Voice Leading Worksheet
Common Tone vs. Contrary Motion Exercises
Free
Contrary Motion & Common-Tone: Essential Voice Leading Techniques 🎶
Master two fundamental voice leading techniques—Contrary Motion and Common-Tone—which are essential for RCM Level 8 and 9 Theory and Harmony studies. These techniques help create smooth, singable lines while avoiding common voice leading errors.
What You’ll Learn:
🎵 Common-Tone Technique:
Keep any shared notes between two chords in the same voice.
Move the remaining voices to the next closest chord tone (usually by step) for a smooth transition.
🎵 Contrary Motion Technique:
Move the upper three voices in the opposite direction of the bass.
Typically used when the roots of two chords are a step apart (e.g., IV to V or I to ii).
Why This Matters:
✅ Improves voice leading for harmony exercises
✅ Helps avoid parallel motion errors
✅ Creates more singable, natural melodic lines
These essential techniques will help you develop strong harmonic writing skills and set a solid foundation for advanced harmony and composition studies! 🎼✨
