How they sound: three gestures · Modal interchange · Music theory
The most delicate is the IV that darkens: F, Fm, C. The note A falls to A♭ and G, a chromatic line that seems to sigh. The second is the climb of ♭VI and…
How they sound: three gestures
The most delicate is the IV that darkens: F, Fm, C. The note A falls to A♭ and G, a chromatic line that seems to sigh. The second is the climb of ♭VI and ♭VII to I: it has a heroic air, heard in rock and film scores, because it leaps from a dark world to a bright one.
The third is the so-called backdoor dominant, ♭VII⁷ – I: IVm⁷ – ♭VII⁷ – I does the same as II – V – I, but comes in from the other side. A♭ falls to G and F falls to E, with no leading tone rising to the tonic. Its effect is gentler.