Is most modern music intentionally unharmonious?

Question

Is it on purpose?

Answer 1

Most modern music is not dissonant, because most modern music is pop music - classical music isn't really very big on the music scene. ModernIST music certainly - as is some post-modern music - but it's mostly in the classical sphere where dissonance is explored. It's more the fact that dissonance is used because it was thought that everything consonant had already been done, so composers needed new ways of composing, and so moved into the realm of atonality - somewhere where dissonance and 'bad sounds' are more likely to occur. However, there is some very good dissonant music - it's not all intellectual impenetrable Schoenberg! For instance the popular musical composer Sondheim uses aspects of dissonance in his works (for instance for the Witch in 'Into the woods'), Menotti's work 'The Medium' also makes use of dissonance for effect, but there are some beautiful moments of consonance.

Dissonance is either done deliberately for effect - to create a sombre, angry or generally bad mood, done to explore different ways of approaching tonality (for instance in Shoenberg's 12 tone method) or it occurs randomly along with consonance, as in chance music. Even composers who compose consonant music will occaisionally use dissonance for effect. The minimalists Steve Reich and Philip Glass - the very people who championed the return to consonance in the 20th century sometimes use dissonance in their work.

Answer 2

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