AP Music Theory Unit 4: Harmony and Voice Leading - Chord Progressions and Predominant Function

Figured Bass

  • shorthand method of notating chords

  • each number refers to an interval above the bass

  • accidentals affect the note indicated by the number

    • if there is no number, the accidental affects the note a 3rd above the bass

Triad and Seventh Inversions in Figured Bass

Chord Functions

  • chord’s purpose in a chord

  • tonic function

    • I

    • vi

    • iii

    • provides sense of rest and stability (home, happy)

    • starts and ends chord progressions

  • dominant function

    • V

    • viiº

    • provides instability

    • needs to resolve to the tonic

  • predominant function

    • IV

    • ii

    • goes between tonic and dominant

    • can prolong the tonic

Fundamental Progression

  • I-V-I

  • basis for all harmonic progressions

  • aspects of instability in dominant

    • leading tone wants to resolve up to tonic

    • supertonic wants to go down to tonic

Cadences

  • two-chord units that mark end of phrase

  • authentic

    • dominant tonic

    • usually V or V7 - I

    • provides sense of finality

  • perfect authentic cadence (PAC)

    • both chords are in root position

    • ends w scale degree 1 in top voice

      • inversions

  • Imperfect authentic cadence (IAC)

    • does not satisfy all conditions of a PAC

    • one or both chords are not in root position

    • scale degree 1 is not the top voice

  • Half (HC)

    • any number of chord going to V (usually I) in root positions

      • provides stability

  • plagal (PC)

    • IV-I

    • “Amen cadence”

    • like what you hear in church

  • deceptive (DC)

    • dominant - something other than the tonic (usually vi)

    • used to extend phrases

SATB Chorale Texture

  • four voices

    • soprano

    • alto

    • tenor

    • bass

  • each voice singing an individual melody

  • open position

    • space between soprano and tenor is greater than an octave

      • most stable

  • closed position

    • space between soprano and tenor is less than an octave

      • use when you want to move quickly between chords

Types of Motion

Parallel motion: two voices moving in the same direction by the same intervals

Similar motion: two voices moving in the same direction by different intervals

Contrary motion: two voices moving in different directions

Oblique motion: one voice moves, while the other remains static

Common Errors in Part-Writing

  • parallel 5ths/octaves

    • detract from the independence of the melody

  • doubled leading tones

    • will cause parallel octaves when resolved

  • voice crossing

  • voice overlap

  • direct 5ths / octaves

    • in outer voices that is approached by a leap in the soprano, and a leap or step in the bass

  • spacing between voices

    • cannot be greater than an octave

      • except between tenor and bass

  • leap of diminished and augmented intervals

Voice Leading w Root Position Triads

  • identify common tones and repeat them

  • double the root

  • root motion of 4th / 5th

    • hold the common tone in 1 voice, teh other 2 voices move by parallel motion

    • upper voices move in similar motion

      • 2 3rds, 1 step

  • root motion of 3rd / 6th

    • hold 2 common tones, one voice moves by step

  • root motion of 2nd / 7th

    • 3 upper voices move in contrary motion against bass

      • 2 steps, 1 3rd

Voicing the Fundamental Progression (I-V-I)

  • neighbor progressions

    • moves by step in one direction, then the other

  • passing progressions

    • moving by step in one direction

    • usually 1-2-3 or 3-2-1

  • incomplete neighbor progressions

    • includes a leap

The Dominant Seventh (V7)

  • four chord members

    • root, 3rd, 5th, 7th

      • do not correspond to scale degrees

  • has two tendency tone which makes it stronger than V

    • 4th scale degree (chord 7th) which resolves to 3rd

    • leading tone (chord 3rd) which resolves to the tonic

    • creates a tritone that resolves to a third interval

  • the 5th may be omitted

    • root sets foundation

    • 3rd determines the quality

    • 7th creates dissonance (through tritone)

  • either go from complete 7th to an incomplete tonic or an incomplete 7th to a complete tonic

  • in order to go from complete 7th to complete tonic, the tritone is left unresolved

Inversions of the V7 Chord

  • first inversion

    • 6/5, short for 6/5/3

      • chord 3rd (LT) is in the bass which resolves up to the tonic

      • commonly used in neighbor progression to prolong the tonic

        • prolongation

          • to make a chord span a longer period of time

  • second inversion (4/3, short for 6/4/3)

    • chord 5th (scale degree 2) is in the bass

    • can go to either I or I6, so it is often used in passing progressions

  • third inversion (4/2, short for 6/4/2)

    • chord 7th (scale degree 4) is in the bass which resolves down by step

    • resolves to I6

    • common chord progression is V-V4/2 - I6

Harmonic Composition

Counterpoint: rls of two lines between the bass (give) and the melody (composed by you)

  • step goes up for soprano and alto and down for tenor and bass

  • bass disjunct

  • alto and tenor conjunct

  • soprano melody

Part Writing to Figured Bass

  • write out the chord sack of each bass note from the figured bass

  • figure out respective root positions, add roman numerals

  • fill in the upper voices of each chord based on what you have mapped out in the chord stacks; rmbr to have everything in the correct inversion

  • try to avoid large sips and leaps on any part

  • check your work for parallel 5ths and octaves, accidentals, range, crossing, resolving, doubling

Chord Leading

  • circle progression

    • movement of chords where root of each chord is a diatonic 5th above the next chord

      • root ≠ bass

  • progression by 3rds and 2nds

    • can go up or down

  • inversions weaken function of chords in a TSDT sense, but can take on connection roles

    • includes

      • passing, neighbor, arpeggio, pedal

      • 6 4 chords have variety of uses

Accidentals used in Figured bass

  • mode mixtures

    • usage of chords not found in key, usually borrowing from parallel minor / major

  • picardy 3rd

    • mode mixture were the third of a chord that was supposed to be minor borrows from the parallel major

  • secondary dominant

    • notated w (roman numeral) / (another roman numeral)

Rules of Progression v Retrogression

  • do not follow V w IV, ii6, ii65

  • do not follow VI w I

    • unstable to stable is bad