WEEKS 10 & 11: CHORDS/HARMONY

Popular music, such as the twelve-bar blues progression, is often built exclusively on the ________________

I, IV and V chords

True or False: The seventh that appears most often in tonal harmony is the seventh added to the dominant triad.

True; The resulting chord is known as the dominant seventh chord or the major-minor seventh since it consists of a major triad with a minor third above it.

A series of harmonies is called a ___________.

chord progression

The major and minor triads are the only possible combinations of three different pitch classes in which each pitch is ____________ with both the others.

consonant

The speed of the chord changes is called the _____________

harmonic rhythm

Such alterations to the degrees of the scale are accomplished with ____________, not by changing the key signature.

accidentals

Seventh chords have one more possible inversion: if the seventh itself is in the bass, the chord is in ___________.

third inversion

The ___________ is the basis of tonal harmony.

triad

Major or augmented chords are written with __________ Roman numerals; minor or diminished chords in ___________

upper-case; lower case.

Another variable chord in minor is the VII, which becomes _______ if built on the raised form of the seventh degree. And sometimes composers will raise the sixth degree as well (melodic minor), which can produce a major IV or a diminished vi chord.

vii°

How can we tell if a triad is minor?

A minor triad is a minor third plus a major third

What does a sharp or flat by itself underneath a bass note refer to?

A sharp or flat by itself underneath the bass note refers to a raised or lowered third.

Inversions of seventh chords are represented in analysis by these figures: root position: 7; first inversion: __________; second inversion: _________; third inversion: _________.

6/5; 4/3; 4/2

Numbers borrowed from the old practice of figured bass are often used in identifying chord inversion. What does a '6' added to a Roman numeral mean? What does a '6/4' mean?

A "6" added to a Roman numeral means "first inversion triad."; "6/4" means a second inversion triad.

True or False: Seventh Chords tend to be consonant?

False; Because the interval of a seventh is dissonant, all types of seventh chords are unstable and are used in tonal music to give a sense of motion.

True or False: If you double (repeat) any of the notes of the triadic chord, the best one to double is the third?

False; If you double (repeat) any of the notes of a triadic chord, the best one to double is the root. Next best is the fifth. Doubling a major third is usually avoided. The fifth may sometimes be left out of a triadic chord, but the root and third are essential.

True or False: When making inversions of triads the order of the upper notes will affect the nature of the chord?

False; The order of the upper notes does not affect the inversion.

Triads formed on each degree of a major scale will have these qualities?

I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii°

What are Seventh Chords?

Seventh chords are triads with another third added to the stack.

How can we determine the key of a triad?

Triads of a given key are identified by the name or number of the scale degree they are built on (i.e. their root).

True or False: The other triads are dissonant (those not minor or major)?

True; A diminished triad is two minor thirds and an augmented triad is two major thirds.

True or False: The primary triads are those built on the tonic, dominant, and subdominant degrees of a major or minor scale.

True; All the others are called secondary triads.

True or False: Chords usually change at a relatively slow pace.

True; Most often they change no more than twice in a measure; occasionally they will not change at all for several measures.

True or False: Triadic chords are fundamental to all tonal music, but they usually don't appear in simple block form.

True; Often they are outlined by a melody or broken into accompaniment patterns like the Alberti bass, or arpeggiated (played as a harp might play them), or broken in countless other ways.

True or False: The dominant chord doesn't work very well if it's minor. The function of a dominant chord is to lead strongly back to the tonic, and for that it's necessary that the dominant chord contain the scale's leading tone

True; The dominant (v) is customarily converted to a major triad, V, by raising its middle note (its third) a half step so that it becomes a leading tone to the tonic, as in the major scale

True or False: The powerful relationship between the dominant and the tonic chords is at the heart of all tonal chord progressions.

True; The strongest type of chord movement is that in which the roots of the two chords are separated by a fourth or fifth, as they are in the tonic-dominant pair - especially a rising fourth or descending fifth.

The notes of a triad can be rearranged in inversions without changing the basic nature of the chord. The original arrangement as two thirds stacked together is called _________. If the third is placed in the bass that makes the ___________; if the _________ is the bass then you have a second inversion.

root position; first inversion; fifth

How can we tell if a triad is major?

A major triad is a major third with a minor third on top

How is a triad formed?

A triad is built by stacking two thirds together; its outer notes are a fifth apart.

What symbols are used to identify diminished and augmented chords?

Diminished chords are further identified by the symbol "°" and augmented ones by "+."

What should we check for if there are no seconds or sevenths in a chord?

If there are no seconds or sevenths in the chord, again including compound ones, then look for fifths or fourths: the upper note of the fourth or the lower note of the fifth will be the root.

How does the orientation of notes in 'close position' differ from those of 'open position'?

The upper three notes of a chord in close position are arranged as close together as possible. The notes of an open position chord are more widely spaced.

The primary triads are the tonic, dominant, and subdominant chords. These three are the most important chords in a standard progression. Why are they so important?

These share a unique and symmetrical relationship in which the tonic has the same relationship to the subdominant as the dominant has to the tonic.

What is one way to identify the root of an unknown chord in traditional tonal music? What does it mean if we spot a second or seventh?

To quickly identify the root of an unknown chord in traditional tonal music, look first for any seconds or sevenths; If you see either one (they may be compound) the chord is a seventh chord and its root is the upper note of the second or the lower note of the seventh.

What is Voicing?

Voicing refers to the arrangement of notes within a chord. The voicing of a chord can be altered by inversion, doubling, or spacing.

Triads formed on each degree of a natural minor scale will have these qualities?

i, ii° , III, iv, v, VI, VII

What are the five seventh chords in common use?

the dominant seventh, the minor seventh (a minor seventh added to a minor triad), the major seventh (a major seventh added to a major triad), the half-diminished seventh (a minor seventh added to a diminished triad), and the fully-diminished seventh (a diminished seventh added to a diminished triad).