Dominant Substitution
Secondary Dominants The most important scale tones in Western music are the tonic (I or i), subdominant (IV or iv), and dominant (V) – the trifecta upon which most music
Recent Posts
Jab Molassie – A Tale of Love and Desire
Dominique Le Gendre and Caitlyn Kamminga’s Jab Molassie is a Trinidadian adaptation of L’Histoire du Soldat set in Port of Spain. Jab Molassie is one of the oldest Devil characters
Diatonic Sequences
Music is a mix of calm and chaos; push and pull; yin, and yang. Phrases and cadences help to bring order to music and create expectations for the listener, but
Phrase Structure and Motivic Analysis
According to Grammarly: A phrase is a small group of words that communicates a concept but isn’t a full sentence. You use phrases in your writing and your speech every
Voice-Leading Using Substitutes
Dominant Substitutes using Leading-tone Chords The leading-tone triad and seventh chords are used when the dominant function is desired but the stronger tendencies of the V and V7 are not
Embellishing Tones
According to the Cambridge Dictionary: the word embellish means to make something more beautiful by adding something to it, or to add or change some details of a story, usually to make it more interesting or exciting. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/embellish Embellishing tones are consonant or dissonant
Cadences and Progressions
A chord progression is the order chords are played in a song or a piece of music. The chords you use, and the order you play them constitute the harmony of a song. Chords and their progressions come in
6/4 Chords
6/4 chords are used to add variety to the Tonic Predominant Dominant Tonic Cycle. Additionally, 6/4 chords are useful in facilitating good voice-leading. Lastly, these chords help to make stepwise
Dominant 7ths and Chorale Harmonization
This post is a continuation of chorale part-writing. Chorale part-writing at its simplest contains phrases and cadences which coordinate with the Tonic – Dominant – Tonic scheme. We can extend
Writing 4-Part Chorale Music for SATB | Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass
Counterpoint has been the focus of our attention the past few posts, and for a good reason. Counterpoint teaches the principles needed for good voice leading – essentially writing parts
Continue readingWriting 4-Part Chorale Music for SATB | Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass