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Music vocabulary · Music Theory and Harmony

Dissonance

Meaning in music, with examples

/ˈdɪsənəns/nounCommon term

In music, dissonance means: A combination of notes that sounds tense or unstable and seems to need to move, or resolve, to a more restful sound. The opposite is consonance.

In Turkish: disonans, uyumsuzluk, çatışma

How it is used

Used in theory, analysis and composition. A dissonance 'resolves'; composers 'add', 'use' or 'build up' dissonance for tension. The adjective is 'dissonant': 'a dissonant chord', 'dissonant harmony'.

Example sentences

  1. The dissonance in the strings builds tension before the final chord resolves it.

  2. A minor second is one of the sharpest dissonances in Western harmony.

Common collocations

  • resolve a dissonance
  • harsh dissonance
  • dissonant chord
  • consonance and dissonance
  • build up dissonance
  • harmonyThe sound of different notes heard together, and the way chords are built and connected. It also means a second vocal line sung above or below the melody.
  • intervalThe distance in pitch between two notes, named by counting letter names and checking the number of semitones, such as a major third or a perfect fifth.
  • chordThree or more different notes played or sung at the same time. Chords give a piece its harmony and are named after their root note and type, such as C major or A minor.
  • cadenceA pair of chords that ends a musical phrase or section, giving a sense of rest or of a pause, like punctuation in a sentence.
  • chord progressionA series of chords played one after another that forms the harmonic backbone of a song, often written with Roman numerals such as I–IV–V.

More terms: Music Theory and Harmony

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