HARMONY & TONALITY (BAROQUE PERIOD)

General characteristics of harmony and tonality in the Baroque period

Music throughout the early to mid-Baroque was composed using modes. The
move to establishing a system of 12 major and minor keys took place within
the mid- to late Baroque period. By the end of the Baroque, moving into the
early Classical period, composers were writing music in keys not modes.
Chords were usually diatonic - major or minor - with the occasional use of
chromaticisms to give added ‘colour’ to chords.
The use of ground bass was common in many compositions by Johann
Sebastian Bach and George Frederick Handel.
Tonality
The development of equal temperament enabled the 12 major and minor
keys to be established. This was the most significant thing to happen to the
tonality of Baroque music.
Harmony
The chords used in major and minor tonalities were also major or minor - or
diatonic.
Ground bass
The use of ground bass was common in the Baroque period. Composers would
use a ground bass to structure their music. They made the harmonies above
the ground bass change, and the placement of the phrases also varied. One of
the most well-known examples of a ground bass is in “Dido’s Lament”, from
Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.
Passacaglia
The passacaglia is a type of composition which contains a ground bass. Bach
wrote many such pieces, particularly for organ.