Embellishing Tones

 

Lesson 20

September 18th, 2021

Lesson 20

Lecture notes:
  • There are nine common embellishing tones inclusive of passing tone, neighbor tone, appoggiatura, escape tone, double neighbor, anticipation, pedal point, suspension, and retardation.
  • Embellishing tones are also referred to as "nonharmonic" or "nonchord" tones.
  • A note that fills in a melodic skip between two chord tones is a passing tone.
  • Neighbor tones often embellish a repeated note and or a common chord tone.
  • The most common suspensions used in music include 4-3, 7-6, and 9-8.
  • When considering voice leading, it is best NOT to double the suspension or its resolution. These notes can also be what is known as tendency notes.

The photo above explains what non-chord tones are, how they are used by composers and how they are situated in music. (Photo Credit: https://slideplayer.com/slide/4472983/)


The picture above shows all the embellishment tones with visual examples and explanations of how they are produced. (Photo Credit: https://www.tekportal.net/nonharmonic-tone/)


The video above describes five different embellishing tones through a visual and audible aid. The embellishment tones explained in this video were neighbor tones, passing tones, escape tones, anticipation and suspensions, and appoggiaturas. (Video Credit: https://youtu.be/oFRO702P1mU)


The video above explains how to incorporate a passing tone using the bass guitar to add some color and dimension to the music you're playing. (Video Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLpqypRYa8g)


The photo above is the melody line for the Jazz standard Misty with the chord tones highlighted.


The video above is me playing the song Misty twice through. In the first playthrough, I played only the highlighted chored tones skipping over the non-chord tones, and in the second playthrough, I played the song as written with all of the embellished non-chord tones.

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