what is harmony and why does it sound good?
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Think of a painting that is just one color all over the canvas. That’s like a solo singer or instrument. They can sound only one pitch at a time.
Now think of a painting that is two colors. That’s like two voices or instruments together.
The more colors you add to the painting, the more variety and depth you can create. Same with bringing many voices &/or instruments together. Nothing wrong with a solo voice, but with many voices you can create more variety, color and depth. That’s why harmony sounds good.
Think of a painting that is just one color all over the canvas. That’s like a solo singer or instrument. They can sound only one pitch at a time.
Now think of a painting that is two colors. That’s like two voices or instruments together.
The more colors you add to the painting, the more variety and depth you can create. Same with bringing many voices &/or instruments together. Nothing wrong with a solo voice, but with many voices you can create more variety, color and depth. That’s why harmony sounds good.
The only analogy I can think of is a well tuned assembly line in a factory. Let’s say a factory is producing a product that needs 4 of part A and 3 of part B to create part C.
The lines making part A and B are running at different speeds (frequencies), but the 4 of A and the 3 of B always arrive at the right time for making one of C.
If the factory were not timed properly, you would have a situation where either A or B would have to be momentarily stopped so one or the other could catch up.
Watching the well timed factory would be satisfying, but watching the ill timed factory would be frustrating.
A similar effect happens when listening to discordant frequencies. There is a constant shifting misalignment in the peaks and valleys of the sound waves. This creates a stuttering, decaying effect in the sound that’s not pleasant to listen to.
But harmonious frequencies sound good because they create an additional wave (product C) that’s steady, smooth, and logically a result of A and B.
The only analogy I can think of is a well tuned assembly line in a factory. Let’s say a factory is producing a product that needs 4 of part A and 3 of part B to create part C.
The lines making part A and B are running at different speeds (frequencies), but the 4 of A and the 3 of B always arrive at the right time for making one of C.
If the factory were not timed properly, you would have a situation where either A or B would have to be momentarily stopped so one or the other could catch up.
Watching the well timed factory would be satisfying, but watching the ill timed factory would be frustrating.
A similar effect happens when listening to discordant frequencies. There is a constant shifting misalignment in the peaks and valleys of the sound waves. This creates a stuttering, decaying effect in the sound that’s not pleasant to listen to.
But harmonious frequencies sound good because they create an additional wave (product C) that’s steady, smooth, and logically a result of A and B.
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