CHAPTER 1.

PITCH CENTRICITY
AND COMPOSITION WITH MOTIVIC CELLS

As a result of the progressive weakening and dissolution of functional tonality in

late-nineteenth-century music, some composers in the early twentieth century started investigating
new methods of pitch organization. The experimentation with pitch organization often came
paired with new approaches to rhythm, texture, form and formal growth, and orchestration. In
Chapters 1 and 2 we will focus on some composers such as Claude Debussy (1862–1918), Igor
Stravinsky (1882–1971), and Béla Bartók (1881–1945), who did not necessarily seek to give up
the concept of tonal center, but in whose music we normally find a systematic avoidance of
functional tonality and of the traditional methods of tonal centricity associated to functional
tonality. We will also use this initial chapter of the book to review some general concepts and
procedures in the areas of form, formal processes, rhythm, and meter.

Pitch Centricity

In the Introduction we defined pitch centricity as the organization of pitch structures around one
or more pitch centers, although not necessarily through a system of pitch hierarchies around a
tonic. Nonfunctional pitch centricity may be achieved through a variety of means. These means
are contextual, rather than systematic. That is, there are no such things as “systems” of
nonfunctional pitch centricity, and to determine a center achieved by nonfunctional means we
need to examine and interpret specific musical contexts.

Pedals

A sense of pitch centricity, for instance, may result from the use of pedals (drones or sustained
tones) or ostinatos (melodic fragments repeated many times), two musical elements often found
in the music we will study in this chapter. We hear the passage from “La soirée dans Grenade”
(1903) by Debussy reproduced in Example 1.1 as centered on F♯ because of the F♯ bass pedal,
despite the very chromatic and nonfunctional pitch content of the right hand, organized as
chromatic triads moving in parallel motion.

Scalar Collections

Nonfunctional pitch centricity may also result from the use of scalar collections that are built on
(or can be referred to) a pitch center, such as modal, pentatonic, whole-tone, or octatonic scales
and collections (we will study modal and pentatonic scales in this chapter, and whole-tone and
octatonic scales in Chapter 2). Consider the phrase by Bartók in example 1.2. Because the two
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voices move in octaves, no harmony or counterpoint is involved in this phrase. Yet we have a
clear sense of pitch centricity on G because the passage is built on a diatonic collections centered
on G (the passage begins and ends on G, the melody keeps returning to a lowest pitch G, and
there is frequent motion between G and D, scale degrees 1^ and 5^ in a G scale). From the
pitches present in this phrase, we can infer a minor scale on G with an E natural (a raised 6^).
This is, then a melody in the Dorian mode transposed to G.

Example 1.1: Claude Debussy, “La soirée dans Grenade,” from Estampes, II, mm. 33–36

Example 1.2: Béla Bartók, “Little Study,” no. 77 from Mikrokosmos, III, mm. 1–4

Motivic Unity

Besides exploring alternative methods of creating pitch-centered compositions, composers in the

early twentieth century were also concerned with providing unity to their compositions through
motivic means. This could take the form of literal motivic relationships at the surface level, or of
more abstract motivic relationships provided by some basic intervallic cells. In the absence of
the unifying force of functional tonality, motivic relationships, coupled with non-functional
methods of pitch centricity, provided strong and sufficient elements of long-range cohesion for
these composers’ music. In the first two chapters of this book we will examine in some detail
some of their music.
Our analytical focus will not only be on pitch centricity and motivic relationships, but also
on any other musical elements that may be representative of either a particular composer’s style
or of a more general approach to composition in the early twentieth century. Our general
questions as we face the analysis of twentieth century music will thus be, How can we best
understand this music? What do we need to know to understand this music, and what specific
analytical methods do we need to apply? How can the knowledge of the particular stylistic and
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compositional idiosyncracies of this music help us to better listen to it and, if we can perform it,
to better perform it?”

Diatonic Collections

A collection of pitches that contains seven basic, unaltered pitches that are adjacent to one another
on the circle of fifths (as represented by the white keys of the piano) is known as a diatonic
collection (or a diatonic scale, when ordered in ascending or descending order). The major and
natural minor scales constitute the two most familiar diatonic collections. Because major and
minor scales, however, are usually found in functional contexts, we will not consider them in our
present discussion. Twentieth-century post-tonal composers have been more interested in
non-functional diatonic collections such as the modes.

The Modes
The basic historical modes are Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, and Aeolian, to
which we can add the modern mode Locrian. If we think of the white keys of the piano and of
the octave C–C, each of the seven modes begins on one of the pitches of the octave is such a way
that the seven modes result from a complete rotation of the diatonic collections, as illustrated in
Example 1.3. Thus, Ionian is represented by the octave C–C, Dorian by the octave D–D,
Phrygian by E–E, Lydian by F–F, Mixolydian by G–G, Aeolian by A–A, and Locrian by B–B.

Tones and Semitones in the Modes

Note that although the pitch collection in each of these scales is the same (the diatonic white-key
collection), the intervallic structure is not. The diatonic collection is made up of five tones and
two semitones. The placement of the two semitones within the octave varies in each of the seven
modes and contributes to each mode’s characteristic sound. The sound of Ionian (the major scale),
for instance, is characteristic because of the semitones between scale degrees 3^–4^ and 7^–1^,
whereas Phrygian is easily recognizable because of the semitones between degrees 1^–2^ and 5^
–6^.

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Note: The diatonic collection is symmetrical, as you can verify in the D–D rotation in Example
1.3. The succession of tones (T) and semitones (S) in this rotation is T–S–T–T–T–S–T, where the
central T (between G and A) functions as the axis of symmetry. You can read this succession of
intervals forward or backward, and it’s the same.
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The Modal Scales

It is particularly useful to think of the modes in relation to the familiar major and natural minor
scales, and remember which scale degree is different in each of the modes with respect to the
major and minor scales, as shown in the following list:
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1. Ionian C–C) is the same as major

2. Dorian (D–D) is a natural minor scale with a raised 6^ (♯6^, or B♮)
3. Phrygian (E–E) is a natural minor scale with a lowered 2^ (♭2^, or F♮)
4. Lydian (F–F) is a major scale with a raised 4^ (♯4^, or B♮)
5. Mixolydian (G–G) is a major scale with a lowered 7^ (♭7^, or F♮)
6. Aeolian (A–A) is the same as natural minor
7. Locrian (B–B) is a natural minor scale with a lowered 2^ (♭2^, or C♮) and a
lowered 5^ (♭5^, or F♮)

Example 1.3: The modal scales

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Transposing the Modes

Each of the modes can be transposed to begin on any note. A transposition will usually be
reflected in the key signature, although the composer may also write some of the accidentals in
the music. Every flat added to a key signature signifies a transposition up a perfect fourth (or
down a perfect fifth). Thus, we can, for instance transpose Dorian to G with one flat, to C with
two flats, to F with three flats, etc. And, similarly, Mixolydian on C will carry one flat in the
signature, Mixolydian on F will carry two flats, and so on.
Every sharp added to the signature, on the other hand, will transpose a mode down a
fourth (or up a fifth). Dorian can be transposed to A with one sharp, to E with two sharps, for
example, and Mixolydian can be transposed to D with one sharp, to A with two sharps, and so on.
Some of these transpositions are shown in Example 1.4.

Example 1.4: Examples of modal transpositions

Identifying the Modes

To identify the mode of a passage in a transposed mode, we can proceed as follows:

• We can examine the key signature and determine the tonal center established by the
particular musical context of the passage. In Example 1.2, we have no difficulty
identifying G as the tonal center (the melody begins and ends on G), and we already know
that a key signature of one flat in a melody in G is a clear indication of G Dorian.
• Or we can also figure out the scale, and then identify the intervallic pattern characteristic
of a particular mode. In Example 1.2, the intervallic pattern we identify is the pattern for
the Dorian mode (a minor scale, in this case incomplete, with a raised 6^).

Two melodies by Debussy will illustrate transposed modes in which the accidentals are
written into the music rather than in the signature. The melody in Example 1.5 is clearly
centered on C. We perceive it as such because both the first phrase and the whole melody begin
and end on C, and because it spells out a C major scale with one accidental, B♭. We know that B♭
in a C scale is a lowered 7^, the degree that defines the Mixolydian mode, so this melody is in C
Mixolydian.
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Example 1.5: Debussy, “La cathédrale engloutie,” from Preludes, book I,

mm. 28–41 (melody only)

Finally, examine the violin part for the opening measures of Debussy’s String Quartet no.
1 (1893), shown in Example 1.6. The key signature seems to indicate the key of Gm. The
central role of G is confirmed by the opening pitch G, and by the stress on G (by repetition and by
accent) in mm. 1–5. As we play the melody, however, we notice the absence of F♯s and the
flattening of all As (which effectively adds one flat to the scale). What is the G mode with three
flats and no F♯? Think of a G scale with three flats: what characteristic scale degree identifies the
mode of this scale?

Example 1.6: Debussy, String Quartet no. 1, I, mm. 1–12 (first violin part)

Pentatonic Collections

A pentatonic collection contains only five different pitches. The most common pentatonic
collection in Western music is shown in Example 1.7a. You can easily think of it as being made
up of scale degrees 1^–2^–3^–5^–6^ of a CM scale, and we call it an anhemitonic scale because
it contains no semitones. Because there are no half-step tendencies in this scale, however, it is
tonally ambiguous: any of its pitches can function as a tonal center. Example 1.7 illustrates that
by rotating what was originally presented as white-key C-pentatonic, we arrive at four other forms
of the same pitch collection, which we can hear as centered on D, E, G, and A, respectively. To
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determine which of the five pitches of this collection functions as a center in a particular passage,
we will need to examine the particular musical context in which the collection appears.

Example 1.7: The rotations of C-pentatonic

A pentatonic fragment by Debussy appears in Example 1.8. What is the complete

pentatonic collection on which this passage is based? Notice that both melody and harmony are
generated by the same pentatonic collection. What is its tonal center? What elements in this
particular passage lead you to decide on a particular pitch as a center?

Example 1.8: Debussy, “Pagodes,” from Estampes, mm. 1–4

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Note: The pentatonic collection is symmetrical, as is the diatonic collection. If you examine the
last rotation in Example 1.7 (beginning on A) you will see the symmetrical intervallic pattern
m3–T–T–m3, symmetrical around D.
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Pentatonic Ambiguity

The unaccompanied melody by Ravel shown in Example 1.9, on the other hand, illustrates the
ambiguous character of the pentatonic scale with respect to centricity. Notice that the melody
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begins on C♯ and ends on F♯. Moreover, both C♯ and F♯ are emphasized throughout the
melody’s contour. This emphasis is registral (both pitches function as the low point of arrival in
particular melodic fragments) and rhythmic (both pitches appear as dotted quarters in mm. 1–4,
the longest notes in this melodic segment). Would you say that the pitch center is C♯ or F♯? Or
perhaps that the melody goes back and forth between the two without clearly settling on either?

Example 1.9: Maurice Ravel, Trio in A Minor, III, “Passacaille,” mm. 1–9

We should also mention that many other pentatonic collections are possible and used in
non-Western musical traditions. Four of these, found in South Indian music, are shown in
Example 1.10. Notice that, unlike the collection in example 1.7, all of the collections in example
1.10 contain semitones.

Example 1.10: Four South Indian pentatonic collections

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A Summary of Criteria for Identifying Nonfunctional Pitch Centers

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As we have discussed and illustrated so far in this chapter, nonfunctional pitch centricity is
contextual rather than systematic. To determine whether a piece or a fragment is pitch-centered,
and how it is so, we need to examine (and listen to) the music closely, and we need to interpret
what we see and hear in order to make decisions on pitch centricity. The following are some of
the various factors that may have a bearing on pitch centricity, and hence that we should examine
to help us interpret pitch centricity in a particular musical context.
1. Pedals, ostinatos, or note repetition. Stress on a note or a group of notes by pedal, ostinato,
or repetition usually creates a sense of pitch centricity.
2. Use of a pitch-centered scalar collection. Pitch-centered collections are scalar collections
built on a pitch (the pitch center) following some intervallic patterns. The diatonic
collection can be rotated to form seven different modes. Other pitch-centered collections
are the pentatonic, whole-tone, octatonic, and hexatonic scales (the latter three will be
studied in Chapter 2).
3. In music built on a pitch-centered scalar collection, we need to determine both the pitch
center and the scale built on it. Some of the factors that will help us determine the pitch
center are beginning and ending pitches for the phrase or section we are examining;
important cadential pitches within the section; pitches that are emphasized by means of
melodic motion, particularly if scale degrees 1^ and 5^ are emphasized; and, possibly,
pitches that have an important registral role (for instance, scale degrees 1^ or 5^ may
often appear as the lowest or highest pitches in the melodic contour).
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