[Smt-talk] Tritone subs and the subtonic neighbor

[Berry, David Carson (berrydc)]

As Michael Buchler referred to two items on my research agenda, I'll respond briefly.

He mentioned that "one songwriter who used a lot of sliding chromaticism was Irving Berlin." Although I don't explicitly address the concept of tritone substitution, I have an extensive article that explores Berlin's uses of chromaticism, by various categories: "Gambling with Chromaticism? Extra-Diatonic Melodic Expression in the Songs of Irving Berlin," Theory and Practice 26 (2001): 21-85. It and my earlier article on Berlin's use of large-scale ascent in his introductory verses ("Dynamic Introductions: The Affective Role of Melodic Ascent and Other Linear Devices in Selected Song Verses of Irving Berlin," Intégral 13 (1999): 1-62) still represent the only detailed explorations of Berlin's music outside of Allen Forte's well-known book.

Michael also asked if anyone knows "how long the neighboring subtonic has been used in popular music?" I explored this issue in "On the Significance of the ^b7-^1 Succession in Tin Pan Alley Songs: Modal Cues in a Tonal Repertory," a paper I gave at the 2001 SMT meeting in Philadelphia. It will be published soon, in a Festschrift that I cannot say more about at the moment.

Sincerely,
--David

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David Carson Berry, Ph.D.
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Music Theorist and Historian
Univ. of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music
E-mail: david.berry at uc.edu
Web: www.davidcarsonberry.com
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"A dry, sardonic verb."
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