# Four Part Writing Exercise



## Celloissimo

I'm teaching myself four-part writing at the moment, using Walter Piston's _Harmony_ textbook. I decided to try out an exercise on my own by harmonizing a simple melody like Frere Jaques. Checking for parallel fifths and "hidden fifths" would be awesome.

http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/24b58587da6a1a50e426dabb0f30567f0af110ab


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## Mahlerian

Bar 1/2 - Poor use of second inversion on beat two, leading tone doubled on beat three with odd voice leading in the bass. Harmony should probably be I-V-I-I, not I-ii6/4-iii6-I6.

Bar 3/4 - Parallel fifth between bass and alto beats 1-2. Harmony should probably be I-IV6-V, not I-ii-iii(?). You should try to avoid having more than an octave between any two of the parts above the bass, at least normally. Here there is a good deal of space between alto and soprano.

Bar 5/6 - V6/4-I is a very weak progression compared to V-I. More than an octave between tenor and alto.

Bar 7/8 - Weak progression as above. Poor tritone resolution from beats 2-3.

Play the bass line alone, and you'll find that it doesn't really outline the harmony of the melody very well. You want a bass line that comes naturally out of the implied harmony.


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## bianca

I quote everything Mahlerian said.
If I can give you some other hints, just remember that in four parts writing also parallel octaves (bar 2/3) must be avoided. More generally, the disjunct harmonic motion leading to a perfect octave or to a perfect fifth should be avoided. 
Even parallel fourths, being the inversion of fifths, should be avoided unless they are accompanied by parallel thirds. For example you use parallel fourths in bar 1.
Try to consider different progression, as Mahlerian suggested. But doing this, if I can go further, keep also in mind the functional value of the chords related to the fact that choral texts has their own accents. So, strong accents may be better appreciated on dominant chords than in tonic ones and so on, obviously within certain limits and depending on your aesthetic...


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## Mahlerian

bianca said:


> I quote everything Mahlerian said.
> If I can give you some other hints, just remember that in four parts writing also parallel octaves (bar 2/3) must be avoided. More generally, the disjunct harmonic motion leading to a perfect octave or to a perfect fifth should be avoided.
> Even parallel fourths, being the inversion of fifths, should be avoided unless they are accompanied by parallel thirds. For example you use parallel fourths in bar 1.


Various textbooks differ on some of these points. I'd say the main problem with the parallel fourths here is that they are parallel 6/4 chords, which sounds odd in a functional harmony context.

As for disjunct motion to octave or fifth, I thought it was really only a problem when from one octave or fifth to another.

(Can't believe I missed that parallel octave, though!)


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## violadude

Great advice from both of you. I would just add one thing, remember to use your ears too! If it sounds weird to you, there's probably something "wrong" with it.


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## Piwikiwi

Mahlerian said:


> Various textbooks differ on some of these points. I'd say the main problem with the parallel fourths here is that they are parallel 6/4 chords, which sounds odd in a functional harmony context.
> 
> As for disjunct motion to octave or fifth, I thought it was really only a problem when from one octave or fifth to another.
> 
> (Can't believe I missed that parallel octave, though!)


Isn't the problem with parallel 6/4 chords that you have an unresolved suspension or does this only apply to baroque music? (I got this from a book about 18th century counterpoint)


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## Mahlerian

Piwikiwi said:


> Isn't the problem with parallel 6/4 chords that you have an unresolved suspension or does this only apply to baroque music? (I got this from a book about 18th century counterpoint)


Yes, it's considered a dissonance and an unstable chord, and you're going from one dissonance to another dissonance. Harmony and counterpoint books I know allow 6/4 inversions to appear as passing chords without their usual resolution, though, which probably reflects later practice.

Anyway, the bass line in the first two bars here sounds so wrong because it actually implies E minor much more strongly than G major, and because of that doubled F# on beat three. I agree with Violadude that using your ears to hear what sounds problematic is good, but remember that you will have to learn to hear the mistakes your mind is correcting for you.


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## bianca

By the way, how can we forget this:




or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cQFjDBFXN58#t=1507

although it is not a choral...


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