I've got some exciting news today! After some sleepless nights and intense days, my new Harmony for Organists Level 1 course is finally live. I would like to thank everyone (about 30 people) who sent me their messages, wishes and questions about this course.
I appreciate their support and for recommending this course to some of their friends (even before it was live). Thanks for trusting me and my teaching. This tells me that such a course is indeed needed.
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So far 19 people have raised their hands and said "Yes" to the idea of studying harmony with me. Therefore, I've decided I'm going to create this Harmony for Organists Level 1 course. I will make an official announcement for the registration of this course in a few days.
After honestly completing the assignments of this course, you can expect to be able sit down at the organ and harmonize a non-modulating melody (like a chorale or a hymn) in the soprano and in the bass with pedals in a slow tempo using the main 3 chords - Tonic, Subdominant and Dominant. Also you will be able to play a progression of several chords (like a cadence) in any key you want as well as play ascending and descending sequences of simple chords through various keys. You may be able to do this with a proper voice-leading in any key up to 7 sharps and flats. You will also find that this course will help you tremendously in your quest in learning to improvise on the organ. Currently you may find that you improvise by ear (meaning that you play what sounds good) but after this course is completed, you will know what will sound good EVEN BEFORE you will play. In other words, your mind will direct your fingers but not vice versa. Although this is not an improvisation course per se, the basic harmonic techniques will build you a solid foundation for your improvisations. Needless to say, everything you will be able to play on the organ, you can also write on paper. I know, this sounds impossible to a lot of people to achieve in just 12 weeks, but trust me on this - with this systematic approach you can do it. Since you are reading this post, I take that you are getting value out of my daily advice and tips and that your skills as an organist are constantly improving. But that's nowhere near the true value you can expect to receive from this course. My feeling is that although this is only an introductory course, with the skills you will receive from it you will be better at harmony than 80% of organists currently are. Are you excited? You should be... As you have probably noticed, a few of my recent articles have been about the basics of harmony for organists. It is such an important field of study because this skill, when developed, lets you to easily see how the piece is put together. In turn, this kind of analysis helps you to perform organ music on a much higher level.
Also it helps for memorisation because it lets you actually understand the patterns and what they mean. Otherwise many people just blindly copy the notes. Besides, we must not forget that harmony is a preparation for improvisation and/or composition. Every organ composer or improviser we know was first a master of harmony. In early days, they might call it (and teach) differently - thoroughbass, basso continuo or figured bass. But all these terms refer to similar things - rules of voice leading, chord relations, and functional harmony. I am aware of the need of a beginner level course in this field designed specifically for organists, with assignments both on paper and on the organ. However, I'm not sure if enough people would raise their hands to participate. I'm thinking about an introductory Harmony for Organists Level 1 course which would last 12 weeks and incorporate exercises presented in PDF format and with my audio explanations and examples played on my organ. If enough people would say "Yes", I could begin the necessary preparations and we would be ready to start in a few days, I think. So if you would be interested please let me know. To your success, Vidas Before attempting to harmonize a melody with various chords, we must know the 6 basic positions of the three-note root position chord.
Three-note root position chords have 2 versions: 1) Closed position 2) Open position The largest interval between each of the three upper voices in closed position chords is a fourth. Anything more than that (up to an octave) makes it an open position chord. The distance between the tenor and bass could be up to one and a half octaves. Each of these two positions can have 3 different versions depending which note of the chord is in the top (soprano) voice. Closed position: 1) If the root is in the soprano, then the C major chord would look like this (starting from the bass): C-E-G-C. 2) If the third is in the soprano - C-G-C-E. 3) If the fifth is in the soprano - C-C-E-G. Open position: 1) If the root is in the soprano - C-G-E-C. 2) If the third is in the soprano - C-C-G-E. 3) If the fifth is in the soprano - C-E-C-G. EXERCISE: practice writing and later playing the tonic chord of each major and minor key in these 6 positions one after the other. When this becomes easy, try your hand with the subdominant (6 positions) and the dominant chords (6 positions). Finally, play all 18 chords one after the other without interruption (the last chord could be resolved to the tonic). When playing the bass part on the organ with pedals, take the tenor with the left hand and the upper two parts with the right hand. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. Here is a list (incomplete) of topics an organist who wants to master harmony should learn:
1. T, S, and D chords 2. Connection of the same chords in a different position 3. Harmonization of the bass line 4. Skips of the third 5. Cadences 6. Cadential second inversion chord 7. Chords of the relationship of the third 8. Root position chord and first inversion chord and vice versa 9. S-D6 and S6-D chords 10. Skips in root position chords and first inversion chords 11. Two first inversion chords 12. Passing and neighboring second inversion chords 13. Dominant seventh chord (D7) 14. Inversions of the D7 15. D7 inversions with skips 16. Chord of the 2nd scale degree and its first inversion 17. Harmonic major 18. Chord of the 6th scale degree 19. Seventh-chord of the 2nd scale degree and its inversions 20. Seventh-chord of the 7th scale degree and its inversions 21. Dominant ninth-chord and ninth-chord of the 2nd scale degree 22. First inversion of the chord of the 7th scale degree 23. Root position chord of the 3rd scale degree 24. Dominant chord with a sixth 25. Natural minor 26. Diatonic sequences (seventh-chords of any scale degree) 27. Double Dominant chord in cadences 28. Double Dominant chord in exposition 29. Tonicisation 30. Chromatic sequences 31. Modulations to the keys of the first relationship 32. Natural minor in modulation 33. Modulating sequences 34. Dominant chords with alteration 35. Subdominant chords with alteration 36. Modulations to the keys of the second relationship 37. Modulations to the keys of the distant relationship 38. Enharmonic modulation through diminished seventh chord 39. Enharmonic modulation through dominant seventh chord 40. Major-minor and minor-major system 41. Diatonic modes Assignments should include harmonizing the melody in the soprano and the bass in any of these topics on paper and at the instrument as well as playing cadences, sequences, and modulations. Harmony leads to analysis. Analysis leads to composition. Composition leads to improvisation. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. My last couple of articles (read them here and here) were about the rules for connecting the three most important chords - tonic (T), subdominant (S), and dominant (D). With knowing how to correctly play these chords will almost give you the power to harmonize a melody, a hymn tune or a scale.
In order to harmonize a scale you need to know a couple of new things: 1) How to harmonize an ascending progression of VII-I scale degrees (in C major - notes B-C). 2) How to harmonize a descending progression of I-VII scale degrees (in C major - C-B). The first ascending progression is best harmonized by the 1st inversion diminished chord D-F-B (ovii6) and tonic. The rule is to double the bass (D) and move it stepwise to the tonic note (C). The upper three voices move to the closest notes of the tonic chord upwards (contrary motion). In order to avoid the forbidden augmented interval in minor between VI and VII scale degrees, use major subdominant with a raised VI scale degree (just like in melodic minor). The second progression is best harmonized by the tonic and the root position third scale degree chord, in C major - E-G-B (iii). Again, double the bass part here. In minor, this chord will be major (III). Since these two chords are positioned a third apart, they have two common notes (in C major - E and G). So the rule to connect them is very simple - move the bass from the root of one chord to the root of another chord by the interval of the third. Keep the common notes constant and move the free voice downward in a stepwise manner. Since we know how to conncect ovii6-T and T-iii already, let's play a major scale: Major Ascending: I (T) - II (D) - III (T) - IV (S) - V (T) - VI (S) - VII (ovii6) - I (T). Major Descending: I (T) - VII (iii) - VI (S) - V (T) - IV (S) - III (T) - II (D) I (T). Minor Ascending: I (t) - II (D) - III (t) - IV (s) - V (t) - VI+ (S) - VII+ (ovii6) - I (t). Minor Descending: I (t) - VII (III) - VI (s) - V (t) - IV (s) - III (t) - II (D) - I (T). Practice these exercises in various major and minor keys (first writing on paper and later harmonizing on the instrument). Make sure you take a very slow but steady tempo. If you want to master these scale harmonizations, aim for at least 3 correct repetitions in a row. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. Yesterday I have taught you how to properly connect tonic (T) and subdominant (S) (and vice versa) and dominant (D) with tonic chord (and vice versa). The roots of these chords are a perfect fourth or fith apart from one another.
Today let's discuss the principals behind connecting subdominant with the dominant chord. The opposite progression is generally not used in classical tonal music because there is a tendency to use chords with increasing intensity and tension. Because of the leading note (7th scale degree) the dominant chord has more tension than the subdominant chord. Therefore the progression D-S would be less natural. However, it sounds perfectly fine in pop music. So anyway, here are the rules for connecting subdominant with the dominant. Note that these chords are spaced a major second apart so unlike the progression we discussed yesterday (S-T, T-S, D-T, and T-D) S and D have no common tones. Therefore we can only connect S with D using melodic method (moving all voices). 1) The bass moves stepwise upward from the root of one chord (4th scale degree) to the root of another chord (5th scale degree). 2) The upper three voices move stepwise downward (contrary to the bass). Note that this type of voice leading (contrary motion with the bass) helps to avoid forbidden parallel octaves and fifths. Try this exercise on paper and later on the instrument in various keys (major and minor). When playing in minor keys remember that the dominant chord has to be major - use raised 7th scale degree (just like in harmonic minor scale). If you master T-D, D-T, S-T, T-S and S-D progressions from the lessons of yesterday and today in various keys, you will be equipped to harmonize many hymns just by using these chords (sometimes you will need to know a few more rules). Although T, S, and D chords don't provide the many colours, variety and options that are needed for the mastery of hymn harmonization, they may well be your most easiest solutions (shortcuts) when it comes to hymn playing - liturgical organ playing would sound so much better for many organists if only they new these simple rules. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. When you want to harmonize a hymn or another melody, one of the inherent difficulties is rules of voice leading. Without knowing how to properly connect the chords, you are bound to make many mistakes which don't sound well on the keyboard or organ.
Today I will teach you how to connect tonic and subdominant (and vice versa) or tonic and the dominant (and vice versa) in four-part harmony. These chords are a perfect fourth or a fifth apart. At this point you may remember that the tonic chord (T) is build on the 1st degree of the scale, subdominant (S) - on the 4th degree and the dominant (D) - on the 5th degree. Also T and D or T and S have one common note - T-D - 5th scale degree, T-S - 1st scale degree. In four-part harmony, we double the bass (or the root of the three-note chord). So here are the two main methods of connecting such chords: 1) Harmonic 2) Melodic If you want to connect these chords by harmonic method, do the following: 1) The bass jumps by a fourth or a fifth from the root of one chord to the root of another chord. 2) Keep the common note unchanged. 3) The other two notes move in a stepwise manner to the closest chordal note of the next chord (in S-T progression, the notes move downward, in D-T progression, the notes move upward and vice versa). By connecting the chords with melodic method, here is what you have to do: 1) The bass moves by a perfect fourth from the root of one chord to the root of another chord. 2) The top three voices move to the closest notes of the next chord by the contrary motion with the bass - if the bass goes up, the other voices go down and vice versa. Note that two of these voices will move by an interval of the third and one by a stepwise motion. Try these exercises on paper and later on the organ or keyboard in various keys (major and minor) today. When playing with organ pedals, use the following disposition of voices: the right hand plays soprano and alto, the left hand takes the tenor, and the pedals - the bass. When playing without pedals - take the two upper voices in the right hand part and the two lower voices - in the left hand part. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. We, as organists are often called to provide accompaniments to hymn singing. A lot of times the hymns are notated in four-part harmony in the hymnals so there is no difficulty in knowing what to play. But sometimes, the hymn might be notated as a single voice melody. So without knowing how to find the main chords from it, the organist might feel stuck.
When you want to harmonize a hymn in four parts (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), one of the main things you have to discover is the 3 main chords of any given key or tonality: the tonic (notated T or I in the major key or i in the minor), the subdominant (S or IV in the major and iv in the minor), and the dominant (notated D or V - most of the times it will be a major chord). These are three-note chords which consist of two thirds built on top of another (like the C major chord C-E-G is built from two thirds, one major (C-E) and another minor (E-G). The distance between the two outer notes is a perfect fifth. So T, S, and D are the main chords that many other are derived from. Here we have to remember the basics of music theory for a moment. You probably know that any major or minor scale has 7 scale degrees. The tonic is built on the 1st scale degree: I-III-V (C-E-G in C major). The dominant - on the 5th scale degree: V-VII-II (G-B-D in C major). And the subdominant is built on the 4th scale degree: IV-VI-I (F-A-C in C major). If you keep these scale degrees in mind, you can easily find out these main chords in your hymn melody. The two remaining difficulties are: 1) Discovering the main key of the hymn. 2) Noticing any modulations (excursions to different keys) within the hymn. So open any familiar hymn from your hymnal and try to put these tips in practice and notate T, S, or D below each note of the melody with pencil. Remember, sometimes hymns have eighth notes from which only the first one is a chordal note. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. Would you like to be able to write chords which go well with your favorite hymn? In order to harmonize it in 4 parts, you will have to know the basic rules of harmony and voice leading. In this article, I will show you 7 steps you could take in harmonizing any hymn tune in 4 parts.
1. Write in the treble clef on the upper stave and the bass clef on the lower stave. Insert a necessary key signature of the hymn and write in the meter signature. 2. Notate a melody on the upper stave with the stems up. This will be the soprano voice of your harmonization. 3. Determine the key of the hymn. Look at the key signature and the last note of the tune. The melody normally ends on a tonic note (1st, 3rd, or 5th scale degree of the home key). 4. Find the caesura point (the breathing place) and notate it with a "v" sign. Usually it is located after first four measures. 5. Determine what the most suitable chords are for each beat in the melody. Choose from the 3 most important chords: Tonic (a triad or a 3-note chord built on the 1st scale degree), Subdominant (a triad built on the 4th scale degree) or Dominant (a triad built on the 5th scale degree). If you know other chords, you can choose from them as well. 6. On the lower stave write in the bass line based on these chords with the stems down. You can make the bass line a bit smoother by using 1st inversion chords. Aim for the contrary motion with the soprano line most of the time. 7. Write in the 2 missing middle parts: alto (in the treble clef with stems down) and tenor (in the bass clef with stems up). Observe the proper voice leading: let the common notes of the chords be stationary and other notes move by a step. Another way to connect two chords is in contrary motion with the bass. Here the voices move to the closest notes of the next chord. Avoid voice crossing, intervals of two consecutive unisons, 5ths and 8ves and forming a 5th or an 8ve parallel motion from the previous chord. The largest interval between the 3 upper parts is the octave while the distance between the bass and tenor could be one and a half octave. Use the above steps to harmonize your favorite hymn today. Once the harmonization is complete, remember to play it on the keyboard, piano or organ. Correct any mistakes you find along the way. You can also impress your friends or family by playing your hymn harmonization for them. By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music. |
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
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