On Feb 4, 2007, at 8:11 PM, A-NO-NE Music wrote:
Sorry for OT question, but I can't think of any better place to ask
this.
Kinda embarrassed to ask. Please go easy on me. I did google around
but couldn't find anything helpful.
I remember, in traditional harmony, you are not supposed to double the
3rd, but I don't remember what is the reason for this. The sound
isn't
obvious to my ear as it does with parallel 5th and parallel 8th.
And no doubling on the leading note, is another one I am vague
about its
reason. Is this limited to SATB, or the leading note is not
allowed to
be doubled even though the voices are more than 4?
I'm sure there are theory gods here on the list to help you out, but
it was mostly the MAJOR third that is the last note to be doubled.
This normally means that with four voices, there is only one major
third. Once you get above six or seven voices, then the major third
is more likely to be doubled. The general rule (non-specific) is that
any note with a lot of tension on it should have less doubling than
notes with less tension do.
Minor thirds could be doubled, at least, more so than major thirds.
In most cases, it is the bass note that gets doubled most of the time
(first inversion being a notable exception) but the needs of voice
leading can cause some rarer note to be doubled gracefully from time
to time. You are correct that the leading tone is very resistant to
being doubled, more so than any other note.
Of course, in late Romantic and early 20th C works (as well as jazz!)
these doubling rules go out the window.
I saw another explanation of this that intrigues me. It stated that
the stable notes of the major scale are the perfect intervals 1, 4
and 5th degrees, and these notes can sustain more doubling than the
other, less stable, scale notes. In effect this means that the major
triads in a key generally allow the root and 5th doubled, whereas the
minor triads can allow the third doubled. No explanation was given
for minor keys!
As to the reason, well, as one of my theory teachers put it, "Nobody
from the period did it. That's the reason we don't either when we are
writing in their style." Fair enough, I guess. (This was in answer to
why I couldn't have parallel fifths when the second fifth was
diminished, which was NOT strictly parallel fifths in my opinion.)
Christopher
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
