6.3 Chords and Voice Leading

Why chords and voice leading matter on Praxis 5113

Written theory items in Category II ask you to identify chord quality and inversion, choose the correct Roman numeral, spot voice-leading errors, or name a progression. Pedagogy items may ask how you would teach harmonic function or correct a student arrangement with illegal parallels. You need spelling accuracy, functional hearing on paper, and a short list of non-negotiable voice-leading rules—not exhaustive species counterpoint treatises.

Triads: qualities and inversions

A triad stacks two thirds above a root. Qualities:

Inversions are named by which chord member is in the bass:

Second-inversion triads (6/4) are special in common practice: often cadential 6/4 (I⁶₄–V–I, with 6/4 resolving to 5/3 over the dominant bass), passing 6/4, or pedal 6/4. Do not treat every 6/4 as a stable tonic without context.

Seventh chords

Add a seventh above the root:

Inversions of sevenths (figures):

Dominant seventh is the workhorse of tonal music: it contains the tritone between third and seventh (leading tone and chordal seventh) that drives resolution to tonic.

Roman numerals and diatonic functions

In major keys (scale-degree triads):

In natural minor, triad qualities shift (i minor, III major, etc.). In harmonic minor, V becomes major (raised leading tone) and vii° remains diminished leading-tone chord—critical for minor-key cadences.

Functional groups:

• Tonic (T): I, vi, sometimes iii — stability, rest
• Predominant / subdominant (PD/S): IV, ii, ii⁶ — prepare dominant
• Dominant (D): V, V7, vii° — tension toward tonic

Cadences:

Basic voice-leading rules (Praxis level)

Four-voice texture (SATB) is the usual pedagogical model even when a stem shows keyboard style.

1. No parallel perfect fifths between any two voices moving in the same direction by the same distance into another perfect fifth.
2. No parallel perfect octaves (or unisons) similarly.
3. Tendency tones: In V or V7 to I, the leading tone (chordal third of V) resolves up to tonic in the same voice when it is in an outer voice (especially soprano); the chordal seventh resolves down by step.
4. Spacing: Keep adjacent upper voices within about an octave; bass may be farther. Avoid ugly gaps in upper trio.
5. Doubling: Prefer doubling tonal degrees (root of I/V often); avoid doubling tendency tones (leading tone, chordal sevenths) and avoid doubling the bass of a 6/4 carelessly.
6. Contrary motion between outer voices is preferred when possible; similar motion into perfect intervals is risky (direct/hidden fifths—know parallels first).
7. Smooth connection: Keep common tones; move other voices by step when practical.

Why parallels are banned in common-practice pedagogy: Independent voice identity collapses when two voices lock in perfect intervals moving in parallel; the texture sounds thinner and “medieval organum-like” rather than functional SATB. Jazz and popular styles allow parallel fifths as color—know the style context of the question.

Common progressions

Memorize these patterns in major and transpose to minor with correct leading tones:

Circle-of-fifths sequences (e.g., vi–ii–V–I or full descending fifths) drive Baroque and Classical episodes. Recognize root motion by fifths on a score even when inversions hide the bass leaps.

Secondary dominants

A secondary dominant is a dominant (or dominant seventh) of a scale degree other than the tonic—temporarily tonicizing that degree without fully modulating.

Recognition cues: Accidentals that create a major triad or Mm7 on a scale degree that is not diatonic V; that chord then resolves to its local tonic (e.g., D7 → G in C major is V⁷/V → V).

Secondary dominants intensify motion toward a target chord. They are common before cadences (V/V → V → I) and in sequences. On Praxis, if you see F♯ in C major inside a D major triad moving to G, label V/V, not a random chromatic mediant without function.

Related but distinct: modulation establishes a new key with cadence confirmation; tonicization is brief. Borrowed chords (mode mixture) such as iv in major are not secondary dominants—they import parallel minor color.

Applied example (analysis walkthrough)

Key of G major. Progression: G – Em – A7 – D – G.

• G = I
• Em = vi
• A7 = A–C♯–E–G = V⁷ of D (V of V) → V⁷/V
• D = V
• G = I

Voice leading at A7 → D: C♯ (leading tone to D) resolves up to D; G (seventh of A7) resolves down to F♯ (third of D major) when part-writing carefully.

Error detection scenarios (exam gold)

1. Two soprano-alto parts move E–B to D–A in parallel → parallel fifths error.
2. V⁷–I with chordal seventh leaping up → incorrect seventh resolution.
3. Cadential 6/4 labeled as stable I without resolving to V → weak analysis.
4. In C minor, chord G–B♮–D–F functioning to C → V⁷ (harmonic minor leading tone), not v⁷.
5. D–F♯–A–C in C major going to G–B–D → V⁷/V → V.

Teaching connection

In choir, explain that the raised leading tone in minor “pulls” to do. In band arranging, avoid parallel fifths between brass melody and bass for classical style contests; allow controlled parallels for rock charts when stylistically appropriate. Secondary dominants make student compositions sound more directed—assign “write a phrase that uses V⁷/V before the cadence.”