This is the most widely used chord resolution. You have to find out which key your progression is in.įind the fifth scale degree, and follow that chord with the home key or the tonic. You can apply this principle in any key, whether it be major or minor. You’ll notice how that resolution of G to C sounds like the whole musical journey went back home. The G major is the dominant or five chord, and the C major is the tonic or one chord. Now, if you slow things down and analyze the sound of each chord, you’ll notice how it gets progressively tenser with the tension culminating with G Major. We’ll start with the C Major, then play A minor followed by F Major and G Major, and back to the home key of C Major. To give you a practical example, let’s take a simple, generic chord progression in the key of C major. So, in C Major, C is the 1st degree, D is the 2nd, E is the 3rd, etc. Speaking of scale degrees- they are basically numberings of notes in the scale relative to the tonic. The tonic is the first scale degree, and it’s accordingly called the “ one chord.” Since the dominant is found on the 5th scale degree, it’s usually referred to as the “ five chord.” These chords are more often called by their scale degrees. Contrary to that, the most consonant chord we have in any scale is called the tonic. The most dissonant and tense chord you can play in any scale is called the dominant. The idea is to place the most dissonant chord at the end of the chord progression and afterward give it a nice conclusion with the most consonant one. This approach to resolving chords has been devised in olden times (around the 16th century or so) and has been used continuously ever since. However, some common concepts are being used regardless of the genre. There are countless ways to resolve a chord, and the “intensity of resolution” is highly dependent on the genre of music in question.įor example, jazz and classical musicians have a vastly different impression about what a proper resolution is.Įvery genre has its own unique harmonic language, and the idea of resolution is changed accordingly. These patterns of tension and release are ingrained into most of the music we’ve heard in our life.īy playing dissonant chords followed by their related consonant ones, we “release” or “resolve” the tension created by the dissonance and thus leave our listeners with a sense of relief that most people respond well to. In layman’s terms, the consonant sound is the one that sounds pleasing and stable and a dissonant, one that causes a sense of disharmony and tension. Throughout the centuries, musicians have been playing around with consonance and dissonance. To fully understand chord resolution, it’s important to demystify a straightforward concept behind it. When done right, it can give your listeners a satisfying feeling of content and met expectations. In musical terminology, it usually refers to the chord progression returning to its tonic or home key. To put it simply, resolving a chord progression means “bringing it home,” so to speak. You may have heard about this phrase before but weren’t exactly sure about what it really means. 6 Final Words What Does It Mean To Resolve a Chord?
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