A neighbour note is a non-chord note on a weak beat or part of a beat between the same two notes of the same chord or of two different chords. It can be located either a step above or a step below the chord factors:
What Is an Incomplete Neighbour Note?
An incomplete neighbour note is a non-chord note on a weak part of a beat that is
- preceded and followed by different chord factors
- approached by leap and left by step in contrary motion or vice versa.
The chord factors in the first example could also be embellished with passing notes.
The second example contains a type of incomplete neighbour note with a specific label: an escape note or échappée.
See also escape note or échappée.
See also passing notes.
Select Bibliography
Kennan, Kent. Counterpoint Based on Eighteenth-Century Practice — Fourth Edition (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1999).
Schubert, Peter & Christoph Neidhöfer. Baroque Counterpoint (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006).