In the last two measures of the piece, the national anthem resolves to an unexpected, dissonant chord.

Another favourite Fine Horseman, made use of unexpected chords and structures.

The canvases, shaped and reshaped, the unexpected chords of color and the easy command of large spaces are the mark of a true painter.

Dissonant notes resolve in a conventional way, only to become part of an unexpected chord as in.

Her expression, oddly, grew gentler, as if he'd sounded an unexpected chord.

Ron Rosenbaum's essays always strike unexpected chords.

The display struck an unexpected chord of envy in the praetor.

In the Sanctus the B flat strikingly changes to a B natural, producing an unexpected major chord at a key point in the music.

"Paukenschlag," set to Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G (called the "Surprise" because of an unexpected chord), gets off to a good start.

Supporting the same melody note with different and unexpected chords has been termed a characteristic Beatles technique.