Music A-Level
Tonal ambiguity
What Tonal ambiguity means in Music A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of Tonal ambiguity
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Reference: AQA
Created through the avoidance of perfect cadences or the use of extended chords, so the overall key centre is not firmly rooted.
A feature where the key centre is obscured, employed by artists in Contemporary traditional music.
Occurs when music deliberately avoids establishing a clear, stable tonal centre or key.
A lack of a traditional tonal centre, creating ambiguous, floating harmonic textures.
Topics that use Tonal ambiguity
- Area of study 2: Pop music - Musical elements (AQA A-Level)
- Area of study 6: Contemporary traditional music - Musical elements (AQA A-Level)
- Area of study 7: Art music since 1910 - Musical elements (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
Using Tonal ambiguity in the exam
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