Musical Traits of Contemporary Classical Music: Harmony

Contemporary Classical Music is a sweeping cover-all term for classical-style music written from the mid-20th century to now. Whilst it is stylistically diverse there are several traits that separate it from music of the Baroque, Classical or Romantic periods.

One of the most natural changes is tonality. Harmonic language in Baroque times was very tonal and rule-based, evolving over time through the Classical and Romantic periods to the modern day where there are fewer rules constraining composers and (more importantly) the listener’s ear. Contemporary Classical harmony is both an expansion on traditional and can also be post-tonal.

In the more accessible end (e.g. Einaudi, Max Richter, Adams), you hear more extended chords with added notes such as major sevenths, ninths, elevenths. This is an extension of the tertian harmony system that western classical music is based on (stacks of thirds) and just continuing up - adding 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th to the more standard 1st, 3rd and 5th. This could also be replaced by quartal harmony where the chords are based on stacks of fourths for a jazzy or oriental sound (depending on execution).

The scales aren’t necessarily exclusively major or minor but switch between different modes, pentatonic scale or follow nonfunctional progressions (I.e. not behaving in traditional). Essentially, whilst the sound might still be accessible with functional harmony, the rulebook is much wider and accepting of modern jazz/soul/pop progressions as well as more traditional progressions.

In more extreme and potentially less accessible (yet maybe very interesting) options the composer might use elements of atonality where all 12 notes of the chromatic scale are treated with equal weight and disregarding traditional harmony rules. This concept was pioneered by Arnold Schoenberg as a reaction to the limitations of Romantic-era music. It’s a very dissonant and chaotic style but it expresses emotions such as tension or anger really effectively.

It’s also worth mentioning that some composers experiment with spectral harmony, where the harmonic material is derived from the overtones of the notes. These are the higher frequencies present in a note that are beyond the fundamental (main) pitch.

Some composers experiment with running sounds and instruments through modulation pedals or granular synthesis programs to create new and interesting sounds (over-archingly called ‘electronics’) that can be blended with traditional instruments or heard on their own to create interesting textures and sounds rather than more traditional melodies.

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Nick Pike is a London-based composer, pianist, saxophonist, producer, and educator with over 15 years of professional experience. His music blends neoclassical piano with jazz, funk, and contemporary influences, drawing comparisons to Ludovico Einaudi, Yiruma, and Ólafur Arnalds. Alongside original compositions, Nick offers music services including scoring for film, TV, and advertising, piano and saxophone recording, arranging for strings and horns, and professional mixing and production.

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