MUSI20143 Chap.5 Harmony and Accompaniment
Harmony and Accompaniment
Harmony concerns pitches sounding together and can support one melody in very different ways. A drone sustains a stable pitch beneath changing notes. Parallel harmony follows the melody at a broadly consistent interval and preserves its contour. Chordal support stacks thirds into triads and seventh chords, with tonic, subdominant and dominant labelled I, IV and V in the simplified tonal method.
Consonance and dissonance are taught through a Western exercise framework while remaining culturally conditioned categories rather than universal rankings.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Melody and harmony
- 02
Drone accompaniment
- 03
Parallel harmony
- 04
Triads
- 05
Seventh chords
- 06
Tonic, subdominant and dominant
- 07
Consonance and dissonance
Worked example · free
Harmonise from bar-opening notes
- 1Map the opening notes to scale functions one, four, five and one.
- 1Assign I, IV, V and I, then check every melody note against its bar chord.
- 1Name a tonic drone as a contrasting method that keeps one pitch fixed.
Key terms
- Harmony
- Harmony concerns the relationship among pitches sounding at the same time.
- Drone
- A drone is one sustained pitch beneath a changing melody.
- Parallel Harmony
- Parallel harmony follows a melody with a supporting line at a broadly consistent interval.
- Triad
- A triad stacks a root, third and fifth.
- Seventh Chord
- A seventh chord extends a triad by adding another stacked third.
- Tonic
- Tonic is the home function labelled I in the simplified tonal method.
Harmony and Accompaniment FAQ
What are the main accompaniment methods in this topic?
The subject focuses on a sustained drone, parallel harmony and chordal support. A drone keeps one pitch stable, a parallel part follows the melodic contour, and chords provide changing vertical support across bars.
How is a seventh chord built?
Begin with a triad made of root, third and fifth, then stack another third above it to add the seventh. The label describes chord structure, while the musical task still requires checking how the chord supports the melody.
Are consonance and dissonance universal?
No. The module provides a Western list for its exercises, but judgements of stability, tension and desirable combination are culturally conditioned. Apply the stated convention to the task without presenting it as every tradition’s natural standard.
How do I check whether a written accompaniment is singable?
Trace the relationship through the whole phrase rather than checking only its opening note. Sing each line alone, notice tessitura and breath points, then combine the parts slowly with aligned consonants and releases. A drone must remain supported, a parallel line must stay inside the intended pitch framework, and a chord must be checked against later melody notes.
If the result fails, identify whether the cause is pitch choice, range, rhythm or balance before revising the smallest necessary element.
Assessment move
Take one short melody and create three versions: a tonic or dominant drone, a parallel part and a one-chord-per-bar plan. Sing or imagine every layer so that a written choice is tested against range, tuning and text. For chord work, spell the notes rather than relying only on Roman numerals. For conceptual questions, explain what remains fixed and what changes in each accompaniment method.
Begin the drone version with the tonic, then compare it with the dominant under exactly the same melody. Mark moments where the changing melodic pitch creates noticeable stability or tension against the sustained note. This trains the ear to hear a drone as a continuing relationship rather than an accompaniment that simply stays still. Construct a parallel part slowly.
Write a candidate note for each melody pitch, check that the contour moves in the same direction and then sing both lines. If the pitch collection makes a mechanically copied interval unsuitable, adjust the note while preserving the broad parallel idea and explain the reason for the change. For chordal work, circle each bar-opening melody note and list the course chords that contain it.
Choose among them by considering movement from the previous bar and the sense of departure or return. Spell every chord before accepting the Roman numeral; this catches a function label that does not match the actual pitches. Compare the three arrangements using the same questions: what remains stable, what changes, which relationship is easiest for the ensemble to tune, and what happens to the text.
A sparse drone may clarify pitch reference, a parallel part may strengthen contour and a chord plan may articulate form. The desired musical effect should determine the method. Revise consonance and dissonance with an explicit context label. Use the Western classification supplied for its exercises, but add a reminder that evaluation of stability and tension is culturally conditioned.
This protects a technical answer from becoming an unsupported claim about how every listener or community must hear the interval. Finish with an ensemble feasibility test. Check whether every support note lies in a comfortable range, whether repeated consonants or vowels line up and whether the accompaniment leaves space for breathing. A harmonisation can be logically defensible yet awkward to perform.
Writing one sentence about singability shows that the musical decision has returned from abstract chord labels to the people who must realise it together.