Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov · section 10 of 96
Motion of the Parts
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§ 9. There are three ways in which the harmonic parts can move.
1) Direct (similar) motion: when the parts move up or down together.
Fig. 48 · See it in the reader
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.
Fig. 49 · See it in the reader
3) Oblique motion: when one part stays still while the other moves.
Fig. 50 · See it in the reader
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.
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