# Harmony

By [Annet](https://paragraph.com/@anna123bella) · 2023-02-01

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In [music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music), **harmony** is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony#cite_note-1) Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring [frequencies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_frequency), [pitches](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_\(music\)) ([tones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbre), [notes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Note_\(music\))), or [chords](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_\(music\)).[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony#cite_note-2) However, harmony is generally understood to involve both vertical harmony (chords) and horizontal harmony ([melody](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody)). [\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony#cite_note-3)

Harmony is a perceptual property of [music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music), and, along with [melody](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody), one of the building blocks of [Western music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_culture#Music). Its perception is based on [consonance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonance_and_dissonance), a concept whose definition has changed various times throughout Western music. In a physiological approach, consonance is a continuous variable. Consonant pitch relationships are described as sounding more pleasant, euphonious, and beautiful than dissonant relationships which sound unpleasant, discordant, or rough.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony#cite_note-4)

The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and [chord progressions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_progression) and the principles of connection that govern them.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony#cite_note-5)

[Counterpoint](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpoint), which refers to the relationship between melodic lines, and [polyphony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphony), which refers to the simultaneous sounding of separate independent voices, are therefore sometimes distinguished from harmony.[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony#cite_note-6)

In [popular](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_harmony) and [jazz harmony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_harmony), chords are named by their [root](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_\(chord\)) plus various terms and characters indicating their qualities. In many types of music, notably baroque, romantic, modern, and jazz, chords are often augmented with "tensions". A tension is an additional chord member that creates a relatively [dissonant interval](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonance_and_dissonance) in relation to the bass.

Typically, in the classical [common practice period](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_practice_period) a dissonant chord (chord with tension) "resolves" to a consonant chord. Harmonization usually sounds pleasant to the ear when there is a balance between consonance and dissonance. Simply put, this occurs when there is a balance between "tense" and "relaxed" moments. Dissonance is an important part of harmony when dissonance can be resolved and contribute to the composition of music as a whole. A misplayed note or any sound that is judged to detract from the whole composition can be described as disharmonious rather than dissonant.

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*Originally published on [Annet](https://paragraph.com/@anna123bella/harmony)*