User:Unque/22-TET Plagal Theory: Difference between revisions

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'''Note: this page reflects a depreciated project. The page itself has been preserved for the purposes of documentation, but the fictional context of it is no longer being worked on, and as such the musical context is unfinished, and never will be.'''

"Plagal Theory" (Eleutheric: ''Χωρη Πλαγικη'', ''Xoree Plagikee'' /ʃori plaʝici/) is a fictitious alternative music theory popularized across Europe in an alternate history. As such, the concepts discussed here, and the history thereof, should be understood to be fictitious, and therefore not necessarily applicable to the real world; specifically, the scales and their modes are named in accordance with the in-universe traditions, and are not legitimate proposals for conventions to use in real-world xenharmonic theory.

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All intervals are categorized as "soft" and "hard" consonances and dissonances, with "hard" categories being the strongest resolutions and tensions, and "soft" categories being passing intervals that are used more often, without extreme weight placed on their harmonic content. These categories arose from rules of counterpoint composition, with the most concordant intervals being favored as ending points and the least concordant intervals being used as controlled dissonances to provide tension and set up for resolutions.

In the earliest forms of contrapuntal polyphony, chords were traditionally built by combining two hard consonances either over one another or over the same root, such that the third interval introduced was a soft consonance: for instance, seven steps and thirteen steps are both hard consonances, and their difference of six steps are a soft consonance, which means that [0 7 13]\22 is a valid chord. Later expansions of this counterpoint system utilized more soft consonances and soft dissonances as a form of controlled tension; for instance, the intervals at five and eight steps are both soft consonances, which means that [0 5 13]\22 and [0 8 13]\11 are valid chords under the later expansion that were not valid prior.

== The Plagal Fugue ==

The Plagal Fugue is a specific prescriptive style of composition that arises from the rules of modal counterpoint. A Plagal Fugue is built around a progression of underlying chords that determine where the melody and its countermelodies can and cannot move. Voicings in this Plagal Fugue can be broken down into four main parts:

[[File:Plagal Fugue in G- Lydian.mp3|thumb|A plagal fugue in the key of G♯ Lydian, displaying the four voices of the plagal fugue as well as the elements of modal harmony.]]

* The Meelus (μηλος) is the most prominent voice, and plays the primary melodies.

* The Antees (αντης) is the second-most prominent; it usually plays a part that is homorhythmic with the Meelus, but using different chord tones.

* The Uphras (ουφρας) is typically a higher-pitched, fast-paced line that plays overtop the Meelus, with tones from the same chords.

* The Threenus (ϑρηνος) is a lower-pitched voice that drones a singular tone for the duration of a chord.

Plagal Fugues tend to be divided into three short movements: a slower Prelude that introduces the modality (which is foregone in many pieces), a Core that states the theme and provides variations upon it, and a bombastic Finale that modulates from the standard into the plagal mode and restates the melody under this new harmonic context.

[[Category:Worldbuilding]]

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-{{Novelty}}
+{{breadcrumb|Beyond the Xenverse}}
+{{worldbuilding}}
+'''Note: this page reflects a depreciated project.  The page itself has been preserved for the purposes of documentation, but the fictional context of it is no longer being worked on, and as such the musical context is unfinished, and never will be.'''
 "Plagal Theory" (Eleutheric: ''Χωρη Πλαγικη'', ''Xoree Plagikee'' /ʃori plaʝici/) is a fictitious alternative music theory popularized across Europe in an alternate history. As such, the concepts discussed here, and the history thereof, should be understood to be fictitious, and therefore not necessarily applicable to the real world; specifically, the scales and their modes are named in accordance with the in-universe traditions, and are not legitimate proposals for conventions to use in real-world xenharmonic theory.
@@ Line 291: / Line 295: @@
 All intervals are categorized as "soft" and "hard" consonances and dissonances, with "hard" categories being the strongest resolutions and tensions, and "soft" categories being passing intervals that are used more often, without extreme weight placed on their harmonic content.  These categories arose from rules of counterpoint composition, with the most concordant intervals being favored as ending points and the least concordant intervals being used as controlled dissonances to provide tension and set up for resolutions.
+In the earliest forms of contrapuntal polyphony, chords were traditionally built by combining two hard consonances either over one another or over the same root, such that the third interval introduced was a soft consonance: for instance, seven steps and thirteen steps are both hard consonances, and their difference of six steps are a soft consonance, which means that [0 7 13]\22 is a valid chord.  Later expansions of this counterpoint system utilized more soft consonances and soft dissonances as a form of controlled tension; for instance, the intervals at five and eight steps are both soft consonances, which means that [0 5 13]\22 and [0 8 13]\11 are valid chords under the later expansion that were not valid prior.
+== The Plagal Fugue ==
+The Plagal Fugue is a specific prescriptive style of composition that arises from the rules of modal counterpoint.  A Plagal Fugue is built around a progression of underlying chords that determine where the melody and its countermelodies can and cannot move.  Voicings in this Plagal Fugue can be broken down into four main parts:
+[[File:Plagal Fugue in G- Lydian.mp3|thumb|A plagal fugue in the key of G♯ Lydian, displaying the four voices of the plagal fugue as well as the elements of modal harmony.]]
+* The Meelus (μηλος) is the most prominent voice, and plays the primary melodies.
+* The Antees (αντης) is the second-most prominent; it usually plays a part that is homorhythmic with the Meelus, but using different chord tones.
+* The Uphras (ουφρας) is typically a higher-pitched, fast-paced line that plays overtop the Meelus, with tones from the same chords.
+* The Threenus (ϑρηνος) is a lower-pitched voice that drones a singular tone for the duration of a chord.
+Plagal Fugues tend to be divided into three short movements: a slower Prelude that introduces the modality (which is foregone in many pieces), a Core that states the theme and provides variations upon it, and a bombastic Finale that modulates from the standard into the plagal mode and restates the melody under this new harmonic context.
 [[Category:Worldbuilding]]