4.4 Voice Leading with Seventh Chords

Remember those rules of part-writing we need to follow? Introducing seventh chords into the harmonic mix requires us to follow three main rules:

➡️ Chordal sevenths should be approached by common tone OR by step

When the voice-leading context doesn’t allow this, chordal sevenths may be approached by ascending leap or, rarely, by a descending leap of a 3rd.

➡️ All chordal sevenths should resolve by a descending step, to avoid an unresolved seventh. The chordal seventh in a V-4/3 chord may move up by a step when appearing in a I-(V-4/3)-I6 progression. In some cases, the chordal seventh may stay in the same voice before resolving down by a step.

➡️ The fifth of a root-position dominant seventh chord may be omitted if it helps the voice leading. When the fifth is taken out in a root position 7th chord, the root should be doubled. All inverted 7th chords, however, must be spelled completely in writing the chord.

🦜 Polly wants a progress tracker: how do you resolve a seventh chord?