How does part-writing change when a seventh chord is in an inversion?
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.
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What this topic is asking
The College Board (Topic 4.5) wants you to part-write seventh chords in inversion (6/5, 4/3 and 4/2), still resolving the chordal seventh down by step and the leading tone up, but now choosing the bass motion that each inversion dictates and taking advantage of the smoother bass lines inversions provide.
The seventh still resolves down
This is the key to inverted resolutions: identify the seventh and the leading tone first, then let each move by its fixed step, and the bass line and inversion of the resolution chord follow automatically.
Inversions give smoother bass lines
Because the bass moves by step, inverted dominant sevenths often connect chords more smoothly than the root-position V7, and they tend to produce complete tonic chords rather than the incomplete tonic that root-position V7 to I often gives.
Why inversions matter for the bass
The central idea is that inversion is a tool for shaping the bass line. In root position the bass must leap by the root motion of the progression, but by choosing an inversion a composer can make the bass walk by step, producing a singing, connected lowest voice. The voice-leading rules do not change, the seventh still falls and the leading tone still rises, but the inversion decides which note sits in the bass and therefore how the bass moves. This also affects completeness: V6/5 to I gives a full tonic because the bass leading tone supplies the tonic root, whereas root-position V7 to I usually drops the fifth. Mastering inverted resolutions means you can write a smooth bass and a complete resolution at once, which is exactly what the part-writing free-response questions reward.
Resolving an inverted seventh chord
To resolve an inverted seventh chord, name the chord and its inversion, locate the chordal seventh and the leading tone, resolve the seventh down by step and the leading tone up, and let the bass motion that results define the inversion of the next chord.
Try this
Q1. In a V6/5 chord, which chord tone is in the bass, and where does it go? [1 point]
- Cue. The leading tone (the third of V) is in the bass and rises by step to the tonic, giving a complete I.
Q2. Why does V4/2 resolve to I6 rather than to root-position I? [2 points]
- Cue. The chordal seventh is in the bass and must fall by step to degree 3; that puts the third of the tonic in the bass, so the tonic is in first inversion (I6).
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). A V4/2 chord (dominant seventh in third inversion) most idiomatically resolves to which chord? (A) I in root position (B) I6 (first inversion) (C) V6 (D) viShow worked answer →
The correct answer is (B) I6 (first inversion).
In V4/2 the chordal seventh (scale degree 4) is in the bass. Since the seventh must resolve down by step, the bass falls from degree 4 to degree 3, which is the third of the tonic, producing a first-inversion tonic (I6).
(A) root-position I would need the bass on the tonic, but the bass seventh resolves down to degree 3, not to the tonic. (C) and (D) are not the normal resolution. The trap is forgetting that the bass note itself is the seventh in third inversion, so the bass must step down, forcing the tonic into first inversion.
AP 2023 (style)3 marksSection II (free response, part-writing). Voice V6/5 in C major (dominant seventh in first inversion) and resolve it to I in root position, naming the bass motion and the resolution of the leading tone and the chordal seventh.Show worked answer →
A 3-point part-writing question.
(1 point) V6/5 in C major has the third of V (B, the leading tone) in the bass: bass B2, with D, F and G in the upper voices.
(1 point) Resolve to I: the bass leading tone B2 rises by step to C3 (the tonic), giving a root-position I. The chordal seventh F (in an upper voice) falls by step to E.
(1 point) Because the bass leading tone steps up to the tonic, the resolution gives a complete tonic chord (root, third and fifth all present), unlike the root-position V7 to I which often leaves the tonic incomplete.
Markers reward the bass leading tone rising to the tonic, the seventh falling to degree 3, and noting that first-inversion V6/5 to root-position I yields a complete tonic chord.
Related dot points
- 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.
- Topic 3.4 Seventh Chord Inversions and Figures: identify the four positions of a seventh chord and label them with figured-bass symbols (7, 6/5, 4/3, 4/2).
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 3.4, covering the four positions of a seventh chord (root position, first, second, third inversion), the figured-bass symbols (7, 6/5, 4/3, 4/2), how the figures count intervals above the bass, and identifying the chordal seventh, with a worked inversion.
- 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 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.
Sources & how we know this
- AP Music Theory Course and Exam Description — College Board (2024)