# The "New Tonality" Project



## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Throughout my life of composing (even from the very beginning) I had been fascinated by the music of the Second Viennese School (Schoenberg, Webern etc.) and other pioneers of non-tonality from that era of music that I eventually started composing non-tonal music myself. During the last two and a bit years I have gotten a reputation for being a composer of music with no sense of key, substantial amounts of clashing notes and what my music theory book calls "dissonant intervals." All during the last two and a bit years of composing, I have more and more fascinated by tonal music, especially of the _First_ Viennese School (Haydn, Mozart etc.) and the harmonic structure and chord progressions found in their music.

Ever since I started composing my non-tonal music I had started a particular interest in three completely unrelated major triads played in succession: C major, A flat major and E major, and I begun incorporating those chords (played in this order: C, A flat, C, E) into several of my non-tonal compositions starting with my _Piano Quintet_ of 2010 (towards the end of the first movement. To listen, click on link in signature). It was halfway through last year when I first had the idea of writing a _tonal_ piece of music that uses the idea of unrelated chords played one after another in this way for the entire duration of the work, but I never got around to finishing it as at that time I preferred writing my clashy, non-tonal music.

Recently, I was asked to write a "tonal, melodic" composition for five guitars to played by me and four other classical guitarists at school. As my new composition had to be tonal and melodic, I decided to go back to my idea of unrelated triads played in succession with no hierarchy of chords. To give you an idea of the beginning of the piece, I used this progression of chords: C major, A flat major, C major, E major, B flat major, E flat major, A major, D major, A flat major and then back to C major. The bridge sections of the work go into various other chords to break away from the (almost) C tonality of the opening. When writing this "tonal, melodic" work I became excited by my new tonality where all chords are of equal importance (rather than having your usual cadential structures where some chords are more important than others) and have decided to explore this new way of composing to see how I can develop my ideas. I am planning on composing an orchestral composition to be played by students at my school and I want to test out my new tonality in front of an audience when it gets performed in December, but before then I still have a couple of non-tonal things to write.


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## emiellucifuge

Very interesting, I would love to see a score or hear a recording when youre done and I hope you continue to post your developments.

I dont pretend to have as much experience as yourself, but to draw from my own experience;
I quickly decided I could not compose in a serial style and have used tonality as a basis for many compositions. These pieces arent necessarily tonal in the usual sense, but they still use a certain tone as a 'home' - not necessarily through cadence progressions but through other manners. On this structural basis I use what some books have called 'non-functional harmonies' to write my piece. 
In other words, one pitch and its relations serve a structural purpose, but the music written ignores the tonal language.


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## Praeludium

ComposerOfAvant-Garde : I like those unrelated triads ! 
I actually use the same, on the guitar at least. Some of these successions fall very well under the finger, without doing parallel fifths or anything, and sound great ! Another one (but I'm sure you already know it) : Ab - E - G. On the guitar : Ab (sixth string) C Eb Ab then E B E G# and then G B D G. And it works endlessly 
I think Martin's "Quatre pièces brèves" for guitar use this kind of writing.

Like emielucifuge, I have the tendency to write "kind of" tonal music. I wouldn't call that tonal but I think it can be defined as having a tonal origin.
I like the fact that I can play with something "we want to hear" vs. something "suprising", with tensions and resolutions in a free manner, etc. And there are tons of ways of doing something definitely new and personal (ie. not emulating Chopin... or even Stravinsky) with this kind of harmonic language.

Good luck


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## aleazk

You could also add some quartal-quintal chords, pentatonics scales, modal scales, modal pentatonics! . I use that kind of things a lot, alongside with the unrelated chords thing. Also, some chromatic chord progression maybe. The sonority you get with those things is something that I call "islands of tonalism", i.e., short tonal sections, followed by other tonal sections (where the tonics may be completely unrelated). Also, if you add the pentatonics scales, the modal scales, the quartal-quintal chords, some dissonant chords, the resulting sonority is extremely colorful. Basically, that's my current style.


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## Kopachris

>tonal
>unrelated triads of equal importance

Does not compute. I'm guessing you don't literally mean "tonal," then?

Other than that, sounds like a fascinating idea, and I'd love to hear more about it!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Kopachris said:


> >tonal
> >unrelated triads of equal importance
> 
> Does not compute. I'm guessing you don't literally mean "tonal," then?
> 
> Other than that, sounds like a fascinating idea, and I'd love to hear more about it!


Well, I suppose I could hardly call it "atonal," but then again you're right when you say it can't be _literally_ tonal. I might describe it as a re-examination of tonality perhaps.


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## clavichorder

Many of the American composers use unrelated triads in succession. Roy Harris seems to do something like that in his 3rd symphony I think? William Schuman is like that in his earlier works as well, if I am thinking of the right thing. Because I hear triads that seem to jump around, "non functional" tonality.


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## Praeludium

Also, Takemitsu. I'm currently working one In the woods, on of the last work he wrote, and it contains many things like that - "tonal" chords used in a non tonal context. They're just here for their color.


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## Iforgotmypassword

So essentially (humor me please, I'm very uneducated in regard to theory) you're composing pieces which remain in the same key, but don't have detectable chord progressions?


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## PetrB

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> ...a particular interest in three completely unrelated major triads played in succession: C major, A flat major and E major....


I believe you are overlooking the relationship called "Common Tone." 

I do believe it is sometimes best to start with the music of your own time, and then move backward, though that can have you sometimes 'reinventing the wheel' out of lack of awareness of what has gone before.

The 'tonal plan' of Stravinsky's Piano Sonata:
I. C
II. A-flat
III. E

Tonal plan, movements of the Barber Piano Concerto:
I. E minor.
II. C-sharp minor ('predominantly')
III. B-flat minor ('mostly')













Harmony (chord function) has been 'freed' from common practice function (and analysis as such) since Debussy (The first 'modern' composer) and his earlier works.


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## Philip

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Throughout my life of composing (even from the very beginning) ...


I've got a lot of internet love for you, but no teenager should be allowed to speak with such wisdom :lol:

Keep up the good work though!


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## norman bates

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I decided to go back to my idea of unrelated triads played in succession with no hierarchy of chords. To give you an idea of the beginning of the piece, I used this progression of chords: C major, A flat major, C major, E major, B flat major, E flat major, A major, D major, A flat major and then back to C major. The bridge sections of the work go into various other chords to break away from the (almost) C tonality of the opening. When writing this "tonal, melodic" work I became excited by my new tonality where all chords are of equal importance (rather than having your usual cadential structures where some chords are more important than others) and have decided to explore this new way of composing to see how I can develop my ideas.


i'm sorry, i know very little of theory but this is not a simple way to do modal music?


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## chee_zee

sounds like jazz. study up on coltrane changes, parker changes, miles davis' style of modal jazz (based on impressionism), tritone subs, other forms of substitution, common tone diminished, leading tone diminished, simultaneities, harmonizing any scale, even hexa and pentatonics. thats just harmony, study indian and japanese music for melodic development, aitake chords and jazz block intervals (think allan holdsworth and modern big band stuff) not treated as chords but as single sonorities. c e ab is just major thirds, so chromatic mediants, in this case all major thirds so an augmented outline like giant steps or schubert. try going the liszt route and doing minor 3rds, even mixing the two in a single composition for a bit of 'extended tonality modal mixture' of sorts.


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## Argus

norman bates said:


> i'm sorry, i know very little of theory but this is not a simple way to do modal music?


No. If you look at the chords he uses, all 12 tones are used at one point or another.

All harmonic regions can be related to C through the duality of major/minor. So C major is I, Ab is bVI or V/N, E is V/vi, Bb is bVII, A is V/ii and D is V/V. If you use Schoenberg's 'extended tonality' idea it is very hard not to be tonal in some way (including tenous modulations) when using triadic forms.

It's more the melodic treatment of the chords than the chords themselves that determine the overall impression of tonality in the piece.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

PetrB said:


> I believe you are overlooking the relationship called "Common Tone."


 :lol: Haha, I believe I did!


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## Igneous01

might i suggest looking into arabic scales and blues scale? I had alot of fun writing in the arabic modes (the double harmonic minor) as well as gypsy scale. Oo and octatonic is a nice one as well with an interesting touch.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Igneous01 said:


> might i suggest looking into arabic scales and blues scale? I had alot of fun writing in the arabic modes (the double harmonic minor) as well as gypsy scale. Oo and octatonic is a nice one as well with an interesting touch.


I have planned for my orchestral composition for December to have a section that uses the octatonic scale. I might try some other scales and modes for other pieces too, thanks for the idea.


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## HarpsichordConcerto

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> ...Recently, I was asked to write a "tonal, melodic" composition for five guitars to played by me and four other classical guitarists at school. As my new composition had to be tonal and melodic, I decided to go back to my idea of unrelated triads played in succession with no hierarchy of chords. ...... I am planning on composing an orchestral composition to be played by students at my school and I want to test out my new tonality in front of an audience when it gets performed in December, but before then I still have a couple of non-tonal things to write.


Good stuff. We want to listen to the finshed piece! What type of "orchestral composition"?


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Good stuff. We want to listen to the finshed piece! What type of "orchestral composition"?


A short and fast one.


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## aleazk

Igneous01 said:


> might i suggest looking into arabic scales and blues scale? I had alot of fun writing in the *arabic modes* (the double harmonic minor) as well as gypsy scale. Oo and octatonic is a nice one as well with an interesting touch.


I use that mode (or some kind of "flamenco" version of it) in one of my pieces, I wanted a "spanish sound". (this is the piece

__
https://soundcloud.com/aleazk%2Fv-noche-en-la-alhambra
)


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