Harmony
Notes that sound good together.
Now that we know that there are infinitely many notes, we need to pick some notes that sound good together to use in our songs.
QuestionWhat makes this sound good?
...and this sound bad?
AnswerA simple ratio between the notes means they sound nice together.
Can you see the repeating pattern in the first one? Your ears can hear the simple ratio between these waves.
It turns out that when the waves line up in nice patterns, it sounds good!!! Our ears like it when the ratio between the waves are simple.
For example, three waves of note #1 for every two waves of note #2 is a 3:2 ratio. Now try it for yourself.
Which of these notes do you think will sound nice together?
Hover over each of the options to see the wave form.
Sound 3. Notice how for every wave in the original note, there are exactly two waves of Sound 3. The frequency of this note is exactly double. The other two don't line up quite so nicely.
How about these notes?
Again, which note do you think will sound good with this note. Hover over each of the options to see the wave form.
Sound 2. Notice how for every two waves in the original note, there are exactly three waves of Sound 2. The frequency ratio is 3:2. The other two don't line up quite so nicely.
The Pentatonic Scale
Next we'll look at one of the earliest collection of notes that sound good together, the Pentatonic Scale.
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