Structural Harmony

The course of Harmony is based totally on the “Treatise of Harmony” by Arnold Schonberg. According to him, “Harmony is the study of simultaneous sounds(chords) and of how they may be joined with respect to their architectonic, melodic, and rhythmic values and their significance, their weight relative to one another”.

The reason we chose this book comes from Schonberg himself: “The outset required the pupil to determine the sequence of chords himself […] This procedure has the advantage that from the very beginning the pupil is himself, in a certain sense, composing.” All the fundamental topics to develop from scratch a solid knowledge in Harmony are presented impeccably and logically mixed with his ideas and with philosophical overtones that enrich the contents entirely not just to follow the rules but ponder upon them.

Course Information

Course Instructor

Gisela Paterno Gisela Paterno Author

Introduction

The Major Mode and the Diatonic Chords

The Minor Mode

Connection of Chords with no Common Notes

Cadences (closes)

Freer treatment of the VII degree in Major and Minor mode

Modulation

Secondary Dominants and other Non-Diatonic chords derived from the Church Modes

Rhythm and Harmony

Modulations: Continuation

Regions in Minor

At the Frontiers of Tonality

Modulations to more distant keys

Chorale Harmonisation

Non-Harmonic Tones

Ninth chords

Extended Tonality

Progressions for varios compositional Purposes

Schematic representations to round out the Tonal System

The Whole-Tone scale and related five and six-part chords

Chords constructed in Fourths

Aesthetic evaluation of chords with six or more tones