Monday, August 28, 2006

Trying to digest those heavy theory

Elementary Modulation isn't as elementary as it claims to be. In fact, I am struggling to understand some parts of it.

The only reassuring thing is that I just have to do my part to read the chapter on Elementary Modulation so that I can have a good idea which are the parts that I don't quite understand. Afterwhich, I can get the music theory tutor to go through those parts with me this coming Thursday.

I was reading the chapter on Elementary Modulation from Lovelock's First Year Harmony. Sometimes, the hardest thing I find in studying music theory is that I don't quite figure why certain things have to be done in certain ways. Sometimes, the rules just seemed to be "fixed". It is similar to: why 1 + 1 = 2, and why the sun is understood to rise from the east.

What exactly is false relation? I am aware that we should avoid having "a note in one part in one chord followed in the next chord by the same note chromatically altered, in another part". But I can't truly appreciate why. Maybe I just have to hear how a false relation would awfully sound?

It also took me a while to understand this principle that goes: "the leading note of a minor key is normally sharpened; so that it appears unsharpened and falls a step, it counts as a flattened note."

Understanding is one issue. Applying the concepts is another. I guess I could only try to read the chapter and assimilate as much as possible. Whatever that remains can only be dealt with this Thursday.

Whatever it is, hopefully, understanding elementary modulation would help me better appreciate the music that I will be playing in future.

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