Alteration: A musical modification where a note is raised or lowered, typically by a half step, altering its pitch.

Context and Significance

Alteration plays a crucial role in music, allowing composers and performers to introduce tension, color, and emotional depth. It’s commonly used across various genres, such as jazz, classical, and contemporary music, to create unique harmonic progressions or enhance melodic lines. Instruments like the piano and guitar often employ altered notes to enrich musical expression, making alteration a vital tool in a musician’s repertoire.

Historical Background

The concept of alteration dates back to the Renaissance period, when composers began experimenting with chromaticism. This experimentation expanded during the Baroque era, leading to the structured use of accidentals in music notation. As music evolved, alteration became integral in jazz’s development, where altered chords and scales are fundamental to the genre’s improvisational nature.

Examples

In Claude Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” alterations contribute to the piece’s ethereal quality, with subtle shifts in harmony that evoke a dreamlike atmosphere. Jazz musicians like John Coltrane frequently use alteration in their solos, employing altered scales to navigate complex chord changes and create innovative sounds.

Related Terms:

Accidental: A symbol indicating a pitch alteration.

Chromaticism: A style that uses notes outside the standard scale.

Enharmonic: Notes that sound the same but are written differently, like C♯ and D♭.

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