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Hi Máté
Thanks a lot for doing the homework. I now realise that there's a few things I should have told you before setting this h/w, and as well as doing corrections I've set another exercise in two part counterpoint that should help sort some of these problems out.
Just a few other things to remember when writing suspensions in four part harmony:
1) In 9-8 suspensions the root AND third must always be present in the other voices (the fifth is less important) - sorry I should have said this! - your f# minor suspension doesn't quite work because of this.
2) In 4-3 suspensions the root and the fifth must always be present in the other voices. No other notes can be present at the same time! (In your G minor suspension you have the third present with 6 and 4). Remember what I put in the lesson - the resolution note should not be present at the same time as the
suspension (except in the case of the 9-8 suspension, when it should always be sounding in the bass i.e. the root).
3) In 7-6 suspensions the root AND third must always be present in the other voices (again the fifth is less important).
4) Although your 6/4 chords are correctly prepared they aren't really used appropriately if you see what I mean. I will go over this in the next lesson so don't panic. However, there are only really THREE real acceptable uses of the 6/4. i) I6/4 as preparation for a perfect cadence before V ii) The progession I6/4 - V at an imperfect cadence iii) V6/4 used as a passing chord (like vii6/3) between I and I6/3. It's best used with the seventh (V6/4/3).
[The reason for this is that the 6/4 is almost like putting musical brakes on. It strongly implies that the bass note of the chord in the dominant note, because it has so much rhythmic/dissonant weight]
My advice for the moment is to avoid 6/4 chords altogether. They are not normal chords at all, and can't be used for much.
5) The melodic minor scale descending must never be used in the bass in the wrong direction (i.e. going up)! In your c# minor exercise, second bar, the bass moves up from a to b natural. This sounds really weak, and not really tonal... The best thing to do in the situation is move down to V, as that is what the descending bass motion that you (correctly!) had before. When going up, you should always use the melodic minor ascending, or at least the harmonic minor - I've attached some examples of these so don't worry if you don't get what I mean!
6) When you use chord vii6/3 after I, you must go to I6/3. In your G-flat major example you've substituted I6/3 with vi, which sounds very modal and weak, and not tonal at all. Although vi and I are closely related, they aren't exactly interchangeable. If you wanted to do this as part of a deliberate musical anti-climax, that would be fine, but again for now, I'd stick to using the progression I - vii6/3 - I6/3, or just I - vii6/3 - I.
Your voice-leading is still very good throughout the homework, which is really good to see. Keep it up, hopefully the above problems won't be difficult to sort out!
OK for the next homework, a few basic rules about writing two part counterpoint...
Always begin on a unison, fifth, or third. You can harmonise the other notes with a fifth, octave (but watch out for consecutives!), thirds or sixths. In general it's better to save the fifths and octaves for the very beginning and ending cadence.
You may also use suspensions wherever you wish, as long as the are prepared and resolve correctly (check out my examples in the last lesson).
Do not approach a fifth or octave by similar motion (e.g. G in the bass with B in the treble going to C in the bass with G in the treble). This is called hidden fifths/octaves, and sounds almost as bad as consecutive in two part counterpoint! Always use contrary motion instead (e.g. G in the bass with B in the treble goes to C in the bass with C in the treble - a perfect cadence in 2 part counterpoint).
You can also use passing notes, to connect notes that are a third apart, and you can leap to other notes if they are consonant with the bass note beneath.
Take your time, as this is actually quite tricky. Good luck!
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