There are only two chords!

[WattsUrizen]

Ok hopefully we are done then? I generally dislike arguing the technicalities of music, mostly for two reasons. Firstly, it's just small minded and heartless to think of music as mechanical. Secondly, I tend to forget all the theory, and have to look it up in my books

But anyway, back to what you were saying, that a modern harmonic idiom is for 'advanced guys'. I don't think that is true. I think that most people have grown up listening to music which is very tonal, and so they relate to that, and they write in a similar idiom. However, once you become exposed to other styles, you will find that the language isn't necessarily more complicated, just different. In actual fact, it is harder to write good modal polyphony in a Renaissance style, because of all the restrictions they had. Well, I find it harder.

But back to the topic for one final word. I think I understood what you were getting at from the initial post. That in diatonic music, all harmony revolves around the perfect cadence. Now my first thoughts were that you were insane. I mean, if you think of serial, or even atonal, music, you would realise that the perfect cadence does not 'exist'. Well, I really mean not used, since in these styles we don't want any tonality to exist, and the perfect cadence does this overwhelmingly.

But after a while I thought of species counterpoint and the requirement that the penultimate note of the melody be either the supertonic or leading tone. Which of course lends itself to the perfect cadence. But the harmony that arises from counterpoint is mostly consequential from the melodic movement, and the tension largely comes from here.

So I guess you could say that your simplification had a valid point somewhere in there. But I think you just pushed it a little too far.

Not too mention that the argument was just reduced to technicalities. Which is totally unfair. I get the impression that maybe you just wanted to put forth an idea that would help people improvise and compose. Of again, it all depends upon the style you are performing. This oversimplification wouldn'
t work as well in more modern idioms. But anyway...

[Terje]

I did put forht an idea I dont' even agree with myself because it has a value. I did put it in a strong way to create debate just for fun. It's all play.

[WattsUrizen]

That's interesting then. Stating something you do not necessarily agree with. But I suppose I've been guilty of that, just trying to stir up a bit of debate.