COMMON PRACTICE WORDS OF WISDOM

“Write lines, not notes.”
Johann Sebastian Bach, 1750

“Chord sevenths resolve down.”
Franz Joseph Haydn, 1809

“Leading tones resolve up.”
Ludwig van Beethoven, 1827

“There is no B, only variations of A.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1791

“No one ever made a living writing chord tones.”
Frederic Chopin, 1849

“C over G is not a tonic in C major.”
Muzio Clementi, 1832

“All modulations are confirmed by a cadence.”
Franz Schubert, 1828

“We only cadence on I, IV or V.”
Antonio Vivaldi, 1741

“When you write parallel octaves you lose a voice.”
Cristoph Willibald Gluck, 1787

“There are only three harmonic functions.”
Hector Berlioz, 1869

“Only double scale-steps 1, 4, or 5 in SATB triads.”
Robert Schumann, 1856

“Handle 6/4 chords with extreme caution.”
Georg Frederich Handel, 1759

“Every piece should have a climax.”

Domenico Scarlatti, 1757
 

  Sibelius Assignments