Escape Tone
A non-chord tone entered by step and left by leap, often turning back
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An escape tone is a non-chord tone entered by step and left by leap, usually turning back: one step out, one leap home, like a head poking out and withdrawing. It often falls on a weak beat and is one of melody's lightest ornaments.
It is the mirror of a cambiata: a cambiata is entered by leap and left by step, an escape tone entered by step and left by leap. The usual mistake is to treat them as one — the entry and exit decide the feel; an escape tone tests, a cambiata rushes out and pulls back.
Read deeper → non-chord tone
Sources
- 逃音（échappée）的定义，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Non-chord tone"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.