Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum DOMINANT PREPARATION -- Now where did I put that darned whip again? (III)

We've already established the dominant/tonic relationship as one of the most fundamental harmonic structures of Western music. These two functions come in quite handy in establishing and solidifying the harmony of a musical piece. But, as we've seen from discussions about triads, there are potentially seven diatonic triads available in any key's vocabulary. If the tonic and dominant were the only harmonies used, things would get pretty dull really quickly (despite the fact that many simple songs do just that).

So, let's dismiss both the tonic and dominant triads for now, since we already know what they do, and toss out the leading tone triad as well since it functions the same as a dominant triad (yes, we'll discuss this later). That leaves us with four remaining triads: the supertonic, mediant, subdominant and submediant. Just what the heck is the normal use for these triads? Well, wouldn't you like to know!

Considering the title of this-here lesson, I'm guessing that you're mumbling under your breath, "dominant preparation, whatever that is." Of course, you mutterers, that's exactly right. We still haven't defined just what dominant preparation is, though, so let's get right to that. If one were to analyze the harmony of a huge number of short harmonic phrases with cadential endings, a pattern looking something like this would become evident:

I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ V I

In this particular game of hangman, though, there is no set number of blanks to fill in, nor, necessarily, have all of the I's and V's been placed into the puzzle. This big blank spot is what we call dominant preparation. The harmony progresses in a hierarchical fashion up to the final dominant, preparing the way, as it were. It's all just a big setup, building a framework of support for that last big dominant at its peak. (Which, naturally, is followed by an even bigger collapse to the tonic at the end!)

I know we keep harping on this, but that dominant/tonic relationship is really very strong. Part of its strength lies in the relationship of a fifth between the tonic and dominant. Motion down by a fifth is, of course, the hallmark of the circle of fifths, and this motion is important enough that it plays out fairly consistently in dominant preparation. Only in the case of dominant preparation, we need to work {gasp} backwards! You see, if the drop of a fifth from dominant to tonic is strong, it follows that other, similar drops of a fifth are strong, too.

(NOTE: all following references to triads by Roman numeral identification are intentionally left all UPPER case, but should not be construed as Major triads. All triads referred to herein are diatonic.)

So, let's work our way backwards from the dominant, moving up a fifth, so that we can drop down to V. A fifth up from V would land us on the supertonic, scale degree II. Moving up a fifth from the supertonic by a fifth puts us at the submediant, scale degree VI. Going up a fifth from the submediant takes us to the mediant, III. Up a fifth from the mediant takes us to the leading tone, VII, which we've already decided to sort of ignore. Up a fifth from the leading tone takes us out of the diatonic scale (bummer), so that's about as far as we can go. So, at this juncture, our backwards progression (starting at the tonic) goes I - V - II - VI - III - (VII).

OK, that covers six of the seven triads. Where does IV fit in? Curiously, if doing a strict circle of fifths, it would have to be at the beginning of the list (down a fifth from I). Putting it all together (still backwards, mind you), we end up with:

IV - I - V - II - VI - III - (VII)

Look closely at where V stands in this sequence, and we can see the relative strength of the motion between any triad and the dominant. The further from V a triad is on the line, the weaker the motion. Thus, we could say that motion from II to V is very strong, whereas motion from III to V is much weaker.

Now, let's look at a few observations that were made about the order in which dominant preparation harmonic progressions move. Just remember, these aren't "rules" for writing music, these are principles based on the observation of what had already been written. Were the composers who wrote this music cognizant of these principles? Perhaps, but the principles were not codified until afterwards. All that notwithstanding, there was great emphasis on the circle of fifths in late Renaissance and early Baroque music, and it is likely that study of the circle of fifths is the basis of most of these principles.

First, we'll note that when one chord follows another, the progression is from weaker to stronger motion towards the dominant. Progression from strong to weak would be considered retrograde progression, something that was usually avoided. Then let's temper that by saying that any triad can go to either I or V, with the notion that any move to I or V within a progression acts as a reset button; any previous pattern of motion is nullified by inserting either.

For example, in the following, look at the second instance of I, on the third beat of the first measure.



Here, it separates IV from iii. Normally, a move from IV to iii would be considered retrograde (ick!), but the insertion of I between them resets the progression, so that this is not retrograde motion. Starting with the fourth beat in the first measure, we resume with iii, a weak dominant preparation, followed by vi which is stronger. vi is then followed by ii, a even stronger dominant preparation. Then what happens?

Oh, no! The dreaded cadential I6/4 chord! Don't worry, the cadential I6/4 and the following V7 chord are all the greater dominant function. (Another part of another lesson!) So, with all that dominant preparation out of the way, we were able to set up the dominant and have a nice, grand ending cadence.

Let's also look at our circle of fifths list again, only this time, we'll put it in forward order (we'll leave VII out of the picture):

III - VI - II - V - I - IV

Following this order from III through I we can see what would be considered a normal harmonic progression of dominant preparation and cadence. Yet, that poor IV sitting there at the end does present a bit of a problem when viewing it strictly in terms of circle of fifths progression. But theorists noted that it does work just fine as a dominant preparation chord if it is considered as equivalent to VI (with which it shares 2 notes), and in terms of relative distance from the dominant, they are the same distance.

So, really, what good is all this talk about dominant preparation? Does it serve any purpose to us, as aspiring musicians? The answer is an unqualified "yes." Its real functionality comes into play when harmonizing a melody. If you can remember the relative strength of each of the dominant preparation chords, you can supply an appropriate underpinning of harmony in a progression that is functionally equivalent to those done by countless other musicians faced with the same task.

You're probably still wondering... "Is this the only way?" Of course, there have been deviations from the most common progressions. Composers eagerly sought ways to spice things up a bit, and, at times, even a "retrograde" progression suited the needs at hand. But, these are exceptions that require quite a bit of deliberate flouting of the norms of common practice, and are best left to those who can apply them judiciously in special circumstances.

The exercises I have supplied here are rather simple, and your goal here is to determine whether the sequences of dominant preparation in these examples do or do not follow the patterns we have discussed in this lesson. For each example, write out the harmonic progression using Roman numeral notation, then choose whether the progression is "normal" or "retrograde".

#1.


#2.


#3.


#4.


Answers on Friday!

This week's garden tip: Many woodland plants have been appropriated for use in gardens as ornamentals. Plants native to temperate forests often thrive in soil pH conditions that are made acidic by the leaf litter that carpets the forest floor. If your garden contains such plants, but you notice that they seem a bit yellowish in leaf color, spindly or stunted, you may need to decrease your garden's soil pH so that these plants can better absorb nutrients from the soil. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, but for a quick turnaround, consider applying granulated iron sulfate to those areas where your acid-loving plants are located. In addition to lowering the soil's pH, iron sulfate will also supply iron for your plants, a trace nutrient required by almost all plants.

Next week's topic: INTERVALS -- What you don't know CAN hurt you! (I)

Note: There are a few more exercises forthcoming. Thanks for your patience.

The gardening tip I totally understood, but you lost me on the topic before that. Maybe it will make sense in the morning! :p

Matt, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! For taking the time to post these wonderful instructions and exercises. I love the way they're written and even though I don't understand most of them yet, I know that once I do some catch-up in theory, I'll be there with you.

I'd almost ask Frank for a separate Matt G. forum, but it may be better to leave them here in the AB forum for better exposure. I'll content myself with copying them into Word so I can keep them organized.

I strongly second what Bob said.
Are all these facts and principles coming into music from inside us?
Was there music first, then principles were recognised and understood?

New exercises added!

Precisely. It seems that we innately understand the mathematical aspects and patterns in music, and music theory came along well after the fact to help us analyze just what it is that we already understand! The music came first, then some wise guys figured out what made it tick.

You sound like a real teacher Matt. You are doing great. I'm keeping right up with you. :rolleyes:

Hey, (I mean Hay) yes, [with little clenched teeth,a la Lielse von Trapp inflection} Go away tom [feeling like the exorcist, here :rolleyes: ]

kathyk, if I were to tell you I'd met Liesle in person, you'd be feeling a bit sheepish right about now, wouldn't you???? :t:

Thanks for the augmented examples, Matt. I want ii thank you IV your efforts here II. (or perhaps one needs the extra "I" in the adverbial form of II, making it III? ... Oh well its probably just A- point. ) Whenever I feel a bit diminished these threads seem to make me feel better ... a kind of tonic, or perhaps even a super-tonic.


I think Kk may be just trying to work out the kinks in her understanding of the concept "retrograde". Or perhaps she misread it as "reprobate" and made the tomK-onnection that way.
(Lets hope it doesn't raise the caffeine level in here too much though )


My results for example 1 ( Harold the Angle says Hark )were:
9/16 of the chords were Tonic
4/16 were Dom
1/16 were supertonic
3/16 were submediant
0 examples of III, IV, or VII

(with all those I-resets, it didn't hardly have a chance to get retrograded very much, did it?)

Oh, by the way, speaking of southern Illinois, there's a piano teacher at the university in Carbondale named Donald Beatie who is an acquaintance of mine and is a very energetic and vibrant teacher ... very popular in particular to music lovers majoring in non-music subjects.( His wife teaches music there too and is very popular with those who just love beauty in general. ) Anyway, your mention of meeting other folk hailing from that area reminded me of him, and I thought I just might mention his name on the slight chance that you might know of him as well.
He's the guy that rounded up 14 other piano professors, put them on 7 or 8 grands and pounded out several of the Beethoven symphonies. Pretty impressive.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RKVS1:
[QB] Thanks for the augmented examples, Matt. I want ii thank you IV your efforts here II.

.... Whenever I feel a bit diminished these threads seem to make me feel better ... a kind of tonic, or perhaps even a super-tonic.

....
9/16 of the chords were Tonic
4/16 were Dom
1/16 were supertonic
3/16 were submediant
0 examples of III, IV, or VII


Now just stop it already ..... You boys are trying to post recipes in code, aren't you?

Well, katie, we figured it was for your own good, as some of the more inventive recipes for "miles & miles of green greasy gopher guts" can get pretty gruesome.


And me without a (tuning) fork.

Does anyone know the German letters used for the scale tones? I know they used the letter "H" or Schumann couldn't have written his "Variations on BACH ". What is this leading up to? Don't ask, but think about what the title of this lesson might be if H WAS the dominant.

In spite of my comment elsewhere, Matt, I am saving these lessons. I'll either eventually understand them, or I'll have a nicer yard.

I've just started my theory lessons this year so, I'm trying really hard to understand also .....Thanks MattG .

What I really don't "get" is how I've been able to read music all these years without doing much theory .... I have so much to learn ..... and so little time.

Matt, I much appreciate your efforts.

Music flounders without a regular pulse and it is not enough to merely harmonize a melody with a random selection of bass notes as given in Matt's 5 examples.

It is important to create a composition balance between the roles of the two hands- ONLY ONE (melody or directional motif) can be the "boss" - the other must chime a simple FORWARD MOVING PULSE.

In Nocturne Op. 9 , no.2 Chopin uses a regular forward pattern of notes (bass followed by two chords) to drive his music forward. Beethoven settles for the drumming effect of 8 identical arpegiated "triplets" against which to sound his LH octave chords in the opening measures of his "Moonlight" Sonata. Bach's WTC Prelude I uses the same formula.

Sadly Matt's examples display the typical wooden musical effect of most hymns in the hands of amateur musicians who go overboard in digging up rules from dusty books on harmony and counterpoint - and lose the plot.

In picking up the treble melody lines of "Hark The Herald Angels Sin" (forgive the pun), "God Save The Queen", "Auld Land Syne" and "Good King Wenceslas", the bass ought not to adopt a random harmonized "wandering" but follow a clear even pulse.

I have just enjoyed playing through a few top pops of our day to remind of the above principle -in all cases THE BASS IS KEPT TO A SIMPLE OUTLINE SO AS NOT TO COMPETE WITH THE POTENT MESSAGE DELIVERED IN THE TREBLE - a sure sign of a "poet of the piano".

Might I recommend a study of the haunting hits:

"Maria" by Leonard Bernstein
"By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
"Out of My Dreams" by Richard Rodgers
"I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'" by George Gershwin

When young hopefuls gush "even though I don't understand most of them yet, ... " we can start to worry - a case of the blind leading the blind.

Thanks for the rant.

First off, pay attention. This is not a forum for "young hopefuls," this is a forum for new and returning adult students. Second, these lessons are not an attempt to teach anyone accompaniment styles. This is music theory, not a piano playing practicum. Third, despite your slurs, music theory is not a bunch of "old dusty rule books." If that's your impression, you are sorely mistaken. Someone, it seems, had a bad experience with a bad teacher. Fourth, read up on the intended scope and format of these lessons here.

Now, if you will excuse us, I (not blind, although I am nearsighted and do have some pretty bad astigmatism, along with the usual presbyopia for someone my age) was preparing to give out the answers to this week's wooden, amateurish exercises to the poor misguided sheep who are actually paying attention.

:rolleyes:

Matt; great job with the music theory lessons. I think I speak for most of us who tune in every week when I say we really appreciate how much time and effort you've been putting into these lessons. I've been copying and pasting your lessons into a Word document for later review and reference and I believe I'm up to 20 pages of lessons. That's a tremendous effort for someone who is doing this simply because we asked nicely. So, a big "thanks" again for helping to teach us adult students.
Jon

Ach I hit the add instead of preview before I was done. Any way this is what I have so far and I'm kinda stumped with the normal/retro thing with all the "resets" in there. Let me know if I'm at least right on the chords
Cathy

1.
I I vi V I vi I V I V I ii I V7 I

Normal

2.
I vi ii V vi V I I ii iii ii I ii I V7 I

Not sure I think normal

3.
V I vii0 I I V7 vii7 V iii V7 I I I I IV

Not sure I think retrograde

4.
I vi ii7 V I I V IV iii ii7 V7 I I

Normal