In Hindemith's terms, how do I classify this melodic gesture?

Question

I am attempting to analyze the G note in the melody pictured below using Paul Hindemith's terminology/framework set out in his Book 2.

From what I can gather, the melodic formulae Hindemith is considered with include the:

• Repeat tone;
• Passing tone;
• Suspension;
• Anticipation;
• Unprepared or free suspension;
• Neighbor tone approached by skip;
• Neighbor tone left by skip;
• Accented free tone; and
• Unaccented free tone.

As you can see, the G is a non-chord tone that is approached and left by skip. So, I believe that would make it some sort of free tone. That being said, the G, on beat 2.5, is not in a weaker or stronger metric point than the note which follows it, the C on beat 3.5. Because of this, I don't see how it could be classified as either an accented or unaccented free tone.

How would you classify this melodic operation? I would like to stick to the terms and definition found in the book I am referencing, so please let me know if I can provide any further information from the text.

Answer 1

TL;DR

In my interpretation, the best fit for the G is neighbor tone both approached and left by skip. I would also say it's part of an incomplete double-neighbor gesture, along with the preceding E.

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Here is my thinking for each of the options given

Preferred answers are in bold; "okay" answer is in italic

• Repeat tone

Obviously not, since the G only occurs once.

• Passing tone

Again, obviously not, since the G is approached and left by skips in opposite directions.

• Suspension

Again, no, since the G isn't held over from the previous harmony.

• Anticipation

No, since the G is not part of the following harmony.

• Unprepared or free suspension

Also no, for the same not-a-suspension reason given above. (However, it's interesting to consider that, since the harmony in the previous measure is G, perhaps this tone could be perceived as a suspension under the right circumstances. Not here, though.)

• Neighbor tone approached by skip

To my ear, the G clearly functions as an (incomplete) upper neighbor to the preceding F. This becomes more clear by omitting the E — the overall sound of the melody is not significantly changed.

• Neighbor tone left by skip

Obviously, since I consider the G a neighbor tone, it is left by skip, thus....

• Accented free tone

If I were grading an exam that gave this as the answer, I would accept it. The G is accented by virtue of being both a syncopation and by being longer that the E. I find the "free tone" interpretation less convincing than the "neighbor" interpretation, but not unreasonable.

• Unaccented free tone

I would consider the G accented because of the notes that come before, but even excluding that, it's clearly not unaccented for the same reasons I consider it accented.

Answer 2

...that being said, the G, on beat 2.5, is not in a weaker or stronger metric point than the note which follows it...

Why does it matter what the following note is? Does Hindemith define accent differently than the standard?

The G is off the beat. It's unaccented.

You might say two syncopated notes creates a kind of accent, shifting things to the off beat, but a least in terms of non-chord tone classification, accent is on the beat, unaccented is off the beat.