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Old 10-30-2009, 12:51 PM   #1 (permalink)
LoathsomePete
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Default Dissonance Vs. Consonance

In lieu of the continual bitching that there's no decent music threads anymore I purpose to you a friendly debate on dissonant music vs. consonant music.

Here's just a little background info in case you're unaware of what the terms mean.

Dissonance is essentially intervals that create a sensation of tension and instability. Basically it's tones that don't sound right, your ears are expecting something else, but instead are given this slightly off note or chord. The avant-garde genre is pretty much the best example of this sensation, but it reaches far beyond that. Here's an example of a dissonant sounding song:



Consonance on the other hand is best described as intervals in a harmonious relationship that creates a sensation of pleasant repose. In layman's terms, notes and chords that sound good together.



Personally I prefer dissonance for two reasons; for one it's very unpredictable and for two it's harder to create. Anybody can learn the theory and learn what notes and chords sound good together, but it takes a special mind to figure out how to bombard notes and chords into each other, yet still make it audibly pleasing. Now my last reason is purely based on opinion as it does not speak for everyone, I know plenty of people who immensely dislike dissonant songs. I do have an appreciation and respect for people who choose consonance as well; however, as I stated earlier it really does take some skill in finding things that don't fit well together, yet still making them sound beautiful.

So now I pose the question to you, which do you prefer? Why? and please post songs that explain your reasoning.
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