Category: lectureNotes_musth4

Transposition Transposition of pitch-class sets is by ordered pitch-class interval. Before going any further, consider the implications of that first statement. Transposition is by pitch class, which means that a transposition could contain octave displacements and still be a transposition. Transposition is by ordered pitch-class interval, which means that we always count the transposition distance…

The first thing to do with a collection of pitches, a pitch-class set, is to arrange the pitch classes into a form that can be used to compare one set to another. The first order of arrangement is Normal Form, which arranges the pitch classes in ascending order, starting with the pitch class that gives…

Moving slowly into non-serial atonality, let’s start with the basics. Octave Equivalence Octave equivalence is really a hold over from basic music theory. We hear pitches in octaves as being functionally the same. C in one register is the same analytically as C in another register. What we’re really doing is still pointing out the…

Tempo modulation deserves its own special post, if at least only to fully explain the math used to calculate new tempi. To review, tempo modulation involves a new grouping of some subdivision of the pulse. For example, a quarter-note pulse can be divided into four sixteenth notes. If those sixteenth notes are are accented in…

Brief (very brief) aspects of rhythm and meter from chapter six. Syncopation Syncopation occurs when an accent comes at an unexpected moment, or when an expected event fails to occur. Written and Perceived Meter Sometimes, owing to syncopation, we hear (perceive) a meter that is different from what is written. Changing Meter 20th- and 21st-century…

This a quick condensing of Chapter 5. Progression and Harmony There is no common language for harmonic progressions in the 20th/21st century. Most composers that use tertian harmonies avoid root movements by fifth, and rely mainly on progressions that provide unexpected surprises. Some composers avoid focusing on the harmonic aspect, preferring to focus on linear…

General Naming and Issues of Identification Some people avoid the word chords for non-tertian structures. For our purposes, we can use the terms chords, verticalities, and sonorities interchangeably. With all the chord types now possible, it can be difficult to properly identify the type, or construction, of any give chord. Musical context will be of prime importance, and there…

Derek Johnson has assembled audio files to match all of the musical examples in the Kostka text. You can download the collection as a zip file: http://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/kkothman/BSU_SHARED/212/Kostka.M&T.MusicalExamples.ver.1.0.zip Having these, and listening to them will be very helpful as you read through the text.

Kostka categorizes scale formations according to the number of notes in the scale. For our purposes, you should keep track of the following (for each scale): The possibility of triads and seventh chords in the scale. What modes, if any, are possible with a given scale. How many transpositions of the scale are possible. For…

Let’s pretend that somehow we’ll be able to function on Wednesday, and that we’ll have our quiz. Let’s recap the material we’ve covered so far. Chopin Prelude No. 4: non-functional voice harmonic progressions, chromatic voice-leading, and implied tonality. Chromatic Sequences: descending circle-of-fifths, ascending 5-6, and omnibus. Integer notation, transposition, and equal divisions of the octave.…