Download Tonal Harmony Chapter 11 Non Chord Tones 1

Chapter Eleven
Non Chord Tones 1
Introduction
 Use parentheses for non chord tones
 Most passages of tonal music contain at least a few of non chord tones
 Abbreviation is (NCT)
 It is a tone either diatonic or chromatic, that is not a member of the chord
 A tone might be an NCT throughout its duration, or, if the harmony changes before the tone
does, the tone might be an NCT for only a portion of its duration
Classification of Nonchord Tones
 Classifying NCTs according to the ways in which they are approached and left

NCT name(& abbreviation)
Passing tone (p)
Neighboring tone (n)
Suspension (s)
Retardation (r)
Approached by
Step
Step
Same tone
Same tone
Left by
Step in same direction
Step in opposite direction
Step down
Step up
Appoggiature (app)
Escape tone (e)
Neighbor group (n.gr)
Anticipation (ant)
Pedal point (ped)
Leap
Step
See chapter 12
Step or leap
See chapter 12
Step
Leap in opposite direction
Other terms used to descript NCTs include
 Accented/unaccented
 Diatonic/chromatic
 Ascending/descending
 Upper/lower
Same tone (or leap)
Passing Tones
 It is used to fill in the space between two other tones
 The other tones may belong either to the same or to different chords, or they might be NCTs
themselves
 A specific way to describe a passing tone could be “unaccented, diatonic, ascending passing
tones”
 Passing tone can be used to fill the space between two notes that are only a M2 apart
Neighboring Tones
 It is used to embellish a single tone, which is heard both before and after the neighbor
 May appear above the tone (upper neighbor) or below it (lower neighbor)
 It may be diatonic or chromatic
 An example of a fully descript neighboring tone – “accented, diatonic upper neighbor”
 A chromatic neighbor lends more tonal color to a passage, and it tends to draw more attention to
the pitch that it is embellishing
Suspensions and Retardations
 The suspension holds on to, or suspends, a chord tone after other parts have moved on to the next
chord
 More study has been devoted to suspension than any other kind of NCT
 Suspension is the primary source of dissonance on the accented beat in much tonal and pretonal
music
 It always fall on accented beats or accented positions of beats
 Terminology concerning the suspension:
1. Preparation: the tone preceding the suspension, same pitch as the suspension
2. Suspension:: may or may not tied to its preparation
3. Resolution: the tone following the suspension and lying a 2nd below it
 The preparation and resolution are almost always chord tones, although the preparation is
sometimes an NCT
 Categorizing suspensions according to the harmonic intervals created by the suspended tone and
the resolution:
1. e.g. 7-6 suspension (the harmonic interval above the bass created by the suspension is a
7th and the resolution is a 6th
2. 2-3 suspension: sometimes referred to as a bass suspension
 In textures involving more than two parts, the vertical intervals are calculated between the bass
and the suspended part
 If the bass itself is suspended, the interval is calculated between the bass and the part with which
it is most dissonant (generally, a 2nd or 9th above in a 2-3 suspension)
 9-8 suspension is a special kind of suspension because the note of resolution should NOT be
present anywhere in the texture when a suspension occurs
 11-10 suspensions is actually a 4-3 suspension
 9-8 suspension is NOT labeled as a 2-1 suspension because 2-1suspension if found much less
frequently than the 9-8, so it is appropriate that they have different labels
 Suspension with change of bass: when the suspension occurs in one of the upper voices, the
bass will sometimes move on to another chord tone at the same time as the suspension resolves
1. 7-6 suspension, for example might become a 7-3 suspension
 Most suspensions are dissonant, consonant suspensions do occur
 Suspension figures:
1. Suspensions are very often embellished
2. Other tones, some chord tones and some not, may appear after the suspension tone but
before the true resolution

Retardation
1. It is simply a suspension with an upward resolution
2. Retardation may occur anywhere but especially common at cadences in Classical style
3. Usually involves 7th degree resolving up to 1st
Embellishing a Simple Texture
 Start with a simple soprano/bass contrapuntal texture and then embellish it
 Two common NCT is passing tone and neighbor tone
 Another type of embellishment, although it is not an NCT, is arpeggiation
 Arpeggiations can be used in any part to create motion or a more interesting line
 Adding neighbors, passing tones, and arpeggiations to the texture is not difficult, BUT you
MUST be careful not to create objectionable parallels
 Use the following tips to add suspension to avoid parallels:
1. Find a step down in the bass: interval between the bass and some upper voice over the
second bass note a 3rd? IF SO, the 2-3 suspension WILL WORK!
2. Find in one of the upper voices a step down: the interval between the second note and the
bass a 3rd, 6th, or 8ve? IF SO, the 4-3, 7-6, 9-8 suspensions WILL WORK
3. EXCEPTION: do you the 4-3 or 7-6 if the resolution of the suspension would
already be present in another voice. YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED!
Figured-Bass and Lead-Sheet Symbols
 Except the suspension, NCTs are generally not indicated in a figured bass or in lead-sheet
symbols
Suspension
9-8
7-6
4-3
2-3




Symbols
98
76 or 73 −6
43 or 4#
5
under first bass note, 6 under the next
2
Change of bass suspensions can be recognized by such combination as “7 3” or “9 6” appearing
over the moving bass
“sus” means 4-3 suspension (e.g. C7sus = chord containing C, F, G, and Bb)
The “sus” may or may not resolve (e.g. C7sus C7 OR C7susFM7)
G6 calls for triad with an added note a M6 above the root