tonic harmony

In the major tonality, tonic type harmony can be diatonically created on the first and fourth scale degrees and normally functions as a tonal center, providing a "restive" sound quality that the other chords within the key have a tendency to gravitate or resolve towards. And as we see a gradually increasing theoretical complexity as we merge from the folk style towards jazz, we can perhaps sense a corresponding reduction of the tonal gravity of the music. With folk and rock music being mostly triadic, the cadences created with these elements are reasonably predictable. The tonal gravity of the blues is so often created by the well worn, thus eventually predictable, 12 bar blues form and the very nature of blues lines. Jazz music, with it's inclusion of potentially all of the color tones available within equal temper, offers a wide spectrum of varying degrees of tonal gravity, from the weighted and predictable jazz blues pieces to the lighter, often unpredictable polytonal compositions.

Tonic harmony is oftentimes defined by the key signature of the music being performed, in any of the tonal environments. Various resting points within that piece of music could also be created by tonic harmony and viewed as temporary tonic centers, which outline our pathway away from and back to our original tonal center, i.e. the original key of the music. Listed below are groups of notes / scales that provide various colors used to create melodic lines over harmony that could function as the overall or temporary tonal center of any given piece of music. Thinking C major as our tonal center, our tonic chord is created on the first scale degree C, but you knew that, sorry. Spelling the tonic arpeggio, note the consistent cycle of major 3rd minor / minor 3rd intervalic permutation in creating the major 7th arpeggio and on into the upper structure. Example 1.

Using these core pitches from the arpeggio above to generate varying degrees of tonic stability, we generate the following melodic possibilities providing different groups of pitches with which to create melodic ideas over tonic harmony in the major tonality. Due to the infusion of the blue colors in all of the styles of American music, a unique merging of the melodic and harmonic resources occurs whereby even though a particular chord calls for a certain third and seventh degree, the two degrees which define chord type, in common practice, any of the melodic colors available to the creative artist can be used. The trick is to sound convincing in our melodic idea when applying potentially theoretically disparate melodic and harmonic components together. We hear this all the time in American jazz and to a certain extent all of the styles of American music, where the blue colors have a potential to emerge. Perhaps the most common realization of this merging of colors is hearing a bluesy idea in a pop tune, where the blues lick adds the essential American musical spice to popular music.

With this in mind, let's explore the following melodic possibilities in regards to tonal convergence. Any of the permutations that concern the interval studies, sequences and filterings using the notes of the C major scale and it's variations are applicable to any of the following choices. For in reality, anything can go anywhere, right? Isn't that part of what artists do? Recombine existing elements into new combinations, while searching for new elements? Our melodic resources in the following listing generally follows a tonal consonance ( inside ) to tonal dissonance ( outside ) as we make our way down the page. So, fourteen basic colors, each with their own unique character and emotional potential to create the idea and re-color the major tonality. The following ideas are placed into the common Two / Five / One chord progression, creating paths of tonal convergence.

Just how ancient is the five note pentatonic scale? Hard to say, suffice perhaps in that it's universal nature when used in common convergence situations that there really aren't any "bad" pitches in the group.

The pitches of the tonic major scale provide the essential group of pitches to create our melodic ideas. The following idea expands the harmony of each chord by simply adding it's diatonic seventh chord degree.

The pitches of the Dorian mode, when based on the root or fundamental D the second scale degree of the C major scale, are all diatonic to the C major tonality.

Note the emphasis of the pitch D in the tonic C major 9 chord above. Used in the above idea, the D is the 9th of the chord. See tonic arpeggio above.

The pitches of the Phrygian mode, when based on the root or fundamental E the third scale degree of the C major scale, are all diatonic to the C major tonality.

The pitch E is the third of the major triad used to create the C major 7 chord, hear how it creates a sense of resolution, of the tonality being at rest in bar 15? Hear the hint of the Spanish flavor in the above idea? Is the key to unlocking the essence of any melodic color in the location of the half steps within the scale?

The pitches of the Lydian mode, when based on the root or fundamental F the fourth scale degree of the C major scale, are all diatonic to the C major tonality. In the following idea, we arpeggiate the Lydian pitches over the Two chord.

The fourth scale degree is often used as a passing tone to the third of the tonic triad, as in the example above.

The pitches of the Mixolydian mode, when based on the root or fundamental G the fifth scale degree of the C major scale, are all diatonic to the C major tonality.

The fifth scale degree is the fifth of the major triad used to create the C major 7 chord. Known as the dominant among theorists like ourselves, it's sound is bright and strong, yet stable and confident. Trane loved the dominant, a very powerful color.

The pitches of the minor pentatonic color are also the major pentatonic color within equal temper. Known as relative keys, all of the pitches are diatonic to the major scale. Here we use the root A to create our minor pentatonic color and superimpose it on the C major tonality.

Note how we can use the basic minor color in the major tonality to potential dramatic effect. The above idea uses the pitch A first as the 9th of the dominant, then the 6th or 13th of the tonic chord. As with the major pentatonic color, there are said to be no bad pitches in the minor pentatonic group when used as in the above fashion and others.

The pitches of the Aeolian mode, when based on the root or fundamental A the sixth scale degree of the C major scale, are all diatonic to the C major tonality.

So much like the minor pentatonic color, the Aeolian mode also creates a relative minor tonality, the added pitches B and F to the Aeolian color providing the essential tritone tension for the dominant 7th color.

The pitches of the Locrian mode, when based on the root or fundamental B the seventh scale degree of the C major scale, are all diatonic to the C major tonality.

In the above idea we use the root pitch B of the Locrian mode to create the major 7th of our tonic arpeggio. The B natural is the all important leading tone in C major.

Building a Lydian mode on the root C, we encounter our first non-diatonic pitch in this proof. We use this added # 4 color in the following idea to add a bit of whole tone color to the tonic chord.

A bit of a modern tonic color eh? Mostly a jazz color, potentially polytonal.

We can further reduce the stability of the tonic by using the Lydian b7 color. Here we alter the seventh by half step and create a more bluesy tonic coloring. And as with most blues situations in the major tonality, we still retain the diatonic 7th B within the major triad of the dominant chord, adding the blue 7th Bb as the color tone #9 or A#. We can use the Lydian b7 to reshape the major tonal environment to a more blues / dominant colored tonic environment.

Even when playing tunes written in the C major / Ionian tonality, inserting a bluesy idea is very common in most styles of American music, give it whirl next time your jamming.

Adding a couple of blue notes, using the common tone diminished is a bit rare, a jazz thing for sure but cool in way to extend the tension a wee bit more before resolving.

The minor blues color is rather non-diatonic when compared to the Ionian mode. Compare the pitches. Using modern magic, the blue pitches of the above chart kinda jump right out eh? Even though we pretty much have destroyed the sense of the major tonality based on the pitches of the Ionian mode, the blue colors are so engrained in the American music consciousness that they are rarely if ever out of place. How can we theoretically create an idea from these pitches and use them within the major tonality with chords based based on the major scale?

We can't, the pitches are not in the blues scale, but still we do it and hear it all the time in most of the styles of American music. It really breaks a lot of the "rules" as created by European equal temper, which forms a huge part of American music, especially the harmony. But history reveals to us that this is precisely what America and Americans have done historically over the last 250 years or so, to redefine the rules. So no worries, if you hear the line, play it and the heck with the critics.

The above line sort of plays it safe between the rules eh? Oh well, some concepts are just kinda hard to notate. The essential purely American spice, we so often use melodic ideas based on the blue notes regardless of the chord changes or overall tonality of the song. Can we create a major blues scale? Sure. Here are the pitches of the major blues scale.

The major blues simply slips in the major third into the minor blues pitches, increasing the melodic options.

Note how two of the blue notes recolor the dominant chord in the last idea. Alternating thirds as in bar 55 above is a common approach to creating melodic ideas.

Is there a more sure way to obscure tonal direction in our lines than by taking a more chromatic approach? Rare if ever in most of the American styles, this is one way that advanced jazz players get "out there."

Cool line huh? So, why would we want to do this, obscure tonal direction and intent? Well, big question for sure. Part of the answer to this question lies in how an artist develops through the more diatonic resources and seeks new ways to express their ideas while employing the harmony created within the major and minor tonal environments. For in creating improvised musical dialogue, an artist oftentimes uses both diatonic and non-diatonic elements together to tell their stories, which we as musicians oftentimes term "to solo." In building a solo towards a musical climax, the gradually inclusion of more and more non-diatonic elements as the tension builds is very common but also pretty advanced artistically. For the non-diatonic colors are just that, non-diatonic, and thus have a greater potential for sounding not quite right in diatonic situations. If I can sing my line and make it work, chances are I can convey it's essence and sound convincing to my listeners.

So, perhaps suffice to say that as an artist "exhausts" the diatonic realm, the move towards a more chromatic approach is potentially a natural progression and a tonal evolution, searching for new colors to create and express their ideas. But relax, this is more of a jazz thing than anything and develops oftentimes over a period of many years. Although advanced blues players, while not necessarily becoming more overtly chromatic, do for sure explore the finer points of intonation by bending pitches, further splitting open the "cracks" between the pitches of the piano keys, which in one sense could also be viewed as a more chromatic approach to the music. But now I think I'm dancing about architecture again...

Those readers interested in American jazz should at some point examine the tonal evolution of American jazz legend John Coltrane, who during his artistic evolution basically seems to have thoroughly exhausted the diatonic resources of American tonality, necessitating the creation of new and dramatic approaches to the creation of American jazz, much of which is based on the obscuring of tonality through a gradually increasing chromaticism.

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