I have written 3 rounds for this project. Each round varies it’s harmony around one or two chords but contains different voicing of the chords. The Following videos are my Rounds and below them I will discuss each round and my reasons for what I have done:
In round 2 you hear a hymn written from the chords highlighted in example 36 (2.) in my university hand book. The harmony is basic at first just based on the C major triad. As more voices join the round the harmony becomes much thicker. The dynamics just outline the shape of the phrasing. This round is mostly consonant because the chords all form a pretty standard chord progression. Utilising only the 1st degree, fourth degree and fifth degree of the scale of C major.The only dissonance that occurs is briefly in passing in the melody. Bars 7, 8 and 9 are the most dissonant bars before they quickly resolve in to the triad of C major in bar 10.
In all of these rounds, I enjoyed the process of building the harmonies from just one line. It surprised me the rich variety of chordal voicing that can be achieved from just one line of music. Though I confess, particularly in Round 3, With the augmented G I struggled planning ahead with the harmonies. I would write a melody and then realise that when I go to layer the next line in with the existing line, the harmonies are completely out of balance. I addressed this by making changes in the melody as I wrote each phrase.
Round 3, on the other hand, is composed using the chords highlighted in Example 36 (4.) The tonal centre is D major and the university have introduced an augmented G (G#) in to the progression. This makes for a very dissonant round. I specifically wrote the high line as high as possible to add to the haunting effect of the score. I enjoyed working with this progression as it was such a different sound.
My Final round includes work and is a song about drinking alone. I kept the harmonies simple when I though of the melody. The tune is simple so anyone could remember the words and sing along. I used the two chords outlined in example 36 (1.) from my university handbook. It briefly touches the C major triad as well (for example bar 5) Similar to round 2 – The only dissonance is passing in brief.
David Healy-Richards Music 