Is there a musical term for this ?harmonic concept?!
Question: Is there a musical term for this !?harmonic concept!?
say you have a tonic triad in a minor key!.!. say A minor and form a minor chord out of the submediant (scale degree 6)!.!.!. so in A minor this would be A minor-F minor!.!. so you're letting the leading tone serve as the third of the chord built on the submediant (sort of!.!. if it's F minor then the third is Ab not G#!.!.)!.!. is there a term for this concept and how often is it encountered in classical!? it sounds very film movie-ish (if you play the progression on a string setting it sounds like lord of the rings!.!. lol) and I like the sound!. so yeah, just curious!.!. thanks!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
Answers:
This is called the Tarnhelm in contemporary theory circles, after the leitmotif of the same name in Wagner's Ring cycle!. You can also analyze it with Neo-Riemannian transformations as simply the LP pair!.
The reason it sounds like film music is that it is a semi-cliche in the film world for the "bad guy" motif!. From the early 1930s onward, the Tarnhelm has been associated with many villians or shady characters!. It is also altered from time to time instead of the minor triad built on ^6 to the major - see Elfman's main theme from the first "Batman" movie (cm -> Ab -> cm)!.
Dr!. Scott Murphy has done extensive research on this subject - I'm sure you can find some of his writings on film music in the Journal of Music Theory!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
The reason it sounds like film music is that it is a semi-cliche in the film world for the "bad guy" motif!. From the early 1930s onward, the Tarnhelm has been associated with many villians or shady characters!. It is also altered from time to time instead of the minor triad built on ^6 to the major - see Elfman's main theme from the first "Batman" movie (cm -> Ab -> cm)!.
Dr!. Scott Murphy has done extensive research on this subject - I'm sure you can find some of his writings on film music in the Journal of Music Theory!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
I think it's something to do with substitution!. Sorry I'm not more helpful, but it's a pretty tricky subject!. Going from Am to Fm suggests you're modulating to the tritone (Eb) using a ii V I progression (hence the Fm, as it's ii of Eb)!. Tritone substitution is common in jazz, which is why it may only have appeared in classical music recently!.
I can see why you think it's pretty film-y, as it's a direct lift from Lord of the Rings :-P I think it's even in the same key!.!.!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
I can see why you think it's pretty film-y, as it's a direct lift from Lord of the Rings :-P I think it's even in the same key!.!.!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
I tried it and really sound film-ish lol but I do not think there is a terminology for it!. It is neither a cadence!. a I-VI cadence does not exist!. To me it sounds even better if the third of the submediant is not lowered!. Www@Enter-QA@Com
I don't believe it has a name, nor is it common!.!.!. but it sure does sound great, especially when it leads to an F# diminished chord!Www@Enter-QA@Com