Harmony
Understanding harmony is probably the most challenging aspect of Western music study. Music majors spend a solid year (or more) learning the basics, for it is the foundation of the composition of Euro-American music, classical or otherwise. Because of the influence of European and American culture on popular world music, harmony exists in almost all forms of popular world music styles. Although understanding the complexities of harmony is worthwhile, it is more important to recognize it when you hear it. Simply put, harmony is the blending of three or more different pitches. We call this unit of three pitches a chord. Myriad chords can be created, but only two basic types are referred to in Western music: major and minor. Each includes a root pitch, a higher pitch at an interval of a third (either major or minor third) above the root, and the highest pitch at an interval of a fifth above the root (e.g., C–E–G). When the pitches change, the harmony changes.