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Nonharmonic
tones (or nonchord tones)
A nonharmonic
tone
is a melodic note that is not a member of the accompanimental chord.
There are many kinds of nonharmonic tones. Following are two of
the most widely used.
passing
tone
Passing tones occur stepwise between two
different chord tones. In the examples below, the passing tones
are circled. In each case, they "pass" from one tone
of an F major triad to another tone of that triad. All the passing
tones in the following example are unaccented passing tones,
since they occur on the weak part of the beat.

Accented
passing tones occur on the strong part of the beat, as in the
following examples.

neighboring
tone
Neighboring tones occur stepwise above
or below a repeated chord tone. A neighboring tone may be unaccented
or accented. Following are examples of unaccented neighboring
tones.

Here are examples of neighboring tones
ocurring on the strong part of the beat.

Look at the following song, "Shalom
Chaverim." The only chord used to harmonize the melody is the
minor tonic triad (i) or e minor triad (E-G-B). Now look at all
the notes in the melody and name each one. Most of the notes in
the melody are part of the tonic triad. Locate the notes that are
NOT part of the triad. These are the nonharmonic tones. Next, determine
the type of each nonharmonic tone.

  
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