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2-3 PART WRITING PRIMARY TRIADS (MINOR)

12. Part Writing the i Chord to the V Chord and V to i

Connecting tonic to dominant and dominant to tonic in minor is similar to connecting tonic to dominant and dominant to tonic in Major keys. The root is in the bass voice. Keep the common tone. Connect the remaining two voices by half step to the nearest chord tones. Remember to raise the third of the dominant chord in minor (Figure 2-26).

Figure 2-26. Connecting i to V and V to I

SELF REVIEW EXERCISE 2-4

Part write the following i to V and V to i progressions (Figure 2-27. Part A and Part B).

Figure 2-27. Part A. i to V and V to i Progressions

Figure 2-27. Part B. i to V and V to i Progressions

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Answer Key

13. Part Writing the i Chord to the iv Chord and iv to i

Connecting tonic to subdominant and subdominant to tonic in minor is similar to connecting tonic to subdominant and subdominant to tonic in Major. The root is in the bass voice. Keep the common tone. Connect the remaining two voices by step to the nearest chord tone. First, connect the half step movements, and then connect the whole step movement (Figure 2-28).

Figure 2-28. Connecting i to iv and iv to i

SELF REVIEW EXERCISE 2-5

Part write the following i to iv and iv to i progressions (Figure 2-29. Part A and Part B).

Figure 2-29. Part A. i to iv and iv to i Progressions

Figure 2-29. Part B. i to iv and iv to i Progressions

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Answer Key

14. Part Writing the iv Chord to V Chord

a. Connecting the subdominant to dominant in minor is similar to connecting subdominant to dominant in Major. The root is in the bass voice. Move the three upper voices down to the nearest chord tones in contrary motion to the bass voice. First, connect the two voices with half step movements, and then connect the minor third movement (Figure 2-30).

Figure 2-30. Connecting iv to V

b. When connecting the iv to V, avoid the melodic augmented second between the sixth scale degree and the raised seventh scale degree. This interval should not appear in the same voice (Figure 2-31).

Figure 2-31. Melodic Augmented Second

c. Connect the upper three voices contrary to the bass to avoid the augmented second.

SELF REVIEW EXERCISE 2-6

Part write the following iv to IV progressions (Figure 2-32).

Figure 2-32. iv to V Progressions

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15. Part Writing the V Chord to the iv Chord

The dominant chord is usually not connected to the subdominant chord in minor. However, the dominant can progress to the subdominant (minor) when it immediately goes back to the dominant. The upper three voices move contrary to the bass (Figure 2-33).

Figure 2-33. Connecting to V to iv to V

16. Picardy Third Ending

The final tonic chord of a composition in a minor key is occasionally made Major. The raised third of the triad is borrowed from the parallel Major and is known as the Picardy third. The Picardy third usually occurs when connecting the dominant to tonic chord at the final cadence (Figure 2-34).

Figure 2-34. Picardy Third Ending

NOTE: Use an upper case Roman numeral I for analysis when using the Picardy third because of the Major quality of the tonic chord.

David L. Heiserman, Editor

Revised: June 06, 2015