9571 / 18210 · Workshop 79 — Harmonic Density vs. Melodic Freedom: How Much Harmony Is Enough, When to Leave Space, and How to Avoid “Over-Explaining” Every Note← prev⊞ allnext →
79.2Harmony competes for attention
A chord change creates information.
So does:
- melody movement
- rhythmic syncopation
- register change
- countermelody
- bass motion
If all of them change constantly:
the listener has no hierarchy.
This is our complexity-budget principle at the arrangement level.