Grade Five Music Theory - Lesson 9: SATB Writing for Voices

The Range of Voices

Not everybody’s voice range fits into the main two for their sex. Some people have a range which is midway between the two. In women this voice range is called mezzo-soprano and in men it’s called baritone. Here is the complete range of voices in order from highest to lowest:

Soprano - Mezzo Soprano - Alto - Tenor - Baritone - Bass

Grade 5 Questions

In Grade 5 Theory you might get a question about the order of all six voices, and you will probably have to notate a short extract for SATB voices. You will either have to change an open score into a short score or vice-versa. You might be asked a general knowledge question about voices.

Open Score and Short Score

Vocal music for SATB is either written on 4 staves with one for each voice, like this:

Open score

or on two staves, with two voices on each stave, like this:

Short score

Open Score v. Short Score

Here are some of the main differences between open and short scores:

Clefs

In open score, the tenor voice uses a treble "octave" clef with a small 8 hanging off the tail-

this means the music actually sounds an octave lower than written.

In short score, the tenor voice uses a bass clef.

Stems

In open score, the stems of the notes follow the shape of the melody. In short score, soprano and tenor parts always have stems up, and alto and bass parts always have stems down.

We write:

We don’t write:

Rests

In short score, rests are written near the top of the stave in the soprano and tenor parts, and near the bottom of the stave in the alto and bass parts. In open score, rests are placed in the middle of the stave. Here are some rests written in short score:

Neat Writing

Does it matter how neat my writing is?

Yes! For general tips, look at “Lesson 1 - Good Notation”.

How to Rewrite in Open Score

Let's try to rewrite these bars in open score.

Start by placing the clefs on each of the four staves, like this:

Don’t forget the little 8 on the tenor clef!

Copy the key signature and time signature onto each stave.

Using a ruler to keep the vertical position of each note, copy the soprano, alto and bass lines, but make sure you change the stem direction if necessary. (Don't write the tenor line just yet.) Remember that notes below the middle line have stems up; notes above the middle line have stems down. Notes on the middle line follow the notes next to them.

Rewrite the tenor part in treble (octave) clef. Remember that this clef sounds an octave lower than normal treble clef. Middle C in bass clef is but in treble (octave) clef is

Here is the finished re-writing:

Make sure you’ve added all dots, ties and accidentals.

How to Rewrite in Short Score

Start by placing a treble and a bass clef, like this:

Copy the key signature and time signature onto each stave.

Using a ruler to keep the vertical position of each note, copy the soprano, alto and bass lines, making sure that the stem direction is correct (soprano and tenor=up, alto and bass=down).

Rewrite the tenor part in bass clef. Remember where middle C lies:

in treble (octave) clef it’s in bass clef it’s

Make sure you’ve added all dots, ties and accidentals.