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The following program is produced at WG U.S. in cooperation with the national educational radio network. The down staff. Room with conversations on music with composers got Houston and Carolyn watts of the University of Cincinnati. What have you got that was lovely. I thank you very much it was nothing really was of the chord progression and the succession of chords you just heard it began and ended in the tonic of. F minor. Right that key was established by the root movement of
mostly down to fifth or up before they are the same questions. Wait a minute. Down to fifth the Upper Fourth this this is really been bad because I was going to go out of the piano the other day with the infos and I find if I went from C to G A perfect interval if I went down it was no longer a fifth. That's right was the fourth. This demonstrate with the same case I would take the two routes that surround the so-called dominant. I would take it down a. If. You're there just exactly the same when you go before. Oh I then then may I say that when we were first talking about intervals in the first two or three programs we measured them up and not down did we not. But we played them up like 9 or 7 blasphemies but we didn't invert. Oh so what you did by going down you inverted them so they became something else with it. Yes it would if I thought it.
Through you have to say it's a minor so if you take the defeat out of it's lowest position. And move it up. You know that the seventh anymore you have a major second. It's quite simple really the seventh becomes a second and seven and to make nine and the minor becomes a major. So let's see if you have a perfect form converge to a perfect fit for the Major. But don't move for five equal mind. I have the two that matched two major third inverted becomes a minor 6 now end of the mathematics but if those if I can remember if they add up to nine that's what they have to do it if I play a third and his major version will be the sixth but mine prime so so if I play a fourth and I want to move up I guess Oh not now say it again I want to add up to not but it goes along way back and I'm from taking too much time but I go back the F minor again. I play in the root progression down
5 now up for the same chords involved 5 for a one line that I think remain perfect. So we established that F minor key by the root movement of mostly down a fifth or Upper Fourth they're the same but up a second and least by third. But the progression used to Tong's not found in that key. The Lowered seventh or the lowered. Normalcy. And the lowered second G flat disc were the normal Second how you. Fly. So those are the two tones E-flat and G fat that are not found in the key of F not normally in the diet I have.
Read the seven tones of the diatonic F minor harmonic scale. We used to not to fly into normal 7 flats. Records that contain those two tones not in the key or called altered chords. Obviously And one of them is so special that it even has a name. The Neapolitan sounds beautiful. It's really quite an accident like all things in music and history. The root of the Neapolitan is the second skin to be lowered to half step again. And because it was a favorite chord in dramatic situations in Italian opera in Naples in the early 18th century it's called the one from Naples or the Apollo. Note that it comes in first inversion only Here's the rub. Here's a third. Chord to simply G flat B flat flat and we as being somewhat
keen on this key. Now I'm going to use that. Very dramatic you see it is it that she fights not only would you go with that little wretch TV. That might be my handle up to the Neapolitans loved it. Oh that is great. The first inversions of thing that keeps it going. That means that the base is going to have their core that's the spirit of the triad. Very good. Let us illustrate the Neapolitan Haydn symphony number a hundred for only the introduction. The key is D minor.
You know the Neapolitan chord built. The minor. Normal second scale degree. Let's hear the Neapolitan Titans in a modern for I have a comment over the music of the Straits clearly the two most important chords in the key besides the tonic here go. On a dominant and later just by the Neapolitan you expect a certain kind of chord and you go. To the dominant step down. Nothing. To get down a fourth. Do you want.
To be mine. Back to. The human. My generation about 7. We were the new key. You'll be one. Of. Them. But I'm. Going for. A new key F major. The minister and. I were gnocchi. Do you mind if I don't know yet. Hold on. Modulation put. The remains of. A minor. The modulation. Back to D minor.
Maybe why maybe. I yes I really don't. Know. High. Five. Would make a big deal. There is more to. Ignore you. Know cordoned off whole extra listen just as the Neapolitan changed mix. And you tour. Time except for. Our neighbors. In the introduction and the first thing it was really an exciting piece and one of the most daring. It's great when you talk when you talk with it like that because it really points out what might be a
little fuzzy you know. But you have my day I use the word budget over to correct as you go. Here are a few more common quote altered unquote chords. First in a major key E-flat. It was all diatonic here comes the order. It was another one. Here comes another one. Another one. Of the good times that one of the reason flat he's put if you didn't hear.
It there is the diatonic seven dawns of E-flat major I use this one. That's right. I don't shop for normal for far. I was the first and I used. The next night I used was a diminished seventh. Down there and then use two tones that were in the key of the. Let me here's the. News that you might have shot at shot after shot. Heavens and then a natural within that a natural left sharpen a natural charm to and charm for in this case I mean if you think about those this way they're terrible but when you put them in context of the current it is a beautiful exhibit Poland. Oh and that's the secret. The other chord I used was one of the used in the first example E-flat major. Listen to this here because leading to flatted
and we take on a whole new direction. And the next thing I use is a particularly beautiful lot of chord. If you're an E-5 major which has three demands three. And use this chord. You develop a C sharp which is not Mickey but major and of the natural which is certainly not the flat major and goes here. To raise excuse me not take this piano away and listen to the particular diminished seventh chord in Beethoven 08 a symphony the third the chord you will hear is a diminished seventh on the res 6 scared to be out of sync. There is the Rays 6. You're going to not notice the change in the rhythm of the orchestra as soon as you hit that chord.
I didn't. Hear the change in the strings of the piano when I was out of tune. I don't play it. I'd like to ask you one thing and I was the diminished use much before Beethoven. Oh yes very common Haydn and Mozart. It seemed to me that the Beethoven. Why did I hear it in so many of his ways. I do is using using a diminished getting into. Well hold on to your hat and I'll mention in about five minutes or so I want to leave the major key for several minutes because we find much more harmonic richness in the minor keys. After all would you look for gold in the desert. I know one doesn't find a way around the mountains either. But so much for similes. This dialogue began with the chord progression in F minor.
There were you recall two alterations the flat seven scale degree in the flat second the Neapolitan. Let's use the same key of the timing F minor and for another card aggression using a different kind of alteration. This altered chord. Called the Italian tenor. I didn't 6 has special
significance. It was used for the first time someone accidentally in the late Renaissance my wife murder a name just to let you know she was accidentally somewhat accidentally because he was searching for chromaticism in a very unusual way in the late sixteenth century. We came up with this. He misspelled it according to classic usage and it was kind of an accident but that car became very popular and increased in use in the Baroque and 60:40 and was only shoe in the classic period in 1790 U.S. so old hat that they tell one another composer's after him added to the simple oneness of titans. So they added this. We call it for lack of a better word German. And this one is the French. How would you play the original one and then show what happens to it each time. Now this interval is not as you might guess a minor seventh that would resolve here the same song but it's
spelled d flat to be natural. And that's an augmented sixth. And it gets bigger. So here you can tell this is sharp four because it goes to five. So here they are going at six chords. Sometimes I hesitate to mention this terminology but it is common. So I would say this is the attack. It's the simplest places to try. There's the root of the German adds a seventh root fifth suck it's richer a certain theories in the late 19th century gave in these terms and most everybody uses the French is built on another scale degree on the supertype here's the root. And the third. And. The sun. And then together you know here's a different way to use it too.
I normally do. That will be both classic and earlier the rock I'm going to show you but I am not a composer and shopping here is the same chord as the spacing the texture. And it does not go to dominant right. C major and now there's the same chord that I want to see down. What did you do with that. Who is based in actual fact. He in the Baroque or classic or earlier manic period would result would hear this call that Chopin built on the dominant. Chord just Belgique natural flat and so he thinks it right. And they don't use all those but less commonly the French now in the next
generation you see. Or to Brahms used all three commonly. Here's an example of the German augmented sixth chord in the dance symphony of Baitullah number 7. If you missed it. He was a major in Beethoven just go blind. I am right here. I want us to do the key. Goes directly to the key of F. As you say 7 is going to go to hear.
It Go. Back in a major news the discord was a. Major mistake just you can tell instantly. My friends because it does not resolve like it sounds a dominance up. Here's a step in the key but major Now you take this car and spend it as de shark. Not as the flat new here is an augmented sixth getting whiter that becomes the dominant and Beethoven uses softened. It's not a cliche the way use it because it comes with the right circumstances but it uses a very very often revolutionary Oh and here's an example of the French this quarter we're talking actually occurs right on this page. In the Symphony Number four of Brahms and the last movement. I think it just comes around.
Harmony on the piano. Becomes A French. Song To put it on the record even though the bass was not brought up on yours. There you see that the conductor mentioning. When I ran it it is not right. You get. Comes confusion of keys yet it is French. I don't know what key it is nuts the type of ambiguity that Brahms is so fond of
and what and what your question is answered right there you see what happened after Beethoven I was going to say this is for the record I was like Brahms has the same vocabulary. Think of what a different syntax. When you say I see a rose in the garden but I understand you when you say a rose is a rose is a rose. Sometimes it's hard to understand because you don't know what they're trying to say. Good it's time for what somebody said about Langston Churchill that one of the secrets of his great oratory is that he would take familiar and simple and simple words but put them in a different given context that's exactly where Brahms is doing you see what they see in the very late 19th century uses only the French type of augmented sixth chords and makes them but the whole tone chord adding one or two more tone here that same French text. That we spoke of noted earlier the at this time.
Not leaving out but you have one. Never make a complete whole tone scale you need six. Anybody with half a mathematical mind knows that there are. 12 and half of 12 or six so they go. On six story. So it's a whole tone scale. And he uses it again not to fool you nor an audience but simply because the composer is pressing on toward something he's not quite sure he wants. But after he's written you know what he wants Here's the chord. We hear in a minute or two. The second theme of the day was yeah on the first theme they see in this she never gets a second card. We think we're going to go years free.
No more Bach or Beethoven and Mozart no more bombs same vocabulary but entirely new syntax. The second thing and your first thinking or the second thing but the second chord in that key is. Not in this you can go anywhere. What's the furthest you made and divide you can possibly imagine that's the best. You can go to a friend. Like you. You good g is pretty far away. It's the farthest away. So deviously does actually go to. Like that when. I was in major it was back to the flat. Let's hear it in the orchestra. Playing in.
English. That was a transition you're. We haven't heard the second piece. Is do know. We're close to the flight. Yeah. It's hard to find a cure for it. Is the co-op. Is Back. And then comes the court again. And after me I believe it's really beautiful. This was it wasn't accidental how much what you suppose went before this just trying this trying to Johnston you think it was of a she. Oh it was not it was carefully thought out. In fact you can tell by the way he spells his hold on scales you know exactly what he's doing he thought to himself
How am I going to develop my own individuality. And he had heard the whole tone scale of course implied in the music of Brahms and Wagner uses what is the whole tone scale of. What lacks a dominant there is no perfect gift. It lacks And so I can go on it was perfectly good. And modern composers use the whole Toms derives from that old French sixt. As clusters one of the best examples I know occurs in the four string quartet a barque top written one thousand twenty eight. First there appears a cluster of half steps like this. And a second or two later a cluster of whole steps through that knot.
You're the hotel investor It sounds so far away. Of course again similar vocabulary is the entire difference an entirely different approach which makes it possible for us to trace music history from the 16th to the early 20th century with just one type of sound. How the augmented sixth chords developed from a daring experiment by Juggalo to a comment of mine to new usage. The chords of the augmented sixth will also open the door for us to introduce the concept of changing one key to another. Let's take the fresh key. There are 24 people you know. One would
not use before D-flat major And thereby hangs a tale that he d flat major was not in common use until the late 19th century you know where your yes C major Yes D-flat major no because the method of tuning called equal temperament which is what was then had to be invented so that C Sharp would equal the flat box two part invention and use only keys that are simple out of the 24 you only use 15 but they're pretty well in tune. Now apply this. We stop there and respect Al G flat 7 as F sharp. Here it doesn't open it's already hinted that a man's going to a new key. And batting. 1 6 4 in C major.
Garden escape. And let's hear. It let's hear it again. And it doesn't hurt a bit right. You make sure that greasy major is really a new key as we modulating from the flat to see how we make sure the U.S. is really a key by using the route down. And Macko modulation then is simply a change from one tonality or key to another. In our next chat at least on the list read several simple methods of changing to nominate. You've been listening to. Up the Down staff conversations on music with composer Scott Houston and Carolyn Watts. Our technical director is Bob Stevenson. This program was produced in cooperation with the national
educational radio network in the studios of WG U.S. on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. This is the national educational radio network.
Series
Up the down staff
Episode Number
7
Episode
Gold - in the Desert? - the Minor Key is Richer
Contributing Organization
University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/500-2z12s68h
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Description
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No description available
Date
1971-00-00
Topics
Music
Media type
Sound
Duration
00:30:31
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AAPB Contributor Holdings
University of Maryland
Identifier: 71-17-7 (National Association of Educational Broadcasters)
Format: 1/4 inch audio tape
Duration: 00:30:00?
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Citations
Chicago: “Up the down staff; 7; Gold - in the Desert? - the Minor Key is Richer,” 1971-00-00, University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 29, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-2z12s68h.
MLA: “Up the down staff; 7; Gold - in the Desert? - the Minor Key is Richer.” 1971-00-00. University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 29, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-2z12s68h>.
APA: Up the down staff; 7; Gold - in the Desert? - the Minor Key is Richer. Boston, MA: University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-2z12s68h