Lecture #12: September 21, 2020

Reminders:

◦ Exam I grades should be posted by Thursday!

◦ Today we begin Unit II!

◦ Please make sure you see the Unit II page on Canvas for day-to-day information.

◦ Assignment #4 is due this Thursday, September 24.

◦ Please make sure you have a copy of the textbook and workbook by now! I can’t post additional chapters on Canvas.
 The Beginnings of Functional Harmony
Tonic Triad (I or i) Dominant Triad (V)
Scale degrees 1 (root), 3 (third), and 5 (fifth) Scale degrees 5 (root) , 7 (third), and 2 (fifth)

D: I V
Notice the presence of the leading tone in the dominant triad—
it is a very important and special member of the chord.

Functional Harmony: the particular relationship between chords, and, most importantly, their relationship with tonic (the tonal
The Beginnings of Functional Harmony
Dominant to Tonic: the relationship between these two triads is
extremely strong; in fact, it’s the strongest relationship in tonal music
for two reasons:
Reason #1: the root motion by a Perfect Fifth is particularly
strong (think circle-of-fifths), and it dates back to the advent
of the tonal system and tonal hierarchy—that is, that some
chords are “more important” than others.
Tonic is most important; dominant is second.

Reason #2: the dominant triad contains the leading tone,

which strengthens its affinity for resolving to tonic.
The leading tone is a “tendency tone.”
D: V I
 The Beginnings of Functional Harmony
Tendency Tones: “active” scale degrees that have an affinity for resolving or
progressing to other scale degrees.

Tendency of the dominant triad:

7 (strongest): always progresses to 1 if in the soprano

(may progress to 1 or 5 if in the alto or tenor)
2: may progress to 1 or 3 in the soprano, alto, or tenor
5: almost always progresses to 1 if in the bass; sometimes 3
often maintained as a common tone if in soprano, alto, and tenor
 The Beginnings of Functional Harmony
7 1

2 3
Tonic to Dominant, in
four voices (SATB).
5 5

1
5

D: V I
 “Leading Tone Drop”: 7 skips down by third to 5. This is fine in an inner voice, but not in the soprano!

The Beginnings of Functional Harmony

2 1 2 1

5 5 3
3
7 7 1
5

1 1
5 5

D: V I D: V I
The Beginnings of Functional Harmony

All of these principles apply in minor keys, too.

Just remember to raise the leading tone, please!
(If you don’t, the music is no longer “functional.”)
Cadences: Where Tonic and Dominant Join

Cadence: a musical arrival point, and a marker of musical repose,

that occurs at the end of a phrase.

Two Categories: Authentic and Half

Cadences: Where Tonic and Dominant Join
Category 1: Authentic Cadence (AC)

Two subcategories: Perfect Authentic Cadence (PAC)

Imperfect Authentic Cadence (IAC)
Ugh… Avoid.
PAC IAC
Melody: 2–1 or 7–1 2–3 or 5–5
Harmony: V–I (or i) V–I (or i)
Full harmonic and melodic closure Full harmonic closure, but
weak melodic closure
Cadences: Where Tonic and Dominant Join
Perfect Authentic Cadence (PAC)
7 1 2 1

D: V I D: V I
Cadences: Where Tonic and Dominant Join
Imperfect Authentic Cadence (IAC)
2 3

Nope, I’m not even

showing an example of
the 5–5 Imperfect
Authentic Cadence!
Please avoid writing it!

D: V I
Cadences: Where Tonic and Dominant Join
Category 2: Half Cadence (HC)

HC
Melody: 1–7 or 1–2 or 3–2 or 5–5
Harmony: I (or i)–V OR X–V
“Half” harmonic and melodic closure
Cadences: Where Tonic and Dominant Join
Half Cadence (HC)
1 7 3
2

Nope, I’m not even

showing an example of the
5–5
Half Cadence!
Please avoid writing it!

D: I V D: I V
 Cadences in Context
How many cadences do you hear in this excerpt? Where is it/are they? What chords are
involved, and what scale degrees are in the melody?
Please be extremely precise with your positioning of cadence
labels!
IAC PAC
Mozart, Piano Sonata No. 12 in F Major, K. 332
2 3 7 1

F: V I V I
 Cadences in Context
How many cadences do you hear in this excerpt? Where is it/are they? What chords are
involved, and what scale degrees are in the melody?

Mozart, Rondo in C Major, K. 144 HC PAC

1 2 2 1

C: I V V I
Cadences in Context
How many cadences do you hear in this excerpt? Where is it/are they? What chords are
involved, and what scale degrees are in the melody?
HC
“Clementine”
3 2

F: I V
PAC
2 1

V I
Introduction to Voice Leading
Voice Leading: literally, the way individual voices move.
◦ We can extend what we’ve learned in our study of species counterpoint to a four-
part texture.

Vocal (or Chorale) Style Keyboard Style

S (Soprano) S (Soprano)
Stems and A (Alto)
stem direction T (Tenor)
A (Alto)
show each
V K
voice—this is
T (Tenor)
extremely
important! B (Bass)
B (Bass)
Introduction to Voice Leading

V
Introduction to Voice Leading