Voice Leading Cycles - Chord Progressions

In chord progressions, a cycle is simpler than it sounds. A cycle occurs when the root motion of a chord progression follows an interval (such as thirds or sixths) until the first chord in the cycle returns.

Cycles 2 & 7

The easiest cycle is the first one you learned. You may not have realized it, but when you studied the chords for the first time, you learned them in the order of Cycle 2:

Cycle 2

Cycle 7 – (Cycle 2 Backwards)

In the previous example, the root of each chord goes up by a diatonic second, it's Cycle 2. And Cycle 7 is the same thing, but backward:

Voice Leading for Cycles 2 & 7

Cycles 2 & 7 have poor voice leading prospects, because each chord in the cycle shares 0 notes with its neighbor in the case of a triad (CEG and DFA have no common notes) and shares only 1 note with its neighbor in the case of a seventh chord (CEGB and DFAC share one tone).

This means that motion along this cycle will necessarily have fewer tones connecting the chords, as each new chord is mostly made up of tones not in the previous chord. That's musically fine, but aesthetically it produces a sound that is more linear and less interconnected.

Voice Leading for Cycles 3 & 6

Cycles 3 & 6 have the most voice-leading power because each chord will share two notes with its neighbor in the case of a triad (CEG and EGB) or three notes in the case of a seventh chord (CEGB and EGBD). This is the maximum possible amount of common tones between two different chords.

Listen and hear how smooth this chord progression sounds compared to Cycle 2.

Cycle 3

Cycle 6 – (Cycle 3 Backwards)

Voice Leading Exercise (Cycle 3)

Below is a voice-leading exercise demonstrating how to move smoothly through Cycle 3 using Drop 2 chords. Each chord is chosen to minimize movement between voices.

C^maj7, root position

E^-7, 3^rd inversion

G⁷, 2^nd inversion

B^-7♭5, 1^st inversion

D^-7, root position

F^maj7, 3^rd inversion

A^-7, 2^nd inversion

C^maj7, 1^st inversion

Key Exercises

• Learn, memorize, and apply the chord progression.
• Practice Cycle 6, which is the above example played in reverse.
• Start the cycle again—this time from the last C^maj7 chord instead of the first chord. Since this is a different inversion than the original starting C^maj7, the entire chord progression will be different. Can you figure out how to walk through the chord progression by moving two notes up at a time?

Voice Leading for Cycles 4 & 5

Cycles 4 & 5 have moderate voice leading potential. A triad in this cycle will share one note with its neighbor, and a seventh chord will share two notes with its neighbor.

Cycle 4

Cycle 5 – (Cycle 4 Backwards)

Voice Leading Exercise (Cycle 5 in B♭)

Below is a voice-leading exercise demonstrating how to move smoothly through Cycle 5 using Drop 3 chords in the key of B♭. Each chord is chosen to minimize movement between voices.

Cycle 5 in B♭

B♭^maj7, root position

F⁷, 2^nd inversion

C^-7, root position

G^-7, 2^nd inversion

D^-7, root position

A^-7♭5, 2^nd inversion

E♭^maj7, root position

B♭^maj7, 2^nd inversion

Cycle 4 in B♭

Key Exercises

• Learn, memorize, and apply the chord progression.
• Practice Cycle 4, which is the above example played in reverse.
• Start the cycle again, this time from the last B♭^maj7 chord instead of the first chord. Because this is a different inversion of the B♭^maj7 chord, the entire progression will be different. Can you figure out how to walk through the chord progression by moving two notes up at a time?
• Using a set of chords (such as drop 2), systematically play through all of the cycles in different keys. You should try to voice lead them as much as possible.