Hello, and welcome to today's music lesson.

I'm Miss Mansell, and I'm going to be your teacher for today.

Let's get started.

Today's lesson outcome is: I can analyze how a composition uses harmony in specific ways to create harmonic variety and a satisfying harmonic journey.

Let's look at some keywords for today's lesson.

Harmony: the way that notes combine to create chords and the way that these chords are used.

Harmonic rhythm: how often the chords change in a chord progression.

Dominant: that's chord V, which often resolves to chord I, the tonic.

Pedal: when the bass note stays the same, with the chords or harmony changing above.

Today's lesson on creating harmonic variety is in two parts.

Part one is analyzing harmony in a composition, and part two is harmonic variety in your own composition.

So let's get started with part one, analyzing harmony in a composition.

Creating harmonic variety is key to creating a balanced composition with a satisfying musical journey.

In different styles and genres, composers create harmonic variety in different ways.

Let's explore an example of a minuet and trio in the style of the Classical period.

The minuet and trio genre typically has harmonic variety built into its overall structure.

It's in ternary form, with three sections for ABA.

The B section, that's the trio, uses a contrasting, closely related key to the minuet.

So you can see section A, the minuet is in the tonic key.

B, the trio is in the contrasting key and returns to A, the minuet in the tonic.

Have a listen to this minuet and trio.

Can you work out what the contrasting key is in the middle section?

Have a listen.

Hopefully you spotted that the B section is in the relative minor, that's D minor.

So you can see the minuet is in F major, it moves to D minor in the trio section, and then back to F major.

By using a contrasting key in the middle section, the composer creates harmonic variety.

When choosing a contrasting key, using closely related keys, for example, those based on chord IV, chord V, or the relative major or minor is most effective, but in many genres and styles, composers experiment with more adventurous modulations.

Let's do a quick check for understanding.

In F major, which would be the three most closely related keys?

So that's going to be based on chord V, chord IV, and the relative minor.

Have a think.

So the three most related keys are C major, B-flat major, and D minor.

Well done if you got those.

Creating harmonic variety within sections is also crucial for creating a balanced composition.

The minuet consists of four eight-bar phrases.

Compare the first and second phrases.

What differences do you notice in the harmony?

So have a listen to the first phrase.

And then listen to the second.

What differences did you spot?

The first phrase starts and finishes with the tonic chord, that's called I, and is mostly based around that chord.

So you can see here there's a lot of chord ones in the first phrase.

The second phrase uses the tonic chord less, and starts and finishes with chord V.

And you can see the chord pattern there.

This creates a harmonic contrast between the phrases.

This section also uses varied cadences to create harmonic interest.

Listen to both phrases.

Can you identify the cadence at the end of each?

So have a listen to the first phrase.

And have a listen to the second.

And to give you a little bit more help, here are the chords for each phrase.

Were you able to identify the cadences?

So the first phrase ends with a perfect cadence, five to one, creating a sense of resolution and completeness.

The second phrase ends with an imperfect cadence, so it ends on chord V, which feels unfinished and creates harmonic tension.

Using different cadences at the end of phrases creates a balanced harmonic structure.

The second section, that's the trio, modulates to the relative minor key, creating harmonic variety.

However, the harmonic rhythm is also different, creating a different harmonic feeling.

The harmonic rhythm is how often the chords change.

Compare the first phrase from the minuet with the first phrase of the trio.

What do you notice about how often the chords change?

So have a listen to the minuet.

And then have a listen to the trio.

In the minuet phrase, the harmonic rhythm is more varied.

The first chord repeats for three bars, then changes every bar until bar seven.

The trio phrase has a slower and more consistent harmonic rhythm, changing only in two-bar phrases and using only chords I and V.

Varying the harmonic rhythm like this is a useful way to create variety.

One final effective use of harmony is the end of the trio.

Analyze the last eight-bar phrase of this section.

What interesting harmonic feature can you spot?

There's a hint: focus on the bass notes.

So have a listen to the last eight-bar phrase, and you can see the score here so you can follow it.

What harmonic feature did you spot?

It uses a pedal, so that's repeating the same bass note while the chords change above.

In this instance, the note is a C, which is the dominant note in the key of the piece, the key is F major, so we call this a dominant pedal.

And you can see on the score there, the C in the bass note is for six bars and then returns in the final bar of the section, but an octave higher.

A dominant pedal is a very effective harmonic device to use when the piece is about to return to its original key.

It creates a feeling of harmonic tension that needs to resolve to the tonic chord.

Using moments of tension and resolution like this creates an interesting musical journey for the listener.

Listen to the end of the trio, then the start of the final section.

Try to pick out the dominant pedal, then notice the feeling of completeness when we arrive back in the home key in the minuet.

So have a listen to that.

In summary, this composition creates harmonic variety by modulating through a closely related key, the relative minor for the B section, using different chords to create contrast between phrases, using a variety of cadences to create harmonic interest, varying the harmonic rhythm, using a dominant pedal to create tension before resolving it.

Let's do a quick check for understanding.

What is harmonic rhythm?

Is it A, how many chords are used in a chord sequence; B, the rhythm used to play a chord in a bar; or C, how often chords change in a chord sequence?

Have a think.

Well done if you got C.

Harmonic rhythm is how often chords change in a chord sequence.

Let's move on to task A.

We want you to analyze the trio from the minuet and trio.

Identify two ways in which the composer creates harmonic variety within this section, not including the dominant pedal at the end of the section.

Remember that this section is in the key of D minor.

Consider chord choice, cadences, harmonic rhythm, and any other harmonic features.

Use the score and audio to help you answer the question.

So here's the score, and listen to the audio and do your analysis.

How did you get on?

Which two ways did you identify that the composer creates harmonic variety?

You could have said it uses a large variety of different chords.

It uses a mixture of different cadences, creating some moments of tension and some moments of resolution.

It uses harmonic rhythms, for example, in bar 45 to 48, the chord changes in every bar.

Let's move on to part two of our lesson, harmonic variety in your own composition.

The composition we've been looking at today shows us how we can use harmony to add variety to a composition and to create a satisfying musical journey.

For your composition, consider the following.

What are the harmonic norms in the genre or style you're composing in?

Do the different sections use harmony in different ways?

Are there any moments where a tonic or dominant pedal would be effective musically?

Have you used any modulations?

Let's do a check for understanding.

What is the effect of a dominant pedal?

Have a think.

Hopefully you said something like, it creates harmonic tension.

It creates a feeling of the need to resolve to the tonic.

So for task B, let's reflect on your composition and identify where you can develop the harmony.

So identify some ways that you can add variety to the harmony, considering the harmonic rhythm and harmonic devices like modulations and pedals.

Develop your composition, focusing on those steps to develop your harmony.

Pause the lesson video now, and go and work on your composition.

How did you get on?

Let's reflect on the changes you have made to your composition.

Use these questions to guide how you can further develop the harmony.

Does your composition use a variety of different harmonic techniques?

Do the different sections use harmony differently?

Have you used any harmonic devices?

Is there anywhere that these could be effective?

Have you used idiomatic harmonic language for the style?

Have you used harmony to effectively create tension and resolution?

Let's summarize today's lesson on creating harmonic variety.

Creating harmonic variety is an effective way to create a satisfying, interesting, and balanced composition.

This applies across many genres and styles, but the way it is done varies.

In the classical style, one effective method is to modulate to a closely related key.

Using varied chords and cadences also creates harmonic variety.

Changing the harmonic rhythm and using devices such as dominant pedals can also be very effective.

Thank you for joining me for today's lesson.