Which term is defined as a nonharmonic tone that occurs when a voice skips to a consonance from a dissonance, then resolves by step?

• A. Cambiata
• B. Appoggiatura
• C. Passing Tone
• D. Anticipation Tone

Answer: (A)

Cambiata is a nonharmonic tone pattern in which the melody makes a leap into a dissonance and then resolves by step to a consonance. The key feature is that the dissonant note is introduced by a skip rather than by step, and the line then moves by a smooth step to regain a consonant harmony. This creates a brief, colored moment in the line that stands apart from simply moving by step between chord tones. In contrast, a passing tone connects two chord tones by step, an appoggiatura is a stressed leap into a dissonance that resolves by step (often on the beat), and an anticipation occurs when a note belonging to the next chord sounds early. The situation described matches cambiata because the leap into a dissonance and the subsequent stepwise resolution to a consonance define this figure.