[Smt-talk] "Neighboring" 6/4 chords
Edward Klorman
eklorman at juilliard.edu
Mon Oct 3 18:39:15 PDT 2011
Dear all,
I'm glad Deborah brought up the Op. 2/3 trio; I immediately thought of
this example when reading Scott Murphy's message, which stated that:
"Putting a bare V above a bass ^2, thus forming the 6/4, can be a
clear and even potent signal that the music is modulating to the
dominant" since (in major keys) a second-inversion dominant chord
sounds like the cadential 6/4 of the dominant.
But the passing progression I V 6/4 I6 is extremely common and
idiomatic (as in the first three measures of the Op. 2/3 trio and many
similar examples). Scott, do I understand correctly that your point is
that adding a chordal seventh (thus I V 4/3 I6) eliminates any
ambiguity as to the function of the dominant chord?
To me, a stronger consideration than the presence or absence of a
chordal seventh is the metrical placement of the chord in question. A
passing 6/4 (like a passing tone) normatively is placed in a weaker
position that the chords that flank it. In contrast, a cadential 6/4
is placed in a metrically stronger position than the dominant to which
it resolves.
As for Op. 2/3: there isn't any real ambiguity in this case, since
it's in minor (meaning that a passing V 6/4 is an E major harmony,
whereas the cadential 6/4 of the dominant key would be an E minor
harmony). Nevertheless, even if it were changed to A major, the second
measure is clearly a passing V 6/4 chord because of its weak
hypermetrical position, passing between the tonic in m. 1 and the
first-inversion tonic in m. 3
But, a propos Scott's point about modulating to the dominant, the 6/4
chord in m. 6 is a cadential 6/4 chord in E minor, helping to
establish a modulation to that key. This 6/4 harmony effects a subtle
shift in the hypermeter. That is, the prevailing hypermeter
establishes odd bars as strong, but the cadential 6/4 in m. 6
establishes a two-bar span within which m. 6 is stronger than m. 7 (as
per MPR 8, the suspension rule), which infers a quasi-hyperdownbeat
status on the first ending.
This situation is very common in waltzes, where the final three
measures of each strain are often V 6/4, V(7), and I -- such that the
cadential 6/4 is in a weak position in the prevailing hypermeter, but
it also effects a syncopated span within which the cadential 6/4 is
stronger than the root-position dominant, and therefore places some
some emphasis on the final measure. It seems to me that this must bear
some relation with the traditional pre-cadential hemiola of the
baroque and classical minuet, which similarly establishes a syncopated
two-bar span, comprising the antepenultimate and penultimate measures.
(The idea of a "syncopated time span" is discussed in Carl Schachter's
article "Aspects of Meter"; see p. 93 on Unfoldings.)
Of course, none of this answers Matt's original query regarding why a
second-inversion dominant appears commonly as a passing chord but
rarely as an upper neighbor to I (with bass ^1-^2-^1) or, for that
matter, as a lower neighbor to I6 (with bass ^3-^2-^3). My best
instinct, which is not at all rigorous, would appeal to a the Gestalt
principle of "good continuation" and to an idea of musical momentum or
inertia. That is, a bass motion of ^1 to ^2 would most naturally
continue on to ^3 (as in the passing progression I V 6/4 I6). In
contrast, in a neighbor progression such as I V 6/5 I, the bass goes
from ^1 to ^7, but the strong pull from leading tone up to tonic
forces the bass to change direction; the tendency-tone principle
presents the bass from continuing downward. The same principle
explains I6 V 4/2 I6 (with bass of ^3 ^4 ^3, where ^4 is pulled back
to ^3 because it is a tendency tone). Perhaps the status of V 6/4 has
to do with the neutral state of ^2, which is not a tendency tone and
therefore has no particular pull either up to ^3 or down to ^1. Might
this be a reason why the bass most normally passes through ^2 and
continues in the same direction (as in I V6/4 I6 or the opposite, I6
V6/4 I)?
Best,
Edward
===============================
Edward Klorman
The Juilliard School
Associate Chair and Director of Core Curriculum, L&M Department
Chair, Pre-College Theory Department
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