Wednesday, December 3, 2014

A Twist on an Old Holiday Classic

Below are eight signature measures from a traditional holiday tune that, in the manner of last month's post, have been turned slightly counterclockwise, adding a diatonic step up for every quarter note after the first downbeat. I've added a bass drone on E that produces good counterpoint with this rotated tune: every note that is dissonant with the bass is linked by step to a consonant tone. This means that, when rotated, the counterpoint can remain good, at least with regards to the relationship between the lines. I encourage you to try to figure out the tune before scrolling down to see the answer; a dashed plumb line has been added to assist you.























Happy Holidays!