Cool Math For Hot Music

Computational Music Science
Guerino Mazzola
Maria Mannone
Yan Pang
Cool Math
for Hot Music
A First Introduction to Mathematics
for Music Theorists
Series Editors
Guerino Mazzola
Moreno Andreatta
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8349

Guerino Mazzola • Maria Mannone • Yan Pang
Cool Math for Hot Music

A First Introduction to Mathematics
for Music Theorists
Guerino Mazzola Maria Mannone
School of Music School of Music
University of Minnesota University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Yan Pang
School of Music
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
ISSN 1868-0305 ISSN 1868-0313 (electronic)

ISBN 978-3-319-42935-9 ISBN 978-3-319-42937-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016956578
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt
from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained
herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.
Cover illustration: Cover image designed by Maria Mannone
Printed on acid-free paper
This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
All
enjoyment
is
musical,
consequently
mathematical.
(Novalis)
Preface
Fig. -1.1. Maria Mannone, Guerino Mazzola, and Yan Pang. Photo and © 2015 by
A.J. Wattamaniuk.
The idea for this book came from Yan Pang, a PhD student taking the
course “Mathematics for Music Theorists” at the School of Music of the Uni-
versity of Minnesota. She was not in love with mathematics at all—bad ex-
periences, bad teachers, the usual story. Fortunately, Maria Mannone, another
PhD student taking that course who had studied theoretical physics, helped
Yan get acquainted with mathematical rigor and beauty. Soon, Guerino Maz-
zola, the teacher, learned how to teach math using thorough musical motivation
vii
viii Preface
and avoiding abstract nonsense in favor of concrete conceptual development of

theory.
One day, Yan confessed that she had become enthusiastic about mathe-
matics for music in theory and composition (using both composition software
and classical score writing), and she suggested that Guerino should consider
writing a textbook in this inspiring style. He thought about her idea and in
fact recalled that there was no first introduction to mathematical music the-
ory. Guerino’s book Geometrie der Töne [73]—the most elementary among his
music theory books—was written in German and not conceived in a style that
would meet the criteria of a first introduction. Given the enthusiastic experi-
ences with Maria and Yan, Guerino approached his publisher, Springer, with a
proposal to write this book with the two co-authors for a maximal advantage
from the students’ perspective. Springer did not hesitate a single moment, and
we could immediately delve into this important project.
Accordingly, this book is not intended to present a dry mathematical text
about tools that may be used in music. Rather, we want to develop a discourse
full of pleasure and fun that in every moment motivates concepts, methods, and
results by their musical significance—a narrative that inspires you to create
musical thoughts and actions. We want to offer a presentation abundant in
images, scores, and compositional strategies and enriched by audio examples
from music theory and composition so that you can not only view the concepts
but also experience them. However, to be handed tools with no opportunity to
use them can be frustrating. Therefore, we also describe our concepts, methods,
and results to help you apply them to your own unfolding skills in musical
creativity. The wonderful advantage of a mathematical concept framework is its
universal applicability, and this also includes its social dimension. The outdated
ideology of a lonely genius who finds new creations in the trance of drugs
and existential borderline experience is replaced by a collaborative and relaxed
environment of global communication. This can accommodate any direction of
musical creativity in the world of digital media and augment its power to shape
the future of the beautiful truth of music.
Of course, nobody is forced to accept our offer, and it is true: The payoff
will not show up immediately. If you want to challenge yourself with this colorful
book, you will be given a tool for creativity and discipline for your whole
life. But if you prefer to enjoy an easy life without any challenge beyond flat
consumption, we wish you all the best in your cage of nothingness. However,
please consider this book in case you change your mind and come back to the
challenge of true beauty.
Mathematical examples and exercises are headed by
√ √
Example, Exercise,
whereas musical examples and exercises are headed by
ˇ “* Example, ˇ “* Exercise.
Preface ix
The reference to mathematical examples or exercises is “Example, Ex-

ercise”, the reference to musical examples or exercises is “Musical Example,
Exercise”. The exercises are intended to be challenges for the reader to solve
a problem by applying the concepts and results that have been presented in
the text. Solutions to the exercises have been provided, but the reader should
not consult them without first having tried his or her own approach. For this
reason, the solutions can be found at the end of the book, in Chapter 34. The
numbers of the solutions match those of the corresponding mathematical or
musical exercises.
Mathematical theorems and propositions always need to be proved. This
is mandatory in science whenever we claim the truth of a statement. All math-
ematical results that are shown in this book in fact do have a proof, but it does
not always serve our purposes in style and depth to include the proof in our
text. Therefore, we include references to published text where proofs can be
found. We also sometimes give a hint to a proof and leave it to the reader to
fill in details as an exercise.
Original illustrations, both computer and hand-made drawings have been
created by the authors.
The music examples in this book are available as MIDI, Sibelius, and MP3
files. They are all accessible via
www.encyclospace.org/special/MMBOOK.
So if you look of the file XX.mid, you define the address
www.encyclospace.org/special/MMBOOK/XX.mid.
As in the previous books of this Springer series on performance theory
and musical creativity, Emily King has been an invaluable help in transforming
our text to a valid English prose; thank you so much for your patience with
non-native English. We are pleased to acknowledge the strong support for writ-
ing such a demanding treatise by Springer’s science editor Ronan Nugent.
Minneapolis, September 2015 Guerino Mazzola, Maria Mannone, Yan Pang

Contents
Part I Introduction and Short History
1 The ‘Counterpoint’ of Mathematics and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.1 The Idea of a Contrapuntal Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Formulas and Gestures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Mathematics and Technology for Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.4 Musical Creativity with Mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 Short History of the Relationship Between Mathematics

and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1 Pythagoras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 Artes Liberales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3 Zarlino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.4 Zaiyu Zhu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.5 Mathematics in Counterpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.5.1 An Example for Music Theorists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.6 Athanasius Kircher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.7 Leonhard Euler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.8 Joseph Fourier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.9 Hermann von Helmholtz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.10 Wolfgang Graeser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.11 Iannis Xenakis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.12 Pierre Boulez and the IRCAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.13 American Set Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.13.1 Genealogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.13.2 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.14 David Lewin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.15 Guerino Mazzola and the IFM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.15.1 Preparatory Work:
First Steps in Darmstadt and Zürich (1985-1992) . . . . . . . 30
xi
xii Contents
2.15.2 The IFM Association:

The Period Preceding the General Proliferation of the
Internet (1992-1999) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.15.3 The Virtual Institute:
Pure Virtuality (1999-2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.15.4 Dissolution of the IFM Association (2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.16 The Society for Mathematics and Computation in Music . . . . . . 33
Part II Sets and Functions
3 The Architecture of Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

3.1 Some Preliminaries in Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2 Pure Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.2.1 Boolean Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.2.2 Xenakis’ Herma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4 Functions and Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

4.1 Ordered Pairs and Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.2 Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.2.1 Equipollence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.3 Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5 Universal Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.1 Final and Initial Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.2 The Cartesian Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.3 The Coproduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.4 Exponentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.5 Subobject Classifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.6 Cartesian Product of a Family of Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Part III Numbers
6 Natural Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
6.1 Ordinal Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
6.2 Natural Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
6.3 Finite Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
7 Recursion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
8 Natural Arithmetic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
9 Euclid and Normal Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

9.1 The Infinity of Prime Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Contents xiii
10 Integers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
10.1 Arithmetic of Integers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
11 Rationals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
11.1 Arithmetic of Rationals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
12 Real Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
13 Roots, Logarithms, and Normal Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

13.1 Roots, and Logarithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
13.2 Adic Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
14 Complex Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Part IV Graphs and Nerves
15 Directed and Undirected Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

15.1 Directed Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
15.2 Undirected Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
15.3 Cycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
16 Nerves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
16.1 A Nervous Sonata Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
16.1.1 Infinity of Nervous Interpretations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
16.1.2 Nerves and Musical Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Part V Monoids and Groups
17 Monoids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
18 Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
19 Group Actions, Subgroups, Quotients, and Products . . . . . . . . 151

19.1 Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
19.2 Subgroups and Quotients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
19.2.1 Classification of Chords of Pitch Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
19.3 Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
20 Permutation Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

20.1 Two Composition Methods Using Permutations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
20.1.1 Mozart’s Musical Dice Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
20.1.2 Mannone’s Cubharmonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
xiv Contents
21 The Third Torus and Counterpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

21.1 The Third Torus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
21.1.1 Geometry on T3×4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
21.2 Music Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
21.2.1 Chord Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
21.2.2 Key Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
21.2.3 Counterpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
22 Coltrane’s Giant Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

22.1 The Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
22.2 The Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
23 Modulation Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

23.1 The Concept of a Tonal Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
23.2 The Modulation Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
23.3 Nerves for Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
23.4 Modulations in Beethoven’s op. 106 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
23.5 Quanta and Fundamental Degrees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Part VI Rings and Modules
24 Rings and Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

24.1 Monoid Algebras and Polynomials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
24.2 Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
25 Primes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
26 Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
26.1 Generalities on Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
26.2 Determinants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
26.3 Linear Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
27 Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
27.1 Affine Homomorphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
27.2 Free Modules and Vector Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
27.3 Sonification and Visualization in Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
27.3.1 Creative Ideas from Math:
A Mapping Between Images and Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
28 Just Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

28.1 Major and Minor Scales: Zarlino’s Versus Hindemith’s
Explanation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
28.2 Comparisons between Pythagorean, Just, and 12-tempered
Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
28.3 Chinese Tuning Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Contents xv
28.3.1 The Original System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

28.3.2 A System that Is Completely Based on Fifths . . . . . . . . . . 247
29 Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
29.1 The Yoneda Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Part VII Continuity and Calculus
30 Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
30.1 Generators for Topologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
30.2 Euler’s Substitution Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
31 Differentiability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
32 Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
32.1 Mathematical and Musical Precision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
32.2 Musical Notation for Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
32.3 Structure Theory of Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
32.4 Expressive Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
33 Gestures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
33.1 Western Notation and Gestures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
33.2 Chinese Gestural Music Notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
33.3 Some Remarks on Gestural Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
33.4 Philosophy of Gestures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
33.5 Mathematical Theory of Gestures in Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
33.6 Hypergestures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
33.7 Hypergestures in Complex Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Part VIII Solutions, References, Index
34 Solutions of Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

34.1 Solutions of Mathematical Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
34.2 Solutions of Musical Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Part I
Introduction and Short History

1
The ‘Counterpoint’ of Mathematics and Music
Summary. Joining mathematics and music for most of us creates a love-hate

relationship, although historically, with the Pythagorean origin, these two fields
of human knowledge and activity were united. In this book we don’t want to
enforce their unification for two reasons: different evolution of these fields, and
major creative interaction.
–Σ–
1.1 The Idea of a Contrapuntal Interaction
First: the history of mathematics and music proves that these partners are dif-
ferent in methodology, language, and existential position, so identifying them
would no longer be possible now (more about the Pythagorean position in Sec-
tion 2.1). Second: the difference in their perspectives is a major force for creative
interaction, and this is a major reason for the historically important mutual
inspiration mathematics and music have given to each other. The recent inspi-
ration of the great mathematician Alexander Grothendieck (1928-2014) for his
highest intellectual challenge, the idea of a theory of motives, was understood
as a musical idea of fundamental mathematical structures that act like musical
motives in the great symphony of mathematics.
For these reasons we want to propose a picture of “mathemusical” interac-
tion that expresses the general atmosphere of their interaction. This picture is
that of a counterpoint of two voices, the cantus firmus of mathematics and the
discantus of music, which interact in a consonant harmony but move in a cre-
ative fashion on the axis of time through history and unfold in a contrapuntal
tension of autonomous but deeply connected voices.
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 1

G. Mazzola et al., Cool Math for Hot Music, Computational Music Science,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_1
2 1 The ‘Counterpoint’ of Mathematics and Music
1.2 Formulas and Gestures

Similar to counterpoint, mathematics and music present different perspectives
of the total picture. There are two fundamental components: formulas and ges-
tures. Musical formulas are well known—for example, the ternary song form
A − B − A, or the cadence formula I − IV − V − I in harmony. But music can-
not be reduced to such form(ula)s; it needs to deploy them in its sounds’ time
and space. The aim of this deployment is the gestural action of musicians. In
other words, music transfers formulas into gestures when performers interpret
the written notes, and when the composers unfold formulas into the score’s
gestures. Similarly, mathematicians do mathematics; they don’t just observe
eternal formulas. In algebra, they move symbols from one side of an equation
to the other. Mathematics thrives by intense and highly disciplined actions.
You will never understand mathematics if you do not “play” with its symbols.
However, the mathematical goal is not a manipulatory activity; it is the achieve-
ment of a formula that condenses and compacts your manipulatory gestures.
Mathematics, therefore, shares with music a movement between gestures and
formulas, but it moves in the opposite direction of the musical process. Let us
show this graphically:
music
- gestures
formulas
mathematics
The famous music theorist Eduard Hanslick in his book Vom Musikalisch-
Schönen [49] defines musical content as “tönend bewegte Formen,” not just
forms, but “forms that are moved in sound.” In fact, the formal aspect—the
formula—of a cadence, for example, is not sufficient to generate content. The
form(ula) needs to be moved, and so it is deployed in a gestural dynamics. And
Hanslick illustrates his idea with the kaleidoscope, a dynamic arrangement of
forms that receive their aesthetic value in a self-referential internal relationship.
1.3 Mathematics and Technology for Music

In light of the preceding characterization of the musical movement from for-
mulas to gestures, it is not surprising that music has always been realized by
playing instruments, making sounds on interfaces between gestures and their
sounding output. For the school of Pythagoras, the instrument was the mono-
chord, with one string to hear the musical intervals associated with vibrating
strings of variable length. Nowadays, musical instruments are often constructed
using digital information technology, as typically available on mobile comput-
ers, smartphones and the like. Music technology has always reflected the style
and methodology of musical theories and formalisms. The classical European
musical notation, for example, is highly adapted to the traditional keyboard
instruments that enable discrete sets of notes to be played. We shall discuss
such developments in the short historical Chapter 2.
1.4 Musical Creativity with Mathematics 3
1.4 Musical Creativity with Mathematics

Obviously, mathematical skills are mandatory for any kind of musical tech-
nology, and therefore mathematics supports musical creativity enabled by its
instrumental arsenal.
But mathematical structures, formulas, and methodologies have always
played a crucial role in the creative construction of music. Bach used the
symmetries of retrograde and inversion; Mozart invented the musical dice
game; Bartók applied Fibonacci numbers to organize time, Messiaen, Boulez,
Pousseur, Eimert, Stockhausen, and others applied group theory to create
their serial compositions, extending the thoroughly mathematical dodecaphonic
ideas of Schönberg and Hauer [98].
Working with mathematical formulas does not guarantee good musical
results. This is also true for a good piano: You can always play bad music
on any instrument, even on digital music players. But instruments can help
shape musical thoughts in a compact and precise way. For example, in the
spectral music approach, very precise mathematical representations of complex
sound colors (timbres) were needed and applied to define those compositions.
Spectralism originated in France in the early 1970s, and techniques were de-
veloped at the Paris-based IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination
Acoustique/Musique) with its computers and with the Ensemble l’Itinéraire,
by composers such as Gérard Grisey and Tristan Murail.
The style of musical creativity can be very different, working with ab-
stract harmonic or rhythmic structure, gestural continuous dynamics, or else
with probability theory and statistics. For each style, there are mathemati-
cal languages, theories, and often software that can help shape one’s creative
fantasies.
In this book, we shall show how your knowledge of moving from formula to
gesture and vice versa can generate inspiration for a creativity that transcends
pure romantic dreams (which usually don’t make sound)—or nightmares. Let
us recall that the great novelist Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was awarded the
Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946 for his novel Das Glasperlenspiel [50] (The
Glass Bead Game), which essentially describes a sophisticated futuristic game
that exchanges mathematical formulas and musical compositions.
2
Short History of the Relation Between
Mathematics and Music
Summary. This chapter is a short overview of some important persons and

movements in the history of the interaction of mathematics and music. It is far
from complete, but should give the reader a first impression of this traditional
and deeply “mathemusical” culture.
–Σ–
Some technical terms will be used in this historical chapter. All terms will
be thoroughly explained in later chapters. Please use the book’s index to find
references to these terms if needed.
2.1 Pythagoras
For an account on the philosopher and mathemati-

cian Pythagoras and his school see [114]. Pythagoras
was born on the island of Samos. After having traveled
to Egypt and probably India, he moved to Croton in
Magna Graecia around 530 BC and founded his school.
The school was also a kind of sect, and it is reported
that they were vegetarians, but this is not a historically
firm fact as it is also reported that the members of his
school were allowed to eat every kind of meat, except
from oxen.
He heavily influenced Plato with the idea that
mathematics in its abstraction was a secure basis of all Fig. 2.1. Pythagoras
(ca. 571-ca. 497 BC).
philosophy and science. The Greek root μάθησις (mathe-
sis), meaning knowledge, testifies to this understanding. According to Bertrand
Russell [99], he should be considered the most influential Western philosopher.
He was also far ahead of his time, being the first to believe that the Earth is a
sphere and it orbits a central fixed spot!

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_2
6 2 Short History of the Relationship Between Mathematics and Music
A more reliable fact is that his school had to make an oath on the tetrak-
tys, the cosmological symbol for which Pythagorean philosophy and cosmology
is known, see Figure 2.2.
Fig. 2.2. The tetractys, the cosmological symbol for which Pythagorean philosophy
and cosmology.
The tetractys is a triangular symbol built from ten points, ten being a
sacred number in ancient Greece. The points are piled in decreasing groups
of 4,3,2,1 points. This generates a sequence of fractions 2 : 1, 3 : 2, 4 : 3,
which were considered as basic consonances when played on the Pythagorean
experimental device, the monochord, see Figure 2.3.
Fig. 2.3. The monochord has one string. Its pitch is doubled by one octave when the
string length is halved, 1/2, plays a fifth higher when its length is taken 2/3, and it
plays a fourth higher when taken 3/4.
The musical aspect of the Pythagorean approach was not to make any
compositions in the modern sense of the word. They would try to hear the hid-
den harmony of the universe that was thought be represented by the tetractys
symbol. This symbol played the role of what contemporary physics would call
a “world formula.” The tetractys was the Pythagorean world formula that ulti-
mately described the universe in a mathematical shape, the numerical tetractys
triangle. In this sense, Pythagorean music was an experimental science, and the
monochord was the experimental instrument/machine/testing ground (like the
role of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator for the Centre
European de Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) today).
2.2 Artes Liberales 7
Therefore the Pythagorean school was the attempt to unify mathematics

and physics in a sounding paradigm. Music was the physical expression of
a cosmological principle (the tetractys) of mathematical nature. The idea of
individual artistic expression in music was not part of the Pythagorean school.
2.2 Artes Liberales
Fig. 2.4. Artes Liberales
Artes liberales, the liberal arts, were a medieval canon of education for
the free persons (as opposed to slaves and bondservants). They were seven in
number, divided into two groups: the quadrivium, the “fourfold path,” compris-
ing music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy (called astrology at that time),
and the trivium, the “threefold path,” comprising grammar, logic (called dialec-
tic), and rhetoric, see Figure 2.4. The remarkable point here is that music and
the mathematical sciences, arithmetic and geometry, were grouped together.
This is due to the Pythagorean tradition to view music as a mathematical sci-
ence. The humanities, as grouped in the trivium, were separated from music.
The tradition to group music with the humanities was introduced much later,
essentially due to Decartes’ psychological interpretation of music. In the 19th
and 20th centuries, music has been redirected to the mathematical sciences,
mainly due to the development of acoustics and the mathematical nature of
modern physics.
2.3 Zarlino
Gioseffo Zarlino was one of the Renaissance’s most
important music theorists, composers, and musicians
(singer and organist). He was born in Chioggia near
Venice. He was educated by Franciscans and later joined
their ranks. He was maestro di cappella of St. Mark’s, a
most prestigious position in Italy. His theoretical work Le
istitutioni harmoniche [118] and later Dimostrationi har-
moniche [119] established new insights into meantone,
tempered, and just tunings. He established a harmony
that emphasized C-major (the ionian mode) and recog-
Fig. 2.5. Zarlino
nized the basic role of the major and minor triad, re-
(1517-1590). lating them by a symmetry in the just-tuning space. He
also developed just tuning from the Pythagorean tuning,
adding the major third interval because the Pythagorean tuning created diffi-
cult ratios for certain intervals. This was a logical extension also of the tetractys
construction, adding a fifth row with five points to the Greek construction, see
Figure 2.6. He also sought, as one of the first theorists, an explanation for the
forbidden parallels of fifths and octaves in counterpoint.
2.4 Zaiyu Zhu
Despite the difference between Chinese and Western music development, the
basis of the equal-temperament scale (twelve equal semitone intervals per oc-
tave, we call this the 12-tempered in Section 13.1) was first mathematically
calculated by the Chinese mathematician and musician Zaiyu Zhu (1536-1611)
in 1584 (Figure 2.7). But this was never widely used in composing the indige-
nous music of China until 1685. Before Zhu’s tuning system was conceived,
2.4 Zaiyu Zhu 9
Fig. 2.6. The extension of Pythagorean tetractys by amplification with a fifth row,
yielding the new ratio 5 : 4 of the just-tuned major third interval.
there wasn’t a standard tuning system between different instrument types such
as strings, winds, and keyboards. The formula he discovered allowed pitch-pipes
in a equal-tempered scale of twelve equal-ratio semitones per octave, which led
to a revolution of music and physics.
The problem of how to modulate between
different keys bothered many theorists, until Zhu
solved it. This solution shows that music should
not be separated from mathematics. Independently,
only 150 years after Zhu’s theory, in the 18th cen-
tury, the equal-temperament became the basis of
Western composition. Equal-tempered tuning is
widely used today because it is the best tuning
system for modulation in performance. Zhu com- Fig. 2.7. Zaiyu Zhu (1536-
mented on his theory of equal-temperament tun- 1611).
ing that scholars would have to be well acquainted both with acoustics and
with mathematical calculation. Fifty-two years after Zhu published this equal-
tempered tuning system, theorists Père Mersenne discovered exactly the same
principles, using knowledge of mathematics to solve music problems.
Zhu inherited his peerage “Prince Zheng” in 1553 as the first son of Zheng,
when Emperor Zheng died. Although he could have had power, instead, he
decided to live in self-imposed retirement to focus on his research. Zhu’s famous
books include (乐律全书) On the Equal Temperament, 1584, [120], (律吕精义)
A Clear Explanation of That which Concerns the Equal Temperament, 1595/96
[121], and (算学新说) Reflection on Mathematics, 1603, [122]. Theorist Fritz A.
Kuttner describes him as “one of the most important historians of his nation’s
music” [57].
This system is a great invention, specifically for tonal modulation. How-
ever, in our contemporary practice it is still used in combinations of different
tuning systems depending on the instrumental setup.
2.5 Mathematics in Counterpoint
Fig. 2.8. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) with the score of canon triplex in six
voices, written using only three of them.
In the classical and baroque periods, composers already used mathemat-

ical techniques to create complex music in a short time. For example, Johann
Sebastian Bach used such techniques to compose and quickly write his works,
see Figure 2.8.
For example, such techniques allow composers to focus on musical ex-
pressivity of melodic lines, instead of wasting time in exhibiting parallel fifths
and octaves in classical counterpoint. We will briefly describe a classical tech-
nique used by composers. In this sense, the use of mathematics in art, and in
particular in music, has ancient roots.
As indicated in classic texts about counterpoint, e.g., [42] and [30], there
are many technical constraints, such as the prohibition of parallel fifths and
octaves1 , hidden fifths and octaves between external voices (soprano and bass),
not more than three consecutive parallel intervals of thirds, no intervals of as-
cending major sixths in the same melodic line and so on, as defined by Zarlino’s
theory2 [118]. To create musical variety, contrario motu (when one voice raises,
another voice goes down) is required.
1
The traditional reason behind prohibiting parallel octaves and fifths, as well as
hidden octaves and fifths between external voices, is to avoid the perception of one
voice (instead of two), since it can be difficult to identify two voices that are an
octave or fifth apart.
2
The composer Giacomo Puccini, referring to the parallel fifths in the beginning of
Act III of La Bohème, said: “Two parallel fifths are prohibited, more than two are
allowed.”
2.5 Mathematics in Counterpoint 11
Writing polyphonic music that follows strict counterpoint rules requires

a lot of practice and time. However, one might wonder how composers of the
past were able to write high-quality music quickly when they did not have
access to artificial light. This is because composers of the past already used
mathematics to simplify their working process. By using matrices, permutations
and sequences of numbers, they had a valid tool to write down counterpoint
compositions.
The knowledge of classical rules was a distinctive sign of a well-trained
musician. For example, the Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, well known
for popular popular, world-renowned melodies, used to say that he was able
to write a fugue in three hours to be esteemed by rigorous critics. This skill is
only possible if mathematical rules are known.
2.5.1 An Example for Music Theorists
Let us now consider an example (taken from [30]). The Italian composer Luigi
Cherubini wrote a double choir with perfect imitation inverse and contrario
motu, where the first choir is mirrored into the second choir, as shown in Figure
2.9.

Fig. 2.9. The first four measures of a double choir with perfect imitation inverse and
contrario motu, composed by Luigi Cherubini. The sound example is Cherubini.
Such a structure is very difficult to achieve, unless we use a clever per-

mutation of notes. The notes of the diatonic C-major scale are numbered by
c → 1, d → 2 . . . b → 7.
The first note of the soprano of the first choir, g in the soprano clef (an
ancient clef with the c on the first line, see Figure 2.11), corresponds to number
5 in the diatonic C-major scale. It is mirrored into a (sixth note in diatonic C-
major scale) of the bass line in the second choir. Then, the first correspondence
is 5 to 6. The g of contralto in the first choir (written in alto clef, another
ancient clef with c on the third line), position 5, is mirrored again in a of tenor
in the second choir (tenor clef, with c on the fourth line). Putting together all
these correspondences, we can obtain the permutation

1765432
(2.1)
3456712
These sequences accurately avoid two vertical correspondences: (1) the 1 − 4

interval, which is the prohibited fourth interval, and (2) a 5 − 1 interval, whose
inversion is the fourth. Moreover, numbers in the first and second sequence are
consecutive except in one point: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and again 1 and 2.
If we choose a different permutation, as

1765432
(2.2)
6712345
we can compose an original mirror double-choir, as shown in Figure 2.10.

Another known mathematical tool is the usage of the tabula mirifica by
Athanasius Kircher [53], whom we discuss in Section 2.6. In fact, the tabula
mirifica omnia contrapunctisticae artis arcana revelans (a wonderful table that
reveals all hidden techniques of counterpoint art), contains a matrix (introduced
in Chapter 26), see Figure 2.13. Bach also used this table while composing A
Musical Offering.
A famous example of a retrograde canon in Bach’s composition is shown
in Figure 2.12. It is written in the soprano clef (Figure 2.11).
The following is a simple example: a matrix with five rows and columns,
also symmetric with respect to the main diagonal, to construct a simple canon.
⎛ ⎞
12345
⎜2 1 2 3 4⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎜3 2 1 2 3⎟ (2.3)
⎜ ⎟
⎝4 3 2 1 2⎠
54321
Diagonal(s) in the square correspond(s) to identical notes. Elements of co-

diagonal(s) belong to the same consonant chord. For example, 5 − 3 − 1 if
written as 1 − 3 − 5 yields c − e − g. Numbers 2 − 4 indicate the minor third
d − f . Numbers 1 − 3 mean major third c − e, and 2 − 2 the unison d − d,
another consonant interval.
2.5 Mathematics in Counterpoint 13
         
Soprano (I) 
6 7 2 1 7 1
Contralto (I)       
5 6 6
Tenore (I)
        
6 5 3
      
Basso (I) 
1 7 1 3 6
Risposta inversa contraria.
      
Soprano (II)

6 7 6 4
Contralto (II)        
1 2 4
     
Tenore (II)
2 1
    


Basso (II)  
1 5 6 7
Fig. 2.10. A mirror double-choir. The sound example is Nuovo_doppio_coro.
Fig. 2.11. The first two (treble clefs) specify g above middle c, the next ones central
c, except the last three (bass clefs), which specify f below central c.
By going through the first row, we get c − d − e − f − g, corresponding

to 1 − 2 − 3 − 4 − 5. By going through the first row and then down the fifth
column, we get 1 − 2 − 3 − 4 − 5 − 4 − 3 − 2 − 1, corresponding to the sequence
c − d − e − f − g − f − e − d − c, which constitutes our first melodic line.
To write a counterpoint, it is necessary to insert other voices that produce
consonant intervals between them and the first melodic line (cantus firmus).
To find consonant notes with respect to the first voice, we can move along the
corresponding co-diagonal. For example, if the second voice starts when the
first voice is playing e, it means, starting on 3 (element on the first row and
third column), then the first note of the second voice belongs to the secondary
              
   

7
               
        
                            

12
  
   
                  
16
 
Fig. 2.12. A retrograde canon in Bach’s A Musical Offering. The sound example is
Bach. The sound example contains also the solution.
co-diagonal 3 − 1 − 3. If we choose 1, we have c, which is consonant with respect

to e. To insert a third voice, for example starting when the first one is playing
g (5), we choose a number from the main co-diagonal 5 − 3 − 1 − 3 − 5, for
example 3, e. We get a simple canon, see Figure 2.14.
In this way we obtain a canon, a particular kind of polyphonic music where
the same melody is repeated by different voices. The case we have constructed
here is an octave canon in contario motu, where the notes are exactly the same,
without any transposition. Mathematically it can immediately be defined as a
time-translation of the same pitch pattern.
Other similar games are palindromes and retrograde canons. A palin-
drome (Figure 2.15) is a sequence that is symmetric with respect to onset-time
inversion (retrograde).
A retrograde canon is built by a single line, played by a first musician from
left to right, and by the second one from right to left, i.e., in retrograde motion.
See Figure 2.16 for a retrograde canon and Figure 2.17 for the retrograde canon
with its solution. More details about canons are given in [28].
2.6 Athanasius Kircher

Athanasius Kircher is believed to be the last uomo universale, the Renaissance
Man who knew everything at his time. He was born in the German village Geisa
near Fulda and educated in a Jesuit college in Fulda. He learned Hebrew from a
rabbi and studied philosophy and theology at Paderborn. He became professor
at the University of Würzburg, where he taught Hebrew, Syriac, and mathe-
matics. Kircher published around forty important works, from religion, geology,
medicine, knowledge science (encyclopedias), chemistry, physics, Sinology, and
Egyptology. He was also active as an inventor of technology and medical de-
vices. Figure 2.19 shows the design of a steam-powered organ. He was one of
2.6 Athanasius Kircher 15
Fig. 2.13. Kircher’s tabula mirifica omnia contrapunctisticae artis arcana revelans.
     
 
1 2 3 4 5
      
 
1 2 3 4 5 4 3
         
1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1
Fig. 2.14. A simple canon.
the first to observe microbes on a microscope and set forth the now valid theory
that plagues were caused by infectious microorganisms.
For our musical concerns, his work in knowledge science is most important
[36], also, because music to Kircher was the model of any order. In the tradi-
              
  
Fig. 2.15. An original example of another similar game is the palindrome. The sound
example is Palindromo.

         
         
 
  
Fig. 2.16. A retrograde canon.
              
   
       
   
       
  

         
Fig. 2.17. A retrograde canon together with its retrograde solution. The sound ex-
ample is retrograde, first the retrograde canon, then the canon with its solution.
tion of Lullus of a formalization of the encyclopedic process, Kircher referred

to the Lullian topology of a three-dimensional field of possibilities of conceptu-
alization. In his book Ars Magna Sciendi (The Great Art of Knowledge) [54],
Kircher develops an arithmetic of 36 basic concepts that he combines into a
amount of 1067 combinations—of course a size that by far surpassed the possi-
bilities of his time. His combinatorics had no grammatical rules (such rules were
only introduced later by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz with his binary methods of
deduction). This was a foreshadow of what is known as “big data” nowadays.
The size of his combinatorics was only one prob-
lematic aspect; the second was the claim that his sys-
tem had a universal language character. In his work
[55], he tried to solve the combinatorial complexity
by “machine-readable” formalization. He conceived a
translation box with drawers and tables of vocables.
In the 17th century, such a task was far from re-
alistic. This proposal of a three-dimensional univer-
sal dictionary was far beyond the limits of scientific
feasibility – in fact, one could say the same about
Kircher’s entire program, according to philosopher
Wilhelm Schmitt-Biggeman [102].
Fig. 2.18. Athanasius
Kircher (1602-1680).
Kircher also worked on a combinatorial theory of music. For him, every
field of knowledge was ultimately a big data system. His approach was less
mathematical than combinatorial in the sense of modern computer science. He
was concerned with a “machine-readable” repertory of concepts, in music and
elsewhere. This is a very modern perspective in light of the present music soft-
2.7 Leonhard Euler 17
Fig. 2.19. Kircher’s design of a steam-powered organ.
ware for composition, notation, and analysis. Figure 2.20 shows Kircher’s arca
musarythmica, which he described in his work Musurgia Universalis [53]. Recall
that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with his “musikalisches Würfelspiel” (musical
dice game) also conceived a combinatorial construction of musical composi-
tions from elementary components (see Sectiondicegame. Kircher’s approach
to music follows the Pythagorean tradition that music is strongly related to the
technology of its physical realization and also demonstrates that in music the
progress of technology is always reflected in the musical realm.
2.7 Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler is one of the greatest mathematicians of all times. His formula
eiπ + 1 = 0 is considered to be the most beautiful formula in mathematics
as it combines the basic numbers e, π, 0, 1 as well as equality, addition, multi-
plication, and exponentiation. His work comprises seventy-six quadro format
(12-inch high) volumes.
Euler was born in Basel, Switzerland, and first studied theology, Greek,
and Hebrew because his father wanted him to become a priest. But the famous
mathematician Johann Bernoulli, who taught Euler mathematics, persuaded
father Euler to let Leonhard study mathematics. He completed his studies
in Basel with a dissertation about sound, De sono, in 1726. He applied for
a position as professor of physics at the University of Basel but did not get
the position and became professor of mathematics at the Imperial Russian
Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg in 1727. He moved to Berlin in 1741
Fig. 2.20. Kircher’s arca musarythmica. Its purpose was to develop a large number
of musical compositions by combining elementary components.
and was professor of mathematics at the Berlin Academy until 1766, when he
returned to Saint Petersburg, where he spent the last part of his live.
Euler’s work is very broad, reaching from theo-
retical to applied mathematics, from celestial to fluid
mechanics, from formal logic to mathematical music
theory. The latter field is why we are particularly in-
terested in Euler’s work. He wrote three treaties on
music [31, 32, 33]. The second deals with consonances,
and we shall see that Euler has made an important
contribution to the definition of a musical consonance
with his prime-number-based gradus suavitatis func-
tion (see Musical Example 64). But the most impor-
tant contribution to music theory is Euler’s definition
of the geometric space of pitch classes in his third
Fig. 2.21. Leonhard Eu- work, where a two-dimensional space is spanned by
ler (1707-1783).
the axis of fifths and the axis of major thirds. This
space is now known as the Euler space (see Musical Example 63). Figure 2.22
shows Euler’s geometry of pitch classes.
Euler’s success with his mathematical music theories was limited at his
time because it apparently was too mathematical for musicians and too musical
for mathematicians—that sounds familiar to us, doesn’t it?
2.8 Joseph Fourier 19
Fig. 2.22. Leonhard Euler’s two-dimensional space of pitch classes that is spanned
by the axes of fifths (horizontal) and major thirds (vertical).
2.8 Joseph Fourier

Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier was a French
mathematician and physicist. He has become one
of the most influential mathematicians of all times
because of his theory of periodic functions that
can be represented as (usually infinite) sums of
sinusoidal functions (the function’s partials) that
have frequencies that are natural multiples of the
basic frequency defined by the functions’ periods.
Born in Auxerre, Fourier was educated by
the Benedictine Order of the Covent of St. Mark.
After his engagement in the French Revolution,
he was appointed in 1795 to the École normal
supérieure (ENS) in Paris. In 1797 he became the
successor of Joseph-Louis Lagrange for calculus Fig. 2.23. Joseph Fourier
and mechanics at the ENS. (1768-1830).
In 1802, Napoleon appointed Fourier prefect
of the department of Isère in Grenoble. In 1807, Fourier wrote his first essay,
On the Propagation of Heat in Solid Bodies. In 1816, Fourier moved to England
but returned to Paris in 1822, where he was the permanent secretary of the
French Academy of Sciences. In the same year, he wrote the most important
work Théorie analytique de la chaleur (The Analytic Theory of Heat). In this
treatise, he stated his famous theorem on the sinusoidal decomposition of peri-
odic functions. His proof was not correct, however, and Peter Gustav Lejeune
Dirichlet succeeded as the first to give a mathematically complete demonstra-
tion.
The Fourier Theorem is extremely important for music since vibrations of
the air that are perceived with a pitch by humans are periodic functions of the
air pressure (at least for the usually short time of their duration). The Fourier
theory represents such functions as sums of sinusoidal vibrations, and this is
what music theorists call the partials or overtones. This partial decomposition
is to some degree responsible for the sound color of different instruments (other
contributions being the amplitude envelope and also changes in the overtone
amplitudes during the sound’s process). Music theorists have tried to view the
Fourier partials as being intrinsic components of a sound, but this is erroneous.
There are infinitely many decompositions in the form Fourier described, and
this is a mathematical field called functional analysis. The Fourier decomposi-
tion was also thought to be the analysis that the cochlear inner ear performs.
This is also not the case, but see [75, Appendix B] for details. The digital
technology has also found algorithms for fast calculation of partials, the Fast
Fourier Transform (FFT). Without FFT, modern sound technology would be
infinitely slow. Therefore, Fourier’s theorem has become a fundamental tool for
the present sound technology.
2.9 Hermann von Helmholtz

Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a German physician and physi-
cist. His contributions reach from physiological theories and experiments (he
proved first that nervous signal propagation was not infinite as scientists had
believed previously!), experimental and theoretical physics (conservation of en-
ergy, thermodynamics, etc.). He is also known as a philosopher of science and
a messenger for the civilizing power of science. Helmholtz’s father urged him to
Fig. 2.24. Helmholtz constructed his resonator (i) to measure partials of complex
sounds, here within his instrumentation to mimic vowel sounds.
study medicine, but the son was more interested in natural science. He became
associate professor of physiology at the Prussian University of Königsberg in
1849, was full professor of anatomy and physiology at the University of Bonn
in 1855, moved to the University of Heidelberg in 1858 and was professor of
physics at the University of Berlin from 1871 through the rest of his life.
2.10 Wolfgang Graeser 21
We are interested in Helmholtz’s work because he applied the Fourier

Theorem to two topics. First, he constructed a machine, called the Helmholtz
resonator, that could isolate the partials of a complex sound, see Figure 2.24.
The second application of Fourier’s Theorem
was Helmholz’s beat theory of consonance. His idea
was that the partials of two complex sounds that
build a musical interval would interact in our ear and
produce beats. Beats occur when you superimpose
two sinusoidal waves of frequencies f, g, the result is a
wave whose frequency is the average f +g
2 while its am-
plitude (loudness) has frequency f −g
2 ; i.e., the loud-
ness pulsates with that difference frequency, which is
called beat in music acoustics.
Helmholtz thought that beats of 16 Hz (Hertz,
a unit of frequency) were maximal contributions to
what he called roughness of the interval. This is what Fig. 2.25. Herrmann
he supposed as being the reason for the perception of von Helmholtz (1821-
consonance and dissonance. This is interesting since 1894).
Helmholtz’s dissonance concept depends on the in-
strumental sound color, which sounds reasonable. However, Heinrich Husmann
later proved experimentally that human perception of dissonance also persists
if the two sounds of the interval are presented to the two ears separately. This
puts Helmholtz’s idea into question as this situation would not produce beats
in our ears. Also, the roughness does not define the strict dichotomy conso-
nance/dissonance that is required in musical counterpoint. It is a function that
defines continuous degrees of consonance, not strict separation.
2.10 Wolfgang Graeser
Wolfgang Graeser was a German-Swiss violinist, music theorist, and mathe-

matician. He was born in Zürich. At the age of ten, he learned to play the
violin. At the young age of seventeen, he studied music, mathematics, and Ori-
ental languages in Berlin and Zürich. His contributions to the group-theory in
music and musical gesture theory were far ahead of his time. When the twenty-
two-year-old Graeser, caught by an attack of depression, hung himself at home
in Berlin on June 13, 1928, he had already published two major works:
(1) At the age of seventeen, the treatise Bachs “Kunst der Fuge” [46], which
revolutionized music theory in general and our understanding of Bach’s opus
posthum in particular. Following Graeser we may ask whether the incessant
structural fascination of Bach’s music cannot be explained from a network of
locally present symmetries. Here is his summary:
Die Eigenschaft der Symmetrie spielt in der Musik eine so ungeheure
Rolle, daß sie verdient, an erster Stelle betrachtet zu werden. Wir
werden in der “Kunst der Fuge” ihre fast uneingeschränkte Herrschaft

besonders deutlich erkennen.
(In music, the property of symmetry plays such an enormous role that
it merits priority consideration. In the “Art of Fugue” we shall recognize
its virtually unlimited dominance with abundant evidence.)
Greaser also was one of the first theorists to describe explicitly the global
structure in music, the fact that musical compositions are the result of a com-
plex “gluing” process of small parts. He describes a contrapuntal form as follows
[46, p.17]:
Bezeichnen wir die Zusammenfassung irgendwelcher Dinge zu einem
Ganzen als eine Menge dieser Dinge und die Dinge selber als Elemente
der Menge, so bekommen wir etwa das folgende Bild einer kontrapunk-
tischen Form: eine kontrapunktische Form ist eine Menge von Mengen
von Mengen.
Das klingt etwas abstrus, wir wollen aber gleich sehen, was wir uns dar-
unter vorzustellen haben. Bauen wir einmal ein kontrapunktisches Werk
auf. Da haben wir zunächst ein Thema. Dies ist eine Zusammenfassung
gewisser Töne, also eine Menge, deren Elemente Töne sind. Aus diesem
Thema bilden wir eine Durchführung in irgendeiner Form. Immer wird
dies Durchführung die Zusammenfassung gewisser Themaeinsätze zu
einem Ganzen sein, also eine Menge, deren Elemente Themen sind. Da
die Themen selber Mengen von Tönen sind, so ist die Durchführung eine
Menge von Mengen. Und eine kontrapunktische Form, ein kontrapunk-
tisches Musikstück ist die Zusammenfassung gewisser Durchführungen
zu einem Ganzen, also ein Menge, deren Elemente Mengen von Mengen
sind, wir können also sagen: eine Menge von Mengen von Mengen.
(If we call the collection of some objects a set, and these objects the
elements of the set, we get the following image of a contrapuntal form:
a contrapuntal form is a set of sets of sets.
This sounds somewhat abstruse, but we will see in a moment what we
have to imagine. Let us build a contrapuntal work. We first of all have
its theme. This is a collection of sounds, i.e., a set whose elements are
the sounds. From this theme we build a development in a determined
form. This development always will be the collection of certain instances
that build a whole. Therefore the development is a set of sets. And the
contrapuntal piece of music is the collection of developments, i.e., a set
whose elements are sets of sets, that’s why we may say: a set of sets of
sets.)
(2) One year before his suicide, the book Der Körpersinn [47], which
opened Graeser’s vision of what he called a more “faustian dynamic” thinking
and understanding of music, dance, and other arts. The latter work was in-
spired by Graeser’s strong experience of a dancing class that followed the main
theme of Bach’s “Kunst der Fuge” and thereby incited an existential connection
2.11 Iannis Xenakis 23
between his abstract symbolic investigations and these symbols’ real dancing
embodiment [123].
In a nutshell, Graeser’s legacy testifies the
immense tension that causes music to vibrate be-
tween facticity of formulaic compression and un-
folding gesturality in the making. And it asserts
the belief and insight of an ingenious talent in
the utopia of coherence between these ontologi-
cal poles. Despite his profiled discoveries, Graeser
was never really understood by musicians, music
theorists, or music philosophers. His literally sui-
cidal tension somehow hindered academic minds
to approach this body of knowledge, much as it
has taken nearly a century for philosophers to se-
riously deal with Nietzsche’s “philosophy with the Fig. 2.26. Wolfgang
hammer.” Graeser (1906-1928).
2.11 Iannis Xenakis

Iannis Xenakis is a Greek-French architect,
engineer, music theorist, and composer. He is most
famous for his mathematically inspired composi-
tions and for integrating electronic technology, in
particular his computer system for graphical com-
position UPIC (Unité Polyagogique Informatique
du CEMAMU, where CEMAMU is Xenakis’ Cen-
tre d’Études de Mathématique et Acoustique Mu-
sicales in Paris).
Xenakis was born in Brăila, Romania. He
moved to Athens in 1938 and studied civil engi-
Fig. 2.27. Iannis Xenakis
neering at the National Technical University of (1922-2001).
Athens. He graduated in 1947 but, having been
part of left-wing resistance, had to leave Greece and arrived in Paris later in
1947. He was in fact sentenced to death in absentia by the right-wing regime;
this decision was revoked 1974 after the fall of the Regime of the Colonels.
In Paris, Xenakis started collaborating with the famous architect Le Cor-
busier. This experience with architectural spaces strongly influenced Xenakis’
spatial approach to musical composition. Xenakis was always interested in mu-
sic and wanted to take lessons with Nadia Boulanger and Arthur Honegger, but
it was a failure as Xenakis was interested in everything but classical compo-
sition techniques. When Xenakis was presented to composer Olivier Messian,
Messian understood that this student was something special [71]:
I understood straight away that he was not someone like the others.
(...) He is of superior intelligence. (...) I did something horrible which I
should do with no other student, for I think one should study harmony
and counterpoint. But this was a man so much out of the ordinary that
I said (...) No, you are almost thirty, you have the good fortune of being
Greek, of being an architect and having studied special mathematics.
Take advantage of these things. Do them in your music.
In 1954, Xenakis was accepted into Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry’s
Groupe de Recherches de Musique Concrète. In 1957, Xenakis received his first
composition award. In 1959 he left Le Corbusier’s studio and started making
a living as a composer and teacher. He founded the CEMAMU in Paris and in
1963 wrote his main work of mathematical music theory: Musiques formelles
[117], later extended and translated to English as Formalized Music: Thought
and Mathematics in Composition (1971) [116]. In this work he explained the
mathematical techniques he used for music composition: set theory, stochastics,
game theory, probability theory, and group theory of permutations.
With his computer-aided composition tool, the UPIC, he was able in 1979
to design compositions on the basis of a two-dimensional (plane) graphical
input (Figure 27.2). It is interesting that despite his strongly spatial approach
to musical composition, Xenakis never applied linear algebra, matrix calculus,
or even differential geometry. It is reported that his problem with not being
able to apply affine transformations to his configurations was solved only by the
graphical composition software presto invented by one of the authors (Guerino
Mazzola), but see Section 2.15.
2.12 Pierre Boulez and the IRCAM

Pierre Boulez is a French composer, music
theorist, conductor, and organizer of computer-
aided technologies in music, especially as a former
director (1977-1992) of the IRCAM (Institut de
Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique)
in Paris.
Boulez was born in Montbrison, France, and
in his early childhood demonstrated talents for
Fig. 2.28. Pierre Boulez music and mathematics. He studied music at the
(1925- ). Paris Conservatoire under Olivier Messiaen and
Andrée Vaubourg. Boulez learned from Messiaen about integral serialism (se-
ries in all parameters, not only pitch, but see Musical Example 68). His radical
experiments, such as the Structures pour deux pianos that we discuss in the
Musical Example 68, also led him to question the strictly mathematical for-
malism of serial approaches. However, he has been a strong advocate of the
mathematical methodology, as is reflected in his writing in the second volume
of his important book Musikdenken heute [23, p.71]:
2.13 American Set Theory 25
Weil die mathematische Methode die Wissenschaft ist, die zur Zeit die
am weitesten entwickelte Methodologie besitzt, war mir daran gelegen,
sie zum Vorbild zu nehmen, das uns helfen kann, unsere gegenwärtigen
Schwachstellen zu beheben.
(Because the mathematical method is the science that presently has
the most developed methodology, I was interested to take it as a model
that can help us eliminate our present weaknesses.)
Boulez also applied mathematical tools in his compositions—for example

what is known as “pitch multiplication,” used in Le marteau sans maître (1953-
1955).
The founding of the IRCAM by president Georges Pompidou has a re-
markable background story. In Germany’s Max-Planck-Society, they have all
kinds of scientific institutes, but in 1966, they wanted to add an institute for
music research3 , they wanted to add an institute for music research. They asked
Boulez about his concept of such an institute. He answered that he would see it
as a place where composers and orchestras would have a creative environment
of limitless freedom. And it seems that Germany had a good amount of money
to help Boulez realize such an institute. But the society directors were not sat-
isfied with Boulez’s suggestions—they wanted a really scientific concept, not
just some superb artistic venue. It was after this disagreement that Pompidou
approached Boulez and offered him the IRCAM near the Centre Pompidou.
The IRCAM became one of the world’s leading centers for computer-aided
musical creativity. It also included (and still does) a special seminar, MaMuX
(Mathematics, Music and X, anything to be added freely), of which one of the
authors (Mazzola), Gérard Assayag, Moreno Andreatta, and François Nicolas
were the co-founders. A number of music software, such as OpenMusic or Max,
have been developed at the IRCAM.
2.13 American Set Theory

The purpose of this section is to account for and discuss some crucial contri-
butions of the American tradition to the emergence and proliferation of what
American composer and theorist Milton Babbitt termed “professional music
theory” [10].
2.13.1 Genealogy
The impossibility of giving even a partial (ordered) description of the topics

dealt with in the American music-theoretical literature since the 1950s leads
us to look for historically and methodologically pertinent ‘segmentations’ in
3
Information relayed to one of the authors (Mazzola) by a former society director,
Valentin Braitenberg
the domain of contemporary music theory. Perhaps one of the most fruitful
approaches is based on the underlying dichotomy between an apparently more
compositional attitude (Babbitt) and a radically analytical perspective (Allen
Forte) toward music theory. Both of these approaches are divided into two for-
mal parts: meta-theory and methodology/compositional theory, and historical
and theoretical essays/analytical studies, respectively. The former work points
to “the engagement by composers in fundamental music-theoretical explica-
tions” [21, p.vii], while the latter suggests that “the very fact that Forte is not
himself a composer has changed the field of theory considerably” [15, p.50].
We may also suggest here that this distinction not only is relevant for
an historical discussion on pitch-class set theory, but it also helps in under-
standing how this theory successively enlarged its field of applicability thanks
to important works by John Rahn [95], Robert Morris [89], and David Lewin
[60, 61].
As pointed out by George Perle in his comprehensive study on serial and
atonal music, “the most important influence of Arnold Schönberg’s method is
not the 12-note idea in itself, but along with it the individual concept of per-
mutation, inversional symmetry and complementation, invariance under trans-
formation, aggregate construction, closed systems, properties of adjacency as
compositional determinants (...)” [94, p.x]. This ‘Babbittian’ presentation of
12-tone problematics constitutes perhaps the most appropriate introduction to
Babbitt. It is widely accepted that he first provided “twelve-tone theory with
a consistent technical vocabulary” [94, p.xiv] and suggested that the relevance
and “the force of any ‘musical system’ was not as universal constraints for
all music but as alternative theoretical constructs, rooted in a commonality of
shared empirical principles and assumptions validated by tradition, experience,
and experiment” [21, p.ix].
One cannot emphasize enough that, for Babbitt, a “set” is an ordered
collection of pitch classes, and it is used as a perfect synonym for row and
series. In contrast, the very predecessor of Forte’s “pitch-class set” is Babbitt’s
“source set,” a set “considered only in terms of the content of its hexachords, and
whose combinatorial characteristics are independent of the ordering imposed
on this content” [11, p.57]. A synonym for it is “collection,” first introduced by
Lewin in [62] and widely discussed for its analytical pertinence in [63].
Subsequently, a vast body of American literature was devoted to the study
of the specific properties of sets and collections, particularly combinatoriality
and partitioning [69, 51, 43, 16, 106, 107]. Partition problems connected with
Babbitt’s original idea have also largely proved their relevance to mathemat-
ics with their natural embedding into the theory of groups [60, 89]. But even
the idea of applying the mathematical concept of group for modeling musical
systems can be regarded as one of Babbitt’s most fruitful intuitions4 , provided
that “the rules of formation and transformation of the twelve-tone system are
4
However anticipated in 1924 by Wolfgang Graeser in his study on Bach’s “Kunst
der Fuge” [46].
2.13 American Set Theory 27
interpretable as defining a group element (a permutation of order of set num-

bers) and a group operation (composition of permutations)” [12, p.20]. This
equivalence of structures, first introduced in [13], has important compositional
consequences that are “directly derivable from the theorems of finite group the-
ory” [14, p.8]. It is perhaps no exaggeration to consider the introduction of
groups by Graeser and then Babbitt as the ‘Copernican Revolution’ of mod-
ern music theory. Suggestions for further reading in this area may be found in
Rahn’s review of Lewin’s “Generalized Musical Intervals and Transformation”
[96].
The most important representative of the analytical approach in the
American music-theoretical literature is Forte who is the author of a theory
of set complexes [38] and of a book primarily devoted to the atonal music of
Arnold Schönberg, Anton von Webern, and Alban Berg in the first twenty years
of the 20th century [39]. Forte’s main purpose is to “provide a general theoret-
ical framework, with reference to which the processes underlying atonal music
may be systematically described” [39, p.ix]. Forte’s starting point is “firmly an-
alytical, springing from a truly fervent desire to uncover the secrets of an (...)
enigmatic repertoire” [19, p.50]. In his most recent article, Forte particularly
emphasized this aspect, stating “The structure of atonal music (is) above all the
study of a musical repertoire rather than a theoretical presentation” [40, p.83].
However, one of his most striking merits was the introduction of a “consistent
terminology for pitch-class collections based on the mathematical properties of
the set” [19, p.49] together with the elaboration of the “set complex,” a topic
recently developed by Robert Morris [90]. But it is probably true that “Allen
Forte’s real success lies in the developments he inspired: beyond his theoriza-
tion of atonal music, his work convinced many of the interest of a formal study
of chromatic space” [88, p.90].
An example of this is Rahn’s pedagogically oriented introduction to some
problematics common to the atonal and serial repertoire [95]. The book also
prepares “its reader for the professional literature in the field” [95, p.v] and gives
accurate references for further specialized topics including advanced serialism
and combinatoriality. Babbitt’s “general formative role”, together with Forte’s
terminological heritage, are widely recognized in the American sphere, and the
book has become a standard reference for further discussions in set theory.
Many of the topics Morris deals with refer to the theory of local composi-
tions, see our Musical Example 72. Morris’ recent formalization of his so-called
“compositional spaces” provides a new theoretical tool that compensates for
some of the weaknesses of his original compositional model. As defined by
Morris, “compositional spaces are out-of-time structures from which the more
specific and temporally oriented compositional design can be composed” [91,
p.330].
2.13.2 Comments
We want to conclude this section with three short comments—mathematical,

conceptual, and model-oriented—on the American Set Theory (AST) .
Mathematically, the AST is a very unusual achievement. Its concepts are
thoroughly out of date from the point of view of 20th-century mathematical
conceptualization. Even the most standard concepts in group theory are ignored
such as the index of a subgroup and the concept of a group action and corre-
sponding elementary facts such as orbit cardinalities. Although the theory of
categories has been around since the early 1940s and is even recognized by com-
puter scientists, there is no apparent attempt in AST to deal with morphisms
between pcsets (pitch-class sets), for example. We have seen certain germs of
this direction in the definition of abstract subsets, but this is not what leads to
a powerful theory of relations between local or global musical objects. It would
be important to adopt the findings of AST to workable mathematical formalism
such as it has been used by Fripertinger in Pólya and de Bruijn enumeration
theory, for example. It would also be necessary to confront the AST approach
with the many other parameters that define musical events, such as onset,
duration, loudness, glissando, and crescendo, just to name a few important
ones. The AST has never dealt with all these parameters in a global concep-
tual framework. The work of Dan Tudor Vuza or Anatol Vieru does heavily
favor such an extension. However, many valid lists of isomorphism classes, such
as chord classes under transposition, or transposition together with inversions
have been established. We also have to recognize that the mathematical con-
ceptualization can make these musicological concepts operational for computer
programs and algorithms.
The conceptual comment must address a dramatic need for precise mu-
sicological concepts as tools for dodecaphonic analysis and of its extension in
atonal theory. European music theory has only very rarely shown up in this
domain, perhaps best in the work of Herbert Eimert and Iannis Xenakis. But
the mainstream of post-World War II European musicology had turned toward
dialectic mumbo-jumbo and far-out aesthetics and transcendental black-box
theories. So Americans had to start from scratch with precise conceptualization
of even the simplest concepts such as pcsets (pitch-class sets), pcsegs (pitch-
class segments), and their classes. Whatever the status of an infant theory
the AST concept framework might be, it is an indispensable reset of a rotten
conceptualization in musicology where even the most elementary things are
blurred.
The question of theoretical modeling is a difficult one. It appears that
modeling has predominantly been oriented toward and useful for compositional
strategies. Morris’ composition designs further our ability to understand the
complex construction of precise sound aggregates when starting from pcsets
and similar elementary local compositions. Also the analytical use of the AST
language is a considerable one. We are happy that it is finally possible to
speak in defined terms about analytical programs of atonal and tonal music
2.14 David Lewin 29
(e.g., in John Amuedo’s work). But there remains a big lack of models in the
sense that beyond descriptive tasks, the AST language has very seldom led to
musicological modeling. Most theorems of AST are of strictly combinatorial
nature.
So we could summarize the AST achievement as a necessary but far from
sufficient attempt to escape decadent and impotent European musicology.
2.14 David Lewin

David Lewin was a music theorist, critic, and com-
poser, and many consider him to be one of the most
innovative American scholars of his generation. He was
born in New York, graduated in 1954 with a degree of
mathematics from Harvard, and returned to Harvard in
1985 after several positions elsewhere. In 1961, he was
the first professional musician to compose a computer-
generated work at Bell Labs.
We are interested in Lewin’s work because he ini-
tiated a change of paradigm in mathematical music the-
ory from the traditional American Set Theory to what
is known as Transformational Theory. His new approach
was displayed in his book Generalized Musical Intervals Fig. 2.29. David
Lewin (1933-2003).
and Transformations [60]. His Generalized Interval Sys-
tems (GIS) were a description of a simply transitive group action (see our
discussion in Musical Example 46). The new paradigm was to use arrow dia-
grams between musical objects (such as pitch classes) instead of abstract sets.
Lewin also imagined this passage, which he believed to be different from the
purely objective and passive “cartesian” approach, to be a gestural approach.
In [60], he states the now famous question: “If I am at s and wish to get to
t, what characteristic gesture should I perform in order to arrive there?” This
new attitude was only an intuitive idea, however, and Lewin’s mathematical
tools remained within simple group or monoid actions. Later, Lewin and his
student Henry Klumpenhouwer developed more sophisticated arrow diagrams,
called Klumpenhouwer nets (K-nets), which realized as a special case what in
modern mathematics is known as a limit. See [80] for a discussion of K-nets
from the perspective of modern mathematics. Mazzola set forth the GIS idea
in 1980 in his mathematical music theory that was based on the more general
category theory of modules, see Figure 15.1 for an example.
Lewin and Klumpenhouwer’s mathematical approach was a special case
of the new theory of categories that Samuel Eilenberg and Sounders Mac Lane
introduced in 1945. This is a significant example of how important it has become
for music theorists to learn about the new mathematical achievements in the
second half of the 20th century.
2.15 Guerino Mazzola and the IFM

Guerino Mazzola (one of the authors) was born
in Dübendorf, near Zürich, Switzerland. He has been
characterized by Elaine Chew as the “godfather of
mathematical music theory.” He founded what his
student Thomas Noll has dubbed the “Zürich School
of Mathematical Music Theory,” which can be viewed
as the European counterpoint of American Math-
ematical Music Theory (comprising American Set
Theory).
Mazzola qualified as a professor5 for algebraic
geometry and representation theory in 1981 at the
Fig. 2.30. Guerino Maz- University of Zürich and is a free jazz pianist (hav-
zola (1947- ). ing published twenty-four LPs and CDs), music critic,
and composer. His first book Gruppen und Kategorien in der Musik [72] already
used sophisticated modern mathematics—module theory, category theory, ho-
motopy theory, and algebraic geometry to build models of modulation as well
as the classification of local and global musical structures. He applied these
tools to analyze Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata op. 106, and to compose
a new sonata [76] from the analysis. He also designed and programmed the
music software presto (around 1989) and RUBATO (released in 1992 and
still in use) and composed a concert for piano and percussion [74].
His main work, The Topos of Music, is a broad presentation of the geomet-
ric logic of theory and performance that is built upon a conceptual framework
of denotators and forms and uses sophisticated techniques of topos theory, the
synthesis of geometry and logic initiated by the great mathematician Alexander
Grothendieck.
In 2003 Mazzola qualified as a professor in computational sciences at the
University of Zürich, having been a part of the Computer Science Department
there since 1992. He has been a professor at the School of Music of the Univer-
sity of Minnesota since 2007.
The following sections describe the historical development of the Zuürich
School that eventually led to the foundation of the Society of Mathematics and
Computation in Music that is described in Section 2.16.
2.15.1 Preparatory Work:

First Steps in Darmstadt and Zürich (1985-1992)
From 1984 to 1986, Mazzola was the scientific director of the symmetry exhi-
bition and symposium in Darmstadt, where he first achieved visualization and
popularization of concepts and results from Mathematical Music Theory—as
he elaborated in his 1981 university lectures and his first more sketchy book
“Gruppen und Kategorien in der Musik” [72]. The work of popularization was
performed in collaboration with the Technische Universität Darmstadt, and in
5
Called habilitation in Europe.
2.15 Guerino Mazzola and the IFM 31
particular with Georg Rainer Hofmann, at that time a PhD student of professor
José Encarnaçao.
From 1987 to 1989, upon recommendation by conductor Herbert von
Karajan, Mazzola and Hofmann undertook a joint project at the Fraunhofer-
IGD in Darmstadt. The project, sponsored by private investors, produced a
composition software for ATARI called MDZ71. Later, several hundred copies
were commercially distributed. The software also was presented to von Karajan
in 1988.
As these efforts matured, the idea of a “Big Science in Music,” paired with
its realization in the form of a corresponding institute, became virulent. During
their countryside walk, Hofmann and Mazzola pleaded for the creation of an
association for the advancement of an Institute for Fundamental Research in
Music (IFM).
Meanwhile, the first systematic treatment of Mathematical Music The-
ory (MaMuTh), Geometrie der Töne, was published in 1990 [73]. This gave a
theoretical background to the ideas promoted thus far.
2.15.2 The IFM Association:

The Period Preceding the General Proliferation of the Internet
(1992-1999)
In 1992 an interest group was formed with the goal of finding people who
support the idea and the foundation of an IFM association.
In summer 1993, such an association, named “Verein zur Gründung eines
Instituts für Grundlagenforschung in der Musik,” was established. Among the
initial members were Mazzola and his wife, Christina, the statistician and com-
poser Jan Beran, and the mathematician and musicologist Daniel Muzzulini.
The next step was to win over members of a prominent patronage: (Wolf-
gang Auhagen, Valentin Braitenberg, Manfred Eigen, Heinz Götze, Walther
von Hahn, Michael Leyton, Ernst Lichtenhahn, Helga de la Motte, Hellmuth
Petsche, Roland Posner, Peter Stucki, Ernst Terhardt, Walter Thirring, and
Heinz-Gregor Wieser).
The association’s board succeeded to manage the periodic information
of the members of the association and the members of the patronage about
the association’s achievements, to organize annual meetings and symposia with
scientific and artistic musical themes. The last such event took place in 2002 in
Zürich during the Third Seminar on Mathematical and Computer-Aided Music
Theory, where two pianists, a music performer, and an interactive multimedia
environment were engaged.
2.15.3 The Virtual Institute:

Pure Virtuality (1999-2003)
The association gained recognition, which culminated on the one hand in a

collaboration with the MultiMedia Lab of the Computer Science Department
of the University of Zürich, directed by professor Peter Stucki, a patronage

member, and on the other in the successful funding by the VW Foundation of
a MaMuTh research group at the Technische Universität Berlin, directed by the
association’s vice president, Thomas Noll. Moreover, IFM collaboration with
the IRCAM in Paris intensified and resulted in the MaMuPhi and MaMuX
seminars.
As the Internet became more and more omnipresent, the IFM association
also recognized that the physical presence of an institute was no longer of pri-
mordial importance. Instead, the IFM association succeeded in the foundation
of a virtual institute, named i2musics (internet institute for music science).
One should note that these synergies also led to a number of academic suc-
cess stories, for example the habilitation of Joachim Stange-Elbe in a computer-
generated analysis and performance of Bach’s Art of Fugue at the University
of Osnabrück, just to name one case.
Perhaps the most successful result of IFM collaboration is the book The
Topos of Music [75]. Mazzola wrote it with the aid of nineteen collabora-
tors and contributors from Mexico, the U.S., France, Germany, Austria, and
Switzerland—many of them IFM members.
Nonetheless, the i2musics has progressively developed an existence of ex-
clusive online virtuality. This means that our efforts to build a working virtual
institute were not paralleled by a successful implementation of software for col-
laborative virtual music science, although a prototype of such a platform was
implemented by two very gifted students.
2.15.4 Dissolution of the IFM Association (2004)
So, is the termination of the IFM association a “mission accomplished” or is it

a failure of the bold idea for a Big Science in Music? We are proud of the many
relationships, connections, synergies, and careers that had been created over
ten years. But it must also be admitted that music science is still a difficult
job when its fundamental role in our society is pursued on a serious level of
exact argumentation and conceptualization and not merely on the feuilletonistic
thread of an ornamental descriptive narration.
What came after this turning point? First of all, one had to let the germs
develop globally and also in the many different facets of knowledge science, of
spiritualization of science towards the synthesis that author Hermann Hesse
dubbed “Glasperlenspiel” (Glass Bead Game) in one of his famous novels. And
then, we needed citizens who were willing and able to think and act beyond
ignorant and brutal economic dimensions, because brute survival will never
create symphonies, will never need lullabies, will never need free jazz, but only
gun and rocket sounds and execution rhythm. Perhaps we really needed to
understand and to make others understand that life is all about music, that
this art of time is infinitely more important than money, because it is not an
extension, not a simple quantity. It’s life, and music is about life. But this was
2.16 The Society for Mathematics and Computation in Music 33
a hard thing to sell. Well, the next section offers a solution to this challenge:
the Society for Mathematics and Computation in Music.
Last but not least, this book, being co-authored by Mazzola and two excel-
lent PhD students at the School of Music of the University of Minnesota, Maria
Mannone and Yan Pang, is a marvelous proof of the viability of Mathematical
Music Theory for a creative and scientifically based future of music.
2.16 The Society for Mathematics and Computation in

Music
The first half of the 21st century was ger-
minal for the globalization of mathematical mu-
sic theory. Four International Seminars on Mathe-
matical Music Theory and Music Informatics were
organized: in Saltillo, Mexico (2000, by the math-
ematician Emilio Lluis Puebla, during the an- Fig. 2.31. The Society for
nual conference of the Mexican Mathematical So- Mathematics and Computa-
ciety), Sauen, Germany (2001, by Thomas Noll tion in Music
from Technische Universität Berlin), Zürich, Switzerland (2002 at the Com-
puter Science Department, by Guerino Mazzola and the IFM), and Huatulco,
Mexico (2010 by Lluis Puebla), see [81].
In 2003 at the IRCAM in Paris, Andreatta organized a memorable seminar
around American Set Theory [7], which was a first gathering of many Ameri-
can and European music theorists, including Moreno Andreatta, Jean-Michel
Bardez, Célestin Deliège, Joseph Dubiel, Jason Eckardt, Allen Forte, Xavier
Hascher, Guerino Mazzola, Andrew Mead, Robert Morris, Jean-Jacques Nat-
tiez, Paul Nauert, John Rahn, André Riotte, and Luigi Verdi.
Fig. 2.32. The 2015 MCM conference participants at Queen Mary University in
London.
This germinal power eventually helped create the Society for Mathematics
and Computation in Music (MCM). Music theorist Robert Peck from Louisiana
State University in Baton Rouge formally brought this society to life in 2006.
In June 2007, the Society’s first biannual conference took place in Berlin at the
National Institute for Music Research, followed by the 2009 MCM conference
at Yale University, the 2011 MCM conference at the IRCAM in Paris, the 2013
MCM conference in Montreal at McGill University Schulich School of Music
& CIRMMT, and the 2015 MCM conference at the Queen Mary University in
London, see Figure 2.32 for a group photograph. The conference in 2017 will
be held at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico
City. The proceedings of all these conferences are documented by Springer
International Publishing. The Society also has its own journal, the Journal of
Mathematics and Music, published by Taylor & Francis, and the Springer book
series Computational Music Science (editors: Andreatta and Mazzola). Mazzola
is the MCM’s founding president, see [86] for more information.
Summarizing, the long historical process of the counterpoint of mathemat-
ics and music has now led to a synthesis of art and science that rewards many
passionate and often desperate efforts to reunite beauty and truth.
Part II
Sets and Functions

3
The Architecture of Sets
Summary. We present the theory of pure sets—the basis of all classical

mathematics—in the form of the Zermelo-Fraenkel Axiomatics. This theory
is illustrated with Iannis Xenakis’ composition Herma.
–Σ–
3.1 Some Preliminaries in Logic

This is not an introduction to formal logic, but an absolutely minimal presen-
tation of logical sentences that describe how logical statements—statements
that are either true or false, and nothing more—can be combined. We shall
only look at such sentences, which are either true or false, nothing else, and
only one of these two values. This is classical logic. For example, the sentence
A: “Two plus three equals five.” is true, and the sentence B: “The Earth is a
disc.” is false. In classical logic, sentences can be combined into new sentences
as follows, where A, B are sentences:
1. Negation: The sentence NOT A is true if A is false, it is false if A is true.
2. Conjunction: The sentence A AND B is true if both A and B are true, it
is false in all other cases.
3. Disjunction: The sentence A OR B is false if both A and B are false, it is
true in all other cases.
4. Implication: The sentence A IMPLIES B is false if A is true and B is false,
it is true in all other cases.
Here is a tabular representation of these four logical functions:
A NOT A A B A AND B A B A OR B A B A IMPLIES B

F T F F F F F F F F T
T F F T F F T T F T T
T F F T F T T F F
T T T T T T T T T

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_3
38 3 The Architecture of Sets
√
Exercise 1 Show that the logical values of the two combinations
A IMPLIES B and (NOT A) OR B

coincide.
In mathematical prose, we often encounter the double sentence
(A IMPLIES B) AND (B IMPLIES A).
This combination is abbreviated by writing (and saying) A iff B, representing
the wording “if and only if” for the double implication.
ˇ “* Example 1 Here are some musical examples of such logical combinations:

1. If A = “Any fifth interval (7 semitones, such as c → g) is a consonant
interval.” is true, its negation NOT A is false and means NOT A = “Any
fifth is not a consonant interval.”
2. If A = “Composers need to be inspired.” and B = “Composers need to have
strong creative tools.”, then A AND B is only true if both A and B are
true, i.e., if “Composers are inspired and have strong creative tools.” is true.
The conjunction is false if, for example, composers are inspired but don’t
have strong creative tools.
3. If A = “The composer is very musical.” and B = “The composer has excellent
compositional skills.”, then A OR B is true if at least one of these sentences
holds. That is, it is false if the composer is neither very musical nor has
excellent compositional skills.
4. If A = “The composer is very creative.” and B = “The composer has suc-
cess.”, then A IMPLIES B is only true if either B is true or both A and
B are false. It is false if the fact that the composer is very creative implies
that he or she does not have any success.
Remark 1 We shall make many examples to illustrate ideas, concepts, and

results in this book. However, in the early stage of this discourse, it is often
not possible to make examples that only use the material we have developed
so far. Therefore, some examples will not be logically consistent, anticipating
some details that will be developed later. However, no example will be involved
in circular arguments. All examples will be an illustration of our arguments
without violating the logical process of our discourse. We hope the readers can
accept such illustrations in favor of easier understanding of the matter being
unfolded.
3.2 Pure Sets

In the first decades of the 20th century, when set theory was developed by
Georg Cantor, the initial enthusiasm was soon dampened by some serious log-
ical catastrophes. The initial impetus of set theory was that sets were thought
3.2 Pure Sets 39
to be very simple concepts: A set was conceived as being a kind of container

that could contain some objects, similar to a bag when you buy food in a mar-
ket. If an object x is contained in a container X, one says “x is an element of
X” and usually writes x ∈ X. For example, a set that has no elements is an
“empty bag”, denoted by ∅.
ˇ “*
Example 2 Musical scores are containers of notes, see Figure 3.1. In music,
there are also containers of musical parts: Song form A-B-A, sonata form:
{exposition, development, recapitulation, coda}, etc.
Fig. 3.1. A score is a container of note objects. It is constructed from the empty
score container by adding a number of notes, rests, etc. The empty score to the
right, representing a real composition, is a pure container. This marche funèbre was
composed by Alphonse Allais in 1897 for the funeral of a deaf friend.
In this undisciplined generality, absurd constructions were possible. Here

is a famous one, Bertrand Russell’s antinomy: Consider the set S, which is
defined such that its elements are all sets that are not elements of themselves.
For example ∅ ∈ S.
Fig. 3.2. An impossible set.
Moreover, when we face the question of whether S ∈ S or not, a problem

arises: If S ∈ S, then, by definition of S, S should not be an element of S, a
contradiction. Else, if S is not element of S, then it must, again by definition

of S, be an element of itself, and this is another contradiction. In other words,
such an S does not exist.
A second problem was included in this undisciplined approach. It was not
clear what kinds of objects would be allowed to build sets or be included as
elements of sets: violins, flowers, ideas, musicians, whatnot! All of this forced
mathematicians to restart their enterprise and work out a set theory that was
as pure as Hanslick’s absolute music: pure sets.
Pure sets are very simple concepts. They have a name, which is simply a
symbol, a word, or the like, such as ∅, A, Ch, X2 , etc. Next, a set has elements.
This is expressed by the symbol we already used: x ∈ X stating that the
set named x is an element of the set named X. But what is x? It is again
a set, much like X. In other words, sets have sets as their elements. A set is
determined by pointing to its elements. That’s all—a set is a multiple pointer
to sets. Therefore:
A set is identified by its name and its elements.
Of course, this simple and circular conceptualization is no guarantee that
Russell’s antinomy is eliminated. We have to impose a list of rules of how to
build sets. This set of rules is called the Zermelo-Fraenkel-Choice set theory,
ZFC for short (after mathematicians Ernst Zermelo and Abraham Fraenkel,
and the axiom of choice). It is built from only eight axioms—rules that define
which sets can be constructed. This system is not absolutely foolproof, but
can guarantee the elimination of antinomies of Russell type. It is, however,
nearly miraculous that the entire mathematical language, all its concepts, and
all proof techniques can be deduced from this tiny list of initial statements. We
use a notation of sets with curly brackets. If a, b, ..., z is list of sets that are the
elements of a set X, we write X = {a, b, ..., z}. If F (a) is an attribute that a
set can or cannot have, then the set of all elements having this attributes (if it
exists) is denoted by X = {a|F (a)}.
Before we get started with these axioms and their consequences, let us
briefly explain the terminology of different types of statements in mathematics:
• An axiom is a statement that is supposed to be true, but no proof thereof
is given.
• A theorem is an important true statement (that needs a usually involved
proof).
• A proposition is a true statement, requiring a proof, but is less important
than a theorem.
• A lemma is a true statement, requiring a proof, but which is only an aux-
iliary result used for proving a proposition or a theorem.
• A corollary is a true statement that follows easily from a proposition or
theorem.
• A definition is the introduction of a new concept that uses previously con-
structed concepts. Some concepts might be introduced in a circular way, re-
3.2 Pure Sets 41
ferring to themselves in the definition, but in this book, only the set concept
will be introduced in a circular way. When introducing a new mathemati-
cal concept N ew, its definition, if it is given by an equation, is written as
N ew := Old, or Old =: N ew, where the Old part contains already defined
concepts.
• A sorite is a collection of easy statements that follow directly from given
definitions.
Here is the list of the eight ZFC axioms:
Axiom 1 (Axiom of Empty Set) There exists the empty set, denoted by ∅,
which has no elements, i.e., for all sets x, x ∈ ∅, or ∅ = {}.
ˇ “*
Example 3 The empty set is the formal concept that represents the empty
container. Figure 3.3 shows a famous composition by John Cage that—similar
to the above example—is an empty container. Only the duration, 4 minutes
and 33 seconds, is determined for Cage’s composition [25].
Fig. 3.3. John Cage’s composition 4’33", an empty set of notes. Only the container
is set—this is the musical analogue of the empty set ∅. The score is restricted to the
command to be quiet, tacet in Latin, for 4’33”. It was composed in 1952 [25].
Here, x ∈ y means that x ∈ y is false. For the second axiom, we need to

define equality of sets.
Definition 1 If a, b are sets, we say that a is a subset of b, in symbols a ⊂ b,

if x ∈ a implies x ∈ b for every element x ∈ a. See Figure 3.4 for an example
of subsets in music. We say that the sets a, b are equal, in symbols a = b, if
a ⊂ b and b ⊂ a.
The next axiom is purely technical to deal with equality.
Fig. 3.4. The left hand score (part below) is a typical subset of the total score for
both hands (upper part). We write the subset symbol vertically, so do not confuse it
with the union symbol. The sound example is Yan_set.
Axiom 2 (Axiom of Equality) For sets a, x, y, if x ∈ a and x = y, then

y ∈ a.
Axiom 3 (Axiom of Union) If a is a set, there is the set
{x| there is an element b ∈ a such that x ∈ b}

This set is denoted by a and is called the union of a.
Fig. 3.5. The total score of a sonata is the union of the set a = {A, B, C, D} of its
subscores A, B, C, D.
3.2 Pure Sets 43
ˇ “* Example 4 If we think of a sonata a = {A, B, C, D} as being a set with

the elements

A = exposition, B = development, C = recapitulation, D = coda,
then a is the entire score, i.e., the container that contains all elements of A,
B, C, and D, see Figure 3.5.

Notation 1 If a = {b, c} or a = {b, c, d}, we write a = b∪c or a = b∪c∪d,

respectively.
Axiom 4 (Axiom of Pairs) If a and b are two sets, then there is the pair
set {a, b}.
Notation 2 If Φ is an attribute of sets, we simply write Φ(x) instead of “ Φ(x)

is true.”
Axiom 5 (Axiom of Subsets for Attributes) For any set a, if Φ is an

attribute, then there is the subset a|Φ of a that is defined by a|Φ = {x|x ∈
a AND Φ(x)}.
ˇ “*
Example 5 If a is a score, i.e., a set of notes, rests, etc., then taking Φ(x)
for “x = C# OR x = G” extracts the subset a|Φ = {C#, G} if both, x = C#
and x = G are elements of the score a. If Φ(x) stands for “duration of x=”,
then a|Φ is the subscore of all eighth notes in a.
Axiom 6 (Axiom of Powersets) For any set a, there is the powerset 2a of

a, which is defined by
2a = {x|x ⊂ a}.
ˇ “*
Example 6 Think of a rehearsal situation. If a is a score, the conductor
may choose to hear any subscore of a—strings, strings and winds, winds and
brass, etc. The set that contains all the possible subscores is the powerset 2a
of that score.
Lemma 1 For any set a, there is the set a+ = a∪{a}, it is called the successor
of a.
Proof 1 We construct the successor a+ of a as follows. First, by Axiom 6,

since a ⊂ a, a ∈ 2a . Second, by Axiom 5, take the attribute Φ(x) meaning
x = a. Then we get {a} = 2a |Φ. Third, by Axiom
4, the pair set b = {a, {a}}
exists. Finally, by Axiom 3, we get the set a+ = b = a ∪ {a}. This is a typical
procedure for a proof: We use axioms or already proved facts and deduce new
results.
Axiom 7 (Axiom of Infinity) There is a set w with ∅ ∈ w and such that

x ∈ w implies x+ ∈ w.
Fig. 3.6. In a score with two sets, a for the cantus firmus (CF) voice and b for the
discantus (D) voice, we have the intersection a ∩ b of the common notes.
This reminds us of the Chinese proverb, “One creates two, two creates
three, three creates everything.” The axiom of infinity guarantees that there is
one set container that for every element it also contains its successor.
Definition 2 For two sets a, b, the set a ∩ b = {x|x ∈ a AND x ∈ b} (which

exists by Axiom 5) is called the intersection of a and b. If a ∩ b = ∅, we say that
a and b are disjoint. See Figure 3.6 for an example.
Axiom 8 (Axiom of Choice) Let d be a set whose elements are all non-
empty, and such that
any two different elements x, y ∈ d are disjoint, then
there is a subset c ⊂ d such that for every x ∈ d there is exactly one element
in c ∩ x.
Fig. 3.7. The axiom of choice guarantees that we may create a set c that has exactly
one element in each of the elements of a set a. Here we take the first note of each of
the three measures in the set a.
Here are the first immediate facts about sets.
Proposition 1 For three sets a, b, c we have

(i) (Commutativity of union) a ∪ b = b ∪ a.
3.2 Pure Sets 45
(ii) (Associativity of union) a ∪ (b ∪ c) = (a ∪ b) ∪ c. We therefore write a ∪ b ∪ c

for this set.
Proposition 2 If a = ∅, then the set
{x|x ∈ z for all z ∈ a}

exists and is denoted by a.

If a = ∅, then a doesn’t exist
since its defining attribute “x ∈ z for all z ∈ a”
would hold for all sets and a would be the set of all sets, which does not
exist.
Definition 3 If a, b are sets, their difference is denoted by a − b and defined

by a − b = {x|x ∈ a AND x ∈ b}. In the example of Figure 3.6, the difference
a − b consists of all CF notes that are not shared with the D notes.
Sorite 1 For any three sets a, b, c we have

(i) c − a ⊂ c,
(ii) If a ⊂ c, then c − (c − a) = a,
(iii) c − ∅ = c,
(iv) c − c = ∅,
(v) a ∩ (c − a) = ∅,
(vi) If a ⊂ c, then a ∪ (c − a) = c,
(vii) c − (a ∪ b) = (c − a) ∩ (c − b),
(viii) c − (a ∩ b) = (c − a) ∪ (c − b),
(ix) c ∩ (a − b) = (c ∩ a) − (c ∩ b).
3.2.1 Boolean Algebra
With these constructors of sets, one can define a calculus on 2a called Boolean
algebra of a. We first present the theory and then discuss a composition, Herma
by Xenakis, that was composed using this theory. The Boolean algebra of 2a is
defined as follows.
Definition 4 If x, y ∈ 2a , then we define x + y = (x ∪ y) − (x ∩ y). We further

define x.y = x ∩ y.
Proposition 3 For set a, and for any three elements x, y, z ∈ 2a , we have:

(i) (commutativity) x + y = y + x, x.y = y.x.
(ii) (associativity) x + (y + z) = (x + y) + z, x.(y.z) = (x.y).z; we therefore also
write x + y + z and x.y.z, respectively.
(iii) (neutral elements) We have x + ∅ = x, x.a = x.
(iv) (distributivity) x.(y + z) = x.y + x.z.
(v) (idempotency) x.x = x.
(vi) (involution) x + x = ∅.
(vii) (solutions of equations) the equation x + y = z has exactly one solution w,
i.e., there is exactly one set w ⊂ a such that w + y = z.
Remark 2 This structure will later be discussed as the crucial algebraic struc-
ture of a commutative ring, see Chapter 24.
√
Exercise 2 Let a = {r, s, t, w} with four different elements r, s, t, w. In
the Boolean algebra 2a , calculate the solution x of x + y = z within 2a for
y = {r, s, w}, z = {s, w}.
ˇ “*
Exercise 1 Let a = {♩, , }. In the Boolean algebra 2a , calculate the solu-
tion w of w + y = z within 2a for y = {, }, z = {♩, }.
√
Exercise 3 Let a = {∅}. Calculate the complete table of sums x + y and
products x.y for x, y ∈ 2a , using the symbols 0 = ∅, 1 = a.
3.2.2 Xenakis’ Herma
The following example has been discussed in [4]. Here, we give a short summary
of that discussion.
Xenakis was one of the first composers to use advanced mathematical
procedures to compose music. His method was described in his book Formal-
ized Music [116]. The composition Herma for piano uses Boolean algebra to
create its detailed structure. Xenakis calls his method “symbolic music.” In
[4], the authors also provide us with a computer-aided implementation of the
composition, using their music software OpenMusic.
The Boolean algebra on 2a that Xenakis uses starts from a frame set a =
R, which, according to the composer, is the set R “of all the sounds of a piano.”
That means all the pitches of the piano (usually 88 in number). He then selects
three subsets A, B, C of R, as shown in Figure 3.8, and creates new subsets
using the Boolean operations of union, intersection, and complementation. We
have to learn why these operations are all Boolean. The intersection is the
Boolean product. For the union x ∪ y of x, y ∈ 2a , observe that a − x ∪ y =
(a − x) ∩ (a − y) = (a − x).(a − y). But the complementation a − x is the solution
z of the equation z + x = a. Therefore, after taking differences a − x, a − y, we
can construct a − x ∪ y and then its difference set x ∪ y = a − (a − x ∪ y).
The core set needed by Xenakis is denoted by F . It is achieved by a flow
chart of preliminary operations as shown in Figure 3.9.
This flow chart shows two construction modes of F : plane (1), associated
with dynamics signs f and ff , and plane (2), associated with dynamics signs
ff and ppp. This flow chart is the basis of the display of the note sets as-
sociated with the different operations in musical time. It has been observed
in [4] that Xenakis here works on two different time levels: the symbolic or
3.2 Pure Sets 47
Fig. 3.8. Xenakis selects three subsets A, B, C of the set R of all piano sounds.
logical “outside-of time” realm of imaginary time of thoughts, and the musical
“in-time” of musical events in real time. We shall come back to this distinction
when discussing performance theory in Chapter 32.
Fig. 3.9. Two construction modes define F : plane (1), associated with dynamics signs
f and ff , and plane (2), associated with dynamics signs ff and ppp.
4
Functions and Relations
Summary. The elements of a set can be written in any order, and we don’t
yet have a way to define ordered structures. So we now develop the theory of
ordered structures. It also allows us to define the central concept of a function.
–Σ–
So far, the elements of a set can be displayed in any order, e.g., {a, b, c} =
{c, b, a}. But the order of a collection may be relevant for the description of a
mathematical situation. We will take care of this problem in this chapter.
4.1 Ordered Pairs and Graphs

Definition 5 If x, y are two sets, the ordered pair (x, y) is defined to be the
following set:
(x, y) = {{x}, {x, y}}
Observe that the set (x, y) always exists; it is a subset of the powerset of the
pair set {x, y}.
Here is the essence of this definition:
Lemma 2 For any four sets a, b, c, d, we have (a, b) = (c, d) iff a = c and

b = d. Therefore, one may speak of the first and second coordinate a and b of
the ordered pair (a, b).
ˇ “* Example 7 In music theory, they often speak about “ordered sets” in the
sense that an “ordered set” {c, e}, representing an interval, is different from an
“ordered set” {e, c}. But this is an abuse of language. In mathematics, sets are
always unordered collections of their elements. An “ordered set” {c, e} would
then be represented as an ordered pair (c, e), which is different from the ordered
pair (e, c).

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_4
50 4 Functions and Relations
√
Exercise 4 Defining (x, y, z) = ((x, y), z), show that (x, y, z) = (u, v, w)
iff x = u, y = v, z = w.
Definition 6 For sets a, b, their cartesian product is the set

a × b = {(x, y)|x ∈ a, y ∈ b}
√
Exercise 5 Check with the Powerset Axiom that a × b always exists.
Definition 7 A graph g is a subset g ⊂ a × b of a cartesian product.
Fig. 4.1. A drawing of Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família church in Barcelona (left) as
a graph in the cartesian product space of height and width can be represented also as
a graph of notes, a composition living in the cartesian product space of onset times
and pitches. We come back to questions of visualization and sonification for music in
Section 27.3.
√
Example 1 The diagonal is the graph Δa ⊂ a × a of all ordered pairs
(x, x), x ∈ a (Figure 4.2). For a graph g ⊂ a × b, the inverse graph g −1 ⊂ b × a
is the graph of all ordered pairs (y, x) such that (x, y) ∈ g.
Definition 8 For a graph g ⊂ a × b, we have two projections, pr1 (g) =

{x|there exists a (x, y) ∈ g} ⊂ a and pr2 (g) = {y|there exists a (x, y) ∈ g} ⊂ b.
4.1 Ordered Pairs and Graphs 51
Fig. 4.2. The diagonal graph of set a.
Definition 9 (Composition of Graphs) For graphs g ⊂ a × b, h ⊂ b × c, their

composition is the graph
h ◦ g = {(x, z)|there exists y ∈ b such that (x, y) ∈ g and (y, z) ∈ h}.
Lemma 3 (Composition of Graphs is Associative) If g ⊂ a × b, h ⊂ b × c, k ⊂

c × d are three graphs, then k ◦ (h ◦ g) = (k ◦ h) ◦ g, which we therefore denote
by k ◦ h ◦ g.
Fig. 4.3. The composition graph g in the cartesian product of onsets and pitches,
together with its two projections, which show the onsets and pitches that are involved
in this composition.
ˇ “*
Exercise 2 Consider the graph g shown in Figure 4.3. Show that the com-
position g −1 ◦ g is the graph in the cartesian product Onsets × Onsets whose
pairs (s, t) are the pairs of times that show repeated pitches.
4.2 Functions
Fig. 4.4. A melody is a typical functional graph in the onset-pitch space. For every
onset, there is at most one associated pitch in the graph. The flute and the monochord
are instruments on which one plays only melodies, never two sounds at the same time.
Definition 10 A graph g ⊂ a×b is called functional if (x, y), (x, z) ∈ g implies

y = z, see Figure 4.4.
A function is a triple f = (a, b, g), where g ⊂ a×b is a functional graph and
pr1 (g) = a. The set a is called the function’s domain and denoted by dom(f ),
while the set b is called the function’s codomain and denoted by codom(f ). We
often write f : a → b for f . For every x ∈ a there is a unique y ∈ b such that
(x, y) ∈ g. We write y = f (x). See Figure 4.5 for an example.
Fig. 4.5. If the onset times are eight multiples of one eighth (), then this score
shows a melodic function: It is a functional graph that has values for all available
onset times.
√
Example 2 For every set a we have the identity function Ida = (a, a, Δa).
Denote 1 = {∅}. Then, for every set a, there is a unique function ! : a → 1. And
4.2 Functions 53
there is a unique function ! : ∅ → a. We use the symbol ! of functions whenever

there is a unique function in given context.
Definition 11 If we have pr2 (g) = b for a function f = (a, b, g), we say that
f is surjective (epi) and also write f : a b. If f (x) = f (y) implies x = y for
any two arguments x, y ∈ a, we say that f is injective (mono) and also write
f : a b. If f is epi and mono, we say that f is bijective (iso) and also write
∼
f : a → b.
Fig. 4.6. Illustration of three function types: injective, surjective, and bijective.
If f : a → b and g : b → c are functions then we have the composition

of functions g ◦ f : a → c that is defined by the composition of these func-
tions’ graphs. Clearly, the composition of two epi/mono/iso functions is again
epi/mono/iso. And a function f is iso iff the inverse of its graph is again func-
tional, and the function that is defined by the inverse graph is denoted by f −1 .
For an iso f we therefore have f −1 ◦ f = Ida , while f ◦ f −1 = Idb .
ˇ “*
Exercise 3 In musical composition, there is a simple method to create pro-
totypes of melodies: dodecaphonism, which was invented by composer and theo-
∼
rist Arnold Schoenberg around 1921. He conceived 12-tone series s : O12 → P12 ,
where O12 is a set of 12 onset times
O12 = {o0 , o1 , o2 , o3 , o4 , o5 , o6 , o7 , o8 , o9 , o10 , o11 },

Fig. 4.7. Note names for keyboard keys and note and rest durations.
and where
P12 = {p0 , p1 , p2 , p3 , p4 , p5 , p6 , p7 , p8 , p9 , p10 , p11 }
is the set of 12 pitch names on the piano, typically named by
p0 = C, p1 = C, p2 = D, p3 = D, p4 = E, p5 = F,
p6 = F , p7 = G, p8 = G, p9 = A, p10 = A, p11 = B,
where the symbol denotes the black key to the right of the white key it follows,
e.g., C is the black key to the right of the white key C. See also Figure 4.7,
where we show the note names corresponding to keys, as well as durations of
notes and the corresponding rests.
Fig. 4.8. 12-tone series for Anton von Webern’s compositions op. 17.2 and op. 30.
∼
For any two such 12-tone series g, h : O12 → P12 , one may consider their
∼
composition h−1 ◦ g : O12 → O12 . Explain the meaning of pairs of times in this
4.2 Functions 55
composed bijection on the time set. Calculate the resulting bijection for the
two series composed by Anton von Webern in his op. 17.2 and op. 30 as shown
in Figure 4.8.
Definition 12 If f : a → b, g : c → d are two functions, their cartesian

product function is the function f × g : a × c → b × d that is defined by
f × g(x, y) = (f (x), g(y)).
√
Exercise 6 Show that if f, g are both epi/mono/iso, then so is their carte-
sian product f × g.
ˇ “*
Example 8 In serial music, Schönberg’s idea to consider a bijection s :
∼
O12 → P12 was generalized to other parameters beyond pitch. For example,
serial composers also consider 12 durations in a set
D12 = {d0 , d1 , d2 , d3 , d4 , d5 , d6 , d7 , d8 , d9 , d10 , d11 }.

∼ ∼
Given a pitch series s : O12 → P12 as well as a duration series t : O12 → D12 ,
∼
they then take the cartesian product series s×t : O12 ×O12 → P12 ×D12 . To get
a new series that would determine pitch as well as duration for each onset time,
they compose it with the diagonal injection Δ : O12 O12 × O12 : o → (o, o).
This yields the desired function s × t ◦ Δ : O12 → P12 × D12 .
ˇ “*
Example 9 In music theory, there is a theory of harmony that was proposed
by Hugo Riemann, the (musical) function theory. It is a funny coincidence that
there is also a mathematical function theory (same name!) that was developed
by Bernhard Riemann. But beyond these similarities, the two theories have
nothing in common. Hugo Riemann’s musical function theory was the program
for attributing to every possible chord one of three possible harmonic functions,
Tonic (T ), Dominant (D), and Subdominant (S) [29]. This idea should have
defined a harmonic syntagmatics, i.e., a procedure to attribute to compositions
sequences of harmonic functions to represent the meaning of the harmonic
movement through time.
A classical syntagm in this spirit is the sequence IC = {c, e, g}, IVC =
{f, a, c}, VC = {g, b, d}, IC = {c, e, g} of triadic degree chords (here in C major),
the standard tonality of white keyboard keys when starting at the tonic key
C. This candential sequence is understood as a shorthand for the harmonic
identification of the given tonality (here, in fact, one octave of C-tonality is
identified as the union IC ∪ IVC ∪ VC ). In such a cadence, degree I was thought
to have the function value T , degree V value D, and degree IV value S.
Riemann’s idea was to attribute such function values to all chords, effec-
tively defining a tonality by such a function. So tonality C major would be
defined as a function C − T onality : Ch → T DS = {T, D, S} whose domain
Ch is the set of all chords, which are by definition all the finite sets in 2P itches ,
where P itches represents the set of all pitches. We shall define “finiteness” of a
set in Section 6.3, but here, just take it as the property that one can count a
chord’s elements and end up after a number of steps.
This means that Riemann wanted to define all possible tonalities X as
functions
X − T onality : Ch → T DS.
He however didn’t intend to allow general tonality functions; he intended to
extend functions
X − T onality|T estSet : T estSet → T DS
defined on a small subset T estSet ⊂ Ch of well-known chords to the total

function. In particular, his intention was to get the values C − T onality(IC ) =
T, C − T onality(VC ) = D, C − T onality(IVC ) = S. He also set the condition
that values for other triadic degrees IIC = {d, f, a}, IIIC = {e, g, b}, V IC =
{a, c, e}, V IIC = {b, d, f } should be determined according to special relations
of these degrees to the three degrees I, V, IV . We shall discuss in Chapter 16
the reasons why Riemann’s project could not work.
4.2.1 Equipollence
In set theory, a set a is considered to be “essentially the same as” or equipollent

∼
to b if there is a bijection f : a → b. Equipollence has these three properties:
Lemma 4 Let a, b, c be sets.

(i) (Reflexivity) a is equipollent to a.
(ii) (Symmetry) If a is equipollent to b, then b is equipollent to a.
(iii) (Transitivity) If a is equipollent to b, and b is equipollent to c, then a is
equipollent to c.
The class of all sets that are equipollent to a is called a’s cardinality. Cardinality
groups all sets that are related by bijections among one another.
We want to briefly summarize the question of whether there are “arbitrary

large” sets. To begin with, observe that we have an injection a 2a : x → {x}.
∼
But there is no bijection a → 2a , 2a is strictly “larger” than a (see Figure 4.9).
In fact, suppose we have f : a 2a . Then take the subset n = {x|x ∈ f (x)} of
a. For n, there is no y ∈ a such that f (y) = n. If y ∈ f (y) = n, we have y ∈ n
by definition of n, and if y ∈ f (y) = n, then y ∈ n, so nothing works here. This
argumentation is similar to the one used for Russell’s antinomy.
From this, the Bernstein-Schröder theorem implies that there is also no
injection 2a a. This theorem states that for two injections a b, b c
and a, c being equipollent, the middle set b must also be equipollent to a, c.
Therefore an injection 2a a would imply that a and 2a are equipollent, what
we just disproved. See [77, Vol. I, Section 4.1] for details.
4.3 Relations 57
Fig. 4.9. The powerset of set a is larger than a, as is seen here for subsets of a that
are not hit by the map x → {x}.
4.3 Relations
Relations among elements of a given set are essential for the description of
musical configurations.
Definition 13 Given a set a, a binary relation on a is a graph R ⊂ a × a. We

often write xRy for (x, y) ∈ R. In specific situations, many symbols are used,
such as ≤, <, ∼, etc.
√
Example 3 The empty relation R = ∅ ⊂ a × a, the complete relation R =
a × a, the inverse relation R−1 , the diagonal relation R = Δa, the composition
R ◦ S of two relations on a, the power relation R2 = R ◦ R are some basic
examples of relations.
And here is the vocabulary of classification of (binary) relations:
Definition 14 Let us denote by ≤ the relation R on a.

(i)The relation is reflexive if x ≤ x for all x ∈ a.
(ii)The relation is symmetric if x ≤ y implies y ≤ x for all x, y ∈ a.
(iii)The relation is transitive if x ≤ y and y ≤ z implies x ≤ z for all x, y, z ∈ a.
(iv) The relation is antisymmetric if x ≤ y and y ≤ x implies x = y for all
x, y ∈ a.
(v) The relation is total if either x ≤ y or y ≤ x for all x, y ∈ a.
(vi) The relation is an equivalence relation if it satisfies (i), (ii), and (iii).
(vii) The relation is a partial relation if it satisfies (i), (iii), and (iv).
(viii) The relation is a linear relation if it is partial and satisfies (v).
(ix) The linear relation is a well-ordering1 if every non-empty set b ⊂ a has a
minimal element, i.e., m ∈ b with m ≤ y for all y ∈ b.
Proposition 4 Given an equivalence relation ∼ on a, the equivalence class of

an element x ∈ a is the set [x] = {y|y ∈ a AND y ∼ x}. Denote

by a/ ∼ the set
of all equivalence classes of ∼. The set a is the union a = a/ ∼ and any two
different equivalence classes are disjoint. We call such a set a/ ∼ a partition
of a. In other words, either [x] = [y], or [x] ∩ [y] = ∅.
√
Example 4 Here are some examples of relations and the above list of prop-
erties:
(i) The diagonal Δa is reflexive.
(ii) For the set a = {∅, 1}, the relation R = {(∅, 1)} is not reflexive, symmetric
or transitive.
(iii) R = a × a is transitive.
(iv) The relation x ⊂ y on 2a is a partial ordering.
(v) The relation of equipollence among subsets of a is an equivalence relations
on 2a .
(vi) Suppose for the moment that the set a of natural numbers
a = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}
has been defined (this will be done in Chapter 6), then the relation x ≤ y
among such numbers is a well-ordering.
(vii) Suppose we have an alphabet set A = {a, b, c, d, e, f, . . . x, y, z}, then the
lexicographic ordering a ≤ b ≤ c ≤ d ≤ e ≤ f ≤ . . . x ≤ y ≤ z is also a
well-ordering.
ˇ “*
Example 10 If we take the set F in(a) ⊂ 2a of finite subsets of the set
a of pitches, these subsets are called chords. With the relation of inclusion
c ≤ d iff c ⊂ d, we have a partial ordering among chords. The chords having
two elements are usually called intervals. The chords that are singletons are
identified with their single elements. In music theory, the case c ≤ d for an
interval c is an important property of a chord d, meaning that the interval c is
part of chord d. In harmony, especially in modulation theory (which we shall
discuss in Chapter 23) the important case is when a chord c is ≤ two larger
chords r, s.
The cartesian product of two relations R ⊂ a × a, S ⊂ b × b is the relation
R × S ⊂ (a × b) × (a × b) defined by (r, s)R × S(u, v) iff rRu and sSv. Observe
that the cartesian product R × S need not be linear if both R and S are so,
see the Musical Example 11.
1
A famous theorem of Ernst Zermelo states that the axiom of choice is equivalent
to the statement that every set has a well-ordering.
4.3 Relations 59
ˇ “* Example 11 If we consider the cartesian product a × b of the onset space

a and pitch space b, together with the product ordering of the usual linear
orderings of onsets and pitches, this is not a linear ordering. This means that
in a score, two notes cannot be compared in general. For example, if x =
(23, 60), y = (45, 20), then since 23 < 45 but NOT 60 < 20, these two notes
have no relation with each other. This is a serious deficiency of the product
ordering since one would like to have a linear ordering when calculating with
notes (e.g., in software implementations of music theory) and setting a list of
notes in a linear ordering.
The solution of this problematic situation is lexicographic ordering. We

shall deal with this construction in Chapter 5.
5
Universal Properties
Summary. In this chapter, we present the fundamental concept of a carte-

sian product and its dual, the coproduct, which is obtained from the first one
by reversing arrows. We also introduce exponentials and subobject classifiers.
These concepts are broadly used in modern mathematics, because they describe
constructions that appear everywhere in mathematical creativity.
–Σ–
The system of sets shares a number of properties that are omnipresent
in any mathematical procedure. They are shared by structures in mathematics
that one encounters in very diverse situations of algebra, geometry, probability,
etc. Therefore, it is important to present a short chapter dealing with these
properties of sets. They are called universal because they deal with situations
that connect set structures in a very general way. In other words, they are
“universal” to sets. We shall state these properties as theorems without proofs,
which are easy anyway.
Before we discuss universal properties, let us observe that the collection
of functions f : a → b for fixed domain a and codomain b defines a set, which
we denote by Set(a, b).
√
Exercise 7 Prove that Set(a, b) is a set.
In particular, the composition of functions defines a set map
Set(b, c) × Set(a, b) → Set(a, c) : (g, f ) → g ◦ f.
5.1 Final and Initial Sets

Definition 15 A set b is called final if Set(a, b) contains a single element (we
also say that it is a singleton) for every set a. A set b is called initial if Set(b, a)
is a singleton for every set a. This is why we use the function symbol “!” for
those unique functions of final and initial sets.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_5
62 5 Universal Properties
We have already encountered the final set 1 as well as the initial set ∅ in
Example 2. Let us denote ∅ = 0 to ease notation. So we have ! : 0 → a and
! : a → 1. It is easy to see that any final element must be a singleton, and that
any non-empty set cannot be initial. Therefore there is only one initial set 0
and the final sets are those whose cardinality is 1, the singletons.
For the next universal property we denote by pra : a × b → a : (x, y) → x
the first and by prb : a × b → b : (x, y) → y the second projection.
5.2 The Cartesian Product

Theorem 1 (Universal Property of the Cartesian Product) For any
three sets a, b, c the function
∼
Set(c, a × b) → Set(c, a) × Set(c, b) : f → (pra ◦ f, prb ◦ f )
is a bijection. The following commutative diagram of functions illustrates the
situation. Commutativity means that any two paths of functions between two
given sets yield the same composed function.
c
pr
f
a◦
f
◦f
pr
?
-

a - b
pra prb
a×b
√
Exercise 8 Suppose a set q is given, together with two functions fa : q →
a, fb : q → b such that we have a bijection
∼
Set(c, q) → Set(c, a) × Set(c, b) : f → (fa ◦ f, fb ◦ f )
for all sets c. Then the universal property of the cartesian product a × b implies
that there a unique f : q → a × b corresponding to the two functions fa , fb .
Prove that f is a bijection. In particular, the universal property of the cartesian
product determines it up to equipollence, i.e., it determines its equipollence
class.
ˇ “*
Example 12 Take the two-element set 2 = {0, 1} and the cartesian product
a × b of the onset and pitch sets a, b. Then an interval in a × b can be defined as
a set function i : 2 → a × b. It determines a start note i(0) and an end note i(1)
of the interval. By the universal property of cartesian products, i corresponds
biunivoquely, or one-to-one, to a pair ia = pra ◦ i : 2 → a, ib = prb ◦ i : 2 → b.
This means that an interval i is the same as giving two intervals ia , ib , one
of onsets and one of pitches, see Figure 5.1. This idea can also be applied to
series in several musical parameters, such as pitch, duration, and loudness, as
is customary in serial composition.
5.3 The Coproduct 63
Fig. 5.1. An interval i in onset-pitch space is the same as giving two intervals ia , ib ,
one of onsets and one of pitches.
5.3 The Coproduct
The next universal property is “dual” to the preceding one in the following
sense.
Definition 16 Given two sets a, b, their coproduct or disjoint sum is the set
a b = {0} × a ∪ {1} × b,
together with the two injections ina : a a b : x → (0, x) and inb : b

a b : y → (1, y).
Theorem 2 (Universal Property of the Coproduct) For any three sets

a, b, c the function
∼
Set(a b, c) → Set(a, c) × Set(b, c) : f → (f ◦ ina , f ◦ inb )
is a bijection. The following commutative diagram of functions illustrates the

situation. Commutativity means that any two paths of functions between two
given sets yield the same composed function.
c

-
6
f◦
a
in
in
f
f◦
a
ina
- a b inb b
Again, the coproduct is uniquely determined in the same sense as the

cartesian product. Just invert all arrows. This is what “duality” means: the
coproduct is what you get when inverting all arrows in the product.
∼
Similar to the product, the coproduct is associative, i.e., a (b c) →
(a b) c, which we therefore denote by a b c.
√
Example 5 In the previous Musical Example 12, we considered maps i :
2 → a × b. The domain 2 = {0, 1} is a set that is in bijection to {0} {1}.
By the universal property of coproducts, this implies that such maps i are in
bijection with pairs of maps i0 : {0} → a × b, i1 : {1} → a × b, a fact that is
intuitive: The “arrow” 2 domain is evaluated at its tail and head.
5.4 Exponentials
For the next universal property, we denote Set(b, c) by cb for reasons that will
become clear soon, but also to stress that we view Set(b, c) as a set rather then
a special collection of functions.
Theorem 3 (Universal Property of Exponentials) For any three sets

a, b, c the function
∼
δ : Set(a × b, c) → Set(a, cb )
defined by
δ(f )(x)(y) = f (x, y)
for (x, y) ∈ a × b is a bijection. It is called the natural adjunction.
ˇ “*
Example 13 Let c = {0, 1} and a the set of onsets, b the set of pitches.
Then a musical composition can be described (in a simplified manner) in two
ways: First as a function f : a × b → c that associates with each pair (o, p)
of onset and pitch the value f (o, p) = 0 if there is a note in this position, and
f (o, p) = 1 else. We can also see this data as a function δ(f ) on the set a of
onsets that associates with every o ∈ a the chord δ(f )(o) : b → c at that onset
time, i.e., the function that specifies the pitches that are present at that onset
o.
5.5 Subobject Classifier
To understand this new topic, we need to know what is a fiber of a function.
Definition 17 If f : a → b is a function, and if c ⊂ b, then we call fiber of

f over c and denote by f −1 (c) the set {x|x ∈ a and f (x) ∈ c}. For a singleton
c = {γ}, we write f −1 (γ) instead of f −1 ({γ}).
5.6 Cartesian Product of a Family of Sets 65
We had introduced the somewhat strange notation 2a for the powerset of

a. Here is the solution to this mystery.
Theorem 4 Subobject Classifier The natural number set 2 := {0, 1} is a

subobject classifier, i.e., for every set a, there is a bijection
∼
χ : 2a → Set(a, 2) (5.1)
defined by the following prescription. If b ⊂ a is an element of 2 , then a
χ(b)(α) = 0 if α ∈ b, and χ(α) = 1 else. The function χ(b) is called the charac-
teristic function of b. The inverse of χ is the zero fiber, i.e., χ−1 (x) = x−1 (0).
Observe that now, the subsets of a, elements of 2a , are identified to func-
tions a → 2, i.e., elements of Set(a, 2) which we also denote by 2a . This is now
perfectly legitimate by the above theorem.
ˇ “*
Example 14 The subobject classifier is extremely important for the classi-
fication of musical structures. Let us give a basic example. Consider chords as
finite subsets of a domain of pitches, or even pitch names, such as the domain
P12 = {p0 , p1 , p2 , p3 , p4 , p5 , p6 , p7 , p8 , p9 , p10 , p11 }
introduced in Musical Example 3. Using the subobject classifier, a chord ch ⊂

P12 is interpreted as a function ch : P12 → 2. Such a function can also be
represented as a sequence (ch0 , ch1 , . . . ch11 ) of entries chi that are either 0 or 1
depending on whether pi ∈ ch or not. For example, (0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1)
stands for the chord {c, e, g} = {p0 , p4 , p7 }. Given this presentation of chords,
we shall see in Chapter 19 that chords are grouped in equivalence classes of
chords, i.e., in sets of such sequences (ch0 , ch1 , . . . ch11 ). It is then useful to
select representatives of such classes according to canonical ordering relations
on the set 2P12 of chords in this representation. We are going to define such
ordering relations in Section 5.6. This procedure is standard in any classification
business, be it in music, mathematics, or any other field of interested in explicit
and precise knowledge.
5.6 Cartesian Product of a Family of Sets

A generalization of the cartesian product is given by families of sets.
Definition 18 A family of sets is a surjective function f : a b. The images

f (x) are also denoted by fx , and the function is also notated by (fx )x∈a or by
(fx )a . This means that the elements of b are “indexed” by elements of a.
If c ⊂ a, then the subfamily (fx )x∈c is just the restriction f |c, together
with the codomain being the image Im(f |c).

The cartesian product x∈a fx of a family

(fx )x∈a of sets is the subset of
( b)a consisting of all functions t : a → b such that t(x) ∈ fx for all x ∈ a.
Such a function is also denoted by (tx )x∈a and is called a family of elements.
When a family of elements is given, we can always assume there exists a family
of sets backing this family of elements, even when these sets are not mentioned
explicitly.
For a given index x0 , we have the x0 th projection px0 : x∈a fx → fx0
which sends (tx )x∈a to tx0 .

One union (intersection) of the family (fx )a by a fx =

defines the
Im(f ) ( a fx = Im(f )), i.e., by the union (intersection) of all its member
sets. The intersection exists only for a non-empty family.
Sorite 2 Let (fx )a be a non-empty family of sets, i.e., a = ∅.

(i) The cartesian product x∈a fx is non-empty iffeach fx is non-empty.
(ii) If all sets fx coincide and are equal to c, then x∈a fx = ca .
∼
(iii) If a = 2, then x∈2 fx → f0 × f1 .
(iv) (Universal Property of the Cartesian Product of a Family of Sets) If (ux :
d → fx )x∈a is a family of functions, then there is a unique function u :
d → x∈a fx such that ux = px ◦ u for all x ∈ a.

Cartesian products a fx also admit linear orderings if their members do
so. Here is the precise definition of this “lexicographic ordering” that is widely
used for dictionaries:
Definition 19 Suppose that we are given a family (fx )a of sets such that each
fx bears a linear ordering <x , and such that the index set a is well-ordered by
the relation ≺. Then, for two different families (tx )a , (sx )a , the relation
(tx )a ≺ (sx )a iff the smallest index y, where ty = sy , has ty <y sy (5.2)

is called the lexicographic ordering on x∈a fx .
Lemma 5 The lexicographic ordering is a linear ordering.

√
Exercise 9 Show that, for a well-ordered index set a, if the lexicographic

ordering on x∈a fx is a well-ordering then each linear ordering <x on fx is so.
The converse is also true, but beyond our skills. However, we can prove it for
the special case where a is a finite set (this concept is defined in Section 6.3).
Definition 20 If (fx )a is a family of sets, where each set fx bears a binary

relation
r x , then the cartesian product x∈a fx bears the product relation R =
x∈a r x which is defined “coordinatewise,” i.e.,
(tx )a R(sx )a iff tx rx sx for each x ∈ a.

5.6 Cartesian Product of a Family of Sets 67
Attention! If each binary relation on the set fx is a linear ordering, the

product relation generally is not a linear ordering! So the lexicographic ordering
is a remarkable construction since it “preserves” linear orderings!
ˇ “*
Example 15 Here is a first musical application of a lexicographic ordering.
2 represents chords (of pitch names). The set 2P12
P12
We had seen that the set
is a cartesian product x∈P12 fx = 2P12 for the constant family fx = 2. With
the relation 0 < 1, the set 2 becomes well-ordered. The index set P12 can be
given a well-ordering by the linear ordering
p0 < p1 < p2 < p3 < p4 < p5 < p6 < p7 < p8 < p9 < p10 < p11 .
The corresponding well-ordering means that for two different chords (ci )i , (di )i ,
we have (ci )i < (di )i iff the smallest index j where they differ has cj < dj ,
i.e., cj = 0, dj = 1. For example, the minor triad {c, d, g} precedes the ma-
jor triad {c, e, g} since we have this relation (0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1) <
(0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1) for their representation as sequences of zeros or
ones.
Given this well-ordering among chords, one may then choose the first in
any equivalence class of chords and declare it the representative of that class.
Probably for the lack of deeper knowledge about lexicographic orderings,
American music theory has chosen a well-ordering that is called “most packed
to the left”, see [108]. It is defined as follows.
We take the well-ordering of the index set P12 that is opposed to the
above, i.e.,
p0 > p1 > p2 > p3 > p4 > p5 > p6 > p7 > p8 > p9 > p10 > p11 .
On the value set 2 the ordering 0 < 1 is conserved. Then, a chord (ci ) precedes
a chord (di ) if the first index j from the right where they differ has cj < dj .
This means that chords with longer sequences of zeros from the right precede
others. For example,
(0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1) > (0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1)

or
(0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0) > (0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0).
Using this well-ordering and a specific method to define equivalence classes of

chords, the so-called prime form of a chord [108] is defined. We come back to
this topic in Chapter 19.
ˇ “*
Example 16 A practical example of lexicographic ordering is the ordering
among notes in a score. Suppose that notes of a score are given as elements of a
fourfold cartesian product O × P × L × D, where O, P, L, D are linearly ordered
sets of onset, pitch, loudness, and duration. Then the lexicographic ordering
on O × P × L × D is linear and works as follows. A note n1 = (o1 , p1 , l1 , d1 )

precedes note n2 = (o2 , p2 , l2 , d2 ) iff the first coordinate where they differ is
smaller for n1 than for n2 . For example, if both, n1 , n2 , are in a chord, then
the lower pitch defines the preceding note.
Part III
Numbers
6
Natural Numbers
Summary. Natural numbers are the first topic studied by all students in first
years of elementary school. Here, the classic definitions of ordinal and natural
numbers are entirely derived from set theory. The well-known five Peano axioms
that define natural numbers are now presented as a theorem.
–Σ–
Fig. 6.1. The number domains within the class of sets.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_6
72 6 Natural Numbers
The famous mathematician Leopold Kronecker (1823-1891) said, “God

created the natural numbers, everything else is human work.” In fact, natural
numbers (usually meaning the numbers 1, 2, 3, . . .) are the basis of the entire
mathematical reasoning and structural architecture. In view of Kronecker’s
statement, the achievements of set theory are also remarkable since they dis-
prove Kronecker: We are now capable of constructing the natural numbers (and,
of course, all the others) without direct reference to a divine creator, but simply
to ZFC set theory, see Section 3.2. We shall not give all the proofs here, but
state some theorems to get to the natural numbers as fast as possible.
In the first section, we want to present the construction of ordinal num-
bers, a type of sets where general arithmetic can be performed. In the second
section, extract the set N of natural numbers, which are very special ordinal
numbers. In the third section we shall start working with finite sets that use
natural numbers as basic concepts. This chapter is the basis for the entire arith-
metic of numbers (integer, rational, real, and complex numbers) that will be
unfolded in the sequel.
The general idea is this: Start with the empty set zero, 0 = ∅, then take
its successor 1 = 0+ = {0}, then 2 = 1+ = {0, 1}, then 3 = 2+ = {0, 1, 2}.
We see that the earlier numbers b are always set-theoretic elements of the later
ones, e.g., 1 ∈ 3. The main task now is to define this construction in a rigorous
way and look for a set that contains all these sets.
Section 6.1 is necessary to extract a basic type of sets, the ordinal num-
bers, from which natural numbers can be constructed. Ordinal numbers are
characterized by three simple attributes, and the corresponding propositions
are easy to prove. They have no direct meaning for music so far; therefore the
reader may skip this section or look it up when characteristic properties of
ordinal numbers are at stake. However, it is important to observe that without
the concept of ordinal numbers, no clean theory of numbers is feasible. Ordinal
numbers are that missing link that led Kronecker to believe that mathemati-
cians cannot succeed on their own.
6.1 Ordinal Numbers

Definition 21 A set a is an ordinal number iff it is transitive, alternative,
and founded. This means the following:
(i) a is transitive iff x ⊂ a for all x ∈ a.
(ii) a is alternative iff x = y or x ∈ y or y ∈ x for all x, y ∈ a.
(iii) a is founded iff for every non-empty subset b ⊂ a, there is x ∈ b such that
x ∩ b = ∅.
√
Exercise 10 Prove that 0, 1, 2, 3 are ordinal numbers. Suppose there is a
set J = {J}. Prove that J is not ordinal.
6.2 Natural Numbers 73
Here are the most important properties of ordinal numbers, which we

state without (the quite simple) proof, but refer to [77, Section 5.1].
Theorem 5 (Characteristic Properties of Ordinal Numbers)

(i) If a is ordinal, then x is ordinal for every x ∈ a.
(ii) If a, b are ordinal, then (exclusively) a = b or a ∈ b or b ∈ a. In other
words, ∈ is linear order between ordinals (although no set of all ordinals is
at stake here, but see below).
(iii) If d is ordinal, and a ⊂ d is non-empty, then there is x ∈ a such that x ∈ y
or x = y for all y ∈ a. One can see this as a well-ordering among ordinals
(although no set of all ordinals is at stake here).
(iv) If a, b are ordinals with a ∈ b, then either a+ ∈ b or a+ = b. And a+ ∈ b+ .
There is no x such that a ∈ x ∈ a+ . So the relation a ∈ a+ is a “minimal”
one in the ordering among ordinals.
(v) If a, b are ordinals, then a = b iff a+ = b+ .
(vi) If a, b are ordinals, then a is equipollent to b iff a+ is equipollent to b+ .
(vii) A set a is ordinal iff a+ is so.
(viii) Suppose an attribute of sets Φ is such that for any ordinal a, Φ(a) if Φ(x)
for all x ∈ a. Then Φ(b) for all ordinal numbers b.
As an immediate consequence, we can prove that there is no set AllOrd of
all ordinal numbers. In fact, suppose that it exists. Then it clearly is transitive
since each of its elements is so. It is alternative by the Theorem’s statement
(ii). It is founded since for a non-empty b ⊂ AllOrd, take x ∈ b and take the
minimal ordinal in b ∩ x. This is also minimal in b. But then, AllOrd would be
ordinal, therefore AllOrd ∈ AllOrd, which is impossible for ordinals again by
statement (ii) of Theorem 5.
6.2 Natural Numbers

The collection of all ordinals is not a set, but a clever choice of a good subset
of this collection yields the natural number set.
Definition 22 A natural number is an ordinal number n such that

(i) Either n = 0
(ii) or n = m+ (where m is automatically an ordinal);
(iii) and every x ∈ n is either 0 or x = y + (and y is automatic ordinal).
√
Exercise 11 Show that the elements of a natural number n are natural
numbers.
Here is the classical definition of natural numbers as given by the Italian
mathematician Giuseppe Peano (1858-1932). This definition now has the shape
of a theorem (that’s why Kronecker was wrong):
Theorem 6 The Peano Axioms

(i) 0 is a natural number.
(ii) If n is natural, then so is n+ .
(iii) 0 is not a successor, 0 = n+ , of any natural number n.
(iv) For natural numbers n, m, n = m iff n+ = m+ .
(v) (Proof by induction) If Ψ is a property of natural numbers such that Ψ (0),
and Ψ (n+ ) whenever Ψ (n), then Ψ (n) for every natural number n.
The proof is an easy exercise in view of what we have learned about ordinal
numbers. The fifth axiom is fundamental for many proofs since it makes it to
show that some attribute is true for all natural numbers as soon as one has
the “step-wise” condition Ψ (n) ⇒ Ψ (n+ ). As a first application of this proof
scheme we can now exhibit the set N of all natural numbers:
Proposition 5 (i) There is a set N which consists exactly of all natural num-
bers, i.e., n ∈ N iff n is natural.
(ii) The relation n ∈ m between natural numbers defines a well-ordering on N.
Proof 2 To prove (i), take the set w that is guaranteed by ZFC axiom 7. Take
the subset N ⊂ w of the natural numbers in w. We claim that every natural
number n is in N. In fact, by definition of w, 0 ∈ w, and if a natural number
n is in w, then, again by the definition of w, n+ ∈ w. Therefore, by Peano’s
fifth axiom, all natural numbers must be in w, and we are done. Statement (ii)
follows directly from the general ordinal number Theorem 5.
√
Example 6 Let us denote the first natural numbers to get a small number
of standard symbols. We show a sequence of numbers where each subsequent
number in the list is the successor n+ of the preceding number n in the sense
of set theory: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
ˇ “*
Example 17 Observe that in mathematics, physics, and computer science,
natural numbers start at 0, not at 1. Natural numbers are omnipresent in music,
too. Here are some examples.
• We count measures, usually starting at measure 1. But as the initial onset
should be 0, starting at measure 0 would not be a bad idea. However, if
the initial measure is incomplete, we number the first complete measure as
one, so the incomplete measure would be number zero.
• Within a given score, we count the beats, e.g., the number of eighth notes
(also called quavers) at a determined position in the score. Pitch is also
often given a natural number value, for example in the digital MIDI code1 ,
where middle C on a keyboard has number 60.
1
MIDI is the acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a standard code
for the exchange of digital performance data between computers and electronic
musical instruments. See http://www.midi.org and [78] for more information.
6.3 Finite Sets 75
• For a musical interval, one usually starts with the pitch of the lower note
and counts the number of semitone steps to reach the upper note. The
prime interval means to count 0, the minor second has 1, the major second
2, the minor third 3, the major third 4, the fourth 5, the tritone 6, the
fifth 7, the minor sixth 8, the major sixth 9, the minor seventh 10, and the
major seventh 11 pitch semitone steps.
• For strings, one counts the open string and the first or second position for
fingering instructions.
• The works of a composer are counted by natural numbers.
• The number of instruments in an orchestra is counted by natural numbers,
e.g., a quartet is an orchestra with four string instruments (first and second
violin, viola, violoncello).
6.3 Finite Sets

Definition 23 A set x is finite iff it is equipollent to a natural number.
Proposition 6 A subset of a finite set is finite.

The proof is an easy exercise. To begin with, we may suppose that x is a natural
number n. Then, the proof goes by induction on n.
Proposition 7 This proposition identifies natural numbers within finite sets.

(i) Two natural numbers are equipollent iff they are equal.
(ii) The natural numbers are the finite ordinal numbers.
Again, the proof goes by induction, and we omit it.
ˇ “*
Example 18 Referring to Musical Example 3, our pitch name set P12 is
equipollent to the set 12 = {0, 1, 2, . . . 11} of natural numbers, and therefore
is finite. The same is valid for the onset time set O12 . A dodecaphonic series
∼ ∼
s : O12 → P12 is therefore represented as a bijection s : 12 → 12.
The first important application of this theory relates to permutations, i.e.,
∼
bijections F → F of finite sets F . We denote by Sn the set of permutations of
the natural number n. For example, we can look at a dodecaphonic series

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
s=
3 11 2 0 4 6 7 5 8 9 10 1
that sends every number in the top row to the number in the bottom row at
the same column, e.g., 3 → 0. This set has an additional structure that later
will turn out to be a central structure in group theory. But here we just use
what’s immediately feasible. To begin with, any two permutations π, ψ ∈ Sn
are functions that can be composed to a new permutation π ◦ ψ ∈ Sn . This
composition is associative but generally not commutative. There is a special

permutation Idn , the identity on n, that is “neutral” for composition: Idn ◦ π =
π ◦ Idn = π for all π ∈ Sn . Finally, every permutation π ∈ Sn has an inverse
π −1 since it is a bijection on n. Call this structure the group of permutations
of n.
Definition 24 For a natural number n and a set X, a sequence of length n in

X is an injection g : n X. The set of sequences of length n in X is denoted
by X n .
ˇ “*
Example 19 If X = P12 , a sequence t : 3 P12 defines a three-element
chord, called a triad in music theory. Of course, the order of pitches, e.g., t =
(c, g, e), isn’t important when choosing a set {c, e, g} for illustrative purposes.
But the order in the sequence is relevant if we care about the set’s members, for
example, if we want to conceptualize chord inversions. Starting at e in {c, e, g},
then taking g, then c, we get the first inversion of {c, e, g}, or starting at g,
then taking c, then e, defines the second inversion of {c, e, g}. This formalism
of sequences was introduced in 1981 by one of the authors (Mazzola) in his
university course on mathematical music theory and then in [72, Section I.2]
for the classification of general musical structures; it has recently been applied
under the catchword “orbifold” to topological considerations about voice leading
[110].
We now define an equivalence relation on X n . Let g, h ∈ X n . We set g ∼ h
iff there is π ∈ Sn such that g ◦ π = h. Check that it is an equivalence relation.
Denote by X n /Sn the set of equivalence classes.
∼
Proposition 8 The sets Xn = {Y |Y ⊂ X AND Y → n} and X n /Sn are
equipollent.
∼
Proof 3 If Y ∈ Xn , then we have a bijection g : n → Y that extends to
an injection in X n , and then its equivalence class, by composing it with the
∼
inclusion Y ⊂ X. If we take another bijection h : n → Y , then they differ by the
−1
permutation π = h ◦ g ∈ Sn , therefore they define the same equivalence class
[g] = [h]. Conversely, if [h] ∈ X n /Sn , then its image Y = Im(h) is in Xn , and
it is independent of the representative h since the difference of representatives
is only a permutation of n.
ˇ “*
Exercise 4 Given the sequence t = (c, e, g), find the permutation π ∈ S3
such that t ◦ π = (e, g, c), the first inversion of t.
7
Recursion
Summary. Recursion is a technique to define concepts that depend on nat-

ural numbers. First, such a concept is defined for n = 0. Then, the concept
for n is supposed to be defined, and we use the concept for n to define the
concept for n + 1. Therefore, it is defined for all natural numbers n. This is the
idea of recursion, namely the definition by induction. We will prove that this
mathematical process is possible. We then apply recursion to create musical
compositions.
–Σ–
“Proof by induction” is a proof technique involving statements about all
natural numbers. Recursion also deals with all natural numbers, but it does
not deal with a statement. It deals with defining sets, functions, and the like
that are a function of natural numbers, i.e., concepts that are “parametrized”
by natural numbers.
Let us give an intuitive example of such a conceptualization. Suppose for
a moment that we have defined product n · m of natural numbers. We would
like to define the so-called factorial function n! that is defined by the formula
n! = 1 · 2 · 3 · . . . (n − 1) · n. The critical part of such a definition is “. . .”. This is
not mathematically acceptable language. The recursive idea here is to say, ok,
we know what (n − 1)! means, and then set n! = (n − 1)! · n.
Recursion is based upon a theorem that guarantees that such construc-
tions yield well-defined objects. So what is the situation? We are given a type
of objects f that are parametrized by natural numbers and have values in a
given set X, i.e., f : N → X, or else f ∈ X N . In our example above, we would
take X = N and f (n) = n! (where by definition f (0) = 0! = 1). The recursive
construction is based on the idea that values of f (n) for n < m imply the value
f (m).
Here is the precise conceptualization. We need projections for every n ∈ N,
|n : X N → X n : f → f |n , where f |n = f ◦ [n is the restriction of f to n and
[n : n N the inclusion. Also write |nm : X n → X m for the projection of X n
onto X m for n ≥ m. We then have for every pair of natural numbers m ≤ n

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_7
78 7 Recursion
the following commutative diagram.
XN
|m
|n
-
|n
Xn m - Xm
Definition 25 A recusive function on set X is a function r : X N → X N such

that for all n ∈ N and f, g ∈ X N , f |n = g|n implies r(f )(n) = r(g)(n).
And here is the Recursion Theorem.
Theorem 7 (Recursion Theorem) If r : X N → X N is a recursive function

on X, then there is a unique fixpoint F ixr ∈ X N of r, which means
r(F ixr ) = F ixr .
First of all, the proof needs an easy lemma:
Lemma 6 If r : X N → X N is a recursive function, then for all n ∈ N and

f, g ∈ X N , f |n = g|n implies r(f )|n+ = r(g)|n+ .
Proof 4 This goes by induction on n. For n = 0, we have f |0 = g|0 for any

two functions, since this is the restriction to the empty set 0. Then r(f )(0) =
r(g)(0), hence r(f )|1 = r(g)|1. Suppose the statement is true for m and take
n = m+ . Since f |n = g|n implies f |m = g|m, we have r(f )|n = r(g)|n by
induction. But also r(f )(n) = r(g)(n), hence r(f )|n+ = r(g)|n+ .
Corollary 1 Denote the set Rec(X) of recursive functions r : X N → X N .

Then Rec(X) is a semigroup, i.e., a monoid without neutral element, under
composition of set functions. Monoids are defined later in Chapter 17. Here we
just have to verify that composition is defined.
√
Exercise 12 Give a proof of this corollary.
This implies that for a recursive function r : X N → X N and for any n ∈ N,

we have a restricted recursive function r|n : X n → X n such that the following
diagram commutes:
r
X N −−−−→ X N
⏐ ⏐
⏐
|n
⏐|
n
r|n
X n −−−−→ X n
And also, for m ≤ n, we have the commutative diagram
7 Recursion 79
r|n
X n −−−−→ Xn
⏐ ⏐
⏐ ⏐ |n
m
|n m
r|m
X m −−−−→ X m
We now want to show by induction on n that each of the restrictions r|n
has a unique fixpoint, i.e. F ix(r|n) ∈ X n with r|n(F ix(r|n)) = F ix(r|n). If this
is proved, the theorem follows immediately since then by the commutativity of
diagram (7), the fixpoint F ix(r|m) is the restriction of the fixpoint F ix(r|n).
This allows us to define F ixr as the unique function in X N that restricts to
F ix(r|n) for every n ∈ N.
For n = 0, X 0 is a singleton, so everything is clear. Suppose n = m+ ,
and the claim is proved for m. So we have a unique fixpoint Fm of r|m:
r|m(Fm ) = Fm . Take any element G ∈ X m+ with G|m = Fm . Take then
Qm+ := r|m+ (G). We claim that this element is the fixpoint for r|n. We have
Qm+ |m = r|m(G|m) = r|m(Fm ) = Fm = G|m. Therefore by the above lemma,
r|m+ (Qm+ ) = r|m+ (G) = Qm+ , and we are done.
ˇ “*
Example 20 Fibonacci numbers (invented by Italian mathematician Leo-
nardo da Pisa, known as Fibonacci) are a classic example of a recursive con-
struction.
We take X = N and define
rF ibonacci (x) = (1, 1, . . . rF ibonacci (x)i = xi−2 + xi−1 , . . .).
This produces the fixpoint F ixrF ibonacci = (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, . . .). Fibonacci
numbers have been used by many composers. For example, Béla Bartók has
implemented Fibonacci numbers in many compositions [59], e.g., in the number
of measures of his composition Allegro Barbaro. The ostinato F -minor chords
occur in groups of exactly 3, 5, 8, and 13 measures [59]. Also, the Chinese
composer Mingzhu Song has created a composition The Scene of Sichuan Opera
in which the note-group lengths are defined from Fibonacci numbers [105], see
Figure 7.1.
One should add that Fibonacci numbers are important also because
of the fractions F ixrF ibonacci ,i+1 /F ixrF ibonacci ,i which tend to a real number
1.6180339887 . . . that is known as the golden ratio in the arts. We come back
to this number when discussing real numbers in Chapter 12.
ˇ “*
Example 21 This musical example an illustration of the recursive method,
but it also adds a general new method of musical composition. It was discovered
while one of the authors (Mazzola) presented recursion in his course about
mathematics for music theorists. A very talented student, Ben Klein, asked
whether one could make sounds using recursion. And yes, it works. Here is the
result.
80 7 Recursion
Fig. 7.1. In the composition The Scene of Sichuan Opera, Mingzhu Song con-
structs note-group lengths according to Fibonacci numbers. The sound example is
Yan_Fibonacci.
The full recursion theorem deals with recursive functions r : X N → X N ,

but it essentially builds upon the recursive functions on finite powers r|n :
X n → X n . On such a nth power, the fixpoint is not reached after infinite
iterations of r, but after n powers (r|n)n . Therefore we may take any initial
element x = (xi )i ∈ X n and calculate its trajectory (r|n)k (x) = 0, 1, 2, . . . n in
X n that terminates in the fixpoint F ixr|n .
The general composition method runs as follows: We take a set X n , whose
elements can be viewed as sound events. For example, we may select the set P of
pitches on the piano and interpret an element x ∈ P n as a sequence of pitches
x = (x0 , x1 , . . . xn−1 ) in a musical melody. Then a trajectory (r|n)k (x), k =
0, 1, 2, . . . n can be read as an n + 1-length sequence of melodies (r|n)k (x). We
may also view the trajectory in a retrograde movement, i.e., as a sequence of
melodies in the time ordering (r|n)n (x), (r|n)n−1 (x), . . . (r|n)1 (x), (r|n)0 (x) =
x. Denote by (r, n, x, +), (r, n, x, −) the original and retrograde trajectories,
respectively.
Given this formalism for a selected number n and “musical” space X,
we may now select a sequence (x, ri , yi ), i = 1, 2, . . . v of triples with ri ∈
Recn (X), x, yi ∈ X n . This defines the following sequence of direct or retrograde
trajectories:
T ra((x, ri , yi )i ) = (r1 , n, x, +), (r1 , n, y1 , −), (r2 , n, y1 , +), (r2 , n, y2 , −),

. . . (rv , n, yv−1 , +), (rv , n, yv , −).
Figure 7.2 illustrates this compositional construction.

In the following example we have taken a very simple configuration: We
set n = 4, X the pitch space (in natural numbers). We take a first recursive
function r1 to move from x, the motive of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony 5th
Symphony. We add y1 to be a four-note motive from O Fortuna in Karl Orff’s
Carmina Burana, then conclude with y2 , a motive from Thelonious Monk’s
Blue Monk.
The first recursion function is r1a with a = 3, r1a (x) = (0, x1 + a, x2 +
a, . . . xi + a, . . .) with F ixr1a = (0, a, a + a, a + a + a, . . .), the successive addition
7 Recursion 81
Fig. 7.2. The trajectory sequence associated with a sequence x, y1 , . . . yv of start

points and recursive functions r1 , . . . rv .
of a’s, in our case F ixr13 = (0, 3, 6, 9, . . .), a sequence of minor thirds. The
second recursion function r2 is the composition r14 ◦ r13 of r13 and r14 . Therefore
it converges to its fixpoint with double speed—we only need two steps to and
from its fixpoint. The fixpoint here is a sequence (0, 4, 7, 11, 14, . . .) of major and
minor thirds. If we had taken the composition r13 ◦ r14 , we would have obtained
a sequence (0, 3, 7, 10, 14, . . .) of minor and major thirds. Figure 7.3 illustrates
this compositional construction.

Fig. 7.3. A composition (One for Ben) generated according to the recursive method
described above. The sound example is oneforben.
8
Natural Arithmetic
Summary. In the previous chapter, we defined natural numbers. Now, we are

interested in how to combine these numbers to obtain other natural numbers.
In this chapter, we will define three operations: addition, multiplication, and
exponentiation.
–Σ–
Now we are able to define the classical operations: addition, multiplication,
and exponentiation of natural numbers, all of these being defined using the
Recursion Theorem. We take X = N for this setup.
For addition, we take natural number a and define the function a + (n) =
a + n for n ∈ N by the recursive function ra+ : NN → NN with ra+ (f )(0) = a
and ra+ (f )(n+ ) = f (n)+ .
For multiplication, we take natural number a and define the function a ·
(n) = a · n for n ∈ N by the recursive function ra· : NN → NN with ra· (f )(0) = 0
and ra· (f )(n+ ) = f (n) + a.
For exponentiation, we take natural number a and define the function
N N
a exp(n) = a for n ∈ N by the recursive function ra exp : N → N with
n
+
ra exp (f )(0) = 1 and ra exp (f )(n ) = f (n) · a.
These are the most important properties of these operations, which we
state without (mostly trivial and by induction) proofs:
Sorite 3 Let a, b, c be natural numbers. We have these laws:

(i) (Additive neutral element) a + 0 = 0 + a = a.
(ii) (Additive associativity) a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c, which is therefore written
as a + b + c.
(iii) (Additive commutativity) a + b = b + a.
(iv) (Multiplicative neutral element) a · 1 = 1 · a = a.
(v) (Multiplicative associativity) a · (b · c) = (a · b) · c, which is therefore written
as a · b · c.
(vi) (Multiplicative commutativity) a · b = b · a.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_8
84 8 Natural Arithmetic
(vii) (Multiplication distributivity) a · (b + c) = a · b + a · c.

(viii) (Exponential neutral element) a1 = a.
(ix) (Exponentiation, + distributivity) ab+c = ab · ac .
(x) (Exponentiation, · distributivity) (a · b)c = ac · bc .
(xi) (Additive monotony) If a < b, then a + c < b + c.
(xii) (Multiplicative monotony) If c = 0 and a < b, then a · c < b · c.
(xiii) (Exponential base monotony) If c = 0 and a < b, then ac < bc .
(xiv) (Exponential exponent monotony) If c = 0, 1 and a < b, then ca < cb .
(xv) (Ordering of operations) If a, b > 1, then a + b ≤ a · b ≤ ab .
(xvi) If a, b are natural numbers such that a ≤ b, then there is exactly one
natural number x such that a + x = b.
It is now easy to define sums or products of many numbers. If
(s0 , s1 , . . . sn , sn+1 , . . .)
0 n+1
is a sequence of natural numbers, we define s = s0 and i=0 si =
n 0i=0 i n+1
( i=0 si ) + sn+1 , similarly for the product: i=0 si = s0 and i=0 si =
n
( i=0 si ) · sn+1 .
ˇ “* Example 22 In music, natural arithmetic is basic. One may add numbers

of instruments. One also has to calculate times—for example, after 28 quavers,
one has to solve the equation 28 + x = 40 to know how many quavers are
necessary to add up to 40 quavers. The duration of a concert is calculated by
adding the durations of the concert’s movements. If we have measures that
consist of eight quavers, how long is the rest in a measure after 5 quavers? One
has to solve the equation 5 + x = 8. All such natural operations are elementary
but indispensable for any precise information about natural numbers in music.
9
Euclid and Normal Forms
Summary. Romans used letters to denote natural numbers. Language of mod-

ern computers utilizes binary representation. Here we describe different ways
to represent natural numbers, ending the chapter with an important theorem
about prime numbers, already known to Euclid (300 BC).
–Σ–
This chapter deals with standard representations of natural numbers. The
most important theorem, due to Euclid, is this one:
Theorem 8 (Division Theorem) If a, b ∈ N with b = 0, then there is a

unique pair r, q ∈ N with r < b, and such that
a = q · b + r.
Proof 5 The proof is by induction on a. For a = 0 it is trivial. So let a = b + 1.

Suppose we have r , q such that b = q · b + r with r < b. Then a = b + 1 =
q · b + r + 1. If r + 1 < b we are done, else r + 1 = b, and we may set
q = q + 1, r = 0 and we are done.
This means that one can now define uniquely that remainder r < b after
division by b.
ˇ “*
Example 23 When dealing with pitch in semitone units, as typically real-
ized by the keys of a piano, and which is quantified by natural numbers, one
considers octaves between pitches, which means that one adds multiples of 12
semitones. In music theory, one often doesn’t deal with pitch, but with pitch up
to octaves. This corresponds to the situation in the Division Theorem, where
b = 12. For a given pitch a one then wants to know the non-negative remain-
der after adding up octaves. This means that one has to solve the equation
a = q · 12 + r in the Division Theorem. The remainder r is the called the pitch
class (number) of pitch a. For example, if a = 27, one gets 27 = 2 · 12 + 3,

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_9
86 9 Euclid and Normal Forms
yielding pitch class 3. The Division Theorem guarantees that this class number
is uniquely defined. The ability to define pitch classes is a consequence of this
theorem. Our previous usage of a 12-element pitch-class set P12 is based on
this technique.
Theorem 9 Let a, b ∈ N with b > 1 and a = 0. Then there are unique natural
numbers c, s, r with 0 < s < b and r < bc such that
a = s · bc + r.
The proof is similar to the preceding one, so we omit it. The next theorem
is the well-known representation of natural numbers using a “basis” number,
usually known for decimal numbers, i.e., b = 10. Let us first state the theorem:
Theorem 10 (Adic Normal Form) Let a, b ∈ N with b > 1 and a = 0. Then

there exists a unique sequence s0 , s1 , . . . sn of natural numbers, all si < b and
sn = 0 such that
n
a= s i bi ,
i=0
and we write a =b sn sn−1 , . . . s0 . The number b is called the basis of the repre-
sentation that is also called b-adic or b-ary.
For the decimal representation, we define the first numbers as usual:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4 = 3 + 1, 5 = 4 + 1, 6 = 5 + 1, 7 = 6 + 1, 8 = 7 + 1, 9 = 8 + 1, Z = 9 + 1.
Then we have the decimal representation for b = Z and 0 ≤ si < Z. For exam-
ple, 123 means 1 · Z 2 + 2 · Z 1 + 3 · Z 0 . The decimal representation is omnipresent
in any context, where natural numbers have to be written in a precise and
standardized way.
For b = 2 we have the binary representation where 0 ≤ si ≤ 1. Here
1100111 means 1 · 26 + 1 · 25 + 0 · 24 + 0 · 23 + 1 · 22 + 1 · 21 + 1 · 20 . This
representation is chosen for digital technology, for example when representing
numbers for amplitudes, times, etc., in sound representation.
The hexadecimal representation takes b =Z 16. We then have to rename
the numbers up to (decimal) 15, i.e., A = 10, B = 11, C = 12, D = 13, E =
14, F = 15. For example, x =Z 41663 =Hex A2BF = Ab3 + 2b2 + Bb1 + F b0 =2
1010001010111111. The hexadecimal representation is used in the MIDI code
for production, management, and storage of musical performance.
9.1 The Infinity of Prime Numbers

The Division Theorem has an interesting consequence relating to prime num-
bers.
Definition 26 A natural number p > 1 is prime if p = 1 · p = p · 1 is the only

way to write it as a product of two natural numbers.
9.1 The Infinity of Prime Numbers 87
It is clear by induction that every natural number > 1 is the product of

a finite number of prime numbers.
It is a classical result of number theory that goes back to Euclid:
Theorem 11 The set of prime numbers is infinite.
Proof 6 The proof runs as follows. Suppose there are only finitely many prime
∼
numbers. Then we may enumerate their set P by p : n → P ⊂ N. We consider
the number N = i<n p(i) + 1. This one must be a product of prime numbers,
and let p(i0 ) be one of them. Then we have the representation N = q·p(i0 )+1 =
q · p(i0 ) = q · p(i0 ) + 0. We have 0, 1 < p(i0 ). But this is impossible, because
the remainder r in the division theorem cannot be 0 and 1 at the same time,
and we are done.
10
Integers
Summary. Summer temperatures in Minnesota are around 30 Celsius, while

in winter they go down to -30 Celsius. The first one is a natural number, and
the second one is the same natural number with a minus sign. Both belong
to the set of integer numbers (integers). We introduce these numbers to solve
equations of type a + x = b not only for a ≤ b, but also in the case of a > b. The
arithmetics developed so far for natural numbers will be extended to integers.
–Σ–
The extension of the arithmetic of natural numbers to integers, rational,
real, and complex numbers follows a general philosophy: To solve a problem
in mathematics, you have to take the problematic structures and use them to
construct the solution. In short: “The problem is the solution.”
Integers are constructed to solve the following problem. We had seen in
Sorite 3, statement (xvi), that for a ≤ b, the equation a + x = b has exactly
one solution x. But if a > b, no solution is possible in natural numbers. Here
is the problem: Such simple equations that may not have solutions in natural
numbers.
Take two such equations with the same (hypothetical) solution x:
a+x = b
c+x = d
Then, by adding c to the first and a to the second equation, we get
c+a+x = c+b
a+c+x = a+d
The left sides are equal, meaning that c+b = a+d. This leads to an equivalence
relation among (the coefficients of) equations, namely that (a, b) ∼ (c, d) iff
c + b = a + d. That this relation is an equivalence relation on N × N is an easy
exercise. This leads to the definition of integers. Their set is defined by
Z = N × N/ ∼ .

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90 10 Integers
ˇ “* Example 24 Musical intervals are often not natural numbers. For example,
one may want to know the interval between pitch 9 and pitch 7. This leads to
the equation 9 + x = 7. One may also want to know the interval between pitch
11 and pitch 9. According to the above equivalence relation we calculate the
cross sums 9 + 9 and 7 + 11. Both add to 18, which means that the equations
have one and the same non-natural solution x. Integers are invented to deal
with exactly this new type of solution. We shall see in a moment, that this
solution is denoted by −2, a “negative” interval number.
Let us see how we may represent integers by pairs (a, b) of natural num-
bers. If [a, b] ∈ Z with b ≤ a, then we have a solution x of b + x = a, and we
have [a, b] = [x, 0], and no other [x , 0] does the job. If a ≤ b, then we have a
solution x of a + x = b, and we have [a, b] = [0, x], and no other [0, x ] does the
job. Further, [x, 0] = [0, y] iff x = y = 0. Therefore the integers [a, b] ∈ Z with
b ≤ a are represented by natural numbers x, via [x, 0]. This defines injection
N Z : a → [a, 0]. We write −b for the integer [0, b], b = 0, and call such an
integer a negative integer, while the images of N are called natural numbers
or positive or (when including the zero number) non-negative integers. For a
negative integer z = −b, the positive integer b is called its absolute value, which
is denoted by |z|. For a non-negative integer z the absolute value is that same
number |z| = z. For any integer z = [a, b], we more generally define its negative
by −z = [b, a].
10.1 Arithmetic of Integers

Addition of integers is defined coordinate-wise by [a, b] + [c, d] = [a + c, b +
d]. It is a good exercise to show that this definition does not depend on the
representatives (a, b), (c, d) of integers. We then write a − b for a + (−b).
Sorite 4 Let Z be provided with the addition + : Z × Z → Z, and let a, b, c be

any integers. Then we have these properties.
(i)(Associativity) (a + b) + c = a + (b + c) = a + b + c.
(ii)(Commutativity) a + b = b + a.
(iii)(Additive neutral element) a + 0 = a.
(iv) (Additive inverse element) a − a = 0.
(v) (Extension of natural arithmetic) If a, b ∈ N, then [a + b, 0] = [a, 0] + [b, 0],
i.e., it amounts to the same if we add two natural numbers a, b or the
corresponding non-negative integers, also denoted by a, b.
(vi) (Solution of equations) The equation a + x = b in the “unknown” x has
exactly one integer number solution x, i.e., x = b − a.
We have a linear ordering on Z by the definition a ≤ b iff b − a ∈ N, see also
Figure 10.1.
10.1 Arithmetic of Integers 91
Fig. 10.1. The set of integers Z extends the set of natural numbers N and can be
represented on a line that extends infinitely to the left and to the right.
It is also possible to extend the multiplication operation defined on N to

the integers. The definition is again one by representatives of equivalence classes
[a, b]. To understand the definition, we first observe that a class [a, b] is equal
to the difference a − b of natural numbers with the above identification. In fact,
[a, b] = [a, 0] + [0, b] = a + (−b) = a − b. If we want to extend the arithmetic on
the natural numbers, we should try to observe the hoped for and given rules
to thereby get the extension. We should have [a, b] · [c, d] = (a − b) · (c − d) =
ac + bd − ad − bc = [ac + bd, ad + bc]. This motivates the following definition:
Definition 27 Given two integers [a, b], [c, d], their product is defined by [a, b] ·
[c, d] = [ac + bd, ad + bc].
Check again that this function is well defined.
Sorite 5 Let a, b, c be three integers. We have these rules for their multiplica-
tion.
(i) (Associativity) (a · b) · c = a · (b · c) = a · b · c.
(ii) (Commutativity) a · b = b · a.
(iii) (Multiplicative neutral element) The element 1 = [1, 0] is neutral for mul-
tiplication, a · 1 = a.
(iv) (Zero and negative multiplication) a · 0 = 0, a · (−b) = −(a · b).
(v) (Distributivity) a · (b + c) = a · b + a · c.
(vi) (Integrity) If a, b = 0, then a · b = 0.
(vii) (Additive monotony) If a < b, then a + c < b + c.
(viii) (Multiplicative monotony) If a < b and 0 < c, then a · c < b · c.
(ix) (Extension of natural arithmetic) For two natural numbers a, b, we have
[a · b, 0] = [a, 0] · [b, 0]. This allows complete identification of naturals as a
subdomain of the integers, if we look at addition and multiplication.
(x) (Triangular inequality) We have |a + b| ≤ |a| + |b|.
The concept of a prime number is extended to integers by the definition
that a ∈ Z is prime iff |a| is so in the set of natural numbers.
92 10 Integers
ˇ “* Example 25 Integer arithmetic allows for unrestricted operations on inte-

ger representations of musical parameters, such as pitch or onset times (Figure
10.2).
A first operation on integers is transposition. Given an integer t ∈ Z, one
considers the function of transposition by t, denoted by T t . It is the function
T t : Z → Z : a → T t (a) = t + a. In view of property (vi) in Sorite 5, T t is a
bijection on Z.
A second operation on integers is inversion. Inversion is also a bijection on
Z and is denoted by T−t . It is defined by T−t (a) = t − a. Clearly, T−t ◦ T−t = IdZ .
It has a fixpoint, i.e., T−t (a) = a iff t = 2a is a multiple of 2, i.e., an even
integer. If t is not even, that is, it’s odd, there is no fixpoint. For example, if
we want to define an inversion with fixpoint a = 73 (also called inversion at
73) we have to take the inversion T−146 .
Fig. 10.2. Transposition and inversion on integers.

11
Rationals
Summary. In Latin, ratio means rapport, division of two things. Here we

introduce rational numbers ab as fractions of two integer numbers a and b. This
procedure allows us to solve equations of type a·x = b with a = 0. Our strategy
again follows the philosophy that the problem is the solution.
–Σ–
The philosophy of finding the solution in the problem is also valid for the
construction of rational numbers. This time we consider equations of type a·x =
b, where a = 0. For integers, this may not have a solution, e.g., 2 · x = 3. Again,
we look at two such indexequationequations having the same (hypothetical)
solution:
a·x = b
c·x = d
and then multiply the first by c and the second by a to get
c·a·x = c·b
a·c·x = a·d
with identical left side, so c · b = a · d. This defines an equivalence relation

among the equations’ coefficients: (b, a) ∼ (d, c) iff c · b = a · d. Check this as
an exercise. This defines the set Q of rational numbers by
Q = Z × Z∗ / ∼
where Z∗ = Z − {0}. We denote the equivalence class [b, a] by b/a or ab and call
b the numerator and a the denominator of the fraction ab . Observe that for any
s = 0, we have ab = s·a
s·b
.
The integers can be embedded in the rationals by the injection
a
Z Q : a → .
1

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_11
94 11 Rationals
The linear ordering on integers can be extended to rationals by the following

rule: If ab , dc ∈ Q, we can always suppose a = c > 0 by multiplication of
numerators and denominators by the other fraction’s denominators, or negative
denominators: ab = c·a , c = a·d
c·b d
a·c . Suppose this, then we define a < a (for a > 0)
b d
iff b < d.
ˇ “*
Example 26 In music, rationals are very important. Let us look at some
basic examples of the use of rationals in the musical domain. For the classical
score notation, the horizontal axis represents onset time and durations of notes.
This musical time is not the physical dimension, but it is a symbolic time. It
is only interpreted in physical units when one adds rules for the shaping of
tempo. We come back to the topic of tempo in Chapter 32. For the time being
we only want to look at the symbolic time that is denoted on the score. In this
environment, onset time is divided into equal portions, called measures. The
duration of such measures is indicated at their beginning with a time signature.
Typical time signatures are shown in Figure 11.1.
Fig. 11.1. Three typical time signatures.
Time signatures look like rational numbers: They have a numerator and
a denominator. For example, the left time signature in Figure 11.1 resembles
the rational 44 . The middle time signature resembles rational 34 , while the right
signature resembles rational 68 . However, these symbols are not rationals but
are representatives for rationals.
We know that 34 = 68 mathematically, but their musical meaning is more
than this. See again Figure 11.1. You can see that the first measure consists
of two half notes, while the second one consists of two quarter notes and two
quarter rests. Each of these durations add up to 44 , as shown by the small
cross symbols denoting four “beats” in each measure. Look at the other two
time signatures in Figure 11.1. The denominators 4 and 8 designate the "beat"
durations in their respective measures. Notice the pattern of cross symbols
(eighths) above the measures. While the 34 signature is divided into three groups
6
of two cross symbols, the signature 8
shows a division into two three-cross
3
groups. Simple meters such as divide their beats into two equal parts as
4
shown in Figure 11.1, left and middle examples. In compound meters, as shown
in Figure 11.1, right example, the dotted quarter beat is not divided in two, but
into three notes. The time signature 68 indicates a total number of six quavers.
There are two dotted quarter beats, each one comprising three quavers, for a
11 Rationals 95
total of six. Figure 11.2 shows three examples of 34 as compared with 68 measures
in the literature.
Fig. 11.2. Examples of 6/8 against 3/4 measures: (a) Mi votu e mi rivotu, Sicilian
traditional song, (b) America, from West Side Story, by Leonard Bernstein (in the
original score, the time signature was a mixed one, showing both signatures at the
beginning of this two-measure unit), (c) An der schönen blauen Donau, by Johann
Strauss. The sound example is 3_4.
Mathematically, this may be insignificant as long as no other musical

parameters to the notes, such as attack or loudness, the two measures sound
different. In Figure 11.3, a famous example of a fast-changing time signature
construction from Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring is shown.

Fig. 11.3. Complex time signature construction from Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.
The sound example is Stravinsky.
The solution of an equation of type a · x = b is crucial in music. One is

typically given a duration b and wants to play it as a sequence of a durations.
Then these durations are the solution x. This is the procedure applied when
96 11 Rationals
defining tuplets in the score notation. Figure 11.4 shows a 4/4 measure that is
4 4
divided into 7 equal durations, each of which is 4·7 = 28 . Musical score notation
uses note durations from the standard repertory of half, quarter, eighth notes,
etc. (their durations are powers of 12 ), but indicates by the tuplet number (7
here) how their duration should be interpreted.

Fig. 11.4. The measure in time signature 4/4 is divided into a septuplet (seven
equal durations). The second measure is not complete. The sound example is
rhythm_Rationals.
11.1 Arithmetic of Rationals

We now ease notation by writing products xy instead of x · y. Addition and
multiplication of integers can be extended to rationals as follows:
Definition 28 Let b d
a, c ∈ Q. Then their sum is defined by
b d bc + ad
+ = ,
a c ac
while their product is defined by
bd bd
= .
ac ac
√
Exercise 13 Verify that these operations are well defined (independent
of the representatives) and that this arithmetic extends the arithmetic of the
integers under the above injection Z Q.
Let us denote this by the formula (Z, +, ·) (Q, +, ·), which will be
explained in detail in Chapter 24. We define the absolute value of a rational
number ab by
b
= |b|
a |a|
11.1 Arithmetic of Rationals 97
ˇ “* Example 27 Addition of rational numbers is a frequent operation in music,

especially when adding the duration of tuplets, which can be complex configu-
rations of time. This situation is encountered in many Western compositions,
e.g., in the complex scores of Brian Ferneyhough (see Figure 11.5) or in jazz
compositions, such as Footprints by saxophonist Wayne Shorter, or, without
corresponding score notation, in African traditions of polyrhythms. For exam-
ple, it may happen that one has to add 35 to 67 , which yields 35 + 67 = 21 30 51
35 + 35 = 35 .
Fig. 11.5. Score example for complex time structures from Brian Ferneyhough’s
Third String Quartet.
And here is a summary of important properties of rational arithmetics:
a c e
Sorite 6 Let b , d, f be rational numbers. Then these rules hold.
(Additive associativity) ( ab + dc ) + fe = ab + ( dc + fe ) = ab + dc + fe .
(i)
(Additive commutativity) ab + dc = dc + ab .
(ii)
(Additive neutral element) ab + 01 = ab .
(iii)
(iv)(Additive inverse element) ab + −a b = 1.
0
(v)(Multiplicative associativity) ( b · d ) · f = ab · ( dc · fe ) = ab · dc · fe .
a c e
(vi)(Multiplicative commutativity) ab · dc = dc · ab .
(vii)(Multiplicative neutral element) ab · 11 = ab .
(viii)(Multiplicative inverse element) If b = 0, then ab · ab = 11 .
(ix)(Distributivity) ab · ( dc + fe ) = ab · dc + ab · fe .
(x)(Linear ordering) The relation < among rational numbers is a linear or-
dering. Its restriction to the integers a1 induces the given linear ordering
among integers.
(xi) (Additive monotony) If ab < dc , then ab + fe < dc + fe .
98 11 Rationals
(xii) (Multiplicative monotony) If ab < dc and 01 < fe , then ab · fe < dc · fe .

(xiii) (Archimedean ordering) For any two positive rational numbers ab , dc there
is a natural number n such that n1 · ab > dc .
(xiv) (Solution of equations) The equation ab · x = dc has a unique solution for
b = 0.
a
(xv) (Triangular inequality) | ab + dc | ≤ | ab | + | dc |.

12
Real Numbers
Summary. We have used the philosophy of the problem being the solution to
construct integer and rational numbers when dealing with equations of type
a + x = b or a · x = b. But there are many other equations, especially dealing
with approximations in music theory, that cannot be solved with Z or Q. In
this chapter we apply the above philosophy to find solutions of such problems,
namely the real numbers.
–Σ–
The geometric problem of finding the length l of the diagonal of a square
with side length 1 leads us to the Pythagorean equation l2 = 12 + 12 = 2.
Suppose that l = pq ∈ Q, and suppose that p, q have no common prime factor.
2
Then we have l2 = pq2 = 2, hence the equation 2q 2 = p2 of integers. But (this is
the theorem about uniqueness of prime factorization, to be proved in Chapter
25) the factor 2 on the left side implies that p = 2p . But then 2q 2 = p2 = 4p2 ,
so q 2 = 2p2 . Therefore, for the same reason, q = 2q , which contradicts the
absence of common prime factors of p, q. Hence the diagonal equation has no
rational solution. A fortiori the equation s12 = 2 has no rational solution.
Otherwise s6 would solve the diagonal equation.
This latter equation is crucial in music theory: s is the frequency ratio
between successive semitone steps of the 12-tempered octave tuning. In fact, if
the frequency ratio from a pitch x to pitch y is r, and the ratio from y to z is
w, then the frequency ratio from x to z is r · w. Therefore, if all semitone steps
have equal frequency ratio s, the octave, having frequency ratio 2, and being
built from 12 equal semitone steps, must have frequency ratio 2 = s12 . Refer
to our Chapter 2 on the history of mathematics in music, where the invention
of 12-tempered octave tuning by Zaiyu Zhu is described in Section 2.4.
The situation is not hopeless, however, since despite the non-existence of
solutions in Q, we can still approximate solutions by rational numbers. Here
is the procedure for the diagonal equation l2 = 2. Take the largest integer
s0 = 1 such that s20 < 2, and then the smallest integer S0 = 2 such that

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_12
100 12 Real Numbers
2 < S02 . Then split this interval [s0 , S0 ] = {x|x ∈ Q, s0 ≤ x ≤ S0 } in the

middle, getting (s0 + S0 )/2 = 3/2. Now check whether (3/2)2 < 2. This is
wrong, so switch to the new interval [s1 = s0 , S1 = 3/2]. Again, split this
interval in its middle 5/4 and check the size of (5/4)2 . It is smaller than 2,
so move to the third interval [s2 = 5/4, S2 = S1 ]. This procedure yields a
sequence S0 , S1 , . . . Si , Si+1 , . . . of rational numbers that approximate with ar-
bitrary precision the diagonal size, without ever reaching it. There are many
such sequences of rationals that remain limited without ever reaching their
1 i+1
“limit,” e.g., the sequence xi = (1 + i+1 ) , i ≥ 0. It approaches the famous
non-rational Euler number 2.718281828459 . . ..
ˇ “*
Example 28 The above approximation of a solution of l2 = 2 should be
interpreted in musical terms. It is an open question whether one can invent
a practical musical realization, if possible with lengths of strings, of this ap-
proximation. We have the following calculations: Given two frequencies x, y.
These correspond to string lengths lx = 1/x, ly = 1/y. The middle frequency
m = x+y2 corresponds to the length
lx ly
lm =
(lx + ly )/2
which is not really a simple construction out of lx , ly in terms of mechanical
manipulations, except for the denominator.
ˇ “*
Example 29 Another example of real numbers in music is given by glis-
sando. A glissando is a very fast performance of the notes between a starting
and an ending point. n the score, usually only the first and last notes are in-
dicated, together with a connecting line. While a glissando on piano implies
discrete frequencies, a glissando on a violin, for example, is “continuous” be-
cause on strings continuous frequency values can be performed. The movement
of a glissando is thought to glide through all real numbers between initial and
final pitch. The idea of a continuity is delicate, however, since the rational num-
bers are also “dense”—between any two rational numbers there is an infinity of
rational numbers1 . We come back to these now mysterious concepts of density
and continuity when discussing questions of tuning systems in Chapter 28 and
continuity in Chapter 30.
We now see that we have identified the problematic objects. They are
sequences (xi )I∈N of rational numbers that are in some sense limited. The
philosophy now applies: We shall use such sequences to construct the set R of
real numbers.
Definition 29 A Cauchy sequence of rational numbers is a sequence (ai )i∈N ∈

QN with the following property: For every positive natural number L, there is
1
But also, between any two rational numbers there is an infinity of non-rational real
numbers.
12 Real Numbers 101
a natural number N such that whenever m, n > N , we have |an − am | < 1/L.
The set of Cauchy sequences is denoted by C.
√
Example 7 Constant sequences of rational numbers are Cauchy. The se-
1
quence ( i+1 )i is Cauchy. If (ai )i is Cauchy, then so is (a+ai )i for every rational
number a.
ˇ “* Example 30 The Fibonacci numbers are a fixpoint sequence
F ixrF ibonacci = (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, . . .)
of a recursive function and were defined in Musical Example 20. The frac-
tions F (i) = F ixrF ibonacci ,i+1 /F ixrF ibonacci ,i of rational numbers are a Cauchy
sequence. They are used to define a real number g = 1.6180339887 . . . (real
numbers are to be defined below), known as √the golden ratio. It can also be
represented as an explicit real number g = 1+2 5 (the existence of nth roots is
discussed in Chapter 13). This number is the solution of the geometric problem
of constructing a rectangle with sides a, a + b such that
a a+b
= ,
b a
see Figure 12.1. This means that the ratio of the longer side a + b to the shorter
a is the same as the ratio of the shorter a to the remainder b = (a + b) − a.
The ratio turns out to be g. This problem of ratios was first discussed by the
mathematician and cosmologist Johannes Kepler in 1597. Apart from being an
artistic principle of constructing aesthetically pleasing ratios, the golden ratio
is present in many biological and physical contexts. The golden ratio has also
been used in compositions of Karlheinz Stockhausen and Gérard Grisey. See
also [64] for more information about Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio.
Fig. 12.1. The golden ratio is the solution of the geometric problem of constructing
a rectangle with sides a, a + b such that ab = a+b
a
.
102 12 Real Numbers
Definition 30 A sequence (ai )i∈N ∈ QN is said to converge to a rational num-

ber a iff for every positive natural number L, there is a natural number N such
that whenever n > N , we have |an − a| < 1/L.
Lemma 7 If a sequence (ai )i ∈ QN converges to a rational number a, then it

is Cauchy.
The proof is an easy exercise. We would like to “forget” about the se-
quences that converge to zero. These are called zero sequences, and their set is
denoted by O. We now want to define arithmetic operations on C and then use
them to define real numbers.
Definition 31 Let (ai )i , (bi )i ∈ QN . We set
(ai )i + (bi )i = (ai + bi )i

(ai )i · (bi )i = (ai bi )i
Proposition 9 (Zero sequences are an ideal)

(i) If (ai )i , (bi )i ∈ C, then (ai )i + (bi )i and (ai )i · (bi )i are in C.
(ii) If (ai )i , (bi )i ∈ O, then (ai )i + (bi )i ∈ O.
(iii) If (ai )i ∈ C and (bi )i ∈ O, then (ai )i · (bi )i ∈ O.
The fact that O is closed under addition, and that any product of a zero
sequence with a Cauchy sequence is a zero sequence are important properties
that we shall discuss in Chapter 24, and which are the reason O is called an
ideal in C.
Lemma 8 On C, the relation (ai )i R(bi )i iff (ai )i − (bi )i ∈ O is an equivalence

relation.
Proof 7 Reflexivity and symmetry are trivial. Transitivity results as follows.

Let (ai )i R(bi )i and (bi )i R(ci )i . Then we have |ai − ci | = |ai − bi + bi − ci | ≤
|ai −bi |+|bi −ci | ≤ 1/2L+1/2L = 1/L for i > N such that both |ai −bi | < 1/2L,
and |bi − ci | < 1/2L.
Definition 32 The set of real numbers is defined using the above equivalence
relation R:
R = C/R.
And here is a more concrete description of the equivalence classes that
define real numbers:
Lemma 9 If [(ai )i ] ∈ R, then we have
[(ai )i ] = (ai )i + O = {(ai )i + (zi )i |(zi )i ∈ O}.
This representation is called the O-coset of (ai )i .

12 Real Numbers 103
We have a canonical injection Q R that sends a rational number a to

the constant Cauchy sequence coset [(a)i ] = (a)i + O = {(a + zi )i |(zi )i ∈ O}.
And we can now also extend addition and multiplication to real numbers in a
very straightforward way: If [(ai )i ], [(bi )i ] ∈ R, we set
[(ai )i ] + [(bi )i ] = [(ai + bi )i ]

[(ai )i ] · [(bi )i ] = [(ai bi )i ],
which means that we use the arithmetic on Cauchy sequences and simply
“project” it to the O-cosets. This is a standard procedure in algebra, which
we shall study in Chapter 24.
√
Exercise 14 Give a proof of fact that these arithmetic operations are well
defined.
The arithmetic properties of these operations on R are:
Sorite 7 Let x, y, z be real numbers.

(i) (Additive associativity) (x + y) + z = x + (y + z) = x + y + z.
(ii) (Additive commutativity) x + y = y + x.
(iii) (Additive neutral element) The rational zero 0 is also neutral on the reals,
x + 0 = x.
(iv) (Additive inverse element) x + (−x) = 0.
(v) (Multiplicative associativity) (x · y) · z = x · (y · z) = x · y · z.
(vi) (Multiplicative commutativity) x · y = y · x.
(vii) (Multiplicative neutral element) The rational unity 1 is also neutral on the
reals, x · 1 = x.
(viii) (Multiplicative inverse element) If x = 0, then there is exactly one multi-
plicative inverse x−1 , i.e., x · x−1 = 1. More precisely, there exists in this
case a Cauchy sequence (ai )i representing x and such that ai = 0 for all i,
and we may represent x−1 by the Cauchy sequence (a−1 i )i .
(ix) (Distributivity) x · (y + z) = x · y + x · z.
(x) If a, b, c are real numbers such that a = 0, then the equation ax + b = c has
exactly one solution x.
This means that we have “saved” the algebraic properties of Q to R. But
we wanted more than that. Let us first look for the linear ordering structure
on R.
Definition 33 A real number x = (ai )i + O is called positive iff there is a

positive rational number 0 < ε such that ε < ai for all i but a finite set of
indexes. This property is well defined. We set x < y for two real numbers x, y
iff y − x is positive. In particular, x is positive iff 0 < x.
104 12 Real Numbers
Proposition 10 The relation < on R from Definition 33 defines a linear or-

dering. The set R is the disjoint union of the subset R+ of positive real numbers,
the subset R− = −R+ = {−x|x ∈ R+ } of negative real numbers, and the sin-
gleton set {0}. We have
(i) R+ + R+ = {x + y|x, y ∈ R+ } = R+ .
(ii) R+ · R+ = {x · y|x, y ∈ R+ } = R+ .
(iii) R− + R− = {x + y|x, y ∈ R− } = R− .
(iv) R− · R− = {−x · −y|x, y ∈ R+ } = R+ .
(v) R+ + R− = {x − y|x, y ∈ R+ } = R.
(vi) R+ · R− = {−x · y|x, y ∈ R+ } = R− .
(vii) (Monotony of addition) If x, y, z are real numbers with x < y, then x + z <
y + z.
(viii) (Monotony of multiplication) If x, y, z are real numbers with x < y and
0 < z, then xz < yz.
(ix) (Archimedean property) If x, y are positive real numbers, there is a natural
number N such that y < N x.
(x) (Density of rationals) If 0 < ε is a positive real number, then there is a
rational number ρ with 0 < ρ < ε.
Definition 34 The absolute value |a| of a real number a is a if it is non-

negative, and −a if a is negative.
Proposition 11 (Triangular Inequality) If a, b are two real numbers, then

we have the triangular inequality:
|a + b| ≤ |a| + |b|.
We now have a completely general convergence criterion on R. But first,

we have to define convergence on R, using the concept of convergence of rational
sequences.
Definition 35 A sequence (ai )i of real numbers is said to converge to a real

number a iff for every real ε > 0, there is an index N such that n > N implies
|an − a| < ε. Clearly, convergence can only take place for one a, and therefore
we denote convergence by limi→∞ ai = a.
The sequence (ai )i is Cauchy iff for every real number ε > 0, there is a
natural number N such that n, m > N implies that |an − am | < ε.
Theorem 12 (Convergence on R) A sequence (ai )i of real numbers con-

verges iff it is Cauchy.
This result leads to a huge number of existence theorems of special num-

bers. We just mention one particularly important situation.
12 Real Numbers 105
Corollary 2 (Existence of Suprema) If A is a bounded, non-empty set,

i.e., there is an upper bound b ∈ R such that b > a for all a ∈ A (in short:
b > A), then there is a uniquely determined supremum or least upper bound
s = sup(A), i.e., an upper bound s ≥ A such that for all t < s, there is a ∈ A
with a > t.
√
Exercise 15 Give a proof of this corollary.
13
Roots, Logarithms, and Normal Forms
Summary. Corollary 2 in Chapter 12 is crucial for the construction of some

important structures for real numbers, such as general roots and logarithms.
These are introduced in this chapter. We also discuss musical applications to
pitch theory.
–Σ–
13.1 Roots, and Logarithms

Theorem 13 (Existence of nth Roots) Let a ≥ 0 be a real number and n a
positive natural number. Then there exists a unique non-negative real√number
x such that xn = a. We call x the nth root of a and denote it by x = n a or by
a1/n .
Proof 8 The proof uses Corollary 2. Consider the set A = {q|q ∈ R AND q n <
a}. It is limited from above since we can show that (a + 1)n > a. For the
supremum sup(A), which exists by Corollary 2, it is easily seen that sup(A)n =
a.
√ √
n √ √
Exercise 16 Show that for real numbers a, b ≥ 0, we have ab = n
a n b.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_13
108 13 Roots, Logarithms, and Normal Forms
ˇ “* Example 31 The existence of nth roots is the basis of many tuning systems
in music. We have already discussed the case of the 12-tempered tuning, where
the √ octave frequency ratio 2 is divided into 12 equal frequency ratios of size
12
2 ≈ 1.059463094359295 . . . For microtonal tunings—for example, quarter-
√
tone or 24-tempered tuning, one needs the quarter-tone frequency ratio 24 2 ≈
1.029302236643492 . . . The quarter-tone piano of Czech composer and theorist
Fig. 13.2. Alois Hába and his

Fig. 13.1. Jin Pang and his erhu.
quarter-tone piano.
Fig. 13.4. Clavemusicum Omni-

Fig. 13.3. Reproduction of the
tonum Modulis Diatonicis Cromati-
archicembalo described by Nicola
cis et Enarmonicis, a harpsichord
Vicentino in 1555. This harpsichord
by Vito Trasuntino of Venice. It has
had 36 pitches per octave.
31 pitches per octave.
Alois Hába (Figure 13.2), the archicembalo (Figures 13.3, 13.4) or the Chinese
erhu (Figure 13.1) string instrument have realized such microtonal tunings.
13.1 Roots, and Logarithms 109
Hába has also written interesting string quartets for quarter-tone, fifth-tone,
and sixth-tone temperaments. Many composers from different cultures have
written and played compositions for microtonal tunings.
Definition 36 We define rational exponents xq , q ∈ Q, for 0 < x as follows:

Set x0 = 1, then for negative integers −n, x−n = 1/xn , then for q = n/m ∈ Q,
xn/m = (x1/m )n . This definition is independent of the representation q = n/m.
√
Exercise 17 Show that for two rational numbers p, q, and positive real
numbers x, y, we have xp+q = xp xq , xpq = (xp )q , and (xy)p = xp y p .
To define real exponents al = x for x > 0, a > 0, consider the set
A = {q|q ∈ Q AND aq < x}.
This set is bounded from above. Its supremum is defined to be the logarithm
of x for basis a, denoted by loga (x), see Figure 13.5. It is the supremum of all
Fig. 13.5. The logarithm function for a = 10.
rational exponents q that yield a power aq < x, so the logarithm is a kind of

real exponent: aloga (x) = x. It defines a function loga : R+ → R, and by its
very definition, it has the characteristic property that for two positive numbers
x, y, we have
loga (xy) = loga (x) + loga (y).
ˇ “*
Example 32 The selection of admissible musical pitches (also known as
tunings) is a major topic in the construction of musical instruments and in
music theory. For string instruments, any conceivable pitch can be played within
the range of the instrument, but for keyboards, only a discrete subset of pitches
is available (see also Figure 30.1). In music theory, the totality of possible
pitches is not conceived.
Fig. 13.6. A time-periodic pressure variation, here a sinusoidal function, is respon-

sible for our perception of pitch.
But what is pitch? In physics, sounds with a determined pitch are gener-
ated by a variation of the air pressure p(t) (in pascals, where one pascal (Pa)
is the force of one Newton per square meter N/m2 ) as a function of time t (in
seconds (sec), say) that shows periodicity, i.e., it repeats its shape after a time
period P . Figure 13.6 shows a sinusoidal function of pressure variation around
the average air pressure 101325 P a. The frequency of a pressure function is
defined to be f = 1/P if P is the time period, and the frequency unit is Hertz,
Hz = 1/sec. For example, the chamber a in music is frequently (but not always,
some regions have slightly different standards) associated with 440 Hz.
However, humans don’t perceive frequency as such. It is the logarithm
P itch(f ) = log(f ) that our brain perceives as pitch1 . This law is called the
Weber-Fechner law. For example, if we are given a pitch P itch(fc ) = log(fc ), say
of middle c on a piano, then the octave c of this pitch has the double frequency
2fc . This translates to the logarithmic equation P itch(2fc ) = log(2) + log(fc ).
In other words, going up one octave means adding the constant log(2) to the
given pitch. This is the reason why the distance between keys an octave apart
1
In psychoacoustics, the pitch number is defined by a slightly different formula,
namely P itch(f ) = log1200(2) log10 (f ) + v. The factor log1200(2) is chosen such that the
10 10
octave is divided into 1200 units. In fact, log1200(2) log10 (2) = 1200. The pitch unit
10
that is defined by this formula is called Cent (Ct). So the octave is divided into 12
times 100 Cents, which means that each semitone is divided into 100 Cents—hence
the name “Cent”.
13.2 Adic Representations 111
on the piano is constant. If the keyboard had to represent frequency differences,

octaves would be separated more and more as the keys go to the right. From
c to c we have 2fc − fc = fc , but for c we have 4fc − 2fc = 2fc , double the
difference of the previous octave.
Musical tunings are defined by mathematical formulas that specify ad-
missible pitches. √For example, 12-tempered tuning selects frequencies f of the
shape f = f0 · ( 12 2)p , p ∈ Z, f0 a basic frequency, with corresponding pitches
P itch(f ) = log(f0 ) + 12
p
log(2). Just tuning is defined by f = f0 · 2o 3q 5t , where
o, q, t ∈ Z, such that P itch(f ) = log(f0 ) + o log(2) + q log(3) + t log(5). This
construction stems from three basic traditional musical intervals, namely oc-
tave with frequency ratio 2 : 1, just fifth with 3 : 2, and just third with 5 : 4.
One may also make these interval ratios evident in the above formula, since
P itch(f ) = log(f0 )+o log(2)+q log(3)+t log(5) = log(f0 )+(o+q +2t) log(2)+
q log(3/2) + t log(5/4). Recall here our discussion of the Pythagorean theory in
section 2.1 that was based on the tetractys. For just tuning, one would have to
add a fifth row with five points. A generalization of both, tempered and just
tunings is given by the formula
f = f0 · 2o 3q 5t , o, q, t ∈ Q
which includes 12-tempered tuning for q = t = 0 and o = 12p

, p ∈ Z, while just
tuning takes integer exponents only, and Pythagorean tuning is just tuning with
t = 0. More general tunings involving higher prime numbers are also proposed
in music theory [113]. We shall discuss just tuning from a geometric point of
view in Chapter 28.
13.2 Adic Representations

The problem of real numbers is that despite their elegant construction, they
are difficult for humans to handle and impossible for computers, since infinite
sequences are not representable by finite machines. This is all the more com-
plicated since most real numbers have no simple rule that would describe their
defining Cauchy sequences. We come back to this observation at the end of this
chapter.
A construction that helps humans describe and calculate real numbers is
the adic representation, which generalizes the adic representation of natural
numbers described in Chapter 9. Recall that for a natural basis 1 < b and
a = 0, we could exhibit asequence a0 , a1 , . . . an , an = 0, of natural numbers
n
0 ≤ ai < b such that a = i=0 ai bi .
We now generalize this construction to a b-adic representation of real
numbers, taking, for an integer n, an infinite sequence (ai )i∈n] with 0 ≤ ai < b,
n] = {i|i ∈ Z AND i ≤ n}. We then look at partial sums

= ai bi = an bn +an−1 bn−1 +. . . a0 b0 +a−1 b−1 +. . . an−j bn−j .
j i=n,n−1,n−2,...n−j

Lemma 10 The sequence ( j )j converges to a real number i∈n] ai bi . If b is
known, it is also denoted by
an an−1 . . . a0 .a−1 . . .
for n ≥ 0 or
0.0 . . . an an−1 . . .
with an at the nth position to the right of the dot if n < 0.
Proof 9 The proof essentially consists of an estimation of the speed with which
the sum converges. The point can be made for b = 2 andassuming that all
coefficients are ai = 1. Then we have to consider the sums i=0,1,...j 2−j . But

this is the so-called classical geometric series: sj (x) = i=0,1,...j xj for x = 1/2.
j+1
One easily verifies that sj (x)x − xj+1 + 1 = sj (x), so sj (x) = 1−x
1−x . Taking
x = 1/2, we get sj (1/2) = 2(1 − (1/2)j+1 ), and this clearly converges to 2.
The number zero is denoted by 0 or 0.0. If aj = 0 eventually, we also write
an . . . a0 .a−1 . . . a−m
and, if the number is negative, we prepend a − and write
−an an−1 . . . a0 .a−1 . . .
Theorem 14 Every real number can be represented in this b-adic form for
any given basis b > 1. The rational numbers are precisely of the following type:
There is a sequence am , am−1 , . . . am−k such that their b-adic representation is
as follows:
an . . . a0 .a−1 . . . am+1 am am−1 . . . am−k
which means that the overlined sequence acts as a period that is repeated ad
infinitum to the right.
For example, if we have the period 2, 3 for the decimal representation, we
get for example such a number
1.23232323 . . .
This adic representation is nearly unique, but for every basis b, there is a
situation where some rational numbers have two representations. This happens
each time where we have a period b − 1 of length one, for example in the
decimal representation 0.1239. This number is the same real number as the
number 0.124.
Let us see why, and look at the simplest example of a decimal represen-
tation. Take x = 0.999999 . . . with period 9 of length one. This number x is
in fact equal to 1.0. Let us see their differences when we consider the defining
Cauchy sequences. For 1.0, its sequence is constant (1)i . For 0.999999 . . . we
have the sequence 0.9, 0.99, 0.999, . . . The differences of the members of these
sequences are 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, . . . which is a zero sequence, hence our claim.
14
Complex Numbers
Summary. Square roots of negative real numbers are not defined yet. We
introduce complex numbers to solve this problem. Essentially, we introduce an
imaginary number i, the square root of −1, and thereby add a new dimension
to the real numbers.
–Σ–
We can now solve equations of type ax + b = c for all a = 0, and we can
find points of convergence of all Cauchy sequences in R, but we cannot solve
all equations yet. It can be shown that one can also solve any equation of type
x3 + bx2 + cx + d = 0, but equations of type x2 + bx + c = 0 cannot be solved
in general. For example, the simple equation x2 + 1 = 0 has no solution in R
since x2 ≥ 0 for all real number x.
The problem now is types of equations with higher powers of the unknown
x. We shall see later in Chapter 24 that in fact, here again, the problem is
the solution. But this requires more structures than we have yet. Therefore,
we present a solution with less theory. The method we use now goes back to
the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855). He invented the
valid theory of complex numbers. Mathematicians had worked with solutions
of equations such as x2 + 2 = 0, but nobody figured out how to conceive such
strange numbers that would solve those equations. This is one reason they are
called “complex numbers”. Here is Gauss’ construction:
The set of complex numbers C is identical to the cartesian product R × R.
A complex number is a pair z = (x, y) of real numbers, where x is called the
real part x = Re(z) and y is called the imaginary part y = Im(z) of z. The
interesting new structure on C is its arithmetic, the addition and multiplication
of complex numbers. Let z = (x, y), w = (u, v) be two complex numbers. We
set
z + w = (x, y) + (u, v) = (x + u, y + v),
z · w = (x, y) · (u, v) = (xu − yv, xv + yu).
Here is the sorite for this arithmetic structure:

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_14
114 14 Complex Numbers
Sorite 8 Let x, y, z be complex numbers, and denote 0 = (0, 0), 1 = (1, 0).
Then
(i) (Additive associativity) We have (x + y) + z = x + (y + z) and denote this
number by x + y + z.
(ii) (Multiplicative associativity) We have (x · y) · z = x · (y · z) and denote this
number by x · y · z, or xyz, if no confusion is likely.
(iii) (Commutativity) We have x + y = y + x and x · y = y · x.
(iv) (Distributivity) We have x · (y + z) = x · y + x · z.
(v) (Additive and multiplicative neutral elements) We have 0 + x = x and
1 · x = x.
(vi) (Solution of equations) If a = 0, then every equation a · x = b has a unique
solution; in particular, the solution of a · x = 1, the multiplicative inverse
of a, is denoted by a−1 . The solution of a + x = 0, the additive inverse (or
negative) of a, is denoted by −a. We shall see below how to calculate the
inverse explicitly.
Fig. 14.1. The complex numbers are points in the Gauss plane R2 , together with
arithmetic operations. Every complex number is determined by its real and imaginary
components.
The geometric view of Gauss is this: We have an injection R → C that

sends a real number a to the complex number (a, 0). Similar to the embedding
Q R discussed above, all arithmetic operations, addition and multiplication,
“commute” with this embedding, i.e., (a + b, 0) = (a, 0) + (b, 0), (ab, 0) = (a, 0) ·
(b, 0). We therefore identify real numbers a with their image (a, 0) in C. With
this convention, denote the complex number (0, 1) by i, and call it the imaginary
unit. It is easy to see that i2 = −1. This means that in C, the equation x2 +1 = 0
now has a solution, x = i. Complex numbers of the shape (0, b) are called
imaginary. Clearly, x is uniquely determined by its real and imaginary parts,
in fact:
14 Complex Numbers 115
x = (Re(x), Im(x)).
We then have this crucial result, which justifies the geometric point of view:
Proposition 12 For any complex number x, we have a unique representation
x = Re(x) + i · Im(x),
as a sum of a real number Re(x) and an imaginary number i · Im(x).

√
Exercise 18 Using the representation in Proposition 12, show that we have
these arithmetical rules:
1. (a + i · b) + (c + i · d) = (a + c) + i · (b + d),
2. (a + i · b) · (c + i · d) = (ac − bd) + i · (ad + bc).
The complex numbers have a rich inner structure that is related to con-
jugation.
Definition 37 The conjugation is a map C → C : x → x̄ defined by x̄ =

Re(x) − i · Im(x), i.e., Re(x̄) = Re(x), Im(x̄) = −Im(x). √
The norm of a complex number x is defined by |x| = x · x̄, which is
defined, since x · x̄ = Re(x)2 + Im(x)2 ≥ 0.
Observe that the norm of a complex number x = a + i.b is the Euclidean

length of the vector (a, b) ∈ R2 known from high school!
Sorite 9 Let x, y ∈ C. Then

x = x̄ iff x ∈ R, x = −x iff x is imaginary.
(i)
|x| = 0 iff x = 0.
(ii)
Re(x) = x+x̄
(iii) 2 , Im(x) = 2i .
x−x̄
(iv)If x = 0, then the multiplicative inverse of x is x−1 = |x|−2 · x̄.

(v)¯ = x; in particular, conjugation is a bijection.
x̄
(vi)x + y = x̄ + ȳ.
(vii)x · y = x̄ · ȳ.
(viii)If x is real, then |x| in the sense of real numbers coincides with |x| in the
sense of complex numbers, which justifies the common notation.
(ix) |x · y| = |x| · |y|.
(x) (Triangle inequality) |x + y| ≤ |x| + |y|.
√ √
Exercise 19 Calculate the inverse z −1 of z = 3.5 + i · 5.
Complex numbers are omnipresent in physics. Roger Penrose [93] even

claims that nature is built upon C rather than R. Recently, we have also been
able to model musical processes using complex numbers [68]. Let us describe
this approach here without delving into technical details.
116 14 Complex Numbers
ˇ “* Example 33 It is a deep philosophical problem to conceive an ontology

that comprises the cartesian res cogitans (the thinking thing) and res extensa
(the extended thing), meaning the mental and physical ontologies. This famous
cartesian duality can be solved in principle using complex numbers. One consid-
ers the cartesian product R3 × C. The three-dimensional component R3 carries
the spatial coordinates, while the complex factor C is split into the real R and
the imaginary iR. This defines two subspaces. The “physical” space R3 × R
with the real axis R for physical time, and the “mental” space R3 × iR with
the “imaginary” time axis iR. The first subspace represents the cartesian res
extensa while the second space represents the cartesian res cogitans, see also
Figure 14.2. This ontological model can be applied to music, where the score is
Fig. 14.2. The five dimensional space-time with complex time. The “physical” space
R3 × R with the real axis R for physical time, and the “mental” space R3 × iR with
the “imaginary” time axis iR.
positioned in the mental component, and its physical performance lives in the
physical component. This implies that our mental activity while thinking about
the score or creating it as a set of symbols occurs in imaginary time, while per-
formance has to switch time to its real component. In our model [68], we have
developed a theory of transition from imaginary to real time, using ideas from
physical string theory. In this model, not only are there imaginary and physical
14 Complex Numbers 117
states, but we also designed an entire family of intermediate states that share
real and imaginary time. We shall come back to this model in Chapter 33 where
gestural aspects of performance are discussed.
ˇ “*
Example 34 In sound technology, complex numbers are indispensable.
When describing sounds that have a determined frequency, there is a classical
mathematical theory that meets the needs for a complete description, namely
the formalism discovered by Joseph Fourier around 1800. His theory allows for
a decomposition of a sound function as a sum of sinusoidal functions, called
partials or overtones. To perform calculations with Fourier’s theory, one works
with complex numbers. Fourier’s theory has also been applied to create fast
algorithms for the calculation of numerical data associated with partials. The
most famous is called Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). It is the basis of the
global Internet-based sound technology. Fast transmission of sound data would
be impossible without FFT.
Part IV
Graphs and Nerves

15
Directed and Undirected Graphs
Summary. Up to now, we have been able to construct all basic number do-
mains N, Z, Q, R, C. But we have not considered geometric objects. This chap-
ter begins to fill that gap. It introduces the most elementary geometric objects:
graphs—systems of points and arrows connected by directed or undirected lines.
We shall conclude part IV with the introduction of higher-dimension graphical
objects that relate to coverings of sets by a system of subsets.
–Σ–
In music theory, the systematic use of graphs was introduced by one of
the authors (Guerino Mazzola) in 1980, see [72], who used category theory
where arrows are the natural language. His idea of replacing sets of notes with
directed graphs was motivated by the need for a method to define chords in
12-tempered tuning without reference to overtone arguments, which had never
been a good logic for the justification of harmonic arguments. Let us give a
single example of the graph-theoretical method for the construction of chords.
Consider the major triad c, e, g that we place in the set P12 = {0, 1, 2, 3 . . . 11}
of pitch classes. We apply the function F = T 7 3 : P12 → P12 : x → 3x + 7 to
Fig. 15.1. The major triad as a kind of “orbit” of c under one single function T 7 3.
c ∼ 0 and get F (0) = 7, the fifth 7 ∼ g. Applying F to g we get F (7) = 28,

which generates the pitch class 4, namely, the third e. Applying F to the third
generates nothing new, as F (4) = 3 · 4 + 7 = 19, generating again the fifth 7.
This allows us to view the major triad as a kind of “orbit” of c under one single
function F .

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_15
122 15 Directed and Undirected Graphs
The second, simultaneously invented introduction of graphs to music the-

ory stems from David Lewin [60]. His idea was to move away from what he
called the “cartesian” paradigm in music theory, meaning that the passive ob-
server of musical objects “down there” should be replaced by the gesturally
interactive “dancer” within music. Figure 15.2 shows a typical graph, where a
chord is the set {f, c, g} of vertices of the graph, and the relations among the
chord’s notes (pitch classes) are given by either transposition (F is transposed
by T 2 to G) or inversion (f is inverted to c under I5, which is T−5 in our ter-
minology). Such graphs are also called Klumpenhouwer networks in honor of
Lewin’s student Henry Klumpenhouwer.
Fig. 15.2. In network theory, as shown from this original graphic, the triad {f, c, g} is
interpreted using transposition or inversion relations (I5 and I7) among its elements.
ˇ “* Example 35 There are many musical situations where arrows that connect
musical objects are adequate. The nature of such arrows can vary considerably,
and we shall see some general examples when we discuss category theory in
Chapter 29. A simple illustration of the graphical approach to music is shown
in the following example. If we consider the black key f = g on a keyboard,
we may view it as either a sharpened version f of the white key f , or as
the flattened version g of the white g key. It is not an independent key; it is
thought of as a key that results from two possible movements. The graphical
representation f - f = g g represents this idea.

15.1 Directed Graphs

Definition 38 A directed graph, or digraph for short, is a function Γ : A →
V 2 from a set A of so-called arrows to the cartesian square of a set V of so-
called vertices. The projection t = pr1 ◦ Γ : A → V is called the digraph’s tail
function, while h = pr2 ◦ Γ : A → V is called the digraph’s head function. If
a ∈ A is an arrow, we represent it by t(a) - h(a).
a
√
Example 8 Here is a digraph with one point t and one arrow T , a loop,
the so-called final digraph 1 = t b T . The following digraph has two vertices
u
and two parallel arrows u, v that connect them • %9 • . The following digraph
v
15.1 Directed Graphs 123
is important in graph theory:

Q
P
*t
F 9f j Q
N T
For every natural number n, we have the chain digraph [n]. It has V = n + 1 =
{0, 1, 2 . . . n} as vertex set and the set A = {(i, i + 1)|i = 0, 1, . . . n} as arrow
set:
(0,1) (1,2) (n−1,n)
[n] = 0 - 1 - 2 . . . n − 1 - n.
For n = 0 we have the trivial digraph with one vertex 0 and no arrow. The
number n is called the length of [n].
Similar to sets and functions, digraphs must also be related to each other
by “digraph functions.” Here is their definition:
Definition 39 If Γ : A → V 2 , Δ : B → W 2 are two digraphs, a morphism

f : Γ → Δ is a pair f = (u, v), u : A → B, v : V → W such that Δ ◦ u = v 2 ◦ Γ ,
i.e., the following square commutes:
Γ
A −−−−→ V2
⏐ ⏐
⏐
u
⏐ 2
v
Δ
B −−−−→ W 2
Similar to sets and functions, there is an identity morphism IdΓ = (IdA , IdV )
for every digraph Γ : A → V 2 , and if f = (u, v) : Γ → Δ, g = (w, z) :
Δ → Σ are two morphisms, their composition g ◦ f = (w ◦ u, z ◦ v) is a
morphism, and composition is associative. The identity morphisms are also
neutral under composition similar to set identity functions. Isomorphisms are
morphisms that have an inverse, which means that both parts, the arrow and
the vertex functions, are bijections.
√
Example 9 An important example of morphisms are the morphisms p :
[n] → Γ whose domain is the chain of length n. Such a morphism is called a
path of length n in Γ . The set of paths in Γ is denoted by P ath(Γ ). It follows
that if p : [n] → Γ, q : [m] → Γ are two paths in Γ such that p(n) = q(0) then
we can concatenate them and get a path q ◦ p : [n + m] → Γ . Concatenation
of paths is associative. And the “lazy paths” [0] → Γ are neutral with their
concatenations, whenever these are defined.
ˇ “*
Example 36 Melodies within compositions are typical examples of paths
in music. Consider a composition K as shown at the top of Figure 15.3. Take
the digraph Γ (K) defined to have the notes of K as the vertex set and the
subset A ⊂ K 2 of all pairs of notes (n, m) such that Onset(n) < Onset(m).
Fig. 15.3. Three melodic paths in the digraph Γ (K) of composition K, Song of Yi
II—A Se by Mingzhu Song. The sound example is Yi.
This is sketched with some of the arrows in the middle of Figure 15.3. Now,
we look at paths [n] → Γ (K). These are by construction connected sequences
of notes that follow each other by increasing onset times. This is what could
be defined as melodies in K. We have selected three such melodies, f1 , f2 , f3 ,
which are defined on the chain digraphs [7], [13], [6], respectively (Figure 15.3).
15.2 Undirected Graphs

Undirected graphs, or simply “graphs,” are similar to digraphs except that their
arrows have no direction. Here is the precise definition: For a set V of vertices,
denote by 2 V the set {{x, y}|x, y ∈ V } of one or two element subsets of V .
These are interpreted as undirected arrow connections:
Definition 40 A graph is a function Γ : A → 2 V from a set A of edges into

the set 2 V of unordered pairs {x, y} of vertices x, y.
√
Example 10 The following general method produces many examples of
graphs. For a set V of vertices, take the set function 2 V 2 : V 2 → 2 V : (x, y) →
{x, y}. Then we have for each digraph Γ : A → V 2 an associated graph |Γ | :
A → 2V = 2V 2 ◦ Γ .
15.2 Undirected Graphs 125
Definition 41 If Γ : A → 2 V, Δ : B → 2 W are two graphs, a morphism

f : Γ → Δ is a pair f = (u, v), u : A → B, v : V → W such that Δ◦u = 2 v ◦Γ ,
i.e., the following square commutes:
Γ
A −−−−→ 2 V
⏐ ⏐
⏐
u
⏐2
v
Δ
B −−−−→ 2 W
Clearly, the above function 2 V 2 commutes with the functions between
vertices, thus for v : V → W , we have a commutative diagram
2
V2
V 2 −−−−→ 2 V
⏐ ⏐
⏐ ⏐2
v2 v
2
W2
W 2 −−−−→ 2 W
Combining this diagram with the commutative diagram (39), we see that
every morphism f = (u, v) : Γ → Δ of digraphs induces a morphism |f | =
(u, v) : |Γ | → |Δ|, and the composition of morphisms commutes with the
composition of their images. Therefore the assignment Γ → |Γ | is defined
not only on digraphs, but also on their morphisms, and in such a way that
| | commutes with morphisms. This type of assignment is very important in
modern mathematics (and in music!) and is called functorial: It maps one type
of structure (here: digraphs plus their morphisms) to another type of structure
(here: graphs plus their morphisms) in a compatible way.
√
Example 11 If we look at the directed chains [n], we get their undirected
images |[n]| =: |n|. Then, walks of length n are the morphisms |n| → Δ
of graphs. Denote by W alk(Δ) the set of walks in graph Δ. Walks can be
composed much like paths, and we have an obvious function P athW alk(Γ ) :
P ath(Γ ) → W alk(|Γ |) for any digraph Γ , which again commutes with the
composition of paths and also maps lazy paths to lazy walks. This is again
such a functorial assignment.
We can even go one step further: If f : Γ → Δ is a morphism of
digraphs, we have, by obvious composition of digraph morphisms, a map
P ath(f ) : P ath(Γ ) → P ath(Δ), and mutatis mutandis for graphs. This yields
a corresponding commutative diagram
P athW alk(Γ )
P ath(Γ ) −−−−−−−−−→ W alk(|Γ |)
⏐ ⏐
⏐
P ath(f )
⏐W alk(|f |)

P athW alk(Δ)
P ath(Δ) −−−−−−−−−→ W alk(|Δ|)
This last commutative diagram shows how “natural” the assignment Γ →
|Γ | is, and this is the reason why this diagram is called a natural transformation.
This concept will be explained in Chapter 29.
15.3 Cycles
We have seen that we can compose paths or walks. Now we can address cycles,
special paths or walks that terminate on the same vertex whence they started.
Cycles of length one are called loops. Graphs are said to be connected iff any two
vertices can be the extremal values of a walk. Digraphs Γ are called connected
iff their undirected images |Γ | are so. Two important types of cycles are Euler
and Hamilton cycles.
Definition 42 A cycle in a graph is called a Euler cycle iff it contains all

vertices and each edge is traversed only once.
A cycle in a graph is called a Hamilton cycle iff every vertex appears only
once, except the first vertex, which reappears as the last by definition of a cycle.
Proposition 13 A graph has a Euler cycle iff it is connected and every vertex

has a positive even number of edges that contain it.
ˇ “*
Example 37 The harmonic sequence I − IV − V − V I − II − V − I can be
seen as a Euler cycle as shown in Figure 15.4.
Fig. 15.4. The Euler cycle of the harmonic sequence I − IV − V − V I − II − V − I.
ˇ “*
Example 38 Dodecaphonic series can be interpreted as Hamilton cycles.
We work in the complete graph K12 that has 12 vertices of P12 and all possible
unordered pairs {x, y}, x = y as edges, see the left graph in Figure 15.5. In this
representation, the set P12 is shown as a circular arrangement of twelve points
similar to the twelve hours on a clock. Later, in Section 19.2, when dealing with
group theory, we shall understand why this is a good representation. In section
∼
6.3, a series was interpreted as a permutation s : P12 → P12 . We now interpret
this as a walk that starts at s(0), goes to s(1), etc., and when arrived at s(11)
closes to s(0). This defines a Hamilton cycle. This one for Webern’s op. 17.2
(shown in Figure 4.8) is drawn to the right in Figure 15.5.
Connected graphs without cycles are called trees. A spanning tree of a
graph is a subgraph that is a tree and contains all vertices. Every graph has a
spanning tree.
15.3 Cycles 127
Fig. 15.5. The complete graph K12 of P12 (left) and a Hamilton cycle (right) asso-
ciated with Webern’s series of op. 17.2.
16
Nerves
Summary. In biology, nerves connect different parts of a body. In music, we

also can construct “nerves,” which are structures that connect different parts
of a composition, making communication between such parts possible—similar
to biology.
–Σ–
Often, we encounter the situation of a set X that is covered by a collection
of subsets Vi ⊂ V , similar to a geographic atlas of charts that cover a
given
region. Mathematically, to be a covering of a set V means that V = i Vi .
We then would like to understand how these charts intersect and represent
this information in a geometric way. This leads to the concept of the nerve of
the covering. But let us first recall that a graph follows a similar construction:
We are given the set V of vertices and then consider the set 2 V consisting by
definition of all one- or two-element subsets of V , which are small charts. The
vertices x ∈ V may then be recovered as intersections {x} = {x, y1 } ∩ {x, y2 }
of two such charts. In other words, the idea of a graph is a special case of the
idea of a nerve.
For the next definition, we need a generalization of the coproduct to a
number of cofactors. Recall the definition of a coproduct
from Section 5.3. If
(Xn )0≤n≤m isa finite family of sets, the coproduct 0≤n≤m Xn is defined by
recursion via 0≤n≤m Xn = ( 0≤n≤m−1 Xn ) Xm .
Definition 43 Given
a set X, a covering of X is a set C ⊂ 2X of non-empty
subsets such that C = X. The nerve of C is the subset N (C) ⊂ 2C consisting
of all finite non-empty subsets s ⊂ C such that s = ∅. If card(s) = n + 1,
we say that s is an n-simplex.The subset of n-simplices of N (C) is denoted
by Nn (C), therefore N (C) = n≥0 Nn (C). In particular, N0 (C) = C if we
identify 0-simplices with their single elements. If s ∈ N (C), then any non-
empty subset t ⊂ s is in Nn (C). It is called a face of s.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_16
130 16 Nerves
In a geometric representation of simplices of a nerve, one represents 0-

simplices as points, 1-simplices as lines between their two 0-simplex points, 2-
simplices as triangles spanned by their three 0-simplex vertices, and 3-simplices
as tetrahedra spanned by their four 0-simplex points.
ˇ “*
Example 39 A classical example of a nerve in music is given by the covering
C (3) ⊂ 2C of the diatonic scale X, here X = C-major = {c, d, e, f, g, a, b}, by
the seven standard triadic degrees I, II, . . . V II, as shown in Figure 16.1. The
seven note names of C-major are shown as full points. This nerve is called the
harmonic band of the given scale [72].
Fig. 16.1. The covering of the C-major scale by the seven standard degree chords.
The nerve N (C (3) ) has the seven degrees as 0-simplices, and the 14 lines
for all pairs of degrees that intersect, e.g., I ∩ III = ∅, as 1-simplices. It has
7 filled triangles for triples of degrees that intersect, e.g., I ∩ III ∩ V = ∅, as
2-simplices. The overall geometry of this nerve is shown in Figure 16.2.
The geometry of the harmonic band is the reason for the failure of Hugo
Riemann’s function theory program. Refer to Musical Example 9, where we
have explained Riemann’s ideas. Recall that Riemann wanted to define tonality
functions
X − T onality : Ch → T DS,
starting from three values X − T onality(IX ) = T, X − T onality(VX ) =
D, X − T onality(IVX ) = S. He then imposed conditions of function values
for the remaining degrees IIX , IIIX , V IX , V IIX . These conditions were in fact
geometric if one works with the harmonic band. Riemann’s first condition was
that successive degrees on the band’s boundary, i.e., I → V → II → V I →
III → V II → IV → I, should have different function values, this succession
16 Nerves 131
Fig. 16.2. The nerve N (C (3) ) of a diatonic scale is a Moebius band. Its lack of
orientation is a reason for problems in Riemann harmony.
being the “fifths sequence.” Denote by δX the successor of X on the boundary.

This would be satisfied since the fifth sequence IV → I → V has different val-
ues S, T, D. The second condition was to require that parallel degrees should
have same values. Parallel here means that standing on a degree Y on the Moe-
bius band and having the band’s surface to your right, the parallel πY would
be the degree to your right in the direction of the boundary path. For example,
standing on V , you look in direction of successor degree δV = I and you have
degree III = πV . This means that πV is the third member of the 2-simplex
spanned by V, δV, πV . So harmonic parallelism is really a geometric concept
when we work with the Moebius band. The problem with Riemann’s approach
comes into play when he asks that X − T onality(πY ) = X − T onality(Y ). In
fact, we have these equations:
D = X − T onality(V ) = X − T onality(πV ) =
X − T onality(III) = X − T onality(πIII) = X − T onality(I) = T,
which contradicts the first condition of different values for successive degrees
on the band’s boundary. This contradiction is due to the lack of orientation on
a Moebius band. If you stand on one side of the band and walk on the band’s
surface, you end up standing upside down, see Figure 16.3.
√
Example 12 For X = n + 1 = {0, 1, . . . n}, the covering C1 (n) = {{i, i +
1}|i = 0, . . . n − 1} defines a nerve N (C1 (n)), where N0 (C1 (n)) is the edge
∼
set of the chain graph |n|, and N1 (C1 (n)) → {{1}, {2}, . . . {n − 1}} the vertex
singleton set of |n|, except the first and the last vertices 0, n. The bijection is
defined by taking the intersection of successive members {i, i+1}∩{i+1, i+2} =
{i + 1}.
132 16 Nerves
Fig. 16.3. The harmonic band has no orientation: If you walk around you end up
upside down.
More generally, one may take the covering Ck (n) of n + 1 that has the
charts i, k := {i, i + 1, i + 2, . . . i + k} for i = 0, . . . n − k. We now have not
only 1-simplices as above, but also Nj (C(n)) = ∅ up to j = k, as {i, i + 1, . . . i +
k} ∩ {i + 1, i + 2, . . . i + 1 + k} ∩ . . . {i + k, i + 1 + k + 1, . . . i + 2k} = {i + k},
see Figure 16.4 for the nerve N (C3 (16)).
Fig. 16.4. The nerve of the covering C3 (16) is visualized; it is a chain of tetrahedra
(3-simplices) that are connected on one side with each other.
ˇ “*
Example 40 Compare the nerve C3 (16) to the nerve of the harmonic band.
Can you see similarities? Can you guess how a harmonic band could be defined
so it would resemble the nerve C3 (n)? Try first try to think about a harmonic
band that resembles C1 (n).
Similar to morphisms between graphs, we have morphisms between nerves:
Definition 44 If C, D are two coverings, a simplicial morphism f : N (C) →

N (D) is a set map f : C → D such that f (s) ∈ N (D) for each simplex
s ∈ N (C). Clearly, the identity IdC is a simplicial morphism N (C) → N (C),
16.1 A Nervous Sonata Construction 133
and the composition g ◦ f of two simplicial morphisms f : N (C) → N (D), g :

N (D) → N (E) is simplicial. Composition is associative.
√
Example 13 Suppose we have coverings C, D of sets X, Y respectively, by
non-empty subsets. Suppose we are given a set map f : C → D and a set map
φ : X → Y such ⊂ f (S) for each S ∈ C. Then for every simplex
that φ(S)
s ∈ N (C), ∅ = φ( s) ⊂ S∈s f (s), therefore f (s) is a simplex, and f defines
a simplicial morphism f : N (C) → N (D).
The map f can always be found if we have φ, so only φ is the tricky point
in this construction. That is, we need to know that for every S ∈ C, there
exists at least one T ∈ D such that φ(S) ⊂ T .
The set N1 (C) of 1-simplices of N (C), together with the set C of 0-

simplices, defines a graph N1 (C) → 2 C : {S, T } → {S, T }, which we denote
by N1 (C), and whose edges are the 1-simplices. We therefore may define walks
|n| → N1 (C) in a nerve, also called nervous walks in C. The set of nervous walks
in C is denoted by W alk(C). And for a simplicial morphism f : N (C) → N (D),
we have the associated functorial map W alk(f ) : W alk(C) → W alk(D).
More generally, we may consider simplicial morphisms defined on the nerve
N (Ck (n)). These morphisms map edges not only to 1-simplices but also higher-
dimensional simplices in N (Ck (n)).
16.1 A Nervous Sonata Construction
In this section, we want to show how the geometry of nerves of coverings can be
used to compose motivic structures in a sonata. Our example is the sonata Al-
legro movement op. 3 by one of the authors (Mazzola), published and recorded
under the title L’essence du bleu [76]. We only describe the motivic construc-
tion of a specific part of the composition and don’t discuss the harmonic and
rhythmic aspects.
This sonata was composed in the spirit of Pierre Boulez’s “creative analy-
sis” [20], which means that the composition was analyzed and this analysis was
used to create a new composition by changing some analytical parameters. In
our analysis of Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata, op. 106, we exhibited the
central role of the diminished seventh chord C−7 = {c, e, g, b}, see Figure
16.5. Apart from determining the sonata’s harmonic modulations (changes of
tonalities, see Chapter 23 for details), this chord also determines Beethoven’s
motivic work. As the chord C−7 is reproduced after transposition T 3 of its
pitch classes, it is reasonable to consider an elementary motivic “zigzag” of pe-
riod 3. This is shown in Figure 16.5 to the left, where a chromatic ascending and
descending melodic movement is visible. In op. 106, this zigzag is a dominating
motivic structure [72].
In our creative part of the analysis, we replaced the minor third transposi-
tion T 3 by a major third transposition T 4 , since 12 = 3 · 4 is the decomposition
134 16 Nerves
Fig. 16.5. The motivic zigzags in Beethoven’s op. 106 and Mazzola’s op. 3.
of 12 into different prime number powers. The corresponding chord is the aug-
mented triad1 C+ = {c, f, a} that is reproduced after a transposition T 4 of
pitch classes. And the corresponding motivic zigzag of period 4 is shown below
the chord C+ to the right in Figure 16.5.
Inspired by the harmonic band of triads, the idea was to construct a
covering of the unit of zigzag, shown on top of Figure 16.6, that would have a
nerve in the shape of a Moebius band, too. Figure 16.6 shows a solution that
consists of nine three-element motives.
ˇ “* Exercise 5 Check that the nine three-element motives really define a

Moebius-shaped nerve.
Using this scheme of motives, the construction of a concrete melodic struc-
ture in this sonata runs as follows, see Figure 16.7.
We enumerate the nine three-element motives on the Moebius band ac-
cording to their path of neighboring motives, yielding the sequence 1, 2, 3, . . . 8, 9
of motive numbers. We then select four consecutive motives A = (2, 3, 5, 6)
as well as their mirror image A = (2, 1, 9, 7). Then, the selections A and
A are moved down clockwise and counterclockwise to get the selections
B, C, D, E, F and B , C , D , E , F . We then have two groups A, B, C, D, E, F
and A , B , C , D , E , F of six groups of four motives each.
These motives are distributed in the pitch and onset time plane as shown
in Figure 16.8 for the group A, B, C, D, E, F , yielding Dr (r for right hand).
The geometric position is given within the original zigzag that is slightly ro-
tated to generate increasing pitches with time. The same geometric positioning
1
For music theorists: The sharpened note names do not mean that we think in
alterations, as explained in Musical Example 35, but simply denote the position of
the note on the set P12 .
Fig. 16.6. The covering of the motivic unit (top) by nine three-element motives has
a Moebius band nerve.
Fig. 16.7. The construction of a concrete melodic structure in this sonata.
is applied for the second group A , B , C , D , E , F of three-element motives,

yielding Dl (l for left hand). See Figure 16.9 for this configuration. This pro-
duces the score part of measures 33-38 in the sonata, see Figure 16.10. We come
back to this construction in Chapter 23 where the modulation theory is applied
to this score part.
136 16 Nerves
Fig. 16.8. Distribution of the three-element motives in the pitch-onset plane. Group
A, B, C, D, E, F yields Dr (r for right hand), while Group A , B , C , D , E , F yields
Dl (l for left hand).
Fig. 16.9. The distribution Dr , Dl .
16.1.1 Infinity of Nervous Interpretations
Let us terminate this chapter with a remark on the interpretative power of

nerves in music analysis. It may seem that everything is finite since we are
dealing with a finite number of notes that may be covered by a finite atlas of
charts. But this is erroneous, as may become evident by the following thoughts.
Fig. 16.10. The score part of measures 33-38 corresponding to the distribution Dr ,
Dl . The sound example is sonata.
A covering C of a set X of notes is a subset of 2X . Its nerve N (C) is

X
a subset of 22 , its simplices are finite sets of charts from C. There is no
reason, why we would not be interested in the nerve of the nerve, N (N (C)),
whose simplices would be the finite sets of simplices in N (C) having non-empty
2X
intersection. We then have N (N (C)) ⊂ 22 .
This may be of interest when looking for connections between simplices to
understand the transition from one simplex to one of its neighbors. This makes
evident that there is no reason to stop stepping from one powerset 2X to its
X ...2X
powerset 22 , and so on to the multiply repeated powerset of powersets 22 .
This perspective, which can be taken for both, analysis and composition,
opens up an infinity of structures in higher powersets of a given finite set X. In
a more philosophical understanding, this makes plausible the potential infinity
of understanding and construction of the basic finite set of notes in a musical
composition.
16.1.2 Nerves and Musical Complexity
Nerves are a precise and powerful tool to discuss the difficult concept of musical
complexity in analysis and composition. The question is here what makes a
composition complex. There are two extremal positions when considering a
score: One can say that this object is just a set of notes. This would reduce
the score to an atomic perspective. The corresponding covering would be the
one which has exactly one note in each chart. The nerve of this covering would
be trivial, consisting only of zero simplices. And all these charts would be
isomorphic by shifting around one note to produce all the others. This would
amount to simply counting notes, a totally destructive classification: to reduce
a composition to the cardinality of its note set.
138 16 Nerves
The other extremal position would be to cover the composition by one

single chart that comprises all the notes. This big chart would then be a big set
of points in the score’s parameter space. Even though the nerve of this covering
would also be trivial, consisting of one single zero simplex, the classification
of this chart would be extremely difficult. In mathematical music theory [75,
Appendix C.3.6] it is shown that, for example, there are
2 230 741 522 540 743 033 415 296 821 609 381 912 ∼ 2.2336
isomorphism classes of 72-element compositions. This makes understanding im-

possible: how could one understand a class in this virtually infinite system?
Complexity is better understood if one chooses a system of charts that
are not too big—chords, small motives, short rhythmic units, for example—and
then looks at nerves of such a covering which may include many intersecting
charts (giving rise to higher-dimensional simplices, such as we have seen for
the harmonic Moebius band). Beethoven’s compositions are excellent examples
for this type of complexity: His constructions are “locally simple”, but generate
complex nerves and nerves of nerves, and so on.
The subject of musical complexity is far from being fully understood, but
the tool of nerves of coverings is a first step towards a mathematical theory of
musical complexity.
Fig. 16.11. A harmonic band. Copy it to a separate paper, cut it out there, fold and
glue it using the small purple tab.
Part V
Monoids and Groups

17
Monoids
Summary. Monoids are the simplest type of algebraic structure, and for this
reason they are omnipresent in mathematics. This situation is parallel to the
hierarchy of numbers. The monoids will be extended structurally (not as sets!)
to groups, rings, and modules later.
–Σ–
Definition 45 A monoid is a pair (M, ∗), where M is a set, and ∗ : M ×M →

M a function, called composition, such that
(i) ∗ is associative.
(ii) There exists a neutral element e, such that e ∗ m = m ∗ e = m for all
m ∈ M . It is uniquely determined by this property.
(iii) (M, ∗) is called commutative iff m ∗ n = n ∗ m for all m, n ∈ M .
√
Example 14 Here is a first set of examples:
1. The number domains N, Z, Q, R, C with the multiplication of numbers and
the unit e = 1 are commutative monoids.
2. The unit circle {z| |z| = 1} ⊂ C, together with multiplication of complex
numbers is a commutative monoid.
3. For any set X, the set End(X) := Set(X, X), together with the com-
position ∗ = ◦ of functions and the identity e = IdX is a (in general
non-commutative) monoid.
4. The subset Sym(X) ⊂ End(X) of permutations of X, i.e., of bijections, is
a monoid.
5. For a digraph Γ , the set End(Γ ) of digraph morphisms f : Γ → Γ with
the composition ∗ = ◦ and with e = IdΓ is a monoid.
6. For a digraph Γ and a vertex x of Γ , the set of cycles in x, together with
the composition of paths and the lazy path at x as neutral element, is a
monoid Cyc(Γ, x). As a special case, given a set A (the “alphabet”), we have
the word monoid W ord(A) = Cyc(A), where A is the digraph with one

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_17
144 17 Monoids
single vertex and A the set of arrows. Here, Cyc(A) consists of sequences
of arrows (all being loops!), i.e., words built from letters in A.
ˇ “*
Example 41 In music theory, scales play an important role. In the pitch-
class set,P12 , the D-major scale is represented by d, e, f , g, a, b, c, d, when
starting from d. This information is often encoded by examining the intervals
(in multiples of semitone steps) between consecutive pitch classes. In our ex-
ample, this would be the sequence (2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1). This information is then
encoded as a word in the monoid W ord(A), where A = {a, b} is the alphabet
whose letters encode the two intervals, a stands for 1, and b stands for 2. This
encoding represents the scale by the word bbabbba. If we had taken the melodic
D-minor scale d, e, f, g, a, b, c, d, the word representation would be babbbba, ex-
changing the second and third letters in the major scale word. Of course, this
representation is not reliable since it does not define the pitch class where the
intervals start. We shall come back to the mathematical nature of this abstrac-
tion in Chapter 19. In recent times, this formalism of word monodies has been a
strong research direction in mathematical music theory, see the corresponding
papers in [5].
The implicit idea of such a scale word is that the sum of the intervals
corresponding to the letters a, b is 12, the octave interval. But the formalism is
indeed more general. One may define any word w ∈ W ord(A) for any alphabet
A with the interpretation of letters as intervals being given by a set function
int : A → P12 . Then the scale scale(w) would be the sequence of pitch classes,
starting from 0, say, and defined by the succession of intervals associated to
letters by the function int. It is understood that after the last interval of w,
the word starts over.
For example, the above major scale of word w = bbabbba yields the mul-
tiple concatenation of intervals, for example the triple one
www = bbabbba ∗ bbabbba ∗ bbabbba = bbabbbabbabbbabbabbba.
For a non-octave scale word w = b, the word wwwwww yields the scale
c, d, e, f , g, a, c, the first Messiaen scale, also known as the whole-tone scale.
For the non-octave scale word w = ba, on gets wwww = babababa, which
corresponds to the scale c, d, d, f, f , g, a, b, c, which is known as the second
Messiaen scale. For w = aab, the iterated word www = aabaabaab yields the
scale c, c, d, e, f, f , g, a, a, c, the third Messiaen scale. But one may also get
non-octave compatible words such as w = bba, whose iteration eventually fills
every pitch class. However, one may also work in the pitch set Z and then gen-
erate a selection of pitches that don’t repeat themselves after octaves. In our
example, w = bba, one would get this scale: c, d, e, f, g, a, a, c, d, d, f, g, g, . . ..
ˇ “*
Example 42 Another use of the word monoid W ord(A) in music is the
formal representation of harmonic syntax, in the Riemann formalism, say. Here
we have an alphabet (we use only a simple model of harmonic functions here)
17 Monoids 145
A = {TX , DX , SX , tX , dX , sX |X ∈ P12 } where TX , DX , SX represent the tonic,

dominant, and subdominant functions of major tonality X, while tX , dX , sX
represent the tonic, dominant, and subdominant functions of minor tonality X.
Then an expression of such a harmonic syntax might look like
T C SC D C T C T C D F T F ,
where we see after a cadence Cad = TC SC DC TC the harmonic trace M od =
TC DF TF of a modulation from C-major to F -major. This word is the product
Cad ∗ M od of the cadence and modulation subwords.
ˇ “*
Example 43 In the theory of rhythm of music and language, word monoids
are also the standard representation. For example, in poetry, a rhyme scheme,
such as ABAB, represents the occurrence of a (end)rhyme word in a succession
of a poem’s lines.
Within a line of a poem, the distribution of short (symbolized by “letter”
∪) and long (symbolized by “letter” —) syllables defines a metrical line. Typical
“elementary” words of meters are the dactyl —∪∪ or the spondee — —. Here is
a classical hexameter, a product of dactyls and spondees, from Virgil’s Aeneid:
Arma vi(∗)rumque ca(∗)no, Tro(∗)iae qui(∗) primus ab(∗) oris
(—∪ ∪ ∗ —∪ ∪ ∗ — —∗ — —∗ —∪ ∪ ∗ — —)
These structures have been used for the rhythm of musical compositions
with lyrics. A wonderful example being Franz Schubert’s composition op. 72
for Leopold Stolberg’s poem Lied of dem Wasser zu singen. See [75, Section
11.6.2] for a thorough discussion of the poetic rhythm of musical three-note
motives in Schubert’s composition.
In music theory, certain large forms, such as the song form ABA or the
sonata form ABAD represent the succession of parts and their iteration. For
the sonata form, it is A for the exposition, B for the development, again A for
the recapitulation, and D for the coda.
Definition 46 Given two monoids (M, ∗M ), (N, ∗N ), a morphism f : M → N

is a set function f : M → N such that f (m ∗M n) = f (m) ∗N f (n) for all
m, n ∈ M and f (eM ) = eN . The set of monoid morphism f : M → N is
denoted by Mon(M, N ). Monoid morphisms f : M → N, g : N → L can be
composed as set functions and define monoid morphisms, and the identity IdM
is always in End(M ) := Mon(M, M ). A monoid isomorphism is a morphism
that is invertible, and this is the case iff it is a bijection of sets.
Proposition 14 (Universal Property of Word Monoids) Let A be an “alphabet”

set and N a monoid. Then there is a bijection
∼
Mon(W ord(A), N ) → Set(A, N ).
The bijection is defined taking the restriction of f : W ord(A) → N to the subset
A of loops.
146 17 Monoids
√
Exercise 20 Give a proof of this proposition.
√
Exercise 21 If N = N, with addition of natural numbers, what is the
meaning of the morphism W ord(A) → N (N with addition) that is defined on
A by f (a) = 1 for all a ∈ A?
Definition 47 For a monoid (M, ∗), a submonoid is a subset N ⊂ M such

that m ∗ n ∈ N for all m, n ∈ N and e ∈ N .
The above numbers N ⊂ Z ⊂ Q ⊂ R ⊂ C are submonoids for both

If (Ni )i is a non-
addition and multiplication of their larger successor sets.
empty family of submonoids Ni ⊂ N , their intersection i Ni is a submonoid.
Definition 48 Let (M, ∗) be a monoid and let S be any subset of N . Then the
intersection
S := N
N ⊂M submonoid with S⊂N
is the smallest submonoid of M that contains S. It is called the submonoid

generated by S. It is also identified as the submonoid
{s1 ∗ s2 ∗ . . . sk |si ∈ S for all i}
of all products of elements of S, including the empty product that is by definition

the neutral element e.
√
Example 15 The word monoid W ord(A) is generated by A, which means
W ord(A) = A.
18
Groups
Summary. Monoids that have only invertible elements are called groups.
Groups are the most important single structure in algebra and have enormous
applications in physics as well.
–Σ–
Definition 49 A monoid (G, ∗) is a group iff every element g ∈ G is invertible,

which by definition means that there is h ∈ G such that g ∗ h = h ∗ g = e. This
inverse h is uniquely determined since for any inverse h , we have h = h ∗ e =
h ∗ (g ∗ h) = (h ∗ g) ∗ h = e ∗ h = h. We denote it by h = g −1 .
A commutative group is also called abelian. For two groups G, H, a group
homomorphism is a monoid morphism f : G → H. The set of these homomor-
phisms is denoted by Grp(G, H). Group homomorphisms can be composed, and
the identity IdG is a group homomorphism. A subgroup H ⊂ G is a submonoid
that contains all inverses of its elements.
√
Example 16 The group of symmetries of a square (Figure 18.1). There
are eight symmetries i, r1 , r2 , r3 , h, v, d1 , d2 .
√
Exercise 22 In the group from Example 16, write down the multiplication
table (x∗y)x,y . In each of the 8 rows/columns there is a x/y, and in the crossing
point of these rows and columns, write the product x ∗ y.
√
Example 17 Here are some examples of groups.
1. For a monoid M , the subset M ∗ of invertible elements g is a group. This
means that we consider the elements g such that there is h ∈ M with
h ∗ g = g ∗ h = e. The product g1 ∗ g2 of two such invertible elements g1 , g2
has the inverse g2−1 ∗ g1−1 .
2. The multiplicative monoids N, Z, Q, R, C have the subgroups of invertible
elements N∗ = {1}, Z∗ = {1, −1}, Q∗ = Q−{0}, R∗ = R−{0}, C∗ = C−{0}.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_18
148 18 Groups
Fig. 18.1. The symmetries of the square build a group under composition.
3. The additive monoids N, Z, Q, R, C have the subgroups of invertible ele-

ments N∗ = {0}, the others are already groups.
Let G be a group and (Hi )i any family of subgroups. Then the intersection
4.
i Hi is a subgroup of G.
5. If (G, ∗) is a group, the opposite group Gopp is (G, ∗ ) where g ∗ h = h ∗ g.
The neutral element of Gopp is the same as the neutral element of G, while
g ∗ (h ∗ k) = (k ∗ h) ∗ g = k ∗ (h ∗ g) = (g ∗ h) ∗ k and the inverses of
elements in Gopp coincide with the inverses of G.
In Section 6.3 was introduced the set Sn of permutations of n, together
with the composition π ◦ ψ of permutations π, ψ ∈ Sn . We also exhibited the
inverse π −1 of any permutation, and the existence of the neutral permutation
Idn . This is a core group in mathematics, and also in music.
ˇ “* Example 44 In Section 6.3, a dodecaphonic series was identified with a

permutation in S12 . We shall see below (Proposition 15) that the cardinality
of S12 , the number of all dodecaphonic series, is 12! = 479,001,600.
Definition 50 Let G be a group (we suppose that the multiplication ∗ is given)

and let S be any subset of G. Then the intersection

S := H
H⊂G subgroup with S⊂H
is the smallest subgroup of G that contains S. It is called the subgroup generated

by S. It is also identified as the subgroup
{t1 ∗ t2 ∗ . . . tk |ti = s±1

i , si ∈ S for all i}
of all products of elements of S, or of their inverses, including the empty product

that is by definition the neutral element e.
18 Groups 149
√
Exercise 23 Find a minimal set of generators for the square group in
Example 17.
ˇ “*
Example 45 Let us consider the cartesian product space OP = R × R of
onsets and pitches, for which we allow real number values, just to view the
situation in a geometric way. Within the group Sym(OP ) of bijections on OP ,
there are some bijections that are classical in music: retrograde R, indexinver-
sioninversion I, and retrograde inversion RI. The operation R is defined by
R(x, y) = (−x, y), inversion is I(x, y) = (x, −y), and retrograde inversion is
RI(x, y) = (−x, −y), see Figure 18.2. (We should not care about getting neg-
ative pitch values here, we can always re-calibrate pitch to get positive values
by shifting the zero down.)
Fig. 18.2. The Klein 4-group of retrograde R, inversion I, and retrograde inversion
IR = RI.
Retrograde R and inversion I are reflections at the vertical axis and the
horizontal axis, respectively. But RI is not a reflection, it is a 180o rotation
around the origin (0, 0) of the plane P O. In music theory, RI is not understood
as a rotation, but as the composition R ◦ I = I ◦ R of retrograde and inversion.
In terms of group theory, we have a small group R, I that is generated by R
and I, with four elements IdOP , R, I, RI = IR. You can easily check that this
is in fact a group. It is called the Klein 4-group K4 . This group is generated by
retrograde and inversion, and the product RI is not understood geometrically
as a rotation, but as a composition of two musically understandable operations.
It has two non-trivial subgroups R = {IdOP , R} and I = {IdOP , I}.
The understanding of RI as a rotation has, however, been realized in a
very practical way by Ludwig van Beethoven. At his time there were public
piano competitions. Several pianists would perform whatever they liked and
then be judged by the audience. In such a competition, Beethoven was fighting
against the quite famous pianist Daniel Steibelt. After Steibelt had played his
150 18 Groups
score, Beethoven took it and rotated it by 1800 , thereby creating a RI version of

Steibelt’s composition. Beethoven then played this rotated score and defeated
Steibelt, who ran away in bitter anger.
This fact can be generalized and gives rise to a general concatenation
principle in music theory [75, Section 8.3], namely that all groups that are
important to music are in fact so because they admit sets of generators that are
musically understandable.
One of the most important groups is the group of permutations of a set
X, Sym(X). In particular, if X = {1, 2, . . .}, the group Sym(X) is called
the symmetric group of rank n and is denoted by Sn . The former symbol Sn
denoted the group Sym(n), but by abuse of language, we use the same symbol
∼
for Sym({1, 2, . . .}). Clearly, if card(X) = n, then Sym(X) → Sn . We shall
discuss this group in Chapter 20.
Definition 51 A group G is called finite if G is a finite set. If the cardinality

of G is n (in symbols card(G) = n), we say that it is a group of order n, and
we write ord(G) = n.
Clearly, any two groups of order one are isomorphic to the trivial group 1 = {e}.
Proposition 15 The symmetric group Sn has order ord(Sn ) = n!
Proof 10 The proof goes by induction on n. For n = 1, this is clear. Suppose

we know that ord(Sn ) = n! and denote by Sn+1 x
the subset of permutations p in
Sn+1 such that p(1) = x ∈ {1, 2, . . . n+1}. Then Sn+1 = x=1,2,...n+1 Sn+1x
. We
x
claim that card(Sn+1 ) = n! holds. In fact, denote by (x, n + 1) the permutation
that exchanges x and n + 1 and leaves fixed all other numbers. Then clearly
n+1 ∼
x
Sn+1 (x, n + 1) = Sn+1
n+1
. Therefore we have to prove Sn+1 → Sn . But the set
Sn+1 consists of all permutations of numbers 1, 2, . . . n+1 that leave n+1 fixed.
n+1
This is obviously in bijection with Sn . Hence, card(Sn+1 ) = (n + 1)card(Sn ) =

(n + 1)! proves the proposition.
19
Group Actions, Subgroups, Quotients, and
Products
Summary. In musical creativity, actions are very important. They always deal
with two components: the agent who acts in a determined way, and the object
on which this action is being performed. Of course, not just any action can be
performed on any object, so one has to specify agent/action as well as domain
of objects that are suitable for a determined action. In this chapter we develop
the formalism of group actions and provide introductory examples.
–Σ–
Figure 19.1 shows actions taken while building musical instruments or
composing a score. Of course, these intuitive situations are far from precise
mathematical formalism.
Fig. 19.1. Left: Building instruments is an action that combines parts to produce
a whole. But this is not always possible. Right: The musical composition is also an
action that (usually) generates a score. The neutral action could be the creation of
an empty score (recall John Cage’s empty composition in Figure 3.3), while analysis
could be seen as the inverse action.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_19
152 19 Group Actions, Subgroups, Quotients, and Products
19.1 Actions
Definition 52 A group homomorphism f : G → Sym(X) for a set X is called
an action of G on X. Equivalently, a group action is a function G × X → X :
(g, x) → g · x such that
(i) e · x = x for all x ∈ X and
(ii) (gh) · x = g · (h · x) for all x ∈ X.
The correspondence being g · x = f (g)(x).
Definition 53 Given a group action G × X → X, the relation on X, defined

by x ∼ y if there exists a g ∈ G such that g · x = y, is an equivalence relation.
The equivalence classes for this relation are called the orbits of the given action.
We also denote [x] by G · x.
An action is said to be transitive if X = G · x, i.e., if there is only one
orbit. It is said to be simply transitive if the application G → X : g → g · x is a
bijection. It is straightforward that the bijection does not depend on the chosen
x, i.e., that a bijection for x implies a bijection for any other y ∈ G, and that
simple transitivity implies transitivity.
ˇ “*
Example 46 In his seminal book [60, Definition 2.3.1], David Lewin intro-
duces a core concept of his transformational theory, the Generalized Interval
System. Here is his original text:
DEFINITION: A Generalized Interval System (GIS) is an ordered triple
(S, IV LS, int), where S, the space of the GIS, is a family of elements,
IV LS, the group of intervals for the GIS, is a mathematical group,
and int is a function mapping S × S into IV LS, all subject to the two
conditions (A) and (B) following.
(A): For all r, s, and t in S, int(r, s)int(s, t) = int(r, t).
(B): For every s in S and every i in IV LS, there is a unique t in S
which lies in the interval i from s, that is a unique t which satisfies the
equation int(s, t) = i.
We want to show that this concept is that of a simply transitive action of a
group. We have the group IV LS opp (see Example 17) that acts on the space S in
the following way. Call · the composition in IV LS and · the composition of the
opposite group. For any ordered pair (i, s) ∈ IV LS×S we have the action i∗s =
t for that unique element t ∈ S such that in Lewin’s approach i = int(s, t).
We can also state this by the equation int(s, t) ∗ s = t. Let us show that this
is indeed an action. The equation in Lewin’s point (A) shows that the neutral
element e ∈ IV LS acts with e ∗ s = s. In fact, int(s, s)int(s, s) = int(s, s).
Multiplying this equation with int(s, s)−1 yields int(s, s) = e. Moreover, if
i = int(t, r), j = int(s, t) are two group elements, and if j ∗ s = int(s, t) ∗ s,
i ∗ (j ∗ s) = i ∗ (int(s, t) ∗ s) = i ∗ t = int(t, r) ∗ t = r, while (i · j) ∗ s =
(int(t, r) · int(s, t)) ∗ s = (int(s, t) · int(t, r)) ∗ s = int(s, r) ∗ s = r. The action
19.1 Actions 153
is simply transitive since the map IV LS opp → S : i → i ∗ s = t is a bijection

for every s by the equation int(s, t) ∗ s = t for i = int(s, t).
Conversely, we get Lewin’s GIS for a simply transitive action G × S → S
∼
since for every s ∈ S, there is a bijection G → S : g → g ∗ s, and the conditions
(A) and (B) are verified for the opposite group Gopp .
√
Example 18 Let X = Z, the set of integers. Consider the group T ⊂
Sym(Z) of transpositions on Z. Its elements are the transpositions T t , t ∈ Z,
and the action is T t (z) = t + z. Also consider the larger group T I ⊂ Sym(Z),
whose elements are the transpositions T+t = T t and inversions T−t with T−t (z) =
t − z, so its elements are T±t with T±t (z) = t ± z. The multiplication is T+t ◦ T+s =
T+t+s , T+t ◦ T−s = T−t+s , T−t ◦ T+s = T−t−s , T−t ◦ T−s = T+t−s .
These groups act on 2Z , too, and also on the subset F in(Z) of finite subsets
of Z. Neither action is transitive.
ˇ “*
Example 47 Group actions are very frequent in music theory. Take G =
(Z, +), the additive group of integers and S = Z the set of pitches. Then G
acts on S by transposition, i.e., g ∗ s = T g (s) = g + s. This action is obviously
simply transitive. If we take the subset F in(Z) ⊂ 2Z of finite subsets of Z,
which can be interpreted as chords, we have the action Z × F in(Z) → F in(Z) :
(g, c) → g ∗ c = {T g (x)|x ∈ c}. This action is not simply transitive because it
is not transitive, although it is free, that is, g ∗ c = h ∗ c iff g = h, which means
that the map G → S : g → g ∗ s is injective.
The orbits of chords under this action are called transposition classes of
chords. For example, the chords in the orbit [{0, 3, 6}] are called diminished
triads, while the chords in the orbit [{0, 4, 7}] are called major triads.
ˇ “*
Example 48 We may also consider a larger group T I that acts on the pitch
set Z and consists of the transpositions T+t = T t and inversions T−t of Z. This
group acts transitively on Z, but its action is not free because for every s ∈ Z,
we have T−2s (s) = 2s − s = s, together with T+0 (s) = s. This group acts on
F in(Z) in the same way (Z, +) acted by transpositions. For a given chord c,
the subgroup F ix(c) of transpositions and inversions g such that g ∗ s = s is
called the fixpoint group of s. It describes the inner symmetries of chord c. The
diminished triad c = {0, 3, 6} has F ix(c) = T−6 , while for c = {0, 4, 7}, the
major triad, the fixpoint group is trivial. The T I-orbit [{0, 4, 7}] is the disjoint
union of the T -orbit of {0, 4, 7} and the T -orbit of {0, 3, 7}, major and minor
triads.
The most important primary application of group actions are actions of
subgroups H ⊂ G by cosets. These actions are defined by right multiplications
within the given group, i.e., G × H → G : (g, h) → gh. The orbits of such
an action are called left cosets of H. They are the sets gH = {gh|h ∈ H}.
In particular, two left cosets gH, g H are equal iff g −1 g ∈ H. The set of left
cosets is denoted by G/H. If we choose one representative g for each left coset

gH, we have G = representative g gH. Moreover the maps H → gH : h → gh
are bijections. Therefore we have a bijection
∼
G → G/H × H.
One may also define right cosets Hg that correspond on an action from the
left (corresponding to a function H × G → G : (h, g) → hg). The orbits of this
action are the right
cosets Hg. They also define a partition by disjoint right
cosets, i.e., G = representative g Hg. The set of these equivalence classes is
denoted by H\G, and we have a bijection
∼
G → H\G × H.
∼
Left and right cosets correspond to each other by the bijection ?−1 : G → G :
g → g −1 . This implies that left cosets are mapped one-to-one to right cosets.
∼
Therefore G/H → H\G. The shared cardinality of G/H and H\G is called the
index of H in G and is denoted by (G : H). We therefore have
ord(G) = (G : H) × ord(H).
If G is finite, we have the famous Lagrange equation
ord(G) = (G : H)ord(H)
of natural numbers. In particular, the order of a subgroup H ⊂ G always divides
the order of the group G. For example, if G = S6 , we have ord(S6 ) = 6!, which
implies that there is no subgroup H whose order does not divide 6!—e.g., there
is no subgroup of order 7.
ˇ “*
Exercise 6 Recall the Klein 4-group discussed in Musical Example 45. Are
there subgroups of this group of order 3? Interpreting a dodecaphonic series as
a permutation in S12 , can its order be 12, 13, or 23?
If x ∈ G is a group element, its order is by definition the order of the group
it generates, i.e., ord(x) = ord(x). For a finite group G, the order of an ele-
ment must be a divisor of the group’s order: ord(x)|ord(G) by Lagrange’s equa-
tion. How do we find this order for x? One looks at all the powers e, x, x2 , x3 , . . .
of x. Since G is finite, they cannot all be different from each other. Let xm be
the first power of x that equals a preceding power, xm = xn , n < m. Then, after
dividing by xn , we see that e = xm−n . Since m was the first power of x that
equals a preceding power, this means that n = 0, and the group x consists
of the different powers e, x, . . . xm−1 . For example, we have x−1 = xm−1 . In
particular, m = ord(x).
19.2 Subgroups and Quotients

Subgroups where left and right cosets coincide play a central role in group
theory: They are the kernels of group homomorphisms, and here are the precise
concepts.
19.2 Subgroups and Quotients 155
Definition 54 If f : G → K is a group homomorphism, then the subset {g|g ∈

G, f (g) = eK } is a subgroup, the kernel of f , denoted by Ker(f ).
√
Exercise 24 Prove that a group homomorphism f is injective iff Ker(f )
is trivial.
Definition 55 A subgroup H ⊂ G of group G is called normal iff gH = Hg

for all g ∈ G, i.e., all left and right cosets coincide.
For example, all subgroups of commutative groups are normal.
If H ⊂ G is normal, we may construct a group from G/H by the multi-
plication gH · kH = gkH. The neutral element is H. The multiplication is well
defined since gH = g H, kH = k H implies gkH = gHk = g Hk = g kH =
g k H. It is evident that multiplication is associative, has the neutral element
H, and has inverse g −1 H of gH. This group is called the quotient group of G
modulo H, denoted by G/H. We have a canonical surjection G → G/H.
Proposition 16 Let H be a subgroup of group G. Then the following two prop-

erties are equivalent—(i) iff (ii):
(i) There is a group homomorphism f : G → K such that H = Ker(f ).
(ii) H is normal.
The group homomorphism associated with a normal subgroup H is the canonical
morphism G → G/H.
Proof 11 If H is the kernel H = Ker(f ) then gHg −1 ⊂ H for all g ∈ G, and

also g −1 Hg ⊂ H, hence gH = Hg. Conversely, if H is normal, we take the
canonical homomorphism f : H → G/H, whose kernel is H.
Fig. 19.2. The cyclic groups Z3 , Z6 , Z9 , Z12 viewed as subgroups of the unitary group
U of complex numbers.
√
Example 19 The simplest example of a quotient group is given by taking
for every positive n ∈ N the subgroups n = nZ ⊂ Z generated by n. It
consists of all integer multiples zn of n. The quotient group Zn = Z/nZ is

called the cyclic group of order n. It has, in fact, n elements. This follows from
the division theorem. If a ∈ Z, we have a = bn + r, 0 ≤ r < n, so we only have
the cosets r + nZ for 0 ≤ r < n, and r is uniquely determined by the division
theorem, so we have exactly n cosets. If for two integers a, b, their cosets are
equal in Zn , we also write a = b(mod n) (in words: “a is equal to b modulo n.”).
All these cyclic groups can be realized as subgroups of the multiplicative
group U = {z|z ∈ C AND |z| = 1} (the unitary group of complex numbers of
norm one), see Figure 19.2. Addition of pitch classes corresponds to addition
of angles on the unit circle. Negative pitch classes −x are obtained from x by
reflection at the vertical middle axis through 0, 6.
In music, cyclic groups of higher order are used in the context of mi-
crotonal compositions. For example, quarter-tone music works in Z24 , while
sixth-tone music works in Z18 . But in music theory, sometimes the diatonic
scale 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 is also modeled in Z7 as if the tonal distances were equal.
Fig. 19.3. The quotient group Z12 , where the coset representatives 0, 1, 2 . . . 11 are
shown together with their standard interpretation as pitch classes of pitches in Z.
ˇ “*
Example 49 The case n = 12 is central for the quotient group Z12 . See
Figure 19.3, where the coset representatives 0, 1, 2 . . . 11 are shown together
with their standard interpretation as pitch classes of pitches in Z modulo the
octave of 12 semitones.
Theorem 15 If f : G → K is a group homomorphism, then we have the

following commutative diagram, which represents f by its kernel and image:
19.2 Subgroups and Quotients 157
G
f
- K
6
f
proj inj
?
?
--
∼f 6
G/H → Im(f )
where proj is the canonical surjection, inj is the embedding of Im(f ), and f
is the isomorphism of groups that sends the coset gKer(f ) to f (g).
The proof is straightforward, and the only point is the definition of f . This
function is well defined since gKer(f ) = g Ker(f ) means g −1 g ∈ Ker(f ), so
f (g) = f (g ).
√
Example 20 The subgroup T ⊂ T I is normal, the quotient group is
∼
T I/T → {±1} = Z∗ .
19.2.1 Classification of Chords of Pitch Classes
We have seen that for chords ch ∈ F in(Z), the action of the group of transpo-
sitions T or the group T I of transpositions and inversions defines orbits that
are musically significant, for example defining a major triad as an element of
the T -orbit [{0, 4, 7}]. We can transfer this type of group action to pitch classes
if we deem irrelevant multiple appearances of a pitch name or the absolute
position in Z. We therefore consider the set of chords of pitch classes that is
defined by P CChords = 2Z12 . We include the empty or one-element chords for
completeness, although they are not considered chords in common terminology.
On P CChords = 2Z12 , we have the action of group T IZ12 of permutations
of Z12 that acts as before: T±t (x) = t±x, where t ∈ Z12 . The formal rules on this
group are as explained for T I in Example 20. We also have the normal subgroup
T Z12 ⊂ T IZ12 of transpositions T+t . The action of T IZ12 on P CChords follows
the same scheme as described in in Example 20—a chord is transformed by
f ∈ T IZ12 via the transformation of all of its elements by f . See Figure 19.4
for the action of an inversion on a chord.
The action of T Z12 and of T IZ12 define two classifications of chords:
T Z12 -orbits are called transposition classes, while T IZ12 -orbits are called
transposition-inversion classes. These classes are redundant, however, since we
also have the action of the two-element group Z2 on P CChords by complemen-
tation, i.e., −ch = 12 − ch is compatible with the T IZ12 -action. It is therefore
sufficient to classify chords of cardinality ≤ 6, and those with cardinality > 6
can be recovered from the classification of their complements.
The complete list of representatives of such classes is folklore in mathemat-
ical music theory for half a century. We refer to a complete list in [75, Appendix
L.1]. This list is far from random. The representatives of chord classes are cho-
sen according to the following criteria: We take the lexicographic ordering of
Fig. 19.4. The inversion T−5 applied to chord ch = {c, e, g, b}.
chords, when we represent chords as functions ch : Z12 → 2 as explained in

Section 5.5. To begin with, the cardinality of chords is taken as the ordering
principle. We start with cardinality 0, represented by its complement, the full
Z12 . Then follow with chords of one element (single notes), then chords of two
elements (unordered intervals), then triads, etc., until chords of six elements.
Within a given cardinality, we take from each T IZ12 -orbit the first chord ac-
cording to the lexicographic ordering of chords as functions ch : Z12 → 2
qua sequences (ch0 , ch1 , . . . ch11 ), where chi = 0 if ch(i) = 0 and chi = 1 if
ch(i) = 1. In the list [75, Appendix L.1], the value 0 is represented by a • while
the other value is represented by a ◦. In that list, we have also displayed classes
of chords under a larger group (class numbers XX and XX.1 being in the same
bigger class. We shall come back to this option in Section 21.2.1).
In the American tradition, the classification of chords follows not the
above lexicographic ordering, but the ordering of “most packed to the left” as
described in Section 15, yielding the so-called prime form of chords.
ˇ “* Exercise 7 Calculate the prime form of chord ch = {c, e, g, b}.
19.3 Products
Cartesian products of groups are defined as follows.
Definition 56 For two groups G, H, their cartesian product G × H is the set-

theoretical cartesian product of the underlying sets G, H, and the multiplication
goes by factors: (g, h) ∗ (k, l) = (g ∗G k, h ∗H l). Inverses and neutral elements
are given factor-wise, too.
19.3 Products 159
We have two embedding group homomorphisms G G × H : g →

(g, eH ), H G×H : h → (eG , h). We have the two projection group homomor-
phisms pr1 : G × H → G, pr2 : G × H → H with Ker(pr1 ) = H, Ker(pr2 ) = G,
using the identification of G, H with their embeddings.
ˇ “*
Example 50 In music theory, cartesian products of groups are important.
We shall see in Chapter 21 that the product Z3 × Z4 , together with its two pro-
jections pr3 : Z3 ×Z4 → Z3 and pr4 : Z3 ×Z4 → Z4 is the single most important
mathematical structure needed to understand the structure of intervals, and in
particular core properties of counterpoint theory.
The universal property of cartesian products of sets holds for groups mu-
tatis mutandis:
Theorem 16 (Universal Property of the Cartesian Product of Groups)

For any three groups G, H, K, the function
∼
Grp(K, G × H) → Grp(K, G) × Grp(K, H) : f → (prG ◦ f, prH ◦ f )
is a bijection.
ˇ “* Example 51 In Chapter 21, we shall construct an isomorphism of groups

∼
f : Z12 → Z3 × Z4 . This will be achieved using the universal property
∼
Grp(Z12 , Z3 × Z4 ) → Grp(Z12 , Z3 ) × Grp(Z12 , Z4 )
of the cartesian product Z3 × Z4 , meaning that we construct two homomor-
phisms f3 : Z12 → Z3 and f4 : Z12 → Z4 .
We present a small list of a number of important chords in Z12 , the class

numbers relate to the complete list in [75, Appendix L.1].
Class Representative Name Visualization in Z12

No. Symbol
Co
diminished
triad
15 • ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦◦
C+
augmented
triad
16 • ◦ ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦◦
C
major triad
10.1 • ◦ ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ ◦◦
Table 19.1. Some important chords I.

19.3 Products 161

No. Symbol
Cm
minor
triad
10.1 • ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ ◦◦
C M 7 or
C maj7
major 7th
28.1 • ◦ ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ ◦•
C7
dominant
7th
29 • ◦ ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ •◦
Table 19.2. Some important chords II.


No. Symbol
CmM 7
minor
major 7th
30 • ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ ◦•
Cm7
minor 7th
22.1 • ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ •◦
C o7
dimin.
7th
37 • ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ • ◦ ◦ • ◦◦
Table 19.3. Some important chords III.

20
Permutation Groups
Summary. This chapter deals with the study of the permutation groups Sn .
We also give examples of compositional methods using permutation groups.
–Σ–
Let us now investigate minimal sets of generators of Sn , and recall that
ord(Sn ) = n!
There are different ways to represent permutations p ∈ Sn . A simple basic
representation is to write the full table of ordered pairs (i, pi = p(i)), i = 1, . . . n.
This is usually done by a 2 × n-matrix, a rectangular system with two rows and
n columns:
1 2 ... n
p1 p 2 . . . p n
A more economical way is to use cycles. A cycle is an ordered k-tuple
C = (c1 , c2 , . . . ck ) of pairwise different numbers 1 ≤ ci ≤ n. This represents a
permutation that sends ci to ci+1 for i = 1, . . . k − 1 and then ck to c1 . The
number k is the length l(C) of C. The k-element set c1 , c2 , . . . ck of C is de-
noted by |C|, so card(|C|) = l(C). Cycles C = (c1 , c2 ) of length 2 are called
transpositions. We have already encountered transpositions in the calculation
of ord(Sn ). Cycles are standard generators of Sn .
Theorem 17 The permutation group Sn is generated by the n − 1 transposi-

tions (1, n), (2, n), . . . (k, n), . . . (n − 1, n).
Proof 12 The proof goes by induction on n, n = 1, 2 being trivial. Suppose

the theorem holds for n. Then if p ∈ Sn+1 fixes 1, by induction it is a product
of transposition (2, n + 1), . . . (n, n + 1). If p(1) = k > 1, take q = (1, n +
1)(k, n + 1)p. Then q(1) = 1. Therefore q is a product of transposition (2, n +
1), . . . (n, n + 1), and we have the representation p = (k, n + 1)(1, n + 1)q as
desired.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_20
164 20 Permutation Groups
ˇ “* Example 52 We consider a well-known melody M , shown as “Original” on

the top left side of Figure 20.1. The notes of this melody are numbered with
1, 2, . . . 10 according to increasing onsets. The retrograde π∗M of this sequences
corresponds to the permutation

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
π=
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
By Theorem 17, π can be written as a product of transpositions (i, 10), i >

1. In our case we have
π = (1, 10)(2, 10)(9, 10)(2, 10)(3, 10)(8, 10)(3, 10) ·

(4, 10)(7, 10)(4, 10)(5, 10)(6, 10)(5, 10).
This mean that the retrograde π ∗ M can be obtained by successive trans-

positions: M, (5, 10) ∗ M, (6, 10)(5, 10) ∗ M, . . . π ∗ M . These 13 intermediate
compositions are played one after another, starting from M (“Original”) and
ending with the “Retrograde” on the top right of Figure 20.1. This enables the
listener to understand the difficult retrograde transformation as a succession
where only two notes are exchanged and always with respect to the last note,
so the beginnings of the successive versions are kept as stable as possible. In
our score in Figure 20.1, we have doubled the durations of the Original and the
Retrograde to make the start and end easier to be recognized.
And here is the theorem about the cycle representation of a permutation:
Theorem 18 Every permutation p ∈ Sn is the product p = C 1 ◦ C 2 ◦ . . . Cr

of cycles Ci , such that |Ci | ∩ |Cj | = ∅ for i = j, and n = i |Ci |. The set
{|Ci ||i = 1, . . . k} is uniquely determined by p.
Proof 13 The proof is straightforward, we just present the basic idea. By

definition of permutations, the group p acts on the set {1, 2, . . . n}. This action
generates a partition {1, 2, . . . n} = i p · ci by orbits p · ci . The powers of
p act on the orbit elements ci , and the sequence of these actions pk (ci ) defines
the orbit of ci in the form of a cycle Ci .
√
Exercise 25 Write the permutation

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
π=
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
as a product of disjoint cycles.

The symmetric group Sn has the alternating subgroup An that consists
of all permutations that can be written as a product of an even number of
transpositions (i, j). It is in bijection with the set Bn of all permutations that
20 Permutation Groups 165
Fig. 20.1. The retrograde (Retrograde) of a simple melody (Original) is achieved by

a series of transpositions of two notes. New exchanged notes are indicated by a *. The
sound example is permutation.
can be written as a product of an odd number of transpositions, a bijection

∼
being defined by a multiplication An → Bn : p → (12)p. It can be shown that
An ∩ Bn = ∅. Since transpositions generate Sn , we have Sn = An Bn , i.e.,
An covers half of the n! permutations, ord(An ) = n!/2. This implies that An
is a normal subgroup of Sn since there can only be one coset of An , namely

Bn , i.e., left and right cosets coincide (in fact with Bn ). We have the quotient
∼
group Sn /An → {±1} = Z∗ . The number ±1 associated with a permutation p
under this quotient group is called the sign sig(p) of p. Even/odd permutations
are those with a positive/negative sign.
20.1 Two Composition Methods Using Permutations

Using permutations to compose music is not an new concept. Renaissance Man
Athanasius Kircher designed a composition machine based on a matrix, as de-
scribed in Section 2.6, Figure 2.20. More ideas came to fruition in the 18th cen-
tury, the most famous being Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Musikalisches Wür-
felspiel, or musical dice game. Exploration of compositional methods continues
today, including efforts by one of the authors of this book, Maria Mannone.
Using Rubik’s cubeT M , Mannone has designed a composition device called
Cubharmonic. We describe the dice game and cube device in the following
sections.
Fig. 20.2. Mozart’s first dice number table. Rows correspond to dice numbers,
columns to measure numbers. The coefficients within the table are measure num-
bers Mozart defined.
20.1.1 Mozart’s Musical Dice Game
Mozart’s musical dice game is entitled “Walzer und Schleifer mit zwei Würfeln
zu componieren ohne Musikalisch zu seyn, noch von der Composition etwas
zu verstehen.” (To compose a waltz with two dices without being musical and
20.1 Two Composition Methods Using Permutations 167
knowing anything about composition.) The idea is that the user can define a
sequence of eight measures I, II, III, . . . V III of music by throwing two dice
and then using a table (Figure 20.2) to look up a corresponding musical mea-
sure. The table has eleven rows that correspond to the result of adding the
two dice rolls (2 = 1 + 1 on top to 12 = 6 + 6 at the bottom). For measure
I, the user finds the dice result under column I. For example, we get 119 if
the dice roll yields 9, corresponding to measure 119 on the list of 176 possible
musical measures Mozart provided. The first thirty measures (all in waltz time
signature 3/8) are shown in Figure 20.3. This system allows creation of 118 =
214,358,881 possible compositions of eight measures each.
20.1.2 Mannone’s Cubharmonic
A well-known game that uses the concept of group is the Rubik’s CubeT M . It is
the world’s best-sold toy. Invented by Hungarian professor and architect Ernö
Rubik, the cube was first shown to his students as a teaching tool. Years later,
under the initial name of Magic Cube (perhaps in analogy with magic square
of letters and numbers), the cube was produced for sale [97].
The classic version is a 3 × 3 × 3 cube, where each face has a different
color. Sides can be moved. Among all possible combinations, there is only one
solution that completes the six faces with correct colors. Solving techniques are
studied by mathematicians. There are other versions of the cube, for example
2×2×2 and 4×4×4 (Pocket and Rubik’s RevengeT M ). The latter was invented
by Péter Sebestény [70].
One of the authors (Maria Mannone) used a 4 × 4 × 4 cube to create a
harmonic game, the Cubharmonic, shown in Figure 20.4. The idea is to exper-
iment with creating new harmonic sequences. On each face of the cube we can
write a harmonic sequence of a four-part harmony. For example, the cadence
I − IV − V − I in C-major can be written as
c c b c
g a g g
e f d e
c f g c
We can write these letters on one face of the cube. If we write a different
harmonic sequence on each face, by rotating and twisting sides we get a huge
number of different harmonic combinations. The number of combinations is
greater than for the classic 4 × 4 × 4 cube. The reason is that little squares
of the same color, having been marked with different names of notes, are not
undistinguishable. The scope of the original game was to recover the initial
configuration of one color on each face, which means from chaos to cosmos.
Here the main interest is to mix sequences, from cosmos to chaos. We can ex-
change chords, and we can also modify horizontally voices in the same harmonic
sequence.
Fig. 20.3. The first thirty measures, in waltz time, out of a total of 176 on Mozart’s
list.
The cube of Figure 20.4 presents a choice of six different harmonic se-
quences, shown in Figure 20.5. Three different results, obtained via simple
permutations, are given in Figure 20.6.
20.1 Two Composition Methods Using Permutations 169
Fig. 20.4. Mannone’s Cubharmonic.

Fig. 20.5. A choice of six different cadential sequences (one for each side of the cube)
as a starting position. The sound example is cubharmonic_1.

Fig. 20.6. Three different results obtained via simple permutations, i.e., scrambling

the cube. The sound example is examples_cubharmonic.

21
The Third Torus and Counterpoint
Summary. This chapter deals with the mathematics of the third torus group
Z3 × Z4 and its symmetries and then applies these structures to music theory,
in particular to counterpoint.
–Σ–
21.1 The Third Torus
The third torus is a group that has a rich structure despite its simple mathe-
matical shape. It is also a central object of mathematical music theory, which
will be discussed in Section 21.2.
The third torus is the finite abelian group T3×4 = Z3 × Z4 . Let us look at
the finite cyclic groups Zn that define the torus’ background structure. If we
consider elements z ∈ Zn , they are cosets z = x + nZ, and we denote these by
xn = x + nZ. The group structure on Zn yields (x + y)n = xn + yn . We also
write x ≡ y(mod n) and say that x is congruent to y modulo n for xn = yn .
If n|m, we have a canonical surjective group homomorphism Zm → Zn :
xm → xn . It is well defined since mZ ⊂ nZ, therefore xm = ym implies xn = yn .
In particular, we have canonical surjections pr3 : Z12 → Z3 and pr4 : Z12 → Z4 .
The kernels are the four-element subgroup Ker(pr3 ) = 312 and the three-
∼ ∼
element subgroup Ker(pr4 ) = 412 . I.e., Z12 /3 → Z3 and Z12 /4 → Z4 .
√
Exercise 26 Verify these facts.
Using the universal property of cartesian products of groups, this data can be
combined to define a group homomorphism (pr3 , pr4 ) : Z12 → Z3 × Z4 . This
homomorphism is inserted in our commutative diagram

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_21
172 21 The Third Torus and Counterpoint
(pr3 ,pr4 )
Z12 - Z3 × Z4
(p r 6
3 ,p
r4 )
proj inj
?
? -
-
∼ (pr3 ,pr4 ) 6
Z12 /Ker((pr3 , pr4 ))→ Im((pr3 , pr4 ))
The kernel Ker((pr3 , pr4 )) is the intersection Ker(pr3 ) ∩ Ker(pr4 ) of the
two kernels Ker(pr3 ), Ker(pr4 ), but this is trivial. Therefore, in our diagram,
the left projection is an isomorphism, and so is the homomorphism onto the
image Im((pr3 , pr4 )). This image of Z12 has 12 elements, and Z3 × Z4 also has
12 elements, so the image is all of Z3 × Z4 , which means that (pr3 , pr4 ) is an
isomorphism of groups. It is advantageous for music theory to compose this
Fig. 21.1. The third torus. We see four vertical circles—copies of Z3 —attached to
the four pitch-class points 0, 3, 6, 9.
isomorphism with the automorphism

∼
Id × (−1) : Z3 × Z4 → Z3 × Z4 : (x, y) → (x, −y).
Then, the composed isomorphism
∼
t : Id × (−1) ◦ (pr3 , pr4 ) : Z12 → T3×4 : x12 → (x3 , −x4 )
has the property that
t(412 ) = (13 , 04 )
t(312 ) = (03 , 14 )
t(712 ) = (13 , 14 )
t(512 ) = (−13 , −14 )
t(112 ) = (−13 , 14 )
t(1112 ) = (13 , −14 )
21.1 The Third Torus 173
The inverse t−1 is given by

t−1 (x3 , y4 ) = 4x3 + 3y4
which means that the two components on T3×4 represent the multiples of 4 and
3, respectively, in Z12 . As these quantities represent major and minor thirds in
the pitch-class set Z12 , the name third torus is explained. Figure 21.1 visualizes
the third torus.
21.1.1 Geometry on T3×4
On the third torus T3×4 we can define a metrical distance function by d(z, w)
being the minimal number of minor or major third steps to reach w from z.
The third steps are addition or subtraction of (13 , 04 ) or (03 , 14 ).
This metrical geometry on T3×4 is important because it is invariant under
all symmetries of T3×4 . Let us now explain what symmetries of T3×4 are. On
Z we had considered action of the group T I whose elements are the function
t
T±1 : z → t ± z. This means that we considered the invertible elements ±1 of
∗
Z and used the multiplication with such elements, together with a shifting by
t: T±1t
(z) = t + (±1)z.
We want to carry over this idea to Z12 . The problem is that so far we
have no multiplication of elements of Z12 . This is what we shall introduce now.
Later, in Chapter 24, we will see that the present procedure is a very simple
special case of a general method to introduce multiplication in quotient groups.
Multiplication on Zn is defined by xn · yn = (x · y)n . If this works, the
arithmetic on Z can be carried over “literally” to Zn as addition and mul-
tiplication are both defined by going back to Z, doing it there, and then
taking cosets; also refer to Musical Example 19. Take two different repre-
sentatives of our cosets, x = x + nz, y = y + nw instead of x, y. Then
x · y = (x + nz) · (y + nw) = xy + n(xw + zy + nwz) = xy(mod n), and
we are done.
For Z12 this multiplicative structure defines four elements that are invert-
ible, namely Z∗12 = {112 , 512 , 712 , 1112 }. We have 1212 = 5212 = 7212 = 11212 = 112 .
All other elements are not invertible, for example 312 412 = 012 .
With this multiplicative structure we now generalize the above construc-
tion of T I for Z. Rewrite T I = T Z∗ . We now define T Z∗12 as the group of
permutations of Z12 defined by the elements T t .s, t ∈ Z12 , s ∈ Z∗12 defined by
T t .s(z) = t + sz for z ∈ Z12 . This is a group under usual composition of func-
tions. In fact T t .s ◦ T u .v = T t+su .sv, and (T t .s)−1 = T −st .s, while T 0 .112 is
neutral. Symmetries on Z12 are by definition the permutations in the group
T Z∗12 .
The next step consists of proving that all symmetries are in fact geometri-
cally reasonable if we transport them to the third torus using the isomorphism
t. Here is the geometric interpretation, which we specify for generators of the
symmetry group T Z∗12 . We usually omit the factor 1 if the symmetry is T t .1,
see Figure 21.2.
Fig. 21.2. The symmetries of the torus all conserve the third distances.
The transposition T 3 translates to a rotation of 90o around a vertical

middle axis of the torus. The transposition T 4 translates to a 120o tilting
movement of the torus. An inversion T 0 .11 becomes a 180o rotation of the
torus around the horizontal axis through 0 and 6. The symmetry T 0 .5 becomes
a reflection of the torus at the horizontal plane through the middle of the
torus. The symmetry T 0 .7 becomes a reflection of the torus at the vertical
plane through 0 and 6. This means that all symmetries are combinations of
such classical symmetries (such as reflection and rotation) of the geometric
object the torus is defining. This means:
Theorem 19 The group of symmetries T Z∗12 defines on the torus T3×4 a group
of symmetries that conserve metrical distances, i.e., all symmetries are isome-
tries on the third torus.
This is a remarkable result since on Z12 , multiplication with 5 or 7 does
not conserve distances in the circle representation of Z12 .
21.2 Music Theory

Let us apply the above results to some questions in music theory.
21.2.1 Chord Classification
We have seen that chord classes under the action of T Z∗ are standard in music
theory. But we may as well look at classification of chords by orbits of the larger
21.2 Music Theory 175
group T Z∗12 . This is the classification that has been achieved in [75, Appendix
L.1]. There, two T Z∗ classes XX and XX.1 are representatives of the same
T Z∗12 class.
21.2.2 Key Signatures

The first application relates to a simple observation. If we look at the C-major
scale C = {c, d, e, f, g, a, b} ⊂ Z12 , it consists of white keys only. If we move
from the C-major scale to the F -major scale T 5 C = {c, d, e, f, g, a, b} = F ,
we get one black key b and lose one white key b. This is why the key sig-
nature of F -major has one . If we continue in the same way, moving to
T 5 F = B = {c, d, e, f, g, a, b}, we get a scale with two black keys b, e,
losing the corresponding white keys b, e. The key signature now has two . This
phenomenon holds on: Each time we move a scale X to T 5 X, we add one
to a white note. This is true until we have reached G-major with the scale
{c, d, e, f, g, a, b}, six signs in the key signature.
Why does the system break down here? We could argue that you always
move one fourth up, and because this movement is always the same, the change
of key signature must also always be the same, adding each time one . The
argument is wrong, however, because the black keys do not move along with
the fourth transposition, meaning the situation is not universal.
ˇ “*
Exercise 8 Try to find the number of key alterations ( or ) for the trans-
positions T 5 X starting from a scale X0 of seven white keys if the piano has the
following white keys: {c, d, e, f, g, a, b}. You will see that the above rule does
not hold.
The explanation comes from a different representation of the diatonic ma-
jor scale C. We use the symmetry T 0 .5 of Z12 and see that the scale C is mapped
to 5C = {7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 0, 1}, see Figure 21.3. This image is an uninterrupted
sequence of fourths. In this representation, we also see the distinguished roles
of f and b. They mark the boundaries of the fourth sequence of the scale. They
are known in music theory as the leading notes. We shall come back to this
observation in Chapter 23.
What is important here is that the transposition by 5, one fourth, moves
the sequence of fifths to a new sequence of fifths by one unit clockwise. One
black key (b) is added while one white key (b) is lost. This transposition by
one fourth now clearly always added one more black key, namely the succes-
sion e, a, d, g, c = b to the transposed scales and simultaneously removes
the keys e, a, d, g, c. Therefore the 5-symmetry explains this key signature phe-
nomenon for the major scales.
21.2.3 Counterpoint
In counterpoint, one starts with the construction of a composition from two
voices: cantus firmus (CF) and discantus (D). The rules that determine admis-
Fig. 21.3. The representation of the C scale in Z12 after multiplication by 5. The
key T 5 C = F is the rotation of 5C by one unit in clockwise direction.
sible constructions began developing in the 9th century in Europe and were
quite stabilized in the 16th century, typically as used by the great composer
Giovanni Pietro Aloisio Sante da Palestrina. These rules (or what they thought
were such rules) were written down in the small book Gradus ad parnassum by
Johann Joseph Fux in 1725 [42].
Despite the simplicity of Fux’s rules, there are a number of unsolved prob-
lems with this theory. It commences with the first species counterpoint. It is the
basis of all subsequent situations, namely second species, third species, fourth
species, and fifth species (florid counterpoint). We focus on the first species
here. It is defined by the CF melody and defines rules to add a second voice
(D), where for each note of CF one defines one note of D, of same duration
and onset. See Figure 21.4 for an example. The example shows the two voices
and a central feature: CF and D notes of same onset define consonant intervals.
These intervals (differences of pitch classes) must be of six types (if we work
in Z12 ), prime (0=12), minor third (3), major third (4), fifth (7), minor sixth
(8), and major sixth (9). The other six interval numbers—minor second (1),
major second (2), fourth (5), tritone (6), minor seventh (10), and major seventh
(11)—are dissonant. In our example, we see that the consonances 0, 4, 4, 9, 9,
0 are played.
This definition of consonances is the first big problem in counterpoint: The
selection of these intervals is not justified by acoustical arguments. The critical
interval is the dissonant fourth. In fact, recall that in the Pythagorean tuning
tradition, the fifth frequency ratio 3/2 was consonant, but also the fourth ratio
4/3. Because the common basis of music theory is the just tuning system, this
constitutes a serious problem, which has been recognized by leading scholars
such as Carl Dahlhaus (see [79, Chapitre 13] for a discussion). He argues that
Fig. 21.4. Different motions in first species counterpoint.
the fourth being dissonant must be justified by a not-yet-discovered rule of

polyphonic texture.
The big question that opens up in view of these problems is how the
distribution K = {0, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9}, D = {1, 2, 5, 6, 10, 11} of intervals in the con-
sonant and dissonant halves can be constructed without a invalid reference to
the acoustical background. Our solution results from the following observation.
There is a unique symmetry AC = T 2 .5 of Z12 that transforms K into D. More
precisely,
AC(0) = 2, AC(3) = 5, AC(4) = 10, AC(7) = 1, AC(8) = 6, AC(9) = 11
and vice versa, AC(D) = K since AC 2 = IdZ12 . This is the autocomplementar-

ity function. There are five other interval dichotomies (X, Y ) that have unique
autocomplementarity functions, we call them strong dichotomies. Here is the
total list, the labels are from the classification of chords in [75, Appendix L.1]:
#64 : ({2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11}, {0, 1, 3, 6, 8, 10}), AC = T 5 .11

#68 : ({0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8}, {4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11}), AC = T 6 .5
#71 : ({0, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7}, {4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11}), AC = T 11 .11
#75 : ({0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 8}, {3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11}), AC = T 11 .11
#78 : ({0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 10}, {3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11}), AC = T 9 .11
#82 : (K, D), AC = T 2 .5
Of course, for any symmetry f ∈ T Z∗12 , the dichotomies f (X), f (Y ) are also of
this type if (X, Y ) are so. But there are no other such dichotomies. It is remark-
able that the dichotomy #64 has as first half {2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11} the set of proper
intervals of a major scale when counted from its tonic. It is therefore called the
major dichotomy. The question now is to exhibit a property that distinguishes
the consonance-dissonance dichotomy (K, D) (#82) from the others. The an-
swer is found when we consider these dichotomies within the third torus. We
want to learn how the interval numbers are distributed on the torus. To this
end we define two numbers, diameter and span.
Definition 57 For a strong dichotomy (X, Y ) with autocomplementarity p, we

call its diameter the number
1
δ(X) = d(u, v),
2
u,v∈X
where d(u, v) is the distance between u and v as defined at the beginning of

Section 21.1.1. The span of (X, Y ) is defined by

σ(X) = d(u, p(u)).
u∈X
It is obvious by the invariance of distance on the torus that diameter and span
are invariant within a class of dichotomies that is generated by the symmetries
f ∈ T Z∗12 .
Figure 21.5 shows these numbers (a), and the configuration for the Fux di-
chotomy (K, D) (b).
σ(X)
16 82 68
10 75 71, 78 64
24 25 28 29 δ(X)
a)
4 K
7 8
0
3 11
b)
1
10 2 5
9
6
D
Fig. 21.5. The diameters and spans of the six strong dichotomies are shown (a), and
the geometric configuration for Fux dichotomy (K, D) is shown in (b).
From this result we learn that the Fux dichotomy (K, D)—#82 in Fig-
ure 21.5 a)—has the smallest diameter and the largest span. In other words,
its consonant elements are separated in an optimal way from its dissonant el-
ements. This distinguishes this dichotomy from the other five possibilities. It
is interesting that the major dichotomy #64 plays a polar role, its members
are “mixed” in an optimal way. The role of strong dichotomies is far from in-
vestigated in music theory. Let us just give one more remarkable example.
The Russian composers Alexander Scriabin is known for his quite intriguing
approach to harmony (among other far out approaches). His most famous dis-
covery is the so-called mystic chord. Figure 21.6 shows the chord in its common
representation (left) and in its representation on Z12 (right). The chord has six
notes, and we recognize immediately that it is isomorphic to the dichotomy
of class #78. The chord also is covered by the four prominent triads: major,
minor, augmented, and diminished (middle of Figure 21.6).
Fig. 21.6. Scriabin’s mystic chord (left) is one half of the strong dichotomy #78
(right). Four prominent triads—major, minor, augmented, and diminished—cover
the chord.
ˇ “* Exercise 9 Calculate the nerve of the covering of the mystic chord by ma-
jor, minor, augmented, and diminished triads. Is it a tetrahedron?
This arsenal of six dichotomies can be used to create six “counterpoint

worlds.” This means that the classical Fuxian counterpoint is but one of six
possibilities to define a counterpoint theory. More precisely, it is possible to de-
fine a model of counterpoint for each strong dichotomy, where the classical rules
of counterpoint can be described based upon the geometry of these dichotomies.
In particular, the important rule of forbidden parallels of fifths, i.e. the succes-
sion of two intervals of size 7, in Fuxian counterpoint can be deduced from the
geometry of #82. This theory does not refer to any psychological arguments,
which are standard for the explanation of forbidden parallels of fifths.
See [8] for a thorough exposition of this mathematical theory of coun-
terpoint, including composition software for such “exotic” counterpoints. This
theory is not only developed for all six counterpoint worlds on Z12 but it works
for microtonal pitch classes in Z2n for all n > 2, too. This is a strong argument
for mathematical methods in music theory. They enable the creation of new
theories of composition that extend given theories for future musical creativity.
22
Coltrane’s Giant Steps
Summary. This chapter deals with an analysis of John Coltrane’s famous

composition Giant Steps from 1959, released in 1960 on the synonymous LP.
–Σ–
Figure 22.1 shows the original LP cover of Giant Steps. This composition is
Fig. 22.1. John Coltrane’s composition Giant Steps from 1959.
known for its fast harmonic changes. Several pianists, such as Tommy Flanagan
and Cedar Walton, experienced difficulties in performing it.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_22
182 22 Coltrane’s Giant Steps
There is also Coltrane’s pianist McCoy Tyner’s live solo performance,

which, despite the technically perfect rendition, sounds somehow too controlled.
The composition is presented in a score form that is standard in jazz,
called the lead sheet. Such a score contains only the essential melodic move-
ments, together with a sequence of chord symbols, written in more or less
standard notation. Figure 22.2 shows the lead sheet of this composition. One
immediately recognizes the fast chord changes (this is the official term for the
harmonic sequence of a lead sheet).
Fig. 22.2. The lead sheet of John Coltrane’s composition Giant Steps.
22.1 The Analysis 183
In the first two measures, every melodic note has another chord, and
not just slightly different ones: Coltrane jumps around in the entire harmonic
spectrum.
We want to not only present an analysis, but also sketch how the analytical
part can be used to generate a new composition that incorporates the analytical
insights. This new composition by one of the authors (Mazzola) is entitled
Giant’s Steps and has been performed live and also recorded for a music DVD
[44] in fall 2014 at the Airegin Club in Yokohama, Japan. This procedure of
analyzing and then recreating a composition has been described by composer
and theorist Pierre Boulez as analyse créatrice (creative analysis) in [22], see
also [20]. It is also discussed in [79, Chapter 7] and [84, Chapter 25].
22.1 The Analysis

Jazz harmony is usually based on tetrads, seventh chords, not triads. As you
can see from the lead sheet (Figure 22.2), all chords are given the “7” for this
reason. There are three types of seventh chords here: mostly major seventh
chords X maj7 (XM A 7 in the lead sheet), some seventh chords X 7 (X7 in the
lead sheet), and some minor seventh chords Xm7 . See our tables at the end
of Chapter 19 for these chord names and symbols. In our analysis, we only
consider X maj7 chords and replace the rare cases of X 7 chords by the same
chord with major seventh. The minor chords are taken as such. We work in
pitch class-space Z12 here. In this space, seventh chords may have inversion
symmetries. Both X maj7 and Xm7 (XM I 7 in the lead sheet) are symmetric
around their center. For example, Am7 is symmetric around d, by the symmetry
of TT−4 , and Gmaj7 is symmetric around the middle of c, c by the symmetry
T−1 . We can see this from the tables at the end of Chapter 19.
This implies that any transposition or inversion of these two types of
chords produces chords of the same type.
The first astonishing fact about Coltrane’s chord changes in Giant Steps
is that he defines large portions of chords that relate to one another by one
single symmetry, the unique symmetry Id = T−4 of the C-major scale. One
could therefore say that Giant Steps is a big architecture around C-major.
Here are the details. The first symmetric group of chords comprises nine
consecutive chords, starting from the second chord in measure one, as shown in
Figure 22.3. More precisely, the chords are inverted by Id and also retrograded.
The symmetry is a harmonic retrograde inversion. The symmetry is not only
applied only once: The left half and the right half are both also symmetric
with the same symmetry. Moreover, the middle chord Am7 is symmetric to
itself by Id , as observed above. So not only is the architecture of chords highly
symmetric, but the symmetry is realized within the central minor chord as well.
The second symmetric group comprises the next eleven chords, as shown
in Figure 22.4. The symmetry is the same, a harmonic retrograde inversion
Fig. 22.3. These nine consecutive chords are arranged in a perfect symmetry around
d.
Fig. 22.4. These eleven consecutive chords are arranged in a perfect symmetry
around d.
for the inversion Id . Again, the symmetry is expressed not only by the inner
symmetry of the central minor chord Am7 , it is also visible for the first and
last two chords of this group.
Fig. 22.5. The two melodies, the initial and the second on measure five, are arpeggios
of chords in those positions, and the notes following these melodies are Id -symmetric
to notes within these melodies.
22.1 The Analysis 185
Moreover, the lead sheet’s first and last chord, B maj7 and F maj7 (because
we’re treating F 7 as F maj7 ), are symmetric under Id . Coltrane’s deeply har-
monic style of thought1 is visible in his melodic approach, see Figure 22.5.
The initial melody is an arpeggio of Gmaj7 , the first chord in the second mea-
sure. The subsequent b is the Id symmetric note to the initial f . The second
melodic part of measure five is an arpeggio of Emaj7 , the first chord of measure
six. Again, the subsequent note f is Id -symmetric to the second melodic note
b. And these two symmetric note groups are also symmetric with each other
(b, f ) → (f , b)!
Fig. 22.6. The totality of chords. We have connected any two chords that are Id -
symmetric with each other. The two groups of nine and eleven chords, respectively,
are shown. We recognize that there are nine chord names, all except the three names
C, E, G.
The totality of chords is shown in Figure 22.6. We have connected any

two chords that are Id -symmetric with each other, and the two groups of nine
and eleven chords, respectively, are shown. We recognize that there are nine
chord names, all except C, E, G. This is exactly the third Messiaen scale,
complement of the augmented triad C + . It also has the inner symmetry Id .
Some published analyses of Giant Steps have, in fact, stressed the role of the
augmented triad in this composition. Let us see how the sequences of our nine-
and eleven-chord groups unfold on this Messiaen scale. Figure 22.7 shows the
chord paths for the nine-element group (left) and the eleven-element group
1
See also our analysis of Coltrane’s A Love Supreme and Ascension in [82, Chapters
2.2 and 5.2].
(right). Whereas the left path is not very regular, the right one is a perfectly
Fig. 22.7. The chord paths for the nine-element group (left) and the eleven-element
group (right).
symmetric trajectory. It also fulfills the frequent changes from II to V to I,

the so-called 251 sequence, e.g., in the sequence a → d → g in G-major. That
Coltrane chooses such symmetric paths is not typical of him. For example, in
the first movement of A Love Supreme, the sequence of the composition’s main
motive f − a − f − b does not follow a recognizable harmonic scheme, see [82,
Chapter 2.2].
The total chord change system is reproduced in Figure 22.8. To the left
on the vertical axis we see the chords in their relations under the Id symmetry
and fifth transposition T 7 . Rectangular regions show the chord groups that are
related by these relations. We recognize a highly organized system. It has two
parts, the first one to the left, which “rotates” in the circle of the four positions
Gmaj7 , Bmaj7 , Emaj7 , Dmaj7 , centered by the Am7 chord. The second half
then moves down to F maj7 and its Id -symmetric and fifth-related partner
B maj7 . In the second half, after this movement, the original group around
Am7 is recovered, and followed again by the downward movement to F maj7
and B maj7 .
22.2 The Composition
Given these analytical results, we have recreated the composition in the vein of
Boulez’s creative analysis. The overall insight was that there are two levels in
Coltrane’s harmonic construction: the one to the left in Figure 22.8, rotating
in that circle of four positions, and the one to the right, “descending” to the
symmetric pair F maj7 and B maj7 . In Coltrane’s construction, these two levels
are taken in alterations: circle goes to the symmetric pair goes to circle goes to
22.2 The Composition 187
Fig. 22.8. The total chord change system parametrized by Id symmetry and fifth
transposition T 7 chord relations.
the symmetric pair. We have therefore added a dynamic down and up trajectory
as shown in Figure 22.9.
The given harmonic units, such as the circle, have been reshaped by mo-
tivic structures that are arpeggios of harmonies given by Coltrane’s architec-
ture. Figure 22.10 shows such constructions for the circle part. The circle is
shown to the bottom right together with four arpeggios and motives that repre-
sent the harmonic positions as well as the symmetry Id . The harmonic positions
are made evident by circle of fifths representations of G-major and D-major
tonalities. This enables us to represent Coltrane’s short spots in a more explicit
melodic rendition.
The overall structure of our Giant’s Steps composition alternates between
a relatively fast upper part around the circle of four positions shown in Figure
22.10, on the one hand, and around the symmetric pair F maj7 and B maj7 on
the other. This lower part is associated with a more bluesy mood and interest-
ingly is easily associated with Coltrane’s A Love Supreme main motive. Our
score of Giant’s Steps as it is used in performances is shown in Figure 22.11. It
shows the two-level scheme in terms of a sequence of chords and motivic cells.
Fig. 22.9. The dynamics between the upper “speed” level and the lower “blues” level.
The trajectory alternates between them and shows a circular up-down path.
Fig. 22.10. Motivic structures that are arpeggios of harmonic structures given by
Coltrane’s architecture.
22.2 The Composition 189
Fig. 22.11. The two-level scheme in terms of a sequence of chords and motivic cells.
23
Modulation Theory
Summary. Modulation is a central theme in tonal musical composition. It

means the transition from one tonality to another. Of course such a situation
is not omnipresent since either the very concept of a tonality is not given (in
the composer’s or in the theorist’s mind), or when present, there is no real
theory of how to modulate. This chapter dös not intend to present the one
and only modulation theory, but is written to prove that precise mathematical
conceptualization and the application of mathematical methods can lead to
explicit and efficient models of modulation.
–Σ–
Our model was originally designed to understand Arnold Schönberg’s tonal
modulation theory written in 1911 [103]. The theory was first published in 1985
in [72]. The result of our model is that it provides us with all of Schönberg’s
results wherever he deals with specific modulations. For example, he deals with
the modulation from C-major to F -major, but he does not discuss a (direct)
modulation from C-major to D-major. However, our model deals with all
transitions between two major tonalities.
This model also allows us to understand some complex modulations in
that most difficult sonata of tonal music, Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata
op. 106. Most of Beethoven’s modulations could not be understood before our
model was applied. For a thorough reference to this mathematical theory of
modulation, including the discussion modulations in the classical literature, we
refer to [75, Chapters 27, 28].
We should add that our harmonic (and motivic) analysis of Beethoven’s
op. 106 was also applied to the construction of a new sonata, the Sonata op. 3
L’essence du bleu already discussed in Section 16.1. This approach is understood
to be a kind of “experimental music theory,” akin to experimental physics, where
the presence of a law in the physical reality is tested by an adequate aggregate
of physical objects. In music, the experiment would be the construction of a
musical object, a composition, to test the efficiency or aesthetic validity of a
theoretically designed method.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_23
192 23 Modulation Theory
Unfortunately, the Schenkerian heritage in American music theory has

created a poor approach to modulation, mainly, mainly because this was not
Heinrich Schenker’s dreams. The consequence thereof is that this approach is
incapable of describing and explaining modulatory processes, let alone those
complex constructions by great composers such as Mozart and Beethoven. It
is not sufficient to reduce a modulation to the simple statement “I hear a dom-
inant;” such a statement is as poor as stating that one understands nuclear
fusion because one feels that “it’s very hot out there.”
In this chapter, we first develop a precise conceptualization regarding
modulations. We shall then present a mathematically precise model of such
a conceptualization. We shall apply this model to calculate components of
modulations that were given by Schönberg. We also will present the nerves of
modulatory structures, together with their role in voice leading. We end this
chapter with a short set of examples of modulations in Beethoven’s op. 106.
23.1 The Concept of a Tonal Modulation

Schönberg describes a modulation from an old to a new tonality as a tripartite
process where the first part consists in a “neutralization” of the old tonality, the
second part brings what Schönberg calls the “fundamental” degrees of the new
tonality, and the third part presents a cadence in the new tonality, see Figure
23.1.
Fig. 23.1. Schönberg’s tripartite modulation, comprising the old tonality neutraliza-
tion step, then the fundamental degrees in the new tonality, and ending up with a
cadence in the new tonality.
This scheme is logical: We check out from the old hotel, and then we move
to the new one, and then we check in there. In fact, Schönberg stresses that a
modulation is more or less an involved trajectory. Here is his original text (in
an English translation):
There is, for example, a very popular harmony treatise in which mod-
ulations are almost exclusively made using the dominant seventh or
diminished seventh chord. And the author merely demonstrates that
after each major or minor triad, any of those two chords can be played,
23.1 The Concept of a Tonal Modulation 193
and thereby go to any tonality. If I wanted that, I could have finished

even earlier. In fact, I am able to show (using “gauged” examples from
literature) that you may use any triad after any other triad. So if that
reaches every tonality and thereby modulation has been realized, the
procedure would be even simpler. But a traveler, recounting his jour-
ney, would not describe it as the crow flies. The shortest path is the
worst. The bird’s perspective is the perspective of a bird’s brain. If ev-
erything is blurred, everything is possible. Differences disappear. And
it is then irrelevant whether I have made a modulation with a dominant
or diminished seventh chord. The essential of a modulation is not the
target, but the trajectory.
In Schönberg’s theory [103], we need to specify the following concepts:
1. What is a tonality?
2. What is a degree of a tonality?
3. What is a cadence?
4. Which is the modulation mechanism?
5. How do these structures determine the fundamental degrees of a modula-
tion?
These questions are never dealt with explicitly in common music theory,
but they are very important. For example, if the first question is not answered,
then a modulation theory should be able to deal with modulations from stan-
dard major tonalities to exotic pentatonic or Turkish microtonal tonalities. We
don’t know of a single serious modulation theory that would deal with such
cases. With these caveats in mind, we shall now define these concepts for our
specific present context. This endeavor is a useful exercise in reliable concep-
tualization.
Here are the answers to the above questions.
1. Tonality We take the set Dia of twelve diatonic scales T i C, i = 0, 1, 2, . . . 11
with C = {0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11}. For each scale X we take the covering of X
by the standard triadic degrees IX , IIX , . . . V IIX , and denote this data by
X (3) . The set Dia(3) = {X (3) |X = T i C, i = 0, 1, 2, . . . 11} is the collection
of tonalities. We present them by their nerves N (X (3) ), which are their har-
monic bands as discussed in Musical Example 39 in Chapter 16. Observe
that we tacitly identify these tonalities with the tonalities T i C (3) whose
tonic is i, although no tonic is selected. In music theory, this choice of the
tonic i is one of seven possible choices. This is called the ionian mode. There
is one mode for every choice of a pitch class in T i C. Here are the names of
the modes, which we explain for the C scale:
tonic c : ionian
tonic d : dorian
tonic e : phrygian
tonic f : lydian
tonic g : mixolydian
tonic a : aeolian
tonic b : locrian
This means that in our modulation theory, we may also change the mode
without changing the theoretical model, since the tonic is just an additional
specification without deeper consequences. Figure 23.2 shows the system
Dia(3) of all tonalities, which we also call triadic interpretations of the
major scales.
Fig. 23.2. The twelve tonalities of our modulation model.
We should add that this modulation theory relates to tonalities in 12-

tempered tuning. There is also a theory for the just tuning system that
works as well, but the mathematical content is somewhat different, see [75,
Section 27.1.6].
2. Degree A degree in tonality X (3) is one of the seven triadic degrees
IX , IIX . . . V IIX .
23.1 The Concept of a Tonal Modulation 195
3. Cadence Let T ria be the subset of 2Z12 consisting of all major, minor, or
diminished triads. There are five minimal subsets of degrees of a tonality
X (3) such that only this tonality contains these degrees. The types are as
follows:
type 1 : {IIX , IIIX }

type 2 : {IIX , VX }
type 3 : {IIIX , IVX }
type 4 : {IVX , VX }
type 5 : {V IIX }
We recognize the widely used cadence of type 4 in classical music: It is the

cadence that is realized in the cadential sequence I − IV − V − I. The
degree I is only used to define the tonic while degrees IV, V are sufficient
to determine the scale uniquely. Type 2 is frequently used in jazz—recall
the typical 251 movement, corresponding to II, V, I. There is a simple ex-
planation for these five cadences. When we represent a major scale as a
sequence of pitch classes in fourth or fifth distance, the cadences are those
collections of pitch classes that contain the leading tones and one tone in
the interior of the scale. For C, these are f, b, which is already contained in
cadence of type 5, degree V II, whereas another pitch class, for V II pitch
class d, determines which half of the seven-element sequence of fourths or
fifths is specified. The C scale is specified by d, whereas cadence of type 5
for G contains a instead of d.
A cadence is a map
cadi : Dia(3) → 2T ria , i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
that maps a tonality into one of the five cadence types. For example,
cadi (X (3) ) = {IIIX , IVX }.
4. Mechanism We are given two different tonalities X (3) , Y (3) . We model
the modulation mechanism using an idea from particle physics. In physics,
there are four basic forces: electromagnetic, strong, weak, and gravitational
force. Every force is supposed to materialize in bosons or force quanta.
Electromagnetism interacts via photons, weak force interacts via W + , W − ,
and Z bosons, strong force interacts via gluons, and gravitation interacts
via gravitons. In modulation theory we interpret the forces that “transform”
X (3) into Y (3) as symmetries g ∈ T Z12 that map the scale X into the scale
Y . Observe that such a symmetry automatically maps the degrees of X (3)
into the degrees of Y (3) . This yields our concept:
Definition 58 A modulation m : X (3) → Y (3) is an ordered pair m =

(cadi , g) of a cadence cadi and a symmetry g such that g(X (3) ) = Y (3) .
The symmetry g of modulation m is called the modulator and is the mech-

anism of modulation. There are always two symmetries g with g(X (3) ) =
Y (3) . In fact, one such g is the transposition from X to Y , and the other
is the inversion g(X) = Y . This follows from the fact that every major
scale X has an inversion as an inner symmetry, e.g., Id for C. See Figure
23.3, where we have shown the inner symmetry A of X together with the
transposition T t from X to Y .
Fig. 23.3. The inner symmetry A of X together with the transposition T t from X
to Y .
5. Fundamental degrees To get the fundamental degrees, we need the model

of a modulation quantum (in analogy to the bosons in physics), because
ultimately we look for some fundamental degrees and not only symmetries.
Here is the concept of a modulation quantum.
Definition 59 Given a pair X (3) , Y (3) of different tonalities and a mod-

ulation m = (cadi , g) : X (3) → Y (3) , a modulation quantum for m is a
subset Q ⊂ Z12 such that
a) g ∈ Sym(Q), where Sym(Q) is the subgroup of T Z12 that leaves Q
invariant.
b) All triads in cadi (Y (3) ) are subsets of Q.
c) The intersection T Z12 ∩ Sym(Y ∩ Q) is trivial and Y ∩ Q is covered by
degrees of Y (3) , i.e., it is the union of certain degrees of Y (3) .
d) The quantum Q is a minimal set with properties a) and b).
A modulation that admits a modulation quantum is called a quantized

modulation. The fundamental degrees of a quantized modulation are by
definition the degrees of Y (3) that cover Y ∩ Q. The hope now is that we
23.2 The Modulation Theorem 197
find enough quantized modulations and that their fundamental degrees are
those Schönberg found in his harmony.
23.2 The Modulation Theorem

The modulation theorem provides us with the information about the existence
of quantized modulations for the set Dia(3) of tonalities. The theorem is valid
for much-more general sets of tonalities in 12-tempered and just tuning, see
[75, Chapter 27], but for our modest needs, the case Dia(3) is sufficient.
Theorem 20 For the system Dia(3) of triadic interpretations of diatonic ma-

jor scales in 12-tempered tuning, there is a quantized modulation m = (cadi , g) :
X (3) → Y (3) for each ordered pair X (3) , Y (3) of tonalities. It has a total of 26
such modulations from a fixed tonality X (3) . The list of all quantized modula-
tions is given in Section 23.5 at the end of this chapter.
In the wider context of all scale types with seven notes that have triadic in-
terpretations with an inner symmetry and have quantized modulations for all
pairs of tonalities, the diatonic major scale case Dia(3) has the smallest number
of quantized modulations starting at a fixed tonality [75, Chapter 27, Theorem
30]. This means that the behavior of a type of tonality under modulation also
qualifies it: The diatonic major tonalities are the most economic candidates.
If we compare the table of modulations in Section 23.5 to Schönberg’s
lists of fundamental degrees, they coincide for every case where Schönberg has
discussed direct modulations.
Fig. 23.4. The nerves of a modulation C (3) → E(3) . On top is the nerve Q(3) of the
modulation quantum.
23.3 Nerves for Modulation

Since all modulations in our model involve triadic interpretations, we can look
for the nerves of our objects. The nerves of diatonic major scales are the
harmonic bands, and we now add the nerves Q(3) of the modulation quanta,
which refers to the triads from both tonalities that cover the quanta Q. Figure
23.4 shows the situation for modulation C (3) → E(3) . The nerve N (Q(3) ) is
shown on top. It connects the two harmonic bands and is covered by eight
triads: IIC , IVC , VC , V IIC from C and IIE , IIIE , VE , V IIE from E. It
shares two 2-simplices (triangles) with each harmonic band and contains a 3-
simplex spanned by IIC , V IIC , VE , V IIE as well as two 5-simplices, spanned
by IIC , VC , V IIC , IIIE , VE , V IIE and IIC , IVC , V IIC , IIE , VE , V IIE . As
these are five-dimensional, we cannot represent them (like with tetrahedra) in
three-space. The horizontal beams symbolize them instead. For a complete list
of modulation nerves, see [75, Figure 27.3].
This geometric representation of a modulation not only is nice to look at,
but it also carries important musical information. In fact, when we think about
the succession of degrees within a modulatory process, we move from vertices
v (degrees!) in the harmonic band of the old tonality to vertices u in the new
tonality. It is advantageous to look for walks on the connecting lines between
v and u, meaning that one moves from a vertex to another on a 1-simplex,
which guarantees common notes and therefore a connection that is preferred
by voice-leading arguments. Also, moving along lines that are embedded in
higher simplex configurations is preferred, because then the common notes are
even higher in number.
Fig. 23.5. A very short modulation B → G between distant tonalities in measures

238-239 of Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata op. 106.
23.4 Modulations in Beethoven’s op. 106 199
23.4 Modulations in Beethoven’s op. 106

Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata op. 106 is a challenge for modulation
theory. We find some modulations that are executed very fast, with a minimum
of notes, although they connect tonalities that are far from each other in terms
of fourth distance. For example, in the Allegro movement, there is a modulation
B → G between distant tonalities in measures 238-239. But there are other
modulations that have a huge anatomy that is difficult to understand without
a deeper understanding of the modulatory process.
Fig. 23.6. A complex modulation G → E.
Let us look at an example of such a complex modulation. Consider the

modulation G → E in measures 124-129 of the Allegro movement, see Fig-
ure 23.6. All modulations in the Allegro movement have been analyzed and
completely understood using our modulation theory, see [75, Section 28.2].
Here we want to give just one example, namely the modulation G → E in
measures 124-129 of the Allegro movement. This modulation is bipartite (first
part: measures 124-127, second part: measures 128-129). Before we encounter
the fundamental degrees V II − V − V II in E in part two, according to our
modulation table in Section 23.5, we hear note g as an octave interval: pedal and
stationary voice in the first part. The pitches of the first part, when transposed
into the octave spanned by the two g notes, show a regular melodic structure,
see Figure 23.6, bottom.
This structure has two parts: the first in measures 124-125, and the sec-
ond in measures 126-127. They are related to each other by the inversion at
d, which is the same as the inversion at g in pitch classes. This first part of
the modulation makes evident the inversion Id before we see the fundamental
degrees in the second part of the modulation. But why this preliminary inver-
sion? It is the modulator for the modulation in our model, Id (G(3) ) = E(3) .
This strategy is a beautiful compositional realization of what our model speci-
fies. The model does predict fundamental degrees, and it does so on the basis
of modulation forces that are provided by modulator symmetries. Beethoven
not only writes down the fundamental degrees, but also makes evident the
modulator in the first part of the modulation.
Our interpretation in this analysis does not assume that Beethoven has
performed his construction using the ideas of our model. But he might have
done so instinctively; one cannot know such hidden layers of creativity. This
situation is parallel to what happens in physics. We discover physical laws, but
we cannot know whether a divine creator (if this is the underlying cosmolog-
ical hypothesis) has constructed the universe according to these laws, which
are our way to understand nature. Nevertheless, the laws hold, and so does
our modulation module for the critical system of modulations in Beethoven’s
composition.
Concluding this chapter, we should add that our model also holds for
other compositions by Beethoven, for example for modulations in the Cavatina
movement of String Quartet op. 130.
23.5 Quanta and Fundamental Degrees 201
23.5 Quanta and and Fundamental Degrees for the

Modulations Between Diatonic Major Scales (Dia(3) )
The translation p indicates the relation Y (3) = T p X (3) .
Transl. p Cadence Quantum Modulator Fund. Degrees

1 {II, V } • ◦ • • ◦ • • • • • •• e5 11 {II, III, V, V II}
5
1 {II, III} • ◦ • • ◦ • • • • • •• e 11 {II, III, V, V II}
2 {V II} ◦ • • ◦ • • ◦ • ◦ ◦ ◦• e6 11 {II, IV, V II}
6
2 {II, V } ◦ • • ◦ • • ◦ • ◦ • ◦• e 11 {II, IV, V, V II}
6
2 {IV, V } ◦ • • ◦ • • ◦ • ◦ • ◦• e 11 {II, IV, V, V II}
3 {II, V } • ◦ • ◦ ◦ • ◦ • • • •• e7 11 {II, III, V, V II}
3 {II, III} • ◦ • ◦ ◦ • ◦ • • • •• e7 11 {II, III, V, V II}
4 {V II} ◦ ◦ • • ◦ • • ◦ ◦ • ◦• e8 11 {II, IV, V, V II}
8
4 {IV, V } ◦ • • • • • • • ◦ • ◦• e 11 {II, III, V, V II}
8
4 {II, III} • • • • ◦ • • • • • ◦• e 11 {V, V II}
9
5 {V II} ◦ ◦ • ◦ • • ◦ • ◦ ◦ •• e 11 {II, IV, V II}
6
6 {II, III} ◦ • • • • • ◦ • • • •• e {II, III, V, V II}
10
6 {IV, V } ◦ • • • • • • • • • ◦• e 11 {II, IV, V, V II}
6
6 {IV, V } • • • • ◦ • • • • • ◦• e {II, IV, V, V II}
10
6 {II, III} • • • • ◦ • ◦ • • • •• e 11 {II, III, V, V II}
11
7 {V II} • ◦ • ◦ ◦ • • ◦ ◦ • ◦• e 11 {III, V, V II}
8 {V II} ◦ • • ◦ ◦ • ◦ • ◦ ◦ •• e0 11 {II, V II}
0
8 {IV, V } ◦ • • • • • ◦ • • • •• e 11 {II, IV, V, V II}
8 {II, III} • • • • ◦ • ◦ • ◦ • •• e0 11 {II, III, V, V II}
9 {II, V } ◦ ◦ • ◦ • • • • • • ◦• e1 11 {II, IV, V, V II}
1
9 {IV, V } ◦ ◦ • ◦ • • • • • • ◦• e 11 {II, IV, V, V II}
2
10 {V II} • ◦ • • ◦ • ◦ ◦ ◦ • ◦• e 11 {III, V, V II}
2
10 {II, V } • ◦ • • ◦ • ◦ • ◦ • ◦• e 11 {II, III, V, V II}
2
10 {II, III} • ◦ • • ◦ • ◦ • ◦ • ◦• e 11 {II, III, V, V II}
3
11 {II, V } ◦ • • ◦ • • • • • • •• e 11 {II, IV, V, V II}
3
11 {IV, V } ◦ • • ◦ • • • • • • •• e 11 {II, IV, V, V II}
1
C -> F C -> B C -> Es
8 X XX X X XX XXX D X X XX b XX X b XX D XX XX X b
b XX b X XXX D
& 4 XX X X X XX XX X X X X X XX X X
8 X bX X X X X
D X X X XX X bX
D X X
bX b X X b XX
D
?4
IC VIIF IF IVF VF IF IC V VIIB VII I IC VC IIEs VEs VEs IEs
C IIIB B B
8
IIF VB VIIEs VIIEs
4 A B C A B C A B C
b X XX b XX D X XX XX b XX b XXX b b XXX bb XXX D

C -> As C -> Des C -> Ges
X b XXXX b XX b XXX D XX b XX b b XX
4
& XX XXX bX bX X X X
X XX b XX X X bX bX
X X bX bX bX
b X b X b X D X X XX X b XX XX b X D
? X bX D X
VIIAs IV V II VI VII VIIGes VGes I
IC IVC As As IAs IC IIIDes Des IIDesVDesIDes IC C C Ges
IIAs VIIDes IVC VIC IIGes IIGes VIIGes
A B C A B C A B C
XX XX X X #X X
X # X # XX
C -> H C -> E
XX # XX # XX # XX D
7
& #X XX XX # XX XX
X
X
X
X
XX XX # XX XX # # XX X X X X X X
#X
X
XD
? X X X #X
IIH VE
IC VC IIC IVH IVH VH IH IC VI IVE VE IE
VIIH C VIIE
A B C A B C
C -> D C -> G
# XX XX XX # XXX D XX XXX XX
C -> A
X XX X X XX # XX X D
10
& XX XX XX XX # XX D X X X X XX
X X X X X X XX # XX XX XX X D
? X X XX # XX XX XX D XX X X #X X D XX
X
X X
IVA IID
IC VC IC VI
IVA V I
VIIA A A C VC VII VD ID IC VC IIIG IIG VG IG
D
A B C A B C A B C
Fig. 23.7. Examples of modulations C (3) → Y (3) according to our model. The three
Schönberg steps are notated with A, B, C. The modulation to B (3) is notated by
the German letter H for B, while the symbol B stands for English B. The sound
example is modulation.
Part VI
Rings and Modules

24
Rings and Fields
Summary. Rings are the basic structures for algebra. We already have many
examples of rings: the integers, real and complex numbers, and the structure
of addition and multiplication that was defined on Zn in the chapter about the
third torus and its geometry.
–Σ–
Definition 60 A ring is a triple (R, +, ∗), where

(i) (R, +) is a commutative group with additively written operation and neutral
element 0R ,
(ii) (R, ∗) is a monoid with multiplicatively written operation and neutral ele-
ment 1R , and
(iii) the two operations are connected by the two distributive laws
x ∗ (y + z) = x ∗ y + x ∗ z
(y + z) ∗ x = y ∗ x + z ∗ x
for all x, y, z ∈ R. The ring is commutative if (R, ∗) is so. A subring S ⊂ R
is an additive subgroup that is also a multiplicative submonoid.
√
Example 21 The chain Z ⊂ Q ⊂ R ⊂ C represents successively increasing
subrings. The ring Zn defined in Section 21.1.1 is a ring. All these rings are
commutative, but we shall see important examples of non-commutative rings.
For any family of rings (Rn , +n , ∗n )n , the cartesian product n Rn is a
ring whose operations +, ∗ are simply the operations +n , ∗n on each coordinate
ring Rn .
ˇ “* Example 53 The rings Z3 , Z4 , Z12 , as well as the cartesian product ring

Z3 × Z4 defined in Section 21.1.1, are rings that play a major role in music
theory.
√
Exercise 27 Prove that in any ring, r ∗ 0R = 0R .

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_24
206 24 Rings and Fields
24.1 Monoid Algebras and Polynomials

An important non-commutative ring is deduced from any commutative ring R,
together with a monoid M . The ring is called monoid algebra over R and M
and is denoted by RM . The underlying set of RM is the set
{f |f : M → R such that f (m) = 0 for a finite number of monoid elements}.
Addition of two such functions f, g is defined in a straightforward manner:
(f + g)(m) = f (m) + g(m),
which is clearly a function of the required type. Multiplication of f, g is defined

by
(f ∗ g)(m) = f (n) ∗ g(l),
n,l,n∗l=m
again the required type. The 0R M element here is the zero function f (m) = 0
for all m ∈ M . The 1R M element is the function f (eM ) = 1R and f (m) = 0R
for all m = eM . There is a natural commutative subring of RM , namely the
set of functions fr (eM ) = r and fr (m) = 0R for m = eM . We denote these
functions fr by r if no confusion of notation results. Therefore we may identify
R with the subring of these special functions within RM . The monoid M is
also embedded in RM by fm (m) = 1R and fm (n) = 0R for n = m. Check
that the monoid multiplication carries over to the multiplication among these
special functions, and we may identify M with this multiplicative submonoid
of RM , see the following diagram.
R - RM
6
M
A core example of such an algebra is provided when taking the word
monoid M = P ath(A) of an alphabet A, denoted by RA. For our purposes,
the most important case is the simple one-letter alphabet A = {X}, where X
is usually called the indeterminate of this algebra. The path monoid consists of
the natural powers X n , n ∈ N of X. This algebra is called polynomial algebra
and is denoted by R[X]. The algebra’s elements are represented as follows: For
an element a ∈ R and a natural number n, we can consider the function aX n
defined by aX n (X n ) = a and aX n (X m ) = 0 for m = n. Then if the natural
powers of X, where the function values f (X n ) = an might not vanish, are ≤ N ,
we can write
f= an X n .
n≤N
24.1 Monoid Algebras and Polynomials 207
And this representation is unique. Such functions are called polynomials in the
indeterminate X and coefficients in R. In particular, the 1 element is 1 = 1R X 0 ,
which we identify with eP ath(A) and the zero element is 0 = 0R eP ath(A) = 0R 1.
The ring elements an in a polynomial are called its coefficients of a determined
power of the indeterminate. The addition of two polynomials is as follows:

an X n + bn X n = (an + bn )X n
n≤N n≤N n≤N
whereas the product of two polynomials is

( an X n ) ∗ ( bn X n ) = (an bl )X (n+l) = (an bl )X m .
n≤N n≤N n,l≤N n+l=m
It’s clear that the polynomial algebra R[X] is commutative.

√
Exercise 28 Verify all these ring properties for the polynomial algebra
R[X].
Similar to monoid morphisms and group homomorphisms, there are also
ring homomorphisms.
Definition 61 If (R, +R , ∗R ), (S, +S , ∗S ) are two rings, a ring homomorphism

is a map f : R → S that is a group homomorphism for addition and a monoid
morphism for multiplication. The set of ring homomorphisms f : R → S is
denoted by Rings(R, S).
Clearly, the composition g ◦ f : R → T of two ring homomorphisms g : R →
S, g : S → T is a ring homomorphism, and the identity IdR : R → R is a ring
homomorphism.
√
Example 22 The embeddings Z Q R C are ring homomor-
phisms. The projection Z → Zn , as well as the projections Z12 → Z3 , Z12 → Z4
discussed in Section 21.1.1, are ring homomorphisms. Another example is the
embedding R RM of monoid algebras.
Also, if n Rn is a cartesian prod-
uct of rings Rn , the projection prm : n Rn → Rm to the mth component rm
of a sequence (rn ) is a ring homomorphism.
ˇ “*
Example 54 The map (pr3 , pr4 ) : Z12 → Z3 × Z4 : x12 → (x3 , x4 ) defined
in Section 21.1 is a ring homomorphism, but the map (also defined there)
Id × (−1) × (pr3 , pr4 ) is not a ring homomorphism because the 112 does not
map to the unit (13 , 14 ).
Proposition 17 Let R be a commutative ring, A an alphabet, and S a ring.

Then for any given ring homomorphism f : R → S, we have a bijection
∼
Ringsf (RA, S) → Set(A, S) : g → g|A
where Ringsf (RA, S) denotes the set of ring homomorphisms that restrict to
f when restricted to R.
In particular, if A = {X}, the polynomial ring homomorphisms g that
extend a given ring homomorphism f : R → S are in bijection with the elements
a ∈ S by the association g → g(X). Such homomorphisms are called polynomial
functions. For example, if f : R → C is the canonical embedding of the reals in
the complex numbers, the polynomial functions g : R[X] → C nare given by the
value x =
f (X), and the functions map a polynomial n an X to the complex
number n an xn .
ˇ “*
Example 55 Polynomial functions play a crucial role in the theory of mu-
sical performance. We shall deal with that theory in Chapter 32. But let us
preview the role of polynomials in this theory. Often, musicians have to perform
changes of musical parameters that are not explicitly notated. A basic example
is glissando, where the score notation shows only the initial pitch p1 and the
final pitch p2 of glissando. The musician then has to move from the beginning
to the end in a continuous curve of intermediate pitches. Whenever this move-
ment has to be defined precisely, be it for a software that implements glissandi
or for theoretical reasons, such a glissando curve must be defined in explicit
terms. Then we have to define a function gliss : [a, b] → R from a time interval
[a, b] to the real-number-valued pitch domain R. Typically such a function gliss
is defined by a polynomial function of shape P [X] = rX 3 + sX 2 + tX + d. But
we also want that P (a) = p1 , P (b) = p2 and that the slope of the function is
horizontal in the two limit times. Slopes will be discussed in Chapter 31. Such
a function is shown in Figure 24.1.
For other parameters, such as time changes with tempo, ritardando or
accelerando, and dynamics changes such as crescendo or diminuendo, similar
polynomials functions are used, but see Chapter 32 for details.
Much like homomorphisms of groups, ring homomorphisms have kernels,

too, and we have a similar result describing images of ring homomorphisms in
terms of quotient rings. This result is also valid for non-commutative rings, but
we don’t need it, and it looks somewhat more complicated.
Definition 62 If f : R → S is a ring homomorphism, its kernel Ker(f ) is

defined to be the group-theoretical kernel of f .
ˇ “* Example 56 The kernel of the ring homomorphism Z12 → Z3 : x12 → x3

is the subgroup 4Z12 . It is the diminished seventh chord C o7 in the pitch-class
set Z12 . The kernel of the ring homomorphism Z12 → Z4 : x12 → x4 is the
subgroup 3Z12 . It its the augmented triad C + in the pitch-class set Z12 .
Proposition 18 Let R be a commutative ring. Then a subgroup I ⊂ R is the

kernel I = Ker(f ) of a ring homomorphism f : R → S iff
24.1 Monoid Algebras and Polynomials 209
Fig. 24.1. Glissando by a polynomial function P [X] = rX 3 + sX 2 + tX + d, starting

at pitch 60 (middle c) at time 0, and ending at time 2 on pitch 67 (fifth g above
middle pitch). Slopes are horizontal at beginning and ending times.
rI ⊂ I
for all r ∈ R. In this case the subgroup is called an ideal in R.
Proof 14 The proof is a construction that we need to spell out. First, suppose
that I = Ker(f ), f : R → S. Then for i ∈ I and r ∈ R, we have f (ri) =
f (r)f (i) = f (r)0S = 0S , and thus the property rI ⊂ I. Conversely, suppose
this property holds for I. Then, as R is a commutative additive group, we may
apply the theorem in Section 19.2 with its commutative diagram of groups:
G
f
- K
6
f
proj inj
?
?
--
∼f 6
G/H → Im(f )
to our situation for G = R, K = S, and H = I, getting a group diagram
R
f
- S
6
f
proj inj
?
?
--
∼f 6
R/I → Im(f )
The missing part here is that R/I is only a group, not a ring. The ring
structure on R/I is defined as follows: For r + I, s + I in R/I, we define
r + I ∗ s + I = rs + I.
This multiplication is well defined since for other representatives r + i, s + j,

we have (r + i)(s + j) + I = rs + rj + si + ij + I, and because rj, si, ij ∈ I
by the property of the ideal I, the product is well defined. Once this holds, the
ring axioms for R/I are easily verified, and we also know that the maps in our
commutative diagram are all ring homomorphisms.
We call the quotient group R/I with this ring structure the quotient ring
of R modulo the ideal I.
√
Example 23 For any subgroup nZ ⊂ Z, n ∈ N, we have the quotient ring
Zn := Z/nZ that was defined in Section 21.1.1. This example is a special case
of a principal ideal, which by definition is an ideal of shape I = rR, which one
denotes by (r).
The other example that also played a major role in our earlier theory is
the ideal O ⊂ C of zero sequences in the ring C of Cauchy sequences used to
define real numbers as a quotient ring R = C/O in Chapter 12.
We now come back to the general philosophy of solving problems by trans-

forming the problem into its solution. Here, we want to apply this philosophy to
the construction of complex numbers from real numbers. Recall that the prob-
lem of real numbers was that polynomial equations, in particular X 2 + 1 = 0,
have no solutions in general. So now the problem is the ring R[X] of polyno-
mials with real coefficients. We want to reconstruct C from this ring. To this
end, we consider the homomorphism

f : R[X] → C : an X n → an in
n n
defined by sending X to the imaginary unit i, and by the identity on the real
coefficients. We now that f is surjective because the images of aX + b are all
imaginary numbers ai + b. The kernel of f contains the principal ideal (X 2 + 1)
since f (X 2 + 1) = i2 + 1 = 0.
We now show that Ker(f ) = (X 2 + 1). This will imply that R[X]/(X 2 +
∼
1) → C, i.e., the complex numbers can be constructed from the problem set
R[X] and a quotient construction! The claimed equation follows from the fact
that any polynomial P ∈ R[X] can be written in the form P = H(X 2 + 1) +
aX + b. We shall prove this fact in the next section. If we use this formula,
then P ∈ Ker(f ) implies 0 = f (P ) = f (H)f (X 2 + 1) + ai + b = ai + b, and so
a = b = 0, i.e., P = H(X 2 + 1) ∈ (X 2 + 1), and we are done.
24.2 Fields 211
24.2 Fields
Definition 63 A non-zero commutative ring R is called a field iff every non-
zero element x ∈ R is invertible, i.e., R∗ = R − {0}.
In particular, in a field R the product xy of non-zero elements x, y is

non-zero. If it were zero, we could multiply it with the inverse x−1 and get
0 = x−1 xy = y, a contradiction.
√
Example 24 The rings Q, R, C are fields. If p is a prime number, the quo-
tient ring Zp is a field.

Definition 64 If P = n an X n ∈ R[X] is a non-zero polynomial, the highest
natural number N such that aN = 0 is called the degree of P and denoted by
deg(P ).
Proposition 19 If R is a field, then for any two non-zero polynomials P, Q ∈

R[X], we have
deg(P Q) = deg(P ) + deg(Q).
In fact, if P = aN X N + aN −1 X N −1 + . . . a0 , Q = bM X M + bM −1 X M −1 + . . . b0
with aN , bM = 0, i.e., deg(P ) = N, deg(M ) = M , then the highest power
of X with non-zero coefficient in P Q is N + M since P Q = aN bM X N +M +
(aN bM −1 + aN −1 bM )X N +M −1 + . . . a0 b0 , and aN bM = 0 for the field R.
Theorem 21 (Division Theorem) If P and Q are non-zero polynomials in

the polynomial algebra K[X] over a field K, then there are uniquely determined
polynomials H, R such that Q = HP +R with either R = 0 or deg(R) < deg(P ).
The proof is easy and works by induction on deg(P ), we omit it. This
theorem implies our above claim that any polynomial P ∈ R[X] can be written
in the form P = H(X 2 + 1) + aX + b.
Corollary 3 The ring of integers Z and the polynomial algebra K[X] for a
field K are principal ideal rings, i.e., every ideal is principal.
In the case of Z, take a minimal positive number n ∈ I in an ideal I (the

case I = (0) is trivial). Any x ∈ I can be written as x = an + b, 0 ≤ b < n. But
then, b = x − an is also in I, and so b = 0 by the choice of n. In the case of
K[X], we take a polynomial P with minimal degree in the ideal I. Any element
x ∈ I can rewritten as x = HP + R, where either R = 0 or deg(R) < deg(P ).
The second case means that x − HP = R is in I, but this contradicts the choice
of P , so only the first case is possible, and we are done.
Proposition 20 A proper ideal I in a commutative ring R is maximal (i.e.,

there is no strictly larger proper ideal in R) iff R/I is a field.
Proof 15 Any proper ideal J with I ⊂ J ⊂ R is mapped to an ideal J/I ⊂

R/I. If R/I is a field, it contains no proper ideal except the zero ideal (0).
Therefore J/I = (0), i.e., J = I. Conversely, if I is maximal, then I and any
element x ∈ R − I must generate the ideal of the entire ring R. This means
that 1R = yx + j, j ∈ I. But then 1R/I = (x + I)(y + I), so in R/I, every
non-zero element is invertible.
√
Example 25 The last proposition shows that the ideal (X 2 +1) is maximal
∼
in R[X] because C → R[X]/(X 2 + 1) is a field.
25
Primes
Summary. Prime numbers play a crucial role in music theory, and in par-
ticular in the theory of tuning. In this chapter, we prove uniqueness of prime
decomposition for the integers and polynomial rings.
–Σ–
In a commutative ring R, if x = yz we write also y|x and say that y is a
divisor of x.
Definition 65 An element p ∈ R in a commutative ring R = 0 is prime

if it is not invertible and if any decomposition p = qr implies that either q
or r is invertible. For polynomial algebras, prime polynomials are also called
irreducible.
Proposition 21 If R = Z or R = K[X], and K is a field, then every non-

invertible element x = 0 has a factorization x = p1 p2 . . . pk as a product of
primes pi .
The proof in the case Z has already been indicated in Section 9.1. It goes
by induction on |z|: If z is not prime, we can write it as a product z = xy
with 1 < |x|, |y| < |z| since |x| = |z| implies y = ±1, which is invertible, and
same argument for |y| = |z|. For the polynomial algebra R = K[X], we take
deg(P ) instead of the absolute value. Then if P = QR, we have deg(P ) =
deg(Q) + deg(R). If P is not irreducible, there is such a factorization with
0 < deg(Q), deg(R) < deg(P ), because deg(Q) = 0 implies that Q ∈ K, and
same argument for deg(R) = 0. Again, we have induction on degrees.
√
Example 26 For Z, we know some small primes, such as
±2, ±3, ±5, ±7, ±11, ±13, . . . ,
and we have already shown in Section 9.1 that there are infinitely many primes
here. For R = R[X], all linear polynomials aX + b, a = 0 are irreducible as their

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_25
214 25 Primes
degree is 1. Also, all quadratic polynomials aX 2 + b, a, b > 0 are irreducible. In

fact, suppose a = 1, and then if we had a factorization X 2 + b = (uX + v)(rX +
s), we may also suppose u = r = 1, and then we get X 2 +b = X 2 +(v+s)X +vs.
But v + s = 0 implies that either v or s is negative while the other is positive,
as vs = 0. Then vs cannot be positive.
Definition 66 If R is a commutative ring, it is called an integral domain if

the equation xy = 0 implies that either x or y is zero.
Proposition 22 In a principal ideal integral domain R, an ideal I is maximal

iff I = (p) for a prime p ∈ R.
In fact, if (p) is maximal, then p = qr implies (p) ⊂ (q), so either (q) = R, hence
q ∈ R∗ , or (p) = (q), hence p = qr, q = ps, i.e., p = rsp, (1 − rs)p = 0, hence
1 = rs as R is an integral domain. Therefore r is invertible and p is prime. If
(p) is not maximal, there is a strictly larger intermediate ideal (q), therefore
p = rq with both r and q not invertible, i.e., p is not prime.
ˇ “*
Example 57 The quotient rings Zp for primes p are fields, a fact already
mentioned in Section 24.1. This applies to the musical case Z3 . Also, it is im-
portant to note that both Z12 and Z4 are not fields, because there are sequences
0, x, 2x, . . . for x = 0 that don’t cover the entire rings, e.g., 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 in Z12 .
The next result deals with unicity in the prime factorization.
Proposition 23 If R is a principal ideal integral domain, then for a prime

factorization x = p1 p2 . . . pk and any prime divisor p|x there is a prime pi such
that p = epi , e ∈ R∗ .
Since R/(p) is a field, the equation x = p1 p2 . . . pk implies that in R/(p), pi ,
one of the factors, must vanish, i.e., pi ∈ (p), therefore p = epi with e ∈ R∗ .
Corollary 4 If R is a principal ideal integral domain, then two prime fac-

torizations x = p1 p2 . . . pk = q1 q2 . . . ql must have the same number k = l of
factors and there is a permutation π of [1, k] such that qj = ej pπ(j) for all
j ∈ [1, k].
In particular, since we know that Z and K[X] for a field K have prime fac-
torizations for any non-invertible element, their factorizations are unique up to
permutations and multiplications of their prime factors by invertible elements.
√
This unicity was used already in Chapter 12 about the irrationality of 2
when calculating the kernel of the group homomorphism Z12 → Z3 × Z4 in
Section 21.1.
25 Primes 215
ˇ “* Example 58 The probably single most important musical consequence of

the prime factorization theorem, Corollary 4, is that in just tuning, the expo-
nents of primes 2, 3, 5 are unique. More precisely, Western (and more specif-
ically just) tuning considers frequencies of shape f (o, q, t) = f0 2o 3q 5t for ra-
tional exponents o, q, t ∈ Q and a basic frequency f0 . The claim is that the
map (o, q, t) → f (o, q, t) is injective. In fact, suppose f0 2o 3q 5t = f0 2u 3v 5w
for o, q, t, u, v, w ∈ Q. Then we infer 1 = 2o−u 3q−v 5t−w . We have to prove
1 = 2a 3b 5c , a, b, c ∈ Q iff a = b = c = 0. But write a = aa12 , b = bb12 , c = cc12 , then
we get 2a1 3b1 5c1 = 2a2 3b2 5c2 for integer exponents. Multiplying this equation
with a sufficiently high positive power of the three primes, we may suppose that
all exponents are positive. But then, by the uniqueness of prime factorization,
the exponents of 2, 3, 5 must be equal, and therefore they were also equal before
our multiplication with that high power of the three primes.
This fact is crucial for the musical understanding of all tunings, just and
tempered. See Chapter 28 for details.
26
Matrices
Summary. Matrices are a very classical tabular form to represent data, for
example in accounting. They are built from columns that are juxtaposed and
can be split horizontally into a stack of rows. The novelty in mathematics is
that matrices that are built from numbers can be used to perform calculations
that are of general benefit to mathematics.
–Σ–
Fig. 26.1. A matrix built from columns in Greek temples. For every column j, we
have its building blocks aij , referring to row i. The third dimension of depth is not
dealt with in this book, but there are also three-dimensional matrices in mathematics.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_26
218 26 Matrices
Matrices are the backbone of algebra. They are indispensable for most
concrete calculations, but they also share the structure of a category (we shall
discuss categories in Chapter 29) in a particularly transparent way. Moreover,
matrices provide us with examples of important algebraic structures of modules
(we shall discuss modules in Chapter 27). Finally, matrices also provide us with
core examples of non-commutative rings.
26.1 Generalities on Matrices

For natural numbers n ≥ 1, we denote by [1, n] the set {1, 2, . . . n} of the first
n positive natural numbers.
Definition 67 Suppose we are given two positive natural numbers m, n and

a commutative ring R. A m × n-matrix with coefficients in R is a set map
M : [1, m] × [1, n] → R. The images M (i, j) are denoted with indices, M (i, j) =
Mi,j . Matrices are typically represented in matrix form with m rows and n
columns: ⎛ ⎞
M11 M12 . . . M1n
⎜ ⎟
⎜ M21 M22 . . . M2n ⎟
M = (Mij ) = ⎜⎜
⎟.
⎟
⎝ ... ⎠
Mm1 Mm2 . . . Mmn
The set of m × n-matrices with coefficients in R is denoted by Mm,n (R). The
matrix transposition is a bijection
∼
?t : Mm,n (R) → Mn,m (R) : M → M t
with (M t )ji = Mij ; we have (M t )t = M . For an element λ ∈ R and a ma-

trix M ∈ Mm,n (R), we have its scalar-multiplied λM that has the coefficients
(λM )ij = λMij .
The identity matrix En of rank n is the matrix in Mn,n (R) with (En )ij =
δij , where δii = 1R for all indices i, and zero otherwise (δij is called the Kro-
necker delta).
There are several core algebraic operations on matrices. To begin with, if

M, N ∈ Mm,n (R), then we define their sum M + N by
(M + N )ij = Mij + Nij .
This turns Mm,n (R) into a commutative group, and we have the isomorphism
∼
of groups Mm,n (R) → Rmn , the cartesian product of mn copies of the additive
group of R.
The product of matrices is slightly more involved: If M ∈ Mm,n (R) and
N ∈ Mn,l (R), then we define their product M N ∈ Mm,l (R) by
26.1 Generalities on Matrices 219

(M N )ik = Mij Njk .
j
This means that the coefficient (M N )ik at row i and column k is the sum of
the products Mij Njk of the ith-row coefficients of M with the corresponding
kth column coefficients of N .
To show the number of rows and columns of a matrix M ∈ Mm,n (R), we
also write it as a symbol of a function (and you will see soon that this has good
reasons): M : En → Em .
ˇ “*
Example 59 If we want to list the number of instruments of an orchestra
with n instrument types (violins, violoncellos, bassoons, etc.) with respect to
the m movements, we can describe this by a m × n matrix M , where Mi,j
denotes the number of instruments of type j in movement i.
Sorite 10 We have the following properties for all λ, μ ∈ R, and M, N : En →

Em . Also, let A : En → Em , B : Em → El , C : El → Ek be three matrixes over
R.
(i) Scalar multiplication is homogeneous, so we have λ.(μ.M ) = (λ.μ).M ,
therefore we may write λ.μ.M for this expression.
(ii) Scalar multiplication is distributive, i.e., we have
(λ + μ).M = λ.M + μ.M
and
λ.(M + N ) = λ.M + λ.N.
(iii) Scalar multiplication and transposition commute: (λ.M )t = λ.M t .
(iv) (Associativity) (C.B).A = C.(B.A), which we therefore denote by C.B.A.
(v) (Distributivity) If C : El → Ek and B : Em → El are two matrixes over
R, then (C + C ).B = C.B + C .B and C.(B + B ) = C.B + C.B .
(vi) (Homogeneity) If λ ∈ R is a scalar, then λ.(C.B) = (λ.C).B = C.(λ.B),
which we therefore denote by λ.C.B.
(vii) (Neutrality of identity matrixes) We have A.En = Em .A = A.
(viii) (C.B)t = B t .C t .
The proof of these properties is straightforward, so we omit it.

√
Example 27 In particular, the triple (Mn,n (R), +, .) of square n × n ma-
trices over R is a non-commutative ring for n > 1. The ring R is embedded
in Mn,n (R) by R Mn,n (R) : λ → λ.En , the diagonal matrices. It can be
shown that these matrices are the only ones that commute with the entire ring
Mn,n (R), i.e., M.C = C.M for all M ∈ Mn,n (R) iff C = λEn . The subring of
these commuting matrices in a ring is called the center of the ring. In short,
the center of Mn,n (R) is R.
220 26 Matrices
Here is the justification for our functional notation of matrices. Let M :

∼
En → Em be a matrix with coefficients in R. Observing that Mn,1 → Rn , it
defines a map
−
→
M : Rn → Rm : v → M v.
−→ − → −→ −−→ −
→
Clearly M = N iff M = N , En = IdRn , and λM = λM , the latter being the
−→ −
→
map λM (v) = λ(M v). Moreover, whenever we have two matrices M : En →
Em , N : El → En , then
−−→ − → − →
MN = M ◦ N
−
→
This means that the map M(R) → Ens : M : En → Em → M : Rn → Rm
on the set M(R) of all matrices over R conserves composition of matrices and
maps the identities En to identity maps of sets. This is what we call a functorial
map from matrices to sets. We shall come back to this situation in Chapter 29.
√
Example 28 It is important to have some examples of matrix operations
that can be visualized on the plane. Let us look at the case M ∈ M2,2 (R). Such
a matrix is a square 2 × 2 array

ab
M=
cd
−
→
and its associated map M : R2 → R2 maps a vector (x, y) that is interpreted
as a matrix
x
v=
y
to the vector
−
→ ax + by
M (v) =
cx + dy
−
→
which we rewrite as M (v) = (ax + by, cx + dy) to keep notation of vectors
consistent as pairs of real numbers. Observe that property (i) in the above
sorite means that the line R(x, y) in R2 that is defined by (x, y) is mapped to
−
→
the line that is defined by (ax + by, cx + dy). And also M (0) = 0. This is why
−
→
the maps M are called linear; more precisely, they are group homomorphisms
2 2
R → R that preserve scalar multiplication.
Let us give a geometric interpretation of some typical matrices, see also
Figure 26.2.
26.1 Generalities on Matrices 221
Fig. 26.2. Six frequent transformations on R2 that are induced by 2 × 2 matrices.

−1 0
M1 = horizontal reflection
0 1

1 0
M2 = vertical reflection
0 −1

−1 0
M3 = = M1 M2 180o rotation
0 −1

11
M4 = horizontal shearing
01

0 −1
M5 = 90o rotation
1 0
⎛ ⎞
√1 √−1
M6 = ⎝ 2 2⎠ 45o rotation
√1 √1
2 2
Observe that matrices M1 , M2 , M3 , M4 , M5 are also in M2,2 (Z), while M6 is

strictly in M2,2 (R).
222 26 Matrices
ˇ “* Example 60 Let us give some standard musical interpretations of the above

transformations.
1. Horizontal reflection M1 . On the plane of onset and pitch, this transfor-
mation reverses onsets and leaves pitches fixed. It is often associated with
retrograde. However, that is not exactly what retrograde does. In fact, the
durations of notes play a role in retrograde. For example, if a long note
follows a short note without rest, the reflection M1 on the onset parame-
ter does not change the difference of the two onsets, and this causes the
reflected long note to overlap with the short reflected successor. We need
some additional transformation for a correct retrograde. We shall solve this
problem using the horizontal shearing.
2. Vertical reflection M2 . The vertical reflection on the onset-pitch plane
is what is known as inversion. That this inversion is a reflection at pitch
zero is not relevant now—it depends only on the gauging of pitch—but we
shall see the full formalism for general inversions in Section 27.1.
3. 180o rotation M3 . This rotation is the composition of inversion M2 and
retrograde M1 . It is known as the retrograde inversion. We already discussed
this understanding of the 180o rotation as a composed transformation in
Music Example 45.
4. Horizontal shearing M4 . This transformation can be viewed in the plane
of onset and pitch as an arpeggio, which in music means to play the notes
of a chord one after the other from the top or the bottom. Notes that
have the same onset define a chord, and their M4 -transformed notes are
then played one after the other, starting on the lowest pitch. But a second
interpretation is more substantial. If we consider the plane of

onset and
−1 −1
duration, the retrograde is defined by the matrix M7 = . The onset
0 1
o is transformed into the new onset −o − d, where d is the note’s duration.
This matrix is the product M7 = M1 .M4 , the “false” retrograde M1 times
the shearing M4 .
5. 90o rotation M5 . This
transformation can be viewed as the product
0 1
M8 .M2 , where M8 = is the exchange of onset and pitch. The latter
1 0
was discovered by Karlheinz Stockhausen while building sound transforma-
tion devices at the lab of Herbert Eimert in Cologne. This means that M5
is generated by parameter exchange and inversion.
6. 45o rotation M6 . This transformation was used by serial composers, such
as Maurizio Kagel.
26.2 Determinants
We shall not discuss the full theory of determinants, but restrict our attention to
determinants in the case of the above example, i.e., M ∈ M2,2 (R). Determinants
26.3 Linear Equations 223
−
→
are numbers that help determine when the associated map M : R2 → R2 is a
bijection.

ab
Definition 68 If M = ∈ M2,2 (R), then we define det(M ) = ad − cb.
cd
Sorite 11 For M, N ∈ M2,2 (R), we have
det(M N ) = det(M )det(N ).

−
→
The map M : R2 → R2 is a bijection iff det(M ) ∈ R∗ . In that case, the inverse
−
→−1
M is defined by the matrix

d −b
−1 det(M ) det(M ) 1 d −b
M = = .
−c a det(M ) −c a
det(M ) det(M )
√
Example 29
−1 −1
0 −1 0 1 11 1 −1
= , = .
1 0 −1 0 01 0 1
These matrices also have their determinants in Z∗ , which is essential for the
existence of the inverse with integer coefficients.
26.3 Linear Equations

This is just a minor addendum to demonstrate the benefit from matrix cal-
culus for the management of classical equations. We are given a number of m
equations with n unknowns xi and coefficients bij in a commutative ring R:
a1 = b11 x1 + b12 x2 + . . . b1n xn

a2 = b21 x1 + b22 x2 + . . . b2n xn
...
am = bm1 x1 + bm2 x2 + . . . bmn xn
This configuration can be restated using matrices. We have three matrices

A = (ai ) ∈ Mm,1 (R), B = (bij ) ∈ Mm,n (R), X = (xj ) ∈ Mn,1 (R) and consider
the equation of matrices A = BX. In general, one may assume that m = n and
B is invertible, so that the solution is X = B −1 A.
224 26 Matrices
√
Example 30 Let us look at a simple example of a linear equation
3 = 5x1 − 2x2
−2 = 3x1 + 6x2
This defines the matrix equation

3 5 −2 x1
= . .
−2 3 6 x2
We have
−1
6 2 1 1
5 −2 1 6 2 6 18
= = 36 36 = .
3 6 36 −3 5 −3 5 1 5
36 36 −12 36
Therefore we get

1 1 7
x1 6 18 3
= 1 5
. = 18
−19
.
x2 −12 36 −2 36
27
Modules
Summary. Many core structures in algebra are richer than groups but poorer
than rings. For example, an ideal I ⊂ R in a commutative ring is an additive
subgroup, but not a ring because it has no 1 in general. However, one may
multiply elements of I with any ring elements. Also, the set Mm,n (R) is an
additive group, but not a ring for n = m. Its structure as a cartesian product
ring Rmn is rarely considered. But again, one may multiply a matrix by a
“scalar” from R. These structures remind us of vector calculus in high school.
This is what we now want to investigate for the sake of music theory. The
structure of this type is called a “module”, and we want to give a short and
very incomplete account of the theory of modules, which plays a major role in
mathematical music theory.
–Σ–
Definition 69 Given a commutative ring R, an R-module is a triple (R, M, ∗),

where M is a commutative group (with additive operation) and ∗ : R × M → M
is the scalar multiplication such that
(i) (homogeneity) r ∗ (s ∗ m) = (rs) ∗ m for all r, s ∈ R and m ∈ M ,
(ii) (distributivity) (r + s) ∗ m = r ∗ m + s ∗ m and r ∗ (m + n) = r ∗ m + r ∗ n
for all r, s ∈ R, m, n ∈ M .
The elements of M are usually called vectors.
For two modules (R, M, ∗M ), (R, N, ∗N ), an R-linear homomorphism f :
M → N is a homomorphism of additive groups such that f (r∗M m) = r∗N f (m)
for all r ∈ R, m ∈ M . The set of R-linear homomorphisms f : M → N
is denoted by ModR (M, N ). Clearly, linear homomorphisms can be composed
composed in much the same way as group homomorphisms, and the identity
IdM is R-linear.
√
Example 31 The simplest construction of R-modules is by cartesian prod-
ucts of R. Given a natural number n, we consider the cartesian product group

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_27
226 27 Modules
Rn , and the scalar multiplication is defined component-wise: If r ∈ R and

(ri )i ∈ Rn , then one defines r ∗ (ri )i = (rri )i . This is the R-module structure
∼
that we defined in Chapter 26.1 for matrix sets Mm,n (R) → Rmn . For this
−
→
structure, the maps M : Rn → Rm become R-linear homomorphisms. This
−
→
means that the map M → M is functorial not only into Set, but even into
ModR , the “category” of R-modules and R-linear homomorphisms. We shall
flesh out the concept of a category in Chapter 29, but here it is simply the
system of R-modules together with their R-linear maps that can be composed
and have identities.
If M is an R-module and S ⊂ M any subset, there is a minimal submodule
N ⊂ M such that S ⊂ N , it is called the module generated by S and denoted by
S. This one is defined as the intersection of all submodules of M that contain
S. It is the
set of all linear combinations of elements of S, i.e., of elements of
the form i ri si where ri ∈ R and si ∈ S. If S = ∅, we defineS = (0).
If (Mi )i∈I is a family
of R-modules, their direct sum i Mi is the set
of all families (mi )i ∈ i Mi that have mi = 0 for all but a finite number
of indices i. Addition is defined factor-wise, (mi )i + (ni )i = (mi + ni )i , and
scalar multiplication by r(mi )i = (rmi )i . For each index j we have an R-linear
surjective homomorphism pr i : i Mi Mj : (mi )i → mj as well as an
injection inj : Mj i Mi that sends m ∈ Mj to the family (mi )i with
mj = m and mi = 0 for i = j. If Mi = M , the same module M for all indices
i, we write M ⊕I for their direct sum.
√
Example 32 Every commutative group G can be viewed as being a Z-
module, the scalar product z ∗ g being defined as the z-fold sum z ∗ g = g +
g + g + . . . g, z times for z ≥ 0, and z ∗ g = −g − g − g − . . . g, |z| times for
z < 0. Homomorphisms of commutative groups then become Z-linear module
homomorphisms.
If we have a subring R ⊂ S of commutative ring S, then S as a commu-

tative group, together with the ring multiplication by R-elements, turns S into
an R-module that one denotes by R S. For example, Q R is a Q-module that is
very important in music theory. Or R C is an R-module that is identified with
R2 , while conjugation on C is a R-linear automorphism of R C.
ˇ “*
Example 61 A common module in music theory is REHLD , the R-module
of functions f : {E, H, L, D} → R, where E means symbolic onset, H means
symbolic pitch, L means symbolic loudness, and D means symbolic dura-
tion1 . This module is isomorphic to R4 , and its vectors are the note events
f = (fE , fH , fL , fD ) with onset fE in units of quarter notes ♩, pitch fH in
units of semitones, loudness fL in units of cents Ct, and duration fD in units
of quarter notes ♩. For performance, one accordingly uses the module Rehld of
1
E stands for Einsatzzeit, H for Höhe, L for Lautstärke, D for Dauer, all German
words.
27 Modules 227
functions f : {e, h, l, d} → R, where the four coordinates now represent phys-

ical onset fe (in units of seconds sec), physical pitch fh (in units of Hertz
Hz, representing the logarithm of frequency), physical loudness fl (in units
of decibel dB), and physical duration fd (in units of seconds). For more so-
phisticated investigations involving glissandi and crescendi, one works in the
larger spaces REHLDGC , Rehldgc , of functions f : {E, H, L, D, G, C} → R,
f : {e, h, l, d, g, c} → R whose vectors also have a glissando and crescendo
component fG , fg , fC , fc , respectively. We shall come back to these spaces in
Chapter 32.
ˇ “* Example 62 In Section 21.1, we have dealt with the isomorphism

∼
t : Id × (−1) ◦ (pr3 , pr4 ) : Z12 → T3×4 .
This is an isomorphism of Z-modules, but not of rings.
ˇ “*
Example 63 This example is crucial for all tuning investigations. We shall
use it in Chapter 28. We saw in Musical Example 58 that Western tuning
systems use the frequency formula f (o, q, t) = f0 2o 3q 5t , where o, q, t ∈ Q. We
learned in that example that the map Q3 → R : (o, q, t) → f (o, q, t) is injective.
Since the logarithm is also an injective function, the map Euler : Q3 → R :
(o, q, t) → o log10 (2) + q log10 (3) + t log10 (5) = log10 (f (o, q, t)) − log10 (f0 ) is
also injective (the basis 10 is irrelevant, it works with any basis). But this map
is also Q-linear if we take the Q-module structure Q R of R. This means that
we have an identification of pitch (modulo a basic pitch f0 which we ignore for
the time being) with triples of rational numbers. It is crucial here to recognize
that the same function with real numbers
Euler : R3 → R : (o, q, t) → o log10 (2) + q log10 (3) + t log10 (5)
would not be injective. In fact, we have
0 = Euler(0, 0, 0) = Euler(− log(3), log(2), 0).
Therefore, the theory of tuning includes the Q-linear injection
Euler : Q3 → QR
that we call the Euler embedding in honor of the great mathematician Leonhard
Euler, who was the first to define tuning systems in terms of logarithms. The
image Q-module Im(Euler) =: EulerSpace is called the Euler space. We shall
discuss it in Chapter 28.
The set ModR (M, N ) of R-linear homomorphisms f : M → N is an R-
module by these operations: For f, g ∈ ModR (M, N ), f + g : M → N : m →
f (m) + g(m), and for r ∈ R, rf : M → N : m → r(f (m)).
228 27 Modules
Proposition 24 (Universal Property of Direct Sums) For a family (Mi )i

of R-modules and a R-module N , there is an isomorphism of R-modules
∼

p : ModR ( Mi , N ) → ModR (Mi , N )
i

It is defined by mapping the homomorphism f : i Mi → N to the family of
homomorphisms (f ◦ ini ), where ini is the injection defined above.
Proposition 25 If m, n > 0 are natural numbers, then we have an isomor-

phism
∼
M (?) : ModR (Rn , Rm ) → Mm,n (R)
of R-modules. It is defined as sending the homomorphism f to the matrix M (f )
with M (f )i,j = f (ej )i , where ej = (0, . . . 1, 0, . . .) is the vector that vanishes for
k = j and has coordinate 1 at position j, and where f (ej )i is the ith coordinate
of f (ej ) ∈ Rm .
Proof 16 We use the universal property of direct sums for the situation Rn =

i R. A homomorphism f is equivalent to the family (fj ) ∈ M odR (R, R ).
m
But the factors fj are precisely the functions f (ej ), as the homomorphisms
g : R → Rm are given by their values on 1R . In particular, if n = m = 1, we
∼
have the isomorphism ModR (R, R) → R that is defined by f → f (1R ).
ˇ “*
Example 64 If we work in EulerSpace, we may consider Q-linear func-
tions f : EulerSpace → Q from the Q-module to the coefficient ring Q (in-
terpreted as Q-module too). The general context of this situation is the space
ModR (M, R) of so-called linear forms on an R-module M . A very important
such form on ModQ (EulerSpace, Q) is the form Γ0 (o, q, t) = 1.o + 2.q + 4.t =
(2 − 1).o + (3 − 1).q + (5 − 1).t. It is this form that essentially defines what Euler
had called gradus suavitatis, his quantitative measure for the degree of conso-
nance of an interval in EulerSpace. We see that he uses the three prime num-
bers 2, 3, 5 to define his linear form. Euler proposed that the function 1+Γ01(o,q,t)
would measure the consonance of the interval o = o1 −o2 , q = q1 −q2 , t = t1 −t2
between pitches (o1 , q1 , t1 ), (o2 , q2 , t2 ). Figure 27.1 shows the gradus function
values (the 10-fold) for frequency ratios within the just-tuned octave.
ˇ “* Example 65 The isomorphism of modules

∼
ModZ (Z2 , Z2 ) → M2,2 (Z)
is a central structure in music theory of just tuning. We shall deal with this
one in Chapter 28.
27 Modules 229
10 / Γ
10
0
interval
1 16 9 6 5 4 45 3 8 5 16 15
1 15 8 5 4 3 32 2 5 3 9 8
Fig. 27.1. The gradus suavitatis function values (the 10-fold) for frequency ratios
within the just-tuned octave.
The group of R-linear automorphisms of an R-module M is denoted by

GL(M ). By proposition 25, if M = Rn , we have an isomorphism of groups
∼
GL(Rn ) → Mn,n (R)∗ , and we have the notation Mn,n (R)∗ = GLn (R).
Similarly to quotient groups and rings, there are also quotient R-modules.
Their definition is straightforward: Given a R-module M and a submodule
N , the quotient module M/N is the quotient group, together with the scalar
multiplication r ∗ (m + N ) = r ∗ m + N . This is well defined since for another
representative m + n of the coset m + N , we have r ∗ (m + n + N ) = r ∗ m + r ∗
n + N = r ∗ m + N . Also, the group-theoretical kernel Ker(f ) of an R-linear
homomorphism f : M → N is a submodule.
Theorem 22 If f : M → L is an R-linear homomorphism, then we have the

following commutative diagram, which represents f by its kernel and image:
M
f
- L
6
f
proj inj
?
?
--
∼f 6
M/L → Im(f )
230 27 Modules
where proj is the canonical surjection, inj is the embedding of Im(f ), and f
is the isomorphism of R-modules that sends the coset m + Ker(f ) to f (m).
27.1 Affine Homomorphisms

Very often, linear homomorphisms are too narrow as they map zero to zero.
One also wants to be able to move zero to any element of the codomain module
but keep the linear properties. These generalized homomorphisms are called
affine homomorphisms. Here is the precise definition.
Definition 70 If M, N are two R-modules, a set function f : M → N is said

to be an R-affine homomorphism if there is t ∈ N such that f = T t ◦ f0 , where
f0 ∈ HomR (M, N ) and T t : N → N is the translation T t (n) = t + n by t.
Proposition 26 Affine homomorphisms f = T t ◦ f0 : M → N, g = T s ◦

g0 : N → L can be composed as set functions and again yield an R-affine
homomorphism
g ◦ f = T s+g0 (t) ◦ (g0 ◦ f0 ).
The R-affine homomorphism f = T t ◦f0 is a bijection (also called isomorphism)
iff f0 is an isomorphism of R-modules, and then we have
−1
(t) −1
f −1 = T −f0 f0 .
The set of R-affine homomorphisms f : M → N is denoted by AffR (M, N ),

and we have ModR (M, N ) ⊂ AffR (M, N ).
ˇ “*
Example 66 In Musical Example 20, we explored the group T I of functions
on Z of the form T t ◦ ±1. These are examples of affine homomorphisms of the
Z-module Z. In Section 21.1.1, we also discussed the group T Z∗12 , which is a
group of affine automorphisms of the Z12 -module Z12 , and an example of a
group of affine automorphisms of the R-module R defined by the invertible
factors r ∈ R∗ for the affine homomorphisms T t ◦ r.
We often identify the matrix group Mm,n (R) with the corresponding group
of R-linear homomorphisms M → N and then write T Mm,n (R) for the set of
−
→
affine homomorphisms f : Rn → Rm defined by f = T t ◦ M , M ∈ Mm,n (R),
and we also write f = T t ◦ M or even f = T t M if no confusion is likely.
√
Exercise 29 Prove that for an R-affine homomorphism f = T t ◦ f0 , its
translation element t and its R-linear homomorphisms f0 are uniquely deter-
mined by f .
ˇ “*
Example 67 In music theory, most morphisms are not linear, but affine.
For example, the pitch function P itch(o, q, t) = log(f0 ) + o log(2) + q log(3) +
27.1 Affine Homomorphisms 231
t log(5) is affine, with transposition log(f0 ) and linear part o log(2) + q log(3) +
t log(5). Also, Euler’s gradus suavitatis function is Γ (o, q, t) = 1 + Γ0 (o, q, t),
with transposition part 1.
ˇ “* Example 68 Let us discuss a famous compositional strategy by Pierre

Boulez, which he applied in his composition Structures pour deux pianos. Refer
to [84, Chapter 25] for a thorough discussion. Boulez composes this work in the
serial style—that is, he not only considers dodecaphonic series for pitch but
also for duration, attack, and loudness. He starts with one such series for each
parameter: SP itch , SDuration , SAttack , SLoudness .
In his procedure, Boulez uses different transformations of the pitch series.
For example, the retrograde series of transpositions of
SP itch = (SP itch,0 , SP itch,1 , . . . SP itch,11 )
within the pitch class module Z12 . But he also wants to apply these transforma-
tions to the other parameter series. This causes a serious conceptual problem
of serialism since, different from pitch classes, there are no naturally selected
classes of duration, attack, or loudness, let alone natural transformations on
these spaces. Boulez applies a very mathematical trick to solve the problem of
carrying over pitch-class transformations to the other parameters.
Denote by ei = (0, 0, . . . 1, 0 . . . 0), i = 1, 2, . . . 11 the vector in Z11 that has
zeros except for the ith coordinate, which is 1. To begin with, the pitch series
SP itch is represented by a Z-affine homomorphism S P itch : Z11 → Z12 which
sends the vector ei to SP itch,i for i = 1, . . . 11 and 0 to SP itch,0 . This can be done
by the homomorphism S P itch = T SP itch,0 Q, where Q(ei ) = SP itch,i − SP itch,0
is the linear part. If we apply a permutation p of the pitch classes, we get a
new series p ◦ S P itch : Z11 → Z12 . But this series can also be obtained by first
permuting the vectors ei , i = 1, 2, . . . 11 and 0 and the applying the original
∼
series S P itch , i.e., by an Z-affine isomorphism P : Z11 → Z11 defined by the
permutation of ei , i = 1, 2, . . . 11 and 0, such that
p ◦ S P itch = S P itch ◦ P.
Boulez now uses this formula to transform his other series
SDuration , SAttack , SLoudness ,
which he rewrites as affine homomorphisms S Duration , S Attack , S Loudness by

prepending P , i.e., producing S Duration ◦ P, S Attack ◦ P, S Loudness ◦ P . Using
this smart method, he avoids opening any discussion about musically reasonable
symmetries on these other parameter spaces. Of course, Boulez was not using
these mathematical methods explicitly, but his procedure was exactly the one
that the theory of modules and affine homomorphisms describes.
The idea to rephrase a series in Z12 as an affine homomorphism Z11 → Z12
is a very powerful new method in mathematical music theory, called “addressed
objects.” It will be discussed in Chapter 29.
232 27 Modules
27.2 Free Modules and Vector Spaces

An R-module M is said to be free if it is isomorphic to a direct sum R⊕I . The
index set I is essentially uniquely determined, which means that for a finite set
∼ ∼
I → n, Rn → Rm iff n = m; the cardinality of I is unique. This number is
called the dimension of the module, denoted by dim(M ).
In general, modules are not free, but for fields R = K of scalars, this is
always true. A K-module for a field K is called a vector space over the scalars
K. We want to describe sub-vector spaces of K-vector spaces, in particular
kernels of linear homomorphisms.
Definition 71 A sequence of elements (xi )i = (x1 , x2 , . . . xk ) of a K-vector

space M is linearly independent if i ri xi = 0 implies ri = 0 for all i =
1, 2, . . . k. If (xi )i is not linearly independent, it is called linearly dependent.
In other words, (xi )i is linearly independent iff the K-linear map Rn → M :
(ri )i → i ri xi is injective, i.e., its kernel is trivial.
A sequence
(xi )i of vectors generates M iff the homomorphism Rn → M :
(ri )i → i ri xi is surjective.
A sequence (xi )i of linearly independent vectors that generate Mis called
a basis of M . In other words, the homomorphism Rn → M : (ri )i → i ri xi is
bijective.
It follows that if (xi )i is linearly independent, then xi = 0 and xi = xj for

i = j. Also then (xπ(i) )i is linearly independent for any permutation π ∈ Sn .
√
Example 33 In the free K-vector space K n , the sequence (ei )i=1,...n of
vectors ei = (0, . . . 1, 0, . . . 0) with zeros except a 1K at position i is a basis, the
so-called canonical basis.
In K n , the sequence (fi )i=1,...n with fi = (1, 1, . . . 1, 0, . . . 0) = j=1,...i ej
is a basis.
√
ˇ “*
Example 69 In Q R, the vectors √ 1, 2 are linearly independent. This means
that there is no equation r + s 2 = √ 0 with rational coefficients r, s. In fact,
such an equation would imply that 2 is rational, which is wrong. Therefore,
the 12-tempered tritone interval is irrational, and a fortiori the 12-tempered
semitone is so, too. We know this, but it is remarkable to learn that this fact
is a statement about linear independence in Q R.
In Q R, the vectors log(2), log(3), log(5) are also linearly independent. To
prove this statement, recall that we used the unique representation of natural
numbers as products of prime numbers. We have shown in Musical Example 63
that o. log(2) + q. log(3) + t log(5) = 0 iff o = q = t = 0 for rational coefficients
o, q, t.
This mathematical independence is in perfect correspondence with the
musical understanding of the three intervals octave, fifth, and third, related
to 2/1, 3/2, 5/4, respectively, in just tuning. It is remarkable that what music
27.2 Free Modules and Vector Spaces 233
theorists had understood musically was confirmed many centuries later on the
level of mathematics.
Proposition 27 If a K-vector space M is finitely generated, i.e., there is a

finite sequence (xi )i of generators, then M has a finite basis that is a subsequent
of (xi )i .
Proof 17 The proof goes by induction. Suppose that (xi )i are linearly inde-
pendent, then we are done. Otherwise, there is an equation 0 = i ri xi with
one coefficient rj = 0. We may supposethis is the first one (after a permuta-
tion of indices). Then we have x1 = −1
r1 i>1 ri xi , and the shorter subsequence
(xi )1<i generates M , so induction on its length proves the claim.
The next lemma proves that the size of a basis is uniquely determined and
thereby (as observed earlier in this chapter) defines the dimension dim(M ) of
a K-vector space.
Lemma 11 (Steinitz Lemma) If (y1 , . . . ym ) is a linearly independent se-

quence in K-vector space M , and if (x1 , . . . xn ) is a basis of M , then there
is a basis (y1 , . . . ym , xj1 , . . . xjn−m ). In particular, any two bases of a finitely
generated K-vector space M have the same number of elements, also called the
space’s dimension dim(M ).
Proof 18 The proof is easy: One knows that y1 is a linear combination of

the basis elements, and one of the coefficients in this combination does not
vanish. Taking the basis vector with that coefficient, we replace it with y1 , and
induction on m applies. That two bases have the same number of elements
follows from the first statement by exchanging the roles of the two bases.
ˇ “* Example 70 This theorem about the well-defined dimension of a vector

space applies in particular to the EulerSpace, which is a Q-vector space. It
has dim(EulerSpace) = 3 by the fact that there is a linear bijection with Q3 ,
according to Musical Example 63. This seems harmless, but it tells us that
while there might be some other three basis intervals that span EulerSpace,
we may never find a basis of this space that consists of two, or four, or any
number different from three vectors.
√
Example 34 If N ⊂ M is a sub-K-vector finitely generated space of
M , then dim(N ) ≤ dim(M ). This follows easily by induction on dim(M ),
dim(M ) = 1 being trivial. The general case for N = (0) follows by taking
y ∈ N − {0}, then replacing a basis vector of M by n, and then dividing M
by the one-dimensional subspace Rn, and solving the problem on the lower-
dimensional quotient spaces N/Rn ⊂ M/Rn.
Then, we may find a linear complement C of N , i.e., a subspace C ⊂ M
∼
such that N ⊕ C → M . In fact, choose a basis (y1 , . . . ym ) of N and complete
234 27 Modules
it by the Steinitz Lemma to a basis (y1 , . . . ym , xj1 , . . . xjn−m ) of M . The space

C = xj1 , . . . xjn−m solves the problem.
We can apply this theory to the solution of linear equations. Let us
give a linear equation in the form of a matrix equation M.x = b, where
M ∈ Mm,n (K), x ∈ K n , b ∈ K m . We want to get a general system of pos-
sible solutions. We rephrase this equation using the K-linear homomorphism
−
→
L = M : K n → K m . The kernel Ker(f ) is a sub-vector space of K n . We
may therefore write K n = Ker(f ) ⊕ C with a linear complement space C as
∼
above. Then L|C : C → Im(L) is an isomorphism. Any possible value b in
the above equation must stem from C via L. Taking a basis of C, we may
calculate the image of L by linear combinations of the L-image of this basis.
There are standard methods from matrix calculus to solve this task, we refer
to [77, Chapter 22]. But whenever we have such a value b ∈ Im(L) that is the
image of a c ∈ C, the solutions of our equation are the elements in the coset
c + Ker(L). In other words, the solutions of our equation are the solutions of
the “homogeneous equation” M.x = 0, added to any particular solution c of
M.x = b.
27.3 Sonification and Visualization in Modules

Modules, and especially vector spaces over the rationals or reals, are not merely
powerful abstract structures. They also enable a geometric representation of
musical objects, they are the general structures that realize what classical
Western scores do, they give musical compositions a geometric shape. Although
scores have a long tradition and seem to work quite well for trained musicians
(but are cryptic for all others), their geometric power is limited. The geomet-
ric representation of musical objects as subsets of modules is not only precise
and complete, but it also opens up the action of groups of transformations to
simplify creativity. This is not only a theoretical advantage, because it is used
in a number of music software, as well. Let us mention three such software.
Iannis Xenakis has designed his UPIC in Paris, a composition machine
that allows the composer to draw musical objects on an interactive graphical
interface. See Figure 27.2
The geometric interface where any affine transformation can be performed
in addition to direct drawing was realized by one of the authors (Guerino
Mazzola) with his presto for Atari computers, see Figure 27.3. Ambitious
compositions, such as the concert Synthesis for piano and percussion, were
created on that software, see [75, Chapter 49] for details.
In a more recent development, mathematical music theory has been imple-
mented in a quite general mathematical framework of general concept architec-
tures (denotators and forms, but see [75, Part X]) in the software RUBATO .
In this context, visualization and sonification can be performed in very general
spaces, see Figure 27.4 for a small example. We come back to the RUBATO
software in Chapter 32 when dealing with performance.
27.3 Sonification and Visualization in Modules 235
Fig. 27.2. Xenakis’ UPIC. The drawing shows a graphical score of Xenakis’ compo-
sition Mycenae Alpha.
27.3.1 Creative Ideas from Math:

A Mapping Between Images and Sounds
The concept of graphs of functions can be used in a creative way to compose

music. The choice of a particular mapping also facilitates connections between
musical and non-musical elements. An important example is given by the con-
nection between music and image. Attempts and experimentation to realize
the conversion of image to sound are numerous. For example, several works
of Wassily Kandisky, classifiable as visual music, precede the graphical scores
in electronic music, where points and lines have a precise correspondence with
isolated sounds and melodic lines (we are reminded of György Ligeti’s scores).
As other known examples, John Cage [109] derived music from stellar maps and
Hector Villa-Lobos musicalized the profile of New York’s skyscraper. As men-
tioned above, Xenakis invented the UPIC tool [117] to automatically transform
two-dimensional drawings into sounds (see also Section 2.11). There are also
experiments of sonification of numerical data [56], such as data derived from ur-
ban walking paths [1]. Moreover, composers created music whose spectrogram
is a meaningful image [9]. The Palermitan composer Salvatore Sciarrino [104]
described and analyzed structure of classical scores using onset-pitch diagrams,
indicating timbre via different colors. Another Sicilian, Marco Betta, analyzed
scores using onset-intensity-pitch diagrams [67].
236 27 Modules
Fig. 27.3. Mazzola’s presto music software with a drawing of Beethoven on the
plane of onset and pitch.
Fig. 27.4. A small example of a color drawing on the RUBATO software’s BigBang
module.
We want to briefly describe a new compositional method proposed in [67].

It is not a scientific technique, because there are many parameters that the
composer can choose freely; however, it is an example of a creative application
of mapping between three-dimensional images and music.
The basic idea is the following: The symbolic content of a score can be
visualized on a three-dimensional graph, intensity-onset-pitch, that we will call
I − O − P (a scheme already introduced by Xenakis to produce new timbre
combinations). In this way, it is possible to visually represent and compare the
orchestration style of different composers, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
and Sergei Prokofiev (see Figures 27.5 and 27.6). To compose, we can apply
onset
6
4
2
0
20
pitch
0
20
50
100
loudness
Fig. 27.5. First bars of Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik. The colors indicate the
instruments: first and second violin, viola, violoncello, and double bass.
onset 4
20
pitch 0
20
30
40
50
loudness
60
70
Fig. 27.6. The first three measures of a Classical Symphony by Prokofiev. The colors
distinguish between orchestral sections.
238 27 Modules
Fig. 27.7. Snail and conchoid. Top: The snail’s shell is mathematically described
by a spiral, using the equation of a conchoid. A selection of points is transformed to
music. Bottom: an extract of the score that is derived from the conchoid equation.
The sound example is snail.
the inverse method, ‘musicalizing’ a three-dimensional object projected into

I − O − P space, with appropriate choices of level of discretization (how close
together are the image’s points that will be used as musical notes), range of
pitches (lowest and highest), and range of durations. One of the authors’ (Maria
Mannone) experiments are realized by hand, and later in half-automatic way
via Mathematica software2 . The first experiments have been published under
the title Musica Tridimensionale [66]. Images turned into music include Bicycle
wheel by Marcel Duchamp, Concetto spaziale by Lucio Fontana, the shape of
Sagrada Família by Antoni Gaudí (image and score, respectively: Figures 27.8
and 27.9), a snail shell (mathematically described by a conchoid3 , Figure 27.7),
and the Eiffel Tower. Choice of timbres is left to composer. It is also possible
Fig. 27.8. Sagrada Família.
to return to an image from the created music; however, the result will be much
simpler than the original image, due to the choice of discretization.
2
Mathematical parameters: Pitches from 0 (middle C) with semitone distances up
and down; intensity on a scale with 60 = f, 50 = mf and so on; time was measured
in seconds.
3
Equation of a conchoid:
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤
x ku (1 + cos ν) cos u
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
⎢y ⎥ = ⎢ ku (1 + cos ν) sin u ⎥ , u = 0, ... 6π, ν = 0, ... 2π, k = 1.2, k2 = 1.2, a = 1
⎣ ⎦ ⎣ ⎦
z ku sin ν − ak2u
240 27 Modules
Fig. 27.9. The beginning of the score derived from the drawing of Sagrada Família.
The sound example is sagrada_extract.
28
Just Tuning
Summary. Western tuning systems all are selections of subsets of pitches

within EulerSpace. We only discuss two typical tunings here: just tuning and
12-tempered tuning.
–Σ–
Recall from Musical Example 63 that we have an affine injection Euler :
Q3 Q R : (o, q, t) → log12 (fo ) + o log10 (2) + q log10 (3) + t log10 (5), and we
define EulerSpace := Im(Euler). In that example, we had taken log12 (fo ) = 0,
i.e., f0 = 1, but here, we want to take any basic frequency f0 .
We mostly work in Q3 when discussing tuning systems. We also want
to slightly alter the embedding in order to have the classical intervals octave,
fifth, and third as basic units. This means that we don’t take the canonical
basis (1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1) of Q3 , but the basis (1, 0, 0), (−1, 1, 0), (−2, 0, 1),
corresponding to the frequency ratios 21 , 32 , 54 . This amounts to taking the em-
bedding Euler ◦ OF T (Octave Fifth Third) with the automorphism
⎛ ⎞
1 −1 −2
⎜ ⎟
OF T = ⎝0 1 0 ⎠ .
0 0 1
Just tuning is the set of pitches that are defined by integer coordinates in
the Euler map, i.e., Just := Im(Z3 ) ⊂ EulerSpace. This is a discrete grid in
EulerSpace or Q3 . The plane spanned by the fifth and third is “copied” one
octave higher by adding to it the octave vector (1, 0, 0) ∈ Q3 . Therefore every
fifth-third plane is generated by adding a number of octaves to the original
plane. A selection of the 12 pitches within one chromatic octave in just tuning
is shown in Figure 28.1, bottom. This is Martin Vogel’s choice, but there are
several options, see [113].
The subspace of just tuning with fifth coordinate t = 0 is the Pythagorean
tuning. It involves only powers of 2 and 3—octave and fifth—as seen in the
tetractys symbol of the Pythagorean school (Section 2.1). The distribution of

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_28
242 28 Just Tuning
thirds
12-tempered
C-chromatic
one octave c
d fifths
d
e
e
f
g
g
a
a
b
octaves b f
b
e
just (Vogel) a
d
C-chromatic
g
c thirds
f
e
b
fifths
a octaves
d
Fig. 28.1. One octave of the 12 chromatic pitches in just (bottom) and 12-tempered
tuning (top).
these 12 pitches looks quite random, but it can be shown that there is exactly
one affine automorphism of Z3 that maps this just C-chromatic set onto itself.
It turns out that this automorphism is essentially the autocomplementarity
symmetry, which we discussed in counterpoint theory in Section 21.2.3. See
[75, Section 24.1.1] for details.
This grid structure of just tuning motivated Leonhard Euler to advance his
substitution theory of human pitch perception. He claimed that humans always
substitute musical intervals with the nearest just intervals. This was necessary
for his gradus suavitatis function, which is only defined for just-tuned intervals,
see our discussion in Musical Example 64. We shall see in Chapter 30 that
Euler’s approach has a serious deficiency.
The second tuning, 12-tempered tuning, is defined√by frequency ratios that
are integer powers of the 12-tempered semitone ratio 12 2, and when we take the
logarithms thereof, we get the pitches log(f0 ) + 12o
log(2), o ∈ Z. One such 12-
tempered octave is shown in Figure 28.1, top. The dramatic difference between
these two tunings makes clear that the mathematics of music theory for just
and 12-tempered tuning looks quite different. It is remarkable that despite this
difference, many results, especially in modulation theory, are quite similar for
both tunings.
28.1 Major and Minor Scales: Zarlino’s Versus Hindemith’s Explanation 243
The following table lists the just coordinates of the just-tuning intervals
(with respect to c, first tone in first column) according to Martin Vogel [113],
together with the interval’s value in Cents and the percent deviation from the
tempered tuning with 100, 200, 300, etc. Cents.
Tone Frequency Octave Fifth Third Pitch %

name ratio coord. coord. coord. (Ct) deviation
c 1 0 0 0 0 0
d 16/15 4 -1 -1 111.73 +11.73
d 9/8 -3 2 0 203.91 +1.96
e 6/5 1 1 -1 315.65 +5.22
e 5/4 -2 0 1 386.31 -3.42
f 4/3 2 -1 0 498.05 -0.39
f 45/32 -5 2 1 590.22 -1.63
g 3/2 -1 1 0 701.96 +0.28
a 8/5 3 0 -1 813.69 +1.71
a 5/3 0 -1 1 884.36 -1.74
b 16/9 4 -2 0 996.09 -0.39
b 15/8 -3 1 1 1088.27 -1.07
28.1 Major and Minor Scales: Zarlino’s Versus

Hindemith’s Explanation
Let us have a look at major and minor scales in just tuning, and let us look
at pitch classes here, i.e., projections of pitches into the plane spanned by fifth
and third. Figure 28.2 shows the C-major, natural C-minor, and C-chromatic
octave in the fifth-third plane.
There are two different explanations for the relationship between major
and minor scales. Gioseffo Zarlino’s came first (see Section 2.3 for Zarlino). He
related major to minor by a 180o rotation Z around the middle point between
c and g. This rotation is the affine map Z = T t .M3 with t = (1, 0) and M3 the
180o -rotation defined in Figure 26.2. Paul Hindemith offered a very different
explanation. He argued that the flattened versions e, a, b are shifted versions
of e, a, b, not an affine transformation as Zarlino proposed. Call this shifting
movement that leaves the other four pitch classes fixed H.
In traditional music theory, these two explanations have always been kept
apart from each other. There was no technical tool to compare them, to compare
a symmetry transformation with a shifting movement. It turns out that by
using affine transformations on the just-tuning plane Z2 , Hindemith’s H can
be obtained from Zarlino’s Z by the unique inner symmetry A of the C-major
244 28 Just Tuning
thirds
a e b f
b f c g d
d a e
fifths
C-chromatic
thirds thirds
fifths fifths
natural C-minor C-major
Fig. 28.2. C-major, natural C-minor, and C-chromatic octaves in the fifth-third
plane.
scale, see Figure 28.3. This symmetry

is a kind of skew reflection, its formula

−1 −1
is A = T t .B, t as above, B = .
0 1
inner symmetry
refl
ecti n
on ctio
sve
tran
Fig. 28.3. The inner symmetry A of C-major is the composition of a reflection and
a transvection (a more mathematical word for shearing).
28.2 Comparisons between Pythagorean, Just, and 12-tempered Tuning 245
ˇ “* Exercise 10 Check that A permutes the pitch classes of the C-major scale.
The relation we are looking for is this:
H = Z ◦ A,
which means that both theories are in fact defined by symmetries. Hindemith’s
approach is simply Zarlino’s modulo the inner symmetry of the C-major scale.
ˇ “* Exercise 11 Check that H = Z ◦ A.
28.2 Comparisons between Pythagorean, Just, and

12-tempered Tuning
Ancient Greeks influenced European culture in linguistics, geometry, archi-
tecture, and philosophy. In particular, the mathematician and philosopher
Pythagoras (see Section 2.1) was also a pioneer in music. He invented a tuning
system based on intervals of octaves 2/1 and perfect fifths 3/2.
Let us first recall the Scientific Pitch Notation (SPN) as shown in Figure
28.4. Given a note, for example the F 4 , we get the fifth C 5 by multiplying the
frequency of F 4 by 32 ; then the fifth of C 5 , which is G5 ; and so on. In this
way we obtain the sequence F 4 , C 5 , G5 , D6 , A6 , E 7 , B 7 . In the next step, the
corresponding frequency values are divided by powers of 2, to position them in
the same octave.
As described in Section 2.1, the birth of
Pythagorean tuning was motivated by a cosmolog-
ical interest in tetractys symbol, not by an immedi-
ate practical exigency for musicians. In fact, music
at the time was monodic: a melodic line (instru-
ment, voice) and a (rhythmical) accompaniment.
The importance of tuning dramatically increased
when music became polyphonic, i.e., several voices Fig. 28.4. Scientific Pitch
playing together. In each instant of time, there are Notation. Capital letters for
notes, indices for the octave
multiple sounds that produce a chord, and prob-
range.
lems of consonance and dissonance become rele-
vant. Harmony, the science of chords, was created in the Middle Ages, when
more than one melodic line of Gregorian chant were superposed in early West-
ern polyphony [115].
Just tuning is a tuning system based on natural harmonics, see our dis-
cussion at the beginning of this chapter. This was invented by Archita (4th
century BC, from the Greek school of Tarent), rediscovered by Ptolemy (2nd
century AC), and then extended and theorized by Zarlino (see Section 2.3).
246 28 Just Tuning
In this section we want to describe how this system is constructed from

manipulations of a vibrating string. Suppose we are given a vibrating string1 ,
which produces waves of compression and rarefaction in the air, received and
perceived by our ear as a note, note c for example. Keeping the middle point
of the string fixed, the length of the string that is vibrating is now half of
the original one. This causes the original note c to become one octave higher.
Similarly, when one is keeping two points of the string fixed, at 13 and 23 of
string length, we get the fifth g.
Proceeding in a similar way, we can reconstruct notes of the scale as
follows:
• octave: 21 ;
• fifth: 32 ;
• fourth: 43 ;
• major third: 54 ;
• minor third: 65 .
Other intervals are obtained from previous ones:
• major second, by fifth minus fourth, corresponding to: 32 / 43 = 98 ;
• major sixth, by fourth plus major third, corresponding to: 43 × 54 = 53 ;
• major seventh, by fifth plus major third, corresponding to: 32 × 54 = 158 .
A major chord, for example {c, e, g}, is given by a major third c − e and a
perfect fifth c − g, whose intervals are 54 and 32 , respectively. Interval e − g is a
minor third, given by 56 . Ratios are thus given by 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6, called simple
ratios.
Music’s historical complexification, with the introduction of modulations
between different tonalities, requires a system that should be stable with respect
to changes of tonality. But when changing tonalities, there is an unsolved prob-
lem with the just tuning system. For example, if the octave from c is set in just
tuning, the major second c−d is not the same interval as the major second d−e.
The first has a 9/8 frequency ratio, while the second has a (5/4)/(9/8) = 10/9
ratio. Therefore changing from C-major to D-major changes that initial major
second interval. Musical instruments are well tuned in one tonality. However,
while playing in other tonalities, intervals are different, and good ratios are
lost. This is the drawback of the just tuning system!
For these reasons, scientists and musical theorists developed the 12-
tempered system (also erroneously called well-tempered, but this is still an-
other tuning). In this tuning system, the pitch differences between chromatic
and diatonic intervals are canceled. Enharmonically equivalent notes as c and
d now have exactly the same frequency. The chromatic 12-tone scale contains
1
Properties of an oscillating string are studied in classical mechanics, a branch of
physics. In particular, the model of vibrating string is a really useful paradigm in
physics, from classical to modern physics, comprising string theory.
28.3 Chinese Tuning Theory 247
√
12 equal intervals, each
√ one with the frequency ratio size of 12 2. After 12 notes,
we correctly obtain ( 12 2)12 = 2, that is the double of frequency as required by
definition of octave.
28.3 Chinese Tuning Theory
Zaiyu Zhu calculated the equal-tempered system in 1584, see Section 2.4. How-
ever, the earliest Chinese tuning system, which we will describe briefly here, has
several correspondences with the Pythagorean system. It is called the thirds-
divide subtract-add (三分损益) method. Like the Pythagorean system, it is
based on the evaluation of frequencies using the length of a portion of vibrating
string.
28.3.1 The Original System
The original way of constructing notes, based on the thirds-divide subtract-add

method and defined in 7th century BC by Kuan Tzu, is the following:
• Starting with “three for four times”: 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 = 81;
• add to that number a third of itself: 81 + 81 · 13 = 108 = 33 · 22 ;
2
• subtract from that number a third of itself: 108 − 108 · 13 = 72 = 323 ;
• add to that number a third of itself: 72 + 72 · 13 = 96 = 235 ;
• subtract from that number a third of itself: 96 − 96 · 13 = 64 = 26 .
The sequence 81, 108, 72, 96, 64 can be thought as a list of frequencies; nor-
malizing and ordering them, we get the familiar sequence 1, 98 , 81 3 27
64 , 2 , 16 that
is the familiar Pythagorean pentatonic scale.
28.3.2 A System that Is Completely Based on Fifths
Here an example of the construction of a pentatonic scale {c, d, e, g, a}:

• We start with a frequency c, and imagine it to be a length of string.
• We get the perfect fifth, g, by the interval 32 , just like in the Pythagorean
system;
• The second note of the scale, d, is obtained as the fifth of g, lowered by an
octave: 32 23 · 12 = 98 ;
• a, the fifth with respect to d, is obtained as 32 of the portion of vibrating
string that gives d: 32 · 98 = 27 16 .
• Finally, e, the fifth with respect to a, is obtained in the same way, but an
octave lower: 27 31 81
16 · 2 2 = 64 .
29
Categories
Summary.
We have often referred to certain types of
structures—sets, monoids, groups, rings, digraphs,
or modules—where there was a shared structural
characteristic: All of these structures have objects
(such as sets, monoids, groups, etc.) and a type of
“function” (set functions, monoid morphisms, di-
graph morphisms, etc.). And all of these functions
can be composed if domains and codomains can
Fig. 29.1. Categories are
be ‘concatenated.’ The common denominator of the smiley of contemporary
these structures is the concept of a category. mathematics.
–Σ–
We have a category Set of sets, a category Grp of groups, etc. Categories
are great fun if one accepts their basic structure. So don’t shy away; it’s easier
than learning to read a score, and you will smile like the smiley in Figure 29.1.
Here is the definition of a category.
Definition 72 A category C consists of two collections:

(i) a collection Ob(C) of objects, which we shall usually denote by capital letters
X, Y, Z, . . .. This collection need not be a set—for example for Set, Ob(Set)
is the collection of all sets without being a set.
(ii) a collection M or(C) of sets C(X, Y ), one for each pair X, Y of objects,
and disjoint from each other for any different pairs (X, Y ), (U, V ). The
elements f ∈ C(X, Y ) are called morphisms and are denoted by f : X → Y ,
while X is called the domain, and Y the codomain of f , and we denote
them by X = dom(f ), Y = codom(f ).
Moreover, whenever codom(f ) = dom(g), i.e., f : X → Y, g : Y → Z, then a
third morphism g ◦ f : X → Z is defined. This composition of morphisms is
associative, i.e., whenever (f ◦ g) ◦ h is defined, then it equals f ◦ (g ◦ h), and we

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_29
250 29 Categories
denote it by f ◦ g ◦ h. Finally, for every object X, there is an identity morphism

IdX such that f ◦ IdX = f = IdY ◦ f for every morphism f : X → Y .
f
/Y
IdX
8X f IdY
g
g◦f
Z
This means that a category is essentially a directed graph (possibly larger
than a set) together with the composition of arrows.
√
Example 35 The category Set of sets has as Ob(Set) the collection of all
sets, while M or(Set) consists of the sets Set(X, Y ) of set functions f : X → Y .
The composition of morphisms here is the classical composition of set functions.
The category Grp has as Ob(Grp) the collection of all groups, while the
morphism collection M or(Grp) has the sets Grp(G, H) of group homomor-
phisms f : G → H as morphisms.
The category M(R) for a commutative ring R has as objects the identity
matrices En = En (R), n > 0 a natural number, and this collection is a set! The
morphisms En → Em are the matrices in Mm,n (R). Composition of morphisms
is the product of matrices, and the identity matrices are also the identical
morphisms. This category is particularly nice since it has no special objects;
the objects are just the identity morphisms. Category theory can in fact be
defined without distinguishing objects from morphisms. This is the modern
point of view: Everything is a morphism. And matrices are a beautiful and
simple example of such a completely “morphic” category.
ModR is the category whose objects are the R-modules for a commutative
ring R, while the morphisms are the R-linear homomorphisms. AffR is the
category whose objects are the R-modules for a commutative ring R, while the
morphisms are the R-affine homomorphisms. ModR is a subcategory of AffR ,
ModR ⊂ AffR ; the objects are the same, but ModR has only the r-linear
homomorphism as morphism sets, a subsystem of all R-affine homomorphisms.
If C is a category, its opposite category C opp is defined as follows: We set
Ob(C ) = Ob(C) and C opp (X, Y ) = C(Y, X). The composition is the same
opp
as for C, but in reversed order, i.e., for f ∈ C opp (X, Y ), g ∈ C opp (Y, Z) we set
f ◦C opp g = g ◦C f .
ˇ “*
Example 71 One of the most important categories in mathematical music
theory is the category LocR of local compositions in R-modules. The objects
are pairs (K, M ) of a subset K = ∅ of an R-module M . The typical examples
are sets K of notes in a score, where the score is thought to be an R-module,
such as REHLD (see Musical Example 61). If (K, M ), (L, N ) are two local
compositions, a morphism f : (K, M ) → (L, N ) is a set map f : K → L such
that there is an affine homomorphism F : M → N with F |K = f . We have seen
many such morphisms, e.g., symmetries, such as inversions or retrogrades that
29 Categories 251
map a local composition to its symmetric image. Composition of morphisms is

the set-theoretic composition, and the identity is the set-theoretical identity.
The theory of local compositions has many important results, in particular
the list of all isomorphism classes of local compositions (K, Z12 ) in LocZ , see
[75, Appendix L.1]. These are in fact the chord classes that we have already
discussed earlier. But there is also a complete classification of musical motives in
12-periodic onset time and pitch, i.e., (K, Z212 ) for card(K) = 1, 2, 3, 4, see [75,
Appendix M.1-M.4], and three element motives in Z5 ⊕ Z12 , see [75, Appendix
M.5]. It is interesting that the number of the latter classes is 45, while the
number of classes of three element motives in Z212 is only 26, even though it is
larger. This is due to the fact that the number of prime numbers is larger in
Z5 ⊕ Z12 as compared to Z212 . This is one of the reasons why improvising in 5/8
meters is much more difficult then improvising in 3/4, 4/4, 6/8 meters.
When category theory was invented in 1945 by Samuel Eilenberg and

Sounders Mac Lane, their focus was not on particular categories, but on “mor-
phisms” between different categories. They are defined as follows.
Definition 73 Let C, D be two categories. A (covariant) functor F : C → D is

a function that associates with each object X ∈ Ob(C) an object F (X) ∈ Ob(D),
and for each morphism f : X → Y a morphism F (f ) : F (X) → F (Y ) such
that F (IdX ) = IdF (X) and F (g ◦ f ) = F (g) ◦ F (f ), whenever g ◦ f exists.
A functor F : C → Dopp is called a contravariant functor.
√
Example 36 For example, the forgetful functor Grp → Set is the functor
that associates with each group G the underlying set G and with every group
homomorphism f : G → H the underlying set map. A similar functor can be
defined for ModR instead of Grp.
If C = M(R), D = ModR , the functor which associates with each matrix
object En the R-module Rn and with each matrix M : En → Em the module
−
→
homomorphism M was defined in Section 26.1.
ˇ “* Example 72 There is a useful functor
R? : LocR → ModR
defined as follows. If (K, M ) is a local composition, take the module RK :=

{x − x0 |x ∈ K} generated by the differences x − x0 with respect to a chosen
element x0 ∈ K. It is obvious that this module does not depend on the chosen
x0 . Moreover, if we have a morphism f : (K, M ) → (L, N ) with an affine
homomorphism F : M → N such that f = F |K, then take the R-linear
homomorphism F0 |RK : RK → RL with the linear part F0 of F as image of
f . Is this reasonable? Take any difference x − x0 in RK. Then F0 (x − x0 ) =
F0 (x) − F0 (x0 ) = F (x) − F (x0 ) = f (x) − f (x0 ), so the linear homomorphism
F0 |RK is only a function of f and maps RK into RL. This functor associates
252 29 Categories
with every local composition a module over the composition’s ring R. This helps
us verify the necessary conditions for local compositions to be isomorphic, since
if they are so, then their modules must be isomorphic, too. For example, the
triads {0, 3, 6}, {0, 4, 7} ⊂ Z12 cannot be isomorphic since Z{0, 3, 6} = 3Z12 ,
while Z{0, 4, 7} = Z12 .
Definition 74 If F, G : C → D are two functors, a natural transformation

n : F → G is a collection of morphisms n(X) : F (X) → G(X) for all objects
X in C such that the following diagram commutes for all morphisms f : X → Y
in C.
n(X)
F (X) −−−−→ G(X)
⏐ ⏐
⏐
F (f )
⏐G(f )

n(Y )
F (Y ) −−−−→ G(Y )
Natural transformations n : F → G, m : G → H can be composed to a
natural transformation m ◦ n that maps X to m(X) ◦ n(X). This composition
is associative, and there is the identical natural transformation IdF : F → F
for every functor F : C → D. This means that we have the category of natural
transformations Nat(C, D) for every couple of categories C, D.
For every category C, we have the category C @ (@ for “address,” see below)
of contravariant functors F : C → Setopp as objects and natural transforma-
tions as morphisms. For every object X of C, we define a contravariant functor
@X : C → Setopp by @X(Y ) = C(Y, X). It maps a morphism f : Y → Z to a
set map @X(f ) : C(Z, X) → C(Y, X) : g → g ◦ f . If h : X → Y is a morphism
in C, the natural transformation @h : @X → @Y maps C(Z, X) to C(Z, Y ) via
k → h ◦ k. This is a functor Y : C → C @ . It is the Yoneda functor that was
defined by Japanese computer scientist Nobuo Yoneda in 1956. Its relevance is
the following lemma:
Theorem 23 (Yoneda’s Lemma) If X, Y are two objects in a category C,

∼
then the Yoneda functor defines a bijection C(X, Y ) → C @ (@X, @Y ), and in
∼ ∼
particular, X → Y iff @X → @Y .
The proof of this lemma is quite technical, but not difficult, so we omit it. The
significance of the lemma is that objects X in general categories can be repre-
sented by their contraviariant functors @X, and this means that an abstract
object X can be completely described by the functor @X, i.e., by the system of
all morphisms f : Z → X. This is what we call the Yoneda philosophy: Objects
can be understood by the system of all “perspectives” f : Z → X from any
“address” Z.
29.1 The Yoneda Philosophy 253
29.1 The Yoneda Philosophy

The Yoneda lemma has caused a revolution in mathematics, since the replace-
ment of usually abstract objects X in categories by their functor @X changed
the way we can look at mathematical structures. Instead of X one now could
look at a system of Z-addressed “perspectives” f : Z → X, and X would be
completely understood from such a system. To understand an object from its
different perspectives is quite common in the visual arts. When you look at a
sculpture, you may observe the front and also walk around it, changing your
perspective. This method was also relevant to the history of mountain climb-
ing. The famous Swiss mountain Matterhorn was thought to be too difficult to
be climbed. This was due to the usual perspective of the mountain when you
look from the nearby village of Zermatt, see Figure 29.2, right part. The moun-
tain looks very steep. But one day, Edward Whymper, an English mountaineer,
changed the perspective and observed the Matterhorn from the Theodul glacier
(left part of Figure 29.2). From this new perspective, the slope of the north-east
fin appeared much less dangerous than from the traditional perspective. This
motivated Whimper to climb the mountain on July 14, 1865, an adventure that
was successful but caused the death of four of his partners during the descent.
Fig. 29.2. The Matterhorn from the usual perspective (right) and from the Theodul
glacier (left).
Another application of the Yoneda philosophy is recognized while per-

forming and interpreting a work of art, a poem, a musical composition. Each
such rendition can be understood as an interpretation of the work, i.e., as a
perspective on that object. The artist produces a performance that expresses
how the interpreter views the work. According to the work’s complexity, no
single perspective will ever reveal the complete message of the work. Art lovers
generally agree that to understand a work, one must take the sum of all in-
terpretive performances, including the bad ones, which can be helpful too. In
fact, you then know how not to interpret the work, which is an awkward point
of view. For example, Glenn Gould’s paralyzing interpretation of Beethoven’s
Appassionata Sonata op.57 is, when compared to Vladimir Horowitz’s perfor-
254 29 Categories
mance, a deep lesson about the gestural dimension in Beethoven’s approach to

music, see Figure 29.3.
Fig. 29.3. Glenn Gould (left) interprets Beethoven without addressing his gestural
creativity, as opposed to Vladimir Horowitz (right), who fully realized this dimension.
In more mathematical terms, if we view a composition in a score as a

local composition (K, M ) in an adequate module M of musical parameters, the
Yoneda Lemma tells us that (K, M ) is completely understood when considering
all morphisms (L, N ) → (K, M ). In particular, we have to consider all small
parts (L, M ) of (K, M ), such as motives, chords, rhythms, etc. This is exactly
what we all do when trying to understand a composition: We look at the
system of parts and glue them together into a global picture of the work under
consideration.
Part VII
Continuity and Calculus

30
Continuity
Summary. Despite the rich algebraic formalism of monoids, groups, rings,

and modules, we lack a type of analysis that does not compare objects by their
transformational relations, such as symmetries or module homomorphisms, but
by their similarity—referring to the paradigm of deformation. This type of
relationship is what topology, the mathematics of continuity, is about.
–Σ–
Modern mathematics of the 20th century was above all characterized by
advances in topology. Even category theory was invented to deal with functors
on categories of topological nature. The great mathematician Yuri Manin pre-
dicted that future mathematics will have its foundations in topological, elastic,
and deformable objects, not by abstract entities such as sets and categories. In
music theory, the topological paradigm becomes increasingly important, in par-
ticular because gestures are a topological concept and because in performance,
continuity of movements is crucial and cannot be boiled down to abstract al-
gebraic structures.
This chapter and the two following on differentiability and gestures are
somewhat more advanced in their mathematical style, but we believe it is im-
portant to have a rough idea about these new mathematical tools.
Definition 75 A topology T on a set X, in short: a topological space X, is a

collection T ⊂ 2X of subsets of X, called open sets of the topology, such that
(i) ∅, X ∈ T ,
(ii) for any family (Oi )i of open sets, the union i O is in T ,

(iii) for any finite, non-empty family (Oi )i of open sets, their intersection i Oi
is in T .
For a topology T on X, a subset C ⊂ X is closed iff X − C is open. One
may also state the topological axioms using closed sets. This means that one
requires that
(i) ∅, X are closed,

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_30
258 30 Continuity
Fig. 30.1. The musical glissando on a piano and a violin are different. On a violin,
the pitch changes smoothly, while on the piano we have a discrete set of pitches,
similar to walking down steps as opposed to skiing down a mountain.

(ii) for any non-empty family (Oi )i of closed sets, the intersection i O is
closed,
(iii) for any finite family (Oi )i of closed sets, their union i Oi is closed.
If x ∈ X is an element of a topological space X, an open neighborhood of
x is an open set that contains x.
√
Example 37 The most important example is X = R, where the open sets
O ⊂ R are the subsets such that for every x ∈ O, there is an open interval
]a, b[:= {x|a < x < b} with x ∈]a, b[⊂ O. In particular, open intervals are open
sets, but closed intervals [a, b] = {x|x ∈ R AND a ≤ x ≤ b} are not. See Figure
30.2, left part, for an open interval.
If X, Y are topological spaces, the cartesian product topology is the topol-
ogy on X × Y where the open sets are those O ⊂ X × Y such that for every
x ∈ O, there is a pair of open sets U ⊂ X, V ⊂ Y such that x ∈ U × V ⊂ O.
A similar definition holds for the cartesian product topology of a finite family
(Xi )i of topological spaces Xi .
The usual topology on Rn is the cartesian product topology induced from
the above topology of R. The open sets are those subsets O ⊂ Rn that contain
for every point x = (xi ) ∈ O a cartesian product ]a1 , b1 [× . . .]an , bn [ of intervals
with xi ∈]ai , bi [ for all i = 1, . . . n. See Figure 30.2, right part, for an open set
in R2 .
If X is a topological space, a subset Y ⊂ X is turned into a topological
space by assigning the open sets U ⊂ Y to those sets of shape U = Y ∩ O for
30 Continuity 259
Fig. 30.2. Open sets in R and R2 . In R2 , each element x of the open set U is in a
rectangular open neighborhood that is contained in U.
an open set O ⊂ X of the comprising space. This topology is called the relative
topology.
Definition 76 If S is a topology on X and T is a topology on Y , then a set

function f : X → Y is said to be continuous if the inverse image f −1 (O) of
every open set in Y is open in X. This means that for every element x ∈ X
and every open neighborhood V of f (x), there is an open neighborhood W of
x such that f (W ) ⊂ V . Clearly, the composition g ◦ f of two continuous maps
f : X → Y, g : Y → Z is continuous, and the identity IdX on a topological space
is continuous. This means that we have a category Top of topological spaces
with morphism sets Top(X, Y ) = {f |f : X → Y continuous}. Isomorphisms
of topological spaces are called homeomorphisms.
√
Example 38 For the cartesian product topology i=1,...n Xi , the projec-

tion prj : i Xi → Xj is continuous for every index j. In fact, for a neighbor-
hood V of prj (x), the cartesian product W = X1 ×. . . Xj−1 ×V ×Xj+1 ×. . . Xn
projects into V .
Many important functions that we introduced earlier are continuous. For
example, polynomial functions R → R : x → P (x) for P ∈ R[X], or affine
functions Rn → Rm , or conjugation for the cartesian product topology on C in
its identification with R2 . All arithmetic operations on R, C, such as addition or
multiplication, and the exponential function x → ax , a > 0 on R, and the loga-
rithm x → loga (x), a > 0 on R+ are continuous. Also the classic trigonometric
functions x → cos(x), sin(x) on R are continuous.
A traditional restatement of the continuity of a function f : R → R reads
as follows: For every x ∈ R, and every ε > 0, there is δ > 0 such that whenever
|y − x| < δ, then |f (y) − f (x)| < ε. This follows immediately from the definition
of open sets in R as unions of interval neighborhoods of their points.
ˇ “*
Example 73 In musical performance, continuous functions are mandatory
for good rendition. If we want to produce a crescendo between onset time t0
260 30 Continuity
and onset time t1 from a p to a ff , we have to increase loudness as a continuous

function of time, not as a discontinuous step function, see Figure 30.3. Often,
the function is defined by a polynomial, which is a frequently used continuous
function, especially in performance software, such as RUBATO ’s Performance
rubette [75, Section 41.1]. Other performance functions are also continuous, such
as tempo changes (see Chapter 32), glissandi, or intonations, i.e., local changes
of tuning, especially for strings or singers.
Fig. 30.3. Stepwise and continuous increase of loudness.
Definition

77 A topological space X is compact
iff any covering family (Xi )i ,
i.e., i Xi = X, has a finite covering subfamily k=1,...m Xik = X.
For example, a cartesian product of closed intervals [ai , bi ], i = 1, . . . n in
Rn is compact.
30.1 Generators for Topologies

Similar to monoids, groups, ideals, and modules, there are for continuity some
standard techniques to “generate” a topology from some “generating” open sets.
If we are given a set S ⊂ 2X , we may consider the intersection S of all
topologies T on X that contain S as a subset. There is always at least one such
a topology, namely, the discrete topology 2X . This intersection is called the
topology generated by S. A subbase S of a topology T on X is an set S ⊂ 2X
such that S = T , i.e., a generating set. This topology consists of all unions of
finite intersections of members of S. A base for a topology is a generator such
that every open set of the topology is a union of members of that generator,
i.e., the finite intersections are not necessary for a base. For example, the open
intervals in R are a base for the usual topology on R.
A frequent construction of a base is given when a space has a metrical
structure, i.e., a distance function between pairs of elements of that space. More
precisely, we have the concept of Euclidean distance on Rn .
30.1 Generators for Topologies 261
Definition 78 The Euclidean

distance function is the map Rn × Rn → R
defined by d(x, y) = 2
i (xi − yi ) . We have these characteristic properties
for a distance function:
(i) d(x, y) = d(y, x) ≥ 0,
(ii) d(x, y) = 0 iff x = y, and
(iii) (the triangle inequality) d(x, y) + d(y, z) ≥ d(x, z).
This function defines a topological base on Rn by open balls around points
x ∈ Rn defined by
Be (x) := {y|y ∈ Rn AND d(x, y) < e}
for any x ∈ Rn and radius e > 0. It can be shown that the topology on Rn
defined by open balls coincides with the product topology defined above.
ˇ “*
Example 74 Distances in Rn play a role in the theory of motivic similarity.
In this context, we consider a musical motive of k notes or k-motive to be a
sequence m = (m1 , m2 , . . . mk ) of elements (the notes) mi ∈ REHLD in a
symbolic space REHLD of onset, pitch, duration, and loudness with real values.
We suppose that the Euclidean distance is selected on REHLD . The set M otk
of all k-motives is then associated with the space (REHLD )k . On this space,
we define a distance between motives m, n by d(m, n) := maxi (d(mi , ni )). It is
easy to verify the axioms of a distance (Definition 78) for M otk .
With this distance among motives, one may consider motivic similarity ei-
ther directly via a measurement of distances or by investigation of balls Be (m)
of k-motives around a given k-motive m. Melodic similarity compares motives
by their topological position, not by symmetries that could transform motives
into each other. This splits musical paradigmatic analysis into two quite differ-
ent subfields: the “para” part—topological similarity, “side by side,” versus the
“deigmatic” part—“pointing to”: transformational relations. See [75, Chapter
22] for more details about the now active research field of motivic topologies.
The topological aspect was unfortunately ignored by music psychologist
Christian von Ehrenfels when he characterized “gestalt” as something that has
supersummativity, the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and transposabil-
ity, you can transpose a gestalt without changing it. He explained his concept
with the example of a melody. But he should have added that a gestalt is
invariant under similarity, you may deform it slightly without changing it.
For function sets Top(X, Y ) one considers the following set of subsets
of functions. One selects a compact set C ⊂ X and an open set O ⊂ Y .
The subset of the compact-open topology on Top(X, Y ) consists of all sets
(C, O) = {f |f ∈ Top(X, Y ) AND f (C) ⊂ O}. The compact-open topology
has the universal property that for any three topological spaces X, Y, Z, where
Y is locally compact Hausdorff, the composition map
Top(X, Y ) × Top(Y, Z) → Top(X, Z)

262 30 Continuity
is continuous for the compact-open topologies on these function spaces and

the cartesian product topology on the left. A space is Hausdorff iff any two
different points have disjoint open neighborhoods. It is locally compact if every
neighborhood of any point contains a smaller compact neighborhood of the
point. For example, Rn is Hausdorff and locally compact.
Compact-open topologies are crucial for mathematical gesture theory that
will be discussed in Chapter 33.
30.2 Euler’s Substitution Theory

As explained in Chapter 28, Leonhard Euler defined a consonance degree with
his gradus suavitatis function. He needed a substitution in the human brain,
which replaces an arbitrary music interval by a neighboring just interval, be-
cause his function only works for just intervals.
Restating Euler’s theory, this boils down to starting at any pitch p ∈ Q R
and then finding the next possible pitch in the just-tuning grid of EulerSpace
defined by integer coordinates, i.e., points stemming from Z3 under the Euler
injection.
That Euler’s idea does not work follows from this topological consider-
ation: In a topological
space X, for any subset S ⊂ X, we may consider the
intersection S := S⊂C & C⊂X closed C of all closed subsets C ⊂ X that contain
S. This is called the closure of S. It is the smallest closed subset of X contain-
ing S. A subset S ⊂ X is said to be dense iff S = X. For example, Q = R, the
rationals are dense in R. This is easy to verify. In the other case, we would have
a non-empty open set R − Q. But every such set contains an open non-empty
interval, and any such open interval contains rational numbers, so this leads to
a contradiction.
The problem with Euler’s proposal is that the grid of just-tuning pitches
Euler(Z3 ) is dense in Q R for the standard topology on the reals. See [75,
Appendix A.2.3] for proof. This means that for any pitch x ∈ R, and for any
open neighborhood ball Be (x), there are just-tuned pitches in Be (x). But there
are also infinitely many such pitches since there are infinitely many mutually
disjoint small balls Be/2(n+2) (x − e/2n ) in Be (x), and each such small ball
contains just-tuned pitches. Therefore the selection of the nearest candidate is
impossible, and Euler’s substitution cannot work for topological reasons.
31
Differentiability
Summary. Differentiability is stronger than continuity in that for a differen-

tiable curve, we need to have a slope line at every point, i.e., the curve must
not have corners. This chapter deals with this concept and its application to
music.
–Σ–
For differentiability, we need to describe functions f : U → Rm , where
U ⊂ Rn is an open set.
Definition 79 Let x ∈ R and f : U − {x} → Rn be a function defined in a

neighborhood U of x, except for x. We say that f converges to a vector z ∈ R
iff for every ε > 0, there is a δ > 0 such that for |y − x| < δ, |f (y) − z| < .
We then write “f (y) → z for y → x”.
Fig. 31.1. The slope line of the derivative 2x of function x2 at x = 1.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_31
264 31 Differentiability
Definition 80 Let f : U → Rm be a function. Then f is said to be differen-

tiable at a point x ∈ U if there is a linear homomorphism D ∈ ModR (Rn , Rm )
such that the function Δ(y) = |f (y)−f |x−y|
(x)−D(y−x)|
→ 0 as y → x. The function
D is called the derivative of f at x and is denoted by Df (x). If D exists, it is
uniquely determined. In the special case of n = m = 1, the derivative is repre-
sented by a number Df (x) ∈ R, the single coefficient in a 1 × 1-matrix that is
identified with Df (x), and one often denotes this number by dx df
. The function
is said to be differentiable if it is differentiable in every point of its domain U .
See Figure 31.1 for the derivative slope of f (x) = x2 at x = 1.
If a function f is differentiable, then it is also continuous. But the contrary
is false, as is seen for the function f : R → R : x → |x|, which is continuous but
not differentiable in x = 0, see Figure 31.2.
Fig. 31.2. The absolute value function |x| is not differentiable for argument x = 0.
√
Example 39 If f = P : R → R is a polynomial P (X) = i ai X i , then it

is differentiable and Df (x) = i>0 iai xi−1 . The R-affine functions T t ◦ M are
differentiable, and we have Df (x) = M . The function sin(x) has D sin(x) =
cos(x), the function cos(x) has D cos(x) = − sin(x).
Proposition 28 If f, g : U → Rm are both differentiable at x, then we have
D(f + g)(x) = Df (x) + Dg(x).
Proposition 29 (Chain Rule) If f : U → Rm , and g : V → Rl with Im(f ) ⊂

V are both differentiable, then we have
D(g ◦ f )(x) = Dg(f (x)) ◦ Df (x).

31 Differentiability 265
ˇ “* Example 75 In music theory of performance, basic concepts are based on

differentiation. A classic example is given by the concept of tempo. What is
tempo? It is usually measured in M.M. ♩/min., i.e., Maelzel Metronome quarter
notes per minute. So it relates physical time (minutes) and symbolic score time
(♩). The situation here is that in any performance, there is a transformation
from symbolic time to physical time. Figure 31.3 shows this functionality.
Fig. 31.3. Tempo relates to the function that sends symbolic score time to physical
time. It is the inverse differential quotient of this function.
Tempo relates to the slope of this time function ℘E : E → e. It is defined

by1
1 1
Tempo = T (E) = = .
D℘E de/dE
A similar formalism holds when we want to define intonation precisely. We have
a function ℘H : H → h from symbolic pitch (in semitone units) to physical pitch
(in Cents). The intonation function is defined similar to tempo by
1 1
Intonation = S(H) = = .
D℘H dh/dH
This function (S stands for German “Stimmung,” intonation) is important be-
cause intonation can vary locally in quite dramatic ways—for example, for
string or voice performance—much as tempo can vary locally, and it is called
agogics or microtiming. See Chapter 32 for more aspects of these functions.
1
The symbol de/dE is a traditional writing of D℘E , the derivative then being called
differential quotient.
32
Performance
Summary. Performance is understood to be the transformation of a symbolic

musical object of notes—as represented in a score of Western tradition—to a
physical object composed of sound events. Going beyond the common descrip-
tion of performance, we shall present a mathematical theory of this type of
transformation.
–Σ–
This description is a huge abstraction since performance includes the per-
forming artist, gestures, and real instruments, all being realized in a concert
hall in front of an audience. But it is the approach that is traditionally taken
when addressing “expressive performance research.”
We want to address this abstraction here too, but we are aware that it
is not the whole story. In the next chapter we shall also discuss the gestural
aspect of performance, adding another aspect to a most complex total image.
However, the present abstraction to notes and sound events can be helpful as
an introduction when trying to piece together the whole picture. It will turn
out that gestural performance can be built upon this note-oriented abstraction,
in the sense of getting a feel for what is being played as sound events.
This being said, let us provide a short summary of how expressive perfor-
mance research is structured. To begin with, it deals with the structure theory.
The action of performing notes by sound events must be clearly defined and
ideally described in precise mathematical terms. This latter precision is not
surprising since notes and sound events have been identified as being points
in adequate parameter spaces, such as REHLD for notes and Rehld for sound
events, see Musical Example 61. Once one has gained control over the structure
of performance, the second part of the theory is the question of why a specific
performance is chosen, in the sense that some message has to be expressed.
Expressive performance is a semiotic action, a rhetorical endeavor of trans-
mitting messages (of gestural, symbolic, or emotional nature) via instrumental
interfaces to a more or less interested audience.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_32
268 32 Performance
We shall not deal here with the semiotic aspect of performance, but simply
describe the most elementary ingredients of structure theory. A more complete
description can be found in [75, Parts VIII-XII].
32.1 Mathematical and Musical Precision
Expressive performance research was first received with much skepticism be-
cause it was believed, above all by traditional performance experts in musi-
cologist circles, that mathematical and musical precision were incompatible.
Or that some performance (machine-made or human) could be mathematically
precise but musically invalid, and that differences in the quantitative perfor-
mances could be irrelevant to the precision of the musical message. This turned
out to be a misunderstanding due to a confusion between structural determi-
nants and the semiotic contents. To put it simply: The relationship between
form and content is a complex one. But it is not true that structural precision
does not matter. It just doesn’t guarantee the transfer of a deeper content.
Already Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno in his correspondence with Walter
Benjamin [2] had recalled1 : “Walter Benjamin hat das Vermögen der Phan-
tasie die Gabe, im unendlich Kleinen zu interpolieren definiert. Das bedeutet
blitzhaft die wahre Interpretation. (...) Im dicht gewobenen Zusammenhang des
Notentextes sind die minimalen Hohlräume zu entdecken, in denen sinnverlei-
hende Interpretation ihre Zuflucht findet. (...) Das Medium künstlerischer Fan-
tasie ist nicht ein Weniger an Genauigkeit, sondern das noch Genauere.” This
wonderfully arcane text can be clarified if we recall that there is an exquisite
science of infinite precision, namely differential and integral calculus. We take
this reference as a starting point for a mathematically rigorous theory of mu-
sical performance.
32.2 Musical Notation for Performance
Musical scores are not yet music: They indicate to performers the points to
reach. Let us briefly discuss some performance-related components of Western
scores. A classic Western score mainly contains information about pitch, onset,
duration, loudness, and timbre.
The names of the notes indicate their pitch class, i.e., c d e f g a b in Anglo-
Saxon notation, c d e f g a h in German notation, and Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si
1
Walter Benjamin has defined the power of fantasy as the talent to interpolate in the
infinitely small. This immediately means true interpretation/performance. (...) In
the densely woven context of the score’s text minimal cavities are to be discovered,
wherein meaningful interpretation has found its refuge. (...) The medium of artistic
fantasy is not a diminution, but an augmentation of precision.
32.2 Musical Notation for Performance 269
in Italian2 and French notation (except Do → Ut and Re → Ré). Alterations

(sharp , moving a semitone up, and flat , moving a semitone down) complete
this information. The position of the notes in the musical stave determines their
precise octave.
The diapason gives the correspondence between the names of notes and
their frequencies. The current reference is a at 440 Hz. Information about
diapason is not given in the score; it is an external parameter established before
musical performance. It deals with the tuning systems and is implicit in the
indicated set of instruments.
In a score, (symbolic) time is expressed by onset and duration. Onset of
a note (or a rest) is also expressed by the duration of previous and following
notes (and rests). Relative values of durations are indicated as sub-multiples
(whole note, half note, quarter notes, and so on). These values are converted
into precise time indications in seconds via a Maelzel metronome. In modern
scores (from Beethoven to present day), the tempo at which the metronome is
set is indicated at the beginning of the score. Often a metronome is also used
during the preparatory study of a score.
Mechanical structures are just a starting point for performance. They
cannot enhance musical expressivity. Expressivity comes from variation of me-
chanical structures. Also, it is not true that tempo must be the constant: There
may be score indications such as accelerando or rallentando.
A much more ambiguous indication is loudness. Verbal expressions such
as f , mf , and p, give indications about the relative loudness of a note or an
entire phrase or section of a score. While performing, they must be converted
into decibel (dB) levels. Variations in loudness levels are realized by performers
(or the conductor of an orchestra), depending on the style of the composition
and the instruments involved.
The name of the instrument (violin, flute, piano, etc.) defines what should
be the timbre (or sound color) of music. Timbre is determined by the physi-
cal characteristics of the instruments: their vibrating body (chord, tubes, and
membranes), the resonance system, and the way they are played. For exam-
ple, the timbre of a violin can be completely changed in a pizzicato. Timbre is
also strongly influenced by technique and the personal touch of the performer.
This crucial topic deals with musical acoustics, which is an entire branch of
mechanics in physics.
Other verbal indications, such as con fuoco, con dolcezza, con espressione,
don’t have any obvious mathematical or mechanical correspondence. They must
be translated by the performer into gestural variations that imply sounding
variations, and gestures (not only musical but any bodily gestures) can be
mathematically described, as we will see in Chapter 33.
2
Italian names are derived by Guido d’Arezzo from the first syllable of each verse
of St. Johannes hymnus Ut queant laxis, in Latin.
270 32 Performance
32.3 Structure Theory of Performance

The mathematical approach to performance starts with a local composition
(K, REHLD ), the performance kernel that is mapped by a function ℘ : K →
L to a local composition (L, Rehld ). We don’t suppose that the map here is
induced by an affine homomorphism, but that there is a neighborhood of K,
called the frame of the performance, F =]aE , bE [×]aH , bH [×]aL , bL [×]aD , bD [
such that ℘ is defined on F and that it is a differentiable map with invertible
derivative D℘(X) in each point X ∈ F . This map ℘ is called the performance
transformation. Recall that the derivative is an R-linear isomorphism, being
represented by an invertible 4 × 4-matrix J℘(X), the Jacobian matrix.
We now want to describe the performance transformation ℘ in terms of
its Jacobian. We follow the idea of describing physical onset times using tempo.
Recall from Musical Example 75 that tempo T (E) at onset E was the inverse
of the derivative D℘E = de/dE. To know the physical onset e = ℘E (E) at sym-
bolic (score) time E, one has to know the physical initial time e0 = ℘E (E0 ) of a
starting symbolic time E0 , and then—this is the experience of every musician—
the tempo curve T (E) tells us when in physical time we arrive at symbolic time
E. The mathematical part thereof is a bit more involved, because it needs inte-
gration of functions. We don’t explain integration here, but the formula is this
(see [75, Section 33.1.1] for details):
E
1
℘(E) = ℘(E0 ) + ,
E0 T
the integral over the inverse tempo function T . This one-dimensional case is
used to set up a formalism to solve the general case. The inverse derivative
D℘−1
E that defines tempo can be generalized to the inverse Jacobian J℘(X)
−1
.
But tempo is a number and a matrix is not a number. To solve this problem,
the mathematical analysis shows that we may apply the matrix J℘(X)−1 to
the vector Δ = (1, 1, 1, 1) ∈ Rehld . This defines a vector
‫( ℘צ‬X) = J℘(X)−1 .Δ
in REHLD . Similar to the tempo, this is a vector for every argument of the
symbolic space. Such a structure is called a vector field, and in our perfor-
mance theory, we call it the performance field ‫ ℘צ‬of ℘. Figure 32.1 shows a
performance field in the two dimensions E, H of onset and pitch. It is defined
from the one-dimensional tempo and intonation fields T, S.
For onset and duration, one gets a tempo-articulation field in the plane of
E and D, see Figure 32.2. This is a consequence of the fact that with tempo,
duration as the difference of onset and offset of a note can also be defined. But
in general, with staccato and legato, duration has a more complex shape.
Similar to the integration of T1 to get the performance onsets, one can
integrate the field ‫ ℘צ‬and get the performed point x = ℘(X). This is quite
difficult to explain in detail, but there is an intuitive approach that everybody
32.3 Structure Theory of Performance 271
Fig. 32.1. The performance field for onset and pitch that is defined by the tempo
and intonation fields.
Fig. 32.2. The performance field for onset and duration that is defined by the tempo
field with duration being derived as a difference of offset and onset of a note.
can understand. The integration in the general case involves looking at integral
curves of such a performance field. Imagine the field as being the velocity field
of a water current on the surface of a river. If you are in a boat, your trajectory
will be a curve that is determined by the velocity field of the river. This is
what they call an integral curve. One may calculate the integral curves of
performance fields that go through a selected note X, and the curve will hit
a point X0 within the frame F where one knows the image ℘(X0 ). Together
with this initial value, the curve will then allow us to calculate the image ℘(X).
This has been implemented in the software RUBATO , allowing us to calculate
performance of musical scores, once the performance fields were given.
272 32 Performance
32.4 Expressive Performance

The musically delicate part of this theory is the question of how to define
performance fields. In the one-dimensional case, you may ask yourself about
the operators that define the tempo or intonation field. There is an extensive
theory that investigates these performance operators, see [75, Part IX] or [83].
We also investigated performances by pianists and were able to prove that
certain standard performance operators (derived from harmonic, melodic, and
rhythmic analysis) can be correlated to agogic, i.e., the measured tempo curves
generated by these pianists, see [75, Part XI], [17], and [18].
33
Gestures
Summary.
Gestures are com-
plex in their common un-
derstanding. The concept
of a gesture has never been
thoroughly defined to this
date, although gestures are
very important in human-
computer interface design,
human expressivity in and Fig. 33.1. Michelangelo’s Divine Gesture from God to
beyond common language, Adam.
and above all in the arts.
Painting, dance, music, theater, and film would not be understood without ges-
tural concepts and processes. We therefore will give a short introduction to the
first mathematical theory of gestures.
–Σ–
33.1 Western Notation and Gestures

The first Christian liturgical music was the Gregorian chant. It was developed
early in the Middle Ages and influenced by the Greek modes. It is a form of
initially unaccompanied monophonic chant. The Western musical notational
system is derived from Gregorian chant, whose origins, as we will see, stem
from gestures.
In 4th- and 5th-century Europe, there was no musical notation for
melodies. Cantors in monasteries learned them by heart. Later, some signs were
added to words written in manuscripts, called neumes (from the Greek word
for sign), see Figure 33.2. Initially, these neumes were positioned above sylla-
bles of the text, without any reference to a precise pitch. Successively, neumes

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_33
274 33 Gestures
Fig. 33.2. From neumes to notes.
have been introduced in a four-line musical stave (the Italian tetragramma),

the ancestor of our modern five-line stave (pentagramma). The use of a stave
Fig. 33.3. The Gregorian musical figures.

33.2 Chinese Gestural Music Notation 275
established the passage from non-diastematic to diastematic notation, where

the precise pitch is shown by the vertical position on the musical stave. We
have these transitions:
1. from acute accent to virga
2. from grave accent to punctum (with the stem)
3. from circumflex accent to clivis
4. from anti-circumflex accent to pes or podatus
Some of the Gregorian musical figures are the following (see Figure 33.3):
• Punctum quadratum (simplest symbol)
• Punctum inclinatum (lozenge, used in a group of descending notes)
• Virga (like punctum quadratum, but with a stem)
• Scandicus, three ascending notes
• Quilisma (the modern mordente)
All of these musical figures have the same duration, and they are usually tran-
scribed in modern notation using eighth notes.
By combining these figures, it is possible to obtain more complex neumes.
For example, by combining two ascending or descending notes, we respectively
obtain the pes and the clivis, or the torculus/porrectus by using three notes.
What is the origin of neumes? The neumes repro-
duced the ascending-descending movements used by the
choral conductor to represent variations of the shape of
the melody. These hand movements that indicate the
shape of the melody constitute the cheironomic move-
ments, from the Greek χείρ, cheir, hand, and ν óμoς,
nomos, law.
Due to its origin, we can state that the Western mu-
sical notation is derived from gestural indications. There
is a transition from a continuous shape, characteristic of
gestures, as we shall see in the following sections, to a
discrete set, characteristic of the notes in the symbolic
score. We argue that the idea of freezing gestures into Fig. 33.4. The ear-
liest music notation
simple signs is exactly what a composer does when he or
in China was cre-
she is writing a new score. Mathematically, that corre- ated for an instru-
sponds to a procedure of discretization. ment called chin.
33.2 Chinese Gestural Music Notation

Chinese language is based on gestures and visual symbols. For example, the left
side of Figure 33.5 shows the development of the Chinese word for “mountain.”
The contemporary Chinese word is on the lower right side of the mountain
image. Other Chinese words with the same genealogy are shown to the right
part of Figure 33.5. Western music notation represents the sound (result), but
276 33 Gestures
Fig. 33.5. Left: Chinese word development for “mountain,” right: some Chinese words
with the same genealogy.
old Chinese music notations represents gestural instructions (production) for

the player. The earliest music notation in China was created for an instrument
called chin (古琴). Old Chinese texts are organized in columns, from the right
to the left. Figure 33.6 shows Chinese drum notation. In addition, because Chi-
nese instruments were created for solo performance, there is no expectation or
requirement for precise beats. The analogy might be this: In tai chi, individu-
als move in response to their own inner mood; however, in Western dance, the
individuals respond to the rhythmic pattern from the music outside of their
own bodies. This makes the gestural message so difficult to grasp from modern
Western notation.
Fig. 33.6. An ancient Chinese drum notation.
33.3 Some Remarks on Gestural Performance

Gestures are strictly related to music. Using a metaphor proposed by one of
the authors (Guerino Mazzola), musical notes are the discrete points on the
ground touched by a dancer while he or she is continuously moving. These
continuous movements are gestures. So, to have a complete understanding of
33.3 Some Remarks on Gestural Performance 277
a musical performance, we need to extend the previous analysis (mapping of

symbolic parameters of a score to physical quantities) to gestures.
Why are gestures important in music? Every musician is able to read a
score; however, not every musician is able to play all instruments. A great part
of musicians’ training deals with learning specific gestures to play a selected
instrument. In general, performance of a score combines a collection of little
gestures (articulations, scales, staccato or legato, etc.) that can be glued to-
gether. A gesture of gestures is called hypergesture, and it will be described in
Section 33.6.
There are also gestures not directly tied to sound production but that help
orchestral musicians select the best specific gestures to bring forth a general
musical idea. This is the role of an orchestral conductor.
We call symbolic gestures the movements suggested by a score that ideally
allow a perfect realization of the content of score. We call physical gestures the
real movements by performers.
To understand the difference, suppose one has a piano score containing
two consecutive quarter notes with the same pitch, for example middle C.
Ideally, these notes must be played one after the other without any interruption.
Practically, the pianist has to raise a finger. Ideally, there should be a zero-time
interval between them (with infinite speed, see Figure 33.7). In practice it is
only possible to have finite-speed movements. If the onset-position graph of the
ideal movement implies a straight line for infinite speed, the real movement can
be represented as a smooth curve.
Fig. 33.7. The beginning of Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata is an example of

a gesture that is impossible to play. For the left hand, for example, there is no pause
between the first b and the successive chord. This would require an infinite speed.
However, infinite speed of the first case corresponds to a finite speed in

imaginary time. In fact, there are two ontologically different kinds of time: real
for physical gestures and imaginary for symbolic gestures. Distinction between
imaginary and real time reminds us of the dichotomy of potentiality and actu-
ality in Aristotelian philosophy. For more details, see the definition of complex
numbers in Chapter 14 and the description of complex time and Descarte’s
dualism in Section 33.7.
278 33 Gestures
The formalism developed for this simple case can be extended and applied
to any musical performance. It is clear that there is an infinite variety of physical
gestures associated with the same symbolic gesture. For the same symbolic
gesture, in fact, there can be some physical realizations that are more difficult
than others, some physical gestures that correspond more or less to the musical
idea, and so on.
Musical composition requires the inverse process, from physical reality
to symbolic reality. The composer can start from real physical movement—
such as piano improvisation—or “virtual” physical gestures imagined to be the
final result when the music is performed. Starting from physical gestures, the
composer has to find the optimal symbolic approximation of his or her ideas.
It means he or she will answer the question, what are the symbolic indications
whose physical realization is closer to my idea?
ˇ “*
Exercise 12 Play a song/phrase on a piano keyboard three times, choosing
a different gesture each time. Then try to write a score indicating each gesture.
A detailed analysis of gestures is beyond the scope of this book. However,
because of their dramatic importance in music and future development of music,
we will give mathematical definitions and some bibliographic references.
The gestures are curves in space and time. To formally connect the sym-
bolic to the physical, we use methods involving surfaces (world-sheets) (world-
sheets). These surfaces were inspired by the string theory in theoretical physics,
as described in [68]. A more complete discussion of the implication of gestures
in music is given in [85].
An example of transformation from symbolic to physical reality is porta-
mento for string instruments. A glissando, as we know, is a continuous transi-
tion from a starting note to an ending note. A portamento also occurs between
two different notes, but there are some differences in the execution. Ideally, if
the transition from one note to another is instantaneous, as a step-function, a
portamento implies a more smooth transition. This smoothness is realized with
a quick pass through more pitches than simply the starting and ending ones,
similar to the lower and upper level of a step. However, it does not involve all
intermediate pitches, as happens in a glissando.
Portamenti are often used by voice and string instruments. The duration
and pitches involved depend on the style of the chosen music.
ˇ “* Exercise 13 Compare a baroque song and an aria of a classic opera, and

try to find differences in portamento.
ˇ “*
Exercise 14 Sing two different notes with precise intonation, but with no
pitch transition between them. Then try to perform a portamento. Measure
time duration of the first and the second case, and try to find the intermediate
notes that you are singing. Finally, make a graph of your first and your second
attempt, and compare the two images.
33.4 Philosophy of Gestures 279
33.4 Philosophy of Gestures

Jean-Claude Schmitt, in La raison des gestes dans l’Occident médiéval [101],
has given the most complete and important contribution to a history of the
concept, philosophy, and social and religious roles of gestures during the early
centuries of our modern Western culture. It starts with a summary of the
antique Greek and Roman tradition—Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian
and then draws a trajectory through the Middle Ages, from the early writ-
ings of Martianus Capella (between 410 and 470) to in the sophisticated and
detailed writings of Paris-based Christian theologist Hugues de Saint-Victor
(1096-1141), and terminating with a detailed discussion of the transition of
the Medieval Christian culture during the 12th and 13th centuries to an “intel-
lectual Renaissance” in which new technologies, the new medical paradigm of
surgery, the first universities, and the rediscovery of ancient traditions generate
new perspectives on the phenomenon of gestures. Hugues de Saint-Victor gave
the classical non-mathematical definition of a gesture [101]: “Gestus est mo-
tus et figuratio membrorum corporis, ad omnem agendi et habendi modum.”
(“Gesture is the movement and figuration of the body’s limbs with an aim, but
also according to the measure and modality proper to the achievement of all
action and attitude.”)
Gestural expressivity is reflected in the etymology of emotion: e-movere,
to move inside out. Gestures are movements.
To our knowledge, a philosophy of gestures was not developed until the
20th century, except for Tommaso Campanella’s insight in the 17th century,
stressing the pointer gesture as the most certain of all certitudes. The more
recent attempts at a philosophy of gestures are mainly of European—and
even more precisely, of French—origin. Michel Guérin in his Philosophie des
gestes [48] characterizes gestures as non-semiotic phenomena, specifying four
elementary gesture types, but without giving a definition of the very concept.
These types are: faire (make), don(ner) (donate, gift), écrire (write), and danser
(dance).
Guérin’s approach is comparable in style to Vilem Flusser’s essay Versuch
einer Phänomenologie der Gesten [37]; however, Flusser views gestures as signs.
His definition is essentially negative: freedom, that part that cannot be satisfied
in the causal determination of the human body’s intentional movements and
its associated tools. He searches desperately for the meaning of that movement.
In fact, to him, what is meaningless cannot be understood. This is the semiotic
trap that Gilles Châtelet, Charles Alunni and their French associates avoided.
We discuss these philosophers below.
As observed above, the main contributions to a contemporary philosophy
of gestures have been created by French scholars. Their works also differ from
the Anglo-Saxon linguistic philosophy of gestures developed by Adam Kendon
and David McNeil [65] and [87], who focus on gestures that are co-present in
linguistic utterances. From this perspective, their concept of a gesture is strictly
semiotic: Gestures are special signs that support the building of linguistic syn-
280 33 Gestures
tagms and contents. And they are always related to the body’s actions; no ab-
stract concept of a gesture, such as a gesture in a musical melody or a thought
gesture, is addressed.
The French tradition of gesture philosophy is charac-
terized by the thesis that gestures constitute a proper on-
tology that is independent of semiotic systems. It typically
precedes them, or is pre-semiotic. As in many other cases
of French philosophy of the 20th century, Paul Valéry is the
figurehead of gesture theory. His famous inscription on the
front of Palais Chaillot in Paris says:
Dans ces murs voués aux merveilles
J’accueille et garde les ouvrages
Fig. 33.8. Paul De la main prodigieuse de l’artiste
Valéry is the fig- Égale et rivale de sa pensée
urehead of French L’une n’est rien sans l’autre
gesture theory (In these walls devoted to the marvels
(1871-1945). I receive and keep the works
Of the artist’s prodigious hand
Equal and rival of his thought
One is nothing without the other.)
Again it is the thinking hand that Valéry invokes, a hand that in its
gestural originality is a full-fledged partner of human thoughts. It is not sur-
prising that Valéry wrote an essay on the philosophy of dance [111] in which he
concludes not with a scholarly description of dance, but a suggestion to start
dancing our thoughts instead of thinking about dance.
Ahead of his time, French mathematician and philosopher Jean Cavaillés
in 1938 stated in [26] a core property of gestures that bypasses any semiotic ba-
sis: “Comprendre, c’est attraper le geste et pouvoir continuer.” (“Understanding
is catching the gesture and being able to continue.”)
Cavaillés’ dancing thought (also shaped in Boulez’s
reflection on gesture in music [24]) was stated with re-
spect to mathematical theories, and as such it was one of
the very first principles of gestural embodiment in mathe-
matics, an idea now quite fashionable through the work of
George Lakoff and Rafael Núñez [58] but also anticipated in
Châtelet’s observation [27] that the Fregean (Gottlob Frege
(1848-1925) was German logician) concept of a function f
in mathematics is a dramatic (and questionable) abstrac-
Fig. 33.9.
tion that replaces the moving gesture from argument x to
Mathematician its functional value f(x) by a kind of disembodied “tele-
and philosopher
portation,” where the evidence of the functional relation is
Jean Cavaillés
(1903-1944).
wrapped and hidden, if not destroyed.
Gestures—except when “tamed” by social codes—are
not signs in a semiotic environment. They are not a realization of Ferdinand
33.5 Mathematical Theory of Gestures in Music 281
de Saussure’s classical signification process. Châtelet [27] is very clear in this

point: “Le concept de geste nous semble crucial pour approcher le mouvement
d’abstraction amplifiante des mathématiques. (...) Un diagramme peut immo-
biliser un geste, le mettre au repos, bien avant qu’il ne se blottisse dans un
signe, et c’est pourquoi les géomètres ou les cosmologistes contemporains ai-
ment les diagrammes et leurs pouvoirs d’évocation préemptoire.” (“The concept
of a gesture seems crucial to approach the amplifying movement of abstraction
in mathematics. (...) A diagram can immobilize a gesture, put it to rest long
before it is hidden in a sign, this is why geometers and contemporary cos-
mologists love diagrams and their power of preemptive evocation.”) A gesture
can be immoblilized by a diagram (which in this French theory is a kind of
disembodied gesture) before it becomes a sign.
And Alunni [6] confirms this creative pre-semiotic role
of gestures: “Ce n’est pas la régle qui gouverne l’action di-
agrammatique, mais l’action qui fait émerger la régle.” (“It
is not the rule that governs diagrammatic action, but it is
action that causes the rule to emerge.”)
Summarizing, we learn that gestures are generally un-
derstood as pertaining to a proper ontology that is not sub-
ordinate to semiotic lines of thought. In particular, the dom-
inant French diagrammatic philosophy exhibits a sharp di-
chotomy between “wild” and “tamed” gestures, the former Fig. 33.10.
being independent or antecedant of semiotic realms, while Philosopher
the latter are serving semiotic purposes as special types of Charles Alunni
signs. Conceptual creativity is exibited in the layer of wild (1951- ).
gestures. The communicative characteristic of (wild) gestures stresses their
“howness” as opposed to their substantial “whatness.” Gestures are understood
in their behavior, not in their absolute being (such as Immanuel Kant’s Ding
an sich).
33.5 Mathematical Theory of Gestures in Music

We now transform into mathematical terms Saint-Victor’s definition of a ges-
ture.
→
−
Definition 81 Given a topological space X, the spatial digraph X is the di-
graph, whose vertex set is X, while its arrows are the continuous functions
f : I → X defined on the closed unit interval I = [0, 1] ⊂ R, which we call
curves in X. We define h(f ) = f (1), t(f ) = f (0), so we may represent a curve
as an arrow f : t(f ) → h(f ) or t(f ) - h(f ).
f
If m : X → Y is a continuous map, the associated digraph morphism

→
− →
− →
−
m : X → Y maps vertices to vertices via m and transform the curve f : I → X
to the curve m ◦ f .
282 33 Gestures
Definition 82 Given a directed graph Γ and a topological space X, a gesture

→
−
is a morphism g : Γ → X of graphs. Γ is called the gesture’s skeleton, while
X is called its body.
Fig. 33.11. A gesture with body in a topological space X.
→
−
Intuitively, a gesture g : Γ → X is a system of curves in X that are
connected according to the arrows of the skeleton, see Figure 33.11.
ˇ “*
Example 76 The simple finger gesture is the most important example of
an elementary gesture of a pianist’s hand, see Figure 33.12. It is used in fun-
damental research about the transformation of symbolic gestures into physical
gestures, see Section 33.7.
→
− −
→
Definition 83 If g : Γ → X , d : Δ → Y are two gestures, a morphism
h : g → d is a pair h = (t, m) where t : Γ → Δ is a digraph morphism, and
m : X → Y is a continuous map, such that the following diagram commutes.
g →
−
Γ −−−−→ X
⏐ ⏐
⏐ ⏐→
t −m
d →
−
Δ −−−−→ Y
Clearly, morphisms can be composed in the expected way, and this composition
→
−
is associative. Every gesture g : Γ → X has the identity Idg = (IdΓ , IdX ) as
morphism. This setup defines the category Gest of gestures.
√ →
−
Example 40 For every arrow a in the skeleton Γ of a gesture g : Γ → X ,
we may restrict the gesture to that arrow. This defines a morphism of gestures
as shown in the following diagram. It is the restriction of g to the arrow a, and
we shall use it in Section 33.6.
33.6 Hypergestures 283
Fig. 33.12. An elementary fingertip gesture.
→
−
g◦a∗
[1] −−−−→
X
⏐ ⏐
a∗
⏐ ⏐−−→
IdX
g →
−
Δ −−−−→ X
33.6 Hypergestures
→
−
The set Γ @X of gestures g : Γ → X can be given the structure of a topological
space as follows. We first deal with the case of Γ = [1], the chain digraph with
∼ →−
two points and one connecting arrow. Clearly, in this case [1]@X → X . The
→
−
set X of arrows in X is the set Top(I, X), and in this case, we have the
compact-open topology that turns it into a topological space.
The general case Γ @X is obtained by looking at all of its arrows a and
looking at the morphism a∗ : [1] → Γ sending the arrow of [1] to a. Each such
a∗ defines a map pa : Γ @X → [1]@X by restriction of a gesture g to g ◦ a∗.
There is a unique topology on Γ @X that turns all these restriction maps pa
into continuous maps. This is the topology we impose on Γ @X.
This construction has the important consequence that we may now con-
sider the gesture space Δ@Γ @X = Δ@(Γ @X). Gestures in this space are
gestures of gestures, which we call hypergestures. This construction may be
iterated to yield higher hypergestures Γ1 @Γ2 @ . . . Γn @X.
284 33 Gestures
Theorem 24 (Escher Theorem) If Γ1 , Γ2 , . . . Γn is a sequence of digraphs,

if X is a topological space, and if π ∈ Sn is a permutation, then there is a
canonical homeomorphism
∼
Γ1 @Γ2 @ . . . Γn @X → Γπ(1) @Γπ(2) @ . . . Γπ(n) @X.
Fig. 33.13. First species counterpoint can be viewed either as a hypergesture from
cantus firmus to discantus (left) or as a hypergesture from the first to the subsequent
intervals.
ˇ “* Example 77 The first species counterpoint can be understood as being

either a hypergesture from cantus firmus to discantus (left in Figure 33.13) or
as a hypergesture from the first to the subsequent intervals (right in Figure
33.13). The first interpretation is common in counterpoint courses, but it is
historically wrong [100]. The second is adequate in the sense that the tension
of the concept “punctus contra punctum” (“point against point”) cannot be
vertical because the intervals are all consonances and is instead horizontal,
expressing the tense step from interval to interval.
But the Escher Theorem puts these two hypergestures into a one-to-one
correspondence.
ˇ “*
Example 78 In improvisation, it often is important for a creative step to
change one’s perspective of what is being heard. Here the Escher Theorem can
33.7 Hypergestures in Complex Time 285
help change, for example, a chord sequence in a given rhythm into a rhythm of
chord changes, i.e., to change one’s perception of the generative musical shape.
33.7 Hypergestures in Complex Time
In this concluding section we sketch some of the most recent developments in

gesture theory of music. It deals with the transition from the symbolic data on
a Western score to the gestural realization by a pianist’s hands. To begin with,
one should be aware that the score cannot be played as-is in many cases. The
left side of Figure 33.14 depicts some chords of the initial fanfare of Beethoven’s
“Hammerklavier” Sonata, op. 106. The sequence of the same notes without any
intermediate rest is physically impossible, because the fingers must go down
until the offset of a note and then move up and come down for the next note
in zero time, which would need infinite velocity.
Fig. 33.14. Playing these notes (left) is physically impossible. The symbolic infor-
mation (rectangular curve of “imaginary” finger movements, left) must be deformed
into a smooth physical curve (right).
The pianist has to deform this set of symbols to produce a physical ren-
dition. This is mathematically achieved using a hypergesture from the finger
gesture in symbolic space to the finger gesture in physical space. This hyperges-
ture is similar to what in modern physics of strings is called a world-sheet. It is
a surface that represents a whole gesture of gestures, starting from the symbolic
286 33 Gestures
gesture that is physically impossible (see its non-differentiable horizontal and

vertical step-lines) and ending at the physical gesture.
This approach uses two different realities: the symbolic and the physical.
But how can we view them as being parts of a comprising larger ontology?
Our solution is to work in a space-time where the three spatial coordinates (in
the vector space R3 ) are added to a complex time space, i.e., the space C of
complex numbers. We have described this approach in Musical Example 33.
Fig. 33.15. Two world-sheets with a complex potential are shown, the left upper one
for the transition from symbols to physics, the right one for the inverse process from
physical performance to symbolic data as represented in a score. The bottom drawing
summarizes the double process from symbols to physics and back.
Our solution uses energy potential transitioning smoothly over time co-
ordinates. We start with imaginary times on the symbolic gesture and move
smoothly to real time for the physical gesture. See [68] for details. The shape
of the world-sheet of such a transition depends on the energy potential that
controls the efforts made by the pianist to achieve this performance. The top
left part of Figure 33.15 shows such a world-sheet of a complex potential. But
we should be aware that the composer may also move in the opposite direc-
tion, starting with a physical action of the hand(s) and then transforming it
into symbolic data, a process that is also achieved when recording a pianist’s
performance via MIDI technology. The top right part of Figure 33.15 shows this
inverse world-sheet. And the bottom drawing summarizes the double process
from symbols to physics and back.
Part VIII
Solutions, References, Index

34
Solutions of Exercises
Summary. This chapter contains the solutions of the mathematical and mu-
sical exercises. Each solution number corresponds to the exercise number.
–Σ–
34.1 Solutions of Mathematical Exercises

√
Solution 1 The logical function A IMPLIES B is false iff A is true but B
is false. The function (NOT A) OR B is false iff both NOT A and B are false,
i.e., iff A is true and B is false, and this is the same as the first function.
A B A IMPLIES B A NOT A B (NOT A) OR B
F F T F T F T
FT T F T T T
TF F T F F F
TT T T F T T
√
Solution 2 Using the involution property of addition, the equation x+y =
z has the solution x = z + y since x = x + y + y = z + y. Therefore, we have
x = {s, w} + {r, s, w} = {r}.
√
Solution 3 The elements of 2a are 0 = ∅, 1 = a. We have
x y x+y x y x.y
00 0 00 0
01 1 01 0
10 1 10 0
11 0 11 1

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3_34
290 34 Solutions of Exercises
√
Solution 4 We have (x, y, z) = ((x, y), z) and (u, v, w) = ((u, v), w), there-
fore (x, y, z) = (u, v, w) iff (x, y) = (u, v) and z = w, iff x = u and y = v and
z = w.
√ a∪b 2a∪b
Solution 5 We have (x, y) ∈ 22 . Therefore a × b ∈ 22 .
√
Solution 6 Looking at the values f × g(x, y) = (f (x), g(y)), if every pair
(u, v) ∈ b × d is hit, then every u ∈ b and every v ∈ d is hit, and vice versa.
So epi for the cartesian product is equivalent to epi for each factor function. A
similar argument proves the mono statement, and since iso is epi AND mono,
the third statement follows.
√
Solution 7 The object Set(a, b) consist of triples (f, a, b), where f ⊂ a × b
is a graph. This means (f, a, b) ∈ 2a×b × {a, b}2 . Therefore Set(a, b) ⊂ 2a×b ×
a×b 2
{a, b}2 or Set(a, b) ∈ 22 ×{a,b} , which is a set.
√
Solution 8 The fact that q and a × b are equipollent follows from these
facts: From the universal property and the hypothesis about q, we imply that
∼
Set(c, q) → Set(c, a × b) for all c. This is true in particular for the singleton set
c = 1 = {0}. But for any set x, Set(1, x) is in bijection with the set of elements
of x. This defines a bijection of q and a × b.
More precisely, let us also show that f is a bijection. Exchanging the roles
of q and a×b, we have a unique g : a×b → q such that fa ◦g = pra , fb ◦g = prb .
The composition f ◦ g : a × b → a × b must be the identity since it is the unique
function guaranteed by the universal property of a × b. Therefore f ◦ g = Ida×b .
Exchanging the roles of q and a × b, we also get g ◦ f = Idq . This means that
these two sets are in bijection with each other.
√
Solution 9 If x∈a fx is well-ordered, take of any index x ∈ a the subset

[fx ] ⊂ x∈a fx of elements that have a fixed coordinate for all indices y = x
and any value at index x. This set is in bijection with fx , and the induced
ordering on [fx ] coincides with the ordering on fx . But as the induced ordering
on [fx ] is a well-ordering, the same holds for <x .
Conversely, if every <x is a well ordering, then for any non-empty subset

S ⊂ x∈a fx , take the smallest index x0 in a such that there are more than one
values of elements in S. Take the smallest x0 -coordinate s(x0 ) of elements of S.
(If there is no such value, there is only one element in S, and this is obviously
its smallest.) Then take the subset Sx0 of S consisting of the elements of S
who have that smallest coordinate s(x0 ) at index x0 . Then take the next larger
index where there is more than one value of elements of Sx0 at that coordinate.
Go on with the construction of a corresponding subset as before, and so on.
Since a is finite, this recursive construction stops after a finite number of steps,
and we get a smallest element of S.
34.1 Solutions of Mathematical Exercises 291
√
Solution 10 The empty set 0 = ∅ is obviously ordinal as it has no ele-
ments. The set 1 = {0} is transitive since its unique element 0 ∈ 1 is a subset.
It is alternative since it has only one element; it is founded since it is its only
non-empty subset, and its element 0 has 0 ∩ 1 = ∅. Check for 2, 3 that they are
ordinal by a similar case-by-case study. Let us see why J = {J} is not ordinal.
It is not founded because it is its only non-empty subset b, refer to property
(iii) in Definition 21. But the only element of b = J is J, and J ∩ J = J, which
is not empty.
√
Solution 11 If m ∈ n is an element of a natural number, it is ordinal by
the characteristic properties of ordinal numbers. It is either 0, hence natural,
or a successor m = r+ . Then property (ii) in Definition 22 is OK, and since n
is ordinal, it is transitive, so m is also a subset of n, and every element of m is
an element of n, so either 0 or a successor. Therefore m is also natural.
√
Solution 12 Composition of recursive functions is associative, as is any
composition of set functions. Let us show that s ◦ r : X N → X N is a re-
cursive function if r, s are so. If f, g ∈ X N such that f |n = g|n, then by
Lemma 6, r(f )|n+ = r(g)|n+ , therefore r(f )|n = r(g)|n, and since s is recur-
sive, s(r(f ))(n) = s(r(g))(n), and we are done.
√ b
Solution 13 Suppose b
a = a , which means ab = a b. Then
b d bc + ad
+ = ,
a c ac
and
b d b c + a d
+ = ,
a c a c

and we have to verify bc+ad
ac = b c+a
a c , i.e., (bc + ad)a c = (b c + a d)ac, but this
d

immediate in view of ab = a b. Changing also the second summand yields the
result for addition. The same method works for multiplication.
This arithmetic extends the integer arithmetic, since for addition and
multiplication we have 1b + 1c = b+c
1 and 1 1 = 1 .
b c bc
√
Solution 14 Take another representative of the first summand, (ai + zi )i ,
where (zi )i is in O. Then the sum is (ai + zi + bi )i = ((ai + bi ) + zi )i , which is
equivalent to (ai + bi )i . For the product, we have ((ai + zi )bi )i = (ai bi + zi bi )i ,
but since (bi )i is bounded, the product sequence (zi bi )i is in O, and we are
done.
√
Solution 15 We construct a Cauchy sequence (ci )i that converges to the
least upper bound as follows. Select any element a ∈ A, take any upper bound
b and set c0 = a. Then take the middle number (b + c0 )/2 and look whether
there is an element in [(b + c0 )/2, b] ∩ A. If yes, then take c1 = (b + c0 )/2, else
take c1 = a, and so on—we always take the top half-open interval where there
are elements of A, and of that one the left boundary number. This sequence
converges as it cuts the possible range in half at each step. And it defines the
least upper bound by construction.
√ √ √
Solution 16 Since the non-negative nth root is unique, we have ( n a n b)n =
√ √ √
( n a)n ( n b)n = ab = ( n ab)n , hence the claim.
√
Solution 17 The equalities are obvious for either p, q ∈ Z or p, q = z1 , w1 for
natural√numbers z, w. Then the claim follows immediately from the definition
p
x z = ( z x)p .
√
Solution 18 The first formula is clear, as it is just the rewriting of the
formula according to the rules from Sorite 8. The second formula follows from
Sorite 8 and from the equation i2 = −1.
√ √ √
3.5−i·√ 5
√
3.5−i· 5 3.5
√
5
Solution 19 (3.5 + i · 5)−1 = |3.5+i· 5|2
= 12.25+5 = 17.25 − i 17.25 ≈
0.202899 − i · 0.129627.
√
Solution 20 The map is an injection since its values on words are deter-
mined by values on the letters, as words are products of letters. Conversely,
if we are given any function f : A → N , then the definition f (a1 a2 . . . ak ) =
f (a1 ) ∗ f (a2 ) ∗ . . . f (ak ) is well defined since the letters are uniquely determined
from the words, and the monoid morphism property is immediate.
√
Solution 21 If we set f (a) = 1 for all letters a ∈ A, the value of a word w
is the length of w, i.e., the number of letters that define the word.
√
Solution 22 Here is the complete multiplication table:
∗ i r1 r2 r3 h v d1 d2
i i r1 r2 r3 h v d1 d2
r1 r1 r2 r3 i d1 d2 v h
r2 r2 r3 i r1 v h d2 d1
r3 r3 i r1 r2 d2 d1 h v
h h d2 v d1 i r2 r3 r1
v v d1 h d2 r2 i r1 r3
d1 d1 h d2 v r1 r3 i r2
d2 d2 v d1 h r3 r1 r2 i
√
Solution 23 A minimal set of generators is {r1 , h}.
34.2 Solutions of Musical Exercises 293
√
Solution 24 If f : G → H is injective, then x, y ∈ Ker(f ) implies f (x) =
f (y) = eH , so x = y. Since eG ∈ Ker(f ), we have Ker(f ) = {eG }. Conversely,
if Ker(f ) is trivial, then f (x) = f (y) implies f (xy −1 ) = eH , hence xy −1 = eG ,
i.e., x = y, and f is injective.
√
Solution 25 The cycle representation is (1 11 5 6 7 2 3 10 12 8)(4)(9).
√
Solution 26 The kernel of pr3 : Z12 → Z3 are the elements x12 such that
x3 = 0, i.e., x is a multiple of 3. In x12 this is the group generated by 312 . Same
argument for the kernel of pr4 : Z12 → Z4 .
√
Solution 27 We have r ∗ 0R = r ∗ (0R + 0R ) = r ∗ 0R + r ∗ 0R , and, after
subtracting r ∗ 0R , we get 0R = r ∗ 0R .
√
Solution 28 The sum formula is evident from the definition. For the prod-
uct formula, the monoid element X m has the coefficient that is the sum of all
products an bl of coefficients of X n , X l , respectively, such that X n X l = X n+l =
X m , and this yields the product formula.
√
Solution 29 If f = T t ◦ f0 , then f (0) = t, so T t is determined, and then
f0 = T −t ◦ f is also determined.
34.2 Solutions of Musical Exercises
ˇ “*
Solution 1 Using the involution property of addition, the equation w + y =
z has the solution w = z + y = {♩, } + {, } = {♩, }.
ˇ “*
Solution 2 The graph g −1 ◦ g consists of the pairs (s, t) of onsets such that
there exists a pitch r with (s, r), (t, r) ∈ g, meaning that there are two onsets
with a repeated pitch.
ˇ “* ∼
Solution 3 The pairs (x, y) in h−1 ◦ g : O12 → O12 are the onset time pairs
such that g(x) = h(y) = p, i.e., they map to the same pitch p in P12 . The
resulting bijection is the following (the image of i is the number below i):

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
7 8 9 3 2 10 11 4 1 0 5 6
ˇ “* Solution 4 The permutation π is this:

012
π=
120
ˇ “* Solution 5 You have to check that all lines (1-simplices) are the case, and
that no other lines are there. Then verify that all 2-simplices (triangular sur-
faces) are the case and no others; then that there are no 3-simplices. Higher
simplices are then automatically non-existent.
For example, for a 1-simplex, we have the intersection of motive 1 and
motive 2 in two points, top and left next to top (Figure 34.1), or for a 2-
simplex the intersection of motives 1,2, and 9 in the point next left to the top
point of the triangle.
Fig. 34.1. Motive 1 and 2 intersect at two notes.
ˇ “*
Solution 6 We have ord(K4 ) = 4, and as 3 is not a divisor of 4, no such
group of order 3 is a subgroup of K4 . As a series s generates a subgroup s
of S12 , its order must be a divisor of 12! = ord(S12 ). Therefore orders 13 and
23 are impossible, as these prime numbers do not divide 12! But 12 is possible,
and in fact the series that sends 0 → 1 → 2 → 3 . . . 10 → 11 → 0 has order 12.
ˇ “* Solution 7 In Z12 , ch = {c, e, g, b} is the subset {0, 4, 8, 11}. Its inversion

at zero is {0, 1, 4, 8}. The latter is the prime form as it is most packed to the
left.
ˇ “* Solution 8 Starting from W = {c, d, e, f, g, a, b}, the transposition T 5 W =

{f, g, a, b, c, d, e} has three “black keys” a, b, e. The transposition T 10 W =
{b, c, d, e, f, g, a} has two “black keys” b, d.
ˇ “* Solution 9 The nerve is the union of two 2-simplices, see Figure 34.2.
ˇ “* Solution 10 A makes the permutation (e)(a b)(c g)(f d), see Figure 28.3.
ˇ “*
Solution 11 Both, Z and A permute (c g)(f d), so their composition leaves
these four pitch classes fixed. Then A(a) = b, and Z(b) = a, A(e) = e, and
Z(e) = e, A(b) = a, and Z(a) = b.
34.2 Solutions of Musical Exercises 295
Fig. 34.2. The nerve of the mystic chord.
ˇ “* Solution 12 This is an open exercise, no solution is provided.
ˇ “* Solution 13 This is an open exercise, no solution is provided.
ˇ “*
Solution 14 This exercise is also an open one. You should show what the
curve of the step function and the portamento curve look like. Figure 34.3
shows the portamento curve as a smooth transition from note c to note g.
Fig. 34.3. An example of a portamento curve from c to g.

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Index
(C, O), 261 M ∗ , 147

(G : H), 154 M or(C), 249
0, 62 M otk , 261
2, 64 N (C), 129
2a , 43 OF T , 241
<, 57 OP , 149
=, 41 Ob(C), 249
AC, 177 P CChords, 157
AllOrd, 73 P12 , 53, 65, 144
@X, 252 P ath(Γ ), 123
C-major R, 102, 149
scale, 175 R/I, 210
Cyc(Γ, x), 143 R?, 251
D, 177 RI, 149
DX , 145 R[X], 206
Df (x), 264 RA, 206
Dia, 193 Re(x), 115
Dia(3) , 193 SX , 145
Euler, 227, 262 Sn , 75, 76, 150
EulerSpace, 227, 233, 241, 262 Sym(OP ), 149
F in(a), 58 Sym(X), 143
G/H, 153 Sym(n), 150
GL(M ), 229 T (E), 270
Gopp , 148 T DS, 55
H\G, 154 T I, 153
I, 149 T IZ12 , 157
IV LS, 152 T Z∗12 , 173
Ida , 52 T t , 92, 153
Im(x), 115 T t .s, 173
J℘(X), 270 T+t , 153
K, 177 T−t , 92, 153
K4 , 149, 154 T±t , 153
Ker(f ), 155 TX , 145

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42937-3
304 Index
U , 155, 156 Zn , 156

W + , 195 multiplication on -, 173
W − , 195 Z12
W alk(Δ), 125 symmetry on -, 173
W ord(A), 143 Z24 , 156
X 7 , 183 Z7 , 156
X n /Sn , 76 115
x̄,
X maj7 , 183 , 42
Xm7 , 183 ∪, 43
Z, 195 ∪ (poetry), 145
[a, b], 258 ∩, 44
]a, b[, 258 χ, 65
[x], 58 cos(x), 259
[x] (orbit of x), 152 ∅, 40
AND , 37 , 122, 269
AffR (M, N ), 230 b
a
, 96
C, 113, 143, 210 ∈, 39
Δa, 50 S, 146, 148, 226, 260
End(M ), 145 ≤, 57
Γ @X, 283 log, 109
Γ0 , 228 C, 102, 249
Gest, 282 C @ , 252
Grp, 250 C opp , 250
Grp(G, H), 147 O, 102
IMPLIES , 37 ∈, 41
−
→
LocR , 250 X , 281
M(R), 250 π,
17
Mm,n (R), 218 , 66
ModR , 250 , 53
∼
ModR (M, N ), 225 →, 53
Mon(M, N ), 145 , 54, 122, 269
N, 72, 74, 143 ∼, 57
NOT , 37 sin(x), 259
√
Nat(C, D), 252 n
a, 107
OR , 37 ⊂, 41
Φ(x), 43 , 53
Q, 93, 143 ℘, 270
R, 100, 143 ℘E , 265
R[X], 210 ℘H , 265
REHLD , 226, 261 R S, 226
Rehld , 226 a − b, 45
R+ , 104 a+ , 43
R− , 104 a1/n , 107
Set, 250 cadi , 195
Set(a, b), 61 codom(f ), 52
Top(X, Y ), 259 d(z, w), 173
Top, 259 dX , 145
Z, 89, 143 de/dE, 265
Z3 × Z4 , 171 deg(P ), 211
Index 305
det(M ), 223 simply

dim(M ), 233 transitive -, 152
dom(f ), 52 transitive -, 152
e, 17 addition
f : a → b, 52 of natural numbers, 83
gH, 153 monotony of -, 104
h ◦ g, 51 of integers, 90
i, 113 of rational numbers, 96
int(r, s), 152 additive
n-simplex, 129 inverse element, 97
nth monotony, 97
root, 107 neutral element, 97
ord(x), 154 address, 252, 253
presto , 30, 234 addressed
xRy, 57 object, 231
— (poetry), 145 adic
RUBATO , 30, 234, 260 normal form, 86
sX , 145 representation, 111
sup(A), 105, 107 adjunction
tX , 145 natural -, 64
4-group Adorno, Theodor Wiesengrund, 268
Klein -, 149, 154 Aeneid, 145
7th affine
diminished -, 162 function, 259
dominant -, 161 homomorphism, 230
major -, 161 agogics, 265
minor Airegin Club, 183
major -, 162 algebra
minor -, 162 Boolean -, 45
12-tempered monoid -, 206
tuning, 99, 108, 111, 121, 242 polynomial -, 206
12-tone algebraic
theory, 26 geometry, 30
series, 53 Allais, Alphonse, 39
Allegro Barbaro, 79
A alphabet, 143
A Love Supreme, 185–187 alteration, 134, 175
A Musical Offering, 12 alternative, 72
abelian Alunni, Charles, 279, 281
group, 147 American Set Theory (AST), 25, 28, 29
absolute Amuedo, John, 29
value, 90, 104 An der schönen blauen Donau, 95
accelerando, 208 analysis
acoustical creative -, 133, 183, 186
argument, 176 Andreatta, Moreno, 25, 33, 34
acoustics Anglo-Saxon
musical -, 269 gesture theory, 279
action, 151 antinomy
group -, 29, 152 Russell’s, 56
306 Index
Russell’s -, 40 basis, 232

antisymmetric beat, 74
relation, 57 theory, 21
Appassionata Beethoven, Ludwig van, 134, 149, 191,
Sonata, 253 192, 199, 236, 253
approximate Benjamin, Walter, 268
solution, 99 Beran, Jan, 31
archicembalo, 108 Bernoulli, Johann, 17
Archimedean Bernstein, Leonard, 95
ordering, 98 Bernstein-Schröder
property, 104 Theorem of -, 56
Archita, 245 Betta, Marco, 235
Arezzo, Guido d’, 269 Big Science in Music, 31
argument bijective, 53
acoustical -, 176 binary, 86
Aristotle, 279 relation, 57
arpeggio, 185, 222 black
arrow, 29, 122 key, 175
artes liberales, 7 Blue Monk, 80
Ascension, 185 body
Assayag, Gérard, 25 gesture -, 282
associativity, 45 Boolean
AST (American Set Theory), 25, 28, 29 algebra, 45
atonal boson, 195
music, 27 Boulanger, Nadia, 23
attack, 231 Boulez, Pierre, 3, 24, 133, 183, 186, 231,
attribute, 43 280
augmented Braitenberg, Valentin, 25, 31
triad, 134, 160, 179, 185
Auhagen, Wolfgang, 31 C
autocomplementarity cadence, 192–194
function, 177 cadential
axiom, 40 sequence, 55
of choice, 44, 58 Cage, John, 41, 235
axioms calculus, 268
Peano -, 74 Campanella, Tommaso, 279
ZFC -, 41 canon
retrograde -, 12
B Cantor, Georg, 38
Babbitt, Milton, 25–27 cantus firmus (CF), 284
Bach, Johann Sebastian, 10, 12, 21, 26 cantus firmus (CF), 13, 44, 175
ball Capella, Martianus, 279
open, 261 Carmina Burana, 80
band cartesian, 29, 116
harmonic -, 130, 139, 198 dualism, 277
Moebius -, 131, 135 product, 50, 62
Bardez, Jean-Michel, 33 of a family of sets, 65
Bartók, Béla, 3, 79 of functions, 55
base, 260 topology, 258
Index 307
categories inversion, 76
theory of -, 28 major -, 246
category, 226, 249 mystic -, 179
of gestures, 282 of pitch classes, 157
of groups, 250 prime form of -, 67, 158
of local compositions, 250 seventh -, 183
of matrices, 250 transposition
of modules, 250 class of a -, 157
of sets, 250 transposition-inversion
of topological spaces, 259 class of a -, 157
opposite -, 250 Cicero, 279
theory, 29, 30, 121 class
Cauchy chord -, 28
sequence, 100, 104 equivalence -, 58
Cavaillés, Jean, 280 pitch -, 86, 156
CEMAMU, 23 transposition -, 153
Cent (Ct), 110 Classical Symphony, 237
center, 219 classification
CERN, 6 chord -, 174
CF (cantus firmus), 13, 44, 175 of chords, 65
Châtelet, Gilles, 279 classifier
chain subobject -, 65
digraph, 123 clefs, 12
length of -, 123 clivis, 275
rule, 264 closed
undirected -, 125 interval, 258
chamber a, 110 set, 257
changes closure, 262
chord -, 182 coda, 145
chant codomain, 52, 249
Gregorian -, 273 coefficient, 218
characteristic cogitans
function, 65 res -, 116
cheironomy, 275 Coltrane, John, 181
Cherubini, Luigi, 11 combinatorial
Chew, Elaine, 30 music
chin, 275 theory, 16
Chinese combinatorics, 16
drum notation, 276 commutative
gestural music notation, 275 diagram, 62
language, 275 group, 147
choice monoid, 143
axiom of -, 44, 58 ring, 46
chord, 58 commutativity, 44
changes, 182 compact, 260
class, 28 locally -, 261
classification, 65, 174 compact-open
diminished topology, 261
seventh -, 133 complementation, 157
308 Index
complex cycle, 126, 143

number, 113 Euler -, 126
complexity Hamilton -, 126
musical -, 137 cyclic
composition group, 156
local -, 250
musical -, 64 D
of functions, 53 D (discantus), 44, 175
of graphs, 51 dactyl, 145
of morphisms, 249 Dahlhaus, Carl, 176
compound dance, 276
meter, 94 de Bruijn, Nicolaas Govert, 28
concatenation de la Motte, Helga, 31
of paths, 123 decimal, 86
principle representation, 112
general - -, 150 definition, 40
conchoid, 238 of a gesture, 279
equation, 238 degree, 55, 130, 193, 194
conductor fundamental -, 196
orchestral -, 277 of a polynomial, 211
conjugation, 115 parallel -, 131
consonance, 6, 18, 177, 228, 245, 262 Deliège, Célestin, 33
consonant delta
interval, 176 Kronecker -, 218
continuity, 257 denotator, 30
continuous dense, 262
function, 259 density, 104
contravariant dependent
functor, 251 linearly -, 232
convergence, 102, 104, 263 derivative, 264
coproduct, 63 Descartes, René, 8
corollary, 40 determinant, 222
coset, 153 development, 145
left -, 153 diagonal, 50
right -, 154 diagram, 29
counterpoint, 10, 175, 284 commutative -, 62
florid -, 176 diameter, 178
worlds, 179 diapason, 269
covariant diastematic
functor, 251 notation, 275
creative dichotomy
analysis, 133, 183, 186 Fux -, 178
creativity interval -, 177
musical -, 151 major -, 177
crescendo, 208, 227, 259 strong -, 177
Ct (Cent), 110 difference
Cubharmonic, 167 of sets, 45
curve, 281 differentiable
integral -, 271 function, 264
Index 309
differential keyboard -, 53
quotient, 265
digraph, 122, 143 E
chain -, 123 Eckardt, Jason, 33
final -, 122 Ehrenfels, Christian von, 261
morphism, 123 Eigen, Manfred, 31
spatial -, 281 Eilenberg, Samuel, 29, 251
dimension, 232 Eimert, Herbert, 3, 28, 222
diminished Eine kleine Nachtmusik, 237
7th, 162 electromagnetic
seventh force, 195
chord, 133 element
triad, 160, 179 minimal -, 58
diminuendo, 208 neutral -, 45, 143
direct sum, 226 order of -, 154
direct sums embedding
universal property of -, 228 Euler -, 227
directed empty
graph, 122 set, 41
Dirichlet, Peter Gustav Lejeune, 19 Encarnaçao, José, 31
discantus, 284 epi, 53
discantus (D), 44, 175 equal temperament, 9
disjoint, 44 equal-tempered
dissonance, 177, 245 tuning, 247
dissonant equation, 46, 89
interval, 176 conchoid -, 238
distance Lagrange -, 154
function, 260 linear -, 223, 234
Euclidean - -, 260 Pythagorean -, 99
metrical -, 173 equipollent, 56
distributive, 219 equivalence
law, 205 class, 58
distributivity, 45, 225 relation, 57
Division erhu, 108
Theorem, 85, 211 Escher
divisor, 213 Theorem, 284
dodecaphonic Euclid, 85, 87
series, 75, 126, 148 Euclidean
dodecaphonism, 53 distance function, 260
domain, 52, 249 length, 115
integral -, 214 Euler
dominant cycle, 126
7th, 161 embedding, 227
Dominant (D), 55, 145 number, 100
dualism space, 227
cartesian -, 277 Euler space, 18
duality, 64 Euler’s substitution theory, 262
Dubiel, Joseph, 33 Euler, Leonhard, 17, 227, 231, 262
duration, 231 Examples
310 Index
Mathematical, viii set, 61

Musical, viii finite
Exercise, Solution of -, ix group, 150
Exercises set, 58, 75
Mathematical, viii fixpoint, 92
Musical, viii group, 153
exercises Flanagan, Tommy, 181
solutions of the -, 289 flat , 269
experimental florid
music counterpoint, 176
theory, 191 Flusser, Vilem, 279
exponential, 64 Fontana, Lucio, 239
function, 259 Footprints, 97
exponentiation forbidden
of natural numbers, 83 parallel fifths, 179
exposition, 145 force
expressive electromagnetic, 195
performance, 267 gravitational, 195
research, 267 strong, 195
extensa weak, 195
res -, 116 forgetful
functor, 251
F form, 30
face linear -, 228
of a simplex, 129 sonata -, 145
factorization song -, 145
prime -, 214 formula, 2
family Forte, Allen, 26, 27, 33
of elements, 66 founded, 72
Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), 20, 117 Fourier
Ferneyhough, Brian, 97 Theorem, 19, 21
FFT (Fast Fourier Transform), 20, 117 Fourier, Jean-Baptiste Joseph, 19, 117
fiber fourth, 176, 246
of a function, 64 interval, 75
Fibonacci, 79 fourths
numbers, 3, 101 sequence of -, 175
field, 211 Fraenkel, Abraham, 40
performance -, 270 frame
tempo-articulation -, 270 of the performance, 270
vector -, 270 free
fifth, 176, 246 module, 232
interval, 75 freezing
Fifth Symphony, 80 gestures, 275
fifths Frege, Gottlob, 280
parallel -, 10 French
sequence, 131 gesture theory, 280
sequence of -, 175 frequency, 110
final Fripertinger, Harald, 28
digraph, 122 function, 52, 280
Index 311
affine -, 259 a simplex, 130

autocomplementarity -, 177 geometry
characteristic -, 65 algebraic -, 30
continuous -, 259 metrical -, 173
differentiable -, 264 gestalt, 261
distance -, 260 gestural
Euclidean distance -, 260 performance, 267
exponential -, 259 gesture, 2, 29, 117, 273, 282
fiber of a -, 64 body, 282
gradus suavitatis -, 18 definition of a -, 279
identity -, 52 physical -, 277
logical -, 37 skeleton, 282
periodic -, 19 symbolic -, 277
polynomial -, 208, 259 tamed -, 281
Riemann -, 56 theory
sinusoidal -, 110 Anglo-Saxon - -, 279
theory, 55 French - -, 280
tonality -, 130 wild -, 281
trigonometric -, 259 gestures
function theory category of -, 282
Riemann -, 130 freezing -, 275
functional morphism of -, 282
graph, 52 philosophy of -, 279
functions Giant Steps, 181
composition of -, 53 Giant’s Steps, 183
functor GIS (Generalized Interval Systems), 29,
contravariant -, 251 152
covariant -, 251 Glasperlenspiel, 3, 32
forgetful -, 251 glissando, 100, 208, 227, 260
functorial, 125, 133, 220, 226 global structure in music, 22
fundamental gluon, 195
degree, 196 golden
step, 192 ratio, 101
Fux Gould, Glenn, 253
dichotomy, 178 gradus suavitatis, 228, 231, 262
Fux, Johann Joseph, 176 function, 18
Graeser, Wolfgang, 21, 26
G graph, 121, 124
Götze, Heinz, 31 directed -, 122
Gaudí, Antoni, 50, 239 functional -, 52
Gauss inverse -, 50
plane, 114 undirected -, 124
Gauss, Carl Friedrich, 113 graphs
general morphism of -, 125
concatenation gravitational
principle, 150 force, 195
Generalized Interval Systems (GIS), 29, graviton, 195
152 Gregorian
geometric representation of chant, 273
312 Index
musical figure, 275 Hindemith, Paul, 243

Gregorian notation, 274 Hofmann, Georg Rainer, 31
Grisey, Gérard, 3, 101 homeomorphism, 259
Grothendieck, Alexander, 1, 30 homogeneity, 225
group, 147 homogeneous, 219
abelian -, 147 homomorphism
action, 28, 29, 152 affine -, 230
commutative -, 147 group -, 147
cyclic -, 156 linear -, 225
finite -, 150 ring -, 207
fixpoint -, 153 homotopy
homomorphism, 147 theory, 30
of permutations, 76 Honegger, Arthur, 23
opposite -, 148 Horowitz, Vladimir, 253
quotient -, 155 Husmann, Heinrich, 21
symmetric -, 150 hypergesture, 277
theory, 28, 75 Hz (Hertz), 110
torus -, 171
trivial -, 150 I
unitary -, 155, 156 ideal, 102, 209
Guérin, Michel, 279 maximal -, 211
principal -, 210
H idempotency, 45
Hába, Alois, 108 identity, 143, 145, 147, 207, 225, 250,
Hamilton 259, 282
cycle, 126 function, 52
Hammerklavier matrix, 218
Sonata, 133, 191, 199, 277, 285 morphism, 123
Hanslick, Eduard, 2, 40 IFM (Institut für Grundlagenforschung
harmonic in der Musik), 31
band, 130, 139, 198 imaginary
retrograde number, 113
inversion, 183 time, 116, 277
syntagmatics, 55 unit, 114
syntax, 144 improvisation, 284
harmony, 58, 245 independent
jazz -, 183 linearly -, 232
Riemann -, 130 indeterminate, 206
Hascher, Xavier, 33 index, 154
Hauer, Josef Matthias, 3 inequality
Hausdorff, 261 triangular -, 91, 98, 104
head, 122 infinity, 43
Helmholtz resonator, 20 initial
Henry, Pierre, 24 set, 61
Herma, 46 injective, 53
Hertz (Hz), 110 Institut für Grundlagenforschung in der
Hesse, Hermann, 3, 32 Musik (IFM), 31
hexadecimal, 86 integer, 89
hexameter, 145 negative -, 90
Index 313
positive -, 90 jazz
integers harmony, 183
addition of -, 90 just
multiplication of -, 91 tuning, 8, 111, 176, 215, 228, 241, 262
integral, 270
curve, 271 K
domain, 214 Kandisky, Wassily, 235
interpretation Kant, Immanuel, 281
triadic -, 194 Kendon, Adam, 279
intersection, 44 Kepler, Johannes, 101
interval, 58, 62, 75, 90, 144, 152, 176 kernel, 154, 208
closed -, 258 key
consonant -, 176 black -, 175
dichotomy, 177 keyboard -, 53
dissonant -, 176 signature, 175
fifth -, 75 white -, 175
fourth -, 75 keyboard, 111
major second -, 75 duration, 53
major seventh -, 75 key, 53
major sixth -, 75 note, 53
major third -, 75 King, Emily, ix
minor second -, 75 Kircher, Athanasius, 12, 14
minor seventh -, 75 Klein 4-group, 149, 154
minor sixth -, 75 Klumpenhouwer
minor third -, 75 network, 122
open -, 258 Klumpenhouwer net (K-net), 29
prime -, 75 Klumpenhouwer, Henry, 29, 122
tritone -, 75, 232 knowledge
intonation, 260, 265 science, 15
inverse Kronecker
graph, 50 delta, 218
relation, 57 Kronecker, Leopold, 72, 73
inverse element Kunst der Fuge, 21, 26
additive -, 97
multiplicative -, 97 L
inversion, 26, 28, 92, 153, 222 L’essence du bleu, 133, 191
chord -, 76 La Bohème, 10
retrograde -, 222 Lagrange
invertible, 147 equation, 154
involution, 46 Lagrange, Joseph-Louis, 19
IRCAM, 3, 24, 32, 33 Lakoff, George, 280
irreducible language
polynomial, 213 Chinese -, 275
iso, 53 law
isomorphism, 123, 145 distributive -, 205
lazy
J path, 123
Jacobian Le Corbusier, 23
matrix, 270 lead sheet, 182
314 Index
leading chord, 246

voice -, 198 dichotomy, 177
left scale, 243
coset, 153 second, 176, 246
legato, 270 seventh, 176, 246
Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, 16 sixth, 176, 246
Lemma third, 176, 246
Steinitz -, 233 triad, 8, 160, 179
Yoneda’s -, 252 major second
lemma, 40 interval, 75
length major seventh
Euclidean -, 115 interval, 75
of a chain digraph, 123 major sixth
Lewin, David, 26, 29, 122, 152 interval, 75
lexicographic major third
ordering, 58, 59, 66, 157 interval, 75
Leyton, Michael, 31 Mannone, Maria, vii, 33, 167, 238
Lichtenhahn, Ernst, 31 marche funèbre, 39
Lied of dem Wasser zu singen, 145 mathematical
Ligeti, György, 235 music theory, 29, 144
limit, 100 precision, 268
linear technique, 10
equation, 223, 234 theory
form, 228 of gestures, 273
homomorphism, 225 mathematics
ordering, 94 statements in -, 40
of real numbers, 104 matrices
relation, 58 product of -, 218
linearly sum of -, 218
dependent, 232 matrix, 11, 218
independent, 232 identity -, 218
Lluis Puebla, Emilio, 33 Jacobian -, 270
local transposition, 218
composition, 250 Matterhorn, 253
locally Max, 25
compact, 261 maximal
logarithm, 109, 227, 259 ideal, 211
logic, 37 Mazzola, Christina, 31
logical Mazzola, Guerino, vii, 24, 29, 30, 33, 34,
function, 37 76, 121, 133, 183, 234, 276
loudness, 231, 269 MCM (Society of Mathematics and
Lullus, 16 Computation in Music), 30, 33, 34
McNeil, David, 279
M Mead, Andrew, 33
M.M. (Maelzel Metronome), 265 measure, 74, 94
Mac Lane, Sounders, 29, 251 mechanism
Maelzel Metronome (M.M.), 265 modulation -, 193, 195
major melody, 123
7th, 161 mental
Index 315
space, 116 Moebius

Mersenne, Père, 9 band, 131, 135
Messiaen mono, 53
scale, 144, 185 monochord, 6, 52
Messiaen, Olivier, 3, 23 monoid, 29, 143
meter algebra, 206
compound -, 94 commutative -, 143
simple -, 94 morphism, 145
metrical word -, 143
distance function, 173 monotony
geometry, 173 additive -, 97
Mi votu e mi rivotu, 95 multiplicative -, 98
Michelangelo, 273 of addition, 104
microtiming, 265 of multiplication, 104
microtonal morphism, 249
tuning, 108 digraph -, 123
MIDI, 74 identity -, 123
minimal monoid -, 145
element, 58 of gestures, 282
minor of graphs, 125
7th, 162 simplicial -, 132
major morphisms
7th, 162 composition of -, 249
scale, 243 Morris, Robert, 26–28, 33
second, 176 most packed to the left, 67, 158
seventh, 176 motive, 261
sixth, 176 motivic
third, 176, 246 similarity, 261
triad, 8, 161, 179 work, 133
minor second zigzag, 133
interval, 75 Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 3, 17, 192,
minor seventh 236
interval, 75 multiplication
minor sixth monotony of -, 104
interval, 75 of integers, 91
minor third of natural numbers, 83
interval, 75 of rational numbers, 96
modulation, 133, 145, 191, 192, 195, 246 on Zn , 173
mechanism, 193, 195 scalar -, 218, 225
quantized -, 196 table, 147
quantum, 196 multiplicative
Theorem, 197 inverse element, 97
theory, 58 monotony, 98
modulator, 196 neutral element, 97
module, 225 Murail, Tristan, 3
free -, 232 music
generated by S, 226 atonal -, 27
quotient -, 229 Chinese gestural - notation, 275
theory, 30 global structure in -, 22
316 Index
quartertone -, 156 Nicolas, François, 25

serial -, 55 Nietzsche, Friedrich, 23
symbolic -, 46 Noll, Thomas, 30, 32, 33
technology, 2 normal
theory, 109, 150, 171, 213, 230 subgroup, 155
combinatorial -, 16 normal form
experimental - -, 191 adic -, 86
mathematical - -, 29, 144 notation
musical Chinese drum -, 276
acoustics, 269 Chinese gestural music notation, 275
complexity, 137 diastematic -, 275
composition, 64 Gregorian, 274
creativity, 151 Western musical -, 275
dice game, 17 note
figure keyboard -, 53
Gregorian - -, 275 name, 268
precision, 268 Novalis, v
Musique Concrète, 24 Nugent, Ronan, ix
Muzzulini, Daniel, 31 number
Mycenae Alpha, 235 complex -, 113
mystic Euler -, 100
chord, 179 imaginary -, 113
natural -, 72, 73
N ordinal-, 72
Núñez, Rafael, 280 prime -, 86, 91, 213, 228
name rational -, 93
note -, 268 real -, 100
Nattiez, Jean-Jacques, 33 numbers
natural, 125 Fibonacci -, 101
adjunction, 64
number, 72, 73 O
transformation, 252 object, 249
natural numbers addressed -, 231
addition of -, 83 octave, 246
exponentiation of -, 83 octaves
multiplication of -, 83 parallel -, 10
Nauert, Paul, 33 One for Ben, 81
negative onset, 14, 52, 53, 149
integer, 90 op. 17.2 (Webern), 54
neighborhood op. 30 (Webern), 54
open -, 258 open
nerve, 129, 134, 198 ball, 261
network interval, 258
Klumpenhouwer -, 122 neighborhood, 258
neume, 273 set, 257
neutral element, 45, 143 OpenMusic, 25, 46
additive -, 97 operator
multiplicative -, 97 performance -, 272
neutralization, 192 opposite
Index 317
category, 250 Penrose, Roger, 115

group, 148 pentagramma, 274
orbifold, 76 pentatonic
orbit, 152 scale, 247
orchestral perception
conductor, 277 pitch -, 110
order of Performance
element, 154 rubette, 260
ordered performance, 117, 208, 265, 267
pair, 49 expressive -, 267
set, 26, 49 field, 270
ordering frame of the -, 270
Archimedean -, 98 gestural -, 267
lexicographic -, 58, 59, 66, 157 operator, 272
linear -, 94 transformation, 270
ordinal period, 112
number, 72 periodic
orientation, 131 function, 19
overtone, 19, 117, 121 periodicity, 110
Perle, George, 26
P permutation, 11, 26, 126
Pólya, George, 28 permutations
Pa (pascal), 110 group of -, 76
pair pes, 275
ordered -, 49 Petsche, Hellmuth, 31
set, 43 philosophy
Palestrina, of gestures, 279
Giovanni Pietro Aloisio Sante da, photon, 195
176 physical
palindrome, 14 gesture, 277
Pang, Jin, 108 space, 116
Pang, Yan, vii, 33 time, 116, 265
paradigmatic, 261 piano
parallel quarter-tone -, 108
degree, 131 pitch, 52, 54, 109, 149, 231
fifths, 10 class, 86, 156
forbidden -, 179 classes
octaves, 10 chord of - -, 157
partial, 19, 21, 117 multiplication, 25
relation, 58 perception, 110
pascal (Pa), 110 pitch-class
path, 123 set, 26
lazy -, 123 transformation, 231
paths pizzicato, 269
concatenaton of -, 123 plane
Peano Gauss -, 114
axioms, 74 Plato, 5, 279
Peano, Giuseppe, 73 podatus, 275
Peck, Robert, 34 poetry, 145
318 Index
polynomial, 207 Q
algebra, 206 quantized
degree of a -, 211 modulation, 196
function, 208, 259 quantum
irreducible -, 213 modulation -, 196
polyrhythm, 97 quarter tone
portamento, 278 music, 156
positive quarter-tone
integer, 90 piano, 108
real number, 103 quilisma, 275
Quintilian, 279
Posner, Roland, 31
quotient
Pousseur, Henri, 3
differential -, 265
powers, 43
group, 155
pre-semiotic, 280
module, 229
precision ring, 210
mathematical -, 268
musical -, 268 R
pressure, 110 Rahn, John, 26, 27, 33
prime, 176 ratio
factorization, 214 golden -, 101
interval, 75 rational
number, 86, 91, 213, 228 number, 93
prime form of numbers
chord, 67, 158 addition of -, 96
principal multiplication of -, 96
ideal, 210 real
product number, 100
cartesian -, 50, 62 positive -, 103
cartesian - of a family of sets, 65 numbers
of matrices, 218 linear ordering of - -, 104
projection, 50 time, 277
Prokofiev, Sergei, 237 recapitulation, 145
property reflection, 221
reflexive
Archimedean -, 104
relation, 57
universal -, 61
reflexivity, 56
proposition, 40
relation
psychoacoustics, 110
antisymmetric -, 57
Ptolemy, 245 binary -, 57
Puccini, Giacomo, 10 equivalence -, 57
punctum, 275 inverse -, 57
punctus contra punctum, 284 linear -, 58
pure partial -, 58
set, 38 reflexive -, 57
Pythagoras, 1, 5, 111 symmetric -, 57
Pythagorean total -, 57
equation, 99 transitive -, 57
tuning, 8, 176, 245, 247 relative
Index 319
topology, 259 scalar

representation multiplication, 218, 225
adic -, 111 scale, 144
decimal -, 112 C-major -, 175
res major -, 243
cogitans, 116 Messiaen -, 144, 185
extensa, 116 minor -, 243
research pentatonic -, 247
expressive performance -, 267 whole-tone -, 144
resonator word, 144
Helmholtz -, 20 scandicus, 275
retrograde, 149 Schönberg, Arnold, 3, 26, 53, 55, 191,
canon, 12 192, 197, 202
inversion, 149, 222 Schaeffer, Pierre, 24
harmonic - -, 183 Schenker, Heinrich, 192
rhythm, 145 Schmitt, Jean-Claude, 279
Riemann Schmitt-Biggeman, Wilhelm, 16
function, 56 Schubert, Franz, 145
function theory, 130 Sciarrino, Salvatore, 235
harmony, 130 science
Riemann, Bernhard, 55 knowledge -, 15
Riemann, Hugo, 55 score, 116, 268
right Scriabin, Alexander, 179
coset, 154 Sebestény, Péter, 167
ring, 205 second
commutative -, 46 major -, 176, 246
homomorphism, 207 minor -, 176
quotient -, 210 semiotic, 279
Riotte, André, 33 semitone, 110, 144, 156
ritardando, 208 step, 99
root sequence
nth -, 107 cadential -, 55
rotation, 221 Cauchy -, 100, 104
roughness, 21 fifths -, 131
rubette of length n, 76
Performance -, 260 zero -, 102
Rubik cube, 167 sequence of
Rubik, Ernö, 167 fifths, 175
rule fourths, 175
chain -, 264 serial
Russell’s music, 55
antinomy -, 56 serialism, 231
Russell’s antinomy, 40 series
Russell, Bertrand, 39 12-tone -, 53
dodecaphonic -, 75, 126, 148
S set
Sagrada Família, 50, 239 closed -, 257
Saint-Victor, Hugues de, 279, 281 complex, 27
Saussure, Ferdinand de, 280 theory, 27
320 Index
difference, 45 solutions
empty -, 41 of the exercises, 289
final -, 61 sonata, 133
finite -, 58, 75 Appassionata -, 253
initial -, 61 form, 145
open -, 257 Hammerklavier -, 133, 191, 199, 277,
ordered -, 26, 49 285
pair -, 43 song
pitch-class -, 26 form, 145
pure -, 38 Song of Yi II—A Se, 124
theory, 38 Song, Mingzhu, 80, 124
seventh sonification, 234
chord, 183 sort, 40
major -, 176, 246 sound
minor -, 176 technology, 117
sharp , 269 space
shearing, 221 Euler -, 18, 227
Shorter, Wayne, 97 mental -, 116
sign, 273, 279 physical -, 116
signature vector -, 232
key -, 175 span, 178
time -, 94 spatial
signification, 50 digraph, 281
similarity species
motivic, 261 fifth -, 176
simple first -, 176
meter, 94 fourth -, 176
simplex, 129 second -, 176
face of a -, 129 third -, 176
geometric representation of a -, 130 Spectralism, 3
simplicial spiral, 238
morphism, 132 spondee, 145
simply staccato, 270
transitive Stange-Elbe, Joachim, 32
action, 152 statements in mathematics, 40
sinusoidal Steibelt, Daniel, 149
function, 110 Steinitz
sixth Lemma, 233
major -, 176, 246 step
minor -, 176 fundamental -, 192
skeleton semitone -, 99
gesture -, 282 Stockhausen, Karlheinz, 3, 101, 222
snail, 239 Stolberg, Leopold, 145
Society of Mathematics and Compu- Strauss, Johann, 95
tation in Music (MCM), 30, 33, Stravinsky, Igor, 95
34 string
solution theory, 246
approximate -, 99 vibrating -, 2, 246
Solution of Exercise, ix strong
Index 321
dichotomy, 177 technology

force, 195 music -, 2
structure sound -, 117
theory, 267 tempo, 94, 208, 265
Structures pour deux pianos, 231 tempo-articulation
Stucki, Peter, 31 field, 270
subbase, 260 Terhardt, Ernst, 31
Subdominant (S), 55, 145 tetractys, 6, 8, 111, 245
subgroup, 147 tetrade, 183
generated by S, 148 tetragramma, 274
normal -, 155 tetrahedron, 130, 132
submonoid, 146 The Rite of Spring, 95
generated by S, 146 The Scene of Sichuan Opera, 79
subobject Theodul, 253
classifier, 65 Theorem
subring, 205 Division -, 85, 211
successor, 43, 74 Escher -, 284
sum Fourier -, 19, 21
direct, 226 modulation -, 197
of matrices, 218 of Bernstein-Schröder, 56
supersummativity, 261 theorem, 40
supremum, 105 theory
surjective, 53 Anglo-Saxon gesture -, 279
syllable, 145 beat -, 21
symbolic category -, 29, 30, 121
gesture, 277 Euler’s substitution -, 262
music, 46 French gesture -, 280
time, 94, 265 function -, 55
symmetric group -, 75
group, 150 homotopy -, 30
relation, 57 mathematical - of gestures, 273
symmetry, 21, 56, 183 mathematical music -, 144
on Z12 , 173 modulation -, 58
syntagmatics module -, 30
harmonic -, 55 music -, 109, 150, 171, 213, 230
syntax of categories, 28
harmonic -, 144 set -, 38
Synthesis, 30, 234 string -, 246
structure -, 267
T topos -, 30
table transformational -, 29
multiplication -, 147 twelve-tone -, 26
tacet, 41 third
tai chi, 276 major -, 176, 246
tail, 122 minor -, 176, 246
tamed torus, 171
gesture, 281 Third String Quartet, 97
technique thirds-divide subtract-add, 247
mathematical -, 10 Thirring, Walter, 31
322 Index
timbre, 269 trigonometric

time function, 259
imaginary -, 116, 277 tritone, 176
physical -, 116, 265 interval, 75, 232
real -, 277 trivial
signature, 94 group, 150
symbolic -, 94, 265 tuning, 109
tonality, 55, 191, 193, 246 12-tempered -, 99, 108, 111, 121, 242
function, 130 equal-tempered -, 247
Tonic (T), 55, 145 just -, 8, 111, 176, 215, 228, 241, 262
topology, 257 microtonal -, 108
cartesian product -, 258 Pythagorean -, 8, 176, 245, 247
compact-open -, 261 systems
generated by S, 260 Western - -, 227, 241
relative -, 259 tuplet, 96
topos Tyner, McCoy, 182
theory, 30 Tzu, Kuan, 247
torus
group, 171 U
third -, 171 undirected
total chain, 125
relation, 57 graph, 124
trajectory, 193 union, 42
transformation unit
natural -, 252 imaginary -, 114
performance -, 270 unitary
pitch-class -, 231 group, 155, 156
transformational universal
theory, 29 property, 61
transitive, 72 of cartesian product of a family of
action, 152 sets, 66
relation, 57 of direct sums, 228
transitivity, 56 of word monoids, 145
transposability, 261 UPIC, 24, 234
transposition, 28, 92, 153
class, 153 V
class of a chord, 157 Valéry, Paul, 280
matrix -, 218 value
transposition-inversion absolute -, 90, 104
class of a chord, 157 vector, 225
triad, 76 field, 270
augmented -, 134, 160, 179, 185 space, 232
diminished -, 160, 179 Verdi, Giuseppe, 11
major -, 8, 160, 179 Verdi, Luigi, 33
minor -, 8, 161, 179 vertex, 122
triadic vibrating
interpretation, 194 string, 2, 246
triangular Vicentino, Nicola, 108
inequality, 91, 98, 104 Vieru, Anatol, 28
Index 323
Villa-Lobos, Hector, 235 Wieser, Heinz-Gregor, 31

virga, 275 wild
Virgil, 145 gesture, 281
visualization, 50, 234 word
Vogel, Martin, 241, 243 monoid, 143
voice universal property of - -, 145
leading, 76, 198 scale -, 144
von Hahn, Walther, 31 work
von Helmholtz, Hermann Ludwig motivic -, 133
Ferdinand, 20 world-sheet, 278, 285, 286
von Karajan, Herbert, 31 worlds
von Webern, Anton, 54 counterpoint -, 179
Vuza, Dan Tudor, 28
X
W Xenakis, Iannis, 23, 28, 45, 46, 234
walk, 125
Walton, Cedar, 181 Y
Walzer und Schleifer mit zwei Würfeln Yoneda’s
zu componieren..., 166 Lemma, 252
weak Yoneda, Nobuo, 252
force, 195
Weber-Fechner law, 110 Z
well-ordering, 58, 73, 74 Zarlino, Gioseffo, 8, 10, 243, 245
West Side Story, 95 Zermelo, Ernst, 40, 58
Western Zermelo-Fraenkel-Choice (ZFC), 40, 72
musical zero
notation, 275 sequence, 102
tuning systems, 227, 241 ZFC
white axioms, 41
key, 175 ZFC (Zermelo-Fraenkel-Choice), 40, 72
whole-tone Zhu, Zaiyu, 8, 99, 247
scale, 144 zigzag
Whymper, Edward, 253 motivic -, 133

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Computational Music Science

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8349

ISSN 1868-0305 ISSN 1868-0313 (electronic)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016956578

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Cover illustration: Cover image designed by Maria Mannone

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

and avoiding abstract nonsense in favor of concrete conceptual development of

The reference to mathematical examples or exercises is “Example, Ex-

Minneapolis, September 2015 Guerino Mazzola, Maria Mannone, Yan Pang

Part I Introduction and Short History

1 The ‘Counterpoint’ of Mathematics and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Short History of the Relationship Between Mathematics

2.15.2 The IFM Association:

Part II Sets and Functions

3 The Architecture of Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

4 Functions and Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Part III Numbers

9 Euclid and Normal Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

13 Roots, Logarithms, and Normal Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

14 Complex Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Part IV Graphs and Nerves

15 Directed and Undirected Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Part V Monoids and Groups

19 Group Actions, Subgroups, Quotients, and Products . . . . . . . . 151

20 Permutation Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

21 The Third Torus and Counterpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

22 Coltrane’s Giant Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

23 Modulation Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Part VI Rings and Modules

24 Rings and Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

28 Just Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

28.3.1 The Original System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Part VII Continuity and Calculus

Part VIII Solutions, References, Index

34 Solutions of Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Introduction and Short History

Summary. Joining mathematics and music for most of us creates a love-hate

1.1 The Idea of a Contrapuntal Interaction

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 1

1.2 Formulas and Gestures

1.3 Mathematics and Technology for Music

1.4 Musical Creativity with Mathematics

Summary. This chapter is a short overview of some important persons and

For an account on the philosopher and mathemati-

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 5

Therefore the Pythagorean school was the attempt to unify mathematics

2.2 Artes Liberales

Fig. 2.4. Artes Liberales

2.4 Zaiyu Zhu

2.5 Mathematics in Counterpoint

In the classical and baroque periods, composers already used mathemat-

Writing polyphonic music that follows strict counterpoint rules requires

2.5.1 An Example for Music Theorists

Such a structure is very diﬃcult to achieve, unless we use a clever per-

These sequences accurately avoid two vertical correspondences: (1) the 1 − 4

we can compose an original mirror double-choir, as shown in Figure 2.10.

Diagonal(s) in the square correspond(s) to identical notes. Elements of co-

Fig. 2.10. A mirror double-choir. The sound example is Nuovo_doppio_coro.

By going through the ﬁrst row, we get c − d − e − f − g, corresponding

                            

Here, x ∈ y means that x ∈ y is false. For the second axiom, we need to

Proposition 2 If a = ∅, then the set