In music , harmonization is the chordal accompaniment to a line or melody : "Using chords and melodies together, making harmony by stacking scale tones as triads".
58-421: A harmonized scale can be created by using each note of a musical scale as a root note for a chord and then by taking other tones within the scale building the rest of a chord. For example, using an Ionian ( major scale ) Using the minor ( aeolian mode ) one would have: Reharmonization is the technique of taking an existing melodic line and altering the harmony that accompanies it. Typically,
116-461: A scale is "any consecutive series of notes that form a progression between one note and its octave ", typically by order of pitch or fundamental frequency . The word "scale" originates from the Latin scala , which literally means " ladder ". Therefore, any scale is distinguishable by its "step-pattern", or how its intervals interact with each other. Often, especially in the context of
174-422: A tritone apart, maintaining the shape and voicing of the chord, at times resolving to the original chord. For example, F7 (F – A – C – E ♭ ) could slide up to become G ♭ 7 (G ♭ - B ♭ - D ♭ - F ♭ ), thus "planing" each note up a semitone. The planed chords can be further embellished: for example, if a D major is planed down a semitone, a minor seventh can be added to
232-445: A "bluesy" sound. In a progression going up a fourth, if the first chord is a minor seventh chord, it can also be substituted for a seventh chord; a relative second degree can also be added before it to create a ii–V–I turnaround . (A sole minor seventh or seventh chord can be perceived as a second degree or its dominant quality substitution, in which case a fifth may follow.) In the same progression, chord qualities are sometimes flexible:
290-406: A "tonic" diatonic scale and modulate to the "dominant" scale a fifth above. In the 19th century (to a certain extent), but more in the 20th century, additional types of scales were explored: A large variety of other scales exists, some of the more common being: Scales such as the pentatonic scale may be considered gapped relative to the diatonic scale. An auxiliary scale is a scale other than
348-412: A C major chord (C – E – G), making it the third of the chord. This concept extends to ninths (E would act as the 9th if harmonized with a Dm7 chord – D – F – A – C – E), ♯ fifths (E would act as ♯ 5 on an A ♭ augmented chord – A ♭ – C – E), and a wide array of other options. Typically however, reharmonizations involve not just a single melody note, but a melodic line. As
406-576: A binary system of twelve zeros or ones to represent each of the twelve notes of a chromatic scale . The most common binary numbering scheme defines lower pitches to have lower numeric value (as opposed to low pitches having a high numeric value). Thus a single pitch class n in the pitch class set is represented by 2^n. This maps the entire power set of all pitch class sets in 12-TET to the numbers 0 to 4095. The binary digits read as ascending pitches from right to left, which some find discombobulating because they are used to low to high reading left to right, as on
464-561: A composition, such as in Claude Debussy 's L'Isle Joyeuse . To the right, the first scale is a whole-tone scale, while the second and third scales are diatonic scales. All three are used in the opening pages of Debussy's piece. Scales in traditional Western music generally consist of seven notes and repeat at the octave. Notes in the commonly used scales (see just below) are separated by whole and half step intervals of tones and semitones. The harmonic minor scale includes
522-403: A division of the octave space into a certain number of scale steps, a scale step being the recognizable distance (or interval ) between two successive notes of the scale. However, there is no need for scale steps to be equal within any scale and, particularly as demonstrated by microtonal music , there is no limit to how many notes can be injected within any given musical interval. A measure of
580-536: A good idea to have the term 'tone center' refer to the more general class of which 'tonics' (or tone centers in tonal contexts) could be regarded as a subclass." Thus, a pitch center may function referentially or contextually in an atonal context, often acting as an axis or line of symmetry in an interval cycle . The term pitch centricity was coined by Arthur Berger in his "Problems of Pitch Organization in Stravinsky". According to Walter Piston , "the idea of
638-565: A jazz standard using a chord progression of Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 could easily be reharmonized to Dm7 – D ♭ 7 – Cmaj7, (G7 is replaced with the dominant 7th chord a tritone away, D ♭ 7). The new progression has a more contemporary sound, with chromatic bass motion and smooth voice leading in the upper parts. Tritone substitution is also possible with major seventh chords , for example Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 could become Dm7 – D ♭ maj7 – Cmaj7. Thad Jones sometimes uses this type of substitution in his big band writing. As opposed to
SECTION 10
#1732766239152696-437: A melody is reharmonized to provide musical interest or variety. Another common use of reharmonization is to introduce a new section in the music, such as a coda or bridge . A melodic tone can often be harmonized in a variety of different ways. For example, an E might be harmonized with an E major chord (E – G ♯ – B). In this case, the melodic tone is acting as the root of the chord. That same E might be harmonized with
754-430: A moveable seven-note scale . Indian Rāgas often use intervals smaller than a semitone. Turkish music Turkish makams and Arabic music maqamat may use quarter tone intervals. In both rāgas and maqamat, the distance between a note and an inflection (e.g., śruti ) of that same note may be less than a semitone. Tonic (music) In music , the tonic is the first scale degree ( [REDACTED] ) of
812-422: A note between G and G ♯ or a note moving between both. In blues, a pentatonic scale is often used. In jazz, many different modes and scales are used, often within the same piece of music. Chromatic scales are common, especially in modern jazz. In Western music, scale notes are often separated by equally tempered tones or semitones, creating 12 intervals per octave. Each interval separates two tones;
870-449: A piano keyboard. In this scheme, the major scale is 101010110101 = 2741. This binary representation permits easy calculation of interval vectors and common tones, using logical binary operators. It also provides a perfect index for every possible combination of tones, as every scale has its own number. Scales may also be shown as semitones from the tonic. For instance, 0 2 4 5 7 9 11 denotes any major scale such as C–D–E–F–G–A–B, in which
928-411: A result, there are often several melodic tones which might occur over a harmony, and all of these must be considered when reharmonizing. For example, if a melody composed of E ♭ – F and G was originally harmonized with E ♭ maj7, choosing D7 as the reharmonization chord might not be the best choice, since each melodic tone would create semitone or minor 9th dissonance with chord members of
986-400: A semitone. The blue note is an interval that is technically neither major nor minor but "in the middle", giving it a characteristic flavour. A regular piano cannot play blue notes, but with electric guitar , saxophone , trombone and trumpet , performers can "bend" notes a fraction of a tone sharp or flat to create blue notes. For instance, in the key of E, the blue note would be either
1044-599: A third (in this case a major third); D and F also create a third (in this case a minor third). A single scale can be manifested at many different pitch levels. For example, a C major scale can be started at C4 (middle C; see scientific pitch notation ) and ascending an octave to C5; or it could be started at C6, ascending an octave to C7. Scales may be described according to the number of different pitch classes they contain: Scales may also be described by their constituent intervals, such as being hemitonic , cohemitonic , or having imperfections. Many music theorists concur that
1102-716: A three-semitone step; the anhemitonic pentatonic includes two of those and no semitones. Western music in the Medieval and Renaissance periods (1100–1600) tends to use the white-note diatonic scale C–D–E–F–G–A–B. Accidentals are rare, and somewhat unsystematically used, often to avoid the tritone . Music of the common practice periods (1600–1900) uses three types of scale: These scales are used in all of their transpositions. The music of this period introduces modulation, which involves systematic changes from one scale to another. Modulation occurs in relatively conventionalized ways. For example, major-mode pieces typically begin in
1160-425: A tritone), and one without tritones is atritonic . A scale or chord that contains semitones is called hemitonic, and without semitones is anhemitonic . Scales can be abstracted from performance or composition . They are also often used precompositionally to guide or limit a composition. Explicit instruction in scales has been part of compositional training for many centuries. One or more scales may be used in
1218-480: A vertical sonority, might clash with the prevailing harmony in the progression. As well, a number of improvisers have used planing effectively, typically as part of a progression. Herbie Hancock uses improvised planing on his tune "Chameleon", on his 1973 Head Hunters record; McCoy Tyner uses it extensively (specifically, pentatonic scales located a tritone apart) in his recordings with John Coltrane , most notably " A Love Supreme ", as well as in his own albums of
SECTION 20
#17327662391521276-476: Is C. However, relative keys (two different scales that share a key signature ) have different tonics. For example, C major and A minor share a key signature that feature no sharps or flats, despite having different tonic pitches (C and A, respectively). The term tonic may be reserved exclusively for use in tonal contexts while tonal center or pitch center may be used in post-tonal and atonal music: "For purposes of non-tonal centric music, it might be
1334-445: Is C–B–A–G–F–E–D–[C], with the bracket indicating an octave lower than the first note in the scale. The distance between two successive notes in a scale is called a scale step . The notes of a scale are numbered by their steps from the first degree of the scale. For example, in a C major scale the first note is C, the second D, the third E and so on. Two notes can also be numbered in relation to each other: C and E create an interval of
1392-482: Is D–E–F ♯ in Chromatic transposition). Since the steps of a scale can have various sizes, this process introduces subtle melodic and harmonic variation into the music. In Western tonal music, the simplest and most common type of modulation (or changing keys) is to shift from one major key to another key built on the first key's fifth (or dominant) scale degree. In the key of C major, this would involve moving to
1450-522: Is defined by its characteristic interval pattern and by a special note, known as its first degree (or tonic ). The tonic of a scale is the note selected as the beginning of the octave, and therefore as the beginning of the adopted interval pattern. Typically, the name of the scale specifies both its tonic and its interval pattern. For example, C major indicates a major scale with a C tonic. Scales are typically listed from low to high pitch. Most scales are octave -repeating , meaning their pattern of notes
1508-454: Is the same in every octave (the Bohlen–Pierce scale is one exception). An octave-repeating scale can be represented as a circular arrangement of pitch classes, ordered by increasing (or decreasing) pitch class. For instance, the increasing C major scale is C–D–E–F–G–A–B–[C], with the bracket indicating that the last note is an octave higher than the first note, and the decreasing C major scale
1566-410: Is the use of substitute chords, through a technique known as tritone substitution . In tritone substitution, a dominant chord is replaced by another dominant chord a tritone above its tonic . This technique is based on the fact that the third and seventh degrees of a dominant chord are enharmonically the same as the seventh and third degrees of the dominant chord a tritone away. For example, B and F,
1624-423: The ♭ IImaj7 chord mentioned in the previous paragraph may get a preceding ♭ VImaj7 chord instead of the relative II or its tritone substitution. Combining the above techniques, the following progression: can turn into Planing is a reharmonization technique used by both improvisers and arrangers. It refers to the technique of sliding a chord (or chord tone) up or down, either chromatically or
1682-411: The common practice period , most or all of the melody and harmony of a musical work is built using the notes of a single scale, which can be conveniently represented on a staff with a standard key signature . Due to the principle of octave equivalence, scales are generally considered to span a single octave, with higher or lower octaves simply repeating the pattern. A musical scale represents
1740-405: The common practice period , the tonic center was the most important of all the different tone centers which a composer used in a piece of music, with most pieces beginning and ending on the tonic, usually modulating to the dominant (the fifth scale degree above the tonic, or the fourth below it) in between. Two parallel keys have the same tonic. For example, in both C major and C minor, the tonic
1798-466: The diatonic scale (the first note of a scale) and the tonal center or final resolution tone that is commonly used in the final cadence in tonal (musical key -based) classical music , popular music , and traditional music . In the movable do solfège system, the tonic note is sung as do . More generally, the tonic is the note upon which all other notes of a piece are hierarchically referenced. Scales are named after their tonics: for instance,
Harmonization - Misplaced Pages Continue
1856-570: The harmonic overtones series. Many musical scales in the world are based on this system, except most of the musical scales from Indonesia and the Indochina Peninsulae, which are based on inharmonic resonance of the dominant metalophone and xylophone instruments. Some scales use a different number of pitches. A common scale in Eastern music is the pentatonic scale, which consists of five notes that span an octave. For example, in
1914-399: The primary (often triadic) harmonies: tonic, dominant , and subdominant (i.e., I and its chief auxiliaries a 5th removed), and especially the first two of these. These chords may also appear as seventh chords : in major, as I , or in minor as i or rarely i : The tonic is distinguished from the root , which is the reference note of a chord, rather than that of the scale. In music of
1972-620: The Chinese culture, the pentatonic scale is usually used for folk music and consists of C, D, E, G and A, commonly known as gong, shang, jue, chi and yu. Some scales span part of an octave; several such short scales are typically combined to form a scale spanning a full octave or more, and usually called with a third name of its own. The Turkish and Middle Eastern music has around a dozen such basic short scales that are combined to form hundreds of full-octave spanning scales. Among these scales Hejaz scale has one scale step spanning 14 intervals (of
2030-402: The classical approach to tonal harmony, in jazz there are only three functions: tonic , subdominant and dominant . Therefore, chords can also be substituted for congruent functions: for example, the second degree can be substituted for the fourth degree, the tonic can be substituted for the sixth/third degree and so on. The fourth degree in major may be substituted for a seventh chord to create
2088-409: The constituent intervals of a scale have a large role in the cognitive perception of its sonority, or tonal character. "The number of the notes that make up a scale as well as the quality of the intervals between successive notes of the scale help to give the music of a culture area its peculiar sound quality." "The pitch distances or intervals among the notes of a scale tell us more about the sound of
2146-439: The first degree is, obviously, 0 semitones from the tonic (and therefore coincides with it), the second is 2 semitones from the tonic, the third is 4 semitones from the tonic, and so on. Again, this implies that the notes are drawn from a chromatic scale tuned with 12-tone equal temperament. For some fretted string instruments, such as the guitar and the bass guitar , scales can be notated in tabulature , an approach which indicates
2204-438: The fret number and string upon which each scale degree is played. Composers transform musical patterns by moving every note in the pattern by a constant number of scale steps: thus, in the C major scale, the pattern C–D–E might be shifted up, or transposed , a single scale step to become D–E–F. This process is called "scalar transposition" or "shifting to a new key" and can often be found in musical sequences and patterns. (It
2262-449: The higher tone has an oscillation frequency of a fixed ratio (by a factor equal to the twelfth root of two , or approximately 1.059463) higher than the frequency of the lower one. A scale uses a subset consisting typically of 7 of these 12 as scale steps. Many other musical traditions use scales that include other intervals. These scales originate within the derivation of the harmonic series . Musical intervals are complementary values of
2320-475: The key of G major (which uses an F ♯ ). Composers also often modulate to other related keys. In some Romantic music era pieces and contemporary music, composers modulate to "remote keys" that are not related to or close to the tonic. An example of a remote modulation would be taking a song that begins in C major and modulating (changing keys) to F ♯ major. Through the introduction of blue notes , jazz and blues employ scale intervals smaller than
2378-414: The long ii-V-I in the key of D major is laced with V-I progressions that resolve to the three tonics of the D augmented triad: This kind of reharmonization mostly requires alteration of the original melody because of the frequent modulations and therefore, becomes "reharmonization of the changes " rather than the classic concept of re-harmonizing the melody. Musical scale In music theory ,
Harmonization - Misplaced Pages Continue
2436-445: The melody from a well-known standard and alter the changes to make the tune sound more contemporary or progressive. Art Tatum was a pioneer of reharmonization, and later on John Coltrane , Miles Davis and Bill Evans were among the first to seriously explore its possibilities, and since then the technique has become an essential tool for the jazz musician and jazz arranger. One of the most common techniques in jazz reharmonization
2494-477: The middle eastern type found 53 in an octave) roughly similar to 3 semitones (of the western type found 12 in an octave), while Saba scale , another of these middle eastern scales, has 3 consecutive scale steps within 14 commas, i.e. separated by roughly one western semitone either side of the middle tone. Gamelan music uses a small variety of scales including Pélog and Sléndro , none including equally tempered nor harmonic intervals. Indian classical music uses
2552-503: The music than does the mere number of tones." Scales may also be described by their symmetry, such as being palindromic , chiral , or having rotational symmetry as in Messiaen's modes of limited transposition . The notes of a scale form intervals with each of the other notes of the chord in combination . A 5-note scale has 10 of these harmonic intervals, a 6-note scale has 15, a 7-note scale has 21, an 8-note scale has 28. Though
2610-494: The notes of a scale, it is customary that each scale degree be assigned its own letter name: for example, the A major scale is written A–B–C ♯ –D–E–F ♯ –G ♯ rather than A–B–D ♭ –D–E–E [REDACTED] –G ♯ . However, it is impossible to do this in scales that contain more than seven notes, at least in the English-language nomenclature system. Scales may also be identified by using
2668-403: The notes of the C major scale using A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, and so on. When we do so, we create a new scale called the A minor scale . See the musical note article for how the notes are customarily named in different countries. The scale degrees of a heptatonic (7-note) scale can also be named using the terms tonic , supertonic , mediant , subdominant , dominant , submediant , subtonic . If
2726-444: The primary or original scale. See: modulation (music) and Auxiliary diminished scale . In many musical circumstances, a specific note of the scale is chosen as the tonic —the central and most stable note of the scale. In Western tonal music, simple songs or pieces typically start and end on the tonic note. Relative to a choice of a certain tonic, the notes of a scale are often labeled with numbers recording how many scale steps above
2784-413: The resulting chord, C ♯ ; as a dominant chord assumed to be the fifth degree of the momentarily tonicized F ♯ major, it can have a second degree added to it, thus creating an incomplete ii-V-I turnaround which may or may not resolve to the original chord: G ♯ m7 C ♯ 7 | (D) Planing is often used by jazz arrangers to reharmonize melodic passing tones which, if voiced as
2842-468: The same period. A concept introduced by Joseph Schillinger and Nicolas Slonimsky , the idea of multiple tonics derived from equal division of the octave appealed to John Coltrane , who proceeded to compose the groundbreaking tune " Giant Steps ". The composition features a series of dominant chords and ii-V-I turnarounds resolving to three tonalities built on the B augmented triad (the three-tonic system): The harmonic structure of Giant Steps
2900-483: The scale is not a chord , and might never be heard more than one note at a time, still the absence, presence, and placement of certain key intervals plays a large part in the sound of the scale, the natural movement of melody within the scale, and the selection of chords taken naturally from the scale. A musical scale that contains tritones is called tritonic (though the expression is also used for any scale with just three notes per octave, whether or not it includes
2958-405: The subtonic is a semitone away from the tonic, then it is usually called the leading-tone (or leading-note); otherwise the leading-tone refers to the raised subtonic. Also commonly used is the (movable do) solfège naming convention in which each scale degree is denoted by a syllable. In the major scale, the solfège syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, so (or sol), la, ti (or si), do (or ut). In naming
SECTION 50
#17327662391523016-412: The supporting harmony. Experienced arrangers might decide to use these kinds of highly dissonant chords when reharmonizing, however handling this dissonance requires a good ear and a deep understanding of harmony. In jazz, the term is typically used to refer to the process of reharmonizing some or all of a tune, whereby an existing melody is refitted with a new chord progression. Jazz musicians often take
3074-421: The technique further, Coltrane started utilizing the three-tonic system (and later, the four-tonic system as well, which is based on tonics derived from a diminished seventh chord ) as a reharmonization tool, which has ultimately become known as " Coltrane changes ". In this example from "Countdown" (which is really a "Coltrane changes" version of "Tune Up", the well-known jazz standard composed by Miles Davis ),
3132-481: The third and seventh of a G7 chord, are enharmonic equivalents of C ♭ and F, the seventh and third of a D ♭ 7 chord. Since the tritone is a distinguishing feature of the sound of a dominant 7th chord, a D ♭ 7 chord may thus replace G7. Tritone substitution works very well on standards , because the chord progressions typically utilize the II – V–I progression and the circle of fifths . For example,
3190-458: The tonic of the C major scale is the note C . The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord , is thus the most significant chord in these styles of music. In Roman numeral analysis , the tonic chord is typically symbolized by the Roman numeral "I" if it is major and by "i" if it is minor. In very much conventionally tonal music, harmonic analysis will reveal a broad prevalence of
3248-425: The tonic they are. For example, the notes of the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B) can be labeled {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}, reflecting the choice of C as tonic. The expression scale degree refers to these numerical labels. Such labeling requires the choice of a "first" note; hence scale-degree labels are not intrinsic to the scale itself, but rather to its modes. For example, if we choose A as tonic, then we can label
3306-532: The width of each scale step provides a method to classify scales. For instance, in a chromatic scale each scale step represents a semitone interval, while a major scale is defined by the interval pattern W–W–H–W–W–W–H, where W stands for whole step (an interval spanning two semitones, e.g. from C to D), and H stands for half-step (e.g. from C to D ♭ ). Based on their interval patterns, scales are put into categories including pentatonic , diatonic , chromatic , major , minor , and others. A specific scale
3364-400: Was unfamiliar territory for many jazz musicians at the time, including Tommy Flanagan , the pianist on the original 1959 recording. The relative minimalism of his solo on the tune (compared with the density of Coltrane's) is considered by many to be an indication that he was not yet comfortable improvising on such a structure, even given his extensive experience within the jazz idiom. Developing
#151848