The Concept of Ausweichungin Music Theory, ca. 1770-1832

In this essay I should like to address a misconception among some present-day writers who equate the late eighteenth-and early nineteenth-century German concept of Ausweichungwith the modern notion of modulation. One typical twentieth-century definition of modulation, from Arnold Schoenberg's the Structural Functions of Harmony, states that, "One should not speak of modulation unless a tonality has been abandoned definitely and for a considerable time, and another tonality has been established harmonically as well as thematically" (1968:19). Chromatic pitches intro-duced in a less definite manner are treated as embellishments to diatonic members of the prevailing key. Thus, the designation "V of V" indicates a harmony that, while not strictly diatonic, may be considered within the pitch constellation of a key.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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