Abstract: The idea of musical harmony. Rules of the game History of the musical concept
Harmony (Greek - harmony, severity, proportionality).
Harmony is a female character from myths.
The word has a wide range of applications; it is used not only in music, but also in other forms of art.
In music, harmony is associated with the evolution of musical language and had different meanings in different eras. For the ancient Greeks, in monophonic music, this word meant horizontal consistency of sounds.
In the middle of the century, when polyphony appeared, this word meant vertical consistency of sounds. Since the 18th century, when the science of harmony appeared, it began to mean the science of chords and the connections of these chords. Sometimes the word "harmony" denotes a specifically defined consonance.
Harmony - a means of musical expression - is closely related to melody, meter, rhythm, and form. A change in harmony usually occurs at a change in beat. Stable functions are usually located on the strong beat of the beat, and unstable ones are located on the weak beats.
Harmony change frequency
(harmonic pulse)depends on the tempo of the piece, namely at a slow tempo the harmony changes more often[There can be 3-4 harmonies per bar], at a fast tempo the pulse is less frequent [One harmony can span several bars].
Chopin - Prelude in C minor
Form connection
The connection between harmony and form is also manifested in the division of a musical work. Harmony helps create caesuras or, conversely, smooth them out. Elliptical whorls or Ellipse smooth out caesuras.
Ellipse (Greek - omission, omission) - a literary device - is the omission of an implied word. For example, 7 troubles - one answer.
In music, this is the omission of a stable consonance into which an unstable chord must resolve. Refers to the ellipse interrupted turnover.
Wagner used ellipsis techniques to achieve “endless melody” and a sense of continued musical development.
Harmony is closely related to melody. It deepens the meaning of the melodic turn and gives it a special meaning. This connection is felt in the techniques of harmonic variation, and with a developed melodic line, the harmony is simpler. Complex harmony has a simpler melody.
"If melody reigns, then harmony rules."
L.A. Mazl
The basis of harmony is the chord.
A chord is a consonance that is not random, perceived as a single whole.
Chords are divided into two groups:
1. monointerval structure - can be built in thirds, fourths, fifths, seconds.
2. field-interval structure - consist of various intervals (some by thirds, part by fourths).
Classical harmony uses tertian chords. Based on the number of hooks, tertian chords are divided into triads, seventh chords, non-chords, etc.
Any chord has two sides: phonetic and functional.
The phonism of a chord is its color, which depends on the intervallic structure of the chord.
Functionality is its stability or instability and belonging to any function (T, S, D). Functionality is determined by stepwise composition. The chord can be presented in a choral texture (all sounds are taken together)
In artistic practice, the chord is positioned in a variety of ways, using figuration techniques.
Figuration is a way of changing a chord.
There are three types of chord figuration:
1. rhythmic - sounds are repeated in some rhythmic pattern
2. harmonic - sounds are given in different orders
3. melodic - associated with the appearance of non-chord sounds in harmony. Most often these sounds appear in melody.
There are 4 types of non-chord sounds:
1. passing - appear on the weak beats of the bar, filling the gaps
2. auxiliary - on the weak beat of the bar, as a one-sided singing of a sound
3. detention - on the strong beat of the bar. Sound lingering from previous harmony
4. pre-rise - the appearance of subsequent sounds in harmony
In musical practice, a chord has coloristic duplications.
In practice, a four-voice presentation of a chord was developed on two staves in the treble and bass clefs, the names of which were taken from choral practice.
S(oprano)
A(lto)
T(enor)
B(ass)
When presented, the triad is given with doubling of the fundamental tone. The bass always contains a fundamental tone, which is doubled by some of the upper voices. The upper voices include S, A, T.
A chord has a melodic position, which is determined by the upper voice.
The chord can be played in a close or wide arrangement. With a close arrangement, the distance between the voices is 3+4, with a wide arrangement, 5+6.
The bass is separated from the tenor at a distance of up to 2 octaves. Crossing votes is not allowed.
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Chapter 1. Social purpose and content of musical art, which corresponded to classical harmony (compared to the previous period in the history of European art). Formation of new genres and their genesis. The development of instrumental music as an indicator of the development of independent musical art - the meaning of harmony in the autonomous art of music. The connection of harmony with rhythm (meter), texture and form in modern European art. The relationship between expressive and organizational principles in classical harmony
1) Social purpose and content of musical art, which corresponded to classical harmony (compared to the previous period in the history of European art)
As is known, the development of all types of art is ultimately determined by a single socio-historical process. But at the same time, this very process can determine the very different nature and unequal fates of various arts in certain periods. Therefore, it is not always possible to draw any convincing parallel between phenomena belonging to different areas of artistic creativity. It is difficult, for example, to find an analogy for Bach's work in other arts of the same era. At the same time, aesthetically related phenomena in different types of art often turn out to be out of sync.
First of all, it is necessary to remember the new worldview that developed during the Renaissance. The human personality, its right to fullness of feelings and their expression, the right to joy and happiness (moreover, earthly, not heavenly) - this is what stood at the center of this worldview and the art associated with it. It was art not only about earthly man, but also for him: hence the appeal to man’s natural sensory perception of the world and strong reliance on the laws of such perception. Although the Renaissance, which marked a turning point in the history of all Western European culture, ultimately led to a corresponding leap in the field of musical art, this leap did not occur during the Renaissance itself, but later - in the 17th century.
The ideas that were given impetus by the Renaissance could begin their true development in music only when a new form of professional music-making, independent of the church, arose, i.e. when a new powerful organizational center of professional musical art was formed. It turned out to be opera, which was formed in the 17th century.
2) Formation of new genres and their genesis
Only under the conditions of a new genre could the new content of musical art find its true expression. And new content and a new genre also determined the dominance of a new technical style of music, new principles of musical language and form. The strict choral polyphony of church music, in which no individually bright melodies were distinguished, was replaced by an emotionally expressive melody, concentrating the main features of the image and subordinating the harmonic accompaniment. This gamophonic-harmonic structure was in one way or another based on examples of everyday and folk music (especially melodic in Italy, where opera was born), but it received its final recognition, full development and professional development only in the aria, which became the main element of the opera and the main an exponent of the character, feelings and aspirations of the human personality.
If the abstract and contemplative art of a strict style presupposed not only the smoothness of lines, consonance of consonances, but also a more or less identical level of general tension, a relatively even emotional-dynamic curve, then music, which embodied the various spiritual movements of the human personality, was naturally associated with pronounced changes in tension and calmness. Therefore, the authentic relationship between dominant instability and its resolving tonic stability, which was used in a strict style mainly for the syntactic completion of musical thought, gradually turned (together with the reverse - semi-authentic - relationship T - D) into the main harmonic means that dominates throughout the entire musical thought and acquires not only constructive-syntactic, but also expressive-dynamic meaning.
3) The development of instrumental music as an indicator of the formation of independent musical art - the meaning of harmony in the autonomous art of music
Along with opera, purely instrumental creativity developed, and new instrumental forms arose. Largely related to the influence of opera, partly formed within it (as instrumental episodes) or strongly influenced by it (solo instrumental concert), but partly developing independently of opera (trio sonata) and even ahead of its emergence (organ music of the late 16th century ).
Instrumental creativity, naturally, did not break with the general intonation, i.e. vocal-speech, expressive-voice, the basis of music, nor with many more specific figurative-genre spheres that have developed in vocal art. Throughout its history, non-program instrumental music has in one way or another absorbed types of musical imagery, musical thematics, previously created in vocal, stage, ritual music, i.e. software in the broad sense. At the same time, instrumental creativity greatly expanded the possibilities of music in many directions and had a huge impact on its other areas. It formed musical images that were particularly concentrated and generalized, and in addition - and this is even more important - methods were created for the broad and multifaceted development of musical thoughts - development that was distinguished into large, complex and perfect musical forms, which were subsequently used in opera. Of course, the logic of thematic development - motivic and thematic comparisons and transformations - was also of great importance for large instrumental forms of music. But this logic will emerge only after the homophonic structure has crystallized.
4) The connection between harmony and rhythm (meter), texture and form in modern European art
The homophonic structure also transformed the metrorhythmic organization of music. A strict accent metric emerged. The heavy beats of the measures began to be emphasized by bass and regular changes in harmony. With more rare changes in harmony, metric relationships began to extend to entire groups of measures: one of the two, three, or even four measures of a musical phrase began to stand out as a strong one. And the arrangement of harmonic cadences at similar points in similar structures allowed the metrical organization to cover an even greater extent.
In the area of the musical fabric itself, texture, the homophonic warehouse created that special relief (different planes) that the old polyphony, based on the relative equality of voices, did not know. In addition to the division into the melody, which is, as it were, in the foreground, and the accompaniment, the accompaniment itself, in turn, is differentiated into supporting basses and middle voices that maintain (or repeat) the harmony. In its nature and significance, this is partly similar to the consistent use of perspective in painting.
Everything described so far represents a single complex of phenomena that characterizes the general appearance of post-Renaissance music. Polyphony was also included in it, but in a different form and in a different role compared to the strict style. This complex also characterizes the scale of the revolution that occurred in the art of music following the Renaissance.
In the next large complex of phenomena, we can highlight - generally and schematically - two main points that determined the main ones and determined the formation of the classical system of musical thinking in the 17th - 18th centuries. These moments are the embodiment of new expressiveness (new content) and the assertion of the independence of musical art, which required its special internal organization.
The fact that this process had two closely intertwined sides is confirmed by many phenomena. These partly include the very fact of the simultaneous development of opera and instrumental creativity. But this last signified both a certain emancipation of music from the vocal and speech principle, and a huge development of its properties in a new sphere. This development was most clearly manifested in solo instrumental concerts, especially violin concerts, which, like the operatic aria, combined new individualized melody with virtuoso elements.
In the same era, equally intensive searches were carried out in the field of temperament - searches brought to life by the requirements of the musical system, logic, i.e. requirements, without which the development of independent and developed musical forms was impossible.
5) The relationship between expressive and organizational principles in classical harmony
Combining the solution of two main historical problems facing the music of the 17th and early 18th centuries was, however, not always easy. In order to defend the independence of musical art that was being established for the first time, a very strong and clear internal organization, an internal logic, moreover, simple and generalized in its core, was needed. And she could not help but impose serious restrictions on the free outpouring of expressiveness, on the use of particularly vivid means, even if they well embody a particular emotional state or successfully depict any stage situation, but are not subject to the strict discipline of form. In the end, among the enormous variety of different trends and creative attempts of that time, history chose and drew some optimal line of development, discarding much that was perhaps interesting in itself, but did not contribute at this stage to solving the described two-sided set of problems.
Homophonic melody as a whole has developed as individually expressive, melodious, extended and at the same time very strictly organized, clearly divided into large and small parts, subordinate to simple harmonic logic and dance rhythmic grouping, clearly expressed in typical vocal samples, where it is true , sometimes somewhat veiled.
But even if the melody was forced to a significant extent to subordinate the particular expressive effects of a more generalized organization, then to a much greater extent this applied to the harmony that accompanied the melody, for its organizing role, as is clear from everything above, was especially great. This role required strict discipline. Harmony had to restrain and limit its natural desire for various private, characteristic, purely specific effects. The diminished seventh chord, as an expression of horror or catastrophe, confusion or anxiety, pathetic-sounding chords with an increased sixth, the Neapolitan sixth chord, deepening and elevating minor expressiveness - this is almost the entire range of acute chords of that time, selected in the process of forming the classical system of harmonic thinking. Basically, the substantive side of harmony consisted in enhancing the expressiveness of the melody itself, in explaining the mode-functional meaning of its turns, identifying and emphasizing the general major or minor coloring of the music, in comparisons and mutual transitions of these mode-expressive qualities, in creating a general emotional tonic effect by alternating harmonic stability and instability . Harmony promotes the embodiment of the dynamic side of emotions - the rise and fall of their tension - through the corresponding use of the same properties of stability and instability. The nature and tasks of the new musical art left to the share of classical harmony participation in the transmission of mainly those aspects of emotional and psychological states, the embodiment of which by harmony at the same time best serves the organization of the whole, its dynamics, logic, and form.
The typical relationship between melody and harmony that developed in the homophonic system, which then developed and was overcome. It arose with such organic necessity that it can seem eternal, and yet it was brought to life by a completely unique combination of historical circumstances and conditions. The paradox also lies in the fact that for a perfect musical ear, a homophonic melody with simple harmonic accompaniment often seems too soft, smooth, unobstructed, while in reality the properties of the homophonic-harmonic structure considered here were the result of precisely the particularly strict discipline necessary for the music of that time , so that it can withstand and assert itself in the struggle both for the embodiment of new content and for existence as an independent art.
At the beginning of the 17th century, some supporters of the homophonic mentality declared polyphony “barbaric” and completely a thing of the past. They were, of course, mistaken both in their assessment of the phenomenon and in their forecasts: we admire the creations of the old masters and know that with them only the era of strict polyphony ended, and not polyphony in general. But the pattern of such errors is also clear to us: a new, young type of art, asserting itself in contrast to the old and mature one, is often inclined to underestimate and even deny its significance. At the same time, this new type reaches its own maturity only when it manages to restore the temporarily interrupted connection with tradition and incorporate the essential elements of previous art.
The new type of music that emerged in the 17th century, associated with new content, new genres and forms, and a new technical structure, could not immediately reach great heights, no matter how gifted its individual representatives were. It was not the 17th century that brought complete historical maturity to the new type of music, at least not its first half - a time of fermentation, search, formation - but the next period. And, perhaps, the absolutely exceptional flowering of musical creativity in the 18th century, which gave the world such geniuses as Bach, Handel, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, was due to a special historical concentration of tasks and achievements of two different eras - as if a merger of that “ Renaissance”, which has long been felt in music, but for a long time did not find classical expression in it, with the ideas and aspirations of the Age of Enlightenment.
Chapter 2. The relationship between melody and harmonic accompaniment in the era of classicism in terms of: emotional and rational, individualized and general, in the organization of modal (tonal) structure; also take material from pp. 564-566. Classical harmony as a grammatical category. Possibilities of melody and harmony in shaping at various levels
1) The relationship in the era of classicism between melody and harmonic accompaniment in terms of: emotional and rational, individualized and general, in the organization of the modal (tonal) structure; also take material from pp. 564-566
musical art harmony rhythm
The specific side of the melody, which distinguishes it from other elements of music, for example, from harmony, is the line of pitch changes in one voice, while the specific side of the melody, which distinguishes it from life prototypes, is not the line of pitch changes in itself, but precisely the special organization - modal system of altitude relationships and connections.
In response to E.F. Napravnik’s request to lighten the role of Joanna in the opera “The Maid of Orleans” by freeing it from notes that were too high for a particular performer, Tchaikovsky resolutely refused to move the corresponding passages to a different key. He wrote: “As for the E-dur episode in the duet of the last act, after long painful hesitation, I preferred to disfigure the melody rather than change the modulation. My feeling here is decisively opposed to transposing this entire passage into a different tone.” And further, saying about other changes and inviting Napravnik to make them here and there at his own discretion, Tchaikovsky again points out: “It would be better to mutilate the melodic pattern than the very essence of musical thought, which is directly dependent on the modulation and harmony with which I have become accustomed...”.
A change in one or two sounds of the melody, although it affects the immediate expressiveness of a given moment, can be limited to this effect, i.e. have local significance, while replacing any harmony, modulation and tonality inevitably affects the general logic of any construction.
Let us now turn to the concept of one of the outstanding music theorists of the 20th century - Ernst Kurt. In his “Fundamentals of Linear Counterpoint”, he persistently pursues the idea that the essence of melodies and the basic patterns of the melodic line find their most vivid expression not in the style of the Viennese classics and, in general, not in the music that is based on a homophonic-harmonic structure. The homophonic type of melody is too much subject - in Kurt's opinion - to the metrical weight of equal accents, rhythmic grouping, as well as the logic of harmonic cadences and regular changes of harmony, so that free, unconstrained melodic breathing can fully manifest itself in it - the development of the melodic line itself in accordance with its own laws. On the contrary, in Bach's style, especially in his instrumental works, such development is expressed incomparably more clearly, the melodic line is more free and independent; therefore, the patterns of melody should be studied on the material of this particular style.
Kurt's views turned out to be akin to the point of view of many theorists who were quite far from Kurt in their musical and creative sympathies. In particular, promoters of atonal music emphasize even more sharply than Kurt that among the Viennese classics and romantics the melody is not independent and represents only a horizontal interpretation of the harmonic sequence. Finally, Rudolf Reti, who, on the contrary, considers atonalism and dodecaphony to be one-sided phenomena, created the concept of melodic and harmonic tonality, according to which in classical music it is the harmonic tonality that dominates, which again means the subordinate position of melody in relation to harmony.
Obviously, there is a significant amount of truth in these views, however, at first glance, they contradict the basic ideas about the homophonic-harmonic structure. After all, it presupposes a main melodic voice and a subordinate harmonic accompaniment.
True, the words “harmonic accompaniment” and “harmony” are not equivalent: not only accompaniment, but also the main melodic voice participates in the formation of harmony. However, the accompaniment usually embodies harmony quite fully even without the main voice. A melody without accompaniment only somehow hints at harmony, implies it, and, moreover, is not always unambiguous and definite.
When they talk about the subordinate position of classical and romantic melody in relation to harmony, they do not mean the power of emotional expressiveness of the melody and not the individual brightness of the image it represents. We are talking about the lesser formative energy of the melodic line, the melodic line, its lesser constructive “load” in comparison with the formative role of harmony in the Viennese classics, on the one hand, and with the role of the melodic line in Bach, in ancient tunes and in some phenomena of modern music - with another. One could, bearing in mind the relatively insignificant participation of the homophonic-melodic line in organizing the form of the whole, say: yes, the homophonic melody, of course, is the queen; but this is the Queen of England; she reigns, but does not rule. And perhaps this kind of comparison can capture one of the most important aspects of the relationship between melody and harmony in a homophonic structure.
The logic of the melodic line is very individual - incomparably more individual than the logic of harmonic functions.
The comparison can be continued. A person who is not in opposition to society can perceive its laws and customs as his own and follow them naturally, without coercion. Of course, these laws and customs limit the personality in some ways, but in many other ways, on the contrary, they free and emancipate it. Thus, in a society rich in traditions and rules, there is no need for a member of society to decide anew every time what to do in one or another typical case, and therefore a person’s intellectual energy and his individuality can more fully manifest themselves in more interesting and higher areas of life and activities.
In a similar way, a classical homophonic melody, striving primarily for individual expressiveness, willingly entrusts some general “control functions” to harmony, freeing itself to solve its own problems, and in some other respects submitting to harmony very organically - not as an external principle, but as its own harmony , outside of which a melody of a homophonic type does not seem to think of itself.
The role of harmony for melody in homophonic music is that harmony not only supports, strengthens the melody and explains the modal meaning of its turns, and not only subordinates it to itself in a constructive sense, but in many aspects liberates, frees it, and relieves it of some responsibilities , allows it to soar and reign freely, pose and solve problems that would be unthinkable without harmony. As a result, listening to homophonic music, we still find ourselves primarily in the realm of melody, although supported and largely controlled by harmony.
2) Classical harmony as a grammatical category
The described relative autonomy of classical harmony is closely related to some of its other properties. As is known, categories whose expression in a given language is obligatory under certain conditions belong to grammatical categories. Remembering that some kind of third harmony must necessarily be expressed at every moment of a classical work and, in addition, knowing about the fundamental importance of the harmonic sequence for the logic of the work, we can talk about many categories of classical harmony as grammatical obligatory categories of the corresponding musical styles
And finally, everything that has been said makes obvious the connection between the relative autonomy of classical harmony and its not very high degree of individualization. This follows directly from the fact that more or less similar chord sequences perform the function of grammatical control in topics of a different nature. Naturally, in such sequences typical features prevail over individual ones. Already in the first and second chapters it was explained that the homophonic-harmonic system liberated the individual expressiveness of melody at the cost of limiting the expressiveness of harmony to a few specific areas. The grammatical properties of harmony allow us to look at this issue from a slightly new angle.
The high degree of relative autonomy of the patterns of classical harmony, the grammatical meaning of many of these patterns and the relatively low individualization of most functional harmonic sequences are, in essence, different sides of the same phenomenon. And the radical change in the role of harmony in the work of many composers of the 20th century who did not abandon tonality, the change in the place of harmony among other elements of music and, finally, the new nature of the chords themselves and their sequences are due primarily to the fact that harmony is losing its significance as a generally obligatory grammatical basis of the musical language, its patterns are deprived of their previous degree of autonomy, but on the other hand it becomes incomparably more individualized, individually expressive.
The controlling and coordinating role of harmony is so great that if to a certain extent it is legitimate to compare music with verbal language, then it is natural to liken harmony in a homophonic warehouse to the basis of the grammar of a language.
The chords of the classical harmony system, being elements of a not very rich harmonic “vocabulary,” at the same time represent, as it were, grammatical categories of homophonic music. The effect of these grammatical categories extends to the melody, each sound of which is easily defined in terms of its relationship to harmony. And this remains valid even when several melodically individualized voices simultaneously sound on a harmonic basis and one or another type of polyphony arises.
In strictly style music, polyphony was a mandatory grammatical category. Vertical compositions, which arose as a result of voice guidance and had to satisfy the conditions of consonation, could acquire one or another expressive or coloristic meaning, but did not carry the function of controlling the form and therefore their distribution according to any strict functional headings did not matter.
3) Possibilities of melody and harmony in shaping at various levels
Not only the support and strengthening of the melody, its emancipation in all possible aspects, not only the elementary control of the form of the melody (primarily its division into cadences), but also the very interest, novelty, freshness, originality of individual melodic turns are to a very large extent determined in homophonic music by harmony, those. the relationship between these turns and their tonal-harmonic basis.
The very fact of symmetrical harmonization of melodic sequences among the Viennese classics was noted in the musicological literature, but its meaning may not yet be fully revealed. A sequence is not a closed construction, easily allowing for continuation by inertia and even attracting it: if there were two links, then, in principle, a third and a fourth could follow. The harmonic revolution of TDDT, on the contrary, is closed. And constructions similar to those given in example 9 (p. 97 Beethoven Trio op. 1 No. 2) once again demonstrate the primacy of the formative role of harmony over the role of the melodic line: in the Beethoven trio we do not wait after two links for the beginning of the third, but perceive the structure thanks to harmony, as relatively closed. The number of similar examples in the music of Viennese classics is very large.
In the post-Beethoven period, the tendency to increase the formative role of the melodic principle makes its way again - in a variety of aspects. Melodic connections in the harmony itself are strengthened.
In the system of homophonic-harmonic music, the functions of melody and harmony are differentiated very clearly. The tasks of art that made precisely such differentiation vital at a certain stage of development have already been described above. But once the system was established, a certain kind of softening of differentiation became possible and desirable. Indeed, the voices that make up a typical homophonic accompaniment are devoid of independent melodic interest, and their entire totality participates very little in the formation of the unique individual features of the artistic image (the same elementary harmonic sequence can be found in a wide variety of themes). This situation could satisfy the conditions and requirements of simple song and dance genres, small plays, and for a long time also operatic arias. But when striving for richer, more complex, developed musical expressiveness, it is easy to discover that purely homophonic accompaniment is, as it were, an underutilized element of the system, which can be assigned - without compromising its basic functions - some additional responsibilities. And the accompanying voices are saturated with expressive melodic figuration, and sometimes acquire a certain independence, which ultimately leads to polyphony on a harmonic basis. Thus, the differentiation of the functions of the main and accompanying voices becomes less sharp. However, this natural internal tendency in the development of the system is realized only because it is in accordance with the tasks of the art of that time: it contributes to the deepening and enrichment of musical expressiveness, the development of musical forms; it naturally renews the connection with the polyphonic tradition, temporarily interrupted by the purely homophonic structure, and at the same time does not violate the new functional-harmonic logic. It is significant that the seemingly equally natural tendency to saturate the accompaniment with colorful and harmonic expression has not yet received sufficient full realization in the music of the 18th century: the corresponding tasks faced the art of music only in the next century.
Chapter 3. The opposition of emotional content in the contrast of major and minor and their relationship in classical music. Possibilities for enlarging functional relationships in harmony (using the example of a comparative analysis of typical turnovers TD-TD, TD-DT). Dialectics of tonal-thematic relationships in sonata form. The question of the procedural-dynamic side of the content of classical musical art and its embodiment through harmony
1) The opposition of emotional content in the contrast of major and minor and their relationship in classical music
Now it is possible to elucidate in more detail the question of how harmony participates in solving the problems of that new musical art, which ultimately arose under the influence of the ideas and worldviews of the Renaissance, but only in the Age of Enlightenment was able to acquire its highest classical forms. Let us dwell first of all on the role of harmony in a new, more open and complete expression of the human emotional world.
Emotions, as is known, have two sides: qualitative certainty and a degree of tension, changes in which form a certain dynamic process.
Of all the variety of emotions, classical music has focused its attention mainly on the expression (and contrast) of joy and sadness in their various shades and gradations - from jubilation and delight to sorrow and despair. Naturally, music, directly addressed to a person and his feelings, sought, in contrast to sublimely detached religious art, to convey the nature of emotions with great relief and clarity. It is no less natural that it not only used numerous private means for this, but also, having become a completely independent art, inevitably had to include the ability to express opposing emotions in the very basis of its internal organization, i.e. how to program this ability in your specific system. Hence the two-fret nature of classical harmony, which reduces numerous modes to two main ones - major and minor. At the same time, as already mentioned, the expressiveness of harmony in homophonic music has developed as a rather generalized one: harmony strives to embody not so much the richness of shades of various emotions, but rather their basic character. Two opposite modes, based on the existence of two different types of consonant triads, therefore turn out to be necessary and sufficient to solve its problems.
Connected both with the opposition of modal coloring, similar to the relationship between light and shadow, and with the expression of joy and sadness, the contrast of major and minor acquires the ability to play an important role in the general embodiment of the most diverse contrasts of reality (good and evil, life and death, etc.) , as well as in the embodiment of a person’s desire for happiness and overcoming darkness. And finally, the contrast of modes, like other contrasts, can also serve as one of the means of shaping, which is widely used in classical music.
The opposition of major and minor does not mean, of course, that every piece written in a major mode is joyful, cheerful, cheerful, and in a minor mode it is sad, mournful.
We must also keep in mind that the qualities of major and minor can be expressed to varying degrees and can enter into various combinations with each other: for example, in a harmonic major there is an element of minor. This kind of combination can give a very different expressive effect, depending on all other conditions. For example, sometimes a harmonic major, introducing an element of the opposite mode, only sharpens - thanks to the resulting contrast - the main major character of the music, which acquires a more intense, exalted or ecstatic connotation. In other cases, a major with abundant elements of the minor of the same name, in particular with the wide development of the harmonic sphere of low degrees, sounds like a kind of “poisoned major” or “major with a reverse sign” and can produce an even stronger impression than the minor. Let us note, however, that the Viennese classics use mainly the basic, primary possibilities of major and minor and do this more often in a catchy and generalized manner than in detail, because the Viennese classical harmony itself is the bearer of predominantly generalized musical expressiveness and musical logic.
It goes without saying, too, that major and minor in all their described functions operate within the framework of a system fixed by tradition, where they are compared, contrasted and serve to distinguish the corresponding shades of expression. The classical system used for its own purposes the fact of the existence of only two types of consonant triad, sharpening their difference to the expressiveness of semantic contrast.
On the one hand, the two main modes appear as equal in their opposite expressiveness, and this reflects a certain balance of opposite principles in various contrasts of reality. On the other hand, this equality is far from complete. For the life-affirming aesthetics of the Renaissance, and then the musical classics of the 18th century, considers darkness and shadow only as shading of light and evaluates grief and evil as if from the standpoint of joy and goodness, i.e. as a kind of distortion of the natural order of things.
The names of the two modes themselves also do not indicate their complete equality. The French names majeur and mineur mean greater (superior) and lesser (inferior). And if these names are associated with major and minor thirds, then the Italian designations dur and moll - hard and soft - acquire the meaning of expressive characteristics. P.I. Tchaikovsky gives the following characteristics of major and minor triads in his Guide to Harmony: “The minor third of a minor triad imparts to this chord the character of relative weakness, softness, so that triads of this kind, according to the meaning they have in harmony, cannot become along with major triads; they exist as if to serve as an excellent contrast to the strength and power of the latter.”
It is obvious that it is impossible to assert complete equality of hard and soft, strong and weak; The above quote directly speaks of the inequality of major and minor triads.
The minor, however, also has specific advantages over the major in terms of dynamic potentials: the strong, the higher does not strive to become weak, the lower; the weak and inferior usually would like to turn into the strong and superior. But the point is not in the names, but in the fact that the opposite emotions, with the embodiment of which major and minor are primarily associated, also have a clearly defined dynamic asymmetry. The state of grief does not satisfy a person; he wants it to pass and be replaced by another state. But he does not at all strive to replace joy with sadness. Ultimately connected with this is the dominance of the major over the minor in classical music, and the somewhat less stability of the minor compared to the major, as well as a certain tendency of the minor towards the major, but not vice versa. It goes without saying that all this has its equivalent in the material structure of major and minor.
The described unequal relationship is manifested in a number of related facts. For example, a huge number of minor classical works end in a major (in particular, many minor cyclic works have major endings), while there are very few counter examples.
In general, major plays often do without a contrasting minor theme or movement, while minor plays in most cases contain some kind of contrasting major episode. Finally, we add that for a number of classical composers - Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Glinka - the sheer number of major works far exceeds the number of minor ones. And this, of course, is connected with the fundamentals of the aesthetics of musical classicism.
Of all the elements of music, harmony alone developed already in the 18th century a huge variety of qualitatively different means, embodying greater or lesser stability and instability, tension and release, movement and relative rest, imbalance and its restoration, possible gravity and support. The variety of scales and forms of manifestation of this kind of relationship is one of the essential properties of classical harmony.
Of course, this or that selection of some main, supporting points and the grouping around them of other - unstable or less stable - moments are initially inherent in the art of music and serve as a necessary prerequisite for musical form. They disappear only under certain specific conditions, representing special, as it were, limiting cases. But that certainty of the opposition of stability and instability, that force of gravity of instability towards foundations, that rich differentiation of numerous phenomena related here and the complex multi-component system of their connections, subordination and subordination, which developed in classical harmony, is characteristic only of it.
Already within the tonic chord, there is a more stable form - the triad in its basic form - and a less stable form - the sixth chord. But the triad in its basic form can be given in different melodic positions, one of which (the position of the prima) is the most stable. In addition to the unequal degrees of tension of the main form of any chord and its various inversions, there is added a cardinal difference between consonance and dissonance, and consonance, resolving dissonance, is perceived as a moment of relative calm also in the case when the consonant chord is unstable in a given tonality, i.e. nontonic. Moreover: even a dissonant chord is capable of serving as a resolution of some greater tension determined by non-chord sounds, especially arrests, and thus, in addition to the opposition of consonance and dissonance. For classical harmony, it is also important to contrast the chords themselves as forms of more stable and so-called random harmonic combinations that gravitate and resolve into regular chords. Finally, chromatic elements introduced into chords and their sequences also create additional tension compared to the diatonic basis of the mode.
From this it is clear that while distinguishing the effects of modal color (major and minor) and modal-harmonic functions, they cannot, however, be separated from each other. It was mentioned above that the minor is inferior to the major not only in the lightness of color, but also in stability. This is partly due to the fact that among the Viennese classics the proportion of minor in the unstable parts of the form - developments, introductions, connecting parts, precursors - is higher than in stable parts (expositional, final). But to realize the dynamic and conflict-dramatic potential of the minor key, not only appropriate non-harmonic conditions are required, but also quite active changes in the harmonic functions themselves. In the same way, energetically emphasizing the tonic at the end of a work can not only assert stability and completeness, but also - even with a minor tonic - embody a feeling of victory, taming the elements, triumph of the human spirit, etc.
2) Possibilities for enlarging functional relationships in harmony (using the example of a comparative analysis of typical turnovers TD-TD, TD-DT)
But the real basis and at the same time the pearl of all this wealth is, of course, functionality in the strict sense of the word. Three functions - one tonic, stable and two qualitatively different unstable ones, dominant and subdominant, each of which (especially the second) has different degrees and forms of expression - create the possibility of changes in stability and instability at very different levels and make it possible to cover huge musical time periods, up to major works.
The tonic-dominant-dominant-tonic (TDDT) formula can be the basis of a two-beat period, an eight-beat period, or an entire ancient sonata form, and the pull of the dominant into the tonic is felt, albeit differently, in all cases. In the same way, the cadence formula of three chords - subdominant-dominant-tonic (SDT) - can expand into a sequence of three large constructions at the corresponding organ points, and into a comparison of three tonalities on a variety of scales, with a single current of harmonic or tonal tension holding all sections together into one whole.
After presenting and explaining the general provisions, it is appropriate to delve into the relationship of harmonic functions and thematics in more detail and using a specific example. We will not talk about the phonic effects of harmony, depending on the register, wide or close arrangement, hardness or softness of sound, not about the coloristic effects of changing major and minor, and not about the expressiveness of especially expressive, characteristic harmonies, but about the emotional impact of “ordinary” tonics and dominants , dominant in countless themes of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Glinka, Tchaikovsky and other classics. Consider the beginning of Mozart's Jupiter symphony. Here two contrasting motives are compared - the first on tonic, the second mainly on dominant harmony, after which these motives are repeated in the same order, but exchanging their harmonic functions. What emerges is a typical combination of thematic periodicity with harmonic symmetry, which is also found in the scales of the ancient sonata form: abab - TDDT. Since this exchange of harmonic functions did not change the nature of the contrast between the more decisive and softer motive to any noticeable extent, it is tempting to conclude that the harmonic functions here do not affect the direct expressiveness of the music, but have only a musical-logical significance, providing tonal closure and tonal unity of eight bars.
Firstly, harmony cannot play its logical role, completely bypassing the expressive role, because the feeling of foundation and instability, support and gravity, harmonic closedness and openness not only arise in music on the basis of sensory sound influence, but also have an emotional nature, representing like a specific kind of musical expressiveness. Secondly, although the contrast of two motives is actively formed here not by harmony, but by other means - dynamics, texture, timbre-register relationships, melodic pattern, rhythm, meter - harmony does not remain completely indifferent to it: each harmonic function has different expressive capabilities and, as it were, allows the motive sounding along with it to extract from it exactly that opportunity that corresponds to the nature of this motive.
Finally, the third and main circumstance is that the two contrasting motives have not only those features that distinguish them from each other, but also expressive properties common to both motives that unite them. These properties lie in the active, joyful, bright nature of the music; They are realized through the major mode, fast tempo, active bipartite metric pulsation, which has a great emotional and tonic value. The same range of means also includes harmonic functions: a clear comparison of tonic stability with the dominant instability gravitating towards it; the juxtaposition, which results in a single current of voltage from the starting point to the ending point, creates here a similar feeling of joyful energy.
3) Dialectics of tonal-thematic relationships in sonata form
If in the sphere of expressiveness the functional side of harmony is included in the circle of other, equally important means, then as a factor of formation, movement of form, its turns, its general logic, especially in a more or less large-scale plan, it surpasses any other element of musical language. We will talk about the sonata allegro.
Of the more or less large forms, only it is permeated from beginning to end with a single and continuous current of intense tonal-harmonic development.
Chapter 4. The problem of the relationship between the functionality of chords and their phonism. Take additional material from page 254. The connection between the functionality of chords and voice leading. “Melodic” and “harmonic” approaches to explaining the major mode
1) The problem of correlating the functionality of chords with their phonism
The concept of phonism of chords, which depends primarily on their intervallic composition (but also on the number of tones, their active doublings, location, register, volume), was introduced by Yu. N. Tyulin in his “Teaching of Harmony” (1937). Yu. N. Tyulin calls the phonism of a chord colorfulness, in contrast to the “modal function.” And although in the third edition of the book some clarifying differentiation of the concepts of phonism and colorfulness is given, usually these concepts are used by Yu. N. Tyulin as more or less equal.
In the “correlation of phonic and modal functions” Yu. N. Tyulin emphasizes a kind of inverse relationship: “... the more neutral a chord is in modal functional terms, the more clearly its colorful function is revealed, and vice versa: modal functional activity neutralizes its colorful function.”
The phonism of the chord itself, in turn, is also not completely homogeneous. It includes not only the intervallic composition of the chord (in its direct acoustic-psychological impact), but also timbre and volume. These latter elements could even be considered among the most “pure” carriers of phonism, since they, unlike the intervallic composition of the chord, do not evoke modal associations. But they are not specific to harmony; they represent independent elements of music. The specific side of phonism in the narrow sense, as a phenomenon related specifically to the field of harmony, is still the intervallic sound composition of the chord, including the number of tones, their location, and octave doublings.
The phonic (in the narrow sense) side of harmony has great musical and expressive significance and should be taken into account when analyzing both individual works and the style of various composers. For example, the special effect of softness and fullness of sound that Chopin achieved by a certain arrangement of chords on the piano is known - an arrangement that closely corresponds to the overtone series. This effect is classified as strictly phonic. It is also known that Beethoven sometimes resorted to such harsh sounds that Haydn and Mozart did not have. Sometimes this is manifested in the very intervallic composition of the chord: this is the famous chord in the finale of the Ninth Symphony a few bars before the first entry of the voice (all seven tones of the harmonic minor scale sound simultaneously in the chord). No less interesting, however, are the cases when typical Beethoven phonism makes itself felt when using the simplest harmonies - major and minor triads. For example, the first chord of the Pathétique Sonata is particularly impressive due to its f and the close placement of the seven tones of a minor triad in the low register of the piano (the exact same chord suddenly appears after a few pp bars - in the 22nd bar of Beethoven's earlier C minor sonata, op. 10 no. 1). This kind of phonism is not typical for the style of keyboard sonatas by Haydn and Mozart.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the role of harmonic colorfulness, and in particular phonism in the strict sense, in European music increased. The importance of timbre-texture and dynamic effects also increased. In the middle of the 20th century, even a special direction of music arose - sonorism, in which sounds as such, and not their mode-harmonic meaning or intervallic-melodic connections, are brought to the fore. This direction can be considered as a one-sided and extreme development of the phonic side that precedes music. Now it is still difficult to judge its prospects, in particular whether it is capable of being a more or less independent branch of art or whether it will be included in an evolutionary process that more obviously develops the general centuries-old traditions of musical culture.
Now about the two sides of harmony in a completely different sense: harmony as a result of the movement of voices and as a sequence of integral chord complexes. Since the laws of classical harmony have been formed, these two sides of it - the intonation-melodic and the chord proper - are equally important and, in principle, inseparable from each other. The intonation-melodic side associated with voice leading is characterized, in particular, by the inclination of unstable sounds predominantly towards tones adjacent in pitch. The chord side is manifested in the fact that individual harmonies, although their sequences are subject to certain norms of voicing, also appear as a definite unity, as relatively independent givens, possessing their own structural laws. At the same time, the mode-tonal system of chord connections, which also has its own internal logic, is based not only on second relationships in melodic voices, but primarily on the acoustic quarto-fifth relationship of the main tones of the chord.
How deep the interpenetration of the two sides of harmony is can be seen from the great role that the quarto-fifth combination of chords, especially triads, has acquired in classical music. This role is determined not only by the acoustic fifth relationship of the main tones, as one might think if we stand on a purely “chord” point of view, but also by the optimality of intonation-melodic relationships: triads have one common tone, and the rest of the melodic voices move smoothly (with a second However, when connecting triads, there is not a single common tone, and with a tertian one - within the diatonic scale - there are two of them, i.e. the amount of melodic movement turns out to be minimal and the connection is perceived as somewhat passive).
In theoretical musicology, the two sides of harmony were only recently clearly recognized in their differences and unity, in their diverse relationships. In the past, theoretical concepts and textbooks of harmony actually emphasized one of the sides, and if sometimes they spontaneously took both into account, then without stating the very fact of the existence of both of them.
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"The Idea of Musical Harmony"
1. Harmony in the surrounding world
2. The role of harmony in music
3. Chords
4. Consonances and dissonances
Conclusion
Literature
1. Harmony in the surrounding world
What do we usually understand by the word “harmony”? What phenomena around us do we characterize with this word? We talk about the harmony of the universe, meaning the beauty and perfection of the world (the area of scientific, natural and philosophical); we use the word “harmony” in connection with a person’s personality (harmonious nature), characterizing his spiritual internal integrity (ethico-psychological area); Finally, we call a work of art harmonious - poetry, prose, paintings, films, etc. - if we feel naturalness in them. organic, harmonious (this is an artistic and aesthetic area).
The philosophical and aesthetic concept of harmony has been developed since ancient times. Among the Greeks, it was reflected in myths about space and chaos, about Harmony. In the V-IV centuries. BC e. The first evidence of the use of the word “harmony” in a special musical theoretical sense is also noted. In Philolaus and Plato, “harmony” is the name given to the octave scale (type of octave), which was thought of as a combination of fourth and fifth. In Aristoxenus, “harmony” is the name given to one of the three - enharmonic - genera of melos.
In all these different areas, with the word “harmony” we have an idea of the consistency of the whole and parts, beauty, in short - that reasonable proportionality of principles”, which is the basis of everything perfect in life and art. Music is no exception here: accordion, harmony in a broad artistic and aesthetic sense characterizes every significant musical work and author's style.
2. The role of harmony in music
Since ancient times, the harmony of music has been associated with the harmony of the cosmos, and, as the philosopher I.A. Gerasimov, music also carried a certain philosophical meaning. only one who was in tune with the cosmic tone through his music could be considered a true musician
The question of why music was considered as something denoting the connection between the earthly and heavenly, the cosmic order and the earthly world requires turning to the concept of harmony. The very concept of harmony requires some additional decoding in this regard. Despite the fact that harmony from a technical point of view is traditionally associated primarily with music, the concept itself is much broader. When mentioning the harmony of the world, we mean its order and a certain perfect structure, a structure characterized primarily by its spatial arrangement. The concept of harmony thus extends to spatial figures. This is also evident from the presence of numerous references to architectural harmony. The reversibility of the concept of harmony is also reflected in the characterization of architecture as silent, frozen music. Despite all the metaphorical nature of these definitions, they reflect a completely recognizable and concrete combination and substitution of spatial and temporal characteristics. The geometric perception of sound is known, for example, contained in an ornament, characteristic of the Ancient East, or Pythagorean geometric images of harmonic sounds, which is only an illustration of the stability of the noted connection.
Music is a special type of modeling of the world, where it is considered as a perfect system. The latter sets it apart from other ideas about myth. Music has many meanings, but behind its multiplicity of meanings lies an unchanging framework of musical syntax, described by mathematical structures. Already in this duality, music is similar to both the world and science, speaking the clear language of mathematics, but trying to embrace the diversity of the changing world.
Musical harmony is one of the most harmoniously organized phenomena. The abstractness of sound requires super-concentrated logic - otherwise music would not say anything to people. One look at the modal and tonal systems, for example, can reveal to scientists from different fields possible models of harmonious organization, where in the limitless acoustic environment the instincts and aspirations of tones are born, permeated with the human creative spirit.
The ability of musical art to predict the greatest achievements of scientific thought is amazing. But no less amazing is the ability of music theory: appearing with a natural delay, it steadily steps into its lane on the basis of predicted scientific booms in order to master them in detailed musical theoretical systems
The concept of harmony in music dates back approximately 2,500 years. Our traditional concept of harmony (and the corresponding interpretation of the most important compositional and technical discipline) as the science of chords in the major-minor tonal system developed mainly by the beginning of the 18th century.
Let's turn to ancient Greek mythology. Harmony was the daughter of Ares, the god of war and discord, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. That is why the combination of insidious and destructive force and the all-encompassing force of eternal youth, life and love is the basis of balance and peace personified by Harmony. And harmony in music almost never appears in its finished form, but, on the contrary, is achieved in development, struggle, formation.
The Pythagoreans very deeply and with endless persistence understood musical harmony as consonance, and consonance - necessarily as a fourth, fifth and octave in comparison with the fundamental tone. Some people also declared duodecima, that is, the combination of an octave and a fifth, or even two octaves, to be a consonance. Basically, however, it was the fourth, fifth and octave that appeared everywhere, primarily as consonances. This was an inexorable demand of ancient hearing, which clearly and very persistently, first of all, considered the fourth, fifth and octave to be consonances, and we need to take this demand into account as an irrefutable historical fact.
Subsequently, the concept of harmony retained its semantic basis (“logos”), but specific ideas about harmony as pitch coherence were dictated by evaluative criteria that were relevant for a given historical era of music. As polyphonic music developed, harmony was divided into “simple” (single-voice) and “composite” (polyphonic; in the treatise of the English theorist W. Odington, “Summa of the Theory of Music,” early 14th century); later, harmony began to be interpreted as the doctrine of chords and their connections (in G. Tsarlino, 1558, - the theory of the chord, major and minor, major or minor of all modes; in M. Mersenne, 1636-1637, - ideas of world harmony, the role of the bass as the foundation of harmony, the discovery of the phenomenon of overtones in the composition of musical sound).
Sound in music is the initial element, the core from which a piece of music is born. But an arbitrary order of sounds cannot be called a work of art, that is, the presence of initial elements is not beauty. Music, real music, only begins when its sounds are organized according to the laws of harmony - natural laws to which a musical work inevitably obeys. I would like to note that this art is important not only in music, but also in any other field. Having learned harmony, you can easily apply it both in ordinary life and in magical life.
The presence of harmony is noticeable in any work. In its highest, harmonious manifestations, it acts as a continuously flowing light, in which, undoubtedly, there is a reflection of unearthly, divine harmony. The flow of music bears the stamp of sublime peace and balance. This does not mean, of course, that there is no dramatic development in them, that the hot pulse of life is not felt. In music, absolutely serene states rarely arise.
The science of harmony in the new sense of the word, as the science of chords and their successions, essentially begins with the theoretical works of Rameau.
In Rameau's works there is a clear tendency towards a natural scientific explanation of musical phenomena. He strives to derive the laws of music from a single foundation given by nature. This turns out to be a “sounding body” - a sound that includes a number of partial tones. “There is nothing more natural,” writes Rameau, “than what directly comes from tone” (136, p. 64). Rameau recognizes the principle of harmony as the basic sound (fundamental bass), from which intervals and chords are derived. It also determines the connections of consonances in a mode, the relationships of tonalities. The chord is conceived by Rameau as an acoustic and functional unity. He derives the basic, normative consonant triads for his time from three intervals contained in the overtone series: the perfect fifth, the major and minor thirds. The basic interval of fifths can be divided in various ways into two thirds, which gives major and minor triads, and thereby two modes - major and minor (134, p. 33). Rameau recognizes the main type of chord as a chord built in thirds. Others are seen as his conversions. This brought unprecedented order to the understanding of harmonic phenomena. From the so-called triple proportion, Rameau deduces the fifth ratios of three triads. He revealed the essentially functional nature of harmonic connections and classified harmonic sequences and cadences. He found that the process of musical development is controlled harmoniously.
Having correctly grasped the dependence of melody on harmonic logic, which is truly characteristic of classical music, Rameau unilaterally absolutized this position, not wanting to notice and take into account in his theory the dynamic role of melody, which alone could endow the classically balanced model of harmony he proposed with genuine movement. It was precisely in the one-sidedness of Rameau, faced with the no less one-sided position of J.-J. Rousseau, who asserted the primacy of melody, is the reason for the famous dispute between Rameau and Rousseau.
Music theory uses the word “harmony” in a strictly defined sense.
Harmony is understood as one of the main aspects of the musical language, associated with the unification of sounds at the same time (so to speak, with a vertical “cut” of the musical fabric), and the unification of consonances with each other (horizontal “cut”). Harmony is a complex area of musical expressiveness; it combines many elements of musical speech - melody, rhythm, and guides the laws of development of the work.
In order to get an initial, most general idea of harmony, let’s start with a specific example, remembering the theme of Grieg’s play “Homesickness.” Let's listen to it, paying special attention to the harmonies that make up the accompaniment.
First of all, we will notice that all consonances are different: both in their composition (in some there are three different sounds, in others - four), and in the sound quality, the impression made - from soft, rather calm (the first), “durable”, stable (second, last) to the most intense, unstable (third, sixth, seventh) with a large number of intermediate shades between them. Such different consonances give a rich coloring to the melodic voice, giving it such emotional nuances that it does not possess on its own.
We will further discover that the consonances, although separated by pauses, are closely interconnected with each other, some naturally transform into others. Any arbitrary rearrangement will disrupt this connection and disrupt the natural sound of the music.
Let us pay attention to one more feature of harmony in this example. The melody without accompaniment breaks up into four separate phrases, their similarity serves to dismember the melody. And the accompaniment, built on different consonances, moreover, sequentially connected with each other, as if flowing from one another, masks this similarity, removes the effect of “literal” repetition, and as a result we perceive the entire theme as a single, renewed and developing one. Finally, only in the unity of melody and accompaniment do we get a clear idea of the completeness of the theme: after a series of rather tense chords, a calmer final one creates a feeling of the end of the musical thought. Moreover, this feeling is much more distinct and significant in comparison with the feeling produced by the end of just one melody.
Thus, in this one example it is obvious how diverse and significant the role of harmony is in a musical work. From our brief analysis it is clear that two sides are equally important in harmony - the sound combinations that arise and their connection with each other.
So, harmony is a certain system of combinations of sounds vertically into consonances and a system of connecting these consonances with each other.
The term “harmony” in relation to music originated in Ancient Greece and meant certain relationships of sounds. And since the music of those times was monophonic, these natural relationships were derived from the melody - from the succession of sounds one after another (that is, in terms of melodic intervals). Over time, the concept of harmony has changed. This happened with the development of polyphony, with the appearance of not one, but several voices, when the question arose about their consistency in simultaneous sounding.
Music of the 20th century developed a slightly different concept of harmony, which is associated with considerable difficulties in its theoretical understanding and which, accordingly, constitutes one of the most important special problems of the modern doctrine of harmony.
Moreover, the perception of a particular chord as harmony (that is, consonance) or as a set of unrelated sounds depends on the musical experience of the listener. Thus, to an unprepared listener, the harmony of 20th century music may seem like a chaotic set of sounds taken at the same time.
Let's take a closer look at the means of harmony, considering first the properties of individual consonances, and then the logic of their combinations.
3. Chords
Among the limitless number of possible harmonic combinations (and perhaps, in principle, any sound combination) in music, chords stand out for their organization - such consonances that are built according to thirds. The tertiary principle of chord structure, which seems very natural, did not take shape in music right away; it was formed gradually as imperfect consonances (thirds, sixths) came into use.
The music of the Middle Ages was mainly focused on harmonies of perfect consonances (quarts, fifths, octaves). Now we perceive them as “empty”, they have a special sounding flavor for us and are used in cases where the composer wants to emphasize the effect of a booming, empty space in music. This is how, for example, Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony begins, illustrating with music the emptiness of the huge Palace Square.
The most important representative of the tonic group of chords is the triad from the first degree (T5/3), which implements the function of stability, peace, and stability. This chord is the goal of any chord progression. The chords of the subdominant and dominant groups are unstable, but in different ways. The chords of the dominant group sound tense and sharply tend to resolve into the tonic. The most pronounced chord of the dominant group is the triad from the fifth degree (D5/3). The chords of the subdominant group sound softer, less tense compared to the chords of the dominant group. The main chord of the subdominant group is the triad from the fourth degree (S5/3).
As the harmonic progression develops, each subsequent chord has a more intense sound compared to the previous chord. This leads to the basic rule that is used when constructing a chord progression: the chords of the subdominant group cannot follow the chords of the dominant group. Any chord progression tends to resolve to the tonic. T-S-D-T is a template according to which a harmonic revolution is built (it can be complete, but it can also be incomplete, i.e. it can contain only the tonic and chords of the subdominant group, or only the tonic and chords of the dominant group).
The tertian principle of chord structure became fundamental in classical harmony of the 18th-19th centuries. The pattern in the construction of chords that has become stable is explained by many reasons - acoustic, physiological, characteristics of perception - and is confirmed by long-term musical practice. This principle does not lose its significance in the music of our days, although other principles arise along with it, and today harmonies of the most varied structures are often called chords.
The most important, most common chords are triads, major and minor. Let us recall that a triad is a chord consisting of two thirds and having a fifth between the extreme voices.
Consistent harmony and fullness of sound with a minimum number of non-repeating sounds, relief of modal coloring (major - minor) - all this distinguishes the considered triads. They are the most universal of all chords, their range of application is unusually wide, and their expressive possibilities are multifaceted.
However, major and minor are not the only triads encountered in musical practice. Two identical thirds (and not different, as before) give other variants of triads: two large ones - an increased triad, two small ones - a decreased one.
It is known that the more individual the phenomenon (including the chord), the more limited the scope of its application due to its vivid specificity. Indeed, each of these chords has a specific color and therefore a very specific range of expressive possibilities.
An enlarged triad, for example, often carries a mysteriously enchanted flavor. With its help, the composer can create the impression of fantastic fabulousness, unreality of what is happening, and sound frozenness. Many episodes of music using increased triads can be found in Rimsky-Korsakov. For example, an increased triad underlies both the harmony and melody of Kashcheevna’s theme (a fairy-tale character from the opera “Kashchei the Immortal”):
In the theme of the Sea Princess from the opera “Sadko”, the supporting chord is also an increased triad.
A diminished triad, in contrast to an enlarged one, is used in artistic practice as an independent harmony very rarely.
The chords of their four sounds, formed by adding a major or minor third to a triad, are called seventh chords (their outer sounds make up a seventh). The type of triad underlying the seventh chord and the size of the third added to the triad (major or minor) determine one of the four most common types of seventh chord.
Small minor seventh chord Small major seventh chord
Diminished seventh chord
Perhaps the most definite expressive effect is that of the diminished seventh chord (similar in sound to the diminished triad, but more concentrated, “condensed” in comparison with it). It is used to express moments of confusion, emotional tension, and fear in music. Thus, a sudden blow of a diminished seventh chord disrupts the light, major coloring of the restrained, focused, lyrical second movement of Beethoven’s “Appassionata” and the uncontrollable whirlwind of the dramatic finale of the sonata bursts in:
Diminished seventh chords form the basis of the harmony of the beginning of Beethoven's Pathetic Sonata, the very name of which speaks about the nature of its main image:
A diminished seventh chord abruptly interrupts the wedding ceremony in Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh”: one of the dynamic and alarming choruses sounds - “Oh, trouble is coming, people,” all built on a diminished seventh chord.
Grieg’s already mentioned play “Homesickness” begins with a very common small minor seventh chord, sounding very soft and elegant.
One of the inversions (see about the inversion of chords below) of the seventh chord with a diminished fifth is part of the harmony of the opening theme of Mozart's G minor symphony - lyrical, elegiacally excited.
Naturally, all chords - both triads and seventh chords - in their structure contain only the prerequisites for one or another artistic effect. In a specific composition, using a number of techniques, the composer can enhance the original, “natural” properties of the chord or, on the contrary, dampen them. The expressiveness of a particular chord depends on the entire musical context - melody, arrangement of voices in chords, register (and if it is instrumental music, then timbre), tempo, volume, etc. For example, the same major triad in the finale of the Fifth Symphony Beethoven sounds like a solemn, jubilant hymn.
At the beginning of Wagner’s opera “Lohengrin” it is perceived differently - transparent, unsteady, airy.
In the theme of love from Tchaikovsky’s symphonic poem “Romeo and Juliet,” major triads color the theme in enlightened tones: this is a lyrically excited, reverent image.
The soft and shaded minor triad also provides a wide emotional range of sound - from the calm lyricism of Varlamov’s romance “At dawn, don’t wake her up” to the deep sorrow of the funeral procession.
Thus, only in combination with many musical techniques is the specific character of the sound of the chords revealed and the artistic result desired by the composer is achieved.
In particular, for harmony as such, the arrangement of chord sounds in registers is of great importance. A chord whose tones are taken compactly, concentrated in a small volume, gives the effect of a denser sound. This arrangement of sounds is called cramped. And vice versa, a chord spread out, with a large space between the voices, sounds three-dimensional, booming. This arrangement is called wide. In artistic practice (and especially if the composer writes for a symphony orchestra, where the possibilities of using registers are very large), the effects caused by different arrangements of chords are almost limitless.
In connection with chords, another point is important, affecting their sound, character and meaning. It is related to which of the chord tones is located in the lowest voice. If the root tone is there, it gives the most defined sound to the chord, and if the third or fifth tone of the chord sounds in the bass, then the overall sound changes somewhat.
A triad can have two inversions: a sixth chord and a quarter-sex chord:
Rice. Inversions of triads
sextacord quartersextachord
The sixth chord, in comparison with the triad, seems to be perceived more lightly; the third tone predisposes the bass to melodic mobility. Therefore, sixth chords are usually used in the middle of musical constructions, at moments of harmonic development. The quartsex chord has a certain activity and intensity of sound and therefore is used as a “stimulant” for achieving final stability at the moment of completion of a particular musical structure.
Thus, the triad of the same sound composition can - with the help of different arrangements and inversions - give a whole series of expressive shades. Naturally, the inversions of seventh chords carry even more different nuances. There are three of these requests:
The use of different inversions of triads and seventh chords, among other things, helps the composer achieve smooth leading of voices. If we turn to the theme of the finale of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (example 50), we will see that both the major triad and the minor major seventh chord are used here in their basic form, without inversions. At the same time, the bass moves in large leaps, which also contributes to the creation of a decisive, courageous character. In contrast, a smooth bass lead usually involves the use of chord inversions and almost always a softer tone (see bass movement in examples 74o and 193).
Of course, music uses not only harmonies built by thirds. For example, in Borodin’s famous romance “The Sleeping Princess,” long-second consonances play a huge expressive role:
Replacing the main chords, as if blurring the triad base (A-flat - before - E-flat nowhere sounds in a “pure” form), longer-second consonances complicate and enrich the harmony. Without these seconds, the music would sound everyday and straightforward, but Borodin strives for a mysterious, subdued image.
The role of non-tertian consonances in modern music is great, where we find almost any harmonic combinations (along with “classical” tertian ones). Such, for example, is the children's play “Barmaley's March” by S. Slonimsky. It is based on quart consonances, which in this case impart a humorous tone to the music:
S. Slonimsky. March of Barmaley. Soon, very rhythmically
4. Consonances and dissonances
All harmonic consonances used in music differ not only in the principles of structure, but also in the number of sounds included in them. There is another important criterion that is easy to understand by comparing, say, the major and augmented triads that are already familiar to us. The first sounds more consistent, harmonious, united, and can create a feeling of peace. These types of chords are called consonances. The second sounds more sharply, its sounds seem to contradict each other, it evokes the need for further movement - such consonances are called dissonances."
The word “consonance” translated from Latin means a consonant sound, and “dissonance” means a discordant, “non-consonant” sound. Hence, by the way, the use of the last word in colloquial speech to denote phenomena that violate the order established by the system, etc.
The division of consonances into consonances and dissonances, which arose in musical science back in the Middle Ages, began with double sounds - intervals. Consonances include pure octaves, fifths, fourths - acoustically most naturally arising from the first, lowest overtones - they are called perfect, as well as thirds and sixths (imperfect consonances). Dissonances - second and seventh, as well as augmented and diminished fourths, fifths, octaves. In the folk song “Dries, Withers”, in the second bar you can find various intervals - major and minor thirds, fourth, fifth.
Among the chords, consonances will be major and minor triads, consisting of consonant intervals, dissonances will be increased and decreased triads, seventh chords and other consonances, including dissonant intervals.
Despite the enormous importance of consonant chords in organizing harmonic movement, harmony has never been reduced to the succession of consonances alone - this would have deprived the music of aspiration, gravity, and would have slowed down the progress of musical thought. Not a single piece of music can be built solely on euphonious combinations. Dissonance is the most important stimulator of development in music.
The relationship between dissonance and consonance is one of the most important principles of classical music.
Various dissonances found in music, despite their “natural” harshness, are used in a fairly wide expressive range; By means of dissonant harmony, not only the effects of tension and sharpness of sound are achieved, but with its help you can also obtain a soft, shaded color (as was the case in Borodin’s romance), which will turn out to be more colorful and more refined than consonantal harmony could provide.
One of the most important features of dissonances is that, being “inconsistent,” they seem to deprive the music of a sense of peace and require movement, which is usually associated with the need for the transition of dissonance into consonance, its resolution. Let's return again to the chords of Grieg's well-known piece. The first and penultimate chords are dissonances (seventh chords), although the first sounds softer, the second sharper, and both of them resolve into subsequent consonances: the first into a tonic sixth chord, the second into a tonic triad. We see similar patterns of resolution, in particular in Beethoven's Pathétique Sonata, where the diminished seventh chord resolves in the first measure into a triad, and in the second and third measures into a sixth chord.
Of course, not every time dissonance is immediately followed by consonance. There may be a rather long sequence of dissonances - thus tension in harmony accumulates, the need for resolution increases. Ultimately, at the conclusion of a musical phrase or construction, the movement will come to one or another consonance (thus, five dissonant consonances precede the consonant triad that concludes Grieg’s theme.
Throughout the history of musical practice, the perception of dissonance has changed. First, there was a long process of consolidating dissonances as independent consonances, then, thanks to the duration and frequency of use, many of the dissonances became so familiar that their dissonance was noticeably softened. Such, for example, is a minor major seventh chord, built on the 5th degree of the mode - the so-called dominant seventh chord (which includes one of the most intense intervals - the tritone, which seemed to be the “devil in music” in the Middle Ages). Over the past three centuries, this chord has become extremely widespread, and its dissonance has become little noticeable, familiar, and has lost the sharpness that it had at the time this chord appeared in music. The dissonant small minor seventh chord sounds very soft.
However, despite all the nuances of perception of dissonances, their meaning and meaning in classical music does not change; The pattern of movement from dissonance to consonance does not change either. Only in our century does dissonance become more autonomous - not only does it not require resolution, but sometimes it also plays the role of those stable supports in music that previously served only consonances. Under certain conditions, we perceive some dissonant combinations as independent, not necessarily causing the appearance of consonance. For example, when the main triad, with which the work usually begins, is complicated by additional (so-called non-chord) sounds. For example, in Debussy’s play “The Puppet Cake-Walk” 1, even before the introduction of the melody of the main theme, a dance accompaniment sounds, based on a triad complicated by dissonant layers in the key of E-flat major:
With the help of “extra”, dissonant sound F a cheerful, teasing consonance is formed, so in keeping with the playful and slightly humorous nature of the play.
The beginning of Sviridov’s cantata to the words of Pasternak “It’s snowing” has a different character - the music captures the tranquility of a soft winter landscape:
In creating a musical image, harmony plays an important role - alternating triads (re - F sharp - la And si - re - F-sharp), complicated by additional, dissonant sounds, characterized by special shading; every chord sounds as if in a haze.
Conclusion
Probably, the contradictory nature of harmony is the reason that musical harmony is almost entirely built on opposites. Light major and sad minor are opposites; consonance with its consonant sound opposes dissonance with its angular tension - such is the ever-intense, dynamic and changeable world of musical harmony.
In essence, harmony in a piece of music expresses aspirations and suffering, dreams and hopes, anxieties and thoughts - everything that human life is full of. The fundamental ability of musical harmony is the ability to convey various shades of human feelings, sometimes directly opposite. After all, harmony at all times was based on modes that differed in their expressive meaning. Already ancient Greek philosophers argued about the nature of the influence of musical modes, recognizing that a change in even one sound within a mode leads to an opposite assessment of its expressiveness. And this is true. Major and minor triads differ only in one sound, but they sound completely different.
The world of human feelings, everything high and low, beautiful and ugly that is in the human soul - everything is reflected in musical art. Turning specifically to this figurative sphere led to the fact that musical harmony discovered inexhaustible artistic riches, a variety of expressive means and techniques. Truly, the world of the human soul represents an inexhaustible treasury of all kinds of miracles that cannot be found anywhere else.
In music addressed to human feelings, not only the juxtaposition of major and minor, capable of expressing changes in moods and images, has reached an unprecedented flowering, but also dissonant harmonies, conveying the roughness of appearance and character, the contradictions of a person’s inner world, conflicts and clashes between people.
Harmony always arises from opposites and contradictions where there is love. After all, harmony is the true soul of art, its beauty and truth.
Literature
1. Kholopov Yu. N., Harmony. Theoretical course, M., 1988.
2. Harmony: Theoretical course: Textbook. - St. Petersburg: Lan Publishing House, 2003. - 544 p., ill. - (Textbooks for universities. Special literature).
3. Book about music: Popular essays./ Comp. G. Golovinsky, M. Roiterstern - M.; Publishing house Sov. Composer, 1988
4. T.B. Romanov Music, inaudible music, inaudible in music and science.
"Kzk-walk is a popular ballroom and passion dance at the beginning of our century.
ABSTRACT on music theory “Imagination of musical harmony” Contents 1. Harmony in the surrounding world 2. The role of harmony in music 3. Chords 4. Consonances and dissonances Conclusion Literature 1. Harmony in the surrounding world What do we usually understand by the word “harmony”? What phenomena around us do we characterize with this word? We talk about the harmony of the universe, meaning the beauty and perfection of the world (the area of scientific, natural and philosophical); we use the word “harmony” in connection with a person’s personality (harmonious nature), characterizing his spiritual internal integrity (ethico-psychological area); and finally, we call a work of art harmonious - poetry, prose, paintings, films, etc. - if we feel naturalness in them. organic, harmonious (this is an artistic and aesthetic area). The philosophical and aesthetic concept of harmony has been developed since ancient times.
Among the Greeks, it was reflected in myths about space and chaos, about Harmony.
In the V-IV centuries. BC e. The first evidence of the use of the word “harmony” in a special musical theoretical sense is also noted. In Philolaus and Plato, “harmony” is the name given to the octave scale (type of octave), which was thought of as a combination of fourth and fifth. In Aristoxenus, “harmony” is the name given to one of the three - enharmonic - genera of melos. In all these different areas, with the word “harmony” we have an idea of the consistency of the whole and parts, beauty, in short - that reasonable proportionality of principles”, which is the basis of everything perfect in life and art.
Music is no exception here: accordion, harmony in a broad artistic and aesthetic sense characterizes every significant musical work and author's style. 2.
The role of harmony in music
Music has many meanings, but behind the multiplicity of its meanings lies an unchanging... Over time, the concept of harmony has changed. In artistic practice (and especially if the composer writes for a symphonic... Therefore, sixth chords are usually used in the middle of musical constructions... Over the past three centuries, this chord has become extremely widespread...
Conclusion Probably, the contradictory nature of harmony is the reason that musical harmony is almost entirely built on opposites.
Light major and sad minor are opposites; consonance with its consonant sound opposes dissonance with its angular tension - such is the ever-intense, dynamic and changeable world of musical harmony.
In essence, harmony in a piece of music expresses aspirations and suffering, dreams and hopes, anxieties and thoughts - everything that human life is full of. The fundamental ability of musical harmony is the ability to convey various shades of human feelings, sometimes directly opposite.
After all, harmony at all times was based on modes that differed in their expressive meaning. Already ancient Greek philosophers argued about the nature of the influence of musical modes, recognizing that a change in even one sound within a mode leads to an opposite assessment of its expressiveness. And this is true. Major and minor triads differ only in one sound, but they sound completely different. The world of human feelings, everything high and low, beautiful and ugly that is in the human soul, everything is reflected in musical art.
Turning specifically to this figurative sphere led to the fact that musical harmony discovered inexhaustible artistic riches, a variety of expressive means and techniques. Truly, the world of the human soul represents an inexhaustible treasury of all kinds of miracles that cannot be found anywhere else. In music addressed to human feelings, not only the juxtaposition of major and minor, capable of expressing changes in moods and images, has reached an unprecedented flowering, but also dissonant harmonies, conveying the roughness of appearance and character, the contradictions of a person’s inner world, conflicts and clashes between people.
Harmony always arises from opposites and contradictions where there is love. After all, harmony is the true soul of art, its beauty and truth. Literature 1. Kholopov Yu. N. Harmony. Theoretical course, M 1988. 2. Harmony: Theoretical course: Textbook. - St. Petersburg: Lan Publishing House, 2003 544 with illus. - (Textbooks for universities.
Special literature). 3. Book about music: Popular essays./ Comp. G. Golovinsky, M. Roiterstern - M.; Publishing house Sov. Composer, 1988 4. T.B. Romanov Music, inaudible music, inaudible in music and science.
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Music is an integral part of our lives and accompanies us almost everywhere - it sounds on TV and radio, in theater and cinema. People's taste preferences in this matter are different. Some people like classics, while others like hard rock or pop, or a varied combination of them.
Harmony as a science
In any matter there is such a thing as harmony. Many works have been written on this topic in different time periods. The main associations that arise with this word are calmness and tranquility. It can be traced literally in all spheres of human activity and in the philosophical foundations of the universe.
Many cultural and religious principles of various peoples of the world praise and consider it the basis of human life. Harmony with oneself fills life with meaning and creates favorable conditions for its development and maintaining connections with other people.
Music and harmony
Harmony in music is no exception. The harmonious sound of instruments in an orchestra or group, pleasant to the ear motifs that you want to hum and listen to over and over again... The combination of many notes, tones and keys also includes this concept. There is even a whole science that answers the question of what musical harmony is.
It describes and studies certain rules and patterns of comparing notes in different styles and keys from a technical and compositional point of view. Their consonance determines the logical sequence. There are several areas in which the definition of “harmony in music” is applied:
- Musical mode.
- Style.
- Accordica.
- Individual specificity of author's works.
It reveals and denotes a peculiar relationship and interconnection of various rather specific musical and artistic elements and combinations inherent in music.
With all the simultaneous sincerity, eccentricity, and classical construction of the works, they are connected by the highest logic of the combination of sounds. It helps various compositions speak and convey the author’s message to listeners. Without such high organization and compliance with many rules, laws and concepts, numerous world musical masterpieces would not have been born.
History of the musical concept
Music has been around for a long time. People have been studying sounds and their combinations since ancient times. Although the concept itself was somewhat different from the modern one. It contained a deeper philosophical meaning. Therefore, harmony in music was considered as a combination of music and the Universe, cosmic harmony, which should coincide with the human soul. There was even a comparison between music and architecture as its static manifestation, in which harmony and coherence of forms, materials and all elements also reigned.
Music in its various manifestations is a unique way of modeling the world, a way of life, which famous and not so famous musicians and composers saw in their own way and tried to embody. It is worth noting that the creation and study of music and its laws is directly related to human speech, its logic, consistency, purity, frequency and intonation.
The chronology of the study of this concept dates back to Ancient Rome and China, and is gradually gaining momentum in its expansion. This is also related to the study of the concepts of sound, intervals, keys, modes, and modalities. The greatest study and development of the concept of harmony appeared in the Middle Ages, in the mid-16th century, and develops until modern musical and scientific discoveries. As new musical instruments were discovered, the form of development from a single-voice sound combination to multi-voice music became more complex. And the term “harmony in music” also underwent changes.
Properties of harmony
Notes are transformed into sounds, then tones and chords arise, and a work is born. It is quite difficult for a person who does not carefully study the musical device to determine the degree of combination of all elements. The ear is the perception of melody and motive. Tragic, romantic, comedic genre of works... Through the close connection of sounds, the mood, emotional experiences of the characters or the author who experiences everything are conveyed.
For a long time, cinema was accompanied only by music played by musicians, conveying messages through it and revealing the additional capabilities of actors who worked only with the help of facial expressions. In this vein, we can safely say that the harmony of the soul is music in any of its manifestations.
Manifestation of Harmony
If we talk about its manifestations, they are built on opposites and close connections of a number of elements. They seem to repeat human nature, in which there is so much coherence and disagreement at the same time. This is what gives musical harmony such inconsistency, complete interconnection and complementation of sounds, tones, chords and modes.