Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov · section 10 of 96

Motion of the Parts

§ 9. There are three ways in which the harmonic parts can move.

1) Direct (similar) motion: when the parts move up or down together.

When direct motion produces a series of like intervals (examples a and b), it is called parallel motion.

2) Contrary motion: when the parts move in opposite directions.

3) Oblique motion: when one part stays still while the other moves.

To study how chords are connected we use a texture of four voices, called parts, which underlies every kind of composition.

The parts are named as follows:

The first is the upper part or soprano; the second, alto; the third, tenor; the fourth, bass.

The motion of the upper part through a succession of chords is also called the melody.

(*) Or “voices,” as the author has it.