Nonchord tone
Notes outside the chord that create dissonance and require resolution.
A nonchord tone (NCT), also called a nonharmonic tone or embellishing tone, is a note in a piece of music that is not part of the implied or expressed chord set out by the harmonic framework. In contrast, a chord tone is a note that is part of the functional chord. Nonchord tones are most often discussed in the context of the common practice period of classical music, but the term can also be used in the analysis of other types of tonal music, such as Western popular music.
- field
- Music theory
- known_for
- Notes that are not part of the implied or expressed chord in a harmonic framework
- types
- Accented and unaccented nonchord tones
- common_categories
- Anticipation, neighbor tone, escape tone, passing tone, suspension, retardation, appoggiatura, changing tones, pedal point, chromatic nonharmonic tone
Lore & Background
Nonchord tones are defined by their membership or lack of membership in a chord: 'The pitches which make up a chord are called chord-tones: any other pitches are called non-chord-tones.' They are also defined by the time at which they sound: 'Nonharmonic tones are pitches that sound along with a chord but are not chord pitches.' For example, if an excerpt from a piece of music implies or uses a C-major chord, then the notes C, E and G are members of that chord, while any other note played at that time is a nonchord tone. Such tones are most obvious in homophonic music but occur at least as frequently in contrapuntal music.
Reader's Guide
Nonchord tones are categorized by how they are used. The most important distinction is whether they occur on a strong or weak beat and are thus either accented or unaccented nonchord tones. They are also distinguished by their direction of approach and departure and the voice or voices in which they occur and the number of notes they contain. Over time, some musical styles assimilated chord types outside of the common-practice style. In these chords, tones that might normally be considered nonchord tones are viewed as chord tones, such as the seventh of a minor seventh chord. In European classical music, the greater use of dissonance from period to period led to gradual normalization of ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords; each additional non-chord tone above the foundational triad became frozen into the chordal mass. Nonchord tones are essential for understanding harmonic tension and release in tonal music, and their analysis remains a core part of music theory pedagogy.
Did You Know?
- Nonchord tones are often categorized as accented or unaccented depending on whether the dissonance occurs on an accented or unaccented beat.
- A suspension occurs when one or more notes of the first chord are held over into the following chord, then resolve downwards by step.
- A pedal point is almost always the tonic or dominant and is held through a series of chord changes, usually in the lowest voice.
- Chromatic nonharmonic tones, especially chromatic appoggiaturas and chromatic passing tones, increased in use during the Romantic Period.
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