Tonality
Tonality in music, a system of harmony in force in the hierarchical pitch relationships based on a root (as the "center" of a scale ) or a tonic ( the center of a key ) are related.
The term tonality
The term tonality ( tonalité ) comes from Alexandre Choron (1810 ), and was borrowed by François- Joseph Fétis 1840. Although it used Fétis as a general term for the musical organization and spoke of types of tonality rather than from a single system, the term is now mostly used to refer to the major-minor tonality to purchase (which includes the diatonic, is called functional or harmonic tonality ), the system just musical compositions, which was in use in classical music and its use of the world's most modern popular music today.
Tonality is therefore a characteristic of large parts of the occidental influenced music: Tonal music refers within the prevailing system of 12 semitones to a tonal center. This consists of a certain tone ( the root or target tone ) and building on this, as well as its related triads. Jean -Philippe Rameau said with the narrower term tonic already a chord ( l'accord tonique ). It is therefore not synonymous, because even a unanimous melody can cause tonality.
This particular diatonic or functional tonality brings with it that occurring in a music piece chords are composed according to certain patterns and sequential. Here, some chords are interpreted as requiring resolution dissonances, other than resting in itself consonances in the theory of harmony. A deviation from the tonal center causes a voltage build-up, a return relaxation. Also can be used in tonal music, the keys used determine. In fact, it is with this definition in our culture to the almost self-evident become major-minor tonality.
More generally, can take tonality, if one starts from a sound system, so a selection of sounds fixed pitch. There may be one, two or more tones type with a larger resting effect, final action or resolution effect depending on the system. This property may itself indicate unanimous melodies. Develops the music of these rest tones off or builds tension to them, so the approach to a resting tone and resolution of tensions is again perceived as calm effect or even as a final action and achieved a tonal, possibly only temporary center. As an example can already cite the medieval church scales, which have produced tunes that the major-minor scheme can not completely add without losing their characteristics.
History
Aristoxenus ' music theory is an early example of applied mathematics from classical antiquity shortly before Euclid and deals with sound systems as a first exactly. He built the theory of music strictly on the perception by ear, and is therefore regarded as the leading Harmoniker. He rejected the theory of acoustic music from Pythagorean school that intervals on numerical relations defined as straying on a foreign territory and criticized their untestable hypotheses ( Archytas ) and their afflicted with inaccuracies flutes and stringed experiments. Euclid, who offered a modified version of the Pythagorean diatonic tonal system aristoxeneischen in his music writing division of the canon, but at the same time showed a series of sentences against the harmonics of Aristoxenus.
All subsequent ancient music theorist in the field of harmonics of Aristoxenus took over the musical terminology. Aristoxeneer (eg Psellos ) those hot music theorist, which is oriented to the teaching of Aristoxenus and kept away from the Pythagorean direction. However, they mistakenly removed all mathematics from his teaching, that is all the axioms and proofs and many definitions, and also the whole experimental perceptual foundation. This led to a series of misunderstandings.
Representative of a aristoxeneisch - Pythagorean compromise line were Eratosthenes and especially Ptolemy.
Ptolemy had continued on Boethius, who handed down the dispute between the Pythagoras and Aristoxenus School in the Latin -speaking world and was a major influence on the medieval and modern Tonsystemtheorie. In the medieval music got the aristoxenische forms of octave, which are also known as Oktavgattungen, a practical significance for the church modes.
The tonal music then solved the modal music of the Middle Ages from which was based on the church modes, with many of the features of tonality were already there. The authentic cadence takes her a central position, at its end, sometimes even exclusive. In the 18th century, the major, minor, were finally just left. Minor but still remains ambiguous as eponymous minor and parallel minor. There were stage theory and function theory developed as systems of musical analysis, however, were subsequently set as their laws have long since repealed, namely the end of the 19th century. mainly by Hugo Riemann. An opponent that direction was Johannes Brahms. Quote Hermann von Helmholtz: The predominance of tonal acts as a liaison for all sounds of a piece.
In the cadenza in the classical music as an organizing principle since 1700 for about 200 years, there is a harmonic - tonal and weight, - metric group. The individual voices move to a conclusion, which is perceived as a tonal center. When moving away from the center is the perceived as unstressed, raised step. Also bear rhythmic aspects of the perception of tonality in: a first tone, a first sound is perceived as tonality.
In the 19th century, when Richard Wagner and other composers and expanded by the limits of tonality until it (eg Claude Debussy ) could no longer be considered in stages or functional harmony in musical impressionism.
The exemption from the restrictions of tonality brought in the 20th century atonal music of the Second Viennese School ( inter alia, the composer Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern ).
Critics of composing atonal was, inter alia, the old Paul Hindemith, of a tonal system constructed in its instruction in music theory ( 1937-39 ) on the basis of consonance / dissonance ratios of the intervals. However, the Hindemithsche system could not prevail, as long systems had the twelve-tone technique, which was developed for serial music as established.
While in New Music predominates atonality, virtually all areas of popular music are today's day marked by a more or less extended tonality.
Between tonality and atonality
The expansion and the resulting dissolution of tonality can be identified through three basic principles that, taken together, essentially only - guarantee atonality in the narrower sense - such as in the twelve-tone music. Since these principles - ( overgrowing ) chromaticism, extended, no longer functional sound relationship and the " emancipation of dissonance " - at the beginning of the 20th century occurred in common, they are often (wrongly ) subsumed in the relevant literature under the concept of atonality, though you are dealing with a standalone music theory and music- historical phenomenon.
Chromaticism
The existing 12 semitones chromatic scale has due to its symmetric structure as opposed to asymmetric major and minor scales and other diatonic modes no ( unique) root and thereby fulfilling the requirements of atonal music in melodic terms. The same applies to other scales such as the whole tone scale, diminished scales or general " modes of limited transposition possibilities " (in short: Messiaen modes). By the excessive use of altered tone levels, the effect of strut leading tones and the associated perception of a fundamental tone is suppressed. Nevertheless - with the appropriate harmonic design - also extremely chromatic works, such as Johann Sebastian Bach's B-Minor Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, certainly one key to be assigned (in this case just in B minor ), and thus a fundamental ( h) ( Schoenberg: "Bach sometimes worked with the twelve tones in such a way that one might be inclined him to name the first twelve-tone " ):
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Conversely, a root itself lacking in purely diatonic works, such as in Ligeti 15th piano etude White on White.
Advanced sound relationship
The tonality (more precisely: " harmonic tonality " ) is carried out in a confined space in the authentic cadence. In it all diatonic steps of a major or minor key are included and by the quint related major functions tonic, subdominant and dominant (short: T, S and D) represents. A first extension was told this tonal mesh by introducing distance - terzverwandter sounds ( so-called mediant: TP and TG) that are no longer head of its own and thus no longer diatonic origin. In the following years developed many composers harmonies that can no longer be fit into a common key, such as " Mediantvarianten " (T - t p and t - TG) or chromatic compounds such as those of the " Leitklangs " (DG) and the "free Neapolitan " ( sG ). They experimented with it to sounds which have no more relation to each other (about sounds that relate to each other at a distance of a tritone ):
Although this can be triads taken separately, are based on a root (C - major chord, E flat minor chord, etc.), they have no common tonal center; the " formative tendency of harmony" is overridden. In particular, for compositions in which the parent Bezugstonika not heard and a key can be read only at the corresponding preliminary sketch, the terms free tonality and Atonikalität have established differentiating it from the actual atonality. This phenomenon can be analogous to the twelve-tone technique as " method only of related sounds " or as a "permanent modulation " explain ( the transition from one tonal center to another) or interpret. Chromaticism and extended sound relationship go hand in hand in so far as they introduce both an extended Tonvorrat.
Emancipation of dissonance
How symmetrical scales have also symmetric sounds no ( clear ) tonal center, even if they - like the augmented triad ( in Melodic Minor) or the diminished seventh chord ( in harmonic minor ) - Head intrinsically are (a). This property - the ambiguity of so-called " vagierender chords " - is " enharmonic modulation " to bridge multiple Quint steps harnessed in, by first, later referred to the one to the other root. Similarly, ambivalent - and with these closely related - are sounds that are composed of ingredients of different keys (see bitonality polytonality ) - for example, the simultaneous sounding of a C major chord with the mediant E major, or (Moll - ) subdominant F minor with the dominant G major (b). The result acts more dissonant, depending on the individual harmony complexes in the circle of fifths are from each other (c). The slogan of the " emancipated dissonance " refers to the fact that such sound structures are resolved not in accordance with the rules of the traditional Tonality. This is also ( and especially ) for harmonies, which have no more adding thirds, such as fourth chords and its further developments (the " mystic chord " Alexander Scriabin, or " Turangalîla chord " Olivier Messiaen ), which according to the traditional understanding as an unresolved derivative structures be perceived, but in fact aware of the tonality leave (d). In the last analysis, the emancipation of dissonance means the complete equality of all intervals and harmonies formed out of them - including the diatonic, whole-tone or chromatic cluster (s):
In contrast to the concept of atonality Schoenberg rejected the term " emancipated dissonance " not decrease, but writes: " My School, as are men like Alban Berg, Anton Webern, and others, does not strive for the preparation of a tonality, but does not completely. The procedure is based on my theory of the emancipation of dissonance '. " In fact, extreme dissonance and tonality not contradict itself when dissonant tones as " are used coloristic additions " to an otherwise tonal events. An example of this is the second set of Arvo Pärt's Collage on BACH (1964).
Historical development towards atonality
The atonality had already striped Franz Liszt - in his late piano pieces - and Alexander Scriabin. The overgrowing use of chromaticism during the late Romantic composers such as Max Reger or had atonal trend. The use of bitonality or polytonality, the use of two or more keys simultaneously, resulted in the border area of atonality. The first phase, which consists in the abandonment of traditional harmony, is also called " free atonality ". Schoenberg tried a principle of order within the atonal music to create and developed the method of " composition with twelve related only to each tones " (later apostrophized as twelve-tone ), which he of 1923 ( in some of the Five Piano Pieces op.23 and in most sets Suite for Piano op.25 ) first apply an end. But this Zwölftonprinzip guaranteed not initially necessarily atonality, but only a substantially uniform distribution of the twelve tempered semitones within the compositional record. Depending on the number of vertical structure and organization of the sounds, it is quite possible to compose pieces in serial technique, which are perceived as tonal. Twelve-tone technique was further developed after the Second World War to serialism and dominated the vanguard of the "serious" music during the 1950s in Europe. Other important pioneer of atonal music were next to Alban Berg and Anton von Webern (which are subsumed together with Schoenberg under the so-called Second Viennese School ) Ernst Krenek, Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók and many others.