[Doctor Stochastic]

I didn't say that it was something you were not supposed to hear. I said that consonance vs dissonance isn't an acoustical phenomenon. You can hear the difference but it is a learned thing.

You might listen to medieval or renaissance or Balinese gamelin or Chinese or Indian or Arabic-Hebrew-Persian-Arabic sources to get an idea of how things are learned.

One might think of consonance as "rest" and dissonance as "movement" in a musical sense. It's a matter of expectation from the audience. One can have both consonance and dissonance in purely rhythmic piece. Some of Philidor's drum solos are still available.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for the information and the endorsements! With my terrible hearing, I've always just played what sounded pleasant to me. I doubt if I have the ability to truly appreciate the works you mention, but I will try.