how to Harmonise a bach choral

How to harmonise a chorale in the style of bach

1. Understand how a chorale works. Chorale melodies were sung by a congregation in Lutheran churches in parts of Germany. The melodies are recognisable, and are divided into phrases, which are identified by pause marks. These marks indicate where you should put your cadences.

1. Look at accidentals. Find the key of the piece and other parts to distinguish possible points of modulation (you will want to modulate at least 2-3 in your chorale)

1. Start by harmonising the final cadence. This will normally be a perfect authentic cadence (V-I with both chords in root position), though one shouldn't rule out the possibility of plagal (IV-I) cadences though this is extremely rare.

1. Look through the rest of the part you have to harmonise, work out possible chords, and lightly pencil them in, starting with the cadences, and then move on to the remaining chords. Each chord must contain the root (which is often…