Melody and Harmony
Senior 2 · Music
Melody and Harmony
Lesson 3 of 5
20 min
A triad has three notes, and a choir has many different voices. Composers solve this by writing music in four parts, one for each main range of voice. The four parts are soprano, alto, tenor and bass, shortened to SATB. School choirs and church choirs across Rwanda sing this way, and when you join one, the first question you will be asked is: "Which part do you sing?"
| Part | Who usually sings it | Role in the music | Typical choir range (approximate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soprano | girls and women with high voices, and boys whose voices have not yet changed | usually carries the melody | middle C (C4) to G5 |
| Alto | girls and women with lower voices, and some unchanged boys' voices | fills in the harmony under the soprano | G3 to C5 |
| Tenor | men and older boys with higher voices | fills in the harmony above the bass | C3 to G4 |
| Bass | men and older boys with low voices | the foundation: often sings the root of each chord | F2 to C4 |
The numbers after the letters tell you the octave: C4 is middle C, C3 is the C below it and C5 the C above. Trained solo singers go much further; Wikipedia's Voice type article gives, for example, C4 to C6 for a soprano and E2 to E4 for a bass. Choir parts stay in the comfortable middle of each voice.
Between about 11 and 15, most boys' voices drop, sometimes suddenly. This is normal. A boy who sang alto may find the high notes crack and should move to tenor, or later to bass. Sing where it is comfortable and never force your voice. Girls' voices also change, more gently, and a soprano may become an alto.
A C major chord has three notes (C, E and G) but a choir has four parts, so one note must be sung by two parts. This is called doubling, and the root is usually the note doubled.
This layout, with two voices on each of two staves, is called short score or closed score:
In open score each part has its own staff. The tenor is then often written in treble clef with a small 8 under the clef, which means "sing an octave lower than written". Choirs that read tonic sol-fa write the four parts on four lines, one under the other, labelled S, A, T and B, with the bar lines lined up.
Tip
High voice, stem up. On each staff of a closed score, the higher part (soprano on top, tenor below) has its stems up and the lower part (alto, bass) has its stems down. If you lose your place, follow the stem direction.
Which part usually sings the melody in a hymn written in four parts?
Solution: the soprano. The alto, tenor and bass add the harmony under it.
An F major chord (F A C) is sung with the bass on F, the tenor on A, the alto on F and the soprano on C. Which note is doubled?
Solution: F, the root: the bass and the alto both sing an F.
In a closed score, where do you find the tenor, and which way do its stems point?
Solution: on the bottom staff, in bass clef, with the stems pointing up (the bass shares the staff with stems down).
Keza sings comfortably from about A3 to C5 but strains above that. Which part suits her best?
Solution: alto. The alto part sits around G3 to C5; soprano parts often go up to G5, which is too high for her.
Remember
Sources and credits
The bass clef, the notation drawing, the table of choir ranges and the practice were written by Ganzaa. The choir ranges are approximate teaching values; every voice is different.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
