The Naturalism of Tonality – Part 3: Inherent Tonality

“Our peasant music, naturally, is invariably tonal, if not always in the sense that the inflexible major and minor system is tonal. (An “atonal” folk-music, in my opinion, is unthinkable.) Since we depend upon a tonal basis of this kind in our creative work, it is quite self-evident that our works are quite pronouncedly tonal in type. I must admit, however, that there was a time when I thought I was approaching a species of twelve-tone music. Yet even in works of that period the absolute tonal foundation is unmistakable. „ – BelaBartók (1928). The Folk Songs of Hungary, Pro Musica VII (Oct)

With few exceptions, no matter what music we listen to, tonal implications are present. Whether it is the Pythagorean intervals of the wholetone and twelvetone scales, the modal and pentatonic scales of world music, or the Modes of Limited Transposition by Messiaen, all house some sort of tonal groundwork. Messiaen stayed consciously away from the wholetone scale in (while listing it as the first in his modes of limited transposition generally stayed away from it in his pieces), purely because of its separation from tonality as the wholetone scale avoids leading tones (See part 1).

Tonality has been used throughout cultures throughout the centuries, in the Modal music of Persia and Europe, or the Pentatonic Scales of Africa and Asia. The anhemitonic pentatonic scale especially gets its notes (unintendedly) from the first five keys in the circle of fifths. This domination of 5ths (as every not in the anhemitonic pentatonic scale as it’s relative fifth), implies yet another involvement of the Pythagorean Intervals that form tonality. Variants of the pentatonic scale (such as the hemitonic pentatonic scale), are mere variants of the purer anhemitonic scale. However, the semitone in hemitonic pentatonic (C Db Eb G Ab) is related to tonality through borrowing the leading tone from the Ionian scale – the same leading tone that works functionally only because of the tritone discussed in Part I. Almost as endorsement for the tonal origins of pentatonic scales is the relative minor pentatonic scale. Assuming that the anhemitonic pentatonic scale starts on C, the relative minor pentatonic scale will then start on A – Yet another borrowing from traditional tonality.

The medieval modes are evidently closely related to the traditional tonality as they are taken from the scale degrees of any key. Polymodality and Chromatic Polymodality are variants much like the hemitonic pentatonic scale are variants of the anhemitonic pentatonic scale. The inclusion of extra semitones are there purely as a functional leading tone. Like pentatonic scales, modal music has been extensively used by various cultures all over the world. Finally lending to my argument that tonal music, its extensions and variations are more natural than any version of Atonality. This is not to say that all atonal music is unnatural, nor is it to demean atonal music, it is merely to illustrate tonalities consistent part in music. Tonality has always been with music, consciously or not, has survived the tonal crisis of the early to mid twentieth century and is sure to survive as long as we could imagine.

“Naturamexpellasfurca, tamenusquerevenit.(You can drive nature out with a pitchfork, she will nevertheless come back) „ – Horace (65-8 BC), Epistles I.X.24.

Part 1: Tonal Gravity
Part 2: Exploitations

The entire three articles can be found as a PDF here.