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Consonance vs Dissonance: Why Is Music So Powerful?
Pick an interval, any interval. Play the two notes of the interval simultaneously on a guitar or keyboard, the way you would play a chord. Or successively, the way you would play a tune. Go through the list (previous page) yourself and try out all the intervals.
Consonance vs dissonance goes straight to the heart of what helps make music so powerful, so exciting and emotional (a good amount of dissonance), or predictable and dull (too much consonance). In music, “dissonant” does not mean “grating” or “harsh.” Rather, it refers to the sense you get of tonal unrest, the seeking of tonal resolution which imparts motion to melody and harmony.
Later on, you’ll find that chords, because they’re comprised of two or more intervals (three or more notes), also have consonant or dissonant characteristics, depending on the intervals within the chord.
The notes of a tune (melody) against the backdrop of a chord progression produce consonant or dissonant sounds, too.