Music Theory III (Kreeger) Chapter 3: Musical Density: Triads, Seventh Chords, and Texture

Music Theory III (Kreeger)
Chapter 3: Musical Density: Triads, Seventh Chords, and Texture
Adding Voices: Triads and Seventh Chords

Triads
Triads—Chords that comprise three distinct pitches that are stacked in thirds.
The lowest note: Root

Third above Root: “Third”
Fifth above Root: “Fifth”
Triad qualities: Major, minor, Augmented, diminished. See Laitz textbook, Ex. 3.1B, p. 108.
Voicing Triads: Spacing and Doubling

Closed Position—A compact type of spacing where it is impossible to insert an additional chord
tone between the three upper voices.
Open Position—Any voicing where there is a missing chord tone between any two of the three
upper voices.
NOTE: One often gets closed/open position mixed up with Simple/Compound Intervals (see Laitz
textbook, p. 28–29) to review.
Triad Inversions
There are three triad construction possibilities: Root, First Inversion, and Second Inversion.
When triads are in first or second inversion, the root of the chord appears somewhere above the
bass (the lowest sounding pitch).
1
It does not matter how the pitches above the bass are distributed; it is only the pitch in the bass that
determines root position or an inversion.
When inverted, each type of triad becomes progressively less stable.
Figured Bass
Many composers who were writing between 1600–1800 used a shorthand notation to describe the
intervals above bass notes. This type of shorthand is known as figured bass, or thoroughbass. See
Laitz textbook, Ex. 3.5, p. 111.
The figured bass for triads:

5 6 6
3 (3) 4
Additional Figured Bass Conventions: Abbreviations and Chromaticism

1) If there is an accidental on a pitch above the bass, the same accidental is attached to the
corresponding interval in the figured bass.
2) If an accidental occurs on the pitch that is a third above the bass, the number 3 is omitted and only
the accidental is written.
3) A plus sign or a slash through a number raises the pitch by ½ step.
4) If bass note is chromatically altered, nothing changes in the figure, since the figure indicates only
intervals above the bass.
See Laitz textbook, Ex. 3.8, p. 113.
Below is a summary of the most common figured bass symbols for triads:
1) Accidentals that appear next to the figure:
♭- lower by ½ step
#- raise by ½ step
/ or + raise by ½ step
♮ specified pitch has natural sign on it
2) Accidentals appearing alone refer to the third above the bass.
3) Chromaticism in the bass cannot—and need not—be shown in figured bass.
4) The figures do not determine the registral placement of notes in the upper voices.
5) Chromatic alterations in the figured bass apply only to the pitches that lie directly above the bass—
they do not carry through them.
6) The dash (—) indicates that a single voice moves by the intervals indicated on each end of the dash.
2
Triads and the Scale: Harmonic Analysis
Each scale degree of a Major or minor scale can support a triad constructed of pitches from that
scale. See Laitz textbook, Ex. 3.12, p. 117.
Diatonic Triads on the minor scale
Roman Numerals (RN)

Triads are represented by RNs that indicate the scale degree on which they are built. Uppercase RNs
are for Major and Augmented triads. Lowercase RNs are for minor and diminished triads.
Harmony and the Keyboard

Keyboard/piano style is a four-voice texture in which three notes/voices are played in the right
hand, within the span of one octave, and one note is played with the left hand.
3
Seventh Chords
Triads have three distinct notes. Seventh chords are slightly more complex with four notes. Take a
triad, add an additional third on top of the highest note, and one creates a seventh chord.
Types
1) MM7
2) Mm7 – also referred to as the “dominant 7th”
3) mm7
4) Half diminished
5) Fully diminished
Inverted Seventh Chords

Figured Bass:
7 6 (6) (6)
(5) 5 4 4
(3) (3) 3 2
Seventh Chords and Harmonic Analysis

Diatonic seventh chords in Major
4
Minor
Mm and MM seventh chords require uppercase RNs.

Mm, half-diminished, and fully-diminished seventh chords require lower case RNs.
Musical Texture
Texture—elements of music, including register and timbre of instrumental combinations. Also refers
to music’s density (i. e., the number of voice and their spacing).
Monophonic texture—single-line melody with no accompaniment.
Polyphonic texture—combination of two or more melodies so there is no clear distinction between

melody and accompaniment.
Homophonic texture—cross between monophonic and polyphonic textures, given that there is
usually a clear melody accompanied by additional voices.
Analytical Method
Harmonic Rhythm—the rate of harmonic change
Alberti Bass—common, broken-chord accompaniment used heavily during the Classical era (1800–
1850)
Harmonic Reduction
Often it is helpful to simplify dense homophonic and polyphonic textures by notating the underlying
harmony in closed position.

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Music Theory III (Kreeger)

Chapter 3: Musical Density: Triads, Seventh Chords, and Texture

Adding Voices: Triads and Seventh Chords

The lowest note: Root

Voicing Triads: Spacing and Doubling

When inverted, each type of triad becomes progressively less stable.

The figured bass for triads:

Additional Figured Bass Conventions: Abbreviations and Chromaticism

See Laitz textbook, Ex. 3.8, p. 113.

See Laitz textbook, Ex. 3.10, p. 115.

Diatonic Triads on the minor scale

Roman Numerals (RN)

Harmony and the Keyboard

See Laitz textbook, Ex. 3.17, p. 121.

See Laitz textbook, Ex. 3.19, p. 124.

Inverted Seventh Chords

Seventh Chords and Harmonic Analysis

Mm and MM seventh chords require uppercase RNs.

Monophonic texture—single-line melody with no accompaniment.

Polyphonic texture—combination of two or more melodies so there is no clear distinction between

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