A nonchord tone (NCT), nonharmonic tone, or embellishing tone is a
note in a piece of
music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
or
song
A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
that is not part of the implied or expressed
chord set out by the
harmonic framework. In contrast, a
chord tone is a note that is a part of the
functional chord. Nonchord tones are most often discussed in the context of the
common practice period of
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
, but the term can also be used in the analysis of other types of
tonal music, such as Western
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
.
Nonchord tones are often categorized as ''accented non-chord tones'' and ''unaccented non-chord tones'' depending on whether the dissonance occurs on an accented or unaccented
beat (or part of a beat).
Over time, some musical styles assimilated chord types outside of the common-practice style. In these chords, tones that might normally be considered nonchord tones are viewed as chord tones, such as the seventh of a
minor seventh chord. For example, in 1940s-era
bebop jazz, an F played with a C chord would be considered a chord tone if the chord were analyzed as C
7(11). In European classical music, "
e greater use of dissonance from period to period as a result of the dialectic of linear/vertical forces led to gradual normalization of
ninth,
eleventh, and
thirteenth chords
n analysis and theory each additional non-chord tone above the foundational triad became frozen into the chordal mass."
Theory
Chord and nonchord tones are defined by their membership (or lack of membership) in a chord: "The pitches which make up a chord are called ''chord-tones'': any other pitches are called ''non-chord-tones''." They are also defined by the time at which they sound: "''Nonharmonic tones'' are pitches that sound along with a chord but are not chord pitches."
[Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice'', Vol. I, p. 92. Seventh Edition. .] For example, if an excerpt from a piece of music implies or uses a C-major chord, then the notes C, E and G are members of that chord, while any other note played at that time (e.g., notes such as F) is a nonchord tone. Such tones are most obvious in
homophonic music but occur at least as frequently in
contrapuntal music.
According to ''Music in Theory and Practice,'' "Most nonharmonic tones are
dissonant and create
intervals of a second, fourth or seventh",
which are required to
resolve to a chord tone in conventional ways. If the note fails to resolve until the next change of harmony, it may instead create a
seventh chord or
extended chord. While theoretically in a three-note chord, there are nine possible nonchord tones in
equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament or Musical tuning#Tuning systems, tuning system that approximates Just intonation, just intervals by dividing an octave (or other interval) into steps such that the ratio of the frequency, frequencie ...
, in practice nonchord tones are usually in the prevailing
key. Augmented and diminished intervals are also considered dissonant, and all nonharmonic tones are measured from the
bass note, or lowest note sounding in the chord except in the case of nonharmonic bass tones.
Nonharmonic tones generally occur in a pattern of three pitches, of which the nonharmonic tone is the center:
:
Nonchord tones are categorized by how they are used. The most important distinction is whether they occur on a strong or weak
beat and are thus either accented or unaccented nonchord tones.
They are also distinguished by their direction of approach and departure and the voice or voices in which they occur and the number of notes they contain.
Unaccented
Anticipation
An ''anticipation'' (ANT) occurs when this note is approached by
step and then remains the same. It is basically a note of the second chord played early. In the example below, the dissonant B in bar 1 is approached by step and resolves when that same pitch becomes a chord tone in bar 2.
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c''
\new Voice \relative c'
>>
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c
>>
>>
A ''
portamento'' is the late Renaissance precursor to the
anticipation, though today it refers to a
glissando.
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\relative c''
>>
\new Staff <<
\relative c''
>>
>>
:
Neighbor tone
A ''neighbor tone'' (NT) or ''auxiliary note'' (AUX) is a nonchord tone that passes stepwise from a chord tone directly above or below it (which frequently causes the NT to create dissonance with the chord) and resolves to the same chord tone:
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c''
\new Voice \relative c'
>>
\new Staff <<
\relative c
>>
>>
In practice and analysis, neighboring tones are sometimes differentiated depending upon whether or not they are lower or higher than the chord tones surrounding them. A neighboring tone that is a step higher than the surrounding chord tones is called an ''upper neighboring tone'' or an ''upper auxiliary note'' while a neighboring tone that is a step lower than the surrounding chord tones is a ''lower neighboring tone'' or ''lower auxiliary note''. However, following
Heinrich Schenker's usage in ''
Free Composition'', some authors reserve the term "neighbor note" to the lower neighbor a
half step below the main note.
[ ]
The German term ''Nebennote'' is a somewhat broader category, including all nonchord tones approached from the main note by step.
[
]
Escape tone
An ''escape tone'' (ET) or ''echappée'' is a particular type of unaccented incomplete neighbor tone that is approached stepwise from a chord tone and resolved by a skip in the opposite direction back to the harmony.
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c''
\new Voice \relative c'
>>
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c
>>
>>
Passing tone
A ''passing tone'' (PT) or ''passing note'' is a nonchord tone prepared by a chord tone a step above or below it and resolved by continuing in the same direction stepwise to the next chord tone (which is either part of the same chord or of the next chord in the harmonic progression).
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c''
\new Voice \relative c'
>>
\new Staff <<
\relative c
>>
>>
Where two nonchord tones are before the resolution they are ''double passing tones'' or ''double passing notes''.
Accented non-chord tones
Passing tone
A tone that sits between two chord tones and is between them.
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c''
\new Voice \relative c'
>>
\new Staff <<
\relative c
>>
>>
Neighbor tone
A neighbour tone is where there is a step up or down from a note (or chord tone) and then move back to the original note.
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c''
\new Voice \relative c'
>>
\new Staff <<
\relative c
>>
>>
Suspension and retardation
A ''suspension'' (SUS) (sometimes referred to as a ''syncope'') occurs when the harmony shifts from one chord to another, but one or more notes of the first chord (the preparation) are either temporarily held over into or are played again against the following chord (against which they are nonchord tones called the ''suspension'') before resolving downwards to a chord tone by step (the resolution). The whole process is called a ''suspension'' as well as the specific nonchord tone(s).
Suspensions may be further described with two numbers: (1) the interval between the suspended note and the bass note and (2) the interval between the resolution and the bass note. The most common suspensions are 4–3 suspension, 7–6 suspension, or 9–8 suspension. Note that except for the 9–8 suspensions, the numbers are typically referred to using the simple intervals, so for instance, if the intervals are actually an 11th and a 10th (the first example below), one would typically call it a ''4–3 suspension''. If the bass note is suspended, then the interval is calculated between the bass and the part that is most dissonant with it, often resulting in a 2–3 suspension.
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c''
\new Voice \relative c'
>>
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c'
\new Voice \relative c
>>
>>
Suspensions must resolve downwards. If a tied note is prepared like a suspension but resolves upwards, it is called a ''retardation''. Common retardations include 2–3 and 7–8 retardations.
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c''
\new Voice \relative c'
>>
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c
>>
>>
Decorated suspensions are common and consist of portamentos or double eighth notes, the second being a lower neighbor tone.
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c''
\new Voice \relative c'
>>
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c'
\new Voice \relative c
>>
>>
A chain of suspensions constitutes the fourth species of counterpoint; an example may be found in the second movement of Corelli's '' Christmas Concerto''.
:
:
Appoggiatura
An '' appoggiatura'' (APP) is a type of accented incomplete neighbor tone approached skip-wise from one chord tone and resolved stepwise to another chord tone ("overshooting" the chord tone).
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c''
\new Voice \relative c'
>>
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c'
\new Voice \relative c
>>
>>
Nonharmonic bass
''Nonharmonic bass'' notes are bass notes that are not a member of the chord below which they are written. Examples include the Elektra chord. An example of a nonharmonic bass from the third movement of Stravinsky's '' Symphony of Psalms''.[ Andriessen, Louis & Schönberger, Elmer (2006). ''The Apollonian Clockwork: On Stravinsky''. Amsterdam University Press. .]
:
Involving more than three notes
Changing tones
'' Changing tones'' (CT) are two successive nonharmonic tones. A chord tone steps to a nonchord tone which skips to another nonchord tone which leads by step to a chord tone, often the same chord tone. They may imply neighboring tones with a missing or implied note in the middle. Also called ''double neighboring tones'' or ''neighbor group''.
Pedal point
Another form of nonchord tone is a '' pedal point'' or ''pedal tone'' (PD) or ''note'', almost always the tonic or dominant, which is held through a series of chord changes. The pedal point is almost always in the lowest voice (the term originates from organ playing), but it may be in an upper voice; then it may be called an ''inverted pedal''. It may also be between the upper and lower voices, in which case it is called an ''internal pedal''.
:
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c'
>>
\new Staff <<
\relative c
>>
>>
:
Chromatic nonharmonic tone
A ''chromatic nonharmonic tone'' is a nonharmonic tone that is chromatic, or outside of the key and creates half-step motion. The use of which, especially ''chromatic appoggiaturas'' and ''chromatic passing tones'', increased in the Romantic Period.
See also
* Ornament
* Non-harmonic arpeggio
References
Sources
*
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External links
*
{{Consonance and dissonance
Musical terminology