Harmony (music)

Lore & Background

The term harmony derives from the Greek ἁρμονία harmonia, meaning 'joint, agreement, concord'. Aristoxenus wrote a work entitled Elements of Harmony, thought the first European work on the subject. He claimed that numerical ratios are not the ultimate determinant of harmony; instead, the listener's ear determines harmony. Current dictionary definitions often highlight the ambiguity of the term in modern use, with ambiguities arising from aesthetic considerations or from the point of view of musical texture.

Reader's Guide

Harmony is broadly understood to involve both a vertical dimension (frequency-space) and a horizontal dimension (time-space). The study of harmony involves the juxtaposition of individual pitches to create chords, and in turn the juxtaposition of chords to create larger chord progressions. The principles of connection that govern these structures have been the subject of centuries of theoretical work and vernacular practice. Drawing from music theoretical traditions and psychoacoustics, its perception largely consists of recognizing and processing consonance, a concept whose precise definition has varied throughout history but is often associated with simple mathematical ratios between coincident pitch frequencies. In popular and jazz harmony, chords are named by their root plus various terms indicating their qualities. In many types of music, chords are often augmented with 'tensions', which are additional chord members that create relatively dissonant intervals. Typically, in the classical common practice period, a dissonant chord resolves to a consonant chord. Harmonization usually sounds pleasant when there is a balance between consonance and dissonance.

Did You Know?

• Aristoxenus wrote Elements of Harmony, thought the first European work on the subject.
• Consonance is often associated with simple mathematical ratios between coincident pitch frequencies.
• In popular and jazz harmony, chords are named by their root plus various terms indicating their qualities.
• South Asian art music is frequently cited as placing little emphasis on conventional Western harmony, using a drone as its underlying harmonic foundation.