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Unit 5 progression maps, from your own notes
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The traffic rule: forward through the cycle
Common practice progressions travel tonic to predominant to dominant to tonic: skipping forward, I straight to V, is legal; sliding backward, V to IV, is the marked retrogression. Falling fifth root motion drives the engine, vi to ii to V to I the model chain. Given a progression to error check, test each move against the cycle's direction first; most planted mistakes are backward slides.
Each numeral keeps a destination list
The predominant pair splits the work: ii, the stronger, moves to V, often as ii six; IV goes to V or, in the plagal turn, home to I; vi launches the predominant zone or deceives after V; iii is rare and earns its use. Learning numerals as destination lists, not isolated chords, is the unit's study skill, because harmonising a melody means choosing each chord by where it can legally go next.
The six four problem: unstable by construction
Second inversion puts the fifth in the bass, and the bare six four sounds unresolved, a dissonance in function if not in spelling. The style therefore bans it as a free standing chord and licences exactly three uses, each defined by its bass behaviour: passing, pedal and cadential. Identifying which type a given six four is, from the bass line alone, is a standard exam item.
Three legal six fours, defined by the bass
The passing six four fills a stepwise third in the bass, I to I six bridged by V six four; the pedal six four decorates a stationary bass, IV six four over a held tonic; the cadential six four sits on the dominant's bass note at the cadence, delaying V's arrival with tonic spelling. Label by bass motion, moving stepwise, holding, or standing on the dominant, and the three cases never blur.
The cadential six four is dominant in function
The exam's favourite subtlety: the cadential six four spells like tonic but functions as a decoration of V, its sixth and fourth resolving down by step to the dominant chord's fifth and third. Label it as part of the dominant, I six four to V rendered as one gesture, and place it only on a strong beat at the cadence. Analysis answers that call it a tonic chord lose the point; the function label is the graded content.
What to photograph for Harmony and Voice Leading II
Your progression maps and six four drills. Related: Unit 4, photo to quiz and pricing.
Sources used on this page
- College Board, AP Music Theory
- Chord progression
- Predominant chord
- Six-four chord
- Cadence
- Active recall
- Spaced repetition
- Testing effect
- Forgetting curve
- Generation effect
- Judgment of learning
- Metacognition
- Desirable difficulty
- Distributed practice
- Formative assessment
- Flashcard
- Cloze test
- Multiple choice
- Test (assessment)
- Educational assessment
- Advanced Placement
- Curriculum
- Study skills
- Study guide
- Note-taking
- Overlearning
- Instructional scaffolding
- Item analysis
- Mastery learning
| Move | Its status | The check |
|---|---|---|
| I to V to I | Legal skip forward | Cycle direction holds |
| V to IV | Marked retrogression | Backward slide, flag it |
| ii6 to V | Model preparation | Falling fifth engine |
| Passing six four | Legal, bass steps | Fills a third |
| Pedal six four | Legal, bass holds | Decorates a station |
| Cadential six four | Legal, strong beat | Functions as dominant |
What does AP Music Theory Unit 5 cover?
Progression logic: the function cycle's traffic rules, each numeral's destinations, predominant choices and the three legal six four chords.
What makes a progression a retrogression?
Backward motion through the cycle, dominant sliding to predominant the model case; forward skips are legal, backward slides are marked.
When does IV go to I instead of V?
In the plagal motion: IV may close home directly, while ii, the stronger predominant, points at V.
How do I identify a six four's type fast?
Watch the bass: stepping through a third is passing, holding is pedal, standing on the dominant at a cadence is cadential.
Why is the cadential six four labelled dominant?
Its tonic spelling decorates V: the sixth and fourth resolve down by step into the dominant chord, one gesture on the cadence's strong beat.
Can I build questions from my own Unit 5 notes?
Yes. A photographed page or an uploaded PDF keeps the questions bounded: they come from what you gave, not from the rest of the course.
Last updated: 2026-08-15