1. V OICE L EADING IN F OUR -P ART C HORALE W RITING Chapter 9

2. W HAT IS F OUR - PART C HORALE W RITING ? 18 th and 19 th century baroque style Chorale Congregational hymn in German protestant church Sung in the vernacular, not Latin J.S. Bach used chorale melodies in many of his compositions – considered the “best” in this style of liturgical writing Highlights the interaction of harmony and melody Soprano sings melody Bass generates the harmony Alto and tenor fill in the chords

3. F IRST I NVERSION T RIADS Smooth bass lines Allow for melodic motion in bass lines

4. S ECOND I NVERSION T RIADS Cadential I ⁶₄ used as a decoration of V at the cadence Passing Bass I ⁶₄ used as a passing tone between IV and IV ⁶ Arpeggiated Bass II ⁶ I ⁶₄ Pedal Bass Placed between two root positions of the same triad IIV ⁶₄ I

5. S TYLISTIC P RACTICES When both chords are in root position and the roots are a P4 or P5 apart 1. Keep the common tone. 2. When you cannot keep the common tone, move all three upper voices in similar motion. When both chords are in root position and the roots are a 3 rd apart 3. Keep both common tones. When both chords are in root position and the roots are a 2 nd apart 4. Move the three upper voices in contrary motion to the bass. When chords are repeated 5. Maintain proper range and order of voices

6. S TYLISTIC P RACTICES When one chord is in 1 st inversion 6. Double the soprano (first choice) or bass (second choice) When using the vii° ⁶ triad 7. Double the bass When using the ii˚ ⁶ triad 8. Double the bass When using 2 nd inversion chords 9. Double the bass

7. E XCEPTIONS TO S TYLISTIC P RACTICES When you cannot follow stylistic practices, use the following guidelines. Never: 1. Write parallel P8, P5, and P1 2. Double the leading tone of the scale 3. Write pitches out of range 4. Write a melodic A2 or A4 in any voice

8. E XCEPTIONS TO S TYLISTIC P RACTICES Observe these guidelines carefully unless you have no other alternative: 5. Avoid crossing voices (in one chord) 6. Spacing between two adjacent voices should not be more than a P8 (Exception: tenor and bass spacing can be up to two octaves) 7. Avoid overlap of voices (in two adjacent chords) 8. Do not move in the same direction to perfect intervals in soprano and bass 9. Unequal 5ths (P5 to d5) can be used sparingly 10. Use the melodic d5 sparingly 11. Leading tone of the scale should progress upward to tonic when written in soprano or bass