Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Composer's Lounge Chorales #14 and #15

Enjoy.

#14:



#15:

I don't like the spelling of the first chord of #15 (and same in bar 5). The Gb and G# creates a cross relationship that would be resolved if you spelled it with Ab and then naturaled it.

My spelling is correct and that would be wrong.

If you've got a reason you think it's correct then you should explain it as I did. Since this piece obviously uses common practice theory perhaps you would explain what chord it is that contains a double augmented octave. Or were you thinking a moment of bi-tonality with an augmented third in one chord? The only other thing I could think of is that the motion is upward and you think that necessitates using a sharp. It doesn't in this case when everything else is in a B flat. A natural accomplishes the same thing. I've given you three possibilities but I'm sure you'll come up with something different so please let me know what it is.

Ab would imply a flat seventh. It isn't a flat seventh, it's an appoggiatura to the A. Therefore, the G# is the correct spelling. The harmony is a diminished seventh over a tonic pedal. The G# doesn't confuse me at all. The Ab would, though.

So your Ebs are suspended fourths resolving as parallel octaves to D. Still whether you like it or not the G# sounds like a flatted seventh moving up to major seventh. Obviously your ear hears something different. C'est la vie.

Indeed.

Today is a theory day

Appoggiatura: this is when we leap into a non-chord-tone and step-out of it (into a chord-tone).

4-3 suspension:

the name suspension means we hold a voice in a chord tone, while the other voices move to an other chord,
this leaves our voice now being a non-chord-tone.

The 4-3 part refers to how we resolve the dissonance introduced by helding the voice.
The number 4 means the voice will have a interval of four in the new chord, which is a non-chord-tone.
By letting the voice step-down to interval 3, it will now be a chord-tone.

Seventh:

A normal fifth-scale degree chord in the key of C is the G chord. It is composed of the
notes G, B, D. If we add a seventh (the diatonic / white piano key) which is the F, we end up
with a fifth-scale degree seventh chord, which functions as a dominant (but that is an other discussion).
If we add a diminished seventh, it would not function as a dominant (*).

Diminished:
Take any interval and shorten it by a semitone. This is the opposite of augmenting.
A diminished seventh would equal an flat seventh in this case where the key denotes a flatting to accomplish a diminishing.

Pedal:
Just a voice held over a period (usually several bars), the note held will finally be part of a chord.
And therefor functions as a hint to the listener about where we are moving.
During the period the voice is held, the other voices will move, causing dissonance.

Tonic: A function that in the modes of Major and the minor keys are carried by the first note of their scales.

The Bb (B-flat) Major key:
This key is composed of the diatonic notes: Bb C D Eb F G A. Where did I get them? Just spell out each line and space in the staff.
The scale-degree chords (in roman numerals) with added seventh for reference:


To briefly discuss the chord I going to iii, which can maybe explain some of the reason Gb is used:
If we are in I (notes Bb D F), and want to go into iii (Eb G C), we could hint/adjust the ear, by using the dominant and leading tones, which both are unstable notes wanting to resolv into the nearest interval of third.
where the leading tone steps up a semitone into tonic. And dominant steps down from the semitone above third.
In the case of iii, the tonic-note is D, and the third is F (look at the chord-chart for iii).
This would mean the leading-note is C# and dominant note is Gb.
(*) We can now see how a dimished seventh would "undershoot" and land directly on the third of our target chord.


With this under our belt we (I) can tackle the short, but explosively compact replies.



Decoding examples:

"Ab would imply a flat seventh"

A is the seventh diatonic note, and if we flat this, we end up with Ab, ie a diminished seventh with respect to the Tonic note Bb.

"The harmony is a diminished seventh over a tonic pedal."

Tonic here hints that we should take the first scale-degree. Tuck on the interval of seventh-diminished,
which is then the notes: Bb and Ab.

"So your Ebs are suspended fourths resolving as parallel octaves to D"

Looking in our list of diatonic notes, we have Eb as the fourth-scale-degree note.
Taking this note and resolving it properly ( down a semitone ) we end up at D, ie a 4-3 suspension.
Calling the note a fourth, also implies the root-chord-note is Bb, which also happens to be the tonic in the key.
So we should have the other voices move to Bb (D) F (A), where D would be doubled, and A is the seventh.
Which also happens in the first bar:

Bass pedals at Bb, when relieved, it appogiatures via fourth (of chord I) into the next bar to root-note (of chord iii) being note D.

Tenor forms a harmony of diminished sixth together with bass. Which appogiatures into fifth (of chord I).
Then prepares the next chord by moving into first (still of chord I), which move by step into the seventh (of chord iii)

Alto begins dissonating at the fourth scale degree. Resolves into the third (D). Goes to fifth, neighbor notes via fourth into the third (of chord iii).

Soprano appogiatures from the implied Bb (found as the last note in the last bar at the same voice), through the sixth into the seventh. My account to why denote G# instead of Ab is to make it clear to the performer the voice actually moves. This is permittable because with chorales we are dealing foremost with voiceleading where any form of harmony is subordinate.
The soprano then does a second appogiatures to the fourth, resolving to the third (D). Then goes via first chord-tone (Bb) finally to sixth.
Curiosly The sixth is the next chords (iii) fourth. Which make me wonder if we should continue with the 4-3 suspension recipy. This would be possible if we made that last note of soprano a halv note (instead of the doubled F in next bar). Though it would resolv upwards to Ab, which is not allowed.

Phew! That was only one bar. Those eight bars suddenly doesn't look so short nor trivial

Please comment any fault in my probably fault ridden analysis!
Sorry for any induced brain-ache!

larryz, you are confusing minor and diminished intervals.