At this stage we look for opportunities to decorate the static and dynamic harmony by: adding 7ths; sharpening minor 3rds; passing notes; appoggiaturas etc. and complete and make any fine adjustments to basic part writing.

We also need to check that there are no outstanding errors in voice leading such as parallel 5ths etc.

We have already raised the third of the F-sharp minor chord at bar 5 to create a F-sharp major chord. There are no other places where this is possible. We have a good balance between major and minor harmonies which does not require any further balancing.

I've added an arpeggiation at bar 3 to replace the missing third from the chord at the second beat and added an additional passing note at the end of bar 3. This creates a movement in the alto as follows: B - A - G-sharp. Further passing notes are also possible at bars 4 and 7, as indicated.

I've added further part movement in the alto and tenor voices in bar 4 creating a brief I - [ IV ] - I static coda in the dominant.

Finally, I've added a descending bass arpeggiation A - E - A in the final bar which extends the tonic to a small extent. This is not quite sufficient to describe as a static coda but the syntactic function is the same.

The diagrams show the syntactic structures produced: One complete phrase with a static coda which modulates to the dominant and an incomplete phrase (a closing section) which takes the music back to the tonic key. The second phrase contains a dominant prolongation. This example thus demonstrates the two most common types of phrase extension within the structure.

How the voice leading is completed will depend what the music is intended for. If for voices, the rhythm will normally be fairly consistent across parts and each chord should be complete (for example by containing a 3rd). If the music is intended for piano then the rhythm in individual parts can be more flexible and harmonies can be spread horizontally to a greater extent.

There is an interesting point worth mentioning here. When harmonising a piece with several chromatic chords, as in this example, chromatic lines often arise that appear to be chromatic linear progressions. For instance, there is a chromatic movement from bar 4 Through to bar 7 which progresses: G-sharp - A - A-sharp - B - B-sharp - C-sharp. At first sight this could be interpreted as a chromatic linear progression, but we know from the way we have constructed the harmony that this is not the case. The underlying motivation is the static and dynamic harmony not the chromatic movement. We need to bear this in mind when carrying out analyses. What can appear to be a linear progression, at first sight, may not in reality be a linear progression. See Chapter 4 for help in identifying true linear progressions.

To repeat what I said at the start of this example:

The solution given is not the only solution nor the correct solution. Rather the intention is to give the reader a technique for a harmonisation. By utilising good root progressions and syntactic structures, each chord should function correctly in relation to the whole phrase . This is more likely to produce a musical result, although many different solutions will be possible. Also, I've deliberately condensed more into a short phrase than may normally be the case in order to demonstrate as many points as possible.