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Unit 6 · Harmony & Voice Leading III Flashcards Cheat Sheet Essentials Visual Review MC Practice FRQ Practice

AP Music Theory Unit 6 Essentials

The must-know terms and core concepts for Unit 6: Embellishments, Motives, and Melodic Devices. Every vocabulary word and idea you need to master.

← Back to Unit 6 hub
Key Concept 1
Non-chord tones are defined by approach and resolution
Every type of non-chord tone follows a specific in-and-out pattern: step-step (passing), step-same note (neighbor), leap-step (appoggiatura), step-leap (escape tone), early arrival (anticipation), or held-over (suspension/retardation, prepare-suspend-resolve). Learning the pattern, not just the name, lets you identify any of the seven types instantly.
Non-Chord Tones Approach & Resolution
Key Concept 2
Non-chord tones decorate without changing harmony
Strip away the non-chord tones from a passage and the underlying Roman-numeral progression stays exactly the same. This is why identifying non-chord tones matters for analysis: it separates genuine harmonic content from melodic ornamentation, so you can label chords correctly even in florid, decorated textures.
Harmonic Analysis Ornamentation
Key Concept 3
A motive is the seed a piece grows from
Rather than inventing new material constantly, composers develop a short motive through transposition (new pitch level), inversion (flipped intervals), and augmentation/diminution (slower/faster rhythm). Recognizing a transformed motive reveals the underlying unity of a piece that might otherwise sound like unrelated material.
Motive Transposition Inversion
Key Concept 4
Sequences build directional momentum
A melodic or harmonic sequence repeats a pattern at successive pitch levels, most often by descending fifths. Because the ear recognizes the repeating shape, a sequence creates a strong sense of forward motion — frequently used to build energy on the way to an important cadence.
Melodic Sequence Harmonic Sequence
Non-chord tone
Any note that isn't part of the underlying harmony; identified by its approach and resolution rather than the chord itself.
Non-Chord Tones
Passing tone
Approached by step and left by step in the same direction, filling in the gap between two chord tones a third apart.
Non-Chord Tones
Neighbor tone
Approached by step from a chord tone and resolved by step back to that same chord tone.
Non-Chord Tones
Appoggiatura
Approached by leap and resolved by step, typically on a strong beat — an accented dissonance.
Non-Chord Tones
Escape tone
Approached by step and left by leap in the opposite direction — the reverse pattern of an appoggiatura.
Non-Chord Tones
Anticipation
A note that arrives early, sounding a pitch of the next chord before the harmony officially changes.
Non-Chord Tones
Pedal point (pedal tone)
A sustained or repeated note, usually in the bass, held while the harmony above it changes.
Non-Chord Tones
Suspension
A chord tone held over into the next chord where it becomes dissonant, then resolves down by step. Three parts: preparation, suspension, resolution.
Non-Chord Tones
Retardation
Structured like a suspension, but the held tone resolves up by step instead of down.
Non-Chord Tones
Motive
A short, recognizable musical idea that a composer develops and repeats throughout a piece.
Motive & Sequence
Motivic transposition
Restating a motive at a different pitch level while keeping its intervals (and usually rhythm) the same.
Motive & Sequence
Melodic inversion
Flipping a motive upside down: each ascending interval becomes descending by the same amount, and vice versa.
Motive & Sequence
Augmentation / diminution (of a motive)
Lengthening (augmentation) or shortening (diminution) a motive's rhythmic values while keeping its pitches and contour the same.
Motive & Sequence
Melodic sequence
A melodic pattern immediately repeated at a new pitch level, usually shifting by the same interval each time.
Motive & Sequence
Harmonic sequence
A chord progression pattern repeated at successive pitch levels, most commonly by descending fifths.
Motive & Sequence
Descending-fifths sequence
A harmonic sequence where each chord root moves down a fifth (or up a fourth) from the previous chord, e.g., vi–ii–V–I.
Motive & Sequence