Bear with me. This is a voice lesson; you'll understand as we go.

First... What is dissonance?
Two definitions, according to an online dictionary:

• A lack of harmony between musical notes
• A tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements. 

Sounds like a problem, doesn't it? Can there be a use for it?

A Dissonant Symphony

My husband John, son Peter and I went to hear our truly outstanding Nashville Symphony on this season's opening night at the Schermerhorn. John was formerly a percussionist in the Memphis Symphony and Peter thought it was high time we three attended together, to see an orchestra at work and see what is father used to do. We thought we were going to hear Brahms. But before that  gorgous concerto, we were treated to a a mind-blowing work by contemporary composer John Corigliano - his Symphony No.1 He has won 4 Grammys, a Pulizer Prize and an Oscar Award, and serves on the composition faculty at Julliard. Corgliano and our 6-time Grammy winning conductor Giancarlo Guerrero met the audience in a conference room for 'Conversations' where they introduced themselves and told the stories behind the music the orchestra was about to play.

John Corgliano's symphony was about rage, remembrance, sadness and finally, closure for the lives of the victims AIDS, including three of his musician friends who had died of it back in the 80's. To really 'go there', Mr. Coriglano used some unique staging and instrumental choices... for instance, the very busy percussion section was in front of the brass. The horns were split at both sides of the stage instead of together; there were two timpanis and for one section, the violins used mandolin pics instead of bows. Dementia was one of the ways AIDS tortured its victims. Periodically, a piano located off stage could be faintly heard as Emanuel Ax played an old tune in such a way to depict memories that would fade, reappear, then fade again.  Throughout the work, there were sounds of sudden percussion bursts, chords dissolving like melting wax, and oh my there was DISSONANCE! From time to time it seemed like some sections would play in one key and some in another... and there was purposeful unsynching of rhythm. Overall the effect was so incredibly emotional. The composer and conductor had warned us there would be an orchestral 'primal scream'... and they did not disappoint! You could feel the rage, sadness, insanity, and finally, it came together like waves of the ocean in eternal release.

After the extended standing ovation, I mentioned to my son Peter how very much I loved hearing the dissonance in that work, how refreshing it was to my ears. He said something I'll never forget... he read in a book called 'Sapiens' that

...dissonance moves you forward.

I was instantly struck by that phrase. Googling it, I read many sites which talked about cognitive dissonance, and the need to resolve it for happiness and mental/psychological health.

Isn't dissonance what we fear? Is it not cousin to chaos, doesn't it conjure up the frustrating moments of 'this-does-not-compute'? Yes. BUT, much like the story I once heard (probably not true) that Beethoven's mom used to play a 5⁷ chord so her sleeping son would get up, go to the piano and play the tonic chord, the very discomfort and tension of dissonance makes you want to resolve it! If you let it, it can move you forward.

Here are some ways dissonance can play out in music, and in life:

• Dissonant chords or melodic/harmony pairings that move or resolve to harmonious chords and harmony choices create emotional strength.  There's a funny story (I'm sure it's not true) that Yes. BUT, much like the story I once heard (probably not true) about how Beethoven's mom used to play a 5⁷ chord so her sleeping son would get up, go to the piano and play the tonic chord for his sanity! 
• Strong lyric writing in any genre often paints a problem situation and then moves to resolve it. Examples would be...