Introduction to three-voice texture
Part I - Note Against Note with Consonance Only
With three voice texture, one can have full chords (root, third, and fifth). The rules of voice leading were followed meticulously during the Baroque era. Rarely does one see irregular doubling, or even non-harmonic chords.
Remember that when in the Baroque era a piece was in a minor mode, the final chord of the piece would be Major. This is because of the temperament system used in the Baroque era. It was about this time that all instruments were being tuned to the same standard. In three note texture, rarely were there dissonances.
Here we will look at three voice note-against-note texture and simple diminution. All of the voice leading practices studied in theory apply here. To review, avoid doubling altered tones and the leading tone
Part II - elaboration in three voices
It is possible to elaborate up to two voices at a time in three voice texture. Baroque composers use many of the non-harmonic tones discussed in the theory lessons on non-harmonic tones. Most common by far though is the pedal tone. This is because the pipe organ was beginning to gain popularity among composers. Most of the time, the pattern is 2:1, 3:1, and even 4:1. Rarely does one see higher than 4:1 in three voice texture.
