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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony
Harmony
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In popular and jazz harmony, chords are named by their root plus various terms and characters
indicating their qualities. In many types of music, notably baroque, romantic, modern, and jazz,
chords are often augmented with "tensions". A tension is an additional chord member that creates a
relatively dissonant interval in relation to the bass. Typically, in the classical common practice
period a dissonant chord (chord with tension) "resolves" to a consonant chord. Harmonization
usually sounds pleasant to the ear when there is a balance between the consonant and dissonant
sounds. In simple words, that occurs when there is a balance between "tense" and "relaxed"
moments.
Contents
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9.2 Notations
10 External links
11 Further reading
Rameau's 'Trait de
l'harmonie' (Treatise on
Harmony) from 1722.
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Historical rules
Some traditions of Western music performance, composition, and theory have specific rules of
harmony. These rules are often described as based on natural properties such as Pythagorean
tuning's law whole number ratios ("harmoniousness" being inherent in the ratios either perceptually
or in themselves) or harmonics and resonances ("harmoniousness" being inherent in the quality of
sound), with the allowable pitches and harmonies gaining their beauty or simplicity from their
closeness to those properties. This model provides that the minor seventh and (major) ninth are not
dissonant (i.e., are consonant). While Pythagorean ratios can provide a rough approximation of
perceptual harmonicity, they cannot account for cultural factors.
Early Western religious music often features parallel perfect intervals; these intervals would
preserve the clarity of the original plainsong. These works were created and performed in
cathedrals, and made use of the resonant modes of their respective cathedrals to create harmonies.
As polyphony developed, however, the use of parallel intervals was slowly replaced by the English
style of consonance that used thirds and sixths. The English style was considered to have a sweeter
sound, and was better suited to polyphony in that it offered greater linear flexibility in part-writing.
Early music also forbade usage of the tritone, due to its dissonance, and composers often went to
considerable lengths, via musica ficta, to avoid using it. In the newer triadic harmonic system,
however, the tritone became permissible, as the standardization of functional dissonance made its
use in dominant chords desirable.
Most harmony comes from two or more notes sounding simultaneouslybut a work can imply
harmony with only one melodic line by using arpeggios or hocket. Many pieces from the baroque
period for solo string instrumentssuch as Bach's Sonatas and partitas for solo violin and cello
convey subtle harmony through inference rather than full chordal structures. These works create a
sense of harmonies by using arpeggiated chords and implied basslines. The implied basslines are
created with low notes of short duration that many listeners perceive as being the bass note of a
chord. (See below):
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Types
Carl Dahlhaus (1990) distinguishes between coordinate and
subordinate harmony. Subordinate harmony is the hierarchical
tonality or tonal harmony well known today. Coordinate
harmony is the older Medieval and Renaissance tonalit
ancienne, "The term is meant to signify that sonorities are
linked one after the other without giving rise to the impression
of a goal-directed development. A first chord forms a
'progression' with a second chord, and a second with a third. But
the former chord progression is independent of the later one and
vice versa." Coordinate harmony follows direct (adjacent)
relationships rather than indirect as in subordinate. Interval
cycles create symmetrical harmonies, which have been
extensively used by the composers Alban Berg, George Perle,
Arnold Schoenberg, Bla Bartk, and Edgard Varse's Density
21.5.
Close harmony and open harmony use close position and open
position chords, respectively. See: voicing (music) and close
and open harmony.
Other types of harmony are based upon the intervals of the
chords used in that harmony. Most chords in western music are
based on "tertian" harmony, or chords built with the interval of
thirds. In the chord C Major7, C-E is a major third; E-G is a
minor third; and G to B is a major third. Other types of harmony
consist of quartal and quintal harmony.
A unison is considered a harmonic interval, just like a fifth or a third, but is unique in that it is two
identical notes produced together. Many people say harmony must involve intervals like thirds,
fifths, and seventhsbut unison counts as harmony and is important, especially in orchestration. In
Pop music, unison singing is usually called doubling, a technique The Beatles used in many of their
earlier recordings. As a type of harmony, singing in unison or playing the same notes, often using
different musical instruments, at the same time is commonly called monophonic harmonization.
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Intervals
An interval is the relationship between two separate musical pitches. For example, in the melody
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the first two notes (the first "twinkle") and the second two notes (the
second "twinkle") are at the interval of one fifth. What this means is that if the first two notes were
the pitch C, the second two notes would be the pitch "G"four scale notes, or seven chromatic
notes (a perfect fifth), above it.
The following are common intervals:
Root Major third Minor third Fifth
C
Therefore, the combination of notes with their specific intervals a chord creates harmony. For
example, in a C chord, there are three notes: C, E, and G. The note C is the root. The notes E and G
provide harmony, and in a G7 (G dominant 7th) chord, the root G with each subsequent note (in
this case B, D and F) provide the harmony.
In the musical scale, there are twelve pitches. Each pitch is referred to as a "degree" of the scale.
The names A, B, C, D, E, F, and G are insignificant. The intervals, however, are not. Here is an
example:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C D E F G A B C
D E F G A B C D
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As can be seen, no note always corresponds to a certain degree of the scale. The tonic, or
1st-degree note, can be any of the 12 notes (pitch classes) of the chromatic scale. All the other notes
fall into place. For example, when C is the tonic, the fourth degree or subdominant is F. When D is
the tonic, the fourth degree is G. While the note names remain constant, they may refer to different
scale degrees, implying different intervals with respect to the tonic. The great power of this fact is
that any musical work can be played or sung in any key. It is the same piece of music, as long as the
intervals are the samethus transposing the melody into the corresponding key. When the intervals
surpass the perfect Octave (12 semitones), these intervals are called compound intervals, which
include particularly the 9th, 11th, and 13th Intervalswidely used in jazz and blues Music.
Compound Intervals are formed and named as follows:
2nd + Octave = 9th
3rd + octave = 10th
4th + Octave = 11th
5th + octave = 12th
6th + Octave = 13th
7th + octave = 14th
The reason the two numbers don't "add" correctly is that one note is counted twice. Apart from this
categorization, intervals can also be divided into consonant and dissonant. As explained in the
following paragraphs, consonant intervals produce a sensation of relaxation and dissonant intervals
a sensation of tension. In tonal music, the term consonant also means "brings resolution" (to some
degree at least, whereas dissonance "requires resolution").
The consonant intervals are considered the perfect unison, octave, fifth, fourth and major and minor
third and sixth, and their compound forms. An interval is referred to as "perfect" when the
harmonic relationship is found in the natural overtone series (namely, the unison 1:1, octave 2:1,
fifth 3:2, and fourth 4:3). The other basic intervals (second, third, sixth, and seventh) are called
"imperfect" because the harmonic relationships are not found mathematically exact in the overtone
series. In classical music the perfect fourth above the bass may be considered dissonant when its
function is contrapuntal. Other intervals, the second and the seventh (and their compound forms)
are considered Dissonant and require resolution (of the produced tension) and usually preparation
(depending on the music style).
Note that the effect of dissonance is perceived relatively within musical context: for example, a
major seventh interval alone (i.e., C up to B) may be perceived as dissonant, but the same interval
as part of a major seventh chord may sound relatively consonant. A tritone (the interval of the
fourth step to the seventh step of the major scale, i.e., F to B) sounds very dissonant alone, but less
so within the context of a dominant seventh chord (G7 or D7 in that example).
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chords, which are combinations of pitch classes. In tertian harmony, so named after the interval of a
third, the members of chords are found and named by stacking intervals of the third, starting with
the "root", then the "third" above the root, and the "fifth" above the root (which is a third above the
third), etc. (Note that chord members are named after their interval above the root.) Dyads, the
simplest chords, contain only two members (see power chords).
A chord with three members is called a triad because it has three members, not because it is
necessarily built in thirds (see Quartal and quintal harmony for chords built with other intervals).
Depending on the size of the intervals being stacked, different qualities of chords are formed. In
popular and jazz harmony, chords are named by their root plus various terms and characters
indicating their qualities. To keep the nomenclature as simple as possible, some defaults are
accepted (not tabulated here). For example, the chord members C, E, and G, form a C Major triad,
called by default simply a C chord. In an A chord (pronounced A-flat), the members are A, C,
and E.
In many types of music, notably baroque, romantic, modern and jazz, chords are often augmented
with "tensions". A tension is an additional chord member that creates a relatively dissonant interval
in relation to the bass. Following the tertian practice of building chords by stacking thirds, the
simplest first tension is added to a triad by stacking on top of the existing root, third, and fifth,
another third above the fifth, giving a new, potentially dissonant member the interval of a seventh
away from the root and therefore called the "seventh" of the chord, and producing a four-note
chord, called a "seventh chord".
Depending on the widths of the individual thirds stacked to build the chord, the interval between
the root and the seventh of the chord may be major, minor, or diminished. (The interval of an
augmented seventh reproduces the root, and is therefore left out of the chordal nomenclature.) The
nomenclature allows that, by default, "C7" indicates a chord with a root, third, fifth, and seventh
spelled C, E, G, and B. Other types of seventh chords must be named more explicitly, such as "C
Major 7" (spelled C, E, G, B), "C augmented 7" (here the word augmented applies to the fifth, not
the seventh, spelled C, E, G, B), etc. (For a more complete exposition of nomenclature see Chord
(music).)
Continuing to stack thirds on top of a seventh chord produces extensions, and brings in the
"extended tensions" or "upper tensions" (those more than an octave above the root when stacked in
thirds), the ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths. This creates the chords named after them. (Note that
except for dyads and triads, tertian chord types are named for the interval of the largest size and
magnitude in use in the stack, not for the number of chord members : thus a ninth chord has five
members [tonic, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th], not nine.) Extensions beyond the thirteenth reproduce existing
chord members and are (usually) left out of the nomenclature. Complex harmonies based on
extended chords are found in abundance in jazz, late-romantic music, modern orchestral works,
film music, etc.
Typically, in the classical Common practice period a dissonant chord (chord with tension) resolves
to a consonant chord. Harmonization usually sounds pleasant to the ear when there is a balance
between the consonant and dissonant sounds. In simple words, that occurs when there is a balance
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between "tense" and "relaxed" moments. For this reason, usually tension is 'prepared' and then
'resolved'.[18]
Preparing tension means to place a series of consonant chords that lead smoothly to the dissonant
chord. In this way the composer ensures introducing tension smoothly, without disturbing the
listener. Once the piece reaches its sub-climax, the listener needs a moment of relaxation to clear up
the tension, which is obtained by playing a consonant chord that resolves the tension of the
previous chords. The clearing of this tension usually sounds pleasant to the listener, though this is
not always the case in late-nineteenth century music, such as Tristan und Isolde by Richard
Wagner.[18]
Perception of harmony
Harmony is based on consonance, a concept whose definition has changed various times during the
history of Western music. In a psychological approach, consonance is a continuous variable.
Consonance can vary across a wide range. A chord may sound consonant for various reasons.
One is lack of perceptual roughness. Roughness happens when partials (frequency components) lie
within a critical bandwidth, which is a measure of the ear's ability to separate different frequencies.
Critical bandwidth lies between 2 and 3 semitones at high frequencies and becomes larger at lower
frequencies. The roughness of two simultaneous harmonic complex tones depends on the
amplitudes of the harmonics and the interval between the tones. The roughest interval in the
chromatic scale is the minor second and its inversion the major seventh. For typical spectral
envelopes in the central range, the second roughest interval is the major second and minor seventh,
followed by the tritone, the minor third (major sixth), the major third (minor sixth) and the perfect
fourth (fifth).
The second reason is perceptual fusion. A chord fuses in perception if its overall spectrum is
similar to a harmonic series. According to this definition a major triad fuses better than a minor
triad and a major-minor seventh chord fuses better than a major-major seventh or minor-minor
seventh. These differences may not be readily apparent in tempered contexts but can explain why
major triads are generally more prevalent than minor triads and major-minor sevenths generally
more prevalent than other sevenths (in spite of the dissonance of the tritone interval) in mainstream
tonal music. Of course these comparisons depend on style.
The third reason is familiarity. Chords that have often been heard in musical contexts tend to sound
more consonant. This principle explains the gradual historical increase in harmonic complexity of
Western music. For example, around 1600 unprepared seventh chords gradually became familiar
and were therefore gradually perceived as more consonant.
Western music is based on major and minor triads. The reason why these chords are so central is
that they are consonant in terms of both fusion and lack of roughness. They fuse because they
include the perfect fourth/fifth interval. They lack roughness because they lack major and minor
second intervals. No other combination of three tones in the chromatic scale satisfies these criteria.
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See also
Traditional sub-Saharan African harmony
Chromatic chord
Chromatic mediant
Homophony (music)
List of musical terminology
Mathematics of musical scales
Musica universalis
Organum (polyphonic chant)
Peter Westergaard's tonal theory
Prolongation
Physics of music
Tonality
Unified field
Voice leading
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References
Footnotes
1. Malm, William P. (1996). Music Cultures of the
Pacific, the Near East, and Asia, p.15. ISBN
0-13-182387-6. Third edition. "Homophonic
texture...is more common in Western music,
where tunes are often built on chords
(harmonies) that move in progressions. Indeed
this harmonic orientation is one of the major
differences between Western and much
non-Western music."
2. Dahlhaus, Car. "Harmony". In L. Root, Deane.
Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
Oxford University Press. (subscription required)
3. Jamini, Deborah (2005). Harmony and
Composition: Basics to Intermediate, p.147.
ISBN 1-4120-3333-0.
4. '1. Harmony' The Concise Oxford Dictionary of
English Etymology in English Language
Reference accessed via Oxford Reference
Online (http://www.oxfordreference.com/) (24
February 2007)
5. Harmonia, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott,
"A Greek-English Lexicon", at Perseus
(http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin
/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057
%3Aentry%3D%2315282)
6. Dahlhaus, Carl. "Harmony". In L. Root, Deane.
Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
Oxford University Press. (subscription required)
7. Aristoxenus, Henry Stewart Macran.
Harmonika Stoicheia (The Harmonics of
Aristoxenus). Georg Olms Verlag 1902 ISBN
3487405105. Retrieved 2015-05-04.(and World
Cat (http://www.worldcat.org/title/aristoxenoyarmonika-stoicheia-the-harmonicsof-aristoxenus/oclc/123175755))
8. Arnold Whittall, The Oxford Companion to
Music, ed. Alison Latham, (Oxford University
Press, 2002) (accessed via [Oxford Reference
Online], 16 November 2007 is
gayubview=Main&entry=t114.e3144
(http://www.oxfordreference.com/views
/ENTRY.html?this) )
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PianoEncyclopedia.com
(http://PianoEncyclopedia.com)
Notations
Dahlhaus, Carl. Gjerdingen, Robert O. trans. (1990). Studies in the Origin of Harmonic
Tonality, p. 141. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09135-8.
van der Merwe, Peter (1989). Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of TwentiethCentury Popular Music. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-316121-4.
Nettles, Barrie & Graf, Richard (1997). The Chord Scale Theory and Jazz Harmony. Advance
Music, ISBN 3-89221-056-X
External links
Chord Geometry - Graphical Analysis of Harmony Tool
Look up harmony in
(http://music.princeton.edu/%7Edmitri
Wiktionary, the free
/ChordGeometries.html)
dictionary.
Harmonic Progressions with demos and how to harmonize
a melody (http://www.harmony.org.uk)
General Principles of Harmony by Alan Belkin (http://alanbelkinmusic.com/bk.H/index.html)
Morphogenesis of chords and scales (http://www.lamadeguido.com/morphogenesis.htm)
Chords and scales classification
A Beginner's Guide to Modal Harmony (http://www.standingstones.com/modeharm.html)
Posts about traditional and jazz harmony (http://www.elsaposabio.com/musica)
Sonantometry as Natural Harmony Algebra (http://sonantometry.blogspot.com)
Chord Harmonization Tool (http://www.scales-chords.com/chordscalefinder.php) Online tool
that automates chord progression analysis to identify underlying scales and related chords
Further reading
Prout, Ebenezer, Harmony, its Theory and Practice (1889, revised 1901)
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Categories: Harmony Concepts in aesthetics Auditory perception
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organization.
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