Trying to find out about so-called 'avoid notes'.
They seem to be notes that are a semitone above notes from a chord, thus produce dissonance. Not even sure what constitutes dissonance!
But quite often I use 'avoid notes' because that extra out-of-tuneness adds to the tension at some point in a piece. Which then makes the resolution so much more satisfying. For example G7 > C, where I suppose the 'avoid note', of A♭ is just that semitone above the root G. So, instead of avoiding it, for me it's a go-to note!
The term itself could be a misnomer, so an extra question would be - who coined it, and why?