User:Aura/Aura's Ideas on Tonality: Difference between revisions

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While in Modern Western Music theory and in Bass-Up tonality in general, the Bass largely plays the role of accompaniment, playing host to chords and the occasional countermelody as the Treble plays host to the melody, these roles are actually reversed in Treble-Down Tonality. This has the effect of switching the roles of numerous instruments, including various percussion instruments, therefore, the roles of Bass and Treble need to be seen as dependant on the tonality's direction of construction. Furthermore, one needs to be mindful of the fact that the way individual pitches are stacked together to make chords is also affected dramatically by the difference between Treble-Down Tonality and Bass-Up Tonality- specifically of the fact that while in Modern Western Music theory starts with the lower pitches and adds progressively higher pitches on top to make chords- hence the term "Bass-Up Tonality", Treble-Down tonality, as per the name, sees one start with the higher pitches and add progressively lower pitches underneath. I should point out that the same types of intervals that are stacked in Bass-Up tonality are the same types of intervals that are stacked in Treble-Down Tonality, and they are even stacked in the same order- however, due to the direction of chord construction being different between Bass-Up tonality and Treble-Down tonality, this results in the chords having different shapes, and even where Treble-Down chords sound identical to Bass-Up chords, the Treble-Down and Bass-Up chords have different names due to being constructed differently, and having different follow-ups in chord progression.

Take for example a ~~pitch~~ consisting of the notes F-Natural, A-Flat and C-Natural. This would be immediately recognizable as an F-Minor triad in Bass-Up tonality, and octave reduplication of the root would thus mean a second F-Natural is placed above the C-Natural. However, in Treble-Down Tonality, this same triad would actually be a C-Antimajor triad, as the interval pattern starting from the top note, C-Natural, is the same as that of the corresponding C-Major, with a major third interval between the first and fifth of the chord, and a minor third between the third and the fifth, and furthermore, when one wants to reduplicate the root for a C-Antimajor chord, one would add a second C-Natrual below the F-Natural. Just in reduplicating the root of the chord, the otherwise identical F-Minor and C-Antimajor triads can be differentiated. When one wants to add say a major seventh to these two triads, the results differ again due to the direction of construction. In this case, the F-Minor triad would see an E-Natural added above the C-Natural to create a F-Minor Major Seventh chord, while adding a major seventh to the C-Antimajor triad would result in adding a D-Flat below the F-Natural, with the resulting chord- a C-Antimajor-Seventh chord- sounding identical to a D-Flat Major Seventh chord when octave reduplication of the root is not present. When octave reduplication of the root is present for a C-Antimajor-Seventh chord, one will immediately think of this chord as dissonant because of the clash between the Seventh and the octave reduplicated root, however, the Antimajor-Seventh chord actually functions as the Treble-Down counterpart to the Major-Seventh chord, and thus, the Antimajor-Seventh chord is more properly considered a consonance of the same caliber as it's Bass-Up counterpart despite the dissonance in the bass. I can already anticipate someone asking why these two chords have similar follow-ups when they sound so different to the ear, and the answer to that is that in both Bass-Up tonality and Treble-Down tonality, dissonant intervals close to the main iteration of the chord root are dispreferred, and are analysed as dissonances that need to be resolved.

Take for example a chord consisting of the notes F-Natural, A-Flat and C-Natural. This would be immediately recognizable as an F-Minor triad in Bass-Up tonality, and octave reduplication of the root would thus mean a second F-Natural is placed above the C-Natural. However, in Treble-Down Tonality, this same triad would actually be a C-Antimajor triad, as the interval pattern starting from the top note, C-Natural, is the same as that of the corresponding C-Major, with a major third interval between the first and fifth of the chord, and a minor third between the third and the fifth, and furthermore, when one wants to reduplicate the root for a C-Antimajor chord, one would add a second C-Natrual below the F-Natural. Just in reduplicating the root of the chord, the otherwise identical F-Minor and C-Antimajor triads can be differentiated. When one wants to add say a major seventh to these two triads, the results differ again due to the direction of construction. In this case, the F-Minor triad would see an E-Natural added above the C-Natural to create a F-Minor Major Seventh chord, while adding a major seventh to the C-Antimajor triad would result in adding a D-Flat below the F-Natural, with the resulting chord- a C-Antimajor-Seventh chord- sounding identical to a D-Flat Major Seventh chord when octave reduplication of the root is not present. When octave reduplication of the root is present for a C-Antimajor-Seventh chord, one will immediately think of this chord as dissonant because of the clash between the Seventh and the octave reduplicated root, however, the Antimajor-Seventh chord actually functions as the Treble-Down counterpart to the Major-Seventh chord, and thus, the Antimajor-Seventh chord is more properly considered a consonance of the same caliber as it's Bass-Up counterpart despite the dissonance in the bass. I can already anticipate someone asking why these two chords have similar follow-ups when they sound so different to the ear, and the answer to that is that in both Bass-Up tonality and Treble-Down tonality, dissonant intervals close to the main iteration of the chord root are dispreferred, and are analysed as dissonances that need to be resolved.

Of course, there are more examples of things that need to be reevaluated in light of the existence of both Bass-Up and Treble-Down tonality, however, I cannot begin to cover all of these things here on this page. Suffice to say, however, that when one looks at the big picture, one will see that Treble-Down tonality is the exact mirror image of the more conventional Bass-Up tonality, a fact which lends to interesting and unexpected musical possibilities that are not present in more conventional systems like those of Hunt.

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 While in Modern Western Music theory and in Bass-Up tonality in general, the Bass largely plays the role of accompaniment, playing host to chords and the occasional countermelody as the Treble plays host to the melody, these roles are actually reversed in Treble-Down Tonality.  This has the effect of switching the roles of numerous instruments, including various percussion instruments, therefore, the roles of Bass and Treble need to be seen as dependant on the tonality's direction of construction.  Furthermore, one needs to be mindful of the fact that the way individual pitches are stacked together to make chords is also affected dramatically by the difference between Treble-Down Tonality and Bass-Up Tonality- specifically of the fact that while in Modern Western Music theory starts with the lower pitches and adds progressively higher pitches on top to make chords- hence the term "Bass-Up Tonality", Treble-Down tonality, as per the name, sees one start with the higher pitches and add progressively lower pitches underneath.  I should point out that the same types of intervals that are stacked in Bass-Up tonality are the same types of intervals that are stacked in Treble-Down Tonality, and they are even stacked in the same order- however, due to the direction of chord construction being different between Bass-Up tonality and Treble-Down tonality, this results in the chords having different shapes, and even where Treble-Down chords sound identical to Bass-Up chords, the Treble-Down and Bass-Up chords have different names due to being constructed differently, and having different follow-ups in chord progression.
-Take for example a pitch consisting of the notes F-Natural, A-Flat and C-Natural.  This would be immediately recognizable as an F-Minor triad in Bass-Up tonality, and octave reduplication of the root would thus mean a second F-Natural is placed above the C-Natural.  However, in Treble-Down Tonality, this same triad would actually be a C-Antimajor triad, as the interval pattern starting from the top note, C-Natural, is the same as that of the corresponding C-Major, with a major third interval between the first and fifth of the chord, and a minor third between the third and the fifth, and furthermore, when one wants to reduplicate the root for a C-Antimajor chord, one would add a second C-Natrual below the F-Natural.  Just in reduplicating the root of the chord, the otherwise identical F-Minor and C-Antimajor triads can be differentiated.  When one wants to add say a major seventh to these two triads, the results differ again due to the direction of construction.  In this case, the F-Minor triad would see an E-Natural added above the C-Natural to create a F-Minor Major Seventh chord, while adding a major seventh to the C-Antimajor triad would result in adding a D-Flat below the F-Natural, with the resulting chord- a C-Antimajor-Seventh chord- sounding identical to a D-Flat Major Seventh chord when octave reduplication of the root is not present.  When octave reduplication of the root is present for a C-Antimajor-Seventh chord, one will immediately think of this chord as dissonant because of the clash between the Seventh and the octave reduplicated root, however, the Antimajor-Seventh chord actually functions as the Treble-Down counterpart to the Major-Seventh chord, and thus, the Antimajor-Seventh chord is more properly considered a consonance of the same caliber as it's Bass-Up counterpart despite the dissonance in the bass.  I can already anticipate someone asking why these two chords have similar follow-ups when they sound so different to the ear, and the answer to that is that in both Bass-Up tonality and Treble-Down tonality, dissonant intervals close to the main iteration of the chord root are dispreferred, and are analysed as dissonances that need to be resolved.
+Take for example a chord consisting of the notes F-Natural, A-Flat and C-Natural.  This would be immediately recognizable as an F-Minor triad in Bass-Up tonality, and octave reduplication of the root would thus mean a second F-Natural is placed above the C-Natural.  However, in Treble-Down Tonality, this same triad would actually be a C-Antimajor triad, as the interval pattern starting from the top note, C-Natural, is the same as that of the corresponding C-Major, with a major third interval between the first and fifth of the chord, and a minor third between the third and the fifth, and furthermore, when one wants to reduplicate the root for a C-Antimajor chord, one would add a second C-Natrual below the F-Natural.  Just in reduplicating the root of the chord, the otherwise identical F-Minor and C-Antimajor triads can be differentiated.  When one wants to add say a major seventh to these two triads, the results differ again due to the direction of construction.  In this case, the F-Minor triad would see an E-Natural added above the C-Natural to create a F-Minor Major Seventh chord, while adding a major seventh to the C-Antimajor triad would result in adding a D-Flat below the F-Natural, with the resulting chord- a C-Antimajor-Seventh chord- sounding identical to a D-Flat Major Seventh chord when octave reduplication of the root is not present.  When octave reduplication of the root is present for a C-Antimajor-Seventh chord, one will immediately think of this chord as dissonant because of the clash between the Seventh and the octave reduplicated root, however, the Antimajor-Seventh chord actually functions as the Treble-Down counterpart to the Major-Seventh chord, and thus, the Antimajor-Seventh chord is more properly considered a consonance of the same caliber as it's Bass-Up counterpart despite the dissonance in the bass.  I can already anticipate someone asking why these two chords have similar follow-ups when they sound so different to the ear, and the answer to that is that in both Bass-Up tonality and Treble-Down tonality, dissonant intervals close to the main iteration of the chord root are dispreferred, and are analysed as dissonances that need to be resolved.
 Of course, there are more examples of things that need to be reevaluated in light of the existence of both Bass-Up and Treble-Down tonality, however, I cannot begin to cover all of these things here on this page.  Suffice to say, however, that when one looks at the big picture, one will see that Treble-Down tonality is the exact mirror image of the more conventional Bass-Up tonality, a fact which lends to interesting and unexpected musical possibilities that are not present in more conventional systems like those of Hunt.