Table Of ContentPeter Aston & Julian Webb
Music Theory in Practice
GRADE 6
The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
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Music Theory in Practice
Grade 6
PETER ASTON & JULIAN WEBB
Nor,
‘The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music MUSIC
Contents
Section A Realising figured basses page 4
Keyboard writing 6
‘Writing for voices 8
Exercise 1 10
Section B_ Harmonising melodies 3
The primary triads 6
Deciding when to change chords 16
Secondary triads 18
Harmony in minor keys a
Chord symbols 23
Exercise 2 25
‘Melody and figured bass 29
Exercise 3 30
Section © Melodic composition 35
‘Tonal melodic composition 35
Exercises 4-6 4B
‘Melodic composition in more modem styles, 52
Exercise 7 39
Section D General Exercises a
Exercises 815 co
“Thanks are due to dhe following for permission to repent extracts
fiom copyright works: Boosey & Takes Muse Publiers Lid
Faber Mase Lads Novello & Co, Lids Oxford University Press
G.Ricondh © spa
“The music on the overs the opening of an arrangement
{br trumpet nD and piano by Philip Cranmer ofthe aia,
“The trumpet shal sound, form Handel's Mesh
(Handel and Bach Aris, pbished by the Awsocisted Board),
Ththe quowed music examples tempo marks und dynamics without brackets
‘occur jn te original as shown, we thse enclosed in square brackets
far editor. Tempo marke occuring erie in the mnie areencloted in
ound brackets.
Students should use thee own manuscript paper for Exercises 47. Al
other exercises should be worked inthe book,
A Realising figured basses
(See The AB Guide to Music Theory, Part I, 8/4)
‘Figured bass is a method of shorthand for indicating chords. It was used widely during
the 17th and Ith centuries; and although you will raely see figuring in music from later
periods fan exception is jazz notation in which leer names are sometimes combined with
figuring}, it continues to be a useful way of describing harmonies!
In Grade 6, knowledge of the figuring for all chords in the syllabus is required, and it
vill be tested by a question in which you are asked to realise (i.e. write chords above)
4 figured-bass part. You will be given the choice of laying out the chords for four-part
voices (SATB) or for keyboard. Because the bass is figured, you do not have to work out
a suitable harmonic progression: the chords to be used are all shown. The exercises at
the end of this section, and similar ones in the examination papers, rest your ability:
(@) to recognise which chords are indicated by the figuring, and
(b) t lay our these chords effectively for your chosen medium ~ voices or keyboard,
‘The chords which may be used in Grade 6 are $, $$, $5 f £ and §. Because eis
cumtesame to we cu thes chord a ey a uly abrevie a olows:
‘no figuring = 3 $
Note that one chor, the f, is always figured in fl "This sto distinguish from «
tnd a common mistake made by beginners is to confuse these two chords, Notice the
difference between Ex.la (a progression rarely used in Baroque music) and Ex.1b.
EXAMPLE la le oe (4 ; 3
——— hap
Ds
Itis important to remember that figures refer to diatonic intervals sbove the given bass
note in accordance with the given key signature, ‘Thus, with a key signature of two Dats,
46 above the note G would be Eb. If the composer wanted EE, he would have to show this
in the figuring by placing a natural sign next to the figure o.? Similarly, with the same key
Signature of two flats, as above the note G is F}. Ifthe composer wanted F, as he might
in the key of G minor, he would place a sharp sign next to the «.* Note that an accidental
appearing on its own always refers to the thd above the bass note, so #= implying §),
‘Valle the Roman numeral sytem, however, gured bas dacs sot show the harmonie funeson of chore
snd therefore cannot be used Tor harmonic analysis, unless the Figuring is scompasied by an explanation of
‘ow ea chord i elas! tothe hey of the pose in which tour,
4 chromatic aeration may be planed before or afer the Fie 10 which c apples.
‘Anodher method of showing that a sot i w be sased by a seme is cress tbe numeral witha suoke
Thus, witha ley sigaarue of two Has, ck above G [= Et) cou be wsizea a6, and sf above C (= F') could
‘be writen as, You wil often sce the crossod-aumeal sjubel i printed seus, bur ia the examination
tess any chromatic rag of «note wil always be shown by an accidental placed next dhe numeral, Not
‘that there ie n0 symbol for showing the choise lowering of note oer thn placing the appropriate
cident beside che numeral (eg. 7 canceling aturl in the hey signa, of 7, cancoing sharp)
EXAMPLE?
EXAMPLE 3
EXAMPLE 4
EXAMPLE 5a
4h. The following pessage includes most of the chromatic alterations you are likely
tw find in Grade 6,
H 7
‘Unless the music modulates {.e. moves to or passes through a new key), chromatic
alterations to chords in the Grade 6 syllabus will occur only when the passage is in
‘2 minor Key. The chords most likely to be affected are the tonic (which is sometimes
‘changed to a major chord at the final cadence) and the dominant and subdominant chords
Which can be major or minor depending upon their context, In Bx.3, both forms of the
‘tonic, subdominant and dominant chords are used.
The supertonic chord may also contain chromatic alteration in this ease to thes
Tn the key of C minor, for example, « jon the supertonic consists of the notes F and Ab
ahove the bass now D, but in the ascending melodic minor sale the diminished Sth (Ab)
js raised to Ab, Both forms of the supertonic chord are used in Bx
One other commonly used symbol may be found in the examination tests. This is the
horizontal dash, indicating that the chord used above the preceding note is to be continued
above a changing bass (sce Ex.5a),
oe =
Dap Per io =
=e a
In practice, the stroke is often omined where tis obvious that a chord should not
be changed, so thatthe dash after the { on Eh in E.5a is nor strictly necessary
‘When @ horizontal dash continues over several beats itis often a good ides forthe
upper pans to adapt the distribution of the chord. The first bar of Ex-5a could be
rewritten as shown in Ex.5,
EXAMPLE 6
Keyboard writing
‘The examples given so far have all been for keyboard, and! you will notice that the textures
are very simple. Most of the chords are in four parts, with three notes played by the right
‘hand; some are in three parts; one is in five parts (Bx.2 last har); and one is in only 180
parts (Ex3, bar 2, 3ed beat). When writing for keyboard you can vary the number of notes
in your chords, but care must be given 10 the way in which the notes are spaced. An interval
‘of an octave or more between the bass note and the next note above it is perfectly acceptable,
and can be particularly effective when the bass note is low. Conversely, wide gaps between
any of the upper parts should always be avoided. A § chord an low G, if aid out as in Ex.60,
lacks cohesion because ofthe wide interval in the middle of the chord. Ex.6h shows various ways
in which the chord could be laid out more effective
b= » Sg Z
ie os =
ps I eee £5
One way of ensuring that there aze no untoward gaps inthe mile of your chords is
to us the left hand exclusively fr the bass part, giving ll other notes tothe right hand
and spacing them closely enough together to lie enly under the fingers. Aim for «four-part
texture (one note inthe lt hand, thece in the sigh), reducing to thre pats when the bas
note high but you want the rest of the chord ole in the mile or Iw register of the
tecbleslef save. Chords in more than four pars should be used very rarely reserve them
for poets nach as cadences were you want a richer sono
‘When laying out 3, § and { chords in four parts, one note must be doubled at the octave.
“There ino hard-and-ast ule about which note to doce, but here i usefol guid:
double the bass note or the
{2 when the interval hetween the © and s 6a perfect dth, double a note other than the bass
‘ote when the inzerval between the «and s san augmented 4th, double the bass noe.
fi double the bass noe.
In Keyboard realisations of Baroque continuo parts you will sometimes se four-notechonds
(ihe, and $) reduoed to three parts. When one of the notes is Kt out, the character
ofthe chord is changed. T s therefore safer to lay out four-note chords in fll, wth the
exception ony ofthe ¥ from which the = may be omited without much loss of colour.
Because figured bass uses aumerals, beginners sometimes fll aco the tap of thinking they
‘can compose by numbers without trying to imagine how the music they are writing will sound.
‘Seeing a § chord on C, they immediately double the C at the octave and write the notes E
and G above it before moving on to the next bast note, which i realised without thought to
hw it might relate tothe chord dey have just writen ore chord above the net bass note.
ExTe shows what can happen when exercises are worked in this way. Each chord, taken in
isolation, i Id out correctly, but when the chords ae played in succession the music
sounds very disconnected. The tp part leaps about in a most illogical way, andthe passage
jis fll of consecutive perfect Sths and octaves. The reason why these consecutive perfot
consonances should be avoided is that the intervals, being so strong in themselves, reinforce
melodic line and make it stand out too prominently. ‘This is really an aspect of part-writing
(fee AB Guide, Part II, 16/2); but you should bear in mind that, although a predominantly
chordal texture is expected in the examination tests, the horizontal element of the music
(Gncluding the melodic logic of the top and inner parts of the chords) cannot be disregarded.
Ds f
EKAMPLET. (FE $y aS ==
==
aa == =|
[A more effective working is shown in Ex.7b. Notice the shape of the top part: most of
the time it is in contrary motion to the bass, and further melodic interest is achieved by the
pir of quavers at the end of the first ber which use both the « and s of the $ chord on B.
‘Notice, to, how the dissonant intervals (the diminished Sth in bar 1 and the augmented 4th
‘and minor 7th in ber 4) are treated: in each case the notes creating the clash move up or
down by step. Finally, notice the way the texture is varied: chords in the higher register
all have four notes, while most of those in the lower register have only three.
===
fore
As in the above example, you should always try to give the top part melodic shape,
beating in mind that it is not necessary to write the notes of chords in the order in which the
figures appear. Ex.8a, though a perfectly accurate realisation ofthe figuring, is dull because
the top part is confined to two notes. Compare this working with Ex.8b,
EXAMPLE 7b
EXAMPLE Es
—" =
= =e
vs
EXAMPLE 8 =
ital bopr t
‘Where possible, you should also try to introduce rhythmic interest into your realisations.
‘When a bass note ished for more than one beat and no change of harmony is indicated,
itis often a good idea for the notes ofthe chord tobe redistributed in the upper pars
Compare Fx.9, which is shythmically very dull, with Ex 9b
EXAMPLE i. aS cy f =
AM ib Sse + SS =
ee = ea =
EXAMPLE 10
‘When realising figured basses for keyboard, do not make the music too elaborate.
CClose-position chords (i. chords in which the upper notes are spaced as closely together
‘ss possible) will ensure that the music is not too difficult and will be equally effective on.
organ or harpsichord (the two keyboard instruments most frequently used for continuo playing
during the figured-bass period) or on the modern piano. Its advisable not to make the compass
of the right-hand part too wide: generally speaking you should keep to the stave, and in no
CGrcumstances go beyond two ledger lines above or belove it
With regard to nocating keyboard music, notes of a chord can share a single tern and
should do so whenever possible. Only when the pars do not move together is it necessary
to combine upward and downward stems. Look beck at the examples given so far to sce how
they are notated; you will lea much by copying them out (but nor Exs.6a, 7, fa or 9a!)
Writing for voices
When realising a figured bass for four-part voices you must of course maintain & four-part
texture throughout, This means that when the chotd is triad you rust decide which note
to double; and the advice given above about laying out 3, $ and { chords in four pars for
keyboard holds good for four-part vocal writing, though notes can now be doubled either
ar the octave or at the unison. It should be emphasised, however, that the vertical sounds
(the chords) are only pact of the testure, and in four-part writing the melodic logic of the
individual parts and the relationship of cach part to the others are equally important. Good
‘part-writing, whether for voices or an instrumental ensemble, is esentially a compromise
‘ecween vertical and horizontal clements.
“To see how this works in practice, look at this example of four-part vocal writing.
‘Coen: Lobe dea Hee (Staind Geongbch, 1685)
© ow ¢ ®
a aaa
Pierre
2 Fy i
4 j
‘The frst thing to notice is that the soprano is the most tuneful pert. The alto and tenor
are relatively unadventurous but are not without melodic interest. When realising figured
basses for SATB, it is @ good idea to sketch in the whole of the soprano part first
‘The alto and tenor parts can then be added to complete the harmony; and although they will
tend to have more repeated or sustained notes than the top part, you should try to:make them
1 interesting as possible. When you have sketched out your working, sing or play cach of the
‘upper voice parts to make sure none of them contains any intervals which are dificult to sin.
‘Major 7ths and all augmented and diminished intervals can come into this category, and
although these melodic intervals are used by various composers (eg by J. $. Bach in his
chorale harmonisstions), they are best avoided at cis stage. It is a good plan to play the tenor
and bass together; then alto, tenor and bass; and finally all four parts. You will not be able
1 do this in the examination oom, of course, but in the early stages itis an excellent way
of finding out how the parts work against cach ether. You should also go through each pur
‘of parts to make sure there are no consecutive perfect consonances (unions, Sths, octaves)
‘There are six separate pairs to check: S/A, S/T, $/B, A/T, A/B and T/B.
‘Other points to notice about Ex.10 are:
1} The compass of each voice partis comfortably within its normal range, The approximate
ranges of soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices are set out in AB Guide, Part IT, 14/1, but it
‘must be emphasised that untrained singers may often have a more limited range, particularly
at the upper end of the compass. Even trained singers can find it tring to sing a long line of
very high notes. Notes towards the top of the compass should therefore be used sparingly snd
are easier to sing when approached by a series of small steps rather than by leeps
2) The spacing between the bass and tenor parts is carefully managed so thatthe widest interval
(here it is an octave) is used whenever the bas is lower than C; and intervals of less than a Sd
are not used when the bass is lower than D. ‘This illustrates an important principle: close spacing
between bass and tenor parts should be avoided when the bass isin the lower part ofits register.
In this particular passage the interval between the notes of any two adjacent voice parts (soprano
and alto, alto and tenor, tenor and bass) is never more than an octave. You will often find
{intervals greater than an octave between tenor and bass parts, though not between any other pair
of adjacent voices. The comments made on p.6 about spacing of chords for Keyboard hold good
‘when writing for four-part voices: wide gaps in the middle ofthe texture should be avoided but
can be very effective atthe bottom of chords
3) Where two adjacent chords have one or more notes in common, these notes (shown by
square brackets) are in the same part, This helps to bind the chords together and at the
same time ensures smooth part-writing. As a general rule it is a good idea to bind chords
‘together in this way, but there are occasions when ic is more important w give one or more ofthe
voice parts an interesting melodic shape. Slavish adherence to the principle of keeping notes
‘common to adjacent chords in the same part can lead to a succession of repeated notes which is
dull to sing and can be dull to listen to
4) Of the twelve § chords in the extract, the buss note is doubled in all but two of them.
‘The exceptions are the chords at (b) and (4). In (b), a major triad, the alto and tenor
double the « at the unison; in (4), a minor triad, the «is doubled at the octave.
5) There are two § chords. In the chord at (8) the interval beeween the 6 and + is
a perfect 4th, so the bass note is not doubled. In the chord at (c) the bass note isthe one
to be doubled because the interval between the & and is an augmented 4th.
6) The chord at (@) isa §. The sin the tenor, which clashes withthe » inthe soprano,
is prepared (ic, sounded) in the previous chord. The dissonance is resolved by the tenor falling
a semitone to Fin the chord at (f) while the soprano stays on A.
7) The « to + progression at (6) is treated by giving both notes to the same part ~ the alt.
‘This is a common melodie progression, but sometimes the dissonant Teh is approached by leap.
‘Where » i to move to 7 in the exercises at the end of this section (and in similar ones in the
cxamination papers it will be shown in the figuring, a its here (22).
Where a chord is figured simply as * (implying }), the * may be approached by leap or by
step; the lamer is more usual in vocal music from the figured-hass period,
8) The final chord at (g) i a but the # is omited. This is because the natural movement
cof the two inner parts — F¥ in the tenor wanting to rise to G, C in the alto needing to fall
to B— & not at odds wth the desired sonorty ofthe final chord. You wil often se cadences
jin chores and hymn tuncs where the leading note doesnot ris othe tonic but fll to
the 5 of the tonic chord. If t did so hee, the final chord would have a much darker colour
‘because the enor woul be only # Sth above the low G inthe bass pare (se pint 2 shove).
Note, however, that the dissonant 7th inthe 2 chord mst always be resolved downwards
by sep
Bearing in mind the points made about Ex. 10, look atthe realisation below which can be
used as a model for your own workings. You will notice that at the cadence the leading note
(given to the alto) does nor rise to the tonic. On this occasion, a fuller sonority is desirable for
the final chord, and this is more important than the melodic shape of one of the inner parts,
You will also notice that in the final chord the interval between the tenor and bass is grester
‘than an octave. This brightens the sound and is a good example of how wide spacing at
the bottom of a chord can be used to good effec. It should be emphasised, however, that
‘under no cigcumstances should you have more than an octave between the soprano ancl alto
fo between the alto and tenor parts,
EXAMPLE 11
Exercise 1 Writing for four-part voices (SATTB) or keyboard, realise the chords indicated. Assume that
all chords are § unless otherwise shown,
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