Harmony and Tonality

Tonality:

Tonality is the hierarchy of pitch relationships between on a key center (or home) or mode. This is in all music that has a key.

Atonal- is when there the music is not in a key or a mode.

Bi-tonal- is where the music has 2 different keys at the same time in different parts.

Poly-tonality- where the music has 2 or more keys simultaneously in the music.

Key signatures:

This is the group of sharps or flats located next to the time signature.

The circle of fifths:

There are 12 sections and each section has a pitch value.

The circle of fifths helps you figure out which sharps and flats occur in different keys. As you can see, you can also see how many flats or sharps are in each key by counting either direction. Clockwise, you can count sharps from C (the top), and count the flats from counting round anticlockwise. For example, C has a number value of 0, so it has no sharps. G is second going clockwise, so has 1 sharp-F. It is also helpful to use when you are moving through different keys within your composition. The keys go round in 5ths, for example C to G is a fifth apart, and then D is the key next to G and so on.

You can remember sharps by using the mnemonic- Father Christmas Gets Dad An Electric Blanket with the first letter of each word telling you what sharp it is.

You can remember all the flats by:
Blanket Explodes And Dad Gets Cold Feet.


Relative minors:

To find the relative minor of a key, all you have to do is go down 3 semitones from your tonic of the key. For example, if you are in the key of C, if you go down 3 semitones, it will go B, Bb, A. A is your relative minor. A relative minor also has the same key signature as the original major key, it just starts on a different note. C major and A relative/natural minor just use white keys and have no sharps and no flats.

Here is a list of all the relative/natural minors:

D major and B natural minor
A major and F sharp natural minor
E major and C sharp natural minor
B/C flat major and G sharp/A flat natural minor
F sharp/G flat major and D sharp/E flat natural minor
C sharp major/D flat and A sharp B flat natural minor
A flat major and F natural minor
E flat major and C natural minor
B flat major and G natural minor
F major and D natural minor





Here is my other score for pitch and intervals, tonality and chords/chord progressions:

The saxophones in this score are a mixture of tenors, altos and a baritone. These wind instruments have different sounding pitches to the way they are written.

Alto saxohone-  is an E♭ transposing instrumentt and is written on the treble clef. A written C-natural sounds a major sixth lower (E♭) when played. This means the first note that the alto saxophones play is written as a G, however, it has a sounding pitch of Bb because if you go down a major 6th, this is the note it lands on. The range is from concert D♭3 (the D♭ below middle C) to concert A♭5. You can see that the Db sounding pitch is written as a Bb in the picture below and that the high F written actually has a sounding pitch of an Ab (a major 6th below). In tuxedo junction, the altos are written in G major instead of Bb major, because if they are in G, then the key they sound when the play is a Bb because Bb is a major 6th lower than G.










Tenor Saxophone-  is a Bb. It is another transposing instrument in the treble clef, sounding an octave and a major second lower than the written pitch. Modern tenor saxophones which have a high F# key have a range from A♭2 to E5 (concert) and are therefore pitched one octave below the soprano saxophone.









Baritone Saxophone:

It is a transposing instrument in the key of E♭, pitched an octave plus a major sixth lower than written. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone out of the saxophone family. It comes in two sizes with one ranging to low A and the other to low B♭. It is one octave lower than the alto saxophone. Modern baritones with a low A key and high F♯ key have a range from C2 to A4.









Trumpets:

The trumpets in this score are also transposing instruments and are in the key of B♭, written in treble clef. They sound a major second lower than written.










Here is me looking at chords in tuxedo junction:

The tonality of the piece is in Bb major. You can tell this as it has 2 flats in its key signature. Bb and Eb. The penultimate flat of the key signature tells you what key we are in so its Bb major. The first chord is also a Bb major.

The main chord progression is Bb, Bb/D, Eb9, F9, E9, F9. The F9 then resolves back onto the Bb chord as it is the dominant of Bb.

Harmony is the simultaneous playing of two or more notes, which are found in chords.