Music is abstract. Music is intangible. Music is evanescent.
Ever since the invention of music, the challenge of transmitting it from one generation to the next was met by simply teaching the song to the youngsters. It would thus get handed down from generation to generation, sometimes unaltered, sometimes with changes as it incorporated elements from different cultures.
This method of transmission underwent its first revolution with Pope Gregory in the 8th century, with a system of “neumes”, or squiggly marks above the words of the music. This gradually developed into what we know as the score.
The next revolution occurred with audio recording technology. It was now possible to accurately and permanently document a performance, which meant that it could be “re-learned” at any point in the future by simply imitating the sounds on the recording.
The latest revolution is currently under way! However, at present this is only possible with musical instruments that have a mechanical nature, like pianos, organs and synthesizers, and involves the recording artist playing his performance on a special piano. Sensors record the motion of the keys as they are played, and these can later be reproduced identically to how they were played originally. The recording can now produce an exact replica of the original performance, with the sound emerging from a real instrument, and not an audio recording of that instrument, requiring amplifiers and speakers. Maybe one day we will be able to record the mechanical performance of an entire orchestra!
The development of music notation as a means to “permanize” music for future generations has spawned an interesting question:
Can the notation of music be used as a tool to composition?
This was indeed the case during the Baroque Era, during which the harpsichord player was expected to “flesh out” the notes of a chord, based on a Figured Bass, which consisted only of the bass note and numbers representing some of the notes above it. Additional notes, as well as the register in which to play them, was left to the discretion of the performer.
The very same concept is commonly applied by the Jazz musician, who is presented with chord symbols, such as Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj, and is expected to translate them into chords, often consisting of 8 or more notes.
For example, there are hundreds of ways in which a G7 can be played. Here are just a few:
By notating the chord as G7, we are implying that we do not want to add any extensions beyond the 7th. This basically means that in order to “flesh out” the chord, we are restricted to doublings of the Root, 3rd , 5th or 7th, and variations of register.
However, by notating the chord as G7(9), we are implying that there are 5 notes we can combine. This leads to richer voicings, and greater combinations.
Even greater variety can be achieved by notating the chord as G7(13), since now we have 6 notes to mix and match: Root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 13th. Again, we can double notes and vary the register, to create voicings with as many as 10 notes (which is technically possible on a piano, since we have 10 fingers!)
Now let us suppose that we wish to specify the extensions of a G7 chord without using a chord symbol, but with Figured Bass notation. Since Figured Bass notation is designed to specify 4 note chords, we need to establish a way to imply 6 note chords with just 4 notes. This can be done quite easily if we bear in mind two factors:
1) The 5th of any chord is superfluous: it simply reinforces the overtones of the Root
2) By specifying a higher extension, we imply that the lower extensions are present too.
This means that a rich 10 note chord like the one below can simply be notated as V3-5-13. The performer can do the rest, based on the desired register, density, openness or compactness, and degree of dissonance of the chord. The chord notation tells him that he can mix and match Roots, 3rds, 5ths, 7ths, 9ths and 13ths.
Note that 11ths are not considered: this is because a 3rd and a 4th (or 11th) are usually not present at the same time, because the 4th is an “appoggiatura” of the 3rd, and therefore resolves to the 3rd in the next beat.
Here is an example of a 10 note chord notated with 4 notes:
So how is this useful in the process of composition? Possibly by helping to separate the structural elements of a composition from the embellishing elements. By composing music using simple 4 note chord symbols, the composer can work faster to express the basic chord progression, melodic ideas and structural layout of his work. Then, in a subsequent process, the chords can be “fleshed out” to create rich, full-bodied orchestrations.
