UNIT 6

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An appoggiatura

sounds

on the beat as a dissonance,

then moves by step to a

harmony note:

A suspension

is like an appoggiatura,

the note as a consonance

against

but prepares the dissonance

the previous

by first sounding

chord, then holding

next beat (as a tied or repeated note) before achieving

resolution

it over onto the

by step to a weaker

beat (or off the beat).

The Renaissance
This was a turning point in the history not just of

European culture, but of Western music. The

'rebirth' of ancient Greek and Roman values in
music rook the form of an emphasis on sung
melody lines with chordal accompaniments, so
decoration and drama became more important

Dominant 7ths

than the smooth textures required by the Church

The use of embellishment

in medieval times. Melody was freed up, reflecting

developed,

the influence of Arabic and Tslamic musical

cultures, and (he emergence of the major-minor
system allowed chords ro be treated as an
independent aspecr of musical structure.

especially

operatic singing

became more and more sophisticated

with

the increasing

in the period of the Renaissance.

hearing melodic dissonances,

the dominant

importance

it became acceptable

as classical music

of instrumental

As people started

music and
to get used to

to include a dissonance

as part of

chord: a 7th above the bass that only resolves with the resolution

of

the chord itself.

Note how the 7th (here, the F) resolves downwards

by just a semi tone to the 3rd

of the next chord. It's natural to hear the 3rd (the B) of the dominant
semitone

to the tonic. This is called a leading

a semi tone are especially powerful.

Wagner

used them

to introduce

chord rising a

note effect. These movements

In the 19th century

the revolutionary

more and more chromatic

of just

composer

notes into harmony.

You'll find similar things when we look at jazz. (However,

in the example above, the

3rd in fact moves down

as marked.

permitted

to the 5th of the next chord,

This

is only

at cadences.)

This relaxation
composers

of the rules of consonance

to add other

notes to chords

and dissonance

to increase

tension

in their music. This led to the dissolution

music,

and produced

makes jazz improvisation

the looser relationship

set a precedent

the dramatic
of tonality

between

melody

for later

and expressive

in modern

classical

and harmony

that

possible (as we'll see in Unit 9).

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V7
Note how the 7th (here, the F) resolves downwards
the next chord. It's natural

semi tone to the tonic. This is called a leading

a semi tone are especially powerful.

98

by just a sernitone

to hear the 3rd (the B) of the dominant

to the 3rd of
chord rising a

tone effect. These movements

In the 19th century

the revolutionary

of JUSt

composer