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The problem it solves
When you change chord, each note could jump anywhere; do it without a plan and the progression sounds cut up and mechanical. Voice leading gives you a guide to connect chords so they sound joined-up and singable.
Detailed theory
Key idea
Treat each note of the chord as an independent voice that travels to the nearest note of the next chord.
Keep common tones in the same voice and move the rest as little as possible, preferring stepwise motion.
Understand it
A chord is made of several notes sounding at once, and each of those notes is a voice. Voice leading is about deciding, when you change chord, where each voice goes. The golden rule is simple: each voice should travel to the nearest note of the new chord, not just any one.
The first principle is to keep common tones. If a note appears in both chords, leave it in the same voice without moving it. This creates a fixed point that stitches the two chords together and avoids an unnecessary leap.
The second principle is stepwise motion. The voices that do have to move should advance as little as possible: ideally a tone or semitone to the neighbouring note. Large leaps are saved for occasional cases (often the bass), because they break the sense of a line.
Think of it as passing a baton in a relay race: each runner hands it to the nearest teammate, instead of throwing it across the field. Each voice "passes" its note to the neighbouring note of the next chord, and the music moves on without jolts.
When you apply these principles, a progression of blocks turns into a fabric of smoothly moving lines. It is the basis of four-part harmony, of arranging and of counterpoint: thinking horizontally (lines) and not just vertically (blocks).
Staff & keyboard
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The voices moving from C (C-E-G) to F (C-F-A): C stays, E rises to F and G rises to A, each by step.
How to recognise it
How it's written
Read the progression voice by voice, as horizontal lines: follow the highest note from chord to chord, then the next, all the way down to the bass. Check which notes stay still (common) and which move, and by how much.
How it feels
Listen to whether the transition between two chords sounds smooth or abrupt: with common tones kept and the rest moving by step, the connection sounds joined-up. If you hear a sudden jump, a voice has probably moved more than it needed to.
Common mistake
Jumping between chord positions without following the path of each voice, as if each chord were a new, separate block.
Moving a voice far away when it had a nearby (or common) note available in the next chord.
Try it
Connect C major (C-E-G) with F major: keep C and move E→F and G→A. Hear how smooth the transition is.
Play G7 → C, letting each voice go to its nearest note: B rises to C and F falls to E. Notice the minimal motion of each voice.
On the instrument
Chord progression
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A smooth connection in C major: from the dominant (V = G) to the tonic (I = C), each voice goes to its nearest note. Hear how the move is joined-up.
Where it's used
- Connecting chords smoothly
- Linking two chords by moving each voice to the nearest note, so the transition sounds joined-up instead of cut off.
- Harmonising a melody
- Adding voices beneath a melody that move smoothly and keep common tones.
- Writing in four parts
- Splitting a chord into soprano, alto, tenor and bass and leading each voice independently to the next chord.
Examples
Chord progression
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A well-led I–IV–V–I progression in C major: the voices move little and the phrase sounds joined-up from start to finish.
Exercises
Recognise progressions (in many keys)
Identify the chords of a progression, now in many keys, not just C.
Complete 6 attempts · 70% accuracy to pass
Mini test
Check that you've got it.
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What is voice leading?