Write each chord in four voices: soprano and alto on the treble staff (upper stems up, lower stems down), tenor and bass on the bass staff. The first bass note is given; turn on “Show the whole bass line” to see the rest of it. Then choose the cadence at the end. Click a lone note on a staff again to put both voices on it (a unison, shown as one notehead with two stems); click a unison, or one of two different notes, to remove it. Clicking a staff that's full replaces the nearer note. The key signature applies, so a note with no sign follows it. You can also type each chord from the bottom up (bass, tenor, alto, soprano), chord after chord, with a space between notes, and b, #, x or n right after a letter when it needs an accidental, then Enter. After a flat, press Space before the next note. If the key signature already flats a note, don't add a flat: a b typed right after it is the note B. The up and down arrows move the last note you placed up or down an octave. Backspace erases the last note.

Good voice leading keeps common tones, moves the upper voices by step where it can, and avoids parallel fifths and octaves. Never double the leading tone; it rises to the tonic, and the seventh of V⁷ resolves down by step. In a six-four chord, double the bass. An authentic cadence is perfect when both chords are in root position and the tonic is in the soprano; otherwise it's imperfect.

Piano sound: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm, used under CC BY 3.0 (trimmed and converted to mono).

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