BUMPER MUSIC- "A Lamentation For Lindsay" (Area 47)
ANNOUNCER- Mike Cunliffe
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DESCRIPTION
The augmented 6th (+6) chord is a very tense predominant chord. Like most chromatic chords, it can add motion and color to your chord progressions. In this episode we will discuss the 3 main types of augmented six chords: Italian, French and German.
KEYWORDS
DIATONIC- When a triad, chord or melody consists of notes solely from the given key, it is considered
to be DIATONIC.
CHROMATIC- When a triad, chord or melody consists of notes from outside the given key, it is considered to be CHROMATIC.
TONICIZATION- When a chord, other than the tonic of the given key, is temporarily given a tonic function.
AUGMENTED 6TH CHORDS- These chords are built with a b6 and a #4.
ITALIAN AUGMENTED 6TH CHORD- This chord is built with a b6 and a #4. It also includes the TONIC.
FRENCH AUGMENTED 6TH CHORD- This chord is built with a b6 and a #4. It also includes the TONIC and the SUPERTONIC (scale degree 2).
GERMAN AUGMENTED 6TH CHORD- This chord is built with a b6 and a #4. It also includes the
TONIC and the flatted MEDIANT (scale degree b3).
TONIC ( I )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale degree 1 of the given key.
SUPERTONIC ( ii )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale degree 2 of the given key.
MEDIANT ( iii ) - A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale degree 3 of the given key.
SUBDOMINANT ( IV )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale degree 4 of the given key.
DOMINANT ( V )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale degree 5 of the given key.
SUBMEDIANT ( vi )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale degree 6 of the given key.
SUBTONIC ( VII ) - A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale degree b7 of the given key.
LEADING TONE ( viiº7 )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale degree 7 of the major key or #7 of a minor key.
SEVENTH (7)- This would be the 4th chord tone added to a TRIAD. It will be a 7th above the root of
the given chord. It can be major, minor, augmented or diminished.
*It should be noted that all the above Roman numeral examples given were shown as uppercase
(major) or lowercase (minor) as they relate to the MAJOR SCALE, as seen below:
I - ii - iii - IV - V - vi - vii° - I
In the MINOR SCALE, the diatonic chords will be built as seen below:
i - ii° - III - iv - v - VI - VII - i
EXAMPLES
-This chord is one of PREDOMINANT function. It wants to move to the V chord.
-Below we see the three most common AUGMENTED 6th chords.
-The ITALIAN AUGMENTED 6th chord (m. 1) includes the b6 and a #4 and the TONIC (D, in this case).
To make this a 4 part texture, it is recommended that we double the root.
-The FRENCH AUGMENTED 6th chord (m.2) includes the b6 and a #4 and the TONIC (D, in this case) and scale degree 2 (E, in this case). Because this chord contains 4 notes, no doubling is necessary.
-The GERMAN AUGMENTED 6th chord (m.3) includes the b6 and a #4 and the TONIC (D, in this case) and the flatted scale degree 3 (F natural, in this case). Because this chord contains 4 notes, no doubling is necessary.
VOICE LEADING CONSIDERATIONS
-The Italian +6 chord only contains three notes. In a 4 part texture, it is well advised to double the TONIC.
-The #4 will resolve up to the ROOT of the V chord (scale degree 5).
-The b6 will resolve down to the ROOT of the V chord (scale degree 5).
-There is more flexibility in the inner voices, but you should still consider all the voice leading conventions.
-Moving from the GERMAN +6 chord to the V chord can often result in PARALLEL 5ths. However, in these circumstances, it is typically permissible. Parallel 5ths can be avoided by adding a cadential (I 6/4) chord before it moves to V.
Below is the chord progression for our bumper theme, in D minor,
"A LAMENTATION FOR LINDSAY"
(Intro) i - i - i - i -
It+6 - V - VII -It+6 - V7 - i
Fr+6 - V - VIl-Fr+6- V7 - i
Gr+6 - V - VII - Gr+6 - V7 - i
THINGS TO REMEMBER
-Practice writing progressions using the any or all of the +6 chords.
-For a challenge, see if you can adhere to all the voice leading conventions while writing your piece.
