What Is Harmony In Music? Complete Guide (2024)

Harmony is a word that is essentially synonymous with music itself. When it comes to music theory, harmony is the most analyzed topic by far — every analysis you read about a piece of music will be focused mainly on harmony.

It, along with melody and rhythm, make up the “big three” with regard to music terminology.

Nevertheless, harmony as a term is still misunderstood by a lot of musicians. This post seeks to answer the question of what harmony is in music and how it is used.

Table of Contents

The Definition Of Harmony

In simple terms, harmony is what occurs when more than one note is played or sung at the same time. This can be as an interval (two notes, also called a dyad), or chords of three or more notes.

Check out our posts on intervals and chords if you want to learn more about them.

One way to think about harmony is that it deals with the “vertical” aspects of music, whereas melody and rhythm deal with the “horizontal” aspects.

As you can see in the example below, only on the final two beats of the measure does harmony appear, and it’s easy to see because there are notes stacked vertically on top of each other.

What Is Harmony In Music? Complete Guide (1)

This video from Jacob Collier explains harmony to five different people in increasing levels of complexity and is definitely worth a watch.

Consonance And Dissonance

Just because two simultaneous pitches produce harmony does not mean they sound harmonious together.

Harmony is simply whatever sound they produce, and a harmonious sound means something pleasant or nice sounding.

Harmony can be nice sounding — and the term for this is called consonance. However, it can also sound rough or irritating, which is what we call dissonance.

Consonance

Consonant intervals and chords produce a feeling of calmness and rest.

Intervals that are considered consonant are unison (both people playing the same note) and octaves: Perfect fifths and fourths (G-D or G-C), major and minor thirds (F-A or F-Ab), and major and minor sixths (D-B or D-Bb).

Also, the compound versions of these intervals are consonant as well.

Here are all the consonant intervals from middle C:

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The major and minor triad chords are also consonant because they’re made of all consonant intervals.

For example, in a C major triad (C-E-G), the C-E interval is a consonant major third, the E-G interval is a consonant minor third, and the C-G interval is a consonant perfect fifth.

Most songs begin and end on consonant intervals and chords because consonance is generally considered relaxed, and when you play consonant harmonies, they don’t feel like they have to “go” anywhere.

Whether a piece is in a major or minor key, it will most likely start and end with consonance (except in jazz and film music, both of which are genres based around dissonant chords rather than consonant).

Dissonance

Dissonant intervals and chords produce a feeling of tension and movement.

Intervals that are considered dissonant are major and minor 2nds (C – D or C – Db), major and minor 7ths (B – A# or B – A), and augmented and diminished 4ths and 5ths (F – B or F – C#), and the compound versions of them.

Here is a list of the dissonant intervals from Middle C:

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One weird thing about this is that the Aug5 (C-G#) and Dim4 (C-Fb) intervals are enharmonically equivalent to the consonant intervals min6 (C-Ab) and Maj3 (C-E), respectively.

However, when they are written as diminished or augmented intervals, they are dissonant, and only when they are written with the correct letters for the major/minor intervals are they consonant.

For example, in C# major, the interval C#-F is dissonant (Dim4), but the interval C#-E# is consonant (Maj3).

Dissonant chords and intervals are usually found in between consonant ones, and rarely for very long.

They are inherently less “stable” than consonant chords, and so usually when you play a dissonant chord, it “resolves” to a consonant chord.

Close Vs. Open Harmony

When playing a chord, you can play it in either what is called close or open harmony.

Close harmony is, as it implies, when the notes of a chord are close together.

So if you start with the root of a chord (the note the chord is based on), then the next closest note you can play is the third above the root.

From the third, the next closest note you can play is the fifth, and from the fifth the next note is the seventh, and so on.

Open harmony is when the notes in a chord are more spaced out and uses compound versions of intervals, like 10ths and 12ths instead of 3rds and 5ths.

Here is a Cmaj7 chord (C-E-G-B) written in close and open harmony:

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Even though they are both made of the same notes, the two chords above sound different because one is tight and close together, and the other is very open and spans multiple octaves.

How Harmony Works

Most music you listen to is called tonal music, which means it’s music centered around a single tone, called the tonic note (see our post on scale degrees for more info if you need it).

In the key of C major or minor, the tonic note is the C, and the chord that is built on C (C major or C minor, respectively) is called the tonic chord.

In tonal music, there are three categories that chords fall into, based on their function in a song: tonic, dominant, and predominant.

Tonic

A tonic chord is a chord that is stable and one that feels like you don’t have to move anywhere from it.

Besides the main tonic chord that we mentioned above, other chords that could function as tonics are the iii chord (an E minor chord in the key of C major) and a vi chord (A minor).

Dominant

A dominant chord is the opposite of a tonic chord.

It is a chord you want to move away from and usually comes right before a tonic.

The two chords that are dominant chords are a V (G major in the key of C major) and a vii (B dim in the key of C major).

Predominant

A predominant chord usually bridges the gaps between tonic and dominant and adds color to a chord progression.

There are two predominant chords — the ii (D minor in the key of C major) and the IV (F major).

Here’s an example chord progression that shows the proper function of the tonic, predominant, and dominant chords, in the key of E major:

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  • I — tonic
  • ii — predominant
  • IV — predominant
  • V — dominant
  • vi — tonic
  • vii — dominant

This was a very quick overview of how harmony functions in tonal music.

Check out our other post on cadences for a more in-depth look at harmonic motion.

Summing Up Harmony

Those are the basic elements of harmony! It is a very, very deep and detailed topic to get into, but we hope this was a helpful introduction.

Harmony informs almost all of music theory and essentially is the basis of musical analysis for every type of music, from classical to jazz to pop music.

What Is Harmony In Music? Complete Guide (2024)

FAQs

What Is Harmony In Music? Complete Guide? ›

Harmony generally refers to chords, which are labelled according to their numbered place in the scale. Chords can have one of three different functions: tonic, dominant, and subdominant. Harmony can be consonant (pleasant) or dissonant (harsh). Notes in harmony can be close together or spread apart.

What is the definition of harmony in music? ›

harmony, in music, the sound of two or more notes heard simultaneously.

What is harmony musical description? ›

Harmony is a mesmerizing Broadway show that tells the story of the Comedian Harmonists, an avant-garde German close-harmony ensemble that rose to prominence in the late 1920s and early 1930s. This captivating musical invites audiences into a world of music, love, ambition, and the relentless twist of fate.

How to determine harmony in music? ›

Whenever more than one note is played at the same time, you have harmony. To identify harmony, look for tones sung outside of the main melody. Oftentimes, you can find harmonies in the pre-chorus and chorus section of songs , though this isn't always applicable.

What are the four basic rules of harmony? ›

Rules of 4-Part Harmony
  • To preserve clarity of harmony:
  • To preserve clarity of line:
  • To prevent one voice from sounding like two (i.e., compound melody):
  • To prevent two voices from sounding like one:
  • Additional rules of thumb:
  • Some Notes on Doubled Thirds and Parallel Octaves.

How do you describe harmony in music examples? ›

Examples of Harmony

An example of harmony can be when one listens to two flutes playing the same song but with different notes being played by the same instrument. Another example can be when two people are singing the same lines in a song, but they are singing in a different notes.

What is the explain of harmony? ›

Harmony is the sound of things that go together well — people singing in harmony are in tune with each other. Best friends should be in harmony most of the time if they want to stay best buds! Harmony is a noun that describes an agreement, such as in feeling, sound, look, feel, or smell.

What is the real meaning of harmony? ›

harmony noun (AGREEMENT)

agreement of ideas, feelings, or actions, or a pleasing combination of different parts: He imagined a society in which all races lived together in harmony.

What is harmony vs melody? ›

Melody is the main musical line that carries the piece. Harmony is the accompaniment that enriches and helps define the music. They both work together to create satisfying listening experiences. As you hear music, try to listen for both melody and harmony and think about how they interact to make meaning with sound.

What is another word for harmony in music? ›

What is another word for harmony?
euphonypolyphony
organumrichness
smoothnessmusical accordance
musicalitysweetness
mellownesssoftness
14 more rows

How to harmonize to any song? ›

To harmonize, you can use a note either a third up or a third down from the note. This will be a consonant chord that will fall sweetly on the ear. You can choose other notes within the key to harmonizing, as well. For example, notes in major three-note chords are often part of the harmony line.

What is the basic harmony of music? ›

As a simple answer, harmony is when two sounds are played in unison. If you play the notes C – E – G melodically you get individual notes from the C major scale. If you play C – E – G harmonically, at the same time you get a C major chord. This is what is meant when we talk about harmony.

How can I improve my harmony in music? ›

Practice harmonic ear training exercises

Try to sing the lowest voice first (the tonic in root position). Then sing the highest note. Once you can hear the top and bottom notes, go for the middle note, which is the hardest to hear. Jump from chord to chord, aiming for a different chord tone each time.

What is the golden rule of harmony? ›

In the vast cosmic dance of existence, there's a simple yet profound rule: what goes around, comes around. This cosmic law, often called equivalent exchange, is like the universe's way of keeping things fair and balanced.

What is harmony theory for dummies? ›

Harmony is when multiple notes or voices play simultaneously to produce a new sound. The combined sounds in harmonies complement one another and sound pleasing. Chords and chord progressions are examples of harmony. A chord has three or more notes that play at the same time.

What is the highest voice part in harmonic music? ›

The four parts are labeled by their range, from highest to lowest: Soprano (S), Alto (A), Tenor (T), and Bass (B).

How do you define melody vs harmony? ›

Melody is the main musical line that carries the piece. Harmony is the accompaniment that enriches and helps define the music. They both work together to create satisfying listening experiences. As you hear music, try to listen for both melody and harmony and think about how they interact to make meaning with sound.

What are the four types of harmony? ›

Four-part harmony is a traditional system of organising chords for 4 voices: soprano, alto, tenor and bass (known together as SATB). The term 'voice' or 'part' refers to any musical line whether it is a melody sung by singers, a long note played on an instrument or anything in between.

What is simple harmony music? ›

A simple harmony is a chord with three tones, creating a major triad or a minor triad. On the piano, G, B, and D are a major triad, and G, B flat, and D are a minor triad. Any extra notes added to a triad, such as an F to create a seventh chord (G, B, D, and F), produce a complex harmony.

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