Abstract ▼ AI-Helper

Debussy is a composer who led impressionism into music in 20thcentury. His music was influenced from that of paintings and literature. Before Debussy, most composers presented clear and objective expressions through chord progressions based on major and minor keys. On the other hand, Debussy exhibit...

Debussy is a composer who led impressionism into music in 20thcentury. His music was influenced from that of paintings and literature. Before Debussy, most composers presented clear and objective expressions through chord progressions based on major and minor keys. On the other hand, Debussy exhibited momentary feelings or subjective thoughts in his music. Debussy’s Prelude Book I for piano was composed in 1910 which was the peak of his musical life. Book I contains 12 preludes which has the individual titles. 12 different titles describe the moods of each preludes. In order to achieve his musical thoughts on Prelude Book I, Debussy employed church modes, pentatonic scales, whole tone scales, parallel techniques and extended chords. Church modes were frequently used in hymn music before tonal music established. Pentatonic scales were mainly used in Asia. Whole tone scales are consisted of 6 notes in which all intervals of consequent notes are whole tones. Parallel techniques had been regarded as wrong harmonic progressions before Debussy. Extended chords are seventh, ninth, eleventh chords which are not common in use. 12 preludes from Book I are analyzes and studied based on the church modes, pentatonic scales, whole tone scales, extended chords, and parallel techniques to examine the characteristics of Debussy’s musical expression. Debussy creates his unique music through the above compositional techniques.

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