SATB Voice Leading

SATB Voice Leading: An AP Music Theory Study Guide

Hey there, melody makers and harmony hackers! Ready to dive into the magical world of SATB voice leading? Imagine you’re the maestro of your very own vocal orchestra, leading a harmonious parade of sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses. 🎶 Let's get our notes in a row and make some beautiful music together!

SATB stands for Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass, the four main vocal parts in choral music. Think of it like a perfectly balanced musical burger: soprano is the tangy top bun, alto is the savory lettuce, tenor is the juicy patty, and bass is the hearty bottom bun. 🍔 Together, they create a rich, layered sound that’s as satisfying as your favorite tune on repeat.

Voice leading is the art of moving each vocal part in a way that creates smooth and interesting harmonies. It’s like guiding a group of friends across a crowded dance floor without any awkward bumps or spills. Good voice leading ensures all parts stay melodically and harmonically pleasing.

Before we dig into the voice-leading rules, let's talk figured bass. This Baroque-era notation is like a musical treasure map, guiding you to the hidden harmonies beneath the surface. Realizing a figured bass means interpreting these figures and translating them into actual musical notes, kind of like solving a delicious musical riddle. 🧩

Realizing figured bass involves:

• Understanding the harmonies indicated by the figures.
• Making creative choices about how to voice the chords.
• Playing or singing the chords indicated by these figures.

The soprano line is the sparkling chandelier of your musical mansion. To keep it shining:

1. Proceed by step: Move mostly in stepwise motion without excessive leaps. Imagine a soprano gently tiptoeing down a staircase, rather than leaping around like a caffeinated kangaroo.

2. Common tones: Retain pitches common to adjacent chords in the same voice part. It’s like finding a common thread in a tapestry.

3. Avoid voice crossing: Maintain the SATB order from high to low. Imagine each voice has their own personal elevator; no cutting in line!

4. Parallel Fifths/Ocatves? Nope: Avoid those parallel fifths and octaves between voices—it’s like showing up at a harmony party in the same outfit as someone else. Awkward!

5. Melodic intervals: Use major and minor seconds, thirds, perfect fourths, and fifths. Avoid augmented and diminished intervals—they're like sour notes in your musical recipe. No one likes a bitter harmony!

6. Resolve the leading tone: In outer voices (soprano or bass), resolve the leading tone (7th scale degree) up by step.

The bass line is the sturdy foundation of your musical house. Keep it strong and stable:

1. Harmonic sense: All implied chords must complement the soprano notes harmonically.

2. Harmonic progression: Use tonic, supertonic, subdominant, and dominant triads with proper harmonic progression.

3. Melodic interest: Create melodic interest by balancing upward and downward motion, steps, and leaps. Think of it as adding some fancy footwork to your musical choreography.

4. Allowable leaps: Use thirds, perfect fourths, fifths, sixths, and octaves. Descending diminished fifths are okay if resolved properly.

5. Octave leaps: Follow octave leaps with a change in direction. It's like showing off a cool musical backflip!

6. Rhythmic value: Although bass lines may feature various note values, quarter notes are the most frequent rhythm.

When writing four-part harmony, you'll need to double (reuse) one note from a triad. Here’s how:

1. Double the root: When in doubt, double the root of the triad.

2. Non-tendency tones: Always double non-tendency tones (tones other than the leading-tone and chordal seventh). Keep the tendency tones (leading tone and chordal seventh) for resolving.

3. Seventh chords: If the fifth is omitted in a root-position seventh chord, double the root.

4. Inverted chords: Don’t exclude any tones for inverted chords!

1. Intervals between voices: Avoid direct fifths and octaves between any voices. The upper voice should proceed by step if outer voices move to a perfect interval.

2. Avoid parallel motion: No two voices should move in parallel fifths or octaves, and avoid three parallel thirds or sixths between voices.

3. Resolve diminished fifths: Generally, resolve a diminished fifth to a third. However, rising unequal fifths are allowed in I-V 4/3-I6 progressions.

4. Avoid voice crossing: Keep the highest note in the tenor voice below the lowest note in the alto voice. It’s like keeping your friends from stepping on each other’s toes at a concert.

5. Spacing: Ensure the spacing between the three upper voices (soprano, alto, tenor) is less than an octave, though the bass voice may have a larger range.

🦜 Polly wants a progress tracker: Which voice part typically has the highest male voice? (Answer: Tenor)

1. 6/4 Chords: Second inversion triads where the fifth is in the bass.
2. Alto: Second highest voice, often harmonizing above or below sopranos.
3. Bass: The lowest male voice with a range often between E2 and E4.
4. Chordal Seventh: Adding a seventh note to a triad for a four-note chord.
5. Direct Fifths/Octaves: Forbidden parallel motion to perfect fifths or octaves.
6. Doubling Rules: Guidelines for which notes to double in voice leading.
7. Four-Part Harmony: Music written for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, each with their own unique line.
8. Leading Tone: Seventh scale degree resolving to the tonic.
9. Parallel Fifths/Octaves: Harmonic progression undesirable due to lack of independence.
10. SATB: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass vocal sections.
11. Soprano: The highest voice part with a bright and soaring quality.
12. Tendency Tones: Notes that resolve to a specific pitch.
13. Tenor: The highest male voice with a range typically from C3 to C5.
14. Tonicization: Temporarily treating another scale degree as the tonic.
15. Voice Crossing: When one voice crosses over another, creating dissonance.
16. Voice Leading: How individual melodic lines move from one chord to another.

Now that you’re well-versed in SATB voice leading, you’re ready to create some exquisitely harmonious music! Whether you're composing a choral masterpiece or just figuring out why certain harmonies sound so good, voice leading is your key to musical bliss. 🎶 So go forth, maestros, and let your music soar!