Parallel keys in music. B minor - mournful

Semantic (mode-phonic) unity

Multi-level units of classical harmony.

A.L. Ostrovsky. Methodology of music theory and solfeggio. L., 1970. p. 46-49.

N.L. Vashkevich. expressiveness of tone. Minor. (Manuscript) Tver, 1996.

The choice of tonality by the composer is not a matter of chance. To a large extent it is connected with its expressive possibilities. The individual colorful properties of tonality are a fact. Far from always they are in unity with the emotional coloring of a musical work, however, they are always present in its colorful and expressive overtones, as an emotional background.

Analyzing the figurative content of a large range of major works, the Belgian musicologist and composer Francois Auguste Gevaart (1828-1908) presented his own version of expressiveness major keys, which reveals a certain system of interaction. “The paint characteristic of the major mood,” he writes, “takes on shades of light and brilliant in tones with sharps, strict and gloomy in tones with flats ...”, essentially repeating the conclusion of R. Schumann, made half a century earlier. And further. “C - Sol - D - A major, etc. - getting brighter and brighter. Do - Fa - B-flat - E-flat major, etc. "It's getting darker and darker." “As soon as we reach the tone F-sharp major (6 sharps), the ascent stops. The brilliance of tones with sharps, brought to hardness, is suddenly erased and, through an imperceptible transfusion of shades, is identified with the gloomy paint of the tone in G-flat major (6 flats), which creates a semblance of a vicious circle:

C major

Firm, determined

F major G major

Courageous Funny

B flat major D major

Proud Brilliant

E flat major A major

Majestic Glad

A flat major E major

Noble shining

D flat major B major

Important Mighty

G-flat major F-sharp major

Gloomy Hard

Gevart's conclusions are not entirely indisputable. And this is understandable; in one word it is impossible to reflect the emotional coloring of the tonality, the palette of shades inherent in it, its distinctive nuance.

In addition, it is necessary to take into account the individual “hearing” of the tonality. For example, Tchaikovsky's D-flat major can be safely called the tone of love. This is the tone of the romance “No, only the one who knew”, scenes from Tatiana’s letter, P.P. (love themes) in Romeo and Juliet, etc.

And yet, "despite some naivete" (as Ostrovsky noted), for us, the characteristics of Gevaart's keys are valuable. We have no other sources.

In this regard, the list of names of “tonal characteristic theorists”, “whose works were in Beethoven” is surprising: Matteson, L. Mitzler, Klinberger, J.G. Sulzer, A.Hr.Koch, J.J. von Heinse, Chr.F.D. Schubart (Romain Rolland reports this in the book “Beethoven's Last Quartets”, M., 1976, p. 225). "The problem of key characterization occupied Beethoven to the end of his life."

Gevaart's work "Guide to instrumentation", which contains material on keys, was translated into Russian by P. Tchaikovsky. The great composer's interest in this speaks volumes.

"Expressiveness minor keys- wrote Gevart - is less diverse, dark and not so definite. Are Gevart's conclusions correct? It is doubtful that among the keys that have undeniably specific and vivid emotional characteristics, there are no less minor ones than major ones (suffice it to name B minor, C minor, C-sharp minor). To answer this question was the task of the joint course work of the 1st year students of T.O. Tver Musical College (1977-78 academic year) Inna Bynkova (Kalyazin), Dobrynskaya Marina (Staraya Toropaya), Tatyana Zaitseva (Konakovo), Elena Zubryakova (Klin), Svetlana Shcherbakova and Natalia Yakovleva (Vyshny Volochek). The work analyzed the pieces of instrumental cycles, involving all 24 keys of the circle of fifths, where the randomness of the choice of key is minimal:

Bach. Preludes and Fugues of HTC, Volume I,

Chopin. Preludes. Op.28,

Chopin. Sketches. Op.10, 25,

Prokofiev. Transience. Op.22,

Shostakovich. 24 preludes and fugues. Op.87,

Shchedrin. 24 preludes and fugues.

In our course work, the analysis was limited to only the first exposed topic according to a predetermined plan. All conclusions about the emotional-figurative content had to be confirmed by an analysis of the means of expression, intonation features of the melody, and the presence of pictorial moments in the musical language. Turning to musicological literature for help was mandatory.

The final stage of our analytical work was the statistical method of multi-stage generalization of all the results of the analysis of pieces of a particular key, the method of elementary arithmetic counting of repeated words-epithets and thereby identifying the dominant emotional characteristic of the key. We understand that it is not easy at all to characterize the complex and colorful coloring of the tonality in words, especially in one word, and therefore there were many difficulties. The expressive qualities of individual keys (A minor, E, C, F, B, F-sharp) were revealed confidently, in others - with less unambiguity (D minor, cm-flat, G-sharp).

Uncertainty arose with the D-sharp minor. Its characterization is conditional. Of the 8 analyzed works in the key with 6 signs, in 7 composers preferred the E-flat minor. D-sharp minor, “very rare and inconvenient for performance” (according to J. Milstein), was represented by only one work (Bach XTK, fugue XIII), which made it impossible to characterize it. As an exception in our methods, we proposed to use the characteristic of D-sharp minor by J. Milstein as high pitch . In this ambiguous definition there is both inconvenience for performance, psychological and physiological tension of intonation for string players and vocalists, and something sublime, and something hard.

Our conclusion: there is no doubt that minor keys, like major ones, have specific individual expressive qualities.

Following the example of Gevaart, we propose the following, in our opinion, an acceptable version of the monosyllabic characteristics of the minor:

A minor - easy

E minor - light

B minor - mournful

F-sharp minor - excited

C-sharp minor - elegiac

G-sharp minor - tense

D-sharp - "high key"

E-flat minor - severe

B flat minor - gloomy

F minor - sad

C minor - pathetic

G minor - poetic

D minor - courageous

Having received an affirmative answer to the first question (do minor keys have individual expressive qualities), we began to solve the second: is there (like major keys) a system of interaction of expressive characteristics in minor keys?, and if so, what is it?

Recall that such a system in major keys by Gewart was their arrangement in a circle of fifths, which reveals a natural enlightenment of their color when moving towards sharps and a darkening towards flats. Denying individual emotionally colorful properties to the minor key, Gevart, naturally, could not see any system of interconnections in minor keys, considering as such only the gradualness of emotional transitions: “their expressive character does not represent such a correct gradualness, as in major tones” (5 , p.48).

Challenging Gewart in the first, we will try to find a different answer in the other.

In search of a system, various options for the arrangement of minor keys were tried, comparing them with major keys, options for connections with other elements of the musical system, namely, the location

in a circle of fifths (similar to major ones),

at other intervals

according to the chromatic scale;

location according to emotional characteristics (identity, contrast, gradual emotional transitions);

comparisons with parallel major keys,

with the same name,

analysis of the color of tonalities, based on their pitch position on the steps of the scale relative to the sound C.

Six term papers - six opinions. Of all the proposed, two regularities found in the works of Dobrynskaya Marina and Bynkova Inna turned out to be promising.

First regularity.

The expressiveness of minor keys is directly dependent on the major keys of the same name. The minor is a softened, darkened (like light and shadow) version of the major of the same name.

Minor is the same as major, “but only paler and more vague, like any “minor” in general in relation to the “major” of the same name. N. Rimsky Korsakov (see p. 31).

C major is firm, resolute

pathetic minor,

B major is mighty

mournful minor,

B flat major proud

gloomy minor,

A major joyful

minor easy,

G major cheerful

poetic minor,

F-sharp major hard

minor excited,

F major courageous

minor sad,

E major shining

minor light,

E flat major majestic

minor severe,

D major brilliant (victorious)

minor courageous.

In most major-minor comparisons, the relationship is obvious, but in some pairings, not quite. For example, D major and minor (brilliant and courageous), F major and minor (courageous and sad). The reason, perhaps, is the inaccuracy of the verbal characteristics of the keys. Assuming the approximation of ours, one cannot fully rely on the characteristics given by Gewart. For example, Tchaikovsky characterized the key in D major as solemn (5. p. 50). Such amendments almost eliminate contradictions.

We do not compare A-flat major and G-sharp minor, D-flat major and C-sharp minor, since these pairs of keys are opposite. Contradictions in their emotional characteristics are natural.

Second regularity.

The search for brief verbal characterizations of keys could not but remind us of something akin to the "mental effects" of Sarah Glover and John Curwen.

Recall that this is the name of the method (England. XIX century) of personifying the steps of the mode, i.e. verbal, gestural (and at the same time both muscular and spatial) characteristics of them, which is designed to provide a high effect (“mental effect”!) of modal education of hearing in the system of relative solmization.

MU students get acquainted with relative solmization from the 1st year both in music theory (mental effects are an indispensable opportunity to explain the topic “Modal and phonic functions of the steps of the mode”), and in solfeggio from the first lessons. (Relative solmization is mentioned on page 8)

Let's compare the characteristics of Sarah Glover's steps with our pairs of keys of the same name, placing them on the white-key C major:

major scale in

MINOR "mental effects" MAJOR

B minor - VII, B - piercing, B major -

Mournful sensitive - mighty

A minor - VI, A - sad, A major -

Light mournful - joyful

G minor - V, G - majestic - G major -

Poetic, bright - cheerful

F minor V, F - dull, F major -

Sad fearsome - courageous

E minor - III, E - smooth, E major -

Light calm - radiant

D minor - II, D - inciting, D major -

Courageous full of hope - brilliant (victorious)

C minor - I, C - strong, C major -

pathetic resolute - firm, resolute

In most horizontals, the relationship of emotional characteristics (with some exceptions) is obvious.

The comparison of the IVth degree and F major, VIth Art. does not convince. and A major. But, let's note, it is these steps (IV-th and VI-th) in the quality, as Kerven "heard" them, according to P. Weiss (2, p. 94), that are less convincing. (However, the authors of the system themselves “do not consider the characteristics given by them to be the only possible ones” (p. 94)).

But there is a problem. In relational solmization, the syllables Do, Re, Mi, etc. - these are not specific sounds with a fixed frequency, as in absolute solmization, but the name of the steps of the mode: Do (strong, decisive) is the 1st step in both F-dur, and Des-dur, and C-dur. Do we have the right to correlate the tonalities of the circle of fifths with steps only in C major? Can C major, and not any other keys, determine their expressive qualities? We want to express our opinion on this matter in the words of J. Milstein. Bearing in mind the significance of C major in Bach's HTK, he writes that this “tonality is like an organizing center, like an unshakable and solid stronghold, extremely clear in its simplicity. Just as all the colors of the spectrum, taken together, give a colorless white color, so the C-dur key, combining elements of other keys, to a certain extent has a neutral, colorless-light character ”(4, p. 33-34) . Rimsky-Korsakov is even more specific: Cdur - the key of white (see below, p. 30).

The expressiveness of the keys is in direct connection with the colorful and phonic qualities of the steps in C major.

C major is the center of tonal organization in classical music, where step and key form an inseparable mutually defining modal-phonic unity.

“The fact that C-dur is felt as the center and basis, as if confirms our conclusions Ernst. Kurt in "Romantic Harmony" (3, p. 280) - is a consequence of two reasons. Firstly, the sphere of C-dur is in the historical sense the birthplace and the beginning of further harmonic development into sharp and flat keys. (...) C-dur at all times means - and this is much more significant than historical development - the basis and central starting point of the earliest musical studies. This position is strengthened and determines not only the character of C-dur itself, but at the same time the character of all other keys. E-dur, for example, is perceived depending on how it initially stands out against the background of C-dur. Therefore, the absolute character of tonality, determined by the relation to C-dur, is determined not by the nature of music, but by historical and pedagogical origins.

The seven steps of C major are only seven pairs of keys of the same name closest to C major. But what about the rest of the "black" sharp and flat keys? What is their expressive nature?

The path is already there. Again to C major, to its steps, but now to the altered ones. Alteration has a wide range of expressive possibilities. With a general intensity of sound, alteration forms two intonationally contrasting spheres: increasing alteration (ascending lead-in) is an area of ​​emotionally expressive intonations, bright hard colors; lowering (descending introductory tone) - the area of ​​​​emotional-shadow intonations, darkened colors. Expression of the color of keys on altered steps and the reason for the emotional polarity of sharp and flat keys in the same pitch

tonic on the steps of C major, but not natural, but altered.

MINOR altered MAJOR

B Flat Minor – SI B Flat Major -

Gloomy - proud

LA A-flat major -

Noble

G-sharp minor – SOL

Tense

S G-flat major -

Gloomy

F-sharp minor - FA F-sharp major -

Excited - hard

E-flat minor MI E-flat major -

Severe - majestic

D-sharp minor - RE

High tone.

C-sharp minor - DO

Elegiac

In these comparisons does not justify, at first glance, only C-sharp minor. In its coloring (in relation to the pathetic C minor), in accordance with the ascending alteration, one would expect an emotional clarification. However, let us inform you that in our preliminary analytical conclusions, C-sharp minor was characterized as sublimely elegiac. The coloring in C-sharp minor is the sound of the 1st part of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Borodin's romance "For the shores of the fatherland ...". These adjustments restore balance.

Let's complete our findings.

The coloration of the tonalities on the chromatic steps of C major is in direct proportion to the type of alteration - increasing (increasing expression, brightness, rigidity) or decreasing (darkening, thickening of colors).

This completed the course work of our students. But her final material on the expressiveness of keys quite unexpectedly provided an opportunity to consider triad semantics(major and minor) and tones(essentially, individual tones in the chromatic scale).

KEY, SOBRIOUS, TONE -

SEMANTIC (LADO-PHONIC) UNITY

Our conclusion (about direct connection between the expressiveness of keys and the colorful and phonic qualities of the steps in C major) discovered the unity of two units, - tonality, tone, essentially combining two independent systems: C major (its natural and altered steps) and the system of tonalities of the circle of fifths. In our association, one more link is clearly missing - chord.

A related phenomenon (but not the same) was noted by S.S. Grigoriev in his study “Theoretical Course of Harmony” (M., 1981). Tone, chord, tonality presented by Grigoriev as three different-level units of classical harmony, which are carriers of modal and phonic functions (p.164-168). In Grigoriev's triad, these "units of classical harmony" are functionally independent of each other; but our triad is a qualitatively different phenomenon, it is elementary, our units of harmony are the constituent elements of the mode-tonality: tone is the 1st step of the mode, chord is the tonic triad.

Let's try to find, if possible, objective modal and phonic characteristics chords(major and minor triads as tonic).

One of the few sources where we have the information we need, bright and accurate fret-phonic characteristics of chords (an acute problem in teaching harmony and solfeggio at the school) is the work of S. Grigoriev mentioned above. Let's use research material. Will our characteristics of consonances fit into the modal-phonic triad of tone-consonance-tonality?

Diatonic C major:

Tonic (tonic triad)- center of attraction, peace, balance (2, pp. 131-132); "a logical conclusion from the previous mode-functional movement the ultimate goal and resolution of its contradictions” (p. 142). Support, stability, strength, hardness are the general characteristics of both the tonic triad and the key in Gevart's C major, and the 1st degree of Kerven's major.

Dominant- the chord of the approval of the tonic as a support, the center of modal gravity. “The dominant is the centripetal force within the modal-functional system” (p.138), “the concentration of modal-functional dynamics”. "Bright, majestic" (Kerven)V-th degree is a direct characteristic of the chord D with its major sound, with an active quart move in the bass with a resolution in T and an ascending semitone intonation of the introductory tone, intonation of affirmation, generalization, creation.

Gevaart's epithet "cheerful" (G major) obviously does not reach the D5 / 3 coloring. But it is also difficult to agree with him in relation to the tonality: it is too simple for “G major light, joyful, victorious” (N. Eskina. Muz. life No. 8, 1994, p. 23).

Subdominant, according to Riemann, is the chord of conflict. Under certain metrorhythmic conditions, S challenges the tonic's function of rest (2, p. 138). "S is the centrifugal force within the modal-functional system." In contrast to the "effective" D, S– a “counter-action” chord (p. 139), an independent, proud chord. Gevart has F major - courageous. According to the characteristics of P. Mironositsky (follower of Kerven, author of the textbook "Notes-Letters", see about this 1, pp. 103-104) IV-I step - "like a heavy sound."

CharacteristicIV-I steps in "mental effects" - "dismal, fearsome”(according to P. Weiss (see 1, p. 94) - not a convincing definition), - does not give the expected parallel with the color of F major. But these are the exact epithets of the sound minor harmonic subdominant and its projections in F minor sad.

TriadsVI-th andIIIth steps- mediants, - median, intermediate both in sound composition from T to S and D, and functionally: VII am softS(easy A minor), sad, plaintiveVI-I'm in "mental effects"; III-i - soft D (light E minor, smooth, calmIII-th step. Side triads are opposite in the modal mood to the tonic. “Romantic terts”, “gentle and transparent colors of the mediant”, “reflected light”, “pure colors of major or minor triads” (2, p. th steps in the “Theoretical course of harmony” by S.S. Grigoriev.

TriadIIth stage, which does not have common sounds with the tonic (as opposed to the “soft” mediant VIth) - as it were "hard" subdominant, active and effective chord in the S group. Harmony II-th step, encouraging, full of hope(according to Curwen) is "courageous" in D minor.

"Brilliant" D major is a direct analogy of major harmony onII-th stage, analogy chordDD. This is exactly how it sounds in the cadence DD – D7 – T, strengthening it, forming, as it were, an authentic turnover doubly.

C major-minor of the same name:

eponymous minor tonic -softened shadow version of the major triad. Pathetic in C minor.

natural (minor)d the minor of the same name is a dominant, devoid of a “primary sign” (leading tone) and losing its sharpness inclination to T 5/3, losing tension, brightness and solemnity of a major triad, leaving only enlightenment, softness, poetry. Poetic G minor!

Mediants of the same name in C minor. MajorVI-I(VI-th low), - a solemn chord, softened by the harsh color of the subdominant sound. A-flat major noble!TriadIII-her steps(III-th low) - major chord with fifth core in C minor. E-flat major majestic!

VII- I'm natural(of the same name minor) – major triad with archaic flavor of harsh natural minor (B flat major proud!), the basis of the Phrygian turnover in the bass, - a descending movement with the explicit semantics of a tragic

Neapolitan chord(by nature, it can be the II-th step of the Phrygian mode of the same name, it can be an introductory S), - sublime harmony with severe Phrygian flavor. D flat major Gevart's is important. For Russian composers this tonality of a serious tone and deep feelings.

C Major Parallel Combination (C Major-A Minor):

Shining E major– direct illustration III-her major (harmD parallel minor, - bright, majestic).

C major-minor in the chromatic system, represented by secondary D (for example, A dur, H dur), secondary S (hmoll, bmoll), etc. And everywhere we will find convincing sound-colorful parallels.

This review gives us the right to draw further conclusions.

Each row of our triad, each pitch level demonstrates the unity of interdependent modal-functional and semantic qualities of the elements of the triad tone, triad, tonality.

Each triad (major or minor), each individual sound (as a tonic) has individual colorful properties. Triad, tone are carriers of the color of their tonality and are able to preserve it (relatively speaking) in any context of the chromatic system.

This is confirmed by the fact that the two elements of our triad , - consonance and tonality, - in music theory, they are often elementarily identified. For Kurt, for example, chord and key were sometimes synonymous. “The absolute effect of a chord,” he writes, “is determined by the uniqueness of the character keys, which finds its most distinct expression in the tonic chord representing it” (3, p. 280). Analyzing the harmonic fabric, he often calls the triad tonality, endowing it with its inherent sound coloring, and what is important, these harmonically sound colors are concrete and independent of the context, modal-functional conditions and the main tonality of the work. For example, we read about A major in Lohengrin: “The flowing lightness of the tonality of A dur, and in particular, its tonic triad, acquires a leitmotif in the music of the work ...” (3, p. 95); or: “... a light chord appears E major, and then a chord with a more matte, twilight color - As dur. Consonances act as symbols of clarity and soft dreaminess…” (3, p. 262). And indeed, the tonality, represented even by its tonic, is a stable musical color. The tonic triad, for example, F major "masculine" will retain the color of its key in different contexts: being D5 / 3 in B-flat major, and S in C major, and III-rd major in D-flat major, and N5 / 3 in E major.

On the other hand, the shades of its color cannot but change. Gevaart wrote about this: “The psychological impression made on us by tone is not absolute; it is subject to laws similar to those that exist in paints. As the white color seems whiter after black, so exactly the sharp tone of G major will be dull after E major or B major ”(15, p. 48)

Undoubtedly, the phonic unity of consonance-tonality is most convincing and evident in C major, that initial primordial tonality, which took on the mission of securing a certain coloristic face to other tonality. It is also convincing in keys close to C major. However, with the removal of 4 or more signs of phonic relationships, harmonic colors become more and more complex. And yet, unity is not violated. In the shining E major, for example, the bright D5/3 is the mighty B major, the firm proud S (as we characterized it) is the joyful L major, the light minor VIth is the elegiac C-sharp minor, the active IInd degree is the excited F-sharp minor, III-I - tense G-sharp minor. This is the E major palette with a range of characteristic hard unique colors of complex shades inherent only in this tonality. Simple keys - simple pure colors (3, p. 283), distant multi-sign keys - complex colors, unusual shades. According to Schumann, “less complex feelings require simpler tonalities for their expression; more complex ones fit better into unusual ones, with which hearing is less common ”(6, p. 299).

On the phonic "personification" of tone in "Theoretical course of harmony" by S.S. Grigoriev, there are only a few words: “The phonic functions of an individual tone are more indefinite and ephemeral than its modal functions” (2, p. 167). How true this is, the presence of specific emotional characteristics of the steps in "mental effects" makes us doubt. But the brilliance of tone is much more complex, richer. The triad - tone, chord, tonality - is a system based on the unity of interdependent modal-functional and semantic qualities. Lado-phonic unity tone-chord-tonality- self-correcting system . In each element of the triad, the colorful properties of all three are explicitly or potentially present. “The smallest unit of the tonal organization - tone - is “absorbed” (by a chord), - we quote Stepan Stepanovich Grigoriev, - and the largest - tonality - ultimately turns out to be an enlarged projection of the most important properties of consonance" (2, p. 164).

Colorful sound palette MI, for example, is a smooth and calm (according to Kerven) sounding of the III degree in C major; “pure”, “delicate and transparent colors” of the mediant triad, a special light-shadow “romantic” coloring of the triads of the tertiary ratio in harmony. In the color palette of the sound of MI, there are overflows of colors of E major-minor, - from light to shining

12 sounds of the chromatic scale - 12 unique colorful inflorescences. AND each of the 12 sounds (even taken separately, out of context, a single sound) is a significant element of the semantic dictionary.

“The favorite sound of the romantics,” we read Kurt, “is fis, since it stands at the zenith of the circle of keys, the vaults of which rise above C major. As a result, romantics especially often use the D major chord, in which fis as a third tone has the greatest tension and stands out with extraordinary brightness. (…)

The sounds cis and h also attract the excited sonic imagination of romantics with their large tonal stratification from the middle - C dur. The same goes for the corresponding chords. Thus, in Pfitzner's "Rosevom Liebesgarten" the sound fis with its intense coloring peculiar to it alone acquires even a leitmotif meaning (the proclamation of spring)" (3, p. 174).

Examples are closer to us.

The sound of SALT, cheerful, poetic, ringing with a trill in the upper voices in the song and dance theme of the refrain of the finale of Beethoven's 21st sonata "Aurora" is a bright colorful touch in the overall picture of life-affirming sound, the poetry of the morning of life (Aurora is the goddess of the morning dawn).

Borodin in the romance “False Note” has a pedal in medium voices (the same “sinking key”) - the sound of FA, the sound of courageous grief, sadness - the psychological subtext of drama, bitterness, resentment, offended feelings.

In Tchaikovsky's romance "Night" to the words of Rathaus, the same sound FA in the tonic organ point (deaf measured beats) is no longer just sadness. This is the sound that “inspires fear”, this is the alarm, the herald of tragedy, death.

The tragic aspect of Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony becomes absolute in the coda of the finale. Its sound is the mournful intermittent breathing of a chorale against the background of an almost naturalistically depicted rhythm of the dying heartbeat. And all this in the mournful tragic tone of the SI sound.

ABOUT THE CIRCLE OF QUINTS

The contrast of the phonism of keys (as well as their modal functions) lies in the difference in the fifth ratio of their tonics: the fifth up is the dominant brightness, the fifth down is the virility of the plagal sound. R. Schumann expressed this idea, E Kurt shared it (“Increasingly more intense enlightenment during the transition to high sharp keys, the opposite internal dynamic process when descending to flat keys” (3, p. 280)), F. Gevart. “The closing circle of fifths,” Schumann wrote, “gives the best idea of ​​rise and fall: the so-called tritone, the middle of the octave, that is, Fis, is, as it were, the highest point, the climax, from which, through flat tones, there is a fall again to artless C major" (6, p. 299).

However, there is no proper closure, “imperceptible overflow”, - the words of Gevart, - “identification” of colors Fis and Ges dur (5, p. 48) and cannot be. The concept of "circle" in relation to keys remains conditional. Fis and Ges dur are different keys.

For vocalists, for example, flat tonalities are psychologically less difficult than sharp ones, which are hard in color and require effort in sound production. For string players (violinists), the difference in the sound of these keys is due to the fingering (psycho-physiological factors), - “close”, “compressed”, that is, with the approach of the hand to the nut of the fretboard in flat, and, on the contrary, with “stretching” in sharp .

Gevart does not have that “correct gradualness” in changing colors in major keys (contrary to his words). (The “cheerful” G major, “brilliant” D and others do not fit into this series). Moreover, there is no gradualness in epithets, and we have it in minor keys, although the dependence of the color of the minor on the major of the same name naturally suggests it (!!! the circle of analyzed cyclic works would be too small; besides, students did not and could not have I-course of proper analysis skills for such work).

Two main reasons for the inconclusiveness of the results of Gewart's work (and ours too).

Firstly. It is very difficult to characterize in words the subtle, barely perceptible emotionally colorful coloring of the tonality, and in one word it is impossible at all.

Secondly. We missed the factor of tonal symbolism in the formation of the expressive qualities of tonality (more on this in Kurt 3, p. 281; in Grigoriev 2, pp. 337-339). It is likely that cases of discrepancy between emotional characteristics and the functional correlations assumed in connection with T-D and T-S, the facts of violation of the gradual increase and decrease in emotional expression are due precisely to tonal symbolism. It is a consequence of composers' preference for certain keys to express certain emotional-figurative situations, in connection with which stable semantics have been assigned to some keys. We are talking, for example, about B minor, which, starting with Bach (Mass hmoll), acquired the meaning of mournful, tragic; about the victorious D major, which performed at the same time in figurative contrast to the B minor, and others.

The factor of convenience of individual keys for instruments - wind instruments, strings - may have a certain significance here. For a violin, for example, these are the tonalities of open strings: G, D, A, E. They give timbre richness of sound due to the resonance of open strings, but the main thing is the convenience of playing with double notes and chords. Perhaps it was not without these reasons that D minor, open in timbre, secured the significance of the tonality of a serious masculine sound, being chosen by Bach for the famous chaconne from the second partita for solo violin.

We conclude our story with beautiful words expressed by Heinrich Neuhaus, words that invariably support us throughout the work on the topic:

“It seems to me that the tonalities in which certain works are written are far from accidental, that they are historically justified, naturally developed, obeying hidden aesthetic laws, acquired their symbolism, their meaning, their expression, their meaning, their direction.”

(On the art of piano playing. M., 1961. p. 220)

Today we will continue our conversation about musical theory. You can read the beginning here in this article. So, it's time to clarify the conversation about such a concept as parallel keys. You already have an idea of ​​what a scale is, and you also know such signs as sharp and flat. Let me remind you once again that scales or keys can be major or minor. So major and minor scales with the same set of sounds are called parallel keys. When designating the scale (tonality) on the stave, they first write the treble clef (or less often the bass clef), and then write the signs (key signs). In one key, signs can be either only sharps, or only flats. In some keys, key signs are missing.

Let's consider parallel keys on the example of scales in C major and A minor.

As you can see in the image, there are no key signs in these scales, that is, we have the same set of sounds in these keys. You can also see that the tonic (first scale degree) of the parallel major is the third degree of the parallel minor, and the tonic of the parallel minor is the sixth degree of the parallel major.

With regard to the guitar, it is easy to guess that for a major chord, it is enough to move the tonic down three frets to find the tonic of the parallel minor.

Also in the picture you can see parallel keys that have key signs. This is F major with one flat at the key and its corresponding D minor. And also two keys with one sharp - G major and E minor.

There are 15 major and 15 minor keys in total. Let me explain how they are made. The maximum number of flats or sharps in the key can be 7. Plus one more major and minor keys without key characters. I will give their parallel correspondence:

C major corresponds A minor
G major corresponds E minor
F major corresponds D minor
D major corresponds B minor
A major corresponds F-sharp minor
E major corresponds C-sharp minor
B major corresponds G-sharp minor
G flat major corresponds E flat minor
D flat major corresponds B flat minor
A flat major corresponds F minor
E flat major corresponds C minor
B flat major corresponds G minor
F sharp major corresponds D sharp minor
C sharp major corresponds A-sharp minor
C flat major corresponds A flat minor

I hope this article helped you understand the concept of parallel keys in music. Also, for a complete understanding of this term, I advise you to read an article about

When musicians talk about the keys of compositions, they use expressions such as "C major" ( C), "F sharp minor" ( F#m), etc. These designations describe exactly which notes are included in each key. For example, for G major(abbreviated G) - This: to (C), re(D), mi ( E), F sharp (F#), salt (G), la (A) And si (B). Each key differs from the other in a certain set of notes.

A DJ who mixes in tonality is interested in how close the compositions are mixed with each other in notes. It would be nice if he could easily determine whether a particular track is suitable, just by looking at the name of the key. However, if you arrange the keys in a row ( C major (C), C minor (Cm), D major (D), D minor (Dm) etc.), then we get rather motley sequences of notes:

Theoretically, these are two different keys, but in terms of the composition of the notes they are no different. In the first root note is mi (E), in the second to sharp (C#). The notes are the same, therefore, tracks with such keys are completely suitable for each other in terms of harmonious mixing. However, such duplication is of little importance for a DJ, so the author proposes to change the abbreviated names of keys and get rid of their duplication:

Each next key differs from the previous one by only one note. Known before C major (C) And in A minor (Am)(see the first line of the table) in the new classification are A major and A minor, respectively.

Now if a DJ sees that two songs have keys Am And B, he can easily determine that the tracks have close notes and can be mixed without significant disharmony. This is much more convenient than dealing with long and hard-to-remember names like La Minor And F major and remember which notes contain each of them.