14. Voice Leading in Harmonic Cadences
A useful analogy to aid in understanding the purpose for learning the very stringent “rules” posed by voice leading and four-part writing is the process of learning a new spoken and written language.
When we attempt to learn a new speaking language, the necessary first steps are as follows:
Become acquainted with the unique “sound” of the language (vowels, consonants, inflections)
Memorize the definition of individual words
Use grammar (the order of words) to effectively and efficiently convey meaning
A Collage of Grammar Rules
Only after learning the fundamental construction of the language can we break away from these initial rules and produce more creative methods of conveying meaning, like poetry, music lyrics, and literature.
Excerpt from "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou
When it comes to harmony and voice leading we can think of this process in the same way. We can simplify the purpose of voice leading by thinking of the idea of creating the most effective, smooth singing parts that are leading the listener towards a tonic resolution. Voice leading is relevant to cadences because harmonic cadences follow certain rules of voice leading also. Once we become fluent in the rules of voice leading we can appreciate how music and composers break off from that initial base of harmony and produce creative and innovative “musical poetry”.
WHAT’S THE POINT OF VOICE LEADING?
Voice leading attempts to do several things:
It desires to create easily singable parts by:
avoiding wide or uncommon leaps that are difficult to sing
avoiding consecutive leaps that move in the same direction
It progresses efficiently towards establishing tonality and concluding the harmonic progression
It prioritizes the harmonic and melodic resolution of tendency notes that appear in dominant function chords, typically:
leading tone pitches - “Ti” / “Do”
fourth scale degree - “Fa” \ “Mi” (“Me”)
It promotes interest in the independent relationship of each voice by:
requiring independence of lines
avoiding parallel movement between voices
In addition to harmonic function definitions, cadences within a four-part harmonic structure can be discussed and analyzed through the effectiveness of the voice leading to create the desired harmonic sound of cadences.
The Four Basic Cadences
In authentic cadences, which move from a dominant function chord to a tonic function chord, the strength of the return to tonic is categorized into two types:
Perfect Authentic Cadence (PAC)
must be V - I (i)
both chords must be in root position
soprano voice must end on tonic (“Do”) and be approach by step
the PAC creates the strongest return to the tonic
Imperfect Authentic Cadence (IAC)
all other authentic cadences that do not meet all three of the PAC criteria
IACs may include other Roman Numerals that function as dominant and tonic (ex. - viio in place of V)
the IAC creates a somewhat weaker return to the tonic
Perfect vs Imperfect Authentic Cadences
Perfect Authentic Cadence in BEETHOVEN "Pathetique" Piano Sonata
Perfect Authentic Cadence in BEETHOVEN "Pathetique" Piano Sonata
Perfect Authentic Cadence in SCHUBERT Erlkonig
Perfect Authentic Cadence in SCHUBERT Erlkonig
Imperfect Authentic Cadence in DARIO MARIANELLI "Dawn" from Pride and Prejudice
Imperfect Authentic Cadence in DARIO MARIANELLI "Dawn" from Pride and Prejudice
In general for harmonic cadences, here are a few rules to keep in mind:
keep common tone
resolve tendency pitches
follow typical doubling rules of four-part harmony
General Doubling Rules in Four Part Harmony
The ultimate purpose of earning the rules of four-part harmony and voice leading is to understand how harmony works to create the most effective path towards tonic through the smoothest part motion. However, fluency in four-part writing and voice leading is only the skeleton of possibilities in music. With the knowledge of these very rigid parameters we can then truly appreciate how the great composers and artists take that foundational harmony and innovate it in interesting and creative ways.
“Know the rules well so you can break them effectively.” ~ Dalai Lama XIV