19
votes
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"Only open voicing below middle C!" Really?
There are acoustical reasons for not wanting close voicing in the lower register; in short, the upper harmonics muddy each other up and fog up the sound.
But in my experience, C4 is a really high ...
- 85.1k
18
votes
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Why does Bach not resolve this chordal seventh down by step?
The D on the fourth beat in the alto is an error. It should be an E. You can compare editions at IMSLP. Both the original edition of the 1780s and the second engraving of 1831 have the E; the D was ...
- 26.3k
17
votes
Accepted
How do you voice extended chords?
Anything over a 7th must contain that 7th, be it major 7th or minor (b) seventh. It's been well established that the 5th (perfect) can be dispensed with, as its sound is contained in the root note.
...
- 197k
16
votes
How can I distinguish between a full 7th chord and a 7th chord without a 5th in figured bass?
Traditionally, this isn't specified. A single "7" in the figures could be performed either complete (with the chordal fifth) or incomplete (without).
Rarely, though, the figures can specify ...
- 85.1k
13
votes
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Chord voicings used by backup trios in Motown girl groups?
This vocal style comes from the American traditions of close harmony. As popular music (and the radio) came into being in the 20th century, it took influence from the styles of its times, just as any ...
- 12.9k
12
votes
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How Can The Leading Tone Resolve Up and The 7th Go Down?
By "7th," the software means the chordal seventh (i.e., the seventh if the chord).
The leading tone is scale-degree 7, measured from the tonic of the key. In F, the leading tone is E.
The ...
- 85.1k
11
votes
Do 4-part harmony rules also apply to piano arrangements?
They don't fully apply, no. But it depends on what you're trying to do.
Remember that the voice-leading rules for four-part harmony are to mimic eighteenth-century chorale procedures. Piano ...
- 85.1k
10
votes
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chord voicing to improve overall sound
The lack of "richness" — the "tinny" sound — is largely due to the absence of thirds in your harmonies. Also, the parallel octaves, parallel & direct fifths contribute significantly to the ...
- 1,874
10
votes
Why does the 7th of a dominant 7th chord have to resolve down in voice leading?
The current answers have already addressed the issue, but I want to present a way of thinking about it that may be new:
The leading tone wants to resolve up, and the chordal seventh resolves down. ...
- 85.1k
10
votes
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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
10
votes
Do composers arrange an entire score without parallel perfect intervals or is this only when you have few voices and need them to all be independent?
A full orchestra playing usually has lots of doubling, especially a classical or early romantic symphony. Basically, a classical symphony is often written as four-part harmony, following the “rules” ...
- 58.6k
10
votes
Why are parallel perfect intervals avoided in part writing when they are so common in scores?
Counterpoint theory generally handles the case of writing for a certain number of independent voices. Here it is a general rule to avoid certain parallels as these impair the independence of the ...
- 23.1k
9
votes
Accepted
What’s the voice leading error?
The error is a so-called "hidden fifth", or, "direct fifth". Your outer voices are moving into a perfect consonance by similar motion. Even in strict voice-leading this is often allowed except in ...
- 156
9
votes
"Only open voicing below middle C!" Really?
Closed vocings aren't bad, but you need to be aware of the register you are in no matter what you compose. In lower registers, having notes close together isn't always what you want. Specifically ...
Dom♦
- 48k
9
votes
How do you voice extended chords?
Conventionally, the most often skipped notes in any remotely extended chord are the 5th and any degrees above the 7th that aren't included in the chord name. For example, V13 chords in classical music ...
- 14.3k
9
votes
Can the leading note resolve down?
You're absolutely right!
The typical rule is that the leading tone must resolve up to tonic when it is in an outer voice (that is, the soprano or bass). If the leading tone is in an inner voice, it ...
- 85.1k
9
votes
Accepted
Expanding the I-IV progression
Root progression by descending third like I vi IV ii is a standard thing in classical and pop music. I think you should not consider it a retrogression. Technically harmonic retrogression means not ...
- 59.5k
9
votes
Counterpoint with more than 4 parts
Counterpoint can be written for basically any number of independent parts greater than 1. (And even for a solo instrument, there's something called compound melody that can simulate counterpoint as ...
- 12.9k
9
votes
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Should the comping instrument ever double the bass player?
I agree with the answer and ideas provided by @Tim and would like to add a few of my own.
The thing about group accompanying is unless the music is completely arranged you can’t predict what the other ...
- 28.6k
9
votes
Is staggering fifths a good way to avoid parallels?
If by "staggering 5ths" you mean alternating between a perfect fifth and another interval to break up their consecutive nature, then composers absolutely do this!
One of the most common ...
- 85.1k
9
votes
Is staggering fifths a good way to avoid parallels?
Yes, and this is my favorite example...
...Leopold Mozart, from the Nannerl Notebook, no.30 or 34, depending on the edition.
I think the idea is the down stroke of each beat is a third, so on a basic ...
- 59.5k
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
9
votes
Why do the parallel fifths work in Schumann's Op. 15 No. 1?
The reason that parallel fifths are bad is that the 5ths end up sounding like overtones of the roots, rather than individual notes of their own.
In four-part harmony, this is undesirable, because two ...
- 3,941
8
votes
Accepted
How do I write "piano style" cadences?
I believe the term you're looking for is keyboard style. To help your Internet searches, try "keyboard style voice leading."
In keyboard style, you write three-voice chords in the upper staff and a ...
- 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
8
votes
Why does the 7th of a dominant 7th chord have to resolve down in voice leading?
To amplify some of the comments: resolving the 7th downward uses a half-step movement between diatonic tones. Traditionally (for Western music over the last Millenium), the half-step movement has been ...
- 25.8k
8
votes
How can I distinguish between a full 7th chord and a 7th chord without a 5th in figured bass?
It really depends on the context since there is no standard way to denote this. In a harmony class, you should ask your teacher which kind of notation they would find acceptable for the omission of ...
- 1,657
8
votes
What are inner and outer voices in music of late 20th century and 21st century?
how do I determine the inner and outer voice in complex real-world music, like orchestral music with dozens of instruments?
For most traditional orchestral works, this will be clear. The dozens of ...
- 26.3k
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
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