beta dominance

I tried my best to avoid this one. But one only lives once, and my mom said
to try to help people in trouble, so.......

Joseph Perhson said (in a desperate tone):
>
> Let's get REALLY simplistic for a moment. Therefore the chart would be:
>
> F--C--G
>
> IV--I--V
>
> And, the "secondary functions" of an extended series of fifths would be:
>
> F--C--G--D--A--E
>
> IV--I--V--IV (implied) -- IV (implied) -- IV (implied)
>
> It looks a little "lopsided" to me...
>
> And, what about all the fifths on the "other side":
>
> Bb, Eb, Ab, etc?? [I guess those fourthy subdomiant ones are pretty "cool"
> rock progressions...]
>
> Do we get, many thanks to Pythagoras:
>
> Ab--Eb--Bb--F--C--G--D--A--E
>
> IV (implied)--IV (implied)--IV(implied)--IV (the "real one")--I (thank
> god)--V (whoopee)--IV (implied, you "gotta believe")-- IV (implied) -- IV
> (implied)
>
> Man, I'm sure glad I'm not a V. I'd get "whalloped" by all the "betas...!"
>
> In any case, if this is the Riemann system, I would rather opt for the
> Forte which, as we have shown is quite a bit different. Just for
> reference, here it is again. (I hope the server can store it...)

As I see it, there are two principles at work here. One is the tendency of a
chord root to move to one a fifth below (probably stemming from the
Pythagorean picture of a string of fifths). The other is the idea that the
tonic root (and chord) is flanked on "either side" by a root (and chord) a
fifth above (V) and another root (and chord) a fifth below (IV).

A practical simplified view of the latter (in major mode) is:

Tonic harmony: I, vi, and sometimes iii
Dominant harmony: V, vii, and sometimes iii6
Subdominant harmony: IV and ii

Think of ii, iii, and vi as little "relative minors" of IV, V and I
(respectively). Going from a primary to a secondary is cool, but not the
reverse. Any subdominant chord can be "preparation" for dominant but is not
obliged to go there. Any dominant chord is obliged to go to a tonic chord,
but does not go to a subdominant chord unless it returns to dominant before
going to tonic.

Minor mode is similar but has some limitations because of weirdness in
adjusted scale steps.

I know this is cursory, but I really don't want to sit here and rewrite my
book. At the risk of appearing commercial, further clarifications are
available in "The Sounds of Music: Perception and Notation." If interested,
try your local Borders or Barnes and Noble, or if you can wait for the mail,
try Amazon.com or Bookzone.com. If all else fails, email me and we can "work
a deal" from our office.

Jerry