Unit 5 · Lesson 9 of 12 — IB MYP: Personal and Cultural Expression · Communication
Tension & Resolution
Harmony creates motion by moving away from and back toward tonic. The V chord often creates strong tension that wants to resolve to I.
In this lesson
Learning Targets
Each section below is labeled with the target it teaches. The questions and your Noteflight task practice every target.
Target 1Compare the stable sound of I with the stronger tension of V
Target 2Identify a V–I progression by hearing the dominant move back to tonic
Target 3Explain why V–I creates a stronger sense of arrival than stopping on V
IB MYP connection
Command terms: COMPARE · IDENTIFY
CompareIdentify
Learner Profile · ATL
Knowledgeable · Thinker — Thinking: connect scale and chord knowledge to the melodies and harmonies you build.
Task
Use what you're learning to notice this in the music you already know, and be ready to apply it in your next Noteflight task.
Inquiry: Why does a V chord create tension, and what makes resolving to I feel satisfying?
Reflect: What did “Tension & Resolution” teach you about your own composing choices?
Key words
Words you will use today
Chord progression
A series of chords in order, named by their Roman numerals: for example I–IV–V–I.
Tension / resolution
Tension is the sense that the music has to keep going. Resolution is the arrival that releases it.
Tonic chord (I)
The triad built on the tonic. It is the most stable chord in the key: it sounds like home.
Dominant (V)
Scale degree 5, and the triad built on it. The dominant chord creates the strongest tension of the three primary chords and pulls back to I.
Leading tone
Scale degree 7, a half step below the tonic (from The Major Scale). It is the 3rd of the V chord.
Stable and unstable
Target 1
I sounds like home; V sounds like it is waiting
I, IV, and V are all major triads, so none of them is harsh on its own. The difference is their job in the key. The tonic chord, I, is built on home, so the music can stop there. The dominant, V, contains the two scale degrees that lead most strongly into the tonic, so when it sounds, the ear expects I next.
01
I: at rest
The I chord in C major contains the tonic C as its root, and nothing in it needs to move. A piece can end on it and sound finished.
I in C major (C–E–G) over its root.02
V: waiting to move
The V chord in C major, G–B–D, contains B, the leading tone, a half step below C, and D, degree 2, a step above C. Both lean toward the tonic. Hold the chord and listen: it sounds like the middle of a sentence.
V in C major (G–B–D) over its root. B and D both lean toward C.03
Tension depends on the key
The G triad is V in C major but I in G major. The same three notes sound tense or stable depending on which note is home. Here, in G major, G–B–D is the tonic chord and D–F♯–A is the dominant.
G major: V (D–F♯–A) then I (G–B–D). Now the G triad is home.
The dominant goes home
Target 2
Hearing a V–I progression
A chord progression is a series of chords in order. The most important progression in tonal music is V–I: the dominant moves back to the tonic. You can hear three things happen at once. The bass moves from degree 5 to degree 1. The leading tone rises a half step into the tonic. And the tension of V is released by a chord that sounds like home.
01
Where the pull goes
In C major: the bass moves G to C, the leading tone B rises a half step to C, D rises a step to E, and G, shared by both chords, stays put. The upper notes are spaced so each moves as little as possible, which makes the resolution easy to hear.
Course example, C major: V (orange) resolves to I.02
In real music
The closed ending of “Ode to Joy” is a V–I. The melody steps 2–1 while the harmony moves from the dominant to the tonic, so melody and chords arrive home together.
Beethoven, “Ode to Joy,” end of phrase 2, in G, with a simple accompaniment (course arrangement). V–I under 2–1.03
Finding V–I inside a progression
In I–IV–V–I, the last two chords are a V–I. Listen for the moment the bass drops to the tonic and the whole sound settles. That settling is the dominant returning to the tonic.
Course example, C major: I–IV–V–I. The final V–I is the arrival.
Stopping on V versus going home
Target 3
Why V–I sounds more final than V
If a phrase stops on V, the leading tone never reaches the tonic and the bass never returns to 1: the tension is left hanging. That is an open ending, the harmonic version of the musical question from Unit 3. Moving on to I resolves every pull at once, which produces a closed ending. Composers use both on purpose: the open ending makes the listener wait for the closed one.
01
Stopping on V
This progression stops on the dominant. The final chord is not wrong, but it sounds like a question: the leading tone (B, orange) is still waiting to move.
Course example, C major: I–IV–I–V. An open ending.02
Going home
The same four chords, reordered so V comes second to last and moves to I. The leading tone rises to C, the bass lands on C, and the phrase closes.
Course example, C major: I–IV–V–I. A closed ending.
Worked analysis
Target 1Target 2Target 3
Question and answer in “Ode to Joy”
Here are both phrases of “Ode to Joy” in G major, with the simple I–V accompaniment from Primary Chords & Melody. The phrases share their first three measures; the harmony at the end of each is what makes one a question and the other an answer. Orange marks the final chord of each phrase.
Beethoven, “Ode to Joy,” phrases 1–2, in G major, with a simple I–V accompaniment (course arrangement). Orange = the chord each phrase ends on.
Phrase
Ending
Effect
1 (mm. 1–4)
I → V, stopping on V; melody on A (2)
Open: the dominant is left unresolved, so the phrase sounds like a question
2 (mm. 5–8)
V → I; melody steps 2–1 to G
Closed: the dominant resolves to the tonic, so the phrase sounds like an answer
Model description: Both phrases begin with the same melody over I and V, so the difference is at the end. Phrase 1 moves from I to V and stops there, with the melody on A. Because V is the dominant, the tension is left unresolved and the phrase sounds open. Phrase 2 reaches V on the downbeat of measure 8, then resolves to I as the melody steps from 2 down to 1. Melody and harmony arrive home together, which makes this V–I a much stronger arrival than the half-finished stop on V in measure 4.
Notice what the description does: it names the chords at each phrase ending, says which one is the dominant and which the tonic, and explains the effect using tension and resolution. That is how you will explain the endings in your own compositions.
Check your understanding
Try it before you compose
Pick an answer for each question. You will see right away whether you are correct and why.
0 of 6 correct
1Play both short progressions in C major. Which one ends on a stable chord, one the piece could stop on?
Target 1
A
B
2In C major, V (G–B–D) is a major triad, just like I. Why does it sound tense?
Target 1
3Listen, then choose which excerpt you heard.
Target 2
A
B
4Which of these progressions contains a V–I?
Target 2
5Listen only. This is phrase 1 of “Ode to Joy” with its accompaniment. What best describes the ending?
Target 3
6A classmate says Beethoven should have ended phrase 1 of “Ode to Joy” on I instead of V. What is the best response?
Target 3
Take it to Noteflight
Compare an open and a closed progression
Write the same four chords two ways: once stopping on the dominant and once resolving to the tonic. Then use your ears to explain the difference.
Your Noteflight task
In C, G, or F major (with the key signature), write two 4-measure progressions as whole-note triads on the treble staff, each labeled with Roman numerals. Version A: I–IV–I–V. Version B: I–IV–V–I. Play both, then write 2–3 sentences explaining why Version B sounds more final, using the words dominant, tonic, and leading tone.
End on the dominant and leave the tension hanging.
For exampleC major, I–V
Version BTarget 2
Resolve V–I
Move the dominant to the tonic at the very end.
For exampleC major, V–I
2While you build
V→I
Target 2
Find the leading tone in your V chord (B in C major, F♯ in G major, E in F major). In Version B, check that the next chord contains the tonic it leads to.
▶
Target 1
Play each chord on its own, holding it. Rank I, IV, and V from most stable to most tense.
✎
Target 3
Write your 2–3 sentences modeled on the “Ode to Joy” description: name each ending chord, whether it is the dominant or the tonic, and the effect.
3Check your own work
0 of 6 checked
Finish the Noteflight work above, then mark this lesson done when you finish.