Mathematical Music Theory

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Musical Phenomena
Algebraic, Geometric, Combinatorial,
MUSIC THEORY
MATHEMATICAL
Topological and Applied Approaches to Understanding
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MATHEMATICAL
MUSIC THEORY
Algebraic, Geometric, Combinatorial,

Topological and Applied Approaches to Understanding
Musical Phenomena
Editors
Mariana Montiel
Georgia State University, USA
Robert W Peck
Louisiana State University, USA
World Scientific
NEW JERSEY • LONDON • SINGAPORE • BEIJING • SHANGHAI • HONG KONG • TAIPEI • CHENNAI • TOKYO
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Published by
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Montiel, Mariana. | Peck, Robert William, 1963-
Title: Mathematical music theory : algebraic, geometric, combinatorial,
topological and applied approaches to understanding musical phenomena /
edited by: Mariana Montiel (Georgia State University, USA) and

Robert W Peck (Louisiana State University, USA).
Description: New Jersey : World Scientific, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018016235 | ISBN 9789813235304 (hc : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Music--Mathematics. | Music theory--Mathematics. | Musical analysis.
Classification: LCC ML3800 .M2456 2018 | DDC 781.01/51--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018016235
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover image: Dr. Maria Mannone
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October 17, 2018 10:20 Mathematical Music Theory - 9in x 6in b3268-fm page v
Introduction
Questions about variation, similarity, enumeration, and classifica-

tion of musical structures have long intrigued both musicians and
mathematicians. Mathematical models can be found for almost
all levels of musical activities, from theoretical analysis to actual
composition or sound production. Modern Music Theory has been
incorporating more and more modern mathematical content during
the last decades. One example is the application of methods from
Algebraic Combinatorics, or Topology and Graph Theory, to the
classification of different musical objects. However, these applications
of mathematics in the context of the in-depth understanding of
music also have led to interesting open problems in mathematics
itself. The reach and depth of the contributions on mathematical
music theory presented in this volume is significant. In general, the
subjects fall in the mathematical classifications of: (i) Algebraic
and Combinatorial Approaches (Douthett, Clampitt, and Carey;
Douthett, Steinbach, and Hermann; Jedrzejewski; Kastine; Kochavi;
Noll; Peck; and Plotkin); (ii) Geometric, Topological, and Graph-
Theoretical Approaches (Hughes; Ivey; Mannone; Sivakumar and
Tymoczko; Yust; and Milam); and (iii) Distance and Similarity
Measures in Music (Gómez; Baker; and Shanahan). These three
classifications form our sections and each contribution is a chapter
of this volume.
In Chapter 1 of Section I, Douthett, Clampitt, and Carey
first review some of the basic concepts introduced by Clough and
v
October 17, 2018 10:20 Mathematical Music Theory - 9in x 6in b3268-fm page vi
vi Introduction
Myerson. Clampitt’s extension of Clough and Myerson’s work,

particularly as it relates to cardinality equals variety for chords
(CCV), is also discussed. In this work, the search for scales whose
complements preserve properties such as CCV and well formedness
is explored and identified. The generalization of similarities and
differences between cardinality equals variety for lines (LCV) and

CCV, as well as the connection between dual CCV and the twin
primes conjecture, are also investigated.
In Chapter 2 of Section I, Douthett, Steinbach, and Hermann
investigate m-cubes modulo n that are generated by musical dyads.
In particular, they consider the subclass of toggling m-cubes, for

which the pairwise intersections of the generating dyads are null,
and the pcset used to generate the vertex set contains one and
only one member from each generating dyad. They also explore a
subclass that correspond to Cohn’s maximally smooth cycles, leading
to generalizations that relate certain Western and Hindustani musical
systems. These cycles correspond to middle-layer graphs that are
antipolar great cycles with strong diameters. The three-dimensional
models that they study include Cohn’s Cube and Hermann’s Cubes.
The higher-dimensional models include Douthett’s Tesseract and
Steinbach’s Penteract.
In Chapter 3 of Section I, Jedrzejewski works with combinatorial
designs which are pictured by graphs whose vertices represent the
blocks. These designs can also be mapped to musical objects, where
the substructure of each block highlights properties of uniqueness.
Following the work of composer Tom Johnson, the author investigates
the ways of representing block designs and presents special ones,
called Catalan block designs, whose number of blocks is a Catalan
number. They are depicted by a geometric construct called a Stasheff
polytope or associahedron. As there are many families of combinato-
rial objects enumerated by the Catalan numbers the approach opens
up many possibilities for applications to music by using the bijections
between bracketings, Dyck paths, binary rooted trees, etc. Moreover,
a generalized Catalan number is associated to each positive rational
number, a process which leads to a new geometric structure called
October 17, 2018 10:20 Mathematical Music Theory - 9in x 6in b3268-fm page vii
Introduction vii
rational associahedra. Jedrzejewski states that these representations

cover all combinatorial designs.
In Chapter 4 of Section I, Kastine seeks alternative methods
to rhythmic tiling for composing monophonic canons which, he
claims, will feature more interaction between the parts by allowing
them to overlap at times. He approaches the goal of less monotony

by allowing beats on which multiple parts overlap, beats of rest,
unevenly distributed beats, a higher density of musical information
in terms of note-to-length ratio (by definition, rhythmic tilings have
a note-to-length ratio of exactly 1 note per beat) to arrive at

more interesting (less regular) rhythms. The author creates what
he calls L-canons and he takes them to the realm of melody as well.
He proceeds from very strict mathematical definitions and, in the
process, discovers a series of non-trivial problems to be solved. On the
other hand, the author revisits the S and G canons, based on Sidon
sets and Golomb rulers, which he had developed in previous work.
In a similar way, as with the L-canons, a plethora of mathematical
problems arise in the process of finding the ideal representatives of
these constructions.
In Chapter 5 of Section I, Kochavi discusses the notion of rhyth-
mic hierarchy in Luigi Nono’s 1956 composition Il canto sospeso.
Drawing on the notion of beat hierarchy, as typically manifest in the
metrical structure of music with a time signature, Kochavi extends
relevant concepts to this work by Nono, which was written without
the conventional use of meter. Nevertheless, its durations are subject
to compositional control that derives from the Fibonacci series.
Specifically, Kochavi’s analysis examines Nono’s use of the Fibonacci
series modulo n, including the Pisano period. Kochavi situates his
analytical results in a discussion of the composition’s extra-musical
connotations as a post-war Italian resistance statement.
In Chapter 6 of Section I, Noll explains that Eric Regener’s note
interval system is the starting point for a number of refinements
and extensions in connection with the study of modes. Two different
kinds of transformations of the note space are presented: (1) signature
morphisms and (2) Regener transformations. Tone systems such as
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viii Introduction
the diatonic or the chromatic play a central role with respect to

both types of transformations. They appear in the guise of signature
morphisms: σ : N → D mediating between a note space N and a
width/height-degree space D, both of which are isomorphic to Z2 .
The image of the note space N within the degree space D is of
index 7 in the diatonic case (or 12 in the chromatic, respectively).

The carrier sets of modes in N are defined as preimages of a
square-shaped principal diatonic domain in D. The diatonic Regener
transformation turns the fifth/fourth coordinates of note intervals
into major and minor step coordinates. These transformations have

refinements as Special Sturmian morphisms, which serve to generate
modal interval species. Modes are eventually described as contiguous
paths of anchored intervals in the note space and are generated by
lattice path transformations. The motto of the chapter — One Note
Samba — points to the desire to control the variation of the meaning
of a fixed note or note interval. Dual lattice path transformations are
shown to be well-adapted for this purpose.
In Chapter 7 of Section I, Peck discusses the relationship between
all-interval chords, as studied in musical pitch-class set theory, and
the combinatorial theory of difference sets. This investigation rests on
the notion of an interval as an element of a group (i.e., a generalized
interval system), following the transformational theories of Lewin.
Whereas an all-interval chord needs to possess at least one of every
interval in an interval group by definition, some all-interval chords
meet the stricter requirement of their possessing one and only one
occurrence of each non-identity interval. These chords are isomorphic
to planar difference sets. Such difference sets may be cyclic, (non-
cyclic) abelian, or non-abelian, depending on the structure of the
underlying group of intervals. Peck examines several examples of
planar difference sets in musical works by Johann Sebastian Bach,
Arnold Schoenberg, and Milton Babbitt.
In Chapter 8 of Section I, Plotkin looks for a way to formally
define the opposite of a parsimonious transformation. Before he
provides a definition, the author cites previous work related to the
subject, including the contributions of Cohn, Childs, and Douthett
and Steinbach who established rigorous criteria on the subject of
October 17, 2018 10:20 Mathematical Music Theory - 9in x 6in b3268-fm page ix
Introduction ix
parsimonious transformations. Plotkin explores a different approach

this matter, in terms of scales instead of classes. At the same
time, he argues for the augmented flexibility and reach of this
approach, he also explains that this is the way his characterization
of non-parsimonious transformations must be understood, through a
technique he calls inter-scale opposition.

In Chapter 9 of Section II, Hughes states that one of the
most intriguing and useful aspects of modeling chord spaces as
orbifolds is that voice leadings take the form of paths in these
spaces. He explores how viewing such paths as elements of the

orbifold fundamental group or groupoid can help resolve voice leading
ambiguities associated with pitch class doubling and voice crossings.
In Chapter 10 of Section II, Ivey takes as a starting point a
sequence of publications by Tymoczko et al., where they developed
the notion of chord and voice-leading spaces constructed by applying
musically relevant equivalence relations to cubic lattices representing
n-dimensional pitch space. The quotient lattices are naturally embed-
ded in topological spaces which are typically orbifolds. Ivey points out
the difficulty of formulating a mathematically valid notion of geome-
try for these spaces that is also musically meaningful. Nonetheless, he
continues, a mathematical examination of these constructions leads
to several interesting avenues: the orbifold singularity points within
these spaces often represent chords that maximize tonal ambiguity;
many continuous chord spaces have non-trivial topology that has
musical significance (e.g., homotopy generators in the orbifold lift to
modulatory sequences of chords); and it may be possible to apply
more sophisticated adjacency models to endow these spaces with
a geometry that reflects the dominant features of certain stylistic
corpora.
In Chapter 11 of Section II, Mannone states that musical per-
formance starts from an indication of movement (a curve) hidden in
the score, which then is transformed by the musician into a physical
gesture (another curve), connecting the symbolic reality of the score
to the physical reality of acoustics. Composition from improvisation
follows the inverse path, from physical to symbolic. Symbolic gestures
can be ideally transformed into physical ones via a connecting
October 17, 2018 10:20 Mathematical Music Theory - 9in x 6in b3268-fm page x
x Introduction
surface, known as a “world-sheet” in physics. This formalism can be

applied to any musical instrument, including the voice. The relations
between gestures on different musical instruments can be framed
through category theory, allowing comparison within music itself,
and between music and other fields. Experiments in which images
and gestures in the visual arts have been transformed into music
have their explanation in categorical terms, via gestural analogies and
similarity. In fact, the mathematical definition of musical gestures,
apart from explaining and modeling musical practice, may constitute
a musical element itself in composition. Mannone’s chapter also

includes some examples of music from images, and an excerpt from
an original orchestral piece, where gestural analogies and morphisms
connect instruments and sounds.
In Chapter 12 of Section II, Sivakumar and Tymoczko state
that voice leading is closely connected with homotopy, that is,
the exploration of paths in higher-dimensional configuration spaces.
Musicians explored these spaces centuries before mathematicians
developed tools for describing them. In this chapter, they analyze the
group structure of these contrapuntal paths, generalize traditional
music-theoretical vocabulary for representing voice leading, and ask
what proportion of the paths are realizable given our generalized
vocabulary of musical possibilities.
In Chapter 13 of Section II, Yust takes a geometrical approach
to generalized Tonnetze, drawing on previous work that includes
Cohn’s common-tone formulation and Tymoczko’s voice-leading
reformulation. Yust’s geometric interpretation uses the common-tone
approach to demonstrate that the toroidal spaces in which such
Tonnetze are realized correspond to Fourier phase spaces. The result
is that Yust is able to optimize a Tonnetz to a toroidal space (or vice
versa) by using the discrete Fourier transform (DFT). Triangulating
the 2-torus allows Yust to associate the resulting regions with
members of a given trichordal set class. Accordingly, in extending
this notion to the three-dimensional case, the Tonnetz becomes a
network of tetrachordal set classes that share common trichordal
subsets. Finally, Yust considers other Tonnetz types, particularly
those with non-toroidal or bounded topologies.
October 17, 2018 10:20 Mathematical Music Theory - 9in x 6in b3268-fm page xi
Introduction xi
In Chapter 14 of Section II, Milam presents a preliminary

investigation of an original technique for generating musical material
from mathematically deterministic games. Based on the premise that
mathematical models underlie the logical and coherent relationships
that organize all natural phenomena, Milam attempts to coordinate
the outcome of purely mathematical processes with various elements

of musical experience to produce deterministic musical compositions
with inherent, but possibly unexpected, natural relationships.
In Chapter 15 of Section III, Gómez presents the efforts of
COFLA (Computational Analysis of Flamenco Music), a group

of researchers from several disciplines who study flamenco music.
Their goal is to analyze flamenco music from different disciplines,
incorporating music technology in that analysis. To accomplish
this objective, COFLA is composed of an interdisciplinary team
including exerts from areas such as Musicology, Ethnomusicology,
History, Literature, Education, Sociology, but also Mathematics,
Engineering, and Computer Science. The chapter includes a brief
overview of the main musical features of flamenco music and three
problems the COFLA group is currently working on. The problem
of melodic similarity in flamenco a cappella songs is addressed from
an interdisciplinary perspective.
In Chapter 16 of Section III, Baker designed an experiment with
the goal of exploring how different computational and algorithmic
measures can be used to mirror human behavior by employing
a contextual paradigm. This goal lead to the use of a design
that was not dependent on any sort of explicit understanding of
Western musical notation. However, the similarity measures that
were contrasted did depend on certain Charlie Parker jazz tunes that
were selected.
In Chapter 17 of Section III, Shanahan proposes a corpus-study-
based approach to studying prototypicality. He argues that, whereas
corpus-based methods have mostly been used to analyze aspects
of usage, they can also be applied to an examination of typicality.
However, this approach involves more data, and presents certain
problems with regard to the use of schema. The corpus that Shana-
han investigates in this regard is the body of eighteenth-century
October 17, 2018 10:20 Mathematical Music Theory - 9in x 6in b3268-fm page xii
xii Introduction
Italian melody from the RISM-World Dataset, which has previously

been discussed in terms of schema and prototype, but not in a
corpus-based analysis of those features. He divides his analysis
into “high-level” and “low-level” features. He concludes that, in
conducting such an analysis, many aspects of an entire composition
should be encoded, including harmonic information. Using melodic

information alone makes it difficult to examine tonal assimilation
(and dissimilation) as “high-level” features. Ideally, such corpora will
include more information, permitting the use of schema that are not
used in traditional searching methods.
Mariana Montiel
Robert Peck
October 17, 2018 10:20 Mathematical Music Theory - 9in x 6in b3268-fm page xiii
About the Editors

Mariana Montiel is Associate Professor

at Georgia State University. Her research
resolves around Mathematical Music Theory
and frequently she carries out interdisci-
plinary work with music theorists and com-
puter scientists. Simultaneously she cultivates
an interest in pedagogical aspects and, in
particular, in the use of abstract and symbolic
representations, common to both disciplines,
mathematics and music.
Robert Peck is Professor of Music The-

ory at Louisiana State University. An active
researcher in the field of mathematical music
theory, he is a founding co-Editor-in-Chief
of the Journal of Mathematics and Music,
and has co-organized seven special sessions
on mathematics and music at meetings of the
American Mathematical Society.
xiii
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October 17, 2018 10:20 Mathematical Music Theory - 9in x 6in b3268-fm page xv
Contents
Introduction v
About the Editors xiii
Section I 1
1. From Musical Chords to Twin Primes 3
Jack Douthett, David Clampitt and Norman Carey
2. Hypercubes and the Generalized

Cohn Cycle 21
Jack Douthett, Peter Steinbach
and Richard Hermann
3. Associahedra, Combinatorial Block Designs

and Related Structures 47
Franck Jedrzejewski
4. Rhythmic and Melodic L-canons 65

Jeremy Kastine
5. The Fibonacci Sequence as Metric

Suspension in Luigi Nono’s
Il Canto Sospeso 83
Jon Kochavi
xv
October 17, 2018 10:20 Mathematical Music Theory - 9in x 6in b3268-fm page xvi
xvi Contents
6. One Note Samba: Navigating Notes

and Their Meanings Within Modes
and Exo-modes 109
Thomas Noll
7. Difference Sets and All-Directed-Interval

Chords 147
Robert W. Peck
8. Harmonious Opposition 167

Richard Plotkin
Section II 183
9. Orbifold Path Models for Voice Leading:
Dealing with Doubling 185
James R. Hughes
10. Reflections on the Geometry of Chords 195

Thomas A. Ivey
11. Theoretical Physics and Category Theory

as Tools for Analysis of Musical
Performance and Composition 215
Maria Mannone
12. Intuitive Musical Homotopy 233

Aditya Sivakumar and Dmitri Tymoczko
13. Geometric Generalizations of the Tonnetz

and Their Relation to Fourier Phases Spaces 253
Jason Yust
14. Deterministic Geometries: A Technique

for the Systematic Generation of Musical
Elements in Composition 279
Brent A. Milam
October 17, 2018 10:20 Mathematical Music Theory - 9in x 6in b3268-fm page xvii
Contents xvii
Section III 301

15. Flamenco Music and Its Computational Study 303
Francisco Gómez
16. Examining Fixed and Relative Similarity

Metrics Through Jazz Melodies 319

David J. Baker and Daniel Shanahan
17. In Search of Arcs of Prototypicality 335

Daniel Shanahan
Index 347

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Mathematical Music Theory Downloaded from www.worldscientific.

Topological and Applied Approaches to Understanding

Algebraic, Geometric, Combinatorial,

10858_9789813235304_TP.indd 2 17/10/18 10:00 AM

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

edited by: Mariana Montiel (Georgia State University, USA) and

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Cover image: Dr. Maria Mannone

Copyright © 2019 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

For any available supplementary material, please visit

Desk Editors: V. Vishnu Mohan/Tan Rok Ting

Typeset by Stallion Press

Vishnu Mohan - 10858 - Mathematical Music Theory.indd 1 27-09-18 4:20:58 PM

Questions about variation, similarity, enumeration, and classiﬁca-

Myerson. Clampitt’s extension of Clough and Myerson’s work,

diﬀerences between cardinality equals variety for lines (LCV) and

In particular, they consider the subclass of toggling m-cubes, for

rational associahedra. Jedrzejewski states that these representations

them to overlap at times. He approaches the goal of less monotony

a note-to-length ratio of exactly 1 note per beat) to arrive at

the diatonic or the chromatic play a central role with respect to

index 7 in the diatonic case (or 12 in the chromatic, respectively).

into major and minor step coordinates. These transformations have

parsimonious transformations. Plotkin explores a diﬀerent approach

technique he calls inter-scale opposition.

spaces. He explores how viewing such paths as elements of the

surface, known as a “world-sheet” in physics. This formalism can be

a musical element itself in composition. Mannone’s chapter also

In Chapter 14 of Section II, Milam presents a preliminary

the outcome of purely mathematical processes with various elements

COFLA (Computational Analysis of Flamenco Music), a group

Italian melody from the RISM-World Dataset, which has previously

should be encoded, including harmonic information. Using melodic

used in traditional searching methods.

About the Editors

Mariana Montiel is Associate Professor

Robert Peck is Professor of Music The-

2. Hypercubes and the Generalized

3. Associahedra, Combinatorial Block Designs

4. Rhythmic and Melodic L-canons 65

5. The Fibonacci Sequence as Metric

6. One Note Samba: Navigating Notes

7. Diﬀerence Sets and All-Directed-Interval

8. Harmonious Opposition 167

10. Reﬂections on the Geometry of Chords 195

11. Theoretical Physics and Category Theory

12. Intuitive Musical Homotopy 233

13. Geometric Generalizations of the Tonnetz

14. Deterministic Geometries: A Technique

Section III 301

16. Examining Fixed and Relative Similarity

Metrics Through Jazz Melodies 319

17. In Search of Arcs of Prototypicality 335

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