Diatonic, Chromatic, Enharmonic;
Consonance, Dissonance
Historical and Cultural Space Meanings
CARMEN CHELARU
Faculty of Music Performance. Department No. 2
”George Enescu” University of Arts – Iași
Address: Str. Horia No. 7-9, RO-700126 Iaşi
ROMANIA
Abstract: In music there are several terms permanently used, whose meaning changed in time, depending on the
historical moment or cultural space; among them, consonance and dissonance, diatonic, chromatic, and
enharmonic.
Tonality appeared during baroque era and was finalized by J.S. Bach. After that, it grew up in the music of
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt – for about 150 years.
At the end of 19th century, Wagner created the expanded tonality – the last step of the tonal system
evolution. This tonal type represents an original, ingenious synthesis between all historical phases of the system
evolution; meantime it contains the germ of polytonality and atonality.
In other words, Bach and Wagner marked the beginning and end of the tonality.
Key-Words: consonance, dissonance, diatonic, chromatic, enharmonic, tonality, expanded tonality, tonic.
1 Introduction During the European music history, there is a short
period – 18th century – when the tonality was
adopted. The tonal system is founded on acoustical
bases, is clearly exposed, remarkably applied by the
Classical Masters, and it also continues to be
functional nowadays, in spite of the new-born sound
systems of 20th century and more.
It is quite exciting to follow the meaning
changing of a few terms – in fact so familiar to all
musicians – like the above ones, along the known
history of music.
It is beyond doubt that during the European
musical history of the last three hundred years,
tonality is the most familiar, agreeable, well-known,
and preferred sound system by the most musicians
and music lovers. Tonal harmony confers special
senses to dissonance, to chromatic or enharmonic
terms. More than that: Classical and Romantic
aesthetic in music is based on the relationship
between the above notions.
These are the reasons we chose to refer bellow
at two of the most important contributors in the
tonality evolution: Bach and Wagner.
2 Brief Theory and History Let’s take the triad diatonic, chromatic and enhar-
monic. The terms’ definitions are both imprecise
and unclear; they also do not reflect the historical
meaning changes; actually they claim a generally
accepted meaning, not a scientific one.
2.1 Definitions Diatonic
Etymology: Greek dia toniké = by tones
Disposition of the tones and the semitones by the
natural order, in a musical structure. ‘Natural order’
refers to the acoustic estate of sounds and
intervals.[1]
According to Dolmetsch Dictionary a diatonic
scale means: ”notes that occur naturally in a
standard major or minor scale, without being
modified by accidentals other than the sharps or
flats in the relevant key signature”[2]
The definitions are vague enough. Both of them
generate a few questions: What precisely ‘natural
order’ is? What ‘acoustic estate’ and also a
‘standard scale’ are?
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Fig. 1 Zarlino’s natural diatonic scale.
Up: Frequency ratios between each note and tonic.
Down: Frequency ratio for each interval and sound
frequency.[3]
According to the above Fig. 1, here there is a
third definition of the diatonic scale – closer to a
scientific explanation: “a seven note, octave-
repeating musical scale comprising five whole steps
and two half steps for each octave.”[4]
Chromatic
Etymology: Greek chromatiké = colour
The term supposes three meanings at least:
a) Ancient Greek tetrachord and modal systems, en-
closing one or two augmented second(s) [5].
b) Usually in the solfege, alteration – up or down –
of a diatonic sound. [6]
c) Sound scale, consisting in chromatic and diatonic
semitones.
Enharmonic
Etymology: Greek, en = in, harmonia = harmony.
The term also supposes more than one meaning:
a) The capacity for two notes with different "spell-
ings" to be represented by the same degree of the
scale.[7]
b) In ancient Greek theory, also in Byzantine music,
the term refers to the presence of microtonal
intervals. [8]
Consonant
Etymology: Latin, con = with, sonare = to sound.
Concordant, harmonious, notes harmonising to-
gether.
Dissonant
Etymology: Latin, dis = apart, sonare = to sound.
Considered to be unstable (or temporary, transi-
tional).
We consider the above definitions entirely
subjective – what is consonant for an European
person could be dissonant for an Australian one; and
also what is consonant for a Modern person could
be dissonant for a Middle Age one.
2.2 Before Tonality The ancient Greeks used the terms in their modal
system theory. They classified the modes by the
tetrachord structure, into three genres: diatonic – by
tones and semitones, chromatic – by tones,
semitones and augmented seconds, and enharmonic
– by tones and microtones (quarter of tone).
Byzantine modal system has continued the
Greek one, by maintaining the meanings and the
structure of the three modal genres.[9]
At the same time, on 20th century, the Romanian
folklorists applied the same rules in the folklore
researches. Professor Gheorghe Ciobanu, for
example, observes that in the Romanian musical
folklore,”the main condition to consider a mode
being chromatic is to include one or two augmented
seconds.”[10]
Therefore, in the religious traditional music, as
well as in the Romanian musical folklore, we find the
same triad applied to the modal systems structure.
2.3 Tonal Meanings of the Terms Tonality is one of the most interesting and complete
system of sounds ever conceived. At the same time,
its existence is not as long as it seemed to be: Bach
and his generation concluded its structure, and
Wagner began its dissolution; that means about 140
years, considering from 1722 (Bach composed the
first book of the Well Tempered Clavier), to 1859
(Wagner finished Tristan and Isolde). During this
(short!) period, the rules and the principles used to
be as strict and precise as they can be, considering
the specificity of art (so different from the science).
Tonality significantly changed the meanings of
diatonic, chromatic and enharmonic, among other
reasons by the appearance of the equal temperament
[11] tuning.
The term chromatic, for instance, becomes the
opposite of diatonic as following: diatonic means
‘constituent part, owner’, while chromatic is
‘change, new, different’.
According to this, the Romanian musicologist
Gheorghe Firca initiated a new term as diatonically
chromatic, which means that a tonality – or rather a
mode – could enclose constantly a chromatic sound,
interval or chord; therefore, this sound, interval or
chord maybe considered as a diatonic part of the
tonality/mode.[12] We can mention as an example
the harmonic version of the minor tonality, where
the augmented second is a diatonically chromatic
interval.
Enharmonic in the tonal system also acquires a
different meaning than the Greek, the Byzantine or
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the folklore ones. In equal temperament tuning, an
octave is divided into a series of equal steps (equal
frequency ratios between successive notes). For
classical music, the most common tuning system is
twelve-tone equal temperament. By consequence,
two enharmonic sounds/intervals/chords have
different names and identical pitches.
Enharmonic generates all sort of tonal
modulations. It is well known, for instance, the
identical sonority of the dominant seventh chord and
augmented sixth one; the difference appears by their
resolution only (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 Dominant seventh chords (left);
augmented sixth chord (right)
The same happens in the enharmonic
modulations. Let’s take, for example, the passage
between the second and the third movements in
Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto. The main tonality
of the first and the last movements is E flat major –
the ‘Imperial’. The second movement is written in B
major. Actually the true tonality should be C flat
major! In order to be easier performed, Beethoven
preferred to C flat key its enharmonic version – B
major. (Fig. 3)
Fig. 3 Beethoven’s 5th
Piano Concerto.
End of 2nd
movement. Enharmonic modulation from
B (C flat ) major to E flat major.
2.4 Consonance and Dissonance in the Classical Way
Tonality involves two other important notions:
consonance and dissonance. As we mentioned
above, the meaning of these terms is also imprecise
and historical changeable. The tonal harmony
specifies the significance of consonant and
dissonant chords, their features and methods of
combining them; above all, the tonal harmony
specifies how to prepare, to use and to solve
dissonant chords.
Nowadays, there are no practical limits between
consonance and dissonance.
3 The Tonal Era, from Bach to Wagner The gradual transition from Bach’s tonal harmony
to Wagner’s expanded tonality represents an
interesting implication of the terms in question here.
For Bach and Viennese classics, tonality used to be
one tonic functional system. Nowadays, every
professional musician knows the basics of tonal
harmony: principal and secondary keys, authentic
and plagal cadences etc.
In spite of the strict rules of the beginnings,
tonal harmony became more and more permissive,
especially during the 19th century: from Beethoven,
to Chopin, Liszt, and above all to Wagner.
As usual happens in art domain, practice is the
exception to the theory. Beginning with 19th century,
dissonance became more exciting than consonance.
It wasn’t so cautiously treated anymore; it was not
prepared and not resolved all the time; it became the
‘condiment’ of the romantic harmony. At the end of
the Romantic period, the one-tonic system became a
multiple-tonics one.
3.1 Bach and the ‘New-Born’ Tonal Harmony Let’s take the Prelude No. 1, C major form the Well
Tempered Clavier, Book I. The harmony claims the
strict rules of the tonality. The chords relations are
entirely authentic; there is a single modulation, from
C major to G major – between close related keys
(Fig. 4, Table 1).
Fig. 4 Bach, C major Prelude, first 7 bars.
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Table 1 Bach’s C major Prelude. First 7 bars harmony
Bar No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Key C (C) G G Tonal
Function I II V I VI II→V I
Chord 7 7 6 7 7 6
3 3
In the 35 bars of the Prelude, except the short
modulation to G major, the harmony remains on the
C major ‘territory’. At the same time, we are not
talking here about a scholastic or simplistic
harmony – it is the genius of Bach after all! Bach’s
tonality was young, inexperienced, rules were not
definitely formed yet, so the composer’s attitude
towards the new born system was to construct, to
strengthen and not to destroy.
Fig. 5 Bach, C major Prelude, bars 20–23.
In the above four bars (Fig. 5), even there is not
tonal stability, the principal key, C major, is there
all the time, implicitly.
The composer deliberately delays the cadence
on the tonic, by an eight bars long pedal on G
(Dominant) in order to increase the final effect;
moreover, he delays the final chord on tonic, by
‘playing’ on C pedal for three more bars. (Fig. 6)
Fig. 6 Bach, C major Prelude, bars 32-35.
Pedal on C – delay of the final resolution.
Conclusion: The final third of the Prelude (last 12
bars) represents the preparing&delay of the last
tonic chord. By postponing the end, the tension
increases and the final resolution becomes more
dramatic and more spectacular.
3.2 Wagner’s Expanded Tonality – the Final Frontier!
Comparing to the harmony above, Wagner’s
Prelude at Tristan and Isolde exposes a quite
different tonal configuration. Actually, it could be
considered a practical demonstration of the
expanded tonality – one of the principal features of
Wagner’s style.
We hardly found a definition of the ‘expanded
tonality’:
”… extension of the common practice tonality. It
results in highly chromatic music, where remotely
related regions/harmonies are introduced, often in
rather dense manner, free use of extended chords
(9ths, 11ths, 13ths) as well as quartal harmony.
Basically, it is all about quite free use of the whole
chromatic gamut, while still maintaining a sense of
central tone (tonic), though it is often hard to
determine if you are in major or minor due to the
high degree of chromaticism.”[13].
Even this one is vague enough – it is like
everybody knows the meaning, yet nobody can
explain it! The definition mentions terms like
‘chromatic’ and ‘central tone’ / tonic. Even it is true
that these are essential terms, the main explanation
is missing. As it is quite obviously in Wagner’s
music, expanded tonality is neither just chromatic,
nor modal or atonal harmony.
At the end of the 19th century, the tonality has
grown up – it has become a mature (even old aged!)
system. After many important experiences – like
those of Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms
– it seemed that nothing should be shocking or
forbidden anymore in the tonal harmony. Diatonic
and consonance became benches in theory more
than in practice. Their presence was rather implied
than explicit, in order to augment the effect of
chromatic, enharmonic as well as of the dissonance.
This profound change has culminated in Wagner’s
music. The most spectacular and synthetic page
illustrative for the Wagnerian harmony is, no doubt,
the Prelude at Tristan and Isolde.
The Prelude encloses in the 110 bars, one of the
most profound and intense emotion ever exposed
through music. As an overview, the musical fluid
flows continuously, growing to a climax, and then
decreases to the end. The most effective method to
increase the emotional tension is here the
dissonance without resolution as well as a
permanent tonal instability – some kind of harmonic
‘suspense’. As a matter of fact, in Wagner’s
harmony there is more relaxation rather than
resolution, we dare say.
Of all dissonant chords, Wagner choses ‘the
dominantic’ ones: their acoustic effect is more
dramatic, more tensioned, more close to the virtual
(not explicit) tonic than any other dissonant chord.
This is – we consider – ‘the secret’ of the expanded
Wagnerian tonality! In other words, it’s not any
‘dissonance’ or chromatic matter – it is the
dominantic dissonance we are talking about. This
peculiar sonority maintains the tonal feature of the
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music. Meantime, it defines a new, special kind of
tonality: the multiple tonics one.
Wagner uses four sorts of ‘dominantic chords’
[14], as following: the dominant seventh (V7 –
7m/5p/3M – Fig. 2), chords by diminished fifth and
diminished seventh (7-/5-/3m – Fig. 2), chords by
diminished fifth and minor seventh (7m/5-/3m) and
the augmented sixth (6+ – Fig. 2, Fig. 8).
Fig. 7 Diminished seventh chord (7-/5-/3m)
Fig. 8 Beginning of the Prelude.
Augmented sixth chord (6+) or ‘Tristan Chord’
The Prelude includes about 145 chords. From
these, approximately 105 are ‘dominantic’, as
following:
– dominant seventh = 55, which means about 38%
– diminished or minor seventh = 30, about 20%
– augmented sixth = 10, about 7%
Conclusion: 72% of chords have dominant effect,
which means that each of them is sending/is
dependent implicitly to a key.
According to this, there are two important
observations: a) these dominantic chords ‘are
serving’ – not one, not two – but many different
keys (Table 2).
Table 2 Wagner, Prelude, bars 51–60. In ten bars
there are nine key changings. Bar No. 51 52 53 54 55
Key D E E
Tonal
Function V V I VII I II II I
Chord
4 7M 6 7m 6 6 7m 6
3 5+ 5p 4
3M
56 57 58 59 60
B E A F E G C
V V / VII / V VII / VI / VII VI V VII
7 7 7m 7 7- 6 7- 6 7 7- 4
b) Most of the dominantic chords have not explicitly
resolution (Fig. 8, Fig. 9).
Therefore, Prelude at Tristan and Isolde is a
long line of tonal ‘hints’ directed to several tonal
centers. By consequence, the same could be the
expanded tonality definition: a line of dominantic
chords, not necessarily resolved, referring to
different keys – by consequence and briefly calling
it a multiple tonics system.
4 Conclusions – The scientific methods and principles are not
entirely applicable to the art. Therefore, the
definitions in the artistic domain could be rather
imprecise, depending on the time (historical
moment) and on the space (cultural area).
Fig. 9 Wagner, Prelude, bars 1–20.
The first resolution in this line of chords
happens on bar 17.
– In art, a term may have more than one sense;
sometimes their meanings could be rather
distinct.
– During its short historical existence, tonality
changed enough, from the one-tonic system, in
Bach, Haydn and Mozart times, to the multiple-
tonic system in Wagner and his followers’
times.
– The rules of tonal harmony changed – especially
regarding the meaning and using the dissonance.
– The evolution of consonance and dissonance
meaning became an exciting one. On the
‘forbidden fruit’ principle, consonance does not
represent a temptation, while everybody is
dreaming at the ‘spicy’ dissonance!
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– Regarding the tonality history, Bach sits on the
tone-modal confluence. In his harmony, he
keeps modal traces, same as he ends the tonality
shape. (Fig. 10)
Fig. 10 Bach, Fugue for organ D minor BWV 565,
last four bars. Last three chords create modal
harmony: V (minor chord!) – IV (minor chord) –
I (without third).
– Following the tonality evolution from Bach to
Wagner, also considering the expanded tonality
specific structure, we may conclude that this is
the last frontier to polytonality, atonality and
tonal-modalism in the 20th century.
References:
[1] Dicţionar de termeni muzicali, Ed.
enciclopedică, Bucureşti, 2010, pp. 163, 367.
ISBN 978-973-45-0606-4
[2] Dolmetsch Dictionary www.dolmetsch.com
[3] Dem Urmă, Acustică și muzică [Acoustics and
Music], Ed. Științifică și enciclopedică,
Bucharest 1982, p. 410
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatonic_scale
[5] Gh. Ciobanu, Studii de etnomuzicologie şi
bizantinologie, vol. I, Ed. Muz., Bucharest,
1974, p. 57.
[6] Dictionnaire de la musique (M. Honegger),
Bordas 1976, vol. I, p. 202.
[7] ”for example A flat and G sharp, which on an
equal tempered keyboard instrument are played
with the same key, but which on a flexibly tuned
instrument, like a violin, can be perceptibly
different.” Dolmetsch Dictionary, 08.01.2012
http://www.dolmetsch.com/defsec.htm
[8] ”One of the three basic type of genus, with a
characteristic interval of approximately a 'major
3rd' at the top of the tetrachord, then 2
successive intervals of approximately a 'quarter-
tone' at the bottom, making up a 4/3, 'perfect
4th'.” Dolmetsch Dictionary, 08.01.2012
http://www.dolmetsch.com/defsec.htm
[9] Grigore Panțîru, Notația și ehurile muzicii
bizantine [Notation and Echos of the Byzantine
Music], Ed. Muzicală, Bucharest, 1971, p. 207
[10] ”singura condiție pentru ca un mod să fie trecut
în rîndul celor cromatice este să cuprindă unul
sau două intervale de secundă mărită.” Gh.
Ciobanu, Studii de etnomuzicologie și
bizantinologie (Ethnomusicolohy and
Byzantinology Studies), vol. I, Ed. Muzicală
Bucharest, p. 74.
[11] ”System of tuning, in which every pair of
adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio.”
Edward M. Burns, Intervals, Scales, and
Tuning, in The Psychology of Music, second
edition, 1999, p. 218; Dicționar de termeni
muzicali (Dictionary of Musical Terms), op. cit.
pp. 538-541.
[12] Gh. Firca, Bazele modale ale cromatismului
diatonic (Modal Basis of the Diatonically
Chromatic), Ed. Muzicală, Bucharest 1966.
[13] Answers.com
[14] We mean by this all chords directly
dependent/closely linked to a key/tonic. These
chords are unstable, dissonant (in the tonal
sense) and, above all, they demand resolution to
a tonic/tonal centre.
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