Harmonic Climates (Recipes For Musical Moods)



“A melody functions in a harmonic climate. The chord that’s being played is a harmonic climate.  [If] it’s an augmented chord, it’s a mysterious climate. If it’s a diminished chord, it’s a little tenser.  If it’s minor, it’s serious. If it’s major, it’s happy. If it’s major 7th, you’re falling in love.  If it’s augmented 11th, it’s bebop.  You know these are all established harmonic aromas that people recognize.”
 -Frank Zappa
 

The preceding Zappa quote is worth its weight in gold, because it precisely explains some of what it is that we typically feel emotionally (at least in Western culture) in regard to music. This is something that we often take for granted -how we feel when we hear music. We may certainly feel these emotions on a subconscious level, but how often do we consciously think: “I’m feeling scared because of this music,” when we watch a movie with eerie dissonant strings as a soundtrack? Or how often do we question why we might cry when minor key piano music is paired with a sad part of a movie?  Or why do we feel anxious during the news report du jour that has some frenetic drums and/ or synthesizer pulse pounding along as a soundtrack?

What Zappa was overtly describing in the quote above is the emotional power that music has over us. That emotional power can be manipulated by the choice of the harmonic climate that we use. The climates that we use help explain why we get the chills (the French call it frisson) when we hear a certain piece of music, or why we get excited, disturbed, etc.

Ultimately, one of the marks of a master musician is knowing when and how to use these harmonic climates to the greatest effect. So what Zappa outlines here is a way to help train the ear to hear harmonic climates that is based on emotional feeling. By gauging the emotions that we feel in relation to music, we can make informed choices to help us generate the appropriate vibe for any given circumstance. This kind of approach also has an added bonus, it helps you to “get off the page” and be more present in a direct way with the music, which is ideal.  After all, written music is never better than an approximation of what it is that the composer wanted to convey. So, what’s missing?  At the risk of oversimplifying, what's missing is the emotion.

We have ways of trying to communicate emotion to the player who is reading notation. Words like lento, adagio, allegro, etc, contain a certain amount of emotional connotation just because the tempo of music can affect emotion. The eccentric French pianist Erik Satie went as far as to write enigmatic little performance notes into his scores. Eccentric little indications like: "The tip of thought", "Questioning", "Very shiny," "Very lost," or "Arm yourself with clairvoyance." All fairly abstruse notes, which depending on the performer could evoke all kinds of performance choices, but they all aim to evoke emotion in the performer and therefore emotion in the listener.

All of these terms are a base approximation for something much more enigmatic and slippery. What makes a mediocre performance into a exquisite one is largely dependent on a player's skill, experience and intuitive ability to appropriately interpret not only the necessary harmonic climate, but also the right type and amount of emotional energy to elevate the performance to a higher level -perhaps, dare I say, a sublime level? What makes a great musician or composer is the ability to “tune in” to a genuine emotion in the music (via the individual) and subsequently transmit that feeling to others. When this is successful it is a form of magic. A transference of a feeling between people.

In my personal experience it’s much easier to connect with emotion when you’re “off of the page.”  Maybe this is because our brains are more free to interface with the music and instrument rather than take up focus by reading little black dots or numbers off a page? Sight-reading is an inherently visual act which can take away from one’s ability to listen closely. Nevertheless, it is essential that a player finds a way to “drop in” to the emotional core of the song. Otherwise the music will not reach its highest potential and will fall flat. Just because you're improvising or have practiced for months doesn't mean you are conveying emotion. Elevating the song emotionally is often much easier said than done. Indeed, it is a large part of what makes a great song great.  Practice and experience are an important factor in making this a reality, but they are not an end unto themselves. Rather, they are both means to an end -hopefully.
   
One of the more amazing and magical things about music is that for every major there is a relative minor, and vice versa, so depending on the overall tonal context you could play a minor chord over a major key and it could still sound happy -weird huh?  This kind of relativity is a great glimpse into the holistic nature of music in general. Everything is connected if we look deep enough into the complexities of these relationships. A perfect example of this concept can be seen in the way that intervals invert. For example if we take a major 6th interval (A and F#/Gb) and invert it, so that the F# is lower than the A, we end up with a minor 3rd interval. Similarly, if invert a major 3rd (A and C#/Db) and put the C#/ Db as the lower note we end up with a major 6th. There is a elegant simplicity to the way that music interweaves between major and minor. Objectively they are part and parcel of the same tapestry and are inextricably linked to one another. A good trick to help keep this concept straight is by adding up the intervals to nine. Whatever the amount needed to add up to nine is the inverted interval value. For instance: 3+6=9, 7+2=9, 1+8=9, 4+5=9. Many of the intervals will invert to a major or minor but the 1st and 8th, 4th and 5th are”perfect” and do not flip to major or minor. Additionally diminished intervals will invert to augmented intervals and vice versa.

In conclusion, the importance of understanding how specific musical relationships create emotion is paramount to successful performance and composition. All musicians would do well to deeply study the intricacies and relationships that underline this concept. Harmonic climates are real and can help to create powerful, affecting and deep music. All musicians should endeavor to try and grasp these concepts to the best of their ability in order to help generate the best conveyance of a piece between individuals.  


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