Volta and the Dissonant Chord

When Professor Marshall first described the "volta", I immediately made a connection with what my old music teacher referred to as a "diminished chord." I'm not going to go into the music theory behind the chord, but it is very similar to the volta in that they both represent a shift in music or literature.

According to what I've found online, the volta is basically the heart and soul of a piece of literature. It represents drive and release on an emotional and rhythmical level. Many authors and poets describe the volta as "indispensable", and is the source of everything worth while that comes from a poem. The shifting and constantly evolving nature of poetry is what makes this art so interesting, deep, and emotional. A good volta will help a poem transform into something beautiful and contrasting, allowing it to evolve into a complex and beautiful work of art.

A diminished chord or triad is a grouping of three notes, and is most commonly used in orchestral music. Traditionally, the diminished chord had a very unique and important role: A diminished chord signified the beginning of the end. It should properly be used only once in any piece of music. It's dissonant and atonal sound drove the piece and gives the listener the perception that something is amiss or something is changing. Music tells a story much like a piece of literature, and much like the volta, the diminished chord signifies change. One slight clarification: a volta may also represent a stylistic change, while a diminished chord typically does not. However, in terms of tone and the message behind the music, it can be an immediate shift, or a subtle hint that things will soon go in a completely different direction.

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