Bach chorales, lesson 1 of 8
What a chorale is
A chorale is a Lutheran hymn tune. Bach harmonised hundreds of them for his church cantatas and Passions, and they became the standard model for learning four-part harmony. In the exercise you are given the melody, and you write the other three parts in his style.
The four parts
| Part | Stave | Stem direction | Comfortable range | Absolute range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soprano (S) | Treble | Up | D4 to G5 | C4 to A5 |
| Alto (A) | Treble | Down | A3 to D5 | G3 to E5 |
| Tenor (T) | Bass | Up | D3 to G4 | C3 to A4 |
| Bass (B) | Bass | Down | F2 to D4 | E2 to E4 |
C4 is middle C. The soprano is almost always the given melody.
Soprano and alto share the treble stave, tenor and bass share the bass stave, and the stems show which part is which.
Spacing
No more than an octave between soprano and alto, or between alto and tenor.
Tenor and bass can be further apart, up to about a 12th.
Parts never cross (the alto never goes below the tenor, for example) and never overlap.
How we write positions and notes
Every report and lesson on this site uses the same shorthand, so you can find things quickly.
- Positions are bar'beat. 4'4 means bar 4, beat 4. The anacrusis (upbeat) is bar 0, so a chorale that starts on beat 4 starts at 0'4. A quaver halfway through beat 3 is 6'3.5.
- Notes are labelled by part, not octave. C(S) is a C in the soprano, F#(T) is an F sharp in the tenor. C-D(B) means the bass moves from C to D within one beat.
A working method
- Find the cadences. Look at every pause (fermata). Decide the cadence type and key at each one before you write anything else.
- Write the bass. Choose chords and bass together, aiming for contrary motion against the melody, mostly stepwise, with first inversions for smoothness.
- Fill in the alto and tenor. Keep them close to where they were: common notes stay put, everything else moves by step if it can.
- Check every pair of parts for consecutive 5ths and octaves, then check doubling, spacing and ranges.
- Add decoration last. Passing notes and suspensions go in once the harmony is secure, and then you check again.
The result is a short phrase like this one: a strong root progression, a bass that moves against the melody, inner parts that barely move, and a perfect cadence.
The next lessons take each of these steps in turn.