dral!

CHAPTER IV

THE MUSICAL SENTENCE

Before passing on to an explanation of the fundamental types of
musical structure, we must give some idea of the constituent parts of
the _Period_ in music. Every art has its units of expression: the
straight line, the curve, the arch, the poetic stanza and the prose
sentence. Just as poetry and prose are a series of stanzas or
sentences, so a musical composition is a succession of definitely
organized portions of thought and emotion, in terms of rhythm and
sound. In the heart of a composition, to be sure, we often find a
great freedom in the phraseology, comparable to blank verse or to a
rhapsodic kind of prose; but with few exceptions, such as a Fantasie,
every composition always _begins_ with one or two periods which, in
regard to subdivision, balance and directness of statement, are
carefully planned and are complete in themselves. Before it is
possible to follow intelligently the structure of a musical sentence
we must gain a clear idea of what is meant by the frequently used
terms Tonality and Modulation. Since the evolution and acceptance of
our three modern scales:[44] the major, the minor and the
chromatic--which gained their sanction chiefly through the
investigations and compositions of Bach and Rameau--every melody and
the accompanying harmony are said to be in a certain "tonality" (or
"key") which takes its name from the first tone of the scale in
question, _e.g._, C, E-flat, F sharp, etc. Hence this first tone is
called the Tonic or chief tone and from it ascend the other tones of
the scale. That is, a melody in E-flat major will employ only those
tones found in the scale of E-flat major, and is said to be in that
"key," or "tonality." The same would be true of the harmony involved,
_i.e._, the chords would consist of combinations of the different
tones of this scale. When a melody, as is often the case, employs
tones _not_ found in the scale in question, these are called
_chromatic_[45] changes, and may or may not effect a "modulation" or
departure into another key, _e.g._

[Music]

[Footnote 44: It is assumed that the music-lover has, as his
birthright, an instinctive knowledge of the grouping of tones and
semitones in our modern scales. Those who may wish to refresh their
knowledge are recommended to the second Chapter in Foote and
Spalding's _Harmony_, and to the chapter on Scales in Parry's
_Evolution of the Art of Music_.]

[Footnote 45: Colo