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This is kind of the opposite of my other question Can 16th notes cause parallel octaves?. If chordal skips are able to cause parallel intervals then surely they are able to eliminate them as well. In fact I know this is true because it is written in my textbooks but I'm not sure to which extent it is true. In this example I've written a descending 5th sequence and there are blatant consecutive parallel 5ths on every beat but I have used chordal skips to remove them. Would this be acceptable voice leading?

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This would be hidden parallels. While these are acceptable to some extend you should try to avoid overusing this. This will still have a bit of the character of parallel fifths and will sound quite blunt and unelegant (even if it was considered acceptable by some theories).

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  • ok so what you are saying is that it doesnt break any voice leading rules it just sounds bad?
    – armani
    Mar 28, 2022 at 17:11
  • @armani It sounds bad if you do it to frequently. Generally one should be careful with having "parallels" over prominent beats, because you will easily get the same character as actual parallels (like two voices being in fifths on each 1 and 3).
    – Lazy
    Mar 28, 2022 at 18:54

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