Q and A

What could you let go of, for the sake of harmony?

In music, harmony refers to the simultaneous combination of sounds, typically notes, that are perceived as pleasing or creating a musical texture. It’s essentially the vertical aspect of music, where multiple notes are played or sung at the same time, in contrast to melody, which is a sequence of single notes. Harmony adds depth and richness to music, creating chords and supporting the melody. 

Here’s a more detailed explanation: 

  • Simultaneous Sounds: Harmony is created when two or more notes are played or sung together at the same time. 
  • Chords: Harmony often involves chords, which are groups of notes played together. 
  • Vertical Aspect: Unlike melody which is linear (horizontal), harmony is often described as vertical because it involves stacking notes on top of each other. 
  • Mood and Color: Harmony helps create the mood and atmosphere of a piece of music. 
  • Tension and Release: Harmony can create tension and release, adding drama and interest. 
  • Consonance and Dissonance: Harmony can be consonant (pleasant, stable) or dissonant (unstable, tense). 
  • Functional Harmony: In Western music, functional harmony is a system where chords have specific roles and relationships within a key, like tonic, dominant, and subdominant. 
  • Diatonic vs. Non-Diatonic: Diatonic harmony uses notes within a single key, while non-diatonic harmony introduces notes from other keys, adding color and complexity. 
  • Atonal Harmony: Atonal harmony avoids a key center entirely, creating a sense of ambiguity and non-functionality. 

This video will demonstrate how to use harmony to evoke emotion in music: 

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