More on Scale Degree Three and the Cadential Six-Four

Abstract

I read with considerable interest David Beach's recent study that deals with the issue of the cadential six-four as support for scaledegree 3 of the fundamental line (Beach 1990). Although I am not one who needs to be persuaded that a cadential six-four is viable support for I in a S-line, I nevertheless found his article informative because one often encounters this issue in analysis and in the teaching of advanced tonal theory. Particularly thought-provoking was Beach's observation that for some music theorists there is an conflict, from a purely logical point of view, between the analytical interpretation and the commonly accepted definition of the cadential six-four. . . . That is, if the six-four is a linear chord, dependent upon its resolution for meaning, how can it and the subsequent five-three both support tones (the 3 and 2) of the fundamental line? (Beach 1990, 82). Beach suggests two approaches to the analysis of music one might adopt to reconcile this dilemma: one is theoretically driven and depends on preexisting rules and definitions; the other is context driven and depends on what actually happens in the music. Professor Beach chooses the latter course, persuading ostensively through a commentary on his own analyses. But by disregarding theoretical issues altogether, he unfortunately leaves the apparent conflict unresolved. The more

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