Open/Close Position Chords: What I am missing?
Working through Hindemith's harmony I encountered the following diagram of all the valid positions for a C-Major chord in strict four-part writing.
I am befuddled as to why the third chord in the second measure is marked as open while the (same) chord in the second measure is marked as close. See the image included.
My understanding is that an open chord is one in which the degrees of the triad in the four voices follow the order of the original triad. Am I missing something huge or is this simply a typo?
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It's not the same chord - watch closely...
One is C G E G the other C G C E
The first is open because of the C missing between G and E...
It's right, but I think how it's explained may be confusing you though.
Think of an open chord as a chord that you can squeezes another chord tone into (in this case a C, E, or G because it's a C major chord) while a closed chord you cannot.
Here's a picture of all the voices together to make it more clear:
X: 1
T: Open & Closed C chords
R:
M: 4/4
L: 1/2
K: C
"open"[G, E G] "closed"[G, C E] |
%
If you look at this you'll notice the first can fit another C in the chord between all the notes so it is open while the second chord you cannot so it is closed.
Simple answer
1. If the distance between Tenor and Soprano is less than 1octave it is called closed position.
2. If the distance between Tenor and Soprano is more than 1octave is is called open position.
No one has addressed the question correctly. It is very simple.
The position of a chord is only determined by the top three voices (in chorale music). Ignore the bass voice. If you are able to fit a chord tone between those three voices, it is open position; if not then it is closed.
For example:
In the first circled example, a middle C could fit between the Alto and Tenor voice. Therefore it is in open position.
In the second circled example, there are no chord tones left unwritten between the top three voices. Therefore it is in closed position.
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