When a chord has a seventh, how do we lead the voices so the seventh resolves correctly?
Topic 4.4 Voice Leading with Seventh Chords: part-write the dominant seventh and other seventh chords in root position, resolving the chordal seventh and leading tone correctly.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 4.4, covering part-writing the dominant seventh in root position, resolving the chordal seventh down by step and the leading tone up, the option of an incomplete chord to avoid parallels, and preparing the seventh, with a worked resolution.
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What this topic is asking
The College Board (Topic 4.4) wants you to part-write seventh chords in root position, above all the dominant seventh (V7), resolving the chordal seventh down by step and the leading tone up by step, and accepting an incomplete chord when that is the only way to keep both resolutions and avoid parallels.
The chordal seventh is a tendency tone
Because the seventh is a dissonance, it cannot be doubled and it cannot leap away; it must step down. Together with the leading tone (which steps up), it gives the dominant seventh two tendency tones pulling toward the tonic, which is why V7 to I is the most decisive progression in tonal music.
Complete and incomplete chords
You may also voice an incomplete V7 (omitting the fifth and doubling the root) so that it resolves to a complete I. The exam accepts either, as long as the tendency tones resolve and no parallels occur.
Why the seventh must fall
The central idea is that a dissonance demands resolution, and the chordal seventh is a dissonance against the root. The ear hears the seventh as leaning, and the satisfying release is a step down to consonance. This single rule, the seventh resolves down by step, runs through every later harmony topic: predominant sevenths, secondary dominant sevenths and inversions all obey it. Pairing it with the leading tone rising gives the dominant seventh its characteristic sound and its forward drive. Accepting an incomplete tonic is the practical consequence: if you insist on a complete tonic chord, you will usually have to break one of the tendency-tone resolutions or create parallels, so the course teaches you to prefer correct voice leading over a full chord. Once this becomes automatic, seventh-chord part-writing is just triad part-writing with two fixed tendency tones added.
Resolving a dominant seventh
To resolve V7 to I, voice V7 with its four tones, identify the leading tone and the seventh, then resolve the leading tone up by step, the seventh down by step, and the bass by root motion; let the fifth fall to the tonic, accepting an incomplete tonic if needed.
Try this
Q1. Which two tendency tones does a V7 chord contain, and how does each resolve? [1 point]
- Cue. The leading tone (degree 7) rises by step to the tonic; the chordal seventh (degree 4) falls by step to degree 3.
Q2. Why is the tonic chord often incomplete after V7 to I? [2 points]
- Cue. Both tendency tones move toward the tonic, so the fifth is dropped to keep the resolutions and avoid parallels, leaving the root tripled and the fifth missing.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2022 (style)1 marksSection I (multiple choice, written). In a V7 to I progression, how does the chordal seventh of the V7 resolve? (A) up by step (B) down by step (C) it leaps to the tonic (D) it stays as a common toneShow worked answer →
The correct answer is (B) down by step.
The chordal seventh of V7 is scale degree 4 (the subdominant), a dissonance that resolves down by step to scale degree 3, the third of the tonic chord. This downward resolution is what gives the dominant seventh its strong, smooth pull to the tonic.
(A) up by step is the resolution of the leading tone (degree 7), not the seventh. (C) a leap abandons the resolution. (D) it is a dissonance, not a common tone, so it must move. The trap is mixing up the two tendency tones: the leading tone rises to the tonic, the seventh falls to the third.
AP 2023 (style)3 marksSection II (free response, part-writing). Voice V7 in C major (G, B, D, F) in four voices, then resolve it to I (C, E, G). Name the resolution of the leading tone and of the chordal seventh, and explain why the tonic chord may be incomplete.Show worked answer →
A 3-point part-writing question.
(1 point) Voice V7 complete: bass G2, tenor F3 (the seventh), alto B3 (the leading tone), soprano D4 (the fifth).
(1 point) Resolve to I: the leading tone B3 rises to C4, the chordal seventh F3 falls to E3, the bass G2 moves to C3, and the fifth D4 falls to C4 (or to E). The leading tone resolves up by step, the seventh resolves down by step.
(1 point) If the leading tone rises to the tonic and the fifth also moves to the tonic, the resulting I chord may have a doubled root and a missing fifth (an incomplete chord); this is allowed and is preferred over breaking the leading-tone or seventh resolution.
Markers reward resolving the leading tone up and the seventh down, and accepting an incomplete tonic (tripled root, no fifth) when that is needed to avoid parallels or an unresolved tendency tone.
Related dot points
- Topic 3.3 Seventh Chords: build a seventh chord by adding a seventh above the root, and identify its quality (major, dominant, minor, half-diminished, fully diminished).
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 3.3, covering the seventh chord as a triad plus a seventh above the root, the five common qualities (major, dominant or major-minor, minor, half-diminished, fully diminished), how the triad and the seventh combine, and the diatonic sevenths of a key, with a worked build.
- Topic 4.5 Voice Leading with Seventh Chords in Inversions: part-write inverted seventh chords (6/5, 4/3, 4/2), resolving the seventh down by step and choosing bass motion to suit the inversion.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 4.5, covering part-writing inverted seventh chords (first, second and third inversion), resolving the chordal seventh down by step in any voice including the bass, the smoother bass lines inversions allow, and complete-chord resolutions, with a worked inversion resolution.
- Topic 4.2 SATB Voice Leading: apply the rules of range, spacing, doubling, smooth motion and tendency-tone resolution when writing four-part harmony.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 4.2, covering the four-voice ranges, the spacing rule (no more than an octave between adjacent upper voices), doubling guidelines, the ban on parallels and voice crossing, and resolving the leading tone and tendency tones, with a worked voicing.
- Topic 4.3 Harmonic Progression, Functional Harmony, and Cadences: explain tonic, predominant and dominant function, the normal direction of progressions, and the four cadence types.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 4.3, covering functional harmony (tonic, predominant, dominant), the normal flow tonic to predominant to dominant to tonic, and the four cadences (perfect authentic, imperfect authentic, half, plagal, with the deceptive cadence), with a worked cadence analysis.
- Topic 5.3 Predominant Seventh Chords: use ii7 (ii diminished 7) and IV7 as predominant sevenths and resolve their chordal sevenths down by step into the dominant.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 5.3, covering the predominant sevenths ii7 (ii diminished 7 in minor) and IV7, how the chordal seventh resolves down by step into the dominant, the popular ii6/5 voicing, and smooth part-writing, with a worked resolution.
Sources & how we know this
- AP Music Theory Course and Exam Description — College Board (2024)