1.30410 · Section 1: Musical elements and the language of listening

Tonality and harmony

Key learnings

Tonality and related keys
Tonality is the sense of a home pitch, the tonic, either major or minor. Moving to another key is modulation. The 0410 related keys: dominant (a 5th above the tonic), subdominant (a 5th below), relative major/minor (same key signature, a minor 3rd apart; C major and A minor), and tonic major/minor (same tonic, other mode; C major and C minor, which changes the key signature). Name the relationship, not the distance.
Primary and secondary chords; 7ths
Chords are numbered by scale degree. Primary chords -- I (tonic), IV (subdominant), V (dominant) -- carry the harmonic weight. Secondary chords -- ii, iii, vi -- add colour. A dominant 7th (V7) adds a 7th, pulling to resolve on I. A diminished 7th stacks minor 3rds, very unstable. Consonance sounds stable; dissonance unstable and resolves. Diatonic harmony stays in the key; chromatic uses notes from outside it.
Cadences, suspensions and pedals
A cadence punctuates a phrase end. Perfect (V-I) sounds finished; imperfect (ends on V) sounds unfinished; interrupted (V-vi) is a surprise (I expected, vi heard). (Plagal, IV-I, is beyond 0410.) A suspension holds a note from the previous chord into the next, then resolves down by step -- credit needs the note AND its resolution. A pedal sustains one note under changing harmony: a tonic pedal on the keynote, a dominant pedal on the 5th degree.

Common mistakes

Drawn from real examiner reports.

Perfect vs imperfect: last chord

Cadence confusion is symmetric: perfect and imperfect are swapped both ways. The fastest check: the LAST chord. Perfect (V-I) ends on the TONIC, sounding settled like a full stop. Imperfect (ends on V) ends on the DOMINANT, sounding paused like a comma. If the last chord is I it cannot be imperfect; if V, it cannot be perfect. Do not judge from an "ending" feel alone.

cambridge-0410.md Section 1: s22 Q4b, s23 Q19, w23 Q4b -- perfect and imperfect cadences confused in both directions.

Name the pedal: tonic or dominant

Spotting a sustained note under moving harmony and writing just "pedal" earns nothing -- both words are needed. A tonic pedal sustains the tonic (keynote); a dominant pedal sustains the dominant (5th degree). Find the sustained note, then work out its scale degree against the current key. (An inverted pedal, held in an upper part, is beyond 0410.)

cambridge-0410.md Section 1: s22 Q37a, w22 Q38a, w23 Q39 -- "pedal" alone insufficient; tonic or dominant pedal required.

Suspension: name note and resolution

A suspension is chronically under-answered. Saying "there is a suspension" earns little: you must state WHICH note is held over from the previous chord and WHAT it resolves down to by step. The held note clashes with the new chord (dissonance), then resolves. Without both the held note and its resolution, the answer stays incomplete.

cambridge-0410.md Section 1: w22 D2 Q34 -- even when "suspension" is offered, candidates rarely give the note and its resolution.

Relative vs tonic major/minor

A relative pair (e.g. C major and A minor) shares the SAME key signature, with different letter-name tonics a minor 3rd apart. A tonic pair (e.g. C major and C minor) keeps the SAME tonic note but switches mode, which CHANGES the key signature. Do not assume a tonic minor shares the major key signature -- only relative pairs do.

Major/minor: sound, not happy/sad

Judging tonality only by mood -- "happy" for major, "sad" for minor -- is unreliable and earns little. Major tonality tends to sound brighter and open, minor darker, but back the judgement with the sound of the tonic chord or, if the score is printed, the key signature. A minor-key piece can still sound energetic, so do not rely on the mood label alone.

Diatonic vs chromatic harmony

Diatonic harmony uses only notes and chords belonging to the current key's scale. Chromatic harmony brings in notes from OUTSIDE that scale -- accidentals not in the key signature -- for colour or tension. Do not call any coloured-sounding chord chromatic: check whether the notes actually lie outside the key before you use the term.

Dominant vs subdominant relationship

Candidates pick the wrong relationship term. The commonest mix-up is dominant for subdominant (or the reverse): both are a perfect 5th from the tonic, but dominant is ABOVE (C major to G), subdominant BELOW (C major to F). A bare "a 5th" is not accepted where the relationship term is required. Ask whether the new key is above or below the tonic.

cambridge-0410.md Section 1: s22 Q7b, s22 Q37b, w22 Q25b -- the wrong relationship term picked (dominant for subdominant); a bare interval number not credited.

Exam tips

Use the precise harmonic term
Harmony answers need the exact term. For a suspension, give the held note AND its resolution; label a chord diatonic (in the key) or chromatic (outside it); call a sound consonant or dissonant. "It sounds tense" earns nothing on its own.
Cadences: check the last chord
Identify a cadence by its final chord: tonic (I) after the dominant (V) = perfect; ending on the dominant (V) = imperfect; the expected tonic replaced by the submediant (vi) = interrupted. Naming the last chord first is safer than guessing from whether it sounds like an ending.
Name the relationship, not the distance
For a modulation, "a 5th away" is not enough. Name the RELATIONSHIP -- dominant, subdominant, relative major/minor, or tonic major/minor -- and check direction: the dominant is above the tonic, the subdominant below. A functional term, not an interval, earns the mark.

Revision notes