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Principles of Voice Leading

Voice leading is the progression of individual melodic lines within a composition to create harmony. Good voice leading involves step-wise motion that outlines the underlying chords, avoids large skips, and resolves leaps in the opposite direction. Certain tones like leading tones, 7ths, and accidentals tend to resolve in predictable directions according to basic music theory principles.

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LyndonCabillo
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312 views8 pages

Principles of Voice Leading

Voice leading is the progression of individual melodic lines within a composition to create harmony. Good voice leading involves step-wise motion that outlines the underlying chords, avoids large skips, and resolves leaps in the opposite direction. Certain tones like leading tones, 7ths, and accidentals tend to resolve in predictable directions according to basic music theory principles.

Uploaded by

LyndonCabillo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Principles of

VOICE LEADING
VOICE LEADING

• Is the linear progression of individual melodic

lines (voices or parts) and their interaction with

one another to create harmonies.


1. Move in step-wise motion or outline the
underlying harmony
2. Avoid large skips. (7ths and intervals larger
than an octave)
3. When approaching a pitch by leap, leave the
pitch by step in the opposite direction.
4. Avoid augmented intervals.
 5. When writing diminished intervals, resolve
the movement by step in the opposite direction.
6. Certain tones usually resolve in specific ways.
• Leading tones tend to resolve UP to the tonic pitch.
• 7ths of chords tend to resolve DOWN by step.
• Accidentals tend to resolve in the direction they are altered.
- Flats tend to resolve DOWN by step.
- Sharps tend to resolve UP by step.

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