Preparation
Setting up a dissonance as a consonance in the previous chord
Related
Preparation lets a note appear as a consonance in the previous chord, then become a dissonance in the next. It is the first stage of a suspension: stand, then be held, then resolve.
It is the counterpart of resolution: preparation is "before", resolution "after". The usual mistake is to think a dissonance can be handled after it appears — a suspension without preparation sounds like a mistake; preparation, suspension and resolution are a three-stage unit.
Read deeper → suspension
Sources
- 挂留音的准备—挂留—解决三阶段，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Suspension"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.