Polychords and Modal Voicings in Music Composition

Modal voicings can be expanded to large orchestrations spanning entire ensembles. The video demonstrates an E aeolian voicing orchestrated across the orchestra with the low octave establishing the minor third (grounding the chord), followed by the second/ninth, third, and eleventh. This approach shows how modal concepts translate to orchestral writing, where strategic placement of characteristic notes across different register zones creates rich, textured modal sounds while maintaining the essential modal identity.

Closed voicing is a fundamental arranging technique for 13-horn big bands where harmonies are written vertically one note at a time, with rules to maintain at least a minor third between voices, omit the root unless the melody plays the third, and use interchangeable chords (major 6/9/7/9/13, minor 6/7/9/11, dominant 7/9/13) to fit all voices within one octave; the technique involves harmonizing trumpets first, then copying parts to trombones (dropped an octave) and alto saxophones, with bass saxophone providing roots.

This video presents a systematic six-step approach to writing for big band: Step 1 involves building chords (major, minor, and dominant seven) from the bottom up, starting with trombones in root position and adding upper structures to trumpets and saxophones; Step 2 focuses on writing saxophone melodies with good contour and specific articulation, then harmonizing using doubled leads and diatonic inner harmonies, and converting five-note voicings to drop two voicings; Step 3 covers writing trumpet melodies with unison or octave split scoring and harmonizing with clusters; Step 4 addresses trombone writing with single-note lines and unison scoring, accounting for the bass trombone's lower range; Step 5 involves writing A-D passages by harmonizing for trumpets, adding trombones to fill harmony, and using saxophones to highlight the overall sound; Step 6 combines all sections with rhythm section parts to create a complete ensemble piece.

When arranging for large ensembles, treating each instrumental section (wind quintet, brass quintet, string quintet) as a single chordal instrument simplifies the compositional process. This approach allows you to conceptualize five separate parts as one unified voice, making it easier to think about harmony and voicing without getting bogged down by individual parts. For strings, this works particularly well because the similar timbres allow for guitar-like drop-two voicings where the double bass typically plays root notes while the other strings fill in chord tones. For brass sections, this approach can involve giving the higher instruments triadic voicings while the lower brass handles root and seventh positions. The key principle is to follow your ears rather than rigid rules—experiment with different voicings and choose what sounds best to you, even if it contradicts conventional wisdom about chord voicing.

This comprehensive segment covers the complete process of arranging a big band chart. The arranger explains how to structure a chart with approximately 3 choruses (about 1.5 minutes each), including a melody section, sax solo, and shout chorus. Key decisions include choosing between sax solo and shout chorus based on time and tune purpose. The segment details the sax solo composition process, including analyzing chord changes and filling them with jazz lines. It covers essential voicing techniques: closed voicing (melody on top with harmony and octave below), drop two voicing (lower octave dropped two octaves for spread sound), and unison voicing for intensity. The arranger demonstrates implementing these voicings in Sibelius by copying parts between staves. The segment concludes with the shout chorus formula, including brass and baritone sax playing loudly with root notes, saxophone middle patterns, and voice distribution from lead trumpet to baritone sax.

Pandiatonic harmony is a 20th-century musical approach where chords are created without functional pull or resolution, instead serving as pillars of color that can be moved freely through parallel motion, fourths, fifths, or seconds, enabling unique soundscapes particularly suited for ambient music and allowing musicians to create distinctive progressions that avoid traditional harmonic conventions.

Pandiatonicism is a harmonic approach that uses diatonic scales and chords without establishing a tonal centre, creating an intermediate state between modal harmony (which has a tonal centre but non-functional harmony) and atonality (which lacks both). In Pandiatonicism, all chords are equal with no tendency to resolve to any particular chord, resulting in a floating harmonic texture where musicians can use any diatonic chords in any order, including quartal chords common in modern jazz.

Non-functional harmony differs from classical tradition where chords have logical progressions pushing toward resolution. In Martinů's and much 20th-century music, chords are no longer goal-directed—they don't push to resolve at a home key. Instead, beautiful chords are savored for their own beauty, leading to other unrelated chords without the sense that one had to move to the other. Debussy was the first great master of this style, which represents a completely new treatment of harmony.

Non-functional harmony breaks traditional harmonic rules to create experimental sounds. Strategies include using chord extensions (sevenths, ninths, elevenths) to change chord perception, creating ambiguous harmonic contexts, and using rhythmic structures to suggest rather than confirm harmonic functions. Artists like Jacob Collier and Herbie Hancock use these techniques to create sophisticated, innovative music. Effective harmony study follows a systematic progression: master interval functions, learn major scale construction, practice scales with singing and all finger positions, master triads and diatonic chords, understand chord progressions and functions, learn seventh chords, study dominant secondary chords, apply tritone substitution, use relative minor progressions, explore modal harmony, apply modal interchange, and finally experiment with non-functional harmony. This logical progression ensures solid foundations before advancing to complex concepts.

The rules of harmony coalesced around 1900, but the music described by these rules ceased to be written at that time. While innovative composers were throwing off common practice harmony, most music people listened to remained conventional. Scott Joplin's Entertainer (1902) demonstrates that even in the early 20th century, popular music used conventional harmonic language. Modal harmony in early 20th century music includes harmonization outside the seven diatonic modes, with guidelines requiring some melody note to be part of the chord. 20th century harmony focused on tone color and complex chords rather than chord progression. Chord extensions (sevenths, ninths, elevenths, thirteenths) require matching melodic material to chord pitches. Paul Hindemith's harmonic fluctuation creates movement through consonance and dissonance rather than root movement. Atonal music required static, constantly dissonant harmony with no harmonic resting places. 20th century practice was more diverse than 18th and 19th centuries, with many composers mixing techniques without much theoretical concern.

This extended segment covers sophisticated harmonic techniques used in modern film scoring, demonstrating their application through Johnny Greenwood's orchestral compositions. The core technique explored is tritone substitution, where a chord is replaced with another whose root is a tritone away, creating functional equivalence while adding harmonic color. The video applies this to both primary chords (G7 to D♭7 in C major) and secondary dominants (E♭ diminished as substitution for A chord). Additional techniques include pedal tones (single sustained notes while harmony moves), chromatic root motion, and sophisticated chord voicings like minor-major 7ths. These techniques demonstrate how contemporary film composers blend jazz improvisational concepts with orchestral writing to create emotionally powerful, sophisticated scores that engage audiences through harmonic innovation.

Professional video game soundtrack composition employs sophisticated harmonic techniques including suspended chords (sus2 and sus4), tritone chord movements, chromatic bass lines, and non-root voicings. These techniques allow composers to create dramatic tension, smooth voice leading, and unique harmonic colors while maintaining melodic coherence. The application of these advanced concepts in mainstream media demonstrates how video game music has evolved into a legitimate art form requiring deep musical understanding.

The Sonic R soundtrack (1997) by Richard Jacques demonstrates sophisticated jazz-influenced harmony, including 2-5-1 chord progressions, minor third key changes for dramatic sound palette shifts, and approach chords that create smooth transitions between sections. These techniques show how video game composers use advanced musical theory to create memorable, emotionally engaging soundtracks that reward repeated listening.

This segment examines key change techniques and harmonic coloration in modern music. The analysis covers key changes achieved through chromatic climbing to new root positions, establishing new key centers smoothly. The video explores the fourth chord as a harmonic bridge that enables flexible movement, and demonstrates how sharp 11 extensions (like C# in G dominant) add sophisticated color while maintaining key compatibility. The segment also examines the minor fourth chord as a distinctive harmonic color that enhances emotional depth. These techniques show how contemporary music achieves sophisticated harmonic language through strategic use of extensions, key changes, and color chords.

This segment explores advanced harmonic concepts including chromaticism (use of notes outside the diatonic scale), creating tension and color. It demonstrates cadences—the harmonic progressions signaling phrase or section endings—and their different types (authentic, plagal, half, deceptive). The video covers rubato (flexible tempo around basic pulse for expressive phrasing) and sforzando (sudden dramatic accents). These techniques show how composers create sophisticated harmonic languages that extend beyond basic tonal frameworks.