Polyharmony

     Polyharmony refers to a musical passage in which polychords are used in a chord succession or create a harmonic flow. As mentioned, when introducing the way polychord structures are built, the component triads can either be kept distinct through simple superimposition of chords, or they can be blended into a complex unit.      That said, below …

Modal Mixture

      This technique is used to explore contrasts between different modes that share the same tonic root of a given chord. It can be used more freely if the used chord is ambiguous enough to allow the implication of several modes throughout a given musical passage. That said, the chord quality will determine which modes …

Types of Modulation

     Using modulations in music, temporary or definite, lends a sense of sophistication and brings freshness to your music. That said, this technique is something you should develop; the ability to modulate to any key; being able to come and go as you please while you navigate through the different tonalities; and doing so as …

Rhythm and Music Expression

     There is much more to say about rhythm than what I will be exposing in this post. However, I am assuming that you already know enough about rhythm figures, meter and pulse, to follow along.      Depending on certain music genres, rhythm can be one of the most defining characteristics of that genre – see Blues, …

Harmonic Cadences

     A harmonic movement from one chord to another is called a chord progression and a cadence is a harmonic device that refers to the form of ending a musical thought. Cadences may appear in the end of a phrase or section of the music piece. This means that cadences can be closely related to the …

Darkest to Brightest Modes

     Now that you have a good idea of how each mode sounds and considering that we are dealing with modes from within the same tonality, it is time see how they relate to each other in terms of feel and color. In terms of balance, when you play the Ionian mode (major scale), it has …