Harmonising a Bach Chorale - Writing Four-Part Harmony
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Date: 2022-03-28
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Comments and reviews: 10
Alain
Bach was a strong interest I had - while most Australians went for AC/DC in the seventies, but I never had such a lesson learning organ. I understood about inversions, but I thought they were 'tight', as in played simultaneously with one hand, as the organist's foot played the bass note. So, I was surprised that any arrangement of a chord depended on the [deep] bass note and not the lowest hand note. Like a separate Double Bass or Bass Guitarist, organists may have seen this bass note as being separate or more independent from the chord played by the organist's left hand.
So, is this peculiar to a Bach Chorale? Am I deviating from the topic, or can I ask about matters that may not be strictly about a Back Chorale, as Bach is actually an inspiration for perhaps more than a portion of a [Latin swing] piece I'm attempting to do?
For keyboard players, we're lucky to have such a straight forward visual of the keyboard -as well as the written score. Using a DAW for composition, we have to think about whether a chord is played on one polyphonic instrument, a group of voices, strings etc. or combining quite different timbres. I'm used to chord inversions being within an octave or one hand's grasp.
So, would this mean that Bach's Chorale inversions were always determined by the bass note?
The other thing I am learning from this video - is about an anacrusis. The lyrics in my piece have three notes before a sustained fourth starts the first bar. You mentioned going from a V on the anacrusis going into a I chord. I just remembered - I'm not using a major or minor scale, and will have to attempt to plot seven chords on the 'mode' [if it is one]. But if I were using a major or minor scale or a mixture, has anyone started an anacrusic phrase in another key, as a 'surprise'? For example, has Bach or anyone started an anacrusis in a major key and then started bar one in a minor key, as an effect?
[Maybe, it's more of an 'intro', than an anacrusis since it has a few bars of rhythm before the vocal comes in? I'm probably getting more into Impressionism. Sorry. I still need this lesson first.]
Sorry if this moves away from a Bach Chorale.
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Bach was a strong interest I had - while most Australians went for AC/DC in the seventies, but I never had such a lesson learning organ. I understood about inversions, but I thought they were 'tight', as in played simultaneously with one hand, as the organist's foot played the bass note. So, I was surprised that any arrangement of a chord depended on the [deep] bass note and not the lowest hand note. Like a separate Double Bass or Bass Guitarist, organists may have seen this bass note as being separate or more independent from the chord played by the organist's left hand.
So, is this peculiar to a Bach Chorale? Am I deviating from the topic, or can I ask about matters that may not be strictly about a Back Chorale, as Bach is actually an inspiration for perhaps more than a portion of a [Latin swing] piece I'm attempting to do?
For keyboard players, we're lucky to have such a straight forward visual of the keyboard -as well as the written score. Using a DAW for composition, we have to think about whether a chord is played on one polyphonic instrument, a group of voices, strings etc. or combining quite different timbres. I'm used to chord inversions being within an octave or one hand's grasp.
So, would this mean that Bach's Chorale inversions were always determined by the bass note?
The other thing I am learning from this video - is about an anacrusis. The lyrics in my piece have three notes before a sustained fourth starts the first bar. You mentioned going from a V on the anacrusis going into a I chord. I just remembered - I'm not using a major or minor scale, and will have to attempt to plot seven chords on the 'mode' [if it is one]. But if I were using a major or minor scale or a mixture, has anyone started an anacrusic phrase in another key, as a 'surprise'? For example, has Bach or anyone started an anacrusis in a major key and then started bar one in a minor key, as an effect?
[Maybe, it's more of an 'intro', than an anacrusis since it has a few bars of rhythm before the vocal comes in? I'm probably getting more into Impressionism. Sorry. I still need this lesson first.]
Sorry if this moves away from a Bach Chorale.
reply
John
I'm enjoying this lesson. It's coming clearer to me now about the inversions. When a video gets more technical it's great that the time is taken to explain the subtleties and the thought process behind chord choices. A real lecture style video. Worth the time to hear because you come away feeling more grounded in it than with quick videos that assume you have the theory down. Like Nazim, I am self-taught, so these kinds of videos offer great value.
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I'm enjoying this lesson. It's coming clearer to me now about the inversions. When a video gets more technical it's great that the time is taken to explain the subtleties and the thought process behind chord choices. A real lecture style video. Worth the time to hear because you come away feeling more grounded in it than with quick videos that assume you have the theory down. Like Nazim, I am self-taught, so these kinds of videos offer great value.
reply
corporal1107
Your bass line has larger than octave leaps. I was taught to avoid so the lines are more evenly spaced. This way each line played alone wouldn-t encounter larger than octave leaps. The singer would have to be very talented right? Just wondering why you didn-t take this into consideration. Otherwise your video is very informative. Reminds me of theory class in college.
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Your bass line has larger than octave leaps. I was taught to avoid so the lines are more evenly spaced. This way each line played alone wouldn-t encounter larger than octave leaps. The singer would have to be very talented right? Just wondering why you didn-t take this into consideration. Otherwise your video is very informative. Reminds me of theory class in college.
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don
Back in the 1970s I arranged songs for the Barbershop Quartet I sang in (Tenor). As I was single I was called the 'Lone Arranger'. As you probably know tenor is above the melody usually. I just love all of Bach's music especially the Chorales in his Cantatas. Cheers
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Back in the 1970s I arranged songs for the Barbershop Quartet I sang in (Tenor). As I was single I was called the 'Lone Arranger'. As you probably know tenor is above the melody usually. I just love all of Bach's music especially the Chorales in his Cantatas. Cheers
reply
Dave2002
One thing from this video. Is it normally the case that the pause marks are only treated as indicating cadences, or can they also function as -conventional- pauses in performance? Can they serve both purposes?
Very good introduction to this topic area.
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One thing from this video. Is it normally the case that the pause marks are only treated as indicating cadences, or can they also function as -conventional- pauses in performance? Can they serve both purposes?
Very good introduction to this topic area.
reply
Arman
For the first 3 notes where you use D 3 times, could you use a passing 6/4 chord which would go I > I6/4 > I6? THat is a common and acceptable way to use a 6/4 chord but I wonder if the static D note in the soprano would make that impossible.
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For the first 3 notes where you use D 3 times, could you use a passing 6/4 chord which would go I > I6/4 > I6? THat is a common and acceptable way to use a 6/4 chord but I wonder if the static D note in the soprano would make that impossible.
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Arman
Jolly good tutorial! Do you have any videos where you don't -avoid- the iii and the vii chord while harmonizing? I would like to use them in my compositions so it would be nice to learn how and where they might be used to good effect.
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Jolly good tutorial! Do you have any videos where you don't -avoid- the iii and the vii chord while harmonizing? I would like to use them in my compositions so it would be nice to learn how and where they might be used to good effect.
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John
I only made made it. through my freshman year. of my college. education, but. my. love and respect for music has grown. and so tyhis givces an. opportunity. to catch back some. of the. knowledge I should know as a composer.
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I only made made it. through my freshman year. of my college. education, but. my. love and respect for music has grown. and so tyhis givces an. opportunity. to catch back some. of the. knowledge I should know as a composer.
reply
ositotovi
Sir. Your love for music, teaches me more in one hour that three years of school of music.I love Bach as well!!!,so from the bottom of my Argentinian grateful heart!!!.THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!. (I take my hat off!!).
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Sir. Your love for music, teaches me more in one hour that three years of school of music.I love Bach as well!!!,so from the bottom of my Argentinian grateful heart!!!.THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!. (I take my hat off!!).
reply
Arman
Shouldn't accented passing notes be considered as different harmonies? For example, if I play an accented M7 over a C chord then shouldnt the harmony be considered CM7 not C with an accented passing note?
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Shouldn't accented passing notes be considered as different harmonies? For example, if I play an accented M7 over a C chord then shouldnt the harmony be considered CM7 not C with an accented passing note?
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