Do Melody and Harmony Suggest that Music is from Outer Space?

There is something extraordinary about music, particularly music without words. It is so abstract that it is difficult and sometimes impossible to talk about without using metaphors. Some have even suggested that because music is so nebulous, it must have originated on another world. I wouldn’t go that far, but music is arguably the most abstract of all the arts. As you’ll see, the use of metaphors is apparent when we discuss the concept of music and space.

We seem to perceive music as existing in some type of imaginary expanse we call musical space. For example, as we learned in the previous lesson, we hear pitch as being either high, low, or somewhere in between. “High” and “low” are metaphors. There is no actual “high” or “low” in music. “High” pitches are merely the result of objects vibrating faster than the ones we hear as “low.” Yet there is something intuitively satisfying about using the high-low metaphor. Metaphorically then, we say that pitch is the vertical dimension of musical space. And because music happens in time, it seems logical to say that musical time is the horizontal dimension of musical space. Pitch and time, then, give us two dimensions of musical space:

In future discussions, I will show you that there is actually a third dimension to musical space.

Melody and Harmony

Melody, to many music lovers, is the most important part of music. It’s common to refer to a melody that is easy to remember and easy to sing as a tune. In a later lesson, we’ll talk about the features that seem to be present in the most memorable melodies. But for now, when we talk about melody, all we mean is one pitch followed by another, or a succession of pitches in time, that is, the horizontal dimension of musical space.

Some music lovers are attracted most by harmony. Most of us, I think, would agree that the best music has both memorable melodies and harmonies. For now though, when we talk about harmony, we are referring to two or more pitches happening at the same time, or the vertical dimension of musical space.

We can take any number of pitches and play them melodically (one after the other), or harmonically (at the same time). Here is a simple demonstration. Below are two examples using the same pitches: C, E, and G. The first example plays the pitches melodically, the second, harmonically:

Melody:

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Harmony:

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Intervals and Chords

As you go deeper into your study of music, you will discover that music is about relationships. So allow me to introduce you to one of the most basic relationships in all of music: the interval. An interval always involves only two pitches, and is nothing more than how two pitches relate to one another. That relationship is determined by how far apart they are in the vertical dimension of musical space. Since we’re just introducing pitch terminology here, we won’t say any more about intervals except the obvious: intervals may be melodic or harmonic. That is, if we take any two pitches and play them one after the other, we have a melodic interval; if we play them at the same time, we have a harmonic interval.

Listen to a melodic interval:

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Listen to a harmonic interval:

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When you play three or more pitches at the same time, you have played a chord. Chords come in a variety of sizes and colors (yes, I said colors), and they constitute one of the most fundamental parts of harmony. I’ll have a lot more to say about chords later, but for now, listen to the chords at the end of this post and compare their sounds. I’ve labeled the chords, only so you would know what kind of chord you are hearing. If you don’t know what the label means, don’t worry. There will be several lessons on chords in the near future. For now, more than anything, I would like for you to listen to the chords and experience their emotional quality. Do they make you feel a certain way? Do they bring ideas or images to your mind? Here is where music theory comes to life. If you can learn to identify with the sounds you are hearing, they become very personal, almost as if they become acquaintances. (Notice that I didn’t say identify the chords; I said identify with the chords.)  And as you become even more familiar with their sounds they become your friends, so to speak. But be careful! It’s very easy to fall in love with chords!

I’ll leave you alone with your new friends for now. Realize that there is much more to say about the element of pitch, and we’ll get there. But next, we’ll move on to another primary musical element: time.

When you listen to these sound files, you’ll notice that the chord is sounded once, then each pitch of the chord is played melodically, that is, one after the other. (When a chord is played melodically, we call it an arpeggiation, which means as on a harp.) After the arpeggiation, the chord is sounded again normally.

Major chord:

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Minor chord:

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Augmented chord:

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Half-diminished seventh chord:

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Diminished seventh chord:

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Major seventh chord:

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Dominant seventh chord:

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Minor seventh chord:

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Go to Elements of Music Lesson 4