Consonance and dissonance
The word consonance ( from the Latin con " together " and sonare " sound " ) is in the music the name of a well - or harmony, that is, intervals and chords as perceived in themselves dormant and not " in need of resolution " be.
Physical and sensory-physiological bases
The hearing will take more or less consciously aware of the overtone series of each tone. The simpler and more harmonious vibration ratio of two tones, the more euphonious feels the ear, the resulting interval.
Physically, there are two more consonant sounds ( euphonious ), each matching are its harmonics. This applies to intervals with as "simple" numerical relationships, such as the octave ( 2:1), the fifth ( 3:2 ) and the fourth ( 4:3). Such "simple" ratios were at the time of Pythagoras as " nice " geometric conditions referred.
Disregarded, however, remains why beats, as they occur in groups of instruments, are still perceived as pleasant in this model.
Perfect and imperfect consonance
No later than the beginning of the Renaissance to the present day, the effective differentiation of the intervals established in
- Perfect consonances: pure prime, perfect octave, perfect fifth, and
- Imperfect consonances: major and minor third, major and minor sixth.
All other intervals are considered dissonant.
- A border dispute and is the perfect fourth, which was interpreted according to the context as consonance or dissonance.
History and culture -specific
The discovery of the mathematical foundations of consonances is in the legend of Pythagoras attributed to the Greek ancient philosopher Pythagoras in the forge.
The Konsonanzempfinden is different for different people and cultures and at different times. During the middle ages at intervals only octaves, fifths and fourths were perceived to be consonant, came from the Renaissance also added thirds and sixths. In particular, the classification of the fourth as a consonance or dissonance was subject to change. What in the Middle Ages as " melodious " was (whole chorales in parallel fourths ), was already in the Baroque period (depending on the harmonic context ) dissonant (see Quart derivative action ). In jazz, you feel a whole series of chords as euphonious, though they seem to involve a number of dissonant intervals in its internal structure, such as large sevenths.
The Chinese pentatonic scale and the Indian ragas follow the harmonic laws.
By the Middle Ages, people used only harmonies that obey the law of the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. With the major third, the number 5 was added.
Synthetic sounds produced as by a ring modulator, can be perceived as "beautiful."
In the theory of composition, especially in the historical doctrine of counterpoint and harmony theory, the importance of consonant and dissonant intervals is as relevant as breakdown of emphasis in Difficult Time ( thesis) and light period ( Arsis ).
It should be noted in particular that the physical derivation is based on a culturally selected special case, the one-dimensional oscillator, as they are realized in the conventional musical instruments approximate. In general oscillatory structures ( plates, rods, membranes, bells, etc.) to form partials on complicated way, there is no " overtones " in integral ratios more. This is for sheets, rods, and so on also the discussion of consonance, as described above, obsolete, and all intervals, the otherwise consonant can be to dissonance.