An Idiom of Melodic-Harmonic Divorce

Abstract

Within the stratified harmonic behavior known as melodic-harmonic divorce, this paper identifies a gesture repeated idiomatically across rock repertory. Dubbed “sub-circle” motion, this idiom is specifically a form of syntax divorce wherein a melodic layer unfolds in a way consonant with and suggestive of circle-of-fifths root motion (+P4) between two accompanying major chords; however, the harmonic layer’s root instead moves up by a minor third (+m3), creating a stratified dissonance, or divorce. The paper then identifies a standard set of paradigms—specific transpositional instances of the idiom—and catalogues numerous examples of their use in rock music. One paradigm, V-".fn_flat('')."VIIadd9, is the subject of special analytic and historical inquiry, due to its proliferation as a deceptive cadence in the late twentieth century. This previously untheorized cadence is the most prominent instance of the sub-circle idiom.