Why is the Tristan chord important?

The Tristan chord was unique because it delayed harmonic resolution for literally hours, creating the ultimate musical and dramatic “delayed gratification.” As we learned, the chord itself is not necessarily unique. What is unique is the harmonic progression that Wagner used.

wfmt.com - How One Chord Changed the World: “Tristan” at 150 | WFMT

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If you’re a music lover, you may have heard of the so-called “Tristan chord” from Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde. Audiences were stunned to hear this infamous harmony when the opera premiered on June 10, 1865 in Munich, Germany. As Tristan turns 150, let’s take a look at what makes the Tristan chord so unique. The “Vorspiel,” or Prelude, to Tristan begins with with a “dissonant” chord. The terms “consonance” and “dissonance,” “music” and “noise” are largely subjective. Now, in an era where our ears can enjoy everything from Chopin to Chick Corea, what our modern ears hear as “consonant” or musical may have been considered radically dissonant to the ears of people generals past. To hear the chord, click here. But, to Wagner’s listeners, hearing the notes F – B – D# – G# sounded dissonant indeed. Wagner wasn’t the first person to combine these intervals. The same clusters of dissonant notes were used by Mozart in the “Dissonance” Quartet (K.428) and by Beethoven in one of his op.31 piano sonatas. What was unique about the Tristan chord was not the chord itself, but how it “resolves.” Typically in Western harmony during the time of Wagner, dissonant chords resolved to consonant chords due to established rules of counterpoint. But, Wagner’s dissonant chord resolves to another dissonant chord. In fact, the chord doesn’t resolve until the very end of the opera, during Isolde’s famous “Liebes-Tod” (“Love Death”). Isolde dies singing the words, roughly translated: “In the heaving swell, in the resounding echoes, in the universal stream of the world-breath — to drown, to founder — unconscious — utmost rapture!”

—Isolde, ‘Tristan und Isolde,’ Act III, Scene 3

Upon uttering these words, the harmony resolves, and Isolde dies. So beginning from the Prelude, Wagner builds harmonic and dramatic tension that lasts until the opera’s final moments. Of course, the tension was also considered highly erotic, as well. The harmonic release provides a musical analog for “love-death,” a trope in poetry popular since the Renaissance. Wagner’s operatic music was admired because it disregarded certain rules of counterpoint to match the dramatic situation at hand. He usually resolves harmonies, though often in surprising ways. The Tristan chord was unique because it delayed harmonic resolution for literally hours, creating the ultimate musical and dramatic “delayed gratification.” As we learned, the chord itself is not necessarily unique. What is unique is the harmonic progression that Wagner used. So, perhaps we shouldn’t think of the Tristan chord as a chord, but rather a series of chords. For an in-depth analysis of the Tristan chord, watch “The Wagner Effect,” a Chicago Symphony Orchestra Beyond the Score Production.

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Who is the number 1 guitarist of all time?

1: Jimmy Page The mastermind behind hard-rock giants Led Zeppelin is without a doubt the best guitarists who ever lived. Jimmy Page's clamorous fusion of blues-rock and hyperactive riffage took the revolutionary spirit of Jimi Hendrix's innovations and turned them into pure magic.

thisisdig.com - Best Guitarists Of All Time: 20 Iconic Players Who Electrified The World

Many musicians have revolutionised music and helped define their respective eras. From zesty riffs to sprightly strumming, the thrum of distortion ringing out from six steel strings affixed to a piece of wood has never failed to awaken gig-goers to the transformative power of music. By plugging into their amps and cranking up the volume, the best guitarists of all time have also often harnessed flamboyant stage antics to their awe-inspiring musical prodigiousness, leaving us hungry for more life-changing experiences to satiate our appetites. These 20 iconic players electrified the world – and are still worth turning up to 11. Listen to our Rock Classics playlist, here, and check out our 20 best guitarists, below.

20: Johnny Marr

With his shimmering jangle-pop riffs complementing singer Morrissey’s bone-dry lyricism, The Smiths’ guitarist, Johnny Marr, spent much of the 80s as a luminary of the Manchester indie scene. The whirling sonic assault of How Soon Is Now? and the sparkly opening riff of This Charming Man amply demonstrate why Marr held such sway: he expertly combined the dour sunglasses-wearing demeanour of Keith Richards with the funk-tinged minimalist tones of Nile Rodgers. By uniting shoplifters of the world through his ringing guitar sound, Marr helped turn The Smiths into the band of a generation. Without Johnny Marr’s vivaciousness, the best The Smiths songs wouldn’t continue to be as inspiring or enduring as they are today.

Must hear: How Soon Is Now?

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