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Here is a dictionary explanation of tonality.

the character of a piece of music as determined by the key in which it is played or the relations between the notes of a scale or key. "the sonata is noteworthy for its extensive variations of mood and tonality"

Can someone please explain it to me with an example?

Thanks.

Aaron
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Joselin Jocklingson
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    Does this answer your question? [What counts as tonal music?](https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/70354/what-counts-as-tonal-music) – Aaron Aug 22 '22 at 01:52
  • In addition to the proposed duplicate, see [What is a tonal plan?](https://music.stackexchange.com/a/65204/70803). – Aaron Aug 22 '22 at 01:53
  • *Tonality* is a matter of definition. Hindemith for example devised his own harmonic theory that tried to put each chromatic note into a close tonal relation to the root, in his attempt to prove that all music (even *atonal* music as by his big rival Schönberg) was in fact tonal. – Lazy Aug 22 '22 at 07:51
  • @Lazy Are you mentioning pandiatonicism? If so, it has no connection with atonality. –  Aug 22 '22 at 12:36
  • @orhantorun No, I am not. – Lazy Aug 22 '22 at 13:06
  • Read the definition of tonality in three _musical_ dictionaries or encyclopedias, then come back here to modify your question with what you don't understand in those musical definitions. – Michael Curtis Aug 22 '22 at 15:22

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Like many words, tonality can mean different things depending on the context.

For example, tonal is typically contrasted with modal to describe music that plays by the rules of the "common practice" that arose in the 17th century and began to break down in the 19th.

However, the concept of tonality can also be useful in modal contexts. In the sense defined in the question, tonality denotes the "home pitch" of a piece or section of a piece along with the mode of the piece (using the term "mode" somewhat loosely to include "major" and "minor" as well as the actual modes). In this sense, the term is often interchangeable with "key." For example, you might ask about the tonality of a song with the question "what key is it in?" The answer could be "B♭ mixolydian."

The term "variations in tonality" could denote a classical-era or romantic-era piece that temporarily "tonicizes" many different keys, perhaps including some distantly related keys, but it could also refer to a difference in the harmonic or melodic approach within the same key. I'm thinking here of the Beatles' Blackbird, the second and third phrases of which are very chromatic, while the bridge is very diatonic. Another example might be a song such as In the Pines, which is harmonically very simple, but (in at least some variants) the melody sometimes uses a "blue" (minor) third and sometimes a major third. This could be characterized as tonal variability (though "modal variability" might be more appropriate term).

J. S. Bach has several harmonizations of modal melodies that employ chromatic alterations of the sort that led to the Dorian mode becoming the minor key. From a harmonic perspective, the tonality of these chorales may seem ambiguous, but melodically they are less so. For example, a chorale melody with E as its home note in the Phrygian mode is likely to be harmonized in a way that seems like A minor ending on the dominant chord. Discussions about which is the most appropriate way to analyze the piece may be called discussions about its tonality.

phoog
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