Harmonising a Chorale in the Style of J. S. Bach – Composition Worksheet for A Level Music

Technical exercises in composition, such as the harmonisation of a chorale in the style of J. S. Bach feature as an option in the majority of A Level Music specifications.

This worksheet introduces some of the key stylistic issues in chorale harmonisation, including good spacing of chords, the avoidance of parallel fifths and octaves, and the use of melodic decoration such as passing notes. The worksheet is broken down into five tasks, the first four of which are preceded by useful tutorial sections, that explain the theory behind what is required in the following task. Each of the tasks increase in difficulty, leading to the harmonisation of a complete chorale melody. The worksheet is ideal for use both within the classroom, and as homework, and each of the tasks are self contained so may be used in isolation.

The five tasks are:
– Task 1: The completion of the alto and tenor part of a series of chords, using good spacing and doubling the correct notes;
– Task 2: The complete voicing of a series of specified chords, using the rules of doubling and spacing previously learned in Task 1;
– Task 3: To gain practice in spotting parallel and hidden fifths and octaves in students' own work, by highlighting mistakes in a series of given chorale harmonisations;
– Task 4: To rewrite a the alto, tenor and bass parts of a given harmonisation, to include passing notes and other decoration;
– Task 5: To complete a full harmonisation of a given chorale melody, using all of the techniques learned previously.