Earn a Verified Certificate!

Get Started

Non-Chord Tones Help

Non-chord tones can be classified by how one arrives at them and how one departs them. It is
important to note that in most cases NCTs in classical music are preceded and followed by chord
tones, that is, they are used in fairly strict ways to decorate melodies built off of chord tones.

Passing Tones

One steps into a passing tone and steps out of it in the same direction. Sometimes you will see a pair
of passing tones next to each other. This is inevitable: otherwise, one couldn't compose melodies with
scales, where it is frequently the case that two adjacent notes are both NCTs of a sounding harmony.

Neighbor Notes

Like the passing tone, one steps into and out of neighbor tones. However, one steps out in the
opposite direction as one stepped in. There are both upper and lower neighbor tones and
combinations of these, sometimes called cambiata or changing tones.

Escape Tone

One needn't just step into and out of NCTs. If one steps in and skips out, then the NCT is called an
escape tone. Direction doesn't matter: both can go up, both can go down, they can go in opposite
directions. However, there is a very characteristic use of escape tones in Baroque and Classical era
music involving a step up and a skip down of a third, as seen in the example below.
Appoggiatura

Appoggiatura could be described as the opposite of the escape tone in that one leaps into it and steps
out of it. Like with the escape tone, direction doesn't matter.

Anticipation

The next several NCTs involve a certain degree of either eagerness or laziness. An anticipation is an
eager beaver. It moves by step or skip into a NCT, but that NCT turns out to be a chord tone when the
following chord sounds. The name is a fitting description of its sound.

Suspension

The suspension is a bit lazy. It gets into the NCT by doing nothing. It just stays the same. Then, it
resolves downward by step to a chord tone. Note: it must resolve by step. There are a number of
different types of suspensions. They are labeled based on their interval from the bass note. For
instance, a 4-3 suspension starts a 4th above the bass and resolved downward by step to the 3rd
above the bass. Note that a "3rd" could be a 10th or a 17th, that is, there could be an octave or two
between the bass and the suspended note. The 3 main types of suspensions are the 4-3, 7-6, and 9-
8.
Sometimes we will see suspensions that resolve upward. This is particularly characteristic at the end
of works or sections in Classical era music. These upward-resolving suspensions are called
retardations. For our purposes, let's use them only at the end of a work. The example below includes
both a 4-3 suspension and a 7-8 retardation.

Pedal Tone

This last NCT is truly the laziest of all NCTs we will see. It does nothing. How to get into it? Stay the
same. How to get out of it? Stay the same. Take a holiday, cause some dissonance, let the other
notes solve the problem. It's all okay. It's like the boss' son of non-chord tones.

Created Wed 25 Sep 2013 6:39 PM PDT

Last Modified Sun 3 Nov 2013 5:21 PM PST