Which melodic figure is described as being approached by a leap and left by step?

• A. Suspension
• B. Parallel motion
• C. Appoggiatura
• D. Mordent

Answer: (C)

An appoggiatura is a melodic ornament where you leap to a non-chord tone and then resolve by step to a chord tone. This creates a brief moment of dissonance on the beat followed by a smooth, stepwise resolution into the harmony. Suspensions involve sustaining a note and resolving by step as the harmony changes, usually not by leaping into the dissonance. A mordent is a quick, decorative flip to a neighboring pitch and back, done rapidly and not described by leaping into a note and stepping out. Parallel motion refers to two voices moving in the same direction by the same interval, which isn’t about a single-note ornamental figure. So the described figure fits an appoggiatura.