Consonance/dissonance – a Historical Perspective

This paper looks at the various approaches as taken in order to understand the phenomenon of consonance/dissonance. While an early understanding of consonance/dissonance was based upon number ratios (Pythagoras), it became a question of resonance for Descartes. Subsequently, Euler attempted to formalize the ratio approach by classifying intervals into consonance/dissonance classes according to prime factors producing impressive results. Helmholtz then somewhat picked up on where Descartes had left considering a physical/acoustical model based on roughness. Inevitable, the issue became a psychological one during the late 19 century with Stumpf which ultimately resulted in a cognitive model as produced by Hofmann-Engl in 1990. This model has remained unchallenged during the last 2 decades and has been found of good validity in a number of contexts.