Examples “Long” (first sung note) in Carpenters ‘Superstar’. B mel above A minor “Far” in ‘Yesterday’ (McCartney). E mel above D minor The effect is lost over a min7 (why?). Or without extended duration. Do we hear it as 11/5 or 22/5 over the root? As in lyric “news” from ‘All the young dudes’ (Bowie), it is often high note sung in the section, and of special impact. Comments?
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1Hi Garett, welcome to the forum. Your question is not very clear. You use terms that are not common (B Mel over…, 11/5). Furthermore it is not clear what exactly you are asking, apart from generic thoughts or personal opinions on this harmonic pattern.– Kris Van BaelCommented May 9, 2022 at 13:06
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What is a "melodic" second? Never heard of it. You can have minor seconds and major seconds. Minor seconds can be dimished like a G sharp followed by an A flat; major seconds can be augmented like a G natural followed by an A sharp.– Lars Peter SchultzCommented May 9, 2022 at 23:06
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2 Answers
The technical term is non-chord tone (NCT.)
In a nutshell, super simplified, the idea is in homophonic music the principle tones of a melody are derived from tones of the chord progression, and those principle tones can be embellished with non-chord tones.
The standard way of defining non-chord tones is by how they are melodically approached and resolved to a chord tone. Some times non-chord tones are described as accented or unaccented depending on how they are placed rhythmically either on of off of strong beats.
The particular examples you give involve the tone a whole step above the chord root resolving down to the root. Standard classification doesn't take into account which chord tone is embellished. Also, standard classification doesn't take into account the duration a non-chord tone. You could hold it as long as you want.
In All The Young Dudes...
...the F# is a chord tone to chord D, then the line leaps up to B which is a non-chord tone to the Am chord, then it steps down to resolve to the tone A which is a chord tone. That kind of melodic movement, leaps to a NCT and resolving down by step is called an appoggiatura.
In Yesterday...
...there is sort of combination of two NCT types, an auxiliary tone for the E F E movement above an A7 chord, and the three note descending line F E D over the Dm chord. Your concern is the E above a Dm chord. The F and D are chord tones and the E fills the space between them moving in steps, that filling in the space of the thirds of chords is called passing motion or a passing tone.
Of course neither the auxiliary tone or the passing tone movements are complete, the first ends a bit short, and the second starts early. But the motions are close enough that I believe the NCT terms I use make sense if you really need to give them labels.
...unique feel...special impact. Comments?
Non-chord tones are considered dissonant. Consonance and dissonance are fundamental harmonic elements related to stability and tension. The ebb and flow of dissonance resolving to consonance creates a strong forward impulse in music. Also, the tension of dissonance is often treated as a way to expression emotional intensity. So, for example, if you wanted to convey "heartbreak", you might try place some appoggiatura on minor chords. If that type of thing is overdone, or too obvious, I can sound like "Mickey Mousing." Much of the time a musician uses NCTs in a more intuitive way.
The NCT concept is from "classical" theory and is very much concerned with harmony first. I think you can also look at these two examples from a more pop music frame of mind that isn't so concerned with harmony and melody tones that don't "fit the chords."
In All The Young Dudes, the melody repeats the basic line of D E F# A, but the second iteration adds the B to A variation. Variation like that keeps the line alive and developing. You could say the melodic variation aspect is more important that the NCT aspect.
In both songs the NCT works so that rhythmically the point where the melody sings the chord root is moved off of beat one. That is a kind of syncopation. The melody gets to the root tone "late." From a rhythmic perspective making the melody not hit the chord root on beat one is a sort of avoidance of an ending and that works to keep the line moving forward. In this rhythmic sense, these NCTs are a way to add syncopation and de-emphasize beat one.
answered May 9, 2022 at 14:11
Doesn't have to be a long note. Doesn't have to be over plain minor rather than m7. It's generally considered a 9th rather than 2nd, due mainly to the root and 3rd being way too close in pitch. Yes, it can be 'm add9', but the m7 fits well too, making it 'm9'.
Another great example is 'Laura', which consists mainly of 'add9' in the melody.
