dissonance

Dwayne Johnson’s performance in “The Smashing Machine,” for all the film’s flaws, cleverly reconciled the dissonance between the outward images of masculine power and internal feelings of self-loathing.

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

In a moment when AI and digital technology allows for on-demand perfection, there’s a creeping thrill to the possibility of flaws and dissonance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026

In a milieu where dissonance had long been king, this was assertively consonant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026

As if this wasn’t ominous enough, the latest BofA Securities fund-manager’s survey shows that Wall Street is, once again, experiencing severe cognitive dissonance: It is simultaneously worried about the market, but afraid to sell.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026

Of course, if there are problems with tuning, the notes will not sound good together, but this is not what consonance and dissonance are about.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

The word-painting in these arresting madrigal-style pieces, heightened by Gesualdo’s characteristic dissonances, is starkly immediate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025

Although León’s language is different from decade to decade, her ear for slightly bent phrases in the early works can help prepare a listener for the way she later learned to make starker dissonances dance.

From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2022

Q: I love the beauty of the dissonances in the Carl Ruggles piece you’ve selected.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2022

Everything about it, from the spare, enveloping details of Grant Major’s production design to the nerve-shredding dissonances of Jonny Greenwood’s score, directs our focus inward.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2021

In some modern music, many of these dissonances are heard as pleasant or interesting or jazzy and don't need to be resolved.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones