If you think finding strange
correlations between random subjects is really exciting, then harmony will
knock your socks off. Harmony combines physics, math, and can even
be related to chemistry (by a stretch) in a fascinating way.
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Harmony will knock your socks off
Harmony is the art of using chords in music. To put things linearly,
harmony is the vertical aspect of music because chords are stacked in connected
beats (“up-and-down”), while melody is the horizontal aspect (“side-to-side”)
because it moves the music forward.
http://www.sheetmusicarchive.net/compositions_b/bachguam.pdf
Discussing harmony in its scientific form is rather dense, so I've simplified
much of the information into bite-sized ideas and analogies. When
two notes are played at the same time with frequencies that form a simple
fraction (such as 300 Hz to 200 Hz = 3/2), they will sound pleasing to the
ear because of their vibrations are complementary.
The harmony that we hear comes from harmonics and resonances. Musical
notes may be considered harmonious when some of the harmonics of each note
are vibrating at the same frequency.
So...What makes harmony different from other sounds? Music can be
thought of in chemistry terms (just humor me). Each note is an element.
Let's say we're dealing with hydrogen and oxygen. Individually,
hydrogen and oxygen are pretty cool, but when you put two hydrogens together
with an oxygen to make water, the relationship formed is superior to the
individual precursors. The moral of this far-fetched story is when
two notes are combined in harmony, they create a compound that is special.
Along the same lines, as David Benner, author of The Neurobiology
of Harmony describes, "Music is composed of pure elements of sound, pitch
and meter, with an internal order, as well as external significance for the
listener."
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