Voice Leading

[LittleFeat]

Just what the hell is voice leading?

Sorry for the bluntness of that question, but I have looked around and never been able to find a real definition for it.

William

[SeattleRuss]

I put "definition voice leading" into Google and look!!!

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...+voice+leading

[LittleFeat]

Yeah I found those definitions too, but I was under the impression that there was actually a type of voice leading that had something to do with the voice.

[Los Boleros]

Yeah I found those definitions too, but I was under the impression that there was actually a type of voice leading that had something to do with the voice.

It has to do with voices of what ever instrument. Anytime you raise a note from one chord to another, it is voice leading. A Leading tone is a voise that goes up by a half step. Such as in this example:

When going from C Major to G7
The notes of C are C,E,G
the notes of G7 are G,B,D,F

You could say that the C note goes up a whole step to the D note.
You could say that the E note goes up a half step to the F note.
E is a leading tone.

When going from E7 to Am
The notes of E7 are E,G#,B,D
The notes of Am are A,C,E

You could say that the G# goes up a half step to the A.
You could say that the B goes up a half step to the C.
You could say that the D goes up a whole step to the E.

G# and B are both Leading tones.

[bdemon]

All the notes of a chord can be called a voice, right? Then how those voices move from chord to chord is called voice leading. Since the ear tends to focus on the highest note of a chord, you can make a simple melody and write it into a chord progression. Think of all the ways you've heard, say, Jingle Bells or Greensleeves. Same melody, different chords/chord voicings over it.

[Jeansen]

Anytime you raise a note from one chord to another, it is voice leading. A Leading tone is a voise that goes up by a half step

hello..2 question :
1) is this voice leading ?:
G D/F# Em Bm/D C G/B Am D

2) Why is the leading tone always go up a half step? thx u

[gersdal]

hello..2 question :
1) is this voice leading ?:
G D/F# Em Bm/D C G/B Am D

2) Why is the leading tone always go up a half step? thx u

I think LosBoleros is busy at the moment, so I'll throw in my 2c.

1)What you show is a chord progression. The voice leading is how you play that progression. You could decide to voice all these chord with a constant D on top, or you could voice them with a little "melody" on top, say the tones B-A-B-D-C-B-A-D. The rest of the chord voicing in both cases comes naturally.

2) IMHO the leading tone does not need to go up or down half steps, any intervall is possible.

[Jeansen]

You could decide to voice all these chord with a constant D on top, or you could voice them with a little "melody" on top, say the tones B-A-B-D-C-B-A-D

hi...i know that what i give to you is a progression..i'm actually asking you about the bass movement..is it a voice leading??
n how can i give all D on the top, my chord progression is all in G major scale ,right?
n what do you mean with B-A-B-D-C-B-A-D ? is it another possibility of bass movement in my progression...? thx u

[gersdal]

hi...i know that what i give to you is a progression.. i'm actually asking you about the bass movement..is it a voice leading??

sorry... misunderstood. To your question: No, I would say that the bass movement is the bass line, and the voicing is the top note.

n how can i give all D on the top, my chord progression is all in G major scale ,right?
n what do you mean with B-A-B-D-C-B-A-D ? is it another possibility of bass movement in my progression...? thx u

I written a ptb file as a quick example of what I'm thinking about... first with D on top for all chords , and then with my little "melody" line on top. Your chords and bass line is intact in both cases, but I added a G in the end.
Hope that helps...