IV. Diatonic Harmony, Tonicization, and Modulation
47
John Peterson
Key Takeaways
- Embellishing tones can be grouped into three categories (summarized in Example 13):
- Involving only stepwise motion: passing tone, neighbor tone
- Involving a leap: appoggiatura, escape tone
- Involving static notes: suspension, retardation, pedal, anticipation
Overview
Example 1 reproduces Maria Szymanowska’s March no. 6, which we also saw in our discussion of strong predominants. You might have noticed that some of the notes in the bass in mm. 8–10 don’t fit our harmonic analysis. These notes, which are blue and circled in Example 1, are collectively called “embellishing tones” because they embellish notes that belong to the chord. Embellishing tones can be grouped into three categories, which we describe below.
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/6233992/embed
Example 1. Embellishing tones in Maria Szymanowska, March no. 6 from Six Marches (0:00-0:16).
In nearly all cases, an embellishing tone is the middle note of a three-note gesture in which the first and last notes are consonant with the bass (Example 2). The actual embellishing tone itself may be either consonant or dissonant with the bass. In almost all cases, however, the embellishing tone is a note that doesn’t belong to the underlying chord.
Category 1: Embellishing tones that move by step
Example 1 showed the two kinds of embellishing tones that move by step: passing tones (PTs) and neighbor tones (NTs). Passing tones are approached by step and left by step in the same direction, either ascending or descending (Example 3). Neighbor tones are approached by step and left by step in the opposite direction, producing either an upper neighbor or a lower neighbor (Example 4).
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/6234000/embed
Example 3. Passing tones in a two-voice texture, (a) ascending and (b) descending.
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/6234003/embed
Example 4. (a) Upper neighbor and (b) lower neighbor tones in a two-voice texture.
Category 2: Embellishing tones that involve a leap
Examples 5 and 6 show the two kinds of embellishing tones that involve a leap: appoggiaturas (APPs) and escape tones (ETs). Appoggiaturas are approached by leap and left by step in the opposite direction (Example 7). The appoggiatura typically occurs on a stronger part of the beat than its surrounding notes. Escape tones are approached by step and left by leap in the opposite direction (Example 8). The escape tone typically occurs on a weaker part of the beat than its surrounding notes. It is more common for appoggiaturas and escape tones to be left by motion downward (Examples 7a and 8a) than upward (7b and 8b).
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/6234074/embed
Example 5. An appoggiatura in Joseph Boulogne, String Quartet no. 4, I, mm. 5–9 (0:09-0:19).
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/6234078/embed
Example 6. An escape tone in Margaret Casson, “The Cuckoo.”
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/6234081/embed
Example 7. Appoggiaturas in a two-voice texture.
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/6234083/embed
Example 8. Escape tones in a two-voice texture.
Category 3: Embellishing tones involving static notes
Examples 9–11 show three of the four kinds of embellishing tones that involve static notes (i.e., notes that don’t move): suspensions (SUS), retardations (RET), and pedal tones (PED). A fourth kind of embellishing tone, the anticipation, deserves special comment below.
Suspensions are approached by a static note and left by step down, while retardations are approached by a static note and left by step up (Examples 9 and 10). Both suspensions and retardations are always on a stronger part of the beat than the surrounding notes. (Suspensions are discussed in greater detail in the chapter on fourth species counterpoint.)
Pedal tones are often found in the bass. They consist of a series of static notes below chord changes that do not include the bass. We typically label them using the scale degree number of the pedal note, as in Example 11.
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/6234088/embed
Example 9. Suspensions and a retardation in Joseph Boulogne’s String Quartet no. 4, I, mm. 47–49 (1:30–1:36).
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/6234093/embed
Example 10. (a) Suspension and (b) retardation in a two-voice texture.
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/6234090/embed
Example 11. Pedal tone in Josephine Lang’s “Dem Königs-Sohn,” mm. 16–18.
Anticipations
Like the suspension, retardation, and pedal tone, anticipations also involve static notes. But anticipations are a two-note (rather than three-note) gesture, in which a chord tone is heard early as a non-chord tone (Example 12). In other words, it “anticipates” its upcoming membership in a chord.
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/6234812/embed
Example 12. An anticipation in Josephine Lang’s “Erinnerung,” mm. 29–30 (1:54–1:59).
Summary
The table in Example 13 provides a summary of the embellishing tones covered in this chapter.
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Example 13. Summary of embellishing tones.
- Embellishing tones (.pdf, .docx). Asks students to write embellishing tones in a two-voice texture and label embellishing tones in an excerpt.
Key Takeaways
In Western musical notation, pitches are designated by the first seven letters of the Latin alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. After G these letter names repeat in a loop: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, etc. This loop of letter names exists because musicians and music theorists today accept what is called octave equivalence, or the assumption that pitches separated by an octave should have the same letter name. More information about this concept can be found in the next chapter, The Keyboard and the Grand Staff.
This assumption varies with milieu. For example, some ancient Greek music theorists did not accept octave equivalence. These theorists used more than seven letters of the Greek alphabet to name pitches.
Clefs and Ranges
The Notation of Notes, Clefs, and Ledger Lines chapter introduced four clefs: treble, bass, alto, and tenor. A clef indicates which pitches are assigned to the lines and spaces on a staff. In the next chapter, The Keyboard and the Grand Staff, we will see that having multiple clefs makes reading different ranges easier. The treble clef is typically used for higher voices and instruments, such as a flute, violin, trumpet, or soprano voice. The bass clef is usually utilized for lower voices and instruments, such as a bassoon, cello, trombone, or bass voice. The alto clef is primarily used for the viola, a mid-ranged instrument, while the tenor clef is sometimes employed in cello, bassoon, and trombone music (although the principal clef used for these instruments is the bass clef).
Each clef indicates how the lines and spaces of the staff correspond to pitch. Memorizing the patterns for each clef will help you read music written for different voices and instruments.
Reading Treble Clef
The treble clef is one of the most commonly used clefs today. Example 1 shows the letter names used for the lines of a staff when a treble clef is employed. One mnemonic device that may help you remember this order of letter names is "Every Good Bird Does Fly" (E, G, B, D, F). As seen in Example 1, the treble clef wraps around the G line (the second line from the bottom). For this reason, it is sometimes called the "G clef."
Example 2 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with a treble clef. Remembering that these letter names spell the word "face" may make identifying these spaces easier.
Reading Bass Clef
The other most commonly used clef today is the bass clef. Example 3 shows the letter names used for the lines of a staff when a bass clef is employed. A mnemonic device for this order of letter names is “Good Bikes Don’t Fall Apart” (G, B, D, F, A). The bass clef is sometimes called the “F clef”; as seen in Example 3, the dot of the bass clef begins on the F line (the second line from the top).
Example 4 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with a bass clef. The mnemonic device "All Cows Eat Grass" (A, C, E, G) may make identifying these spaces easier.
Reading Alto Clef
Example 5 shows the letter names used for the lines of the staff with the alto clef, which is less commonly used today. The mnemonic device “Fat Alley Cats Eat Garbage” (F, A, C, E, G) may help you remember this order of letter names. As seen in Example 5, the center of the alto clef is indented around the C line (the middle line). For this reason it is sometimes called a "C clef."
Example 6 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with an alto clef, which can be remembered with the mnemonic device “Grand Boats Drift Flamboyantly” (G, B, D, F).
Reading Tenor Clef
The tenor clef, another less commonly used clef, is also sometimes called a “C clef,” but the center of the clef is indented around the second line from the top. Example 7 shows the letter names used for the lines of a staff when a tenor clef is employed, which can be remembered with the mnemonic device “Dodges, Fords, and Chevrolets Everywhere” (D, F, A, C, E):
Example 8 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with a tenor clef. The mnemonic device "Elvis's Guitar Broke Down" (E, G, B, D) may make identifying these spaces easier.
Ledger Lines
When notes are too high or low to be written on a staff, small lines are drawn to extend the staff. You may recall from the previous chapter that these extra lines are called ledger lines. Ledger lines can be used to extend a staff with any clef. Example 9 shows ledger lines above a staff with a treble clef:
Notice that each space and line above the staff gets a letter name with ledger lines, as if the staff were simply continuing upwards. The same is true for ledger lines below a staff, as shown in Example 10:
Notice that each space and line below the staff gets a letter name with ledger lines, as if the staff were simply continuing downwards.
- The Staff, Clefs, and Ledger Lines (musictheory.net)
- Flashcards for Treble, Bass, Alto, and Tenor Clefs (Richman Music School)
- Printable Treble Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music) (pages 3 to 5)
- Printable Bass Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music) (pages 1 to 3)
- Printable Alto Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music)
- Printable Tenor Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music)
- Paced Game: Treble Clef (Tone Savvy)
- Paced Game: Bass Clef (Tone Savvy)
- Paced Game: Alto Clef (Tone Savvy)
- Paced Game: Tenor Clef (Tone Savvy)
Easy
Medium
- Worksheets in Treble Clef (.pdf)
- Treble Clef with Ledger Lines (.pdf)
- Worksheets in Bass Clef (.pdf, .pdf)
- Bass Clef with Ledger Lines (.pdf)
- Worksheets in Alto Clef (.pdf, .pdf)
- Worksheets in Tenor Clef (.pdf)
Advanced
- All Clefs (.pdf)
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This section introduces students to the basics of music notation, including rhythm, pitch, and expressive markings. Students also learn to construct and identify rudimentary harmonies, including intervals (two-note chords), triads (three-note chords), and seventh chords (four-note chords).
Prerequisites
The Fundamentals section assumes no previous familiarity with Western musical notation. However, each chapter in this section assumes familiarity with all preceding chapters; for that reason, it is recommended that chapters are studied in order.
Organization
In the section's first chapter, Introduction to Western Musical Notation, students are encouraged to think about the ways in which they might write down (or notate) their favorite song or composition. The next six chapters (Notation of Notes, Clefs, and Ledger Lines through Other Aspects of Notation) focus upon the notation of pitch and the expressive and stylistic conventions of Western musical notation.
Next, students are introduced to the conventions of Western rhythmic notation in the subsequent four chapters (Rhythmic and Rest Values through Other Rhythmic Essentials). Pitch is then revisited, beginning with the spelling and identification of scales, key signatures, the diatonic modes, and the chromatic collection (in Major Scales, Scale Degrees, and Key Signatures through Introduction to Diatonic Modes and the Chromatic "Scale").
The following chapter, The Basics of Sight-singing and Dictation, presumes knowledge of the concepts in all previous chapters. It can be used as a stand-alone chapter in an aural skills class or within the context of a music theory or fundamentals course. Finally, the construction of harmonies is explored, from two-note Intervals through four-note Seventh Chords.
The Triads and Seventh Chords chapters deliberately do not include inversion or figured bass, as this is covered as a separate topic (Inversion and Figured Bass). This chapter, along with Roman Numerals and SATB Chord Construction and Texture, can be used as introductions to part-writing, counterpoint, music appreciation, or music history courses.
Audience
The Fundamentals section is designed for a wide audience, including high school students (and those taking AP Music Theory), collegiate non-music majors (and musical theater majors), and collegiate music majors.
