Harmony

VII: Passing Tones

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Composers use notes other than just those of the chosen chord. Otherwise, their music would be very bland and predictable. These “non-chord tones” are also called passing tones, because they pass by momentarily and find their resting place by resolving to a note of the chord.

The piece ‘Spanish Romance’ uses the primary chords i-iv-V-i, however the melody doesn’t always use notes of the chord.

Which notes of the melody are non-chord tones? Circle them and share a screenshot with CGU members.

Passing Tones

Em (i)—————————————————————————————————————-

Em (i)—————————————————————————————————————-

Am (iv) ——————————————————————— B7 (V) ——————————

B7 (V) —————————— Em (i) ———————————————————————

Em (i) ——————————————————————————————————

Spanish Romance Anonymous

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The work below by Chopin beautifully exploits the use of passing tones. These passing tones are much more emphatic than those in Spanish Romance. Why is this so?

It has to do with the passing tones’ rhythmic placement. On a weak beat, they’re called “non-accented” passing tones (NAPT) and on a strong beat they’re “accented” passing tones (APT).

Look at the rhythmic placement of the passing tones in Spanish Romance and you’ll notice that they all occur on weak beats.

PRELUDIO 7 CHOPIN

PARA

POli

Propiedad. FRANCISCO TARREGA Depositado. ·

Andantino.

6 a "' . en re. .....-::::: c. _ _ ____ _ ¡.....---- 1 >rl

!.. J. 4 . !j 1.1. 1¡:1 : •

' - - - -(i""

p 1 -------dolce.

r r -- 1

•

c. . ----

1'1 ®i 1(2) • 1 :: :: •

11 • -"' - • - - -- • -- -i . r------- r r

. - --- --- - - -. 4

' _.:1 • -

,r.;-., • :1 -• ) .

•

@ - - - - t: • - • *' -- - -r 'j , \ i

- 4 -,

,._ .. - ® ;! i.G p.

=2 • •

. . ,.,..

- -< • :JI - -:::::-

e

t • .®. ftf® - - r!t_. -- -• -9 r r

'

© Biblioteca Nacional de España

A7—————————————

Passing Tones

D—————————

A9————————————————

Passing Tones

D—————————

Passing Tones

Passing Tone

A7————————————— D—————————

Passing Tones

Em7———

Passing Tones

Bm————— A9———————

—————————

—————————

D———————————

Passing Tones

Resolution Resolution

Resolution Resolution

ResolutionResolution

Resolution Resolution

Prelude 7, op. 28 Frederic Chopin

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Accented and Non-Accented Passing Tones

The type of passing tone that occurs can inform your interpretation.

Accented passing tones tend to have a leaning or sighing effect, which can be brought out by lingering on the non-chord tone and playing the resolution very softly. This gives your playing a speechlike and expressive quality.

Am———— B˚7 E7

A-C-E B-F-A-D E-G#-B-D

Non-accented passing tones are usually light and fleeting, smoothly connecting one chord to the next. It helps to play them lightly so that the harmonic movement isn’t interrupted by the non-chord tones.

Em ——————————————————————————————————————

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Task 1

Find accented and non-accented passing tones in the pieces you’re

playing.

Bring out the quality of each type of passing tone. Record your playing.