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MacDowell: To the Sea, Op. 55, No. 1

I am very puzzled:
What is the name of the circled non-harmonic tone in measure 6?

Click for Picture Here

Thank you for helping!

More information

http://www.musictheory.net/lessons/53

What do you mean the name? It's an accented passing tone.

I am thinking passing tone too, but my student's theory test was marked wrong with "passing tone" as answer.

Maybe is something else that I am not enlighten of?

I don't see anything.

Your student is correct. The answer key contains a different answer.

What is the answer on the answer key?

Thanks!

Hi KeyString, can you try one more time for the link above?

Or, here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxdJp3V5iKZqRlZKbGgtbkhCQzA/edit?usp=sharing

When I looked at it I said passing tone.

When I played it and listened I thought suspension.

But it doesn't really resolve, does it?

It's a 2-1 suspension, but it doesn't sound like it with the B-flat minor chord it's resolving to, so it's almost like a deceptive cadence. Of course, this is kicking around a lot of cobwebs, so I could just be spouting nonsense.

It's not a suspension. There would need to be a tie from the previous chord, or at least the same note from the previous chord being replayed on the current chord, followed by a stepwise descent.

As far I can tell it's an "accented passing note", not "just a passing note". It's on a strong beat and perhaps this is why "passing note" was crossed out as wrong.

It's the kind of thing we see in a lot of Bach Chorals, btw...

The classical textbook meaning of suspension I know wants to have the tie, but there is a suspended kind of feel to it. What I'm hearing is an Fm in beat 1, and when we get to that Eb, it sounds like the Eb of Fm7 coming so late, that the Fm isn't there anymore. And of course Fm7 moves to Bbm, which we have next. If that Eb had come a tad earlier, we would actually have a suspension that we could tie over; even the stepwise descent would be there (Eb to Db). There is also an appoggiatura feel to it - this heavy lean into the Eb which then resolves to the Db which is part of the Bbm chord.

I would love to know what this is from, and where it's located in the music, because it feels like it's in the middle of something. It sounds quite lovely.

I don't think it's necessary to have a tie, if the pitch is there in the previous chord (and is part of the chord, otherwise we're entering Wagnerian realms, which gets tricky)...

It IS an appoggiatura (which as far as I know is the correct answer to this test), but it's a wrong "correct answer", exactly because it's acting as a passing tone (because of the D and B before and afterwards). But on a strong beat (thus my reply of an "accented passing note" which is not part of the curriculum of CM!

In formal theory the way it is taught, I believe the tie-rule is in there. Music does more than what formal theory teaches. In fact, one of the books I studied has a caveat in the beginning, warning that what's in there reflects only a certain type of music in a limited period. (Which was interesting to see written out like that).

EZ's student had written "passing tone", and that was marked wrong. "Accented passing tone" is probably right, but it also makes us think of Fm7 which moves to the Bbm, and then our accented passing tone also acts as an appoggiatura.

Deliberately stirring the pot a bit: is there a point in learning these names and being able to label music in this way?

I am curious, you seen the answer key, what is the answer key to this question?

I am sure those who created the curriculum think it is important.

Below is the whole piece.

It is in measure 6, the top E-Flat at beat 3.

Whole Piece

Here is your piece, once on piano

once (different key) as an orchestra arrangement