David Irving wrote:
In fact the rules of harmony are quite mutable, and are largely a matter of taste, and what we are used to...
Well, certain aspects of "harmony" are purely mathematical (ratios of frequencies and such), and as such are NOT a matter of taste. But *perception* of harmony surely is cultural. As you say, Asian and Middle Eastern music often uses a completely different scale. Some things remain acknowledged as dissonant, but are regarded as musically *valid* nonetheless. A good example is how a V-7 chord seems to require a resolution. There's an old story about Bach's (or one of them guys) manservant who would wake his master by playing a V-7 chord on the "piano". The manservant would then proceed to preparing breakfast, and would shortly thereafter hear his master come down the stairs, play the damned I chord and then come to breakfast. Many years later the Beatles wrote a song (forget the name) that ENDS on a V-7 chord. And while we may consider it musically valid, it still seems to hang in the air demanding that damned I chord. And that's the point, I think. As the more plebian pathways of music were thoroughly explored, artists needed to seek "forbidden" ground to find something fresh. -- |_ CJSonnack <Chris@Sonnack.com> _____________| How's my programming? | |_ http://www.Sonnack.com/ ___________________| Call: 1-800-DEV-NULL | |_____________________________________________|_______________________|