Sixth chord
A sixth chord or sixth chord is a sound that has at least one (major) sixth in any octave position (i.e. sixth, tredezime , octave + tredezime, etc.) and generally at least one third in any octave position (third, decimal ) above a root or bass note , Octave + decime, etc.). Octave doubling of the bass can also be added. Examples:
The name comes from the figured bass script : Deviating from the “normal” layering of thirds and fifths to form a third-fifth sound , here the third and sixth are layered to form a third-sixth sound or, for short, a sixth chord . This interval structure is indicated by a number 6 on the bass tone.
quality
Since the 14th century, the fifth has been considered a perfect consonance , while the sixth has been an imperfect consonance . This contrast is associated with the qualities of calm versus the urge to move. This difference in quality applies equally to the third- fifth or third- sixth sound. Therefore, as a rule, sixth chords are not used as closing sounds. Another explanation for the floating character of a sixth chord is the fact that its bass note is not also its root note : the sixth chord does not “stand” on its “foundation”.
Different views
Sixth chord as an interval combination
In the first half of the 18th century, chords were still predominantly understood as combinations of intervals over a bass note. In this respect, the sixth chord as a third- sixth sound is a (less) consonant alternative to the third- fifth sound.
Sixth chord as a triad inversion
The view that a sixth chord is the (first) inversion of a triad only gradually established itself in the course of the 18th century. Accordingly, the sixth above the bass note is the chord root , and the bass note itself is the third tone of "the chord", i.e. H. the third above the fundamental.
Tone doubling
The doubling of the triad tones is handled differently depending on the style and the technical situation. The general prohibition of doubling the third above the root note (i.e. the bass of a sixth chord), which is often claimed in music lessons, turns out to be unfounded on closer analysis of relevant compositions ( Diether de la Motte fought against this supposed prohibition in 1976). The third tone can be doubled as long as it does not have the meaning of a leading tone in the harmonic context (in this case both leading tones would have to be resolved in the same way; this would create octave parallels ).
A characteristic use of sixth chords can be found in secco recitatives . Their unstable sound quality urges a progression of harmony, which fits well with the flexible plot and narrative style of the text templates of such recitatives.
"Fifth sixth chord"
In popular music, the term “sixth chord” is often used to denote the fifth chord .
However, this term usually describes a four-tone that is created by adding a sixth (as a subdominant with an added sixth, it is also called a sixth ajoutée ) or as the 1st inversion of a seventh chord .
literature
- Diether de la Motte , theory of harmony. Bärenreiter, Kassel, and Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 1976; 10th edition dtv, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-423-04183-8 .
- Jürgen Ulrich : Harmony for practice. Schott, Mainz, 2008, ISBN 978-3-7957-8738-7 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Johannes Menke, Counterpoint I: The Music of the Renaissance , Laaber, Laaber, ISBN 978-3-89007-825-0 , pp. 75–79.
- ↑ Jürgen Ulrich: Harmony for practice. Schott, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-7957-8738-7 . P. 40
- ↑ See Ludwig Holtmeier : Implicit Theory: To the chord term of the Italian figured bass theory . In: Basler Jahrbuch für Historische Musikpraxis 31, Winterthur, 2009, pp. 149–170.
- ↑ He wrote in 1975: “Which note is doubled in the sixth chord? Interview ten textbooks. They give ten different answers between the extremes Bumcke and Moser ”.
- ↑ De la Motte 1997, pp. 42-44.