Workshop 24 mini-test

1. What chords form the tonic family in C major?

2. Why can Cmaj7 and Am7 substitute smoothly for each other?

3. What is a deceptive cadence in C?

4. Why does G7→Am still sound smooth?

5. What is the main benefit of inversions in a simple progression?

6. Why might C6/9 be preferable to Cmaj7 in a lyrical passage?

7. What should determine whether to add a secondary dominant?

8. Why is repeated melody useful for subtle reharmonization?

9. What is the most important test before adding extensions?

10. What is the deepest lesson of Workshop 24?

Answers

1. Cmaj7, Em7, and Am7 are the main tonic-family chords.
2. They share C-E-G and therefore have three common tones.
3. Instead of G7→C, resolve G7→Am.
4. Guide tones still move smoothly: B→C, F→E, while G can move to A.
5. They turn the bass into a smooth melodic line and create sophisticated voice leading without changing the underlying harmony.
6. Its 6th and 9th produce a warm, open tonic sound without the stronger B→C major-7 tension.
7. Whether it strengthens an important destination and works with the melody.
8. The familiar melody provides continuity, making small harmonic differences clearly audible.
9. Make sure bass motion, melody, and basic voice leading already sound good.
10. Sophistication is not the number of chromatic chords you know; it is the ability to make even simple harmony feel inevitable, expressive, and personal.

The central lesson of Workshop 24 is:

The ultimate test of harmonic maturity is not whether you can make the harmony more complicated—it is whether you know when not to.