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Dear passing/neighbor 6/4 colleagues--<br>
<br>
I'm more than amazed that no one in this discussion has yet mentioned a
characteristic feature of "passing 6/4 chords"--ones that prolong a
more stable harmony (on any scale degree). The defining characteristic
of the P6/4 for many theorists is <b>a voice exchange--</b>between
some pair of voices, and not necessarily S. and B. <br>
<br>
"Passing 6/4 chords" tend as well, in so many styles, to be <b>both
approached and left by step or common tone in all voice</b>s.
Exceptions can of course be found again and again, but the basic
voice-leading principle is usually in evidence.<br>
<br>
"Passing 6/4 chords" can, moreover, be tonicizing 6/4s (with temporary
leading tones, resulting from a raised 6th in the chord).<br>
<br>
Have I missed something in this discussion? If so, my apologies.<br>
<br>
Very best,<br>
Janet Schmalfeldt<br>
<br>
___________________________________________________<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
S. Alexander Reed wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:137584985.13771263925825772.JavaMail.osg@osgjas02.cns.ufl.edu"
type="cite">As Dr. Tymoczko is certainly aware (as shown in his "Root
Motion, Function, Scale Degree" paper), various texts treat harmonic
motion with different rubrics, some of which account more completely
and/or precisely for the actual harmonic language of the common
practice period. I'm thinking back to how I learned second inversion
treatments as an undergraduate (using first the Piston text, then the
Kostka/Payne); the neighbor 6/4 never really entered the conversation.
As I look now at my copy of Kostka/Payne, the authors allow for four
uses of the 6/4:
<br>
<br>
1. via a bass arpeggiation/bass melody (which is, for my money, not so
much a question of chordal harmony as it is a contrapuntal one)
<br>
<br>
2. as part of a I6/4->V cadence
<br>
<br>
3. via a passing 6/4
<br>
<br>
4. as a pedal tone (e.g. I->IV6/4->I).
<br>
<br>
Dr. Tymoczko cites the IV6->I6/4->ii6 as an example of a common
passing 6/4; indeed, it shows up in measure 25 of K.309, mvmt. 3. I
wonder though whether this "works" because the progression of IV to ii
is idiomatic even without the I6/4 in between. The same could be said
about the pedal 6/4 chords mentioned in the original post (e.g. it is
of course unproblematic for I to go to I; for thoughts on
ii->V6/4->ii, consider N. Cook's discussion of chord succession
versus progression), or for the classic voice exchange
I->V6/4->I6. What all of these suggest is that the 6/4 chord,
whatever it may be, is itself treated as a collection of non-harmonic
tones between two otherwise acceptable chords in a progression. If
students are taught that rule, then non-idiomatic but otherwise
"technically" acceptable progressions like V4/2->vi6/4->ii are no
longer possible, and as a result we have a more "correct" theory of
harmony.
<br>
<br>
So the next question would be: can anyone find any actual examples of a
6/4 chord bridging the gap between two chords that, according to the
conventions of harmonic progression (see Tymoczko's aforementioned
paper), do not follow one another?
<br>
<br>
S. Alexander Reed
<br>
Assistant Professor
<br>
University of Florida
<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:alexreed@ufl.edu">alexreed@ufl.edu</a>
<br>
<br>
PS: I am nagged by the thought that I->iii6/4->vi is as uncommon
as the original post seems to suggest; am I crazy for believing it to
be part of the classical language?
<br>
<br>
_______________________________________________
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<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.societymusictheory.org/listinfo.cgi/smt-talk-societymusictheory.org">http://lists.societymusictheory.org/listinfo.cgi/smt-talk-societymusictheory.org</a>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Janet Schmalfeldt
Associate Professor
Department of Music
Tufts University
home: 50 Dartmouth St.
Belmont, MA 02478
(617) 932-1420</pre>
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