SUMMARY OF COMMON PRACTICE SATB PARTWRITING
Harmonic Usage
 Tonic can move to any other chord.
 Supertonic (a predominant function) moves to V or viio.
 Mediant moves to vi or to IV.
 Subdominant (a predominant) moves to V, viio, or ii.
 Dominant moves to tonic or to a tonic substitute (iv or iv6).
 Submediant moves to ii, iii-IV, or V.
 Leading tone (a dominant function) moves to the tonic
 Subtonic tonicizes the mediant in minor keys.
 Diminished chords (viio and iio) rarely appear in root position.
 Mediant and submediant rarely appear in first inversion.
 Supertonic, mediant, submediant, and leading rarely appear in second inversion.
 V, viio, IV and ii often carry 7ths in this style. 7ths that accompany iii, vi, and I are better
explained in other ways.
 Inversion is often determined by the need to resolve tendencies, e.g. V2 moves to I6.
 Sequence overrides harmonic function.
Chord Doublings
 The root is generally doubled on root-position chords.
 Root or fifth is typically doubled on first-inversion I, IV, and V.
 The bass is doubled on second-inversion chords.
 The fifth can be omitted on dominant 7th, resulting in a distribution of two roots, one
3rd, and one 7th. This is generally not done when the chord appears in inversion.
 The 5th can be omitted on tonic, resulting in a distribution of three roots and one 3rd.
 The 3rd of vi is normally doubled on vi when it is preceded by V.
 The 3rd is doubled on root-position ii when the soprano progresses 3-4-5.
 Leading tones or altered tones are not doubled.
Voice Leading Concerns
 o5ths contract to become M or m 3rds and +4ths expand to become 6ths. This
application is not as strict if one member of the interval appears in an inner voice.
 Leading tone in an outer voice resolves to the tonic (may be delayed ornamentally).
 Soprano and bass voices tend to move in contrary or oblique motion, or in similar
motion by successive 3rds or 6ths.
 Parallel 5ths and 8ves are prohibited unless the relationship cannot perceived by the
listener.
 Approach to a perfect 5th or 8ve in the outer voices by similar motion is normally
disallowed unless the bass moves by 5th and the soprano by step.
 All tendencies normally resolve when departing an inverted V7 chord.
 In general, leaps larger than a 4th should be avoided in interior voices.
 Voices should not cross.
 Overlapping is generally disallowed but can be accepted if by a very narrow interval.
Part-Writing Procedures Suggested by Robert Ottman in his Elementary Harmony.
Connecting two root position chords spelled the same with different soprano notes:
 To retain the same position, move the three upper voices to the nearest tones of the
next chord.
 To change position, the bass and one other voice remain the same, the other two
exchange letter names.
Connection of root-position chords a 5th apart:
 To retain the same position, hold the common tone in the same voice, move the other
tones to the nearest tones of the next triad, properly completing the doubling.
 To retain the same position, move the upper three voices to the nearest tones of the
next chord.
 To change position, the 3rd of the first chord moves up or down a 4th to become the 3rd
of the second, hold the common tone in the same voice, move the remaining voice by
step to complete the doubling.
Connection of root-position chords a 2nd apart: move every voice against the bass.
Connection of root-position chords a 3rd apart: hold two common tones and move the other
voice by step.
To connect to an inverted chord:
 Determine the appropriate doubling. Approach the doubled tones by contrary or
oblique motion then connect the remaining voice as smoothly as possible.
Resolution of V7:
 The leading tone moves up by step and the chord 7th moves down by step. The leading
tone can move down a 3rd to become 5th of the subsequent tonic if it is in an interior
voice.
Approach to V7:
 Visualize the connection as if the 7th was not present. Connect the remaining voices
then replace the appropriate tone with the 7th.