Inspired by the “Melody in Songwriting Tip of the Day”
resolution 1.5 (ReBirth file: 19 Kb)
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Created Memorial Day 2002
All tonal systems are built in a hierarchical structure. There is always one tone, the tonic, which is the most stable. Other tones having a good relationship to the tonic are also labeled "stable." The most stable tones are 1, 3, and 5; 1 is more stable than 5, and 5 is more stable than 3. Other tones that have a more distant relationship to the tonic are labeled “unstable.”
Unstable tones, since they “need” to move, have intrinsic melodic energy. Unstable tones tend to resolve in a downward direction to stable tones. Therefore, 2 resolves to 1; 4 resolves to 3; 6 resolves to 5; 7, because it is most unstable and is one half-step away from the tonic, resolves upward to the tonic.
- from Melody in Songwriting by Jack Perricone © 2001 Berklee Press