How is unity achieved in music

Without unity, the human brain struggles to make sense of what may seem to be random sounds. This may be part of the reason — if not the only one! A balance between unity and contrast is something that all improvisers and composers should strive for. Musical unity is mainly achieved through repetition. Since there are so many elements of music, there are many ways to use repetition to achieve unity. Here are some of them:.

Any time someone listens to a piece of music they are either consciously or subconsciously listening for a balance between unity and variety in the music. In fact, your ability to creatively use these elements will play a major role in the response you get from your listeners as well as the overall quality of the music in general. So what is unity and variety in music?

By maintaining a solid balance between both unity and variety, you can effectively engage the listener and keep them interested in your music for a long time. In fact, many people struggle with this problem. To learn how to write songs that are highly expressive, it is useful to understand how unity and variety are commonly misused see above and how they are effectively used to make a song more interesting.

The formula here is really quite simple; however, should not be taken lightly as it applies to literally all aspects of songwriting. The truth is, unity and variety is not exclusively used only in the realm of songwriting. This idea of balance in musical ideas or patterns exists because of our universal ability to perceive symmetry in nature. In basic evolutionary thinking, our mind has adopted the idea of seeing symmetrical patterns as something noteworthy because we have been in continual interaction with other animals over the course of our existence.

This symmetry for one reason or another has provided us with distinct benefits to help us locate food, avoid our enemies and take advantage of other useful opportunities for survival. Additionally, I have included some ways that you can use the information in the topics below to improve your songwriting:.

Sports and other games that involve competition are ripe with examples of unity and variety. Take for instance: baseball. In this sport, the essential most important part of the competition comes down to the pitcher versus the batter. By combining these two together, he can successfully increase his chances of getting the batter out. First Name:. Email Address:. Share this:. Want to receive new Piano Lab Blog posts by email? First Name: Email Address:. According to psychologists, music and the other fine arts are a symbolic language that can subconsciously influence thinking, feeling, and behavior.

These analyses shed light on the relationship between the symbolic languages of dreams and the fine arts. Researchers have found that the structure of dreams and musical works such as classical compositions and jazz improvisations share the same form which includes:. Dreams and music that imitates dream structure have been found to be therapeutic as they compensate for disorder in the psyche through the symbolic construction of a central point motive through which everything is unified, or by unifying opposing elements e.

The symbol of unity is the often repeated panacea stressed throughout psychological and philosophical writings that true art is supposed to imitate. Plato taught that the unity symbol was beautiful and the source of love. In her book Symbolization and Creativity , psychiatrist Susan Deri asserted that symbols of unity are required for mental wellness as they encode order into the psyche. Such is the power of music that is based on unity, and variety that contributes to the overall unity of a musical work.

It cannot be stressed enough that unity and variety are foremost criteria in the evaluation of music and all art forms. Stacy Gray is a professional musician, an online teaching assistant for Berklee College of Music, and an online educational consultant specializing in NCAS professional development.

He received his B. He taught in the jazz department at the University of Pittsburgh while pursuing a M. Francis Medical Center in Pittsburgh. He continues his professional development as a member of the Berklee Film Scoring Alumni Forum, an online group that includes Academy Award and Emmy Award winning composers who discuss the latest trends and research in music composition.

Did this blog spur new ideas for your music program?