Lecture 8. Bass Patterns: Blues and Rock

YaleCourses

7 Dec 201248:02

EducationalLearning

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TLDRThe professor lectures on chord progressions, explaining how harmony works through analyzing classical and popular music examples. He discusses the importance of listening to the bass line to determine chord changes and rates of harmonic change. Comparisons are made between predictable pop progressions and complex classical ones. Various musical excerpts demonstrate common chord patterns like I-IV-V-I. The lecture aims to develop students' ability to recognize and chart harmonic progressions during performances.

Takeaways

🎵 The root of a triad is the lowest note in a three-pitch configuration, consisting of the first, third, and fifth notes.
🤖 Chords built on scale degrees have varying importance, with tonic (I), dominant (V), and subdominant (IV) being crucial, alongside the VI chord or the submediant.
🖥 In orchestral settings, individual instruments play single notes that collectively form chords, contrary to playing chords individually.
🎧 Harmony's perception comes from an aggregate of sounds, where listeners extrapolate chords from the combination of individual notes.
🎶 Melodic changes necessitate chord changes to maintain consonance, as not all harmonies align with every melody note.
💡 Dissonance in music is often a product of pitches being close together, with consonance increasing as intervals widen.
📚 Chord progressions are sequences of chords that sound pleasing together, moving in a purposeful manner.
🎹 The bass line is pivotal in understanding harmony and chord progressions, guiding listeners through the harmonic structure.
⚡ Classical and pop music differ in harmony complexity, length, mood variability, instrumentation, and whether they're acoustically or electronically produced.
💻 Pop music often features regular, repetitive chord progressions and simpler harmonies, making it more predictable than classical music.

Q & A

What is a triad in music theory?
-A triad is a configuration of three pitches, consisting of the first, third and fifth notes of a scale. The lowest note of a triad is called the root.
What is the difference between consonant and dissonant intervals in music?
-Consonant intervals tend to have simpler frequency ratios between the notes, while dissonant intervals have more complex, disjointed ratios. Notes that are close together tend to be more dissonant.
How can harmony and chord changes communicate meaning in classical music?
-Since much classical music lacks lyrics, composers use devices like the rate of harmonic change to create tension, relaxation, passion, anxiety etc. This helps convey meaning without words.
Why is popular music useful for studying harmony and chord progressions?
-Popular music tends to have very regular and repetitive chord patterns, often with the chords in root position. This makes the chord progressions easier to hear and analyze.
What is the difference between real time and psychological time in music?
-Real time is the actual duration of the sounds. Psychological time refers to the listener's perception - certain chord changes signal important structural markers that make the music feel finished, even if sounds continue.
What is a chord inversion?
-A chord inversion is when the root note of a chord is not the lowest sounding note, but rather another chord tone like the third or the fifth serves at the bass instead.
What is a cadence in music?
-A cadence is the end of a musical phrase or progression that brings the music to a point of rest or arrival. Cadences help define the structure.
Why is it hard to make legal cases about stolen bass lines?
-Bass lines and chord progressions tend to reuse common patterns that have been around for centuries. It is hard to prove that a particular song stole unique musical ideas, rather than relying on standard building blocks.
Why would an accelerated rate of harmonic change create tension in the music?
-When chords change faster and faster, it creates momentum and drives the listener forward. It feels tense and anxious because you expect something is coming.
What does it mean when the harmony has an irregular rate of change?
-An irregular rate of harmonic change means that the chords are holding for differing lengths of time. Some might hold for two beats, others for six beats, and they keep switching unpredictably.

Outlines

00:00

😁 Introducing Triads and Chord Progressions

The professor discusses triads as three pitch configurations with a root, third, and fifth, and how chords can be built on each scale degree. He talks about the importance of certain chords like I, IV, V, and VI and previews analyzing chord progressions.

05:03

🎹 Demonstrating Consonance and Dissonance

To explain consonance and dissonance, the professor plays examples on piano showing closely spaced pitches sound dissonant while wider spaced pitches sound more consonant due to their frequency ratios.

10:06

🎶 Relating Rate of Harmonic Change to Musical Mood

Using excerpts from Mozart and Beethoven, the professor illustrates how the rate of harmonic change, regular vs irregular, impacts the mood and feel of the music.

15:06

👂🏻 Listening for Bass Lines in Beethoven

The professor plays a passage from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, explaining the importance of listening to the bass to understand harmonic changes, though it can be difficult to pick out.

20:09

🎸 Comparing Pop and Classical Chord Progressions

To highlight similarities, the professor analyzes chord progressions in pop songs, then shows how classical excerpts by Beethoven, Mozart, and Rossini use comparable I, IV, V, VI patterns.

25:12

🤔 Characterizing Differences Between Pop and Classical

When asked to explain differences between pop and classical to his grandmother, the professor notes classical uses more complex chords, lacks lyrics, enables wider emotional range, and features greater unpredictability in structure.

30:12

🎤 Adding Vocals to Classical Chord Analysis

Students sing the bass line along with a melody excerpt from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony to experience chord changes from the bass perspective.

35:13

👯‍♂️ Comparing Beethoven and Gene Chandler Progressions

The professor analyzes the four-chord "Duke of Earl" progression, then shows how a passage from the last movement of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony uses the same I, VI, IV, V pattern.

40:18

🎻 Finding Famous Progressions in Mozart and Rossini

Excerpts from Mozart and Rossini are shown to use the same four-chord "Duke of Earl" progression, illustrating the common use of these standard patterns across classical repertoire.

45:20

🥁 Recognizing Musical Patterns and Closure

A Rossini overture excerpt repeats tonic-dominant patterns then ends on a held tonic chord, demonstrating how harmonic patterns cue the feeling of musical completion.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Triad

A triad is a configuration of three pitches, consisting of the root, third, and fifth notes of a scale. The professor explains that chords can be built on each note of the musical scale, and these chords constructed of three notes are called triads. He states that the triad is a key harmonic concept that is discussed extensively in the lecture.

💡Root

The root is the lowest note or foundation pitch of a triad or chord. Using the example of a C major triad with the notes C, E, and G, the professor explains that the note C is considered the root of that chord. Identifying the root helps label and understand the harmonic function of different chords within a progression.

💡Chord progression

A chord progression is a sequence of chords that sound pleasing and logically connected when played in succession. The professor notes that certain chord progressions are commonly used in Western classical and popular music, like the I-IV-V-I pattern. Analyzing the chords and progressions used in a piece of music provides insight into its harmonic structure.

💡Consonance and dissonance

Some note combinations sound pleasing and stable (consonant) while others sound harsh and tense (dissonant). The professor explains that consonance and dissonance relate to the frequency ratios between notes. Small whole number ratios like 3:2 (perfect fifth) tend to be consonant, while complex ratios like 9:8 (whole tone) are dissonant. Composers utilize both effects in their music.

💡Irregular harmonic rhythm

Harmonic rhythm refers to the rate at which chords change in a progression. The professor demonstrates that while pop music tends to have regular harmonic rhythm, classical music often has an irregular rate of chord changes to create certain effects. For example, a progression that accelerates creates momentum and tension.

💡Cadence

A cadence is the ending of a musical phrase that brings resolution, like the conclusion of a chord progression on the tonic. Cadences help structure classical music and provide markers that create a sense of arrival at important formal junctures.

💡Modulation

Modulation refers to a change from one key to another within a composition. The professor gives the example of a Mozart piece that modulates to connect two contrasting sections in different keys. Modulation allows greater musical variety within a work.

💡Sonata form

Sonata form is a common structural blueprint in classical instrumental music with three main sections - exposition, development, and recapitulation. Understanding sonata form allows listeners to follow the musical narrative and track where they are within the structure.

💡Homophonic and polyphonic

Homophonic texture features a clear melodic line supported by chordal accompaniment, while polyphonic texture has multiple independent melodic lines. The professor explains that while pop music tends to be homophonic, classical music often combines both textures.

💡Symphony

A symphony is an elaborate, extended musical composition for orchestra, typically in four movements with contrasts of tempo, mood, and tone. Master composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Mahler advanced the symphonic form and expressed the full range of emotion and sophistication within it.

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Transcripts

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