Major Key Cadences    Musical composition is built on the convention of tension and resolution.  A melody or a harmony progressively cycles between these two ends of the spectrum.  In harmony, this convention is best embodied in the technique of cadencing, where tension from a dominant or subdominant chord is resolved into a tonic chord. 

Triadic Chord Families The diatonic chords in a given key share certain pitches and characteristics which allow them to be grouped into families.  These chord families capitalize on the hierarchy of melodic stability of the individual pitches in a key to create different effects in a chord progession.  Understanding these families is helpful in creating

Phrygian Mode Formula       H       W        W       W         H          W   W E Phrygian  E   F       G        A          B          C   

The Dorian Mode Formula     W       H        W        W         W         H          W D Dorian  D   E         F       G   A          B 

As we observed when using formulas to build major scales, the pitches in a major key have a mathematical relationship to each other.  Each scale degree is a certain number of half steps away from another scale degree and we call this distance an interval.  This relationship remains constant regardless of what pitch we base

The basis of harmony in Western music is the triadic chord, a three-note harmony performed to be heard simultaneously.  While endless other chord tones, extensions and alterations can be incorporated into a triad, ultimately, their defining structure is the triad from which any more complex chord is derived.  The two most common triads, major and

Putting the Altered Fifth Chords Together