Which term is defined as a nonharmonic tone that is approached by step and left by step in the same direction?

• A. Passing Tone
• B. Suspension
• C. Anticipation Tone
• D. Neighbor Tone

Answer: (A)

A passing tone is a nonharmonic note that decorates a melodic line by moving between two chord tones with stepwise motion in the same direction. It doesn’t belong to the harmony on the beat, but it lets the voice glide smoothly from one harmony to the next. For example, in a melody moving from C to E over a C major harmony, inserting D as the middle note—C, D, E—uses steps in the same direction, and D is the passing tone.

A neighbor tone, by contrast, is approached and left by step but in opposite directions (it’s a small step away from a chord tone and then back). An anticipation tone sounds the next harmony’s pitch early, before the chord changes. A suspension holds a note from the previous harmony into the new one and resolves to a chord tone by step, rather than simply linking two chord tones with a stepwise, same-direction move.