1-2-3-4
Up to and throughout the medieval period, moving from the C to the F# note was widely considered not just discordant, but "sinful." That's right....it was actually a sin to play an F# after a C.
This stems back to the Pythagorean belief that harmonic ratios govern not only music, but all of the cosmos. To the Pythagoreans, reality itself is mathematical, and numbers constitute the true nature of things. The first four positive integers 1, 2, 3, 4 - called the tetraktys - were considered sacred, the foundation of the the soul and the material world. Reality might be fluid and changing, but the relationships between numbers (and musical notes) were thought to remain eternal. To violate these relationships was to violate the eternal, immutable order of the universe.
What we hear as melodic or harmonious, then, was believed to be governed by mathematical relationships. Why does a great song sound the way it does? It's the relationship among the participating elements. Certain songs really resonate with us...possibly because we're hard-wired to hear those notes in that particular way. Why do all pop songs use the same basic chord structures? Why do all country songs sound the same? Why do all blues song use virtually the same 12-bar progression? Some chord progressions have been done to death, but that's only because of their intrinsic tunefulness, the elements of which are based on pre-scientific order. I've heard "Blitzkrieg Bop" about a million times, but I still crank that tune whenever it comes up on my Ipod. It continues to be pleasing to my ears...perhaps because that I-IV-V chord progression is bigger than all of us.
This is one (of many) reasons I approach artists who claim to be "original" with extreme skepticism. It's good to be distinctive, to find your own voice, but contrived attempts to to subvert these basic precepts tend to result in unlistenable dreck.
What's awesome about all this: when the Ramones first counted off back in the mid 70s, perhaps they weren't just ushering in a new era in rock n' roll. They also may have been returning the "sinners" (prog rock, I'm looking in your direction) to the natural order of things.
This stems back to the Pythagorean belief that harmonic ratios govern not only music, but all of the cosmos. To the Pythagoreans, reality itself is mathematical, and numbers constitute the true nature of things. The first four positive integers 1, 2, 3, 4 - called the tetraktys - were considered sacred, the foundation of the the soul and the material world. Reality might be fluid and changing, but the relationships between numbers (and musical notes) were thought to remain eternal. To violate these relationships was to violate the eternal, immutable order of the universe.
What we hear as melodic or harmonious, then, was believed to be governed by mathematical relationships. Why does a great song sound the way it does? It's the relationship among the participating elements. Certain songs really resonate with us...possibly because we're hard-wired to hear those notes in that particular way. Why do all pop songs use the same basic chord structures? Why do all country songs sound the same? Why do all blues song use virtually the same 12-bar progression? Some chord progressions have been done to death, but that's only because of their intrinsic tunefulness, the elements of which are based on pre-scientific order. I've heard "Blitzkrieg Bop" about a million times, but I still crank that tune whenever it comes up on my Ipod. It continues to be pleasing to my ears...perhaps because that I-IV-V chord progression is bigger than all of us.
This is one (of many) reasons I approach artists who claim to be "original" with extreme skepticism. It's good to be distinctive, to find your own voice, but contrived attempts to to subvert these basic precepts tend to result in unlistenable dreck.
What's awesome about all this: when the Ramones first counted off back in the mid 70s, perhaps they weren't just ushering in a new era in rock n' roll. They also may have been returning the "sinners" (prog rock, I'm looking in your direction) to the natural order of things.
posted by Pj at 5:05 AM
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