# Great paper on chromatic Mediants in film music



## ed buller (Apr 2, 2019)

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/musa.12106

Enjoy

Best

E


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## JEPA (Apr 2, 2019)

i love this harmonic sequences!


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## agarner32 (Apr 2, 2019)

Thanks for posting this great article. The author states, _"The study of chromatic mediants, chords whose roots are a third apart and which share the same triadic quality . ."_ Chromatic mediants can also be different qualities although not as common. Ex. Ebm - Cmaj or Abm - C.


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## ed buller (Apr 2, 2019)

agarner32 said:


> Thanks for posting this great article. The author states, _"The study of chromatic mediants, chords whose roots are a third apart and which share the same triadic quality . ."_ Chromatic mediants can also be different qualities although not as common. Ex. Ebm - Cmaj or Abm - C.


Yes using Min to Major and Switching between them is another great resource as are Dim and Aug sonorities 

e


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## wilifordmusic (Apr 2, 2019)

Thanks for sharing.

Steve


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## Hans-Peter (Apr 3, 2019)

Thanks. I agree this looks very good and will likely be discussed in my dissertation.


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## borisb2 (May 19, 2019)

seems like the article is not free anymore .. did anybody download it?


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## ed buller (May 19, 2019)

our secret

best

e


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## JEPA (May 19, 2019)

but what the article doesn't say is what scales are used on the chords, and that makes a lot of it if u are modulating. For fantasy are some scales very useful, for horror another ones, for mystical atmosphere another ones, for mystery dark/light, etc. that work well...


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## ed buller (May 19, 2019)

JEPA said:


> but what the article doesn't say is what scales are used on the chords, and that makes a lot of it if u are modulating. For fantasy are some scales very useful, for horror another ones, for mystical atmosphere another ones, for mystery dark/light, etc. that work well...



yes its a simple article. As to scales well if you say have two chords you like. Say Ab min and Emin. Use the notes from these to make a scale . It will only be pentatonic though. So you can add a C natural to get a hexatonic scale/ This is what Holst used in neptune ( stolen by many ) to create a "otherworldy" atmosphere.

You can hear it here on the celeste:



best

ed


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## synergy543 (May 19, 2019)

Another interesting but non-related related download (free)
https://www.academia.edu/33487589/Complete_Catalog_of_Star_Wars_Leitmotifs_Compiled_by_Frank_Lehman


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## Maximvs (May 20, 2019)

ed buller said:


> our secret
> 
> best
> 
> e


Many Thanks for the attachment! Cheers, Max T.


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## borisb2 (May 20, 2019)

ed buller said:


> our secret
> 
> best
> 
> e


Thanks a lot Ed


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## brek (May 21, 2019)

related to the paper:


Showing the discussed chord movement during the scene.


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## Selfinflicted (May 22, 2019)

brek said:


> related to the paper:
> 
> 
> Useful to see in the context of the scene where and what the harmonic shifts are. Some good scoring happening there.




The video seems to be missing some things.
Theory ain't nothin' if isn't related to sound.
There's some stuff that doesn't reflect what is playing - and the key to me is all the other stuff happening over the chords (like what he does with the melody, etc)

1st part it goes C to Bmin/D and then B min, E min, not C, D, B min, E min
The A, D, G feels more like V, I, IV, not I, IV, bVII - D feels the temporary home
The A to C is an elision of a deceptive move from the A, D, G sequence to a C instead of the expected D. C is close to the E min and then the E min Bb becomes a sequence going down (D min Ab) with the Ab as V of Db and then G as V of C.

The next section ends G, to G/F (where it currently says IV), F, F/Eb, F/Db
The bass movement is moving in whole steps with the bass moving while the upper voice remain, thus making thing want to move. It's functionally all a prolonged dominant to C
And the C, F, C, F plagal thing actually eventually starts to move and becomes C, Bb/D (not F/D with a random Bb), C/E, F with an ascending bass. But, the key here is that the melodic voices are imitative like stretto or a round - the voices are staggered and start to affect the harmony as things move. So, you get the great stuff like
C/E to F, to C/G to F/A with a Bb in the melody, C/B to F/C again with Bb in the mel
to the juiciest part which is sort of an A min/D to C/E - an inner voice plays descending c-g-f, leading to the C/E chord
Then back to similar stuff to the beginning, C, Bmin/D etc

What's great about this piece is the superimposition of different things and how it flows organically. Voice movement, line, and voice leading always seem the more important thing to me. Theory is just a way we talk about things after they've happened, not the thing that makes things work.

But, chromatic mediants can be found in Beethoven and Brahms.


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