Scalar Shift in Popular Music

Bibliographic Data

ID4390796
AuthorsDavid Temperley (0000-0002-0569-7877, Eastman School of Music, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume17
Issue4
Publication date2011-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMusic Theory Online (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1067-3040 • E-ISSN: 1067-3040
PublisherSociety for Music Theory (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.30535/mto.17.4.3
OpenAlexW1598227301
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited15

Existing approaches to scales in popular music do not do justice to the variety of scale collections that are used or to their expressive effects. In this article I propose a novel approach to this problem, focusing particularly on shifts of scale within songs. The idea is simple: The scale-degree content of a song (or a section of a song) tends to occupy a certain region on the "line of fifths," the circle of fifths stretched out infinitely in both directions. Moving outside this region-especially if the move is emphasized (by rhythmic, textural, or other means) and involves multiple pitch classes-creates a sense of scalar shift. Scalar shifts can be used in a variety of ways: to delineate and reinforce sectional boundaries; to convey a change in mood or situation, simply through the shift itself, or more specifically through sharpward or flatward motion on the line of fifths; to create a momentary effect of surprise or disorientation; or to construct more complex trajectories of tension and resolution

Acoustics · Aesthetics · Art · Cartography · Geography · Geometry · Physics · Popular music · Rhythm · Surprise · Communication · Computer Science · Mathematics · Music and Audio Processing · Music Technology and Sound Studies · Neuroscience and Music Perception · Psychology · Artificial Intelligence

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