Topic 5.7 Additional 6/4 Chords: identify and part-write the passing six-four and the pedal (neighbor) six-four as embellishing chords over a stationary or stepwise bass.

What this topic is asking

The College Board (Topic 5.7) wants you to identify and part-write the other two six-four chords besides the cadential type: the passing six-four (over a bass passing by step) and the pedal or neighbor six-four (over a held bass), recognizing both as embellishing chords rather than functional harmonies.

The passing six-four

The hallmark is a stepwise bass line and a six-four that exists only because the bass is passing through. The chord is named by its spelling but understood as decoration.

The pedal (neighbor) six-four

Here the bass is the pedal point that stays put while the upper voices decorate it with neighbor motion. The six-four is a passing color, not a functional event.

Why these six-fours are embellishments

The central idea is that a six-four chord is unstable because of the dissonant fourth above the bass, so it rarely stands alone as a functional harmony; instead it almost always decorates a more stable chord. The cadential six-four decorates the dominant, the passing six-four smooths a stepwise bass between two positions of one chord, and the pedal six-four decorates a held bass with neighbor motion. In every case the six-four is the unstable middle of a smooth voice-leading gesture, framed by more stable chords on either side. Recognizing which type you are looking at, by checking whether the bass is the dominant (cadential), passing by step (passing), or held (pedal), tells you how to part-write and analyze it. This is why the course groups all the non-cadential six-fours together: they share the principle that the six-four is a product of smooth voice leading, not an independent function.

Part-writing an embellishing six-four

To write a passing six-four, move the bass by step between two positions of a chord and let the upper voices glide smoothly so the middle bass note forms a six-four. To write a pedal six-four, hold the bass and move the upper voices up by step to neighbors and back.

Try this

Q1. Over what kind of bass does a pedal (neighbor) six-four occur? [1 point]

• Cue. A held, stationary bass; the upper voices move by step to neighbors and back over it.

Q2. How can you tell a passing six-four from a cadential six-four? [2 points]

• Cue. A passing six-four sits on a bass moving by step between two positions of one chord; a cadential six-four sits on the dominant bass at a cadence and resolves to V.