Mixture – Introduction

Definition: Mixture is the use of chords from a parallel key (i.e., parallel major, minor, or mode) in a piece of music.

Let’s start our discussion of mixture by looking at a classical tone poem by Richard Strauss (1864-1949), Also Sprach Zarathustra (written in 1896). This piece was inspired by a novel, Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). We will only look at the first part of the piece:

Although this opening to the piece is all in the key of C, it switches between C major and C minor:

mm. 1-6 = C major (I)
mm. 7-10 = C minor (i)
mm. 11-16 beat 1-3 = C major (I in m. 11-14 and IV in m.15-16)
m. 16 beat 4 = C minor (iiø7 in C minor)
mm. 17-21 = C major (I V I)

This use of chords that occur in parallel keys is called mixture. Most of the time it is the use of chords from parallel major and minor keys, but it can be the use of chords from parallel modes as well.

(Another note for Mixture is borrowed chords; chords used from parallel keys are borrowed and put into the music.)

In the above piece, the key signature (no sharps, no flats) means the piece is in C major. Yet, the minor tonic chord (i) and the iiø7 are chords that occur in C minor – not C major. Therefore, these chords are borrowed from the parallel minor and used in a piece in C major. We are mixing the parallel major and minor keys.

Why mix the chords from parallel keys?

The simple answer to this question is that we use mixture to have more choices of chords which gives a piece of music more color, more interest.

At first you may have only a box of 8 crayons – the basic, primary colors.

However, soon you would get tired of the same colors/sounds. You want more and different colors so you by a bigger box of crayons. Now you have more choice.

The same is true in music. With only one scale, there are only 7 chord choices – a very limited amount of musical colors. But by using chords from even other parallel scales, you have increased your number of choices and color in your piece of music.

Composers are artists; they want more choices – and listeners like more variety!