Harmony | Western Music

Harmony | Definition

Harmony is the combination of two or more notes.

WESTERN MUSIC

Western music refers to the musical tradition that originates from Europe and has developed over centuries, mainly within the Western musical notation system. It encompasses a wide range of styles and genres, including but not limited to classical, jazz, pop, rock, folk, and contemporary music.

The foundation of Western music is built upon a system of scales and harmonies, with specific rules and conventions for melody, harmony, rhythm, and form. It employs a standardized notation system that utilizes staff notation, whereby notes are represented by symbols placed on a set of horizontal lines and spaces.

One key aspect of Western music is its emphasis on harmony and polyphony. The concept of harmony involves the simultaneous sounding of multiple pitches or chords that create a sense of vertical structure in music. On the other hand, polyphony refers to the art of combining multiple independent melodic lines simultaneously.

Classical music, particularly the works of composers like Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, has played a significant role in shaping the development of Western music. However, Western music is not limited to classical compositions, and it has dynamically evolved over time to incorporate various other styles and influences.

WHAT OTHER STYLES OF MUSIC ARE THERE ?

While Western music, particularly European classical music, has greatly influenced many global musical traditions, different cultures have their own unique musical systems, scales, rhythms, and styles.

For instance, traditional Indian classical music is based on ragas and talas, which have different scales and rhythmic structures compared to Western music. Similarly, Arab music utilizes maqamat, a system of melodic modes, and relies heavily on microtonal intervals not typically found in Western music.

There are also numerous other non-Western musical traditions from around the world, such as African, East Asian, Indigenous, and Latin American music, each with their own distinct characteristics and musical frameworks.

While Western music has certainly had a significant impact globally, there is a vast and diverse musical landscape that extends beyond the Western tradition.

VARYING DEGREES OF CONSONANCE & DISSONANCE

Dissonance, consonance, resolution and suspense are all harmonic considerations a musician choose from to create interest and varied mood within music.

Hermann von Helmholtz (1824 - 1895) was a German theorist that first introduced the concepts of : Consonance The impression of harmonic stability (resolve) Dissonance The impression of  harmonic instability (unresolved)

The definition of harmony then can be extended to : the combination of two or more notes with a consideration of consonance and dissonance.

EXERCISES TO AURALY CONTEXTUALIZE HARMONIC ELEMENTS

1. Play a major triad in the left hand and with the right hand and slowly play a major scale up one octave.

Listen to each note for a quality of stability, or instability. Decide whether each note sounds like it wants to move to another note, or is stable where it is .These stable and unstable qualities are what we as musicians need to contextual to know how to achieve harmonic control in our music

2. Play a b2 (also know as b9) or a #4 (also know as a # 11) over a major triad to demonstrate dissonance

3. Exercise to contextualize harmonic tension. Play any song and instead of finishing on the I chord try the other diatonic chords to connect you to the various tensions and chord stability.

When trying to understand harmonic behaviour, it is a good starting point to realize that the root of a key centre is the focus where the musical gravity pulls your ear. Everything moves away, leads to, or is subverted from the ROOT.

THE VALUE OF UNDERSTANDING HARMONY

Enhancing your knowledge of both theoretical and aural aspects of harmony will provide you with a valuable foundation to enrich your musical creations. When you grasp the underlying harmonic patterns and progressions present in the music you perform, it establishes a framework that facilitates more efficient learning and understanding of the music itself.

TERMS THAT YOU MAY COME ACROSS

PITCH A sound frequency that is clear and stable enough to distinguish from noise.

The quality of a pitch is governed by the rate of vibrations producing it.

12 PITCHES IN WESTERN MUSIC An established set of twelve pitches that through history have become standardized tuning  for instrument in western culture.

HERTZ Hertz is the numerical measurement of a pitches frequency. 1 Hz = 1 vibrations per second. Example the fundamental frequency for middle C is 261.625565 hertz.

NOTE The twelve pitches are assigned alphabetical names to distinguish them from one another. The twelve notes could be represented by either using sharps or flats.

Sharps: A, A#, B, C, C# D, D# E, F, F#, G, G#

Flats: A, Bb, B, C, Db, D, Eb E, F, Gb, G, Ab

ENHARMONIC EQUIVALENTS Referring to any note that is the same note but can be spelled different with sharps (#), flats (♭) or natural (♮) symbols

Examples A# = B♭ C# = D♭ B♮ = C♭ A♮= B♭♭

EXISTENCE OF SHARPS & FLATS  In Western music, we typically use only seven out of the twelve notes available to create melodies and harmonies. These seven notes, A to G, along with five sharps and flats, help us make sense of and organize the different sounds we hear in music.

INTERVAL An interval is the distance between two pitches

PITCHES UP THE OCTAVES The interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency.

SCALES An ordered pattern of intervals related to an establishing pitch.

CHORDS A set combination of notes that a played simultaneously.

A chord can be identified by specific intervals built from an establishing pitch (root), specifically the third, fifth and seventh interval

CHORD INVERSION The various arrangements a chords intervals can be organized 

VOICINGS The way a chord is arranged and placed on an instrument, with consideration of the order, interval additions or exclusions.

TONE A musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength.

TONAL  Relating to music written using conventional keys and harmony.

ACCIDENTAL Is a note that is not a member of the key signature or tonal centre