In music, voice leading is the judo in which we can achieve meaningful harmonic twists and powerful turns while exerting the absolute least amount of energy. In the following example, what looks like an F major 7 chord is the underlying structure that’s going to connect a D minor 9 and a G13b9 chord. Let me show you.
If you watch the underlying structure, it barely changes. Only the two middle notes move, and by the absolute least amount possible, and while some of the notes don’t change at all, their functions certainly do. On the outsides, the F that was once the third of D minor becomes the 7 of G, and up top, the E which was once the ninth of the D minor becomes the 13 of the G7.
The two notes in the middle move only by a half step each. The A once the fifth of the D minor becomes the flat 9 of the G7, and the C once the seventh of the D minor becomes the third of the G7. The overall structural stability combined with these tiny adept movements in the middle reveal inner melodies with what we call leading tones, minuscule movements that result in a seismic shift, and it really is all in the wrist.
