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Dissonant Harmony: The Vital Role of Dissonant Chords
What goes for intervals goes for chords: music doesn’t begin until dissonant harmony takes the stage. At every level, what’s called “music” emerges only when your brain perceives something interesting, challenging, compelling: sonic unrest, imbalance, instability. That means dissonant chords.
The major or minor triad (depending on whether you’re playing in the major or minor mode) serves the same purpose in harmony as the tonic note of the scale serves in melody. It establishes and reinforces tonality.
Deviating from the major triad to create dissonant harmony serves the same purpose harmonically as deviating from predictable scale patterns serves in melody. It creates interest and suspense. Any time you’re not playing a simple triad, you’re playing a dissonant chord. The ear expects that, eventually, dissonance will resolve back to consonance.