Workshop 73 mini-test

1. What two forces make a good transition?

2. Why are common tones effective glue?

3. How can a tonic chord become a transition to IV with only one note changed?

4. Why is a sus chord useful between major and minor?

5. What makes a diminished chord especially useful for transitions?

6. How can a style change happen without a harmonic change?

7. What is the difference between a seamless transition and a dramatic transition?

8. Why does duration affect whether a connector chord feels like an approach or a new harmonic region?

9. What should you ask when many musical dimensions change at once?

10. What is the deepest lesson of Workshop 73?

Answers

1. Continuity plus change: at least one recognizable element usually survives while another important dimension changes.
2. A common pitch remains perceptually stable while surrounding harmony changes, giving the ear a continuous thread across otherwise different sonorities.
3. In C, change Cmaj7 to C7 by lowering B→B♭; C7 then functions naturally as V of F.
4. Sus removes or delays the 3rd, temporarily reducing major/minor identity, so the harmony can pass through a neutral state before revealing the new 3rd.
5. Fully diminished seventh chords are symmetrical and can be enharmonically reinterpreted to resolve by semitone into several different tonal destinations.
6. Hold or preserve the same harmony while changing subdivision, bass pattern, articulation, comping rhythm, or texture; the harmonic continuity glues the rhythmic shift.
7. A seamless transition minimizes awareness of the boundary through common tones/voice leading/continuous rhythm; a dramatic transition deliberately makes the boundary audible through a break, direct modulation, register jump, or sudden texture change.
8. A brief chromatic sonority is often heard as a passing/approach event, while a long duration allows the ear to establish it as an independent harmonic environment.
9. Ask what can remain invariant across the boundary—a note, motif, pulse, bass pattern, voicing, or harmony—or deliberately choose a confident hard cut.
10. Transitions are convincing when the new section grows out of something the ear already understands, even if only one small element survives the change.

The central lesson of Workshop 73 is:

To connect two musical worlds, you do not need to build a complicated bridge. Often one note, one rhythm, one bass motion, one motif—or even one well-placed silence—is enough.