Yet another excellent lesson Simon, @simon
I have a question, not directly related to sight reading, about interpreting the key.
It is not always clear to me that a piece (or part in this case) is in harmonic minor key because the 7th is not always raised. For example exercise 5 has one D natural and one D#. Exercise 6 has 4 D naturals and 1 D#.
Is there a rule of thumb?
Does knowing that they key is a harmonic minor change the perspective or expectation of the harmonies or chord sequences?
Thanks
Cindy
The short answer is that “harmonic” minor is not the key (the piece would simply be in a minor key), but is simply how a particular cadence is treated. So it really has to do with how the dominant chord functions, which can change depending on the effect the composer wants to create at a cadence. If the dominant chord is minor in a minor key it doesn’t have as much pull. But when we use the harmonic minor we create more tension. So it’s really all about how the cadence is functioning. Hope this helps.
Hi Cindy. As I understand it, the 7th will be raised when the chord is a dominant major but not necessarily if it’s a passing tone. Knowing what chords the melody is outlining helps, and I’ve found that strumming them out often helps me get a better idea of what’s going on.
Knowing a tune is “in” harmonic minor would help you predict that the dominant chord is major and explain the accidental when you see it.
I second your first question, in that I didn’t think harmonic minor was a ‘key’ per se, at least not one you can recognize from the key signature alone.
Greg
Thanks, Cindy — I hope my answer wasn’t too confusing. We can indeed use “harmonic minor” as a key, much like we could say that a piece is in the key of “E Lydian” (a mode). I just wanted to be clear that technically the only difference between E minor and E harmonic minor will be the way the dominant chord functions, and thus is more about cadences than key centers.
(The same is true about modes, by the way — the different modes change where the half steps in the scale are and thus can change the chords based on the scale tones to have different functions.)
Yet another excellent lesson Simon, @simon
I have a question, not directly related to sight reading, about interpreting the key.
It is not always clear to me that a piece (or part in this case) is in harmonic minor key because the 7th is not always raised. For example exercise 5 has one D natural and one D#. Exercise 6 has 4 D naturals and 1 D#.
Is there a rule of thumb?
Does knowing that they key is a harmonic minor change the perspective or expectation of the harmonies or chord sequences?
Thanks
Cindy
Hi Cindy,
The short answer is that “harmonic” minor is not the key (the piece would simply be in a minor key), but is simply how a particular cadence is treated. So it really has to do with how the dominant chord functions, which can change depending on the effect the composer wants to create at a cadence. If the dominant chord is minor in a minor key it doesn’t have as much pull. But when we use the harmonic minor we create more tension. So it’s really all about how the cadence is functioning. Hope this helps.
Peace,
Dave B (CGC team)
Hi Cindy. As I understand it, the 7th will be raised when the chord is a dominant major but not necessarily if it’s a passing tone. Knowing what chords the melody is outlining helps, and I’ve found that strumming them out often helps me get a better idea of what’s going on.
Knowing a tune is “in” harmonic minor would help you predict that the dominant chord is major and explain the accidental when you see it.
I second your first question, in that I didn’t think harmonic minor was a ‘key’ per se, at least not one you can recognize from the key signature alone.
Greg
Thank you Dave and Gregory. Your explanations really helped me.
Cindy
Oh, BTW The first sentence of the video states that we will be in the key of E harmonic minor!!
Thanks, Cindy — I hope my answer wasn’t too confusing. We can indeed use “harmonic minor” as a key, much like we could say that a piece is in the key of “E Lydian” (a mode). I just wanted to be clear that technically the only difference between E minor and E harmonic minor will be the way the dominant chord functions, and thus is more about cadences than key centers.
Peace,
Dave B (CGC team)
(The same is true about modes, by the way — the different modes change where the half steps in the scale are and thus can change the chords based on the scale tones to have different functions.)
Thanks Dave. Your answer was very clear and helpful.