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In a Noteshell

1.0 Introduction

Four-part harmony is a strict composition style that teaches the principles of harmony and voice-leading, and teaches the students how to harmonize melodies and make beautiful harmonies and lines in a western XIXth century compositional style.

The study of 4-part harmony is rigid, but will help the students drill down their skills in composition and harmony, as well as give them the fundamental skills to bridge the technical aspects of compositions and creativity.

Pre-requisites

In this section, we’ll learn about the fundamentals of 4-part harmony. In order to provide a full understanding of the musical context we’ll be operating within, a big part of this section will be dedicated to reviewing some of the fundamentals of music theory, but within the context of 4-part harmony.

Before proceeding with the study of 4-part harmony, it is important to have a solid understanding of music theory fundamentals such as:

  • Music notation
  • Intervals
  • Major & minor scales
  • Triads (3-notes chords)
  • 4-notes chords (Dominant)

Here are some resources to help you learn the basics of music theory:

Course Roadmap

Here’s a suggested roadmap of topics to learn Four-Part Harmony

Chapter 1: Introduction to Tonal Harmony

  1. Introduction
  2. Intervals
  3. Major Scale
  4. Tessitura
  5. Voice Dispositions & Spacing
  6. Types of Motions
  7. Overlaps & Crossovers
  8. Intervals (part 2)
  9. Triads
    1. Numbering
    2. Doublings
    3. Voice leading
    4. False Triton Relationship
  10. Roles of Voices

Chapter 2: Minor Mode

Chapter 3: Organization of the Tonal System

  1. Tonality
  2. Cycle of Fifths
  3. Cadenzas
  4. Melody Harmonization
  5. Harmonic Rhythms

Other Resources

  • Harmonie I & II by Philippe Béland, University of Montreal, 2012
  • L’oeil qui entend, l’oreille qui voit, a theoretical model and tools for analyzing the tonal harmonic discourse from Bach to Wagner, by Luce Beaudet, University proffessor at the University of Montreal.
  • Voice Leading & Harmony by Edward Aldwell (Author), Carl Schachter (Author), Allen Cadwallader (Author)
  • Open Music Theory, an open source online music theory textbook y Kris Shaffer, Bryn Hughes, and Brian Moseley
  • Integrated Musicianship, an open source interactive online textbook for college level music courses (theory and aural skills) by Sean Butterfield and Miranda Wilson
  • MusicTheory.net, a resource with interactive exercises and tools to learn basic music theory.
  • Elementary Rudiments of Music, an exercise book for learning basic music theory by Barbara Wharram (book)