Description
This article is from the Music composition
FAQ, by Craig Latta Craig.Latta@NetJam.ORG with numerous
contributions by others.
4.1) Parallel octaves and fifths (Music composition)
Parallel octaves and fifths occur when in polyphonic (multiple
voice) music when two voices that are separated by a fifth or an
octave move up or down by the same interval. The reason these are
considered bad in traditional counterpoint stems from many listener's
perceptions of the voices. Most people feel that when the voices move
in parallel fifths or octaves, the sense of there being two voices is
lost; that the voices "merge" into one.
Similar effects are heard by relatively few people, on other
intervals, but because not as many lose the sense of polyphony those
intervals aren't "forbidden".
Having voices moving in parallel while separated by an octave
or fifth isn't necessarily bad. It has been used by composers, with
well-defined means of avoiding the merging sound.
For more information on the parallel octaves and fifths
subject, see Matt Field's essay "Gems 2" which was posted to
rec.music.compose (and is available as described in section 6.1).
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