Copyright 104 . Revised edition, copyright 1948, by W. W. Norton & Go., Ine Firs published by Victor Gollance Lid, 1950 Reissued Apel, 1959) Musical Illustrations drawn by MARIO GARMOSINO | pymonucrion | Fa. scaes ano ivrenvats “fs TRIADS | \3- HARMONIC PROGRESSION Jf TONALITY AND MODALITY HARMONIC RHYTHM | 46. THE HARMONIC STRUCTURE OF THE PHRASE { /7- HARMONIZATION OF A GIVEN PART “8. MopULATION, | 9. CHORDS OF THE SIXTH—THE FIGURED BASS | 10, Noxtarmonic toxes } at, THE stx-rour cHono |) 12 cabences |) 43, THe pontNaNT sevENTH cHonD |, tg. spconpary ponnvants |) a5, mmnecuLaR REsoLUTIONs 16, THE DIMINISHED SEVENTH CHORD |, 17. THE INCOMPLETE Mayon NINTH 18. THE COMPLETE DOMINANT NINTH 19, THE SEQUENCI 20. NONDOMINANT HARMONY—SEVENTH CHORDS 21, NINTH, ELEVENTH, AND THIRTEENTH CHORDS 22, THE RAISED SUPERTONIC AND SUBMEDIANT 10 7 29 4t 56 87 102 7 Bs 150 212 225 239 255BY THE SAME AUTHOR: COUNTERPOINT “A most admirable book’ —Eric Blom (Observer) # “A study of music in which every example comes from a fine score staat sensi the reader to it. No wonder it has been hailed by those atho wish that such a book had been available in our young days, May it be widely read” —The Music Teacher ORCHESTRATION “1 can say without the slightest doubt that the main part of the book is very fine indeed and far and away better than anything T hhave seen before” —Sir Adrian Boult ‘Pigst rate-—all it says has such practical value and it isn’t cluttered up with a Jot of archaic information, I particularly like the wide range of illustrations” —Edric Cundell A valuable addition to the library of works on this subject. The amhor rightly insists that scoring is an art of creative imagina- San and that his examples are not intended for imitation but weer to encourage the student to develop what originality he has Taihis own way, when once he has taken a firm grasp of fundamental principles "—Dr. Gordon Jacob “My only regret is that this brilliant and stimulating book was not Ainiven in my own student days, for it would have saved wading Vhrough many volumes twice the size and not nearly 30 illuminating, ‘The suthor has a rare gift for clear cxposition . . . Tyro or apert, composer, conductor, arranger or student, should all find the beok invaluable, and the amateur masic-lover with sufficient Ability to read the examples would also find it a fascinating study with rich results to offer in enlarging his musical horizon” — Liverpool Post “A wonderful and truly workmanlike job . . . a book which is so valuable as to be indispensable to every stadent of the subject The presentation has the directness and the clarity of the true teacher” —The Music Teacher ‘fts practical value to the student fg very high. Profestor Piston's bock'is the first real exposition of twentieth-century orchestral technique. A most valuable book”—Hlunbhrey Searle (B.B.C. Music Magazine) HARMONY by WALTER PISTON LONDOD VICTOR GOLLANCZ LTD 1959vi CONTENTS 23. THE NEAPOLITAN SIXTH 24. AUGMENTED SIXTH CHORDS 25. OTHER CHROMATIC CHORDS CONCLUSION SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES INDEX INTRODUCTION we first important step in the study of harmony is that of I clarifying the purpose of such study. Much confusion ex- ists today as to why we study musical theory and what ‘we should expect to learn from it. In the present writer’s teaching experience this confusion of outlook furnishes the commonest and ‘most serious obstacle to progress in all branches of’ musical theo! There are those who consider that studies in harmony, counter point, and fugue are the exclusive province of the intended com- poser. But if we reflect that theory must follow practice, rarely preceding it except by chance, we must realize that musical theory is not a set of directions for composing music. It is rather the col- lected and systematized deductions gathered by observing the prac- tice of composers over a long time, and it attempts to set forth what is or has been their common practice. It tells not how music will be written in the future, but how music has been written in the past The results of such a definition of the true nature of musical the- ory are many and important. First of all, itis clear chat this knowl- edge is indispensable to musicians in all fields of the art, whether they be composers, performers, conductors, critics, teachers, or musicologists. Indeed, a secure grounding in theory is even more necessity to the musical scholar than to the composer, since it forms the basis for any intelligent appraisal of individual styles of the past or present. Qn the other hand, the person gifted for creative musical com- Position is taking a scrious risk in assuming that his genius is great ‘enough to get along without a deep knowledge of the common2 INTRODUCTION practice of composers. Mastery of the technical or theoretical spects of music should be carried out by him asa life’s work, run- ning parallel to his creative activity but quite separate from it. In the one he is following common practice, while in the other he is responsible solely to the dictates of his own personal tastes and urge for expression. Tin the specific field of harmony we must first seek the answer to two questions-what are the harmonic materials commonly used by composers, and how have these materials been used? We cannot afford in the first stages of our study to become interested in the individual composer at the expense of concentration on establishing the norm of common practice. With such a norm firmly in mind, the way will be clear to the investigation of the individual harmonic practices of composers of all periods, and expecially to the scientific examination of the divergent practices noticeable in the twentieth century. Historically, the period in which this common practice may be detected includes roughly the eighteenth znd nineteenth centuries. During that time there is surprisingly little change in the harmonic ‘materials used and in the manner of their use. The experimental pe- riod of the early twentieth century will appear far less revolu- tionary when the lines of development from the practice of older composers become clearer by familiarity with the music. As yet, however, one cannot define a twentieth century common practice, Hence the aim of this book is to present as concisely as possible the harmonic common practice of composers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Rules are announced as observations re- ported, without attempt at their justification on aesthetic grounds or as laws of nature, The written exercises should be performed as exemplifications of the common practice of composers and not as efforts in creative composition. The author believes that through these principles a prompt and logical grasp of the subject will be achieved, CHAPTER ONE Ke SCALES AND INTERVALS sonority resulting from the simultaneous sounding of two tones, although itis more accurately applied to describe the distance” between the two tones, measured by their difference in pitch. If the two tones are not heard at the same time, but are con- secutive tones of one melodic line, the interval is called a melodic interval, as distinguished from the harmonic interval, in which the two tones are sounded together. 1 unit of harmony is the interval. This name is given to the EX.1 harmonic interval — mel adie interval ‘The tones which form the interval are drawn from the scale, Three scales are used as the basis 6f the music with which we are here concerned—the major scale, the minor scale (with its harmonic and melodic forms), and the chromatic scale. m2 major scale wvwwt 1m wv wwe melodic minor seale Trmvvuwiwuvy min T as 3HARMONY It is customary to refer to the scale degrees by Roman numerals as in the example, as well as by the following names: 1. Tonic (the key-note) IL. Supertonic (the next step abuve the tonic) TIL, Mediant (halfway from tonic to dominant) IV, Subdominant (as far below the tonic as the dominant is above it) V. Dominant (actually a dominant element in the key) VI. Submediant (halfway down from tonic to subdominant) VIL, Leading-tone (with melodic tendency toward the tonic) The scales are distinguished by the distribution of half-tone and whole-tone steps, recognition of which is assumed on the part of readers of this book. The chromatic scale, having its origin in the Chromatic alteration of tones, is most conveniently considered as a variant of one of the other scales, as shown by the Roman numerals, “The proper notation of this scale (for instance, whether one should write A-sharp or B-flat) is determined by melodic and harmonic circumstances to be considered later. “The melodic minor scale may likewise be looked upon as variant of the harmonic form. In ascending, the characteristic sixth degree is changed, so that the step greater than a whole-tone between VI and VII is eliminated, while preserving the half-tone progression from leading-tone to tonic. In descending, the seventh degree no longer acts as leading-tone, so it is lowered to reduce the step down to the minor sixth degree. Ie is important to notice that the major and minor (harmonic) seales differ only in their III and VI. CLASSIFICATION OF INTERVALS The general name of an interval is found by counting the lines and spaces included by the two notes. SCALES AND INTERVALS 5 Tinison second third fourth fifth ach seventh octave ninth The specific name of an interval (the kind of 3rd, 7th, ete.) may be found by various methods, a simple one being to refer the interval t0.a major scale constructed upon the lower of the two notes a8 a tonic. Ifthe upper note coincides with a note of the scale, the inter val is “major,” except in the case of octaves, fifths, fourths, and tunisons, for which the term “perfect” is used. EX = ioe Sod fa scale perf. mej, maj. perf. perf. maj. maj. perf. unison 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7h Be. If the upper note does not coincide with a note of the scale, the following considerations are to be applied. a. An interval a half-tone smaller than a major interval is ‘minor.” ‘b. An interval a half-tone larger than a maj 1 ajor of a perfect in- tervals augmented.” Jorors pefecin ¢. An interval a half-tone smaller than te an a minor or a perfect in- terval is “diminished.” pens 5 bo ex. : Sa Fo 6th min Sed aug. 2nd ug. 4th min.7th In the above example, consider the interval of a sixth, , E-flat t a. If the C had been natural it would have fallen in the scale at major and the interval would have been a major sth, The a Fang the top note, has the effect of making a major in Serva s hall-one larger. ‘Therefore, statement b in the paragraph eve is applied, and the interval is called an “augmented sixth.” ama ea the lower note is preceded by a sharp oF fat, the interval pape analyzed frst without the sharp or flat, and the result com- with the original interval by reference to the above rules.6 HARMONY For example, suppose the interval to be from D-sharp up to C. The Scale of D-sharp major, with nine sharps, is not convenient a5 @ measuring device, Taking the scale of D major, we find that C i @ halftone short of the seventh degree, The interval D to C is there- fore a minor seventh. The restoration of the sharp to the D makes the interval a half-tone smaller, by raising the lower note; hence it isa diminished seventh. ‘The student is urged to perfect himself, by exercises in dictation or other processes of ear-training, in the ability to recognize the intervals By ear when they are played or sung, and ro hear mentally intervals written or printed. COMPOUND INTERVALS ‘An interval greater than the octave mzy be reckoned by sub- tracting the octave, Such intervals are ealled compound intervals Some of these, however, for example the ninth, are characteristic Features of certain harmonic forms and are usually called by the larger number. EX. 6 porebth © maj.9th min. rd maj Srd(orme} Oth) CONSONANT AND DISSONANT INTERVALS ‘A consonant interval is one which sounds stable and complete, whereas the characteristic of the dissonant interval is its restlessness and its need for resolution into a consonant interval. These qualities are admittedly open to subjective, personal, and evolutionary inter- Tetation but it is clear that in the common practice of composers the following classification holds true. Consonant-the perfect intervals and the major and minor thirds and sixths. Dissonant—the augmented and diminished intervals and the ‘major and minor seconds, sevenths, and ninths. (Exception-the perfect fourth is dissonant when there is no SCALES AND INTERVALS 7 tone below its lower tone. It is consonant when. there is a third or perfect fifth below it.) © consol 3 The major and minor thirds and sixths are frequently set apart from the perfect intervals and termed “imperfect consonances.” This distinction has ltele significance for the harmonie style of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Only the sixth, when in cer- tain ronal relationships with the bass, seems to lack the stability of the perfect consonances and to need resolution to the fifth. Ex.8 _ Music without dissonant intervals is often lifeless and negative, since ic is the dissonant clement which furnishes much of the sense of movement and rhythmic energy. The history of musical style has been largely occupied with the important subject of dissonance and its treatment by composers. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the essential quality of dissonance is its sense of movement and hot, as sometimes erroneously assum : oneously assumed, its degree of unpleasan to the ear. ° meses INVERSION OF INTERVALS ae term “inversion” is somewhat loosely applied in music to a riety of procedures. True inversion, of course, means that the GBginal ncerval and is inversion are of equal size but extending in fesse ciretios from a common pint. The systematic aplic- ee hat is called “mirror-writing” and is rarely found in wusic of the harmonic common-practice period. Ex. =< maj.6t) inversion melodie group inversion . agra contrapuntal inversion, which is common, is a modifica- mn of the mirror type. Here the same scale is kept for both forms,8 HARMONY so that while each interval and its inversion have the same general name, the specific names may be different on account of the place in the scale occupied by each. eS= ee lodic group in E>major inversion EX. Harmonic inversion is quite a different matter. In this procedure the names of the notes remain the same, but the lower of the two becomes the upper, or vice versa, with the consequence that there is usually a change in both the general and specific names of the interval. EX.11 pe maj. 6th inversion (min. 3ra) ENHARMONIC INTERVALS In our tempered scale system it often happens that two or more intervals sound alike when played on the pianoforte, even though they are widely different in their meaning. A good example is the augmented second, which cannot be distinguished from the minor third without further evidence than the sound of the two tones. One interval is called the enharmonic equivalent of the other. Ex.12 « A ° ‘When these intervals are heard in their harmonic context, how- ever, their difference becomes clearly audible. EX. 13 = a. 2, e SCALES AND INTERVALS 9 EXERCISES The exercises offered in this book are intended as specimens or suggestions for further exercises to be invented by the teacher or by the student himself. They do not pretend to supply adequate practice or training. It goes without saying that the material in each chapter must be thoroughly assimilated and mastered before pro- ‘ceeding to the next. The exercises must be multiplied until that end is achieved. 1, Naine the following intervals pate s fs ae = fe “Fe 2, With F-sharp as the lower tone, construct these intervals min. 3rd; aug. 6th; dim. sth; perf. 4th; aug. 2nd; maj. 7th; min. oth; aug. sth. 3. With D-flat as the upper tone, construct these intervals: dim. sth; maj. oth; dim. 7th; min. and; aug. 4th; perf. sth; min. 6th; dim. 4- Write enharmonic equivalents of the intervals in Ex. 3. 5. From what scales are the following fragments taken? Greets aS ae 6. Conseruct a major scale in which C-sharp is the sixth degree. 7. Construct a descending melodie minor scale with D as the tonic. 8. Name the interval from supertonic up to submediant in the harmonic minor scale. 9. Write and name the dissonant intervals which may be formed between the tonic and other tones of the scale of E major. 10, Write and name the consonant intervals which may be formed a gti degree and other tones of the harmonic minor Supplementary exercises for this cha id for the succeeding chapters will be cercises for this chapter and for the succeeding chapters will be found atthe conclusion of the text commencing on page 307.CHAPTER TWO ee TRIADS ite combination of two or more intervals makes a chord. | Chords are ordinarily built by superposing intervals of a third. While it would be instructive to experiment with other ways of combining intervals, and to ses how these experiments have been applied in twentieth century music, we must confine our studies here to the chords used in the common practice of composers. The simplest chord is the triad, a chord of three tones obtained by the superposition of two thirds. The tried may be said to be the basis of our whole harmonic system, a place it still holds in spite of numerous radical contemporary developments. The names “root,” “third,” and “fifth” are given to the three factors of the triad. The root is also called the “fundamental.” These terms are retained to identify the factors of the triad in whatever order they may be arranged. site =o thied EX.14 Pas INVERSIONS [A triad with its root as its lowest tone is stid to be in root position. ‘A triad with its third as its lowest tone is said to be in the first inversion. ‘A triad with its fifth as its lowest tone is said to be in the second inversion, EX1S { root position first inversion second inversion Taking the two scales, major and harmonic minor, of the tonic C, and using only the notes of these scales, superposition of thirds gives the following triads: EX16 major acale viva T KINDS OF TRIADS The triads formed on a given scale differ not only in pitch but also, depending on the intervals in their make-up, in the quality of their sonority. There are four kinds of triads, classified according to the nature of the intervals formed between the root and the other two tones, A major triad is composed of major third and perfect fifth A minor triad is composed of minor third and perfect fifth. ght tozmented tind is composed of major third and augmenced gap, Aminished cried is composed of minor third and diminished ‘The student should learn by practice to distinguish by ear the four types of triads. “ By Bg gaging maj min, ug. dim. The major and minor triads are consonant chords because they Contain only consonant intervals. The diminished and augmented ftiads, on the other hand, are dissonant because of the presence of the dissonant intervals, diminished fifth and augmented fifth.