
While music for 2, 3, 5, 6 and more voices does exist,Ĥ-part harmony became standard in the musical style of the 17 th, 18 thĪnd 19 th centuries (a period known as the Common Practice Era). Common Questions about Four-Part Harmony.
4 note c major how to#
How to Write 4-Part Harmony: the Basics.Why do we Learn a Musical System of the Past?.We get four distinct parts held together by the same chord progression. In four-part harmony, we deal with both these two aspects at the same time. The harmonic (or ‘vertical’) aspect and the melodic (or ‘horizontal’) aspect work together. This is the harmonic, or the ‘vertical’, aspect of the At any one moment, the musicĬonsists of 4 voices each singing one note. So their notes are combined into one sound. Secondly, the four voices are singing at the same time Firstly, there areĤ voices and each one is singing a melody. Here’s a brief example of 4-part harmony from the The term ‘voice’ or ‘part’ refers to any musical line whether it is a melody sung by singers, a long note played on an instrument or anything in between. So what is four-part harmony? Four-part harmony is a traditional system of organising chords for 4 voices: soprano, alto, tenor and bass (known together as SATB). The concept developed over centuries and is still used to this day. This is an important element of the musical language of the Classical masters from Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven and beyond. This chord is represented by “Am7”.As you slowly advance in music theory and composition, you will inevitably run into 4-part harmony.

Thus, for example, the A minor 7 th chord is composed by notes A, C, E, G. This chord is represented by “C ”.Ī minor 7 th Chord is a 4 note chord, built by superimposing a m 3 rd, a M 3 rd and a m 3 rd intervals (in this sequence). Thus, for example, the C Major 7 th chord is composed by notes C, E, G, B.
4 note c major series#
From now on, we shall not repeat that the enharmonic notes not following the series of 3 rd intervals must be discarded, as it has already been mentioned several times.Ī Major 7 th Chord is a 4 note chord, built by superimposing a M 3 rd, a m 3 rd and a M 3 rd intervals (in this sequence). Particularly, the symbol “7” is used to indicate the minor 7 th and the symbol “ ” for the Major 7 th. Relating to the symbols used to represent the chords, the most simple as well as universally accepted ones have been chosen. Now, besides of the 3 rd and 5 th intervals, a 7 th will appear between the first and the last note in each chord. In all cases, the Root of every chord has been marked with and the rest of the notes with.

They have been grouped by couples in order to show the existing symmetries.

So, we shall go on with the construction and graphic representation of the remaining 6 types of chords. The other 7 possibilities actually correspond to 4 note chords, but the case of three minor 3 rds results in a diminished chord, which has been studied in the last chapter, too. However, the case of three Major 3 rds results in an Augmented chord, which has only 3 different notes and has been studied in the last chapter. The superimposition of three Major o minor 3 rd intervals, gives 8 possibilities. And, as we have seen, all of them have a very simple geometric shape on the Harmonic Wheel. These chords include all possible chords built by superimposing two Major o minor 3 rd intervals. Up to now, we have explained the construction and graphic representation of Major, minor, Augmented and diminished chords (in this last case, with 3 and 4 notes). Hexatonic scales and their associated chords Diminished scales and their associated chordsġ6. Chord finder and the major-minor systemġ5.
