Reply To: Lesson 1: Names, Melodies and Monachus
Time for the next assignments before the class on Monday:
-Using the melody you have, write a second voice (in 6ths) and a bass (which is alternately a third and fifth below the melody). Of course, not all the notes of your melody will be the main’ harmony notes. At beginnings and ends, the upper voice normally goes to an octave, or sometimes a fifth to make a cadence.
And sometimes, to make it work out, you may also need an occasional unison in the bass. In the class, we will be teaching each other our melodies and counter melodies by ear.
– in the repertoire you are playing, look for a couple of bars which which use the pattern of parallel motion in 6ths or 3rds in two voices, and alternate 3rds and 5ths with bass and another voice. Think of a harmonic reduction, doing that enables you to see how the composer has ‘improvised’ on the basic voice leading pattern. In the class we’ll be doing some analysis by playing some short excerpts of pieces and reduction together, here is an example attached, a few bars from Allamande of Bach d minor Partita.
Looking forward to Monday,
James