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Respuestas a una pregunta sobre cmo armonizar una meloda dada, concretamente, si existe

una regla para armonizar melodas que sea anloga a la regla de la octava para armonizar bajos.
En:
https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/44737/rule-of-the-octave-for-melody

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Regole are model structures of basic musical elements like cadences and sequence.

Solfeggi are "style exercises" for a voice and basso continuo.

Involature are keyboard pieces that provide sample textures and figurations.

The knowledge gained from these three 'traditions' are the building blocks to creating partimenti.
You're right that partimenti are typically basses, but Sanguinetti's 2012 book The Art of
Partimento suggests that they weren't always basses (though not everyone agrees with this).

Check out also the Spring 2007 issue (51/1) of Journal of Music Theory, which is devoted
to partimenti.

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Not strictly figured bass or partimenti, but you could take a look at the rules for harmonising Bach
chorales, where you are given a chorale melody and fill out the parts for SATB choir, starting with
the Bass line.

1.Identify the degree of the scale of each note in the melody


2.Identify cadences (there are cadence 'templates' based on melodic patterns are the
ends of phrases e.g. 2-2-1 can be harmonised by ii7b-V-I amongst others)
3.Identify chords which fit the melody using Roman numerals
4.Use common chord progressions where possible
5.Fill in other parts, adding passing notes, suspensions, other decorations
6.Proof-reading, check for parallel fifths/octaves etc.

I use the chorale example because there are many online resources (Tom Pankhurst's Chorale
Guide being one) as this has been part of the UK A-level Music exam (and undoubtedly in other
countries and exams) syllabus for a long time! However you might also consider the rules set out
in Eric Taylor's excellent The AB Guide to Music Theory Part II, which deals with counterpoint (and
possibly chorales, but I don't have the book to hand to check).

Finally, it seems that there are exercises in harmonising melodies by James Lyon from 1912. He
also wrote an accompanying book, The Elements of Harmony, in which he suggests the steps for
harmonising a melody which are similar to those above but include the following tips:

(i.) Find the cadences.


(ii.) Sketch a simple hymn-tune-like bass, treating as many notes as possible in the given theme) as
unessential notes
(iii.) Use as few chords as is convenient in each bar.
(iv.) Sketch in the parts to be added. (Elaborate later.)
(v.) Contrast the rhythms of the added parts
(vi.) Make the harmonies complete even in three parts
(vii.) In writing for strings, carefully " bow " each part,
(viii.) Make each part interesting in itself.
So slightly different to Bach's chorales where you change chord every note.

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Whether the top line of notes are given or the bass, the concepts of harmonisation stays the same.
The melody line tends to be given more when advance harmony questions are asked, as it test the
candidate's knowledge on how to approach inversions.
Whether you write the bass line or the top line your outside voices have to be written in the style
of a melody. What does this mean? Your outside voice has to have a pleasant line. It is also good to
aim for a compass of around an octave and at the very least one of a sixth.
Remember your harmony exercises can have all the correct notes but if there is no real melody in
the outside voice you write then it still will not get good marks.
The line of the outside has to have some sort of form. Does it go up and down like a pyramid, do
you have waves? The line you write has to take what the given line does into consideration.
If the given line jumps a lot then it is good to have steps between notes or even stay still when you
have consecutive chords that have notes in common.
CHORD PROGRESSIONS ARE IMPORTANT.
You basic 1-3-4 progression is vital. That is to say choose chords that are either 4 steps forward
from the previous one, one step forward from the previous one or three steps back from the
previous one.
Cadential 6/4 progression are also something you are expected to know. That is to say a chord in
second inversion before the tonic or dominant chords that are used as a decoration in a cadence.
Passing 6/4 chord progressions are also a must know. That is i(6)-vii(6/4)-I(6) and I(6)-V(6/4)-I(6) and
the proper way they resolve. If you see notes that fit the bill of these chord progression you have
to use them.
There is also the descending leading tone chord progression that most methods could also ask.
USE THE CONSERVATIVE APPROACH TO NON CHORDAL NOTES!
Use them sparingly and in a way that enhances the melody of your outer line. You can also use
them to add seventh of chords which will lead to better marks as the fact is sevenths sound good.

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I believe that I understand what you have been looking for, as I also have been looking for it. If I
understand you correctly, what you are looking for is a kind of auto-harmonisation procedure for
a melody. After all, this is essentially what the Rule of the Octave does for the bass: for each note
that could occur in the bass line, there is a prescribed chord that, when used together, almost
always creates a highly typical chord progression.
Unfortunately, there is no such rule for melody from a comparable time period (18th century, give
or take a bit) or in a comparable style, probably because melodies tend to be less formulaic than
bass lines. Even for the Rule of the Octave, there are plenty of poor possibilities that could occur
between one bass note and the next, which are not a problem because bass lines tend to be more
formulaic than melodies, and those combinations are not typically found in the bass lines that you
would expect to use the Rule of the Octave with (a good example would be skipping from scale
degree 7^ to scale degree 4^, which would mean skipping from viio6 or V6/5 to ii6 or ii6/5, which is
poor harmony, but the bass line would not likely put you in this situation - the Rule of the Octave
works best with stepwise bass lines).
There are, however, sets of rules for harmonising melodies like this from earlier time periods,
which you might want to experiment with. Depending on the language of the country that the
variant comes from, it might be called "faburdern", "fauxbourdon", or "falsobordone". Of these,
falsobordone is the closest to modern harmonies, and might be satisfactory to your ear; however,
like the Rule of the Octave, it is a product of its time (16th century) and will produce the most
satisfactory results with melodies comparable to those for which it was intended (originally chant-
like melodies, though I have heard it used to good effect on other kinds of melodies from slightly
later). You can see a good example of this here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s413ZwUMq_Y
You should be aware, though, that the sound you will get is likely to sound very Renaissance-ish.
This is, though, the only system that I know of that is a melodic analog to the Rule of the Octave.

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