PYTHAGORUS

Apotome: an interval of 2,187:2,048; thought of as the difference berween 4 perfect

octaves and 7 just 5ths, and functions as a chromatic semitone

ARITHMETIC/GEOMETRIC/HARMONIC MEANS - In an Arithmetic Mean, the

second amount exceeds the first by the same amount as the third exceeds the
second, as in 2:3:4. In a Geometric Mean the first amount is in proportion to the
second amount as the second is to the third (a:b = b:c or 4:6 = 6:9). The Harmonic
Mean is the mean exceeding one extreme, and being exceeded by the other, by the
same fraction of the extremes. An example: 6:8:12. The mean, 8, exceeds the smaller
extreme, 6, by a third of the smaller extreme; 2, just as it (the mean) is itself
exceeded by the same fraction (a third) of the larger extreme, 12, which is 4. These
types of means have been used in speculative music theory since the Pythagoreans.
In the allegory of the blacksmith’s hammers, it is said that Pythagoras discovered
the perfect harmonies (octave, fourth, and fifth) and the basic tone by the harmonic
proportion of the anvils. In Rameau’s Traite, as another example, he derives the
major and minor chords through the arithmetic and geometric means of the major
and minor thirds (20:25:30 or 20:24:30).

PYTHAGOREAN COMMA - In Pythagorean tuning, the Pythagorean comma, also

known as the ditonic comma, is the small interval existing between two
enharmonically equivalent notes. In this tuning system, which tunes fifths perfectly,
the circle of fifths cannot be closed. If eleven fifths are tuning justly, the twelfth fifth
will be too small by a ratio of 531,441:524,288. This interval is the ditonic comma.

SYNTONIC COMMA - A syntonic comma is an interval found in the Pythagorean

tuning system of about a fifth of a tempered semitone. The measured ratio is 81:80.
In Pythagorean tuning, the fifths are just, and the major thirds are formed as the
sum of four fifths minus two octaves, or 81:64. But the true ratio, that is, the just
tuning measurement, is 80:64. A syntonic comma is the difference between the two
measurements.

TETRACHORD - The tetrachord is the fundamental building block for the

Pythagorean scale. Aristoxenus posited that the tetrachord was composed of two
and a half tones, and the tones themselves are comprised of half, third, and quarter
tones. Conjunct and disjunct tetrachords are what make up the GPS and LPS, along
with the lowest tone, the Proslambanomenos.

TETRACTYS OF THE DECAD - The tetractys, or tetrad, or the tetractys of the

decadis a triangular figure consisting of ten points arranged in four rows: one, two,
three, and four points in each row, which is the geometrical representation of the
fourth triangular number. As a mystical symbol, it was very important to the secret
worship of Pythagoreanism.
PLATO – ratio pervade every level
HARMONIA - The Greek definition of harmonia is the unification of parts into an
orderly whole. Harmonia might be generally defined in early music theory as the
concordance of tones within an intervallic system. But in early works the term was
used to describe several musical elements, including particular scales, range,
register, and rhythm. Plato called it an element of melos in the Republic, but in other
works such as Timeus, he also used the term more broadly to include the
organization of the spheres and the balance of the soul. Both Plato and Aristotle
wrote that musical harmonia could affect human behavior

PAIEDEIA - Greek term meaning ‘cultivation’. Plato used this term to deal with the
problem of relation between two concepts. It is the achievement of higher ethical
learning through broad-ranging education, encompassing physical education, music,
and grammar. The primary purpose of paideia for Plato is to cultivate a philosopher-
king

MELOS - Aristoxenus defines melos as a relative ordered position within a musical

composition. The nature of melos dictates that the intervals formed between notes
must form a tetrachord, and that the scales of a composition are assembled by
combining tetrachords. In Plato’s Republic, melos is defined as the effect of
combining text, harmonia, and rhythm.

ARISTOTLE
ETHOS- Greeks used the term ethos to describe the emotions, behavior, or moral
character of a man. Aristotle, in Rhetoric, describes ethos as a component of
argument which can be used to sway an audience. It was believed that music of
particular modes could sway man’s ethos through mimeses, which is why Plato
devotes part of the Republic to determine what kinds of music should be allowed.

GREEKS
ARSIS/THESIS - These describe the parts of a Greek rhythmic foot, or pattern. They
are derived from the dance movement that is part of the music. Thesis is the
downward movement as in the placement of a foot, and arsis is the rising movement
as in the raising of a foot. Sextus Empiricus writes that arsis and thesis are
considered as a quantity of chronos, or time

Chronos - a technical term used by the ancient Greeks to indicate a measure of

rhythmic time. The same term is also used in a more proper sense to indicate the
phenomenon that approximates the denotation of the English word ‘time.’ Sextus
Empiricus writes that arsis and thesis are considered as a quantity of chronos.

Diesis - a type of Greek comma, or a difference derived from tuning the same
interval in two different ways. A diesis the intervallic difference between an octave
and three justly tuned major thirds (80:64), equal to the ratio of 128:125. Diesis can
be further sub-categorized into greater or lesser diesis, where the lesser is the
aforementioned ratio. The greater diesis is the difference between an octave and
four justly tuned minor thirds (32:27), equal to 648:625, which is slightly larger.

Diastemic movement - Aristoxenus defines Diastemic movement as a motion of the

voice between sustained pitches separated by a discrete interval. Also called
intervallic singing, Aristoxenus differentiated between diastemic movement and
continuous movement, in which pitches glide up and down, as in speech.

ETHOS - In Harmonic Introduction, Cleonides identifies three types of ethos that a

musical composition may convey. Diastaltic ethos conveys a sense of magnificence,
manly elevation of the soul, and heroic deeds appropriate to tragedy. In Plato’s
Republic, he finds music of this ethos to be good and worthy of permission in his
city, whereas music of systaltic ethos would not be permitted. Systaltic ethos
expresses dejection and unmanliness, suitable to lamentation or eroticism.
Hesychastic ethos is soothing and evocative of quietude and peacefulness, and
suitable for hymns.

GENUS/GENERA - A genus is a Greek term for a genre or classification. In early

discussions of music theory, genera would likely refer to the three types of
tetrachordal construction, the diatonic, chromatic, and enharmonic. Each tetrachord
is defined by a perfect fourth (4:3), but the quality of the middle intervals differ
based on the genus. A diatonic tetrachord is composed of two whole tones (9:8) and
a limma. A chromatic tetrachord has a minor third (32:27) and a pycnon of a whole
tone. An enharmonic tetrachord has a ditone (64:81) and a pycnon of a semitone
(256:243).

GREATER/LESSER PERFECT SYSTEM - In the Greek musical system, the

fundamental unit was the tetrachord. But since most melodies would exceed a
fourth, the harmonicists devised a system of combining tetrachords to cover a larger
range. The Greater Perfect System is a two-octave span composed of four stacked
tetrachords called the (from bottom to top) Hypatôn, Mesôn, Diezeugmenôn and
Hyperbolaiôn. Each of these tetrachords contains the two fixed notes that bound it
at the fourth. The octaves are each composed of two like tetrachords connected by
one common tone, making them conjunct. In the middle there is a boundary which is
bridged by a whole tone called the mese.

The LPS, considered apart from the GPS, is a scale spanning an octave and a fourth.
It consists of three stacked tetrachords, the Hypatôn, Mesôn and Synêmmenôn. Like
the GPS, the LPS requires a bridge of a whole tone to connect the disjunct meson and
synemmenon tetrachords.
LIMMA - A limma is the remaining intervallic space within a Greek diatonic
tetrachord after the measurement of two whole tones (9:8), which is 256:243. The
limma may also be referred to as the Greek minor semitone.

MELIC COMPOSITION - Cleonides defines melic composition as the employment of

materials subject to harmonic practice with due regard to the requirements of each
of the subjects under consideration. It is practical application of music within the
confines of Aristoxenian harmonics, achieved with sequence, succession, repetition,
and prolongation

MELOS - Aristoxenus defines melos as a relative ordered position within a musical

composition. The nature of melos dictates that the intervals formed between notes
must form a tetrachord, and that the scales of a composition are assembled by
combining tetrachords. In Plato’s Republic, melos is defined as the effect of
combining text, harmonia, and rhythm.

MOS GEOMETRICUS - Greek term for the practice of presenting material under the
rubrics of theorems and propositions. This practice extends to the field of music
theory in which theoretical ideas are proposed, such as the harmonicist conception
for the division of the monochord. Neo-Platonic ideas on music were presented and
discussed in this fashion in attempts to understand the nature of musical
construction and harmonic proportion.

MOUSIKE -Music (or mousike) was an integral part of life in the ancient Greek
world, and the term covered not only music but also dance, lyrics, and the
performance of poetry. Music was also an important element of Greek education and
dramatic performances held in theatres such as plays, recitals, and competitions.

MUSICUS - Greek for ‘artist who composes or conducts music.’

PYCNON - Pycnon is a structural property of any tetrachord in which a composite of

two smaller intervals is less than the remaining (incomposite) interval. It is the
three notes bounding the two smaller intervals if their composite is smaller than the
remaining interval in the tetrachord, The makeup of the pyknon serves to identify
the melodic genus (also called "genus of a tetrachord") as chromatic, or enharmonic;
the octave species made by compounding two such tetrachords, and the rules
governing the ways in which such compounds may be made centre on the
relationships of the two pykna involved

RHYTHMIZOMENON - This is an Aristoxenian term describing a carrying medium

with which rhythm can be made. A human body, language, or instrument would be
examples of rhythmizomenae, because each may be used to invoke rhythmic
patterns.
RHYTHMOPOEIA - The theory of rhythmopoeia defines various patterns of long
and short durations using the traditional Greek metrical terms; for example iamb for
short-long, trochee for long-short, and anapest for SSL. The most important
advocates of rhythmopoeia in the 18th century are Printz and Mattheson

TETRACHORDS OF THE GREATER/LESSER PERFECT SYSTEMS - The Greater

Perfect System is composed of a series of conjunct and disjunct tetrachords that
span two octaves. The highest tetrachord is the Hyperbolaion, conjunct with the
Diezugmenon. They are then followed by the Meson, conjunct with the Hypaton. The
Hypaton is finally followed by one note, the lowest tonos, Proslambanomenos. The
outer notes of the tetrachords are fixed at the fourth, but the inner notes may be of
different intervallic quality, depending on if the tetrachords are diatonic (EDCB),
chromatic,(EC#CB) or enharmonic (ECB#B). In the Lesser Perfect System, the
highest tetrachord is the Synemmenon, and it is conjunct with the Meson, which is
then followed by the Hypaton and the Proslambanomenos., LYRE=RATIONAL;
AULOS=IRRATIONAL

THEORIA - Theoria in pre-Socratic terms refers to ‘seeing’ or ‘observing.’ Musica

theoria is a general term for the observation of musical principles. In early
discussions of music, such as those of Plato and later Boethius, these principles
would include the study of intervallic relationships, tetrachords, and the effects of
music on the body and soul. Later applications would broaden the term to include
rules of counterpoint and composition. Today we use the term ‘music theory’ to
include the study of ontological principles of harmony and composition, as well as
further study into the effects and philosophical underpinnings of musical
expression.

TONOS/TONOI - Aristoxenus associates tonoi with the position of the voice.

Cleonides states that a tonos can refer to a note, interval, position of the voice, and
pitch. Cleonides attributes 13 tonoi to Aristoxenus, which describe the parts of each
tetrachord, though Quintilianus adds two additional tonoi, and Ptolmy’s system only
uses seven. In medieval music theory toni came to be used as a term for the church
modes

ROMAN

Docere-movere-delectare: To teach- to move- to delight. This is the triadic view of

what the Roman school of rhetoric attempts to accomplish. It was taken up by
Renaissance humanists and was applied to teaching language. Over the course of the
Renaissance and into the 17th century a growing interest in the passions and their
representation and expression in rhetoric and poetics led to an elevation of movere
over the others, and a corresponding elevation of elocution over invention and
disposition.

LYRIC POETRY - Dramatic poetry sung by early Romans, adapted from Greek
traditions.
BOETHIUS – Platonic tradition
Musica mundana - Musica mudana is a field of musica theoria defined by Boethius
as ‘the music of the spheres’. Following Pythagorean traditions, Boethius argues that
the proportional relationships found in Greek musical intervals are derived from the
organization of the cosmos, and that achieving a perfect harmony (harmonia) of
being requires the natural concordance of the sounding body (instrumentalis), mind
(humana), and the spheres, achieved by adhering to these proportional
relationships. Boethius wrote that a true musician is one who understands the
philosophical nature of music, and not merely a performance of sounding music.

Musica humana - Musica humana is one of the three kinds of musical knowledge,
according to the Boethius. Along with mundana (spheres) and instrumentalis
(instruments), humana refers to the musical harmony of the body and soul,
including the disposition of the four humors and temperaments (melancholic,
choleric, sanguine, and phlegmatic). These temperaments were believed to
determine human behavior, and achieving a healthy balance of them could be aided
by musical influence.

Musica instrumentalis - is musical knowledge concerned with the physically

sounding bodies (instruments and singers) with which we are able to move the air
to physically produce the concordance of musical relationships. It is through
instrumentalis that we are able to observe, experience, and be influenced by the
harmonies of music that govern the universe

Canonics - In a systematic division of the monochord, a musician defines a number

of pitches successively, at each step specifying the ratio between the length of a
string that produces one sound and the segment of the string that produces another.
The result is an array of pitches and a set of intervallic relationships. Canonics is the
study of those pitches and the intervals and ratios through which they are applied.
The practice began in ancient Greek theory stemming from the tradition of musica
theoria, and through Boethius was transferred into medieval music theory. The
practice continued through the scientific revolution and into the eighteenth century.

TRIVIUM/QUADRIVIUM - The Trivium is a systematic method of critical thinking

used to derive factual certainty from information perceived with the traditional five
senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. In the medieval university, the trivium
was the lower division of the seven liberal arts, and comprised grammar, logic, and
rhetoric (input, process, and output). Grammar, logic, and rhetoric were essential to
a classical education, as explained in Plato's dialogues. Etymologically, the Latin
word trivium means "the place where three roads meet" (tri + via); hence, the
subjects of the trivium are the foundation for the quadrivium, the upper division of
the medieval education in the liberal arts, which comprised arithmetic (number),
geometry (number in space), music (number in time), and astronomy (number in
space and time). Its use for the four subjects has been attributed to Boethius or
Cassiodorus in the 6th century. Educationally, the trivium and the quadrivium
imparted to the student the seven liberal arts of classical antiquity.

BIZANTINE
CANTUS TRADITION VS. HARMONICS TRADITION - The cantus tradition is the
school of theoretical thought focused on the repertory of Gregorian chant melodies,
and the systems of modes used to classify and organize them. Its origins can be
found in Byzantine liturgical practices. The study is a part of Carolingian
Renaissance in the 9th century.

The harmonics tradition, in contrast, is a school of theoretical thought concerned

with the concepts, constructions, and procedures of analysis adapted from the
ancient Greek harmonics. Transmitted to the Carolingians by late Roman writers,
the harmonics tradition scientifically studied the pitch components of music (pitch,
notes, intervals, scales, etc).

CENTONIZATION-Improvisatory process & use of memorized formulas based on an

oral tradition; some used for beginning, middle or ending of a melody

ECHEMATA - The echemata were melody types that embodied the essential
characteristics of each mode. The immediate source of these melodies was
Byzantine. The syllables, such as nonenoeane and noeagis, by which the echemata
were identified, may also have been of Greek origin, although their meaning -if any-
was lost.

ECHOI/OKTOECHOS – Predecessors to church modes - Oktoechos is a system used

by the Byzantine clergy since at least the seventh century for the classification of
liturgical melodies into eight categories, called echoi. These eight categories are
divided into protus, deuterus, tritus, and tetrardus, and each of those have
subcategories of either authentic or plagal. Protus melodies were those that had
finals on D, deuterus on E, etc. Plagal or authentic classifications depend on the
range of the melody. Echoi were melodic patterns which became 4 pairs of scales
which became church modes for chant, plainchant, plainsong
Share same finals = dorian & hypodorian, Phrygian & hypophrygian
d-d a-a e-e b-b
Lydian & hypolydian, mixoydian & hypomixolydian
F-F c-c g-g d-d

EARLY CHURCH 5th-8th centuries

ANTIPHON – a liturgical melody asspcoated wotj a [sa;,/ Tjese are the ,pst mi,erpis
pf cjamt=1250+ in modern office; performed in particular sequence of alternating
antiphon (choir) and psalm verse (soloist)
AUCTORITAS ECCLESIASSTICA VS AUCTORITAS GRACCA - These translate into
‘authority of the church’ vs ‘authority of the Greeks,’ and refer broadly to the
philosophical understandings of music as discussed by two great influencers of
medieval philosophy, Augustine and Boethius, respectively. Augustine keeps all
discussion of music within the context of the Christian God, staying within the
framework of the church. Boethius instead follows the Greek model of Plato and the
Pythagoreans, devising a threefold division of music: musica mundana, humana, and
instrumentalis

CHANT DIALECTS – melodies came from Byzantines travelled to Rom; plainchant

experienced variations during this transmission Gallic=France; Mozarabic=Spain;
Beneventan=Southern Italy; Old Roman=Central Italy; Ambrosian=Northern Italy

DIVINE OFFICE – 150 PSALMS PERFORMED EACH WEEK, founded by Benedictine

mons during Rule of St. Benedict 520-530AD, 8 daily office where cantor performed
most tehn mons would answer

JUBILUS - An extended, effusive melisma, typically found at the end of an Alleluia;

regarded by St. Augustine and others as expressions of joy (jubilation

MEDIEVAL
BARD - Bards were professional musicians in the middle ages. They were poet-
singers in the Celtic Lands, whom sang epics at banquets or other special occasions.
Bards usually accompanied themselves with a harp, fiddle, or some other simple
instrument.

CANTORINUS - Book of medieval Roman chants

CENTONIZATION - In music, centonization is a theory about the composition of a

melody, melodies, or piece based on pre-existing melodic figures and formulas. It is
the recurrence of standard melismas throughout modal groups of Gradual chants. A
piece created using centonization is known as a "centonate". The concept of
centonization was borrowed from literary theory, and first applied to Gregorian
chant in 1934 by Dom Paolo Ferretti. Centonization, according to Ferretti's theory, is
a very old and widespread technique. The musical modes used in Gregorian chant
are supposed to reflect this use; according to the theory, the modes were more
collections of appropriate melodic formulas than a set of pitches

CHANSON DE GESTE (SONG OF DEEDS) - Type of Northern French vernacular

poem recounting the deeds of national heroes in the middle ages, usually sung to
simple melodic formulas (I.E. CHANSON DE ROLAND TEXT re Viking invasion)

CONTRAPUNCTUS - texture against a cantus. Only select intervals, perfect and

imperfect, are admitted between the voices, it must proceed in (mostly) natural
progression, and must begin and end with a perfect consonance. While the rules for
its composition evolved throughout the ages, it was the foundation for more
elaborate polyphony.

DIFFERENTIAE - Differentiae (various endings) are used to make a smooth

transition between the end of a psalm tone and the beginning of an antiphon. The
differentia that makes the smoothest connection is chosen. Examples are in the
Liber usualis, the liturgical book containing frequently used Gregorian chants

ESTAMPIE - One of the most common Medieval instrumental dances. The estampie
has several sections, each played twice with two different endings (one open, the
other closed). French estampies are in triple meter, and have short sections. The
Italian 14th century version istampita is in duple or compound meter, and has longer
sections with more repetition between sections.

EUOUAE/EVOVAE - Euouae or Evovae is an abbreviation used in Latin psalters and

other liturgical books to show the distribution of syllables in the differentia or
variable melodic endings of the standard Psalm tones of Gregorian chant. It derives
from the vowels in the words "saeculorum Amen" of the lesser doxology or Gloria
Patri, which ends with the phrase In saecula saeculorum, Amen.

GREAT VS. SHORT SERVICE - A service consists of the music for certain portions of
Matins, Holy Communion, and Evensong. A great service is a contrapuntal and
melismatic setting of these portions of the mass. A short service sets the same text
as a great service, but rather than long contrapuntal and melismatic passages, the
short service uses a syllabic, chordal style.

GREGORIAN CHANT - The codification of liturgy and music under Roman leaders
led to the repertory known as Gregorian chant, and it was used as a means to help
unify the church. The Scholar Cantorum played a role in standardizing these chant
texts 8th century. There is no evidence to suggest that Pope Gregory I played any
role in composing the chant, but his position in the church, and legend that the
chants were dictate to him by God in the form of a dove, lent the chant a perception
of being divinely inspired.

LESSER DOXOLOGY - A Doxology is a formula praising God and affirming faith in

the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Lesser Doxology, which
begins "Gloria Patri, et Filio," is always added to the end of psalms and is sung to the
same melodic formula as the psalm verses. (The Greater Doxology is the Gloria in
the Mass, which begins "Gloria in excelsis Deo.")

NOEANE/NONANOEANE/NOEAGIS/ETC. - Words without meaning used to

determine the mode of a chant. Noeane in particular indicated the deuterus
authentic mode. Neoagis is another word with the same meaning as noeane.
Nonanoeane is the protus authentic. Tritus authentic is indicated by noioane
RECITATION FORMULA - This is a simple melodic outline used in Mass and Office
used for many different texts. Each formula has a reciting pitch, on which most of
the text is sung. A few syllables in the text are sung on other pitches to mark the
syntax of the words, usually at the beginning and ends of phrases. They are used for
communicating many intoned words in a direct, efficient way

RESPOND - Short psalm response that precedes and follows a verse of chant

SCHOLA CANTORUM - The Schola Cantorum was a choir founded in the seventh
century that sang when the pope officiated at church services. This group helped to
establish and standardize Gregorian chant in Catholic lands

SCRIPTORIUM/SCRIPTORIA - Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is

commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the
writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts by monastic scribes. It was in
scriptorium were scribes would copy summae, large compendiums of knowledge

TONUS - In earlier middle ages music theory, tonus (p. toni) was used to classify
liturgical melodies into eight categories (church modes). However, usage of the term
was not standardized. Depending on the context, tonus had additional meanings as
well. Tonus could refer to the interval of a whole tone conceived in the harmonicist
tradition, or it could refer to a single, pitched sound, which was also called ‘sonus’.
Boethius used the term for the ‘transposition keys’ of ancient Greek theory, whereby
the GPS was shifted up or down in pitch. In treatises from musica enchiriadis and on
into the later middle ages, tonus remained a standard term for ‘mode

MUSICA ENCHIRIADIS / 9TH CENTURY THROUGH 10THC

ACQUISINAE - In the early medieval treatise on polyphony Musica enchiriadis,
aequisonae was the term used to describe the ‘equal sounding’ of the octave. It is an
effect different from consonae, which described tones that sounded well together,
but were nonetheless different, such as the fourth and fifth. This return to a same-
sounding tone every eight steps were called the ‘wondrous mutation,’ brought about
by the perfection of the octave.

CANTUS TRADITION VS. HARMONICS TRADITION - The cantus tradition is the

school of theoretical thought focused on the repertory of Gregorian chant melodies,
and the systems of modes used to classify and organize them. Its origins can be
found in Byzantine liturgical practices. The study is a part of Carolingian
Renaissance in the 9th century.

The harmonics tradition, in contrast, is a school of theoretical thought concerned

with the concepts, constructions, and procedures of analysis adapted from the
ancient Greek harmonics. Transmitted to the Carolingians by late Roman writers,
the harmonics tradition scientifically studied the pitch components of music (pitch,
notes, intervals, scales, etc).
CONSONAE - Term used in Musica enchiriadis to describe harmonies that sounded
well together, such as the perfect harmonies of the fourth and fifth.

LITURGICAL DRAMA - Liturgical drama, in the Middle Ages, is a type of play acted
within or near the church and relating stories from the Bible and of the saints.
Although they had their roots in the Christian liturgy, such plays were not
performed as essential parts of a standard church service. The language of the
liturgical drama was Latin, and the dialogue was frequently chanted to simple
monophonic melodies. Music was also used in the form of incidental dance and
processional tunes. The earliest traces of the liturgical drama are found in
manuscripts dating from the 10th century (HILDEGARD VON BINGEN). Its genesis
may perhaps be found in the chant “Quem quaeritis” (“Whom do you seek”), a trope
to the Introit of the Easter mass. The liturgical drama gradually increased in both
length, sophistication, and popularity particularly during the 12th and 13th
centuries.; associated w/ Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) “Ordo Virtutum-The Play
of Virtues 1151; plays, modestly staged w/ costumes, scenery, props, processionals
influenced by liturgy that is chanted on religious ideas, morality play-chastity, hope,
faith, charity

MODAL AFFINITY OR AFFINITAS -

Modal affinity is the recurrence of modal quality in notes a perfect fifth or fourth
apart. If one uses a C Major scale as an example, the scales beginning on F or G will
have a similar quality to it (major sounding, in modern terms). Likewise with an A
minor scale, D and E will have a similar (minor-ish) quality. The earliest discussion
of modal affinity can be found with Hucbald, who calls it socialitas.

neume/ composite neume/ oblique neume - A neume is an early sign of notation

first used around the tenth century. Neumes were placed above the text of a chant to
indicate whether the chant melody ascends, descends, or repeats. Early neumes did
not denote specific pitches or intervals, but served as a reminder of the general
outline of the melodic form. In later neumatic writing scribes placed neumes at
varying heights above the texts to more clearly indicate the relative interval size and
direction of movement. These were known as diastematic neumes.

A composite neume is a type of figure found in a more modern type of chant

notation known as Solemes notation, established in the early 19th century. It is a
single sign that represents two or more notes, and is to be read from left to right, or
in certain cases, from the lower note to the higher one.

An oblique neume indicates a group of three pitches using two different notes. For
example, an oblique neume spanning a C line and an A line would be sung as ‘C, A, C.’
This type of figuration is found in Solesmes chant notation, which was established in
the early 19th century

OFFICE ANTIPHON - An office antiphon is a responsorial sung by the choir or

congregation to frame a psalm or canticle used in an office service, such as a
Vespers. An Office is a series of eight daily services celebrated since the Middle Ages.
Office psalms and canticle are not complete in themselves, and so antiphons are
used to produce the musical form of ABB…BBA

PSALMODY - Psalmody, the singing of psalms, was used to accompany actions in the
Mass service: the entrance procession (Introit) and giving of communion.

PSALM TONES - Standard formulas, similar to recitation tones, but slightly more
complex. There is one tone for each of the eight church modes and an extra one,
called the Tonus peregrinus or "foreign tone." The psalm tones have been taken
directly from chants of the Hebrew synagogues. A psalm tone consists of the initium
(used only in the first verse of the psalm), tenor, mediatio, and terminatio. Usually
the last verse of a psalm is followed by the Lesser Doxology, which ends et in secula
seculorum, Amen ("world without end, Amen" - abbreviated in texts with the vowels
of the last two words: euouae) or the Gloria Patri ("Glory be to the Father").

QUILISMA - One type of figure in Solesmes notation. It is a small wavy line between
neumes that may have indicated ornamentation in performance

SEQUENCE (LITURGICAL) - a chant setting in the Mass Proper, which follows an

Alleluia or Tract. Sequences were popular from the ninth through the twelfth
centuries, and set syllabically to text. ; contain very specific pattern of textual &
musical repetition a bbccddee; free form dependent on length of poetic text;
sequences banned by Council of trent in 1543 (except 4); ex=Victimae pashali
laudes 1048 thought to be composed by Wipo of Burgundy

TONARIES - A tonary is a liturgical book in the Western Christian Church which lists
by incipit various items of Gregorian chant according to the Gregorian mode (tonus)
of their melodies within the eight-mode system. Tonaries often include Office
antiphons, the mode of which determines the recitation formula for the
accompanying text (the psalm tone if the antiphon is sung with a psalm, or canticle
tone if the antiphon is sung with a canticle), but a tonary may also or instead list
responsories or Mass chants not associated with formulaic recitation. Although
some tonaries are stand-alone works, they were frequently used as an appendix to
other liturgical books such as antiphonaries, graduals, tropers, and prosers, and are
often included in collections of musical treatises.

TRACTUS/TRACT - a florid setting of several verses of psalm. This is a relatively

solemn setting of text, used for occasions like Lent, and may replace the Alleluia. It is
part of the Liturgy of the Word (part of the Mass Proper), following the Gradual.
Tracts are the longest chant settings in the liturgy

TROBAR/TROVER - Occitatian and Old French terms translated to “to compose a

song.” The modern translation is to ‘find’ or to ‘invent
TROPE - Expansion of an existing chant. Tropes are usually added in one of three
ways: new words and music before or in between phrases, extending melismas or
adding new ones, or extra words set to existing melismas. Tropes declined in the
twelfth century, and were banned by the Council of Trent in an attempt to shorten
and simplify the liturgy. Trope – music inserted into old chants and occurred in
proper mass

TYPES OF CHANT – DIRECT, RESPONSORIAL, ANTIPHONAL - Direct chant is a

style of chant singing in which one singer or group performs an entire chant.
Responsorial chant is a style in which a soloist and the choir (or congregation) sing
in alternation. Antiphonal chant (the most numerous kind) refers to the alternation
of Two groups of singers between passages. Many antiphonals employ the same
melody, making only slight variations to accommodate the text. Antiphons were
originally intended for a group of singers rather than a soloist and the older ones are
usually syllabic or only slightly florid with stepwise melodic movement, limited
range and a comparatively simple rhythm.

11TH-13TH CENTURIES
ALBIGENSIAN CRUSADE - The Albigensian Crusade, was the Crusade (1209–29)
called by Pope Innocent III against the Cathari, which was a dualist religious
movement in southern France that the Roman Catholic Church had branded
heretical. The war pitted the nobility of staunchly Catholic northern France against
that of the south, where the Cathari were tolerated and even enjoyed the support of
the nobles. Although the Crusade did not eliminate Catharism, it eventually enabled
the French king to establish his authority over the south.; troubadours were
destroyed in this crusade

AQUITANIAN POLYPHONY - Ornate style of polyphony of the early 12th century, so

named because the three primary sources can be traced to Aquitaine, and they are
copied in Aquitanian notation. It includes settings of chant and versus, and has
compositions in discant style and in florid organum style.

CANTIGAS - Type of medieval song, usually relating to miracles performed by the

Virgin Mary. The song form is verse and refrain, typically AAB. A collection of over
400 cantigas was prepared around 1270-90 under King Alfonso el Sabio of Castile
and León.

CANTUS FIRMUS - Another name for the tenor of a chant. The term was introduced
around 1270 by Hieronymus of Moravia, and designates an existing melody, usually
a plainchant, on which a new polyphonic work is set.

CHANSONNIERS - Manuscript anthologies of songs. Surviving collections of

troubadour poems, some of which are set to music, can be found in chansonniers
CONDUCTUS (SINGULAR & PLURAL) - Similar to a Versus, a conductus is a serious
Latin song with rhythmed, rhythmical text which originated in the 12th century. Like
the versus, a conductus is set to newly composed music not related to chant. A
polyphonic conductus is a setting of two to four voices on the same kinds of texts
found in monophonic conductus

FIN’ AMOURS (OCCITAN) OR FINE AMOUR (FRENCH) - Style of ‘courtly love’. Fine
amour refers to a style of compostion in which much of the vernacular song of the
late middle ages was composed. Fine amour is an idealized love through which the
lover was himself refined. The object of affection was usually unreachable, such as
another man’s wife, and so was revered from afar.

FRANCONIAN NOTATION - New form of notation codified by Franco of Cologne in

ars cantus mensurabilis around 1280. Franconian notation is the first established
type of notation for relative durations, signaled by the shape of the note. There were
four signs that were given: the double long, long, breve, and semibreve.

GOLIARDS – drop out monds and defrocked priests

JONGLEURS - Lower-class musicans that traveled alone or in small groups

performing tricks, telling stories, or singing songs or playing instruments

LAUDE - Sacred Italian monophonic songs before 1300. Laude were composed in
cities rather than courts, and were sung in processions of religious penitents, or
groups of citizens who gathered in prayer.

LITURGICAL DRAMA - Liturgical drama, in the Middle Ages, is a type of play acted
within or near the church and relating stories from the Bible and of the saints.
Although they had their roots in the Christian liturgy, such plays were not
performed as essential parts of a standard church service. The language of the
liturgical drama was Latin, and the dialogue was frequently chanted to simple
monophonic melodies. Music was also used in the form of incidental dance and
processional tunes. The earliest traces of the liturgical drama are found in
manuscripts dating from the 10th century. Its genesis may perhaps be found in the
chant “Quem quaeritis” (“Whom do you seek”), a trope to the Introit of the Easter
mass. The liturgical drama gradually increased in both length, sophistication, and
popularity particularly during the 12th and 13th centuries.

MANERIA(AE) - In medieval music theory, maneria refer to the four chief modal
categories, the protus, deuterus, tritus, and tetrardus, which are determined by their
finals. The term was developed in the 12th century to describe scales that were of
similar nature. Each had a secondary quality of plagal or authentic, depending on
the range of the melodies, producing the eight distinct ‘modes.’
MINNESINGER (MINNE MEANS LOVE) AND STOLLEN/ABGESANG - Love-song
singer. Minnesinger were essentially the German version of the French trouvère.
They were knightly-poet-musicians of the 12th through the 14th century who sang of
love, faithfulness, and duty.
Minnelieder were usually strophic pieces in AAB bar form. The A section of these
songs were called Stollen, and used the same poetic meter, rhythm scheme and
melody. The B section is the Abgesang, and was longer, and may have ended with
part of the Stollen

MINSTREL - 13th century) a specialized musician, typically employed by a court or

city

MODAL RHYTHMS – patterns of long/short notes using neumes I to VI

MODO VOCUM (MODES OF NOTES) - In 1022 Micrologus, Guido discusses the
qualities and affinities of notes in terms of the intervallic patterns surrounding
them. He calls these patterns ‘modo vocum’. The configuration of half steps and
whole steps around a note gives it a certain type. For example, the first modus
vocum consists of a whole tone below a starting note and an ascending series of
TSTT above it. This modo vocum describes the notes A and D in his (mainly)
diatonic system

MOTET - Earlier 13th century uses of the term described a discant clausula with an
added text to the upper part. By the Renaissance, the term motet had broadened to
include any polyphonic work with texted voices above a cantus firmus, whether
sacred or secular. In the 15th century this implied settings of Latin texts taken from
the Mass Proper, but by the 16th century, it was also applied to sacred compositions
in languages other than Latin as well.; 2 /French poems above a pre-extant change-
generally powems/texts related in some way; example in triplum=Amours mi font
souffrir/En Mai quant /Flos filius eius (Love makes me suffer/ In May when the rose
flowers / Flos filius eius (Franconian motet

NOTRE DAME POLYPHONY - Style of polyphony originating from the Catherdral of

Paris in Notre Dame. This style is later than Aquitanian polyphony, sung through the
late 12th throughout the 13th centuries, and was much more disseminated across
Europe. It is a still more ornate and complex style, and includes the first body of
music for more than two independent voices (Leonin – ORGANUM DUPLUM and
Perotin-ORGANUM TRIPLUM AND ORGANUM QUADRUPLUM). It is also considered
to be the first polyphony primarily composed in writing and read from notation
rather than orally composed or improvised. Perotin=Viderunt Omnes organum
quadruplum

OCCURSUS - One point of importance is Guido’s guideline in Micrologus for the

occursus (meaning "meeting" or "concurrence", running on the same path), which is
a predecessor of the later cadence. An occursus occurs where two voices approach a
unison. He says that the unison should be approached either by contrary motion
from a major third, or oblique motion from a major second
OLD ROMAN CHANT - Old Roman chant is another body of liturgical chant dating
back to the 11th and 12th centuries. It essentially uses the same texts as Gregorian
chant, but is often more ornate ; chant dialect that evolved in Rome from the
transmission of Byzantine chant

ORGANUM – new genre in 9th c with pre-existing music (chant) in vox principalis
with an added parallel voice a 4th below=vox organalis; sources of
organum=Winchester Troper

PHLIPPE DI VITRY 1291-1361wrote treatise Ars Nova wherein he discussed duple

divisions before all were triplum 6/8 or 9/8 and the invention of duple notation;
isorhythm=same rhythm patterns repeated & comprised of talea & colour;
talea=rhythm pattern; colour=melodic pattern and the isorhythm structure can be
consealed by overlapping of talea and colour

Polyphonic conductus – originally monophonic; sung for processionals, 2-4 voices;

generally syllabic, all voices move at same time, Latin poems allowing use of modal
rhythms, Ave virgo virginum is an anon. example from the 13th c

PRAECEPTORES AND EISAGOGE - A medieval music instructor who attempts to

offer regulation and codification for the constantly changing musical practices of
their time. They often used a practical textbook, called an eisagoge, to instruct their
students

PROCESSO - This is a term used in medieval and renaissance discussions of mode.

For Pietro Aaron, processo signifies in part the range or compass of a given tenor
melody. But it also connects the way the melody moves through its range, the pitch
areas it emphasizes, and the medial cadential points. Harmonious processo is crucial
for composing what was believed to be a proper and complete tenor line within the
confines of the Guidonian gamut

RONDELLUS - English form of polyphony in which two or three phrases, first heard
simultaneously, are each taken up in turn by each voice. Rondellus appear
frequently in English conductus from the later 13th century.

ROTA - A rota is a perpetual canon or round at the unison found in 13th century
English polyphony. Lower voices sing a tenor line called a ‘pes’, and two or more
voices sing repeating phrases above it. The phrases are generally simple and syllabic

VERSUS(SINGULAR & PLURAL) - Type of Latin monophonic song, usually sacred

and sometimes attached to the liturgy. A Versus uses rhymed poetry, usually set to
rhythmically patterned accents. They were composed from the 11th to the 13th
centuries. A versus is newly composed music not based on chant
SUBSTITUTE CLAUSULA - Anonymous IV defines a substitute clausula as a self-
contained section of organum, setting a word or syllable from a chant and closing
with a cadence. These are interchangeable in chant performance. Substitute clausula
are in discant style, and are found in Notre Dame polyphonic works, such as those
attributed to Leonin or Perotin.

SUMMA - A summa is a large compendium of knowledge compiled by scholars and

monks in medieval times for posterity. Summae would include important treatises
on music theory, including the work of Jehan de Murs, and Jacque of Liège. In these
theoretical problems such as pitch organization, mensuration, tetrachords, and
intervallic relationships would, with varying degrees of success, would be applied to
contemporary musical practice

TROUBADOUR/TROBAIRITZ (FROM OCCITAN) - Poet-composers from the south

of France, typically operating under aristocratic sponsorship. Troubadours spoke
langue d’oc and composed the bulk of vernacular song in the middle ages; Beatrice
de Dia=A chanter; Bernart de Ventadorn=Can vei lauzeta mover/When I see the
Lark; 200 extant

TROUVERE - Northern French version of the troubadour. Trouvère wrote in old

French song, rather than the southern Occitan language.

ARS NOVA
ARS NOVA NOTATION - This is a 14th century update to Franconian notation. With
it theorists allowed for division of the long (modus), the breve (tempus), and the
semibreve (prolation). Divisions were many into twos or threes. If divided in threes,
the division was perfect or major; if in twos, imperfect or minor. Ars nova notation
also introduces the minum, which can be one half or one third of the semibreve, and
mensuration signs, which like our modern time signatures, were used to determine
the divisions of the breves and semibreves.

ARS SUBTILIOR - A later stylistic development in the 14th century where composer
became interested in increasing the complexity of their work, testing the limits of
the Ars Nova developments, particularly in the category of rhythm. The term is
taken from a theoretical treatise by Phillipus de Caserta, whom described the
development as ‘a more subtle manner’ of composing than the Ars Nova.

BALLATA - The Italian ballata is similar to the French forms-fixes virelai. It is a 14th
Century polyphonic Italian art song, typically in a treble-dominated style. It has an
AbbaA form, as would a single stanza of a virelai. The refrain (in Italian ripresa) is
sung before and after a stanza of two feet (piede) and a volta, which is a closing line
of text sung to the same music as the ripresa.
CACCIA - The caccia is a type of Trecento Italian art song which features two voices
in canon at the unison over a slower, untexted tenor line. Caccia translates into
‘hunt,’ referring to one voice following the other in canon. The music often adds
effects further related to a hunt, such as bird calls, shouting, or dialogue through the
use of hocket or other echo effects. A similar song form exists in French works called
the Cacce.

CAROLE- Most popular social dance in France from the 12-14th centuries. It is a
circle dance usually accompanied by song sung by one or more of the dancers

CLAUSULA FORMALIS - In medieval counterpoint, imperfect consonances required

specific resolutions according to their nature. Ugolino and Jacque of Liege wrote of
the need and desire of the imperfect to move toward the perfect. In this context, the
clausula formalis is the necessity of a major sixth to resolve outwardly to an octave

FORMES FIXES - Term used to describe the fixed dance-form style of composition
during the 14th century Ars Nova period. In a fixed form piece, the text and music
have particular patterns of repetition that include a refrain. The three types of fixed
form pieces are the ballade (aab, C), the rondeau (ABaAabAB), and the virelai
(AbbaA). Lower case letters indicate stanzas, and upper case letters are refrains.
Formes fixes works are common in Machaut’s repertoire

GUILLAUME DE MACHAUT – northern France church cleric employed by King of

Bhemia, poet & composer ex. Miesa de Notre Dame, believed to be one of the 1st
settings of the complete ordinary mass that survived & all movements are
isorhythmic; 2 mvmvts w/no chant as basis of polyphony; other mvmts use chants
appropriate for that movement; features=duple note values notated, syncopation in
top voice, open 5ths in beginning; each phrase begins similarly-this shows desire to
create unity in a 4 parts-NEW; his secular motets=polyphonic chansons which use
very strict patterns of repetitions called “forms fixes” (rondeau, ballade, virelai)and
each had specific rhyme scheme(rondeau=8 sections ABaAabAB (capital=stated &
repeated same; lower case=rhyme c/ capital of same letter).-EXAMPE: “Rose, liz,
printemps, verdure-polyphonic chansons, syncopation, contratenor

Francesco LANDINI 1325-1397 – BLIND BY SMALL POX, PORTABLE ORGAN

PLAYER AND WAS THE FOREMOST MUSICIAN OF TRECENTO; WAS GIVEN ORGAN
LESSONS SO THAT HE COULD BEG BUT PLAYED SO WELL THAT HE WAS
EDUCATION; HE WAS A POET, THEORIST & ORGANIST; PROLIFIC COMPOSER=132
BALLATE IN 2 OR 3 PARTS; 1 CACCIA; 10 MADRIGALS
BALLATE FORM
A refrain bb piedi a volta A volta (time again)
Landini Ballate-melismas found on 1st & penultimate syllable with the rest syllabic,
Landini cadence=under 3rd cadence of F# E G and is also known as the double
leading tone cadence
HOCKET - A hocket is a 14th century (and some 13th century) compositional
technique in which two voices alternate in rapid succession, each resting while the
other sings. Hockets are frequently found in motets or other isorhythmic works in
recurrences of a talea. Machaut and De Vitry are known to have used hockets

MANNERIST NOTATION – heart notation exaggeration of rhythmic quality, ars

subtilliar (subtle); subdivisions of 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 13; long passages of syncopation,
polymeter, hemiola (groups of 3s turning into groups of 2s, cross rhythms)

MUSICAFICTA – “fictious music-accidentals that are thought to have been used but
Not notated Yet were expected during performance; most important places to add
accidentals were cadences to create leading tones; modern transcriptions usually
show these alterations above or below the staff; they were added to avoid A4/D5
problems and to add color

PETRONIAN NOTATION - System of mensural notion used in the late 13th and
early 14th centuries, ascribed to Petrus de Cruce and based on the principles of
Franconian notation, but including the shorter note values of the minim and the
semiminim and allowing for as many as nine semibreves within the duration of a
single breve.

PLAINSONG MASS - Type of mass setting in which each movement of the mass is
based on the melody of an existing chant. This allowed composers to give a sense of
musical coherence to their work. Plainsong masses are found in the work of
Machaut, although they became more common in Dunstable’s works and others in
the 15th century

ROBERTSBRIDGE CODEX OF 1325 - A book of organ arrangements of three motets

ROMAN DE FAUVEL (story/novel of donkey)- An allegorical narrative poem of the

14th century satirizing corruption in politics and the church. In the poem, Fauvel is a
horse that represents the sins of the political class, and who rises to power in France
and produces children who destroy the world; many of de Vitry’s motet
compositions are contained in this

SQUARCIALUPI CODEX - The codex is a source of Italian Trecento secular

polyphonic works in which 354 art songs survive. The codex is named after the
owner, Antonio Squarcialupi, and it was copied late (well into the 14th century),
making it somewhat unreliable. Three types of Italian art songs are found in the
codex: the madrigal, the caccia, and the balata

TREBLE-DOMINATED STYLE - Became popular in the 14th century Ars Nova

period. It is a type of polyphonic composition in which the top voice of a work, called
the cantus, is the principle line, and often the only one with text. The cantus is
supported by a slower moving line below, called the tenor. Additional voices or
instrumentation may also be added. Treble-dominated polyphonic works, are
common in the work of Machaut, and like his monophonic songs, they are frequently
in a fixed form, usually a ballade or rondeau.

TRECENTO POLYPHONY – Italy, church musicians wrote secular madrigals for

courts and this madrigal is NOT equivalent to the Renaissance madrigal as features
are=-2 voices, pastoral setting; satirical; love songs; several 3-line stanzas; 1 meter;
pair of lines then 2nd meter; works include-caccia=hunt, canon; Ballata =considered
most refined of the Trecento, vocal dance music, formal pattern like virelai Abba(A)
with strict pattern of formal repetition

15TH CENTURY
BURDEN - Burden is an English term referring to a refrain, sung in between stanzas
of a carol, a polyphonic work common to the early 15th century

CANTARE SUPERLIBRUM - Literally “to sing over a book,” it describes the

performance of counterpoint done through improvisation in accordance with set
rules. Tinctoris famously draws an explicit distinction between superlibrum and res
facta, which is a more refined counterpoint that composed and written down ahead
of time

CANTILENA - A cantilena is a style of English polyphony found in the early 15th

century. It is an evolution of the older conductus. It is a freely composed, mostly
homophonic setting of Latin text not based on existing chant melodies. It frequently
has faburden characteristics, with many 6/3 consonant sonorities. This gives it what
is referred to as an English quality (contenance angloise).

CANTUS-FIRMUS MASS(TENOR MASS) - Cantus-firmus masses, also called

imitation or tenor masses, are similar to plainsong masses. But unlike a plainsong
mass, a CF mass does not take its source material from an existing chant, but from
another often secular source, such as a chanson. The mass usually borrows its name
from the source material. One of the most common sources borrowed is the chanson
l’homme armé. Du Fay, Ockegham, Josquin, Palestrina, each wrote l’homme armé
masses

CAROL - A carol is a distinctively English polyphonic genre. It is a two or three-part

setting of a poem in English, Latin, or both, generally on religious subjects like
Christmas and the Virgin Mary. A carol has a number of stanzas sung to the same
music and a burden, or refrain, with its own musical phrase, sung before and after
each stanza; began as monophonic melodies but by 15th c they were polyphonic;
consisted of verses & many refrains aBaBaB; refrains incorporated 3rds & 6ths were
called “the burden”

FABURDEN /FAUXBURDEN (false bass)- Faburden is an improvisational

technique found in 15th c. polyphonic works in which a plainchant in a middle voice
was joined by an upper voice a perfect fourth above it and a lower voice singing
mostly parallel thirds below it.; parallel 6/3 chords; chant sing 8va up with bass
written out 6th below and then 4ths improvised between to create a sound like 6/3
chords example=DuFay’s Conditor alme siderum 15th c; alternatum-chant &
polyphony alternating

FAENZA CODEX - EARLY 15th c Contains keyboard versions of ballades by Machaut

and madrigals by Landini and others

JUST INTONATION - Tuning system by which thirds and sixths were prioritized for
perfect tuning. This system, devised by Ramis de Pareia in 1482, allowed for more
harmonious tuning in a diatonic scale, but in keeping thirds and fifths pure, certain
other sonorities needed to be out of tune. Some enharmonic notes, such as G-sharp
and A-flat, were necessarily different pitches. This causes trouble for keyboard or
lute players, and limits the performer’s ability to move outside of the diatonic scale.

PARAPHRASE - Paraphrase is a type of plainchant elaboration often found in the

work of Dunstable. In it a plaintchant melody is given a rhythm and ornamented by
a top voice that adds notes around those of the chant

QUODLIBET - The quodlibet originated in 15th-century Europe, during a time when

the practice of combining folk tunes was popular. Composer Wolfgang Schmeltzl
(de) first used the term in a specifically musical context in 1544 A quodlibet (Latin
for "whatever you wish" from quod, "what" and libet, "pleases") is a musical
composition that combines several different melodies—usually popular tunes—in
counterpoint, and often in a light-hearted, humorous manner. It was not until 1618,
however, that anyone published a rigorous definition of the quodlibet: Michael
Praetorius described it as "a mixture of diverse elements quoted from sacred and
secular compositions". During the Renaissance, a composer's ability to juxtapose
several pre-existing melodies, such as in the cantus firmus quodlibet, was
considered the ultimate mastery of counterpoint. One example could be found in the
masses of Obrecht. The quodlibet took on additional functions between the
beginning and middle of the 19th century, when it became known as the potpourri
and the musical switch. In these forms, the quodlibet would often feature anywhere
from six to fifty or more consecutive "quotations"; the distinct incongruity between
words and music served as a potent source of parody and entertainment. In the 20th
century, the quodlibet remained a genre in which well-known tunes and/or texts
were quoted, either simultaneously or in succession, generally for humorous effect.

SUAVITAS - Suavitas, or ‘sweetness,’ is a term used to describe the late 14th/early

15th century polyphony of Dunstable and his students, which were composed with a
relatively greater number of 3rds and 6ths. This sweetness in the polyphony is what
an attribute of their style, what came to be called English guise OR CONTENANCE
ANGLOISE

RENAISSANCE – growth and spread of Humanism influenced rise of secular – ex.:

Michelangelo’s David & DuFay’s use of secular; greater influence of reason, senses
CANZONA - Term for Italian art song. 16th century Italian genre, an instrumental
work adapted from a chanson or composed in a similar style. A canzona is composed
with several contrasting sections, of which the first and some others are in imitative
counterpoint and incorporates the ccharacteristic canzona rhythm of long-short-
short

CHORALE MOTETS - This is a polyphonic setting of a Lutheran chorale common to

the 16th century. It is a more elaborate setting than a traditional Lied technique,
which would place an unaltered chorale tune in the tenor and surround it with three
or more free-flowing parts. Chorale motets borrow techniques from the Franco-
Flemish style, using more imitative polyphony, and altering the chorale in order to
develop other voices; becamse basis for prptestant church music; original
monophonic, simplg, syllabic, narrow range, short phrases; adapted some pop tunes
and chaorales gave rise to the chorale motet

FROTTOLA – Italian song; syllabic; written in 4 parts w/ melody on top; simple

harmonies-root position chords; use of hemiola EX= Io non compra piu speranza/I’ll
buy no more hope by Marca Cara 1470-1525; main influence on madrigal genre
onlhy 3 parts; serious/elevated poetry; usually through composed/ poems usually
have free rhyme schemes w/7 or 11 sylllables;

HARMONIA PERFETTA - Zarlino was the first theorist to accept the triad as a full-
fledged consonance. Not only did he accept it, he dubbed it the harmonia perfetta—
the “perfect harmony.” He rationalized giving the triad this suggestive name not
only on the basis of the sensory pleasure that triadic harmony evoked, nor on the
basis of the affective qualities that he ascribed to it, although he was in fact the first
to come right out and say that “when [in a triad] the major third is below [the
minor] the harmony is gay, and when it is above, the harmony is sad.”7 Along with
these factors Zarlino cited mathematical theory, so that he could maintain, like a
good Aristotelian, that according to his rules reason held sway over sense. The
“perfect harmony,” he asserted, was the product of the “perfect number,” which was
six

HYMN - A hymn is a simple strophic song of praise, not drawn from the Bible. Each
verse has the same number of lines and syllables, and each verse is sung to the same
music--just like hymns today.

INTERMEDIO - A forerunner to the Italian opera, an intermedio is a musical

interlude on a pastoral, allegorical, or mythological subject performed between acts
of a play. They arose from a need to mark divisions in acts or to suggest the passage
of time. At the time there was a lack of theatre curtains or some other visual cue that
might serve this purpose. Intermedi are found in late 16th century literature such as
Caccini and Peri. They were performed with instrumental music, dances, solo and
choral passages, and scenery or stage effects. Intermedi had many operatic traits,
but lacked a clear plot or the dramatic style of singing later established by Peri.

LUTE SONG (ENGLAND) – lute music not notated in regular way but in tablature for
solo voice & lute accompaniment flourished on continent in 1400s then on to
England in 1500s. leading lute song composers=John Dowland 1562-1626 &
Thomas Campion 1567-1620 used good poetry; paid close attn.. to rhythm of
English language EX. Flow, My Tears-mixed form ½ strophic & ½ through composed
in form of a pavanne aabbcc (stately court dance in triple meter)

MUSICA POETIC – A creative new branch of music theory developed by the

Lutheran Lateinschulen in 1537 by Nikolaus Listenius as a complement to musica
theoria and practica. With musica poetica there was a stronger focus on the
composition itself and the development of rhetorical figures. It ultimately led to the
development of the figurenlehere tradition

CORI SPEZZATI - ‘Choirs divided by space’. This was a custom of performance most
popular in northern Italy. Composers such as Willaert, Lassus, and Monteverdi
wrote music for double choir, and the two ensembles would be positioned in
separate, specially built portals (portare). While the exact period of origin is
unknown, they were in use from the early 16th century (an invention of the stile
antico) until about 1625.

MOTTO MASS - As a way to make the musical connection of a plainsong mass more
noticeable, composers would begin each movement with the same motivic idea,
called a head-motive, in one or all voices. Masses in this style were called motto
masses.

Docere-movere-delectare: To teach- to move- to delight. This is the triadic view of

what the Roman school of rhetoric attempts to accomplish. It was taken up by
Renaissance humanists and was applied to teaching language. Over the course of the
Renaissance and into the 17th century a growing interest in the passions and their
representation and expression in rhetoric and poetics led to an elevation of movere
over the others, and a corresponding elevation of elocution over invention and
disposition.

motet (Renaissance): Earlier 13th century uses of the term described a discant
clausula with an added text to the upper part. By the Renaissance, the term motet
had broadened to include any polyphonic work with texted voices above a cantus
firmus, whether sacred or secular. In the 15th century this implied settings of Latin
texts taken from the Mass Proper, but by the 16th century, it was also applied to
sacred compositions in languages other than Latin as well.
PIACE VOLLEZA = SWEETNESS - identified in Petrach’s poetry by cardinal Pietro
Bembo

PROCESSO - This is a term used in medieval and renaissance discussions of

mode. For Pietro Aaron, processo signifies in part the range or compass of a given
tenor melody. But it also connects the way the melody moves through its range, the
pitch areas it emphasizes, and the medial cadential points. Harmonious processo is
crucial for composing what was believed to be a proper and complete tenor line
within the confines of the Guidonian gamut

SENARIO - Zarlino term. System of six ‘sounding numbers’ nominally of equal

validity. – a numerological/metaphysical construct; Zarlino substitutes his scenario
for the Greek tetraktys (passed on through Boethius) legitimizing the consonances
of imperfect 3rrds and 6ths as primitives rather than as derivatives of 5ths,

SPECIES COUNTERPOINT - The definition of a species stemming from Aristotle is

‘that form or figure that contains anything in itself and is contained in a certain
genus.’ It is a classification of type. In Gradus ad Parnassus (1725), Fux uses the term
to categories the five type of contrapuntal writing he finds in RENAISSANCE
compositions; 1:1, 2:1, 4:1, syncopated, and free or florid counterpoint

SPEZZATURA=HARSHNESS - identified in Petrach’s poetry by cardinal Pietro

Bembo

Early Baroque – time of great change-colonization; rise of middle class, superstition

vs. reason; arts attempt to intensify personal expression

ACOUSTIQUE / ACOUSTICS- Originally a topic reserved under musica speculativa,

the study of consonance at the turn of the 17th century became more of a scientific,
empirical investigation. French Scientist Joseph Sauveur defined the field of study as
‘acoustique’.

AGREEMENTS - In 17th century France, Agrément was a performance practice in

which brief ornamental figures were added by performers. These figures were
expected at cadences or other important notes for emphasis. A key consideration
with agrément was the simplicity of their nature. Longer, melismatic passages more
common to the Italian style were considered in bad taste. Agrément, as well as
another contemporary practice known as overdotting, would be appropriate in the
music of Lully, Couperin, and their contemporaries

AIR DE COURT - French style of secular vocal music written by composers

associated with the French royal court. Air de cours were typically homophonic,
strophic songs written for 4 to 5 voices, or for solo voice with lute accompaniment.
They are mostly syllabic, diatonic, and have smooth melodies with few sequences,
melismas, or word-painting more commonly associated with the Italian style

ARIOSO – ½ way between recitative & aria; a little more melodic than recitative, use
of sequence & repeated text; basso continue accompaniment + a few more
instruments

BEATS - In acoustics, a beat is a regular fluctuation in loudness resulting from the

acoustic interference of two near unison tones. The rate of beating is equal to the
difference of the two fundamental frequencies; the greater the discrepancy, the
faster the beating. The phenomenon can easily be observed by singing two tones a
semitone apart simultaneously. Beats can also occur between the harmonic partials
of the two tones. These ‘second-order’ beats are perceptible when tones of ‘just’
intervals stand in near-consonant relation. Perfect intervals are beatless, but by
introducing beats to fourths and fifths, tempered tuning can be approximated. Beats
were scientifically observed by Sauveur in the 17th C, but the concept has been used
in practice at least since the Renaissance by organists such as Arnold Schlick.

BEL CANTO – beautiful singing, tone, smooth diatonic lines, gracefule arching
melodies with less emphasis on individual words; composers=Cavalli & Cesti

BOCEDIZATION - Syllable solmization system used in the 17th century that uses
syllables different than the traditional Guidonian syllables. Each syllable
corresponds to a single pitch of the octave, and included a seventh syllable “pa” for
the flat-seventh scale degree. Calvisius praised the system for its lack of hexachordal
mutation, which allowed for both upward and downward melodic motion to be
solmizated in the same way. Bocedization never took hold in music-theoretic circles,
which instead continued to adapt the Guidonian syllables, eventually adding ‘si’ for
the seventh degree of a scale

CADENCE PARFAIT, CADENCE ROMPUE AND CADENCE ATTENDE - 17th century

theorist la Voye-Mignot categorizes cadences into these three types based on the
sense of tonal focus they impart. The perfect cadence (PC) achieves the resolution at
the octave or unison. The broken cadence, similar to the deceptive cadence, is a
deviation from an anticipated PC. The waiting cadence is similar to our HC, as it is
expected to eventually resolve to the PC.

CADENTIAE DURIUSCULAE AND SALTUS DURIUSCULUS - 17th century theorist,

Christoph Bernhard (the Figurenlehrer tradition) used the term cadentiae
duriusculae to describe a dissonance in the pre-penultimate harmony of a cadence.
They are cadences in which some rather strange dissonances precede the final two
notes. They occur almost exclusively in vocal solos and are most commonly found in
arias or triple meter sections.
Saltus duriusculus describes a dissonant leap. It is described as a harsh figure that
might only be used for expressing equally harsh text.

CANTATA - A cantata is a piece ‘to be sung’. The term was applied as early as 1620
to a published collection of strophic arias. By midcentury, cantata meant a secular
composition with continuo, usually for solo voice, on a lyrical and dramatic text.
Leading composers of cantatas included Cesti, Carissimi, and Strozzi

DA CAPO ARIA – ABA ARIA

DUR/MOLL SYSTEM - The dur/moll system, or major/minor system, is what we

also call tonality. It is the model by which we arrange music around a referential
note, using in European music from about 1600 to around 1910. The arrangement is
conceptualized with two basic genera, major and minor, each with different but
analogous musical and expressive properties. It gives rise to abstract relations that
control melodic motion and harmonic succession over long spans of time. With its
ability to create and control a sense of direction and arrival, tonality has become the
principle musical means in Western culture by which to manage expectation and
structural form.

ESPRIT DE SYSTEME VS ESPRIT SYSTEMATIQUE - These refer to two systems of

thinking: rationalism and empiricism, respectively. The reasoning of esprit de
système, used by Descartes, Spinoza, and others, involves establishing a principle
aphorism (i.e. ‘something cannot both be and not be), and then vigorously deducing
its consequences. The empirical model of esprit systèmatique examines what is
observable and makes conclusions based on inductive reasoning. The former
method allows for a logical certainly, but can produce results that clash with
perceptibly reality (for example, the discordance of a Pythagorean third). The later,
Newtonian scientific method can only conclude what is probable.

FLAGOLET TONES - Flagolet tones are very pure harmonic tones that can be
produced by string instruments. They are very high in pitch and produce a unique,
eerie quality

FRENCH AIR - Similar to the Italian aria, the air is a lyrical moment in a French
tragedie en musique sung with rhyming text and regular meter and phrasing, and
often in the form of a dance. Airs were far less elaborate and effusive than Italian
arias. They were typically syllabic, used a tuneful melody, little text repetition, and
no virtuosic display

FRENCH MOTET 17TH C - In the first half of the 17th century, French church music
was dominanted by the old style of Renaissance counterpoint. But in the second half
composers began to borrow Italian genres, such as oratorios and sacred concertos,
while using French stylistic qualities such as overdotting, note inegale, and
agreement. There were two main types of motets, petit and grand. Petit motets
typically had a few voices with continuo, while grand motets could have soloists,
double-chorus, and orchestra. Perhaps the most famous grand motet is Lully’s Te
Deum of 1677.

HARMONIC SERIES - A harmonic series is the sequence of sounds where the base
frequency of each sound is an integral multiple of the lowest base frequency. Pitched
musical instruments are often based on an approximate harmonic oscillator such as
a string or a column of air, which oscillates at numerous frequencies simultaneously.
At these resonant frequencies, waves travel in both directions along the string or air
column, reinforcing and canceling each other to form standing waves. Interaction
with the surrounding air causes audible sound waves, which travel away from the
instrument. Because of the typical spacing of the resonances, these frequencies are
mostly limited to integer multiples, or harmonics, of the lowest frequency, and such
multiples form the harmonic series. The musical pitch of a note is usually perceived
as the lowest partial present (the fundamental frequency), which may be the one
created by vibration over the full length of the string or air column, or a higher
harmonic chosen by the player. The musical timbre of a steady tone from such an
instrument is determined by the relative strengths of each harmonic

LULLY, JEAN BAPTISTE 1632-1687 born in Italy, poor but adopted and moved to
Paris as teen; talented string player, invented French form of opera known as
tragédie lyric; “Armide” he and Quinault figured out ho to set French poetry w/
recitative mesuré (more close to air) and recitative simgle – which imitated
theatrical speech & is not very metric3/4 alternates with 4/4 and meter bent in
order to preserve text flow

MONODY – any type of composition involving use of 1 voice, refers to solo singing
with small # of instruments or just basso continuo; 3 types of monody – 1=solo
continuo madrigals; 2-strophic arias; 3-canzonets (little strophic pieces); 1st
important collection of monody “Le nuove musiche” 1602 by Julio Caccini

MONTEVERDI – 1567-1643 – son of a chemist/barber-surgeon; greatly expanded

use of dissonance in madrigals; Italian theorist Artusi didn’t like Monterverdi’s
dissonance and wrote pamphlet in teacher student dialogue form which isolated 7
passages from 1 Monteverdi madrigal which violate rules of “Palestrina”
counterpoint. Monterverdi’s response was that Palestrina was prima practica and
Rore & Gesualdo illustrated seconda pratica & that dissonance is justified in
expression of text EXAMPLE=Curda Amarilli=1st Baroque acknoledgemenf of new
style
NOEUD - The 17th C French acoustical scientist Joseph Sauveur coined the term
‘node’ along with ‘loop’ to describe the action of a string when set into vibratory
motion. Sauveur observed that a stretched string can vibrate in parts so that at
certain intermediate points, which he called nodes, no motion ever takes place,
whereas very violent motion takes place at intermediate points called loops. It was
soon realized that such vibrations correspond to higher frequencies than that
associated with the simple vibration of the string as a whole without nodes, and
indeed that these frequencies are integral multiples of the frequency of the simple
vibration. The associated emitted sounds were called by Sauveur the harmonic
tones, while the sound corresponding to the simple vibration was named the
fundamental.

NOTE DOMINANTE AND MEDIANTE - In the early 17th century, French theorist
Salomon Caus introduces the term note dominante, which he defines as a cadence
point within the modal octave that is secondary to the final. ‘Dominant’ had long
been used as a synonym for the reciting tone, and so the shared roots allowed for
the term to be used in the tons de l’englise and the 12-mode system. Caus wrote that
the note dominante in the authentic modes is the fifth above the final, and in the
plagal modes at a fourth above the final. Another French theorist a generation later,
Parran, fixes the position of the note dominante at a fifth above the final, writing that
the final is the ut, the mediant mi, and the dominant sol.

Following the establishment of the note dominante at a fifth above the final, the term
mediante was created to describe the note which divides the modal diapente. The
term was first used by Parran, as tonality was in its early development. Mediante
could also refer to a cadential moment in the middle of a composition, which may or
may not necessarily fall on the mediant pitch. Parran used the term cadence
mediante to describe either case.

OPERA – drama that is sing throughout, deliberately invented in 1580s by group of

intellectuals who regularly met at home of Count Giovanni di Bardi (Bardi
camerata), Florence who were interested in reviving Greek drama; parts of
oera=recitative, aria, chorsus, dance #s, instrumental #s; 1637 1st public opera
house in Venice; between 1637 to 1678 more than 150 operas were produced; 1st
settings mythological, then historical events around relationships (love/politics)
then stage machinery added for spectable; 1641 Monteverdi “Return of Ulusses” &
“Coronation of Poppea in 1642

RECITATIF SIMPLE VS. RECITATIF MESURE - Term used to describe the French
adaptation of Italian recitative found in tragedie en musique operas, such are
Armide by Lully. Lully, following the tradition before him, would usually use
irregular metric groupings to reflect the rhythms of the text. But when appropriate
to the poetry and drama, Lully would write in a fluid, measured style. Récitatif
simple describes the former, irregular style, in contrast to the measured style or
récitatif mesuré.

RECITATIVO ACCOMPAGNATO – ACCOMPANIED BY ORCHESTRA

RECITATIVO SECCO (DRY) – ACCOMPANIED ONLY BY HARPSICHORD (BASSO

CONTINUO)

SONATA (17TH C) - An instrumental work developed in the 17th century. Early

sonatas consisted of a number of small sections differentiated by musical material,
texture, mood, character, and sometimes meter and tempo. Examples can be found
in the works of Martini. As composers developed the model later in the century, they
became longer and more self-contained. They eventually separated the sections into
distinct, contrasting movements. Arcangelo Corelli is a well-known composer of
sonatas of this later style, particularly of trio sontate.

STYLE LUTH´E - Lute style, also referred to as ‘broken style,’ is a type of 17th
century performance practice for lute, but also became a strong influence on
harpsichord practice. It involves playing one note at a time, sketching the melody,
bass, and harmony in different registers

SUBSEMITONIUM - 17th century term describing the leading-tone of a key. It is the

tone a semitone below the final of the Ionian church mode. All other church modes
have instead the subtonium, a tone one whole step below the final

TERZO SUONO - Before Sauveur wrote about difference tones (the perceived pitch
frequency equal to the difference of two simultaneous tones), 17th century violinist
Giuseppe Tartini observed the effect and used it for tuning the violin.

TORELLI, GUISEPPE 1658-1709 – credited with developing features of mature

concerto; usually 3 mvmts F-S-F; fast mvmts have returns (begin w/ ritornello);
everyone pays ritornello & present thematic motiv material that return & soloist
plays figuration/virtuosic; tutti=everyone; concertino=small group of soloists in
concerto grosso; ripieno=full orchestra

TRAGEDIE EN MUSIQUE - French opera attributable to Jean-Baptiste Lully

reconciling the French demands for drama, music, and ballet. A tragedie en musique
had serious plots from ancient mythology or chivalrous tales with episodes of
romance, adventure, and adoration of the king (Lully worked under Louis XIV, who
used opera as a propaganda tool). The works began with an overture marking the
entry of the king, establishing the incredibly influential French overture style. They
were also marked by divertissements to break up the drama. Lully’s recitative and
airs were adapted from the Italian style, though generally much more reserved, with
a stronger focus on melody and little virtuosic display.

TUONO AND TONS DE L’EGLISE - During the 17th century, the term used for mode
or for any conception of tonal organization was tuono. It has multiple meanings
based on the usage. It is synonymous with mode, either the 12-mode system of
Zarlino or the 8-mode tons de l’enlise. The French term tons de l’eglise means
“church modes.” These were a collection of the eight ecclesiastical modes as they
were understood in the early 17th century, and were based on the eight chants of
Catholic psalmody known as the psalm tones. An early listing of them is found in
Banchieri’s Cartella musicale (1614

Late Baroque

COMBINATION TONES - Combination tones are a class of subjective tones that

include difference tones and summation tones. The difference tone, whose
perceived pitch frequency equals the frequency difference of two stimulus tones, is
the most audible species of combination tone. Summation tones – tones with
frequencies equivalent to the sums of the stimulus frequencies, are audible only to
some listeners. The discovery of difference tones is accredited to Tartini in the early
18th C. Summation tones were first reported by Helmholtz in the 19th Century

Concertato principle – refers to use of different groups of voices & instruments

together, specific & intentional listing by composers; indicates a diverse quality in
order to exploit contrast; Venice gives best development at St. Marks; most common
genre is polychoral moted – Gabrieli and divided choirs/cori spazzati

COUPERIN, FRANCOI 1668-1733 – known as the great organist from a musician

family; became organist du Roi 1701; teacher of the dauphin; known for his French
keyboard music; binary form, dotted rhythms

EXORDIUM - Rhetorical term meaning introduction. Exordium is the part of the

internal organization of dispositio, one of the five parts of classical rhetoric, which
determines the linear ordering and arrangement of a rhetorical argument into a
persuasive whole. Theorists of the Figurenlehere tradition adopted the rhetorical
model for conceiving a musical piece and working it out. Mattheson in particular
focuses his approach to musical rhetoric on inventio and dispositio, and uses
dispositio as a model for musical form

FORTSPINNUNG/VODERSATZ/EPILOGUE - Fortspinnung (spinning-forth) is a

German term conceived in 1915 to refer to the development of a musical motif. In
this process, the motif is developed into an entire musical structure by using
sequences, intervallic changes or simple repetitions. As a principle, it exposes a
thematic capus (German: Themenkopf) and from there on opens itself to a (mostly)
counterpuntal structure, while the reentry of same Themenkopf (often transposed)
diverts from the fact, that there is no actual closing formula in the
Fortspinnungsthema. The first part of a Fortspinnung development is the Vordersatz
(the antecedent or exposition of the motif). Next is the Fortspinnung proper
(development of the theme), and then finally the epilogue or cadence section

GALANT - Term used to describe a new style in the Rococo period of about 1725-
1775 . Galant style is a freer, more song-like, and homophonic style in contrast to
the older Germanic or Baroque style, which was stricter and more contrapuntal. The
galant style has shorter, more often repeated gestures or two to four measures,
which are then combined into larger units. These gestures are lightly accompanied
and with simple harmonies, and punctuated by frequent cadences. Aspects of galant
style are observable in the early symphonic works of Stamitz, J.C. Bach, Haydn, and
Mozart.

GRADUS SUAVITATIS - Term used by Euler (18th century mathematician and

theoriest) used to describe the agreeableness of a musical interval. Euler created an
index with which to measure gradus suavitatis by taking the prime factors of the
terms of the interval’s ratio, subtracting 1 from each factor, and adding one to the
subtotal. The smaller the total, the greater the degree of agreeableness

KLANGFUSSE - Sound-feet’ is a term coined by Mattheson in the 18th century that he

used to describe specific melodic patterns. He lists 26 different, commonly
appearing patterns named after the Greek metrical terms in Der Vollkommene
Capellmeister, which is in line with the rhythmopoeia tradition.

OMNIBUS PROGRESSION - The omnibus progression in music is a chord

progression characterized by chromatic lines moving in opposite directions. The
progression has its origins in the various Baroque harmonizations of the descending
chromatic fourth in the bass ostinato pattern of passacaglia, known as the "lament
bass". However, in its fullest form the omnibus progression involves a descent in the
bass which traverses a whole octave and includes every note of the chromatic scale.
It may also include one or more chromatic ascending tetrachords in the soprano,
tenor and alto. They are also known as "chromatic wedge progressions", in
reference to their wedge-like appearance in score

OPERA SERIA – Italian serious opera in late Baroque; subjects=history, heroism,

style feature=succession of recitative & arias; arias almost always in da capa form
(ABA) and displayed virtuosity; Example=”Julius Caesar” by Handel

PARTIMENTO - Partimento was an instructional tool for keyboard derived from the
basso continuo that encouraged improvisation as a path to musical fluency.
Following a guideline of basic axioms, including the Rule of the Octave, keyboardists
trained in partimento realization could improvise complex works over a mostly
unfigured bass. Giorgio Sanguinetti defines partimento as a sketch, written on a
single staff, whose main purpose is to be a guide for improvisation of a composition
at a keyboard. It was originally taught in Neapolitan conservatories in the late 17th
century, most notably under the instruction of Alessandro Scarlatti. As the
Neapolitan school gained international renown, the practice spread to other Italian
cities, and other parts of Europe. Nicola Porpora for example, the teacher of Haydn,
was a student of one of the founders of the partimento practice, Gaetano Greco. The
practice gradually fell out of fashion in the early 19th century.

JEAN-PHILLIPE RAMEAU - Rameau called the tonic chord of a work the ton
regnant, as well as the veritable tonique or the tonique principale. It is one of
Rameau’s three varieties of tonic chord, along with the ‘sensed tonic’ (temporary
tonic confirmed by its LT) and passing tonics (tonics not confirmed by a LT).

Dominant-tonique is used to describe one of the two fundamental elements of

harmony. Rameau argued that the root position triad (tonique) and the dissonant
dominant seventh chord (dominant) were the source of all harmonies, through
inversion and other processes. The dominant-tonique is the seventh chord that is a
fifth above a tonic triad, and its purpose it to propel the music back to the tonic. It
thereby defines the tonic as the musical goal, creating a sense of tonal directionality
and coherence.

Rameau called any dissonant chord that could not easily be described as seventh
chords ‘chords by subposition.’ The idea being that the seventh chord should be
used as a model for their resolution, namely that the dissonant tone should be
treated as a seventh. Ninth chords, suspensions, and appoggiatura, Rameau argued,
were essentially seventh chords for which the true bass tone (fundamental bass)
was implied rather than literally present.

Rameau uses the terms l’accord de grande sixte (chord of the big 6th), l’accord de
petite sixte (chord of the small 6th), and l’accord de seconde superfluë (chord of the
superfluous second) to refer to certain types of dissonant chords. Double emploi
used for FB.

Dominant and sous-dominant are terms used by Rameau defining the position of the
dominant seventh chord around a triad. The dominant is positioned a fifth above a
governing triad and has a dissonance of an added seventh. The sous-dominant
(under-dominant) is positioned a fifth below and has a dissonance of an added sixth.

Rameau’s theory states that all harmonic motion was guided by the motion of a
dominant seventh to its tonic. To explain the motion from a subdominant chord to a
dominant chord, Rameau used the term double-emploi. In this case, the
subdominant would carry its characteristic dissonance, the added sixth; that chord
would then be reinterpreted as a supertonic seventh chord as it moved to the
dominant. This allowed Rameau to interpret a I-ii6/5 – V motion from a literal I-IV-V
progression. This term was first used by Rameau in Nouveau systèm (1726).

Cadence parfait is a term Rameau uses in his Traité to describe the motion from a
dominant seventh chord to its tonic. It is one of two basic cadential types. The other,
the cadence irreguliere, is a chord built on the fourth degree of a scale moving to a
tonic, in which an added sixth makes the first chord dissonant, propelling it towards
a resolution.

The corps sonore, or ‘sounding body,’ is a term used in relation to the later
theoretical works of Rameau. In his 1722 treatise Traité, Rameau based his
harmonic theories on the harmonic and arithmetic division of a vibrating string.
Shortly after it was published, he became aware of acoustical research done by
Joseph Saveur demonstrating that the ratios from the harmonic division were in fact
audible in the resonance of that string (in the overtones, as we would refer to them).
Rameau celebrated this discovery as empirical evidence for the harmonic system he
had deduced. This revelation inspired Rameau to reinvent his concepts, changing
them from a Cartesian deductive system to a Newtonian empirical system. Rameau’s
Generation harmonique (1737) demonstrates his change of perspective.

Rameau’s opera still use Lully’s recitative simple/measuré but melodies consistent
with Rameau’s theorie and are more triadic than repetitive; he was criticized for
making his music more triadic instead of repetitive; his response as “Lully found
nature in France. I find it in music”

REGLE DE L’OCTAVE - Rule of the Octave is a tool used by keyboardist for the
accompaniment of a scale. The practice is typically associated with the Neapolitan
partimento practice. It determines a specific chord for each scale degree that in only
a few cases is the same as for another scale degree; but even in those cases, any
tonal ambiguity is avoided by the fact that the chord assigned to each scale degree
has a unique relationship with the preceding or following chord. Rule of the Octave
was essential in partimento training and, in Neapolitan tradition, was taught
immediately after the cadence types. It allows for a basic framework by which
keyboardist may quickly recognize harmonic patterns and quickly improvise over
them.

Riepel, joseph 1700-1782 – Austrian theoryis known for his innovation in theory
of melody & form

SONATA DA CHIESA(church) & SONATA DA CAMERA(chamber) – solo

instrument + b.c. (3 perople) or tior sonata as 2 solo instrument sin high range to
B.C. (4 people); sonata da camera=solo + bc (3 people) or tior sonata 2 solo
instruments + bc (4 people)
SONS EXTRAORDINAIRES - The simultaneous cluster of pitches produced by the
vibration of a string. In early study of acoustics (17th Century), Mersenne believed
that the single movement of the string as a whole vibrated the surrounding air in
diverse but related ways. But with the discovery of nodes and loops scientist
concluded that the partial tones above the fundamental sound of the vibrating string
also originated from the string itself

SONS HARMONIQUE - Pitch relationships of the harmonic series including the

natural series of flageolet tones, overblown partials, and overtones

Galant/Roccoco

EMPFINDSAM (SENTIMENTAL) STYLE - A relative to the galant style, the

empfindsamerstil is characterized by surprising turns of harmony, chromaticism,
and rhythm. It is most closely associated with C.P.E. Bach.; the sensitive style-much
in common w/ gallant style but noteworthy difference of: irregular short phrases,
light textures, some counterpoint, exaggerations of musical features such as long
pauses, startling modulations, use of deceptive adences, dissonance resolves
unexpectedly, enharminoic relations exploited, some imitation of recitative,
ornamentation almot always written out as it is integral to line, irregular note
values; note values change quickly

Viennese Classical

GRUNDACCORD - Following Rameau, 18th century theorist Johann Daube wrote

that there were only three fundamental chords (Hauptaccorden) in music; the tonic
(Grundaccord), the dominant seventh, and the subdominant. All other harmonies
were derived by some means from these three

KOCH, HEINRICH CHRISTOPH 18TH C - Koch defines a Satz as a single, basic

musical phrase. He concludes that the most useful and pleasing Satz should be four
measures long, a similar conclusion made by his predecessor in the Formenlehre
tradition, Rieple. A Satz may be conclusive (Absatz) or inconclusive (Schlussatz),
depending on the quality of the melody and cadence, and both are needed for the
completion of a larger formal segment, the period. The 19th C theorist A.B. Marx
defined Satz as a closed group of thematic material, and set it in opposition to Gang,
an open-ended thought. For Marx, a Satz could be primary, subsidiary, or closing in
nature, and it was the interplay between Satz and Gang that create the Sonata form.

For Koch, a musical period may be divided into two different types of Sätze,
inconclusive and conclusive. An Absatz is the inconclusive segment of the period,
and it is determined by the cadence type, which would be harmonically and
melodically weaker than the conclusive Schlussatz. It is a complete musical thought
which cannot conclude a period.
A Theil (plural Thile) is a melodic segment of a Satz.

An Einschnitt is a phrase segment. In Koch’s discussion of melody, he categorizes

methods of punctuation and resting points, just as in speech. For Koch, the complete
basic melodic phrase is the Satz, a four-measure musical utterance. The Satz may be
divided into parts, and these parts are called Einschnitte. It is an interior point of
articulation within a Satz.

Koch argues that a basic melodic phrase is four measures long. Phrases that were
longer or shorter than the four-measure model were considered artificially altered
in some way. An Erweitert phrase is one such alteration of the Satz. It translates to
‘extended ,’ and is a melodic phrase that is longer than the four-measure model, but
not necessarily a combination of two or model Sätze, which he called
Zusammengeschobene.

Anlage is the first part of what he calls the three-part process of composition. It is
the invention of the plan that contains the core material of the work. After the
Anlage is the Ausführung, which is a sketched-out realization of a composition, with
all of the sections of the form, and the Ausarbeitung (from which Schenker derives
the term Auskomponierung), in which the final details of its elaboration are worked
out. What we would call the sonata-form exposition is conceived by Koch as a single
main period (Hauptperiod) which also functions as the Anlage for the entire
movement.

Ruhepunkte des Geistes (resting points of the spirit) is the necessity for melody to
have proper and effective punctuation if it is to affect our feelings. It is that which
animates and brings beauty to a melody. For practical purposes, we may relate this
to Koch’s designs for musical form, cadence, periods, etc.

MANNHEIM SCHOOL – early classical, orchestra that contributed to develop of

sonata form

MEHRDEUTIGKEIT (MULTIPLE MEANINGS)- Because harmonies assume roman

numerals on the basis of pitch-class content rather that musical behavior, there are
no hard and fast criteria to determine which major or minor scale a particular
harmonic configuration refers to. A C major triad may be heard as tonic in C major,
dominant in F major or minor, or subdominant in G. One must take contextual
factors into account in order to narrow down the possibilities to a single roman
numeral. Introduced by Georg Joseph Vogler, Mehrdeutigkeit (multiple meanings)
describes a situation in harmonic theory whereby musical context for a given
phenomenon is unclear, or suggests more than one possible interpretation. A basic
example would be the concept of a pivot chord during modulation. The pivot chord
may have one original meaning in introductory musical material, but as accidentals
are introduced, new musical context suggests an alternate meaning for the pivot
chord, which is then confirmed with a cadence. A chord on a given scale degree is
reinterpreted as belonging to a different scale degree of a new key. Alternatively, a
chord may be enharmonically respelled, thus pointing to a new point of resolution,
such as a dominant seventh chord reinterpreted to become a German augmented
sixth chord

MONTE/PONT/FONTE - Monte, Ponte, and Fonte were GalantE style schemata

developed in the early Formenlehrer tradition by Riepel and adapted by Koch. The
fonte and monte are key sequence prototypes, while the ponte is a dominant
prolongation intended as an abbreviated retransition. Monte, which means going
up the mountain, consists of an ascending sequence (C-F followed by D-G in C
major), harmonically V of IV going to IV followed by a V of V going to V
movement. Fonte (going down a well), consists of a descending sequence (A-d
followed by G-C, again in C major), harmonically V of ii going to ii followed by a V to I
movement. Ponte (crossing a bridge) consists of a prolongation of the
dominant that closes on the tonic.

OPERA BUFFA – satire, amourous intrigue, simple harmonies, short phrases, simple
harmonic digressions; opera buffa began as an “intermezzo” - an opera buffa whose
acts were inserted between acts of a serious play or opera and characters were
ordinary; EXAMPLE=”La serva padrona” by Pergolesi 1733; low voices & natural
voices came to be preferred, delivered in patter style like Gilbert & Sulivan; uses
both types of recitative-recitative secco(harpsichord) & recitativo accompagnato
(Orchestra); La Serva Padrona was significant because story ridiculed the upper
class and ignited a controversy in Paris 1752 known as the “Querelle des Bouffons”
or War of the Baffoons when philosophes pointed to Rameau as bad and Pergolesi
style as new good. Royalty defended Rameau while philosophs defended new stle

PARAGENIC SPACES – Hepokoski and Darcy term from Elements of Sonata Theory.
Some sonata movements feature a parageneric space. Everything in the movement
that may set up or otherwise alter or frame the presentation of the sonata form is a
parageneric space. In such a movement, the most frequently encountered
parageneric space are accretions, which in the second half of the eighteenth century
came to be increasingly attractive options as add-ons to the basic structure; the
most common are codas and introductions. The coda is a parageneric space that
stands outside the sonata form.

SINGSPIEL - The Singspiel is the German version of a comic opera in the 18th
century. It contains spoken dialogue, musical numbers, and a usually comic plot.
Singspiels typically included native elements, such as folk songs, similar to a ballad
opera

STUFENTHEORIE VS. FUNKTIONTHEORIE - Scale-step theories of harmony gained

ground in the 18th century, particularly in the works of Vogler, Gottfried Weber, and
Sechter, as a framework for harmonic function. Chords build on each scale degree
were recognized in relation to a root scale-step (a Stufe), rather than a focus on
relationships between harmonies like tonic, dominant, and subdominant, as had
been done in the work of Rameau. As a means to identify Stufen, Vogler, and later
Weber, applied Roman numerals. Schenker’s twentienth-century theory of analysis
works from a Stufentheorie framework.

Function theory differs from Stufentheorie in that it goes beyond the description of
chords according to their position within the scale and constitutes a systematic
ratiocination of chordal relationships around a tonal center. The theoretical
underpinning lies in the dualistic interpretation of the Klang, which Riemann
believed generated the major and minor tonalities, one being a symmetrical
inversion of the other

STURM UND DRANG - Literary movement of the late 18th century influenced by
Rousseau, characterized by the expression of emotional unrest. In music history,
this movement is commonly associated with the middle period of Haydn’s
compositional style, from 1768 to 1772. In particular, the minor symphonies have
been described as having an emotional, agitated character, and contain more
contrapuntal sections, chromaticism, and dramatic surprises

SYMPHONIE CONCERTANTE- A concerto-like work in the late 18th century with

two or more solo instruments along with regular orchestra in which main material
is relegated to the soloists.

Early Romantic

BEL CANTO – to produce even tone throughout a singer’s range; ability to sing
legato; coloratura, fioratura, apparent ease of high notes, long phrases –
Example=Vincenzo Bellini “Norma”

COMPOSITION THEORIQUE/PRACTIQUE - The theory curriculum at the Paris

conservatories during the early 18th century was divided into composition
théorique and composition pratique. Théorique was constituted by courses in
elementary voice-leading and figured bass. Practique has courses in counterpoint,
fugue, and later instrumentation

HARMONIE SIMPLE OU NATURELLE VS HARMONIE COMPOSEE OUR

ARTIFICIELLE - Early 19th century French theorist Catel argued against the
prevailing harmonic theory of Rameau, whom emphasized chord generation from
the stacking of thirds. Catel posited that the ninth chord was the source of all
harmony. Chords that could be derived from the ninth chord were the harmonie
simple ou naturalle. The remaining chord types were the harmonie compose ou
artificielle, and they were chords resulting from the suspensions held over from
other natural chords. This theory represents an early mixing of Rameau’s vertical
approach to harmony and a horizontal voice-leading approach
HAUPTMANN, MORITZ - Moritz Hauptmann sought to provide for the first time a
natural, logical basis for the fundamental harmonic and metrical structural
categories of music in both their subjective and objective extensions. He argues for a
dialectical model of unity (Einheit), opposition (Zweiheit), and union (Verbindung)
for determining the functional members of a triad. This model is based on the
philosophical model proposed by Hegel. The functions are represented by the
intervallic relationships of octave, fifth, and third, respectively, and serve as the
basis for his dualistic origin of the triad.

Leve et frappe - Within the context of hypermeter, levé (upbeat) and frappe
(downbeat) refer to a sense of metrical accent, a fundamental pattern that Momigny
(early 19th century theorist) sees replicated at higher levels of musical structure.
The concept of metrical upbeats and downbeats was later taken up by Riemann in
his theory of hypermetrical structure.ethos

Mid Romantic

HARMONIELEHRE - Translates to harmony textbook. Harmonielehren were

generally used as a teaching tool for harmonic motion or function.

KLANG - A composite musical sound consisting of a fundamental pitch (Grundton)

and its upper partials (Obertöne), as opposed to noise (Geräusch) and to the
phenomenon of sound itself (usually Schall); it is sometimes used as a synonym for
Klangfarbe (‘timbre’ or ‘tone-color’). Riemann postulated a duality of the Klang,
claiming that it generates through symmetrical inversion both major and minor
tonalities. Those that believed in harmonic monism, like Schenker, instead believe
that the chord of nature (Naturklang), as what believed to be proven by the
overtone series, only gave rise to the major triad and tonality, and that the minor
tonality was an artificial created by musicians for practical performance.

Hauptklänge, or primary klangs, are the tonic, dominant, and subdominant chords
that Riemann privileges above other secondary types (Nebenklänge) within a key.
The central hauptklang is the tonic triad, because defines the key by both being and
having a quintschritt transformation.

Leittonwechsel – one of HHugo’s Riemann’s 3 contextual inversion operaions

on triads (other 2 are parallel and relative)

MONISM VS. DUALISM - Harmonic monism represents categories of music-

theoretical work that assume the abstract primacy of the major triad, which finds it
concrete form in the acoustic structure of the overtone series or in the properties of
certain advantaged integer ratios applied to string division. In this sense, the minor
triad is an artificial creation of the musician, derived from the major triad. Schenker
is one theorist who ascribed to this model.

Dualism, in contrast, represents categories of music-theoretical work that accepts

the absolute structural equality of major and minor triads as objects derived from a
single, unitary process that structurally contains the potential for binary
articulation. Hauptmann is an example of a harmonic dualist, because he argues that
both major and minor triads have the functions of unity, opposition, and union
determining their structure. Riemann is another famous dualist, who argues that the
triads are inversionally related.

NOTE SENSIBLE - Used by Fetis to descride the dynamic quality of the scale-degree
below the tonic, which has a strong melodic attraction to resolve to the tonic. Fetis
observed that melodic tones seemed to possess a force of attraction between them;
something Henry Cowell calls a ‘musical homing instinct

RIEMANN, HUGO – 3 contextual inversion operations on triads=parallel, relative &

Leittonwechsel
According to Riemann a Klang is a composite musical sound consisting of a
fundamental pitch (Grundton) and its upper partials (Obertöne), as opposed to noise
(Geräusch) and to the phenomenon of sound itself (usually Schall); it is sometimes
used as a synonym for Klangfarbe (‘timbre’ or ‘tone-color’). Riemann postulated a
duality of the Klang, claiming that it generates through symmetrical inversion both
major and minor tonalities. Those that believed in harmonic monism, like Schenker,
instead believe that the chord of nature (Naturklang), as what believed to be proven
by the overtone series, only gave rise to the major triad and tonality, and that the
minor tonality was an artificial created by musicians for practical performance.

Hauptklänge, or primary klangs, are the tonic, dominant, and subdominant chords
that Riemann privileges above other secondary klangs (Nebenklänge) within a key.
The central hauptklang is the tonic triad, because defines the key by both being and
having a quintschritt transformation.

Klangvertretung (chord representation) is the concept that even a single note

suggests an affiliation to one of the three principle functions; tonic, dominant, or
subdominant.

A Schritt (step) transformation preserves the polarity of the klangs to which they
are applied. Major chords that undergo a Schritt transformation stay major, and
minor chords stay minor. For example, a Quintschritt transposes a klang by a perfect
fifth, a chord of the same quality (CM to GM). A Wechsel (exchange) transformation
reverses the quality of the chord: major changes to minor, and minor changes to
major. A Leittonwechsel moves a Klang from one quality by moving the root pitch to
its leading-tone (C-E-G to B-E-G).

Scheinkonsonanz (apparent consonance) is the concept of associating primary and

secondary chords through a single change, what we could call a transformation. The
changed tone would be dissonant against the primary Klang, but sound consonance
with the secondary Klang. Three methods of transformation are identified by
Riemann: Parallele, Variante, and Leittonwechsel.

A parallel transformation, or P, is the act of adding a sixth and removing a fifth from
a major chord, or in the case of a minor chord, replacing the root with the lowered
seventh. It is a single pitch change that moves the harmony to its parallel major or
minor harmony. Riemann’s discusses three secondary klangs which are measured
as being parallel to their primary couterparts. For example, in C Major, the fifth of
the tonic triad C-E-G can be replaced with the sixth above (A) resulting in the
Tonikparallel (C-E-A or A-C-E), which, in Stufentheorie, may simply be referred to as
the submediant. In the same manner, the Dominantparallel (Dp) of C Major is E
minor (the mediant), and the Subdominantparallel of C Major is D minor (the super
tonic).

A Variante, also referred to as a Relative transformation, or R, changes the third of a

major or minor chord by one semitone in order to create the relative of that chord
(C-E-G to C-Eflat-G). A Leittonwechsel, or L, is a semitone motion that replaces the
root of a major chord with the leading tone (C-E-G to B-E-G) or the fifth of a minor
chord to its submediant (A-C-E to A-C-F).

The System der musikalischen Rhythmik und Metrik (Leipzig, 1903), Hugo Riemann's
most comprehensive treatment of musical rhythm, rests on three interdependent
principles: Agogik, Auftaktigkeit , and Achttaktigkeit. Agogik, the agogic principle, is
a theory of temporal shading involving a slight acceleration toward the downbeat
and a slight lengthening of that downbeat in musical performance. Agogic and
dynamic shading vivify and delineate individual gestures (measure-motives).
Auftaktigkeit is the theory that music generally proceeds from upbeat to downbeat,
from light to heavy, from question to answer. Achttaktigkeit, the theory of the eight-
measure phrase, relates all musical phrases, regardless of actual length, to an
idealized eight-measure model comprised of nested parings of half-phrases, two-
measure groups, and measure-motives. Schlußwirkung (literally close-working) is
Riemann’s term for ‘cadential action,’ and is used in reference to his end-accented
theory of harmonic rhythm.

RUHE-BEWEGUNG-RUHE – Rest-motion-rest is the fundamental ternary formula I

which, according to A.B. Marx, every musical utterance is embodied, from a four-bar
sentence (Satz) to the sonata form. It is the basis for Marx’s incredibly influential
sonata form theory, which establishes the long-standing sense of sonata form as an
essentially ternary design. In his theory, the development section acts as the
primary driver of motion in the sonata, and the exposition and recapitulation serve
as points of rest or closure (in the harmonic sense). Thus in Marx’s theory the
sonata form may be said to realize as fully as possible the underlying formal impulse
in music

Sentence – seen in Schubert, Schumann, Wagner) - = Basic idea, Basic Idea

Repeated, (Fragmentation), Cadential idea EXAMPLE LvB’s 1st piano sonata in fm;
The sentence in music has frequently been metaphorical. Especially before the latter
half of the 20th c, different musicians and theorists employ and define the term in
different ways. For example in 1930 it is defined by Macpherson as athe smallest
period in musical composition that can give the impression of a complete state.
Schoenberg applied the term sentence to a very specific structural type distinct from
the antecedent-consequent period. In a sentence’s 1st part, a statement of a basic
motive is followed by a complementary repetition (e.g. the 1st=tonic version of the
shape reappears in the V version) in its second part this material is subjected to
reduction or condensation with the intention of bringing the statement toa
pproperly liquidated statate and cadential conclusion. The sentence was 1 of a
number of basic form types Schoenberg described through analysis; another was
the period. In schoenberg’s view, the sentence is a higher form of construction than
the period. It not only makes a statement of an idea but at once starts a kind of
development.

Schoenberg’s conception of the sentence has been widely adopted in music theory
and appears in many introductory music theory textbooks. While schoenger’g
conception of the sentence is trationally used in analysis of music from the classical
period, it has also been applied to the classical music of the 19th and 20th c and to
Americn pop songs from the early 20th c.

SIMON SECTHER – 19tth c liturgical Viennese composer; teacher of Bruckner who

strongly favored just intonation claiming its natural foundation and conceived the
most full-blown theory of the fundamental bass ever conceived; he helped revitalize
Viennese harmonic theory from reliance on figured-bass pedagogy; his teachings
eventually found their way into treatises by Schoenberg & Schenker. Sechter’s
teachings infused both fundamental-bass theory and chordal scale-degree theory
not unlike Weber. Sechter lists both triads and 7ths chords as fundamental
harmonies as most other Stufentheorie pedagogues and doesn’t try to justify the
generation of these chords in any scientific way. Sechter utilizes both letter notation
& roman numerals popularized by Vogler and Weber. Taught that a key is
articulated by the presence of a scale’s diatonic degrees and is most clearly seen in
the Ssechterian Chain of descending 5ths. Like Rameau, he attributes a fundamental
tone to every chord. The progression of these tones by the fundamental bass was
limited to the intervallic structure of Rameau’s l’accord parfait, that is, by ascending
or descending fifths and thirds and fundamental bass movement by a diminished 5th
or impure 5th between 2nd and 6th degress prohibited.Sechter made use of a
concealed fundamental (Zwischenfundament) between the 2 bass tones i.e.
interpolated fundamental D mediates between F and G. Sechter viewed chromatics
as hybrid chords (zwitterakkorde) made of of notes derived from multiple keys i.e.
augmented 6th chord. Sechter is credited to paving the way for Schenker’s
discussion of Stufen in Harmonielehre 1906and his later theories of prolongation
and structural levels. The Sechter’sch Kette (Sechterian Chain) is a descending fifth
progression that represents Sechter’s ideal harmonic motion of tonal music. It is a
progression that most clearly articulates a key, according to Sechter, and creates a
falling fifth FB motion with its reversal, an ascending fifth progression, yielding
what Sechter termed a Wechselwirkung, or reciprocal effect.

The term Zwischenfundament was used by Sechter as part of the integration of

Rameau’s fundamental bass theory with thorough-bass Stufentheorie. The
Zwischenfundament, or concealed fundamental, is a technique that Rameau had
occasionally used by interpolating a fundamental bass tone in between two existing
bass tones. The process explains a FB motion that descends by step, a motion that
would otherwise be prohibited. For example, a bass line that moves from G to F can
be said to have a concealed FB of C between the two chords, creating the necessary
fifth motion.

Zwitterakkorde (hybrid chords) are chromatic chords made up of notes derived

from multiple keys. An example would be the augmented sixth chord. Sechter
considered chromatic chords to be essentially diatonic in nature, as an altered
diatonic chord containing notes of some neighboring key.

Zwischendominante is Sechter’s term for a secondary dominant. In essence, the first

chord of a stepwise progression approaches the second by means of a descending
fifth.

TONNETZ - A Tonnetz is an abstract representation of functional relationships

between triadic harmonies. The Tonnetz originally appeared in the work of Euler,
and they were also used by Oettingen and Schoenberg. But it is more commonly
associated with the 19th century theorist Riemann, who used a Tonnetz to depict
spatial distances between harmonies. In Riemann’s Tonnetz, one could trace the
motion of musical harmonies through his three fundamental types of
transformation, P, R, and L, or combinations thereof. The Tonnetz has been
developed further by more modern theorists such as Tymoczko.

TONICITY/PHONICITY - Terms used by Ottingen in the mid-19th century as part of

his dualistic approach to harmony. Tonicity corresponds to the property of an
interval or chord to be grasped as a partial of a fundamental. For example, the tonic
fundamental of the interval C1-G1 is C, since the pitches that constitute the interval
may be understood as partials of C. This also meant that minor triads would have a
fundamental different than the pitches sounded within it. For example a C-Eb-G has
a tonic fundamental of Ab. Phonicity corresponds to the property of the pitches that
constitute an interval or chord to possess common partials. The lowest of all such
common partials is called the phonic overtone. The phonic overtone of the interval
C1-G1 would be G2

Late Romantic

Klangver-wandtschaft - Term used by Helmholtz to describe the affinity of the

upper partials of two or more tones. According to Helmholtz, it is this affinity and
the absence of beats that give the perception of musical consonance.

LEITMOTIF – A leitmotif or leitmotiv is a "short, constantly recurring musical

phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the
musical concepts of idée fixe or motto-theme. A musical motif has been defined as a
"short musical idea ... melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic, or all three", a salient
recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special
importance in or is characteristic of a composition: "the smallest structural unit
possessing thematic identity." Leitmotif is most commonly associated with Wagner,
who used the technique in his operatic works, such as the Ring cycle, to emphasis a
particular idea in the drama, or in association with particular characters.

MUSIC DRAMA - not a #s opera but much mor continuous with less places to
applaud; voice not only factor; all arts should contribute equally
GESAMTKUNSTWERK – total art work; orchestra treated differently – now supplied
main motivic material-leitmotiv(leading motive); singing style=arioso-long,
sustained notes, very powerful voices of Heldentenor(heroic); large orchestra with
quadruple WW; Wagner invented his own brass instruments (cross between French
horn & tuba called Wagner tubas); Wagner made innovations in theatre design

SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE - This is an acoustical phenomenon by which a

vibratory body responds to the resonance another. Sounds waves, traveling through
air, can transmit energy from one vibrator to another if the second vibrator
possesses the same natural frequency, or has a frequency that is an integral multiple
of that natural frequency. The effect can be observed by, for example, depressing the
sustained pedal of a piano and singing a pitch. The energy from ones voice will cause
the piano string of that same pitch to vibrate, as well as the other strings tuned to its
harmonic overtones (octave, fifth, third, etc.)

TONPSYCHOLOGIE - Coined by Carl Stumpf in the late 19th century, Tonpsychologie

is a term used to designate a new discipline that placed musical acoustics and
physiology in the service of psychology. It was philosophically oriented, and limited
to the experiential aspects of elementary tonal organization concerned with the
study of vibration, the ear, and the sensation of sound.
TONVER-SCHMELZUNG - This is a Tonpsychologie term meaning ‘tonal fusion.’ It is
the phenomenon of two tones blending to the extent that they are sensed to be
unified. It is essentially Stumpf’s term for consonance. Stumpf deemed this
characteristic to be an unanalyzable percept of the mind. The tonal fusion of dyads,
he asserted, is entirely a function of the ratios of the fundamental frequencies of the
two tones – even if slightly mistuned – and is independent of timbre, loudness, or
register.

20th C

acoustic scale – also known as overtone scale, Lydian dominant scale or Lydian b7
scale and contains an augmented fourth and a minor seventh scale degree it is the
4th mode of the melodic minor ascending scale. The term acoustic scale is sometimes
used to describe a particular mode of this 7-note collection (e.g. specific ordering C-
D-E-F#-G-A-Bb) and is sometimes used to describe the collection as a whole (e.g.
including orderings such as EF#GABbCD; observed in music of South Siberia
especially in Tyvan music. The acoustic scale appears sporadically in 19th C music
notably in works of Liszt and Debussy and also plays a role in music of 20th C
composers including Stravinsky & Bartok. The term acoustic scale was coind by
Erno Lendvai in his analysis of the music of Bela Bartok. The name acoustic scale
refers to the resemblance oto the 8th – 14th partials in the harmonic series.

Harmonic series=C1C2G2C3E3G3B7b3 C4D4E4Fraised 4G4A13b4B4C5 with

bolded notes spelling out the acoustic scale on C4.

The acoustic scale may have formed from a major triad (CEG) with an added m7 and
#4 (Bb & F# from the overtone series) and a M2 and M6 (D & A). Lendvai described
the use of the acoustic system accompanying the acoustic scale in Bartok’s music
since it entails structural characteristics such as symmetrically balanced sections,
especially periods, is contrasted with his use of the goleden section. In Bartok’s
music, the the acoustic scale is characterized in various ways including diatonic
dynamic, tense, and triple-or other odd-metered as opposed to the music structured
by the Fibonacci sequence which is chromatic, static, relaxed and duple-metered

Another way to think of the acoustic scale is that it occurs ias a mode of the melodic
minor scale starting on the 4th degree thus being analogus to the Dorian mode.
Hence the acoustic scale starting on D is DEF#G#ABCD containing the familiar
sharpened F and G of A melodic minor. The F# turns to D minor tetrachord into a
major tetrachord and the G# turns it Lydian. Therefore many occurreneces of this
scale in jazz may be regarded as unsurpriseing ; it shows iup in modal improve and
composition over harmonic progressions which invite use of the melodic minor.

MESSIAEN – ADDED VALUE, MOMENT FORM -

aggregate – all 12 pitches of row

ANSTIEG – initial ascent (Schenker)- ascending motion leading to the primary tone
(KOPFTON) of the fundamental line which then descends per his edit in 1930

ARTICULATION OF THE SPAN – the canonic form of the bass arpeggiation is I-V-I
with second interval V-I forming under 2-1 steps the perfPAC ad is not susceptible
of elaboration at the background level. The first span I-V is usually elaborated as
with I-IV-V or I-ii-V,

AUSFALTUNG (UNFOLDING – an elaboration in Schenker theory by which several

voices of a chord or of a succession of chords are combined in one single line
in such a manner that a tone of the upper voice is connected to a tone of the inner
voice and then moves back or the reverse. At the end of Schuert’s Wanderers
Nachtlied op. 4 no. 3 the vocal melody unfolds 2 voices of the succession I-V-I; the
lower voice BbAbGb is the main 1, expressing the tonality of GbM; the upper voice
DbCbBb is doubled 1 octave lower in the RH accompaniment

CAPLIN, WILLIAM B. 1948 – an American theorist who lives and works in Montreal
where he is a James MCGill Professor at the Schylich School of Music at McGill
University; Pres. Of SMT from 2005-07 and VP from 2001-03. Early work
concentrated on history of MUTH but he is best known for a series of articles & 2
bks on musical form in European music around 1800. The 1st of those books
“Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Music of Haydn, Mozart, and
Beethoven has been widely influential and was a major factor in the revival of
interest in musical form in U.S. MUTH. This book expounds a theory & analytical
method for the music of the high classical era. The theory is grounded in 18th c
compositional pedagogy & in work by A. Schoenberg. Broadly, the theory can be
understood as a generalized taxonomy of classical form gleaned from large
repertory of works rather than the description of the organic wholeness or the
uniqueness of events in any one work.

Schoenberg’s concept of the basic idea (2-mm unit) and his distinction between
period and sentence-2 models for these-are the foundation for a theory based on a
dichotomy between “tight-knit” and “loose” designs and on the “Beginning,”
“middle,” “end” functions. The core figure is the theme (genrally 8-mms) but formal
functions can be extended outward to form sections and entire movements. “Tight-
knit” themes and small forms are the sentence, period, hybrid & compound (16-
mms) themes, small ternary, and small binary. “looser formal regions” are the
subordinate theme, transition, development, recapitulation, and coda.
The period is the symmetrical or balanced design familiar from triad. Form theory:
an antecedent phrase with 2 contrasting ideas is followed by a consequent phrase
that repeats or slightly varies the initial 2-bar idea & adds a cadential idea to close.
The sentence is a progressive or developmental design, where a presentation phrase
consists of an idea and its repetition often varied or transposed followed by a
continuation phrase that fragments the initial idea by breaking it into 1-bar motives
and thereby accelerating movement toward the cadence. The less common hybrid
these mix the components in variously different ways (the antecedent +
continuation theme)

THEME TYPES:
Sentence
Period
Hybrid 1: antecedent + continuation
Hybrid 2: antecedent + cadential*
Hybrid 3: compound basic idea + continuation
Hybrid 4: compound basic idea + consequent

*Hybrid 2 “cadential” refers to a phrase where a typical progression in a

cadence (usually 2 bars) is stretched over the entire phrase. Often this
function is filled by the Expanded Cadential Progression (ECP) or I6-ii6-V-I.
*Hybrids 3 & 4 – the compound basic idea is itself a hybrid – it has the antecedent’s
basic idea & contrasting idea pair but it has the presentation’s usually simple tonic
prolongation . From these examples it can be seen that harmony has a powerful
often determining role in Caplin’s theory,

Compound themes are ot 2 types-the 16mm period (same as a trad. Double period &
16-mm sentence). The 16-mm period opens with an antecedent consisting of any 8-
bar theme which ends with a HC rather than a PAC. The 8-bar consequent repeats
the opening but adjusts the cadence to a PAC. The 16-mm sentence is
paradigmatically an 8-mm presentation consisting of a compound basic idea and its
repetition followed by an 8-bar continuation with the type features of fragmentation
and sequence.

TIGHT-KNIT THEME – In larger contexts in classical era music passages of tight-knit

and loose-knit functions tend to alternate, the tight-knit units being represented by
the themes above the loose knit units by isolated phrases, model-sequence groups,
standing on the dominant and other entities.

combinatoriality – process using 2 row forms I5 & Po 1 ½ of each (Babbitt’s term)

COMPOSERS’ COLLECTIVE – m1930s music for people/folk

DEVELOPING VARIATION – SCHOENBERG’S TERM – expanding an orig. motive

that is constantly being developed & varied example=Schoenber’g Street Quartet is
highly organized and varying theme; BASIC UNIT PRODUCES ALL THEMATIC
FORMULATIONS WHICH PROVIDE FOR FLUENCY, contrasts, variety, logic, unity,
character, and moot expression thus elaborating the idea of the piece ; heard in
Mahler Symph 4 #1

FIRST ORDER NEIGHTER – Schenker-head not of fundamental line often

decorated by a neighbor not of first order= scale degrees 3-4-3 or 5-6-5 with
harmony supporting often IVth or 7th degree which may give rise to a section of the
work at the subdominant

DISSONANT COUNTERPOINT – a compositional method based on subverting the

rules associated with traditional contrapuntal techniques; dissonant intervals are
used primarily and while consonant intervals are allowed, they are preceded and
followed by dissonant intervals. The early development of dissonant counterpoint
(194=14-17) involved the collaborative efforts of Henry Cowell and Charles Seeger
at the University of California Berkeley. Also found in works of Crawford(String
Quartet organized by dynamics and expressed dissonant counterpoint idea as a
spiritual, transformational experience; dissonance reversed with consonantce
resolving to dissonance; spiritual quality of dissonance

ENERGETICS - The term “energetics” was a first coined in 1934 by Rudolph Schäfke,
who proposed it as a way of characterizing the work of several theorists active in
the 20th century, primarily Schenker, Halm, and Kurth. It involves a thematicization
of force elements, like tension and release, and understanding of musical logic as a
succession of events, and the centrality of form.

Ernst Kurth’s Kraftwelle (force-wave) approach to musical form posits a dynamic

rising and falling of musical tensions throughout a work dictated by melodic,
harmonic, rhythmic, tonal and orchestral activity. He argues that musical forces are
imbued with potential and kinetic energies which are continuously being developed
that wax and wane in “undulatory phases.” In this energetic theory of symphonic
form, it is the gradual building of tensions, finally marked with a climactic peak, and
the release of that energy that govern a work’s structure. Kurth argues that melody
and harmony had within them inherent energies (melodic/harmonic force) which
drove musical form. Melodies had kinetic energy, releasing tension (potential
energy) stored in harmonies. He further proposes a psychological interpretation of
chords where the ‘fusion’ (verschmelzung) of staked thirds and the resultant ‘feeling
of gravity’ (Schwerkraftempfindung) weighing upon a fundamental may transform
an acoustically dissonant sonority into a psychologically satisfying resolution, as
with the dominant seventh in the third measure of the Tristan prelude.
Bewegungsempfindung is the ‘kinesthetic energy’ which Kurth believes is a primal
element of melody. Kurth argues that the onset of a melody creates an initial
melodic energy and an initial tonal energy which react to each other over the course
of a work. The harmonic-tonal play of forces he calls Kräftespiel. According to Kurth,
the simplest manifestation of melodic energy is the developmental motive
(Entwicklungsmotiv). It is a distillation of melody down to pure symbols of motion,
found typically in developmental passages, though not exclusively. These melodic
kernels are shaped to express various dynamic tendencies, and are integrated into
local contexts based on the overarching dynamic profile.

Bewegungsanstoß (Dynamic impulse) is a term referring to the dominant-tonic

progression, which Halm believed to be music’s primal motion. Halm argued that
music had its own internal energy driving toward this goalGalan

GRUNDGESTALT - The central tenet of Schoenberg’s theory of atonal coherence.

Following an Organicist perspective, Grundgestalt (basic shape) is the source of
musical material upon which all subsequent material is based. The simpliest
example of an identifiable Grundgestalt would be the prime form of a 12-tone row in
a dodecaphonic work. However, a Grundgestalt need not be a twelve-tone row; it
could be any basic musical material on which a piece may be written

IMAGINARY LANDSCAPES (JOHN CAGE – a series of 5 pieces all of which include

instruemnts or other elements requiring electricity; #4 (1951) is notable as its
instrumentation required 24 performers at 12 radios illustrating Cage’s exposure to
the I Ching and its influence in producing aleatoric/chance music

Integral serialism/total serialism – the use of series for aspects such as duration,
dynamics, and register as well as pitch;

INTERVAL CYCLE (generated collection)– a collection of pitch classes created

from a sequence of the same interval class – a collection of at least 3 pitches by
starting with a certain note and going up by a certain interval until the original note
is reached (i.e.C going up 3 half steps repeatedly until C is reached again – the cyle is
the collection of all the notes met on the way)Interval cycles unfold a single
recurrent interval in a series that closes with a return to the initial pitch class;
ascending form of a semitonal scale=P cyle; descending form=I cyle while
inversionally related dyads=P/I dyads. P/I dyads will always share a sum of
complementation. Cyclec sets=alternate elemnets unfold complementary
cycles of a sing interval that is an acending & descending cyle EXAMPLE=Ber’g
Lyric Suite contains a cyclic set (sum 9); Berg’s 1920 Master Array of Interval
of all 12 interval cyclesCycles=
Cycles P 0 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
P I I 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910110

KLANGFARBENMELODIE - Klangfarbenmelodie (sound-color melody) is a musical

technique that involves splitting a musical line or melody between several
instruments, rather than assigning it to just one instrument (or set of instruments),
thereby adding color (timbre) and texture to the melodic line. The term derives
from Arnold Schoenberg's Harmonielehre, where he discusses the creation of
"timbre structures." Schoenberg (the third of his Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16)
and Anton Webern (Op. 10) are particularly noted for their use of the technique.
Kurth cites Klangfarbenmelodie as a method for creating timbral energy in his
theories of orchestration

L’ACCORD A RESONANCE CONTRACTE - ‘Chord with a contracted resonance’ is a

term used by Messian to describe one of his invented chords.

LEAPING PASSING TONE (SPRINGENDER DUCHGANG – a particular type of

arpeggiation with Schenker’s description as I outlined in bass Do, Mi, Sol (also IDs as
(V) tto Do I; tenor/alto line is SO(I)-Fa (7th in V)-Mi(I); Soprano=Mi(I)-Re(V)-D(I).
The leaping passing tone occurs in the bass on Sol and is defined as the divider at
the fifth and the passing tone motion is in the upper voices. EX=Haydn’s FM Sonata,
Hob. XVI:29 at end of bar 3

MESSIAEN, OLIVIER 1908-1992 – best known for Quartet for the End of Time
written when he was a P.O.W. in WWI; features=palindromic rhythm, isothythmic

MICROPOLYPHONY – a type of polyphonic musical texture developed by Liget and

then imitated by other 20th c composers, which consists of many lines of dense
canons moving at different tempos or rhythms, thus resulting in tone clusters
vertically; according to David Cope micropolyphony resembles cluster chords but
differs in its use of moving rather than static lines; it is a simultaneity of different
lines, rhythms, and timbres

LINEAR PROGRESSION – a ZUG (linear progression) is the stepwise filling of some

consonant interval. It usually is underlined in graphic analyses with a slur from the
1st note of the progression to the last. The most elementary linear progressions are
determined by the tonal space that they elaborate. They span from the prime to the
3rd, from the 3rd to 5th or from 5th to 8th of the triad, in ascending or descending
direction. There are no other tonal spaces than those of 1-3, 3-5, 5-8. There is no
origina for passint-tone-progressions or for melody. Linear progressions may be
either 3rd progressions (TERZZÜGE) or 4th progressions (QUARTZUGE); LARGER
PROGRESIONS RESULT FROM A COMBO OF THESE. Linear progressions may be
incomplete (deceptive) when 1 of their tones is replaced by another, but
nevertheless suggested by the harmony in the example below, the 1st bars of LvB’s
sonata op. 109 the bass line descends from e3 to e2 to F#2 is replaced by b1 in order
to mark the cadence but remains implicit in the b chord. In addition the top voice
answers the bass line by a voice exchange e4-F#4-G#4-F#2-E2 after a descending
arpeggio of the EM chord. The bass line is doubled in parallel t10ths by the alto
voice descending from G#4 to G#3 and the tenor voice alternatively doubles the
soprano and the bass as indicated by the dotted slurs. It is the bass line that governs
the passage as a whole: it is the leading progression o n which all the other voice
depend and which best expresses the elaboration of the EM chord. Schenker
describes lines covering a 7th or 9th as illusory considering tht they stand for a 2nd
with register transfer; they don’t fill a tonal space, they pass from 1 chord to
ahother.
METRIC MODULATION – term coined by Carter where the tempo and meter evolve
from the old meter into the new meter through an intermediate meter or rhythmic
organization of materials; proportional relationship e.g. 3 old sixteenth notes=1 new
quarter

MISCHUNG / MIXTURE – Schenker calls this a change of mode of the tonic

MILHAUD – Botofogo – Brazian dance rhythms in LH in fm and f#m in RH

NEUE SACHLICHKEIT/NEUR SACHLICHKEIT = neoclassicism; movement that

began during WWI wheein Baroque forms were re-explored with addition of new
tonal limits; generally smaller chamber works which was good at time due to many
men in war; nostalgia to incorporate older aspects of musical style applied in a new
way – specifically Baroque forms; also arose as a practical ideal for smaller forces
after WWI as this style arose during WWI when men at war: Formalist aesthetic-
absolute music; excessive emotionalism of the past is a no-no;
EXAMPLE=Stravinsky’s Octet

ORGANICISM - Organicism might broadly be described to be the view that music

ought properly to be modelled on the paradigm of the living entity. A musical work
should seem to grow, rather than seem to have been constructed. It should contain
the seeds of its own development, and progress according to its own internal
makeup, rather than seeming to be built from the outside. An example of organicist
idea in music theory would be Schoenberg’s Grundgestalt, a basic concept from
which an entire piece could be developed.

POLYSCALARITY - Polyscalarity is defined as "the simultaneous use of musical

objects which clearly suggest different source-collections (Tymoczko 2002, 83)
"Specifically in reference to Stravinsky's music, Tymoczko uses the term
polyscalarity out of deference to terminological sensibilities (Tymoczko 2002, 85).
In other words, the term is meant to avoid any implication that the listener can
perceive two keys at once. Though Tymoczko believes that polytonality is
perceivable, he believes polyscalarity is better suited to describe Stravinsky's music.
This term is also used as a response to Van den Toorn's analysis against
polytonality. Van den Toorn, in an attempt to dismiss polytonal analysis used a
monoscalar approach to analyze the music with the octatonic scale. However,
Tymoczko states that this was problematic in that it does not resolve all instances of
multiple interactions between scales and chords. Moreover, Tymoczko quotes
Stravinsky's claim that the music of Petrouchka's second tableau was conceived "in
two keys" (Tymoczko 2002, 85). Polyscalarity is then a term encompassing multi-
scalar superimpositions and cases which give a different explanation than the
octatonic scale.
POLYSTYLISM – the use of multiple styles or techniques and is a postmodern
characteristic; examples=Rochberg, Ives, Satie

Register transfer – the motion of 1 or several voices into a different octave (into a
different register). Schenker considers that music normally unfolds in 1 register, the
“obligatory reregister (G. Obligate Lage) but at times is displaced to higher or lower
registers. These are called respectively “ascending register transfer” (. Höherlegung)
and descending register transfer (G. Tieferlegung). Register transfers are
particularly striking in piano music where contrasts of register and distance
between 2 hands may have a striking, quasi orchestral effect COUPLING is when the
transferred parts retain a link with their original register. The work appears to
unfold in 2 registers in parallel

ROTATIONAL ARRAY - Rotation is a characteristic element of Stravinsky’s serial

works. It is a pre-compositional technique, for which he selects a row in prime form
and three untransposed row forms: R, I, and the inversion of R (IR, not to be
confused with the retrograde inversion RI). After the rotation material is selected,
one can then build a rotational array, which is a complex of rotational material. To
build a rotational array, the row is divided into two hexachords. Each hexachord is
then independently rotated to create hexachords beginning on each pitch of the
original, and then finally each rotation is transposed to begin on the pitch of the
original hexachord. Rotational arrays can be constructed for each of the
untransposed row forms to create a complete rotational chart that can be applied to
a piece of music. One such example of Stravinsky’s work which uses rotational
arrays is his Requiem Canticles.

SCHENKER - The Ursatz (also called the background) is the basic, abstract
representation of the structural pillars of a piece of music. An Ursatz has two
components, an Urlinie and a Bassbrechung. The Urlinie is the background
representation of the upper voice motion, which according to traditional
Schenkerian theory is a descending, stepwise line beginning from the third, fifth, or
arguably eighth scale degrees of the tonic triad. The Bassbrechung is the background
representation of the underlying bass motion, which typically moves from the root
of the tonic triad to the fifth scale degree, and then back again. A Stufe (borrowed
from Stufentheorie) delineates a scale-step of the Urlinie.

Auskomponierung (composing out) is a form of prolongation by which the space of

an interval is filled in using stepwise motion over a period of time. The fundamental
idea behind Schenkerian analysis is the composing out of a tonic triad, which
Schenker believes governs the structural coherence of a well-composed piece of
music. The descending Urlinie over a Bassbrechung is the deepest level of
Auskomponierung in a work. However, composing out can be found in any level of
analysis, filling in various types of intervals.
When a group of at least two descending tones is used to place an inner voice in a
higher register, it is called ‘reaching over,’ (Übergreifen). This can occur in either
direct superposition or consecutively. The purpose of reaching over is to confirm
the original pitch level or to gain another, and it can occur with the effect of a
neighbor note, a linear progression which has the sense of an initial ascent, or an
arpeggiation.

A Zug is any linear progression. It is the product of the composing-out, or the step-
wise filling-in, of a consonant interval. It usually is indicated in graphic analyses
with a slur from the first note of the progression to the last. The most elementary
linear progressions are determined by the tonal space that they elaborate: they span
from the prime to the third, from the third to the fifth or from the fifth to the octave
of the triad, in ascending or descending direction. Schenker writes: "there are no
other tonal spaces than those of 1–3, 3–5, and 5–8. There is no origin for passing-
tone- progressions, or for melody” Linear progressions, in other words, may be
either third progressions (Terzzüge) or fourth progressions (Quartzüge); larger
progressions result from a combination of these. Linear progressions may be
incomplete (deceptive) when one of their tones is replaced by another, but
nevertheless suggested by the harmony. Schenker describes lines covering a
seventh or a ninth as "illusory", considering that they stand for a second (with a
register transfer): they do not fill a tonal space; they pass from one chord to another.
A Schicht is a specific structural level within a sketch. Schenker used the term to
differentiate between levels of middleground analysis.

In Free Composition, Schenker defines “interruption” as the division of the

fundamental line. As a linear progression of a third, the fundamental line represents
the smallest case of composing out, which cannot be further split. Therefore, the line
can only be interrupted and restarted to create further delay in its completion. A
fundamental line may be divided as follows: 3-2:3-2-1, or in the case of a five-line, 5-
4-3-2:5-4-3-2-1. The initial descent gives the impression of a failed attempt to
complete the fundamental line.

SCHENKERIAN ANALYSIS – a method of analyzing tonal music basedon theories of

Schenker (1868-1935) with goal to demonstrate the organic coherence of the work
by showing how it realtes to an abstract deep structure, the Ursatz. This primal
structure is roughly the same for any tonal work, but a Schenkerian analysis shows
how, in an individual case, that structure develops into a unique work at the
foreground – the level of the score itself. A key theoretical concept is that of tonal
space. The intervals between the notes of the toni triad in the background form a
tonal space that is filled with passing and neighbor notes, producing new triads and
new tonal spaces open for further elaborations until the surface of the work is
reached.

The analysis uses a specialized symbolic form of musical notation. Although

Schenker himself usually presents his analyses in the generative direction, starting
from the fundamental structure (ursatz) to reach the score and showing how the
work is somehow generated from the Ursatz, the practice of Schenkerian analysis
more often is reductive, starting from the score and showing how it can be reduced
to its fundamental structure. The graph of the Ursatz is arrhythmic. Even at
intermediate levels of the reduction, rhythmic signs (open and closed noteheads,
beams & flags) show not rhythm but the hierarchical relationships between pitch0-
events.

Schenkerian analysis is an abstract, complex and difficult method, not always clearly
expressed by Schenker himself nor always clearlyunderstood.It mainly aims at
showing the internal coherence of the work, a coherence that ultimately resides in
its being tonal In some respects, a Schenkerian analysis can reflect the perceptions
and intuitions of the analyst.
Schenker was convinced of the superiority of common practice period music.he
investigated how this usic was accomplished which led him to an understandin go f
music in traditional discipline of counterpoint, the type of theory th asters
themselves had studied. Schenker’s shows that free composition (freier Satz) was
an elaboration, a prolongation of strict composition (strenger Satz) by which he
meant species counterpoint. He did this by developing a theory of heirachically
organized levels of elaboration (Auskomponierung) called prolongational levels,
voice-leading levels (Stimmführungsschichten) or transformations
(Verwandlungen) the idea being that each of the successive levels represents a new
freedom tatken wit respect to the rules of strict compositon.

Because the 1st principle of the elaboration is the filling in of the tonal space by
passing notes, an essential goal of the analysis is to show linear connections
between notes which, filling a single triad at a given level, remain closely related to
each other but which, at subsequent levels, may become separated by amany
measures or many pages as new triads are embedded in the first one. The analysis is
expected to develop a distance hering (Fernhören), a structural hearing

Harmony – the I triad takes its model in the harmonic series; however, the mere
duplication of nature cant be the object of human endeavor. Therefore the OT series
is transformed into a succession , a horizontal arpeggiation, which ahs the added
advantage of lying within the range of the hjman voice. Thus the harmonic series is
condensed, abbreviated for art purposese.

Linking the M triad to the harmonic series, Schenker merely pays lip service to an
idea common in ethe early 20th c. He confirms that the same derivation ncannot be
made for the mionr triad. Any attempt to derive even as much as the 1st foundation
of this minor system i.e. the minor triad itself, from nature, from the OT series
wouljd be more than futile. The explanation becomes musch easier if artistic
intention rather than nature is credited with the origin of the minor mode.

The basic component of Schenkerian harmony is the Stufe (scale degree, scale-step)
i.e. a chord having gained structural significance. Chords arise from within chords as
the result of the combination of passing notes and arpeggiations – they are at 1st
mere embellishments, mere voice-leading constructions, but they become tonal
spaces open for further elaboration and once elaborated can be considered
structurally significant; they become scale-steps properly speaking. Schenker
recognizes that there are no rules which could be laid down once and for all for
recognizing scale steps but from his examples one may deduce that a triad cant be
recognized as a scale step as long as it can be explained by passing or neighboring
voice-leading.

Schenkerian analyses label scale steps with Roman numerals, a practice commonin
19th/20thc Vienna, developed by the theoretic work of Georg Joseph Vogler nand his
student Gottfried Weber transmitted by Simon Sechter and his disciple Anton
Bruckner the classes of which Schenkrt had followed in the Konservatorium in
Vienna.

Schenker’s theory is monotonal – the Ursatz, as the diatonic unfolding of the tonic
triad, by definition cant include modulation. Local tonicisation may arise when a
scale step is elaborated to the point of become a local tonic but the work as a whole
projects a single key and ultimately a single Stufe (the tonic).

Counterpoint, voice – leading – one aspect of strict 2-voice writing that appears to
span Schenker’s theory throughout the years of its elaboration is the rule of fluent
melody (fliessender gesang) or melodic fluency. Schenker attributes the rule to Luigi
Cherubini who would hae written that fluent melody is always prefereable in strict
counterpoint. Melodic fluency, the preference for conjunct motion , is one of the
main rules of voice leading, even in free composition. It avoids successive leaps and
produces a kind of wave-like melodic line which as a whole represents an animated
entity and which with its ascending and descending curves, appears balanced in all
its individual component parts. This idea is at the origin of that of linear progression
(Zug) and, more specifically , that of the Fundamental Line (Urlinnie).

URSATZ – usually translated as fundamental structure – is the name given by

Schenler to the underlying structure in its simplest form, that from which the work
as a whle originates. In the canonical form of the theory, it consists of the Urlinie, the
fundamental line, supported by the BASSBRECHUNG, the arpeggiation of the bass.
The fundamental structure is a 2-voice counterpoint and as such belongs to strict
composition. In conformity with the theory of the tonal space, the fundamental line
is a line starting from any note of the triad and descending to the tonic itself. The
arpeggiation is an arpeggiation through the 5th, ascending from I to V and
descending back to I. The Urlinie unfolds the tonal space in a melodic dimension
while the Bassbrechung expresses its harmonic dimension.

The theory of the fundamental structure is the most criticized aspect of Schenkerian
theory – it has seemed unacceptable to reduce all tonal works to one of a few almost
identical background structures. This is a misunderstanding: Schenkerian analysis is
not about demonstrating that all compositions can be reduced to the same
background, but about showing how each work elaborates the background in a
unique, individual manner, determing both its identity and its meaning. Schenker
has made this his motto: semper idem, sed non eodem modo – always the same, but
never in the same manner.’’

THE FUNDAMENTAL LINE – The idea of the fundamental line comes quite early in
the development of Schenker’s theory. Its first printed mention dates from 1920 in
the edition of LvB’s Sonata op. 101 but the idea obviousluy links with that of fluent
melody 10 yrs earlier. Schenker 1st conceived the Urllinie, the fundamental line as a
kind of motiv line characterized by its fluency, repeated under different guises
throught the work and ensuring its homogeneity . He later imagined that a musical
work should have only 1 fundamental line unifying it from beginning to end. The
realization that such fundamental lines usually were descending led him to
formulate the canonical definition of the fundamental line as necessarity
descending. It is not that he rejected ascending lines, but that he came to consider
them hierarchically less important. The fundamental line begins with 8, 5, or 3 and
moves to 1 via the descending leading tone 2. The initial note of the fundamental
line is called its head tone (Kopfton) or primary tone. The head note may be
elaborated by an upper neighbor note but not a lower one. In many cases the head
note is reached through an ascending line (Anstieg, initial ascent) or an ascending
arpeggiation, which do not belong to the fundamental structure properly speaking.

THE ARPEGGIATION OF THE BASS AND THE DIVERDER AT THE FIFTH – The
arpeggiatio through the fifth is an imitation of the overtone series, adapted to
manwho within his own capacities can experience sound only in a succession. The
5th of the arpeggiation conincides with the last passing note 2 or the fundamental
line. This at first produces a mere divider at the 5th, a complex filling in of the tonal
space; however as a consonant combination, it defines at a further level a new tonal
space that of the F and so doing opens the path for further developments of the
work. It would appear that the difference between the divider at the 5th and the V
chord properly speaking really depends on the level at which the matter is
considered – the notion of the divider at the 5th views it as an elaboration of the
initla tonal space while the notion of V conceives it as a new tonal space created
within the first but the opinions of modern Schenkerians diverge on this point.

URLINIETAFEL – A RHYTHMIC REDUCTION USED BY SCHENKER HIMSELF TO

BEGIN AN ANALYSIS. He complemented these with other levels of representation,
corresponding to the successive steps leadingto the fundamental structure. At first,
he mainly relied on the size of the note shapes to denote their hierarchic level, but
later abandoned this system as it proved too complex for contemporary techniques
of musical engraving. Cadwallader & Gagné propose a description of Schenker’s
system of graphic notation which is flexible, enabling musicians to express in subtle
ways what they hear and how they interpret a compositon. They discuss open
noteheads, usually indicating the highest structural level and filled in hnoteheads for
tones or lower levels, slurs, grouping tones in an arpeggio or in linear motions with
passingor neighbor tones, beams, for linear motions of higher structural level or the
arpeggiation of the bass, broken ties, for repeated or sustained tones, diagonal lines
 to realign displaced notes, diagonal bems, connecting successive notes that belong
ot the same chord (unfolding)

Sonata theory (Heokoski & Darcy) 2008 - - Primary theme(P);

transition(TR)medial caesure (MC/hammer cbow-signalss state of secondary
theme), secondary theme (S) – new contrasting theme in new key – usually V or II or
v for minor; TRIMODULAR BLOCK=-A 2ND MEDIAL CAESURE IN ORDER TO DELAY
CADENTIAL ARRIVAL; (S SPACE STRIVES FOR EEC ESSENTIAL EXPOSITIONAL
CLOSURE AT END OF EXPOSITION & confirms new key; ESC=Essential Structural
closure is the confirmation of the piece’s tonic as a whole solidifying the tonal
promise first made by P in the exposition; CRUX=rejoins expositional material
within the TR or S zones and usually happens after alterations (recompositions) in
the p or TR zones; CRUX will be signified by correspondence measures (parallel to
exposition); however, CRUX may appear in IV or simultaneously with S or the ESC
thus proving the entire sonata form is a dynamic trajectory toward the ESC; CRUX is
the part of the RECAP where the S zone secures itself in the home key

TECHNIQUES OF PROLONGATION – Auskomponierung – composing out but more

often translated as elaboration. Modern Schenkerians usually prefer the term
prolongation stressing that elaborations develop the events along the time axis.
EX:=Chopin’s Prelude in B minor w/ melodic bass arpegiation as an elaboration

Elaborations take the form of diminutions replacing the total duration of the
elaborated event by shorter events in larger number. By this, notes are displaced
both in pitch and in rhythmic position. The analysis to some extent aims at restoring
displaced notes to their normal position and explaining how and why they were
displaced.

Arpeggiation – simplest form of elaboration; delimits a tonal space for elaboration,

but lacks the melodic dimension that would allow further developments

2 types of filling of tonal space= neighbor notes (nebennoten); passing notes –

both are dissonances and made consonant by their coinciding with oter notes

SCHOENBERG, ARNOLD 1874-1951 – developed system of 12-tone serialism;

Expressionism, Sprechstimme (speak-voice)=speech-like style of singing from
cabaret w/ slides in sing/song manner, teacher of Webern (klangfarbenmelodie) &
Berg who together formed the 2nd Viennese School; String Quart in f# min, Op. 10
No. 2 1 & III (1908)’ 5 {pieces for Orchestra P[/ 16; Mahler had a great deal of
influence on Schoenberg

SET THEORY & SERIALISM - A pitch-class set in 20th century music is an unordered
collection of pitch classes. A PC-set may appear in any order on the musical surface,
and so we create organizational models to classify and group types of PC-sets. For
example, a normal order of a PC-set is an arranging to PCs in ascending numerical
succession, and in such a way that they cover the shortest possible span. PC-sets can
also be placed into groups based on their intervallic content, called prime forms.

Transposition, inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion describe different

ways of manipulating musical material through non-tonal, non-functional means.
These terms refer to the repetition of material on a different pitch, material played
upside-down (intervallically), backwards, or upside-down and backwards,
respectively. Though these types of musical manipulation have been used in music
as early the 15th century (such as Ockegham’s missa prolationum), they are more
commonly associated with the more modern 12-tone composition method
developed by Schoenberg, in which a row of all 12 chromatic pitches may be altered.

The term ‘prime form’ has two different uses. In serial composition, a prime form is
the original order of a collection of serially conceived musical material. In a 12-tone
method of composition, for example, the original, unaltered 12-tone row is referred
to as the prime form. Prime form material may be altered in various ways to create
new musical material. It was be inverted, played in retrograde, rotated, transposed,
or some combination of these. In analyzing atonal works, prime form is an abstract
label used for classifying groups of pitches by their intervallic content. For example,
(037) is the prime form for a group of pitches that contains the intervals of a fifth (0-
7 semitones), a minor third (0-3), and a major third (3-7). This group of pitches may
occur as a major or minor chord, in any inversion, because the intervallic content
remains constant despite the position of the pitches.

Combinatoriality is a property of a pitch-class set wherein it may be combined with

some transformation of itself to produce an aggregate, which is a larger pitch-class
set and most often a form of the twelve-tone chromatic scale. While
combinatoriality can be found in works preceding its theoretical formulation, such
as many of Schoenberg’s serial compositions, Milton Babbit was the first to formally
codify the concept as a compositional process. In twelve-tone composition
combinatoriality can be based on pitch-class sets of various cardinality, with
trichordal, tetrachordal, and hexachordal combinatoriality being the most common
types. An example of hexachordal combinatoriality would be the first hexachord
(H1) of a twelve-tone row’s primary form (P-0) that when combined with the
second hexachord (H2) of, for example, the row’s inverted and transposed up a
fourth form (I-5) would create a complete version of the row. In other words neither
of the hexachords would contain doublings of any of the pitch-classes of the overall
row. The combinatoriality of a row is dependent upon the intervallic structure of its
subsets and composers in the 20th century investigated many ways of deriving
combinatorial rows, perhaps culminating in Babbitt’s own “all combinatorial row” in
which all H1 hexachords are combinatorial with some H2 hexachord.

An Interval Class Vector (ICV) is a list of the complete intervallic content of a PC-set.
It contains six integers, usually represented in brackets and without commas, which
indicate the number of occurrences for each interval class. For example, the ICV for
(012346) is [223111], meaning there are two occurrences of a semitone, two whole-
tones, three minor thirds, etc. If there are two sets with identical IVCs that are non-
equivalent (meaning they cannot be mapped onto one another by adding the same
number to each pc in the set), they are Z-related.

Intersection is property of algebraic set-theory established by Forte. Given

equivalent pc sets A and B, a third set C is determined by the elements that are in
both A and B. This set is called the intersection of A and B. the elements of such as
set are called invariant pitch classes. Like a crossword puzzle, two lines (pc sets A
and B) may intersect with a row (pc set C). The letters that go in the both lines
within the row are intersecting.

In set theory, the union (denoted by ∪) of a collection of sets is the set of all distinct
elements in the collection. It is one of the fundamental operations through which
sets can be combined and related to each other.

In set-theory analysis, a particular piece displays an array of pc sets, all or most of

which can be shown to be derived from one or more specific sets. These special sets
are called nexus sets, and may be shown to demonstrate the structure of the work as
a whole.

When one set is included within another, they are said to be in the subset relation,
also known as the inclusion relation. This may be abbreviated S for the subset
relation. A familiar example of this is the incomplete dominant-seventh chord. BGF
is a subset of GBDF. BDF, the diminished chord, is also a subset of the dominant
seventh. The subset relation is the only relation that two sets of differing
cardinalities may have. However, Forte has also described special set complexes
that relate groups of such sets. The first is called the set complex K, where a set OR
its complement are in the inclusion relation (superset or subset) with all the other
sets in its group. The second is called the set complex Kh, where a set AND its
complement are in the inclusion relation with all the other sets in its group. The
latter is more selective. The set to which all the others are so related is called a
nexus set, which is used as a reference.

Milton Babbit drew a fundamental distinction between permutational systems and

combinatorial systems. A permutational system (such as 12-tone serialism) defines
relations on the permutations of all the system’s elements. A combinatorial system
(like tonality) defines relations on subsets of the system’s tonality of elements,
which are identified only by their content.

STIMMFUHRUNG – voice-leading

STRUCTURAL GAP - Leonard Meyer: “Two types of incompleteness can be

distinguished: (1) those which arise in the course of the pattern because something
was left out or skipped over; and (2) those in which the figure, complete so far as it
goes, simply is not felt to have reached a satisfactory conclusion, is not finished. The
first type of incompleteness may be said to be a product of a ‘structural gap,’ the
second type, a product of a delay in the need and desire for ‘closure.’”

SOCIAL REALISM – expectation of all art during Soviet Russia that if art wasn’t
glorifying the revolution, mother Russia or the work of the people, then it must be
decadent western and must be banned. Shostakovich experienced this in 1938
when his opera Lady MacBeth premiered and he was arrested shortly thereafter.
Suddenly he became a member of the communist party and rose in the ranks but it
was all a rouse and he defected to the U.S. in 1974.

Tight-knit theme (CAPLIN) – themes and small forms are the sentence period,
pybrid and compound (16bars), small ternary and small binary which
contrast looser formal regions such as subordinate theme, transition,
development, recapitulation and coda;
Theme types=sentence, period, hybrid 1=antecedent+cpmtomiatopm’ hybrid 2(ECP
Expanded Cadential Progression or i6-ii6-V-I)=amtecemdemt+cadential; hybrid
3=compound basic idea+continuation; hybrid 4=compound basic idea +consequent

TRANSFERENCE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE – Schenker – The forms of

the fundamental structure may be repeated at any level of the work. Every
transferred form of the fundamental structure has the effect of a self-contained
structure within which the upper and lower voices delimit a single tonal space. That
is to say that any phrase in a work could take the form of a complete fundamental
structure. Many classical thems (theme in WAM’s K331 piano sonata) form self-
contained structure of this type. The resemblance of local middleground structures
to background structures is part of the beauty and appeal of Schenkerian analysis,
giving it the appearance of a recursive construction

TRANSFORMATIONAL THEORY – neo – Riemannean - revived by David Lewiin

in 1980sin his work “Generalized Musical Intervals and Transformations” which
models musical transformations as elements of a mathematical group that can be
used to analyze both tonal and atonal music by use of intervals to model directed
measurements, distances or motions; however, the transformations are typically
modeled as functions that act over some musical space S meaning that they are
entirely defined by their inputs and outputs = the ascending M3 might be modeled
as a function that takes a particular pitch class as input and outputs the pitch class a
M3 above it. However, several theorists have pointed out that ordinary musical
discourse often includes more information than functions. For this reason theorists
such as Dmitri Tymoczko have proposed replacing Lewinnian pitch class intervals
with paths in pitch class space. More generally this suggests that there are
situtations where it might not be usefule to model musical motion (transformations
in the intuitive sense) using functions (transformations in the strict sense of
lewinnian theory). Considered by some such as Tymoczko as too restrictive.
ÜBERGREIFEN (REACHING OVER -/SUPERPOSITION/OVERLAPPING) – Passing
tones filling the intervals of a chord may be considered forming lines between the
voices of this chord. At the same time if the chord tones themselves are involved in
lines from 1 chord to another, lines of a lower level unfurl between lines of higher
level. The most interesting case is when the lines link an inner voice to the upper
voice. This may happen not only in ascending (a line from an inner voice) but also in
descending if the inner voice has been displaced above the upper line by a register
transfer – known as reaching over (übergreifen) EXAMOLE=Schubert’s Wanderers
Nachtlied with the descending line GbFEbDb at the end of the first bar may be read
as reaching over

UNTERBRECHUNG / INTERRUPTION – an elaboration of the fundamental line

which is interrupted at ist last passing note degree 2, before it reaches its goal. As a
result, the bass arpeggiation itself is also interrupted at the divider at the 5th (V).
both the fundamental line and the bass arpeggiation are bound to return to their
starting point and the fundamental structure repeats itself, eventually reaching its
goal. The interruption is the main form-generating elaboration: it often is used in
binary forms when the 1st part ends on V or if the elaboration of the dividing
dominant, scale degree 2 above V, takes some importance it may produce ternary
form typically sonata form

VOICE EXCHANGE – Schenkerians view it as a means of elaborating a chord by

modifying its position. 2 voices exchange their notes often with passing notes in
etween. At the end of the LvB Op. 109 sonata the bass & soprano echange their
notes: G# is transferred from bass to soprano while E is transferred from soprano to
bass. The exchange is marked by crossed lines between these notes

z-related pitch-class sets (isomeric relation) – interval vector (an array of

natural numbers which summarize the intervals present in a set of pitch classes/ic
vector-interval-class vector/PIC vector-pitch-class interveltor. IC vector is primarily
an analytic tool they can also be useful for composers
Z-relation=a relation between 2 pitch class sets in which the 2 sets have the same
intervallic content and thus the same interval vector but they are not
transpositionally related or inversionally related EX: {0,1,4,6} and {0,1,3,7) have the
same interval vector (<1, 1, 1, 1, 1>) but one cant transpose and/or invert the one
set ont the other