Music A-Level
Harmonic colour
What Harmonic colour means in Music A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of Harmonic colour
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Reference: AQA
Chord extensions introduce colour and mild dissonance, expanding the harmonic palette of the 20th century.
Modes can create distinct harmonic colours free from the strong pull of perfect cadences.
Topics that use Harmonic colour
- Area of study 7: Art music since 1910 - Musical elements (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- 20th-century chord structures
- 20th-century compositional techniques
- 20th-century rhythmic innovation
- A cappella
- Additive and subtractive processes
- Alternatives to functional tonality
- Atonality
- Atonality and tonality
Using Harmonic colour in the exam
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