Major
& Minor in Elaborated Triads
Elaborated
Triads: A Broader Understanding of the Triad
So far we have
encountered the triad in its most basic form: as a pitch
with a third and a fifth directly above it. But if we add
certain tones, we can still consider it a triad. These added
tones must be either "duplicates" of tones from the triad
in a higher or lower register, or else ornaments to tones
of the triad.
Expanding
the Triad by Adding "More of the Same" Tones
The simplest
way to add tones to the triad is by adding tones that are
"duplicates" of tones from the triad in a higher or lower
register. One of the reasons that the octave is such an
important interval in music is that when two tones are exactly
an octave (or several octaves) apart, they share the same
identity, though separated by a difference in register.
That is, they are in some meaningful way the same tone,
even though one is higher than the other. This is illustrated
in the video example below.
Video
Example 1: Up and down two octaves of the major scale
If we add tones
that are exactly an octave away from tones in the original
triad, they will blend in very smoothly. The result will
have a sound that is similar in important ways to the original;
it will still be considered the same triad. Here's a simple
example of that. We'll add a tone exactly an octave above
the root of the triad.
Video
Example 2: A tone exactly an octave above the root of
the triad
Below are sound
examples of these two versions of the triad. Play each a
few times. They don't sound the same; especially having
different top notes makes them sound quite different. But
there is nonetheless something very similar about their
sounds. They are considered to be the same triad.
Graphic Example 1: Major triad
Audio
Example 1: Major triad
Graphic Example 2: Triad with tonic doubled
Audio
Example 2: Triad with tonic doubled
When adding tones,
we can do this both above and below the original pitches.
Here's a triad in which we've added a tone an octave below
the fifth.
Graphic Example 3: Original triad
Audio
Example 3: Original Triad
Graphic Example 4: Triad with the fifth tone
doubled an octave below
Audio
Example 4: Triad with the fifth tone doubled an octave
below
Not only can
we add tones, we can also move tones of the original triad
by exact octaves. In Video Example 3, we take a low triad
and raise the fifth by one octave and the third by two.
This is still considered the same triad.
Video
Example 3: A triad dispersed in register, animated.
We can now go
back and fill in all of the pitches in the middle that are
exact octaves away from some pitch already in the triad.
We still call this the same triad.
Video
Example 4: The dispersed triad filled in, animated.
Ornamental
Notes
To make things
still more complicated, we can add extra notes to decorate
the notes that belong to the triad. These extra notes have
a somewhat different status than that of the octave duplications
discussed above. When tones are exact octaves away from
the tones of the triad, we still consider that these tones
belong to the triad. Ornamental notes, however, never really
become part of the triad. Ornamental notes come and go,
getting mixed in with the tones of the triad, but because
of the stability and prevalence of the tones of the triad
we are able to hear that one triad is serving as a structural
framework for a complex musical passage.
A famous example
of an ornamented triad is found at the beginning of Mendelssohn's
overture, Fingal's Cave (also known as The Hebrides).
First, here's the underlying triad.
Audio
Example 5: Basic triad at opening of Fingal's Cave
The orchestra
plays the root and the fifth of the triad, with notes duplicated
at the octave. It leaves the third for the melody. The notes
used are these:
Audio
Example 6: Orchestral chord at opening of Fingal's
Cave
The instruments
playing the melody are going to have a motive based on the
triad:
Audio
Example 7: Minor triad, arpeggiated downward through
one octave, 5th to 5th
To make it more
interesting, Mendelssohn adds a note that doesn't belong
to the triad. It's right next to one of the triad notes,
so they play it briefly and then go right back to its neighbor
in the triad. Mendelssohn's melody is given in the illustration
and example below; the newly added note is the third note
in the melody.
Audio
Example 8: Opening motive from Fingal's Cave
Repeat the last
two examples until you can hear clearly how they are related.
Then go back to the other examples of this triad, and make
sure you can hear that they are all expressions of the same
underlying triad. Finally, listen to the first few bars
of the overture, played by the orchestra.
Audio
Example 9: Opening on Fingal's Cave
This lush and
complex texture is all an elaboration of a single underlying
minor triad.
One of the most
famous examples of elaborating a single triad is the Prelude
to Wagner's opera The Rhine Gold. The entire Prelude
can be reduced to one chord which lasts more than four minutes.
Here is a relatively brief excerpt:
Audio
Example 10: From the Prelude to The Rhine Gold
If you got a
good grasp of distinguishing major and minor triads in the
training offered at the end of the last lesson, then hearing
that difference in elaborated triads probably won't be particularly
difficult as a next step. Still, it's an important stage
in the process hearing music as being in major and minor
keys. As usual, there's a training environment to help you
develop this skill.
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