Question on harmonizing melodies?

Question

In the melody to *Twinkle Twinkle Little Star* there are places with two notes of the same pitch in a row. So far I have only studied harmonizing (four-part harmony) melodies without the same pitch in a row (for example, two Gs in a row). My understanding is that the soprano stays the same for these two notes but that the ATB does not stay the same for these two notes. Are there any rules for this!

Answer 1

Great question! There are no real rules. You're right - the soprano stays the same. The atb can also stay the same, since the chord does not change on the second note, but you can change it if you want to - leaving two of those voices the same (bass and alto for example) and changing one (tenor) will give you motion, a feeling of depth (because motion that is not in the main voice feels a little hidden, like you're discovering hidden emotion), and a nice counter line!

Answer 2

Hi Rosemary - There are no rules about this. However, generally speaking you would change the ATB if you want a change in the harmony and you would not necessarily need to change them if you want the same harmony. In Twinkle Twinkle, there is no change in harmony required for the repeated notes - so you can use the same ATB. Sometimes even though the basic harmony stays the same, a voice may move to add some color or interest. I suggest if your are just learning 4 part writing that you keep it simple and the expand your harmonizations as you get more comfortable with the basics. Feel free to ask me more questions if you have them. Stephen