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French augmented sixth chords
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French augmented sixth chords: The Italian sixth is relatively thin in texture, containing only three unique members. The French sixth, by contrast, adds scale degree 2 and has significantly more dissonance between the voices. It is sometimes referred to as an augmented  chord, though again this is not to imply that it is a seventh chord in second inversion. Example 9 illustrates:
Example 9: 
We can see the voiceleading already familiar to us from the Italian sixth: #4 and b6 resolve outward by semitone to 5, and the third above the bass (scale degree 1) steps down to the leading tone. Here, however, we’ve added a fourth voice: B (2). Since scale degree 2 is also the fifth of the dominant chord, it is routinely sustained when the French sixth resolves to V. In addition to the dissonances inherent to any augmented sixth chord, the French adds the major second (or minor seventh) relationship between 1 and 2. This added dissonance adds an even greater urgency to the chord, further activating its tendency to resolve to V. [NOTE: In my view, the M2/m7 is coincidental to the interlocking tritones that constitute the Fr6. Read on...] [NOTE: Some rewriting/reordering and consolidation of ideas is necessary. The cardinal sonic feature of the Fr6 is its two interlocked tritones, in your manufactured demo. example, F/B and A/D#. That needs to be brought out when the chord is introduced, and that’s where the “urgency” has to be noted. Similarly, in connection with the It6, the tritone has to be pointed out as part of the dissonance make-up of the chord. It’s not only the b6/#4 combination (the aug. 6 interval itself) but, in tandem with that, the 1/#4 tritone dissonance. Further, the significant thing to bring out in connection with the Fr6 is that, while the It6 doubles the third above the bass to create a four-voice texture, the Fr6, instead of doubling that third, adds a new note. It is that new note, an A4 above the bass (!) that creates the second tritone in this A6 chord, representing a dramatic enhancement – read: additional sonic potency – over the It6. All of this needs to be incorporated into the discussion, starting back with the It6. Not hard or time-consuming to do, but important.] Observe the voiceleading in the following example: Example 10 (L. Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 8, Op .13 (“Pathetique”), Mvt. III, mm. 44-47): 
In the second half of m. 46 we find a clear example of a French augmented sixth chord. As you can see, the outer voices come about as chromatic passing tones: b6 (Cb) steps down to 5 (Bb) and #4 (A-natural) steps up to 5. Scale degree 1 is held over from the preceding IV6 chord while 2, completing the two-tritone make-up of the French sixth, is introduced in anticipation of the V chord. Example 11 shows another instance of a French augmented sixth chord in a Beethoven sonata: Example 11 (L. Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 4, Op. 7, mm. 72-74): 
On page 4 you write: "#4 and b6 are hardly ever doubled since doing so would lead to parallel octaves as a result of their strong tendency to resolve to 5." But see Example 11. You might want to say something for the literally minded student. Here, the dissonant augmented sixth is introduced gradually. An applied viio6/V chord follows a passing  chord in m. 73, introducing the temporary leading tone F# (#4). The bass then steps down chromatically to Ab, forming an augmented sixth with #4. The tonic pitch is sustained throughout and in the highest voice we find 2, completing the French sixth chord.
In this case, the augmented sixth chord does not resolve directly to the dominant. Instead it introduces a cadential chord. chord. The length of this expansion, and the presence of two chromatic pre-dominant chords, lends terrific weight to the following cadence.Directory: Online-Remedial-Music-Theory-Program -> Lesson NNN - Augmented Sixth Sonorities -> Drafts Drafts -> Lesson nnn: Augmented Sixth Sonorities Introduction Online-Remedial-Music-Theory-Program -> Lesson ggg – Seventh Chords Introduction Online-Remedial-Music-Theory-Program -> Lesson ggg: Seventh Chords Introduction Online-Remedial-Music-Theory-Program -> Lesson eee: The Dominant Seventh Chord Introduction Online-Remedial-Music-Theory-Program -> Lesson ooo: Other Chromatic Harmonies Introduction Online-Remedial-Music-Theory-Program -> Lesson aaa – Basic Interval Progressions Introduction Download 0.85 Mb. Share with your friends:
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