bi tonality – Modern Music Theory Improvisation and Application

Please watch video above for detailed info:

Hi Guys,

Today, a quick look at the amazing “Elektra” chord employed by composer Richard Strauss.

Nowadays, we might consider this to be a 7#9 chord, but looking at this from a 20th century classical perspective we can create much fresher and more interesting material from this worn cliche.

PART 1:

To get a clearer idea, we will exploit “Bi-tonality” and connect two different chords together, E Major and C# Major.

Musical notation showing E Major and C# Major chords on a staff with tablature below of Strauss "Elektra Chord". — Music notation showing E Major and C# Major chords, illustrating bi-tonality for the Elektra chord.

From this, we will remove the third [the G#] from the E Major triad and look at the C# Major triad enharmonically as Db Major.

So, now connected we have a Chord of Db7/E

Sheet music illustrating the Elektra chord, showing E Major, C# Major, and Db7/E chords with corresponding tablature. — Chord notation illustrating the Elektra chord (Db7/E) in relation to E Major and C# Major.

For Guitar:

Musical notation for a Db7/E chord, including staff and tablature for the elektra chord on guitar.

Here, is the Arpeggio with TAB

Musical notation showing a guitar tab and sheet music for the elektra chord arpeggio with notes and finger positions. — Illustration of the arpeggio/chordal outline for the Elektra chord

Here, are 3 octaves of the arpeggio/chordal outline with TAB:

Sheet music showing a guitar tab with the arpeggio/chordal outline for the Elektra chord in three octaves. — Illustration of the arpeggio/chordal outline for the Elektra chord in three octaves.

PART 2:

Now, we will make another “Elektra chord” so that we have two chords to work from.

This new [Elektra] chord, will be C7/Eb

Musical notation of the chord C7/Eb showcasing the notes and structure to vary Strauss's elektra chord. — Musical notation illustrating the C7/Eb chord, showcasing the unique harmonic structure.

So, here are our two chord examples:

Sheet music displaying the chords Db7/E and C7/Eb from Strauss Elektra Chord. — Musical notation for the chords Db7/E and C7/Eb, highlighting their structure.

Below, I have included audio of a quick orchestration/compositon I did to show how this wonderful harmony sounds when we apply it to the orchestra [Orchestration].

Also, notice how the inner pitches work to create beautiful drama in this tonality. Here we have octaves moving down in semitones in 5ths and then 4ths.

elektra-chord-richard-strauss- — Musical notation illustrating the ‘Elektra chord’ concept as explored in the article.

AUDIO Example:

Next, notice the inner pitches when adding the 5th of the top triad.

AUDIO Example:

PART 3: GUITAR IDEAS:

Here, we have a simple chord and answering phrase:

1] Chord and line: Db7/E

Musical notation for the Elektra chord and improvised line with accompanying tablature for guitar.

2] Chord and Line: C7/E[/Eb]

Musical notation showing a chord progression with the elektra chord for guitar, including finger placements and notes. — Chord and improvised line example for C7/Eb, showcasing voicings and ideas for musicians.

CHORDS: Here are some voicing’s and ideas:

elektra-chord-richard-strauss-guitar-chords

3 Octaves of Elektra Chord: As ascending Arpeggio Movement:

elektra-chord-richard-strauss-example-3-octaves

IN CONCLUSION:

As we can see from this quick look at one chord, there is a whole world and a wealth of material within it.

For the serious composer, and improviser this search and re-development of worn ideas/harmony is essential in order to make ones mark.

This renewal, gives us fresh material to work with and a pallet of our own with which to stamp a unique signature that is all ours.

FREE PDF DOWNLOAD:

elektra chord 2 Download

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Polytonality: For Concerto/OrchestralWriting lesson

Please watch the video above for detailed analysis:

Hi Guys

Today, a quick look at composing with Polytonality for orchestral and concerto writing.

What is Polytonality?

Polytonality is the use of two or more keys at the same time:

Example 1:

Db Major/C Major [Basic root position]

poly-tonality-orchestral-composing-chords-example

In this first example we have 4 bars of Polytonality with Eminor/DbMajor and EbMajor/CMajor

This then resolves itself with a “Tonal” diatonic cadence of B7/D# to Em:

This method is really useful because we can use the polytonal approach sparingly with it’s thicker and richer harmonic texture whilst then then playing its opposite it with the thinner aspect of diatonicism.

This way the Polytonal nature of the music compliments the diatonic cadences and visa versa.

Example 2:

Polytonality-Orchestral Example

This example explores “Implication”. In this case it is implying the melodic minor but avoiding the cliche by employing the richness of Polytonality:

From here, we will again employ diatonic harmony for a cadence.

To complete this short orchestral example we will go back into Polytonality with another melodic minor implication by employing Dminor/DbMajor:

Here is the chart:

poly-tonality-orchestral-composing-example

Example 3:

Polytonality-Orchestral Example

In this final example we will just “Reverse” the chords. This time it is DbMajor/Cmajor which is then played the other way around with CMajor/DbMajor.