Ervin Colebrooke's Music Front Room

                     COMPOSING FOR   S,A,T, & B         SO,  WHAT IS   S,A,T, & B   ?                    SATB   STANDS FOR       Soprano , Alto , Tenor  And  Bass This is writing for 4 part harmony or 4 different pitch voices .It is mostly used in choral music but the fundamentals for composing in four part is beneficial to all types of Composing. Note Great musicians Studied Composition and harmony and used them in their instrumental composing as well . 1. When Composing a Song with SATB, A Soprano Part is usually the first to be written, which is the melody line. 2. Next it's good to add the Bass Part . 3.Thirdly the inside Parts.   Either the Alto than the Bass or vice-versa. Here is a Composition of SATB Harmonizing a familiar Tune or melody line given : Me Playing this Co...

                4th and 5th  Species Counterpoints              Well, What is the 4th Species Counterpoint?  Fourth Species Counterpoint is a piece of music with a  Melody Line called a Counterpoint and a bass line called a Cantus furmus . The main difference from other counterpoints is its main feature is the fact that it is built with Suspensions of dissonances. And What is a Dissonance? A Dissonance is when 2 notes clash in sound like they were not really meant to be played together . The opposite would be called Consonance. That is when the notes sound Harmonious or Good when played together.  Now, To write a suspension you must have a  :              1. Consonant interval     flowed by a               2. Dissonant interval      on the Down Beat, followed by a      ...

          2nd and 3rd Species Counterpoint                                           What is that ?        ........ 2nd Species Counterpoint  is a composition which requires two counterpoint notes to one Cantus firmus note , This method allows consonant harmony on the strong beat and disonance on the weak ones , it may be accomplished by step wise motion               Octaves may be approached by Oblique motions   ( That is when the bottom notes repeat and the top notes move).                  Me playing my second Species Counterpoint to a given  composition :        *****************************************       th THIRD SPECIES COUNTERPOINT What is that?        ........ 3rd Species Co...

  Spring  2021 Lesson 1          First Species Counterpoint  Lesson 1   Counterpoint involves a melody written against an existing  one  .The existing melody is called  Cantus Firmus       A Cantus Furmus  I Composed                                                                  Me Playing  My Composed Counterpoint with a given Cantus Furmus           Against  this type of Melody a counterpoint is written .

  Diatonic 7th Chords ********************** Adding A Seventh degree of a scale to a triad makes it a Seventh Chord  Diatonic would mean the chord notes stay within the main scale . ********************** Diatonic 7th Chords   Chord progressions using Diatonic 7th chords  Me Playing Diatonic 7th Chords In F Major and  D Minor 

Week 8   Theory Lesson     Diatonic Triads and Inversions Diatonic means   : Involving only the notes of the Scale without alteration.   A Diatonic Scale is a Normal scale with 5 tones and 2 semitones . A Diatonic  Triad . .   This is the 1st , 3rd, and 5 th Notes of the  scale   This can be on each note of the scale but these  three notes will have the same accidentals as  the main key   Diatonic Intervals.   When the Bottom note  of a root position Diatonic Triad is placed at the Top one octave higher  its called  a 1st inversion Diatonic triad .When the bottom not of the 1st insertion triad is inverted  It’s called 2nd inversion Diatonic . Me Playing Diatonic Inversions of : G major and E minor                 G  Major Diatonic Inversions                                 ...

                              LESSON 6                        CHORD    INVERSIONS A Chord or Triad is inverted when the bottom nots are moved from the Bottom of the             STACK OF 3RDS   to The TOP. For example if E, the Bottom note in E major root position Triad ,is moved to the E at the top of the Stack its now E major 1st inversion *** Common inverted Chords are :                  Root Positions  Chord (not inverted ) First Invertion, Second Inversion  Third Inversion   *( in a 7th Chord)        DIATONIC TRIADS IN INVERSIONS  Me  Playing  Diatonic Inverted intervals                          G Major       ...