6.4 Embellishing Tones: Identifying and Writing Suspensions; Identifying Retardations

TLDR

A suspension takes a consonant chord tone, holds it across into a metrically stronger moment where it becomes a dissonance, then resolves down by step to a chord tone. If that held tone resolves up by step instead, it is a retardation. On the AP Music Theory exam you need to identify and notate suspensions, but you only need to identify retardations.

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Why This Matters for the AP Music Theory Exam

Suspensions show up in both listening and notation work. You will hear them as a tension-then-release gesture and see them in scores as a tied or rearticulated note that clashes with the chord under it before stepping down. Knowing the three-part shape (preparation, suspension, resolution) helps you label nonharmonic tones in score analysis and recognize them by ear.

This topic also connects to figured-bass and Roman-numeral realization. Arabic numerals like 4-3 in a figured bass or progression signal a suspension, so you need to know how to write the held dissonance and its downward step into four-part texture when the figures tell you to. Retardations only require recognition, not notation.

Key Takeaways

• A suspension has three parts: a preparation (a consonant chord tone), the suspension itself (that tone held into a stronger beat, now dissonant), and the resolution (a step down to a chord tone).
• Suspensions are dissonant by definition and the resolution moves down by step.
• A retardation works like a suspension but resolves up by step. You only need to identify these, not write them.
• Suspensions are named by the interval between the suspended voice and the bass: 9-8, 7-6, 4-3, and 2-3 (bass suspension) are the common ones.
• Arabic numerals in figured bass or a Roman-numeral progression (like 4-3) tell you a suspension is required.
• A chain of suspensions links several suspensions in a row; a rearticulated suspension restrikes the held note instead of tying it.

How Suspensions Work

A suspension holds a chord tone from one chord into the next chord, where it no longer fits, creating dissonance. That dissonant tone then resolves down by step to a chord tone. The earlier nonharmonic tones you have studied (passing tones, neighbor tones, anticipations, escape tones, appoggiaturas) usually land on weaker beats. Suspensions are different because the dissonance lands on the stronger, accented beat, often the downbeat, and resolves afterward.

Think of it in three stages:

• Preparation: the note is a consonant chord tone in the first chord.
• Suspension: the same note is held into the next chord, where it becomes a dissonance on the accented beat.
• Resolution: the held note steps down to a chord tone.

If the held tone resolves up by step instead of down, it is a retardation. The AP Music Theory exam asks you to identify and notate suspensions, but only to identify retardations.

Suspensions are always dissonant. Even a IV to I motion, which has plenty of consonant intervals available, produces a dissonance when a note is suspended (for example, a held F against G gives a Major 2nd). When you write suspensions in 18th-century style, avoid placing the dissonant interval in adjacent voices. Keeping normal spacing between voices usually prevents this on its own, but it is worth checking.

Naming Suspensions in Figured Bass

Suspensions are classified by the interval between the suspended note and the bass, written as two numbers showing the dissonance and then the resolution.

• 9-8 suspension: the suspended note is a 9th above the bass (the same as a 2nd) and resolves down to an octave. Common in many contexts.
• 7-6 suspension: the 7th above the bass resolves down to a 6th. This can appear in a iii-vi progression in major used to prolong tonic, or a V-i⁶ progression in minor where the 3rd of V resolves down to tonic.
• 6-5 suspension: less common, but possible in IV-I or iv-i, where the 3rd of the IV chord resolves down to the 5th of tonic.
• 2-3 suspension: this is a bass suspension. The bass moves, so the figures look "backwards." The first number is one less than the second by convention.

For a bass suspension, the numbers come from the interval above the suspended bass note. If the upper note is a 3rd above the resolution, you label it 2-3 to show the suspension is in the bass and the bass moves down to resolve.

When a leading-tone chord is involved

If you suspend the 3rd of a vii° chord resolving down to the root of I, remember the usual voice-leading rules still apply. The leading tone still resolves up, the chordal seventh still resolves down by step, and you may end up doubling the root. Keep all voices present so the tendency tones resolve correctly.

4-3 Suspensions

The 4-3 suspension gets its own attention because it usually appears at cadences, especially V⁷-I. The chordal 7th of the V⁷ chord (the 4th scale degree) is suspended and then resolves down to the 3rd of the I chord. Outside of cadential contexts, plain 4-3 suspensions are fairly rare.

As an illustrative example, you may see a 4-3♯ suspension, where the 3rd of the I chord is raised a half step. This often shows up when a piece shifts from a minor key to a major key on the same tonic (for example, d minor to D Major), so the suspended G resolves down to F♯. Treat this as an example of how the figure adapts to a mode change, not as a separate required category.

Chains of Suspensions

A chain of suspensions is a series of suspensions in a row, each preparing, suspending, and resolving before the next begins. Each resolution sets up the preparation for the next suspension, creating continuous tension and release. A chain is not limited to one type; it can mix 2-3, 4-3, 7-6, and others.

Use chains carefully. If they go on too long they become predictable, but used well they create a flowing effect. As optional context, composers like Debussy used this technique often.

Rearticulated Suspensions

In most suspensions, the suspended note is tied from the preparation. A tie holds a single pitch across two written note values (two tied quarter notes equal a held half note).

In a rearticulated suspension, the held note is not tied. The voice still keeps the same pitch (the preparation and suspension are the same note), but you restrike that note on the accented beat instead of tying it over. It still counts as a suspension because the pitch is retained.

You might ask why ties are used at all instead of just writing one longer note. The reason is that good notation does not hide the harmonic beat. If the harmonic rhythm is one chord per quarter note, writing a single longer note that swallows the next beat makes the meter harder to read. Tying across the beat keeps the harmonic rhythm clear for anyone analyzing or performing the music.

How to Use This on the AP Music Theory Exam

Multiple Choice and Listening

• Listen for the gesture: a note holds while the harmony changes, clashes on the stronger beat, then steps down. That is a suspension.
• If the held tone steps up to resolve, choose retardation.
• In notated examples, look for a tied or rearticulated note that is dissonant with the chord beneath it on the accented beat.

Figured Bass and Roman-Numeral Realization

• When you see Arabic numerals like 4-3 (or 9-8, 7-6, 2-3), write the dissonance first and resolve it down by step.
• Identify the bass note, find the suspended interval above it, then resolve.
• Keep voice spacing normal so the dissonance does not land in adjacent voices, and keep tendency tones (leading tone up, chordal 7th down) resolving correctly.

Common Trap

• Do not assume every held note is a suspension. It must be prepared as a consonance, become a dissonance on a stronger beat, and resolve down by step.
• Do not try to notate a retardation on a notation task. You only need to identify it.

Common Misconceptions

• "A suspension lands on a weak beat like other nonharmonic tones." The opposite is true. The suspended dissonance lands on the stronger, accented beat, then resolves afterward.
• "Suspensions and retardations are the same thing." Both hold a tone into a dissonance, but a suspension resolves down by step and a retardation resolves up by step.
• "The first figure is always larger than the second." For bass suspensions like 2-3 the first number is smaller, because the interval expands as the bass resolves.
• "4-3 suspensions appear everywhere." Plain 4-3 suspensions are mostly cadential, especially at V⁷-I. They are uncommon outside that context.
• "A rearticulated suspension is not a real suspension." It still counts, because the same pitch is retained from the preparation; it is just restruck instead of tied.
• "You should write one long note instead of tying across the beat." Tying keeps the harmonic rhythm readable. Hiding the beat with one oversized note is considered poor notation.

Related AP Music Theory Guides

• 6.6 Melodic Sequences
• 6.7 Harmonic Sequences
• 6.2 Embellishing Tones: Writing Passing Tones and Neighbor Tones
• Unit 6 Overview: Harmony and Voice Leading III (Embellishments, Motives, and Melodic Devices)
• 6.1 Embellishing Tones: Identifying Passing Tones and Neighbor Tones
• 6.3 Embellishing Tones: Identifying Anticipations, Escape Tones, Appoggiaturas, and Pedal Points