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Overview 11a - Voice-leading for Root Position Triads and Seventh Chords

We can view the voicing rules (i.e. spacing, range, doubling, and voice-crossing) as our guidelines for creating the vertical aspect of this style of music, and our voice-leading rules (i.e. tendency tones, conjunct lines, and avoiding part-writing errors) as guidelines for creating the horizontal aspect of this style of music. By combining these ideas with a general knowledge of diatonic chord progressions, we can begin composing our first attempts at chorale-style music.

Before beginning, please remember that when composing in this style, you occasionally will need to bend, or even break, these rules to accommodate other musical goals. There is not a “right” or “wrong” hierarchy for the conventional rules of part-writing. For example, you might choose to accept parallel perfect 5ths if you are trying to create a particular melodic line that emphasizes stepwise motion. Or, you might decide to use voice-crossing of the inner voices to change the timbre and texture of a passage. In your early part writing, you should strive for a simple, clean texture, but be aware that even the cleverest of composers may choose to eschew convention if it does not completely align with their musical goals.