Tonal center

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The tonal center is the harmonious vanishing point or gravitational point of a piece of music. The remaining harmonies revolve around this center , building up or releasing tension through distance and approach.

In simple songs , the tonal center is identical to the basic key , but mostly the center changes through modulation for short or longer sections or for entire parts of the composition without the basic key changing. A classic example of such a lasting change in the center is the sonata main clause form . If a piece moves to another center, all the rules about tension in the harmonies in relation to this center apply.

The most common modulation is the dominant that is very closely related . Compared to other, more complex relationships, it is rather trivial. At the latest in Romanticism , much more far-reaching steps developed, ranging from mediant to chromatic relationships. Since these resources also began to wear out, new possibilities were constantly being devised, including the resolution of tonality , in order to still be able to use the aesthetic appeal of strangeness and distance (tension). (A much-cited "milestone" is Wagner's Tristan und Isolde .)

literature

  • Diether de la Motte : Harmony (= dtv 30166). Joint original edition, 13th edition. Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag et al., Munich et al. 2004, ISBN 3-423-30166-X .
  • Erich Wolf : The music education. Volume 2: Harmony. Chord theory, harmonic functions, modulations, harmonization technique, musical composition, harmony analyzes, exercises. 6th edition. Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden 1992, ISBN 3-7651-0061-7 .
  • Hermann Grabner : Handbook of functional harmony theory. 2 volumes. Hesse, Berlin-Halensee et al. 1944;
    • Volume 1: Textbook (= Hesse's handbooks of music. 15, ZDB -ID 777229-4 );
    • Volume 2: Exercise book (= Hesse handbooks of music. 25).
  • Hanno Hussong: Studies on practical harmony teachings since 1945. dissertation.de, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89825-931-5 (At the same time: Saarbrücken, University, dissertation, 2004. Printed as a manuscript).
  • Wilhelm Maler: Contribution to the major minor tonal harmony theory. Volume 1: Textbook. 13th edition. Leuckart, Munich et al. 1984, ISBN 3-920587-00-6 .
  • Wolf Burbat : The Harmonics of Jazz (= dtv 30140). 5th edition. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag et al., Munich et al. 1998, ISBN 3-423-30140-6 .
  • Richard Graf, Barrie Nettles: The Chord Scale Theory & Jazz Harmonics. Advance Music, Rottenburg / N. 1997, ISBN 3-89221-055-1 .
  • Benedikt Stegemann: Theory of Tonality (= pocket books on musicology. 162). Noetzel, Wilhelmshaven 2013, ISBN 978-3-7959-0962-8 .

See also