Consonance and Dissonance in Music
The topic of “consonance and dissonance” is frequently misunderstood by beginner musicians. Many people who are new to music have an over-simplified understanding of how consonance and dissonance function in music. They think that “consonance” is “good” and “dissonance” is “bad.”
This is probably because a google search like “dissonance music definition” turns up some less-than-great results. Many online resources define dissonance as simply being a “harsh or unpleasant sound” to your ear. Some even go so far as to compare dissonance to the sound of a cat landing on a piano. Meanwhile, consonance is defined as being a “pleasing or harmonious sound.”
The true nature of consonance and dissonance is more nuanced than that. While it’s true that dissonance is usually a tense or possibly even unpleasant combination of notes, it plays an important role in harmony and is in no way “bad” or undesirable in music. It is the interplay between consonance and dissonance that makes music enjoyable to listen to.
What Is Musical Dissonance?
Rather than thinking of dissonance as “unpleasant,” it’s better to think of dissonance as musical tension. the role of dissonance in harmony is to create a sensation of instability—a feeling as though something is out of place or needs to be resolved.
Types of Musical Dissonance
It’s important to note that there are different types of dissonance and different reasons why music might sound dissonant. Some dissonance is part of the harmonic context of a piece—for example, the seventh degree of the scale (which we’ll discuss in detail in a moment) is most often than not perceived as a dissonant element. This dissonance is necessary to create the interplay between tension and resolution in music.
However, some notes sound dissonant because they are outside the harmonic context entirely. If a piece of music is in the key of C, for example, and you play an F#, which does not belong in that key, it will sound very out of place.
This type of musical dissonance is often what people are thinking of when they think of dissonance as being “unpleasant.” It takes a highly skilled musician with a deep understanding of harmony and tonality, to use this type of dissonance correctly (jazz musicians, for example, frequently play these types of very dissonant notes to add “color”).
What is the Effect of Dissonance in Music?
So why is dissonance important in music? Well, alternating tension (dissonance) with resolution (consonance) is what leads a person’s ear through a piece of music. By purposefully creating dissonance that resolves into consonance, we create movement through harmony.
Let’s look at the seventh degree of the scale (Ti, if you know your solfeggio). It is often responsible for creating dissonance. It is very close to Do, the tonic of the scale (which is the gravitational center of the key). This makes it unstable. The instability demands resolution to a more consonant, or stable, note.
If you play a major scale starting at Do and ending at Ti, and you never resolve to the final Do, you may find that you feel very uncomfortable. Your ear demands that the seventh degree of the scale resolves, and until it does, you’ll feel as though you’re hanging on a ledge, waiting for something to happen.
The instability of the seventh is also what drives many chord progressions. The seventh is the middle note in the V chord, and it makes the V chord want to resolve to the I chord. When you hear a progression like ii V I, the seventh in the unstable V chord leads your ear toward the stable I, creating a pleasing sense of resolution.
Examples of Dissonance in Music
A further example of dissonance in music is the dominant V chord. This chord has four notes rather than three, and the addition of the extra note creates extra dissonance. Lots of pop and blues music uses the dominant V.
The extra note in the dominant V chord is the fourth degree of the scale (Fa in solfeggio). The fourth degree of the scale wants to resolve to the 3rd (Mi) in the same way that the seventh wants to resolve to the tonic. By putting both of these notes in the chord, we create a chord that really wants to resolve to the I, which contains both the tonic (Do) and the 3rd (Mi).
One very dissonant musical composition that almost everybody knows is the theme to the movie Jaws. The main part of the theme is two notes, a half step apart, repeated back to back, which never resolve. This builds an incredible amount of tension as the piece progresses, which gives you the nervous, unsettled feeling you get watching the shark creep up on someone.
What is the Role of Dissonance in Harmony?
The role of dissonance in harmony is to create tension. Tension is what leads our ear through a piece of music, and the interplay of tension and resolution is what makes music enjoyable.
Dissonance can also be used to add “color” to harmony by adding notes that are outside the tonality, thus creating an element of surprise. This type of dissonance must be used carefully—if not done well, you can end up sounding out of tune or creating a very unpleasant sound.
What is Consonance?
Consonance is the feeling of stability in music. It is often described as two or more notes that sound “pleasant” together. The most consonant sound you can have is two instruments playing the same note. There is absolutely no tension between the notes because they sound like they “fit together.”
Examples of Consonance in Music
The best example of consonance in music is the I chord (the chord built on the 1st degree of the major scale). This is a major chord made up of the first, third, and fifth degrees of the scale. It has a stable, pleasing, “happy” sound because all of the notes complement each other—they “sound good” together, and nothing sounds “out of place.”
How is Сonsonance Used in Music?
Consonance is used to relieve musical tension. Certain degrees of the scale sound better when played next to each other than others. These are the consonant notes, and they help ground your ear in tonality and provide resolution for the less-consonant notes.
Dissonance vs Consonance: What is the Difference?
The key difference between consonance and dissonance is tension vs resolution. If two notes give you an “unpleasant” feeling when you hear them played together, they are probably dissonant. Additionally, if you hear a chord progression or sequence of notes that “leaves you hanging” you are probably experiencing dissonance.
Alternatively, if you hear two notes played together and think “ah! That sounds nice,” then those notes are most likely consonant notes.
Dissonance and Consonance in Ear Training - Why Is It Important?
So why is consonance important when it comes to ear training? What about dissonance? Surely everyone can hear when two notes don’t fit together—how does that help you improve your ear?
Well, for all the reasons we just discussed! Consonance and dissonance are the two crucial aspects that allow musicians to recognize notes and chords by ear alone. Being able to hear the interplay of consonance and dissonance in a harmonic progression is what allows you to identify chord progressions without thinking about it.
Take the previous example of the V chord—the dissonance of the seventh degree in this chord is a big clue that it’s the V. Then, the resolution of that dissonance tells your ear that you have moved to the I. Hearing that interplay helps you identify the chords.
This is true for lots of other chord progressions too—as you start to feel the sonic sensation of each note within the scale and what it sounds like as it moves to other notes, you will start to be able to recognize chords and notes on the fly, without thinking.
Not only that but recognizing dissonance is crucial for recognizing when you are playing off-key. As we stated at the beginning of this article, some dissonance occurs because the notes are outside the tonality of the piece. By developing your ear, you will be able to recognize when you have strayed beyond the harmonic context of the music and are playing or singing something that doesn’t fit into the key.
Let’s summarize the role that consonance and dissonance play in developing your musical ear:
To start, any piece of music is played in a given tonality, and each note assumes a specific feeling of dissonance or consonance within the tonality. You can train your ear to recognize the sonic sensation of each note intuitively (just like your eyes recognize blue from red, for example.)
This is how great musicians are able to recognize notes and chords quickly and effortlessly. Mind that, this is not achieved by practicing interval-based ear training exercises, as many beginner and intermediate level musicians mistakenly do.
Need Help With Consonance and Dissonance In Ear Training?
If you’re having trouble understanding consonance and dissonance, or with ear training in general, our courses are designed to help you recognize the interplay of consonance and dissonance in harmony so that you can start to use the feelings of tension and resolution to help you identify chords and notes on the fly, without even thinking about it.
Our ear training approach doesn’t involve interval-based ear training exercises, which have been shown by multiple scientific findings to be ineffective for the purpose of developing an intuitive sense of musicality.
Use Your Ear is the only science-based, step-by-step ear training method available and it has been proven to be effective on thousands of musicians, no matter their initial level. As you can see on our testimonial page, there are hundreds of students who claim Use Your Ear to have been the most effective ear training method for them. Even seasoned musicians and music college teachers with experience in ear training have found our method to open them up to a whole new way of relating to music.
If you are interested in ear training as a means of developing an intuitive level of musicality, we encourage you to check out our three main services — The Use Your Ear relative pitch course, the free Use Your Ear Workshop, and our one-on-one lessons. Our courses are designed to help you develop skills that you can immediately apply in real-life situations like jams, songwriting, choir practice, and music lessons.
Conclusion
As you can see, the role of consonance and dissonance in music is far more nuanced than simply knowing that some sounds “sound good together” while others don’t. Consonance and dissonance drive tension and resolution, which in turn create harmonic movement in chord progressions, melodies, etc.
Understanding the interplay between these two forces is a foundational part of what allows musicians to identify chord progressions and notes by ear alone, and ultimately develop their musicality. Developing your understanding of consonance and dissonance will give you a baseline from which to build a more solid musical ear and become a better musician.
Check out how the Use Your Ear method can help you with all of the above.
