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Music vocabulary · Music Theory and Harmony

Voice leading

Meaning in music, with examples

nounCommon term

In music, voice leading means: The way individual notes or musical lines move from one chord to the next, including steps, leaps and held notes.

In Turkish: ses yürüyüşü, parti yürüyüşü

How it is used

Used in arranging and harmony lessons. Smooth voice leading often keeps common notes and avoids unnecessary leaps in inner parts.

Example sentences

  1. Keep the alto on E to make the voice leading smoother between these chords.

    One shared note stays in the same voice while the other parts change.

  2. The guitarist changed the chord shapes after studying the voice leading.

    Different fingerings allow individual chord notes to move more naturally.

Common collocations

  • smooth voice leading
  • voice leading exercise
  • four-part voice leading
  • harmonyThe sound of different notes heard together, and the way chords are built and connected. It also means a second vocal line sung above or below the melody.
  • chord progressionA series of chords played one after another that forms the harmonic backbone of a song, often written with Roman numerals such as I–IV–V.
  • counterpointThe technique of combining two or more independent musical lines so they sound connected and balanced together.

More terms: Music Theory and Harmony

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