In
music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...
, a common tone is a
pitch class
In music, a pitch class (p.c. or pc) is a set of all pitches that are a whole number of octaves apart; for example, the pitch class C consists of the Cs in all octaves. "The pitch class C stands for all possible Cs, in whatever octave positi ...
that is a member of, or common to (shared by) two or more
chords
Chord may refer to:
* Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously
** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning
* Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve
* Chord ...
or
sets. Typically, it refers to a
note
Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to:
Music and entertainment
* Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music
* Notes (album), ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian
* ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) sho ...
shared between two chords in a
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
. According to H.E. Woodruff:
The example below shows the seven
diatonic triads of
C major
C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor a ...
. The common tones between the
tonic triad and the other six triads are highlighted in blue. As Woodruff describes, the tonic triad shares ''no'' common tones with either II and VII (consecutive to I), ''one'' common tone with IV and V (four and five degrees from I) each, and ''two'' common tones with III and VI (three and six degrees from I) each.
:
In voice leading
Common tones are a consideration in
voice leading
Voice leading (or part writing) is the linear progression of individual melodic lines ( voices or parts) and their interaction with one another to create harmonies, typically in accordance with the principles of common-practice harmony and count ...
and
voicing.
Abbé Vogler
Abbé Vogler
Georg Joseph Vogler, also known as Abbé Vogler (June 15, 1749 – May 6, 1814), was a German composer, organist, teacher and theorist. In a long and colorful career extending over many more nations and decades than was usual at the ...
(1749–1814),
Weber (1779–1839),
Hauptmann
is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...
(1792–1868),
A. B. Marx (1795–1866), and earlier theorists emphasized "common-tone retention and smooth voice leading in...
heirtreatment
of harmonic succession
hord progressions
Hord is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Brian Hord (1934–2015), British surveyor and politician
*Chad Hord (born 1976), American racing driver
*Donal Hord (1902–1966), American sculptor
* Oscar B. Hord (1829–1888), Amer ...
. It may be considered a guideline or a rule .
The example below shows a
circle progression
A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is cons ...
in C major, in which common tones are retained in the second voice (alto).
:
Common-tone diminished seventh chord
A
diminished seventh chord
The diminished seventh chord is a four-note chord (a seventh chord) composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a diminished seventh above the root: (1, 3, 5, 7). For example, the diminished seve ...
may resolve to a chord whose root is common to both chords (e.g. ii
7 resolves to I
6). When this happens, the first chord is called a
common-tone diminished seventh chord
The diminished seventh chord is a four-note chord (a seventh chord) composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a diminished seventh above the root: (1, 3, 5, 7). For example, the diminished sevent ...
.
:
See also
*
Approach chord
In music, an approach chord (also chromatic approach chord and dominant approach chord) is a chord one half-step higher or lower than the goal, especially in the context of turnarounds and cycle-of-fourths progressions, for example the two b ...
*
Common chord (music)
A common chord, in the theory of harmony, is a chord that is diatonic to more than one key or, in other words, is ''common'' to (shared by) two keys. A "common chord" may also be defined simply as a triadic chord (e.g., C–E–G), as one of the ...
*
Walkdown
In country music, walkdown is a bassline which connects two root position chords whose roots are a third apart, often featuring an inverted chord to go between the root notes of the first two chords. See: slash chord. A walkup would be the con ...
References
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{{Voicing (music)
Voice leading