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Elements of Music: Harmony

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Harmony is to music what perspective is to painting. That is, it introduces the impression of musical space. It is the element of music that pertains to the movement and relationship of intervals and chords. Harmony is central to most Western styles for interest, but not all music of the world rely upon harmony.

Intervals in music can occur melodically or harmonically. Melodic music consists of one note following another while harmonic music consists of two or more notes played simultaneously. When three or more tones are sounded together, a chord is produced. The intervals from which a composer chooses melodies or harmonies are based upon a particular scale, or a collection of pitches arranged in ascending or descending order. The tones of the most frequently used Western scales are assigned syllables. For example, do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do signifies notes from one to eight. Thus, intervals of a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth, or an octave, can be created to produce intervals within a particular scale. A second would be the do-re, the fifth would be the do-sol, and so on.

Melody constitutes the horizontal aspect of music, and harmony, comprising of blocks of tones or chords makes up the vertical. Generally, the melody is played by the right hand if the instrument is a piano, while chords play the harmony with the left hand. While this is true of simple tunes, some composers have created music in which the melody switches hands throughout a piece. In some ways, it is like a conversation between two hands.

In Western music, chords have meaning in relation to other chords. That is, each chord leads into the next. Thus, harmony implies movement and progression. There is a feeling of order and unity as the harmony progresses within a musical work.

The most common chord in Western music is the triad. This is a combination of three tones, and may be built on any degree of the scale by combining every other note. For example, a triad can be built upon the do-mi-sol, the mi-sol-ti, and so on. The triad is the basic formulation of Western music. In simple songs such as "Old MacDonald", the vocalist sings the melody while the instrument provides the harmonic background. Melody and harmony do not function independently of each other. The melody suggests the harmony, based upon the key signature, and both influence each other.

In Western music, the first tone of the scale, the do, or also called the tonic or keynote, serves as a home base around which other tones revolve and to which they ultimately approach. This sense of a home base is how we know that a piece of music has ended. This is called a perfect cadence and has the tone of an ending.

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