Sequential Harmony: Introduction: When exploring the world of music I seem to always be tempted by expanding what I know and

how I vision the music I hear and write. I constantly seek to do more with my ideas and expand on them. I have never been one to accept things for how they are; I question everything and expect a lot in return. This is why I came up with sequential harmony. I hear these sounds in my head, and all these ideas come together, and I need a way to put these thoughts together. In the beginning I started as many have before me, I started with learning what past masters have achieved. But I started alone, and maybe that is why I am able to venture off of the standard path of music students. I love studying theory, but I am not stuck to it. In the end, and this is important, the only thing that matters is our ears, and how we perceive sound. I sometimes feel there is a limit to standard harmony that does not satisfy all aural needs. After studying standard theory for awhile, I began exploring 12 tone music more in-depth and began developing my own ideas to how I could incorporate it into my music. I love all kinds of music, but ultimately I want the music to be attractive, melodic, and colorful. These are the things I gravitate to, and 12 tone gave me more colors to work with. Sequential harmony completes that quest. It was when I first read the improvisers OS by Wayne Krantz that I first envisioned sequential harmony. Almost immediately I saw where the 12 tone approach I was producing was ultimately limited, to playing all 12 tones, but sequential harmony is more flexible. It is beyond 12 tone, and even beyond standard theory, as it incorporates both. The other thing that drew me to this conclusion was that music is basically the difference in intervals between tones that we hear, at least when referring to melody and harmony. There are too many limitations to standard 12 tone theory, though sure you could say, why not just take a few notes out of 12 tone when you dont need them, but that starts become random, and you begin playing scales, its also not living and breathing music (more on that later). So I began thinking, what do certain series intervals sound like? For example: root, min2nd, min3rd. This set of notes has a particular sound; it is something we can identify. So I began thinking more intervallicly and harmonically. Ultimately this all lead me to what you are about to read about, Sequential Harmony. I hope you enjoy the new world you are braving in to, it is something I have spent a lot of time and thinking on. I am happy to share what I have found, and lets hope some good music comes out of this approach.

Cheers,

Tim

What is Sequential Harmony? First lets break apart why I named this theory the above. Lets start with the term harmony. Harmony is the sound you get by playing more than 1 different tone at the same time. For example if you go to the piano and hit C and E at the same time you will hear the notes blend together for the overall sound. There are general rules in standard music, and especially western music where most, if not all, chords and harmony is built on 3rds, or inversely 6ths. We get all of our main western chords from the 3rd approach. Whether it s Cmajor chord or a F#7b9#11 chord, the basic foundation of western music is the 3rd. Thats not to say, however, that thirds are the only way to create harmony. Much in the last 100 years has gotten into quartal and quintal harmony, and even that doesnt cover it all. Harmony is the sound created by 2, or more, of any notes. Min2nds are harmony, just like Major 13th would be harmony. This understanding must come into place in sequential harmony. More will be explained later. Then there is the word sequential. What is a sequence? A sequence is taking a group of notes and moving them in one direction, some interval, and repeating the same group of notes. There is strict sequencing and diatonic sequencing. The diatonic portion has you change the notes slightly by maintaining a particular key through the sequence. An example of a diatonic sequence would be; CDE, DEF, EFG, FGA. Unlike diatonic sequencing, strict sequencing moves without actually changing the intervals between the notes within the group. So an example would be; CDE, DEF#, EF#G#, etc Notice that the notes become something different in the strict version. Sequential harmony deals only with strict sequences. A note on sequences, for how they are approached in sequential harmony; sequences are only a means of identification, not a means for playing. The sequence itself is not a particular order of played notes. Do not think that if the sequence is; CDE, that you have to play CDE in that order, it is notes available to you. So what is Sequential Harmony? Sequential Harmony uses sequences, not key signatures, to create the harmony between notes. SH is a living breathing type of music that changes with the time when it is played. All notes are available, and changes in sound are created by changing the intervals between each sequence note group, or changing the actual intervals within the groups of notes in the sequence.

The Super Arpeggio: Anyone familiar with the super arpeggio will be able to understand more of how sequential harmony works. As Ive said, Sequential Harmony is all encompassing as far as I can see, and every type of music theory can be put under the class of SH. This includes the Super Arpeggio? What is the Super Arpeggio?

It is an arpeggio created with an endless amount of a pattern, or sequence. The pattern is; Major 3rd, Minor 3rd. So if we start on the note C we get: C, E, G, B, D, F#, A, C#, E, G#, B, D#, F#, A#, C#, F, G#, C What do you see in the above, there is a lot of ways to describe what is happening. Try playing it, does it work? Do you ever feel like the sound is off? Or the harmony doesnt work? If you play through in order nothing ever comes across as odd. If you skip around a bit sometimes the sound gets a little more out, but if you come back, it starts to sound good again. What else do we see? How about the sequence goes Major Chord, Minor Chord, or in terms of SH, the pattern goes: Root, Maj3rd, P5t, Then jumps up a P5th. So we get: CEG, GBD, DF#A, AC#E, etc or we could say the triads are: C major, G major, D major, A major, E major, B major, F# major, C# major, G# major, D# major, A# major, F major.

Do you notice something else about this particular sequence? Its the cycle of 5ths, using major chords. Do you notice something else? It could also be the cycle of 5ths using Minor chords, depending on where we started. So basically we have a series of 3 notes, Root, Maj3rd, P5th, moving up a sequence of a perfect 5th. This is the basic premise of Sequential Harmony. What happens if you play a C major triad in your left hand, on the piano, then play a G major in the right hand? Sounds alright, correct? What happens when you keep the C major down, but move up to a D major, then A major, and so on? The sound becomes more and more dissonant. This same idea is applied in SH. This is all pretty cool, right? Think with only the Super Arpeggio, what kind of music you could come up with, but this is only the beginning with Sequential Harmony. It only scratches the surface of whats possible.

So tell me more. Interval Notation: 013(2), does this make sense you? This is interval notation. Alright I realize I am keeping you waiting, but please bear with me a little longer, because we need a means to identify what we are doing, so you will be able to make the most obvious understanding of this whole concept. I find that interval notation is the best means for describing what happens to communicate ideas in sequential harmony. In fact, it will be what replaces key signatures on all the music that follows.

So how does it work? Well as shown above 013, is a means of identifying what intervals are being used. We always start with a root. So what does 013 mean when the root is C: 013 = C, Db, Eb Every number accounts for a half step, 0 indicates the root, or starting note. Here is a quick reference chart for known intervals names and there number equivalent. Root Min2nd Maj2nd Min3rd Maj3rd P4th Tritone P5th M6th Maj6th Min7 Maj7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This is used for how we describe what is happening in sequential harmony. What if we wanted to describe what was happening with the super arpeggio using intervallic, SH, notation? How about: 047(7) Starting on C. Do you see how it works? 0 = C, 4 = E, 7 = G Can you see what the (7) means? This number indicates the interval each series of notes is moving. In this case the interval series 013, is moving up the interval 7, after each series of notes. Can you think of any other ways to describe what is happening in the super arpeggio using SH notation?

How about? 04(7). Basically its saying we are taking root and major third, then repeating moving up a perfect 5th. So we take: CE, up a perfect fifth, then: GB, up a perfect fifth, DF#, etc This is how Sequential harmony works.

Ok, so what? Can you see the possibilities of this idea? We are not even close to being done, but have you ever noticed how sequences always sound good. As long as you stick to it, it works. If you are playing a sequence where you play: CDbEB, but then move the note sequence up a minor 2nd, and repeat, it works right? We attach ourselves to the sequence and something strong to grab onto. We understand what CDbEb sounds like. It has a particular sound, not because its C, but because of the intervals between the notes. What if you move the sequence up a major 2nd every time, or min 3rd, P5th, maj7th? They all work right? They always work, because we are able to hear whats going on. The place it gets confusing is if there is no pattern followed. We randomly change the series note intervals, then randomly change the intervals between sequences, or motives. We have nothing to grab onto, and sonically it doesnt help us. What you must do now is visualize this on a grand scale. Ultimately, we always have the choice to any note. We can play C then G# then Bb, or whatever, we can play whatever. So when you play you should always see every note, always ready to grab it when you play it. What Im about to ask you is beyond this type of thought, the next level up. You need to visualize all of these motifs within each sequence. What you need to see, in every octave, is all the notes available and where they are located, in relation to what is going on with the sequence. So in the case of the super arpeggio example, you want to see: C major, G major, D major, etc and should be saying, I can play any of these notes, and the further I get away the more the sound will have strong colors that are opposite. Before this gets confused, in sequential harmony you do not have to go in order, in order, to get where you like. For example, if you are playing C, E, G, you can skip up to D, F#,A, without going through the G chord. Also you do not have to go in the order played. So you could play something like, C, G, F# D, E, G, A all in different octaves if you like. I find you hear the sound the best when it is actually the correct octave based off the sequence. So the D would be an octave above the C in this case. Now so far weve kind of talked about simple single note lines, but the same goes with harmony. Chords become something completely different within SH. Of course, if we stick with the Super Arpeggio we will see very similar chords to what weve seen in the past. You, for example, could play all the 0s of each sequence, giving you C, G, D, A, etc which is standard quintal harmony. But you could also Take the 0, then next sequence take the 1, then the 3, to then 0, each subsequent sequence, giving you . C, B, A, A, or any other kind of idea, where the As would be octaves apart. Octaves do have a particular sound, wouldnt you agree? But what if you we do a different sequence, how about 02(7). So the notes go in order like this:

CD, GA, DE, BC#, etc.I want you think of it in terms of intervals from the start, of course some of it would be too hard to play. But you could create chords from what you have hear. Something like: CADC# or something. Where the melody comes from the available notes in the sequence.