Vocal chording: Technique and Application I. Rationale A. Melody can sound more beautiful when accompaniment is added. B. Engages students of all ability levels and offers opportunities for creativity. C. Reinforcement of other curricular topics [e.g. solfège, ensemble, and extemporization]. D. Vocal chording can act as a gateway to more advanced topics, including harmony, voice leading, and the idea of texture. II. Position within the Harmonic Independence hierarchy 1. Sing a melody 2. Add an ostinato 3. Sing partner songs 4. Add a descant 5. Sing chord roots 6. Add vocal chording 7. Sing phrases or sections of a round 8. Sing rounds and canons 9. Sing “transition” pieces 10. Sing 2–4vv Part Songs III. Technique A. Vocal Chording by rote : 1. Select a well-known or easily learnable melody that may be harmonized in a simple, straightforward manner [Example 1]. 2. Discern the harmony implied by this melody. 3. Express this harmony as a simple chord progression [Example 2]. 4. Assign each voice-leading “strand” to a group of singers, teaching each group their part individually before adding all parts together. B. Extemporization : Often, students with good musical instincts can ‘intuit’ an accompaniment to a simple or familiar melody. In this situation, the challenge for the student is reversed: instead of singing a pattern of given solfège syllables, the student should be encouraged to apply correct syllables to the accompaniment they extemporize. Crawford 2013 | MUE 1093 | Bowers