![]() ![]() But consonance and dissonance depend on the harmonics-structure of the instrument used, as well as on the medium for the sound waves: the air itself, so far taken for granted. Also, this order can basically be regarded to be true for the instrument on which it is perceived, here: the piano. This order may be true for these intervals exactly as notated, on c one octave below central c, and yet it may differ somewhat when gradually transposed to other tones, more so even in different registers. In this order it can be observed how the wide intervals are in fact found in perhaps unexpected places for the traditionally educated music theoreticians, but as “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”, in sound “the proof of the theory is in the hearing”, as one can observe oneself. Acoustic order of consonance and dissonance in intervalsĪ tentative attempt has been made here to establish an acoustic order of the basic and wide intervals, starting with the most consonant, gradually evolving to the more dissonant, somewhat like Hindemith’s Reihe 2 3. This classification, though all too often still taught as factual, is actually rather outdated and of little practical value for most contemporary music, such as Jazz, Pop and World music, as well as contemporary composition hence we will take a closer look at their actual acoustic properties next. Traditionally, only the basic the intervals are classified, based on their use in the type of harmony used in classical music. Traditional classification of intervals in consonant and dissonant Correspondingly, according to Louis & Thuilles “Harmonielehre” one should distinguish between the phenomena of acoustic dissonance and interpretational dissonance (German: Auffassungsdissonant) 2 I consider this phenomenon as an integral part of the concept of harmony in a wider sense, and distinguish further between formally and harmonically contextual dissonances.īefore going into finer detail, we shall consider the traditional classical theoretical view on consonance versus dissonance first. ![]() ![]() The quality of the “sound together” is in fact strongly depending on the musically formal and harmonical contexts in which it occurs. But then, why just make this distinction seemingly oversimple and merely dual, almost resembling the opposites “good” vs “bad”? 1 The whole purpose of introducing the concepts of consonance and dissonance however, is to make distinctions in the nature and quality of the innummerable possibilities of combining sounds. When playing simultaneous sounds, these will “sound together” by the very definition of their simultaneousness. Especially the concept dissonant may seem strange in the context of music, which after all consists of sounds combined together into one piece. Let us stop a moment and consider these concepts more closely. The beginner’s learning book can be found at Basic elements of music theory.Ĭhapter 4: Basic building blocks of melody and harmonyĬhapter 6: Circle of fifths and transpositionĬhapter 7: Concerning rhythm, melody, harmony and formĬonsonant literally means: sounding togetherĭissonant literally means: sounding apart Chapter 5 of the Outline of basic music theory – by Oscar van Dillen ©2011-2020 ![]()
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