Now That’s Music Theory Progress! (Part 2)
We’re talking about harmonic progressions in this set of music theory lessons, specifically about harmonic sequences. You can read Part One here.
As a reminder, a harmonic sequence is a pattern of chord relationships repeated at different pitch levels. Harmonic sequences are some of the most powerful chord progressions because they create a strong sense of forward motion.
The next harmonic sequence we’ll look at is one that you can find in all kinds of music. The chord roots move up a 4th then down a third, the sequence being created by repeating that pattern two or three more times. Here’s how it sounds in a portion of Handel’s famous oratorio The Messiah:
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Here’s the progression in four voices that you can practice on the keyboard:
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The chord progression above has all three progression types: progression by 2nd, progression by 3rd, and progression by 5th. If you study this progression, you’ll discover that every voice moves as it should, such as keeping the common tones, from one chord to the next. You can download this progression written out in every major key (it doesn’t really work in minor keys) on the Harmonic Progressions Page.
The Circle-of-Fifths Progression
The circle-of-fifths is probably the strongest and most common harmonic sequence. It consists of root movement by descending fifths and cycles through every diatonic chord in a given key. Below is the chord progression in C major and A minor:
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First notice that the bass line typically moves down a 5th, then up a 4th through the progression, creating more balanced melodic movement, and keeping the bass within a reasonable register. Then notice that the voice leading of every other chord does not maintain the common tone (the “correct” voice leading of a progression by 5th), again, creating more balanced melodic activity.
When the circle-of-fifths progression occurs in a minor key (such as the A minor example above), the leading tone is not raised on the VII chord, making it a major triad instead of diminished. In other words, the VII chord is from the natural minor scale form. A VII chord from the natural minor scale is call the subtonic.
Many composers use chord inversions when writing a circle-of-fifths as Mozart does in this excerpt:
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The Circle-of-Fifths Using Seventh Chords
The circle-of-fifths progression most often occurs using seventh chords instead of triads, making very smooth movement from one chord to the next. In the example below, the first and last chords are not 7th chords, but the rest are. There is a very specific pattern of voice leading from one 7th chord to the next. See if you can figure out the pattern. Also, there is something peculiar about the doubling of every other 7th chord, beginning with the third chord of the progression. We’ll discuss these patterns and doublings in more detail when we learn about voice leading seventh chords. But you don’t have to wait to learn to play the progression on your instrument.
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When you’re listening to music, listen for the circle-of-fifths progression, as it is quite common in most styles of music. There are numerous variants to the basic form, especially in jazz; we’ll get to some of these in later lessons.
Here is a marvelous excerpt of the circle-of-fifths using seventh chords, again from a Mozart piano sonata, however, he never makes it to the last tonic chord! There are many things we could say about the harmony and rhythm of this short excerpt. When I first heard it, I was struck by how modern it sounded, even though it was written in the early 1780s. The sonata is part of a set of piano sonatas Mozart wrote for his younger sister.
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We’ll conclude this lesson with a slideshow demonstration of the basic circle-of-fifths progression using seventh chords. The pattern is very easy to play on the keyboard. Watch the video several times, then practice it on the keyboard. The progression is available in all keys on the Harmonic Progressions Page.
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Alicia de Larrocha’s recording of four of Mozart’s piano sonatas is exquisite. The first album on the left below includes the three sonatas Mozart wrote for his sister. The next recording includes all of Mozart’s piano sonatas at a reasonable price. The last album below is Robert Shaw’s recording of Handel’s Messiah.
. We determine a harmonic sequence by the root movements of the chords. In this excerpt, the harmonic sequence is down a 4th and up a 2nd, and continues for six chords (I-V-vi-iii-IV-I), before the sequence breaks off with a IV-V progression.
