[Smt-talk] I - II- IV as a progression (counterpoint)

[Mark Spicer]

Nicole Biamonte wrote:

>   One example of a I-II oscillation
>   that came up in a private exchange with Paul Steinbeck is the
>   repeated Fmaj7-G of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams."  However, because of the melodic
>   prominence of A and especially E, and the lack of Fs in the melody, it is also possible
>   to parse these chords as bVI-bVII in A minor, a harmony that is stated only briefly in
>   the bridge.  I wonder if this might be one of Mark Spicer's "absent tonics."  I don't
>   know of any other examples like this; it's actually easier to find examples of Phrygian
>   I-bII oscillations.

Yes indeed, Nicole, "Dreams" qualifies as an excellent example of a song with an absent tonic.
It turns out that there are several examples among the pop and rock repertoire of songs built
entirely (or almost entirely) on an oscillating vamp of two major chords whose roots lie a step
apart, and, as I will argue in my forthcoming SMT paper, rather than interpreting
(hearing) this oscillating progression as some sort of Lydian I-II#, I interpret these as IV-V or 
bVI-bVII vamps with "missing" I (or i), depending on the context of the particular song (and 
considering other factors, primarily the gravitational pull of the vocal melody). There's a lot more to 
the whole absent tonics thing than just these oscillating two-chord vamps, however -- come and
hear my talk on Friday morning in Montreal for the whole story!

Best wishes,
--Mark   

***********************************
Prof. Mark Spicer, Ph.D.
Director of Undergraduate Studies in Music
Hunter College and the Graduate Center
City University of New York
212-772-5024
mark.spicer at hunter.cuny.edu
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