Evaluating the Consonance and Pleasantness of Triads in Different Musical Context

Abstract

This study examines whether the consonance and pleasantness of triads (major, minor, augmented, and diminished) varies according to the musical context in which it is presented. The level of consonance and dissonance (C/D) of each chord when they were played alone without any musical contexts was judged. Following this, each chord was accommodated in a different position in a short cadence, and the level of C/D for each chord was judged. Additionally, the C/D and the pleasantness and unpleasantness (P/U) of the whole sequence were rated on a 7-point scale. The results show that, for major and minor triads, there was no significant difference in C/D levels between the ‘without musical context’ and the ‘with musical context’ conditions. However, both augmented and diminished triads were judged less dissonant when they were played in isolation than when in a cadence. Augmented triads were rated most dissonant and unpleasant when on the tonic, while diminished triads were most consonant and pleasant when on the subdominant. We interpret this result as reversely reflecting the stability of chord function.