Definition
They are notes of the melody (or of an inner voice) that don't belong to the chord of the moment. They give movement and tension and are classified by how they arrive and how they leave.
Main types (over a C chord)
- Passing tone: connects two chord tones by step, on a weak beat. E – F – G (F is a passing tone).
- Neighbor tone (broderie): starts from a note, goes to the adjacent step and returns. E – D – E or E – F – E.
- Appoggiatura: dissonant on a strong beat, arrives by leap and resolves by step. Over C, the melody leaps up to D and falls to C.
- Suspension: preparation (consonant note), dissonance obtained by holding the note while the chord changes, resolution by descending step. Over G7: C held from a preceding chord falls to B (4–3). Other suspensions: 7–6, 9–8, and 2–3 in the bass.
- Anticipation: the note of the following chord arrives before the change. On G → C, the melody sounds C already on the last eighth note of G.
- Escape tone: arrives by step and leaves by leap in the opposite direction.
- Pedal: a note held while the chords change.
Why use them
- A melody made only of chord tones sounds mechanical; appoggiaturas produce the “yearning” effect.
- In a pop topline non-chord tones on strong beats (appoggiaturas, sus) are the points of maximum emotion; on weak beats (passing tones) they give fluidity.
Real example
The chorus of “Someone Like You” (Adele, 2011) was analyzed in the press (Wall Street Journal, 2012, citing research by psychologist John Sloboda) precisely for its appoggiaturas: small dissonances that resolve are one of the mechanisms that cause “chills” in the listener.