What is retardation?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Retardation is a specific type of embellished non-chord tone that is accented, held from the previous harmony (common tone), and resolves upward by a step.

1) Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Non-chord tones (NCTs) or embellishing tones decorate a harmony but are not part of the current chord.
- A common tone means the same pitch is sustained into the next chord.
- Accented vs. unaccented describes whether the NCT occurs on a strong (accented) part of the beat.
- A suspension is an accented NCT approached by common tone and resolving down by step; a retardation is the analogous case that resolves upward by step.

2) Step-by-step reasoning
- Identify how the NCT is approached: if the pitch is the same as a tone in the previous chord, it is approached by a common tone (not by step or leap).
- Identify where the NCT occurs rhythmically: if it occurs on the strong part of the beat, it is accented.
- Identify the resolution: retardation resolves upward by a diatonic step into a chord tone of the new harmony.
- Putting these together: an accented NCT, approached by common tone, resolving up by step = retardation.

3) Intermediate clarification (no heavy calculations needed)
- Example in C major: previous chord contains G, the next harmony needs A but the voice holds G on the strong beat (common tone) and then moves up a step to A — this upward step on an accented beat is a retardation.

4) Why the correct answer is correct
- The provided option precisely matches the definition: accented, approached by a common tone, resolves up by step — all defining features of a retardation.

5) Why the other options are incorrect
- Option 1: says approached by a step and left by a common tone — wrong approach and resolution.
- Option 2: unaccented and approached by step — retardation is accented and approached by common tone.
- Option 4: unaccented embellishing tone approached by common tone and resolves up — wrong because retardation is accented, not unaccented.

6) Conclusion
This confirms the correct choice: "an accented embellishing tone that is approached by a common tone and resolves up by a step."

What is retardation? Single choice

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