Clashing Of The Different Elements And Textures

Hello everyone

So I'm wondering about how when lines are double at ocatves or over intervals and those extra notes overlap with other notes, leading to all sorts of voices crossing and overlap etc... I'm studying some orchestral scores and while I'm getting loads of info about orchestration and balance of instruments, I'm finding it difficult to decifer their harmonic and arranging intentions and which notes are simply doublings or primary voices. I'm trying to get out of a rut of always simply having melody up top and accompaniment down below with countermelodies in between without the elements ever sharing a note.

Say I have a little two part section where both the voices are within an ocatve and I make sure to avoid crossing or overalapping the parts to ensure greater clarity and individuality between them. If I richly harmonize the upper voice so it's basically a movement of open parallel chords. Would the way these added notes overlap and cross the lower voice be a concern for composers (exluding any instrumentation and dynamics problems, I'm talking strictly about harmony and voice leading)? Or is it non-issue as long as things don't get too congested?

Lkewise, say I have a woodwind quartet following traditional rules of voice leading and I want to add a vocal line over it, meaning that the quartet becomes the accompaniment. Seeing as the vocal line is not part of the quartet and is above it in a sense, more in the foreground and considered a different element of the phrase, would this voice have more freedom with how it relates to the notes in the quartet with crossing parts etc... or would it be treated as a 5th voice of the quartet and still has to work with them in the way a 5th instrument would in a quintet?

Thank you for your time, I hope you understand my question.

Hi

I'm surprised there are no answers to this as it's a great question, and one that I've often asked myself. I don't know the answers.

I actually did an experiment, where I wrote a woodwind ostinato, and then later brought in a somewhat unrelated string part, and then also something else with a horn and a trumpet. I balanced the woodwinds according the rules I'd learned in The Study of Counterpoint, and then did the same with the strings. The horn part is a pedal note, and the trumpet part is a just a melody that felt right and balances with the bass.

The experiment was that I did it mostly out of intuition without trying to balance the whole thing harmonically/contrapuntally. It was more like I balanced each section, and the sections seemed to go together. And it seems to work, i.e. it sounds like well balanced music (I think!).

So that was an interesting experiment. If I were you I'd do something similar and see what works.

Based on what you said about it being a woodwind quartet with a vocal line to be added, I'd imagine that the vocal line would need to have some kind of harmonically balanced relationship with the bass/chords, and therefore might need to function as a fifth voice in what would therefore be a quintet. But I'd definitely experiment with it.

I've also had this question come up when considering pieces for violin and piano say. For a long time I've been looking for a theory book that really goes into depth with these questions/ideas.

Chris

Thanks for the reply Chris. I did read something very interesting that adresses the first question in my topic in "Modern Arranging Techniqie" by Gordon Delamont, where he's talking about the relatioship between the main melody and the accompaniment (in this situation the "accompaniment" is a fully developed counter melody):

"The interval relationship between the main line and the LEAD of the accompaniment is the concern! When the countermelody is harmonized in a sectional manner, the relationship between the main line and the HARMONY parts of the accompaniment is not usually a consideration"