The Common Tone · Chapter 1.9
Grand-staff passage: Gsus4 to G; Gsus2 to G; Csus4 to Csus2; C major. Straight arrows follow the lower treble voice, with root-relative numbers 4, 3, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3 aligned below its notes. The fourth bar is a whole-note C major triad.
Click the score or Hear example.
Hear and compare
Click the score, or choose Play, to hear the whole four-bar example. When the score is focused, Enter or Space starts playback. Stop ends playback. The tempo is 140 beats per minute.
Piano: Splendid Grand · sample credits.
Text version
The first three bars have two chords of two beats each. C major lasts the whole final bar. Upper treble half-note stems point up; lower treble stems point down. The bass plays G3–G2–G2–G2 as half notes, then C3–C2 as whole notes. C3 holds through both chords in bar three.
The lower treble voice’s intervals above the root read 4, 3, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3.
| Chord | Bass | Lower treble | Upper treble |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gsus4 | G3 | C5 | D5 |
| G | G2 | B4 | D5 |
| Gsus2 | G2 | A4 | D5 |
| G | G2 | B4 | D5 |
| Csus4 | C3 | F4 | G4 |
| Csus2 | C3 held | D4 | G4 |
| C | C2 | E4 | G4 |
