Tone and Voice: A Derivation of the Rules of Voice-Leading from Perceptual Principles — Music Perception

Claims

1. canon-views
   Earlier theorists tended to view the voice-leading canon as fixed or inviolable universals, while more recent theorists regard it as descriptive of a particular, historically encapsulated convention. A number of twentieth-century theorists have tried to build harmonic and structural theories on the foundation of voice leading.

   "Earlier theorists tended to view the voice-leading canon as a set of fixed or inviolable universals. More recently, theorists have suggested that the voice-leading canon can be usefully regarded as descriptive of a particular, historically encapsulated, musical convention. A number of twentieth-century theorists have endeavored to build harmonic and structural theories on the foundation of voice-leading."

   Locator: page: 2 · Quote language: en
2. core-rules
   Treatises differ in detail, but a core group of about a dozen voice-leading rules appears in nearly every pedagogical work. They include rules on registral compass, chord spacing, avoiding unisons, retaining common tones in the same voice, moving to the nearest chordal tone, preferring stepwise motion and avoiding leaps, avoiding part crossing and overlap, avoiding parallel or consecutive unisons, fifths and octaves, and avoiding exposed (hidden or direct) octaves and fifths.

   "Of course there is no such thing as “the” rules of voice-leading. Theoretical and pedagogical treatises on harmony differ in detail. Some texts identify a handful of voice-leading rules, whereas other texts define dozens of rules and their exceptions. ... Despite this variety, there is a core group of some dozen-odd rules that appears in nearly every pedagogical work on voice-leading."

   Locator: page: 4-6 · Quote language: en
3. definition-purpose
   The rules of harmony are traditionally divided into rules of harmonic progression, concerning the choice of chords, and rules of voice leading, concerning how individual parts move from tone to tone in successive sonorities. The term voice leading originates from the German Stimmführung, and a number of theorists have suggested that its principal purpose is to create perceptually independent musical lines.

   "Traditionally, the so-called “rules of harmony” are divided into two broad groups: (1) the rules of harmonic progression and (2) the rules of voice-leading. The first group of rules pertains to the choice of chords, including the overall harmonic plan of a work, the placement and formation of cadences, and the moment-to-moment succession of individual chords. The second group of rules pertains to the manner in which individual parts or voices move from tone to tone in successive sonorities. The term “voice-leading” originates from the German Stimmführung, and refers to the direction of movement for tones within a single part or voice. A number of theorists have suggested that the principal purpose of voice-leading is to create perceptually independent musical lines."

   Locator: page: 2 · Quote language: en
4. onset-synchrony-texture
   In a study of 143 works classified by texture, the degree of onset synchrony was the most important factor distinguishing homophonic from polyphonic music. In Bach's polyphonic works, most perfect intervals occur with asynchronous onsets, while in his homophonic chorales most occur with synchronous onsets.

   "In a study comparing works of different texture, Huron (1989c) examined 143 works by several composers that were classified a priori according to musical texture. ... Of six factors studied, it was found that the most important discriminator between homophonic and polyphonic music is the degree of onset synchrony. ... However, for perfect intervals, the majority of occurrences are asynchronous in the polyphonic repertoire, whereas the majority are synchronous in the homophonic repertoire."

   Locator: page: 41-43 · Quote language: en
5. open-questions
   Huron notes that his perceptual account does not explain the sense of direction (leading) in pitch successions, and that whether the principles are universal aspects of auditory perception or products of culture-specific conditioning remains an open question.

   "Third, the perceptual scenario outlined here does not account for the sense of direction (“leading”) that attends musical pitch successions. ... An important question is whether the principles discussed in this article are universal aspects of human auditory perception or whether they arise from culture-specific conditioning."

   Locator: page: 54-55 · Quote language: en
6. perceptual-principles
   Huron explains traditional voice-leading rules using perceptual principles, mainly from research on auditory stream segregation. Six core principles (toneness, temporal continuity, minimum masking, tonal fusion, pitch proximity and pitch co-modulation) account for most traditional rules, and rules derived from them that are not found in traditional theory were also found to be consistent with musical practice. Four auxiliary principles (onset synchrony, limited density, timbral differentiation and source location) act as options that distinguish types of part writing such as polyphony, homophony and close harmony.

   "Six core principles are shown to account for the majority of voice-leading rules given in historical and contemporary music theory tracts. These principles are treated in a manner akin to axioms in a formal system from which the traditional rules of voice-leading are derived. Nontraditional rules arising from the derivation are shown to predict formerly unnoticed aspects of voice-leading practice. In addition to the core perceptual principles, several auxiliary principles are described. ... It is suggested that these auxiliary principles distinguish different types of part writing, such as polyphony, homophony, and close harmony."

   Locator: page: 1, 6 · Quote language: en
7. tonal-fusion
   Tonal fusion is the tendency of some concurrent tones to cohere into a single sound image. The unison fuses most, followed by the octave and then the perfect fifth. In J. S. Bach's polyphonic writing these intervals are avoided in proportion to how strongly they promote fusion, independently of the rule against parallel motion.

   "Tonal fusion is the tendency for some concurrent sound combinations to cohere into a single sound image. ... The pitch interval that most encourages tonal fusion is the aptly named unison. The second most fused interval is the octave, whereas the third most fused interval is the perfect fifth ... In Huron (1991b), it was shown that in the polyphonic writing of J. S. Bach, tonally fused harmonic intervals are avoided in proportion to the strength with which each interval promotes tonal fusion. ... Note that this observation is independent of the avoidance of parallel unisons, fifths, or octaves."

   Locator: page: 18-19 · Quote language: en