Strata Harmony with Polychords in Seconds: Combining Persichetti and Schillinger Part 1

This is Part 1 in a two-part series on writing music with polychords, that is, stacked three-note chords in seconds as presented in the Vincent Persichetti book, and setting multi-layer chord continuities with a Schillinger System Strata Harmony approach. Use four trichord structures built from major and minor seconds, then stack these in two layers. Interpret polychord characteristics and properties in terms of the equivalent 3- to 6-element Pitch-Class Sets. Consider hexachord voicing and note doubling. Create chord continuities with polychords in seconds and apply strata harmony voice leading. The sketching process is demonstrated with five examples in different musical styles: woodwind trio chamber music, sectional harmony for saxophones or brass, string section background, and synthesizer texture.
Companion document (text, diagrams and score fragments, PDF, 37 pp., A4) is available on Patreon.
Contents:
00:00 Opening titles
00:31 Section 1 Introduction: what this video is about
01:31 Section 2 Chord structures in seconds, Persichetti book, Schillinger System
02:19 Section 2.1 Trichord in 2nds, four structure types (major,minor,Phrygian,chromatic)
03:33 Section 2.2 Polychords with two stacked trichords in seconds, Pitch-Class Sets
09:56 Section 2.3 Voicings and Doubling, inversion, closed vs. open
13:21 Example 1 Phrase for woodwind trio, single trichord progression, create parts
15:33 Section 3 Composing with polychords in seconds, tension level control, voicing
15:48 Example 2 Five-part sectional harmony for saxophone section
19:51 Section 3.1 Strata harmony, layers with multiple parts, voice leading
20:19 Example 3 Six-part sectional harmony for brass section, two layers with trichords
#SchillingerSystem #Polychords #StrataHarmony
Support video tutorial production on this channel?
PayPal www.fransabsil.nl/htm/archive...
Patreon / fransabsil
Website www.fransabsil.nl

[@rafaeldemiranda8107]

I always thought how Persichetti would fit with Schillinger's theory. Eager to see more!

[@FransAbsil]

@rafaeldemiranda8107 I assume you have read the Persichetti chapter on chords by seconds; he covers the trichords in just four pages and leaves polychords until the next chapter. The listing of all 6-part polychord combination options you typical would find in the Schillinger books. My contribution is to evaluate these options and use subsets for creating musical phrases or short compositions. The results are original but the combination of approaches links the two authors. Thanks for the response; currently I am preparing Part 2.

[@auedpo]

Excellent video, Frans! Thank you, as always, for sharing new ideas and combining concepts that I know in isolation, but would not have thought to combine. I am curious, after reflecting on your 'composing with Schillinger' series, does this kind of workflow come naturally to you now? (Setting out all possibilities and then creating a subset of desired ideas which are then worked into a composition.) It kind of reminds me of Elliot Carter's 'Harmony Book' - everything collected and listed out, just waiting for the composer to come along, pluck out, and then polish one of the diamonds!
Take care!

[@FransAbsil]

Hi @auedpo, sorry for the late reply, but YT did not notify me of this comment. Happened to see it today. About the 'Sketching with Schillinger' process I can say that since I studied his system I always look for equivalence when studying other books, such as the Persichetti Harmony (I am not familiar with Elliott Carter's book, thanks for mentioning it). Sometimes I cannot find a full subject match, but fairly often there is sufficient overlap. When creating an example composition within a limited timeframe I frequently start with one or two core elements based on a specific technique. Then the Schillinger generalisation approach kicks in and I will investigate the (full) set of alternative options. Then I evaluate the options, reject some and the remaining subset is used in the application phase in combination with aspects from other Schillinger books. So yes, it is a more or less natural approach by now. I may go through various iterations, the quality of the end product will vary, but I do not stop before I have finished a sensible example for a tutorial. But that only the viewer can judge, really. Does this response make sense?