Post-Tonal Harmony
New England Conservatory
Analysis of post-tonal music is an exciting field, however, sometimes confusing. The confusion can arise from the fact that there are many ways to approach post-tonal music: one can analyze textures and its densities, one can approach the music in terms of chaos versus order, one can approach it in terms of timbre based on spectral analysis, etc. In this class, post-tonal music will be analyzed from a harmonic
viewpoint.
The course is divided in three main units.
First, the classical duality between consonance and dissonance will be reconsidered according to research based on perception. This leads to a full spectrum from consonance to dissonance with many gradations in between. Therefore, measuring the degree of consonance will be our first topic.
Second is a discussion how voice leading (or prolongations) is used in post-tonal music. This topic has a long tradition with heated debates. A recurring problem is that prolongation is well understood and defined in tonal (that is triadic) contexts. How to transfer this concept to post-tonal music seems problematic. In this unit we will evaluate different perspectives addressing the topic of dissonant prolongations.
Third, to conclude this course, we will bring these two approaches together: chord construction and prolongation. Once a clear understanding of the degree of consonance is established, the
concept of prolongation can be adjusted to the context of post-tonal music. This will give a good understanding of what the harmony is and how the harmony acts in a post-tonal composition. Throughout the course, a wide variety of music will be studied coming from different styles and aesthetics. The method of analysis is not applicable to one composer or style, but can be used to all post-tonal music in which harmony plays a prominent
role. While this class is focused on analysis, this approach can equally be used as a compositional tool for harmonic development.
Access for Master students and doctoral students.
The main goal for this course is to establish a new perspective on harmony that allows describing accurately harmonic post-tonal structures.
Note that this is not an extension of traditional harmony, but a concept of harmony based on the praxis of post-tonal composers.
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