1. Harmony
The Vertical Dimension of Music

2. Amazing Grace
The Beauty of Melody

3. with adaptations
The Richness of Harmony

4. Harmony: A Wellspring of Diversity
• Changes in the harmony change the listening
experience.
• You do not need to know what is happening
technically to experience novelty and
pleasure.
• Do you remember in our study of music and
the brain we spoke of expectation and
violation? Compare your responses to these
two versions of the same song.

5. Blackbird
Traditional Harmony
Sarah McLaughlin
Soundtrack: i am sam

6. Blackbird
Jazz Performance
Harmony Altered
Expectation and violation
The variations between the two versions introduce
variety, surprise, new anticipations and evoke
freshness and tantalizing uncertainty.

7. Harmony: The Vertical Element
Harmony is made up of groups of notes
selected because they work well
together to enrich the melody.
Harmony consists of these groups of
notes forming chords.

8. From Whence Come Chords?
• Chords are derived from scales.
• Scale defined: a series of adjacent notes in an
ascending or descending pattern.
• You are already very familiar with the most frequently
heard scale.
• Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do
• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (1)
• The degrees of the scale are sung in Italian by
tradition. Numbers can also be used.

9. Two Scales Are in Common Use
• The major scale (and the chords characteristic
of it) is the most common scale.
• The other common choice is the minor scale
and the chords that fit that pattern of notes.
Music using the minor scale is sometimes
described as more somber or darker in feeling.
• See your textbook page on 27 for the pattern
of common scales.

10. Intervals and Chords
• When three or more pitches are sounded
together, the result is a chord.
• The word harmony may describe one chord
• However, the term is also used to describe
a system of relationships between the
various chords in a piece of music.

11. Chords
• Chords are created by “stacking up” notes
that are the interval of a third apart.
• There are other possible combinations, but these
will do for now.
• The most common chord is a three note chord
called a triad.
• In the relationship among the chords, some
chords are more important than the others.

12. The Function of Harmony
Triad: three-note chord, do-mi-sol or 1-3-5
The Enjoyment of Music 10th, Shorter Edition
The Very Common Three-Note Chord Called a Triad

13. Tonality: The System of
Relationships
The system, or principle, of
relationships among notes and/or
chords is described by the term
tonality.

14. Harmony: Tonality
• In the relationship among the chords, some
chords are more important than the others.
• The harmony associated with scale degree 1
(Do) [the tonic] is the most important.
• Other chords are interesting and important, but
• In a sense, they revolve around the tonic:
moving away from it, but being constantly
drawn back into close relationship with it.

15. Chords, Harmony, and Tonality
• The chord with the strongest affinity, or
“pull” back to the tonic is the chord known
as the dominant.
• This chord has the strongest tendency by
far to pull back to the tonic.

16. Principle of Organization
Tonality
• Principle of organization for other notes.
• Tonic, or key note (“Do” or scale
degree 1) is the most important note
in the scale.
• It serves as a home base for other
notes and chords.

17. Dissonance and Consonance
• These are the technical terms in music
describing tension(dissonance) and its
resolution into consonance.
• These terms are relative, not absolute.
• However dissonance is generally heard and felt
as unsettling, whereas consonance is
described with terms such as stable, calm,
fulfilling and related impressions.

19. Dissonance and Resolution
• These terms are used in music pretty
much as they are in common
parlance.
• Dissonance is normally something
that we see seek to get away from.
• Resolution of the tension-producing
dissonance is much to be desired.

20. Dissonance
Generally heard
and
felt as unsettling.

21. Consonance
Heard as
stable, calm, fulfilling
and
other similar impressions.

22. The Organization of
Musical Sounds
Chapter 4

23. The Pattern of the Major Scale Represented on
the Keyboard: See pages 26 - 27

24. Progression
• Progression is the movement from one
chord to another.
• From every tone in the scale a chord can
be built.
• Different chords, however have a
stronger affinity with the home note (Do).
The first degree of the scale is the
strongest and most important chord.

25. Chord Relationships
• “Do,” called the tonic can be thought of as the
key chord of the composition. If a piece is
labeled “Sonata in C Major,” the tonic will be
the pitch C and its chord.
• Other chords have a greater or lessor affinity
to the tonic chord.
• From the fourth degree of the scale is built a
chord (IV) that has a notable affinity with the
tonic.

26. The Dominant Chord
• The second most important chord is the
dominant (V), built on the fifth note of the
scale.
• The source of its importance is that, of all
of the chords, it has the strongest affinity
with the tonic.
• That is, it pulls more strongly back to the
tonic chord than any other chord.

27. Can I Hear These Relationships?
• You are always hearing these relationships
when you listen to music.
• You may not be able (or even want to label
them), the chords, but they are constantly
in play as you listen to music.
• Let’s take a common tune with simple
harmonies to demonstrate how all this
theory works in practice.

28. Chord Progressions in the“Battle Hymn of the Republic”
Glory, glory! Hallelujah!
Tonic (1)
Glory, Glory! Halle-
IV
Ilujah! Glory, glory! Hallelujah! His
I I
truth is marching on.
IV V I

29. Yikes! What Must I Know?
• Once again, know the concepts.
• Know what progression is
• Know that the tonic is the most important
chord and that the dominant is especially
important because it “pulls” more
strongly to the tonic than any other chord.
• Note the information emphasized in
StudySpace