The Underpinnings of Polychordal Dissonance and Consonance.

In the last article, Polychords and the Jazz Improviser, it was discussed how one can learn and apply polychords to an improvisation. Continuing with the last article, the understanding of polychordal consonance and dissonance will be explored. As many music students may remember from their studies of basic tertian harmony, the common pattern for harmonic movement follows the following formula: IV-V7-I. A simple analysis of this formula would conclude that the IV chord announces the dominant chord, which in this case produces the tension, and this tension is then resolve to the I chord. As this analysis has shown, polychords and other harmonic concepts operate under similar rules. Within this article, there will be two opposing viewpoints presented concerning polychordal dissonance/consonance. Throughout this discussion of polychordal dissonance and consonance, the use of triads will be used in all examples. The use of triads in this discussion makes it easier for the novice student to grasp polychordal dissonance/consonance. When one begins to apply this idea to tertian harmony that is larger in scope than triads (i.e. seventh chords and larger), the larger harmonies tend to function differently regarding dissonance and consonance. For this discussion of polychordal dissonance/consonance to continue, one needs to draw a circle of fourths where "C" is would be at twelve o