A diminished scale is an eight-note scale, or octatonic scale, made up of a series of alternating whole steps and half steps from the starting pitch. One way to make sense of these scales is to use a diminished 7th arpeggio as their foundation. The Eo7 arpeggio below has the notes E, G, Bb &… Continue reading Two Diminished Scale Exercises
Category: music theory
Study in Tenths
Tenths-a third plus an octave-can add an extra dimension to a composition by imparting depth and emotion to a melody or bass line. Tenths can even bring life and energy to a simple scale. Try playing this E major scale harmonized with parallel tenths. The upper notes add a bit of color without obscuring the… Continue reading Study in Tenths
Fanfare No. 2
Fanfare No. 2 below is a variation of the piece, Fanfare, introduced in the previous post. The main difference is that this composition uses minor triads instead of major ones. This leads to a subtle change in the melody in certain places, but overall, it sounds very similar to the original. Recomposing this piece was… Continue reading Fanfare No. 2
Neo-Riemannian Transformations/Fanfare
Neo-Riemannian theory in music in short describes pitch relationships between major and minor triads. It examines the effect of efficient voice leading, or in other words, what happens when one pitch of a triad changes by a tone or semi-tone. These single pitch changes are categorized into three basic triadic transformations: P=parallel, R=relative and L=leading-tone… Continue reading Neo-Riemannian Transformations/Fanfare
Ken Pasciak 