Chord Tones and Non-chord Tones

Chord tones are notes of a specific chord. For example, the notes of a C-Major chord are C, E, and G. The following example shows a section of music using only chord tones.

Chord tones
Chord tones
Any notes in a section of music that do not fit into the chord tones of the prevailing harmony are non-chord tones. The following example shows a melody over a chord progression with the non-chord tones circled.
An example with non-chord tones
An example with non-chord tones