How I wish HARMONY was explained to me as a student | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Harmony in music is about how sounds vibrate together and it is subjective, depending on culture, context, and preference.

Key Insights

• 🎶 Harmony in music is about how sounds vibrate together, and there are no fixed rules for what sounds good together; it depends on culture and context.
• 🎹 The Western music system is based on scales, such as the major scale, which consists of seven notes that have a unique spacing between them.
• 🌹 Single notes create a sense of harmony, and when combined into chords, they provide additional support for a melody.
• ➰ Chords can be thought of as orbiting around each other in a three-dimensional way, creating tension and release, similar to the ups and downs in a good story.
• 📚 Nari Sol has released a practical and comprehensive book called "Nari Sol's Elements of Music," which is suitable for both beginners and experienced musicians.
• 🎵 Harmony is inherent in single notes, as different pitches vibrate together to create a single sound.
• 🌀 The circle of fifths is a useful tool in music notation that helps label notes and understand the relationship between different key centers.
• 🎨 Like choosing colors, choosing harmonious or contrasting key centers in music depends on the desired effect and the context, and rules can be followed or broken as an artist.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How does culture and context influence harmony in music?

Culture and context play a significant role in harmony as they shape the preferred sounds and combinations of notes in different musical traditions. What sounds harmonious in one culture may not be the same in another, and the cultural and historical context of a piece of music can impact its harmonic choices.

Q: How does a chord progression create tension and release in music?

A chord progression is a succession of chords, and some chords have more gravity than others, creating a sense of anticipation and release. Certain chord combinations, like the tonic (chord one) and dominant (chord five), create tension and resolution, giving the music shape and keeping the listener engaged.

Q: Can harmony be broken free from and experimented with in music?

Yes, harmony rules are merely guidelines, and musicians have the freedom to follow them or break free and experiment. Just like in fashion, where artists can follow traditional formats or take risks, musicians can utilize some or all of the rules to create their own styles and sounds.

Q: How does the concept of consonance and dissonance relate to harmony?

Consonance refers to sounds that are harmonious and settled, while dissonance refers to sounds that are more tense and unstable. However, the perception of consonance and dissonance can vary based on the frame of reference and the context of the music being listened to. What may sound dissonant in one musical setting may sound less dissonant in another.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Harmony is the way sounds vibrate together and can be subjective based on culture, context, and preference.

• The major scale is a common framework for harmony, with unique spacing between notes giving it its identity.

• Harmony can be created through chords, with the root note holding everything together, and chord progressions creating tension and release.