Lessons with Siwi

We will be starting this series of lessons with chorale harmonisation in the style of JS Bach. This is commonly taught in schools as part of music programmes, and is an excellent way to learn some basic principles of tonal music as well as how to write without using a piano. A chorale is basically a congregational hymn in the Lutheran and other Protestant music traditions; in four parts (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) and in which all four voices sing the same rhythm but different pitches - a texture known as homophony ('one voice'). The soprano always sings the melody whilst the other voices harmonise it beneath. A chorale will generally be about four or five phrases long (the end of each phrase is shown with a pause over the note).

I am going to split this exercise into two parts; in the first, we will only be harmonising the cadences; in the second, the entire chorale. So for now your task is only to write the alto, tenor and bass parts for the two chords (occasionally three) at the end of each phrase.

The following link is a very helpful website which has been written for UK A-level music students and covers pretty much everything we will be doing on this subject. As it's almost identical to what I was taught in the sixth form, I'm going to use it as the basis of the assignments I set:

Chorale Guide

For now I would like you to read the 'Method' pages relating to Step 1a and 1b, particularly the latter (click the 'explanation and example' links from this page) and then complete as much of worksheet FP1 as you can. It asks you to harmonise various cadences. Please them post your answers in pdf form on this thread and I will see how you've got on (I'm away doing a concert and church service over the weekend but will have a look on Monday). It goes without saying that making mistakes is all part of the process so don't worry if you get stuck or don't understand anything! I will of course answer any questions you have.

Good luck!

NB. If you aren't already aware, there are several free programs which will create pdf files of other documents for you - I use PrimoPdf but there are others like Bullzip and NitroPdf. All files are compatible with Adobe Reader.

hallo Siwi,

this is my Alessandro Gozzo - chorale FP1.pdf

ps

i've send u a PM

#1. Good, but add a passing seventh in the tenor part between the Bb and G to make it even better.

#2. A little less good as you have parallel fourths - which are technically the same as parallel fifths - between the alto and tenor parts. This can be avoided by using a Ic-V-I progression with the tenor singing A-Bb-A and the bass C-C-F.

#3. Good. One thing - when we get on to harmonising actual chorales, be sure only to write anticipatory notes in the soprano if they are in the original melody, as otherwise they may conflict with the words. For now this is fine and very stylistic for this music.

4#. Also good. However, you again miss an opportunity to add a nice falling seventh in the alto!

5#. Good. The V7 dissonance is prepared well.

6#. The last two chords look great - but the II6-I progression on the first two notes doesn't sound quite right due to the fifth (A) being doubled. I would move the alto A to an F so it sings Bb-F-G-F.

All I would say is use more passing notes! I was told that in my exam I would get an additional mark for every passing note I put in! Otherwise, all very good and you clearly know the rules of harmony so I will trust you on imperfect and interrupted cadences.

I think we could safely move on to harmonising entire chorales now. I have attached a worksheet with two actual Bach chorale melodies and texts. Would you complete these and I will give feedback.

Bach chorale exercises.pdf

hi Siwi.

i made the chorales in my way and then analyzed the Bach's version.

--i only paid attention to the notes and not to the words--

i noticed some things:

1 Bach is more simple and effective, mine is more complex but confused.

2 Some strange things in Bach's version that i did not understand (in red....)

3 i use mainly stepwise motion, Bach uses also many "melodic jumps" (how u say in english??)

alessandro gozzo - chorale homeworks n 2.pdf

alessandro gozzo - chorale homeworks n 2.mid

Well, thank u and bye,

Ale

In general your work is good, but you make some mistakes. It was also very good of you to look at Bach's versions of these chorales and see what he did.

I have marked your exercises and explained specific errors: AGozzo chorales 1.pdf

A few general points:

1. Notes must not be of a longer duration than the melody note. This means you cannot tie together notes in the inner parts over a beat. The reason for this is that all four voices must sing the words of the chorale on the same beat.

2. The melody note is 'fixed', and so it cannot be dissonant to the chord underneath. You may use dissonances in the form of suspensions but the dissonant note must be prepared and resolved correctly.

3. Passing notes must move between two consonant notes and ideally should move by step. This means that most of your passing notes will be between notes a third apart. Bach sometimes uses 'skips' (that's the word you were trying to think of when you say 'melodic jumps') to avoid the parts crossing or if the note would be out of the vocal range of the part.

4. Make sure you identify chords properly. A few times you have written a strange progression because you mistake one chord for another.

5. In general, as you say, your harmony is too complicated and you break rules trying to be too chromatic. Remember a chorale is a simple hymn which can be sung by everyone in a church service. It is not meant to be a complicated keyboard piece.

As for the things in Bach's versions you mark in red...

BWV 375 b. 16: Yes, it looks very much like parallel fifths that Bach writes here. But look closely and he actually avoids this by breaking another rule and having the tenor and bass cross parts. I'm really not sure why he does this because it doesn't sound great and there are better ways of harmonising this cadence, such as swapping the tenor and bass and putting the D-E-A progression down an octave in the bass.

BWV 36 b.1: The G# is actually a correct passing note during an interrupted cadence in chord VI (I-VI in B minor). You identify the chord wrongly as VII6/V, which is probably why it looks strange.

b.9: The seemingly unnecessary B in the bass is just to maintain forward motion of the melisma (which continues into the next bar), as the choir is singing 'celebrate triumphantly, thank the Lord!'.

I would like you to complete another two chorales with this advice in mind. Could you complete worksheets CH04 and CH05 from this page. Good luck.

Oops... many mistakes !! :o

tx for your pdf, its very clear ! (which program is ?)

before i do the new chorales, i have a few questions:

[...]

The melody note is 'fixed', and so it cannot be dissonant to the chord underneath. You may use dissonances in the form of suspensions but the dissonant note must be prepared and resolved correctly.

OK, but a passing note can be part of the melody, or have to be harmonized as a right note of the chord ?

Suspensions or seventh can be part of the melody if prepared correctly ?

the seventh in the image is not prepared correctly ??!

domanda 1.bmp

parallel fourths - which are technically the same as parallel fifths

but parallalel fourth are ALWAYS prohibited ?? also if they are notes "fixed" in the armony ?

last question:

look at the image, domanda 2.bmp, why do you say the suspension is not correctly prepared?

suspension is lenght 1/8 and prepared by 1/8 in the V6/5.

there is somthing i miss ?

I think for the new chorale i will use the most simple method: all omophonic and then add some abbellishments. good idea ??

bye bye, ale.

1. It's up to you whether you choose to treat the passing notes as separate chords - Bach does both. Often he just moves to the dominant on the passing note and then back again. I wasn't entirely clear about the first example - the chord is prepared correctly but the chromatic G# passing note is an incorrect way to resolve it.

2. If we keep to the rules, then parallel fourths are always prohibited. You should be able to avoid writing them if your harmony moves correctly.

3. The chord would be prepared correctly - except that you have had a dissonance on the previous beat, and this chord is a weak beat. Bach does use consecutive suspensions and suspensions on weak beats, but if we keep strictly to the rules this is not really allowed. So really you should only have the suspension on beat 3 in this bar. I notice two other mistake in this phrase - the tenor A on beat 3 (the first suspension) should be a G resolving to an A on beat 4; and the alto B on the first beat of the next bar should be a D to have the correct suspension here.

And yes, writing homophonic chords and then filling in passing notes is a good way to write. Also try and do it without using a piano if you don't already.

hi Siwi,

i haven't completed the CH5 because i had many problems in the choose of harmony (some problems also in the CH4....) :(

i'd like you tell me which are for you the better harmonies, and then i complete the chorale.

tx & bye :)

CH 4 and 5 sibelius 5.sib

CH 4 and 5 pdf.pdf

CH 4 and 5 midi.mid

CH04:

- It is in theory possible to swap the I and V chords at the opening and begin with a perfect cadence, but your version works fine and the voice-leading is easier.

- The II diminished does not require the third to be doubled - in fact this is something you should normally avoid if possible. However, it is necessary here to avoid parallel octaves, and because tenor and bass are on the same note here the third does not sound too prominent.

- The parallel fourths at bar 7-8 are avoidable - put the tenor up to sing D-C, and then the alto to sing F-A (the same note as soprano). You get two parallel sixths which is fine, and the alto can sing a G# passing note between F and A. You can't really have those passing quavers in the alto in bar 19 of the complete version, as they don't lead anywhere. I agree their use makes the bar more interesting, but the only true passing notes available are on beat 3 in the tenor (not if you use my version of this phrase though). Your Ic-V-I cadence moving to C major in the next bar is fine, and what Bach might have done.

- Passing notes in the bass at bar 21 don't sound quite right and would be better left out. The bass can find the Bb from an F.

- You may use a tierce de Picardie at the end of minor-key chorales (so the last chord here would be D major).

CH05:

- The third chord would sound better in a different inversion, with the G# in the bass.

- The II7-VI-VII progression (not V-VI-VII) in the third bar is not stylistic. A better solution is IV-Ib-Vc7 (but watch the voicing for parallel fifths and octaves!) Also get rid of the passing notes in the alto at the cadence here.

- Bars 29-32 need to be re-done as the harmonic progressions do not work well. The bizzare VII-I cadence in particular is certainly incorrect! Use the tonic and dominant of the key to make the harmony clear.

- Bar 38 has a IV7-V progression which needs changing to simply IV-V-I or Ic-V7-I to make the cadence correct.

- The last phrase should begin on a tonic chord of A, not with VIb-V you write.

Otherwise everything else is good. But do think about using the progressions Ic-V7-I and IV-V-I more at cadences.

Hi,

before i do the CH05, id like to ask you some other things:

CH 04:

The parallel fourths at bar 7-8 are avoidable - put the tenor up to sing D-C, and then the alto to sing F-A (the same note as soprano)

ok, i understand, but what you think about this rule i learned:

"in I6/4 only the bass has to be doubled, becouse the root (in this case the note A) is considered a dissonance and never doubled, also it can resolve only to G#"

the alto can sing a G# passing note between F and A

i suppose i have to use the "musica ficta", or is it possible an augmented 2nd (F G# A) ??

---------

CH04

Passing notes in the bass at bar 21 don't sound quite right and would be better left out

why this? i changed the bass F with a D (fix note) and add a C passing note.

could you explain me what's wrong?

---------

generic questions:

is required to harmize every beat whit a different chord ?

(f.e. the C# and E in the 5 bar of CH05 could have the same I of A?)

---

after the "corona", i can change position and chord (and tonality) without problems of parallelism and harmonic progression ?

---

think about using the progressions Ic-V7-I and IV-V-I more at cadences.

sorry, problem in translation.... do you mean that i have to preserve this progressions for the cadence and not use during the phrase ?

thanks in advance for availability :)

#1. This rule isn't something I was actually ever taught. It does depend a bit on how the cadence is approached and in what part of the vocal range it sits. My solution doesn't add any other notes on the 6/4 chord than you write, but doubles a different pitch so it will sound the same but avoid the parallel 4ths.

The G# passing note in the alto prepares the next chord it is moving to better than a natural (G# in A major, the next chord). It is technically musica ficta but it sounds 'right'.

#2. They are not 'true' passing notes because you skip the E on the way down, and also because it is not common to 'fill in' a skip of a fourth in chorale harmony. Perhaps in solo music, as a decoration; but not in strict chorale harmony because we are only writing second species counterpoint in effect (ie. passing notes (the contrapuntal notes) are normally only half the value of melody notes). If you were to write four semiquavers it would also be more difficult to sing accurately. So only use passing notes for filling in skips of a third unless it is very necessary to do otherwise.

#3. Ah...difficult question! My answer is that it is more a choice of the composer's tastes rather than a rule, but you should try not to write exactly the same thing twice together. Obviously most of the time you will write a different chord on each beat because the melody note changes. But sometimes the melody note is the same pitch for several beats, or different melody notes are part of the same chord. So in this case you do not have to use a different harmony on each consecutive note, just change something in the chord voicing. You could write the same chord in a different inversion or have the inner voices swap around each time. Bach writes many examples of this. Have a look at after the repeat in BWV 36 from earlier on (that's why the bass had that odd false passing note up to B). In bar 5 that you ask about here, you could have the same harmony for the C# and E, because the change of melody note will make it a different version of the chord even if the harmony notes are the same. But it would be better if another part also changed note as well.

#4. I don't understand what you mean by the 'corona' - do you mean the last phrase, where the tonality goes back to the key the chorale started in?

#5. I meant to say that you should try to use these progressions instead of I-V-I at more cadences, not that they can be used only at cadences (although because they contain a cadential progression, this is actually the main place you would use them!).

Try completing CH05 now, and perhaps make a new version of CH04.

after the "corona", i can change position and chord (and tonality) without problems of parallelism and harmonic progression ?

oh, I thought it was a term international.....

it's this:

bye

Technically known as a fermata (same as the word for a bus stop I think?) but most people just call it a pause. In answer to your question - you can move the voices in any way after it, but most of the time you will find that the next chord is the same one or the dominant of the one on the pause.

hi,

here again with new versions of ch 4 & 5 :)

CH 4 and 5 VERSION 2.pdf

CH 4 and 5 VERSION 2.sib

CH 4 and 5 VERSION 2.mid

ps

yes, "la FERMATA dell'autobus" .....

These are very good now. I have nothing bad to say about CH4, all the voices move very well and it sounds exactly like Bach. As for CH5, just a few things. First, you cannot really have the tenor sing the quaver g at the first cadence as it is not a good anticipation in an inner voice. Second, add a passing note D in the alto at the final cadence and you will get a nice seventh chord as the alto sings e-d-c. Do the same in the second cadence.

At bar 30 the bass needs to sing the E above what it sings here, or have the two Bs stay on the same pitch. The massive leap you have written looks great and would be fine in modern music but it's not correct for Bach! In bar 31 the IIc-V progression does not sound correct and I think to write chords IV-V here might be better. Bar 35 would also be better with an inversion of V in the first chord to keep the voicing similar to the previous chord. This is because we move to a new key here.

The IIc at the first bar is also alright as it is only implied by the passing note.

yeah, thank u !!

can i ask just a question ??

you cannot really have the tenor sing the quaver g at the first cadence as it is not a good anticipation in an inner voice.

that's because anticipations are to avoid in the inner voices?

or i can do it for root, or for 5th, but not for 3rd ?

and anticipations in the bass voice, is possible ??

bye bye, ale.

To be honest I would avoid any anticipation note that is not in the melody. You can write suspensions in inner parts, but these are different as they generally last for a whole beat; and also passing notes which 'fill in' two notes a third apart.

Aniolel, here is your first lesson on orchestration. Read the attached pdf as it explains everything you need to know. There is no deadline for the assignment but as I will be away next week you can wait until the 7th August to post it up.

Siwi

Orchestration lessons 1.pdf