[Menvi-discuss] SATB Writing?

Fri Mar 9 05:55:45 EST 2012

Brandon,

I consider it essential to learn part writing rules. For one thing, the discipline of working within them, even if for a limited time, teaches you how to keep track of voicing in a controlled way. It is likely that some of your creativity after formal training would include composing in styles where adherence to strict part writing rules is not relevant, but even then your writing will be less careless. So, in order to break part writing rules, it’s helpful to know them. <smile> And you’re right, the Beatles’ music does not exemplify 16th- or 18th-century voicing principles. Perhaps one of the members of that group was studying part writing when he penned, “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they’re here to stay.”

Dale

From: menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of Brandon Keith Biggs
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 1:15 AM
To: This is for discussing music and braille literacy
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] SATB Writing?

Hello,

Is Angelfire your website? That’s the sight I use! Surprised smileLOL...

Ug, my teacher doesn’t discourage parallel 5ths, octaves and 4ths like he should. He says: “Some people think they sound bad, but I think they are just fine. Bach did parallel voicing's...”

I’m trying to figure out what I should say when I email him with suggestions for next quarter. I have no idea what 3rd quarter theory students are supposed to be learning. I’m guessing just composing as I can count the number of composition's I have written on one hand. Also I can suggest that he have us play the examples rather than just have him play his guitar in front of the class. I can also ask him to please stop reviewing every day... I’m not sure how many times I need to be reminded that a 6 chord is also first inversion and a 64 chord is second inversion. I’ve also never seen those written out, so I’m not sure how useful the figured bass numbers are. 

I recorded his lecture today, so if someone wants me to send the MP3 of the lecture so you can hear what a class sounds like I can do that. Another problem is that he talks about classical music about as many times as I say breakfast in one day. Not very much...

He uses Beatles to show his examples and the Beatles I don’t think are very good at showing classical theory. They break the rules a lot. I don’t think he even listens to classical music that is not guitar music... We were talking about SATB writing and he was explaining the ranges and said tenors can’t go above a high A and I asked him what in the world he meant? What about Ah Mes Amis? He had no idea what I was talking about... He asked me what planet I was from where someone could hit 9 high Cs in one song...

I took this problem up with the Dean of the music department and he basically told me I should either find another school or wait till next year when the class will have another teacher. So because this is my last quarter at this school, I want to give the teacher suggestions. He’s open to suggestions because he’s new and I think being very clear in my ideas will really have a large impact on what happens in the Spring.

So please let me know what I should be able to do going into second year theory.

Thank you,

Brandon Keith Biggs

From: Data <mailto:data at papermusic.org>  

Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 7:33 AM

To: This is for discussing music and braille literacy <mailto:menvi-discuss at menvi.org>  

Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] SATB Writing?

You can also download a template from my website for four-part writing:

http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/papermusic/download.html 

There's the link, and go to "Lime Templates".

-Andy

-----Original Message-----
From: menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org]On Behalf Of Brandon Keith Biggs
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 4:19 PM
To: This is for discussing music and braille literacy
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] SATB Writing?

Hello,

This looks like the best option. What my teacher does is gives us a bass and soprano note then has us add the tenor and alto. This is where being able to write and hear music in Braille on the computer would come in handy!

Thank you,

Brandon Keith Biggs

From: STEPHANIE PIECK <mailto:themusicsuite at verizon.net>  

Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 2:26 PM

To: This is for discussing music and braille literacy <mailto:menvi-discuss at menvi.org>  

Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] SATB Writing?

Hi Brandon,

As for "pretty pictures", I'm afraid we all miss out on those ...

Technology is indeed awesome, but in this case, you may want to go a bit old-school: If you have a Perkins Braillewriter and some 11.5-by-11-inch paper, you can do the following:

1. Write the parts out in a four-line parallel--i.e., a separate line for each voice part, with soprano at the top and the other voices arranged underneath. It'll look like a double-stacked piano score. This way, you can feel each measure and see what each voice is doing simply by moving up or down vertically within the measure.

2. Once you've gotten a bit more comfortable with this method, you can condense your work to a two-line system. The top line will show soprano and alto parts, with soprano first, the Braille in-accord sign (a two-cell sign that's dots 126, 345), then the alto part. Do the same thing on the next line for tenor and bass. In this arrangement, you still get to see all the parts--they're just not so spread out.

For an even more condensed version, you can write it as a two-line parallel, and, if the rhythm is exactly the same in each pair of voices (soprano-alto, tenor-bass), use interval signs. So, your top line would have the soprano part written out as pitches, with the alto part shown as intervals reading downward from each of those pitches; and the second line of the parallel would show the bass part as pitches, with the tenor indicated as intervals reading upward from those pitches. This last method is great for not only seeing how your outer voices--soprano and bass--move (and often, those two, when done well, will make it possible to fill in the inner voices with a minimum amount of effort)--but you can easily play from this at the piano to check your work by hearing it. This last method is used a lot for four-part writing in hymnbooks, but the rhythm has to be the same--otherwise, you need either part-measure or full-measure in-accords.

Once you've done it this way, you can always go back into LIME and produce a "pretty picture" for the sighted people who need that!

Hope that helps.

Stephanie Pieck

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Brandon Keith Biggs <mailto:brandonboy13 at comcast.net>  

To: This is for discussing music and braille literacy <mailto:menvi-discuss at menvi.org>  

Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 4:46 PM

Subject: [Menvi-discuss] SATB Writing?

Hello,

I’m wondering if anyone has any good ideas on how to keep track of SATB writing? I’m reading the rules, but I can’t see the pretty pictures it’s supposed to be making. I'’m now just following the rules of only doubling the tonic and dominant, resolving down to the tonic from the 7th, only removing the 5th, and not crossing voices. I am having trouble looking out for parallel octaves or 5ths, the 4 types of motion, extended leaps and just checking my work in general. 

I’m using Lime atm, but I don’t have a Braille display yet... I’m trying to get one though.

Any suggestion's on how to easily follow these rules would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Brandon Keith Biggs

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