19
votes
Accepted
Best practices for community choir audition with unknown song
I share your puzzlement about the audition. As a choral conductor myself, I wonder why they choose a standard audition piece without informing the candidate. If the desire is to see how well the ...
- 26.3k
15
votes
How can I prevent a 4-part harmony from sounding muddy?
The first obvious issue is that the tenor and alto spend almost the whole first bar moving in parallel fourths. Using parallel fourths is one thing, but doing it in such an extreme way means the two ...
- 35.8k
10
votes
Accepted
Seemingly unsolvable SATB harmonization
Your logic in the first two paragraphs is 100% correct. In your third paragraph, you mention parallel motion as an error. But note that the alto A and tenor F♯ create a third, and parallel thirds are ...
- 85.1k
9
votes
Can 16th notes cause parallel octaves?
Yes, it unfortunately doesn't matter the note value; no matter how fast or how slow, two consecutive intervals of a perfect octave (or perfect fifth) between the same two voices results in unstylistic ...
- 85.1k
8
votes
Doubling the third of a root position major chord in four-part harmony
Perhaps this is a non-answer, but I wanted to state that there's very little musical reason, in my opinion, for that rule; it really sounds like a rule that will prevent you from making other errors (...
- 85.1k
8
votes
Accepted
Voice leading: is it allowed to move from a perfect fifth to an augmented fourth?
Basic answer
As long as you are writing in a style that permits dissonance:
Moving from a perfect fifth to an augmented fourth does not present a problem.
Moving from a perfect fifth to a diminished ...
- 94.8k
7
votes
Doubling the third of a root position major chord in four-part harmony
As mentioned in Dekkadeci's answer, doubling the third can lead to using parallel octaves (neither of which sound bad) and it can sound like a voice dropped out. This is a problem with the dominant ...
- 25.8k
7
votes
Doubling the third of a root position major chord in four-part harmony
One reason why may be to avoid parallel octaves. Dominant chords are always major chords (or at least based on them), and doubling the third of a dominant chord means doubling the leading tone. In ...
- 14.3k
7
votes
Accepted
How should I write a SATB piece in Musescore with respect to its voice soundfont?
It depends.
One of the best pieces of advice for writing music in Musescore or any other score editor is to compose with pencil and paper first, sitting at the piano if you have one. Computers are ...
7
votes
How to make the Bass in SATB move more smoothly?
As a bass singer in an amateur SATB choir I think this is acceptable. I haven't played the notes, but going from the 4th note on a scale to the 5th (only an octave lower) and back to the 1st note is ...
- 849
7
votes
What one-octave set of notes is most comfortable for an SATB choir to sing in unison/octaves?
What range for a one-octave melody is likely to be most successful and least uncomfortable for the singers in a standard SATB choir?
It depends largely on the dynamic level and character of the ...
- 26.3k
7
votes
Best practices for community choir audition with unknown song
Auditions are a different experience from concerts or lessons, and unfortunately most folks get to spend very little time getting used to them. The very best way to "get better at auditions" ...
- 19.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Is there a rule in SATB writing regarding the Soprano & Bass moving in contrary motion?
I'm reminded of that quote from the US version of The Office: "What's the safest way to go skiing? Don't ski!"
The rule suggesting contrary motion isn't because there's anything inherently better ...
- 85.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Maximum interval between Alto & Tenor, & intervals when writing for SATB
Although this is a large leap, it's certainly acceptable in this style. But what's most important is how you resolve this leap.
Typically, a large leap is immediately followed by stepwise motion in ...
- 85.1k
6
votes
Do metrically weak chordal skips cause parallel 5ths and octaves?
In some sense it does depend on the style, since parallel perfect fifths and octaves are all over the place in popular music.
But in this four-part chorale texture, these kinds of parallels are ...
- 85.1k
6
votes
How can I prevent a 4-part harmony from sounding muddy?
To my ear, there are two problems, both in measure 3:
On beat 2, the doubled G (i.e., the fifth of the chord) in the bass and soprano.
On beat 3.5, the doubled E (i.e., the leading tone of the tonic ...
- 94.8k
6
votes
How can I prevent a 4-part harmony from sounding muddy?
I do not know if this is the cause of your problem (which is also hard to determine if we do not know the SF you use), but you should try to keep an eye on voices moving in the same direction. Try to ...
- 23.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Tenor part written higher than the Alto part in SATB
Yes, this so-called "voice crossing" is one of the many things Bach did that would receive a red mark if he did it in a first-semester theory course. You'll also find moments where the alto goes above ...
- 85.1k
5
votes
How to make the Bass in SATB move more smoothly?
The bass just moves ^4 ^5 ^1 or FA SOL DO or Bb C F. I think the ideal thing is for ^4 ^5 to be an upward step rather than a descending 7th.
But, the upper voices need to be reviewed.
According to ...
- 59.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Reason for 4-voice music octave rule
I would say there are two main reasons: one is acoustical and the second is the ranges of the SATB parts.
In Harmony, Walter Piston makes the point that close voicing with a large gap between bass and ...
- 59.5k
4
votes
How to make the Bass in SATB move more smoothly?
By definition, playing a Gm7/B♭ chord means the bass voice must sing a B♭. If you want to modify the second chord so that the bass voice doesn't jump by a seventh, try bringing that B♭ down an octave (...
- 12.9k
4
votes
Is there a rule in SATB writing regarding the Soprano & Bass moving in contrary motion?
The accepted answer is only partially right. The main purpose of contrary motion is not the prevention of parallels, although that is a well-known positive side-effect.
The main purpose is to create ...
- 41
4
votes
Doubling the third of a root position major chord in four-part harmony
Although the chorale rules evolved somewhat organically, there may be a physics component to it as well.
Consider the harmonic series for the note C: C, G, C, E, G, (7), C.
Now, the harmonic series ...
- 141
4
votes
Accepted
A question regarding SATB (4 part) harmonization
There is one "really bad" mistake. If you are only using chords in root position, you can't harmonize 5 4 in the soprano with V iv, because you have parallel octaves between soprano and bass. You will ...
- 56
4
votes
Voice leading: is it allowed to move from a perfect fifth to an augmented fourth?
In strict counterpoint it is valid unless in first species (as dissonances are prohibited in this species). And specially problematic in 2 voices context. In 4 voices, it's a common move in most ...
4
votes
After writing the highest voice, does it matter what order I write the rest of the voices?
I think you should consider the instruction to write the voices in a certain order is more of an educational tactic.
When taught that homophonic music is primarily melody with bass and inner voices as ...
- 59.5k
4
votes
Accepted
Which D do I use with choral tenors
Some tenors can blend well with women's voices at D4. Others can't. Some tenors can sing D3 with ease. Others can't.
Write the tenors divisi, or pick one octave and include the other as optional. ...
- 26.3k
4
votes
Seemingly unsolvable SATB harmonization
Similar motion is not prohibited, except for consecutive perfect 5ths and octaves.
Here's a couple of possibilities.
- 95.6k
3
votes
Doubling the third of a root position major chord in four-part harmony
In a major chord, the 3rd is probably the most 'active' note. If the chord has a dominant function to the one following (as is so often the case in Common Practice harmony) it will be particularly ...
- 95.6k
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