noun

• A note not belonging to the harmony but interposed to secure a smooth transition.

  ‘Even if the basic chords are unchanged, the melody almost inevitably adds passing notes which effectively alter the chords.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘But that B [musical flat] is a passing note, thematically perhaps of more minor importance in the Handel.’
  • ‘Keefe could in fact have gone further here, showing how the connecting motif in the woodwind reduces the motif from bars 5-6 into two superimposed thirds, each filled in with a passing note.’