Harmony

Two or more notes sounding together to support and colour the melody.

Harmony is the result of two or more notes sounding at the same time, creating the vertical, chordal dimension of music that supports and colours the melody. Where melody is a single line moving through time, harmony is what happens when notes stack — chords, the relationships between them, and the way they create tension and release. Harmony gives music its emotional weight: the same melody over different chords can feel joyful, melancholy or unsettled. In most popular music, harmony is supplied by chord progressions on guitar, piano or synth, while backing vocals harmonising above or below a lead are another everyday example of the concept.

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