SOUND PATTERNS

Introduction

Happy New Year!

The material in this text has been preparatory to this point, as we begin an examination of the Common Practice Period. Of course, music did not suddenly change on 31 December 1600... it was a gradual process. But, the change was profound.

The harmonic dimension

Perhaps the greatest change was the codification of the harmonic dimension in music. While line and counterpoint were still a composer's greatest concern, there was a growing sense of the grammar of harmony, and this is the direction this text now moves, developing a vocabulary of chords.