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Message: [QUOTE="Jeanne Jenner, post: 87558"] [HEADING=2]Counting semitones for secundal harmony[/HEADING] The key thing to understand is that secundal harmony [B]doesn't use a fixed semitone count[/B]. Instead, you simply stack [B]whatever the second the scale gives you[/B] at each step. [HEADING=2]How it works[/HEADING] Starting from your chosen note, you move to the [B]next adjacent note in the scale[/B], not a fixed interval apart. The size of each second depends on where you are in the scale: [LIST] [*]A [B]major 2nd[/B] = 2 semitones (whole step) [*]A [B]minor 2nd[/B] = 1 semitone (half step) [/LIST] [HEADING=2]Applied to your example (F# Bebop Dominant, from G#6)[/HEADING] [TABLE width="100%"] [TR] [th]From → To[/th][th]Semitones[/th][th]Type[/th] [/TR] [TR] [td]G# → A#[/td][td]2[/td][td]Major 2nd[/td] [/TR] [TR] [td]A# → B[/td][td]1[/td][td]Minor 2nd[/td] [/TR] [TR] [td]B → C#[/td][td]2[/td][td]Major 2nd[/td] [/TR] [TR] [td]C# → D#[/td][td]2[/td][td]Major 2nd[/td] [/TR] [TR] [td]D# → E[/td][td]1[/td][td]Minor 2nd[/td] [/TR] [TR] [td]E → E# (F)[/td][td]1[/td][td]Minor 2nd[/td] [/TR] [TR] [td]E# → F#[/td][td]1[/td][td]Minor 2nd[/td] [/TR] [/TABLE] [HEADING=2]The Contrast with tertial harmony[/HEADING] In [B]tertial[/B] harmony (standard chords), you skip a scale note each time, stacking thirds. In [B]secundal[/B] harmony, you skip nothing; every consecutive scale tone gets stacked. That's what creates the dense, cluster-like sound. So the process is straightforward: pick your starting note, then just keep piling on the [B]next scale degree[/B] above it. The scale's structure automatically determines whether each interval is 1 or 2 semitones. [MEDIA=youtube]nVvxbNBHddc[/MEDIA] [/QUOTE]

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