Transcript Unit 10 – Non Chord Tones (NCTs)

Mr. Jackson
AP Music Theory
 Non-chord tones (or non-harmonic tones) are notes that “don’t belong” in a
particular chord, creating a temporary “dissonance” against the “correct”
members of the chord.
 NCTs may occur in any voice, but are most common in the melody.
 Composers use NCTs as:
 Ornaments
 Embellishments
 Tension devices
 Connect Chord tones together in a more pleasant melodic line
 NCTs are analyzed in THREE parts.
PREPARATION
DISSONANT TONE (NCT)
RESOLUTION
Note: the PREPARATION and the RESOLUTION are chord tones, meaning they “belong” in the chord!
The PREPARATION describes how the NCT is APPROACHED.
The RESOLUTION describes how the NCT is LEFT!
 The labeling of NCTs is one of those areas which many music theorists “agree to disagree,” but
you need to understand the meaning of the NCTs and not just their label.
Passing tone (PT)
 Neighboring tone
(NT)
 Suspension (SUS)
 Retardation (RET)

 Appoggiatura
(APP)
 Escape Tone (ET)
 Neighbor
Group/Changing
Tones (CT)
 Anticipation (ANT)
 Pedal Point (PED)

Usually occurs between two tones that are separated at
the interval of a third. The passing tone takes the place
of the scale degree between the two other tones by
moving stepwise in one direction.
 Accented
Passing Tone – occurs when
the passing tone that is not part of the
chord occurs on the beat.
 Chromatic Passing Tone – a nondiatonic note (requiring an accidental)
connecting two chord tones together.
 Approached
by step.
 Left by step in the same direction.
 Used
to embellish a single tone.
 The neighbor tone is approached by step
and left by step in the opposite direction.
 The neighbor tone may appear either
above or below the tone being
embellished.
 These are called upper or lower
neighbors.
 Neighboring tones may be either
diatonic or chromatic.
 Approached
by step.
 Left by step in the opposite direction.
 An
incomplete neighbor, or cambiata,
is a NCT approached by skip/leap in one
direction and is resolved by stepwise
motion in the opposite direction ON A
WEAK RHYTHMIC POSITION!
A
Neighbor Group is sometimes called a
changing tone, which we will cover later.
A
common method of embellishing a
single tone by using a combination of
two NCTs in succession, one above and
one below the chord tone.
 Combination
of upper neighbor and
lower neighbors.
 An
NCT that is accented, and approached
by ascending leap and left by descending
step and occurs ON THE BEAT!
 This NCT was more typical of music in
19th century than in the 18th century.
 This
the
NCT may or may not be Mr. Jackson’s
favorite… and you might get extra credit for
spelling it.. Learn to spell it…
 Approached
by leap.
 Left by step in the opposite direction.
 The
melodic contour of the escape tone
is the exact opposite of the appoggiatura.
 Escape tone is approached by step and
left by leap in the opposite direction.
 Escape tones are usually sub metrical,
unaccented, and diatonic.
 Approached
 Left
by leap
by step.
 Holds
over (or suspends) a chord tone after
the other parts of the chord have moved to
the next chord.
 Almost always falls on the accented beat.
 Named for the interval numbers above the
bass of the dissonant tone and the
resolution. The common suspensions are:
• 9-8 Suspension
• 7-6 Suspension
• 4-3 Suspension
 Preparation-
the tone proceeding the
suspension will be the same pitch as the
suspension.
 Suspension- May or may not be tied to the
preparation. This is the actual NCT.
 Resolution- The tone following the
suspension and lying a 2nd below the
suspension.
The preparation and the resolution are usually chord
tones though the preparation can be an NCT.
Suspensions are
often connected
to their
preparation by a
tie. When the
suspended note
is not tied to its
preparation, it is
called a
rearticulated
suspension.
 Approached
by same note.
 Left by step down.
 This example would be a 7-6 suspension.
 The
suspension is calculated based on
the interval above the bass note in the
chord over which it occurs.
 The first part of the name is the generic
interval of the bass to the suspension and
the second part is the distance from the
bass to the resolution.
Most Common Suspensions
9-8, 7-6, 4-3
 Most
of the rules regarding retardations
are identical to suspensions.
 Main difference is that a retardation
resolves upward.
 Can occur anywhere in a passage of
music but are especially common at
cadences.
 Retardations occurring at cadences often
involve the 7th scale degree resolving
upward to scale degree 1.
 Approached
by same note.
 Left by step up.
 Anticipates
a chord that has not yet been
reached.
 The NCT moves by either step or leap to
a pitch that is a chord tone in the next
chord.
 Most anticipations are approached by
step. Though approach by leap is not
rare.
 The Anticipation cannot be a common
tone between the two chords.
 Approached
by step or leap.
 Left by same note
 The
least common approach to the
anticipation is by leap and then being left
by leap.
 This
is referred to as a free anticipation.
 This
is a compositional device that
begins as a chord tone then becomes an
NCT as the harmony below it changes.
The NCT then becomes a chord tone
again.
 The
name for this NCT comes from its
frequent use in organ music.
 The most frequently sustained pitch is
either the tonic or the dominant.
 Pedal points occasionally occur in parts
other then the bass. These are called
inverted pedal points.
Ex: Bach, French Suite No. 2, Sarabande
Ex: Bach, “Danket dem Herrn”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Passing tone fills in the gaps between chord tones a third apart.
Lower neighbor is one step below two of the same chord tones.
Accented upper neighbor occurs on the beat.
Passing tone fills in the gaps between chord tones a third apart.
Escape tone is unaccented – approached by step and moves away in the opposite direction by
leap.
Appoggiatura is on the beat (accented) and is approached by leap and resolves in the opposite
direction by step.
Upper neighbor is one step above two of the same chord tones.
Incomplete neighbor occurs on a weak beat and leaves by skip and resolves by step in the
opposite direction.
Suspension (in this case 4-3) is held over from the preparation chord and resolves by step in the
opposite direction.