music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, tension is the anticipation music creates in a listener's mind for relaxation or release. For example, tension may be produced through reiteration, increase in dynamic level, gradual motion to a higher or lower pitch, or (partial) syncopations between

consonance and dissonance In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive Sound, sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness ...

. Experiments in music perception have explored perceived tension in music and perceived emotional intensity. The balance between tension and

repose Repose is a word meaning "rest" or "calmness". Repose may also refer to: *Lying in repose, when the body of a deceased person is set out for public viewing *Dying, particularly used of saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church * Mount Repose (disambi ...

are explored in musical analysis—determined by contrasts that are, "...of great interest to the style analyst," and can be analyzed in several, even conflicting layers—as different musical elements such as harmony may create different levels of tension than rhythm and melody.White, John D. (1976). ''The Analysis of Music'', p.15. .

References

Music theory Musical analysis {{Music-theory-stub

See also

References