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The So-Called Devil's Chord

#4
Not that I'm a religious fanatic, or someone apt to debate religion. But since you posted this, and I always enjoy playing devils advocate:

It amuses me when people scoff at the idea of the "Devil's interval" being a falsity. And their reasoning is, "Well, I play this chord, and I'm not in hell now. So obviously it must be false." Seems like nonsensical reasoning.

To the point of these chords and intervals being of the Devil. Well, they are prominent in secular "popular" music (as noted, these chords were not allowed in religious Christian music). And what is the subject of popular music today? Drugs, Alcohol, guns, promiscuity, excessive wealth. Some bands even sing about and celebrate the Devil (which is pretty bold if you ask me). And if that doesn't convince you, well, are you sure you're really not in hell, considering world events of present day? I'd consider a perpetual war planet as close to hell as it comes.

I also don't know how Halloween, or All Hallow's Even, got mistakenly associated with the Devil. It's the evening of a celebration of the faithful deceased. Hallows are Saints or holy people. Seems a contradiction if you ask me.

To summarize, to scoff at an interval labeled "of the devil" as phony scare tactics shows the ignorance of some as it pertains to the power of music. Music clearly has conscious as well as subconscious effects on the human brain. And I will actually restrain myself from further reasoning to my point, only to say I seriously doubt the people that do the worst crimes in this world are listening nightly to "Great is thy Faithfulness".
 
#5
To me it's an arrangement of notes in a particular order and produces a certain sound.

To claim it's the work of the Devil is a tad daft.

That's about as far as I can go in this thread due to rules so nothing further from me.

This thread was in no way intended to be a religious discussion...simply a look at a curious musical (emphasis on 'music') chord that is used in modern rock and elsewhere today for those who might have heard about it but don't know what it is.
 
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#7
The tritone wasn't called the Devil's interval because it was believed to invoke the Devil, but because it was the Devil to play in tune. You can go back through music history for centuries and find it used, and used often. The tritone is what makes a dominant 7 chord work.
 
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#8
Pacman said:
The tritone wasn't called the Devil's interval because it was believed to invoke the Devil, but because it was the Devil to play in tune. You can go back through music history for centuries and find it used, and used often. The tritone is what makes a dominant 7 chord work.
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This is interesting. So many musical "scholars" cite the "Devils interval" as pertaining to the literal Devil.

Your explanation that it was the devil to play in tune does seem plausible, as it seems the difference between just and equal temperament is the furthest in a Tritone vs all other intervals.

A few things:
1) secular and non-secular music styles have been around for ages. So citing that a particular chord type has been around for a long time does not mean it was used in non-secular music.

2) is it possible that the 3rd was omitted in dominant 7th chords in non-secular music? And the dominant chord would simply be as such: Dm/G resolving to C.

Funny how figurative has turned into literal, assuming your explanation is correct.
 
#9
BassAndReeds said:
A few things:
1) secular and non-secular music styles have been around for ages. So citing that a particular chord type has been around for a long time does not mean it was used in non-secular music.
Click to expand...

Ever hear of Bach?

2) is it possible that the 3rd was omitted in dominant 7th chords in non-secular music? And the dominant chord would simply be as such: Dm/G resolving to C.
Click to expand...

I guess it's possible, and it may be in some old music, but V7 is there, throughout history - in secular and religious music. In fact, there's really no evidence that the Church outlawed the interval at all. My challenge to you: find out WHEN this supposed "outlawing" occurred, then find out the earliest use of the phrase "diablos in musica" was used. Then take a look at the church music from that era.
 
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#13
I'm with Pacman on this one: the tritone, as the defining tonal characteristic of the V7, can be traced back to the earliest forms of functional harmony, and beyond. 16th century counterpoint, as religious as it gets, already makes use of the interval. And, as noted, Bach was using Dominants almost excessively.
 
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#14
Pacman said:
Ever hear of Bach?



I guess it's possible, and it may be in some old music, but V7 is there, throughout history - in secular and religious music. In fact, there's really no evidence that the Church outlawed the interval at all. My challenge to you: find out WHEN this supposed "outlawing" occurred, then find out the earliest use of the phrase "diablos in musica" was used. Then take a look at the church music from that era.
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This would be a difficult exercise. I will try to get as much information as possible on the subject. I've been taught it was the literal devils interval and outlawed by the church. (At Least that's the way I took it). I'd like to know if my knowledge is inaccurate.
 
#17
Nashrakh said:
I'm with Pacman on this one: the tritone, as the defining tonal characteristic of the V7, can be traced back to the earliest forms of functional harmony, and beyond. 16th century counterpoint, as religious as it gets, already makes use of the interval. And, as noted, Bach was using Dominants almost excessively.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I play religious music as well as secular music. These chords have been around in religious music for hundreds of years. I've heard the stories claiming that it was outlawed by Church, but I can't find any reputable sources to back that up. So, I will have to conclude that this is just an urban legend.
 

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