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Study Material. In classical music, chaconnes, passacaglias and theme and variations incorporate circular progressions. Each time the progression is played, it is expressed in a new way. This excerpt from Georg Friedrick Handel's Passacaglia in g-minor cycles the harmonic progression four times. Circular and Linear Progressions, Connexions Web site. http://cnx.org/content/m35093/1.1/, Aug 12, 2010. Circular, Linear, Progressions, Robert, McClure, Woogie, Boogie, Bar, B
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Connexions module: m35093 1
This work is produced by The Connexions Project and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License †
note: Please note that you must have the most recent copy of Macromedia's Flash plugin installed to play the musical examples.
A circular progression cycles the same harmonic pattern over and over again: The harmonies revolve like a spinning merry-go-round. Circular progressions are common in commercial music. The theme song from the television series The Oce is based on one. Example 1 This media object is an audio le. Please view or download it at <http://cnx.org/content/m35093/1.1/Oce>
Circular progressions are also ubiquitous in improvisatory and participatory music: They allow for in- dependence and spontaneity within a shared, reliable framework. Jazz's 12-bar blues and Boogie- Woogie bass-line are iconic examples. Example 2 This media object is an audio le. Please view or download it at http://cnx.org/content/m35093/1.1/Boogie
In classical music, chaconnes, passacaglias and theme and variations incorporate circular progressions. Each time the progression is played, it is expressed in a new way. This excerpt from Georg Friedrick Handel's Passacaglia in g-minor cycles the harmonic progression four times. Example 3 This media object is an audio le. Please view or download it at http://cnx.org/content/m35093/1.1/Handel04
In this excerpt from Sergei Prokoev's Violin Concerto No. 2 , the solo violin traces its languorously evolving melody over a circular progression, which cycles eight times. Only in the last cycle is there is a small change in the harmonic progression. Example 4 This media object is an audio le. Please view or download it at <http://cnx.org/content/m35093/1.1/Prokoev01>
On the other hand, a linear progression keeps changing, incorporating new chords and patterns. This excerpt from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 in c-minor is a linear progression.
∗Version 1.1: Aug 12, 2010 2:37 pm GMT- †http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
http://cnx.org/content/m35093/1.1/
Connexions module: m35093 2
Example 5 This media object is an audio le. Please view or download it at http://cnx.org/content/m35093/1.1/Mozart23
Circular progressions are frequently used for sustaining a mood or elaborating on a state of mind. Linear progressions serve a stronger narrative purpose: They allow the music to progress to new destinations and incorporate greater contrast. Most commercial songs consist of circular progressions: The words may tell a story but the harmony generally revolves in a circle. In contrast, classical music generally incorporates both types: As a result, the music itself can tell an expansive, evolving tale.
http://cnx.org/content/m35093/1.1/