Tolerating Dissonance

In the music world, we have technical terms for things that sound stable and agreeable ("consonance") and sounds that create tension ("dissonance").

One of the things I learned in my university music studies was to tolerate dissonance.  In other words, to not lose myself emotionally or intellectually when subjected to a physical environment I found hostile, disconcerting, etc.  To deliberately endure, at least for a limited time, something unpleasant.

It was not easy.  I resisted it many times.  I do believe humans have a natural, instinctive love of harmony.  I believe that metaphorical "harmony" - ie. peace, love, waiting politely in line etc., is in some ways an offshoot of physical harmony - ie. the symmetries between sound waves, a gorgeously tunes choir, etc.

Tonight, I was at our Town Council meeting.  Some fractious discussions but done respectfully by people who agree that we are there for a common goal : to improve the lives of the people we represent. 

When it concluded, I ran away, hoping to catch the last few numbers of an internationally acclaimed Canadian choir - The Elmer Iseler Singers - and their special guests, our Woodstock High School Choir.

It too, featured occasional musical dissonance, sharp sounds, but sung by people who agree on a common goal. 

And it leads me to wonder - how much dissonance can people tolerate?

How often can they - or will they - sit in a room with people whose opinions disturb them? Will they bother to listen to the sustained tension, or simply close their ears entirely and retreat into more comfortable and well-worn sound?

Too much dissonance is hazardous to one's health.  People who work a lifetime in the clangour of a noisy environment tend to have shorter lifespans.  But I fear people who cannot tolerate any dissonance whatsoever.  They make me wonder what I have overlooked, and whether I should reconsider.