Module 4 mini-test

Try first without looking below.

1. What is first inversion of C major?

2. What does C/E mean?

3. What is second inversion of Am?

4. Which notes are shared between C and Am?

5. What is voice leading?

6. Why is root position not always the best choice?

7. In G7, which notes are the 3rd and 7th?

8. How do those resolve when G7 goes to C?

9. What is a shell voicing?

10. If the chord is Am and the melody note must be C, give one useful right-hand voicing with C on top.

Answers

1. E–G–C
2. C major with E in the bass
3. E–A–C
4. C and E
5. Connecting individual voices from chord to chord in a musically smooth way
6. Inversions can reduce movement, create better bass lines, and place the melody where you need it
7. B and F
8. B → C, F → E
9. A reduced voicing emphasizing essential notes such as root, 3rd, and 7th
10. E–A–C

The big idea from Module 4 is:

A chord symbol tells you which harmony to create, not exactly where your fingers must go.

That distinction is fundamental to playing from lead sheets, improvising, accompanying singers, and eventually doing the kind of transformations we saw in the video.

In Module 5, we'll take the seven diatonic chords in a major key and stop treating them as equals. We'll learn their jobs—tonic, predominant, dominant—and you'll start being able to predict where a chord progression is likely to go before it gets there.