Contents
Now let’s start talking about chords. A chord is a combination of multiple notes played at a time. So the very first thing you should learn is the mechanism of two tones harmony.
1. Quality Linked with Interval
The fundamental principle is; Quality (sound character) of a harmony is defined by the interval between two tones.
You can measure the distance by semitones (hereafter abbreviated as “st“ in this article). In this case, C and G are 7st away.
There are other pairs with 7st interval—For example, E♭ and B♭.
This combination, though its height is different, has the same “quality” as C–G combination. Each interval has its own quality. Listen to another interval will help you understand this.
This is the quality of 6st. Do you feel the difference? ……Yeah it may be too short to compare. Let’s make a short music with these combinations.
7st vs 6st
OK, Below are short songs I made, using only 7st or 6st.
- Harmony of 7st
- Harmony of 6st
Now you are sure to hear the difference! It’s not easy to verbalize these qualities, but you should find 6st somehow creepy, while 7st sounds relatively clear and dignified.
Absolute pitch height doesn’t matter. As long as an interval is kept, the quality is kept too. This is the quintessence of harmony1.
4st vs 3st
Then listen to some other intervals!
- Harmony of 4st
- Harmony of 3st
Even with just 1 semtone difference, the musical ideas conveyed are completely different. The 4st track has kinda brightness or hope, while the 3st track evokes a dark and unsettling atmosphere. For example, if you were to ask a film composer which one to use as the background music for the scene of “The Demon’s Emergence” and which one for “The Hero’s Return” in a hero movie, most likely, 4st one would be associated with the hero, and 3st one with the demon2.
2. Intervals
As seen above, the distance between two tones is the decisive factor, the basis of harmony theory. When it comes to distance, you’ve already learned a measure for it: Interval. It is a bit unique system where the count of alphabet acts as the unit.
C–E is in the interval of a “3rd”.So far we measured the distance by the number of semitones, but in a formal sense, it’s described using intervals.
Simple Intervals
But since it just counts alphabets, both C–E (4st) and C–E♭ (3st) are measured as “3rd”.
C-E♭ is in the interval of a “3rd” too.So I explained that this is “simplified” version and they actually have longer names.
Full Intervals
Their “full names” are like this : C–E is larger in its distance (4st), so it is called Major 3rd. C–E♭ is smaller (3st), hence Minor 3rd.
The naming system really resembles that of people’s—They’re family sharing the same “family name” but with “first names” we can identify either of them specifically. In LMT, we call these longer names “full intervals”.
3. Postpone Memorization
There are more variations for “first names” such as “Perfect”, “Augmented” or “Diminished”. There are 12 tones so the combination of 2 tones amounts to 12*11=132 patterns.
So memorize them all first, then go to the next topic! ……… is the worst course of learning music theory, honestly.
It is not only too much pain but also a horribly inefficient way of studying. Imagine you take cooking lessons. You wanna be a skilled coock, you’d like to learn cooking techniques and the first thing the teacher tells you to do is memorizing 132 spices. Does it make sense? No. The course must be so arranged that learner can gradually remember them, with important ones coming prior to nonessential ones.
As a matter of fact, you don’t have to memorize them at all for the time being. All you have to have is just the conception that “even when the count of alphabets are the same, the precise distance may differ, and their sound character differs depending on it”.
Understanding a concept is one thing, and memorizing terms is another. For example, it is essential to learn the concept “WWSWWWS” to comprehend the structure of major scales. You can’t go ahead without it.
But how many times did you actually chant this magic word?—Probably not so many, because the circle of fifths saves you the labor.
The same is true of intervals. The circle of fifth will be the savior again in later sections. Skip dirty work and learn practical knowledge first!
Summary
- A stack of 2 tones creates various qualities depending on their intervals.
- Intervals of “3rd”s are parted into “Major 3rd” and “Minor 3rd”, whose sound character is distinct to each other.
- You can skip memorization. Intervals will be introduced in later chapters.
