Breaking Barlines

Online Music Theory Lessons: Turn Sound Into Skill

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By Aron Bernstein Leave a Comment

A Farewell to Mary Kogen

There are teachers who genuinely make a difference in your life, and I was proud to have been a student and friend of Portland’s own Mary Kogen. In a career more than five decades long, she taught piano and pedagogy at Eastern Illinois University and spent 26 years on the faculty at Portland State, striving always for the humanity and self-enhancement in music. And as for Breaking Barlines, I can confidently attribute a good deal of my own teaching methods to her influence. I was one of countless music teachers whose lives were touched by Mary’s warmth, unmatched humor, and her commitment to bringing music into people’s lives and souls. Though her time is ended, the light she left belongs to us all, and it will not go out. Thank you, Mary.

To read Mary Kogen’s obituary in OregonLive, please CLICK HERE.

By Aron Bernstein 8 Comments

Weekly Music Theory Challenge: 1/10/22

Show off your theory chops with my weekly challenge! You’ll find a new question here every Monday. Please comment to post your reply.

This week’s challenge:

Voice leading often demands that you omit a note in a chord. In any dominant seventh chord, which note is the best to omit?

a) The root?

b) The 3rd?

c) The 5th?

d) The 7th?

Check back on Friday, January 14th to see if you’re right!

ANSWER for 1/10/22

c) The Fifth. A dominant seventh chord needs its third and its seventh because these are the tendency tones, whose resolution is crucial. We also need the root, because that’s the note that defines the chord. Without the root, it becomes a diminished triad. It’s true that V7 and vii diminished are interchangeable as approaches to I, but V7 gives a more solid authentic cadence. So the only expendable note in a dominant seventh chord is the fifth, the least active tone. Without it, we still have the defining note and the tendency tones that make a dominant seventh chord really function.

Want to Learn More?

With Breaking Barlines you learn music theory the right way: fun, holistic, and with a personal touch! Have a look at the complete Breaking Barlines Course! Then sign up for a monthly subscription for full access to all video lessons, worksheets, and answer keys. New lessons are always added, so stay tuned!