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Inversion (music)
In music theory, an inversion is a type of change to intervals, chords, voices (in counterpoint), and melodies. In each of these cases, "inversion" has a distinct but related meaning. The concept of inversion also plays an important role in musical set theory. Intervals An interval is inverted by raising or lowering either of the notes by one or more octaves so that the positions of the notes reverse (i.e. the higher note becomes the lower note and vice versa). For example, the inversion of an interval consisting of a C with an E above it (the third measure below) is an E with a C above it – to work this out, the C may be moved up, the E may be lowered, or both may be moved. : The tables to the right show the changes in interval quality and interval number under inversion. Thus, perfect intervals remain perfect, major intervals become minor and vice versa, and augmented intervals become diminished and vice versa. (Doubly diminished intervals become doubly augmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melodies
A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term can include other musical elements such as tonal color. It is the foreground to the background accompaniment. A line or part need not be a foreground melody. Melodies often consist of one or more musical phrases or motifs, and are usually repeated throughout a composition in various forms. Melodies may also be described by their melodic motion or the pitches or the intervals between pitches (predominantly conjunct or disjunct or with further restrictions), pitch range, tension and release, continuity and coherence, cadence, and shape. Function and elements Johann Philipp Kirnberger argued: The Norwegian composer Marcus Paus has argued: Given the many and varied element ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interval Number
In music theory, an interval is a difference in pitch between two sounds. An interval may be described as horizontal, linear, or melodic if it refers to successively sounding tones, such as two adjacent pitches in a melody, and vertical or harmonic if it pertains to simultaneously sounding tones, such as in a chord. In Western music, intervals are most commonly differences between notes of a diatonic scale. Intervals between successive notes of a scale are also known as scale steps. The smallest of these intervals is a semitone. Intervals smaller than a semitone are called microtones. They can be formed using the notes of various kinds of non-diatonic scales. Some of the very smallest ones are called commas, and describe small discrepancies, observed in some tuning systems, between enharmonically equivalent notes such as C and D. Intervals can be arbitrarily small, and even imperceptible to the human ear. In physical terms, an interval is the ratio between two sonic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Close And Open Harmony
A chord is in close harmony (also called close position or close structure) if its notes are arranged within a narrow range, usually with no more than an octave between the top and bottom notes. In contrast, a chord is in open harmony (also called open position or open structure) if there is more than an octave between the top and bottom notes. The more general term ''spacing'' describes how far apart the notes in a chord are voiced. A triad in close harmony has compact spacing, while one in open harmony has wider spacing. Close harmony or voicing can refer to both instrumental and vocal arrangements. It can follow the standard voice-leading rules of classical harmony, as in string quartets or Bach chorales, or proceed in parallel motion with the melody in thirds or sixths. Vocal music Origins of this style of singing are found in harmonies of the 1800s in America. Early radio quartets continued this tradition. Female harmonists, like The Boswell Sisters ("Mood In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voicing (music)
In music theory, voicing refers to two closely related concepts: # How a musician or group distributes, or spaces, notes and chords on one or more instruments # The simultaneous vertical placement of notes in relation to each other; this relates to the concepts of spacing and doubling It includes the instrumentation and vertical spacing and ordering of the musical notes in a chord: which notes are on the top or in the middle, which ones are doubled, which octave each is in, and which instruments or voices perform each note. Vertical placement The following three chords are all C-major triads in root position with different voicings. The first is in close position (the most compact voicing), while the second and third are in open position (that is, with wider spacing). Notice also that the G is doubled at the octave in the third chord; that is, it appears in two different octaves. : Examples Many composers, as they developed and gained experience, became more enterp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fifth (chord)
In music, the fifth factor of a chord is the note or pitch that is the fifth scale degree, counting the root or tonal center. When the fifth is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed chord, the chord is in second inversion . Conventionally, the fifth is second in importance to the root, with the fifth being perfect in all primary triads (I, IV, V and i, iv, v). In jazz chords and theory however, the fifth is often omitted, or assumed, in preference for the chord quality determining third and chord extensions and additions. The fifth in a major and minor chord is perfect (G in C). When the fifth of a major chord is raised it is an augmented chord (G in C) . When the fifth of a minor chord is lowered it is a diminished chord (G in C) . The open fifth and power chord consists of only the root, fifth and their octave doublings. See also *Dominant seventh flat five chord In music theory, the dominant seventh flat five chord is a seventh chord composed of a roo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Third (chord)
In music, the third factor of a chord is the note or pitch two scale degrees above the root or tonal center. When the third is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed triad, the chord is in first inversion. Use Conventionally, the third is third in importance to the root and fifth, with the third in all primary triads (I, IV, V and i, iv, v) being either major or minor. In jazz chords and theory, the third is required due to it determining chord quality. The third in both major and augmented chords is major (E in C) and the third in both minor and diminished chords is minor (E in C). Tenth In music and music theory, a tenth is the note ten scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the tenth. Since there are only seven degrees in a diatonic scale the tenth degree is the same as the mediant and the interval of a tenth is a compound third. See also * List of third intervals Third interval may refer to one of the foll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Root (chord)
In music theory, the concept of root is the idea that a chord can be represented and named by one of its notes. It is linked to harmonic thinking—the idea that vertical aggregates of notes can form a single unit, a chord. It is in this sense that one speaks of a "C chord" or a "chord on C"—a chord built from C and of which the note (or pitch) C is the root. When a chord is referred to in Classical music or popular music without a reference to what type of chord it is (either major or minor, in most cases), it is assumed a major triad, which for C contains the notes C, E and G. The root need not be the bass note, the lowest note of the chord: the concept of root is linked to that of the inversion of chords, which is derived from the notion of invertible counterpoint. In this concept, chords can be inverted while still retaining their root. In tertian harmonic theory, wherein chords can be considered stacks of third intervals (e.g. in common practice tonality), the root ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass Note
In music theory, the bass note of a chord or sonority is the lowest note played or notated. If there are multiple voices it is the note played or notated in the lowest voice (the note furthest in the bass.) Three situations are possible: # The bass note is the root or fundamental of the chord. The chord is in root position. # One of the other pitches of the chord is in the bass. This makes it an inverted chord # The bass note is ''not'' one of the notes in the chord. Such a bass note is an additional note, coloring the chord above it. The name of such a chord is also notated as a slash chord. In pre- tonal theory (Early music), root notes were not considered and thus the bass was the most defining note of a sonority. See: thoroughbass. In pandiatonic Pandiatonicism is a musical technique of using the diatonic (as opposed to the chromatic) scale without the limitations of functional tonality. Music using this technique is pandiatonic. History The term "pandiatonici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triad (music)
In music, a triad is a set of three notes (or " pitch classes") that can be stacked vertically in thirds.Ronald Pen, ''Introduction to Music'' (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992): 81. . "A triad is a set of notes consisting of three notes built on successive intervals of a third. A triad can be constructed upon any note by adding alternating notes drawn from the scale.... In each case the note that forms the foundation pitch is called the ''root'', the middle tone of the triad is designated the ''third'' (because it is separated by the interval of a third from the root), and the top tone is referred to as the ''fifth'' (because it is a fifth away from the root)." Triads are the most common chords in Western music. When stacked in thirds, notes produce triads. The triad's members, from lowest-pitched tone to highest, are called: * the root **Note: Inversion does not change the root. (The third or fifth can be the lowest note.) * the third – its interval above the root being a minor t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Figured Bass
Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsichord, organ, or lute (or other instruments capable of playing chords) should play in relation to the bass note. Figured bass is closely associated with basso continuo: a historically improvised accompaniment used in almost all genres of music in the Baroque period of Classical music ( 1600–1750), though rarely in modern music. Figured bass is also known as thoroughbass. Other systems for denoting or representing chords include plain staff notation, used in classical music; Roman numerals, commonly used in harmonic analysis; chord letters, sometimes used in modern musicology; the Nashville Number System; and various chord names and symbols used in jazz and popular music (e.g., C Major or simply C; D minor, Dm, or D−; G7, etc. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voice Leading
Voice leading (or part writing) is the linear progression of individual melodic lines ( voices or parts) and their interaction with one another to create harmonies, typically in accordance with the principles of common-practice harmony and counterpoint. Rigorous concern for voice leading is of greatest importance in common-practice music, although jazz and pop music also demonstrate attention to voice leading to varying degrees. In ''Jazz Theory'', Gabriel Sakuma writes that " the surface level, jazz voice-leading conventions seem more relaxed than they are in common-practice music."Terefenko, Dariusz (2014). ''Jazz Theory: From Basic to Advanced Study'', p. 33. Routledge. . Marc Schonbrun also states that while it is untrue that "popular music has no voice leading in it, ..the largest amount of popular music is simply conceived with chords as blocks of information, and melodies are layered on top of the chords."Schonbrun, Marc (2011). ''The Everything Music Theory Book'', pp. 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cadence
In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (1999). ''The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', pp. 105-106. . A harmonic cadence is a progression of two or more chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music. A rhythmic cadence is a characteristic rhythmic pattern that indicates the end of a phrase. A cadence can be labeled "weak" or "strong" depending on the impression of finality it gives. While cadences are usually classified by specific chord or melodic progressions, the use of such progressions does not necessarily constitute a cadence—there must be a sense of closure, as at the end of a phrase. Harmonic rhythm plays an important part in determining where a cadence occurs. Cadences are strong indicators of the tonic or central pitch of a passage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
