Harmony Chords (Junior Cert Music): Revision Notes
📚Revision Notes
Harmony Chords
Note
Harmony is created when two or more notes of different pitch are played/sung at the same time. It is used to support the melody.
Note
A chord consists of two or more pitches played at the same time.
Note
Harmonic support is the use of harmony to provide an accompaniment or backing to the melody line.
What is Harmony?
- Harmony happens when two or more notes are played at the same time.
- It supports the melody and makes the music sound fuller.
Dissonance
- Dissonance is a combination of notes that create a harsh/unpleasant sound.
- Dissonance creates feelings of tension in music.
- It is often used in incidental music to create tension or suspense and to illustrate dark themes, moods and characters.
Note
Incidental music is background music used to create or enhance a particular atmosphere or to accompany action.
What is a Chord?
Note
A chord consists of two or more notes played at the same time. Every major key has three primary major chords. A major triad is an example of a major chord.
- A chord is a group of two or more notes played together.
- Not all instruments can play chords. To play chords, an instrument must be able to play two or more pitches at the same time.
- Most common chords are triads – three notes stacked in intervals of a third.
- Triads have:
- Root (the starting note).
- 3rd (three notes above the root).
- 5th (five notes above the root).
- The root is the note you build upon.
- C major triad:
- Identify the first note: C.
- Identify the third: third note up from C.
- Identify the fifth: fifth note up from C.
- The three notes of a triad are then stacked on top of one another.
