How do we part-write a secondary leading-tone chord so all its tendency tones resolve into the target?
Topic 7.4 Part Writing of Secondary Leading-Tone Chords: part-write secondary leading-tone chords, resolving the borrowed leading tone up and the diminished and seventh intervals correctly.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 7.4, covering how to part-write secondary leading-tone chords, resolving the borrowed leading tone up by step, the chordal seventh down by step, the diminished fifth inward, avoiding the doubled tendency tone, and spelling the chromatic notes, with a worked resolution.
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What this topic is asking
The College Board (Topic 7.4) wants you to part-write secondary leading-tone chords, resolving the borrowed leading tone up by step, the chordal seventh down by step, the diminished fifth inward, never doubling the leading tone, and spelling the chromatic notes correctly.
Resolving every tendency tone
Because it is built almost entirely of tendency tones, the secondary leading-tone chord leaves little freedom: locate each tendency tone and let it resolve, and the voicing of the target is largely determined.
The diminished fifth and doubling
This pairs the inward-contraction rule for the tritone with the no-doubled-leading-tone rule, both of which protect against parallels and unresolved dissonance.
Why these chords almost resolve themselves
The central idea is that a secondary leading-tone chord is mostly tendency tones, so once you identify them the resolution is nearly automatic. The leading tone must rise, the seventh must fall, and the tritone must contract: three fixed moves that fill in most of the target chord. This is the same principle as resolving the diatonic vii diminished 7 to the tonic, transplanted onto a different target, which is why the skill transfers directly. The doubling rule and the inward tritone resolution are the safeguards that keep the many tendency tones from colliding into parallels. When you treat the chord as a bundle of pulls rather than a set of free notes, part-writing it becomes a matter of obeying each pull, and the chromatic color of the tonicization lands cleanly. This is the culmination of Unit 7: chromatic harmony resolved with the same disciplined voice leading as diatonic harmony.
Part-writing a secondary leading-tone chord
To part-write one, spell the chord with its chromatic leading tone and any seventh, identify the leading tone, the seventh and the diminished fifth, resolve the leading tone up, the seventh down, and the tritone inward, double a stable tone (never the leading tone), and check for parallels.
Try this
Q1. Which tone of a secondary leading-tone chord must you never double, and why? [1 point]
- Cue. The leading tone; doubling it causes parallel octaves when both copies resolve up to the same note.
Q2. How does the diminished fifth inside the chord resolve? [2 points]
- Cue. Inward by step to a consonance: the leading tone (lower note) rises and the upper note falls, contracting to a third.
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). When a fully diminished vii diminished 7 of V resolves to V, the tritone (diminished fifth) within it should resolve how? (A) outward by leap (B) inward by step to a consonance (C) it stays unchanged (D) both notes riseShow worked answer →
The correct answer is (B) inward by step to a consonance.
A diminished fifth (the tritone inside the chord) resolves inward by step to a consonant interval, typically a third. Each of its two notes is a tendency tone: the upper note tends down and the lower note (the leading tone) tends up, so they contract inward.
(A) leaping outward abandons the resolution. (C) leaving it unchanged ignores the dissonance. (D) both rising would not resolve the tritone correctly. The trap is forgetting that a diminished fifth contracts inward (while an augmented fourth expands outward); here the leading tone rises and the upper voice falls, closing to a third.
AP 2023 (style)3 marksSection II (free response, part-writing). In C major, part-write vii diminished 7 of V (F sharp, A, C, E flat) to V (G major), naming the resolution of the leading tone, the seventh, and the diminished fifth, and stating which tone you must not double.Show worked answer →
A 3-point part-writing question.
(1 point) The borrowed leading tone F sharp resolves up by step to G, the root of V. You must not double F sharp (the leading tone), to avoid parallel octaves.
(1 point) The chordal seventh E flat resolves down by step to D (a chord tone of V); the diminished fifth between F sharp and C contracts inward, F sharp up to G and C down to B.
(1 point) The remaining tone A resolves down to G or up to B as needed, all voices move by step, and no parallel fifths or octaves occur, so vii diminished 7 of V resolves smoothly to V.
Markers reward the leading tone rising to G, the seventh E flat falling to D, the diminished fifth contracting inward, and not doubling the leading tone.
Related dot points
- Topic 7.3 Tonicization through Secondary Leading-Tone Chords: identify secondary leading-tone chords (vii diminished/V, vii diminished 7/ii, and so on) and the tonicization they create.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 7.3, covering secondary leading-tone chords (vii diminished and vii diminished 7 of a target), how they tonicize like secondary dominants, the difference between half-diminished and fully diminished sevenths, the slash notation, and distinguishing them from secondary dominants, with a worked identification.
- Topic 7.2 Part Writing of Secondary Dominant Chords: part-write secondary dominants, resolving the raised leading tone up and the chordal seventh down into the tonicized chord.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 7.2, covering how to part-write secondary dominants, resolving the borrowed (raised) leading tone up by step and the chordal seventh down by step into the tonicized chord, spelling the chromatic accidental correctly, and avoiding parallels, with a worked resolution.
- 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 4.4 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 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.
Sources & how we know this
- AP Music Theory Course and Exam Description — College Board (2024)