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Chromatic Biography & Facts

Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic pitches and chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. In simple terms, within each octave, diatonic music uses only seven different notes, rather than the twelve available on a standard piano keyboard. Music is chromatic when it uses more than just these seven notes. Chromaticism is in contrast or addition to tonality or diatonicism and modality (the major and minor, or "white key", scales). Chromatic elements are considered, "elaborations of or substitutions for diatonic scale members". Development of chromaticism Chromaticism began to develop in the late Renaissance period, notably in the 1550s, often as part of musica reservata, in the music of Cipriano de Rore, in Orlando Lasso's Prophetiae Sibyllarum, and in the theoretical work of Nicola Vicentino. The following timeline is abbreviated from its presentation by Benward & Saker: Baroque Period (1600—1750) "The system of major and minor scales developed during the early part of the baroque period. This coincided with the emergence of key consciousness in music." Classical Period (1750—1825) "The major and minor keys were the basis of music in the classical period. Chromaticism was decorative for the most part and shifts from one key to another...were used to create formal divisions." Romantic Period (1825—1900) "Chromaticism increased to the point that the major—minor key system began to be threatened. By the end of the period, keys often shifted so rapidly in the course of a composition that tonality itself began to break down." Post-Romantic and Impressionistic Period (1875—1920) "With the breakdown of the major—minor key system, impressionist composers began to experiment with other scales....particularly...pentatonic, modal, and whole-tone scales." Contemporary Period (1920—present) "The chromatic scale has predominated in much of the music of our period." Jazz and Popular Music (1900—present) "Popular music has remained the last bastion of the major-minor key system... The blues scale ["a chromatic variant of the major scale"] is often found in jazz and popular music with blues influence." As tonality began to expand during the last half of the nineteenth century, with new combinations of chords, keys and harmonies being tried, the chromatic scale and chromaticism became more widely used, especially in the works of Richard Wagner, such as the opera "Tristan und Isolde". Increased chromaticism is often cited as one of the main causes or signs of the "breakdown" of tonality, in the form of increased importance or use of: mode mixture leading tones tonicization of each chromatic step and other secondary key areas modulatory space hierarchical organizations of the chromatic set such as George Perle's the use of non-tonal chords as tonic "keys"/"scales"/"areas" such as the Tristan chord. As tonal harmony continued to widen and even break down, the chromatic scale became the basis of modern music written using the twelve-tone technique, a tone row being a specific ordering or series of the chromatic scale, and later serialism. Though these styles/methods continue to (re)incorporate tonality or tonal elements, often the trends that led to these methods were abandoned, such as modulation. Types of chromaticism David Cope describes three forms of chromaticism: modulation, borrowed chords from secondary keys, and chromatic chords such as augmented sixth chords. The chromatic expansion of tonality which characterizes much of nineteenth century music is illustrated in miniature by the substitution of a chromatic harmony for an expected diatonic harmony. This technique resembles the deceptive cadence, which involves the substitution of another diatonic chord for the expected diatonic goal harmony. ... In the major mode a substitute chromatic consonance often proves to be a triad which has been taken from the parallel minor mode. This process ["assimilation"]...is called mixture of mode or simply mixture... Four consonant triads from the minor mode may replace their counterparts in the major mode. These we call chromatic triads by mixture. The total chromatic is the collection of all twelve equally tempered pitch classes of the chromatic scale. List of chromatic chords: Dominant seventh chords of subsidiary keys, used to create modulations to those keys (V7–I cadences) Augmented sixth chords Neapolitan sixth chords as chromatic subdominants Diminished seventh chords as chromatic viio7 Altered chords Expanded chords Shir-Cliff, Jay, and Rauscher (1965) Other types of chromaticity: Pitch axis theory Parallel scales Nonchord tone The minor mode in major keys (mode mixture) Shir-Cliff, Jay, and Rauscher (1965) Chromatic note Notes which do not belong to the key [those, "that lie within the major 2nds," of the diatonic scale] are called chromatic notes. A chromatic note is one which does not belong to the scale of the key prevailing at the time. Similarly, a chromatic chord is one which includes one or more such notes. A chromatic and a diatonic note, or two chromatic notes, create chromatic intervals. When one note of an interval is chromatic or when both notes are chromatic, the entire interval is called chromatic. Chromatic intervals arise by raising or lowering one or both notes of a diatonic interval, so that the interval is made larger or smaller by the interval of half step ["altered diatonic intervals"]. A chromatic scale is one which proceeds entirely by semitones, so dividing the octave into twelve equal steps of one semitone each. Linear chromaticism is used in jazz: "All improvised lines ... will include non-harmonic, chromatic notes." Similar to in the bebop scale this may be the result of metric issues, or simply the desire to use a portion of the chromatic scale Chromatic chord By chromatic linear chord is meant simply a chord entirely of linear origin which contains one or more chromatic notes. A great many of these chords are to be found in the literature. [During the Romantic period] There was more prominent use of chromatic harmony, which employs chords containing tones not found in the prevailing major or minor scale. ... Chromatic chords add color and motion to romantic music. Dissonant, or unstable, chords were also more freely than during the classical era. By deliberately delaying the resolution of dissonance to a consonant, or stable, chord, romantic composers created feelings of yearning, tension, and mystery. A chromatic chord is a musical chord that includes at least one note not belonging in the diatonic scale associated with the prevailing key, the use of such chords is the use of chromatic harmony. In other words, at least one note of the chord is chromatically altered. Any chord that is not chromatic is a diatonic chord. For example, in the key of C major, the following chords (all diatonic) are naturally built on each degree of the scale: I = C major triad [contains pitch classes C E G.... Discover the Chromatic popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Chromatic books.