Chapter I Triads Triads do not represent a separate magic, only a more potent version of the only magic in town.
W.A. Mathieu4
Voice Ranges Traditionally, harmony is written for four voices (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), whose usual ranges are given below. This textbook however, is intended for guitar players; therefore, while I have retained the four-voice setting, the voice ranges will fluctuate to accommodate the specific tuning and range of the instrument. Example 1.1
Intervals Essentially, the understanding of intervals is based on the overtone series. The closer an interval is to the fundamental, the more stable and consonant it appears; the further it is, the less stable and more dissonant it appears. Therefore, a “kinship system” of intervals is organized according to the closeness or distance of overtones to the fundamental. The perfect consonances, which are the closest to the fundamental, are: the prime, the fifth and the octave, the imperfect: the third and the sixth. Dissonances, which are the farthest from the fundamental, are: the major and the minor second, the perfect fourth,5 the major and the minor seventh and all the augmented and diminished intervals. Example 1.2
4
Mathieu, W.A. 1997, Harmonic Experience, Inner Traditions International, Rochester, p.360.
The perfect fourth is considered dissonant when there is no other interval below it; consonant, when there is a third or a fifth below it.
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