What is this tool?

A nonchord tone is a melody note that does not belong to the chord sounding under it. A melody built only from chord tones moves stiffly, so real music constantly fills the gaps with notes from outside the chord. This tool compares the chords you place underneath with the melody you place on top and labels every note: chord tone, or one of passing, neighbour, suspension, anticipation, appoggiatura, escape and pedal. The labels come straight from the harmony engine, so the lesson text and the tool can never disagree.

When it helps

• Find the notes that sit outside the chord

  Enter a melody you have written and every note outside the harmony is listed with its type. Being outside the chord is not a fault; what matters is that the ways out are few and named.

• Hear a suspension against an anticipation

  Both stretch one pitch across two chords. A suspension is held over from before; an anticipation arrives early. Toggle the tie and listen to the difference.

• Check your own analysis

  Type in the nonchord tones you have spotted in a score and see whether your reading matches. It is especially useful for telling an appoggiatura from an escape tone.

How to use

1. 1 Pick one of the examples and play it with the chords first
2. 2 Change the scale degree of a chord and watch the labels on the same melody change
3. 3 Move individual melody notes to find the point where a passing tone turns into a neighbour or an escape tone
4. 4 For a note that spans two chords, press Tie and see whether it becomes a suspension
5. 5 Play the melody on its own and compare it with how it sounded over the harmony

Related Tools

Lessons that use this tool

The sections of the systematic curriculum where this actually comes up.

• Non-Chord Tones and Melody Passing Tones and Neighbor Tones
• Non-Chord Tones and Melody Suspensions and Anticipations
• Non-Chord Tones and Melody Escape Tones, Appoggiaturas, and Pedal Points