Vocal chording: Technique and ApplicationI. Rationale

A. Melody can sound more beautiful when accompaniment is added.B. Engages students of all ability levels and offers opportunities for creativity.C. Reinforcement of other curricular topics [e.g. solfège, ensemble, and extemporization].D. Vocal chording can act as a gateway to more advanced topics, including harmony, voice

leading, and the idea of texture.

II. Position within the Harmonic Independence hierarchy 1. Sing a melody2. Add an ostinato3. Sing partner songs4. Add a descant5. Sing chord roots6. Add vocal chording 7. Sing phrases or sections of a round8. Sing rounds and canons9. Sing “transition” pieces10. Sing 2–4vv Part Songs

III. TechniqueA. Vocal Chording by rote :

1. Select a well-known or easily learnable melody that may be harmonized in a simple, straightforward manner [Example 1].

2. Discern the harmony implied by this melody. 3. Express this harmony as a simple chord progression [Example 2].4. Assign each voice-leading “strand” to a group of singers, teaching each group their

part individually before adding all parts together. B. Extemporization :

Often, students with good musical instincts can ‘intuit’ an accompaniment to a simple or familiar melody. In this situation, the challenge for the student is reversed: instead of singing a pattern of given solfège syllables, the student should be encouraged to apply correct syllables to the accompaniment they extemporize.

IV. ApplicationA. Practical considerations :

1. Common chords, such as the tonic (I), subdominant (IV) and dominant (V), are easily grasped.

2. Arrange chords so as to minimize motion in the various parts [Example 2, *].3. Sustained notes [as are often found in vocal chording] are ideal for practicing

dynamic devices [crescendo and decrescendo; the messa di voce].B. From classroom to concert ? A blueprint for performance.

1. Presentation of the melody line-by-line in call and response format.2. Presentation of the complete chord progression, NO MELODY!3. 1 verse of melody and vocal chording.4. Interlude [appropriate rhythm solo, melodic riff, etc.] with vocal chording.5. The Big Finish™: Melody, Vocal Chording, AND rhythm, descant [improvised?], etc.

Crawford 2013 | MUE 1093 | Bowers

Example 1.

Example 2.

Crawford 2013 | MUE 1093 | Bowers