consonant

theoryKON-suh-nuntfrom Latin

A combination of notes that sounds stable, pleasant, and resolved.

In Depth

Consonance is the quality of stability and restfulness that certain note combinations produce. Perfect consonances — the unison, octave, and perfect fifth — are the most stable intervals in Western music. Imperfect consonances — major and minor thirds and sixths — add warmth and colour while still sounding resolved. What counts as consonant has changed dramatically over the centuries. Medieval musicians considered only octaves and fifths consonant. Renaissance composers embraced thirds and sixths. Jazz musicians treat complex chords with sevenths, ninths, and elevenths as stable. The boundary between consonance and dissonance is partly acoustic and partly cultural — shaped by what our ears have been trained to accept.
Did you know?

Pythagoras discovered the mathematical basis of consonance around 500 BC by observing that the most pleasing intervals correspond to the simplest whole-number ratios of string length.

Related Terms

consonancedissonancechordharmony

More in Theory

Browse all
Fach system

The German operatic system for classifying singing voices into detailed categories that match singers with appropriate roles

pedal tone

A sustained or repeated note, usually in the bass, held through changing harmonies above

downbeat

The first beat of a bar — the strongest, most emphasised beat.

escape tone

A non-chord tone that is approached by step and left by leap in the opposite direction

passing tone

A non-chord tone that fills the gap between two chord tones by stepwise motion

unison

Two or more voices or instruments performing the same note or melody simultaneously.

time signature

A notation indicating how many beats are in each measure and which note value gets one beat.

counterpoint

The art of combining two or more independent melodic lines simultaneously.

Keep Exploring

consonance→dissonance→chord→harmony→