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Why a Leading Tone and Other Dissonant Intervals Are Necessary
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Highly unstable, unbalanced intervals, especially a “leading tone.” They function as pointers, directly or indirectly, to “home.” In particular, a highly unbalanced interval between scale degrees 7 and 1 (8) is required to propel the tune upwards to that “home on high,” scale degree 1 (8).
Unstable, dissonant intervals give a tune (melody) note-to-note impetus. As previously mentioned, unstable intervals make it possible to create a tune that sounds like it has a “sense of purpose” or “story.” A road trip.
As a musical scale, the chromatic scale fails miserably. It has 12 semitones—all highly unbalanced intervals. Way, way too many to function as a musical scale. To be sure, the chromatic scale also contains all the simple-frequency-ratio intervals. But your brain can’t resolve them amid the din and cacophony of 12 dissonant semitones.