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SCALE NETWORKS AND DEBUSSY

SCALE NETWORKS AND DEBUSSY I. Scalar “Statics”: Three Scalar Collections (a) Scales, Sets, and Modes: Some Terminological Preliminaries A scale is a series of pitches ordered by register. This ordering underwrites a measure of musical distance distinct from the more general metrics provided by chromatic semitones and frequency ratios.7 The interaction between these contrasting metrics gives scalar music much of its complexity. Example 1 illustrates, presenting a series of three-note chords from Liszt. Understood in terms of the chromatic scale, the chords belong to three different set classes. Individual voices move by one of two intervals as they pass from chord to chord. Understood in terms of Example 1’s seven-note octave-repeating scale, however, each chord is an instance of the same set class: the triadic set class [024].8 From this perspective, individual voices always move by the same interval—a single scale step. Analytically, then, these chords belong either to three different types or to one single type, depending on whether we measure distance along the chromatic scale, or along the seven-note scale of Example 1. I will use the terms “chromatic distance” and “scalar distance” to refer to these two ways of measuring musical distance.9 Any pitch-class set can be associated with http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Music Theory Duke University Press

SCALE NETWORKS AND DEBUSSY

Tymoczko, Dmitri
Journal of Music Theory , Volume 48 (2) – Jan 1, 2004
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References (26)

Publisher
Duke University Press
Copyright
Copyright 2004 by Yale University
ISSN
0022-2909
eISSN
1941-7497
DOI
10.1215/00222909-48-2-219
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

I. Scalar “Statics”: Three Scalar Collections (a) Scales, Sets, and Modes: Some Terminological Preliminaries A scale is a series of pitches ordered by register. This ordering underwrites a measure of musical distance distinct from the more general metrics provided by chromatic semitones and frequency ratios.7 The interaction between these contrasting metrics gives scalar music much of its complexity. Example 1 illustrates, presenting a series of three-note chords from Liszt. Understood in terms of the chromatic scale, the chords belong to three different set classes. Individual voices move by one of two intervals as they pass from chord to chord. Understood in terms of Example 1’s seven-note octave-repeating scale, however, each chord is an instance of the same set class: the triadic set class [024].8 From this perspective, individual voices always move by the same interval—a single scale step. Analytically, then, these chords belong either to three different types or to one single type, depending on whether we measure distance along the chromatic scale, or along the seven-note scale of Example 1. I will use the terms “chromatic distance” and “scalar distance” to refer to these two ways of measuring musical distance.9 Any pitch-class set can be associated with

Journal

Journal of Music Theory – Duke University Press

Published: Jan 1, 2004

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