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Tonality
01
the organization of pitches and chords around a central pitch, creating a sense of harmonic stability and establishing a key center
What is "tonality"?
Tonality refers to the organization of pitches and chords around a central note, called the tonic, which gives the music a sense of direction and resolution. It determines the key of a piece, shaping its overall sound and mood. Tonality helps define the relationship between notes and chords, creating a framework that guides how music is structured and how different musical elements interact. It provides a sense of stability and coherence by centering the music around a specific pitch or scale.
Examples
The use of tonality provides listeners with a sense of orientation and expectation within a musical composition.
Baroque composers often employed tonality to structure their compositions around clear harmonic progressions and cadences.
Lexical Tree
tonality
tonal
ton
