THE TONIC AND SUBDOMINANT TRIADS IN FIRST INVERSION The I 6 and IV 6 as Embellishing Chords Chapter 11

Tonic and Subdominant Triads  Root position triads built on ^1, ^4, & ^5  First inversions triads add ^3 & ^6  Helps create interesting melodic lines by using various embellishing tones between essential bass notes

Partwriting with I 6 and IV 6  Rules are not as hard and fast as with root position  Seek the smoothest connection between different voice parts Avoid perfect parallels, awkward melodic leaps, and questionable doublings  Standard doubling: Double the soprano voice, either at the unison or octave. If this leads to a partwriting error, double a different voice.

Partwriting with I 6 and IV 6 Ex. 11.2

Partwriting with I 6 and IV 6  11.2A Doubling the soprano at the unison or octave  11.2B Often an O/O structure serves as a link between close and open structure or vice versa  11.2C The chordal 3 rd of a I chord (^3) may appear in both the soprano and bass. Do not double the 3 rd of a IV chord (active scale degree ^6).  11.2D You may double an inner voice if a suspension is placed in the soprano of a iv6

Partwriting with I 6 and IV 6  Promoting good doubling practices:  Safest scale degree doublings: ^1, ^4, ^5  Questionable doublings ^3, ^6  Never double the leading tone ^7

The Use of I 6  Occurs in two contexts  I 6 can extend tonic harmony through three-note arpeggiations; I - I 6 – I or I 6 – I - I 6  I 6 may be used either to approach or depart from the V, V 7, or IV chords. In this case I 6 would be an essential chord. Ex. 11.4

The Use of I 6 Ex. 11.4

The Use of the IV 6  Occurs in 3 basic contexts  May extend IV harmony through arpeggiation, allowing passing tones to be used  IV 6 provides stepwise approach to V Phrygian half cadence  IV 6 is sometimes linked to I 6 I 6 to IV 6 or IV 6 to I 6 this involves two inversions; voice doubling in one of the triads will need to be adjusted to avoid possible parallels

The Use of the IV 6 IV6 extending IV harmony through arpeggiation

Phrygian Half Cadence  Derives from the characteristic voice leading used in the Phrygian church mode  Occurs frequently in the minor mode  Outer voices move stepwise by contrary motion to the dominant (^6 – 5) in bass and (^4 - ^5) in soprano

Phrygian Half Cadence  ^7 - ^6 suspension over the bass embellishes this progression  Double the inner voices of the iv6 avoids parallels

The IV as an Embellishing Chord  Subdominant may function as an embellishment of the tonic; embellishing chordal neighbor  Subdominant is shorter in duration and metrically weaker than the tonic is embellishes  Embellishment occurs early in the phrase – long before the cadence point

The I as an Embellishing Chord  Melodic motion between two subdominant or dominant chords may create a consonant passing or neighboring harmony that embellishes V or IV  This embellishing chord usually ends up being I or I6 Does not function as tonic – elaborates a weaker harmony

Melody Harmonization – A how to…  Harmonic rhythm  #1 – Determine preliminary harmonies  Opening harmony – downbeat  Cadential formula – Roman numerals & scale degrees Chords will normally be in root position, unless: Phrygian cadence Let the soprano have ‘typical’ scale degrees

Melody Harmonization – A how to…  #2 – fill in the phrase interior  Smart chord choices and a good bass line are a MUST Consider what chords are supported by the melody  The Bass Line Good mixture of contrary and similar motion in outer parts Stress the use of imperfect consonances between S & B Reserve perfect intervals (5 ths and 8vas) for the opening and cadence

Melody Harmonization – A how to… Presently available chords to support different scale degrees in the soprano

Melody Harmonization – A how to…  #3 Fill in the inner voices to create a 4 part texture  #4 Elaborate your note – against – note setting by various embellishing tones  Be careful not to over-do the non-harmonic tones  Beware any parallels that may be created by the addition of your non-harmonic tones

Melody Harmonization – Conclusion  #1 – Prep opening harmony and cadence formula  #2 – Choose soprano notes, appropriate chords, and a solid bass line to fill the interior  #3 – Fill in the interior voices using good partwriting practices  #4 – Add embellishing tones.