Chapter Five Principles of Voice Leading

Principles of Voice Leading

• 
  Composer thinks of several aspects more or less simultaneously
  
  • 
    Melody
    
  • 
    Harmony
    
  • 
    Rhythm
    
• 
  Focus on questions relating to the harmonic aspect of tonal music because it is the aspect that most clearly delineates tonal music from other types
  
• 
  Basically vocabulary of tonal harmony
  
  • 
    Triads
    
  • 
    Seventh chord
    
  • 
    Harmony Progression
    
  • 
    Voice leading
    
• 
  Voice leading (part writing): chords are produced by the motions of individual musical lines
  
• 
  Counterpoint: refer to the combining of relatively independent musical lines
  
• 
  Naturally, the style of voice leading will depend on:
  
  • 
    Composer
    
  • 
    Musical effect
    
  • 
    Performing medium (e.g. large melodic leaps)
    
• 
  Study of the voice leading norms
  

• 
  Use the following procedures:
  
  • 
    Rhythm
    
    • 
      Simple
      
    • 
      Most durations being equal or longer than the duration of the beat
      
    • 
      Final note should occur on a strong beat
      
  • 
    Harmony
    
    • 
      Every melody note should belong to the chord that is to harmonize it
      
  • 
    Contour
    
    • 
      The melody should be primarily conjunct (stepwise)
      
    • 
      Single focal point
      
  • 
    Leaps
    
    • 
      Avoid augmented intervals, 7ths,and intervals larger than P8
      
    • 
      Diminished intervals may be with an immediate change of direction in stepwise motion
      
    • 
      Melodic interval larger than P4 is usually best approached and left in the direction opposite to the leap
      
    • 
      When smaller leaps are used consecutively in the same direction, they should outline a triad
      

• 
  Tendency tones
  
  • 
    7^th has a strong tendency to move up to 1^st except when the melody is descending scalewise from 1^st
    
  • 
    4^th move to 3^rd but not with the regularity with which 7^th goes to 1^st
    

• 
  Musical score: shows all the parts of an ensemble arranged one above the other
  
• 
  Full score: all or most of the parts are notated on their own individual staves
  
• 
  Reduced score: notated at concert pitch on as few staves as possible
  

• 
  The way in which a chord is spaced has a great deal of influence on its aural effect
  
• 
  “Muddy” effect (example 5-7)
  
• 
  Close structure: less than an octave between soprano and tenor
  
• 
  Open structure: an octave or more between soprano and tenor
  
• 
  Crossed voices
  
  • 
    Do not allow any part to cross above the soprano
    
  • 
    Do not allow any part to cross below the bass
    
• 
  Spacing
  
  • 
    Avoid overly spacious sonorities, keeping adjacent upper parts within an octave
    
    • 
      No more than an octave between soprano and alto
      
    • 
      No more than an octave between alto and tenor
      
    • 
      It is acceptable to have more than an octave between tenor and bass
      
    • 
      Observe the range of each voicing (refer to Example 5-12)
      

• 
  Five possible relationships between any two voices or parts:
  
  • 
    Static: neither part moves
    
  • 
    Oblique: only one part moves
    
  • 
    Contrary: both move but in opposite directions
    
  • 
    Similar: both move in same direction but by different intervals
    
  • 
    Parallel: both move in same direction by the same interval
    
• 
  When the texture contains more than two voices, they will be more ”pairs” of voices to consider
  
  • 
    Three parts: 3 pairs
    
  • 
    Four parts: 6 pairs
    
• 
  Avoid parallels 5ths and 8ves (example 5-15), parallels 12ths and unisons
  
• 
  Composers of tonal music generally followed the convention, dating from around 1450
  
• 
  Regained acceptance in the twentieth century
  
• 
  Objectionable parallels: result when two parts that are separated by a P5 or a P8, or by their octave equivalents, move to as new pitch classes that are separated by the same interval
  
• 
  Parallel 4ths are acceptable
  
• 
  Contrary 5ths and 8ves: also called consecutive 5ths and 8ths by contrary motion were also generally avoided, at least in vocal music
  
• 
  Unequal 5ths: result when a P5 is followed by a ^o5, or the reverse , in the same two voices
  
  • 
    Acceptable unless when a ^o5 – P5 between the bass and another voices
    
• 
  Direct (or hidden) 5^th or 8ve: Outer parts move in the same direction into a P5 or P8, with a leap in the soprano part (with a leap or a step in the bass) (example 5-20)
  
  • 
    Avoidance of parallels of all types were somewhat less strictly maintained in instrumental than in vocal music
    

• 
  Use parallel 5ths and 8ves very sparingly , and in such a way that the listener’s attention will not be drawn to them
  
• 
  Parallels involving both of the outer parts are especially rare and should be avoided
  
• 
  Beethoven was trying to evoke a rustic, unsophisticated atmosphere through the use of the parallels (example 5-22)