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5.1 Harmonic analysis as inquiry

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Using an inquiry-based approach to harmonic analysis makes the exercise more meaningful for the learner, as it focuses on answering a specific question about how the composer used harmony to accomplish a particular task (such as modulating to a new key), evoke a particular genre or style (such as jazz), or create a particular mood or effect (such as an "eerie" atmosphere).

The purpose of this inquiry-style lesson is to help you better understand music by studying the way chords are used to organize the music, create moods and effects, and evoke genres and styles. You do not have to be able to read music in order to pursue this inquiry, but you must have some way (for example, using chord symbols ) of identifying, understanding, and keeping track of the chords that are being used.

In this inquiry, you will choose a piece or pieces to study, and will study the harmony of those pieces with the goal of answering a particular question about the harmony. You will then demonstrate in a creation of your own what you discovered in your studies.

Ask

The questions that can be answered by analyzing the harmony of a piece of music are typically questions about what is happening in the harmony and how it affects the form, style, mood, and other aspects of the piece.

Questions that are useful for inquiry are those that are interesting to you and will require some effort to discover and understand the answer. They should be specific. For example, "What is jazz harmony like?" is too general, but "What is it about the harmony of this piece that makes it sound jazzy?" is specific enough.

Even though you have a specific question in mind, you may have trouble stating it at first, because you don't have the vocabulary to talk about it yet. For example, you may begin with the question "What is going on in the harmony" at a particular point in the music that sounds interesting to you.

    Examples of the types of questions that can be answered by analyzing harmony

  • How does the harmony help create the mood of this piece?
  • What is it about the harmony that makes it sound like it belongs to a particular genre or style?
  • What is it about the harmony that makes this piece sound different from other pieces in this genre or style?
  • How are persuasive cadences (endings) created?
  • How does the harmony create interest and variety? How does it create a sense of pleasant familiarity and predictability?
  • How does the harmony support and interact with the melody, rhythm, form, or other aspects of the music?
  • How are smooth modulations (changes to a new key) created?
  • Is this music tonal, modal, diatonic, chromatic, atonal?

Investigate

Choosing the music to analyze

Once the inquiry question has been identified, some careful thought should go into choosing music that is likely to help answer the question.

Don't choose a project that is unnecessarily big! In order to answer your question, you may decide that you need to analyze an entire piece of music, but you may just need to study one or a few sections of a piece, or short sections of two or three pieces.

Questions & Answers

Three charges q_{1}=+3\mu C, q_{2}=+6\mu C and q_{3}=+8\mu C are located at (2,0)m (0,0)m and (0,3) coordinates respectively. Find the magnitude and direction acted upon q_{2} by the two other charges.Draw the correct graphical illustration of the problem above showing the direction of all forces.
Kate Reply
To solve this problem, we need to first find the net force acting on charge q_{2}. The magnitude of the force exerted by q_{1} on q_{2} is given by F=\frac{kq_{1}q_{2}}{r^{2}} where k is the Coulomb constant, q_{1} and q_{2} are the charges of the particles, and r is the distance between them.
Muhammed
What is the direction and net electric force on q_{1}= 5µC located at (0,4)r due to charges q_{2}=7mu located at (0,0)m and q_{3}=3\mu C located at (4,0)m?
Kate Reply
what is the change in momentum of a body?
Eunice Reply
what is a capacitor?
Raymond Reply
Capacitor is a separation of opposite charges using an insulator of very small dimension between them. Capacitor is used for allowing an AC (alternating current) to pass while a DC (direct current) is blocked.
Gautam
A motor travelling at 72km/m on sighting a stop sign applying the breaks such that under constant deaccelerate in the meters of 50 metres what is the magnitude of the accelerate
Maria Reply
please solve
Sharon
8m/s²
Aishat
What is Thermodynamics
Muordit
velocity can be 72 km/h in question. 72 km/h=20 m/s, v^2=2.a.x , 20^2=2.a.50, a=4 m/s^2.
Mehmet
A boat travels due east at a speed of 40meter per seconds across a river flowing due south at 30meter per seconds. what is the resultant speed of the boat
Saheed Reply
50 m/s due south east
Someone
which has a higher temperature, 1cup of boiling water or 1teapot of boiling water which can transfer more heat 1cup of boiling water or 1 teapot of boiling water explain your . answer
Ramon Reply
I believe temperature being an intensive property does not change for any amount of boiling water whereas heat being an extensive property changes with amount/size of the system.
Someone
Scratch that
Someone
temperature for any amount of water to boil at ntp is 100⁰C (it is a state function and and intensive property) and it depends both will give same amount of heat because the surface available for heat transfer is greater in case of the kettle as well as the heat stored in it but if you talk.....
Someone
about the amount of heat stored in the system then in that case since the mass of water in the kettle is greater so more energy is required to raise the temperature b/c more molecules of water are present in the kettle
Someone
definitely of physics
Haryormhidey Reply
how many start and codon
Esrael Reply
what is field
Felix Reply
physics, biology and chemistry this is my Field
ALIYU
field is a region of space under the influence of some physical properties
Collete
what is ogarnic chemistry
WISDOM Reply
determine the slope giving that 3y+ 2x-14=0
WISDOM
Another formula for Acceleration
Belty Reply
a=v/t. a=f/m a
IHUMA
innocent
Adah
pratica A on solution of hydro chloric acid,B is a solution containing 0.5000 mole ofsodium chlorid per dm³,put A in the burret and titrate 20.00 or 25.00cm³ portion of B using melting orange as the indicator. record the deside of your burret tabulate the burret reading and calculate the average volume of acid used?
Nassze Reply
how do lnternal energy measures
Esrael
Two bodies attract each other electrically. Do they both have to be charged? Answer the same question if the bodies repel one another.
JALLAH Reply
No. According to Isac Newtons law. this two bodies maybe you and the wall beside you. Attracting depends on the mass och each body and distance between them.
Dlovan
Are you really asking if two bodies have to be charged to be influenced by Coulombs Law?
Robert
like charges repel while unlike charges atttact
Raymond
What is specific heat capacity
Destiny Reply
Specific heat capacity is a measure of the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius (or Kelvin). It is measured in Joules per kilogram per degree Celsius (J/kg°C).
AI-Robot
specific heat capacity is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius or kelvin
ROKEEB
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Source:  OpenStax, Music inquiry. OpenStax CNX. Mar 18, 2013 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11455/1.4
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