Voice Leading
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Targa
Among the pigeons
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You can lead a voice to mutter but you can't make it distinct.
kevgermany
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Should really be a proper discussion on this somewhere else, but it's a pig to break it out using my phone.voice leading?
Many of the Web resources are poor on this topic, including Wikipedia.
We tend to think in terms of chord progressions. And stop there. Voice leading is about how/why these progressions work.
Firstly think of each note in a chord as being played by a different instrument or voice.
Then think of where each voice has to move to and how far to play/make the next chord. It's this that is voice leading. And this is missing/glossed over in many Web definitions.
Now do some web research, the pdf on gmajor's site is pretty good.
Example:voice leading?
|Dm7|G7|Cmaj|
notes (one for bar)
CBB
FFE
DDC ....
a handy method yo avoid the common unpleasant practice of improvisers
- fast phrase starting with D
- fast phrase starting with G
- fast phrase starting with C
It seems that the new server does not prevent us from going off topic.
kevgermany
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Please explain at idiot level for guys like me.
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and gals like me, only up to ch5 in Edley's music theory which covers chords and triads (and I thought triads was a website to buy cheap designer clothes)
Jx
'I think I should understand that better,' Kev said very politely, 'if I had it written down: but I can't quite follow it as you say it.'
If we only had a stave facility....
Minor thirds are a continental bra size....(and I thought triads was a website to buy cheap designer clothes)
kevgermany
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Can we keep this one on track please. It's an important concept and needs to be sorted - then we can make it a resource.
Chris - the pdf is interesting, but needs a proper explanation. We're faced with the old training problem - getting expert knowledge to dummies. And the experts don't realise what the dummies need to know to understand what is, to them, a simple and well understood concept. This is the problem with most of the web descriptions I've seen.
Chris - the pdf is interesting, but needs a proper explanation. We're faced with the old training problem - getting expert knowledge to dummies. And the experts don't realise what the dummies need to know to understand what is, to them, a simple and well understood concept. This is the problem with most of the web descriptions I've seen.
My concept of voice leading, could be wrong, but is a horizontal view of chord movements.
It is like writing a line across a chord progression that touches chord notes.
I don't have time now to write an example on staff, but if we take a C blues and we start with an E on the C7 chord, a possible descending horizontal movement could be (whole notes)
E Eb C Bb A F E D D C B
Really difficult to explain with words.
Now, back to bras and glasses....
It is like writing a line across a chord progression that touches chord notes.
I don't have time now to write an example on staff, but if we take a C blues and we start with an E on the C7 chord, a possible descending horizontal movement could be (whole notes)
E Eb C Bb A F E D D C B
Really difficult to explain with words.
Now, back to bras and glasses....
BigMartin
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Been trying to make amends for my missed opportunity, so how about some examples?
Examples of effective voice leading on a ii-V-I. (Eg in C major, Dm7-G7-Cmaj7)
3-7-3 (F-F-E)
7-3-7 (C-B-B)
5-9-5 (A-A-G)
9-5-9 (E-D-D) or, for a bit more tension 9-13-5 (E-E-D) or even 9-b13-5 (E-Eb-D).
And of course, by moving around on the V chord you can combine them, eg 7-3 (C-B) followed by 9-5 (A-G).
Examples of effective voice leading on a ii-V-I. (Eg in C major, Dm7-G7-Cmaj7)
3-7-3 (F-F-E)
7-3-7 (C-B-B)
5-9-5 (A-A-G)
9-5-9 (E-D-D) or, for a bit more tension 9-13-5 (E-E-D) or even 9-b13-5 (E-Eb-D).
And of course, by moving around on the V chord you can combine them, eg 7-3 (C-B) followed by 9-5 (A-G).
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Voice Leading, A note that is the shortest distance leading to the next chord or phrase.
That sums the subject up very nicely
Chris..
BigMartin
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Ah, but I didn't tell you how long it took me to work it out.
kernewegor
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A great idea! One picture is proverbially worth a thousand words....
Can it be done? Speak up computer experts, please!
but why take the shortest distance all the time? why not take the scenic route?Surely it's all in the title. Voice Leading A note that is the shortest distance leading to the next chord or phrase. Which I believe Aldevis explained. I think it's one of those questions that it is so simple, you keep thinking. Where is the catch.
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In music theory four part harmony voice leading when going from V7 to I, the flatted 7th resolves down 1/2 step (in major) and the major 3rd resolves up 1/2 step.
In other words Ti, the leading tone, leads up to Do. Fa leads down to Mi. In the key of C, the flatted 7th of G7 is F which is Fa in the C scale, and the 3rd of G7 is B natural which is Ti in the C scale. F resolves down to E (or Eb in minor) which is Mi in the C scale. B resolves up to C which is Do in the C scale. In classical music as in jazz, the harmony is defined by the 3rd and 7th of the chords which are considered the "essential" tones.
All other voice leading is generally to the closest tone in the new chord. In 4 part chorale writing, the bass line is dictated by the harmonic progression and can jump all over the place. The soprano voice is the melody so it can contain leaps. The alto and tenor voices are the ones controlled by good voice leading practices. The tenor voice can come out a bit awkward however, since it tends to get the "leftover" notes after the first 3 have been taken by SAB.
In other words Ti, the leading tone, leads up to Do. Fa leads down to Mi. In the key of C, the flatted 7th of G7 is F which is Fa in the C scale, and the 3rd of G7 is B natural which is Ti in the C scale. F resolves down to E (or Eb in minor) which is Mi in the C scale. B resolves up to C which is Do in the C scale. In classical music as in jazz, the harmony is defined by the 3rd and 7th of the chords which are considered the "essential" tones.
All other voice leading is generally to the closest tone in the new chord. In 4 part chorale writing, the bass line is dictated by the harmonic progression and can jump all over the place. The soprano voice is the melody so it can contain leaps. The alto and tenor voices are the ones controlled by good voice leading practices. The tenor voice can come out a bit awkward however, since it tends to get the "leftover" notes after the first 3 have been taken by SAB.
kernewegor
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Waaaaa! Stave facility! 
BigMartin
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But in a jazz context it can be nicer to leave it "hanging" as the 7 of Cmaj7, which is treated as a stable tonic chord.
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Did anyone do a site search yet?
Site Search
And especially see this page:
2 5 1 Chord Progression Exercises
Site Search
And especially see this page:
2 5 1 Chord Progression Exercises
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