16
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 18k
12
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 83.3k
9
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 ...
- 83.3k
8
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” ...
- 55k
8
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 ...
- 15k
6
votes
Is an anticipation capable of causing parallel 5ths?
This would be a case of what we’d call Akzentparallele in german or indirect parallel., where we make use of diminuition to mask a parallel. This not an uncommon thing to do. In your cases there are ...
- 15k
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 ...
- 54.2k
5
votes
Is an anticipation capable of causing parallel 5ths?
Yes, as @Lazy says, the anticipation masks the parallel. But it's still there, and is emphasised by the overall parallel motion.
But @armani, you've been asking questions about 'textbook' 4-voice ...
- 87.3k
5
votes
Are unequal 5ths acceptable in applied or seconday dominant chords?
Why not root position?
There isn't a universal answer to this kind of question. "Acceptable" is determined by style.
If voice leading is the concern, and you run into a voice leading ...
- 54.2k
5
votes
What is the term for swapping parts in a harmony?
You may be looking for the term voice exchange.
A voice exchange occurs when the pitches being sung or played by two parts are switched. For example, if a bass is singing a C while a soprano sings an ...
- 83.3k
5
votes
Why are parallel 5ths not allowed in part writing but reducing to 3 voices is?
It is not acceptable to go from 4 to 3 voices in strict 4 part writing. Something like this
would be totally not be acceptable. What is acceptable is multiple voices falling onto the same note at ...
- 15k
5
votes
Voice leading errors in Bach's WTC 1 fugue in C major?
The "rules" of counterpoint are not strict; rather, they are extrapolated from the general practices of prominent composers — Palestrina, in particular. When taught to students, they are ...
- 75.7k
5
votes
Why are parallel perfect intervals avoided in part writing when they are so common in scores?
The prohibition is when writing counterpoint, which Mozart is not doing. When one instrumental part doubles another, there is no attempt to maintain the independence of voices — in fact, specifically ...
- 75.7k
4
votes
Are diminished 5ths more dissonant than augmented 4ths?
You are conflating voice leading with an interval's dissonance/consonance.
As others have noted, in twelve tone equal temperament, the two intervals are aurally identical.
Why the voice leading is ...
- 652
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
Seemingly unsolvable SATB harmonization
Similar motion is not prohibited, except for consecutive perfect 5ths and octaves.
Here's a couple of possibilities.
- 87.3k
4
votes
is an augmented second in the soprano avoided in 4 part harmony even when it occurs in a modulation?
I think the way to consider the problem is not so much about the line F♮ G♯ A and the A2 being "awkward", but rather the issue is about tendency tones and the tendency is for F♮ to descend ...
- 54.2k
4
votes
chord progressions in minor with the 6th degree rasied
Sort of related question I posted a while back with some examples...
Should the dominant seventh sonority on the subdominant degree in minor get special attention?
I think that you want to look at the ...
- 54.2k
3
votes
Reason for 4-voice music octave rule
It’s not a rule as in you may never violate it. It’s only a "rule" as in European composers from a certain period of time never violated it. So if you want to compose music that sounds like ...
- 55k
3
votes
Accepted
What is the principle of I46 progression to I7?
Although the V chord "resolves" to the I chord, it resolves to the least stable inversion, I64. It is truly a I chord in this case, but doesn't function fully as a cadence because of the ...
- 75.7k
3
votes
Do all 3rd inversion diminished and half diminished 7th chords resolve to 64 chords?
It's difficult to tell out of context, but that particular chord looks like it really wants to find an F major chord to resolve to!
In the key of F, this chord is the vii diminished. It's a common ...
- 3,670
3
votes
Accepted
Voice leading errors in Bach's WTC 1 fugue in C major?
Notice that in both of these cases, the voice leading is constrained by the shape of the fugue subject.
From Wikipedia:
[Hidden consecutives are] sometimes permitted under certain conditions, such as ...
- 18k
3
votes
Are parallel 5ths still problematic if the texture switches between 2 and 3 voices?
I would argue that this is fine. There are plenty of instances in "classical voice leading" where something like this happens, and although it may sounds like parallel fifths to some degree, ...
- 83.3k
3
votes
Can a suspension be combined with an anticipation?
Yes. It isn't necessary for the note onset to occur exactly on the strong (part of the) beat — only that the note be sounding at that point. So it would be fair to interpret the sixteenth-note "...
- 75.7k
3
votes
Can a suspension be combined with an anticipation?
There is such a thing as an 'unprepared suspension'. This one works particularly well because the melodic line echoes that in the previous bar.
The rule that is 'broken' by an unprepared suspension ...
- 87.3k
3
votes
Why are parallel perfect intervals avoided in part writing when they are so common in scores?
Counterpoint is one thing, this concerto is another. Voices here can (and do) get 'doubled', and as such, with so many different voices, those 'rules' have to be disobeyed.
- 186k
3
votes
Why are parallel perfect intervals avoided in part writing when they are so common in scores?
As other answers indicate, it is because scores are often not engaged in "part writing" per se. The classical period is characterized by instrumental figurations that are not directly ...
- 18k
2
votes
How to make a "reduction" from an arpeggiated bass
The critical factor is that they're expressing the voice leading, not the harmonic progression. The issue is less that the reduction uses quarter notes versus half notes and more that the book is ...
- 75.7k
2
votes
Do all 3rd inversion diminished and half diminished 7th chords resolve to 64 chords?
Your question set up is confusing.
As soon as you start with "all" in the question, the answer is simply "NO."
But why combine both diminished seventh chords and half diminished ...
- 54.2k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible