Common practice period

In European

Various popular idioms of the twentieth century differ from the standardized chord progressions of the common-practice period. While these later styles incorporate many elements of the tonal vocabulary (such as major and minor chords), the function of these elements is not identical to classical models of counterpoint and harmonic function. For example, in common-practice harmony, a major triad built on the fifth degree of the scale (V) is unlikely to progress directly to a root position triad built on the fourth degree of the scale (IV), but the reverse of this progression (IV–V) is quite common. By contrast, the V–IV progression is readily acceptable by many other standards; for example, this transition is essential to the "shuffle" blues progression's last line (V–IV–I–I), which has become the orthodox ending for blues progressions at the expense of the original last line (V–V–I–I) (Tanner & Gerow 1984, 37).

Rhythm

Coordination of the various parts of a piece of music through an externalized metre is a deeply rooted aspect of common-practice music.

1. Clearly enunciated or implied pulse at all levels, with the fastest levels rarely being extreme
2. pulse groups
   , in two-pulse or three-pulse groups, most often two
3. Metre and pulse groups that, once established, rarely change throughout a section or composition
4. Synchronous pulse groups on all levels: all pulses on slower levels coincide with strong pulses on faster levels
5. Consistent tempo throughout a composition or section
6. Tempo, beat length, and measure length chosen to allow one time signature throughout the piece or section

Duration

Durational patterns typically include (Winold 1975, chapter 3):

1. Small or moderate duration complement and range, with one duration (or pulse) predominating in the duration hierarchy, are heard as the basic unit throughout a composition. Exceptions are most frequently extremely long, such as pedal tones; or, if they are short, they generally occur as the rapidly alternating or transient components of trills, tremolos, or other ornaments.
2. extrametric patterns are signatures of certain styles or composers. Triplets
   and other extrametric patterns are usually heard on levels higher than the basic durational unit or pulse.
3. Rhythmic gestures
   of a limited number of rhythmic units, sometimes based on a single or alternating pair.
4. Thetic (i.e., stressed), anacrustic (i.e., unstressed), and initial rest rhythmic gestures are used, with anacrustic beginnings and strong endings possibly most frequent and upbeat endings most rare.
5. Rhythmic gestures are repeated exactly or in variation after contrasting gestures. There may be one rhythmic gesture almost exclusively throughout an entire composition, but complete avoidance of repetition is rare.
6. Composite rhythms
   confirm the metre, often in metric or even note patterns identical to the pulse on specific metric level.

Patterns of

• Harbison, John (1992). "Symmetries and the 'New Tonality'". Contemporary Music Review. 6 (2): 71–79.
  doi:10.1080/07494469200640141
  .
• Kliewer, Vernon (1975). "Melody: Linear Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music". In Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music, edited by Gary Wittlich, pp. 270–301. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
  ISBN 0-13-049346-5
  .
• Konečni, Vladimir J. (2009). "Mode and Tempo in Western Classical Music of the Common-Practice Era" (PDF). Empirical Musicology Review.
  hdl:1811/36604. Archived from the original
  (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
• London, Justin (2001). "Rhythm, §II: Historical Studies of Rhythm". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• ISBN 0-520-06991-9
  .
• Tanner, Paul, and Maurice Gerow (1984). A Study of Jazz. Dubuque, Iowa: William C. Brown Publishers. Cited in Robert M. Baker, "A Brief History of the Blues". TheBlueHighway.com.
• Winold, Allen (1975). "Rhythm in Twentieth-Century Music". In Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music, edited by Richard Peter Delone and Gary Wittlich, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
  ISBN 978-0-13-049346-0
  . pp. 208-269.

• Benjamin Piekut, "No Common Practice: The New Common Practice and its Historical Antecedents" (February 1, 2004).