Harmony and tonality in Western classical music
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the fundamentals of harmony and tonality and how they are used in Western classical music.
Key learning points
- In the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods, tonality was almost always major or minor.
- Every piece has a key signature, which explains which notes should be used in the given key.
- Harmony in all three periods is based on primary chords (I, IV and V), with some use of secondary chords.
- Romantic composers experimented more with chord choice and chromatic notes.
- Cadences are fundamental to all three periods with perfect and imperfect cadences being the most common.
Keywords
Tonality - the type of notes and chords that a piece of music is based on (e.g. minor, major, atonal)
Harmony - the way that notes combine to create chords and the way that those chords are used in a composition
Key - the specific set of notes that a piece is based on (e.g. C minor)
Key signature - which sharps or flats should be used in a particular key, written at the start of each stave
Cadence - a combination of two chords at the end of a phrase or section
Common misconception
Harmony and tonality are the same thing.
Tonality is to the type of notes and chords that are used (e.g. major). Harmony is the way the notes and chords are used within that key. Think of tonality as a language (e.g. English) and harmony as the word choice and order in a sentence.
Teacher tip
There is a lot of content covered here. Try to build opportunities to revisit, consolidate and recap the main learning from this through homework or extension activities. Practice identifying key signatures and cadences is useful for the course, and there are various online tools designed for this.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, music was almost always written in which tonalities?
Q2.What does a key signature show?
Q3.Which of these is a primary chord?
Q4.Which period experimented more with chromatic notes and unusual harmonies?
Q5.The word “tonality” means:
Q6.Which composer belongs to the Classical period?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which chords are most commonly used in cadences?
Q2.Which cadence sounds “finished” and complete?
Q3.Which cadence sounds “unfinished” or like the music will continue?
Q4.Which of these best describes harmony?
Q5.Which of these is true about the Romantic period?
Q6.Which of these keywords means “a combination of two chords at the end of a phrase or section”?
To help you plan your 10 music lesson on: Harmony and tonality in Western classical music, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 music lesson on: Harmony and tonality in Western classical music, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 music lessons from the The Western Classical Tradition (1600-1910) unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.