Stravinsky Rite of Spring Chord Analysis: Augurs of Spring Guitar Lesson

Neoclassicism involves modern composers reinterpreting historical styles like Bach's contrapuntal textures. Stravinsky described this as 'a great composer does not imitate a great composer, steals.' The octatonic scale (symmetrical scale built from alternating minor thirds) produces harmonies impossible in major/minor keys, such as the Petrushka chord (C major with F-sharp). Stravinsky used this scale extensively in The Rite of Spring, creating distinctive otherworldly sounds. This combination of neoclassical references and octatonic innovation characterizes his mature style.

The octatonic scale represents an anticipation of chromatic harmony, with the diminished seventh chord functioning as a tonic embellished with surrounding notes. This creates 'forbidden notes' that tonal music avoids. The augmented second interval appears as a difficult boundary to cross in tonal music. Clara Schumann's nocturne demonstrates early intuition of octatonic concepts, using a diminished seventh chord with a natural note that could connect semitones. Igor Stravinsky is widely recognized as the first composer to prominently employ the scale, popularizing it in 'The Firebird' (1910). Mozart also used octatonic elements in Symphony No. 40, with passages based on diminished seventh chords and appoggiaturas creating six of the eight scale notes.

The octatonic scale is an eight-note scale that divides the octave symmetrically into alternating half steps and whole steps. Unlike most scales which have seven notes with one repeated, the octatonic scale has eight distinct notes that repeat. This symmetrical division creates a unique harmonic palette that differs from traditional major and minor keys. The octatonic scale provides a new palette for creating harmonies using the same basic notes but with different relationships. Chord progressions in octatonic music are not in any single major or minor key but belong to the octatonic set. This creates fresh, different chord progressions that weren't possible in traditional harmony. The symmetrical nature of the octatonic scale means that chords can be moved around while maintaining their octatonic relationships, creating a sense of harmonic fluidity and coloristic richness. Wagner, despite not knowing about the octatonic scale as a theoretical concept, occasionally wrote passages that hint at octatonicism, demonstrating that composers can intuitively discover octatonic relationships without understanding the theoretical framework. Symmetrical scales like the octatonic scale provide composers with more harmonic options because they are 'poised right in the center' of the octave. Unlike traditional scales that have a fixed position, symmetrical scales allow movement in any direction. This creates a sense of harmonic readiness and flexibility. The diminished chords that divide the octatonic scale symmetrically (minor third, minor third, minor third) allow composers to move freely through harmonic space, creating a sense of infinite possibility. The Russian school of composition, represented by composers like Mussorgsky, was different from German, French, and Italian traditions. It was exotic and influenced both Debussy and Ravel. Borodin's music contains purely octatonic passages where two chords are not in the same key but belong to the same octatonic scale. The relationship between these chords is a tritone, which is a fundamental interval in octatonic harmony. This demonstrates how octatonic scales allow for chord progressions that would be impossible in traditional major-minor harmony. Stravinsky's Petrushka and The Rite of Spring contain octatonic passages where chords only exist together within the octatonic scale. Debussy's Symphony of Psalms also features octatonic passages where three chords are perfectly normal harmonies but don't belong in a key together—they only belong in the octatonic set. This opened up a new palette for composers, similar to how impressionism opened up a new sense of color.

The octatonic scale (scale of eight tones) creates interesting harmonies and can lead to polytonality (multiple tonalities simultaneously). In Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring,' the octatonic scale creates a near-polytonal effect. Polytonality involves combining different tonalities in the same musical passage. The pentatonic scale has strong roots in various civilizations, including Asia and pre-Columbian America. In the 20th century, composers revisited these scales within the tempered system, creating 'exotic' or 'oriental' sounds.

Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (1913) is structured in two parts: Part I, “Adoration of the Earth,” and Part II, “The Sacrifice.” Part I includes the Introduction, followed by “The Augurs of Spring, Dances of the Young Girls,” “Ritual of Abduction,” “Spring Rounds,” “Ritual of the Rival Tribes,” “Procession of the Sage,” and “Dance of the Earth.” Part II begins with an Introduction, then proceeds through “Mystic Circles of the Young Girls,” “Glorification of the Chosen One,” “Evocation of the Ancestors,” “Ritual Action of the Ancestors,” and concludes with the “Sacrificial Dance.” The recording featured is by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1958, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. The version presented is not identical to Bernstein’s original score; the uploader edited in some missing notes. The recording contains mistakes but is valued for its addicting power and intensity, making it the uploader’s favorite. A link to the official score is provided through Boosey & Hawkes. Additional links are included for the uploader’s video production workflow and a score-processing program they developed.

Before learning syncopation, students must understand natural accents in musical measures. In 4/4 time, accents occur on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4, with beat 1 being the strongest, beat 3 the second strongest, and beats 2 and 4 weaker. In 3/4 time, accents occur on beats 1, 2, and 3 with similar strength hierarchy. Syncopation fundamentally involves removing these natural accents from the beats and shifting them to the 'ands' (off-beats between beats). When accents occur on the and of beat 1 instead of beat 1 itself, the rhythm takes on a shuffling quality. A fully syncopated measure has all notes occurring on the ands rather than the main beats, creating a distinctive displaced rhythmic effect that differs significantly from straight, unaccented rhythms.

This section addresses challenging rhythmic concepts essential for advanced guitar playing. The instructor explains syncopation—placing accents on unexpected beats—and introduces upbeat counting (the 'and' counts between main beats). When counting with syncopation, every beat has an upbeat ceiling, requiring comprehensive counting methods. The instructor demonstrates measures starting on the upbeat of beat one and ending on the upbeat of beat four. Various strategies are presented for mastering complex rhythms: using sentences for rhythmic phrases, counting with upbeat values, and creating mental anchors by singing along with recordings. The section emphasizes that understanding concepts intellectually helps anchor them in memory, complementing muscle memory development.

The guitar solo contains syncopations and pushes that emphasize upbeats (the 'and' counts). The pattern includes emphasis on beats two and three, creating a distinctive rhythmic feel. While Cropper plays most of the solo straightforwardly, he occasionally adds variations like hammer-ons between notes (such as hammering from G to A) to add flavor.

Syncopation in funk guitar is the technique of intentionally leaving spaces or 'holes' between notes to create tension and release, which makes music breathe and feel funky. This concept, explained by Art Neville as 'like a washing machine' with the 'in between' being what makes it funky, involves shifting accents to unexpected beats (such as playing on beat four and then the 'and' of four) to create a subtle form of tension that makes music compelling. The key principle is that playing nothing or leaving space is often more powerful than playing every note, as demonstrated in New Orleans funk guitar styles where musicians use power chords with slight bends and strategic accents to create that characteristic funky groove.

Musical time is divided into equal segments called beats, similar to syllables in speech. Like speech has stressed and unstressed syllables, music has strong and weak beats, with the first beat of each measure always being strong and naturally emphasized. Accents are the emphasis or highlighting of particular sounds, performed louder than surrounding sounds. Syncopation is a specific technique where a note begins on a weak beat and continues onto the following strong beat, creating rhythmic displacement. This differs from regular accents, which simply emphasize a beat without necessarily extending across beats. Syncopation creates distinctive 'off-beat' tension and release that characterizes many musical genres.

This video presents a guitar arrangement of Claude Debussy's Suite Bergamasque Prelude, showcasing how classical piano compositions can be adapted for guitar performance through creative interpretation and adaptation.

The video features a performance of Béla Bartók’s Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm, arranged for guitar quartet by Richard Wright. The piece was performed during the 23rd Iserlohn Guitar Symposium in 2014, with highlights of all six dances presented, culminating in the full final movement recorded at the actual festival concert. Bartók, a Hungarian composer and pianist (1881–1945), is recognized as one of the most important 20th-century composers and, alongside Liszt, as Hungary’s greatest composer. He was a pioneer in the collection and analytical study of folk music, co-founding comparative musicology, which evolved into ethnomusicology. The performance was given by a quartet of students from the Yehudi Menuhin School, who also participated in master classes with William Kanengiser (Los Angeles Guitar Quartet), Chris Ruben (Baltic Guitar Quartet), and Rene Izquierdo during the symposium. The recording was made using a Sony microphone and edited with Sony Vegas Pro 12 and Adobe Audition 1.5. The video transitions into the live concert footage during the sixth dance.

This virtual recital, filmed live at l'Entrepôt in Lachine, Québec, features guitarists Steve Cowan and Adam Cicchillitti performing arrangements of 20th-century French compositions originally written for piano and harp. The program includes works by Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Federico Mompou, and Germaine Tailleferre, all adapted for two guitars. Only José Evangelista’s Retazos was originally composed for guitar, though it was deemed unplayable in its solo form, prompting Cowan and Cicchillitti to spend years arranging it for duo performance. Their arrangement of Retazos was recorded in 2019 for Analekta’s album "Focus," which features exclusively Canadian music. The selected pieces were chosen for their contrasting moods and intimate musical language, deemed well-suited to the expressive capabilities of the guitar. Arrangements were made by the performers themselves, with specific credits given to Cowan and Cicchillitti for their transcriptions of Debussy, Mompou, and Tailleferre, and to Henderson-Kolk for Ravel’s Prelude. The concert was part of a series organized by artistic director Richard Turp and Concerts Lachine, created during the coronavirus quarantine to provide musicians a platform without a live audience. The performance highlights the adaptability of French impressionist and modernist repertoire to the guitar duo medium.

Bartók’s "Két kép (Two Images), Sz. 46" consists of two orchestral movements composed during his early exposure to French composer Claude Debussy’s music. The first movement, subtitled "In Full Flower," is an Adagio in ternary form, marked by Impressionist techniques including whole tone scales, pedal tones, and ostinati, reflecting Debussy’s influence. It features pastel orchestral colors and contains thematic material later developed in Bartók’s opera Bluebeard’s Castle and ballet The Wooden Prince. The second movement, "Village Dance," contrasts sharply with the first: it is loud, boisterous, and folk-inspired, employing modal melodies reminiscent of Hungarian folk tunes alongside Debussyian harmonic elements. Structured as a rondo (ABACA), its formal clarity is occasionally blurred by thematic development. The work requires large orchestral forces uncommon for Bartók, including tripled woodwinds, five trumpets, two harps, a celesta, tuba, and expanded percussion. While the title and some harmonic effects resemble Debussy’s "Images," the orchestration, harmony, melody, and meter align more closely with Debussy’s "Nocturnes." Despite its popularity during Bartók’s lifetime and critical acclaim for its vividness, the piece has been criticized for imbalance—its second movement being significantly more substantial than the first—and for stylistic outdatedness. The recording features the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra under Zoltán Kocsis’s direction.

This video presents three of Béla Bartók's piano compositions—'Evening in the Village' (from 10 Easy Pieces), 'Drinking Song' (from For Children No. 36), and 'Bagatelle Op. 6 No. 2'—arranged for acoustic guitar by Ed Chang. The arrangement was created using a 'SynthFont' derivation from a MIDI transcription by Franganillo, making these complex classical pieces accessible to guitarists. The project, part of The Daily Beethoven initiative, aims to help musicians understand various classical works by adapting them to guitar, which allows guitarists to better perceive melodic and harmonic structures.