Section 10.1 Introduction to Non-Chord Tones
Non-chord tones are notes that do not belong to the chord. Sometimes referred to as “embellishing tones” and “non-harmonic tones,” non-chord tones are classified by how they are approached and left (either by same tone, step, or leap).
There are nine types of non-chord tones.
Non-Chord Tone | Approached by | Left by |
Passing Tone | step | step in same direction |
Neighbor Tone | step | step in opposite direction |
Appoggiatura | leap | step |
Escape Tone | step | leap in opposite direction |
Double Neighbor | see text | see text |
Anticipation | step | same note |
Pedal Point | same note | same note |
Suspension | same note | step down |
Retardation | same note | step up |
The following qualifiers can be applied to non-chord tones:
- Accented—occurring on the beat
- Unaccented—occurring on the weak part of the beat (on the offbeat)
- Chromatic—not belonging to the key
- Metrical—equal to the duration of the beat
- Sub-metrical—smaller than the beat
- Super-metrical—larger than the beat