January 19, 1922	MUSICAL COURIER	7
A Little Primer of Basic Principles by
FRANK PATTERSON
(Copyright, 1922, by The Musical Courier Co.)
EIGHTH INSTALLMENT
THE PERFECT MODERNIST
There	is	no	subtlety here. It is	altogether too	bald for anything but popular
music, yet	it is interesting to note	how	the tonic of G	merges into the dominant of C,
and how the rhythmic passing diminished chord is used so as not to reach the cadence too soon, exactly as in Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” (Compare Ex. 20.) Nearly all serious music, if it be melodic and rhythmic, has this same element of key circles, the difference between popular and serious music being largely in the rhythmic irregularity of serious music and the subtle merging of chord into chord and key into key. These passing keys are not to be considered in the light of transpositions, for each of these tonic chords is found in several keys, or as alterations of some one of the leading chords of the principal key	or	its related keys.	In	the following,	for instance, the key of A flat
is treated	as	an	altered tonic of	C.	The suspense,	or expectation of resolution, is
felt throughout, and the return to the principal key seems so entirely natural that no sense of transposition is felt at any point. (Example 84.)
Compare the chord marked * (Example 84) with last bar of Example 73, with third bar of Example 66, and with Example 78.
Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” has the appearance of starting in a key not the principal key of the piece, but this is merely a deceptive appearance. The chords are all actually altered tonics. (Example 85.)
This same first chord is found as the altered dominant of F in Debussy’s “Colloque Sentimental.” (Example 86.)
Pedal-bass has already been mentioned, and here is a clear case of it. Any organist knows that one may play almost any harmony or series of harmonies with a pedal bass—yet when some modern composer applies this simple rule (especially if he leaves out the pedal bass) a mystery is made of it and the formalists cry that he has no respect for tonality. Many an organist who would indignantly deny any leaning toward modernism shows the same scorn for tonality in his improvisations with pedal bass. The fact is that if the bass is sustained and the music sufficiently non-rhythmic the most radical phrases and progressions are dismissed with a single word—“episode.” Strings of diminished sevenths, augmented sixths, triads, sevenths, ninths and all sorts of dissonances are reeled off regardless of traditional rules. Generally such progressions are perfectly correct. The taste of the player guides his hand and he comes perhaps nearer to the basic principles of music than he ever does when composing with the traditional rules in mind.
Taken chromatically, we find that the tonic triad of every key may be altered from some chord in the key of C, therefore, also, from every other key. D flat may be an altered sub-dominant. (Example 87.)
Ex. 87
D is closely related. E flat we have already examined, E natural is closely related, F is the sub-dominant, F sharp or G flat may be an altered dominant. (Example 88.)
G is the dominant, A flat we have had above, A natural is related through the relative minor, B flat may be an altered dominant (Example 89a), and B natural either an altered dominant (Example 89b) or an altered tonic.
Care must always be exercised not to suggest keys not intended. This often has to do with rhythm and phrasing. Notice that the Mendelssohn example does not suggest the key of E minor, and the F natural in the melody has no effect of being unexpected.
A word regarding modulation will not be out of place here: Modulation cannot be said to be bad or objectionable or in bad taste. But two things had best be taken into account. First—Complete modulation within the phrase is likely to destroy the phrase-feeling important to melody. Second—If, however, the modulation is natural, not forced, it is generally a mistake to force one’s self back into the original key because of tradition. In most cases passing modulation is better than complete modulation, but in nearly every case if the writing is natural, not forced, the result will be satisfactory.
[In the next installment the subject of “Melody” is terminated and the various elements of “Modernism” are discussed. It will be discovered that the author does not hesitate to express his opinion. He says, in fact, that some elements are evidently useful, some probably useless, and some of doubtful utility. But in all of this he urges the reader to take an unemotional, unbiased view of the matter, and to believe that cosmic taste is the only real guide in art, the taste not of any one individual nor of any class of individuals, but of the whole world of music lovers. He points out that this taste may change that, in a hundred years or so. Schoenberg may sound as euphonic to the people of that day as Mozart does to us,—The Editor.]
[To what extent melody can be introduced into the modernistic idiom has not yet been made clear. We have all of us deplored the absence of it, and' we have suspected that perhaps there might be something radically wrong in the modernistic idiom in view of the fact that it seems to make sustained melody difficult, if not impossible. The author of the “Perfect Modernist” makes no effort to offer a solution to this problem. He outlines the elements of melody and melodic form and leaves its application to the reader.—The Editor.]
Repeated notes are used more frequently in vocal than in instrumental music. They are, indeed, an important and essential feature of vocal music, especially of dramatic . music. This gives the voice a rhythmic importance not even equalled by the drums. (Example 80. “Aida.”)
i
Ex. 80
SB If
De-fend thy-self.
Radames, Radames, Radames,
This is very important and must not be overlooked. The voice may never be treated as an instrument or as part of the harmony or counterpoint (except, of course, in choral music). One of the great and notable failures of modern composition has resulted from a neglect of this. Even when accompanied by orchestra or organ the voice always leads. The average mind instinctively follows the melody of the voice, and as this seems to be an inherent trait, it is doubtful if it will ever be otherwise. The voice droning along in an indeterminate way above an accompaniment, which was certainly not written for it, but to which it has been more or less skillfully fitted, pan never be good. But if the voice has a real countermelody, or if the voice recites the part, the result is striking.
What is meant above by the unwillingness of the student to change his idea will now be illustrated. Suppose we have a thought in waltz tempo beginning as follows (Example 81) :
—ÿ—n			—H					i־־־r	0		*—		1=	—	—		f=		n
iy	—									—	—	—	U				—	—	—
We find that the first two bars are good, the second two bars not so good because they suggest a cadence, an ending.
This passage might, of course, be used just as it is. You never can tell what genius will do in a rare burst of inspiration. But, as an ordinary, everyday, workshop tune, it does not promise	results in its	present form. Yet it is	just	the	sort of thing
that the pupil brings to	the teacher,	discouraged because he	finds it	hard to find
a continuation for it, and attributes this failure rather to lack of ideas than to lack of technic.
Whatever is not good, that is, workable, must be discarded. If the difficulty is, as here, at the beginning of the third bar, cut it out. It is, however, a bad plan to discard the	whole of the germ of	an	idea, and it	is a still worse plan to leave any
composition	unfinished. It is well	to	remember that nearly all of the	great masters
turned out much that is worthless. But they left very little unfinished, and all that they did was technically correct. (It is doubtful if they could have left their great masterpieces without the basis of this solid, well constructed foundation.)
With the above doubtful start what is to be done? Wait for an idea? Not one of the great masters	ever did that. As Tschaikowsky puts it,	“Ideas come with
hard work.” No; if the	difficulty lies	in the third bar, let us	get	rid	of it and try
something else. Instead of a scale passage let us try some other form; instead of F, the first	note of the bar, let us	try	G or A; let	us try also another	rhythm! The
trial of this	one note, or of two or	three notes, will	immediately suggest	a continuation.
(E-xample 82.)
à J jjj J, j:
Ex. 82
W*f
pm
Siri
To
Dorn.
Tonic
This combines scale and chord forms and produces at least a workable phrase, even though it lacks beauty.
There are so many possibilities in the continuation of such a melody that only a very few suggestions will be made here. To attempt to cover the whole ground would simply lead to confusion. The student will do well to examine carefully the harmony of a great many melodies in order to discover what is meant by the circle of chords and keys. This is a thing that must be felt rather than learned by rule or rote, but if a decidedly rare and complete example is wanted, a song popular a year or two ago, entitled “Smiles,” is recommended. Here is the harmony as I remember it (Example 83) :
Ex.83
(1) Dominant of C, (2) Tonic of C, (3) Dominant of A minor, (4) Tonic of A minor, (5) Dominant of G, (6) Tonic of G merging into Dominant of C, (7) Dominant of F, (8) Tonic of F, (9) Passing Diminished Chord, (10) Tonic 4-6 of C, (11) Dominant of C, (12) Tonic of C. Here we have the main key, the relative minor, the key of the dominant, the key of the sub-dominant and a return to the original key.
The form of it might be represented by the following diagram (Example .83a) :
C tonic 4-6 G dom.