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Chapter 3 The Structures of Music Harmony Key Terms Chords Harmonized Harmony Consonance Dissonance Resolution Resolved Harmony Prominent feature of Western tradition The vertical aspect of music The result of two or more pitches heard simultaneously We often hear a melody with other sounds • Folk singer accompanied by guitar • Congregation accompanied by organ, piano, or guitars • Solo instrument accompanied by combo or orchestra Chords Groupings of simultaneous pitches Triad • The most basic chord, only three pitches • To construct a triad on scale step 1, start on do and add every other scale step until you have three notes (or use C major scale) do (re) mi (fa) sol or do-mi-sol C (D) E (F) G or C - E - G • Can be built on any note of a scale • Most commonly built on scale steps 1 and 5 Chords Many ways to vary a chord’s weight, color, richness, or mood • • • • • Simple chord with just three notes In high, medium, or low registers With different chord tones in the bass With notes doubled in many octaves With “broken” figuration Arpeggios or “oom-pah-pah” Any combination of C-E-G is still a C major chord Harmonizing Adding pitches and chords around a melody to create harmony In group singing, some singers will “sing harmony” by adding a descant or bass line Arrangers harmonize melodies by adding a series of chords that fit with the melody A series of chords is called a chord progression Chord Progressions Some scale tones sound more stable than others • 1, 3, and 5 sound stable • 2, 4, and especially 7 sound unstable Chords are only as stable as the chord tones they contain • The chord built on scale step 1 (tonic: contains 1, 3, and 5) sounds most stable of all • Chords that contain scale step 7 (built on steps 5 or 7) sound least stable Chord Progressions Chord progressions use a mix of stable and unstable chords to create tension and release Chords help create different shades of finality at cadences • The strongest cadences end on tonic • Weaker, less conclusive cadences end on other chords Consonance and Dissonance Consonance Chords or intervals that sound pleasing or “at rest” • Octaves, sixths, fifths, and thirds usually sound consonant • Chords that contain these intervals (most simple triads do) sound consonant Consonance and Dissonance Dissonance Intervals, chords, or other pitch combinations that sound unpleasant or discordant or that create tension • Whole steps, tritones, sevenths, and especially half steps sound dissonant • “Tall” or nonstandard chords that contain these intervals sound dissonant Dissonance can be mild or sharp Dissonance creates a desire to resolve Harmony Listening Things to listen for: Stability and instability Tension and release Consonance, dissonance, and resolution