Re: GG: His "key"

[mwilliamson@alston.com]

     Excellent point, Mr. Mansfield, and beautifully described.
     
     Of course, in the works of J.S. Bach and most 18th century 
     music, the melodic scale (sharp 6 and 7 ascending, natural 6 
     and 7 descending) is most characteristic.  In the works of 
     J.S. Bach in particular, it is often possible to find a 
     sharp 7 descending, which is of course associated with the 
     harmonic scale, but frequently it is possible to explain 
     this by breaking the musical figure into two voices, one of 
     which is ascending while the other is descending.  The 
     "harmonic" scale is so-called because it really represents 
     the components of the principal chords associated with a 
     particular minor key, rather than a "scale" which would 
     typically be played note-by-note in a practical musical 
     context.  But it is possible to find note-by-note harmonic 
     scales in many musical contexts, including later "Western" 
     music and many kinds of ethnic music.
     
     Accordingly, I would associate GG with the "melodic" minor 
     scale because of his connection with the music of J.S. Bach 
     in particular and 18th century music in general.


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: GG:  His "key"
Author:  Johnathan Mansfield <jmansfield@cov.com> at Internet
Date:    11/12/96 4:09 PM


Not that it really matters, but (to oversimplify) "harmonic", "natural" and 
"melodic" generally describe minor scales, not minor keys.  In traditional 
harmony, a piece in the key of f minor may use any or all of these scales, 
depending on the harmonic/melodic/aesthetic context.  As to which scale
GG would prefer, I might posit that it would depend on the context--and 
his mood.
     
     
John Mansfield
jmansfield@cov.com