Hi,

To understand how dissonance works, a study of two-part counterpoint would be very helpful.

Gradus ad Parnassum by Johann Fux (just to clarify, 'Fux' rhymes with 'books') is pretty much where it all began.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Joseph_Fux

I read a translation of his treatise a few years ago and it gave me a great deal to ponder.

One of my favorite books is C.H. Kitson's Counterpoint for Beginners. Kitson presents his theory very clearly and his book is straightforward to read. It's also very concise.

Counterpoint for Beginners

The thing with counterpoint (or contrapuntal harmony) is that it is how music was created before the notion of vertical chords came to be understood. The only tools that composers had to work with were 'melodic patterns', 'consonance' and 'dissonance'. J.S. Bach followed the principles of counterpoint with his compositions.

As counterpoint grew through 2-, 3- and 4-part creations, musicians eventually came to see a consistency in vertical alignments of notes - with time, these consistencies came to be recognised as the chords we understand today.

Understanding the mechanics of dissonance and consonance is fundamental to contrapuntal compositions. My experience is that the knowledge is also fundamental to understanding how chords work at their most conceptual level.

I suggest you get hold of Kitson's book. It was published in 1927 by Oxford University Press.

Regards,
Noel

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