10.1: Introduction to Non-Chord Tones
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—occuring on the beat
- Unaccented—occuring 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