Escape Tone

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Section 10.5 Escape Tone

An escape tone is approached by step and left by leap in the opposite direction. An easy example to remember is the end of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” The word “of” in “home of the brave” is an escape tone.

Figure 10.5.1. Francis Scott Key and John Smith, “Star-Spangled Banner” (1814)

Here is another example, with escape tones used in a melodic sequence.

Figure 10.5.2. Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI:35, III (1780)

Here is an example of an escape tone in popular music.

Figure 10.5.3. Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, “Silly Love Songs” (1976)

Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom

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Section 10.5 Escape Tone