# Elementary Accompaniment Writing



## athrun200

I am self-teaching myself piano accompaniment writing. As I got a ABRSM grade 8 in music theory 2 years ago, I want to apply my music knowledge to some music now. Therefore I started reading the book *Elementary Accompaniment Writing* by _*William Lovelock*_.

I have done some exercises from the book. Could anyone give me some comments on my answer?
This question is from chapter 4, exercise 1 on page 54. (I have attached the pdf version of it)

The question requires us to write a simple accompaniment pattern (no variation) for the melody, and I need to figure out the harmony myself (although the bass notes and the first two bars are provided).

Can anyone comment my answer in terms of the following aspect?
(a) Chord progression
(b) Voice leading


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## Nate Miller

Athrun,

Looks pretty good to me. I had my undergrad work in music theory, so I've got enough training to officially give you my unofficial estimation 

but your chord functions are all correct and the notes you wrote definitely spell out those harmonies.

your voice leading is pretty good in this exercise, really. I don't see a lot of big leaps, everything is done smoothly.

so nice job!


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## Bettina

Most of it looks good to me too. Nice job with the voice-leading. As far I can tell, you only need to make two corrections:

Measure 6 is not V of vi, it's actually V6/5 of vi. It's a seventh chord (notice the G in the soprano) in first inversion.

Measure 12 is not V, it's I 6/4. The G is a passing tone. The A is the main chord tone.


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## athrun200

Thanks for the comment guys
I am still learning and I might post more exercises here to get feedback.



Bettina said:


> Measure 12 is not V, it's I 6/4. The G is a passing tone. The A is the main chord tone.


In fact I struggled quite a bit in the last four bars (bar 12 - 16). Here's the reasons:
(1) It is a plagal cadence, and I have no experience in this kind of cadence.
(2) I6/4, which is a suspension of V, usually leads to V. If I put I6/4 in bar 12, it seems there is no room for the I6/4 to resolve to the dominant chord. That's why I finally put a V in bar 12. Because I thought the harmony may make more sense in this way.

What do you think about (2), Bettina?


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## Bettina

athrun200 said:


> Thanks for the comment guys
> I am still learning and I might post more exercises here to get feedback.
> 
> In fact I struggled quite a bit in the last four bars (bar 12 - 16). Here's the reasons:
> (1) It is a plagal cadence, and I have no experience in this kind of cadence.
> (2) I6/4, which is a suspension of V, usually leads to V. If I put I6/4 in bar 12, it seems there is no room for the I6/4 to resolve to the dominant chord. That's why I finally put a V in bar 12. Because I thought the harmony may make more sense in this way.
> 
> What do you think about (2), Bettina?


Hmm...you're right, I6/4 usually is followed by a V chord. Bar 12 is very confusing to harmonize!

Here's a possible solution: you could put a I6/4 chord on beats one and two, and switch to V on beat 3. The instructions don't say that you have to stick to one chord per bar, do they? Many actual pieces of music have more than one chord per bar, so I think it's OK to do it in this exercise.


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## Vasks

The RH of m.12 that you supplied dictates that the entire measure be a V. The melody "A" will be a consonant accented neighbor tone. But since you supplied the LH and RH of m.12 trhw suggestion to have a I6/4 for the first two beats and a V on the last beat can be done too


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## athrun200

Vasks said:


> .... The melody "A" will be a consonant accented neighbor tone.


I know that _neighbor tone_ is a kind of non chord tone. _Accented _means it is on the main beat. But the term _consonant_, as far as I know, means it is in harmony with the rest of the notes in the same beat, i.e. implying a chord tone.

So the whole term _consonant accented neighbor tone_ seems a little bit confusing to me.
Would you mind to elaborate a bit on this?


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## Vasks

Sure. Non-chord tones are usually dissonant, clashing a second against a chord tone, but the melody "A" at first harmonizes with the "C" in the bass, so at first there is no dissonance. Once the "G" of the RH occurs then some dissonance is heard. But even then the "G" may be perceived as the 7th of an Am7 chord and so it still is considered somewhat consonant.

The best way to know that the melody "A" is a non-chord tone is to *hear* how it resolves to the "G" on the third beat. You'll feel the "G" as relaxing in comparison to the "A" that drops down into the "G". It's easier to hear it than see it. So singing the melody along with playing the piano part will reveal the role of the pitch "A".

BTW: I re-thought about the possibility of using the second inversion tonic for the first two beats and I realized that to do so would be technically incorrect as it would neither be a passing, static/auxiliary or cadential six-four.


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## athrun200

Thanks everyone for helping me out in this post!
I have learnt a lot.


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## athrun200

*Chapter 4 Exercise 6*

Hi everyone, I have finished another exercise which is more difficult than the previous one to me.

Starting from bar 5, I am not quite sure about the chord progression that the melody implies. As the leading note F sharp is not resolved, I think it is a tonicization of chord iv.

For bar 6, it seems the melody is going to modulate to a major key and I have no idea what chords to harmonize the melody. The neapolitan chord and its tonicization that I use sounds quite weird. I am not sure if it is correct or not.

Finally, I cannot figure out a nice piano ending to this piece (I am not a pianist). It sounds nice but the 4-semiquavers group at the end doesn't fit in the rest of the piece as the tempo is 6-8, the semiquavers group should either contain 3 or 6 notes.


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## kwokboy

athrun200 said:


> Hi everyone, I have finished another exercise which is more difficult than the previous one to me.
> 
> Starting from bar 5, I am not quite sure about the chord progression that the melody implies. As the leading note F sharp is not resolved, I think it is a tonicization of chord iv.
> 
> For bar 6, it seems the melody is going to modulate to a major key and I have no idea what chords to harmonize the melody. The neapolitan chord and its tonicization that I use sounds quite weird. I am not sure if it is correct or not.
> 
> Finally, I cannot figure out a nice piano ending to this piece (I am not a pianist). It sounds nice but the 4-semiquavers group at the end doesn't fit in the rest of the piece as the tempo is 6-8, the semiquavers group should either contain 3 or 6 notes.


are you trying to be a composer?
these exercises will not be very helpful IMO

study real compositions
copy the patterns that you like
and then try to modify them once you get familiar with

there are things in the post sound weird to me....

actually, not every non-harmonic tone/discord requires resolution

piano writing tends to be homophonic
no need to get good voice leading as long as it sounds good

also smooth voice-leading wont guarantee good melodies

if you want things to be contrapuntal
simply avoid consecutive 5ths, avoid consecutive 8ths
and avoid other consecutive intervals for more than 3 or 4 times
fxxk strict counterpoint fxxk hidden 5ths LOL
they wont be much useful here

btw, I passed ABRSM grade8 theory a couple years ago as well...


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## athrun200

kwokboy said:


> are you trying to be a composer?
> these exercises will not be very helpful IMO
> 
> study real compositions
> copy the patterns that you like
> and then try to modify them once you get familiar with
> 
> there are things in the post sound weird to me....
> 
> actually, not every non-harmonic tone/discord requires resolution
> 
> piano writing tends to be homophonic
> no need to get good voice leading as long as it sounds good
> 
> also smooth voice-leading wont guarantee good melodies
> 
> if you want things to be contrapuntal
> simply avoid consecutive 5ths, avoid consecutive 8ths
> and avoid other consecutive intervals for more than 3 or 4 times
> fxxk strict counterpoint fxxk hidden 5ths LOL
> they wont be much useful here
> 
> btw, I passed ABRSM grade8 theory a couple years ago as well...


I am not going to be a composer, but I am interested in orchestration and arrangement.
This is the only book I find which contains a lot of examples and exercises.

I used to try studying Vivaldi's and Corelli's violin concerto, however, they are a little bit overwhelming to me. 
That's why I choose to start with this simple book.

Do you have any better recommendation?


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## kwokboy

athrun200 said:


> I am not going to be a composer, but I am interested in orchestration and arrangement.
> This is the only book I find which contains a lot of examples and exercises.
> 
> I used to try studying Vivaldi's and Corelli's violin concerto, however, they are a little bit overwhelming to me.
> That's why I choose to start with this simple book.
> 
> Do you have any better recommendation?


overwhelming ? sorry but what do you exactly mean?

personal advice is to stay away from anything with basso continuo first
(yea...it is like 98% of Vivaldi, Corelli stuff come with basso continuo...)
try studying something comes with full score
try studying piano sonatas/other stuff from classical/early romantic period
youtube is also a good way to learn basic stuff

regarding overall arrangement/writing orchestral music
I want to point out that many books were written in spirit of strict-counterpoint 
try studying basic free-counterpoint theory might be helpful to understand the logic/development behind this topic
free-counterpoint is still a bit more restrictive than what I mentioned above/real compositions though

also, studying the music history/transition from medieval age to classical period may
help you to build up your self confidence mentally....
you know...
once you know that music theory has always been chaotic, you will start to gain self confidence...


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## athrun200

kwokboy said:


> overwhelming ? sorry but what do you exactly mean?
> 
> personal advice is to stay away from anything with basso continuo first
> (yea...it is like 98% of Vivaldi, Corelli stuff come with basso continuo...)
> try studying something comes with full score
> try studying piano sonatas/other stuff from classical/early romantic period
> youtube is also a good way to learn basic stuff
> 
> regarding overall arrangement/writing orchestral music
> I want to point out that many books were written in spirit of strict-counterpoint
> try studying basic free-counterpoint theory might be helpful to understand the logic/development behind this topic
> free-counterpoint is still a bit more restrictive than what I mentioned above/real compositions though
> 
> also, studying the music history/transition from medieval age to classical period may
> help you to build up your self confidence mentally....
> you know...
> once you know that music theory has always been chaotic, you will start to gain self confidence...


Thanks for your advice. By overwhelming, I mean it really takes me a long time to finish the full score. I have seen some people finish the analysis of a full score within an hour but it usually takes me several hours. 
I am just an amateur, who have never received any music training, doing it as a leisure activity during weekends or after my work to kill time. Therefore my music background is not as strong as most people here. The exam questions in ABRSM grade 8 are acceptable as they have 3 instruments at most.

That's why I start practicing the simple form first.
One solo instrument + piano is the best exercise for me now.
Once I get enough confidence I think I will move on to the full score.

*Can you explicate why should I stay away from basso continuo first?
Many musicians that I met told me the opposite. They told me to start with the basso continuo as it defines the chord progression, once you finish with the basso continuo, you will understand the flow of the music already, even if you don't look at the melody at all.*


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## kwokboy

athrun200 said:


> Thanks for your advice. By overwhelming, I mean it really takes me a long time to finish the full score. I have seen some people finish the analysis of a full score within an hour but it usually takes me several hours.
> I am just an amateur, who have never received any music training, doing it as a leisure activity during weekends or after my work to kill time. Therefore my music background is not as strong as most people here. The exam questions in ABRSM grade 8 are acceptable as they have 3 instruments at most.
> 
> That's why I start practicing the simple form first.
> One solo instrument + piano is the best exercise for me now.
> Once I get enough confidence I think I will move on to the full score.
> 
> *Can you explicate why should I stay away from basso continuo first?
> Many musicians that I met told me the opposite. They told me to start with the basso continuo as it defines the chord progression, once you finish with the basso continuo, you will understand the flow of the music already, even if you don't look at the melody at all.*


because there are many things in this post hinted me that 
you don't seem to have much ideas about the accompaniment writing
so...in this stage
working on basso continuo = fxxking around without a clue
anyway once you have a clue
start writing you own music
don't waste your time on writing basso continuo realization

if you really like basso continuo
go study the basso continuo first
then study realizations from other people
and ask yourself does it sound good?
why it sounds good?
why the chord was re-voiced in that way?
and also why it sounds ****
that's likely more efficient in terms of building up writing skills
also pay attention to the sound quality of bass part
many modern instruments generally are more bass-rich than their ancestors
a 1-3-5 voicing chord in bass area could be theoretically correct
but it may sound too muddy in reality

you don't need simple form that's wasting your time
the best exercise is to learn pieces that you love
learning pieces that you love will give you motivation, energy, and maybe...orgasm
and that's why I said try copying/learning the patterns that you like first
(left hand patterns for piano writing)
get familiar with them first
try playing the line using your primary instrument
learning is all about copying and modifying

those things also hinted me that you a bit lack of self confidence regarding music/composing as well
and that's why I said studying some music history would be helpful
as I said music theory has always been chaotic
you know...
functional harmony is quite big in nowadays
but it was built on top of Hugo Riemann's theory of Dualism
and, however, that theory is a wrong one (yea, confirmed long long time ago)
so.....well...I hope you get the idea....

currently you musical thought seems to be overly governed by "consonance"
so pay more attention to dissonance when you study real compositions
especially when you try to write music in this era
without enough amount of dissonance
melody may tends to sound ****

for many reasons 
I am a bit more solid than general grade 8 theory candidates (maybe...)
so, don't feel bad for yourself
and I once worked as a theory teacher for little kids
that experience...well....you know
I am now quite sensitive to many "hints" 

the lack of formal music training in the past doesn't matter at all
simply keep working and you will become professional
I guarantee
um..actually...passing grade 8 without proper musical training is impressive enough...


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## athrun200

kwokboy said:


> um..actually...passing grade 8 without proper musical training is impressive enough...


Actually, grade 8 music theory is not that difficult for a engineering researcher like me. As most of the questions provide ample hints for you to predict the direction and flow of the music, not much creativity is involved. I was also lucky that the exam questions are a little bit easier than the practice exercises so I could get 82/100 at that time.



kwokboy said:


> because there are many things in this post hinted me that
> you don't seem to have much ideas about the accompaniment writing


Yes, there's still a lot for me to explore and learn in music. That's why I create this post to seek help. Could you mind to answer my question regarding the chord progression starting from bar 5 for the second exercise? You seem to be a professional musician, your comments will surely help.

Don't worry that I will waste my time doing the exercises in this book. I am just using it to kill time anyway, so as long as it can keep me busy during some free time slots it's fine for me.
But I will take your valuable advice as my next step after I finish this book.


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## kwokboy

athrun200 said:


> Actually, grade 8 music theory is not that difficult for a engineering researcher like me. As most of the questions provide ample hints for you to predict the direction and flow of the music, not much creativity is involved. I was also lucky that the exam questions are a little bit easier than the practice exercises so I could get 82/100 at that time.
> 
> Yes, there's still a lot for me to explore and learn in music. That's why I create this post to seek help. Could you mind to answer my question regarding the chord progression starting from bar 5 for the second exercise? You seem to be a professional musician, your comments will surely help.
> 
> Don't worry that I will waste my time doing the exercises in this book. I am just using it to kill time anyway, so as long as it can keep me busy during some free time slots it's fine for me.
> But I will take your valuable advice as my next step after I finish this book.


hard to have a mutual agreement when it comes to this kind of music
simply try all reasonable ways to harmonize them and pick the one you like
eventually you need to go through tons of trial & error to develop your own musicianship
but I suggest doing that later

quit doing these EX. and go find some classical music MIDI and a proper software
it could be Cubase, Reaper, Guitar Pro, MuseScore, Overture, Notion...etc
finding + getting used to these stuff will kill a lot of your time
MIDI is one of the most powerful tool for expanding your writing knowledge

read free counterpoint/orchestration texts when you are unable to access to PC

if you are serious about music
do it in an efficient way


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