As Music - Understanding Chords & Lines - A Student Guide

AS Music

A student guide to Unit 3: Developing Musical Ideas

Section C: Understanding Chords & Lines

IntroductionPart 1

Name:

3Introduction to SATB

4The primary triads

5The dominant chord

6The subdominant

7Melody & harmony: primary triads

7Passing notes

9The secondary triads

10Melody & harmony: primary & secondary triads

11Chord substitution

11Voicing a chord

12Spacing

13Part movement

13Parallel movement

14Awkward leaps

14Leading notes

15Exercises

16Answers

17Inverting chords

17Vocal ranges

18Cadences

18The perfect cadence

18II7b V(7) I

18Ic V(7) I

19Harmonising cadences II7b V(7) - I

20Harmonising cadences Ic V(7) - I

21Inversions

24Harmony exercises

26Harmonic analysis

Introduction to SATB

The primary triadsEach degree of scale can be identified either as a number or a name. Here is C major:

On each degree of scale it is possible to build a triad, or chord. Chords built on the tonic, subdominant and dominant are known as primary triads and are the most common triads in Western music. Chords are generally numbered using Roman numerals:

Each of the primary triads in a major key is a major triad, a major triad comprising a major third (four semitones) and a minor third (three semitones)It is possible to harmonise any melody in a diatonic major key using the primary triads. Identify which degrees of scale are present in the primary triads of C Major:

So all degrees of scale are represented in the primary triads.

The dominant chord

The dominant chord has a very strong pull towards the tonic triad:

The leading note leads upwards to the tonic by the smallest interval, a semitone The supertonic has a leaning downwards to the tonic but by the weaker interval of a tone. The supertonic also has a leaning upwards to the mediant

The dominant note is a component of the tonic triad

A chord progression of V I at the end of a phrase is known as a perfect cadence. In a V I progression the essential direction of the chord is upwards.The subdominant

The subdominant, as its name suggests, lies directly under the tonic and also has a strong pull to the tonic triad.

The supertonic note has a strong downwards pull to the mediant

The submediant falls to the dominant

The tonic is present in the subdominant triad

A chord progression of IV I at the end of a phrase is known as a plagal cadence. In a IV I progression the essential direction of the chord is downwards and is not as strong as the V I progression.Melody & harmony: primary triads

Using chords I, IV and V harmonise the following melodies by writing I, IV or V under each note. Begin and end with chord I.

Write out chords I, IV and VHarmonise the following by labelling the chords:1.

Passing notes

A passing note is a non harmonic note so do not harmonise. A passing note is where a note is placed between two melodic notes which are a third apart to cause a more fluent, conjunct movement. Here are two melodies; the first is a straight version, the second with passing notes. Add chord symbols to the second.

2.Write out chords I, IV and V

3.

Write out chords I, IV and V

The secondary triads

The secondary triads add colour and contrast to a harmonisation. In a major key the primary triads are major triads, whereas the secondary triads, II, III and VI are minor. A minor chord comprises a minor third (three semitones) plus a major third (four semitones).

Chord VII is a diminished chord (a minor third plus a minor third) which you are not required to use at this stage.

Here are the secondary triads in C major:

At this stage you will not be required to use chord III, so the secondary triads available to you are chords II, VI and VII Chord VII is a useful substitution for V.Melody & harmony: primary & secondary triads

Using chords I, IV, V, II and VI harmonise the following melodies by writing the chord symbol under each note. Begin and end with chord I.

1.

Write out all chords

2.

Write out all chords

Chord substitution

It should now be clear that a note can be harmonised by a number of chords within the key. Here is a chart that details how each chord relates to others within the scale.

Voicing a chord

The triad by definition if a chord consisting of three individual notes. You are being asked to complete a harmonisation for SATB choir which requires four notes so one will have to be doubled or used twice. At this stage you will be asked to double the root or name of the chord. Here is a C major chord.

By doubling the root of the chord you are ensuring that the chord is balanced and stable. Doubling the third in a major chord will fundamentally alter the balance of the voices within the chord and may disrupt the contrapuntal flow of your setting. However there are a few exceptions:

You may double the third of a minor chord

You must double the bass note in a cadencial Ic chord (more of this later)

You can double the fifth of a chord You must always have the root and third in a chord but it is possible to omit the fifth In a diminished chord you must double the third

It is possible to have a momentary doubling of a third in a major chord to justify part movement and will happen quite naturally if you have a walking bass. The following example has a descending soprano with the bass in contrary motion.

Spacing

The tenor and bass sound good when in close proximity at the upper part of the bass range The tenor and bass sound murky when in close proximity at the lower part of the bass range

Do not have a large gap between the soprano and alto (crossing parts) Do not let the alto part rise above the soprano Do not let the tenor part rise above the alto

Do not let the bass part rise above tenorPart movement

Ac fair percentage of your assessment will be concerned with style and good part movement is an essential feature of idiomatic setting. Bear in mind that you are writing for voices and that voices move with greater ease when in conjunct or scalic motion. If you allow your inner voices to move to the nearest available note you will not only be writing in a more stylistically correct manner but you will also avoid consecutive octaves and fifths.

Part movement in SATB settings is governed by the roles assigned to each part. The soprano carries the melody, which for the purpose of the unit, is fixed and cannot be changed

The alto should be very rudimentary and is for harmonic use

The tenor should be very rudimentary but works well moving with the bass in its upper register

The bass is a dynamic part and should be the most interesting partParallel movement

Parallel motion between parts is unavoidable but you must avoid:

Parallel motion where two voices are at an interval of a perfect fifth

Parallel motion where two voices are at an interval of a perfect octave

Parallel fifths between the bass and tenor:

Parallel octaves between the soprano and tenor:Awkward leaps

As states earlier, let your inner parts move in a conjunct motion as the aesthetic of good SATB setting is to be seamless and balanced so movement by strong intervals such as tritones, sevenths and ninths should be avoided. Your inner parts need not leap more than a perfect fourth. Large intervals within an octave are good in the bass: 8ve, 6th, 5th and 4th.Leading notes

Ascending towards a leading note will require the leading note to resolve onto the tonic. This resolution is what the ear expects and the effect of an unresolved leading note can be exasperating and lead to imbalance in your harmonisation. However, when a melody descends from the supertonic to the tonic and the bass moves from the dominant to the tonic your leading note will have to fall to the dominant:

If the leading note were to rise your canal chord will have three tonic notes and will not be balanced. The soprano falling to the tonic will create the aural illusion of resolution to the tonic. Exercises

How to check for parallel motion.

1. Chord 1: identify the octaves/fifths within the chord

2. Chord 2: identify the octaves/fifths within the chord

3. If the octave/fifth is in the same voices as chord 1 there are parallel intervals

Answers overleaf.

Find parallel fifths and octaves in the following harmonisations. There are two errors in each exercise.1.

2.

3.Answers

1.

2.

3.Inverting chords

A chord in root position is a chord which has the name of the chord in the bass:

b denotes a chord is in first inversion, with the third in the bass

c denotes a chord is in second inversion, with the fifth in the bassVocal ranges

You will be writing for a standard choir of sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. The ranges you will be using will be idiomatic and practicable and the following is a useful guide.Soprano

Alto

Tenor

BassHowever, in an SATB setting for examination purposes the soprano line is set and the inner parts, the also and tenor, should be restricted to a narrow band at the top of their ranges. The bass should be the most active and musically interesting.Cadences

The perfect cadence

A cadence is a chord progression which is used at the end of a phrase which brings the melody and harmony to a close or resolution. The first cadence we will be studying is the perfect cadence or a cadence based on the chords V I. This is the most striking of cadences and brings with it a definite sense of finality. Common examples of the perfect cadence are:II7b V(7) I

Ic V(7) I

Note how the use of a seventh in chord V is optional.

II7b V(7) I

Ic V(7) I

Note how the bass note is doubled in chord Ic, not the root. The octave leap in the bass is a stylistic requirement for this cadence.

Harmonising cadences II7b V(7) - IWrite out chords II7b, V7 and I

1.

2.

Harmonising cadences Ic V(7) - I

Write out chords Ic, V7 and I. Remember that the bass is to be doubled in chord Ic.

The Ic V7 I is also known as the 6/4 cadence where the notes which are a sixth and a fourth above the bass fall to the 5th and third of the following chord:

1.Add the bass part first.

Add the bass part first.

InversionsSinse rhe early Baroque period Western art music has been preoccupied with the conceiving music vertically (harmonically) from the bass upwards. The basic tools for this are the seven degrees of the scale and the harmonised which can be built from these degrees. With each chord comes colour, but using chords in root position that is with the root note of the chord in the bass has its disadvantages: The ear may tire of a limited harmonic range

Some parallel motion, such as the progression IV V, will be difficult to avoid

The bass may become heavy handed or repetitive

The choral melodies harmonised by Bach were often old liturgical chants and were often dull, such as chorale number 208

To make the music more spiritually and aesthetically interesting, Bach found it necessary to liberate the bass by treating the bass as a countermelody and so making chordal inversions unavoidable.Here is a transcription of chorale setting no. 190.

Chords and inversions you will be using:I IbIc

IIIIb

IVIVb

VVb

VIVIbVIIbHarmony exercisesComplete the following. Add the bass part first.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Harmonic analysisLabel the following chords.

1.

Sketches

6th

4th

5th

3rd

PAGE 20 Nick Redfern 2008

www.nickredfern.co.uk

[email protected]