Anticipation

Arrived too early

A melody often moves faster than the chords beneath it. It then reaches a note of the new chord before the old one is over. Over the old chord this note is a non-chord tone, but only for a short time: when the chord changes it is already there and is simply repeated. The example shows it at the end of a piece, from the dominant to the tonic.

How it differs from the others

With the suspension a note of the old chord stays and resolves. With the anticipation a note of the new chord comes early. The neighbour note, by contrast, returns to its starting note, see neighbour note. The three terms describe different relationships between a note and the chords: lingering, anticipating and decorating.

Because the anticipation is on a weak beat and is merely repeated at the change, it sounds light and hurried without disturbing the close. In the full close it often stands just before the last chord.

Common mistakes

• Confusing anticipation and suspension: The suspension holds back, the anticipation hurries ahead.
• Stressing the early note: It falls on the weak beat.
• Anticipating for too long: The longer the note sounds before the change, the more it already feels like part of the new chord and no longer like a fleeting anticipation.