Analysis of harmonic structures in classical and modern music: a comparative approach

Abstract

This article is devoted to a comparative analysis of harmonic structures in classical and modern music in order to identify key trends and patterns in the evolution of musical language. The relevance of the topic is due to the growing interest of researchers in the problems of musical theory and aesthetics in the context of cultural transformations. The methodological base includes a comprehensive musicological analysis, statistical data processing, and a comparative historical approach. The empirical basis is a selection of 200 musical compositions of the XVIII-XXI centuries, representing the main stylistic trends. As a result of the study, it was revealed: 1) the complication of harmonic language in modern music (the average number of non-chord sounds has increased by 43%); 2) an increase in the frequency of deviations and modulations in the tonal spheres of the III-IV degree of kinship (k=0.78); 3) the active use of polytonality and atonality (32% of the analyzed compositions). The data obtained deepen the understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of musical and expressive means and open up prospects for further interdisciplinary research.