1/4/2026 Endless Consonance and NCTs (Non-chord Tones)

WARNING: this blog post assumes some knowledge of the K-pop group NCT.

One of my first exposures to the Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich was this YouTube video about his fugue in A major from his 24 Preludes and Fugues. This particular piece is unique because it technically contains no harmonic dissonance; that is, within the context of every chord, implied or substantiated, no non-chord tones are played. That is, if the chord is A major, the melody will only contain the notes of an A major triad. There's a lot to be said about the subversiveness of writing an entirely consonant piece, especially considering Shostakovich's life and character. (Shostakovich composed the vast majority of his work while engaged with the complicated politics of the Soviet Union; scholarship on his music tends to focus on his relationship with the state and Stalin. For further reading I suggest The Lives and Times of the Great Composers by Michael Steen.) But the fugue a rather pretty work, which begs the question: to what point can one presume that something perfect and sweet is hiding something darker?

Hi guys. Today I want to talk about NCT's predebut track "Switch", featuring SR15B, which was later released in NCT 127's first mini album. 

I'm fucking obsessed with it. Look at the boys go. Half of these boys aren't even members of NCT 127 - not even Johnny or Doyoung (the latter of whom sings Most of the song), who join the group after the release of their first mini album. One of them, Hansol, doesn't even end up in NCT. What are we doing here. Why couldn't this have been released under the banner of NCT U?

What is there to smile about? Misogyny?

I came to write this blog post because "Switch" fascinates me musically. It is not entirely consonant like Shosty's fugue, but it contains a similar sickly sweetness given that it has no real chord progression: it remains in the tonic and never changes chords. One may argue that since some phrases end on non-chord tones (NCTs), different chords are implied, but the instrumental itself does not back that claim up. It remains doing its little bleep-bloop thing. 

Speaking of the instrumental - I find it a charming reminder that NCT did not have their start in the so-called "noise music" which many K-pop enjoyers associate with their "neo" branding. NCT 127 in particular could be the kings of 2010s corny with their similar songs "0 Mile", "Replay (PM 01:27)", and even the more downtempo "Sun and Moon". Not that I mind it. Perhaps "Switch" has its own subversiveness, though not quite as "in-your-face" in nature as their 2021 title track "Sticker". I for one recall the new "open" pop sound of 2014-2016 feeling very new and forward in comparison to the density of late 2000s and early 2010s hits. But then, I was like, ten.

What is "Switch" trying to do? For one, it's a dance song. Why else would all of NCT as it existed in 2016 be participating in a music video for a song that has maybe three people singing on it? It's also cute. It's fun. It brings a little taste of summer to the wintertime. 

Really what I'm asking is how far we are meant to read into "Switch". It's far easier to pull back the curtain of Shostakovich's fugue if one knows the context behind it (and if one ignores the possibility that Shosty could've just gotten a consonant feeling and/or been happy) - yet my father said the fugue felt like walking on clouds, and said that "Switch" was the work that came off as creepy. That's crazy. What do you think? I don't have any answers myself. So, as is on-brand for my casual writing, I leave this blog post empty of a conclusion. Like and subscribe and stream Shostakovich.