Two views of Schoenberg's post‐tonal music are common: that it is non‐functional, and that there was a complete break from the tonal music that preceded it. In this article I show that there are aspects of functional voice leading, derived from tonality, that are still present in Schoenberg's early post‐tonal music. Furthermore, this functional harmony also helps to communicate the form of the piece and to supply closure.
In the performance of bluegrass fiddle tunes, each repetition of the tune is generally played on a different instrument. I argue that the degree to which the instrument can influence the motivic material in improvised passages is beyond idiomaticism – where phrases might suit one instrument more than another – to the point where melodic pitch collections are shaped by the instrument itself. By combining post-human philosophies with music theories that emphasise instrument–player relationships, this essay shows how non-humans exercise agency in bluegrass improvisation. The resultant instrument-influenced passages contrast with each other, as each is played on a different instrument. This can help to signify formal structure within a performance, while the recurrence of particular instrument-influenced elements can be seen as a genre marker in bluegrass.
In this article I argue that vagrant harmonies have the ability to imply contexts outside of their current tonal region, which is supplied by their immediate musical surroundings. Viewing vagrants in this way enables their functionality to be compared to that of the magnetosome in saltwater bacteria. To explore harmonic function in relation to biological function, I use Larry Wright's (1973) definition of function and apply it to musical phenomena. This leads to a twofold view of harmonic function in vagrants, where it is both intrinsic and extrinsic. These concepts are then used in extracts of tonal pieces. Finally, I examine the second of Alban Berg's Four Songs, Op. 2, to show how harmonic progressions, when used in this way, can provide an exit from tonality while retaining function.
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