Which term is defined as being approached by leap and resolved by down step?

• A. Suspension
• B. Overtones
• C. Appoggiatura
• D. Passing Tone

Answer: (C)

When a melody introduces a note that isn’t part of the current harmony by leaping to it, and then resolves by moving a step downward to a chord tone, that note is called an appoggiatura. It’s a nonharmonic tone that creates a brief moment of dissonance on the beat and then settles into consonance with a smooth step down to a note that belongs to the harmony. This approach by leap and resolution by downward step gives the melody a distinctive, accented color.

This differs from a suspension, which starts by holding over a note from the previous chord and then resolves downward by step but isn’t reached by a leap. A passing tone, by contrast, is always approached and left by step in the same direction, not by a leap. The term in question is specifically tied to that leap-into, then step-down resolution pattern.