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[Chrome]

Serious question: what does it mean in layman's terms when someone says a solo has been "resolved" or brought to its "resolution"?

[street singer]

Interesting question...

I await the responses of those who can answer this!

Edited February 3, 2004 by street singer

[mikeweil]

In music theory, a resolution stands for the process of bringing back the harmonic progression back to the root, or a dissonance back to consonance.

[JSngry]

I think that when you talk about a solo "resolving", it's more of a sense that all the loose ends have been tied up, everythings been covered, time to turn out the lights and head fr the house, that kind of thing.

As it pertains to solos and such, it's not a technical term. Mike's definition above is what the technical meaning is.

[Chrome]

Thanks for the replies, guys ... I had kind of thought it was as you've explained, but I also thought there may have been something more, I don't know, objective to it.

I mean, has anyone ever thought "Hey, I love the way Player X resolves that solo" and then met someone else who thought -- about the exact same piece -- "Oh no, here's Player X again, that damn guy just can't resolve his solos"?

Also, is there anyone who purposely doesn't resolve things just to add disonance for aesthetic reasons? I haven't listened to too much "out" music, but is that what's going on there?

(Again, I appreciate the music lessons!)

[CJ Shearn]

another question for a layman is a resolution similar to a turnaround? b/c in a turnaround you are bringing the progression back to the beginning, with extreme tension through the use of a V chord (say, on a blues) and the tension is released when we go back to I. At least that's what I've gathered talking to musicians, and also through being a student and TA through the jazz in American music course, and what we've learned about progressions in rock pop and soul this semester (the professor is a jazz guitarist, actually)

[mikeweil]

Also, is there anyone who purposely doesn't resolve things just to add disonance for aesthetic reasons? I haven't listened to too much "out" music, but is that what's going on there?

Not only in "out" music, but in general it is often used as an expressive means to leave a dissonant chord unresolved, like an unanswered question. (There is a Charles Ives orchestral piece of that name, I'm not sure if it uses that device, have to take a listen again). Even a musical layman will feel the resulting tension.

"Out" music has more to do with the avoidance of consonance altogether, among many other things.