The chords in section 8 of Post-Tonal Harmony Ideas (1) were constructed by superimposing different harmonic structures found in tonal music, such as an F# major triad and C major triad, a combination used by Stravinsky in Petroushka, in order to create post-tonal sonorities.
There are no particular "rules" to follow in combining chords in this way, but I would suggest that the resulting sonority should not sound overtly tonal; if you start with a G chord and superimpose an F chord, for example, it would result in a G11 chord, which is overtly tonal.
That said, however, it is really the context in which such chords are used that determines whether they are tonal or post-tonal. If you play the chord in bar 3 below, for example, and resolve it to an Eb chord, it will sound like an altered V7 resolving to I in Eb major, because bar 3 starts with a Bb7 chord. If you play the same chord (bar 3) but move to a different sonority that in no way suggests an Eb chord, then you've placed it in a post-tonal context.
Another suggestion, if you try this approach, is to use chord combinations in which the two triad-based chords have no notes in common with each other, although that is by no means an essential condition.
The approach I find that works best is to work these out at a piano, exploring the possibilities by playing different chords in each hand until you find combinations you like, and then immediately write them down. Frequently, the experimentation may involve just altering one note at a time until you find a sonority that you'd like to keep.
Once you have a collection of chord combinations that you like, you can use them however you wish in a composition; you can transpose them, add further notes to them or otherwise modify them, invert them, re-use them, etc.
Here is the piece; you can hear it with the audio player below the score:
More Details on this Composition:
- I began with the first three arpeggiated post-tonal chords presented in my Post-Tonal Harmony Ideas (1) post (they are in section 8, numbers 1, 2, and 3).
- I transposed the second arpeggio, and subsequently re-used and transposed the other arpeggios as well.
- In bar 7, I introduced a new chord (i.e., one that wasn't in the original blog post), which consisted of a Db Maj.7th chord plus an Eb Maj.7th with augmented fifth. I also reused transpositions of this chord.
- One way to vary these chords, aside from changing notes within them, is to add notes on top of them that are not part of the original sonority; I did this a few times in this piece, especially in my choice of flute notes.
- As you can hear, I took time in the score to move from one sonority to another, because the harmonic complexity of these chords is, to me, inherently captivating, and it takes time for the ear (well, the brain, actually) to absorb them.
- Harmonic progressions using these chords can proceed as quickly as you want, however.
- This is "colour-based" composition; each chord has its own colour. The process is something like an artist creating an abstract painting using only splashes of colour here and there, with the result being pleasing to the eye (well, the brain, actually).
- "Mystery" and "Wonder" were the names of two of our cats that passed away several years ago.
Final Thought: Practicality
- One very practical advantage of this approach to composition is that the chords should fit naturally into the pianist's hands, provided you started by experimenting at the piano with chords that fit your hands. A skilled pianist has spent years training their hands to instantly form the correct shape in playing tonal chord structures, like triads and 7th chords, so if you use those same chord shapes, but combine them in untraditional ways, the pianist is likely to find the music easier to play than a lot of contemporary music.
Posts
16 comments:
I am currently including the method of coming up with non-traditional chords as a textural and color effect for my current composition. Thank you for listing your compositional process. The different treatments you used on ONE idea generated a lot of captivating material. Which in turn can help develop sections of a composition and make it have more of an organic flow.
Very cool piece Dr. Ross. The set of three articles complimented each other really well.
Color based compositions are really uniquely amazing. I don't really know what else to say about the post other than it's super helpful to beginners. What I will do is write a list of the most COLORFUL compositions that I can think of!
-Everything Takemitsu has ever written, particularly Green, Requiem for Strings and From Me Flows What You Call Time.
-Everything Messiaen has ever written, particularly.... I don't know, honestly just everything. Eclairs sur l'au-dela is possibly the most mysterious, mystical, colorful piece I have ever heard.
-Ravel, particularly Daphnis et Chloe and Gaspard de la Nuit.
-Bartok Music for Strings, Percussion, Celeste. Also Bluebeard's Castle!!!
-Berg "Wozzeck" and Violin Concerto
-Silvestrov Fifth Symphony (also possibly the best example of a colossal, slow moving work which balances tonality and post tonality perfectly).
Mahler Symphony 2, 8 and 9
Strauss Salome
All incredible pieces in their own right and you will be seeing abstract colors and shapes in your brain while listening probably..
BONUS ROUND
my top five non classical "colorful" records
NOTE: In popular music I would say that the color comes less from the Harmony and more from the textures and timbres of the instruments.
The Beatles - Sgt Peppers
Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise
Radiohead - Kid A
Sufjan Stevens - Age of Adz (completely different than the other one)
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
The Sound of this piece is certainly different than the "steriotypical post tonality" that we often see in new music. The sounds are much more easy to listen to. Some of the anticipation elements that I personally would typically like to hear in music is lacking but it definitely fits the mood of the piece. (aswell as the title)
Very cool sounding piece. As others have mentioned, these sonorities and harmonies are definitely unlike other post-tonal sonorities commonly heard in contemporary music. The idea of superimposing a chord on top of another unrelated chord in some contexts sounds almost jazz-like to me. I have a particular memory of seeing a piano score for a jazz standard which had a Bb chord over a C chord, which sounded rather tonal within context, but definitely had a specific characteristic to its sound. I've experimented with the idea of what I call a 12-tone chord progression (which other people most likely refer to and compose with) in which four 3- note chords with no common tones are played one after the other (F Gm C#m B for example). However, I've found that it is hard to maintain a sense of continuity or flow with this idea. I am certainly interested in exploring this idea of overlapping chords and creating new sonorities.
I find it interesting how using tonal chords and concepts can create such a fluid sounding a-tonal piece. Having since tried this in my own compositions for class, I find myself often falling back into a tonal setting. As I superimpose chords at the piano, I find myself stringing together 'jazz' sounding sororities, rather than a-tonal progressions. Your approach of changing one note at a time as proved helpful. I find this approach breaks up the tonality we 'want to hear' in our heads, and makes it easier to proceed outside of that realm of tonality.
I very much like the piece as well. The sororities are indeed captivating and I love the idea of letting them sit and resonant in your ear.
As a pianist I can attest that this idea is certainly effective when writing piano music! My hands do natural tend toward triad and dominant shapes and to use these superimposed makes playing post-tonal music significantly easier to read, learn and eventually perform. I also enjoyed the idea of chords as colour rather than just melody with accompanying sonority but rather the sonority as the main idea and focus of the piece. The use of colour-chords has many possibilities on the piano only but combined with different instrumental timbres, there is certainly much more to investigate. I am curious with this technique would work as well within the context of a string quartet or other type of chamber group. This includes the added consideration of timbre and blending of instruments which could lead to interestingly coloured sororities!
Post tonal harmony has always been a concept hat I couldn't quite wrap my head around in the fullest. I have certainly tried, but I always end up writing a more post tonal section then getting carried away in my writing, and start to compose without a structured idea, and then I start writing whatever comes to my head which often happens to lean more towards the tonal side of harmony.When I do plan things out, I tend to use a lot more chromaticism in my writing, and I have superimposed chords in some of my works. For example I have used the C/F# concoction once, and I have used a F/F# as well to create some funky piano gestures.
I find the role of context (how the listener will hear the chord or pitch with respect to the other material they have heard in the piece) fascinating. Often the context determines the perceived sound, not the sound itself. I had not thought about how a great chord may not be just a great chord, but often requires a great build up or follow up. Keeping the importance of context in mind opens up the opportunity for tonal chords with non tonal resolutions. With out the resolution these tonal chords have new functions.
Also, I agree with Stephen, using tonal chords in non-tonal contexts makes learning the music much more natural for the pianist.
I really enjoyed this post because I’m in the middle of writing a piece in which I often employ to technique of combining two tonal chords to create a non-tonal chord.
As you mentioned, I also find the easiest and most efficient way to create these chord combinations is by sitting at a piano and moving your hands around, even changing just a single notes, until you find what you’re looking for. Sometimes one note can change the quality and “colour” of the chord complete, so I believe the process of sitting at the pianos and making small adjustments is important.
I also found it interesting to state that this method will most likely make it easier for the pianist since their hands naturally fall into the typically chord shapes of to al harmony. I agreed 100%, but that was never really something I considered.
I love this technique for coming up with new harmonies. Most of the things I've written for class recently have all come by way of simply sitting at the piano and combining different chords with one another. It can be so powerful in generating ideas or inspirations for what kind of piece you want to write. I also very much enjoyed the short piece "Mystery and Wonder." It definitely evokes a sense of mystery, or uncovering some clues to a mystery. Perhaps following someone who has just stumbled upon an important clue to an investigation, or a piece to an ancient puzzle.
For performance practice it's definitely essential to be sure that the chords are playable by the pianist. But, that should not stop you from finding crazy/whacky combinations. There's always a place for harmonies, and though they may not fit comfortable in the hand on the piano, the voicing may sound marvellous in a string section, or a combination of other instruments. That leads me to address another interesting thing I notice when writing/orchestrating. Some harmonies or sounds may be great on one instrument, but absolute trash in another. Sure that may all be subjective in the end, but I really find that the timbre and colour of the instrument sound itself will influence what harmonies I use. Sometimes chords also don't sound good in a blocked form, but sound great as a broken chord. These are the things that fascinate me about music. Never ceases to amaze me.
Outstanding blog post! As with the last “Post-Tonal Harmony” blog post, experimentation needs to be a central part of composition, ESPECIALLY in this genre of music. From personal experience, I can’t recommend the process of writing in direct conjunction with the chosen instrument enough. There are many sections of piano music that I have written only because I have tested it and know it is possible, if perhaps difficult at times. When composing with chords I like a distinct lack of common tones between consecutive chords; however it is often imperative that there be some note from a previous chord that is allowed to resolve in a satisfying way, even if the rest of the notes surrounding it refuse to follow suit. The ebb and flow of musical tension is often easier to wrestle with when working with a melody, or at least a melodic idea in the composer’s head; that way the tension can come and go more naturally. To me this is similar to strong worldbuilding for a novel! Even if the reader doesn’t see all the tiny machinations and rules and bylaws of the cities they’re reading about, the fact that these rules are being followed by the writer tends to have a great impact on the realism and immersion the story puts forth (for example, J.R.R. Tolkein had an enormous amount of worldbuilding written for the world of Lord Of The Rings; though precious little made it into the main story, the world feels far more realistic because of it).
I really like this approach to composing atonal music because it uses what most composers already know (triads and other tonal chords) to create new atonal chords. It works especially well because these chords are easy for pianists to play because chords like major and minor triads and other tonal chords are easier to play than less tonal triads. This is because the piano was made primarily for making tonal music so chords such as major and minor triads fit more comfortably into the hand.
TO expand on this, it would certainly be cool if there were more instruments made specifically for making atonal music, since a lot of the instruments used were originally created so that they could be used for tonal music such as the piano, the saxophone, the trumpet, etc. It would certainly help break the boundaries for atonal composition.
I really like your piece and I also think this is a very interesting approach to composition! I’m curious how this kind of approach may influence the overall structure of a piece. You compare this kind of “colour-based” music to abstract painting however, it seems to me that most music requires some kind of larger structure to make it coherent. I find I struggle with relying on a typical ABA form even if my starting ideas are more interesting/colourful and perhaps less orthodox. Without the reliance on the conventional forms that often come with tonal music, how do you think we can we go about applying a “colour-based” approach in a way that may be more abstract but still makes sense to the listener?
This approach to composing post-tonal music is incredibly interesting! Whilst reading this, I was reminded of the first assignment I had for Intro to Composition, which was to come up with fifteen random chords. I remember when I created those chords, I definitely thought of whether or not they had colour, and the "colour-based" approach which you discuss is definitely a fantastic way of creating atonal music! I feel that atonal composing, for me, definitely relies a lot on internal feeling and how I can emulate that in my pieces. I think the title of the piece, "Mystery and Wonder", are two words that can effectively describe atonal music.
I love the ideas presented here. I am super fascinated by the boundary between tonal and atonal music, and I like how Dr. Ross has described it. So much of the information we gather from music is context based, a note means nothing by itself, and this is true on the largest harmonic scales as well. In terms of composition, I like how chords like this (not explicitly tonal chords like the mentioned altered V7), can be used as bridges in and out of tonality. You can have a completely atonal passage find itself on a chord containing some permutation of a dominant and resolve it accordingly. Similarly, not resolving an extended V chord can be a way outside of a regular western progression, and in to more colorful territory. This approach to chords can be a great way to expand harmony and take a piece of music into new places.
Interesting post and composition! As I have mentioned in a couple other blog comments, the idea of combining tonal chords to create new post-tonal harmonies is really interesting to me. Though this is clearly a post-tonal composition, I did feel a subtle element of tonality in the use of triads. I often show my compositions to people who are not very familiar with contemporary/post-tonal music, to which they often comment on how odd and unfamiliar the music sounds. I typically do not compose music based on the opinions of others; however, if I was writing a piece to try to introduce someone to post-tonal music, I would avail of this technique. Combining tonal triads to create a post-tonal sound is a valuable way to create new colours in music whilst maintaining some subtle elements of the tonal music that most people are familiar with. As someone who is relatively new to post-tonal music, I find this technique to be very nice to listen to.
Post a Comment