5.7 Additional 6/4 chords

Care must be taken in the use of second-inversion triads, or 6/4 chords as they may only appear in four specific contexts:

1. The cadential 6/4 we explained on the previous chapter

2. Pedal 6/4

3. Passing 6/4

4. and the arpeggiated 6/4 The pedal 6/4, also called the neighboring 6/4, occurs when the third and fifth of a root-position triad are embellished by their respective upper neighbor tones while the bass remains stationary. It occurs on a weak beat.

The passing 6/4 harmonizes the second note of a three-note ascending or descending scale fragment in the bass; it harmonizes a bass passing tone. In this pattern, the 6/4 chord usually occurs on a weak beat and the motion of the upper voices is ordinarily by step.

The arpeggiated 6/4 results from a triad arpeggiation in the bass. With the upper voices sounding a static chord, the bass arpeggiates a complete triad.