SwarShala: melody-and-harmony worksheet
Guide: https://swarshala.com/blog/identify-passing-neighbour-and-suspension-tones
Original written exercises. Date: 2026-10-03.

CONVENTIONS
All examples are in 4/4. q counts elapsed quarter-note durations from zero.
[a,b) begins at a and ends immediately before b. C4 is middle C.
No instrument, recording or playback is needed for these classification tasks.

THREE QUESTIONS
1. What chord supports the exact moment? List its pitch classes.
2. What note precedes the target in this melody, and how does it approach?
3. What follows, how does it depart, and what harmony supports the destination?
If context is missing, record that; do not guess from an isolated pitch.

CASES A AND B
Key: C major. Accompaniment C3-E3-G3 holds for the entire interval [0,4).
           [0,1)       [1,2)       [2,4)
Duration:  quarter     quarter     half
Case A:    C5          D5          E5
Case B:    C5          D5          C5

Classify D5 in each case. Chord members: _______________________________
A: preceding ____ following ____ approach ____ departure ____ label ____
B: preceding ____ following ____ approach ____ departure ____ label ____
Does either D need an accidental to be outside the chord? Why? __________

CASE C: TWO COMPLETE BARS
Key: C major. F3-A3-C4 holds [0,4); C3-E3-G3 holds [4,8).
The chord changes at q4, the downbeat of bar 2.
Melody:
q0-2: A4 half note.
q2-4: F4 half note, tied to F4 quarter at q4-5. No new attack at q4.
q5-6: E4 quarter note.
q6-7: G4 quarter note.
q7-8: C5 quarter note.

At q2, F4 belongs to which chord? ____________________________________
At q4, what changed? ________________________________________________
At q5, what motion completes the pattern? ____________________________
Mark preparation ______ suspended nonchord interval ______ resolution ____
The literal intervals from C3 to F4 and E4 are ____ and ____.
Their conventional reduced suspension label is _______________________.

COUNTEREXAMPLE CHECK
C3-E3-G3 supports [0,4); E3-G3-B3 supports [4,8).
A G4 whole note is tied to a G4 whole note across q4.
Does that tie establish a suspension? Give chord-membership evidence. ____

INDEPENDENT QUESTIONS
For Questions 1 and 2, key C major; F3-A3-C4 holds [0,4).
First two melody notes last one quarter each; the third lasts two quarters.
1. A4-G4-F4: classify G4 and give both directions. ______________________
2. A4-G4-A4: classify G4 and explain what changed. ______________________
3. Repair this claim: all of Case C's F4 from q2 through q5 is nonchord.
   _________________________________________________________________
4. Only D5 over C major is visible; no adjacent melody. Can you choose
   passing versus neighbour? ________________________________________

YOUR OWN TIMELINE
Key/style: ____________ time unit: ____________ chord changes: __________
Target pitch: __________ interval of sounding duration: ________________
Chord at that time: __________ membership: ____________________________
Previous melody note: __________ next melody note: ____________________
Conclusion and evidence (or missing context): _________________________

-------------------- ANSWER KEY: COVER UNTIL READY --------------------

Cases A/B: C-major chord members are C, E, G. D is outside both chords.
A: C-D-E steps up twice; D5 passes between chord tones: passing tone.
B: C-D-C steps up then down to C; D5 is an upper neighbour.
D-natural belongs to the C-major scale. Nonchord does not mean chromatic.

Case C: F4 is prepared as an F-major chord tone at q2. At q4 the C-major
chord makes the held F a dissonant nonchord note. E4 at q5 is a chord tone
reached by a downward step. The suspended nonchord interval is [4,5).
From C3, F4 is an eleventh and E4 a tenth: reduced label 4-3 suspension.

Counterexample: G belongs to C-E-G and E-G-B. The tie introduces no
nonchord dissonance at the change and has no downward resolution here.

Independent answers:
1. G is a passing tone: A-G-F steps down twice over F major.
2. G is a lower neighbour: A-G-A returns to the starting A. Departure changed.
3. F is a chord tone during [2,4), and nonchord only during [4,5).
   Preparation q2; suspension begins q4; E4 resolution q5.
4. No. Membership is known, but approach/departure needed for that choice
   are missing.

Chromatic counterexample from the guide: in a stated C-major key context,
a supplied D-major chord contains F-sharp. That pitch is chromatic relative
to the key and a chord tone at that moment. Key and chord membership differ.