Suspensions are prepared by common tone and resolved down by step. You can think of the resolution to a suspension as "late to the party." In addition to the "sus" label, the suspension and its resolution should be labeled by the intervals above the bass, connected by a line. The most common suspensions are 7–6, 4–3, and 9–8. 9–8 suspensions in particular tend to occur along with other suspensions rather than in isolation.

Retardations are prepared by common tone and resolved up by step. Like with suspensions, you can think of the resolution to a retardation as "late to the party." (In fact, some instructors teach retardations as "upward-resolving suspensions.") In addition to the "ret" label, the retardation and its resolution should be labeled by the intervals above the bass, connected by a line. The most common retardations are 2–3 and 7–8.

Anticipations are typically prepared by step and always resolved by common tone. It is also possible to prepare a common tone by skip or leap, as shown in the second measure below. Anticipations are like embellishing tones that are "early to the party."