Topmusicanswers
In diatonic harmony, tendency tones tend to be one of two things: The leading tone, which has a tendency to resolve up to tonic (especially when in an outer voice), and. Chordal sevenths, which have a tendency to resolve down by step (no matter what voice they're in).
What are the tendency tones?
Tendency tones are notes with in the key that must resolve in a specific direction. These notes are the leading tones (7th scale degree), the seventh of the V7 (dominant seventh chord), and altered notes.
What is diatonic tone?
In music theory, a diatonic scale is any heptatonic scale that includes five whole steps (whole tones) and two half steps (semitones) in each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps, depending on their position in the scale.
Is 4 a tendency tone?
The tonic – the first note of the scale – is the most stable tone, followed by scale degrees 3 and 5. Tendency tones and active tones are synonymous. These are the other scale degrees: 2, 4, 6 and 7. Scale degrees 2, 4 and 6 resolve downward: Scale degree 2 “wants” to resolve to 1; 4 wants to resolve to 3, and 6 to 5.
