3 ms·

"When the scientists asked the pianists to play a harmonically unexpected chord within a standard chord progression..." Can someone ELI5 (and essentially never

by ndr 9y ago

"When the scientists asked the pianists to play a harmonically unexpected chord within a standard chord progression..." Can someone ELI5 (and essentially never played) what they mean by harmonically unexpected chord within a standard chord progression? edit: formatting

jrowley 9y ago
One easy case can be attributed to the improvisational nature of jazz - it is hard for the average listener to predict where a solo is going, how a pianist is going to voice their changes with their left hand while operating in another separate but related space with their right hand. I can't speak to to technical strictly music theory definition of jazz, especially given that jazz now is really just an umbrella for myriad sub-genres, but from my experience the beauty of jazz is that the resolution is not predictable, and more often than not it may make one feel vulnerable, or sad. See classics like Miles Davis, Bill Evans, or for someone alive today, Dr Lonnie Smith.
savanaly 9y ago
These [0] are examples of chord progressions. In other words, progression means nothing more than a series of chords. A "harmonically unexpected chord" would be if the chord progression was playing out and a chord you wouldn't normally hear was inserted. That's it. Musicians, especially those focused on classical music, are so used to the standard chords that it feels really weird to play a "wrong" chord progression. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YS3YvtY8-E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YS3YvtY8-E
thesephist 9y ago
(gross oversimplification of music theory follows:) You've probably heard of complementary colors and the color wheel in the context of art. The idea there is (afaik) that some colors are thought to go "better" together and they're used more often together to create certain effects that seem more naturally fitting. If nothing else, there are color pairs used often together, by convention. Music has a similar construct in chord progressions. Chords (combination of pitches played simultaneously) sound as if they "naturally progress" from one to another when played in certain orders. For example, lots of pop songs will use a I-vi-IV-V progression over and over again, because 1) it's conventional and popular and 2) it sounds "natural" i.e. like it belongs together, the same way some colors might to an artist. What they mean here by _harmonically unexpected chord within a standard chord progress_ is that they started with a standard, conventionally popular progression of chords, then (I assume) replaced one (or more) of the chords that follow that progression with one that doesn't, which creates a feeling of dissonance since they aren't supposed to belong together, classically speaking. Hopefully this is an adequate portrayal -- not trained in theory, just a casual songwriter.
yodsanklai 9y ago
A chord progression is sequence of chords that defines the harmony of a song. A chord is a few notes played simultaneously. Think of a guy strumming a guitar, he would play the harmony with his guitar, and sing the melody. In western music, chords and chord progressions are constructed according to certain rules (google "harmonization of the major scale") that are now familiar to most listeners. Actually, many pop songs share exactly the same sequence of chords. This contrats with jazz which tends to bend the rules.
melq 9y ago
Many genres of music have songs that are mostly comprised of a handful of chord sequences, or 'chord progressions'. For instance, you will hear the I - IV - V all the time in western pop. An example of this (with a different chord progression): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ So unexpected harmonies are sequences that don;t fit in to these well-known, 'standard' progressions.
scarecrowbob 9y ago
Basically there are a finite number of places that you can "go to next" in any musical context, and some of those destinations are more normal than others. Like, usually we go to work and then home. But some days we stop by the bar. Maybe we planned a trip to the zoo and stopped for ice cream afterwards. That all seems normal-ish to me. But sometimes it's like, we are on our way to school for the day, but let's stop off in Times square for 5 min, and then Mount Rushmore, and then a dentist office in Iowa land on the moon, get a hot dog... and now we are at school for the morning.
- scarecrowbob 9y ago
  Or like, in folk guitar you might play a C chord, followed by a C chord with a B as its root, then an Am chord... that happens all the time. But very rarely would you play a C chord followed by an Eb major chord in folk music. But if you're playing Jazz, you might be more open to that possibility.

by ndr 9y ago

jrowley 9y ago

One easy case can be attributed to the improvisational nature of jazz - it is hard for the average listener to predict where a solo is going, how a pianist is going to voice their changes with their left hand while operating in another separate but related space with their right hand. I can't speak to to technical strictly music theory definition of jazz, especially given that jazz now is really just an umbrella for myriad sub-genres, but from my experience the beauty of jazz is that the resolution is not predictable, and more often than not it may make one feel vulnerable, or sad. See classics like Miles Davis, Bill Evans, or for someone alive today, Dr Lonnie Smith.

savanaly 9y ago

These [0] are examples of chord progressions. In other words, progression means nothing more than a series of chords. A "harmonically unexpected chord" would be if the chord progression was playing out and a chord you wouldn't normally hear was inserted. That's it. Musicians, especially those focused on classical music, are so used to the standard chords that it feels really weird to play a "wrong" chord progression. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YS3YvtY8-E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YS3YvtY8-E

thesephist 9y ago

(gross oversimplification of music theory follows:) You've probably heard of complementary colors and the color wheel in the context of art. The idea there is (afaik) that some colors are thought to go "better" together and they're used more often together to create certain effects that seem more naturally fitting. If nothing else, there are color pairs used often together, by convention. Music has a similar construct in chord progressions. Chords (combination of pitches played simultaneously) sound as if they "naturally progress" from one to another when played in certain orders. For example, lots of pop songs will use a I-vi-IV-V progression over and over again, because 1) it's conventional and popular and 2) it sounds "natural" i.e. like it belongs together, the same way some colors might to an artist. What they mean here by _harmonically unexpected chord within a standard chord progress_ is that they started with a standard, conventionally popular progression of chords, then (I assume) replaced one (or more) of the chords that follow that progression with one that doesn't, which creates a feeling of dissonance since they aren't supposed to belong together, classically speaking. Hopefully this is an adequate portrayal -- not trained in theory, just a casual songwriter.

yodsanklai 9y ago

A chord progression is sequence of chords that defines the harmony of a song. A chord is a few notes played simultaneously. Think of a guy strumming a guitar, he would play the harmony with his guitar, and sing the melody. In western music, chords and chord progressions are constructed according to certain rules (google "harmonization of the major scale") that are now familiar to most listeners. Actually, many pop songs share exactly the same sequence of chords. This contrats with jazz which tends to bend the rules.

melq 9y ago

Many genres of music have songs that are mostly comprised of a handful of chord sequences, or 'chord progressions'. For instance, you will hear the I - IV - V all the time in western pop. An example of this (with a different chord progression): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ So unexpected harmonies are sequences that don;t fit in to these well-known, 'standard' progressions.

scarecrowbob 9y ago

Basically there are a finite number of places that you can "go to next" in any musical context, and some of those destinations are more normal than others. Like, usually we go to work and then home. But some days we stop by the bar. Maybe we planned a trip to the zoo and stopped for ice cream afterwards. That all seems normal-ish to me. But sometimes it's like, we are on our way to school for the day, but let's stop off in Times square for 5 min, and then Mount Rushmore, and then a dentist office in Iowa land on the moon, get a hot dog... and now we are at school for the morning.

scarecrowbob 9y ago
Or like, in folk guitar you might play a C chord, followed by a C chord with a B as its root, then an Am chord... that happens all the time. But very rarely would you play a C chord followed by an Eb major chord in folk music. But if you're playing Jazz, you might be more open to that possibility.