Harmonization usually sounds pleasant to the ear when there is a balance between consonance and dissonance. Typically, in the classical common practice period a dissonant chord (chord with tension) "resolves" to a consonant chord. A tension is an additional chord member that creates a relatively dissonant interval in relation to the bass. In many types of music, notably baroque, romantic, modern, and jazz, chords are often augmented with "tensions".
In popular and jazz harmony, chords are named by their root plus various terms and characters indicating their qualities. Ĭounterpoint, which refers to the relationship between melodic lines, and polyphony, which refers to the simultaneous sounding of separate independent voices, are therefore sometimes distinguished from harmony.
The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Consonant pitch relationships are described as sounding more pleasant, euphonious, and beautiful than dissonant relationships which sound unpleasant, discordant, or rough. In a physiological approach, consonance is a continuous variable. Its perception is based on consonance, a concept whose definition has changed various times throughout Western music. Harmony is a perceptual property of music, and, along with melody, one of the building blocks of Western music. However, harmony is generally understood to involve both vertical harmony (chords) and horizontal harmony ( melody). Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.Barbershop quartets, such as this US Navy group, sing 4-part pieces, made up of a melody line (normally the lead) and 3 harmony parts. You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). 10.5.Ĭollection Area(s) American Art Web Resources Google Cultural Institute CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0) 12, 2003 and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mar. Manet/Velazquez: the French Taste for Spanish Painting: An exhibition held at the Musee d'Orsay, Paris, Sept. New Haven and New York, April 22 - July 13, 2003. James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art. Japonisme in Britain: Whistler, Menpes, Henry, Hornel, and Nineteenth-Century Japan.
The Visual Culture of Women's Activism in London, Paris, and Beyond. Thames and Hudson World of Art London and Washington, 2010. Ideals of Beauty: Asian and American Art in the Freer and Sackler Galleries.MacDonald, Patricia de Montfort, Pamela Robertson, Lee Glazer. James McNeill Whistler in Context: Essays from the Whistler Centenary Symposium, University of Glasgow, 2003.After Whistler: The Artist and His Influence on American Painting. , Robin Asleson, Lee Glazer, Lacey Taylor Jordan, John Siewert, Marc Simpson, Sylvia Yount.James McNeill Whistler: A Biographical Outline Illustrated from the Collections of the Freer Gallery of Art. Victorian Lessons in Empathy and Difference. Instead of trying to create a convincing illusion of three-dimensional space, Whistler adopted a color scheme and sharply angled perspective that emphasize the flatness of the picture plane. The standing woman, Miss Isabella Boott, was connected to the Haden family by marriage. The seated girl is his niece, Annie Haden. The woman reflected in the mirror at the left is Whistler's half sister Deborah Haden. Set in the London home of Whistler's brother-in-law Seymour Haden, this painting was originally titled The Morning Call. Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)Ĭolonel Frank J. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery. The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. See Accession List, Collections Management office, as well as Original Whistler List, pg. Hecker in 1917 įreer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920