What is the leading tone?

What is the leading tone?

• A. The dominant
• B. The fourth scale degree
• C. The second scale degree
• D. The seventh scale degree, which tends to resolve upward to the tonic

Answer: (D)

In tonal music, the leading tone is the seventh scale degree—the note that sits a half step below the tonic. Its close neighbor to the tonic gives it a strong pull upward, so melodies and harmonies tend to resolve by semitone to the tonic, giving that decisive sense of arrival. That upward motion to the tonic is what makes this note the leading tone. For example, in C major the note B commonly resolves up to C. In minor keys, the seventh degree is often raised (the harmonic or melodic minor form) to create that same leading-tone tendency to the tonic. This is why the leading tone is defined as the seventh degree that tends to resolve upward to the tonic.

In tonal music, the leading tone is the seventh scale degree—the note that sits a half step below the tonic. Its close neighbor to the tonic gives it a strong pull upward, so melodies and harmonies tend to resolve by semitone to the tonic, giving that decisive sense of arrival. That upward motion to the tonic is what makes this note the leading tone. For example, in C major the note B commonly resolves up to C. In minor keys, the seventh degree is often raised (the harmonic or melodic minor form) to create that same leading-tone tendency to the tonic. This is why the leading tone is defined as the seventh degree that tends to resolve upward to the tonic.