[Smt-talk] Harmonic and Melodic Scales

[Ildar Khannanov]

Dear List,

I can add to Dimitar's post that harmonic major played a significant role in Rimsky-Korsakov's and, further, in Russian views of harmony not only as a pitch collection, but as a means to other goals. In general, it is only after WWII the theory of music in the West has focused on detecting various sets and collections of note heads. This has become a favorite pastime of theorists with mathematical background. It is important to remember that theorists of the 19th century were composers working in the domain of real tonal music. For them, the categories of theme, motive, classical forms, tonal-harmonic function and, ultimately, modulation (all of which has been carelessly discarded by Schenker) have been the tools of the trade. Rimsky-Korsakov's inclusion of harmonic major was a result of his work on theory of modulation. In his concept of degrees of kinship of keys the modulations to keys that differ in 3-5 signs in a key signature present the most
 difficult tasks. Still, he and Tchaikovsky suggest that in the large-scale form modulation should unfold slowly, step-by-step. In the so-called gradual modulation the remote key should be reached as a result of simple pivot chord modulations (or sequences). The use of a minor subdominant provides a shortcut when one modulates towards the flatted keys. That is why Rimsky-Korsakov included the minor subdominant into the list of closely related keys in major. Hence the harmonic major.

Best wishes,


Dr. Ildar D. Khannanov
Peabody Institute
solfeggio7 at yahoo.com



On Thursday, November 28, 2013 9:32 PM, "Ninov, Dimitar N" <dn16 at txstate.edu> wrote:
  
Dea List,

I use my second and last message for today to reply briefly to Bruce, who says: I've never seen "harmonic major" used!

I am certain you have seen a lot of harmonic major in the common practice period, Bruce - much more than you expect. However, perhaps you have not been able to recognize it in the appearance of IVm, IIm7-5, and VII dim7 in a major key. Perhaps you think of modal mixture as an abstract phenomenon, which has nothing to do with altered scales. Perhaps, for you, harmonic and melodic minor are not related to modal interaction but you think of them as purely diatonic scales? Well, they both are influenced by natural major to the extent of melodic minor having an identical upper tetrachord with natural major. However, a scale does not have to be physically circulated up and down in order to imply itself in music. Furthermore, harmonic and/or melodic major as scales are widely used in improvisation today, most typically on the same borrowed chords mentioned above. 

An immediate example of harmonic major: the second theme from the first movement of Beethoven's first piano sonata in Fm (Op.2 No1). The theme in A flat major outlines a V7-9 chord, with all the notes of A-flat major harmonic being present in the combination of melody and accompaniment.

More than 100 years ago, Nikolaj Rimsky Korsakov stipulated that his harmony book was based on four modes: natural and harmonic major, and natural and harmonic minor. More than 100 years ago...and this book is translated into English. Is it not a shame that today our students do not know what a harmonic major is, maybe because their teachers wait to see this scale widely used as a written line in a classical music score to justify it officially? Do we not know that mode is not just a scale but an environment, and the vertical aspect of this environment may imply a scale, as well as the linear aspect of this environment may imply a chord? This is why "mode" is used today with the meaning of both a scale and tonality. 

Best regards,

DN

Dr. Dimitar Ninov, Lecturer
School of Music
Texas State University
601 University Drive
San Marcos, Texas 78666
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