Music Teacher October 20151

KS5KS5

Alan Charlton is an author, composer and examiner, and has written numerous books and articles on music education. He taught for a number of years at Bedford School, initially as a composer-in-residence, and has a PhD in Composition from the University of Bristol.

Bach chorale harmonisation

by Alan Charlton

INTRODUCTION

This resource aims to show how many of the challenges presented by Bach chorale harmonisations can be

solved through applying a rational, problem-solving approach. It is based on a worked example from the AQA

A2 MUSC5 paper from 2013-14, guiding students from the initial stages through to completion using a step-

by-step approach. This experience should give them a solid framework to use on their own their coursework,

give them additional tips and ideas for Bach chorale harmonisation, and hopefully boost their confidence when

tackling this task.

Exam board requirements

Harmonisation of a complete chorale is a current option at A2 in the AQA, OCR and Edexcel specifications.

OCR requires the completion of up to eight stylistic techniques exercises, one of the options for which is Bach

chorale harmonisation. AQA and Edexcel set a chorale melody as one of their briefs in the unit 5 composition

and technical study paper.

Activities

This resource is based around seven worksheets, which follow the steps involved in harmonising a chorale

from start to finish. They can be given to students to work on individually, or worked through as a group:

� Worksheet 1: chorale melody – for completion

� Worksheet 2: cadences – for completion

� Worksheet 3: cadences – possible solutions to worksheet 2

� Worksheet 4: bassline and cadences – for completion of inner parts

� Worksheet 5: simple harmonisation – possible solution to worksheet 4

� Worksheet 6: simple harmonisation (anotated) – anotated with possible passing notes, etc

� Worksheet 7: complete harmonisation – possible harmonisation to the complete chorale

Additional resources

371 Harmonized Chorales and 69 Chorale Melodies with Figured Bass by Albert Riemenschneider (ISBN

978-0793525744) contains all of Bach’s chorales and is essential for familiarising students with stylistic traits

of Bach’s practice in harmonising chorales.

A Student’s Guide to Harmony and Counterpoint by Hugh Benham (ISBN 978-1-904226-31-4) is an

invaluable reference for harmony and counterpoint up to A2, containing a substantial section on Bach chorale

harmonisation.

PDFs of the seven worksheets can be downloaded from here.

Music Teacher October 2015 2

Worksheet 1: chorale melody

5

9

12

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BACH CHORALE HARMONISATION

Being faced with a chorale melody with lots of blank staves to fill in can be an intimidating experience. The first

few steps given here are designed to make the chorale more approachable and to make its structure easier

to understand.

Step 1: mark where the cadences appear

Start by breaking the chorale into sections by putting vertical lines enclosing the final two beats of each

phrase. These will be the sections to start working on first, and the cadences will also determine the overall

tonal structure of the chorale.

Step 2: work out the tonic key of the chorale

This can be done by looking at:

1) the key signature

2) the notes on which the chorale melody begins and ends

3) the shape of the melody, especially in the first and last phrases

4) observing accidentals in the melody line

The key signature will narrow the possibilities down to two keys: a major key and its relative minor. In our

example, the key signature of no accidentals implies that the chorale is either in C major or A minor.

The chorale will always end with a tonic chord, so the final note must be one of the notes of the tonic chord. In

our example, the chorale also begins and ends on an A, which is in the chord of A minor, but not that of C major.

If there is still some uncertainty, look at the shape of the melody of the first and last phrases and accidentals in

the melodic line, particularly those in the first and last phrases. The melody will often emphasise the tonic note

and contain scale fragments that suggest a particular key. In the example, the first phrase rises stepwise from

an A to an E, suggesting A minor, while the final phrase descends from a C to an A, again implying A minor.

Minor keys will often also have sharpened leading notes in the chorale melody, which are most likely to appear

in the first and/or last phrases. In our example, the leading note of A minor, G sharp, appears in bar 1 beat 2

and bar 14 beat 2, confirming that the chorale is in A minor.

Step 3: work out possible cadences for each phrase and a possible approach chord

Generally speaking, all or almost all of the cadences will either be perfect (V-I) or imperfect (ending on V). It

is a good idea to look at the final two beats of the cadence first and then the preceding beat (the first beat of

the bar in our example).

The final cadence of a chorale will almost certainly be a perfect cadence in the tonic. In our example, the

final two notes can be harmonised with chords of E major (V) and A major (I).

Hand out copies of Worksheet 1: chorale melody, which contains the chorale melody used in the AQA A2 MUSC5 paper from 2013-14.

This exercise could be worked through as a class or attempted by students individually, on Worksheet 2: cadences. On this worksheet, each cadence is written out several times, since there are many potential solutions for each phrase. The possibilities discussed below are on Worksheet 3: cadences – possible solutions to worksheet 2.

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Worksheet 2 - Cadences (for completion)

i) Perfect cadence in C major

Phrase 1 cadence

i a)

i b)

i c)

ii a)

ii) Phrygian cadence in A minor

ii b)

Phrase 2 cadence

i) Perfect cadence in A minor

i a)

i b)

ii a)

ii) Imperfect cadence in G major

ii b)

ii c)

Phrase 3 cadence

i) Imperfect cadence in C majora)

a)

ii) Perfect cadence in G major

b)

iii) Imperfect cadence in A minora)

b)

a)

i) Perfect cadence in E minor

Phrase 4 cadence

b)

c)

d)

ii) Imperfect cadence in D major

a)

b)

Phrase 5 cadence

a)

b)

c)

d)

5 Music Teacher October 2015

For the other cadences, there will often be more than one solution: the most suitable will be dependant on the

context. Bear in mind that the chorale will not move too far away from the tonic key: intervening phrases will

modulate, but only to related keys, such as the dominant, subdominant and relative major/minor.

Each of the fermata chords (the chords marked with a pause symbol) will either be a major or a minor triad in

root position. You will need to decide whether the note in the top line is the root, 3rd or 5th of the chord. This

is partly dependent on the context – how the melody line moves before and after the cadence.

PHRASE 1 CADENCE AND APPROACH CHORD (BAR 2 BEATS 1-3)

For the cadence in bar 2, the fermata chord could be E major or minor, C major, C sharp minor or A minor or

major. We can discount C sharp minor and A major as they are too remote from the A minor which opens the

movement. E minor would be unlikely as it is the dominant minor chord: given that the phrase begins in A minor,

the dominant chord of E major is more likely. This leaves three possibilities:

� A minor

� C major

� E major

Which cadences could end on these chords?

For an A minor fermata chord: we can rule out a perfect cadence as the D on the second beat would form

the 7th of a dominant 7th chord of E major. This would need to fall down to the 3rd, but instead it rises to the

5th, which would create a part-writing error. It could be a plagal cadence in A minor (IV-i), but plagal cadences

are rare in Bach chorales, so this is unlikely. A different fermata chord is therefore more likely.

For a C major fermata chord: a perfect cadence would work, as the preceding note (D) could be harmonised

with a dominant chord (G major).

For an E major fermata chord: a perfect cadence would not be possible here as it would need a B major

chord on beat 2: the D natural in the melody line would need to be a D sharp. However, an imperfect cadence

in A minor could work if the D on beat 2 were harmonised with a subdominant chord (D minor).

So the two best possibilities are a perfect cadence in C major, or a Phrygian cadence in A minor.

Let’s now look at the options for the approach chord (on beat 1).

For a perfect cadence in C major: the approach chord could be harmonised as A minor, F major or C major,

resulting in progressions of vi-V-I, IV-V-I or I-V-I in the key of C major. However, IV-V-I would produce unsuitable

parallel 12ths between the melody and bassline and I-V-I is best avoided because of the repetition of chord I.

These two problems could be solved by changing the approach chord to a first inversion chord, resulting in

IVb-V-I and Ib-V-I. So three options could be (for a perfect cadence in C major):

� vi-V-I

� IVb-V-I

� Ib-V-I

For a Phrygian cadence in A minor: the first beat could again be harmonised with a chord of A minor or F major; C

major would be problematic as it would produce three parallel chords in a row (C major, D minor and E major), which

could easily result in parallel 5ths or octaves. So two workable options could be (for a Phrygian cadence in A minor):

� i-ivb-V

� VI-ivb-V

We can go through the rest of the phrases in a similar way:

PHRASE 2 CADENCE AND APPROACH CHORD (BAR 4 BEATS 1-3)

Possible fermata chord: A minor; F major; D minor/major (F sharp minor and A major are too remote from tonic key;

F major is unlikely because of lack of B flat on beat 2; D minor is unlikely because of the lack of a B flat on beat 2).

This type of imperfect cadence is known as a Phrygian cadence, which consists of the cadential progression ivb-V in a minor key.

Note that treating the C as the the 7th of a 7th chord on D would not work since the melody line subsequently rises to a D; it would need to resolve downwards by step (to a B).

Note that these examples are given in a simple form: elaborations such as passing notes, suspensions, dominant 7ths and so on can be added at a later stage.

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Possible cadences:

� perfect cadence in A minor (E major-A minor)

� imperfect cadence in G major (G major-D major)

At this stage, we should also be taking the overall structure into account, which can make decisions about

cadences easier. If the first phrase has already modulated to the relative major (C major), it would then be

unusual for the chorale to modulate again to the supertonic major (G major) as the tonic (A minor) has not yet

been properly established. Therefore, a perfect cadence in A minor is much more logical at this point.

Possible approach chord:

For cadence 1 (perfect cadence in A minor): beat 1 of bar 4 could be harmonised with a chord of A minor, C

major, F major or D minor 7. However, there are two standard cadential progressions that would work particularly

well here: Ib-V-i and ic-V-i. It would be preferable to use one of these as there would be fewer problems with part-

writing: with VI-V-i, for example, it would be very hard to avoid parallel 5ths and octaves between chords VI and V.

For cadence 2 (imperfect cadence in G major): IV-I-V would work, and other possibilities include viib-I-V

and ii-Ib-V.

PHRASE 3 CADENCE AND APPROACH CHORD (BAR 6 BEATS 1-3)

Possible fermata chord: B minor; B major; G major; E major; E minor (G sharp minor too remote).

Possible cadences:

� imperfect cadence in C (C major-G major: the D on the first quaver of beat two would be treated as an

accented passing note here)

� perfect cadence in G (D major-G major: the C on the second quaver of beat 2 would form the 7th of a D

major 7 chord, falling by step onto the B in beat 3)

� imperfect cadence in A minor (A minor-E major: the D on beat 2 would be an accented passing note)

Possible approach chord: chords of A minor, C major, E minor and E major could be used, creating –

� Imperfect cadence in C:

� I-Ib-V in C major (note that Ib-I-V would produce parallel octaves between the bassline and the chorale

melody)

� Perfect cadence in G:

� IV-V-I in G major, or

� ii7b-V-I in G major

� Imperfect cadence in A minor:

� ib-i-V, or

� i-ib-V in A minor

PHRASE 4 CADENCE (BAR 8 BEATS 2-3)

Possible fermata chord: E major; C major; A minor/major (E major unlikely because of G naturals on bar 8 beat

1 and bar 9 beat 1).

Possible cadences:

� perfect cadence in E minor (B major-E minor)

� imperfect cadence in D major (D major-A major)

Interrupted cadence in E minor (B major-C major) is unlikely as it is quite rare in Bach chorales. Perfect

cadences in C major and A minor are not possible here due to the F sharp on beat 2.

Possible approach chord:

� Perfect cadence in E minor:

� Ic-V-I

� Ib-V-I

� iv7-V-I

� VI-V-I

� Note that the third and fourth of these need to use quaver movement to avoid parallel 5ths.

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� Imperfect cadence in D major:

� V7b-I-V

� viib-I-V

PHRASE 5 CADENCE (BAR 10 BEATS 2-3)

Possible fermata chord: A minor/major; F major; D minor/major (F major is unlikely because of the B natural on

bar 10 beat 2).

Possible cadences:

� imperfect cadence in G major (G major-D major)

Perfect cadence in A minor is unlikely because of G natural in bar 10 beat 1.

Possible approach chord or chords (note that for the second, third and fourth possibilities below, there are two

chords on the first beat):

� Ib-I-V

� vi-Vb-I-V

� IVb-iib-I-V

� IV-viib-I-V

PHRASE 6 CADENCE (BAR 12 BEATS 2-3)

Possible fermata chord: E minor/major; C major; A minor/major.

Possible cadences:

� perfect cadence in E minor/major (B major-E minor/major)

� imperfect cadence in D major (D major-A major)

An interrupted cadence in E minor (B major-C major) is possible but unlikely, as these are quite rare in Bach

chorales. Perfect cadences in C major and A minor are not possible here due to the F sharp on beat 2.

Possible approach chord:

� Perfect cadence in E

� V sus4-V-i (or I)

� ii7b-V-i (or I)

� II7b-V-i (or I)

� Imperfect cadence in D major

� I-Ib-V

PHRASE 7 CADENCE (BAR 14 BEATS 2-3)

Possible fermata chord: A minor/A major (needs to end in the tonic).

Possible cadence:

� perfect cadence in A minor/major (E major-A minor/major) (as this is the final cadence of the chorale, it

needs to finish with a perfect cadence in the tonic).

The A on the first quaver of beat 2 would be treated as a suspension, resolving onto the G sharp of the E major

chord of the second quaver of beat 2. Although the key of the chorale is A minor, it could end with a tierce de

Picardie, in which the final chord of a minor-keyed movement is the tonic major.

Possible approach chord:

� Perfect cadence in A minor/major

� ic-Vsus4-V-i (or I)

� ii7b-Vsus4-V-i (or I)

� II7b-Vsus4-V-i (or I)

� dim7-Vsus4-V-i (or I)

All of these possibilities can be seen in the following example sheet. It is worth looking at each one in detail,

as these cadential progressions appear frequently in Bach chorales.

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i) Perfect cadence in C major

Phrase 1 cadence

i a)

Worksheet 3: possible cadences for each phrase of the chorale

i b)

i c)

ii a)

ii) Phrygian cadence in A minor

ii b)

vi

V

I

IVb

V

I

Ib

V

I

Ib

ivb

I

VIb

ivb

V

Phrase 2 cadence

i) Perfect cadence in A minor

i a)

i b)

ii a)

ii) Imperfect cadence in G major

ii b)

ii c)

Ib

V

i

ic

V

i

IV

I

V

viib

I

V

ii

Ib

V

Phrase 3 cadence

i) Imperfect cadence in C majora)

a)

ii) Perfect cadence in G major

b)

iii) Imperfect cadence in A minora)

b)

I

Ib

V

IV

V

I

ii7b

V

I

ib

i

V

i

ib

V

a)

i) Perfect cadence in E minor

Phrase 4 cadence

b)

c)

d)

ii) Imperfect cadence in D major

a)

b)

Ic

V

I

Ib

V

I

iv7

V

I

VI

iv7 V

I

V7b

I

V

viib

I

V

i) Imperfect cadence in G major

Phrase 5 cadence

a)

b)

c)

d)

Ib

I

V

vi Vb

I

V

IVb

iib I

V

IV

viib I

V

a)

Phrase 6 cadence

i) Perfect cadence in E minor/major

b)

c)

ii) Imperfect cadence in D major

a)

Vsus4

V

i (or I)

ii7b

V

i (or I)

II7b

V

i (or I)

I

Ib

V

a)i) Perfect cadence in A minor/major

Phrase 7 cadence

b)

c)

d)

ic

Vsus4

V i

(or I)ii7b

Vsus4

V i

(or I) II7b

Vsus4

V i

(or I) dim7

Vsus4

V i

(or I)

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STEP 4: FIND A CONVINCING STARTING CHORD FOR EACH PHRASE

There should by now be some good clues for likely starting chords for each phrase. Often, the first chord of a

new phrase is the same as the pause chord (but perhaps with the bass note in a different octave). However, a

related chord, such as V (after a pause chord on I) or I (after a pause chord on V) is also possible.

STEP 5: COMPLETE A BASSLINE AND SIMPLE CHORDS FOR EACH PHRASE

Now that the beginning and end of each phrase are known, the next step is to fill in the passages in between.

It can be helpful to complete a bassline first in crotchets and then work out the chords from the combination

of notes in the bass and melody line. Alternatively, working out the chords first may be easier for some, or

completing the bassline and chords together.

General points to consider when writing a bassline:

� For each crotchet beat, consider whether the soprano and bass notes together will form part of a realistic

chord.

� Intervals between bass note and melody note will tend to be:

� octaves or compound octaves (root position and first inversion chords)

� compound 5ths (root position chords)

� compound 3rds (root position and first inversion chords)

� compound 6ths (first inversion and second inversion chords)

� (Other intervals may arise with 7th chords, diminished and half-diminished chords.).

� Basslines in chorales have a fairly consistent way of moving. The most common melodic intervals are 2nds,

3rds, 4ths, 5ths and octaves. With wider leaps (augmented 4ths, 5ths and octaves), the bass line usually

falls back inside the leap afterwards.

� Avoid a bassline that moves too much in parallel with the top line: be sure to avoid parallel compound 5ths

and octaves altogether.

� Also avoid a bassline that jumps around too much: it should form a simple, singable melody by itself.

� Remember that the bassline can be changed at a later stage when devising the harmonisation and inner

parts.

When working out the chords, it can help to write chord symbols initially (either in Roman numerals or in chord

symbols). If you have completed a bassline, the soprano and bassline combined will have already given you

one or two notes for each chord. Work out possible chords on the basis of this information, and be prepared

to change the bassline if necessary.

General points to consider:

� Most chords will be common chords in root position or first inversion.

� The sense of progression from one chord to another is important: if a chord does not follow on well from the

preceding one, try another in its place.

Look out for common patterns in the melody at cadences:

� A falling tone can be harmonised as a perfect cadence or an imperfect cadence (see phrases 2, 4, 5 and 6).

� A rising tone can be harmonised as a perfect or an imperfect cadence (see phrase 1).

� Ascending or descending quavers in the melody line a beat before the fermata chord probably indicate that one of them is a passing note (accented or unaccented) (see phrase 3).

� A falling scale of dotted crotchet and quaver in the two beats before the fermata chord could indicate a suspension (see phrase 7).

10Music Teacher October 2015

STEP 6: COMPLETE THE INNER PARTS FOR EACH PHRASE

Your aim here is for a simple harmonisation with no part-writing errors. Elaborations, such as quaver movement,

can be added at a later stage.

Each voice part should be singable: make sure a part does not jump around too much or go out of range. Also

try and avoid a succession of notes at the same pitch, although this can be altered at a later stage.

Worksheet 4: Bass line, chords and cadences

Phrygian in A minor

Perfect in A minor

iA minor:

V i Vb

V7

i

ivb

V

Vb

i

ivb

ii7b

iv

V

i

5

Imperfect in C major

Perfect in E minor

IbC major:

I

iib

V

I

Ib

V

vi

IV

Ib

I

E minor:

ic

iiic

V7

i

9

Imperfect in G major

IVbG major:

IV

Vsus4

V V7d Ib

I

V

V7d

Ib

vi

iib

ii7

12

Perfect in E major

Perfect in A minor

Vsus4E major:

V V7 I

A minor:

V7d

ib

i

iib

ivb

ic

V7

i

Students can attempt this exercise using Worksheet 4, using the given bassline and chords.

11 Music Teacher October 2015

Part-writing errors to avoid include:

� parallel 5ths, octaves, compound 5ths and compound octaves between any two voices

� exposed 5ths or octaves between the soprano and bass parts

� doubling the leading note

� omitting the 3rd of a chord

� in a second-inversion chord, doubling the root, or not preparing the root

� clashes created by including a dissonant note and its note of resolution at the same time

� not preparing or resolving a suspended dissonant note correctly

� other dissonant notes handled incorrectly

� unsuitable leaps (they tend to involve augmented or diminished intervals)

� gaps of over an octave between two of the upper three parts

Overlaps (where the bass leaps higher than the tenor’s last note) and part-crossing (when, for instance, the

tenor sings higher than the alto) are best avoided, although they were used fairly frequently by Bach.

Good part-writing includes:

� use of contrary motion, especially between soprano and bass

� leading notes that rise to the 3rd or fall to the 5th of chord I on the fermata chord

� giving each part a strong sense of line

12Music Teacher October 2015

The completion on Worksheet 4, based on the chords and bassline of Step 5, shows a possible harmonisa-

tion. Notice the following:

� The angled lines between notes (eg the alto and bass in bar 1, between beats 3 and 4) show examples of a

handy technique in inner parts, generally when a root-position chord is followed by the first inversion of the

same chord, or vice versa. When the bassline moves from the root to the 3rd of the same chord, it is a good

idea for another part to pass from 3rd to root. So in bar 1, beats 3 to 4, the bassline moves from G sharp to

E, while the alto moves from E to G sharp.

Worksheet 5 - simple harmonisation

(mark in: P = potential for a passing note

= simultaneous rising and falling third between the same two notes in different parts

S = potential for a suspension [note other parts may have to be altered])

(could be E major)

Phrygian in A minor

Perfect in A minor

iA minor:

V i Vb

V

V7 i

ivb

V

Vb

i

ivb

ii7b

iv

V

i

5

Imperfect in C major

Perfect in E minor

IbC major:

I

ii7b

V

I

Ib

V

vi

IV

Ib

I

E minor:

iiic

ic

V7

i

9

uninteresting alto part - needs changing

Imperfect in G major

IVbG major:

IV

Vsus4

V

V7d Ib

I

V

V7d

Ib

vi

iib

ii7

12

Perfect in E major

Perfect in A minor

Vsus4E major:

V V7 I

A minor:

V7d

ib

i

iib

ivb

ic

V7

tenor leaps up to E earlyto avoid parallel 12ths with bass

i

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� In bars 9 beat 3 to 11 beat 1, the alto part sings the same note (a D) for 7 beats. This is uninteresting part

writing and should be modified later to create more interest.

� In bar 14, the tenor part leaps up to an E on the second quaver of beat 2. This is to avoid parallel 12ths (or

compound 5ths) between it and the bass.

STEP 7: ADD MORE INTEREST

To access the higher marks for the chorale completion, it is necessary to create a harmonisation that has a

good sense of flow, and contains strong part-writing and plenty of stylistic features, such as passing notes.

The very best chorales may also include adventurous harmonic writing, using chromaticism and imaginative

chord progressions.

1) Passing notes: two successive crotchets a 3rd apart in one voice can often be joined together by inserting

a passing notes. However, they may not always create a stylistically appropriate effect, so listen carefully

to ensure that they work. Remember that you can use both accented and unaccented passing notes.

Opportunities for passing notes are marked with a ‘P’ in the step 6 example.

2) Suspensions: a part that falls a tone or semitone from a weak beat to a strong beat could be transformed

into a suspension by delaying the fall, providing that: � it is prepared properly

� the dissonant note does not clash with the note of resolution (especially in 4-3 suspensions)

� the dissonant note resolves downwards by step onto a consonant note

A few opportunities for suspensions are marked with an ‘S’ in the step 6 example.

3) Quaver movement using harmony notes: quavers can be added in inner parts or in the bassline harmony

notes. It may be necessary for two or even three parts to move at the same time to avoid part-writing errors

such as omitting the 3rd, or doubling the leading note. Check very carefully that any changes added do

not create parallel movement on the subsequent beat.

4) Auxiliary notes: the same note on two successive crotchets can be given more interest by the use of an

auxiliary note. Lower auxiliary can sometimes be sharpened, especially in the bass. In the step 6 example,

there is an opportunity for a lower auxiliary note in the bass line on beat 1 of bar 8.

5) Chromaticism: a simple way to create chromaticism is to end a minor-keyed chorale with a final chord in the

tonic major. This is called a tierce de Picardie. Chromatic chords can sometimes be substituted for more

obvious ones to create more harmonic interest. These include: � diminished 7ths

� secondary dominants

� augmented 6th chords

Note that these types of chord can be tricky to use: look for examples in a Bach chorale in the same key

to see how he handles them.

As an exercise, students could go through the Step 6 harmonisation (Worksheet 5), marking in opportunities for adding further interest, using ‘p’ for passing notes and ‘s’ for suspensions. Possible answers are given on Worksheet 6: simple harmonisation (anotated), included below.

14Music Teacher October 2015

Worksheet 7 shows a completed chorale harmonisation that includes further elaboration: chromaticism,

colourful chord progressions and a substantial amount of melodic decoration.

Worksheet 6 - simple harmonisation (anotated)

S = potential for a suspension (other parts may have to be altered)

P = potential for a passing note

= simultaneous rising and falling third between the same two notes in different parts

(could be E major)

P

Phrygian in A minor

S

Perfect in A minor

iA minor:

V i Vb

P

V

V7 i

P

P

ivb

V

Vb

i

ivb

P

P

ii7b

iv

V

i

5

P

Imperfect in C major

P

P

Perfect in E minor

S

IbC major:

P

P

I

ii7b

V

I

P

Ib

P

V

vi

P

P

IV

Ib

P

I

E minor:

iiic

ic

V7

i

9

P

uninteresting alto part - needs changing

Imperfect in G major

IVbG major:

P

IV

Vsus4

V

V7d Ib

PI

V

V7d

Ib

vi

P

iib

P

ii7

12

Perfect in E major

S

P

Perfect in A minor

Vsus4E major:

V V7 I

A minor:

V7d

ib

P

i

iib

P

ivb

ic

V7

tenor leaps up to E earlyto avoid parallel 12ths with bass

i

As an exercise, students could compare the differences between this harmonisation and that in Worksheets 5 and 6. Are there any features they particularly like or dislike?

15 Music Teacher October 2015

In addition to passing notes, features of interest include:

� chromatic chords:

� secondary dominant chords in bar 4 beat 1 and bar 11 beat 4

� diminished 7th chords at bar 7 beat 4, second quaver; bar 10 beat 4

� augmented 6th chord at bar 13 beat 4

� diminished chord at bar 10, second quaver

� use of third inversion 7th chords, eg bar 1 beat 3, bar 12 beat 4

Worksheet 7 - complete harmonisation

P = passing noteS = suspensionA = auxiliary noteH = change to another harmony noteE = échappéch = extra chordchr = chromaticism

P

P

P

P

H

P

P

4

P

P

P

H

chr

H

P

P

ch

H

P ch

7

S

P

A

P S

P

P

ch

P

P

chr

ch

P

9

chr

chr

P

A

P

P

H

H

P

A

P

ch

S

chr

P

chr

12

E

S

P

P

P

P

chr

P

E

H

16Music Teacher October 2015

� extra chords occasionally created between beats through quaver movement, for example:

� bar 6, fourth quaver

� bar 7, fourth quaver

� bar 8, second quaver

� bar 10, second quaver

� much quaver movement throughout

� semiquaver movement at bar 5 beat 3 and bar 7 beat 3 to bar 8 beat 2

� purposeful, scalic lines, for example:

� bass bar 3

� bass bar 6

� bass bars 7 to 8 beat 1

� bass bar 9 beat 4 to 10 beat 2

� tenor in bar 13 beat 2 to 14 beat 1

Conclusion

The step-based approach followed in this resource can be a useful way of tackling Bach chorale harmonisations.

In particular, it should demonstrate how fairly complex harmonisations can be created by starting with simple

chord progressions and elaborating them to include melodic decoration and more advanced features such

as chromaticism.

However, there is no substitute for playing, listening to and analysing Bach’s chorales to learn the stylistic

features and sound of his style: with a good, intuitive knowledge of this, it is possible to tell instinctively

whether something sounds ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, enabling students to try out more complex techniques with

greater confidence.