The omnibus progression in music is a
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
characterized by chromatic lines moving in opposite directions. The progression has its origins in the various Baroque harmonizations of the descending
chromatic fourth
In music theory, a chromatic fourth, or ''passus duriusculus'',Monelle, Raymond (2000). ''The Sense of Music: Semiotic Essays'', p.73. . is a melody or melodic fragment spanning a perfect fourth with all or almost all chromatic intervals fill ...
in the bass ostinato pattern of
passacaglia
The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre.
Origin
The ter ...
, known as the "
lament bass
In music, the lament bass is a ground bass, built from a descending perfect fourth from tonic to dominant, with each step harmonized.Brover-Lubovsky, Bella (2008). ''Tonal Space in the Music of Antonio Vivaldi'', p.151-52. . The diatonic versio ...
". However, in its fullest form the omnibus progression involves a descent in the
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
which traverses a whole
octave
In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
and includes every note of the
chromatic scale
The chromatic scale (or twelve-tone scale) is a set of twelve pitches (more completely, pitch classes) used in tonal music, with notes separated by the interval of a semitone. Chromatic instruments, such as the piano, are made to produce the ...
. It may also include one or more chromatic ascending
tetrachord
In music theory, a tetrachord ( el, τετράχορδoν; lat, tetrachordum) is a series of four notes separated by three intervals. In traditional music theory, a tetrachord always spanned the interval of a perfect fourth, a 4:3 frequency propo ...
s in the
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
,
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
and
alto
The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...
.
They are also known as "chromatic wedge progressions", in reference to their wedge-like appearance in score.
[ Gauldin, Robert. "The Theory and Practice of Chromatic Wedge Progressions in Romantic Music." '']Music Theory Spectrum
''Music Theory Spectrum'' () is a peer-reviewed, academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It is the official journal of the Society for Music Theory, and is published by Oxford University Press. The journal was first published ...
'', vol. 26, no. 1. (Spring 2004), pp. 1–22. The origin of the term "omnibus" (Latin: "for all") to describe such a sequence is unclear, but it is of note that the chord progression encompasses ''all'' of the notes in the
chromatic scale
The chromatic scale (or twelve-tone scale) is a set of twelve pitches (more completely, pitch classes) used in tonal music, with notes separated by the interval of a semitone. Chromatic instruments, such as the piano, are made to produce the ...
.
A simple example
The following example is in C major. The lowest part is a "lament bass" that descends from the
tonic to the
dominant using chromatic passing tones before returning at the end up to the tonic in a
perfect 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 upper voice moves in the opposite direction from the dominant note up to the tonic. The chord names are given, followed where necessary by the
inversion
Inversion or inversions may refer to:
Arts
* , a French gay magazine (1924/1925)
* ''Inversion'' (artwork), a 2005 temporary sculpture in Houston, Texas
* Inversion (music), a term with various meanings in music theory and musical set theory
* ...
in
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, harpsic ...
. For example, 'Cm' refers to a C minor triad in second inversion, and G is a G dominant seventh in third inversion.
A more extended treatment of this version of the omnibus could be:
:
For the purposes of
composition
Composition or Compositions may refer to:
Arts and literature
*Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography
*Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...
, the pattern may be halted at any point, and in so doing may facilitate
modulation
In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the ''carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informatio ...
to any desired
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
.
Dominant prolongation
Modern theorists such as Telesco explain how small sections of omnibus progression (signified in example 1 by brackets around groups of chords) can be viewed as an instance of dominant
prolongation
In music theory, prolongation is the process in tonal music through which a pitch, interval, or consonant triad is considered to govern spans of music when not physically sounding. It is a central principle in the music-analytic methodology of ...
achieved through
voice exchange
In music, especially Schenkerian analysis, a voice exchange (german: Stimmtausch; also called voice interchange) is the repetition of a contrapuntal passage with the voices' parts exchanged; for instance, the melody of one part appears in a second ...
. Example 2 (above) is effectively a prolongation of the dominant seventh chord G
7 which utilises chromatic voice movement. The bass voice descends chromatically while the upper voice ascends chromatically, and the inner voices remain stationary on the notes of D and F. Eventually the chromatic movement results in a new inversion of the dominant seventh chord G
7, resolving to the tonic chord C.
References
Further reading
*
Kostka, Stefan
Stefan M. Kostka (born 1939) is an American music theorist, author, and Professor Emeritus of music theory at the University of Texas at Austin.
Education
Kostka graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor's Degree, and then receiv ...
, and Dorothy Payne. ''Tonal Harmony''. 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. (pp. 476–480)
* Laitz, Steven G. ''The Complete Musician''. 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. (pp. 845–846)
External links
Examples of the Omnibus, compiled by Prof. Timothy Cutler
{{Chord progressions
Chord progressions