Eric Frederickson

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CPOTW: Glossary of Terms

note: this document is currently in the process of catching up to CPOTW #2

Augmented Chord

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Definition:

An augmented chord is a major chord with a sharpened 5th. Hence, the usual [1-3-5] of a major triad becomes [1-3-♯5] to get the corresponding augmented triad. For example, a C major triad, spelled [C-E-G], can be turned into a C augmented triad by sharping the G, yielding the spelling [C-E-G♯].

The term “augmented” doesn’t refer only to augmented triads: it can refer more generally to any chord in which the natural 5th is sharpened (although this only tends to makes sense in chords containing a major 3rd degree, not a minor 3rd degree; see the Commentary below for more).

Commentary:

Note that augmenting a minor chord doesn’t make sense, because if we transform [1-♭3-5] into [1-♭3-♯5], and notice that the ♯5 is enharmonic to the ♭6, then we see that [1-♭3-♯5] = [1-♭3-♭6], which is the ♭6 major triad in 1st inversion. Hence the term “augmented” is not used in the context of minor chords, because the process of augmenting a minor chord yields a chord that we already have a name for.

Augmented triads have the interesting property that the interval between adjacent chord tones is always a major 3rd. This property is also held by diminished 7th chords (where the interval is a minor 3rd), the whole-tone scale (major 2nd) and the chromatic scale (minor 2nd). We see then that there’s a sort of gradient between “chord” and “scale” for these intervalically uniform patterns: I suppose we use the term “scale” when the chord would sound like a tone-cluster (or perhaps when we get >4 distinct pitches). Some corollaries to this:


Diatonic and Chromatic

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Definition:

In a context where a key has been established, the term “diatonic” means “within the key”. This means that whatever is being called diatonic (this could be a chord, melody, or anything made of notes) is composed strictly of notes that are within the scale of the key. These are the notes that people usually describe as sounding correct.

In contrast, the term “chromatic”, or “non-diatonic”, means the opposite: a chord or melody is chromatic if it contains any notes that are not within the key. These notes, if used improperly, can sound like mistakes. If used well, they can lead to the most exquisite and poignant sounds.

Commentary:

A growing comfort with and inclination toward chromatic ideas is generally regarded as a hallmark of musical maturity and development, at both an individual and epochal level. The general understanding, which holds truth despite its vast impreciseness, is that Western music, at least since the time of Gregorian chanting, accelerated along the path of greater and greater chromaticism, spurred on by the innovations of the romantics and post-romantics, until the genie came out of the bottle in the early 20th century, producing developments such as atonality and serialism, wherein avant-guardists pushed listeners to the edge of listenability in search of new means of expression. Something that I don’t hear mentioned enough in these conversations is the idea that Schönberg and his disciples were just as intent on writing beautiful music as their predecessors were. I’d recommend that anyone who disagrees with this idea listen to the whole of Pierrot Lunaire. It’s like espresso: at first you think it’s too bitter to drink; then the subtle, hidden treasures begin to reveal themselves.


Tonic-Dominant Functions

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Definition:

In music, the concepts of tension and resolution are essential to the creation of satisfying musical journeys. In harmonic theory these are often referred to as “tonic” (resolution) and “dominant” (tension) functions. A dominant chord is like the inhale before the exhale of a tonic chord: it’s the moment of harmonic instability that makes the stability of the tonic chord feel satisfying. It’s crucial to note that terms like “tonic chord” or “dominant chord” don’t necessarily refer to any specific chord: they’re broad categories that describe how a chord might feel or where it might be leading to.

Commentary:

The terms “tonic” and “dominant” can be general terms, but terms like “the tonic” and “the dominant” are specific: they refer to the 1 chord and the 5 chord of the key, respectively. This is one of many instances in music theory where abstract vs. specific meanings can be mixed or unclear.

The most basic implementation of a dominant to tonic resolution is a V-I cadence (“5 1 cadence”). Through the lens of Western music theory it can be viewed as the smallest musical fragment which tells a complete story.


Whole-tone Scale

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Definition:

The whole-tone scale is a 6 note scale where each note is a major 2nd (or whole-step, hence “whole-tone”) above the previous note. The scale has 6 notes because 6 whole-steps = 1 octave, so we encounter a repetition of the starting note after 6 steps upwards.

Equivalently, a whole-tone scale is a chromatic scale where you skip every other note. This point of view makes clear the fact that we can only get 2 distinct whole-tone scales (“distinct” meaning “not permutations of each other”).

Commentary:

Harmony and melody built on whole-tone patterns can add unique and beautiful colors to a variety of musical environments, though restricting oneself to using only whole-tone material can be very challenging due to the uniform nature of the scale. For a beautiful musical essay on the possibilities of this scale, see Debussy’s Prelude no. 2, book 1, titled “Voiles” (the video I’ve linked to isn’t the greatest quality, but Michelangeli’s great playing makes up for it).

Skipping every other note in a whole-tone scale yields augmented triads.