Unit 6: Harmony and Voice Leading III
AP Music Theory: 41 practice questions with detailed explanations.
Unit Study Guide
Executive Summary
Embellishing tones decorate the harmony; motives build larger forms through repetition and variation; sequences and ornaments extend melodies.
Non-chord tones
Notes outside the sounding chord, classified by approach and departure. Passing tone: step in, step out, between chord tones. Neighbor tone: step away and back to the same note. Suspension: prepared (held over), then resolves DOWN by step — phases: preparation, suspension, resolution (figures like 4-3, 9-8, 2-3). Appoggiatura: leap in, step resolve. Escape tone: step in, leap out. Anticipation: sounds early before the chord changes.
Motives and development
A motive is a short recurring idea. Development techniques: repetition, transposition, inversion (upside down), retrograde (backward), augmentation (longer values), diminution (shorter values), rhythmic variation. Fugues and sonatas build whole movements from motives.
Sequences
A pattern repeated at different pitch levels. Real sequences transpose exactly; tonal sequences stay within the key. Descending-fifth sequences are standard in Baroque music. Ostinato: a persistently repeated pattern; pedal point: a sustained tone under changing harmonies.
Ornaments and melodic writing
Trills alternate with the upper neighbor; mordents are quick neighbor alternations; turns encircle the note. Good melodies balance steps and leaps, have a clear contour with a high point, and use rhythmic variety.
Exam traps
Suspensions resolve DOWN; appoggiaturas are approached by leap. Real sequences transpose exactly; tonal stay in key. Passing tones connect different chord tones; neighbors decorate one.