AP Music Theory Flashcards: Embellishing Tones: Writing Passing Tones and Neighbor Tones
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 10 cards to help you master important concepts.
What is the primary compositional task described in the text regarding a given soprano line?
The task is to compose a bass line that incorporates unaccented passing and/or neighbor tones while adhering to 18th-century harmonic and voice-leading rules.
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What is the primary compositional task described in the text regarding a given soprano line?
The task is to compose a bass line that incorporates unaccented passing and/or neighbor tones while adhering to 18th-century harmonic and voice-leading rules.
What is the primary goal when adding unaccented passing and neighbor tones to a bass line against a given soprano?
The goal is to follow the normative harmonic procedures and voice leading of 18th-century harmony.
What is a "voice exchange" in the context of soprano and bass lines with embellishing tones?
A voice exchange is a desirable formation where the bass and soprano engage in a contrapuntal pattern, often facilitated by an embellishing tone.
In 18th-century chorale style, what is the rhythmic role of unaccented passing and neighbor tones in a bass line?
They manifest as eighth-note motion used to enliven the essential frame of quarter notes.
What does it mean for a passing or neighbor tone to be "unaccented" in this context?
It means the embellishing tone falls on a weaker part of the beat, typically as the second of two eighth notes within a quarter-note pulse.
List the three desirable formations with the soprano that can be created by using embellishing tones in the bass.
The three formations are: complementing a stationary soprano, moving in parallel thirds or sixths, and engaging in a voice exchange.
What are the two types of embellishing tones commonly used to add eighth-note motion to a bass line?
The two common types are unaccented passing tones and unaccented neighbor tones.
What is a desirable type of parallel motion that can be created between the soprano and a bass line using embellishing tones?
Embellishing tones in the bass can be used to create motion in parallel thirds or sixths with the soprano.
When composing a bass line, what is the general purpose of judiciously using eighth-note motion?
The purpose is to enliven the essential frame of quarter notes, often by incorporating unaccented passing and/or neighbor tones.
How can embellishing tones in the bass create desirable motion against a stationary soprano note?
Two bass eighth notes, one of which is an embellishing tone, can be composed against a single quarter note in the soprano.