Music 161B: Review for final exam

Monday, March 13, 10:45-1:15

Prepare for melodic and harmonic dictation. Be ready to observe melodic and rhythmic patterns, step/skip behavior, minor-scale forms. Harmonic dictation may include linear dominants. Review your figured bass symbols and their meanings: isolated accidentals, slash through a number, a pair of numbers (8-7, for example).

Review all homework assignments and quizzes, including 1st, 2nd, and 4th species counterpoint.

Review all techniques with both analysis and part-writing in mind.

Gauldin chapter 8: Introduction to Diatonic Harmony

Review chord qualities in major and minor keys (p93).

Roman numeral: root and quality consciousness.

The three harmonic families: tonic, dominant, and pre-dominant (p94).

Gauldin chapter 9: Tonic and Dominant Harmony

Prolongation: arpeggiation, passing motion, neighboring motion (p99-100).

Dominant triad: LT is crucial. Minor keys require alteration of 7.

Cadences: open or closed, authentic (perfect or imperfect), or half. PAC, IAC, HC.

Voice leading reductions: review the guidelines on p104.

Essential and embellishing chords.

Melody harmonization. Scan the tune for harmonic vs. non-harmonic tones. Evaluate beginning and end for strong opening and cadence. Linear or embellishing chords common in the body of the phrase, but not at cadence.

Gauldin chapter 11: V⁷ and I⁶.

V⁷: 5 7 2 4. Don’t forget to raise 7 in minor!

4 = chord 7th. Introduce smoothly, resolve ¯ by step (R¯ BS).

RLT BS if it’s in soprano or bass.

Incomplete chords (either V⁷ or I) sometimes necessary in order to resolve both LT and chord 7th properly. If chord is incomplete, omit chord 5th.

I⁶: 3 5 1. Appropriate anywhere in the phrase except (a) as final cadential chord, or (b) following V⁷ with 4 - 3 in soprano (p137, #3).

Gauldin chapter 12: Phrase Structure and Grouping

Phrase end = cadence.

Period = antecedent - consequent. Consequent’s cadence is stronger than antecedent’s cadence.

Parallel period: ant. and cons. are melodically similar.

Review the phrase structure diagram on p143.

Phrase extension, contraction, and elision (p147)

[We will revisit the business of sub-phrases and motives next quarter -- they won’t be represented on the final exam.]

Gauldin chapter 13: Linear Dominant Chords.

V⁶, vii^o6, inversions of V⁷.

V⁶, V^6/5: bass = 7; both chords go to I⁶. Neighbor function.

vii^o6, V^4/3: bass = 2; both chords go either to I or to I⁶. N or P function.

V^4/2: bass = 4 (chord 7th); this chord must go to I⁶. Why?

No matter where V⁷’s 7th is (4), it resolves ¯ BS except in one (and only one) situation:

Where the bass and soprano are moving upwards in parallel 10ths through the progression I - V^4/3 - I⁶. Bass goes 1-2-3; soprano goes 3 - 4 - 5.

Linear dominants can prolong the dominant event by moving through different positions (inversions): pp160-161.

Gauldin chapter 14: Suspensions and simultaneous dissonances.

Prepare, suspend, resolve. Weak - strong - weak. Preparation must be consonant; if suspension is dissonant, R¯ BS. If suspension is consonant (3, 5, 6, 8), may skip to another consonance.

Change of non-suspending note coincident with resolution (p175).

Upper-voice suspensions in 4 voices: most common = 7-6, 4-3. 9-8 also possible.

Lower-voice suspensions in 4 voices: most common = 2-3 (9-10).

Double suspensions: 2 voices suspending simultaneously.

Gauldin: Species Counterpoint appendix (pp634-642 (not including 3rd and 5th species)), and http://humanities.uchicago.edu/classes/zbikowski/species.html.

Copyright © 2001 Irene Girton

V⁷: 5 7 2 4. Don’t forget to raise 7 in minor!
4 = chord 7th. Introduce smoothly, resolve ¯ by step (R¯ BS).
RLT BS if it’s in soprano or bass.
Incomplete chords (either V⁷ or I) sometimes necessary in order to resolve both LT and chord 7th properly. If chord is incomplete, omit chord 5th.
I⁶: 3 5 1. Appropriate anywhere in the phrase except (a) as final cadential chord, or (b) following V⁷ with 4 - 3 in soprano (p137, #3).