Wrong notes

This is a discussion on topic:

Do you think there is such a thing as "wrong notes" or "false sound" (if I write correctly the second one)? And if yes, isn't it subjective?

We have a huge palette today consisting of tonality, modality, free atonality, serialism, chance music, microtonal temperaments... What does "wrong note" mean to you? This seem to be a very broad and unclear term. When it is out of context, when we don't talk about period, style, genre, intention, it seems to mean nothing (at least, for me).

For example, if your intention is to write in, say, 18th century style, using weak chord successions and regressions (such as III-I or II-I) wouldn't be correct, yes. But if you don't write in this style, there is nothing wrong about it.

Frequently, wrong notes for the listener might be unresolved tensions and dissonances, unfulfilled expectations which create the impression for incidental occurences. So the only thing that I can think of "wrong" is when some elements don't fit in. To have one unresolved dissonance in a piece where all others are resolved, which seems to imply a 'resolution rule' in this piece and coherence of sound, would probably sound wrong, just as it would sound weird to have one chromatic note in completely diatonic piece. It is not surprising why some jazz guys say: "Repeat the mistake and it will sound OK" (that's why we can break some rules in sequences). It's like to talk about planes or fishes in a conversation about love and relationships. It will certainly seem completely unrelated, if not even crazy, but then again - what if this is your intention? We can have such moments in chance music, right? I would say the only way to decide whether something is wrong or not is to know the composer's intention and the result - are they in agreement or not? And this is the benefit of discussing composition topics with your composition teacher...

How do you think?

I generally agree with you. I don't think there can be any notes that are wrong per se, today, and I agree that the only "guideline" that makes sense is whether the result meets the composer's intention (which may of course also be something ambiguous and deliberately open). Even having one unresolved dissonance in a very "classical" piece of music where all other dissonances are resolved definitely isn't necessarily wrong, as exactly the feeling of doubt whether there was a "wrong note" there for the audience, respectively playing with establishing expectations, and breaking them subtly might have been the intention.

Of course, next to whether a composer manages to "put his intention on paper", for the question whether we like or "agree with" the result, it also matters whether we agree with the "intention" in the first place. But this is a totally different question than "wrong notes", as it concerns the piece as a whole.

Basically, if it is a wrong not it is, if it isn't, it isn't. That is all you are saying. Obviously I can do nothing but agree.

Well, there is a problem of maybe the composer didn't get across exactly what he meant - then a listener could very well hear a 'wrong' note. I think there are wrong notes, even in modern music. I think it was Stockhausen who wrote a piece of serial piano music and he missed a note in the row somewhere in the middle - completely messing up the rest of the piece. Of course, noone would 'hear' that as a 'wrong' note, but IT IS.

The idea of a 'wrong note' is something that was instilled in us at the same time as we were learning basic counterpoint and harmony. In the common practice soundworld, wrong notes are easier than you think to accidentally write, and because of the rather simple harmonic language, they are much easier to notice.

I'm not sure I've said anything noone else has said... oh well. ;)

I didn't only think of that kind of "technically wrong" notes though (as in said Stockhausen example). I was thinking more of musical elements that "disturb" the musical intention of a piece, dilute an idea that was intended to come out clearly, draw the focus away from the intended "centre" of the piece, or break unintentionally into an established sound world that is supposed to be coherent. Or, say, a form that is "supposed" to be processual, but turns out rather static. Those "errors" may very well not break any rules, but still go against the composer's intention.

And then there are of course unwritten rules, which don't directly forbid anything but still are commonly regarded as "errors" (or at least "dangerous") in a certain style, for example the use of octaves in serial music, or even in pre-serial atonal composition in the style of Sch

Look at the gavotte from Schoenberg's Suite for Piano, Op. 25 for a clear example of a wrong note.