What describes a suspension in melodic writing?

• A. Sounds on a downbeat, then moves downward by a step
• B. Approached by step, resolved by leap
• C. Moves in a contrary direction to the main line
• D. Is always resolved to the same pitch

Answer: (A)

A suspension is when a note from the previous harmony is carried over into the new chord, creating a temporary clash that resolves by step. The idea here is that the suspended note sounds on a strong beat (the downbeat) and is held while the harmony changes, producing a dissonance against the new chord, then resolves downward by a step to a consonant note within the new harmony. This pattern—held over on the strong beat and then stepwise resolution—best matches how suspensions work in melodic writing.