Resolution (music)
Resolution in western tonal music theory is the move of a note or chord from dissonance (an unstable sound) to a consonance (a more final or stable sounding one).
Dissonance, resolution, and suspense can be used to create musical interest. Where a melody or chordal pattern is expected to resolve to a certain note or chord, a different but similarly suitable note can be resolved to instead, creating an interesting and unexpected sound. For example, the deceptive cadence.
Famous quotes containing the word resolution:
“[A]s I am pretty well acquainted by great Opportunities with the Nature of Man, and know of a Truth, that all Men fight against their Will, the Danger vanishes, and Resolution rises upon this Subject. For this Reason I shall talk very freely on a Custom which all Men wish exploded, tho’ no Man has Courage enough to resist it.”
—Richard Steele (1672–1729)