3. Reduce word shifting to create clean motion
When creating satisfying and efficient voice main, a central precept to comply with is that each one voices must be well-written particular person melodic strains. We all know that nice melodies often don’t embody giant interval leaps, so we should always apply the identical thought to voice main.
Typically, it’s protected to go away any widespread chord tones between chords in the identical voices. The place we will’t hold tones the identical, stepwise movement is at all times preferable to leaps. “Stepwise movement” refers to shifting a tone or semitone away, relatively than a giant interval bounce (like a sixth). The one voice the place huge leaps are permitted is within the bass (voice 4).
Keep in mind that chords don’t must be written in ascending vertical order. So long as a C, E, and G are the notes which might be current within the chord, it’s a C main. Writing the chord as G, then C, and E, nonetheless leaves us with a C main chord.
Let’s transfer by means of our chord development and hold all widespread chord tones the place attainable, utilizing stepwise movement within the different notes.