9a Lesson - Non-chord Tones, Part 1

Class discussion

There are three parts: Preparation (before non chord tone), the non-chord tone itself, and the resolution (note after the non-chord tone).

• The preparation and resolutions are always chord tones. If there are multiple non-chord tones, it means you have analyzed something an the pattern is wrong.

Non-chord tones can be:

• Accented vs unaccented
• On-chord vs off-chord
• Chromatic vs diatonic
• Ascending vs descending (passing tones only)
• Upper vs lower (neighbor tones only)

Passing Tone (PT) Is approached by step and left by step in the same direction. Ex: Both preparation and resolution are moving down(or the opposite direction).

Neighbor Tone (NT) Is approached by step and left by step in the opposite direction. Ex: The preparation moves down and the resolution returns back up(or the opposite for each).

Suspension (SUS) Is approached by static motion and resolves downward by step. All suspensions require two chords as the preparation will be on a different chord than the NCT itself. You have to have this downward motion. If you don’t, you may have to alter the chord when inserting a suspension. We label how suspensions resolve with its intervalic label. Anything above the bass voice, you write the interval of the two notes of the suspension against the bass note.Ex: C in the bass with a D to C resolution in the alto voice is a “Sus 9-8.” If this example occurs in the tenor voice, it is considered 2-1. The most common suspensions are 4-3, 7-6, 9-8.

If the suspension is in the bass, you measure it against the most dissonant voice. They will always be labeled 2-3 because there will always be a second. Also note that the numbers get bigger when labeling. (4-3 vs 2-3)

Retardation (RET) Is approached by static motion and resolves upward by step. You can think of it as a suspension that resolves up. It follows all of the same rules. These are much less common.