Music Composition DUMmIES

(Ben Green) #1

Other Melodic Techniques............................................................................


Numerous other neat little tricks are available to help you develop your
melody.

Escape tones .........................................................................................


An escape toneis kind of the opposite of an appoggiatura (say that five times
fast). You first step away from your tone — and then leap in the other direc-
tion to the next chord tone, as shown in Figure 8-9. Instead of slurring into
the principal note with the beat, an escape tone slurs into the tone notecar-
rying the beat.

Suspension ...........................................................................................


If you hold a tone out longer than the chord and then drop the note down a
step to your new chord tone, it is called a suspension. Figure 8-10 shows an
example.

&b 4


(^4) œ
œœœ œ
FBb
œ.
J
œœ œ
C Dm
œ œ ̇
Bb C
̇ Ó
Dm
̇ ̇
Bb C
̇ œ Œ
F
Figure 8-10:
The
suspension
is in the
last two
measures.
&b 4
(^4) œ
œœœ œ
FBb
œ.
J
œœ œ
C Dm
œœ ̇
Bb C
̇ Ó
Dm
̇ ̇
Bb C
̇. Œ
F
Figure 8-9:
Escape
tones are
the anti-
appoggia-
tura.
84 Part II: Melody and Development

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