Course 2: Intermediate Readers
Unit 1: Altered Pitches
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Introducing Fi
When we raise notes out of the regular scale in solfege, their vowel becomes an 'i' [ee]. In this case, Fa is becoming "Fi" at certain points. Fi occurs often in music to create stronger pull toward Sol. Most often, this type of alteration is melodically approached and resolved by stepwise motion.
Treble Clef,
Cmaj,
4/4
When we raise notes out of the regular scale in solfege, their vowel becomes an 'i' [ee]. In this case, Fa is becoming "Fi" at certain points. Fi occurs often in music to create stronger pull toward Sol. Most often, this type of alteration is melodically approached and resolved by stepwise motion.
Harmonic Function of Fi
Fi is the result of altering our ii chord (Re-Fa-La), a naturally occurring minor chord, to become a major chord preceding the V chord (Sol-Ti-Re). In music theory, this technique is called 'secondary dominance' and [Re-Fi-La] in Roman chord notation would be written 'V/V' instead of 'ii'. Do you feel the extra pull toward Sol because of the raised note?
Treble Clef,
Cmaj,
4/4
Fi is the result of altering our ii chord (Re-Fa-La), a naturally occurring minor chord, to become a major chord preceding the V chord (Sol-Ti-Re). In music theory, this technique is called 'secondary dominance' and [Re-Fi-La] in Roman chord notation would be written 'V/V' instead of 'ii'. Do you feel the extra pull toward Sol because of the raised note?
Fi and the Half Cadence
Listen carefully to the timing of the new dotted-eighth sixteenth rhythmic pattern. Have you noticed how often melodies come to rest on So,Ti and Re at measure 4 of a 8 measure melody? A harmonic resting point on those pitches is usually labelled a Half-Cadence, which occur halfway through a musical question and answer pair. That pair of two related phrases together in musical structure is called a 'period'. The more you see larger structures, the better your reading will get!
Treble Clef,
Cmaj,
4/4
Listen carefully to the timing of the new dotted-eighth sixteenth rhythmic pattern. Have you noticed how often melodies come to rest on So,Ti and Re at measure 4 of a 8 measure melody? A harmonic resting point on those pitches is usually labelled a Half-Cadence, which occur halfway through a musical question and answer pair. That pair of two related phrases together in musical structure is called a 'period'. The more you see larger structures, the better your reading will get!
Introducing Te
When we lower notes out of the regular scale in solfege, their vowel becomes an 'e' [eh]. In this case, Ti is becoming "Te" at certain points. Te occurs often in music to create harmonic motion toward the Sub-Dominant harmony (Fa-La-Do) and is usually approached by step and resolves downward by stepwise motion to La.
Treble Clef,
Cmaj,
4/4
When we lower notes out of the regular scale in solfege, their vowel becomes an 'e' [eh]. In this case, Ti is becoming "Te" at certain points. Te occurs often in music to create harmonic motion toward the Sub-Dominant harmony (Fa-La-Do) and is usually approached by step and resolves downward by stepwise motion to La.
Harmonic Function of Te
Te is usually the result of altering a I7 chord (Do-Mi-Sol-Ti) to become a dominant sounding chord preceding the IV chord (Fa-La-Do). This is again, 'secondary dominance' and the Roman chord notation would be written 'V7/IV' instead of 'I7'.
Treble Clef,
Cmaj,
4/4
Te is usually the result of altering a I7 chord (Do-Mi-Sol-Ti) to become a dominant sounding chord preceding the IV chord (Fa-La-Do). This is again, 'secondary dominance' and the Roman chord notation would be written 'V7/IV' instead of 'I7'.
Chromatic Approach
This exercise approaches Te directly from Ti. This type of movement is trickier to hear and perform and takes practice to master. The first four notes in measure 1 and 5 create what's called a chromatic scale. Each note is a half-step, the smallest pitch movement in Western tonal music.
Treble Clef,
Cmaj,
4/4
This exercise approaches Te directly from Ti. This type of movement is trickier to hear and perform and takes practice to master. The first four notes in measure 1 and 5 create what's called a chromatic scale. Each note is a half-step, the smallest pitch movement in Western tonal music.
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