A Walk Through Tonal Space: Charting the Establishing of the Key of a Melody

TY - CHAP

T1 - A Walk Through Tonal Space: Charting the Establishing of the Key of a Melody

AU - Chew, Elaine

N1 - Conference code: 13

PY - 2001/7/30

Y1 - 2001/7/30

N2 - In the western tonal music tradition, when we listen to a melody, our minds generate a system of hierarchical relations among the musical pitches that we hear. This system of relations is known as tonality. The developing of the pitch relations can be visualized as the generating of a tonal space. We propose a spatial analogue for this tonal space, which we call a Spiral Array. In this geometric representation, spatial proximity designates perceptually close relations among the represented musical entities. As a melody unfolds, the accumulating musical information can be charted in the Spiral Array as a walk through this tonal space. Over time, the hierarchical relations that determine the perceived relative stability among the pitches become more settled, and a key (designated by the most stable pitch) is established. We demonstrate that this establishing of key can be derived from the walk within the Spiral Array.

AB - In the western tonal music tradition, when we listen to a melody, our minds generate a system of hierarchical relations among the musical pitches that we hear. This system of relations is known as tonality. The developing of the pitch relations can be visualized as the generating of a tonal space. We propose a spatial analogue for this tonal space, which we call a Spiral Array. In this geometric representation, spatial proximity designates perceptually close relations among the represented musical entities. As a melody unfolds, the accumulating musical information can be charted in the Spiral Array as a walk through this tonal space. Over time, the hierarchical relations that determine the perceived relative stability among the pitches become more settled, and a key (designated by the most stable pitch) is established. We demonstrate that this establishing of key can be derived from the walk within the Spiral Array.

M3 - Conference paper

VL - VIII

BT - Proceedings 13th International Conference on Systems Research, Informatics and Cybernetics. Baden-Baden, Germany, July 30 - August 4, 2001

PB - International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics

CY - Windsor, Ontario

T2 - International Conference on Systems Research, Informatics and Cybernetics

Y2 - 30 July 2001 through 4 August 2001

ER -