FUNDAMENTAL HARMONY

Dr. Declan PlummerLesson 12: Piano Textures

There are several important differences between writing for piano and writing for vocal/choral/SATB music:

• SATB ‘range’ rules no longer apply. Rather than 4-part texture, the piano texture has a wider register and there is a RH / LH division.

• 8ves & 5ths are often used as sonic devices, but not for part-writing.

• The texture will also include music that is characteristic of the piano (e.g. scales arpeggios etc.,)

Piano Writing Guidelines

• The leading note, the 3rd and any chromatic dissonant note may be doubled, provided there are plenty of other notes in the chord that are also doubled to balance its effect!

Beethoven, Sonata Op.10 No.1

Piano Writing Guidelines• There are several different directions for stems in piano music:

Notes that are to be played together share one common stem

Up and down stems are used to show movements of parts in multitiered textures

Piano Writing Guidelines

Notes with different rhythms, held notes etc., also need independent directional stems

• For spacing, notes between and should be

more than a 3rd apart.

• For notes below at least an octave or more is preferred.

Piano Writing Guidelines Piano Writing Guidelines• There are several common piano accompaniment styles

Block Chord / Harmonic Style

Leaping Bass Accompaniment

Broken Chords and Arpeggios

Piano Writing Guidelines

Hi

Hi HiHi

Alberti Bass Accompaniment

Piano music has exceptions to the consecutive 5ths and 8ves rule:

• For keyboard music that is clearly not contrapuntal, the normal voice-leading conventions do not apply. By the Classical period, consecutive perfect 8ves in contrary motion were commonplace at perfect cadences

Piano Writing Guidelines

Piano music has exceptions to the consecutive 5ths and 8ves rule:

• For keyboard music consecutive 5ths and 8ves between upper and lower parts were accepted in a passage that was melodic and in unison.

• For keyboard music consecutive 5ths in the right-hand part are not allowed, though acceptable in the left-hand accompaniment figures

Piano Writing Guidelines Further Extension of the TriadIn addition to the 7th, further extensions can be made to the triad by inserting a 9th, 11th or 13th from the root (usually of the dominant V)

An SATB choir is traditionally limited to just four notes, whereas a single pianist can played up to ten notes simultaneously. Coupled with Romantic exploration of thicker textures and harmonies, it is not surprising that extended chords occur more often in piano music than SATB music (especially at cadences!).

Further Extension of the Triad

Both V9 and V13 resolve to I, but V11 usually progresses to another dominant chord (i.e. V or V9 or V13) before resolving to I.

The dominant minor 9th is a chromatic chord in a major key, but it’s a diatonic chord in a minor key

c:c:

Further Extension of the TriadVery often, what may appear to be a 9th, 11th or 13th chord is nothing more than the result of adding non-harmony notes to simpler versions of the same chord (even for dominant chords):

I6 V7 vi I6 V7 vi IV V9 8 I

app

not V9 not V11 not V13

sus

4 3

app

sus

Further Extension of the TriadHowever, sometimes it is more logical to describe the chords extensions

not iii6

vi ii V13 I 65

not iii6

vi7 V /V V I 97

131197

very rare

Further Extension of the Triad

V7/V V i97

V V7 V viiO /V V97

7