Chord Progressions and Voice Leading

Question 1

Define

Harmony

Answer 1

When two or more people sing together in harmony, we hear a melody (leading tone) and one or more harmony lines (notes related to the melody at different intervals).

Question 2

Define

Voicing

Answer 2

Refers to how the notes of a harmony are ordered and spaced; voicings can be spread across multiple singers or instruments.

Question 3

Define

Voice Leading

Answer 3

A songwriting concept where each note in a harmony is treated as its own melodic voice; emphasizes smooth transitions between chords.

Question 4

How does voice leading differ from traditional chord stacking?

Answer 4

Traditional harmony stacks notes vertically into chords, while voice leading views harmony horizontally, treating each note as its own melody.

Question 5

What is the basic rule of thumb for voice leading?

Answer 5

Each note should move up or down in pitch as little as possible from one chord to the next, creating smooth transitions.

Question 6

What does root position only voicing sound like in a progression?

Answer 6

It creates a blocky, stilted feel with more finger movement and less smooth transitions compared to voice-led voicings.

Question 7

Define

Parallel Motion

Answer 7

Occurs when all harmony voices move in the same direction between chords.

Question 8

Define

Contrary Motion

Answer 8

Occurs when harmony voices move in opposite or non-parallel directions for more musical interest; Preferred in voice leading

Question 9

What styles of music use parallel motion?

Answer 9

Early rock and roll, such as 50s music, often uses parallel motion and root position voicings.

Question 10

Why is voice leading efficient for instrumentalists?

Answer 10

It reduces hand movement and makes fingering transitions more efficient on instruments like piano or guitar.

Question 11

Define

Auditory Streaming

Answer 11

A neuroscience concept describing how the brain separates and integrates multiple sounds, allowing us to perceive harmony as both individual notes and a unified sound.

Question 12

How does voice leading enhance auditory streaming?

Answer 12

It treats harmonies as independent melodies with contrary motion, making them easier for the brain to process and more pleasant to hear.

Question 13

What is voice leading used for beyond smooth transitions?

Answer 13

Voice leading is also a songwriting technique that can inspire new chord progressions and melodies by treating each harmony note as an independent voice.

Question 14

How can you create new traids using voice leading?

Answer 14

By shifting one note of a major scale triad up or down within the scale, you can create new triads. This technique is used in countless songs.

Question 15

What effect do inversions have on a progression’s feel?

Answer 15

Using first or second inversion as the starting point can dramatically alter a progression’s emotional tone and inspire melody ideas.

Question 16

How can the top voice of a chord inspire songwriting?

Answer 16

The highest note in a voiced progression can suggest vocal melodies and help shape the musical direction of a song.

Question 17

True or False

You can create infinite triads through voice leading within a key

Answer 17

False. There are limits to how many major scale triads can be formed by moving a single note within the same key.

Question 18

What happens when you voice lead a note outside the key?

Answer 18

Moving a single note outside the key can create more complex harmonies and open new emotional or tonal possibilities in songwriting.

Question 19

What are two common voice-led movements that go outside the key?

Answer 19

Moving the root of a triad down a step

Moving the fifth of a triad up a step

Question 20

Why are voice-led piano progressions emotionally expressive?

Answer 20

Because the smooth motion between chords aligns with our auditory perception, making them feel natural and emotionally resonant—especially common in piano-based songs.

Question 21

Define

Suspended (sus) chord

Answer 21

A chord where the third of a triad is replaced by either the second or fourth scale degree, creating a sense of tonal ambiguity or “suspension.”

Question 22

Why do suspended chords feel unresolved?

Answer 22

Because they lack a third, the chord feels tonally ambiguous and creates tension that resolves when the suspended note moves to the third.

Question 23

Define

Sus2 Chord

Answer 23

A chord where the second scale degree replaces the third in a triad.

Question 24

Define

Sus4 chord

Answer 24

A chord where the fourth scale degree replaces the third in a triad.

Question 25

What happens when a Dsus4 resolves to a D major chord?

Answer 25

The fourth (G) resolves down to the third (F♯), transforming the suspended sound into a stable major triad.

Question 26

What does changing the voice of a sus chord do?

Answer 26

It can transform the same three notes into a different suspended chord depending on their position.

Question 27

What happens when you move the root of a Dsus4 chord (D) to the top of the voicing?

Answer 27

It becomes a Gsus2 chord.

Question 28

What happens when you move the G in a Gsus2 chord to the top of the voicing?

Answer 28

It becomes an A7sus4 chord.

Question 29

How does an A7sus4 resolve?

Answer 29

The suspended fourth (D) resolves down to the major third (C♯), resolving the chord.

Question 30

Why do suspended chords have an "open" sound?

Answer 30

Because they lack a third, which normally defines a chord as major or minor.