Harmony

Summary

Dominique Pagani discusses harmony mainly in relation to music. He defines it as the study of simultaneous sounds and distinguishes two dimensions of harmonic science: a synchronic one, that of chords, and a diachronic one, that of their progressions1. Speaking of Bach, he explains that a constant rhythmic framework must be balanced by a complex development of harmony or melody. Complex harmony and counterpoint, which consists in thinking several autonomous melodies simultaneously, thus compensate for rhythmic monotony23. In a session on the logic of the subject, he presents harmony as a value judgement: the more dissonances are present, the more harmony is overcome4. He applies this idea to jazz. Playing major and minor at once produces a harmonious dissonance there, something unheard-of that he attributes to the African-American slave5. He points out that jazz chords already existed in classical music, but their progressions did not6.

1. 1#6 The jazz variation… by Beethoven15 Dec 2020 · 50:27
2. 2B for Bach16 Dec 2014 · 6:30
3. 3Discussion with Aliocha Allard (29 March 2017)26 Feb 2019 · 3:27
4. 4#6.6 The logic of the subject in the face of the reconstitution of Nazism29 Mar 2020 · 1:19:43
5. 5#6 The jazz variation… by Beethoven15 Dec 2020 · 48:30
6. 6#6 The jazz variation… by Beethoven15 Dec 2020 · 1:29:43

Summary produced automatically from 6 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.