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Beginners think of chord changes as swapping chords. But the core of harmonic writing is not swapping — it is this: each voice travels to its next note.
Four voices, four lines, arriving at the next chord together. Harmony is what happens when four lines reach the station at the same time; it is not one block being moved.
That shift of viewpoint matters, because it immediately produces a set of checkable criteria.
Three principles
| Principle | Content | Why |
|---|---|---|
| hold common tones | where two chords share a note, keep it still in the same voice | one fewer voice moving means a smoother join |
| prefer stepwise motion | move the remaining voices by whole or half step | steps are the smoothest motion available |
| avoid similar wide leaps | favour contrary or oblique motion between voices | voices leaping the same way advance in parallel and lose independence |
Together the three achieve this: you stop hearing a chord being changed and start hearing music moving.
Three relations between voices
| Relation | Description | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| similar | two voices move the same direction | natural, but monotonous if overused |
| contrary | one rises, one falls (the logic of [[concept:interval-inversion | interval inversion]]) |
| oblique | one stays, the other moves | the smoothest; holding a common tone is this case |
Four voices and spacing
Traditional writing uses four voices (soprano, alto, tenor, bass). Spacing has conventions:
| Position | Convention |
|---|---|
| between the upper three voices | no more than an octave apart, or the texture falls apart |
| between bass and tenor | may be wider — the low register needs room |
This is the same point as chord voicing: keep the low register open. Pack a chord low down and the partials interfere — the sound muddies at once.
How voice leading relates to function
Voice leading is not a technique standing on its own; it serves function. The push of dominant to tonic is precisely the leading tone rising a semitone and the seventh falling a semitone (see cadence). In other words: function says where to go, voice leading says how to travel.
Diagram: three chords, and how each voice moves
Listen: connecting chords
Use the progression player on I → IV → V → I. Notice how little leaps between chords, and how the bass alone carries the travelling.
Common misconceptions
- "A chord is moved as a block." The voice-leading view is that each voice moves on its own. That shift instantly changes how you judge a connection.
- "Voice leading is just about sounding nice." It has explicit practical criteria (hold common tones, prefer steps, prefer contrary motion) that can be checked one by one.
- "Parallel fifths are the only rule." That is merely the most quoted one (see parallel fifths); the full set is much larger.
- "Modern music needs no voice leading." Even with dissonant harmony, how the voices move decides whether the result sounds logical or merely collided.
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Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- 声部进行的三条基本原则（共同音保持、级进优先、避免同向大跳）为和声学与对位学通则
- 四声部配置（女高 / 女低 / 男高 / 男低）与声部间距惯例，为通行和声写作表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.