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Ramsay - Facility of Modulation even in the Natural Scale

embedded; and in the minor tonic chord A C E in the same way is embedded its own semitone; and in these chords they appear in their proper places as third and fourth, C, d, E f, G; and second and third, A, b C, d, E. It is these first five notes of the octave scale which in a very distinctive way constitute the natural scale, which can be harmonized consecutively in one manner. The octave is seen in this view to be a compound scale, inasmuch as a compounding method of harmonizing has to be resorted to in passing consecutively from the sixth to the seventh. Similar compounding has to be done in the minor as well.1
     Moreover, it is only from one to five, that is from C to G in ascending, which is its proper direction in the genesis, that the major in being harmonized does not admit of minor chords, but if we descend this same natural major scale of the fifth from five to one, that is from G to C, the first chord is C E G; the next chord is F A C; if this is succeeded by the minor chord A C E, there are two notes in common and one semitonic progression, as very facile step in harmony; and the following two notes are most naturally harmonized as minor chords. So modulation into the minor, even in this major scale, is very easy in descending, which is the proper direction of the minor genesis.2 In a similar way, it is only from five to one, that is from E to A in descending, which is its proper genetic direction, that the minor in being harmonized does not admit of major chords; but if we ascend this same minor scale of the fifth from one to five, the first chord is A C E, the next is E G B, and if this chord be followed by the major C E G, there are here again two notes in common and one semitonic progression; and the two notes following are then most naturally harmonized as major chords. So modulation into the major, even in this minor scale, is very natural and easy in ascending, which is the proper direction of the major genesis.3 The dominant minor and the tonic major are, like the subdominant major and the tonic minor, very intimately related in having two notes in common and one semitonic progression.
     On the other hand, between the sixth and the eighth in the octave scale,


1 See Plate XXV., Figs. 1 and 2.  2 See Plate XXV., Fig. 3.   3 See Plate XXV., Fig. 4.

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Created by Dale Pond. Last Modification: Sunday November 8, 2020 05:03:32 MST by Dale Pond.