3rd Year | Aristoxenus | Harmonic Elements | Lyre AR03
Pycnum,
Focus on the Details
Discover the secrets of the pycnum and find out how even the smallest changes can completely transform a melody. Learn to apply the smallest dieses in your lyre-playing and by doing so, create all the ancient Greek music genera, including all their variations (hroes).
At the end of the course you will know how to...
- Recognize a pycnum within a tetrachord
- Explore the Chromatic diesis, which divides the tone into three parts
- Tune your lyre in new ways in order to create the hroes of the genera.
- Identify, tune, and play the five hroes: Soft Chromatic, Hemiolic Chromatic, Tonic Chromatic, Soft Diatonic, and Sharp Diatonic
- Create the smallest possible pycnum according to the rules of harmony
- Play melodies nonexistent in modern Western music
* Do you own a lyre with more strings? The course can be done by students with lyres of 7 or more strings. Simple and step-by-step videos are available to prepare your lyre for the courses (including tuning).
Lesson 1 : The Pycnum & the Tetrachord
Let’s begin with a short introduction to the pycnum and the technical details of harmonic composition. What is a pycnum, what is its importance in the tetrachord, and how can it help us further master our lyre playing?
Plus: Examples in detail
Lesson 2 : Discovering the Shades: The Soft Chromatic
Did you know that each one of the three ancient Greek genera has shades, or hroes, i.e., variations that are produced by altering the smallest dieses in our tuning? This is what we will be exploring in this lesson, mastering the technical aspects of our lyre-playing and discovering unique tunings that bring new life to our lyre in a way never encountered before.
Plus: Examples in detail
Lesson 3 : Discovering the Shades: The Hemiolic Chromatic
Keep adding to your technical lyre repertoire as we practice with more tunings and experiment with different results. Discover the second hroe, or shade, of the Chromatic tetrachord, and unlock your lyre’s potential.
Plus: Examples in detail
Lesson 4 : The Tonic Chromatic & the Diatonic Hroes
Nothing is outside your grasp as we round up the Chromatic tetrachords and enter the world of the Diatonic. Practice changing your tuning and explore all that your lyre has to offer.
Plus: Examples in detail
Lesson 5 : A Study on the Least Pycnum
It is now time to practice all you have learned, apply your knowledge, and bring the ancient methods to life. Tune your lyre and let your lyre-playing flow as in the days of old.
Plus: Two exercises
Lesson 6 : A Study in Soft Chromatic
Test your skills as you practice exercises and melodies suited for the dedicated lyre player. Check your tuning, lift your lyre, and explore the infinite possibilities.
Plus: Three exercises
Lesson 7 : A Study in Hemiolic Chromatic
It is time to practice with the Hemiolic chromatic, further improving your skills! Beware, for as we reach the end of the course, the exercises become gradually more demanding!
Plus: Three exercises
Lesson 8 : A Study in Tonic Chromatic
Elevate your technical mastery as we round up the Chromatic tetrachords.
Plus: Three exercises
Lesson 9 : A Study in Soft Diatonic
Adjust your tuning and practice the first of the Diatonic tetrachords. Your technical knowledge and mastery of the lyre will grow as you do.
Plus: Three exercises
Lesson 10 : A Study in Sharp Diatonic
Are you ready to complete this course? Lift your lyre and consider. This is the oldest genus, perhaps played by Homer himself, on the eve of Greek civilization. A journey of three thousand years and more continues with you.
Plus: Sheet music for a new melody
Enroll in this Course
Start your lyre study today!
Enroll and get...
- Full access for 3 months for just $199.
- Crystal clear sound.
- Fast loading 4K (Ultra HD) videos for each lesson.
- Lesson notes with extras.
- Music music sheets/tablatures for lyres.
- $29/month if you want to extend your access.
Who is your Instructor?
Lina Palera is a world-renowned lyre player and a charismatic teacher with more than a decade of experience in music schools and educational institutions in the United Kingdom, Greece and abroad, working with adults and children too. She travels a lot for live performances at museums, festivals, conferences and other venues.
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