Embellishing Tones: Identifying Passing Tones and Neighbor Tones

Embellishing Tones: Identifying Passing Tones and Neighbor Tones

Welcome, musical maestros and harmony aficionados! 🎵 Get ready to dive into the magical world of embellishing tones, where every note adds a sprinkle of charm to your compositions. This time, we're diving into passing tones and neighbor tones, the unsung heroes that transform mere chords into enchanting melodies. Let's crank up the volume and get started! 🎹

Imagine if music were just a series of chord progressions—boring, right? To spice things up, composers add embellishments, which are like the musical sprinkles on your melody cupcake. These additional notes—often called non-chord tones or non-harmonic tones—create interest and complexity. They can be diatonic (from within the key) or chromatic (outside the key). Let's explore how these non-chord tones work their magic.

Passing tones are the busy little bees of music that smoothly connect two chord tones. Think of them as the musical equivalent of jaywalking between two stable points in a melody.

Passing tones create a sense of movement and flow, transforming static harmonies into lively rivers of sound. You might even say they add a bit of "oomph" to your compositions. Let’s illustrate this with an example of going from a I chord to a iii chord in a melody:

If you're in Ab Major and moving from Ab (the tonic) to C (the mediant), you can add a Bb (the supertonic) in between to create a stepwise bass line: Ab-Bb-C. This not only sounds prettier but also adds a touch of sophistication.

Most often, passing tones are added to the upper voices, especially the soprano line. The higher notes are usually perceived as the "melody," while the lower notes are seen as harmonic support. So, if you hear someone stressing over getting their passing tones right, they're probably working on that soprano line!

Don't panic if you need to add multiple passing tones between two voices. For instance, when the soprano jumps from a C to an F, you might slip in a D and an E, making the line: C-D-E-F. But watch out for rhythmic missteps! If your piece is in a harmonic rhythm of half notes, avoid squeezing in three quarter notes like a musical game of Tetris gone wrong. Instead, use a quarter note for the chord tone followed by two eighth notes for the passing tones.

Passing tones should typically be written on weaker beats, but they can also be accented. An unaccented passing tone appears on weaker beats relative to the chord tones, while an accented passing tone lands on stronger beats. Think of accented passing tones as being a bit rebellious, disrupting the harmonic rhythm for a brief moment of tension or excitement.

Here’s a quick note on chromatic passing tones: they venture outside the diatonic scale but create wonderful, colorful transitions. For example, if you’re going from C to D, a chromatic passing tone would take you from C to C# to D. It’s like adding a dash of hot sauce to your melody—spicy and delightful!

Neighbor tones are like the friendly next-door neighbors of the musical world. They momentarily depart from a chord tone but always come back home, creating a sense of playful movement and anticipation.

A neighbor tone is a non-chord tone played just before or after a chord tone within a melody. They stay close to home (within a step) and return to their original note. Picture a C in the soprano voice held over two chords. By adding a neighbor tone, you get a C-B-C sequence, making your melody feel more active and interesting.

Neighbor tones usually decorate a sustained chord tone, hopping up or down by a step before retreating back. There are two types of neighbor tones: upper neighbor tones, where the note approaches from a higher pitch and then returns, and lower neighbor tones, where it dips down to a lower pitch and then returns.

Neighbor tones, much like passing tones, can be diatonic or chromatic. The key feature that makes a neighbor tone is its stepwise movement. In a C-E-C melody, for instance, the E isn’t an upper neighbor tone (it’s an escape tone, but more on that later in section 6.3).

When dealing with non-chord tones, two terms become incredibly important: preparation and resolution.

Preparation is the chord tone right before the embellishment. It sets the stage for the upcoming musical flourish. For instance, in our chromatic passing tone example (A to F with G#-G-F# in between), the A is the preparation. The resolution is the chord tone you land back on—here, it would be the F. Resolution acts like a calming force, bringing everything back to musical harmony.

Both passing and neighbor tones introduce a bit of dissonance (tension) which needs to be resolved. For instance, adding a passing tone D between C and E in a tonic chord progression introduces dissonance, which is resolved when followed by a consonant chord tone.

Ornamentation in music is like adding decorations to your melody. These can include grace notes, trills, mordents, turns, and more. They add complexity, beauty, and expressiveness to your music. In some music styles, ornamentation can be improvised, giving musicians a bit of creative freedom. However, during the Common Practice Era, these were usually written directly into the score.

One ornament that might pop up on your AP Music Theory exam is the trill. A trill is a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes and is often marked by "tr" in sheet music. Think of it like a musical shake—quick, exciting, and dramatic.

Here's what a notated trill looks like and sounds like:

Example: (link to visual and audio examples)

• Passing Tones: Non-chord tones connecting two chord tones via stepwise motion. They can be diatonic or chromatic and usually fall on weak beats.
• Neighbor Tones: Non-chord tones that move away from a chord tone by a step and then return. They can also be diatonic or chromatic.
• Preparation: The chord tone setting up the embellishment.
• Resolution: The chord tone where the embellishment resolves.
• Ornamentation: Musical decorations like trills, grace notes, and mordents that enhance expressiveness.

Did you know that Johann Sebastian Bach was like the Beyoncé of Baroque music? He could turn even the simplest melodies into intricate masterpieces with his seamless voice leading and lush ornamentation. Talk about a trailblazer! 🎶

So, there you go! You've got the lowdown on passing tones, neighbor tones, and more. Now go ahead and add some flair to your music, and remember to keep it smooth and stylish like a true maestro. Happy harmonizing! 🎼