The Most Common 6/3-Chords in Baroque Harmony / Counterpoint / Partimento

[00:00:00]Sixth chords are actually a pretty tough term to spell and as well a tough and actually complex topic. During the Baroque era, it's definitely a crucial device as its primary field of application is to create linearity. So, as you will see in the video, sixth chords are usually embedded in specific voice leading scenarios that lead to the sound that we tend to identify as Baroque music. If you know the channel, you know I prefer to teach examples instead of principles. So, I decided to lead you through a bunch of typical situations that I tend to call voice leading paradigms because all of them are style defining and reoccurring micro schemas. But, I want to be at least a little bit systematic. Parliamental people, in case they are taking their job seriously, categorize and teach bass figures such as the sixth chord [snorts] in regard of the general syntactical modes in which they typically occur.

[00:00:59]>> Hey.

[00:01:00]>> So, in this video, you're going to see sixth chords in the context of sequences, sixth chords in the context of cadences, and sixth chords in a specific segment of the rule of the octave by which I mean chord combinations that can be narrowed down to progressions in which dominant sonorities participate. All following examples are designed as actual exercises that not just demonstrate paradigmatic voice leading patterns, but can be memorized and practiced at the keyboard via transposition and later on recombined into bigger musical phrases.

[00:01:35]If possible, I usually start with sequences because the mechanism inherent in sequences [music] simply plays into muscle memory. You basically just have to transfer a voice leading configuration up or down a scale.

[00:01:51]And the most evident and beginner-friendly of those is of course the faux bourdon, which is simply a parallel motion of six chords. This example here descends through the entire scale until you hit the sixth chord on the second degree, which contains the leading note and thus provides the pivot between the sequence and the cadence.

[00:02:14]>> [music] >> You can as well shift six chords up the scale. And just as in the previous example, the leading note participates in the chord that connects sequence and cadence because it leads you back to the tonic from where you can initiate the ending formula.

[00:02:35]>> [music] [music] >> And for starters, a faux bourdon usually works just with this particular position, as otherwise you would produce consecutive fifths between the two upper voices, as in this example. Not good.

[00:02:55]Don't do it. Handel included two short faux bourdon sections in his exercise number seven to present both possible directions. So, after these preliminary exercises, this definitely would be a parlamento to work on.

[00:03:09]>> [music] [music] [music] >> The other important sequential standard pattern that includes six chords is the three down to up zigzag. This sequence demonstrates a most common sixth chord voice leading paradigm, as the contrary motion of outer voices into a root position triad is one of the most prevalent counterpoints in this regard, and you will see it several times in the video. Let's listen to this.

[00:03:58]>> [music] >> When you closely compare these two examples, you can recognize that the one on the bottom structurally is exactly the same as the example above, but decorated with a continuous walking bass. Though the upper voices remain completely unaffected by the bass movement as they are identical. I just wanted to show a very common pattern to decorate the bassline of the sequence.

[00:04:31]>> [music] >> And why not showing a standard lick for the upper voice? Cuz I really think this is a decoration everybody should know.

[00:04:45]And such a simple diminution type is usually drawn from the original scaffolding with the arrows indicating that the 3-6 pattern that define the outer voices of the original three-voice setting is still intact.

[00:05:01]>> [music] [music] >> When it comes to cadences, there is one particular six chord I want to focus on in this video, and this is the pre-cadential six chord on the pre-cadential fourth degree that occasionally occurs before one hits a 5-1 cadence. There is a very common beginner's mistake, which is to connect the chords like this because they obey a beginner's rule which says that if you have common tones in two chords, they will remain in the same voice. Following this rule in this case leads to an unidiomatic voice leading and even worse in minor cuz you'll obtain an augmented second in the middle voice. So, I guess you internalize the contrary motion instead when it comes to this chord.

[00:06:03]Here's two paradigmatic patterns in major and minor.

[00:06:06]>> [music] [music] [music] >> You maybe noticed the flat and brackets, which refers to a specific option that goes exclusively for minor keys. You obtain the so-called Neapolitan chord when you lower the pre conditional sixth, which lends a harsh sound to the cadence.

[00:06:44]>> [music] >> We've got a badass over here.

[00:06:47]>> In this context, I need to show you one little thing because this is going to become a very important option later on.

[00:06:53]I'm talking about a specific form of evasion where the dominant doesn't resolve with the bass clause, but bends over into a passing note that descends into the third degree of the scale. You can see that this chord is the first inversion tonic, a sixth chord, and that's why it's part of the video. And although you still can call this a cadence, it's definitely less conclusive than the usual authentic cadence as it keeps up the musical flow and provides a less strong phrase incision. May seem insignificant, but it's actually a super useful device and can occur in all kinds of situations. So, I recommend to practice this little pattern as well.

[00:07:33]>> [music] >> If you want to see this device in action at the beginning of Handel's ninth exercise, he uses the evaded cadence to initiate sequential motion.

[00:07:56]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Now, for this segment of the video, I want to start with the two-voice counterpoint schema. Those two melodic lines often go hand in hand because they create an invertible fabric. Both work as bass and as well as upper voice.

[00:08:45]>> [music] >> The common inner voice filling leads to sixth chord sonorities that a more modern view on harmony would interpret as dominant sonorities.

[00:08:56]When you have the leading note in the bass, it's clear that this is a first inversion chord of the five.

[00:09:03]>> [music] >> If you have the ascending scale in the bass, you'll obtain a diminished triad that from a fundamental bass perspective is derived from the seven.

[00:09:19]>> [music] >> Please allow me one comment on the matter because I reckon that there is definitely some people around that may wrinkle their nose when they see functional labels put on Baroque music.

[00:09:34]My honest opinion on the matter is that rejecting functionalism per se is incredibly stupid, especially in cases where dominant sonorities participate because it may help a beginner that already has some background with traditional harmony to differentiate between different kinds of six chords to obtain a certain order and overview within this confusing jungle of materials and terms. Intentionally holding back information for the purpose of being historically accurate is nothing but a gatekeeping mechanism and definitely should raise an eyebrow. I literally get cringe vibes when I witness that because it obviously just doesn't make any sense from any kind of perspective because isn't it much more reasonable to build and grow on common knowledge instead of always emphasizing how different figured bass and partimento is from mainstream music theory.

[00:10:27]>> Stop it. Stop it. Stop [music] it.

[00:10:30]Get some help.

[00:10:41]>> [music] >> Now I want to give you some examples on how to proceed because the next step involves combinations of all kinds of six chord situations to create short musical phrases. This can be done at the keyboard or as well at the desk. The purpose of these exercises is not just to show examples of how to connect those patterns but as well to demonstrate a certain combinatorial space. Hence, a student's task would be to create such combos on their own to explore possible combinations within a very limited range of material variety. From what you've seen in the video so far, you're maybe already able to identify most of the patterns I combined.

[00:11:30]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> If you're now eager to work with the material shown in the video, please consider a Patreon subscription because that includes monthly uploads of worksheet bundles related to all kinds of topics around improvisation, period composition, partimento, harmony, and counterpoint. Thanks for watching. See you next time.