Fifth parallel
Under fifths are understood in the music theory between two different parts occurring and parallel upwards or downwards running fifths . When it comes to the do's and don'ts of music theory, however, mostly only the fundamental-fifths are meant (see below). The reason for the "prohibition" was originally, similar to octave parallels, the particularly high degree of fusion of the fifth interval, which threatens to endanger the independence of the voices. The musical aesthetic view of parallel fifths and their general application has been subject to an extremely strong change over a long period of time, which is also clear from studying scores from musical genres from different epochs.
Unauthorized fifths parallels can be both pure and diminished fifths , each progressing into a perfect fifth, as the following motto, taken from Felix Draeseke's The Doctrine of Harmonia, put into funny rhymes, formulates: "Pure - reduced: Unhindered! Reduced - pure: let that be! "
In addition to these so-called open fifth parallels, there are also hidden fifth parallels. These arise when both voices run parallel (here only in a common upward or downward movement) into a fifth. An exception is, for example, when the upper voice moves up or down in whole or semitone steps . Hidden fifths are also allowed if they are needed to end a piece with a complete chord set on a fermata .
The so-called Mozart fifths were a permitted exception as far back as the Viennese classical period . Above all, however, the “prohibition” on the use of parallel fifths was increasingly disregarded by many composers from the late Romantic period (see, for example, Edward Grieg or Franz Liszt). In the same way, direct or open fifth parallels are often found in today's styles such as pop, rock, jazz and film music, and in some cases they are almost style-defining (see power chords ).
Root quint parallels
For the most part, the set rules of major-minor-tonal music do not relate comprehensively to all possible parallels of fifths, but rather to parallels of the fundamental fifths. The well-known "prohibition" of the fifth parallels in this case only applies to those that progress from one to the next chord and when the root note is led into the root note and the fifth note into the fifth note. However, there are also many situations in which the mere successive sequence of a fifth interval in the same voices is not “forbidden”. For example, if a subdominant sixth chord (S 6 ) with a frozen seventh leading up to the sixth (with this same in the soprano) is not resolved, but is led straight down into the dominant. A fifth parallel is created from the subdominant seventh to the dominant fifth and from the subdominant third to the dominant root. Both voices thus change their function.
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| Not "forbidden" fifth parallel (red) |
An example of such a permitted fifth parallel in a C major cadence is shown in the picture. The unresolved seventh lead before the sixth of the subdominant fifth sixth chord leads to a not "forbidden" fifth parallel when the dominant progresses.