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That's really great Chris!

Thanks guys. Lot of hard work and elbow grease (moving the mouse) but having an inspiring tune/chords helps.

Chopin Prelude in E-
Very beautiful.
Will keep playing it a while longer, a couple times a week maybe.

https://app.box.com/s/874tetpekwzs4va7a2rb

That IS beautiful Knotty.
Great tempo for phrasing, I also liked your couple of instances of rubato.

For this one, I'm still working on making my tone beautiful for the non-soprano voices.

Which technique one are you going to do next ?

Hi Cus,
Thank you!
I will work on A major next.

Looking forward to your version.

Here I apply the I IV V classical/chorale progression to Ab maj.
a) "at home" ending on I
b) slightly more unresolved ending on vi

https://app.box.com/s/p6cws3d5yrxjp5etii65

the sheet
https://app.box.com/s/c7uev6i8nxdr9mhmk5aq

Cus,

Here's a slightly different way to voice the I IV V I progressions.


https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19895150/ab1451.png


The root position chords have doubled roots. The seventh in the V chord is part of a pattern called PREPARE - SUSPEND - RESOLVE.

The 7th on the V chord is considered to be a dissonance (in this older style it's dissonant). So it's first "prepared," meaning you hear the Db while it's a consonance in the IV chord. Its gets "suspended" as a dissonance in the V chord (the Db is the 7th of the Eb chord). And then the Db resolves down in the I chord that follows.

Many thanks Mark for reviewing my work and for writing out your super clear Ab maj example.
I didn't know the Common Practice rules were so strict about
1. Doubling octaves
2. Preparing a dissonance for subsequent resolution

I have another attempt, this time in G maj.
https://app.box.com/s/47814ruzti5oqkigq1ki

the sheet
https://app.box.com/s/045j7xaqwdsvzqlkcmx8

Cus, the "old masters" are very, very, very, very strict about what can and can't be done. And in the cases where they weren't strict the teachers who teach their principles are strict!

Your G major example is perfect. You could, if you wanted, hold the C in the soprano on the C major triad into the next chord (the D major triad). So then you'd have the PREPARE SUSPEND RESOLVE pattern because the C over the D major triad resolves down to B.

Here are 2 more examples in G major.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19895150/G%20maj.png

The chords are labeled with Roman numerals. BUT. That labeling is deceptive. It's easy to see the labels and see chord progressions. But the chord progressions really aren't the important bit. What's important with the chords are (a) what's the start and end chord (the target) and (b) what are the intervening chords (the passing chords) that make it possible to get start to end.

The passing chords are like local roads. There are usually a bunch of local roads you can take to get from point A to point B.

The voice leading in both examples strictly follows



Except in two places. Do you see where the exceptions are? ....

"Exception" isn't the best word to use. Because it can make it seem like there's arbitrary rule breaking and arbitrary rule "excepting" ...

If you don't see the exceptions - or if you don't want to find them! - no worries!

Hi Mark
Thank you for your two new progressions in G maj. The second one is particularly pretty to my ears.
In the first one, the two exceptions are in the B min and the D7 passing chords where the root is not doubled.

I'm composing these quicker each time. Here I use the 2nd progression to apply to Eb maj.
https://app.box.com/s/iz7g8si7y93soxlzau23

the sheet
https://app.box.com/s/66wjsja3d5cl41qoiiih

Cus! Excellent! The next question is why isn't the root doubled in those two chords? Does either or both of those chords have a seventh? Are either of them part of a PREPARE SUSPEND RESOLVE pattern?

Your phrase == much improved! And getting faster is good. A question about the 3rd chord to the 4th chord ... the Gm triad to the Ab maj triad.

The rule is IF the bass between two root position triads moves by step then all of the upper voices have to move in contrary motion.

The reason is it's easy to get parallel octaves and fifths otherwise. Also if the upper voices don't move in contrary motion to the bass it's possible the 2nd chord will have 3 roots and one other chord tone (like a 3rd).

Three roots and a 3rd is fine for the LAST chord of a phrase. But only the last chord.

So, looking at that 3rd chord to the 4th chord .. is there anything maybe to do differently?

Looking at the 4th chord to the 5th chord. Does the bass move by step between those two chords? Do the upper voices move in contrary motion to the bass?

Hope this helps!!

Hi Mark
Thanks so much for your prompt feedback on yesterday's work.
1. Both the B min and the D7 have the leading tone (the 7th)
2. B min is "prepare" and D7 is "suspend".

Today I've corrected the upper voice movement so that they descend diatonically.
https://app.box.com/s/x8n5valutcvmbn848k9c

the sheet
https://app.box.com/s/r7bxlk85a6zmfqkobcxr

Cus! That's gorgeous! Can you hear how simply and beautifully those voices move? I'm sure you noticed the great contrary motion you introduced into the phrase.

In the Ab triad (2nd chord from the end) there's an Ab in the tenor. You _could_ hold that Ab in the tenor. You could actually just hold that Ab into the Bb triad that follows. And then resolve it down to the G.

If you did that you'd have an instance of the PREPARE SUSPEND RESOLVE pattern. And the tenor line would move with just a little more certainty to its ends point.

One of the things voice leading teaches is economy. How to get the biggest bang out of the smallest possible motion. But that's not to say that the most economical path that a voice can follow is the best path. Economy's relative. Being able to weight two possibilities - and figure out which one is preferable - is exactly the skill this stuff will develop. And the more you do it the more the skill will become automatic and ingrained rather than as it is now, the stuff of rules.

Definitely I could hear this !
Made me think that common practice did exist for a reason.

I tried your Ab suggestion, yes it was interesting what an impact this little decision to hold the prepare/suspend note could make.

Cus, what you describe - the "impact" of the little decision - is exactly what voice leading and counterpoint are about. The idea is simply that notes take on a life of their own. We want to be attentive to what their trying to tell us .. Maybe that's why some people say music isn't composed. It already exists and it just gets "plucked" out of the air!

That Ab is perfectly happy being tied over into the V chord. Then in the V chord the Ab literally screams: "I resolve down!" This is a really common pattern with sevenths in chords. Pre-jazz the 7th was a dissonance. If you've only played jazz or pop music it can come as a shock!

So going back to the Bm7 and the D7 chord. The most common way 7ths show up in chords is through the PREPARE SUSPEND RESOLVE pattern. A question could be: Does the PREPARE SUSPEND RESOLVE pattern describe those two chords?

One more small detail ... The leading tone is the 7th scale step (in the key). But that's different than the intervals of 7ths that show up in chords.

So in a C major scale

C D E F G A B C

B is the leading tone.

If B becomes a 7th on a C maj triad (Cma7) then that's an interesting situation. Because the leading tone - B in the key of C - prefers to resolve upwards. But B as a 7th on top of C prefers to resolve down by step to A

So that's what the "study" of voice leading is about - which is hearing those tendencies and understanding the "how" and the "why" of them. And then internalising that for musical/practical rather than intellectual/academic use!

In other words theory describes practice. Practice doesn't have to conform to theory! (Except in the study of voice leading ...

Very cool Mark. The notes are floating in the air and are governed by implicit "rules"; it's up to us to grab these notes in an orderly/musical way.

Here I apply the "prepare-suspend-resolve the 7th" principle to E maj; gradually have been working my way through the keys in ATTYA.

https://app.box.com/s/24netddjsgi57gay771g

the sheet
https://app.box.com/s/1wt1sgzby9lksfriq9jb

Cus,

You have CAUGHT THE WAVE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHnHIUugClw

The phrase is PERFECT. There's nothing to improve in how it sounds. You can hear how those voices just do their work.

The only thing to point out is the the phrase is in E maj. So all accidentals should be written as sharps (4 sharps in E maj). If you do that you'll see a few more common tones, etc.

Really - simple as that phrase is it's totally and completely perfect. Totally and completely

hahaha thanks Mark, I ended up closing my eyes for part of the video.

... i hear you about that video. not only did the surfer catch the wave but so did the videographer! ... more coming soon about dim. triads and also the iii triad!