characteristics of having adjacent notes and I’m having trouble with that. The ...
Evelyn1986's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
92 views

What are ways to use permutations to explore harmonic progressions?

Permutations can be very useful for crafting varied and interesting rhythms. It is possible to explore rhythms using Pascal's triangle. Sounds and silences on two beats can be written in binary form: ...
Attila Vajda's user avatar

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