Changes

''Melody'' is the series of notes that most closely captures the attention of the listener: the 'tune' one hums along with.   

''Melody'' is the series of notes that most closely captures the attention of the listener: the 'tune' one hums along with.   

''Counterpoint'' is a specific technique for creating secondary melodies that intertwine with and complement the main melody. When two or more notes sound at the same time, it is called a ''chord,'' and the distance between the notes is the ''interval.''  In the western 12-note scale common usage, an interval is often  expressed in relative terms, using the eight notes that make up an octave and prefixing 'major' or 'minor' to account for the interstitial notes.  For instance, the interval between 'C' and 'E' is a ''3rd'' because 'E' is the 3rd note in the major scale of C.  One-half step below that is a ''minor 3rd,'' although this exact same note could also be called a ''major 2nd''. 

''Counterpoint'' is a specific technique for creating secondary melodies that intertwine with and complement the main melody. When two or more notes sound at the same time, it is called a ''chord,'' and the distance between the notes is the ''interval.''  In the western 12-note scale common usage, an interval is often  expressed in relative terms, using the eight notes that make up an octave and prefixing 'major' or 'minor' to account for the interstitial notes.  For instance, the interval between 'C' and 'E' is a ''3rd'' because 'E' is the 3rd note in the major scale of C.  One-half step below that is a ''minor 3rd.''

Many of the feelings and emotions that music can evoke are a result of the tension between the ''harmonic'' sound of some intervals, and the ''dissonant'' sound of others.  During the development of western music, certain rules were established for proper melodic counterpoint, and these rules specified how intervals (chords) could change over time in the music.  For example, in the chants of Gregorian Monks, chords containing certain intervals, like 7ths, were required to 'resolve' to their harmonious natural key, while other intervals, like minor 5ths, were deemed ugly and even considered evil, and banned from use in liturgic music.  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) represents the pinnacle of this style of strict rule-based composition, as many of his keyboard compositions and all of his sacred work adhere to the rules of counterpoint.  From the height of the Baroque era (1700s) to the present, the history of western music has unfolded as each generation of composers has pushed the boundaries of these these rules right up to, and then in, the 20th century, way beyond all limits.

Many of the feelings and emotions that music can evoke are a result of the tension between the ''harmonic'' sound of some intervals, and the ''dissonant'' sound of others.  During the development of western music, certain rules were established for proper melodic counterpoint, and these rules specified how intervals (chords) could change over time in the music.  For example, in the chants of Gregorian Monks, chords containing certain intervals, like 7ths, were required to 'resolve' to their harmonious natural key, while other intervals, like minor 5ths, were deemed ugly and even considered evil, and banned from use in liturgic music.  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) represents the pinnacle of this style of strict rule-based composition, as many of his keyboard compositions and all of his sacred work adhere to the rules of counterpoint.  From the height of the Baroque era (1700s) to the present, the history of western music has unfolded as each generation of composers has pushed the boundaries of these these rules right up to, and then in, the 20th century, way beyond all limits.