Hear a Suspension: Hold the Note, Find the Resolution

Play F below middle C and F above it. Hold both for four beats. Keep the upper F sounding while the bass moves down to C; count two more beats, then move the upper note to E. The bass reaches its new pitch before the upper voice reaches E: that small wait is the event you will learn to hear.

A prepared 4–3 suspension gives you three moments to follow: a note fits, the bass changes beneath it, and the upper note steps down into its new place. You will locate that last moment, compare an immediate arrival, and hear whether the upper note continued or began again. You need only two voices and a steady four-beat count. A keyboard, a teacher, or the companion listening sheets can provide the sound.

1. Hear the preparation before the wait

Start with F3 in the bass and F4 above it; middle C is C4. Sound both on beat 1 and hold for the whole first bar of 4/4. Listen to the upper F as a continuing pitch, rather than waiting for something dramatic. This octave supplies the preparation for our original example. The intended chords are F major (F–A–C), then C major (C–E–G). We play only two voices so you can follow the upper note easily. F belongs to the first chord but not the second; E belongs to the second. A note outside the supporting chord is a non-chord tone. In this tonal example, the octave is a consonant preparation, the fourth above the new bass is the dissonance, and the third is its consonant resolution.

Preparation: F3 and F4 begin together and last four beats. Upper F4 then continues under the tie while the bass changes to C3; E4 arrives on bar 2 beat 3. Hear the first-bar octave before following the hold.

“Preparation” describes the note's role before the change. F is a member of the F-major chord; after the harmony changes, it is outside the C-major chord, even though it still belongs to the key of C major. The Non-Chord Tones handout shows this relationship in its suspension example. Keep its broader chart for reference, but spend this session on the sound of one held note. You do not need to memorize every kind of melodic decoration.

Have someone play the first bar alone twice. On the second hearing, quietly sing or imagine the upper F after the sound stops. Then hear the whole example. Keeping that pitch in mind gives you something specific to follow when the bass moves. If singing distracts you, simply point upward for the upper voice and downward for the bass.

Prepare at bar 1 beat 1; hold over the new bass at bar 2 beat 1; resolve on beat 3. The upper voice has two attacks across these three moments.

Before adding the bass change, agree on the starting count. Give yourself four spoken beats, then begin the first bar on the next “1.” At the sheets' quarter-note tempo of 60, each counted beat lasts one second. Keep counting during sustained notes. A long note gives your ear time to follow it, but it does not stop the pulse or create an extra preparation bar.

First hear a known version while tracing its three moments, then repeat with your eyes closed. Save an unknown order for the comparison stage.

2. Hold the upper pitch while the bass changes

Count “1, 2, 3, 4; 1, 2, 3, 4.” The second “1” is where the bass changes from F3 to C3. First listen only to F3 moving to C3, four beats on each. In this lesson you are given that bass change; your job is to hear what happens after it. Avoid treating every new sound as a new chord to name.

Bass only: F3 lasts four beats, then C3 lasts four. The upper staff is silent. Listen for C3 at bar 2 beat 1; there is no new bass event when the complete model resolves on beat 3.

Now hear the upper voice alone: F4 for six beats, E4 for two. There is no fresh F attack at the bar line. On a keyboard, hold the F key through the start of bar 2 without pressing it again; leave the damper pedal off so the two pitches do not overlap. Two players can divide the voices if holding both parts is awkward.

Upper voice only: whole-note F4 tied to a half note gives six continuous beats, followed by two beats of E4. The bass staff rests. Count through the bar line without a fresh F attack.

If the printed curve is unfamiliar, review Ties vs Slurs. A tie adds the durations of adjacent notes of the same pitch. Here it crosses a bar line because one sustained sound lasts longer than a measure. Count through it; the bar line does not ask you to strike again. Puget Sound's dots and ties lesson gives the same duration principle.

Each column is one quarter-note beat. The bass changes after four beats; the upper voice changes after six. Preparation lasts four beats, the held dissonance two, and the resolved pair two. Color separates events, not harmonic functions.

Check the two isolated voices against each other before moving on. In the bass-only version, you should hear a change at the beginning of bar 2. In the upper-only version, you should hear the change halfway through that bar. If you place both changes on beat 1, return to the upper line and count its six-beat F aloud. Those are different events even when both feel like an arrival.

Divide the parts with another player, then exchange them. When playing the upper line, keep F continuous. When playing the bass, listen across your own change for your partner's F. Each part gives you a different way to follow the same hold.

3. Hear the fourth become a third

Put the voices together. At the second bar's beat 1, the upper F has stayed put, yet its relationship to the bass has changed. After two beats, F falls to E while C remains. Follow that small downward step. The three-moment listening handout organizes the same preparation, held note, and resolution for a focused comparison.

Over the new C3 bass, F4 forms an eleventh and E4 a tenth. Removing the extra octave gives the conventional label 4–3. The bass changes on beat 1; the upper voice resolves on beat 3.

The numbers 4–3 name intervals above the bass, not beats or fingers. Notice where the wait begins: beat 1 of bar 2, the strongest beat in this 4/4 model. The prepared note becomes dissonant there, then resolves on a less accented beat—beat 3 here, or beat 2 in the later version. The delay is measured from the bass change, not from the beginning of the phrase. In our register those intervals are an eleventh and a tenth; removing the extra octave gives fourth and third. Count letter names inclusively from C to F, then C to E. Puget Sound's interval introduction explains interval size; its suspension lesson explicitly uses reduced compound intervals in suspension labels.

Use “wait, arrive” as a private cue if it helps you track F then E. Do not require yourself to feel a particular emotion. The checkable answer is the upper pitch's change above the continuing bass. You can hear that event even when the fourth does not strike you as especially harsh. Our task concerns this tonal model, rather than a universal description of every fourth in music.

Try describing the full sequence without its theory label: “F above F; F above C; E above C.” You have named three vertical combinations but only two upper attacks. That distinction is useful when a score seems busy: the printed tied note at the start of bar 2 does not add another sound. The bass creates the middle combination by moving underneath an upper pitch that already exists.

If you play the model yourself, pause after the complete phrase and say which voice moved at each change. Avoid stopping in the middle on your first listening pass, because the uninterrupted count makes the delay measurable. Afterward, you can sustain F over C separately and then move to E to inspect the interval pair. Restore the complete preparation when testing recognition.

4. Compare an immediate arrival with a delayed one

Keep the first bar and bass line unchanged. This time play E4 as soon as C3 arrives: second-bar beat 1. There is no F over C to wait through. Alternate this immediate version with the delayed model, keeping both eight beats long. In the immediate version the two voices reach C and E together; in the delayed version the bass reaches C first.

After the first-bar F3–F4 octave, C3 and E4 begin together on bar 2 beat 1 and last four beats. There is no F over C. Play the second bar alone to hear the destination pitches, C3 and E4, then return to both bars.

Ask a partner to choose the order without telling you. After each example, say “together” or “upper later.” Make that choice before looking at the score. If you miss it, replay only the second bar, then restore the preparation. The resolution listening exercise extends this delayed/immediate comparison before asking you to choose the exact resolution beat.

Both examples last eight beats with the same bass change at bar 2 beat 1. Immediate E4 starts with C3; delayed E4 starts on beat 3. Read the left edge of each block as its onset.

A Csus4 chord symbol alone cannot answer this exercise. Csus4 names the pitches C–F–G: the perfect fourth replaces the third. The symbol alone does not tell you whether F was prepared, how long it lasts, or whether it will resolve to E at all. Read the simple sus-chord explanation alongside the separate suspension lesson. To establish our prepared, held example, follow the actual upper line before and after the given bass change.

For an unseen comparison, the handout's immediate and held versions give you a useful starting pair. Let a partner play one, wait four beats, and play the other. Do not infer the answer from first or second position: change their order on the next attempt. Both phrases should begin with the same preparation and end after the same count. Your evidence is where the upper pitch changes relative to the bass.

An answer of “immediate” is complete for that round. Calling beat 1 a delayed resolution would hide the contrast you are practicing: the upper third is present as soon as the new bass enters. Once you can hear that difference, move to the exercise's beat-2/beat-3 choices. Those choices both contain a wait, so noticing a delay alone will no longer decide the answer.

5. Distinguish a held note from a new attack

Now keep F above C until beat 3 in both versions. Change only the upper attack at beat 1 of bar 2: one F continues, the other is pressed again. The pitch names and resolution beat match. Listen for a renewed beginning of the upper F alongside the bass change. Dry, exposed playback makes this a manageable comparison; in a dense recording, a tie may be impossible to determine by ear alone.

Upper F4 begins again on bar 2 beat 1, with no tie; E4 arrives on beat 3 over C3. Compare the new F attack with the continuously held model. The resolution beat stays the same.

That last distinction matters. A repeated prepared pitch can still be discussed as a suspension in theory; a printed tie is not a requirement in every textbook example. This quiz asks the narrower, audible question “held or reattacked?” Puget Sound shows suspension examples with and without ties. Our held model makes continuity explicit, and our reattack comparison tests whether you heard a new beginning.

The held model has one six-beat F4 event. The reattacked model divides F4 into four-beat and two-beat events; both reach E4 on bar 2 beat 3. Rectangle gaps are graphic separators, not audible rests.

For a clear appoggiatura comparison, change the approach as well: play F4 for two beats, C4 for two, then leap to a freshly attacked F4 above the new C bass. Resolve to E4 on beat 3. That leap into the accented dissonance follows the definition in Puget Sound's appoggiatura chapter. It gives you a distinct melodic history, even though the last two pitches match the suspension.

Upper F4 moves to C4 on bar 1 beat 3, then leaps back to F4 over the new C3 bass. E4 arrives on bar 2 beat 3. The leap approach distinguishes this appoggiatura model from the continuously held F.

Ask a partner to play the held model and the appoggiatura model in a hidden order, keeping the bass, tempo, and total length the same. Listen to the end of bar 1: does F continue, or does the melody move to C before leaping back to F? Answer “held preparation” or “leap approach,” then check the two scores. Both examples reach E on bar 2 beat 3, so the resolution beat alone cannot identify them.

6. Mark the resolution beat without looking

Use the resolution exercise with its answer key covered. Hear the preparation, restart your count at each version's first sound, and follow the upper pitch until it steps down. Keep “when?” separate from “held or reattacked?” An example can resolve on beat 3 whether or not the upper note was freshly attacked at beat 1. For the worksheet, write the response requested in that round before checking the key. In a partner drill, you can record timing and continuity separately.

Timing, attack continuity, and supporting bass are separate observations. Hear both voices to connect the upper step with its bass.

Next, shorten the wait: hold F into the second bar for one beat and move to E on beat 2. Count straight through the long E. Resist waiting for beat 3 just because it was the first answer you learned. The bar remains four beats long; only the division of the upper notes changes.

F4 lasts four beats plus one tied quarter note. E4 begins on bar 2 beat 2 and lasts three beats as a dotted half note. Bass F3 then C3 remains unchanged from the original model. Hear the shorter wait before E.

Carry the same question into F and G destinations. For F, hear B-flat above B-flat bass, then retain that upper B-flat over F before it falls to A. For G, retain upper C over G before it falls to B. The pitches move to different registers, but the interval pattern stays the same: octave preparation, then eleventh to tenth above the new bass. Your response stays practical: identify the bass change, follow the upper note, and mark its downward step.

B-flat4 is prepared over B-flat3, then held over F3; A4 forms the major tenth above that bass. The one-flat signature supplies both B-flats. The whole note tied to a half note gives six continuous beats of B-flat4; A4 begins on bar 2 beat 3.

Listen before reading each transposition. A partner can play the models at the same comfortable tempo and repeat each once. Matching tempo, instrument sound, volume, and total duration keeps those features from giving away the answer. If you confuse pitch naming with timing, accept the supplied bass name and record only the resolution beat on your first pass.

C4–C5 prepares an octave. C5 continues over G3 until B4 arrives on bar 2 beat 2 as a dotted half note. Eleventh becomes major tenth. The one-sharp signature does not alter C or B; the first bass is C4, not C3.

Follow the exercise's round instructions literally. Round 1 asks which member of an A/B pair waits. Round 2 asks for a beat number in a single repeated example. Round 3 returns to A/B pairs and asks which member holds continuously. Write the response each round requests; an accurate observation can still answer the wrong question. The supplied bass names let you concentrate on these distinctions without an additional chord-identification task.

Before turning to the key, keep a short record such as “item 5: beat 2; heard the upper step just after the bass.” If you change your mind on the repeat, mark both attempts rather than erasing the first. For the worksheet, check your response against the flipped text key. Its grouped mini-scores identify the item numbers and A/B versions they illustrate. Replay the item and compare the upper change with the beat named in the key. This is a way to inspect a particular decision, not a score of your musical ability.

7. Reveal both voices and explain your answer

For a partner-played example from this article, uncover the matching score after you answer. For the worksheet recordings, use the text key, then replay the item. Trace the upper tie, locate the bass change, then find the first E, A, or B after it. Explain one item in a sentence: “The bass changed to C on beat 1; F stayed held, then moved to E on beat 3.” That explanation connects your count to two actual musical events.

The revealed answer separates the two events: bass C3 begins on bar 2 beat 1; upper E4 begins on beat 3. F4 is continuous for six beats under the tie. Follow the count labels to check which event you heard.

Use Label the Non-Chord Tones afterward if you want to connect this hearing to written analysis. It asks you to inspect chord membership and melodic approach across several figures. For today's listening check, replay a missed item once with the bass alone and once complete. A live Tissimo teacher can provide an unseen pair and check that your spoken beat matches the upper change in a lesson.

Listen with the answer hidden, write the response the task requests, then check and replay. Use the worksheet text key for recordings and the matching score for partner-played models.

For a final check, ask a partner to play three versions in a hidden order: immediate arrival, held resolution on beat 2, and held resolution on beat 3. Write “immediate,” “2,” or “3” after each. Then ask for a hidden-order pair of the held and reattacked beat-3 versions. Write A or B for the version with no fresh upper attack at the bar line. Check all four responses afterward.

If you miss an answer, replay the voice involved, then restore both parts. For a transfer check, ask your partner to choose a different destination from the C, F, and G models and either resolution beat. Have the partner name the destination bass before playing, but keep the timing hidden. Explain your answer by naming the bass change and the later upper step. Have the partner use the already explained beat-2/beat-3 rhythms with the printed destination pitches.

Free worksheets for this lesson

• Prepare, Hold, Resolve: Hear the Three Moments — the two-voice model, immediate and reattacked comparisons, and a prepare–hold–resolve breakdown.
• When Does the Held Note Resolve? — delayed/immediate pairs, beat-2 or beat-3 decisions, and held-versus-reattacked listening.
• Non-Chord Tones — chord membership and a written prepare–hold–resolve example.
• Label the Non-Chord Tones — three phrases for connecting melodic approach with written labels.
• Ties vs Slurs — duration addition and one attack across tied notes.

Sources

• Suspension — Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom, University of Puget Sound
• Introduction to Non-Chord Tones — University of Puget Sound
• Appoggiatura — University of Puget Sound
• Dots and Ties — University of Puget Sound
• Introduction to Intervals — University of Puget Sound
• Simple Sus Chords — University of Puget Sound