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{{Short description|Scoring for soprano, alto, tenor, bass}}
{{for|the band|Siouxsie and the Banshees}}
In [[music]], '''SATB''' is a [[Sheet music|scoring]] of compositions for [[choir]]s or [[Consort of instruments|consorts]] of instruments consisting of four [[voice type]]s:  [[soprano]],  [[alto]], [[tenor]] and [[Bass (voice type)|bass]].

==Choral music==
[[Four-part harmony]] using soprano, alto, tenor and bass is a common scoring in classical music,<ref>[http://www.musiklexikon.info/musiklexikon/satb SATB] musiklexikon.info</ref><ref>[https://www.carus-verlag.com/en/choral-music/choral-collections/choral-collections-choir-satb/ Choral collections – Choir SATB] [[Carus-Verlag]] 2022</ref><ref>[https://www.thalia.de/shop/home/artikeldetails/A1046950285 Voces8 SATB / A Cappella Songbook] thalia.de 2022</ref><ref name="Dai 2019">{{cite thesis | last=Dai | first=Jiajie | title=Modelling Intonation and Interaction in Vocal Ensembles | website=QMRO Home | date=12 April 2019 | url=https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/56861 | access-date=25 March 2022| type=Thesis }}</ref> including [[chorale]]s and most [[List of Bach cantatas|Bach cantatas]].<ref name="Shrock">Shrock, Dennis: [https://books.google.com/books?id=-SVnDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA298 Choral Repertoire] ''[[Oxford University Press]]'', 2009, p. 298, {{ISBN|978-0-19-532778-6}}</ref>

The letters of the abbreviation are also used by publishers to describe different scorings for soloists and choirs other than four-part harmony. For example, the listing "STB solos, SATB choir" of Bach's [[Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140|''Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme'', BWV 140]], indicates that a performance needs three soloists: soprano, tenor and bass, and a four-part choir.<ref name="Shrock" /> "SATB/SATB" is used when a double choir is required, as in Penderecki's ''[[Polish Requiem]]''.<ref>[https://en.schott-music.com/shop/polnisches-requiem-no38258.html Polish Requiem] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511131432/https://en.schott-music.com/shop/polnisches-requiem-no38258.html |date=2022-05-11 }} [[Schott Music]] 2022</ref> or SSATB, with divided sopranos, is a typical scoring in English [[church music]].<ref name="Shrock" />{{rp|322}}<ref>[https://www.alfred.com/te-deum-in-d/p/00-K06382/ Te Deum in D / By Henry Purcell] alfred.com</ref> A listing for Bach's ''[[Mass in B minor structure|Mass in B minor]]'' includes the maximum of SSATB soloists and SSAATTBB eight-part choir and also indicates that it contains choral [[Movement (music)|movements]] for SATB, SSATB, SSATBB and SATB/SATB, as well as arias for individual soloists, and duets for SS, ST and SA.<ref name="Shrock" />{{rp|299}}

{{anchor|other parts}}
Other letters of abbreviation, however with less consistency, have been used by publishers, such as "Tr" for treble ([[boy soprano]]), "Mz" for [[mezzo-soprano]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tfront.com/p-146873-requiem-for-s-mz-t-b-soli-satb-chorus-and-orchestra-latin-ed-by-kurt-soldan.aspx |title=Requiem : For S Mz T B Soli, SATB Chorus, and Orchestra [Latin] |last=Verdi |first=Giuseppe |editor-first=Kurt |editor-last=Soldan |website=tfront.com |year=2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507153517/https://www.tfront.com/p-146873-requiem-for-s-mz-t-b-soli-satb-chorus-and-orchestra-latin-ed-by-kurt-soldan.aspx |archive-date=2022-05-07 }}</ref> "Ba", "Bar" or "Bari" for [[baritone]], "C" for both canto (the highest part) and [[contralto]], and "Ct" for [[countertenor]].<ref>[https://www.universaledition.com/miserere-fuer-soli-sopran-alt-ct-2-tenor-bass-chor-satb-ensemble-und-orgel-paert-arvo-ue30871 Arvo Pärt: Miserere] Universal Edition 2022</ref> "SATB div." indicates that parts are sometimes divided ([[divisi]]) during a piece, often sharing the same [[Staff (music)|staff]].

Moreover, multiple parts can be assigned; first tenors, second basses, and so on.

==Notation==
When the soprano and alto are notated in one staff, all [[Stem (music)|stem]]s for the soprano go up, and all for the alto go down. Similarly, when the tenor and bass are notated in one staff, the upper voice is marked by stems up, and both voices are written in [[Clef|bass clef]], while the tenor is usually written in [[Clef|treble clef]] marked an [[octave]] down if it has its own staff.<ref name="Murphy">[https://music.utk.edu/theorycomp/courses/murphy/documents/PartWritingRules.pdf Dr. Barbara Murphy, University of Tennessee, School of Music]</ref><ref name="Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom 2021">{{cite web | title=Voice Leading | website=Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom | date=4 August 2021 | url=https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/VoiceLeading.html | access-date=26 March 2022 | archive-date=7 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507153517/https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/VoiceLeading.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="LilyPond – Music notation for everyone">{{cite web | title=LilyPond Learning Manual: A.1.1 SATB template | website=LilyPond – Music notation for everyone | url=https://lilypond.org/doc/v2.21/Documentation/learning/satb-template.html | access-date=26 March 2022}}</ref><ref name="LilyPond – Music notation for everyone_2">{{cite web | title=LilyPond Learning Manual: 3.4.2 Four-part SATB vocal score | website=LilyPond – Music notation for everyone | url=https://lilypond.org/doc/v2.23/Documentation/learning/four_002dpart-satb-vocal-score.html | access-date=26 March 2022}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+  "SATB-style"
|-
! voice !! staff !! stem
|-
| soprano (S) || treble clef || up
|-
| alto (A) || treble clef || down
|-
| tenor (T) || bass clef || up
|-
| bass (B) || bass clef || down
|}

The rules of [[voice leading]] apply to SATB notations.<ref name="Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom 2021" />

==Instrumental music==
In a broader sense, choirs of instruments can also be described by the abbreviation SATB, often for members of the same family of instruments, such as [[Consort of instruments|consorts]] of [[Recorder (musical instrument)|recorder]]s,<ref>[https://en.schott-music.com/shop/the-schott-recorder-consort-anthology-no42204.html The Schott Recorder Consort Anthology] [[Schott Music]] 2022</ref> [[viola da gamba]],<ref>[https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/ensembles/viola-da-gamba/satb/500040+900097?se=2828 Viola da Gamba SATB] sheetmusicplus.com 2022</ref> [[saxophone]]s{{efn|SATB [[saxophone quartet]]s consist of a soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone.}}<ref>[https://saxpress.com/product-category/sax-quartet/ Saxophone Quartet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507153517/https://saxpress.com/product-category/sax-quartet/ |date=2022-05-07 }} saxpress.com 2022</ref><ref name="Lamneck">{{cite book |last1=Ruedeman |first1=Timothy J.| last2=Lamneck | first2=Esther | title=Lyric-form archetype and the early works for saxophone quartet, 1844—1928: An analytical and historical context for saxophone quartet performance. | isbn=978-1-109-20991-4 | oclc=768132112 | page=}}</ref> and [[trombone]]s.<ref>[https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/ensembles/trombone-solo/satb/500040+900177?ge=7 Trombone Solo SATB Music] sheetmusicplus.com 2022</ref> The abbreviations are also a common way to describe which "voices" perform in instrumental compositions such as [[fugue]]s, including Bach's ''[[The Art of Fugue]]'' and ''[[The Musical Offering]]'', written without indicating specific instruments.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web | last=Cargile | first=Kimberly Anne | title=An Analytical Conductor's Guide to the SATB A Capella Works of Arvo Part | website=The Aquila Digital Community | date=27 January 2017 | url=https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1106 |type=thesis | access-date=12 December 2022}}

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[[Category:Acronyms]]
[[Category:Choral music]]
[[Category:Voicing (music)]]
[[Category:Choral music genres]]