CHAPTER 1: The Elements of Music
4
HARMONY
Harmony is the VERTICALIZATION of
pitch
. Often, harmony is thought of as the
art of combining pitches into
chords
(several notes played simultaneously as a
"block"). These chords are usually arranged into sentence-like patterns called
chord
progressions
.
Harmony is often described in terms of its relative HARSHNESS:
•
DISSONANCE
: a harsh-sounding harmonic combination
•
CONSONANCE
: a smooth-sounding harmonic combination
Dissonant
chords produce musical "tension" which is often "released" by
resolving to
consonant
chords. Since we all have different opinions about
consonance and dissonance, these terms are somewhat subjective.
Other basic terms relating to
Harmony
are:
Modality
:
harmony created out of the ancient Medieval/Renaissance
modes
.
Tonality
:
harmony that focuses on a "home"
key
center.
Atonality
:
modern harmony that AVOIDS any sense of a "home"
key
center.
__________________________________________________________
TONE COLOR
(or TIMBRE
-pronounced "TAM-BER")
If you play a "C" on the piano and then sing that "C", you and the piano have
obviously produced the same
pitch
; however, your voice has a different sound
quality than the piano. Although the scientific principles of musical acoustics are
beyond the scope of this course, it is safe to say that each musical instrument or
voice produces its own characteristic pattern of “overtones,” which gives it a unique
"
tone color
" or
timbre
. Composers use
timbre
much like painters use colors to
evoke certain effects on a canvas. For example, the upper
register
(portion of the
range
or
compass
) of a clarinet produces tones that are brilliant and piercing, while
its lower register gives a rich and dark timbre. A variety of timbres can also be
created by combining instruments and/or voices.
EXAMPLE of ORCHESTRAL TONE COLORS
BRITTEN:
The Young Persons' Guide to the Orchestra
See M
USIC
G
UIDE
1
(page 8)
&
a 3-note
"CHORD"
A "CHORD PROGRESSION" of 4 chords
F
E
G
B
D
F
A
C
E
&