Hi, Bob You wrote: > That's Functional Harmony -- the >relationship between chords setting up certain expectations. The same is true >of modulation. The excursion to a distant key center sets up a tension >independent of the tuning, for those well-versed in the language of harmony. > >Bob Davis > To me, this is one of those "universal language" kind of things .. i.e., the reaction to modulation is like the reaction to melodic contour and dynamic changes: innate and nearly universal. Open to debate, of course. Cultural differences and individual aptitudes may matter. But in Western countries (and probably, more or less anywhere these days) even those who can't carry a tune in a bucket understand V - I as an ending of a sort, and V - V as hanging in the air. It's only a step further to hearing that a whole phrase or section of a piece has changed center. Well, perhaps that _is_ what you meant by "well-versed." I think we are in agreement as to the greater importance of functional harmony, compared to temperament. Temperament is a learned taste, not an automatic reaction. What one is used to sounds "right" and everything else is "out of tune" until one has learned it as well. Then it, also, in a way is "right". Those with poor pitch discernment may never hear the differences at all, yet still can react to functional harmony. So, I would say that the effect of functional harmony is far more important and universal than reactions to temperament changes in distant keys. Not that they can't work together: just that one is an order of magnitude _more_ important than the other. Regards, Susan Susan Kline P.O. Box 1651 Philomath, OR 97370 skline@proaxis.com "Only in a crazy world would jewels be worth more than tools." -- Ashleigh Brilliant
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