Free Tone
A non-chord tone neither prepared nor resolved by step
Related
A free tone is a non-chord tone that is neither prepared nor resolved by step: it may leap in or out and does not follow the rules of suspension or passing. It becomes more common after the nineteenth century.
It differs from an appoggiatura: an appoggiatura has preparation and resolution, a free tone obeys neither. The usual mistake is to hear it as a wrong note — a free tone is a deliberate relaxation; in complex harmony or melody it creates a moment of friction, not an accident.
Read deeper → non-chord tone
Sources
- 自由音与非和弦音分类，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.