HARMONIC EXPANSIONS
CHAPTER 3: 6/4 LINEAR EXPANSIONS
3.3 Navigating Levels of Analysis
 |
 |
 |
|
The above video is a modification of Phrase 1 from the end of the video at the bottom of the previous page. As these webpages progress the phrases will get longer and the number of levels of analysis will increase (see page 3.8). Because these analyses will get more complicated, it will be convenient to use the following terms to describe them: Referring to the above illustration: Level 1 is the foreground level. It accounts for all the notes in the score, and the analysis is strictly vertical. Level 2 is a background level. In more complex music there will be more than one background level, and the analysis will become more melodic, or linear as the levels progress downward. This background level, Level 2, happens to show the fundamental harmonic progression. Level 3 is the level of the primordial tonic. When it appears it will be the bottom-most level. Traveling down through the levels, in this case from 1 to 3, is called moving deeper. The primordial tonic is always the deepest level. Traveling up through the levels, in this case from 3 to 1, is called moving forward. The foreground is always the top level. Nonharmonic tones may appear in the foreground and are always approached and resolved by notes immediately next to them. Chapter 2 explains their abbreviations. For instance, "ANT" under the next-to-the-last note in the soprano, above, refers to an anticipation. Embellishing tones (not shown here) are the same as nonharmonic tones except they appear in background levels and are frequently approached and resolved by notes in the score which are more distant than those relating to nonharmonic tones. Abbreviations for embellishing tones are the same as the abbreviations for nonharmonic tones. Numbers above a staff with carets above them refer to scale degrees in the top voice. |
|
|
 |
|
Comments? Click here. |
