Writing your own composition is extremely difficult. To do this, you must be able to achieve a harmonious sound. The Golden Sequence is one of the techniques for constructing compositions that is used in jazz and classical music. Invented this method of obtaining a harmonious sound composer Handel.
Varieties of sequences
Sequence is often used in music. It can be present only in part of the work or repeated in different keys throughout the composition. Those who have received a musical education often found different types of sequences in classical works. By tonality, this technique can be divided into two types: chromatic and diatonic.
A sequence can consist of several links, coincide with measures in the number of links (or vice versa), and be different in accuracy. The golden sequence in music is often called the quarto-fifth structure. It often forms the basis of simple motifs that are convenient for memorizing, therefore it is often used in pop music. It is a unique and multifaceted tool that can be used to connect complex structures.
What is a golden sequence
The fifth circle (another name for this technique) is one of the varieties of a simple sequence, that is, repetition of a harmonic or melodic turn at different heights. The beginning of the circle is a chord, which is built up a fifth down from the first note of the scale in its key.
The tonics that form this revolution follow each other through quarts and fifths. For example, the first chord is taken in D minor, a fifth is taken from its tonic and a G minor chord is obtained. From the note, the salt, which will be the tonic, we take a quart up and we get a C major chord, from which the next quint down is already taken. Thus, one must act until the circle closes. The construction of a circle is discussed in more detail below.
Features of using this technique
Most often, the golden sequence is built on the principle: a quint down, a quart up. That is why it is called the quinto-quart circle. However, many composers change the arrangement of chords in places: a quart up, and a fifth down. The result is a different, lower sound, which is also called the golden sequence.
Another feature of this technique is the use of the first chord only in minor scale. The most harmonious sound is obtained if all the chords belong to the diatonic scale. The penultimate chord can be taken not from it, to make it dominant, preceding the closure of the circle. The above example in a minor will contain such a chord - a la-dominant. It creates tension before repeating a turnaround.
The role of newt in the golden sequence
So, the golden sequence of notes before closing the circle changes a little. This technique is called newt. With him, the third step rises in the chord. This allows you to create tension and highlight this chord as dominant.
The half-reduced triton makes the chord dominant, but not too intense. It is often used in pop music. In classical works, a reduced chord, which has great tension, is most often found. Remember that chords with newt necessarily require resolution in tonic.
How to build the right golden sequence
The golden sequence can be created not only on the piano, it is also used when playing the guitar. We will consider just such an example of construction, because now a large number of compositions are composed on this six-stringed instrument. Take as a basis any minor chord or seventh chord. From it four notes are counted down, and then five up.
Take the A minor minor chord (Am7) as the basis, count the fifth down and get the D minor (Dm7). Then we count up and get G7, and then count the fifth from the salt and get to, but take it in the major, so the sound will be more beautiful. The fourth chord of our golden sequence will be Cmaj.
We will move further already in major to make the segment harmonious. When counting up, we get the note fa and, accordingly, Fmaj. Next, move a fifth down the gamma of the original A minor chord and get the C note, on the basis of which we will build the Bm7 / 5 chord (half-reduced). The given golden sequence, the chords of which we received, will be incomplete without using the triton technique. According to the calculations, Em7 should be the seventh, but instead of it (due to the increase of the third step) we take E7, which is the dominant seventh chord. After it you can start the circle anew, note that we took all the notes from the scale in A minor.
Examples of compositions using this technique
Of modern composers, Igor Krutoy most often uses the golden sequence technique, it is thanks to this circle that his melodies become remembered and recognizable by the people. “I did not know” Philip Kirkorov - one of the modern examples of the golden sequence. Many beautiful songs are written using these cyclic segments. The most striking example is the jazz composition - All The Things You Are. Among Russian folk songs, this technique can be heard in Komarinskaya.
Among the classics, the golden sequence has very different examples, for example, it can be heard in the introduction to the opera “Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky or in his “The Seasons”. But most often this technique was used by Handel, who, as we already mentioned, was his inventor. For example, in his Passacalia these melodic segments are clearly audible. Other composers did not lag behind and used the most different types of sequences in their works. The most striking example are the works of Wagner and Vivaldi, but they did not always use the golden sequences.