- This article is about musical harmony and harmonies. For other uses of the term, see Harmony (disambiguation).
In Western music, harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied,
in music. The study of harmony may often refer to the study of harmonic progressions, the movement from one pitch simultaneity to another, and the structural
principles that govern such progressions. [1] In
Western Music, harmony often refers to the "vertical" aspects of music,
distinguished from ideas of melodic line, or the "horizontal" aspect. For this
reason, considerations of counterpoint or polyphony are
often distinguished from those of harmony, though contrapuntal writing of the common
practice period of western music is often conceived and defined in terms of underlying harmonic motion. Legato= smooth and
flows together.
Origin of term, and history of use
The term harmony originates in the Greek harmonía, meaning "joint,
agreement, concord" [2]. In Ancient Greek music, the term
was used to define the combination of contrasted elements: a higher and lower note. [3]
Historical rules of harmony
Some traditions of music performance,
composition, and theory have specific rules of
harmony. These rules are often held to be based on unnatural properties such as Pythagorean
tuning's low 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. Other traditions, such as the ban on parallel fifths,
were simply matters of taste.
Although most harmony comes about as a result of two or more notes being sounded simultaneously, it is possible to strongly
imply harmony with only one melodic line. Many pieces from the baroque period for solo
string instruments, such as Bach's Sonatas and partitas for solo violin, convey subtle harmony through inference
rather than full chordal structures; see below:
Example of implied harmonies in
J.S. Bach's Cello Suite no. 1 in G, BWV 1007, bar
1.
Types of harmony
Carl Dahlhaus (1990) distinguishes between coordinate and subordinate
harmony. Subordinate harmony is the hierarchical tonality or tonal harmony well known today, while coordinate harmony is the older Medieval and Renaissance tonalité 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 earlier 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, such as
frequently in the music of Alban Berg, George Perle,
Arnold Schoenberg, Béla Bartók, and
Edgard Varèse's Density 21.5.
Other types of harmony are based upon the intervals used in constructing the chords used in that harmony. Most chords used in
western music are based on "tertial" 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 harmony and quintal
harmony.
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 (one fifth), above it.
The following are common intervals:
| Root |
Third |
Minor third |
Fifth |
| C |
E |
Eb |
G |
| Db |
F |
E |
Ab |
| D |
F# |
F |
A |
| Eb |
G |
Gb |
Bb |
| E |
G# |
G |
B |
| F |
A |
Ab |
C |
| F# |
A# |
A |
C# |
| G |
B |
Bb |
D |
| Ab |
C |
B |
Eb |
| A |
C# |
C |
E |
| Bb |
D |
Db |
F |
| B |
D# |
D |
F# |
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 tone, with the notes "E" and "G" providing harmony.
In the musical scale, there are twelve pitches. Each pitch is referred to as a "degree" of the scale. In actuality, there are no
names for each degree-there is no real "C" or "E-flat" or "A". Nature did not name the pitches. The only inherent quality that
these degrees have is their harmonic relationship to each other. The names A, B, C, D, E, F, and G are intransigent. 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 |
As you can see there, no note always corresponds to a certain degree of the scale. The "root", or 1st-degree note, can be any
of the 12 notes of the scale. All the other notes fall into place. So, when C is the root note, the fourth degree is F. But when
D is the root note, the fourth degree is G. So while the note names are intransigent, the intervals are not. In layman's terms: a
"fourth" (four-step interval) is always a fourth, no matter what the root note is. The great power of this fact is that any song
can be played or sung in any key-it will be the same song, as long as the intervals are kept the same.
Chords & Tensions
There are certain basic harmonies. A basic chord consists of three notes: the root, the third above the root, and the fifth
above the root (which happens to be the minor third above the third above the root). So, in a C chord, the notes are C, E, and G.
In an A-flat chord, the notes are Ab, C, and Eb. In many types of music, notably baroque and jazz, basic chords are often
augmented with "tensions". A tension is a degree of the scale which, in a given key, hits a dissonant interval. The most basic, common example of a tension is a "seventh" (actually a
minor, or flat seventh)--so named because it is the seventh degree of the scale in a given key. While the actual degree is a flat
seventh, the nomenclature is simply "seventh". So, in a C7 chord, the notes are C, E, G, and Bb. Other common dissonant tensions
include ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths. In jazz, chords can become very complex with several tensions.
Typically, a dissonant chord (chord with a tension) will "resolve" to a consonant chord. A good 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 "tension" and "relax" moments. Because of this reason, usually tensions are 'prepared' and then
'resolved'.
Preparing a tension means to place a series of consonant chords that lead smoothly to the dissonant chord. In this way the
composer ensures to build up the tension of the piece smoothly, without disturbing the listener. Once the piece reaches it's
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 tensions of the previous chords. The clearing of this tension usually produces pleasure in the listener.
Consonant/Dissonant Sound Balance
Harmony is complex in the way that you can not ensure a listener's likeness by just using consonant sounds as the piece may
result not interesting and too simple. However, the excess of tension moments that require relaxation may disturb the
listener.
Contemporary music has evolved in the way that tensions are less prepared and less structured than in Baroque or Classical periods, thus producing new styles such as
Jazz and Blues, where tensions are usually not prepared.
Part harmonies
In vocal music, the four basic "parts" are soprano,
alto, tenor, and bass. A
chord may be spread across parts in order to provide harmony. For example, a vocal piece's harmony may be constructed by the
following:
- Bass - root note of chord (1st degree)
- Tenor and Alto - provide harmonies corresponding to the 3rd and 5th degrees of the scale; the Alto line usually sounds a
third below the soprano,
- Soprano - melody line; usually provides all tensions.
See also
Further reading
- Ebenezer Prout -- Harmony (1889, Revised 1901).
- Twentieth Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice by Vincent
Persichetti, ISBN 0-393-09539-8.
- Arnold Schoenberg -- Harmonielehre. Universal Edition, 1911. Trans. by Roy
Carter as Theory of Harmony. University of California Press, 1978
- Arnold Schoenberg -- Structural Functions of Harmony. Ernest Benn Limited, second (revised) edition, 1969. Ed. Leonard
Stein.
- Walter Piston -- Harmony, 1969. ISBN 0-393-95480-3.
- Copley, R. Evan (1991). Harmony, Baroque to Contemporary, Part One (2nd ed.). Champaign: Stipes Publishing. ISBN
0-87563-373-0.
- Copley, R. Evan (1991). Harmony, Baroque to Contemporary, Part Two (2nd ed.). Champaign: Stipes Publishing. ISBN
0-87563-377-3.
- Kholopov, Yuri, "Harmony. Practical Course". In 2 Vol., Moscow: Kompozitor, 2003.
ISBN 5-85285-619-3.
References
- ^ Dahlhaus, Car. "Harmony", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 24
February 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
- ^ '1. Harmony' The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology in
English Language Reference, accessed via Oxford Reference Online (24th February 2007).
- ^ Dahlhaus, Carl. "Harmony", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 24
February 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
- 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 Twentieth-Century Popular Music. Oxford:
Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-316121-4.
External links
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