Categorization of the chords with non-chord tones in Domenico Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas: K. 1-150

Domenico Scarlatti's unique use of the chords with non-chord tones, which distinguishes the composer distinctly from its contemporaries, can be encountered in many of his keyboard sonatas. Such tone clusters which seem to be a manifestations of an aesthetic understanding far beyond his time, historically described as "ugly and horrible", "dirty harmony" or "harmonic superposition". However, it is remarkable that no analytical study has been found focusing on the theoretical aspect of the chords with non-chord tones in the literature review. To fill this gap, in this dissertation the first 150 sonatas - based on Kirkpatrick catalogue - are analyzed on the basis of the chords with non-chord tones (CNT). The method consists of three main steps as following; the detection of each CNTs, isolating a CNT from its rhythmic quality by converting it into an independent chord, and formulating it regarding the current tonality. The results obtained from the analysis displays that, it is possible to categorize 301 CNTs under three labels as "non-chord tone + chord", "chord + chord" and "(non-chord tone + chord) + chord, and V-based CNTs are the most numerous ones.