Prior Knowledge: Scales & chords, rules of chorale harmony.
Content of Lesson: Focusing on the use of the basic non-harmony notes to create melodic decoration. Passing notes and auxiliary notes are covered here, but suspensions are covered under a separate lesson (Lesson 10: Suspensions).
What are Non-Harmony Notes?
Any note can be described as either a harmony note or a non-harmony note.
A harmony note is a note that belongs to the chord. For this reason, they are sometimes called chord notes or essential notes (if you’re in the US, they will say tone rather than note). They form the basis of harmony and are always consonant.
Non-harmony notes are notes that do not belong to the chord, and therefore are dissonant. As they create a “clash” with the chord, they are used to add interest and contrast to a piece of music, and are therefore sometimes referred to as non-essential notes.
Example: In a chord of C major, the harmony notes are C, E and G. In F minor, they are F, Ab and C. Non-harmony notes would therefore be all other notes. It is worth noting that 7th chords are treated as dissonances and, in chorales almost always involve the use of suspensions to prepare the dissonant 7th note. We will discuss these later in Lesson 10.
Non-harmony notes cannot just be used anywhere. They must be carefully planned and executed in specific ways. Remember the aim is to create a balance of tension and release, and if you do not prepare non-harmony notes properly they will simply sound wrong.
As we look through each type of non-harmony note, we will also recap an important feature of chorale harmony: the pesky forbidden parallel fifths and octaves. If you are not careful, you’ll end up creating them.
Passing Notes
Passing notes are notes that are “passed through” on the way to another. They bridge the gap of a third, creating a moment of dissonance before resolving onto a harmony note.
As chorales (at least in UK examination terms) are usually harmonised in crotchets, passing notes should create quaver motion. Take the following example:
Here, several intervals of a third have been highlighted. These are positions where passing notes can be added. The majority of your passing notes will be unaccented, meaning they are off the beat (on the second quaver). This example has been decorated with unaccented passing notes below:
It is possible to have an accented passing note (on the beat, or first quaver), but these should be used sparingly as their dissonance is felt more strongly. They are best used to link together a set of quavers to add smooth decorations to your harmony.
Remember: A passing note should bridge a gap of a third, and be approached from and resolved to a harmony note.
The Parallels Problem
Adding a passing note cannot hide parallels that existed already within the harmony. They are not a get out of jail card for poor part writing! Your ear tends to focus on the notes sounding on-beat, and so the sound associated with parallel 5ths and octaves continues to exist. The non-harmony note simply acts as a half-way point between the parallel notes.
At the same time, the addition of passing notes can create new parallels. This is because despite the strong beats containing no parallels, there are still two notes sounding at the same time and if those notes move in parallel they will therefore still create a parallel sound, which is obvious when you think about it!
Task 1: Passing Notes
A short passage has been provided below. It is already harmonised in crotchets, however there are currently no non-harmony notes. Add passing notes to it, using mostly unaccented passing notes.
There are no parallels in this example, so there should not be any when you have decorated it. Be careful not to create any new parallels while doing so!
Auxiliary Notes
Auxiliary notes are non-harmony notes that are particularly useful for decorating inner harmonies that remain on the same note. This is because an auxiliary note moves away from a harmony note by step and returns to the same note.
You can have an upper or lower auxiliary note, depending on whether the auxiliary note is above or below the harmony note.
Lower auxiliary note.
Upper auxiliary note.
Remember: an auxiliary note moves away from a harmony note by step and returns to the original note.
The Parallels Problem
Unlike with passing notes, there is no situation where you may end up trying to hide a parallel using an auxiliary. This is because the original note stays the same, so you can’t create any in the first place.
However, there is still potential to create new parallels in the same way as the passing notes.
Auxiliary notes have an advantage when it comes to avoiding creating parallels – they can move either up or down. This means that if a lower auxiliary would cause a parallel, you can use an upper auxiliary instead. Take the example we saw before of the lower auxiliary (shown again below). It cannot be made to rise, else it would create a falling parallel 5th between the auxiliary note (E) and the tenor’s A, however it can be made to fall without issue.
Task 2: Auxiliary Notes
The following example is the same as for Task 1. This time, add auxiliary notes where possible, avoiding creating any parallel 5ths or 8ves.
Summary
You should now be able to:
- Understand, identify and use passing notes and auxiliary notes.
- Be able to add passing and auxiliary notes to your harmonisations.
When you are done with this lesson, click here to progress to Lesson 4: Basic Cadences.
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