Voice LeadingFour rules that make chord changes sound smooth rather than blocky.MusicTreat each note of a chord as a separate singer with its own line.1Keep common tonesIf two chords share a note, hold it in the same voice.2Move by step where you canThe nearest note in the next chord, not the same-numbered one.3Resolve the leading note upThe 7th degree pulls to the tonic. Let it.4Avoid parallel fifths and octavesTwo voices moving in the same interval stop soundingindependent.C → G7 → CHold G throughout — it is in all threeB rises to C; F falls to EThe bass moves C → G → CContrary motion between the outer voices is the single most reliableway to make harmony sound intentional.Voice Leadinglearnposters.com
Voice Leading — printable music wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Voice Leading, step by step

Treat each note of a chord as a separate singer with its own line.

  1. Keep common tonesIf two chords share a note, hold it in the same voice.
  2. Move by step where you canThe nearest note in the next chord, not the same-numbered one.
  3. Resolve the leading note upThe 7th degree pulls to the tonic. Let it.
  4. Avoid parallel fifths and octavesTwo voices moving in the same interval stop sounding independent.

C → G7 → C

  • Hold G throughout — it is in all three
  • B rises to C; F falls to E
  • The bass moves C → G → C

Contrary motion between the outer voices is the single most reliable way to make harmony sound intentional.

Questions about the Voice Leading poster

What’s on the Voice Leading poster?
4 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. Treat each note of a chord as a separate singer with its own line. Keep common tones — If two chords share a note, hold it in the same voice.; Move by step where you can — The nearest note in the next chord, not the same-numbere…; Resolve the leading note up — The 7th degree pulls to the tonic. Let it.; Avoid parallel fifths and octaves — Two voices moving in the same interval stop sound…. Contrary motion between the outer voices is the single most reliable way to make harmony sound intentional.
Who is the Voice Leading poster for?
Voice Leading belongs to the Music section rather than to a school year, because music is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning theory can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Voice Leading poster?
Move each voice as little as possible. That single instruction is most of good voice leading. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Voice Leading belongs on the wall where that music work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Voice Leading?
Borrowed Chords, Cadences and Building Chords sit alongside Voice Leading in the Music section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Borrowed ChordsCadencesBuilding Chords
Is the Voice Leading poster free to download and print?
Yes. Voice Leading downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Music section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Voice Leading poster print at?
Voice Leading is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Voice Leading loses nothing.Printing guide

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