[Smt-talk] "Neighboring" 6/4 Chords

[Ciro Scotto]

Hello Everyone,

I tend to think and explain to my class that the V6/4 in the context of being an upper neighbor to ^1 sounds too much like a cadential 6/4 (even if the V6/4 is in the wrong rhythmic position) implying a move to the dominant, as Charles Ditto suggested. As soon as I play the V6/4, I hear the cadential function, and ^2 looses its upper neighbor function and becomes a point of arrival. Of course, this does not happen with V4/3 because the tritone reinforces the embellishing function of ^2. The stepwise bass approach to the V6/4 I think reinforces hearing  a cadential function for the V6/4.  

All the best, 

Ciro


On Oct 2, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Ditto, Charles wrote:

> Greetings, Collective,
> 
> I wonder about the number of occurrences of harmonizing the 1-2-1 in the bass with I(i) - V6/4(ii dim or ii half-dim7) - V4/2 of V(v) there might be in the tonal literature.  It could be a smooth modulation to the dominant.  Anybody know an example of that?
> 
> Charles Ditto
> School of Music
> Texas State University
> ________________________________________
> From: smt-talk-bounces at lists.societymusictheory.org [smt-talk-bounces at lists.societymusictheory.org] On Behalf Of gzar at mail2.gis.net [gzar at mail2.gis.net]
> Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2011 12:48 PM
> To: Matt Bribitzer-Stull
> Cc: Society for Music Theory
> Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] "Neighboring" 6/4 Chords
> 
> Dear Matt and All,
> 
> In the haste of my previous reply I also seem to have assumed that
> the bass of the 6/4-chord could as well be (and maybe better ought to
> be) part of a PT-figure, rather than just a NT-figure. I think the
> comments I made still apply, one way or another, but let me add that
> in the case of a truly "upper-NT-bass" on ^2, the "direction" of the
> resultant figure probably would be to aim the initial prolonged Tonic
> toward a deeper N/P-chord, as part of a longer, turn-like Initial
> Ascent (quasi-Schleifer) -- rather than as a P-figure immediately
> aiming towards "S"-function, as I proposed in the previous posting.
> 
> Here is an example of the actual "NT-^2" ("^  - - " indicates the
> smaller prolongation, "^^ --^ --^ " the larger):
> 
> ^^1/5/3/1-2/5/4/7-1/5/3/1--^7/5/2/2--^1/5/1/3 (-- ^^4/6/1/2
> --^^5/5/7/2--^^1/5/1/3)
> [not great spacing -- sorry!]
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Gerry
> 
> Gerald Zaritzky
> Faculty, Department of Music Theory
> New England Conservatory of Music
> 290 Huntington Avenue (Room JH 325)
> Boston, Massachusetts 02115  USA
> gerald.zaritzky at necmusic.edu
> office: 617-585-1373 (voicemail only)
> 
> At 10:38 AM -0500 9/29/11, Matt Bribitzer-Stull wrote:
>> Dear Colleagues:
>> 
>> I find when instructing undergraduates in core harmony courses that
>> students accept the guidelines we provide for part-writing much
>> better if they understand the reasoning behind them. I'm at a loss,
>> however, to explain why common-practice composers rarely used a 6/4
>> chord above scale degree 2 as a bass neighbor motion expanding
>> tonic. V4/3 is most often a passing bass gesture (in which, of
>> course, there's a good reason why students need not resolve the
>> chordal seventh in the soprano - namely, it's not a dissonance with
>> the bass and often completes a pleasing parallel-tenths idiom) or
>> part of a collection of dominant-functioned chords, though it can
>> and does function as a bass neighbor expanding tonic; and vii 6 an
>> vii 6/5 harmonize bass neighbor notes with much more frequency than
>> a 6/4 chord.
>> 
>> I'd be interested if there are any compelling contrapuntal or
>> harmonic reasons why composers tended not to harmonize neighbor
>> motions in the bass with unaccented 6/4 chords.
>> 
>> Best,
>> 
>> Matt
>> 
>> --
>> ________________________________
>> 
>> Matthew Bribitzer-Stull
>> Associate Professor of Music Theory
>> University of Minnesota School of Music
>> 
>> *** Emails sent from this account are often personal in nature.
>> Whether personal or professional, emails sent from this account do
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>> members of the University community. ***
>> 
>> 
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Dr. Ciro G. Scotto             
Assistant Professor of Theory  
University of South Florida       
home:    (813) 443-6801
e-mail: 
cscotto1 at usf.edu
cscotto at tampabay.rr.com