Why are Descending Fifths Sequences So Popular?
Bernd Willimek, Daniela Willimek · 2022
Descending fifths sequences were popular in baroque music and are still widely used today, for example in pop and film music or in jazz. Why descending fifths sequences are so popular could not be clearly explained until now. In this paper, we present a explanation based on the theory of musical equilibration (Willimek & Willimek, 2019, p. 76ff). This theory describes the subdominant as an expression of looseness, exuberance, and mood elevation, since the leading note of the subdominant is subject to a significant loss of intensity, a reduction in tension, compared to the leading note of the tonic. Since in descending fifths sequences each chord is the subdominant of the preceding one, the mood triggered by the music seems to increase with each chord. The possibility of achieving such an effect with music intrigued and fascinated composers that fifth-fall sequences have persisted as a compositional technique through the centuries to the present day.