Workshop 23 mini-test

1. What is a pedal point?

2. Why can repeated melody notes support rich reharmonization?

3. What is the classic descending bass line we practiced?

4. What is the difference between putting that chromatic line in bass versus inner voice?

5. What does G7sus→G7 change?

6. What is the difference between pedal and ostinato?

7. Why are common tones especially useful during chromatic harmony?

8. What should you do if both melody and harmony are becoming overly busy?

9. Why can a clear ii–V–I feel particularly strong after a pedal/modal section?

10. What is the deepest lesson of Workshop 23?

Answers

1. A sustained or repeated bass note that remains while the harmony above it changes.
2. The repeated pitch provides continuity, allowing its harmonic role to change underneath without destroying melodic identity.
3. C → B → B♭ → A → A♭ → G.
4. In the bass it feels more directional and dramatic; as an inner line over a pedal it feels more suspended and introspective.
5. C→B, changing a suspended/open dominant into a stronger functional dominant.
6. A pedal repeats or sustains one pitch; an ostinato repeats a multi-note rhythmic/melodic pattern.
7. They provide an audible thread of continuity while roots or chord qualities change.
8. Simplify one dimension—usually reduce harmonic density or melodic activity so the layers remain intelligible.
9. Because the ear has spent time without strong directional gravity, so conventional dominant-to-tonic motion suddenly provides a powerful sense of destination.
10. Repetition becomes expressive when something important stays constant while other musical dimensions evolve around it.

The central lesson of Workshop 23 is:

Musical development does not require constant new material. Sometimes the strongest arrangement is built by refusing to change one thing—and changing everything around it.