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1 Basic Definitions
1.1 Pitches
• A "pitch" is any note that we hear.
• The standard piano can play 88 pitches:
pitches: A0 to C8, where C4 = middle-C.
middle-C.
• For example, the notes above middle-C are as follows:
C4 (B3), C4(D4), D4, D4(E4), E4(F4), F4(E4),
F4(G4), G4, G4(A4), A4, A4(B4), B4(C5)
1.2 Pitch Classes
• Pitch classes are used to discuss pitches independent of octave displacement and enharmonic spelling .
• Any two pitches which sound the same on an equal tempered scale (for example, C and B) or are only
different due to octave displacement are said to belong to the same "pitch class".
• For example, the following pitches
following pitches all belong to Pitch
to Pitch Class C :
B#4, D4 (enharmonic equivalents), C0, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6 (octave displacements)
• There are only 12 pitch classes in a system where each octave has 12 chromatic notes.
• Pitch classes can also be numbered:
numbered: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.
These numbers are sometimes called "Pitch Class Representatives".
• For this tutorial, 0 = Pitch Class C (i.e. "fixed Do").
• All other pitch classes will by numbered by counting the half steps from pitch-class C.
• Therefore, C = 0, C# = 1, D = 2, D# = 3, E = 4, F = 5, F# = 6, G = 7, G# = 8, A = 9, A# = 10, B = 11
• Sometimes the letter 'T' (for Ten) or 'A' is used instead of the number 10, and 'E' (for Eleven) or 'B' instead
of 11.
1.3 Pitch Class Sets
• A "Pitch Class Set"
Set" is a list of pitch class numbers:
numbers: [0, 4, 7, 10] (note the square brackets)
brackets)
• These are also called "PC Sets".
Sets".
• The PC Set for a C minor
minor triad: [0, 3, 7]
• The PC Set for a G mamajor
jor triad: [7, 11, 2]
• In Pitch Class sets, octave doublings and displacements are ignored:
o [0, 3, 7, 12] => [0, 3, 3, 7] (see the
the section
section below
below on modulo
modulo math)
math)
o [14, 7, 11] => [2, 7, 11]
o For example, all of the following can be described with Pitch Class Set [0, 1,4]. The only
difference in these chords are octave displacements or enharmonic spellings in the pitches.
Piano
Pno.
Pno.
• A group of similar PC Sets like these is called a "Pitch Class Set Class", or more simply, a "Set Class".
• If two PC Sets differ only by transposition or inversion, then they belong to the same Set Class.
• There are only 208 different Set Classes!
• Each Set Class is represented by a "Prime Form" PC Set. For example:
[0,1,4]; [3,4,7]; [0,3,4]; [5,8,9]; and [8,9,0] all belong to the Prime Form: (0,1,4)
• Note that parenthesis are used to denote Prime Forms in this tutorial. However, not everybody agrees on
this syntax.
3.2 Uses for The Prime Form
• The prime form is considered to be the "simplest" version of the pitch class set.
• Generally, the "simplest" version of a PC set means that the pitches in the set are packed as tightly together
possible, and as far to the left as possible.
• Once you know the prime form of a PC set, you can look it up in a table of prime forms to get more
information about the PC Set, such as its interval vector and fellow related PC Sets (see appendix).
• You can also use the prime form to search for other, related PC Sets using other software tools.
See http://www.ComposerTools.com.
• If you are a composer, you can use this information to help you better control, understand, and manipulate
the harmonies in your music.
3.3 Determining the Prime Form: The Rigorous Method
• Goal: To identify the prime form for any PC set.
• Example: What is the prime form of [8,0,4,6] ?
• Step 1: Put the Pitch Classes in numerical order => [0,4,6,8]
• Step 2: List all of the rotations of the pitch class set. To rotate a PC Set, simply move the first number to
the end and add 12 to it (i.e. shift it up an octave). For example, the Rotations of [0,4,6,8] are:
[0, 4, 6, 8]
[4, 6, 8, 12] Pno.
[6, 8, 12, 16]
[8, 12, 16, 18] [0,4,6,8] [4,6,8,12] [6,8,12,16] [8,12,16,18]
(note: numbers over twelve shown to demonstrate rotation,
these should be reduced to 0-11 with "Modulo 12")
• Step 3: Determine which rotation of the PC Set has the minimum distance between the first and last
numbers in the Set:
o [0, 4, 6, 8] => ( 8 - 0) = 8
o [4, 6, 8, 12] => (12 - 4) = 8
o [6, 8, 12, 16] => (16 - 6) = 10
o [8, 12, 16, 18] => (18 - 8) = 10
There is a tie! Versions [0,4,6,8] and [4,6,8,12] both have a minimum distance between first and last of 8
0 0
11 1 11 1
7
10 10 2
2
9 3 9 3
0
8 4 8 4
0 1 5
4 7 5 7 5
6 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
< >
m2/M7 m3/M6 P4/P5
(half-step) (minor-3rd) (perfect)
• For example, a C major chord is represented by the PC Set: [047] and has the interval vector <001110>.
This is because a C major chord contains one minor third (from E to G) one major third (from C to E) and
one perfect interval from C to G). Since a major chord contains no half steps, whole steps, or tritones, these
entries in the interval vector are all set to zero (0).
• Note that there is no agreed upon standard punctuation for representing an interval vector. The angle
brackets appear to be the most common, but there are many other representations being used.
• Example: [0, 2, 7, 8]
o Step 1: 4 pitches in the pitch class set = 6 intervals = 6 pairs of pitches:
[0, 2] [0, 7] [0, 8] [2, 7] [2, 8] [7, 8]
o Step 2: For each pair, subtract the smaller number from the larger number:
[0, 2] = 2; [0, 7] = 7; [0, 8] = 8; [2, 7] = 5; [2, 8] = 6; [7, 8] = 1
o Step 3: For each difference in Step 2, increment the appropriate slot from the chart above:
11 10 9 8 7
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1 0 1 2 1
Pno.
Pno. ...
PC subsets and supersets are a very useful compositional technique. Be sure to explore all of the subsets for PC Sets
that you use (see ComposerTools.com). This will help you to use, space, and manipulate your harmonies.
• Other things to experiment with:
o Use subsets for growth; i.e. restrict sections of your music to use only portions of a larger PC set
and then grow the PC set over time, making your harmonies denser and more complex.
o Put the sub-sets in different registers to emphasize their unique sounds (see examples below).
o Construct melodies from sub-sets which can be combined together to create
6.1 Definition: Transpositional Combination of Two Common Subsets
• Transpositional combination: When a superset is created from two equal subsets, where one is transposed.
• Example 1: [0,1,2] + [0,1,2]{transposed by 6 halfsteps} => [0,1,2] + [6,7,8] => [0,1,2,6,7,8]
• Example 2: [0,2,7] + [0,2,7]{transposed by 6 halfsteps} => [0,2,7] + [6,8,1] => [0,1,2,6,7,8]
6.2 Definition: Inversional Combination of Two Common Subsets
• Inversional combination: When a superset is created from two equal subsets, where one is inverted (and
possibly transposed)
• Example: [0,1,6] + [0,1,6]{invert and transpose by 8 half steps} => [0,1,6] + [12-0+8, 12-1+8, 12-6+8]
=> [0,1,6] + [8,19,14] => [0,1,6] + [8,7,2] => [0,1,2,6,7,8]
• Note: The result of an inversional combination will always be "inversionally symmetric" (see below for a
discussion of inversional symmetry)
0 0 0
11 1 11 1 11 1
10 2 10 2 10 2
9 3 9 3 9 3
8 4 8 4 8 4
7 5 7 5 7 5
6 6 6
0 4 6
0 0
11 1 11 1
1 9 3
10 2 10 2
9 3 2 9 3
8 4 8 4
3 7 9
7 5 7 5
6 6
6 0
Schoenberg, Op. 25
• By definition, the last 6 notes of a 12-tone row are the PC Set complement of the first 6 notes
• For more harmonic cohesiveness, make the first and last 6 notes of the row the same PC Set, i.e. self
complementary and possibly inversionally related.
• For more harmonic variety, make the first and last 6 notes of the row Z-related PC-sets.
• This is the first step towards hexachordal combinatoriality: where a 12-tone row is made up of two similar
halves, for example, where the 2 nd half is a transposed inversion of the first half (further discussion is
beyond the scope of this tutorial). This is a favored technique of late Schoenberg compositions.
• Except: For tritones (it would figure). When transposing by a tritone, you get double the number of
common pitches as specified in the interval vector. For example, if you transpose [0,1,6] by a tritone, you
would get two common pitch class sets, rather than one (see above for an example).
• You can use this fact for composition to either make transitions smoother or more abrupt. If two adjacent
harmonies in your music have many common tones, they will transition smoothly from one to the other. If
they have few common tones, then the transition will be less smooth. For example:
o Use for common tone transposition / modulation: Transpose a PC Set around a common tone for
smoother transitions.
0 0 one common
11 1 11 1
three new
10 2 10 2
9 3 9 3
8 4 8 4
7 5 7 5
6 6
two common
inversionally symmetric two new
along two axis
Note that you can explore many of these similarity relations at http://www.ComposerTools.com.
9.1 Special Purpose Relations: R p, R0, R1, R2
• R p => When two PC Sets are the same except for one different pitch class, i.e. one note different
o Very useful for composers, this is one way to "morph" PC sets. For example, you can go from PC
Set 1 to PC Set 2 by changing a single note, as long as the two sets are related by Rp.
o But not too useful for analysis, since this relates many PC sets to many many other PC sets
• R 0 => When two PC Sets have the same number of pitch classes, but no interval vector entries in
common, for example:
o 4-2:(0,1,2,4) has interval vector <221100>
o 4-13:(0,1,3,6) has interval vector <112011>
o There is no interval which has the same count in both interval vectors.
o Not a very useful measure, since it has to do with the relative strengths of the intervals, rather than
the presence or total absence of intervals.
• R 1 => When two PC Sets have the same number of pitch classes, and their interval vectors are as similar
as they can be without being equal
o This will be the case when the 4 of the 6 entries in the interval vector are the same, and the
remaining two entries are simply exchanged, for example:
o 4-2: (0,1,2,4) has interval vector <221100>
o 4-3: (0,1,3,4) has interval vector <212100>
o Note the highlighted entries in the interval vector are the only ones which are different, and the
two entries are merely exchanged from one to the other.
• R 2 => Just like R 1, except that the two different entries are not merely an exchange of numbers. For
example:
o 5-10: (0,1,3,4,6) has interval vector <223111>
o 5-Z12: (0,1,3,5,6) has interval vector <222121>
• Note that R 1 and R 2 are also R p.