Exploring Musical Spaces

OXFORD STUDIES IN MUSIC THEORY

Series Editor Steven Rings

Studies in Music with Text, David Lewin

Metric Manipulations in Haydn and Mozart: Chamber Music for Strings, 1787–​1791, Danuta Mirka
Songs in Motion: Rhythm and Meter in the German Lied, Yonatan Malin
A Geometry of Music: Harmony and Counterpoint in the Extended Common Practice, Dmitri Tymoczko
In the Process of Becoming: Analytic and Philosophical Perspectives on Form in Early Nineteenth-​Century Music, Janet Schmalfeldt
Tonality and Transformation, Steven Rings
Audacious Euphony: Chromatic Harmony and the Triad’s Second Nature, Richard Cohn
Music as Discourse: Semiotic Adventures in Romantic Music, Kofi Agawu
Beating Time and Measuring Music in the Early Modern Era, Roger Mathew Grant
Mahler’s Symphonic Sonatas, Seth Monahan
Pieces of Tradition: An Analysis of Contemporary Tonal Music, Daniel Harrison
Music at Hand: Instruments, Bodies, and Cognition, Jonathan De Souza
Foundations of Musical Grammar, Lawrence M. Zbikowski
Organized Time: Rhythm, Tonality, and Form, Jason Yust
Flow: The Rhythmic Voice in Rap Music, Mitchell Ohriner
Performing Knowledge: Twentieth-​Century Music in Analysis and Performance, Daphne Leong
Enacting Musical Time: The Bodily Experience of New Music, Mariusz Kozak
Hearing Homophony: Tonal Expectation at the Turn of the Seventeenth Century, Megan Kaes Long
Form as Harmony in Rock Music, Drew Nobile
Desire in Chromatic Harmony: A Psychodynamic Exploration of Fin de Siècle Tonality, Kenneth M. Smith
A Blaze of Light in Every Word: Analyzing the Popular Singing Voice, Victoria Malawey
Sweet Thing: The History and Musical Structure of a Shared American Vernacular Form, Nicholas Stoia
Hypermetric Manipulations in Haydn and Mozart: Chamber Music for Strings, 1787–​1791, Danuta Mirka
Exploring Musical Spaces: A Synthesis of Mathematical Approaches, Julian Hook
 EXPLORING
MUSICAL SPACES
A Synthesis of Mathematical Approaches

JULIAN HOOK

1
 1
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 Contents

Preface ix 2.4 Relations 58

Acknowledgments xvii 2.5 Modular arithmetic 65
2.6 Relationships among modular spaces 69
Notes 73
PART ONE FOUNDATIONS OF
Suggested reading 78
MATHEMATICAL MUSIC THEORY:
SPACES, SETS, GRAPHS, AND
GROUPS 1
3. Graphs 79
3.1 Graphs 79
1. Spaces I: Pitch and Pitch-​Class 3.2 Isomorphism of graphs 87
Spaces 3 3.3 Loops, multiple edges, and infinite
graphs 90
1.1 Pitch spaces 4
3.4 Directed graphs 96
1.2 Pitch-​class spaces 12
3.5 Transformation graphs and networks 106
1.3 Spaces generated by fifths and thirds 18
Notes 114
1.4 Tonnetz spaces 22
Suggested reading 118
Notes 33
Suggested reading 38
4. Spaces II: Chordal, Tonal, and Serial
2. Sets, Functions, and Relations 39
Spaces 119
4.1 Double-​circle spaces and related
2.1 Sets 39
constructions 119
2.2 Ordered sets and multisets 43
4.2 Tonnetz-​related chordal and tonal
2.3 Functions 45
spaces 127
4.3 Generic and diatonic chordal spaces 138
4.4 Some additional models 143
4.5 Analytical examples 147
Notes 161
Suggested reading 166
5. Groups I: Interval Groups and
Transformation Groups 167
5.1 The interval and transposition groups of
pitch space 168
5.2 Definition of a group; additive, modular,
and multiplicative groups 173
5.3 Abstract groups; further properties of
groups 178
5.4 Interval groups and interval spaces 183
5.5 Transformation groups and group
actions 189
5.6 The relation between intervals and
transformations 195
Notes 201
Suggested reading 205
PART TWO TRANSFORMATION
THEORY: INTERVALS AND
TRANSFORMATIONS, INCLUDING
NEO-​R IEMANNIAN THEORY 207
6. Groups II: Permutations,
Isomorphisms, and Other Topics in
Group Theory 209
6.1 Permutation groups 209
6.2 Group tables and Cayley diagrams 217
6.3 Isomorphism of groups 224
6.4 Direct-​product groups 229
6.5 Groups, equivalence relations, and
symmetry 233
6.6 Quotient groups; considerations with non-
commutative groups 240
Notes 247
Suggested reading 251
7. Intervals 252
7.1 Label functions for interval spaces 252
7.2 Homomorphisms and isomorphisms of
interval spaces 254
7.3 Direct products of interval spaces 263
7.4 Quotients of interval spaces 268
7.5 Transposition operators and
interval-​preserving mappings 273
7.6 Inversion operators and interval-​reversing
mappings 286
Notes 296
Suggested reading 299
vi • C ontents
8. Transformations I: Triadic
Transformations 300
8.1 Uniform triadic transformations 300
8.2 Riemannian UTTs and neo-​Riemannian
analysis 306
8.3 Other topics in triadic transformation
theory 322
Notes 334
Suggested reading 338
9. Transformations II: Transformation
Graphs and Networks; Serial
Transformations 339
9.1 Transformation graphs and networks:
basic properties 339
9.2 Consistency properties 343
9.3 Isomorphism and isography 347
9.4 Klumpenhouwer networks 357
9.5 Serial transformations and UTTs 364
9.6 Transformations of pitch classes and order
numbers 371
Notes 380
Suggested reading 384
PART THREE GEOMETRIC MUSIC
THEORY: THE OPTIC VOICE-​L EADING
SPACES 385
10. Spaces III: Introduction to
Voice-​Leading Spaces 387
10.1 The hexatonic triad graph as a continuous
voice-​leading space 388
10.2 A larger space of three-​voice
chords 394
10.3 The OPTIC relations 404
10.4 Normal forms in OPTIC spaces 415
Notes 421
Suggested reading 424
11. Spaces IV: The Geometry of OPTIC
Spaces 425
11.1 Manifolds and orbifolds; one-​voice
spaces 426
11.2 Two-​voice spaces 427
11.3 Three-​voice OP-​space 439
11.4 Three-​voice T-​, PT-​, PTI-​, OPT-​, and
OPTI-​space 447
11.5 Four-​voice OP-​space 460
11.6 Four-​voice T-​, OPT-​, and
OPTI-​space 468
Notes 476
Suggested reading 481
12. Distances 482 13.2 Diatonic scales in chromatic space 545
13.3 Signature transformations 550
12.1 Interval functions and measures of 13.4 Genus and species 568
distance 483 Notes 577
12.2 Distance functions; real and modular Suggested reading 581
interval spaces as distance spaces 487
12.3 Distance functions defined by graphs or 14. Scales II: Beyond the Diatonic 582
groups 493
12.4 Distance functions on product spaces 500 14.1 Seven-​note scales and spelled
12.5 Distance functions on quotient spaces; heptachords 583
OPTIC spaces as distance spaces 506 14.2 Maximal evenness and the geometry of
Notes 524 scales 597
Suggested reading 528 14.3 Beyond the chromatic: other specific
cardinalities 606
Notes 616
PART FOUR THEORY OF SCALES:
Suggested reading 619
DIATONIC AND BEYOND 529
13. Scales I: Diatonic Spaces 531 Appendix 1 List of Musical Spaces 621
Appendix 2 List of Sets and Groups 627
13.1 Diatonic and generic scales as musical References 631
spaces 531 Index 643

C ontents • vii
 Preface
MUSIC UNFOLDS on a vast playing field with a
mathematical structure of great complexity and
beauty. This book is a study of that structure.
MATHEMATICS AS A TOOL
FOR THE STUDY OF MUSIC
Music theory has in recent decades been
enriched by an infusion of ideas from many
other disciplines, among which mathematics has
earned a particular preeminence. Mathematical
techniques enhance our understanding of
numerous aspects of music, from scale con-
struction and rhythmic organization to triadic
harmony and atonal pitch structure, some-
times building upon established music-​analyti-
cal traditions but sometimes providing entirely
new methodologies and paradigms. Today’s
music theory journals publish many articles
at least partly mathematical in nature; the
Journal of Mathematics and Music began publica-
tion in 2007, and international conferences on
“Mathematics and Computation in Music” are
held biennially. It is not an exaggeration to say
that mathematical music theory has blossomed
into a sizable industry.
The price of admission to the field, how-
ever, can seem exorbitant. A solid foundation
in mathematics, traditionally expected of stu-
dents in physics, engineering, and other dis-
ciplines that use mathematics, is rare among
students of music. Important work in the field
is scattered through countless articles and an
armload of books, terminology and notation are
not consistent, and much of this work is highly
technical, not readily accessible to those with
limited mathematical training, no matter their
musical expertise. David Lewin’s Generalized
Musical Intervals and Transformations (Lewin
[1987] 2007), the pathbreaking volume that
singlehandedly established the field of trans-
formational music theory, has been a definitive
resource for more than three decades, but it also
remains a famously difficult read for music theo-
rists who must contend from its first pages not
only with abstract concepts such as semigroup
congruences and homomorphisms but also
with an uncompromisingly formal Definition-​
Theorem-​Proof-​Corollary-​Remark style charac-
teristic of advanced mathematics texts.1
For these reasons, while most professional
music theorists have at least a passing acquain-
tance with some of the mathematical work being
done in their field, expansive swaths of this work
remain mostly the province of specialists, terra
incognita to a large part of the music theory
community. There is a long-​standing need for
a book capable of serving as an initiation into
the subject for practitioners of more traditional
strains of music theory and for a new generation
of students. This book aims to answer that need
by presenting mathematical techniques as fun-
damental tools that should be available to every
working music theorist.
Mathematical structure in music often
operates at what might be called a deep level,
seemingly far removed from the surface of any
musical composition—​the level of the abstract
structure of the spaces in this book’s title. One
could make the argument that mathematical
structure at this level is as fundamental to music
as it is to physics, and—​at the risk of inviting
charges of “physics envy”—​I believe that the
parallels between music and physics are instruc-
tive. It should go without saying that valuable
work in music theory can be done without regard
to this deep level of structure, but so too can we
study observable physical phenomena with no
consideration of the atomic or subatomic scale.
In either field, things observed in the wild may
be more complex, messy, and imperfect than
the simplified situations most readily described
mathematically: real-​ world conditions do not
involve the perfect vacuums and frictionless
planes encountered in classroom physics exer-
cises, and only occasionally does real music
display the patterned sequential behavior and
flawless symmetry that mathematical models
account for most elegantly. But in either field, an
understanding of the principles at work in the
idealized settings can inform our understanding
of whatever else we may observe, and the differ-
ences between the real and the ideal are them-
selves illuminating.
The music-​ physics analogy is strained,
though, insofar as the rules taught in music
theory classes hardly have the same status as
physical principles: a composer who is bound by
the laws of gravity may choose to violate laws
of voice leading at will. Composerly creativ-
ity demands analytical creativity, sometimes
x • P reface
challenging the explanatory power of theoretical
models, mathematical or otherwise. In musical
analysis, mathematically informed descriptions
may work in tandem with other approaches,
sometimes to striking effect, producing insights
more revealing than would be possible by either
means alone.
Mathematics does not tell physicists how
they must do physics, and it does not prescribe
how music theorists should do their work either.
It provides a conceptual framework, a vocabu-
lary, and a generously stocked toolbox, and while
there are some constraints on how the tools may
be used, there are few instructions dictating
how they must be used or what one is supposed
to build with them.2 Some uses of mathematics
may objectively be called incorrect, but the via-
ble paths one may choose to follow are bound-
less. The decision to apply a mathematical model
entails interpretive choices from the start about
what to represent mathematically and how to
represent it, questions that rarely have only a
single good answer. This carte-​blanche quality
has sometimes led to criticism of mathematical
approaches as lacking in coherent methodology,
inefficiently requiring that each analysis write
its own set of rules—​but it pays dividends in cre-
ative potential, in the varied insights the tech-
niques can produce, and in a casual disregard
for stylistic boundaries and other traditional
limitations.
THE SPACE METAPHOR
Central to this book is the concept of musi-
cal spaces. Mathematicians work with spaces
of many kinds, known by names such as vector
spaces or topological spaces. In the context of this
book, the term space may be understood loosely
to refer to a collection of musically meaningful
entities in some visual or geometric arrange-
ment. Musical spaces are to some degree meta-
phors—​musical notes, it could be argued, do not
really form themselves into lines and planes and
circles—​but a premise of this book is that such
metaphors are useful, and that musical spaces
lend themselves to general abstract study much
as mathematical spaces do. We shall not attempt
to present a more complete or precise definition
of the term space in all its generality, but we will
formulate careful definitions of many particular
spaces, some of which will be revisited frequently
and become unifying threads in our exploration
of diverse topics. We will also develop a more or
less systematic family of names and labels for
the most important spaces and the elements
within them, facilitating their study as objects of
interest in their own right.
The idea of musical spaces is of course not orig-
inal to this book,3 and many readers will already
be acquainted with at least a few of the spaces
we will study, such as pitch space and pitch-​class
space. Even these conceptually simple examples
take a remarkable variety of forms. A pitch space
may be discrete (think of the pitches playable
on a piano) or continuous (pitches playable on
a trombone); it may be chromatic or diatonic or
perhaps something else. Pitch space is theoreti-
cally infinite, while the twelve-​note pitch-​class
space encountered by students of post-​tonal the-
ory is finite and modular. Some spaces comprise
concrete things (physical pitches or frequen-
cies), while others are abstract formal construc-
tions (think of a collection of symbols standing
for musical objects—​a space not of notes but
of possible names for notes). There are multidi-
mensional spaces whose elements are not single
notes but chords, or ordered collections of notes
such as twelve-​tone rows. Other spaces have as
their elements time points, durations, or other
rhythmic entities. Some spaces date back con-
ceptually to ancient Greece, some a few centu-
ries, some only a few years, and many spaces are
presented here for the first time.
Spatial map-​making is a creative act, guided
by analytical objectives, musical intuition, and
aesthetics. Sometimes more than one geometric
arrangement may be imposed on the same col-
lection of objects—​the twelve pitch classes, for
example, may be arranged in a chromatically
organized clock diagram, a circle of fifths, or a
neo-​Riemannian tonnetz—​and we may compare
the musical relationships suggested by the vari-
ous arrangements. Often two or more spaces,
though differing in genesis and content, turn
out to have similar mathematical properties,
and in the spirit of generalization that pervades
higher mathematics, we can learn about many
spaces at once by studying that shared struc-
ture. In addition to defining particular spaces,
therefore, we will also define families of spaces
sharing certain characteristics, among them
interval spaces (Lewin’s generalized interval sys-
tems), distance spaces (known to mathematicians
as metric spaces), and voice-​leading spaces (which
include the so-​called OPTIC spaces, which display
an assortment of intricate geometric and topo-
logical structures).
Spaces are the worlds in which music lives,
the warp and weft of the musical universe. A
space is not an analysis as music theorists under-
stand the term, but it can serve as a background
or pre-​background for analysis. A spatial analy-
sis may entail tracing the way a musical example
moves about within a space.4 Such an analysis is
inevitably reductive, as any given space is only a
simplified projection of a complex musical real-
ity;5 it may nevertheless be clarifying, in the
same way that a flat map of airline routes can
be informative even though planes fly in three
dimensions. Spaces can serve not only to show
how music moves but also to lay out possibilities
for how it could move, allowing us to view musi-
cal events in relation to other things that might
have happened instead; in this sense a space may
be seen as a compositional resource—​or a com-
positional constraint.6 The proliferation of avail-
able spaces facilitates a diversity of payoffs: we
may draw not just one map but many, viewing
the same musical edifice from multiple vantage
points and obtaining a prismatic, multilayered
picture.7 If a space proves inadequate to capture
a musical intuition, the inadequacy may reveal
something about the space, the music, or both,
and can motivate and inform the search for a
more suitable spatial perspective.
THIS BOOK AND HOW
TO USE IT
This book’s focus on musical spaces brings with
it a visual orientation, evident in the abundance
of figures. Other distinguishing features include
a unifying theoretical framework embracing
spaces of many different kinds; the integration
of transformation theory with geometric theory,
diatonic theory, and other techniques; the atten-
tion given to continuous spaces, in a departure
from the discrete mathematics that has more
often been used to describe musical structure;
the prominent status accorded to mod-​7 (generic)
structure on a nearly equal footing with mod-​
12, with related emphasis on formal aspects of
note spelling, the line of fifths, and enharmonic
equivalence; and the hundreds of exercises. The
book draws heavily on the work of numerous
scholars and includes expository treatment of
many concepts that have appeared elsewhere;
in addition to the sometimes copious endnotes,
each chapter concludes with a short section list-
ing suggested associated readings. But every
chapter also contains new ideas, approaches,
and examples, from which I hope that even those
already well versed in mathematical music the-
ory will benefit.
P reface • xi
 In the hope of dismantling the barriers that
have discouraged many musicians from pursuing
mathematical work, I have tried to keep math-
ematical prerequisites to a minimum, assum-
ing little more than fluency with basic algebraic
notations and manipulations. More advanced
mathematical concepts are introduced as
needed, with musical motivations kept close at
hand as much as possible. On the musical side of
the ledger, the book assumes acquaintance with
the fundamentals of tonal theory, pitch-​class set
theory, and twelve-​ tone theory.8 Schenkerian
ideas and other advanced topics make only spo-
radic and largely tangential appearances.
Watching music theorists and students grap-
ple with mathematical challenges, I have repeat-
edly been impressed with the keenness of their
intuitions about abstract mathematical concepts
and structures. But an ability to communicate
these intuitions correctly and logically, with
proper terminology and notation, is sometimes
lacking, even in published work.9 I hope that this
book may assist those who wish to develop these
skills. There is a need for formalism, and I will
neither suppress nor apologize for the relevant
mathematics, but I can at least try to help read-
ers negotiate it and feel less threatened by it.
Readers should be prepared to pay close atten-
tion to definitions (what is required for an equiv-
alence relation?), to the identities and properties
of the objects with which they are working (are
these notes pitches or pitch classes?), to niceties
of logic (if the transformations PR and T3 both
map a C-​major triad to an E♭-​major triad, can we
conclude that PR =​ T3?), and to the assumptions
underlying seemingly simple questions (are F♯
and G♭ the same note or not?).10
The simultaneous quest for readability and
mathematical rigor necessitates some com-
promises. A mathematician who picks up this
book might wish for fewer elementary explana-
tions, more proofs, and, in places, more precise
language.11 While no style of exposition can be
ideally suited for all possible readers, I hope
that the balance I have struck can provide use-
ful models for others setting out to work in the
field of mathematical music theory and to write
about it.
The interplay between language and image in
musical analysis can be rich and complex, and
diagrams often take pride of place. If the fig-
ures in this book do not entirely tell the story by
themselves, they at least shoulder a large part of
the burden. Many figures depict musical spaces
or relationships among elements within a space,
xii • P reface
while others illustrate mathematical concepts;
there are also transformation graphs, networks,
annotated scores, and other analytical illustra-
tions. Readers may benefit from scanning each
chapter’s figures before reading the chapter, and
I encourage them to think about how the figures
have been constructed, why they take the forms
they do, what the various annotations signify,
and—​as there are nearly always other options—​
how the figures might be improved.
In a nod to mathematical tradition, the exer-
cises sprinkled through the text are integral
to the fabric of the book, vital to the develop-
ment of its ideas. While I fondly imagine an
ideal reader assiduously working every exercise
in sequence, the quantity of exercises will ren-
der this unrealistic for most readers. Even so, all
are encouraged to read and think about every
exercise and to work out the details of as many
as they can. The exercises span a wide range of
difficulty levels, from the nearly trivial to the
abstract and open-​ended. Solvers may be asked
to produce their own figures, consult scores of
musical works, or make calculations of various
kinds. Some exercises involve proofs, perhaps
disguised by words such as explain rather than
prove; readers with proof-​ writing experience
should be able to produce rigorous proofs, while
others may interpret the instructions to mean
“explain to your satisfaction.” Hints for some
exercises will be found in the endnotes (suf-
ficiently inconvenient, I hope, to avoid undue
temptation). The text sometimes refers back to
previous exercises, giving away an occasional
answer in the process.
Musical examples are numerous, even though
the book as a whole is more theoretical than
analytical. Many short examples are used to
illustrate concepts and techniques more than to
offer analytical insights, though I hope to reward
readers with some of the latter along the way. A
handful of more substantial analytical mini-​
essays, numbered separately as “examples,” go
further, but readers should not expect to find
comprehensive musical analyses. Figures, exer-
cises, and numbered examples, along with the
occasional table and mathematical theorem, are
numbered in a single continuous stream within
each section, a strategy that eliminates number-
ing conflicts and should make each item easy to
find by number.
It is worth noting a few other things that
this book is not. There is no corpus-​based study
here, and no discussion of computational mod-
eling or computer simulation. Though many
mathematical techniques can trace a lineage
through several decades or centuries of scholar-
ship (and I have tried to supply citations where
appropriate), I make no claim that the meth-
ods presented here represent historicist modes
of musical thought. I generally refrain from
describing musical phenomena in perceptual or
cognitive terms, though in many cases I suspect
that readers will find that they can hear in the
music what the theory describes, if only they will
try. There is little discussion of the ontological or
epistemological status of spaces and other math-
ematical objects. Interactions of all of these ideas
with the material in this book could be pursued,
but doing so would strain both the boundaries of
my own expertise and the boundaries of what is
already a very large volume.12
Those munificent dimensions make a brief
guide to navigating the book more than ordi-
narily useful. If I were asked what I wish all
music theorists knew about mathematics, the
five chapters of Part One would be a good first
approximation to an answer. The material in
these chapters is fundamental to what follows.
Chapters 1 and 4 in particular introduce many
spaces that will reappear throughout the book,
including an assortment of pitch and pitch-​class
spaces and tonnetz spaces; a series of analytical
vignettes at the end of Chapter 4 illustrate some
ways to view musical examples through these
spatial lenses. The other three chapters in Part
One offer primers in important mathematical
techniques. Chapter 2 covers mathematical set
theory, including functions, equivalence rela-
tions, and modular arithmetic. Graph theory is
the subject of Chapter 3, and Chapter 5 intro-
duces group theory. These chapters include short
introductions to several topics explored in greater
depth later on, including neo-​Riemannian trans-
formations, first appearing in Chapter 2; trans-
formation graphs and networks in Chapter 3;
and interval spaces in Chapter 5, culminating in
Lewin’s insight about the relationship between
intervallic and transformational thinking.
I hope that these opening chapters and the
exercises within them will provide valuable
practice in thinking mathematically. There are
occasional pointers about logical reasoning, the
organization of proofs, and the precise use of
terminology. Some readers will come to the book
well acquainted with much of what these chap-
ters have to offer; I encourage them to scan the
chapters to acquaint themselves with the musical
spaces and notational conventions. Distinctive
features to which attention may be called include
generic spaces and the generic/​diatonic distinc-
tion, the line of fifths, and the concept of spelled
pitch classes, all introduced in Chapter 1; the dis-
cussion of the orthography problem for compo-
sition of functions in Section 2.3 (whose upshot
is that chronological, left-​to-​right orthography
is preferred throughout the book); the functions
on modular spaces newly defined in Section 2.6;
and the distinction between finite and infinite
tonnetz graphs in Section 3.3.
Readers may choose to read the remainder of
the book more selectively, and they have a vari-
ety of options for doing so, as the choice of chap-
ters from the successively shorter Parts Two,
Three, and Four may be shaped by the reader’s
interests. Part Two further develops group-​theo-
retic, transformational, and intervallic concepts.
In Part Three the mathematics takes a topologi-
cal and geometric turn with the construction of
multidimensional voice-​ leading spaces, while
the focus in Part Four is on scales.
Those who proceed straight ahead from Part
One into Part Two will find that the level of
abstraction bumps up a notch in parts of Chapter
6, and perhaps another notch in Chapter 7. The
group theory in Chapter 6 is more advanced
than that in Chapter 5, and some of the densest
reading in the book is in Chapter 7, which probes
deeply into the theory of interval spaces (though
some of the complexity is notational more than
conceptual). Readers are exhorted not to be dis-
couraged, as they will find themselves on gentler
terrain with Chapter 8’s triadic transformations
and neo-​Riemannian theory, and also in Chapter
9, which combines a more detailed look at trans-
formation graphs and networks with topics
in the theory of serial transformations. These
chapters may, I believe, be read out of sequence.
Chapters 8 and 9 include references to mate-
rial from Chapters 6 and 7 on which they logi-
cally depend—​for example, the group-​theoretic
duality in Section 7.5 finds applications in both
triadic and serial contexts—​ but readers who
choose to skip Chapters 6 and 7 may still read
Chapters 8 and 9 profitably, referring back to the
skipped chapters only as needed.
The shadow of Lewin hangs large over parts
of Chapters 7 and 9, as it does over the end of
Chapter 5, but the spatial orientation gives
Lewinian concepts a different flavor and (I hope)
makes them more approachable, and many
of Lewin’s observations are developed in new
ways, sometimes with simpler proofs. The neo-​
Riemannian portion of Chapter 8 owes much
to Richard Cohn. These chapters also include
P reface • xiii
reworked treatment of material I have published
previously on cross-​type transformations, map-
pings of interval spaces, uniform triadic trans-
formations, and the path consistency property
of transformation graphs, as well as some new
perspectives on serial theory.
While many musical intuitions may be effec-
tively modeled using transformations, many
others cannot. The geometric spaces constructed
in Part Three offer many examples of the latter
kind. Though their compatibility with transfor-
mational methods is limited, these spaces are
general enough to accommodate a wide range
of musical phenomena, notably those related
to voice leading. Part Three depends on Part
Two only in a minimal way (most importantly
on some of the group theory from Chapter 6),
and readers eager for geometry may skip directly
from Part One to Part Three if they wish. The
three chapters of Part Three should, however, be
read in order. Whether readers find Part Three
easier or harder than Part Two may depend on
whether they are more at home with geometry
or algebra.
These voice-​ leading spaces are the OPTIC
spaces, first described by Callender, Quinn, and
Tymoczko. One way to describe their role is to
say that they add a geometric component to the
study of pitch-​class sets. They are topological
spaces of a kind called orbifolds, with sometimes
counterintuitive, even exotic, features (one
example is a Möbius strip). Chapter 10 provides
motivation for these spaces, a careful formula-
tion of the OPTIC equivalence relations from
which they are derived, and, in Section 10.4, a
general system of normal forms for elements
of OPTIC spaces, new in this book. Chapter 11
works in detail through the construction of the
most important OPTIC spaces in as many as four
dimensions, so it should come as no surprise
that some of these spaces can be challenging to
visualize. Chapter 12’s distance functions offer
a sort of geometric rejoinder to Lewinian inter-
val functions suitable for the more general set-
ting of the OPTIC spaces, many of which do not
admit interval structures. Many examples and
some challenging exercises in Chapters 11 and
12 delve into structural details of OPTIC spaces
at a level of granularity not found elsewhere.
Several of the fundamental concepts from
diatonic theory and scale theory in Part Four,
including the genus-​ species distinction, the
principle “cardinality equals variety,” and maxi-
mal evenness, stem from the work of John
Clough and his collaborators beginning in the
xiv • P reface
late 1970s, thus predating much of the mate-
rial in Parts Two and Three. Readers who have
worked through the thorniest portions of
Chapters 7, 11, and 12 will undoubtedly find the
going in Part Four comfortably easier, and those
with an interest in scales may be able to negoti-
ate Part Four without having read much of Parts
Two and Three at all. These chapters are placed at
the end of the book because of their many points
of contact with both the transformational and
the geometric realms. To reap maximum benefit
from this material, therefore, readers who have
arrived here via shortcut may find themselves
making occasional detours into the chapters they
have passed over. Among several new features in
Chapter 13, my prior work on signature trans-
formations is thoroughly reimagined; a new con-
cept of enharmonic coordinates is introduced;
genus and species are defined using OPTIC
relations; and signature transformations are
employed in a new and general formulation and
proof of “cardinality equals variety.” In Chapter
14, spelled heptachords offer alternative lenses
through which to view some chromatic har-
mony, and the final section is a highly selective
exploration of some microtonal structures.
—​—​—​
Few people would deny that music can be beautiful,
but many might be surprised by the notion that
mathematics can be beautiful. I hope that readers
of this book will come to share the realization that
a powerful, complex, multifaceted mathematical
apparatus assembled as a means of understanding
musical structure can be not only a tool but also
a thing of beauty in itself. The non-​planarity of
the finite tonnetz (Section 3.3), symmetries codi-
fied by group structure (Section 6.5), the fantastic
topology of orbifolds (Chapter 11), the startling
elegance of “cardinality equals variety” (Section
13.4)—​these are abstract mathematical notions,
and they can captivate our brains and tickle our
senses every bit as much as any music that we may
use them to study.
Walt Whitman, in “When I Heard the Learn’d
Astronomer,” describes being left “tired and
sick” by the figures, charts, and calculations
in an astronomy lecture, whereupon he went
outside and “look’d up in perfect silence at the
stars.” Reading this poem, I cannot escape the
sense that it is not the lecturer who has missed
the point, as Whitman suggests, but Whitman
himself. To the astronomer, an understanding of
celestial mechanics, spectroscopy, or the physics
of star formation does not make the night sky 8. Of the many available texts in tonal theory, Laitz
any less beautiful; it makes it more beautiful. In 2016 is admired for its comprehensiveness and high
the same way, my fondest hope is that readers intellectual standards, Burstein and Straus 2020 for
of this book will come to recognize that a math- its concision. Both of those texts include condensed
ematical conception of the musical universe can introductions to pitch-​class set theory and twelve-​
only enrich their musical experience. tone theory as well; for a more detailed presentation
of these subjects see Straus 2016.
NOTES 9. Complaints about lax mathematical standards in
musical writing are not new; see, for instance, Regener
1. Incomprehension can verge on hostility. After 1974, which criticizes imprecision and logical omis-
Lewin’s first publication (Lewin 1959), a letter to sions in Forte 1973.
the editor of the Journal of Music Theory (Swift 1960) 10. The answer to the penultimate question is no:
accused Lewin of trying to intimidate readers with PR and T3 are different transformations. (See Section
methods akin to “killing a gnat with a pile-​driver.” 2.3.) This book’s answer to the last question is that
Decades later, a less caustic letter in the same journal there are some musical spaces in which F♯ and G♭ are
(Kaarela 1992), probably provoked in large part by the same note, and other spaces in which they are not.
Clough and Douthett 1991, lamented that the journal (Compare Figures 1.2.3 and 1.3.3.)
was “turning … into a Journal of Mathematics which, 11. A surprising number of terms have well-​estab-
really, is of little long term significance.” lished but conflicting meanings in music theory and
2. Schenkerian theory, in contrast, may be likened in mathematics, among them set, function, graph,
to a more specialized toolbox with somewhat more group, sequence, series, transposition, inversion, line,
explicit instructions. Buchler (2016, 41), invoking ter- composition, analysis, continuous, harmonic (and har-
minology from Lerdahl and Jackendoff 1983, remarks monic series), and metric (and metric space). The name
that transformational music theory offers well-​ Riemann could claim a place in this list, the math-
formedness rules but no preference rules. For related ematician Bernhard Riemann (1826–​66) and musi-
commentary see Hook 2007b, 165–​68. cologist Hugo Riemann (1849–​1919) both ranking
3. Alluding to the voice-​leading spaces studied in Part high among their fields’ eminent figures. In present-
Three of this book, Straus (2011, 46) observes that music ing mathematical concepts, I have generally followed
theory has entered “what might be called a new space age.” accepted mathematical usage, with exceptions in cases
4. Compare Westergaard 1996, 9: “What’s depicted where the risk of confusion seems high (for instance,
here is not music, but rather the space within which I avoid the group-​theoretic sense of transposition and
music moves.” the standard mathematical term metric space because
5. In a similar vein, Roeder (2009, par. 12.2) concedes of possible confusion with musical transposition and
that “transformational analyses are at best imperfect musical meter). I orient pitch-​class circles clockwise
and incomplete signifiers of musical experience.” from the top as music theorists do, rather than coun-
6. The idea of spaces as compositional resources terclockwise from the positive x axis as mathemati-
figures prominently in the work of Robert Morris cians prefer. Topological concepts are sometimes
(e.g., Morris 1987 and 1995) and occasionally in the approached with less rigor than algebraic ones; in par-
writings of Lewin and Tymoczko, among others. ticular, mathematicians may recoil at the discussion of
7. The word prismatic is borrowed from Rings 2011b, “continuous spaces,” a squishy term for which I do not
37–​38: “If any given passage of music admits of an supply a precise definition.
indeterminate number of … apperceptions, it of course 12. Some important topics in mathematical music
becomes impossible to execute anything approaching a theory are absent from this book. I particularly regret
complete analysis of a given work. Instead, the [trans- the omission of musical applications of the discrete
formational] apparatus encourages one to adopt an ana- Fourier transform, cryptically described long ago in
lytical technique that we might call prismatic, in which Lewin 1959, rediscovered by Ian Quinn (2006 and
phenomenologically rich local passages are refracted and 2007), and developed further by Emmanuel Amiot,
explored from multiple perspectives.” Jason Yust, and others.

P reface • xv
 Acknowledgments
Writing a book can feel like the most solitary
of pursuits, never more palpably than in the
coronavirus-​ shadowed world in which I find
myself setting down these words. But no book is
the product of a single mind—​certainly not this
one, which has drawn ideas and inspiration from
countless other people.
Of the scholars who have influenced my work
the most, special mention must be made of a few
whose ideas permeate the book in ways that go
beyond their many citations here. Two of them
left us too soon: I never had the opportunity to
know David Lewin, but I am fortunate to have
had a few years in which to share ideas with John
Clough, whose enthusiasm for my first music-​
theoretical work provided a much-​needed infu-
sion of confidence. Around the same time, I was
finding Richard Cohn’s then-​ new ideas about
neo-​Riemannian transformations, the tonnetz,
and parsimonious voice leading hugely stimulat-
ing—​a description that applies as well to Rick’s
more recent work on diverse topics. Then there
is Dmitri Tymoczko, an inexhaustible fount of
insights, some of the most powerful and provoc-
ative in our field. I am unable to imagine what
this book could have been, or if it could have been
anything at all, had not so much fertile ground
been broken by trailblazers such as these.
By great fortune, the first two editors of
Oxford University Press’s Studies in Music
Theory series have been important scholars in
areas that intersect with topics in this book. Rick
Cohn, wearing his editorial hat, supplied gentle
prodding as the book started to take shape, and
his successor Steven Rings has been generous
with encouragement and forbearance as my work
has progressed at its sometimes laggardly pace
and outstripped its originally projected size.
I have taught topics related to this book
in classes and seminars dating back almost
two decades, first at Penn State University but
mostly at Indiana University, as well as in a grad-
uate student workshop at the Society for Music
Theory’s annual conference in 2011. Students
in recent iterations of my classes have read par-
tial drafts of the book and offered many helpful
suggestions. I have benefited from discussions
and exchanges of ideas with numerous other
people as well—​established scholars, students,
students who are now established scholars—​
learning new things (and new music) from all of
them. All of this makes for a long list of deserv-
ing thankees and a strong likelihood that I will
overlook someone unjustly. I am particularly
grateful to Jack Douthett, Nathan Lam, Robert
Peck, and Joseph Straus for many stimulating
conversations and other encouragement, and to
Catherine Losada and her seminar students at
the University of Cincinnati for their comments
on portions of the manuscript. For other con-
tributions large and small, I thank Sara Bakker,
Breighan Brown Boeskool, Clifton Callender,
David Clampitt, Thomas Fiore, Kyle Fyr, Rachel
Hall, Daniel Harrison, Michael McClimon,
Brian Moseley, Jinny Park, Ian Quinn, Ramon
Satyendra, Paul Sherrill, Charles Smith, Nathan
Smith, James Sullivan, Ryan Taycher, Jason
Yust, and Marek Žabka.
My debts to Leah Frederick surpass anything
I could express by including her name in a list.
Leah’s expertise in both the musical and math-
ematical realms makes her an astute reader and
critic of this book, and the alacrity with which
she has devoured each new chapter, some in
multiple drafts, working exercises and supply-
ing spot-​on comments (and more than a few
xviii • A cknowledgments
corrections), has re-​ energized me more than
once when progress was flagging. I have learned
that on the rare occasion when Leah finds some-
thing difficult, it means I need to be clearer.
Indiana University, my scholarly and musical
home for a large fraction of my life, is also home
to many treasured colleagues, teachers, and role
models. I am grateful to Gwyn Richards, long-
time dean of the Jacobs School of Music, and
to all my current and former colleagues in the
department of music theory for the congenial
and intellectually invigorating environment they
have unfailingly provided. Interactions with Kyle
Adams, Robert Hatten, Gretchen Horlacher, Eric
Isaacson, Roman Ivanovitch, Blair Johnston,
Marianne Kielian-​ Gilbert, Andy Mead, Gary
Potter, Frank Samarotto, and Daphne Tan
have shaped my own musical thought and this
book, and I cherish Mary Wennerstrom’s many
years of uniquely cheerful support and men-
torship. I have worked on the book during por-
tions of two IU sabbaticals, the first of which
was also supported by a Sabbatical Fellowship
from the American Philosophical Society; an IU
Presidential Arts and Humanities Production
Grant has helped to defray publication costs. A
final word of appreciation goes to Mary Hrovat,
whose abiding friendship has made this compli-
cated game of solitaire a little less solitary. Now,
Mary, finish that novel.
 PART ONE
Foundations of Mathematical
Music Theory
Spaces, Sets, Graphs, and Groups
 1
Spaces I
Pitch and Pitch-​Class Spaces
TO SOMEONE who has never considered the
question, there may be no obvious reason why
music’s underlying structures should be repre-
sented graphically or geometrically. Music is an
auditory phenomenon, consisting of vibrations
transmitted through the air as sound waves,
received by our ears and processed by our brains
as acoustic data. Visual aspects of music—​the
arrangement of notes on the page or musicians
on the stage, the gyrations of the conductor, the
shine of the piano—​are seemingly of secondary
importance in our appreciation and understand-
ing of a musical work.
Most human beings, however, are visually ori-
ented. More of our cerebral cortex is devoted to
vision than to all other senses combined. Visual
and spatial metaphors pervade our language. We
rely on our eyes more than our ears or any other
sense organs in finding our way around, iden-
tifying other people and objects, detecting pat-
terns, and learning new information. Because
of this dependence on what we see, most people
find abstract concepts easier to grasp if they can
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0001
somehow be visualized: if some sort of diagram-
matic representation can be devised showing,
if only metaphorically, the important elements
of the conceptual framework and their relation-
ships with each other. Even if these elements
exist in sound and time rather than in light and
space, such a representation—​a cross-​domain
mapping between the domain of musical events
and the physical space in which the representa-
tion is constructed—​may help us get our bear-
ings and interpret what we hear.1
One example of such a visual representation
is familiar to every musician: the musical score
itself. Centuries of evolution in music notation
have fashioned a system remarkable for its preci-
sion and efficiency—​attributes shared by many
of the other varieties of graphic representa-
tions that we will encounter in this book (many
of them conceptually much simpler than many
scores). The score remains only a representa-
tion—​few would argue that a score is the piece
of music it represents—​but it is so essential a
representation that no musician in the Western
classical tradition, in possession of no matter
how proficient a musical ear, would think of
learning a new piece without a score.
Loosely speaking, a score is a sort of graph,
one whose vertical axis depicts pitch and whose
horizontal axis depicts time. As such, it is a
two-​dimensional representation, in which the
dimensions depict two different domains, or
spaces. The structures of both the pitch and
time domains are more complex than they may
appear from this simple description.2 The pitch
domain will receive the lion’s share of the atten-
tion throughout this book, and this opening
chapter will survey a number of manifestations
of pitch space. What we mean by space will be
clarified by the numerous examples here and
in succeeding chapters, but we may understand
the term loosely to mean a collection of musically
meaningful entities in some visual or geometric
arrangement. The preliminary discussion here
will provide informal introductions to a num-
ber of important concepts, and the elementary
examples of musical spaces presented in this
chapter will be central to all that follows.
The discussion here is less mathematically
rigorous than that in later chapters, and some of
the exercises may be answered in a rather loose
and informal way. Readers are encouraged to pay
particular attention to several important dis-
tinctions that differentiate some of the spaces
and other concepts presented here. For example,
we distinguish between discrete and continu-
ous spaces; between chromatic and diatonic or
generic spaces (and we also make a distinction
between diatonic and generic); between finite
and infinite spaces; between spaces in different
numbers of dimensions; in some cases, between
conformed and unconformed spaces; and between
FIGURE 1.1.1 Pitch space, either discrete (pitch) or continuous (cpitch)
4 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
spaces’ geometric properties and their topological
properties.
1.1 PITCH SPACES
A particularly simple representation of pitch
space takes the form of a one-​dimensional con-
tinuum in which musical pitches are identified
with points on the real number line, resulting
in something like an abstract sort of keyboard.
Figure 1.1.1 depicts several octaves of this space,
and the inset shows greater detail in the octave
from C4 (middle C) to C5. The figure also shows
pitch numbers that we shall use occasionally, mea-
sured in semitones above or below middle C.3 We
can easily enough conceive of pitches higher or
lower than any that we can physically hear; for
theoretical purposes it is convenient to assume
that pitch space, like the number line, extends
infinitely in both directions (suggested by the
way the line tails off in an ellipsis at each end
of the figure), even if only a finite portion of it
can be drawn or is musically useful.4 The names
pitch and cpitch shown in Figure 1.1.1 will be
explained below.
Diagrams recognizably similar to Figure 1.1.1
have been in use at least since the time of ancient
Greece, and these representations have taken on
many variations. Before examining some of the
more substantive variants, let us briefly consider
the simple ones described here (readers may con-
struct the diagrams themselves if so inclined):
(a) like Figure 1.1.1, but with the note names
printed in a different typeface
(b) like Figure 1.1.1, but drawn on a larger
sheet of paper at a larger scale, so that notes an
octave apart are separated by six inches
 (c) like Figure 1.1.1, but showing pitches
from C3 to C7 rather than from C2 to C6
(d) like Figure 1.1.1, but in mirror image,
with high notes to the left and low notes to
the right
(e) like Figure 1.1.1, but oriented vertically,
with high notes at the top and low notes at
the bottom
(f) like (e) but with high notes at the bottom
and low notes at the top
(g) like Figure 1.1.1, but with the black keys
labeled D♭4, E♭4, … rather than C♯4, D♯4, …
Readers will probably agree readily that vari-
ants (a) and (b) are trivial; the diagram remains
“the same” in all meaningful respects when the
font or the graphic scale is changed. The altera-
tion in (c) shifts the window that the figure
provides into the space, but this change too is
inconsequential as far as the structure of the
space is concerned: high or low notes not physi-
cally shown in a particular rendering are concep-
tually still present in all the diagrams.
Whether versions (d), (e), and (f) should be
considered “the same” as the original may be less
clear. On the one hand, these alternatives are
all merely reflections or rotations of the origi-
nal picture, as if the same structure were being
viewed from different angles; they all depict the
same underlying pitch space (the same pitches
are included in all of them) and convey funda-
mentally identical information about that space
(the order relations among the pitches are the
same). On the other hand, these transforma-
tions alter our perception of the space in ways
that might be considered significant. The like-
ness of the space to a keyboard is sacrificed in
the vertical representations (e) and (f), and
musicians may find the orientations of (d), with
high notes at the left, and (f), with high notes at
the bottom, counterintuitive. These perceptions
are based on learned conventions that are not
intrinsic to the structure of the space: there is
no musical reason why C5 must lie to the right
of C4 rather than above, below, or to the left of
it. But learned conventions can be powerful, to
the point that an arrangement such as (d) may
be genuinely confusing in some situations, and
one might reasonably choose to avoid using it on
that basis.
FIGURE 1.1.2 A string-​length–​based representation of pitch space
Variant (g) differs from the others in that it
involves changing the labels by which some ele-
ments of the space are identified. While there
may at times be good reasons to distinguish C♯
from D♭, in the most familiar interpretation of
pitch space these are two different names for
the same note, so on this basis we may say that
(g) continues to represent the same space as the
original figure. In Figure 1.1.1 the sharp names
have arbitrarily been chosen for all the black
keys, but other conventions are equally viable. A
labeling of a space may be regarded as a mapping
between the elements of the space and a collec-
tion of possible labels; to say that a labeling need
not be unique is to say that this mapping need
not be a one-​to-​one correspondence (a term to
be defined precisely in Section 2.3).
Our formalization of musical spaces will
ultimately consider that all of the above vari-
ants indeed represent the same space. Several
important points emerge from this discussion.
First, a graphical transformation of a space does
not necessarily alter the space in any structural
way, or in any way that matters to us at the
moment. But second, even if two representa-
tions convey identical intrinsic information
about a space, there may be legitimate visual,
perceptual, conventional, or other extrinsic rea-
sons for preferring one to the other. This second
point illustrates a third, broader principle that
will be invoked frequently throughout this book:
we should not allow our work to be constrained
by the limitations of a particular space. While we
may be working primarily within the confines of
a space whose structure is narrowly defined, we
are always free to step out of the system momen-
tarily, basing musical, analytical, graphical, or
pedagogical decisions on considerations exter-
nal to that space.
Now consider Figures 1.1.2 and 1.1.3. In
these diagrams the pitches in the underlying
space remain the same as before, but the geom-
etry has been altered in fundamental ways.
In Figure 1.1.2 the lower register has been
stretched and the upper register compressed,
so that for example the C2–​C3 octave appears
much larger than the C5–​C6 octave. In 1.1.3, the
reverse is the case, the higher octaves now being
stretched. At first blush these diagrams may
appear oddly contrived, but there are cogent
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 5
FIGURE 1.1.3 A frequency-​based representation of pitch space
reasons for conceiving of pitch space in either of
these ways. Each note in Figure 1.1.2 is plotted
at a point marking the length of a vibrating string
that will produce the given pitch. The small open
circle at the right end of the line, to which the
highest pitches converge, is not a point of the
space as it does not represent an actual pitch,
nor do any points of the space lie to its right.
This point corresponds to the theoretical loca-
tion of the string’s bridge; the greater the dis-
tance from the bridge, the lower the note.5 In
1.1.3, meanwhile, each note is plotted in pro-
portion to its frequency, measured now from the
open circle at the left side of the figure, which
corresponds to a frequency of zero and again
does not represent a pitch at all. A reciprocal
relationship between the two representations is
visually evident in the dense clustering of notes
toward the right side of one figure and the left
side of the other.
Figures 1.1.1–​ 1.1.3 may be described as
three maps of the same space, but the differ-
ences among them are significant. It might be
said that Figure 1.1.1 is a pianist’s view of pitch
space, 1.1.2 a violinist’s, and 1.1.3 an acousti-
cian’s. Although all three spaces comprise the
same musical notes, each figure suggests its
own interpretation of distances between notes.
If we wish to consider semitones in all registers
to be the same size, as they appear (approxi-
mately) on a piano keyboard, then Figure 1.1.1
is an appropriate picture. If we want semitones
to get smaller as the register ascends, as they
do under the fingers of a string player, we may
choose 1.1.2; or if we want them to get larger,
as frequency values imply, we may choose 1.1.3.
Distance and interval measurements will be dis-
cussed in a general setting beginning in Chapter
5, where we will define structures called interval
spaces that contain information not only about
membership in a space but also about intervals
between members. It will become apparent then
that the spaces depicted in Figures 1.1.1–​1.1.3,
though identical as abstract spaces (sets), are dif-
ferent as interval spaces.
Exercise 1.1.4 What note falls midway
between C4 and C5 in Figure 1.1.1? In 1.1.2?
In  
1.1.3?
6 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
The discussion above illustrates the difference
between two branches of mathematics, geom-
etry and topology. The topological properties of
a space are those that are preserved even if the
space is stretched, compressed, bent, twisted, or
deformed in various ways (but without tearing
it, punching holes, or pasting together parts that
were not originally connected). Because Figures
1.1.1–​1.1.3 can be transformed into each other
by such deformations, the spaces are topologi-
cally identical; topologically, they are all simply
lines.6 From the linear topology we may deduce
something about the adjacency or ordering of the
elements of the spaces, but not about distances
between those elements—​and it is the different
ways of measuring distances and intervals that
distinguish our three spaces. Measurements
that change when spaces are deformed are geo-
metric, not topological, properties.
Even as interval spaces, however, the three
figures are in some sense not very different.
There are straightforward procedures for con-
verting (or “mapping”) interval measurements
from one figure into another, and any one of
the figures contains in itself enough informa-
tion to reconstruct the others, including inter-
val structure. This situation may be summarized
by saying that the three interval spaces, while
not identical, are isomorphic. We will encounter
several different manifestations of the concept
of isomorphism in this book; isomorphism of
interval spaces will be made precise in Chapter 7.
The representation in which all octaves are
the same apparent size corresponds most closely
with the way the pitch dimension is usually
conceived in music theory, and of our three pre-
liminary depictions of pitch space, Figure 1.1.1
is the one that we will most often invoke. At
least two important questions about this space
have been left unaddressed to this point, how-
ever, and both have broad implications. First, is
the space of Figure 1.1.1 discrete or continuous?
That is, does the figure represent nothing more
than a chromatic scale, in which, as on the piano
keyboard, the next note after C is C♯ and there
is nothing in between? In that case (the discrete
interpretation), the line drawn in Figure 1.1.1 is
a fiction, a graphic convention to hold the figure
together visually; the only real elements of the
space are the dots. Alternatively (the continuous
interpretation), we may imagine that the line
segment between C and C♯ is infinitely divisible,
packed full of intermediate pitches. To a pianist
these intermediate pitches are unplayable, and
there is no standard way of naming or notating
them, but they are acoustically real, may be iden-
tified numerically, and are physically available to
a violinist, trombonist, or singer.
Our answer to this first question is “both.”
That is, Figure 1.1.1 represents two distinct
spaces, discrete (or chromatic) pitch space and
continuous pitch space. The discrete space is a
subset (or subspace) of the continuous, and the
two are plainly not isomorphic to each other.
Likewise, Figures 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 each exist in
both discrete and continuous versions, and the
same can be said of many other spaces to be
studied in this and the following chapters. Music
theorists usually work in discrete spaces, dis-
regarding the notes in the cracks. Continuous
spaces will be of frequent interest in this book,
however, and we will encounter situations in
which a proper understanding of a discrete space
depends upon an awareness of a continuous
space of which it is a part.7
In this book we will be referring to many dif-
ferent spaces regularly, including both versions
of Figure 1.1.1, so it is convenient to give them
identifying labels: we refer to discrete chromatic
space as pitch and continuous pitch space as
cpitch. In general we employ small capitals in
labeling spaces; the initial c signals a continuous
space. Spaces pictured in figures will regularly be
identified via legends like the one in Figure 1.1.1,
with the space labels boxed. Not every space
mentioned in the book will be given such a label,
but important spaces to which we will often
return will be labeled; Appendix 1 lists many of
these spaces for reference.
The second unresolved question involves the
tuning of the pitches in pitch space (particularly
the discrete version). This question is more tech-
nical than the first and will not be a primary con-
cern of this book, but because of its fundamental
nature it deserves to be considered briefly at this
point and occasionally hereafter. Moreover, the
tactic by which we answer this question reveals
some important points about the nature of pitch
space and our conception of it. The equal spacing
of the notes in Figure 1.1.1, to the extent that it
may be judged in a graphic portrayal of limited
resolution, perhaps suggests that all the semi-
tones are of the same acoustical size, and there-
fore that equal temperament is presumed. Also,
enharmonic equivalence is apparently implicit in
the diagram, as the labeling of the black keys uses
only note names with sharps, evidently standing
in for the enharmonically equivalent flats.
Equal temperament and enharmonic equiva-
lence are usual assumptions in pitch-​class set
theory and some other related approaches to
musical structure. One way to answer our tun-
ing question would be to assume equal tempera-
ment for the most part, and postulate a further
multiplicity of spaces if needed to accommodate
other tunings. Figure 1.1.1 could be taken first
to represent an equal-​tempered pitch space; then
the same diagram, with some barely perceptible
adjustments in the positions of the notes, could
represent a just-​intonation pitch space, and so
on through various other tunings (theoretically
in great numbers, because the non-​equal tunings
are different for every key). This proposed solu-
tion is less than satisfactory, partly because of
the unwieldy proliferation of spaces, but more
particularly because it seems to force us to dis-
tinguish among spaces whose differences are of
no importance in most of our work: most music
theory, after all, is carried out with no refer-
ence to tuning. We therefore adopt a different
strategy.
A discrete pitch space, as we understand it
here, does not imply a particular tuning; rather, a
given space may be tuned in a variety of different
ways. To make such an interpretation possible,
we regard the space of Figure 1.1.1 in a formal,
syntactic way, and we consider that the elements
of this space are not physically real pitches (the
name of the space notwithstanding) but abstract
entities representing pitches. We may then study
formal relationships among these entities (their
syntax) without regard to the question of how
the pitches are tuned. In principle, they may be
tuned in any way at all, subject to certain mini-
mal constraints inferred from the diagram; the
different tunings possible for a particular note
are categorically equivalent as far as the struc-
ture of pitch space is concerned.8 In the discrete
pitch space pitch of Figure 1.1.1, the “abstract
entities”—​the elements of the space—​are the
note names …, B3, C4, C♯4, D4, …, and the “mini-
mal constraints inferred from the diagram”—​
the fundamental properties of the structure of
the space—​amount simply to the assertion that
the notes are arranged in the illustrated order.
Though the diagram may suggest something
about the relative sizes of acoustic intervals,
that information is external to the structure of
the space, comparable in that regard to the size
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 7
or orientation of the figure as discussed above.
In particular, notes appearing equally spaced in
the diagram need not actually be equally spaced
in any physical sense. (We continue to refer to
the space of Figure 1.1.1 as pitch space in defer-
ence to tradition, but an alternate locution such
as note-​name space might be technically more
accurate in view of this syntactic interpretation.)
Construing spaces in this way gives us the
freedom to disregard matters of tuning most of
the time, leaving open the possibility that (for
instance) a perfect fifth may be a pure 3:2 inter-
val in one application but equal-​tempered in
another, or that the notes of a discrete space may
be tuned differently from the similarly named
notes in a continuous space. This understand-
ing will also enable us to respect enharmonic
distinctions on occasion: beginning with Figure
1.1.11 below, we will construct spaces in which
F♯ and G♭ are two different elements that may or
may not represent the same acoustical pitch—​a
distinction that becomes ever more significant
when we study relationships between diatonic
and chromatic spaces in Part Four of this book.
If for some reason we wish to specify a partic-
ular tuning, this may be accomplished with the
aid of the frequency space shown in Figure 1.1.5.
Frequency space, denoted freq, is a continuous
space whose elements are physical sound fre-
quencies rather than abstract formal entities. A
tuning may then be defined not as a space but as
a mapping from the syntactic space pitch to the
physical space freq, a mapping that assigns a
physical frequency to every note of the syntactic
space. Equal temperament at A4 =​440 Hz gen-
erates one such mapping; the images under this
mapping of the notes from the scale of Figure
1.1.1 are shown beneath Figure 1.1.5, where
they form a discrete subspace of frequency space
that not surprisingly looks just like Figure 1.1.3.
A different tuning would give rise to a different
subspace of frequency space; that is, one syntac-
tic space may have multiple realizations in the
physical space.
For reasons that are probably suggested by
the above discussion, the majority of our work in
FIGURE 1.1.5 Frequency space freq
8 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
this book will be in the realm of formal/​syntac-
tic spaces rather than that of physical/​acoustic
spaces. We will make implicit assumptions about
tuning when necessary, and when dealing with
continuous spaces, we generally assume that the
notes are associated with specific frequencies,
the integer-​valued points being equal-​tempered.
But the approach just described allows us to con-
sider other possibilities for discrete spaces. We
will refer explicitly to acoustic spaces on occa-
sion, and we will revisit the tuning-​as-​mapping
idea in Exercises 2.3.24–​2.3.26.
Regarding pitch space as a formal rather
than physical construct pays further dividends
when spaces like the generic pitch space gpitch
of Figure 1.1.6 are considered. Formally, the ele-
ments of gpitch are the note names …, A3, B3,
C4, D4, E4, …, each consisting of a letter name and
a register designation (hence the alternate name
registral letter space). The space is generic—​the
term is borrowed from the scale theory litera-
ture—​in the sense that these note names do not
include sharp or flat symbols; each octave of this
space contains only seven notes, not twelve.9 In
our space labels, generic spaces will regularly be
signaled by the initial g.
Having noted the evident likeness between
Figure 1.1.6 and the C-​major scale, the reader
may wonder why the space is called generic rather
than diatonic. A diatonic scale, of course, includes
sharps or flats appropriate to its key (which may
mean none at all if the key is C major). The point
of a generic space, in contrast, is that the pres-
ence or absence of sharps or flats is left unspeci-
fied. The elements of a generic space may be
called unsigned letter names—​the seven formal
letter names without regard to accidentals. An
unsigned letter does not automatically imply a
natural, but is taken to be an object of a categori-
cally different kind, one that may be regarded
as standing in for any note named by the cor-
responding letter, with or without an accidental
attached.
By choosing to read every unsigned B as B♭, for
example, we may interpret generic pitch space in
the context of a standard one-​flat key signature,
FIGURE 1.1.6 Generic pitch space gpitch (registral letter space)
FIGURE 1.1.7 Two diatonic pitch spaces
just as in ordinary musical notation a B on a staff
represents B♭ if the key signature demands it; in
this interpretation the notes of the space form
not a C-​major scale but an F-​major scale. Or we
may choose simultaneously to read every B as B♭
and every C as C♯, resulting in a scale recogniz-
able as D harmonic minor—​not strictly a diatonic
scale at all. Other interpretations would lead to
structures even farther removed from diatonic
scales, for which there are no common names,
even including the possibility that notes with the
same name in different octaves may bear different
accidentals.10 Intervals such as G♮–​B♮, G♮–​B♭, G♯–​B♭,
and G♭–​B♯, while of four different sizes in the chro-
matic world, all reduce to the generic third G–​B;
we may say that they are generically equivalent.11
(It would not make sense to call them “diatoni-
cally equivalent”; the last two do not occur in any
diatonic collection at all.) In short, generic space
admits many interpretations; while it may rep-
resent a diatonic scale, it does not represent one
fixed diatonic scale, and it may also represent
pitch collections that are not diatonic at all. In
this way, generic pitch space may be regarded as
a sort of background system, conceptually prior
to the definition of specific accidentals (as well as
tonal centers and other details), allowing various
diatonic scales and other scales with seven notes
per octave to be considered as realizations of the
same abstract space.
More concretely, we may consider each dia-
tonic scale as its own diatonic pitch space; two
examples are shown in Figure 1.1.7. The note
names that serve as the elements of these
concrete spaces are now signed: they include the
sharp and flat symbols required to distinguish
the various scales. The one-​flat space of 1.1.7a
thus includes the note B♭ in every octave. While it
is tempting to identify this space as “the F-​major
scale,” it should be remembered that even a dia-
tonic space contains no information distinguish-
ing one note as a tonic, so the more neutral term
“one-​flat diatonic pitch space” is preferable as a
description of the space.12 We identify diatonic
pitch spaces by the name dpitch (d for diatonic)
together with an index number corresponding
to the number of sharps or flats in the diatonic
scale, counting sharps as positive and flats as
negative; the two spaces in Figure 1.1.7 are thus
dpitch(−1) and dpitch(+​4). This definition does
not account for enharmonic equivalence: the six-​
sharp and six-​flat diatonic collections dpitch(+​6)
and dpitch(−6) are two different spaces, and
more extreme spaces such as dpitch(+​8) or
dpitch(−15) are theoretically possible.
The generic space gpitch, and the distinction
between generic and diatonic spaces, may seem
abstract. Conceptually, however, this distinc-
tion underlies some of the most familiar topics
in music theory. Generic space accommodates
our understanding that the notes G♮, G♯, and G♭
are all some flavor of “G,” and whenever we refer
to interval sizes or chord types such as “third,”
“ninth,” “triad,” or “seventh chord,” we are implic-
itly gauging pitch relationships in a generic space.
On a treble-​clef staff, we recognize that the inter-
val from middle C to any top-​space E is always
a tenth, regardless of accidentals that may be
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 9
appended to either note; this is a generic interval
measurement. Figure 1.1.8 distinguishes this way
of conceiving intervals in gpitch from the inter-
val reckoning in two other spaces. Identification
of the interval from C to E♭ as a “minor tenth” is
not possible in gpitch, but requires reference to
the chromatic space pitch.13 If a musical context
of A♭ major is suggested, then we may refer to the
interval from C to E♭ as a “diatonic tenth,” indicat-
ing something about an interval in the particular
signed space dpitch(−4).
Interval measurements in these and other
spaces will be discussed formally in later chapters,
but the relationship between generic interval
sizes and the familiar ordinal names for inter-
vals (such as “tenth”) merits brief attention to
alleviate its potential for confusion. In chromatic
space it is generally understood that the size of a
perfect fifth is seven semitones—​the number of
steps of a chromatic scale separating the notes in
question—​and so we say that the chromatic, or
specific, interval between those two notes is 7.
Measuring similarly within a diatonic scale, notes
a fifth apart are separated by four steps, and so
although we call the interval a “fifth,” the generic
interval between the notes in question is 4, not 5.
Similarly the interval called a “second” has generic
size 1, not 2, and the generic interval correspond-
ing to the tenth in Figure 1.1.8a is 9, not 10. All
the usual ordinal interval sizes—​second, third,
fourth, …—​are off by one. This state of affairs
is a consequence of our way of naming intervals
(“fifth”) by counting notes (5) rather than steps
(4)—​an ancient and ineradicable tradition with
many awkward consequences.14 In particular,
basic arithmetic does not work in the familiar
terminology: compare “3rd +​3rd =​5th” with the
corresponding generic interval equation 2 +​2 =​4.
Although we use familiar interval names for con-
venience in this book, whenever any calculation
is required, the generic interval sizes, obtained by
counting steps, are always to be preferred.15
FIGURE 1.1.8 Interval measurements in three
spaces
10 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Generic space and all the diatonic spaces
are by their very nature discrete, not continu-
ous: there are no letter names between C and
D, nor do any notes lie between C and D in any
diatonic scale (whether the letters bear acciden-
tals or not). The notes in Figures 1.1.6 and 1.1.7
are drawn at equal spacing. When we consider
generic pitch space as an interval space, we will
define the generic interval between successive
notes of this space to be 1 throughout the scale.
The scale serves as its own yardstick for measur-
ing intervals; the interval between two notes of a
scale is calculated simply by counting steps of the
scale, much as a subway rider might measure dis-
tances in stops rather than miles. In particular,
a generic interval measurement implies noth-
ing about acoustic interval sizes; diatonic scales
contain steps of two different acoustic sizes, but
both kinds of step are generic interval 1.
Notwithstanding the important distinctions
just discussed, the one generic and the various
diatonic pitch spaces are all isomorphic. Loosely
speaking, two spaces are isomorphic if a picture of
one can be converted to a picture of the other by
renaming the elements, and in this case the only
renaming needed is the addition or removal of
accidentals. This discussion suggests the idea (to
be developed in Chapter 13) that a key signature,
or something like it, may be seen as a transforma-
tion, a means of converting generic space to dia-
tonic, or perhaps of converting one diatonic pitch
space to another.
Exercise 1.1.9
(a) Although they are isomorphic, there is a
difference between the generic pitch space
gpitch of Figure 1.1.6 and the diatonic
pitch space dpitch(0) with no sharps or
flats (“C major”). Describe this difference as
precisely as possible. Is the difference visible
in diagrams of the spaces?
(b) Now consider the relationship between
gpitch, the generic pitch space of Figure
1.1.6, and pitch, the discrete chromatic
pitch space of 1.1.1. Explain how gpitch
may be identified with a subspace of pitch.
(c) Also explain why gpitch and pitch are
isomorphic. (An informal explanation will
suffice for now; this isomorphism will be
made more precise in Exercise 3.3.9 and in
  Section 7.2.)
An important and possibly counterintuitive
point, illustrated by parts (b) and (c) of the above
exercise, bears mentioning: when infinite spaces
are involved, it is possible for a space to be iso-
morphic to one of its own subspaces.
Diatonic scales are not the only subsets of
chromatic pitch space that can be viewed as
spaces in their own right. We have already noted
that generic space gpitch may be realized in a
wide variety of non-​diatonic scales. One can also
construct spaces with something other than
seven notes per octave: pentatonic pitch spaces,
whole-​tone pitch spaces, and octatonic pitch spaces,
for example. While we will not explore every
possibility, we will invoke spaces of these kinds
on occasion.
Exercise 1.1.10 Explain why, when
constructing an octatonic pitch space, it is
necessary to use signed rather than unsigned
letter names. Is the same thing true of a whole-​
tone
   pitch space?
The space called signed registral letter space
(srl) in Figure 1.1.11 is the first figure we have
encountered whose representation is funda-
mentally two-​dimensional rather than linear.
The note names appearing here are the signed
versions: those across the central row of the fig-
ure lack sharps or flats and may be understood
in this context as natural, while the same note
names with sharps and flats appear above and
below the central row. Double sharps and flats
appear in the next higher and lower rows, and
in principle the diagram continues above and
below with even more sharps and flats.16 The
rows of the figure, then, may be identified with
particular diatonic pitch spaces: dpitch(0) in
the central row, dpitch(+​7) and dpitch(−7)
above and below, followed by the progressively
more extreme dpitch(+​14) and dpitch(−14)
FIGURE 1.1.11 Signed registral letter space srl
and so on. Though the graphic arrangement
may be unfamiliar, this space is in effect noth-
ing more than the space of all possible standard
note names—​a syntactic space, not a physical
one. It differs from some previous figures in
that it makes no assumption about enharmonic
equivalence: F♯4 and G♭4 occupy two differ-
ent locations in this space. As such, this space
enables us to rectify one shortcoming of the
conception of tunings described previously: by
defining a tuning as a mapping from srl into
the frequency space freq of Figure 1.1.5, we
may construct a tuning in which F♯ and G♭ are
different pitches, something not possible for
a mapping defined on the ordinary chromatic
pitch space pitch.17
Exercise 1.1.12 On a copy of Figure 1.1.11,
draw curving lines to divide the diagram
into regions consisting of notes that are
enharmonically equivalent in the usual sense
of the term. For example, the notes E♯4, F4, and
G♭  
♭4 should be in the same region.
Exercise 1.1.13 All of the diatonic pitch spaces
may be regarded as subspaces of srl. Identify,
in Figure 1.1.11, the note names (including
accidentals) belonging to the spaces dpitch(−3)
and dpitch(+​4). Notice the nature of the visual
relationship between these two sets of notes as
they appear in the figure—​a relationship that
always holds between signed diatonic pitch
spaces whose indices differ by 7. Now identify
the note names for the space dpitch(+​11).
If dpitch(−3) is E♭ major and dpitch(+​4)
is E major, what is dpitch(+​11)? How
would you write the 11-​sharp key signature
theoretically required for this key? What more
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 11
familiar diatonic pitch space is enharmonically
equivalent to dpitch(+​11)? What is the
difference between the index numbers of these
two
  enharmonically equivalent spaces?

Exercise 1.1.14 Triple (and higher) sharps

and flats are mainly an abstract theoretical
construction. They are assumed to be present
in Figure 1.1.11 for completeness, to allow
for the possibility that any note can always be
raised or lowered chromatically, no matter how
many sharps or flats it already possesses. (The
reasoning is similar to the understanding that
ordinary pitch space includes impractically
high and low registers: no matter how high or
low a note, some other note is always higher
or lower.) Nevertheless, one can construct
theoretically “correct” uses of triple sharps and FIGURE 1.2.1 A spiral representation of pitch
flats, even in familiar keys. space

(a) Write a short musical fragment consisting

of a few chords and tones of figuration in
F♯ major, in which the note F♯ ♯ ♯ appears
as a chromatic lower neighbor to scale
degree ♯2̂.
(b) Devise a similar use for the note B♭ ♭ ♭, in the
key of G♭ major.
(c) Play the notes F♯ ♯ ♯ and B♭ ♭ ♭ on a piano. What
  do you notice about them?18

1.2 PITCH-​C LASS SPACES

The pitch-​ space diagrams presented to this
point include no indication of specific relation-
ships between widely separated pitches. Indeed,
the linear topology of Figures 1.1.1–​1.1.3 does
not by itself accommodate this sort of informa-
tion. In a particular graphic rendering of a space,
however, the creative use of geometry may effec-
tively indicate such relationships.
Figures 1.2.1 and 1.2.2 illustrate two ways
in which the relation of octave equivalence
may be conveyed in a diagram of pitch space.
Topologically, these figures are lines like Figure
1.1.1. But in each case the line of pitch space has FIGURE 1.2.2 A helical representation of pitch
been curved into one coil per octave, bringing space
octave-​related pitches in close proximity to each
other. Figure 1.2.1 takes the form of a plane spiral
in which octave-​related pitches lie on spokes radi- the visual indication of the octave relationship.
ating from the center, while 1.2.2 depicts a helix If the coils are greatly stretched, either figure
in three-​dimensional space, with octave-​related becomes a long, slightly wavy line, not much
pitches aligned vertically.19 In either of these different from Figure 1.1.1, and octave relation-
figures, we may imagine tightening or loosening ships again become difficult to perceive. At the
the spread of the coils to strengthen or weaken other extreme, the coils may be pressed tightly

12 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces

FIGURE 1.2.3 Pitch-​class space, either discrete
(pc) or continuous (cpc)
together and taken to a mathematical limit in
which they all fuse into a single loop. At this
point the octave relationship is so strong that
octave-​related pitches can no longer be distin-
guished from one another—​octave equivalence
is completely realized—​ and the entire space,
whether originally conceived as spiral or helical,
collapses into a circle, shown in Figure 1.2.3.20
Circular models of musical pitch have been
drawn at least since the seventeenth century.21
The circle of Figure 1.2.3 is known in some per-
ception studies as the chroma circle, but is proba-
bly familiar to most readers as the clock diagram
of pitch-​ class set theory.22 Indeed, because
octave-​related pitches are no longer distinct, the
elements of this space are not pitches at all but
pitch classes; the point labeled “C” in Figure 1.2.3
stands for an entire class of notes …, C2, C3, C4,
C5, C6, … in any of the previous spaces. In termi-
nology to be formalized in Section 2.4, a pitch
class (sometimes abbreviated pc) is an equiva-
lence class of the octave equivalence relation. The
points in Figure 1.2.3 represent these classes, so
this space is pitch-​class space, or pc space.23
Its simple appearance notwithstanding, pitch-​
class space shares some of the unsuspected
subtleties of pitch space and introduces a few
more of its own. First, like the earlier diagrams,
the circle of Figure 1.2.3 may represent either a
discrete or a continuous space. Pitch-​class set
theory traditionally works in discrete (or chro-
matic) pc space, which we label pc to distinguish
it from discrete pitch space pitch. The space pc
can be obtained from pitch by identifying every
twelfth pitch. (Here we use the word identify in
the sense meaning “consider to be identical”; we
might also speak of “gluing together” or “con-
joining” every twelfth pitch.) As such, pc con-
tains only twelve different elements and is our
first example of a finite musical space. Continuous
pc space cpc, like its pitch counterpart cpitch,
includes an entire continuum of notes filling in
the space between C and C♯, but now each of
these intermediate notes is a pitch class rather
than a pitch. The remarks in Section 1.1 about
our abstract syntactic interpretation of pitch
space apply to pc space as well: although the
construction of the 12-​note space pc presup-
poses enharmonic equivalence, we nevertheless
understand that even this space may in principle
be tuned in a variety of ways.
We have drawn Figure 1.2.3 with the pitch
class C at the twelve-​o’clock position and other
pitch classes ascending in the clockwise direc-
tion from there, matching the usual orienta-
tion encountered in pitch-​class set theory. In
many contexts, the pitch-​class numbers 0–​11,
also shown in the figure, are used in lieu of note
names. The identification of C with 0, C♯ with 1,
and so on is conventional but arbitrary; other
mappings between the notes and numbers, and
other orientations of the diagram, are evidently
possible. When mathematicians work with
circles, in fact, they are more likely to employ a
counterclockwise orientation starting from the
positive x axis (the three-​o’clock position).
Exercise 1.2.4 In order to obtain Figure 1.2.3
from Figure 1.2.2 as described above, must we
view the helix from above or from below? How
would the resulting picture of pitch-​class space
differ if we viewed the helix from the opposite
direction?
The final step in the construction of pc space,
the conjoining of octave-​related pitches, is not a
deformation of the sort that preserves topologi-
cal properties. Continuous pitch space cpitch
and continuous pc space cpc are topologically
distinct: the topology of pitch space is a line,
while the topology of pitch-​class space is a cir-
cle. If you start moving along a circle and keep
going, you return eventually to your starting
point, something that never happens in a line.
Consequently, while in pitch space one note may
be described as higher or lower than another,
those terms are meaningless in pitch-​class space:
we cannot answer the question “Is D higher or
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 13
lower than G?” without knowing which D and
which G are intended.
The terms ascending and descending, however,
may be used without ambiguity in describing
the two directions of motion possible in pitch-​
class space. We have already observed that the
clockwise direction in Figure 1.2.3 corresponds
to ascending motion, in which notes of the chro-
matic scale are encountered in the order C, C♯, D,
… . This state of affairs—​ascending and descend-
ing are well-​defined concepts, but high and low
are not—​is not as paradoxical as it may appear,
and one must understand it in order to make
sense of concepts such as voice leading in pitch-​
class space, to be studied at length later in this
book. A voice leading is generally defined not sim-
ply as a succession of elements of a space (such as
notes or chords), but as a path through a space—​
a way of getting from one place to another. In
pitch space there is essentially only one way
of getting from one place to another without
reversing direction, but in pitch-​ class space
that is not the case. In Figure 1.2.3 we can trace
either an ascending (clockwise) or a descending
(counterclockwise) path from G to D. Both paths
start at the same point and both end at the same
point, and it is precisely because these two paths
are possible that we cannot say that one of the
two points is higher or lower than the other.
Exercise 1.2.5 It may be said that there are
not just two ways of moving from G to D in
pitch-​class space without reversing direction,
but infinitely many. Explain this statement, and
give a musical description of the various implied
   leadings.24
voice
The circular representation of pitch-​ class
space can sometimes lead to a mistaken idea
of the dimensionality of this space.25 A circle
drawn in the plane is a two-​dimensional figure,
but pc space, like pitch space, is fundamentally
a one-​dimensional space. A point on a circle
may be determined by specifying a single num-
ber, for instance an angle measurement from
0 to 360 degrees. Points of the plane that do
not lie on the circle are not points of the space.
Locally, at any point in pc space, there is only
one dimension in which one can move. (There
are two opposing directions in which to move
within that dimension—​ the ascending and
descending directions discussed above.) In fact,
although the global topologies of pitch space
and pc space are different, their topologies are
locally indistinguishable. A small region (or
14 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
neighborhood, the term used in topology) about
one pitch class in cpc, the continuous circle of
Figure 1.2.3—​say a quarter-​tone on either side
of D—​looks just like a corresponding neigh-
borhood about a pitch in cpitch, the line of
Figure 1.1.1. As we will discuss further below,
the curvature of Figure 1.2.3, even if it can be
detected visually in the small neighborhood
being examined, is not an intrinsic property
of the space. Mathematicians refer to both the
line and the circle as one-​dimensional manifolds;
technically a one-​dimensional manifold is any
space whose local topology in a small neighbor-
hood about any point is indistinguishable from
a line. A picture like Figure 1.2.3 is technically
an embedding of a one-​dimensional manifold
(the space cpc) in a two-​dimensional space (the
plane in which the picture is drawn).
We will have much more to say about mani-
folds of one or more dimensions in our discus-
sion of voice-​leading spaces in Part Three. The
relationship between pitch space and pitch-​class
space is itself something that we will revisit
several times in different contexts, not only to
deepen our understanding of these familiar
spaces but also as a handy illustration of vari-
ous mathematical concepts of which we will
also be studying more complex manifestations.
Our study of sets and equivalence relations in
Chapter 2 will enable us to describe pc space as
a quotient set of pitch space. The construction
will be encountered again in Chapters 5–​6 as we
study the algebraic structures underlying these
spaces, in Chapter 7 when we study their prop-
erties as interval spaces, and in Chapters 10–​11
as we generalize them to other voice-​leading
spaces.
Exercise 1.2.6 If Figure 1.2.3 is an embedding
of a one-​dimensional manifold in a two-​
dimensional space, what is Figure 1.2.2? Is your
answer affected when you consider that this
figure, like all the other figures in this book, is
   on a flat sheet of paper?26
drawn
The foregoing discussion might suggest a
question with epistemological undertones: is
pitch-​class space really a circle? It is accurate to
say that pc space has the topology of a circle, and
it is traditional to draw it that way, but there is
no real justification for saying that pc space has
the shape of a circle. As observed at the outset,
all of our diagrams of musical spaces are to some
degree metaphorical, and we have already noted
that the circle metaphor in particular can be
FIGURE 1.2.7 Two alternative representations of pitch-​class space
misleading because of unintended consequences
of its geometry. A circle is a plane figure with a
certain curvature; it divides the plane into two
regions, an inside and an outside. But pc space
has no curvature and no inside or outside. It
makes no musical sense to ask by how many
degrees pc space curves between the notes F and
A, or what lies at the center of Figure 1.2.3.
To reinforce this point, consider the two
alternative pictures of pitch-​class space shown
in Figure 1.2.7, neither of which curves at all.
The line in (a) at first glance resembles pitch
space, but the numerical register designations
are absent. We are to understand, therefore,
that the points of this space are pitch classes,
each of which appears many times along the
line. The three Cs visible in the figure all repre-
sent the same point of the space; the figure is
periodic in the sense that the same pattern of
elements repeats over and over. (Readers should
make peace with the idea that a single point of
a space may appear more than once in a picture
of that space; we will see many figures with this
property and will offer further commentary
about it as needed.)27 Figure 1.2.7b is not a line
but a line segment; it contains only one copy of
the repeating module of 1.2.7a, and therefore
only a single appearance of each point of the
space. The continuation symbols ≀ at each end
of 1.2.7b express our understanding that the
two ends are identified, so that we may move to
the right from pitch class B and arrive at C. It
is from attempting to realize this identification
in a physical way that the curvature and circular
shape of Figure 1.2.3 arise—​but these are arti-
facts of the higher-​dimensional physical space
in which the gluing is carried out, and of the
geometry of the resulting fabrication. In termi-
nology that we will introduce more formally in
Chapter 10, the line segment of 1.2.7b may be
called a fundamental region for pitch-​class space;
the idea is that a fundamental region contains
one appearance of every point in the space and
FIGURE 1.2.8 Generic pitch-​class space gpc
(letter space)
may therefore be understood as a representa-
tion of the entire space.
As depictions of pc space, both of the alterna-
tives in Figure 1.2.7 are just as valid as the circle
of Figure 1.2.3. They both share the topology of
a circle but not its shape. While the circle is easy
enough to grasp and avoids some of the disad-
vantages of these alternative representations
(the redundancy of 1.2.7a, and the arbitrary
placement of the cut marking the ends of the
module in 1.2.7b), it is important to remember
that the circle has its own drawbacks, and there
are some advantages to the repeating-​module
conception implied by the other diagrams. When
we later consider analogous situations in higher
dimensions, we will find that modular represen-
tations corresponding to the “straight circles”
of Figure 1.2.7 are often easier to draw and to
understand than representations more closely
akin to the circular geometry.
Octave equivalence may be applied not only to
continuous and chromatic spaces but to generic
and diatonic spaces as well, as illustrated in
Figures 1.2.8–​1.2.10. First is generic pitch-​class
space (or gpc space), labeled gpc and shown in
Figure 1.2.8; this is an abstract seven-​note space
that may alternatively be called letter space, as its
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 15
FIGURE 1.2.9 Two diatonic pitch-​class spaces
FIGURE 1.2.10 Scale-​degree space sd
elements are simply the unsigned letter names C,
D, …, B. The generic pitch-​class numbers (gpc num-
bers) 0–​6 may substitute for the letter names.
The structure of this generic space is evidently
similar to that of the discrete pitch-​class space pc
of Figure 1.2.3, but with only seven notes rather
than twelve.28 Generic pc space may be obtained
from generic pitch space gpitch (Figure 1.1.6)
by conjoining every seventh note. In gpc, as in
gpitch, the letter names may be taken to stand
in for any notes named by those letters, with or
without accidentals—​but the register informa-
tion present in gpitch is missing in gpc.
A family of diatonic pitch-​class spaces is avail-
able when particular diatonic scales including
appropriate accidentals are needed. Two exam-
ples, dpc(−1) and dpc(+​4), corresponding to the
similarly named pitch spaces dpitch(−1) and
dpitch(+​4) of Figure 1.1.7, are shown in Figure
1.2.9. Scale-​degree space sd, in Figure 1.2.10, is
similar to the numerical representation in 1.2.8
but uses the traditional circumflexed scale-​degree
numbers 1̂–​7̂ rather than 0–​ 6.29 The spaces
dpc(n), like dpitch(n), account neither for tonal
centers nor for enharmonic equivalence. The
designation of a tonic note within a diatonic
16 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
scale may be modeled by mapping the appro-
priate space dpc(n) into scale-​degree space; for
example, we may interpret dpc(−1) as “C mix-
olydian” by mapping the note C to scale degree 1̂.
Enharmonic equivalence of diatonic spaces may
be deduced by mapping the spaces into pitch-​class
space; the spaces dpc(−6) and dpc(+​6) are differ-
ent, but if their notes are interpreted as ordinary
pitch classes, they define identical subsets of pc.
Enharmonic equivalence will be addressed in
other ways in several spaces introduced later in
this chapter, and formalized further in Section
2.4 and in Chapter 13, where enharmonic ver-
sions of the spaces dpc(n) will be defined.
Figure 1.2.11 shows three representations
of signed letter space (sl). This is essentially the
space of all traditional note names without reg-
ister information—​ that is, assuming octave
equivalence. As such, signed letter space arises
from omitting the register designations from the
signed registral letter space srl (Figure 1.1.11);
this relationship is clear when the earlier figure
is compared with the rectilinear array of 1.2.11a.
Alternatively, signed letter space may be seen as
an extension of gpc (1.2.8), expanded to incor-
porate all possible sharp/​flat signs; this deriva-
tion is clearer in 1.2.11b, where the sharp notes
have been added in concentric rings outside the
original unsigned notes and the flat notes inside.
The rendering in 1.2.11a shows a repeating mod-
ule—​both C’s in the figure represent the same
point of the space—​and is conceptually similar to
the depiction of pitch-​class space in 1.2.7a. If we
wrap this figure around on itself in the horizontal
direction so that the identically named notes are
conjoined, we obtain the picture in 1.2.11c, which
is not merely a circle but a cylinder of theoretically
infinite height. Notes named with the letters B, C,
D, and E are visible on the front of the cylinder,
while F, G, and A are hidden on the back. One can
visualize Figure 1.2.11b as a distorted form of this
FIGURE 1.2.11 Three representations of signed letter space sl
cylinder, flattened into a plane, in which the top
of the cylinder (consisting of the note names with
sharps) has been stretched outward in ever-​larger
circles, and the bottom (note names with flats) is
compressed inward, converging to a point at the
center of the picture (not a point of the space). All
three versions of the figure have the same topol-
ogy, which mathematicians describe as “the topol-
ogy of a cylinder.”30 While it is useful to be able to
conceptualize the cylindrical topology in any of
these ways, the modular rectilinear representation
of 1.2.11a is the easiest to work with in practice.
Exercise 1.2.12 In Exercise 1.1.12 you
partitioned the space srl of Figure 1.1.11 into
regions to show enharmonic equivalence. If
you transfer that drawing onto Figure 1.2.11a
without any other changes, do the regions
accurately depict enharmonic equivalence in
this space? Sketch these regions in 1.2.11b
and 1.2.11c as well. Theoretically, how many
different regions are there in Figure 1.1.11,
and how many different regions are there in
   1.2.11?31
Figure
The groupings of signed letters formed by
the regions in the preceding exercise corre-
spond to ordinary pitch classes; the exercise
essentially defines a mapping from signed letter
space into pitch-​class space. The mapping is not
one-​to-​one, because enharmonically equivalent
spellings such as D♯ and E♭ are different signed
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 17
letters but represent the same pitch class. A
signed letter may be called a spelled pitch class
(spc), a pitch class for which a particular spell-
ing has been specified, and signed letter space
may be called spelled pitch-​class space—​a way of
describing pitch-​class space while respecting the
distinctions between enharmonically equivalent
spellings—​though we shall generally reserve the
name spelled pitch-​class space for a different geo-
metric representation of the signed letters, to be
considered shortly (Figure 1.3.3).32 Similarly, the
space srl of Figure 1.1.11, which adds register
distinctions to signed letter space, may alterna-
tively be called spelled pitch space. We will invoke
spelled pitch classes often in this book, most
importantly in the study of scales in Part Four.
Although spelled pitches and pitch classes are not
a part of traditional theoretical nomenclature,
the concepts encapsulate ideas that are encoun-
tered routinely in the study of tonal music,
where enharmonic distinctions—​ between F♯
and G♭, between an augmented second and a
minor third, or between a dominant seventh and
a German augmented sixth, for example—​are
generally considered indispensable.
1.3 SPACES GENERATED BY
FIFTHS AND THIRDS
There are two well-​known circular representa-
tions of 12-​note pitch-​class space. One is the
chromatically arranged clock face from Figure
1.2.3; the other is fifths space (fifth), better
known as the circle of fifths, shown in Figure
1.3.1. The same twelve pitch classes form the
underlying space of both circles, but the arrange-
ment is different: each picture is characterized by
FIGURE 1.3.1 Enharmonically conformed fifths
space fifth (the chromatic circle of fifths)
18 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
its own generating interval. In the case of pc, the
generator is a semitone; fifth is generated by
the perfect fifth.33 As with the chromatic circle,
some other graphic aspects of the circle of fifths
are purely matters of convention: Figure 1.3.1
follows usual practice in placing C at the top and
plotting ascending fifths (or descending fourths)
in the clockwise direction.34
Exercise 1.3.2
(a) Referring to the pitch-​class numbers in
Figure 1.3.1, describe mathematically the
relationship between adjacent numbers.
(b) In Figure 1.2.3, if you connect pitch classes
in circle-​of-​fifths order by drawing straight
lines across the circle from C to G, G to D,
and so on, what shape do you get? What if
you connect pitch classes in chromatic order
  in Figure 1.3.1?
The relationship between the circles of pc and
fifth is a deep one both mathematically and
musically, and we will revisit it several times.
Because different notes are adjacent in the two
diagrams, one cannot be transformed into the
other by something as simple as a rotation or
reflection. In other words, the difference between
the chromatic circle and the circle of fifths runs
deeper than the simple graphic conventions men-
tioned previously. The two circles suggest differ-
ent notions of the distance between two pitch
classes: we might say that the chromatic circle
depicts a melodic relationship (in which sense C
is close to C♯ but distant from G), while the circle
of fifths expresses tonal relationships (in which
the reverse is the case: the key of C is closer to
the key of G than to the key of C♯). Indeed, it is
in the study of key relationships that the circle of
fifths is often encountered—​but of course Figure
1.3.1 is an accurate depiction of fifth relationships
between single notes as well.35
Despite the differences between their inter-
val structures, the obvious similarities between
the two circles suggest a close affinity between
the two, and we will confirm in Chapter 7 that
even as interval spaces they are isomorphic. Our
conclusions about chromatic pitch-​class space
and fifths space may be summarized as follows:
(1) they have the same underlying space; but (2)
they impose two different interval structures on
that space; and yet (3) those interval structures
are isomorphic. One other difference between
the two is noteworthy. Chromatic pc space pc is
a subspace of a continuous space cpc, but fifths
space has no continuous counterpart: it does not
FIGURE 1.3.3 Spelled pitch-​class space spc (unconformed fifths space, or the line of fifths)
make sense to speak of notes lying between C
and G on the circle of fifths.
As we have seen, one way to construct the
chromatic pitch-​class space of Figure 1.2.3 is to
conjoin every twelfth note in the chromatic pitch
space of 1.1.1. The circle of fifths may be simi-
larly obtained by identifying every twelfth note
in a linear version of fifths space, the line of fifths
shown in Figure 1.3.3. The elements depicted in
this figure are precisely the same spelled pitch
classes present in Figure 1.2.11, and we take the
line of fifths as our standard representation of
spelled pitch-​class space (spc). This space orga-
nizes all standard note names (without register
designations) into a single fifth-​generated line,
“sharper” notes appearing in one direction, “flat-
ter” in the other. Notes separated by twelve posi-
tions on the line of fifths, such as C and B♯, are
enharmonically equivalent, so imposing enhar-
monic equivalence upon fifths space amounts
to wrapping this line into a circle, producing the
usual circle of fifths. The process of rolling up a
space in order to identify enharmonically equiv-
alent points is sometimes referred to as con-
formance; thus the circle of fifths may be called
(enharmonically) conformed fifths space, while the
line of fifths is unconformed fifths space. We will
encounter more examples of conformed and
unconformed spaces in Section 1.4. Meanwhile,
another kind of equivalence is also apparent in
the line of fifths: notes separated by seven posi-
tions, such as C and C♯, share the same letter
name, differing only in their accidentals, and are
therefore generically equivalent.
Fifths space suggests its own notion of the
distance between notes, very different from dis-
tance in pitch space but related in revealing ways
to familiar aspects of intervals. Adjacent notes
on the line of fifths (notes at a distance of 1) are
separated by perfect intervals (fourths or fifths).
Notes at distances of 2, 3, 4, or 5 form major
or minor intervals, while a distance of 6 always
represents an augmented fourth or diminished
fifth, and distances of 7 and above correspond
to chromatic intervals. In spelling pitches we
often prefer spellings that keep nearby events
close together in fifths space; this is clearly the
case in tonal music (for instance, in the vicinity
of the notes E and B, the spelling C♯ is likely to be
preferred to D♭) and perhaps holds in atonal con-
texts as well (twelve-​tone rows are often spelled
using twelve consecutive notes of fifths space).36
The seven notes of any diatonic scale are clus-
tered together in fifths space, and in tonal music
the distribution along the line of fifths of the
notes in a musical passage provides many clues
to the tonality.37
While the process of constructing fifth
(Figure 1.3.1) from spc (1.3.3) is closely analo-
gous to the construction of pc (1.2.3) from
pitch (1.1.1), two different musical phenom-
ena are at work in these constructions. The ele-
ments of pitch are pitches including register
designations, and pc converts these pitches to
pitch classes by identifying octave-​equivalent
pitches such as C4 and C5. The elements of spc
are not pitches but signed letter names; fifth
is obtained by identifying enharmonically equiva-
lent note names such as F♯ and G♭. Enharmonic
distinctions do not come into play in pitch and
pc, where spelling is not a concern, and octave
differences are likewise irrelevant in spc and
fifth, because notes in these spaces contain no
register information. Octave equivalence and
enharmonic equivalence are two familiar musi-
cal examples of equivalence relations, a topic to be
examined more thoroughly in Chapter 2.
It may seem surprising that the elements
of spc (Figure 1.3.3) are the same spelled pitch
classes (signed letter names) as in sl (1.2.11).
Figure 1.2.11, in any of its three versions, spans
a two-​dimensional surface, but 1.3.3 somehow
manages to fit all the same notes into a single
dimension. Each version of Figure 1.2.11 con-
sists of seven different infinite columns of notes
(seven spokes in the case of part (b)), while 1.3.3
comprises but a single infinite row, so it may
seem intuitively that sl should have seven times
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 19
as many elements. This is another indication
that infinite sets do not always behave like finite
sets. A finite set is always measurably larger than
any of its subsets. An infinite set, in contrast,
may be “the same size” as one of its subsets, in
the sense that their elements may be placed in
one-​to-​one correspondence. In this sense, lin-
ear fifths space is the same size as one column
of Figure 1.2.11a—​and simultaneously the same
size as all of Figure 1.2.11a.
We will begin exploring some of the mathe-
matical relationships among chromatic, generic,
and spelled pitch-​class spaces (pc, gpc, and spc)
in Chapter 2, and in Chapter 13 we will find
these relationships to be of considerable impor-
tance in comparing chromatic and diatonic
structure. The spc numbers shown in Figure 1.3.3
will be useful in these applications. While we
have followed the usual convention of label-
ing the note C with the number 0 in pc space,
in spc space there are advantages to identifying
0 with D instead: D is centrally located among
the seven unsigned notes (white keys) on the
line of fifths, so taking this note as the origin
for spc numbers results in a system that exactly
balances sharps and flats. Spc numbers are
theoretically unbounded, with multiple sharps
associated with large positive spc numbers and
multiple flats with large negative spc numbers,
but traditional note names involving no more
than a double sharp or flat have spc numbers
restricted to the range from −17 to 17.
Exercise 1.3.4 Use your theoretical
understanding of the line of fifths to answer
the following questions without actually
counting all the intermediate notes:
(a) In Figure 1.3.3, what note falls seven places
to the right of G♭?
(b) What note falls fourteen places to the
right of G♭?
(c) What note (not visible in Figure 1.3.3) falls
seven places to the left of G♭?
(d) What note falls twelve places to the
right of G♭?
(e) What note theoretically falls twelve places
to the left of G♭?
(f) What note has the spc number 17?
(g)  What is the spc number of the note F♭ ♭?
Exercise 1.3.5 Use the line of fifths to
explain informally why the Neapolitan triad ♭II
occurs more frequently in minor keys than in
major
   keys.
20 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
In the circle of fifths, any seven adjacent notes
form a diatonic collection, but different diatonic
collections may require different spellings for
some pitch classes. In the line of fifths, in contrast,
any seven-​note segment forms a properly spelled
diatonic collection. The white-​note diatonic col-
lection, called dpc(0) in the terminology intro-
duced in Section 1.2, is centered on D, spc 0, and
more generally the segment corresponding to the
diatonic collection dpc(n) always extends from
spc n − 3 to spc n +​3, centered on spc n. The note
spc n represents the tonic of the dorian mode of
the collection dpc(n) (dorian being the only dia-
tonic mode that is symmetrical about its tonic);
the tonic of the corresponding major scale is spc
n − 2, two places to the left.
Exercise 1.3.6
(a) Determine the complete correspondence
between the seven numbers from n − 3 to
n +​3 and the modal tonics of the diatonic
collection dpc(n).
(b) Theoretically, what is the tonic of the major
scale with 101 sharps in its key signature?
Observe that 101 =​14 ∙ 7 +​3 and also
101 =​8 ∙ 12 +​5; how does your answer
  reflect these properties?
Exercise 1.3.7
(a) A signed scale degree (ssd) is a scale degree
number (1̂ through 7̂) with an accidental
attached; for example, ♭6̂, ♮1̂, and ♯ ♯4̂ are
signed scale degrees.38 Construct pictures
of signed scale-​degree space (ssd space)
analogous to the three arrangements of
signed letter space in Figure 1.2.11.
(b) Also construct a fifth-​generated picture
of ssd space analogous to Figure 1.3.3.
Assume that the seven ♮ ssds are those
occurring in a major scale. Ssds ♮7̂ and ♯4̂
should be adjacent in this arrangement.
(c) Assign signed scale-​degree numbers to the
ssds in your picture from (b). If you assign
the ssd number 0 to the ssd ♮2̂, you should
find that the seven ♮ ssds are those with
numbers from −3 to 3. If you align your
picture with spc space (Figure 1.3.3) so
that corresponding numbers line up, every
spelled pitch class should align with its
corresponding scale-​degree interpretation
in the C-​major scale; for example, spc A♭
should align with ssd ♭6̂.
(d) By shifting your picture of ssd space to the
left or right with respect to spc space, any
note can be made to line up with ssd ♮1̂,
 and all other spcs should then align with
their corresponding scale-​degree numbers
relative to that tonic. For example, the
picture should show that relative to the
tonic E♭, ♭6̂ is the note C♭. Can you find a
simple formula relating the spc and ssd
numbers? That is, if spc m corresponds to
ssd k when the tonic (♮1̂) is spc n, can you
  find a formula that relates m, n, and k?39
Each seven-​ note diatonic segment of the
line of fifths includes each of the seven letter
names exactly once. Rather than identifying
every twelfth note via enharmonic equivalence
as before, we may instead choose to identify
every seventh note, bringing together the generi-
cally equivalent notes that share the same letter
name. The result is generic fifths space gfifth, a
fifths-​generated arrangement of generic pitch-​
class space, shown in Figure 1.3.8. In principle,
a family of diatonic fifths spaces (diatonic circles
of fifths), analogous to the diatonic pitch-​class
spaces of Figure 1.2.9, could be obtained by
adding accidentals to Figure 1.3.8 appropriate
to particular diatonic scales; a fifth-​generated
arrangement of scale-​degree space could also be
constructed. In any diatonic fifths space, one of
the fifths is not a perfect fifth but a diminished
fifth. Making that distinction, however, requires
recognition of how the notes are situated in chro-
matic space. Reckoned generically, all fifths are
the same, just as all generic steps are the same
in generic pitch-​class space. Many readers will
recognize that although the term circle of fifths is
most commonly taken to refer to the chromatic
picture of Figure 1.3.1, sequential motion by
fifth in tonal music more often follows a diatonic
circle of fifths, a solitary diminished fifth taking
its place among the perfect fifths.
FIGURE 1.3.8 Generic fifths space gfifth (the
generic circle of fifths)
Exercise 1.3.9
(a) Construct diagrams for the diatonic fifths
spaces corresponding to the keys of F♯ major
and G♭ major. Construct both diagrams by
adding accidentals to Figure 1.3.8, keeping
the letter name C at the top of the circle in
each case.
(b) Describe the numerical relationships that
hold between adjacent numbers in generic
fifths space, and compare the results with
  Exercise 1.3.2a.
Exercise 1.3.10 Construct a spiral of fifths
by bending the line of fifths into a spiral
resembling Figure 1.2.1. There are at least two
musically suggestive ways to do this: either
every seventh note or every twelfth note can
align in successive coils of the spiral. When the
spirals are collapsed into circles, which figures
   from the two alternatives?40
result
Exercise 1.3.11
(a) Write the following progression of
root-​position diatonic seventh chords in
D major:
     I7 –​IV7 –​viiø7 –​iii7 –​vi7 –​ii7 –​V7 –​I7
Use four-​part harmony and good voice
leading. (Every other seventh chord may
be incomplete, and every chordal seventh
should resolve down by step.) Write a
key signature, so that no accidentals
are needed. Observe that the bass line
circumnavigates two-​sharp diatonic
fifths space, and note the location of the
diminished fifth (or augmented fourth).
Each of the other voices traces a path
through which other space?
(b) Write a chromatic descending-​fifths
progression of eight dominant seventh
chords, beginning D7 –​G7 –​C7 –​···. The
bass line now should move exclusively by
perfect intervals. Use accidentals, not a key
signature. You should be able to do this in
such a way that your progressions in (a) and
(b) are generically indistinguishable—​that
is, if the key signature in (a) and accidentals
in (b) are disregarded, effectively allowing
us to view both progressions in generic
space, the two appear completely identical.
The voices in the chromatic progression
trace paths through which space(s)? What is
  the eighth chord?
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 21

FIGURE 1.3.12 Generic thirds space gthird
(the generic circle of thirds)
Figure 1.3.12 shows yet another map of
generic pitch-​class space: generic thirds space
(gthird) or the generic circle of thirds. This
third-​generated space is relatively unappreci-
ated, certainly less celebrated than the step-​
and fifth-​generated spaces gpc and gfifth.
Sequences ascending or (especially) descend-
ing diatonically by thirds are common, and
their progress may be traced on this circle.
Another aspect of its significance lies in the
observation that the most common chords in a
diatonic context—​triads and seventh chords—​
comprise consecutive notes from the circle of
thirds. This circle therefore suggests a harmonic
interpretation of the distance between two
notes, different from both the melodic under-
standing of distance implicit in the stepwise
space and the tonal distance of fifths space. The
notes A and C, adjacent in thirds space, are har-
monically close in that they appear together in
many of the same chords (triads on F and A,
and seventh chords on D, F, and A), and in that
chords rooted on A and on C will share multiple
common pitch classes. We shall see in Section
4.3 that a simple principle of functional har-
mony may be conveniently displayed in the
generic circle of thirds.41
Taken together, the three circular arrange-
ments of generic pitch-​ class space account
for every possible interval generator: seconds
or sevenths in gpc (Figure 1.2.8), fourths or
fifths in gfifth (1.3.8), and thirds or sixths in
gthird (1.3.12). Any two generic pitch classes,
that is, are adjacent on exactly one of the three
circles. These three diagrams (and rotations
and reflections thereof) are the only possible
ways to represent generic or diatonic pitch-​
class space by means of a single generating
interval.
22 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Exercise 1.3.13 In contrast to the three
circular representations of generic pitch-​class
space, we have seen only two fundamentally
different circular pictures of chromatic pitch-​
class space: pc (Figure 1.2.3), generated by
semitones or major sevenths, and fifth (1.3.1),
generated by perfect fourths or fifths. In
chromatic space there are many other intervals
from which to choose, but no other interval
generates a picture of the entire space. Why
not? Why is there no such thing as a chromatic
circle of thirds? What properties of the numbers
7 and 12 ensure that every generic interval
(except the unison) generates generic pitch-​
class space, but not every chromatic interval
generates
   chromatic pitch-​class space?42
1.4 TONNETZ SPACES
Chromatic and diatonic pitch-​class spaces are
small sets, so it should come as no surprise that
there are few ways to generate these spaces by
a single interval. The spaces may, however, be
represented in other ways. In particular, an
assortment of diagrams commonly known by
the German name Tonnetz (“tone network”) have
proven extremely useful in depicting various
kinds of pitch-​class relationships. A tonnetz is
a two-​dimensional array in which two different
intervals are used as generators, as illustrated in
Figure 1.4.1.43
Starting from C in the center of this figure,
other notes are arranged by minor thirds in the
horizontal direction and major thirds vertically,
FIGURE 1.4.1 A tonnetz generated by major
and minor thirds
as indicated by the solid horizontal and vertical
lines. As a byproduct of this arrangement, other
intervals appear systematically at various other
angles throughout the diagram. A northeasterly
move corresponds to an ascending perfect
fifth—​the sum of a major third and a minor
third. A northwesterly move is a semitone,
the combination of an ascending major third
and a descending minor third. Dashed lines in
the figure show that still other intervals occur
on secondary diagonals corresponding to
knights’ moves in chess. The lines in the dia-
gram converge on the central C, but the same
pattern of lines could be shifted to originate
from any other note, as the interval relation-
ships are consistent throughout the figure. In
fact, for any given configuration of notes in the
diagram, a geometric translation in any direc-
tion—​sliding the configuration as a group right,
left, up, or down—​corresponds to the musical
operation of transposition. For example, starting
on C, a move traces a C-​major triad, C–​E–​G.
If the same shape is translated one space to the
right, an E♭-​major triad E♭–​G–​B♭ is the result,
and translation to any other starting note will
produce another major triad.
The notes appearing in Figure 1.4.1 are spelled
pitch classes (signed letters); enharmonic equiv-
alence is not assumed. Each minor-​third-​gener-
ated row in the tonnetz comprises the notes of
a diminished seventh chord, but two different
spellings appear at the outer ends of the row for
one of the notes of that chord. Likewise, each
column is an augmented triad, in which two
FIGURE 1.4.2 Tonnetz space (tonn): an enharmonically conformed tonnetz
pairs of enharmonically equivalent spellings
are shown. If the diagram were expanded in any
direction, more such equivalents would appear,
quickly extending into the confusing realm of
triple sharps and flats.
Adopting enharmonic equivalence results in
the much-​simplified picture of Figure 1.4.2, an
enharmonically conformed tonnetz, in which an
apparently larger tract of the space may be read-
ily viewed.44 The word apparently is significant,
for the space of Figure 1.4.2 is not actually large
at all: the notes here are ordinary pitch classes,
of which there are only twelve. The figure is
divided by dashed lines into three-​by-​four rect-
angular modules, all of them identical and each
encompassing all twelve notes. The modules may
appropriately be called tiles because of the way
they fit together to fill the plane. One such tile is
shown in Figure 1.4.3.
In principle, one tile suffices for the entire
tonnetz, with the understanding that whenever
one reaches a boundary (by, for example, mov-
ing to the right from E♭), one re-​emerges at the
opposite side of the tile (at F♯). The arrowheads
on the boundaries of the tile are a standard
mathematical convention for conveying this
understanding: the single arrowheads show
that the top and bottom edges of the tile are
conjoined, and the double arrowheads show
that the left and right edges are conjoined. These
edges serve as boundaries of the figure but are
not boundaries at all in a topological sense; they
may be crossed freely and have no musical sig-
nificance. In fact, it would be a simple matter to
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 23
FIGURE 1.4.3 One tile of the conformed tonnetz
construct the tonnetz in such a way that there
were no tile boundaries at these locations at all
(imagine shifting all the dashed lines in Figure
1.4.2 one position up and to the right, for exam-
ple). We refer to such edges as false boundaries;
we will see many examples of false boundaries in
our study of voice-​leading spaces in Part Three.
Borrowing metaphors from physics or sci-
ence fiction, we may imagine that in moving
from E♭ to F♯ across the false boundary we “tele-
port” or pass through a “wormhole” from one
side of the figure to the other—​but such imag-
ery, while possibly helpful in visualizing a path
in the tonnetz, is misleading in its suggestion
of preternatural behavior. Movement across a
false boundary is musically no different from
movement anywhere else in the space, and there
should be no more mystery in this aspect of the
tonnetz than in the observation that round-​the-​
world travelers, somewhere in the middle of the
Pacific Ocean, suddenly find themselves on the
opposite side of their map.
The infinite plane of Figure 1.4.2 is redun-
dant in the same way that the infinite line of
1.2.7a is redundant, but in two dimensions
rather than one; the tile of Figure 1.4.3 stands
in the same relation to the infinite plane as the
modular line segment of 1.2.7b to the infinite
line. Figure 1.4.3, like 1.2.7b, may be called a
fundamental region for the space it represents.
Figure 1.2.7a was described earlier as periodic;
Figure 1.4.2 may be called doubly periodic in light
of the repeating patterns that appear both hori-
zontally and vertically.
Figures 1.2.7a and 1.2.7b were alternate rep-
resentations of the pitch-​class circle from Figure
1.2.3. What, then, is the tonnetz equivalent of
that circle? The appropriate topological con-
struction is known as a torus (with plural tori and
adjective toroidal). The torus is often described
as the surface of a doughnut shape, obtained by
wrapping a plane around on itself in both the
24 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
FIGURE 1.4.4 A doughnut-​shaped tonnetz
vertical and horizontal dimensions. This pro-
cess is illustrated in Figure 1.4.4, which we may
imagine to be formed by stretching and bending
a highly flexible copy of the rectangle of 1.4.3.
First the top and bottom boundaries are glued
together to form a cylinder; then the ends of the
cylinder are joined to form the final shape. In
Figure 1.4.4 the edges have been left unattached
to clarify the construction; the gaps visible here,
corresponding to 1.4.3’s false boundaries, van-
ish when the gluing is complete. Another way to
construct this surface is to sweep a small circle
around a path that traces out a larger circle; this
construction suggests that a torus is a sort of
“product” of two circles, a notion that can be
made topologically precise.45
This doughnut tonnetz is elegant, but several
caveats are in order. First, the torus is the surface
of the doughnut, not a solid body. In the music
theory literature one can find the torus described
as three-​or even four-​dimensional, but topologi-
cally, a torus is a two-​dimensional manifold, just
as Figures 1.4.2 and 1.4.3 are two-​dimensional.
(Structures analogous to tori in other dimensions
can be constructed, and will prove useful in Part
Three; when it is necessary to distinguish among
them, the torus described here may be called 𝕋2,
the 2-​torus.46) Second, the twelve-​note musical
space being depicted is only a discrete subspace
of the torus, not the entire continuous surface.
Finally, the geometry of the doughnut shape, like
the geometry of the circle, is extraneous and
potentially misleading as far as the structure of
the musical space is concerned. Indeed, it could
even be described as a distortion of that space.
Like the circle, the doughnut has its own curva-
ture, inside, and outside—​all of them more com-
plicated than in the case of the circle, and musically
meaningless. In Figure 1.4.4 the circles depicting
augmented triads appear to be much smaller in
diameter than those depicting diminished seventh
chords, and in fact the three diminished seventh
 expand our idea of what the word tonnetz can
mean) and Chapter 8.
The diagonal lines representing perfect fifths
slope from southwest to northeast . The other
diagonals , which are not drawn in the tri-
angulated tonnetz of Figure 1.4.5, join pitch
classes related by semitone. Semitones and per-
fect fifths, it will be recalled, are the generating
intervals of the two circular maps of pitch-​class
space, the spaces we have called pc (Figure 1.2.3)
and fifth (1.3.1). Both of these circles, there-
fore, may be said to be present in the tonnetz,
lurking in its diagonals. Moving twelve places in
one direction diagonally is equivalent to travel-
ing once around the corresponding circle.
FIGURE 1.4.5 A triangulated tonnetz (the neo-​
Riemannian tonnetz) Exercise 1.4.6
(a) In the tonnetz of Figure 1.4.2, what does a
whole-​tone scale look like? You should find
chords are depicted by circles that differ slightly in that a whole-​tone scale may be represented
size—​but those circumstances are also mere arti- by a straight line in either of two different
facts of the construction.47 Both the topology of orientations, or possibly by a zigzag line
the torus and the musical structure of the tonnetz combining segments from both of the
are perfectly well represented by a “flat torus” tak- others. How do these varied depictions
ing the form of either the infinitely repeating grid of one scale in the conformed tonnetz
of Figure 1.4.2 or the single tile of 1.4.3, and as a differ from each other in the unconformed
practical matter both of those representations are diagram of Figure 1.4.1? As subsets of
much simpler to draw, to visualize, and to work pitch-​class space, there are two different
with than the doughnut shape.48 whole-​tone collections. What do these
When we speak of “the tonnetz” or tonnetz collections look like in the tile of Figure
space (tonn), therefore, it is generally some- 1.4.3? On the doughnut of 1.4.4?
thing like Figure 1.4.2 or 1.4.3 that we have in (b) What does an octatonic scale look like in
mind—​or Figure 1.4.5, in which the tonnetz Figure 1.4.2? What do the three octatonic
from 1.4.2 has been triangulated, or divided   collections look like in 1.4.3 or 1.4.4?
into triangles, by the inclusion of horizontal,
vertical, and diagonal line segments connect-
ing notes related by minor thirds, major thirds, Exercise 1.4.7
and perfect fifths, respectively. The elements of (a) Any augmented triad and any diminished
tonnetz space are pitch classes, and the trian- seventh chord always share exactly one
gulation is appealing because each triangle com- common pitch class. Use Figure 1.4.3 to
prises the pitch classes of a familiar consonant explain why this is so.49
triad. Triangles of one orientation represent (b) What can be said about the number of
major triads such as C–​E–​G, while triangles of common tones between a whole-​tone
the opposite orientation are minor triads collection and an octatonic collection?
such as C–​E♭–​G. In both cases the root of the What sort of pitch-​class set is formed by
triad lies at the lower left corner of the triangle these common tones?
and the fifth at the upper right. As pitch-​class (c) The pitch classes in any two adjacent
sets, major and minor triads are related to each columns of Figure 1.4.3 combine to form a
other by inversion and share the prime form hexatonic collection, a set with prime form
037, and all 24 sets of that prime form appear 014589. How many different hexatonic
in the tonnetz. The capability of the tonnetz to collections are there? What can be said
depict triadic relationships has led to its wide- about the number of common tones
spread use in neo-​Riemannian theory, to be dis- between a hexatonic and an octatonic
cussed in Chapters 3–​4 (where we will further collection, and about the type of pitch-​class

Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 25

 set they form? What about common tones
between a hexatonic and a whole-​tone
collection? Between a hexatonic collection
  and a diminished seventh chord?50
Exercise 1.4.8 What is the most compact
possible tonnetz representation for a dominant
seventh chord? A half-​diminished seventh
chord? A minor seventh chord? Dominant and
half-​diminished seventh chords are related to
each other by inversion, while minor seventh
chords are inversionally symmetrical. How are
these
   observations visible in the tonnetz?
Exercise 1.4.9 Suppose we triangulate the
tonnetz of Figure 1.4.2 in a different way,
to include the diagonals rather than
(along with the verticals and horizontals).
Triangles in this new configuration no longer
represent major and minor triads. As pitch-​
class sets, what is their prime form? Do the
two orientations of triangles represent
inversionally
   related sets?
FIGURE 1.4.10 Three different
geometries
26 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Even more than was the case with the pre-
vious diagrams, drawing a tonnetz requires
making a number of decisions about graphic
conventions. Many different versions of the
tonnetz appear in the literature, differing
among themselves in a number of more or less
arbitrary ways.51 Figure 1.4.10 presents three
versions with slightly varied geometry. The
form in (a) is obtained from 1.4.5 by a subtle
adjustment of the spacing between rows, so
that the triangles, rather than having two
equal legs, have sides in the proportion 3:4:5,
corresponding to the interval classes formed
by the notes in each triad.52 In Figure 1.4.10b
the triangles are equilateral. This figure may
be obtained from Figure 1.4.5 (or 1.4.10a) by
a shearing transformation, moving each row
rightward relative to the row above (so that,
for example, C falls below a point midway
between E and G rather than aligning directly
beneath E), then adjusting the row spacing.
The shearing may be taken further, so that C
aligns below G, as in 1.4.10c. The original rec-
tilinear configuration and right triangles are
recovered, but the diagonals point in the oppo-
site direction from before; major thirds now
appear diagonally and perfect fifths vertically
rather than the other way around.
In Figure 1.4.10c it may appear that the “gen-
erating intervals” are minor thirds and perfect
fifths (interval classes 3 and 5), rather than
major and minor thirds (ic 3 and 4) as in the
earlier figures. This is a distinction of little struc-
tural import, for the lines connect the same pitch
classes as before, and the triangles comprise the
same three intervals (ic 3, 4, and 5). Any two of
these intervals may be taken as “generators” and
may be oriented along any two non-​parallel axes;
it will then always be possible to form a triangu-
lation in which the third interval appears on the
third side of each triangle, as the sum or differ-
ence of the first two intervals. All tonnetzes con-
structed in this way are structurally equivalent,
in the sense that any of them may be obtained
from Figure 1.4.5 by some combination of rota-
tion, reflection, and shearing. Indeed, while our
usual representations of tonnetz space tonn
will be the rectilinear arrangements of Figures
1.4.2, 1.4.3, and 1.4.5, the relationships shown
in all of the various pictures in Figures 1.4.2–​
1.4.10 are sufficiently similar that we may regard
all of these figures as alternate depictions of this
tonnetz same space. Exercise 1.4.9, however, showed
that two tonnetzes generated by ic 3 and 4 may
convey different relationships entirely if they are
triangulated differently. When identifying trian-
gulated tonnetzes, therefore, a name based on
two generators such as “ic 3-​4 tonnetz” is poten-
tially misleading; it is preferable to name all
three intervals explicitly (“3-​4-​5 tonnetz”), or to
identify the set class of the represented chords
(“037 tonnetz”).53
Exercise 1.4.11
(a) Figure 1.4.12 shows a tonnetz appearing
in an influential article by Gerald Balzano
(1980, 73). Apart from the substitution of
pitch-​class numbers for note names, how is
this figure related to Figure 1.4.5? Can one
be obtained from the other by rotation, or is
a reflection required?
(b) The lattice of triangles in Figure 1.4.12
connects the notes of the C-​major scale.
There are seven triads in a diatonic scale,
but only six triangles are visible in the
  figure. Where is the missing triad?
Exercise 1.4.13 Viewed as a subset of
chromatic space, a diatonic collection is
symmetrical about its dorian tonic (D in the
case of the white-​note collection). Consider the
appearance of a diatonic collection in each of
the figures listed below and discuss how this
symmetry is apparent.54
(a) Chromatic pitch-​class space pc
(Figure 1.2.3)
(b) The circle of fifths fifth (Figure 1.3.1)
(c) The line of fifths spc (Figure 1.3.3)
(d) Signed scale-​degree space (from
Exercise 1.3.7)
(e)  Balzano’s tonnetz (Figure 1.4.12)
FIGURE 1.4.12 A numerical tonnetz (after
Balzano)
The tonnetz has a long and distinguished
history, which may be traced to the illustri-
ous eighteenth-​ century Swiss mathematician
Leonhard Euler.55 It was particularly favored by,
and has become closely associated with, German
theorists of later generations. Its relationship to
Gottfried Weber’s “table of tonal relations” will
be examined in Chapter 4. Illustrations more
closely resembling the figures in this chapter
appeared in works of Arthur von Oettingen and
Hugo Riemann. Oettingen’s and Riemann’s ton-
netzes are based on the same essential organi-
zational principles; recognizing celebrity over
historical priority, we will follow other authors
in calling this figure the Riemannian tonnetz.56
Figure 1.4.14 shows the tonnetz as Riemann
constructed it. This orientation, with major and
minor thirds deployed on two diagonals and
fifths horizontally, approximates a 60-​ degree
clockwise rotation of 1.4.10b. But there is a more
substantive difference, consideration of which
demands that we again confront matters of tun-
ing. Oettingen and Riemann supposed their dia-
grams to be generated by purely tuned intervals.
This assumption requires distinguishing not only
between different spellings of enharmonically
equivalent notes, but even between some notes
sharing the same signed letter name. Working
from C in the central row of Figure 1.4.14, for
example, we can move four places to the right—​
ascending through four perfect fifths—​ and
arrive at E. There is another E, however, immedi-
ately above and to the right of the original C, in
what Riemann called the “1st row of upper 3rds”
(Oberterzen). This E is not four fifths above C,
but a pure major third above C, and allowing for
octave adjustments, these two pitches are not
the same. The third-​generated E is lower than
the fifth-​generated E by a syntonic comma, a fre-
quency ratio of 81/​80.57 Oettingen and Riemann
indicated comma differences by underscores and
overscores; the underscored E is one syntonic
comma lower than the undecorated E. If the
“2nd row of upper 3rds” were extended one place
to the left, still another E would appear; this E
would be another comma lower, and like all its
rowmates it would bear a double underscore. The
Riemannian tonnetz is theoretically infinite, not
periodic in any direction; no two of its notes are
tuned identically, and considering the under-​
and overscores, no two are labeled identically.
Modern neo-​Riemannian theorists have gener-
ally disregarded these tuning differences, result-
ing in a distinction between the unconformed
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 27
FIGURE 1.4.14 The Riemannian tonnetz
Riemannian tonnetz of Figure 1.4.14 and the con-
formed neo-​Riemannian tonnetz of 1.4.5, which
assumes enharmonic equivalence and includes
only twelve different notes.58
Exercise 1.4.15 Figure 1.4.2, like 1.4.5,
provides only twelve pitch classes and does
not capture the pure-​interval conception
of Oettingen and Riemann. Explain why
Figure 1.4.1, even though it does account
for enharmonic spelling distinctions, does
not capture their conception either. While
Figure 1.4.14 is an unconformed tonnetz, 1.4.1
may be called a “partially conformed tonnetz.”
In what way is it conformed, and in what way
is it not? Topologically, Figure 1.4.14 is a plane
and 1.4.2 is a torus. What topology is implied
by  Figure 1.4.1?59
Exercise 1.4.16 Consider the chord
progression I–​IV–​ii–​V–​I in G major. Plot
the movement of the chord roots in this
progression in the Riemannian tonnetz of
Figure 1.4.14, assuming that roots of successive
chords are always related by pure intervals.
If you do this correctly, the progression will
end at a different G from the initial one. Is
the final pitch higher or lower? Discuss the
possible implications of this phenomenon for
performance
   by an a cappella choir.60
The tonnetzes we have considered spotlight
major and minor thirds and perfect fifths, and
28 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
therefore triads—​ trichords of prime form
037. It is possible to construct tonnetz-​like
diagrams using different intervals entirely.61
One example was suggested in Exercise 1.4.9.
For another example, one can construct a ton-
netz whose axes join pitch classes separated by
intervals of 1, 2, and 3 semitones (one of the
intervals must be the sum of the other two),
and whose triangles therefore represent 013
trichords. David Lewin (1998) uses such a dia-
gram in an analysis of the opening measures
of the F♯-​minor fugue from Book I of Bach’s
Well-​Tempered Clavier, whose subject strings
together several 013 trichords.62
Exercise 1.4.17 Draw a large portion of an 013
tonnetz as described above, assuming equal
temperament. Can you find a repeating tile
containing
   all twelve pitch classes?63
The tonnetz in Figure 1.4.18, generated verti-
cally by semitones and horizontally by tritones,
has some interesting topological properties. The
repeating six-​by-​two tiles are marked by dashed
lines in part (a), and one copy of this tile is
shown in (b). As before, the edges of the tiles are
only false boundaries. These tiles, however, are
arranged in a distinctive way: horizontally adja-
cent tiles appear identical, but vertically adjacent
tiles are left-​right mirror images of each other.
The arrowhead convention in 1.4.18b conveys
this reversal: the two vertical double arrowheads
point in the same direction, indicating that
FIGURE 1.4.18 A tonnetz generated by semitones and tritones
these two edges are conjoined in the usual way,
but the two horizontal arrowheads and are
oppositely oriented, indicating that those two
boundaries are understood to be glued together
in reverse, so that for example the note above F
is F♯, not C. To realize this gluing physically, we
would have to give the rectangular strip a half-​
twist before gluing its ends together, resulting
in the famous figure known as a Möbius strip, as
suggested in 1.4.18c.
The musical property that necessitates the
twist is the fact that when a tritone is transposed
by tritone, the original tritone returns with its
two pitch classes interchanged. One could say,
though, that the image of the twisted strip,
like the curvature of the circle of pitch-​class
space, is essentially fictitious, merely an aid to
visualizing the musical space in a physical way;
the twist is what we must do in order to con-
struct a space of the proper topology within our
familiar Euclidean world. The Möbius strip itself
does not accomplish the identification of the
two vertical boundaries of Figure 1.4.18b—​it
implies end-​to-​end tiling, not side-​to-​side—​but
as far as the discrete musical space is concerned,
side-​to-​side identification is unnecessary any-
how. Gluing those boundaries together would,
for example, allow us to move rightward from B♭
to E—​but there is no need to do so, because we
can already accomplish the same move leftward
from B♭ to E within the strip. The two original
vertical boundaries, in fact, are subsumed in
a single edge of the Möbius strip, which cir-
cumnavigates the loop twice as it traverses the
entire chromatic scale.64
Exercise 1.4.19 The tonnetz in Figure 1.4.18
is not triangulated. It could be triangulated
in either of two ways, using either or
diagonals. Verify that the same three-​note
pitch-​class sets arise either way. Recall from
Exercise 1.4.9 that these two triangulations
gave different results for the usual tonnetz
generated by major and minor thirds. What
special property of the semitone, the tritone,
or the combination of the two is responsible for
the  invariance of the trichords in this case?65
Example 1.4.20: Lutosławski, Musique
funèbre The opening measures of the
Prologue to Witold Lutosławski’s Musique
funèbre (1958) offer a simple illustration
of the application of a particular graphic
representation of pitch-​class space in mapping
musical motion, and also of the benefits
of modifying a general diagram to suit the
features of a specific example.66 The score of
mm. 1–​5 is presented in Figure 1.4.21. The
two solo cellos play in imitation at the tritone.
Within each part, motion is exclusively by
tritone and semitone. In the tonnetz tile of
Figure 1.4.18b, cello I begins at F at the upper
left corner, then moves right to B, down to
B♭, left to E, down to E♭, and so on, tracing
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 29
FIGURE 1.4.21 Lutosławski, Musique funèbre, Prologue, mm. 1–​5
a methodical pattern . Cello II follows the
same path in mirror image , beginning B–​F –​
E–​B♭–​A. But because leftward and rightward
motion from any point amount to the same
thing in this space, cello II’s path may also be
represented in Figure 1.4.18a by a path of the
same shape as the original, not reflected but
translated to a different starting point. The
semitone motion is at first strictly descending,
so both voices work their way down the
diagram. Tritones, in contrast, may either
ascend or descend; the left-​right dimension in
the figure does not correlate with register.
By m. 4, both voices have traversed all twelve
pitch classes and reached the bottom row of
the tile. At m. 5 cello I moves from C to B,
disappearing off the bottom of the tile and
reappearing at the top, on the opposite side; a
beat later cello II likewise moves from G♭ to F. At
this point, however, the motion reverses. After
playing the B–​F tritone, cello I ascends, back
across the seam from F to F♯. Cello II similarly
reverses direction, and both voices work their
way back up through the picture.
The B–​F tritone serves as an impenetrable
boundary throughout the movement: whenever
it is reached, whether from above or below,
the next semitone motion is in the opposite
direction. This observation suggests that a
simpler picture may suffice for the analysis of
Lutosławski’s Prologue. Figure 1.4.22 abandons
the Möbius strip topology, replacing it with
an uncomplicated ladder consisting of two
vertical rails generated by semitones, and
seven (not six) horizontal rungs representing
tritones. The B–​F tritone appears twice, as both
the top and the bottom rungs of the ladder.
These two rungs theoretically represent the
same region of the space of Figure 1.4.18, but
they are distinct in the customized space of
1.4.22 because of the composer’s systematic
differentiation between B–​F-​as-​top-​boundary
and B–​F-​as-​bottom-​boundary. The voices
trace systematic paths up and down the
ladder, alternately traversing rails and rungs,
30 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
FIGURE 1.4.22 Ladder graph for analysis of
Musique funèbre
and reversing direction whenever—​and only
whenever—​the top or bottom rung is reached.
Each voice engages all twelve pitch classes
on its way down the ladder and again, in a
different order, on the way back up, forming an
ordered 24-​pc succession containing every pitch
class twice, which repeats in cyclic fashion.
Although this description of motion through
the ladder emphasizes pairs of tritone-​related
pitch classes, the rhythm and phrase indications
more often highlight 016 subsets—​the only
set type formed by three-​note segments of the
pattern or by triangles of either orientation in
the ladder and in the corresponding tonnetz
(recall Exercise 1.4.19 above).
Because of the short time interval of the
imitation, the two voices play a game of tag,
occasionally merging, always remaining in
close proximity to one another on the ladder,
and never straying more than one rung apart.
When they are a rung apart, they are always
on opposite rails, forming between them the
interval of a perfect fourth or fifth, never a
semitone. The only vertical intervals to appear
in these opening measures are unisons/​octaves,
tritones, and perfect fourths/​fifths.
Figure 1.4.23 illustrates the beginning of this
narrative, tracing the ladder positions of the
two voices through mm. 1–​2. It is worth taking
a moment to consider how the time dimension
FIGURE 1.4.23 Musique funèbre, mm. 1–​2 in the semitone-​tritone ladder
has been depicted in this figure. Time, like pitch,
forms a space in its own right, in principle a
one-​dimensional continuum naturally modeled
by the real numbers (a technique familiar to
physics students). This space is often called the
time domain; we will refer to it as temporal space
and label it simply time. Although time is a
continuous space, musical time, like musical
pitch, is commonly segmented into chunks—​
beats—​making a discrete representation of time
suitable for many purposes. In the Lutosławski
excerpt, motion occurs only on the half-​note
beats, so this beat space provides the resolution
necessary to follow the temporal progress of
the piece. The eight ladder snapshots in Figure
1.4.23 depict pitches at the first eight points
of this half-​note beat space—​or more precisely
at eight of the first ten points, as there is no
motion on the final beat of either m. 1 or m. 2.
Beat space thus adds a dimension to the pitch-​
based analysis, operating in conjunction with
the two-​dimensional ladder to produce a three-​
dimensional time-​space narrative.67
As the piece continues and the polyphonic
texture expands, the relationships between
voices remain under careful control. The third
voice to enter is a solo viola, in m. 6. The viola
follows a course like those of the cellos, and
all three remain within one rung of each other
on the ladder, but semitones start appearing
vertically, as two voices now sometimes occupy
adjacent positions on the same rail. With the
entry of violins in mm. 16–​17, voices are now
sometimes two rungs apart—​but initially
only on the same rail, so major seconds are
possible here, but major thirds are not available
until more violins have entered in m. 22. The
clustering of voices in the space of Figure
1.4.22, in other words, remains apparent, but
the clusters gradually expand to fill more of the
space. By the time the second group of double
basses enters at m. 29, all possible intervals in
pitch-​class space have been realized as vertical
simultaneities. Even here, however, all ten
voices remain within a span of four adjacent
rungs on the ladder (the sounding notes at
the downbeat of m. 29 are D–​A♭–​E♭–​B♭–​F), so
that for example the major third B♭–​D (two
rungs apart) is a possible vertical interval, but
C–​E (four rungs apart) is not. The exceptional
nature of the B–​F tritone is spotlighted in the
climactic passage in mm. 30–​32 and two similar
sections later, in which all voices converge on
these
   notes.
Exercise 1.4.24 As an alternative model for
the analysis of this excerpt from Musique
funèbre, start with the pitch-​class circle (Figure
1.2.3) and draw six diameters across the circle,
connecting tritone-​related notes. What sort of
path does each voice follow on this map of the
space? Can you modify the construction slightly
to account for the special boundary behavior of
the B–​F tritone? Can you see how this picture
can be topologically deformed into the ladder of
Figure
   1.4.22?
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 31
Exercise 1.4.25 Return to the alternate
tonnetz triangulation described in Exercise
1.4.9. Use this figure to analyze overlapping
three-​note fragments in mm. 1–​3 and m. 19 of
“Nacht”
   from Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire.68
Exercise 1.4.26 In the well-​known fugal
first movement of Bartók’s Music for String
Instruments, Percussion, and Celesta, the
entries of the fugue subject form two
concurrent chains. One chain consists of
entries on the notes A–​E–​B–​…, ascending by
perfect fifths, while the other chain proceeds
A–​D–​G–​…, descending by perfect fifths.
(The initial entry on A inaugurates both
chains.) The two chains converge on E♭ at the
movement’s climax and on A at its conclusion.
Choose an appropriate figure from this
chapter on which to map the two chains of
entries, and construct such a map as a series
of  
snapshots similar to Figure 1.4.23.
Tonnetz diagrams are possible for generic
and diatonic as well as chromatic spaces. Figure
1.4.27 illustrates one such construction, a
generic tonnetz generated by thirds (horizon-
tally) and fifths (vertically). Like other generic
spaces we have constructed, this generic ton-
netz can easily be made into a diatonic ton-
netz by applying appropriate accidentals. The
tiles shown in the figure are parallelograms.
Other configurations of a generic tonnetz and
its modular tiles are possible, subject to the
constraint that a tile must contain each of the
seven letter names exactly once. In any case,
FIGURE 1.4.27 A generic tonnetz
32 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
a parallelogram is topologically equivalent to
a rectangle—​if an appropriate shearing trans-
formation were applied to the figure, the tiles
would become rectangles69—​and Figure 1.4.27
retains the toroidal topology of the earlier fig-
ures. If the letter names C–​B in this figure are
replaced by scale degrees 1̂–​7̂, the resulting pic-
ture of scale-​degree space matches that of Fred
Lerdahl (2001, 100).
Figure 1.4.28 shows two different trian-
gulations of the generic tonnetz. In part (a),
the triangles form generic triads such as C–​
E–​G, while in (b), trichords such as C–​E–​F are
formed instead. Judging by the importance
of triads in the neo-​Riemannian tonnetz, the
reader may suppose that the former arrange-
ment is more useful, but it is the second ver-
sion to which we shall return more often. The
triangulation in (b) has the attractive property
that it provides simple representations of all
generic intervals: in this triangulation, unlike
the other, lines connect C to every other
generic pitch class. The lines at the three dif-
ferent slopes, as they wrap around the torus,
trace the three circular arrangements of
generic pitch-​class space encountered previ-
ously in the spaces gpc (Figure 1.2.8, arranged
by step), gfifth (1.3.8, arranged by fourth/​
fifth), and gthird (1.3.12, arranged by third).
Because of this property, the tonnetz of Figure
1.4.28b enables appealing depictions of many
aspects of generic or diatonic structure; we
shall revisit it as we investigate chordal and
tonal spaces in Chapter 4 and generic spaces
in Chapter 13.
FIGURE 1.4.28 Two triangulations of the generic tonnetz
Exercise 1.4.29
(a) The generic tonnetz in Figure 1.4.27
(without any shearing) cannot be tiled with
identical rectangular modules whose sides
run vertically and horizontally, meeting at
the corners. How do you know this?
(b) In Figure 1.4.28a, every generic triad
such as C–​E–​G appears in triangles of
two different orientations . In the
alternate triangulation of 1.4.28b, however,
a trichord such as C–​E–​F appears in a
triangle of one orientation but not the
other . What accounts for the difference?
(c) Considering triangles of both orientations,
how many different generic triads are
represented in Figure 1.4.28a? How many
different generic trichords are represented
in 1.4.28b?
(d) Suppose the tiles from Figure 1.4.27 are
superimposed upon Figures 1.4.28a and
1.4.28b. In (a), how many copies of each
triad are contained in each tile? In (b), how
many copies of each trichord are contained
in each tile?
(e) An alternative tiling of Figure 1.4.28a is
possible, forming a Möbius strip rather
than a torus (that is, the tiles are connected
end-​to-​end only, with a twist required as in
1.4.18), so that each tile contains just one
copy of each generic triad. Can you find
  such a tiling?70
NOTES
1. The benefits of visual representation are not,
of course, limited to musical phenomena. As Edward
Tufte has written, “often the most effective way to
describe, explore, and summarize a set of num-
bers—​even a very large set—​is to look at pictures
of those numbers” (Tufte 2001, 9). Some scientists
have proposed that map-​making was as important
as language in the evolutionary development of the
human brain and the differentiation of humans from
other species (Dawkins 1998, 299). On the other
hand, the privileged position of visual metaphors
in human thought, sometimes known as ocularcen-
trism, has not gone unchallenged; see, for example,
Kavanagh 2004.
2. For commentary on the inadequacies of the
“Euclidean/​Cartesian score-​plane,” see Lewin [1986]
2006b, 81.
3. Pitch numbers are used in music theory less
consistently than the pitch-​class numbers to be intro-
duced in Section 1.2. The assignment of the number
0 to middle C is, of course, arbitrary. An alternative
to the system shown in Figure 1.1.1, well known in
some circles, is MIDI note-​numbering, which assigns
to middle C the number 60.
4. The same convention is routinely observed in
physics, when an idealized infinite space-​time contin-
uum is assumed in calculations arising in the study of
everyday physical phenomena.
5. From antiquity through the Middle Ages, a
monochord—​ a single string—​ served as a primary
basis for understanding musical pitch and motion.
Some ancient Greek writings on music used string-​
length–​based models of pitch space comparable to
Figure 1.1.2, but vertically oriented with the lowest
pitches at the top. See, for example, the Sectio canonis,
attributed inconclusively to Euclid and translated in
Barker 1989, 190–​ 208, especially the diagram on
page 208. Barker (134, note 43) also observes that
“the metaphors of ‘up’ and ‘down,’ and of movement
between high and low, are not built into ordinary
Greek in the way that those of tension and relaxation
are.” On the question of whether the traditional use
of the spatial terms up, down, high, and low in refer-
ence to pitch is anything more than metaphorical, see
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 33
Zbikowski 2002, 65–​77. Cellists, who produce higher
pitches by moving their fingers down, may have a dis-
tinctive perspective on the last question.
6. Figures 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 are drawn as open half-​
lines, bounded on one end by a point that is not an
element of the space. But the topology of an open half-​
line is the same as the topology of a line unbounded
at either end.
7. Discrete spaces may be defined in a topologically
precise way, based on the idea that a space is discrete
if every point in the space is surrounded by some
small region containing no other points of the space.
Mathematicians do not generally speak of “continuous
spaces,” reserving the notion of continuity for func-
tions rather than sets. Our understanding of “con-
tinuous spaces” will remain fairly informal, though
it corresponds loosely with the topological concept
of path-​connectedness. A space is path-​connected if any
two of its points can be joined by a path—​a continuous
mapping from an interval in the real number line into
the space in question. Continuous pitch space is path-​
connected, while discrete pitch space is not. There
exist spaces for which neither discrete nor continuous
is an appropriate description, for instance a space of
pitches corresponding to the rational numbers within
the real number line.
8. The unnotated inflections associated with the
medieval and Renaissance practice of musica ficta offer
another situation in which one note—​a single ele-
ment of an abstract space—​may be associated with
more than one physical pitch.
9. See Section 13.4 for more discussion of the
related terms genus, generic, species, and specific. Our
usage of these words can be traced to the first para-
graph of Clough and Myerson 1985, where the authors
explain that “triad” is a generic label for B–​D–​F, while
“diminished triad” is a specific label for B♮–​D♮–​F♮. Many
subsequent authors have used the words in similar (if
not always identical) ways.
10. An example of such a scale would be the
scale of the ninth-​century Enchiriadis treatises (see
Anonymous 1995), notorious for its augmented
octaves.
11. This sense of generic equivalence will be invoked
occasionally in this book, for instance in the discus-
sion of the line of fifths in Section 1.3 and in Exercise
2.4.5. The interplay between specific and generic
structure will be a primary topic of study in Part Four.
12. Similar comments are often made about nam-
ing diatonic collections in post-​tonal contexts; see for
example Straus 2016, 244–​46, where notations such
as DIA1♭ are introduced.
13. Technically the interval in pitch separating
C from E♭ in Figure 1.1.8b is not a “minor tenth” but
“15.” Intervals in pitch can distinguish a minor tenth
34 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
(15 semitones) from a major tenth (16), but cannot
distinguish a minor tenth from an augmented ninth
(also 15 semitones). The name “minor tenth” relies
on information from both chromatic and generic
spaces.
14. A particularly ungainly consequence of this
convention is that the unison, which is after all an
interval between two notes separated by no distance
at all, is somehow considered to have a positive size—​
as if one were to claim to have walked a mile while
standing still, or to declare a baby to be a year old on
the day she is born. It is perhaps relevant in this con-
text that the Greeks, to whom this convention can be
traced, had no concept of the number zero.
15. The awkwardness of the usual interval-​naming
convention has been noted by several previous authors,
including Lewin [1987] 2007, 16–​ 17, and Taneyev
[1909] 1962, 25–​28. Taneyev devotes the first several
pages of the first chapter of his counterpoint treatise
to explaining his numbering based on step-​counting,
which he calls “a more accurate method of indicating
intervals than that in general use” (25). See Segall 2014
for discussion of Taneyev’s theory of counterpoint.
16. It is traditional, of course, to write 𝄪 rather than
♯ ♯ for double sharps. We will use the notation ♯ ♯ when
we wish to emphasize the position of double sharps
within a systematic larger pattern (a pattern that may
also include double flats, triple sharps, and so on).
17. Equal temperament and enharmonic equiva-
lence, while they often go hand in hand, are not the
same thing. A form of enharmonic equivalence always
holds on the piano—​F♯ and G♭ are always the same
pitch—​even though a piano may be tuned in some-
thing other than equal temperament. Thus enharmonic
equivalence does not imply equal temperament. While
the converse (equal temperament implies enharmonic
equivalence) is valid in the acoustical sense, there is
a syntactic sense in which enharmonic equivalence
need not be assumed even in equal-​tempered spaces.
Indeed, traditional tonal theory observes enharmonic
distinctions, as when we say that the leading tone in
G major is correctly spelled as F♯, not G♭, even if played
on an equal-​tempered piano. The conception of tun-
ings as mappings facilitates the study of such distinc-
tions by allowing two different elements of srl to map
onto the same point of frequency space.
18. Though extremely rare in musical scores, triple
sharps and flats are not unknown. Readers who enjoy
such things will find triple sharps in Valentin Alkan’s
Etude, Op. 39, No. 10 (1857), m. 291, and Max Reger’s
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 49, No. 2 (1900),
IV, m. 91. Bazayev 2013 notes examples of triple
sharps in the music of Nikolai Roslavets, and several
triple flats occur in Roslavets’s Piano Sonata No. 1
(1914), mm. 152–​53. Extreme accidentals have also
been introduced occasionally in theoretical contexts.
For example, Lewin ([1984] 2006, 195–​96) reads a D♭-​
major triad in Parsifal as E♭ ♭ ♭ major, and Keller (1976,
79) determines that the modulations in the opening
section of Mozart’s Fantasy in C Minor, K. 475, lead
not back to the original C minor but to F♭ ♭ ♭ ♭ ♭ minor.
For an extraordinary example see Dumitrescu 2007,
a reconstruction of a 16th-​century modulating canon
in whose concluding section two of the voices are
notated in a fifteen-​flat (!) key signature (one triple
flat and six double flats).
19. A spiral similar to Figure 1.2.1 appears in
Westergaard 1975, 13. Helical pitch representations
such as Figure 1.2.2 are often associated with the work
of Roger Shepard; see, for example, Shepard 1982, 353.
Precedents for this model, however, can be found as
early as the mid-​nineteenth century (Marvin 1987, 66).
20. Musical reasons for choosing the octave as the
interval governing the construction of Figures 1.2.1–​
1.2.3 are probably self-​evident. As far as the linear
structure of pitch space is concerned, however, the
octave enjoys no special privileges. Representations
analogous to all three of these figures could be con-
structed by aligning pitches separated by perfect fifths
or any other desired interval.
21. Circular pitch diagrams appeared, for example,
in Lippius [1612] 1977, Descartes [1653] 2013 (the
diagrams apparently having been added by 1635 to
the original 1618 manuscript), and Newton [1665]
2013. See also Wardhaugh 2008, 29–​58. The question
of whether musical pitch should be regarded as dis-
crete or continuous was of great importance to many
of the same scholars.
22. The chroma circle appears, for example, in
Shepard 1982, 360. For the use of clock diagrams in
pitch-​class set theory, see Straus 2016, 46ff or Roig-​
Francolí 2008, 71ff.
23. Though both spaces are conceptually much
older, Morris 1987 may have been the first to for-
malize the terms pitch space and pitch-​class space and
the distinction between them. In the stylistic con-
vention followed here, the noun pitch class contains
no hyphen, but the compound modifier in pitch-​class
space is hyphenated.
24. Hint for Exercise 1.2.5: In a circle, a path may
pass through the same point more than once.
25. The word dimension is defined in several differ-
ent ways in mathematics; the dimension of a vector
space is defined differently from the dimension of a
manifold, for example. We will not give a precise defi-
nition here; as long as readers are reasonably familiar
with Euclidean space in one, two, and three dimen-
sions they should be able to follow the discussion.
26. Hint for Exercise 1.2.6: A correct answer may
be obtained by inserting three different numbers in
the blanks in the following sentence: “Figure 1.2.2 is
a _​_​_-dimensional
​​ projection of an embedding of
a _​_​_​​-dimensional manifold in a _​_​_​-dimensional
space.”
27. Some world maps show the same regions at
both ends, most often in far eastern Russia and west-
ern Alaska; Cohn (2012, 28) accordingly calls the
inclusion of the same element on both sides of a graph
“a Bering Strait flaw.” Tufte (2001, 98–​99), however,
considers the graphical redundancy a virtue and advo-
cates the practice.
28. Twelve-​and seven-​note pitch-​class spaces have
the most obvious musical applications, but math-
ematically there is no hindrance to constructing a
pitch-​class space with any desired number of notes.
Spaces of other sizes are sometimes considered in the
study of microtonal pitch systems with more than
twelve notes per octave (a microtone is any interval
smaller than the usual semitone), a few examples of
which will be studied in Chapter 14.
29. Fred Lerdahl (2001, 99ff) works extensively
with scale-​degree space, though he never explicitly
presents its circular diagram.
30. Because signed letter space is discrete rather
than continuous, it is not quite accurate to say that the
space itself has the topology of a cylinder; rather, we are
modeling the space as a discrete subspace of a space of
cylindrical topology. Figure 1.2.11b may be considered
to be drawn not in a plane but in a punctured plane from
which the central point has been removed; a punctured
plane has the topology of a cylinder.
31. Hint for Exercise 1.2.12: In some order, the
last two questions have two of the following three
answers: 7, 12, infinitely many. A diagram of the
enharmonic equivalence regions in signed letter space
may be found in Hook 2007c, 104.
32. Note carefully the difference between signed
and spelled. Signs (accidentals) are applied to letters
in order to distinguish different notes with the same
letter name, such as D♭, D, and D♯. Spelling applies to
pitches or to pitch classes, and is used to distinguish
different names for enharmonically equivalent notes,
such as B♯ ♯, C♯, and D♭. This is why we refer to signed
letters but to spelled pitch classes.
33. It is traditional to consider the generating
interval of pc to be the perfect fifth, but because the
elements of the space are pitch classes, not pitches,
there is no way to distinguish fourths from fifths, and
indeed, the perfect fourth would serve as a generator
just as well. The conventional privileging of the fifth
over the fourth in this and many other contexts (for
example, “descending-​fifths sequences”) is presum-
ably motivated by its greater harmonic stability.
34. Some jazz textbooks (for example, Coker 1975,
37) orient the circle of fifths with ascending fifths
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 35
proceeding counterclockwise. Levine 1995 calls the
two orientations the “circle of fifths” and the “circle of
fourths”—​a confusing nomenclature, inasmuch as the
distinction between fourths and fifths in such a figure
depends not only on the arrangement of the figure but
also on the direction in which one traverses it and on
whether the interval from one pitch class to another
is measured in the ascending or descending direction.
35. Tonal spaces whose elements are key areas
rather than notes will be explored in Chapter 4. For
an entertaining survey of some early depictions of the
circle of fifths, see Westergaard 1996, 12–​13.
36. As a guideline for note-​spelling, compactness
along the line of fifths is not the only criterion and
is sometimes superseded by others. For example,
the line-​of-​fifths rule favors the spelling C–​C♯–​E over
C–​D♭–​E, but the latter is likely to be preferred in the
context of a passage in F minor. For another example
see Exercise 14.1.3f.
37. Theoretical study of the line of fifths can be
traced at least to Rameau, who took an interest in “triple
progressions” of the form 1–​3–​9–​27–​···, to which he
was apparently introduced by Louis-​ Bertrand Castel
(Christensen 1993, 178–​79). The ratio of 3 between suc-
cessive terms in this geometric progression corresponds
to the interval of a twelfth in pitch space, or a fifth when
octave differences are disregarded. Organization by fifth
is central to the conception of pitch in Regener 1973.
Temperley 2000 presents basic applications of the line
of fifths, and Temperley 2001, 115–​36 and 183–​87,
offers more detailed discussion, including ramifications
for note-​spelling and key-​finding. Temperley refers to
signed letter names as tonal pitch classes (comparable to
spelled pitch classes as used here).
38. The concept of signed scale degrees and some
other ideas in this exercise were suggested by Nathan
Lam (2020).
39. Hint for Exercise 1.3.7d: In the example men-
tioned, the spc number of the tonic E♭ is n =​−5, the
spc number of C♭ is m =​−9, and the ssd number of ♭6̂ is
k =​−6. Check a few other examples.
40. There is a third alternative: Elaine Chew’s spiral
array, to be studied in Section 4.4, is constructed by
aligning every fourth note of the line of fifths.
41. Functional affinities between third-​ related
chords, attributable to common tones and effi-
cient voice leading, are implicit or explicit in several
historically significant conceptions of harmonic
theory. Notable examples include the figured-​ bass
tradition by which a C-​ major triad in first inver-
sion is regarded as a “chord on E”; Rameau’s double
emploi; Hauptmann’s “triad of keys” construction;
Riemann’s functional categories, which tend to group
third-​related chords together; and the common phe-
nomenon in Schenkerian theory of a mediant or
36 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
submediant harmony serving to prolong a tonic. For
a synopsis of double emploi see Lester 1992, 133–​35.
For Hauptmann’s triad of keys and the development
of Riemann’s function theory see Harrison 1994,
224–​25 and 265–​92 respectively. See also Tymoczko
2011, 231–​32.
42. The properties described in Exercise 1.3.13 will
be explored more fully in Chapters 5 and 13–​14; see in
particular Exercise 5.3.7c.
43. Tonnetz is one of several terms from German
harmonic theory to have infiltrated English-​language
scholarship; others include Schritt, Wechsel, and
Leittonwechsel. Many authors, respecting the Teutonic
origins of these terms, italicize and capitalize them
at each appearance and dutifully employ the German
plurals (Tonnetze, Schritte, Wechsel, Leittonwechsel).
These terms now appear in the literature—​and will
appear throughout this book—​with such a frequency
that this convention is in danger of becoming a dis-
traction, so I have chosen to treat them as ordinary
English nouns.
44. The terms conformed tonnetz and unconformed
tonnetz have their origins in Harrison 2002.
45. Some readers may suppose that wrapping a
plane both horizontally and vertically should result in
a sphere, which is topologically distinct from a torus.
To see one reason why a sphere is not the appropri-
ate topology for a tonnetz, notice that in a sphere, a
north-​south path and an east-​west path intersect in
two distinct points on opposite sides of the sphere.
In the tonnetz of Figure 1.4.3, a north-​south path
and an east-​west path always intersect in only a sin-
gle point.
46. The one-​dimensional analog of the torus is the
circle, which may be called 𝕋1. The observation that the
torus is a product of two circles may be summarized
by saying that 𝕋2 is topologically equivalent to 𝕋1 × 𝕋1.
47. Mathematically, Figure 1.4.4 depicts a non-​
isometric embedding of a two-​dimensional space in
a three-​dimensional space: equidistant points in the
torus may fail to be equidistant in the embedding.
48. Tymoczko 2012, 38–​ 39, comments on the
question of whether toroidal structure is intrinsic to
the tonnetz, and more generally on the relationship
between discrete tonnetz structure and continuous
spaces.
49. The property mentioned in Exercise 1.4.7a was
noted by Carl Friedrich Weitzmann in his 1853 mono-
graph on the augmented triad. See Cohn 2000, 90–​91.
50. Hint for Exercise 1.4.7c: Remember that the left-
most and rightmost columns shown in Figure 1.4.3
are adjacent.
51. Cohn 2011 offers further comparisons among
several roughly equivalent tonnetz geometries, includ-
ing historical notes on the provenance of each version.
 52. The use of 3:4:5 triangles in the tonnetz
was suggested by Charles Smith (2003). The angle
between the two shortest sides in a 3:4:5 triangle is
a right angle. The possibility of depicting intervals in
this way is fortuitous: major and minor triads are the
only three-​note set class whose constituent inter-
val classes can form right triangles, and one of only
three set classes for which they can form triangles
at all. For a different approach to conveying pitch
distances by tonnetz geometry, see Brower 2008,
64–​65, Figures 15 and 16.
53. For a tonnetz with major thirds and perfect fifths
oriented at right angles—​an ic 4-​5 tonnetz, but still an
037 tonnetz—​see Longuet-​Higgins [1962] 1987.
54. Also, the relationship of accidentals to the
white-​note diatonic collection is such that sharps
and flats (and double sharps and double flats, and so
on) are symmetrically positioned about the note D in
many arrangements. This sharp-​flat symmetry about
D can be seen if Figure 1.4.1 is redrawn with D at its
center, and also in the Riemannian tonnetz of Figure
1.4.14 below.
55. One of the most preeminent and prolific math-
ematicians of his or any other era, Euler (pronounced
“Oiler”) also published five treatises on music. A dia-
gram resembling a tonnetz appears in Euler [1739]
1968, 147, and a picture essentially identical to
Figure 1.4.10c appears in Euler [1773] 1960, 584.
See Mooney 1996 for a wealth of detail on the his-
tory of the tonnetz, Cohn 1998a for a brief synopsis,
and Cohn 2011 for further commentary on the finer
distinctions among some of the various versions.
56. See Riemann 1914–​15, 20, translated in Wason
and Marvin 1992, 102; and Oettingen 1866, 15. The
diagonal thirds axes of Figure 1.4.14 follow Riemann
1914–​ 15; Oettingen’s tonnetz is rectilinear, with
major thirds oriented vertically. A tonnetz in Riemann
1900 (906) follows the Oettingen orientation; in both
of his versions Riemann’s underscores correspond to
Oettingen’s overscores. The 1900 tonnetz covers a
larger portion of the space than Figure 1.4.14, extend-
ing as far as B♭ ♭ ♭ (with a triple overscore) and F♯ ♯ ♯ (with
a triple underscore).
57. If the central C is assigned a frequency value of
1, the fifth-​generated E (the Pythagorean major third)
has frequency equal to ( 32 ) /22 = 64
4 81 . (The fraction on
the left side of this equation can be interpreted as “up
four perfect fifths and down two octaves.”) The E a
pure major third above C (the just major third), mean-
while, has frequency 54 = 64 80
. The two therefore differ
by a ratio of 81/​80, which corresponds to an interval
of 12 ⋅ log2(81/​80) ≈ 0.215 equal-​tempered semitones,
slightly more than one-​fifth of a semitone.
58. The adjective neo-​Riemannian, introduced in
Cohn 1996 (although “Neo-​Riemannism” appeared
in Agmon 1995, 204), has become problematic
through its ever broader application, to the point
that Cohn himself (2012, xiii–​xiv) largely eschews
it. In this book I restrict the use of this term essen-
tially to three situations for which I believe it is
appropriate and for which no other accepted term
is available: the neo-​Riemannian tonnetz described
here; the triadic transformations P, L, and R and
their compounds, which will first be encountered in
Section 2.3 and which are generally agreed to occupy
a central position in neo-​Riemannian theory; and
a space to be introduced in Section 4.2 called neo-​
Riemannian triad space, which is intimately related
both to the neo-​Riemannian tonnetz and to the PLR
family of transformations. In the latter two settings
we need not be quite so diligent about distinguish-
ing Riemannian from neo-​Riemannian—​indeed, P,
L, and R are Riemannian transformations in a tech-
nical sense to be defined in Chapter 8, and we will
sometimes refer to neo-​Riemannian triad space as
Riemann space for short. In the case of the two very
different tonnetzes of Figures 1.4.14 and 1.4.5, how-
ever, the distinction is indispensable. Rings 2011a
contrasts “paleo-​Riemannian” and neo-​Riemannian
analytical methodologies.
59. The note names in Figure 1.4.1 are signed
letters (spelled pitch classes). The standard musi-
cal notation to which these note names correspond
may be said to be “partially conformed” in the same
way as the figure: notation does not recognize the
syntonic comma (notes separated by a syntonic
comma have the same spelling), but it does recog-
nize the Pythagorean comma between F♯ and G♭. The
Pythagorean comma is the difference between twelve
pure perfect fifths and seven pure octaves; its fre-
quency ratio is 312/​219, corresponding to an interval
of 0.235 equal-​tempered semitones, just a bit larger
than the syntonic comma.
60. Hint for Exercise 1.4.16: The second move, from
C to A, is a descending pure minor third, immediately
up and to the left in the Riemannian tonnetz. The phe-
nomenon described in this exercise, sometimes called
syntonic drift, was apparently first noted in a letter
written by Giovanni Battista Benedetti to Cipriano de
Rore around 1563 (Palisca 1985, 262–​64). Syntonic
drift occurs also under the assumption that each
chord is purely tuned and that common tones are sus-
tained from chord to chord. See Lindley 2001, 291–​92,
and Sethares 2005, 170–​71.
61. In a use of the word generic unrelated to the
generic spaces considered in this book, Cohn 1997
introduces the term generic tonnetz for tonnetz-​
type diagrams generated by any desired intervals, in
microtonal spaces as well as the usual twelve-​note
pitch-​class space. Several tonnetzes of different
Pitch and Pitch-Class Spaces • 37
intervallic structures figure prominently in Brown
2003. Tonnetzes for all twelve trichordal set classes
may be found in the online appendices to Straus 2011.
As with the 037 tonnetzes in this chapter, there is
more than one way to draw any of these.
62. Technically Lewin’s graph is not the 013 ton-
netz described here but its dual graph, in a sense that
will be explained in Chapter 3 and explored further in
Chapter 4. See Exercise 4.4.4.
63. Hint for Exercise 1.4.17: There is more than one
way to lay out this space and its repeating modules.
Depending on the arrangement you choose, you may
find that rectangular tiles will not work but some
other shape will.
64. If the identification of the vertical boundar-
ies is performed (in similar orientation) in addition
to that of the horizontal boundaries (in opposite
orientation), the resulting surface is known as a
Klein bottle. The Klein bottle is a two-​dimensional
manifold, but even in three-​dimensional space it
is not possible to construct a Klein bottle without
making the surface cross through itself. (It is pos-
sible in four dimensions.) See Weeks 2020, 41–​54,
for the topology of Möbius strips and Klein bottles,
and Peck 2003 for some advanced tonnetz applica-
tions of Klein bottles.
65. Hint for Exercise 1.4.19: What happens if you
construct a tonnetz generated by semitones and per-
fect fifths? By whole tones and tritones?
66. Peck 2003 analyzes the opening of Musique
funèbre, situating it within a fragment of a Klein-​bot-
tle tonnetz.
67. Cohn (2012, 115) refers to a series of snap-
shots depicting motion through a space as a “strobo-
scopic portrait.”
38 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
68. The opening of “Nacht” is another of the
examples in Peck 2003; see also analyses by Gillespie
(1992), Brown (2003, 35–​38), and Straus (2016, 28–​
31). There are ten 014 trichords in mm. 1–​3. Nine of
them form a logical path through the appropriate ton-
netz; one is anomalous.
69. See Figure 4.3.1b for a rectangular tile for the
generic tonnetz.
70. Hints for Exercise 1.4.29: The property in (a) has
something to do with the number 7; that in (b) has to
do with properties of the particular generic trichords
involved. The tiles in (e) can be parallelograms two
columns wide, with two vertical sides and two slop-
ing sides. We will revisit this generic Möbius strip in
Chapter 4; see Exercise 4.4.1.
SUGGESTED READING
Edward Tufte’s The Visual Display of Quantitative
Information (first published in 1983; 2nd edition,
2001) inaugurated a remarkable series of books,
themselves masterpieces of design, recommended
to anyone interested in developing effective
practices for communicating through figures and
diagrams. Isaacson (forthcoming) applies Tufte’s
principles in the field of music visualization.
Zbikowski 2002 and Spitzer 2003 comment on the
metaphorical nature of mappings between musi-
cal and physical spaces. Westergaard 1996 offers
a (literally) poetic survey of a few musical spaces.
For an introduction to concepts of topology and
geometry that is simultaneously accessible, light-
hearted, and mathematically conscientious, see
Weeks 2020. A more traditional presentation of
topology is Munkres 2018.
 2
Sets, Functions, and Relations
MANY MUSIC theorists are familiar with set
theory in the context of small finite sets of
pitch classes; most are probably aware that
the mathematical field of set theory is vastly
richer. All of the spaces studied in Chapter 1
are, first and foremost, sets. Many of these
spaces are theoretically infinite sets, but small
finite sets such as scales and chords are also
of great musical interest, and relationships
among these various sets will engage our atten-
tion many times.
These observations are the justification for
the modest survey of set theory in this chapter,
which also covers the essential concepts of func-
tions (transformations), relations, equivalence
relations, and modular arithmetic. The examples
and exercises in this chapter introduce a variety
of musically significant sets, functions, and rela-
tions that will reappear many times later. The
mathematics here is completely standard, and
much of the terrain will be recognizable to many
readers, but it is included to ensure that readers
are well acquainted with it before delving into
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0002
the subsequent applications. Even those already
conversant with this material may benefit from
considering some of the examples and exercises,
some of which present useful principles that will
be invoked in later chapters. Topics that may be
new for many readers include multisets, intro-
duced at the end of Section 2.2, and the func-
tions defined on spelled pitch-​ class space in
Section 2.6.1
2.1 SETS
We follow the nearly universal convention of
listing the elements of a set in braces;2 thus the
set whose members are the numbers 1, 4, and 6
is written {1, 4, 6}. If this set is denoted S, then
4 ∈ S is a shorthand for the true statement “4 is
an element of S,” and 5 ∉ S for the equally true
statement “5 is not an element of S.” Another
common shorthand is the ellipsis: {0, 1, …, 11}
is readily understood as the set consisting of all
twelve integers from 0 through 11, while {…,
−4, −2, 0, 2, 4, …} is the infinite set of all even
integers (positive, negative, and 0). The brace The discussion in Chapter 1 suggests that
notation may also be employed more informally, continuous pitch space cpitch may be identified
with a description rather than a list inside the with ℝ, and that either discrete chromatic pitch
braces; for instance {all odd positive integers} space pitch or generic pitch space gpitch may
could denote the set whose elements are 1, 3, be identified with ℤ. Musical interpretations of
5, …, while {all prime numbers} has elements 2, ℚ are less obvious, but the rational representa-
3, 5, 7, 11, … .3 Sets are by definition unordered: tion of intervals in just intonation is one exam-
{1, 4, 6} and {4, 6, 1}, though written differently, ple, and in the time domain it may be noted that
are the same set. (Ordered sets, a different—​and conventional rhythmic notation, including ties
differently notated—​construction, will be dis- and tuplets, enables the representation of all
cussed in Section 2.2.) positive rational durations.
Several familiar and useful sets of numbers The elements of a set need not be numbers:
are conventionally denoted as follows: one can form a set whose elements are planets,
US presidents, or musical notes (or note names,
ℝ =​{all real numbers} or other symbols representing notes). Chromatic
ℤ =​{all integers} =​{… , −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, …} pitch-​class space may thus be written simply as
ℚ =​{all rational numbers} =​{a ∕ b | a, b ∈ ℤ, b ≠ 0} pc =​{C, C♯, …, B}, and chromatic pitch space as
pitch =​{…, A♯3, B3, C4, C♯4, D4, …}. The elements
These sets are listed for reference in Appendix of a set may themselves be sets; for example, we
2, along with many other sets and other stan- may consider a set of triads, each of which is a
dard mathematical structures used in this set of three notes. The elements of a set do not
book. The vertical bar in the last expression for all need to be the same kind of object: one can
ℚ may be read as “such that” or “where”: ℚ is contemplate a set such as {6, Jupiter, Grover
♯
the set of all numbers of the form a ∕ b such that Cleveland, C } (though it is difficult to imagine
a and b are elements of ℤ and b is not equal for what purpose).
to 0. Not all real numbers are rational; well-​ The number of elements in a set S is known
known examples of irrational numbers include as the cardinality of S and will be denoted #S.
2 and π. (Other notations sometimes encountered
On the other hand, all integers are rational, include |S| and card S.) Thus #{1, 4, 6} =​3. If
4
and all rational numbers are real. Therefore ℤ S is an infinite set we write #S =​∞. There is a
is a subset of ℚ, which is in turn a subset of ℝ, unique empty set of cardinality 0, containing no
as summarized by the symbols ℤ ⊂ ℚ ⊂ ℝ. The elements at all; the empty set may be notated
statement “S is a subset of T ” is true whenever as { }, but the symbol ∅ is traditionally used for
every element of S is also an element of T; for this purpose. The reader should understand why
example, {1, 4, 6} ⊂ {1, 4, 5, 6}, but {1, 4, 6} ⊄ 0, ∅, {0}, and {∅} are four different things: a
{1, 4, 5, 7}. Every set is a subset of itself by this number, a set of cardinality 0, and two different
definition, but we reserve the symbol ⊂ for the sets of cardinality 1.
proper subset relation, the situation in which In many situations, all elements under consid-
at least one element of the superset T does not eration belong to a single large set U, and there-
belong to the subset S. If we wish to allow for fore all sets under consideration are subsets of
the possibility of equality we may write S ⊆ T. U. Such a set U is called a universal set. In musical
Readers should understand the distinction contexts, any of the various spaces introduced in
between the relation symbols ∈ and ⊂: the state- Chapter 1 may play the role of a universal set: in
ments 1 ∈ {1, 4, 6} and {1} ⊂ {1, 4, 6} are true, pitch-​class set theory, for example, the universal
♯
but neither would be true if the relation sym- set is U =​ pc =​{C, C , …, B}, a set of cardinality 12.
bols were interchanged. The intersection of sets S and T, denoted S ∩ T,
Some subsets of ℝ, ℤ, and ℚ may conve- consists of all elements common to both S and
niently be identified by appending subscripts T. For example, {1, 4, 5, 6} ∩ {4, 6, 8, 9} =​{4, 6}.
to the set labels, as illustrated by the following Two sets whose intersection is empty are called
examples: disjoint sets; for example, {1, 5, 6} and {4, 8, 9}
are disjoint. The union of S and T, denoted S ∪ T,
ℝ>0 =​{all positive real numbers} =​{x ∈ ℝ | x > 0} consists of all elements belonging to either S or
ℤodd =​{all odd integers} =​{… , −5, −3, −1, 1, 3, 5, …} T or both. For example, {1, 4, 5, 6} ∪ {4, 6, 8, 9} =​
ℚ≠0 =​{all rational numbers except 0} {1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9}. Even though 4 and 6 belong
=​{a ∕ b | a, b ∈ ℤ, a ≠ 0, b ≠ 0} to both sets, they are listed only once each in

40 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
the union. In traditional set theory, either an
element belongs to a set or it doesn’t; it can-
not belong more than once. We shall loosen this
restriction in the discussion of multisets in the
next section.
In the context of a universal set U, every set
S has a complement Sʹ (sometimes alternatively
written S or SC), consisting of all elements of U
that do not belong to S. Readers may be familiar
with complements in pitch-​class space; for exam-
ple, the complement of a diatonic collection is a
pentatonic collection, and the complement of
a diminished seventh chord is an octatonic col-
lection. The cardinalities of complementary sets
always sum to the cardinality of the universal set
(12 in the above examples).5
Readers are also probably familiar with the
use of Venn diagrams as pictorial representations
of intersections, unions, and complements of
sets, as in Figure 2.1.1. Such pictures are intui-
tively appealing, though their value is limited
because it is often difficult to construct a dia-
gram that adequately captures all the possibili-
ties in a given situation, especially when more
than two or three sets are involved.
A great number of properties involving inter-
sections, unions, and complements may be for-
mulated, a few of which are illustrated in the
following exercises involving subsets of pitch-​
class space pc.
FIGURE 2.1.1 Venn diagrams showing intersec-
tions, unions, and complements of sets
Exercise 2.1.2
(a) A distributive law states that
S ∪ (T ∩ V) =​(S ∪ T) ∩ (S ∪ V)
for any sets S, T, and V. Draw a Venn
diagram showing three intersecting
sets, shading the region indicated in the
equation. Verify that this law holds for the
following subsets of pitch-​class space: S is
the diminished seventh chord containing B;
T is the black-​key pentatonic collection; V
is the whole-​tone scale containing C. (You
should work out both sides of the above
equation and arrive at the same set both
ways, in this case a six-​note set.)6
(b) Complete the statement of the second
distributive law
S ∩ (T ∪ V) =​ _​_​_​__​ ​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​__​ ​,
analogous to the first law in part (a) above.
Construct an appropriate Venn diagram
and verify that the law holds for the
following sets: S is the whole-​tone scale
containing C; T is a C-​major triad; V is an
  F♯-​major triad.
Exercise 2.1.3
(a) One of de Morgan’s laws states that “the
complement of an intersection is the union
of the complements”—​that is,
(S ∩ T)ʹ =​ Sʹ ∪ Tʹ.
Construct an appropriate Venn diagram
(which will need to show a universal set),
and verify this law in the case in which S
is the C-​major diatonic collection and T is
the acoustic scale on C (that is, the set {C,
D, E, F♯, G, A, B♭}, which could also be called
the ascending melodic minor scale on G).
Several of the sets that arise in the course
of working out this example have familiar
names. What are they?
(b) Complete the statement of the second
of de Morgan’s laws, “the complement of
a union is …,” and write it symbolically.
Construct an appropriate Venn diagram
and verify this law when the sets involved
are two different diminished seventh
  chords.
Exercise 2.1.4 The cardinality of the union
of two finite sets may be calculated by adding
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 41
the cardinalities of the two sets and then
subtracting the cardinality of the intersection
(to avoid counting those elements twice). This is
the union-​cardinality law:
#(S ∪ T) =​#S +​#T − #(S ∩ T).
(a) Verify the union-​cardinality law for the sets
S and T of Exercise 2.1.3a.
(b) Use the union-​cardinality law to explain
why any two diatonic collections (which are
seven-​note subsets of twelve-​note pitch-​
class space) must always have at least two
pitch classes in common.
(c) Recall from Exercise 1.4.7a that an
augmented triad and a diminished seventh
chord always intersect in exactly one note.
Use the union-​cardinality law to calculate
how many notes are in the union of these
two chords; then choose specific chords and
verify that your calculation is correct.
(d) An enneatonic collection is the complement
of an augmented triad. Use one of de
Morgan’s laws and the result of part (c)
above to calculate how many notes are in
the intersection of an enneatonic collection
and an octatonic collection; then choose
specific collections and verify that your
  calculation is correct.7
Exercise 2.1.5 If S and T are two sets, the
difference S\T is the set S ∩ Tʹ, which consists of
all elements that belong to S but not to T. For
example, if S =​{1, 4, 5, 6} and T =​{4, 6, 8, 9},
then S\T =​{1, 5} while T\S =​{8, 9}.
(a) Consider wt0, the whole-​tone collection
containing pitch class 0 (C), and bo7, the
fully diminished seventh chord containing
B, as pitch-​class sets. Calculate wt0\bo7 and
bo7\wt0.
(b) Consider wt1, the whole-​tone collection
containing C♯, and oct01, the octatonic
collection containing pitch classes 0 and
1 (C and C♯), as pitch-​class sets. Calculate
wt1\oct01 and oct01\wt1.
(c) The sets in wt1 and oct01 in part (b) are
the complements of the sets wt0 and bo7 in
(a). What do you notice about the answers
to those two parts of the question? Write a
general formula of the form Sʹ \Tʹ =​ _​__​ ​_​_​_​.
(d) Explain why, for all sets S, T, and V,
  S\T ⊆ S\V ∪ V\T.8
42 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Exercise 2.1.6 The symmetric difference of
two sets S and T, denoted S ∆ T, consists of all
elements that belong to either S or T but not
both. Using the notation from the previous
exercise, S ∆ T =​(S\T) ∪ (T\S), or alternatively
S ∆ T =​(S ∪ T) \ (S ∩ T). For example, {1, 4, 5, 6}
∆ {4, 6, 8, 9} =​{1, 5, 8, 9}.
(a) Calculate the symmetric difference
wt0 ∆ bo7.
(b) Calculate the symmetric difference
wt1 ∆ oct01.
(c) Using your answers to (a) and (b) as an
example, write a general formula of the
form Sʹ ∆ Tʹ =​ _​__​ ​_​_​_​.
(d) What is the symmetric difference of two
different octatonic collections?
(e) Modify the union-​cardinality law to
obtain a formula for the cardinality of the
symmetric difference of two sets, and verify
your formula for the sets in parts (a), (b),
  and (d).
Exercise 2.1.7 The distributive laws from
Exercise 2.1.2 may be extended to larger
collections of sets; for example, the equation
S ∩ (T1 ∪ T2 ∪ ⋯ ∪ T6)
=​ (S ∩ T1) ∪ (S ∩ T2) ∪ ⋯ ∪ (S ∩ T6)
holds. Consider this equation in the case in
which S is a whole-​tone collection and T1,
T2, …, T6 are pitch-​class sets of cardinality
2 representing interval classes 1, 2, …, 6
respectively. (For example, T1 might be the set
{5, 6}, T2 might be {3, 5}, and so on.)
(a) What are the possible cardinalities of the
set S ∩ T1? What about S ∩ T2, …, S ∩ T6?
(b) Use the above distributive law and your
observations from part (a) to explain why
it is not possible to divide pitch-​class space
pc into six disjoint subsets of cardinality 2
  representing the six interval classes.9
Exercise 2.1.8
(a) Explain why, if S is any four-​note pitch-​class
set, there must always be some diminished
seventh chord T such that #(S ∪ T) ≤ 6.
(b) Use the result of part (a) and one of de
Morgan’s laws to show that every eight-​
note pitch-​class set has at least six notes in
  common with some octatonic scale.10
2.2 ORDERED SETS AND
MULTISETS
Sets as described in Section 2.1 may suffice to
describe musical structures such as a triad or
an octatonic collection, but only if the order
of the notes does not matter. To accommodate
situations in which order is important we use
a different construction, ordered sets. While the
terminology and the brace notation { } for unor-
dered sets are well standardized, a number of
different terms and notations for ordered sets
may be encountered. One common practice,
which we will sometimes follow, is to enclose
the elements of an ordered set in parentheses.
Thus while {G3, C4, D4, E4} is just one set regard-
less of the order in which the four notes are
listed inside the braces, the ordered sets (E4, C4,
D4, G3) and (G3, D4, E4, C4) represent two dif-
ferent melodic lines—​two different permuta-
tions of the same four notes. Depending on the
context, ordered sets may also be referred to as
strings, segments, lines, rows, series, lists, tuples
(“ordered 4-​tuples” in the above examples), or
vectors (the usual interval-​class vector in pitch-​
class set theory is an ordered set of six num-
bers).11 An alternate notational convention
that occasionally proves useful is to omit the
parentheses and link the elements with dashes,
as in E4–​C4–​D4–​G4. We will consider finite
ordered sets only. Mathematicians do not use
the element symbol ∈ with ordered sets; thus
C4 ∈ {G3, C4, D4, E4} is a valid statement but C4 ∈
(E4, C4, D4, G3) is not.
The number of ordered sets that can be
formed from the elements of a fixed universal
set far exceeds the number of unordered sets.
In general, a set of cardinality n may be ordered
in n! different ways, where n! denotes n factorial,
the product 1 ∙ 2 ∙ 3 ∙∙∙ n of all the integers from 1
to n. Factorials grow very large even for modestly
sized values of n. For example, the number of
possible twelve-​tone rows is 12! =​479,001,600:
almost half a billion permutations of a single
twelve-​element set.
Moreover, in many situations repetitions are
allowed in ordered sets: C4–​D4–​E4–​C4 is a valid
four-​note string, even though its notes all belong
to the three-​note set {C4, D4, E4}. In such cases
the word cardinality may be ambiguous; here we
use the word to mean the length of the string,
so the cardinality of the ordered set C4–​D4–​E4–​
C4 is 4.
Exercise 2.2.1
(a) Write the 4! =​24 permutations of the set
{G3, C4, D4, E4} in musical notation.
(b) How many four-​note strings can be formed
from the notes of this set if repeated notes
are allowed? (If one or more of the given
four notes are repeated within a four-​
note string, then some other notes will
necessarily not be used at all.)
(c) Write a general formula for the number
of ordered sets of cardinality m that
can be formed from an unordered set of
cardinality n, allowing repetitions and
  omissions.12
Ordered sets of cardinality 2, more com-
monly known as ordered pairs, are useful for
many purposes. Readers are probably familiar
with the use of ordered pairs of real numbers
(x, y) to represent points in a plane. While the
set ℝ of real numbers is naturally identified
with a one-​dimensional line, the use of ordered
pairs enables an entire plane to be represented
numerically, combining information in two
dimensions, horizontal and vertical. The ordered
nature of the pairs is crucial, as for instance
(1, −3) and (−3, 1) represent two different
points. The elements x and y are called the first
and second components, or coordinates, of the
ordered pair (x, y).
A similar, if somewhat more abstract, con-
struction is possible for sets other than ℝ. If S
and T are any two sets, the Cartesian product of
S and T, denoted S × T (usually pronounced “S
cross T ”), is the set of all ordered pairs (s, t) such
that s ∈ S and t ∈ T. Figure 2.2.2 offers a sche-
matic illustration of this construction, combin-
ing information from both sets in an abstract
two-​dimensional picture. If S and T are finite
sets, the cardinality of the Cartesian product is
the product of the cardinalities of the two sets;
the schematic figure shows an example with
#S =​5, #T =​4, and #(S × T) =​20. Intuitively, the
picture suggests that a Cartesian product may
be partitioned into a series of horizontal slices,
each of which resembles the set S, or into a series
of vertical slices, each of which resembles T. The
horizontal and vertical directions are arbitrary
here, but it is true that if t0 is any fixed element
of T, the ordered pairs (s, t0) are in one-​to-​one
correspondence with the elements of S, and if s0
is any fixed element of S, the ordered pairs (s0,
t) are in one-​to-​one correspondence with the
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 43

FIGURE 2.2.2 The Cartesian product of two sets
elements of T. The condition that S and T may
be “any two sets” is understood to allow for the
possibility that they are the same set. In fact, the
usual ordered-​pair representation of the plane is
the Cartesian product ℝ × ℝ, which is sometimes
abbreviated ℝ2.
Exercise 2.2.3
(a) Explain how signed registral letter space
(Figure 1.1.11) may be constructed as a
Cartesian product S × T, where S is generic
pitch space (Figure 1.1.6) and T is the set
of all possible accidentals, T =​{…, ♭ ♭ ♭, ♭ ♭, ♭, ♮,
♯, ♯ ♯, ♯ ♯ ♯, …}.
(b) Explain how signed letter space (Figure
1.2.11) may be constructed as a Cartesian
  product of two sets.
Exercise 2.2.4
(a) Ordered pairs may be used to define a
coordinate system for labeling points on
any of the tonnetz diagrams presented in
Chapter 1. In the conformed tonnetz of
Figure 1.4.2, for example, we may assign
the ordered pair (0, 0) to C in the center
of the diagram, (1, 0) to the E♭ to its right,
and (0, 1) to E directly above. In the central
tile, what are the coordinates of G? Of D?
Besides (0, 0), what are the coordinates of
the various other Cs in this tonnetz? What
pitch class is represented by the ordered
pair (−4, 2)? By (5, −3)? By (101, 46)?
(b) In the Riemannian tonnetz of Figure 1.4.14,
consider a coordinate system in which
C is (0, 0), G is (1, 0), and E is (0, 1). The
coordinate axes so defined do not form a
right angle, but every point may nevertheless
44 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
be unambiguously identified with an ordered
pair; for example, B♭ ♭ is (−1, −2). Determine
the coordinates of each of the following
notes: C, C, C, C, B♯, D♭ ♭. What note appears
at coordinates (12, 0)? At (8, 1)? At
(−4, −2)? It is generally true that any note
enharmonically equivalent to C (in the usual
equal temperament) has coordinates in this
tonnetz that may be obtained by plugging
some integers a and b into the ordered-​pair
formula (12a − 4b, b). Verify that all of the
above examples are consistent with this
  statement.13
Various other musical spaces can be described
as Cartesian products. Points in the conformed
tonnetz tile of Figure 1.4.3 may be represented
as ordered pairs in a Cartesian product of two
small finite sets, an idea whose implications will
be pursued in Section 6.4 when we examine the
interval structure of tonnetz space. The continu-
ous surface of a torus such as Figure 1.4.4 may
be represented as the Cartesian product of two
circles, a representation that will play a role in
our study of voice-​leading spaces in Part Three.
Triads may be represented by ordered pairs such
as (0, +​) (C major) or (3, −) (E♭ minor); in this way
the set of 24 major and minor triads may be iden-
tified with the Cartesian product S × T, where S is
pitch-​class space pc and T is the two-​element set
{+​, −} (or, if one prefers, the set {1, −1}).
Cartesian products of more than two sets may
be constructed using ordered tuples larger than
pairs. If S, T, and V are three sets, the Cartesian
product S × T × V consists of all ordered triples
(s, t, v) of elements s ∈ S, t ∈ T, and v ∈ V. The
appropriate picture for such a set, analogous to
Figure 2.2.2, is now three-​dimensional. Points in
three-​dimensional space may be represented by
coordinates (x, y, z) in ℝ × ℝ × ℝ, or ℝ3. The same
principles apply in higher dimensions, so points
in n-​dimensional space may be identified with
ordered n-​tuples (x1, x2, …, xn) in ℝn. Spaces of four
or more dimensions can be difficult to visualize in
our three-​dimensional surroundings, and these
higher-​ dimensional spaces seem strange and
exotic to many people, but there are no barriers
to constructing them abstractly, and with practice
one can begin to develop intuitions about them.14
Chords in a four-​voice musical texture may
be represented by points in pitch4—​that is,
by ordered 4-​tuples of notes in chromatic pitch
space. In this construction, each voice in the
texture is given its own dimension in which
to move. Adopting the convention that the
voices in the 4-​tuple appear in the order (bass,
tenor, alto, soprano), we are able to distinguish
between chords such as (C3, C4, E4, G4) and (C3,
E4, C4, G4), the latter of which includes a voice
crossing between the two middle voices. With
pitch numbers assigned to notes as in Figure
1.1.1, these two chords appear in ℤ4 at the
points (−12, 0, 4, 7) and (−12, 4, 0, 7). This strat-
egy may be adapted to model chords in generic
or diatonic space rather than chromatic, or in pc
space rather than pitch space. Taking ℤ to rep-
resent generic pitch space gpitch rather than
pitch, for example, the first of the above chords
is now (−7, 0, 2, 4).
A chord progression is an ordered set of
chords, and therefore a tuple of tuples. For exam-
ple, a progression of six chords in four voices is
an ordered 6-​tuple, each of whose elements is
an ordered 4-​tuple. We may associate this pro-
gression with a series of six points in 4-​dimen-
sional space ℤ4, or possibly with a single point in
24-​dimensional space ℤ24. This rather elaborate
mathematical representation of a short chord
progression begins to suggest that even simple
musical phenomena may be more complex than
we sometimes imagine. The voice-​leading spaces
to be examined in Part Three, in which we will
model voice leadings as paths from one point to
another in higher-​dimensional spaces, will offer
opportunities to develop some of these ideas.
Exercise 2.2.5 Recall the chord progressions
from Exercise 1.3.11a (a descending-​fifths
sequence of diatonic seventh chords in D
major) and 1.3.11b (a chromatic descending-​
fifths sequence of dominant seventh chords).
Transcribe all chords of both progressions into
ordered 4-​tuples in ℤ4 (representing pitch4) as
described above. Also transcribe the diatonic
progression into ordered 4-​tuples in ℤ4, where
now ℤ represents dpitch(+​2) (D-​major diatonic
pitch space) and 0 stands for the note C♯4. All
together you will have three different numerical
representations of chord progressions. If you
arrange the 4-​tuples in columns, so that each
progression becomes an array of four rows of
numbers, you should see that two of the three
follow systematic numerical patterns, but the
other
   appears slightly erratic. Why is this?
Musical applications of sets and ordered sets
are numerous. We will encounter a few situa-
tions, however, for which neither of these con-
cepts is precisely appropriate. Consider the idea
of pitch-​class sets with doublings, for example “a
C-​major triad with a doubled root.” The ordinary
pitch-​class set {C, E, G} cannot account for the
doubling. An ordered set may list C twice, but
only by imposing an order on the four notes. The
order may be of interest, as it was in some previ-
ous examples, but it may be irrelevant if our only
concern is how many times each note appears in
the chord.
The appropriate construction in the latter
situation is a multiset, which in this case may be
written {C, C, E, G}. Multisets are a generalized
version of unordered sets in which repeated ele-
ments are allowed. Some aspects of set theory
do not generalize well to multisets (for example,
functions, discussed in the next section, cannot
easily be defined on multisets), but multisets are
nevertheless useful in many circumstances. For
the multiset {C, C, E, G}, we say that the cardi-
nality is 4, counting all repetitions. The note C
is an element of the multiset with multiplicity 2.
E and G are both elements of multiplicity 1; all
other pitch classes may be said to have multiplic-
ity 0 in this multiset, which means that they do
not belong to it at all. An ordinary set is a mul-
tiset of a particular type, all of whose elements
have multiplicity 1; in informal parlance, how-
ever, the use of the word multiset is sometimes
taken to imply that repeated elements are pres-
ent. Every multiset may be reduced to an ordi-
nary set of equal or lesser cardinality, containing
all the same elements but always with multiplic-
ity 1; for example, the reduction of {C, C, E, G}
is {C, E, G}. Of course, some information—​the
original multiplicities of the elements—​is lost in
the reduction process.15
2.3 FUNCTIONS
The concept of function is central in all branches
of mathematics. The relevance of functions to
musical structure has been clear at least since
David Lewin’s development of transformation
theory (though in fact some functions were
widely used in music theory well before then),
and functions will figure prominently through-
out this book. We regard the words function,
mapping, and transformation (and, in many cases,
operator or operation) as essential synonyms,
though one or another of these terms may be
favored in certain contexts.16
Intuitively, if S and T are two sets, a function f
from S to T is a rule that assigns to each element
x of S some element y of T. It is usual to write y =​
f(x); the right side of this equation is pronounced
“f of x.” Another traditional notation is f: S → T,
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 45
as shorthand for “f is a function from S to T.”
Several variants of this arrow notation are useful
at times, such as S → 
f
T , x → f(x), or x →
f
y.
Notice that the arrows in these shorthand nota-
tions may link either sets (S and T) or elements
of those sets (x and y).17 In many important situ-
ations S and T are the same set; when we refer to
a transformation on S we mean a function f: S → S.
To define a function properly, one must
specify the sets S and T, and one must explain
how f(x) is determined for each x in S. The set S
is called the domain of the function. A function
is required to be defined at every point in its
domain; for every x in S, there must be one and
only one y in T for which y =​ f(x). This y is called
the value of the function at the argument x; y may
also be called the image of x under the function
f. Functions must be deterministic; that is, if the
same function f is applied to the same argument
x on two different occasions, the result f(x) must
be the same both times, determined only by f
and x. The calculation of a function may not rely
on nondeterministic processes such as rolling a
die or consulting the stock market.
Figure 2.3.1a depicts a function as an arrow
pointing from a set S to a set T. This figure
encourages us to think of a function as a map-
ping, a dynamic process that leads from one place
to another; every x in S is mapped by this arrow
to a point y =​ f(x) somewhere in T. Figure 2.3.1b
shows a different metaphor, that of a function
as a “black box”: the element x is fed into the
box as an input, and the output f(x) somehow
emerges. This imagery reinforces the idea of
a function as a transformation, a process that
transforms x into f(x). Both of these schematic
pictures, the dynamic arrow and the transformer
box, are valuable ways to think about functions.
Like other metaphors, however, they can mis-
lead, and can sometimes suggest specious asso-
ciations. In particular, the contents and inner
FIGURE 2.3.1 (a) A function f: S → T; (b) a function as a “black box”
46 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
workings of the black box (gears? microchips?
elves?) are irrelevant to the definition of the
function; the only thing that matters is the asso-
ciation between the input and output.18
This last point has important implications for
the sometimes deceptive notion of equality of
functions. Consider the following two functions
f and g from ℝ to ℝ (that is, S and T are both
equal to ℝ, the set of real numbers): for every
real number x, f(x) is defined by the equation
f(x) =​2x +​2, while g(x) is defined by the equation
g(x) =​2(x +​1). In other words, we calculate f by
doubling a number and then adding 2, and we
calculate g by first adding 1 and then doubling
the result. Basic algebra tells us that f(x) =​ g(x)
for all possible inputs x. Whichever of the two
calculations we perform, the result will be the
same; the black boxes for f and g cannot be distin-
guished by their behavior. It follows, therefore,
that f and g are the same function. The equation f =​
g is a valid statement about the functions them-
selves. Two functions may be defined differently,
and different algorithms may be followed in cal-
culating them, but if they always give the same
results, the functions are in fact equal—​and
if two things are equal, they are not really two
things: they are one thing. (Do not overlook the
word always; two functions that give the same
results for some inputs but not for others are not
the same function at all.) The point is a simple
but important one, and a frequent source of con-
fusion in musical applications.19
The role of the letter f in the above discussion
deserves brief scrutiny. Informally we may speak
of “the function f(x) =​2x +​2”; more precisely, the
equation f(x) =​2x +​2 is a definition, a formula used
to define the function that is being denoted by the
name f. The letter f is a variable commonly used
to denote functions, just as the letter x is a vari-
able that is more often used to denote objects of
other kinds.20 These letters may stand for different
things in different situations, and indeed, many
different functions in this book will be given the
name f. Conversely, the function given by the
above equation could perfectly well be called g, F,
or ξ; the name is irrelevant to the identity of the
function. In fact, it is sometimes possible to refer
to functions without naming them at all, by means
of expressions such as “the function x → 2x +​2.”
Readers are likely to be familiar with the pro-
cess of graphing functions defined on the real
numbers. If f: ℝ → ℝ, the graph of f is a picture
of all the ordered pairs (x, y) for which y =​ f(x),
a subset of ℝ × ℝ =​ ℝ2. The graph of the func-
tion f (or g) in the preceding paragraphs is a
straight line of slope 2 passing through the
point (0, 2). Although the physical construction
of such a graph presupposes that the function’s
arguments and values are real numbers, the asso-
ciation of a function with a set of ordered pairs
is possible for any function at all: a function f:
S → T may be identified with a subset of S × T,
specifically the set of all ordered pairs (x, y) for
which y =​ f(x).
Graphs of the sort just mentioned will be of
limited interest in this book; other uses of the
word graph, to be introduced in Chapter 3, will
receive more attention. It is worth remarking,
however, that a musical score closely resembles
such a graph, or more accurately a combina-
tion of many such graphs. A melodic line may
be thought of as a function, mapping from the
time domain into pitch space. Figure 2.3.2 shows
a melody and its representation as a function
graph. Musical notation is remarkable for its abil-
ity to consolidate information from many such
FIGURE 2.3.2 A melody as the graph of a function
graphs simultaneously in a way that is space-​effi-
cient, precise, and readily comprehensible.21
The function graph in Figure 2.3.2 is concep-
tually similar to a player-​piano roll. The domain
of the function f—​the horizontal dimension of
the figure and the long dimension of the roll—​is
temporal space time, a continuous space, and
the graph shows that the function is defined at
all points of this space (or at least the segment of
the space shown here). The function is not, how-
ever, a continuous function as the term is defined
in mathematics, because of the way it jumps
abruptly to a new value each time the melody
moves to a new note.22 The excerpt begins at
time 0 (the first beat of the first measure), and
f(0) is the pitch G4, pitch number 7 in our usual
numbering. But it is not just f(0) that is equal
to 7; in fact f(t) =​7 for all real numbers (time
points) t with 0 ≤ t < 2. Then at t =​2 (the third
beat), the value of f changes abruptly: for all t
with 2 ≤ t < 5, f(t) =​8 (the pitch A♭4).23 When no
note values smaller than quarter notes are pres-
ent, continuous temporal space may effectively
be replaced by discrete beat space, because all
essential information about the function is cap-
tured by its values at integer time points: f(0) =​
f(1) =​7, f(2) =​ f(3) =​ f(4) =​8, f(5) =​0, and so on.
Exercise 2.3.3
(a) In the manner just described, the subject
of the E-​major fugue from Book II of The
Well-​Tempered Clavier may be modeled
by the function f(0) =​ f(1) =​−8, f(2) =​−6,
The time signature is , and we are here
f(3) =​−3, f(4) =​−4, f(5) =​−6, f(6) =​−8.
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 47
 measuring time in half notes. The values In the definition of a function f: S → T, the
are negative because the pitches are below sets S and T do not play symmetrical roles. The
middle C. Draw the graph of f, and based definition implies that for each x in S there is
on this description, write the subject in exactly one y in T for which y =​ f(x), but there
musical notation. is no corresponding requirement that for each y
(b) At time 6 (the third beat of measure 2), there be exactly one x. It is entirely possible that
a real answer enters, an exact imitation for some values of y there will be many different
of the subject a perfect fifth higher. This x’s such that f(x) =​ y, while for some other y there
answer may be represented by a function may be no such x at all. The function graphed in
g, starting with g(6) =​−1 (g(t) is undefined Figure 2.3.2 provides an example, as each pitch
for values of t smaller than 6). Write the (y) occurs at more than one point (x) in the
values of g from g(6) to g(12) and draw continuous time domain, the pitch D♭4 occurs a
its graph on the same set of axes with the second time after other intervening notes have
graph of f. sounded, and some other pitches never occur at
(c) Write a formula that shows how to calculate all. For another example, consider the function
g(t) from the values of the function f. f: ℤ → ℤ defined (for integers only) by f(x) =​ x2.
(d) More generally, suppose functions f and g If y =​4, there are two different values of x for
represent two melodic lines, and suppose which f(x) =​ y, namely x =​2 and x =​−2. But if
that g imitates f, at a time interval of y =​5, there is no such x at all, because there is no
b beats (later) and a pitch interval of s integer whose square is 5.
semitones (higher). Write a general formula These observations lead to a series of impor-
that expresses the relationship between the tant definitions. Some functions f: S → T have the
  functions f and g.24 property that different x’s always map to different
y’s. That is, whenever x1 and x2 are elements of S
The graphs in Figure 2.3.4 highlight aspects and x1 ≠ x2, it follows that f(x1) ≠ f(x2)—​or, equiva-
of chromatic and diatonic structure that are lently, the only way that f(x1) =​ f(x2) can be true is
concealed by traditional musical notation. Each if x1 =​ x2. A function f satisfying this property is
part of the figure shows the three voices in some said to be one-​to-​one, or an injection. The function
form of an ascending 5–​6 sequence. In (a) the shown schematically in Figure 2.3.6a is not one-​
sequence is the familiar diatonic variety—​one of to-​one, because the figure shows two different
the most common diatonic sequence patterns—​ elements of S mapped to the same element of T.
and the voices are graphed in C-​major diatonic Some other functions f: S → T have the prop-
pitch space dpitch(0). Part (b) analogously erty that every y is f(x) for some x. That is, if y is
graphs a chromatic version of the sequence in any element of T, there is guaranteed to be at
chromatic pitch space.25 Finally, (c) graphs the least one x in S such that f(x) =​ y. If f is such a
diatonic sequence in chromatic space. This third function, we say that f maps S onto T. The prepo-
graph appears less orderly than the other two, sitions to and into may be used for any func-
because the rules governing the sequential tion at all, but onto is reserved for this special
motion operate in a different pitch space from situation. In fact, onto is routinely pressed into
the space depicted in the graph. The step sizes ungainly service as an adjective; it is common to
in each voice, perfectly regular in both (a) and say “f is onto.” Onto functions are also called sur-
(b), appear somewhat uneven in (c), and the jections. The function in Figure 2.3.6b apparently
inconsistent interval sizes between adjacent fails to be onto, because one element of T is not
voices—​irregularly alternating major and minor the image of any element of S.
thirds—​are visually apparent. The function f: ℤ → ℤ defined by f(n) =​2n is a
simple example of a function that is one-​to-​one
Exercise 2.3.5 Make a series of three graphs, but not onto. If m and n are two different inte-
similar to Figure 2.3.4, for the two chord gers, then 2m and 2n are different as well—​but
progressions from Exercises 1.3.11 and 2.2.5. the function does not map onto ℤ because an
Your graphs should show four voices, but odd integer such as 3 is not 2n for any integer
depending on how you initially wrote the n. This function may be converted to an onto
progressions, there may be unison doublings function, however, by a simple modification. All
in some chords. Are irregularities visible even integers occur as values of the function,
when the diatonic progression is graphed in so if we define f: ℤ → ℤeven rather than f: ℤ → ℤ,
chromatic
   space? the function is now both one-​to-​one and onto.

48 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
FIGURE 2.3.4 Graphs of ascending 5–​6 sequences: (a) a diatonic sequence graphed in diatonic pitch
space; (b) a chromatic sequence graphed in chromatic pitch space; (c) a diatonic sequence graphed in
chromatic pitch space

In general, the set of values actually taken by a originally specified, but by definition every func-
function is called the range of the function. That tion maps onto its range.26 This example also
is, the range of a function f: S → T is the set {f(x) | shows other ways in which the sets involved in
x ∈ S}; this may be a smaller set than the set T the definition of a function are a crucial part of

Sets, Functions, and Relations • 49

FIGURE 2.3.6 (a) A function that is not one-​to-​one; (b) a function that is not onto
the definition. If the same formula f(x) =​2x is
taken as the definition of a function from ℝ to
ℝ rather than from ℤ to ℤ, this new function is
both one-​to-​one and onto. Some other sets—​the
set of US presidents, for example—​could not be
the domain of a function defined by this equa-
tion at all.
For an example of a function that is onto
but not one-​to-​one, let T be the set {0, 1},
and consider the function g: ℤ → T defined as
follows:27
0 if n is even,
g ( n) = 
1 if n is odd.
Obviously this g maps many integers to the
number 0 and many others to 1.
Suppose S and T are finite sets and f: S → T is a
one-​to-​one function. Because different elements
of S always map to different elements of T, it fol-
lows that the set T must be at least as large as S.
That is, a one-​to-​one function f: S → T can exist
only if #T ≥ #S.
Exercise 2.3.7 Complete the following
statement, analogous to the above: “If S and
T are finite sets, an onto function f: S → T can
exist
   only if ….”
Exercise 2.3.8 Our first example of a function
that is one-​to-​one but not onto was the
function f: ℤ → ℤ defined by f(n) =​2n. The set
ℤ in that example is an infinite set. Consider
12-​note chromatic pitch-​class space pc. Is it
possible to construct a function f: pc → pc that
is one-​to-​one but not onto? Onto but not one-​
to-​one? Formulate a general principle about
mappings
   f: S → S on a finite set S.
Many functions are both one-​ to-​
one and
onto. A simple example mentioned above is the
function f: ℝ → ℝ defined by f(x) =​2x; another
50 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
is the function g: ℤ → ℤ defined by g(n) =​−n. A
one-​to-​one, onto function f: S → T relates the
sets S and T symmetrically, because in this case
for each y in T there is one and only one x in S for
which f(x) =​ y. Such a function matches values of
x exactly with values of y, and the function itself
may be called a one-​to-​one correspondence; such
functions are also known as bijections, or bijec-
tive functions.
A bijection can be thought of as an “isomor-
phism of sets.” A bijective function f: S → T can
exist only if the sets S and T are of equal cardinal-
ity, and in fact the construction of a one-​to-​one
correspondence is a standard way to demon-
strate that two sets are the same size. When we
later give precise definitions of isomorphism for
interval spaces and other types of structures, a
bijection of sets will always be the first require-
ment for the isomorphism, supplemented by
other conditions involving intervals or other rel-
evant structural details.
For a bijective function, it is possible to work
backward, recovering the unique value of x
corresponding to any given y, as illustrated in
Figure 2.3.9. If f: S → T is a bijection, we may
define a new function g: T → S so that for each
y in T, g(y) is the unique x in S such that f(x) =​
y. This function g is called the inverse function
of f and denoted f −1 (pronounced “f-​inverse”).
Inverse functions have the characteristic prop-
erty that when combined with the original func-
tion, they map back to the starting point; that
is, f −1(f(x)) =​ x for every x in S, and f(f −1(y)) =​ y
for every y in T. Note carefully the arrangements
of functions and arguments in these two equa-
tions: the function f is applied to the argument x
(an element of S) but not to y (an element of T),
while f −1 is applied to y but not to x.
If f is a bijection and a formula for f(x) is
given, it may be possible to solve for x, obtaining
a formula for f −1(y). In the case of the bijection
f: ℝ → ℝ, f(x) =​2x, solving the equation y =​2x
for x gives x =​ y ∕ 2, so the inverse function is given

FIGURE 2.3.9 The inverse of a bijective function
by f −1(y) =​ y ∕ 2. This should make intuitive sense:
the inverse of multiplying by 2 is dividing by 2.
For the bijection g: ℤ → ℤ, g(n) =​−n, setting
m =​ g(n) =​−n and solving for n yields n =​−m, so
g−1(m) =​−m. The functions g and g−1 are both
defined on the set of integers ℤ, and the formu-
las g(n) =​−n and g−1(m) =​−m show that g and g−1
are the same function in this case: to undo tak-
ing the negative of a number, you simply take
the negative again. Functions that are their
own inverses are called involutions. An involu-
tion can act as a toggle: successive applications
of the function map back and forth repeatedly
between the same two elements (such as n and
−n). Involutions are common in musical applica-
tions, and we will see many examples.
Exercise 2.3.10 Seven functions are listed
below. Determine whether each function is
one-​to-​one, onto, both, or neither. (Each of
the four possibilities occurs at least once in the
list.) If a function is not onto, what is its range?
If a function is a bijection, what is its inverse
function?
(a) f: ℝ → ℝ, f(x) =​ x +​3.
(b) f: ℝ≠0 → ℝ≠0, f(x) =​1 ∕ x.
(c) f: ℝ → ℝ, f(x) =​|x|. (The notation |x|
denotes the absolute value of the number x. If
x ≥ 0, then |x| is the same as x. But if x < 0,
then |x| is −x, the corresponding positive
number. For example, |3| =​|−3| =​3.)
(d) f: ℝ → ℤ, f(x) =​ ⎣x⎦. (The notation ⎣x⎦
denotes the greatest integer in x, that is,
the largest integer n such that n ≤ x. For
example, ⎣π⎦ =​3, and ⎣−3.68⎦ =​−4.)
(e) f: ℝ>0 → ℝ>0, f(x) =​ x .
(f) f: ℤ>0 → ℤ>0, f(n) =​the nth prime number.
(For example, f(1) =​2, f(2) =​3, f(3) =​5, ….)
(g) f: ℤ → {0, 1, …, 6}, f(n) =​the remainder
when n is divided by 7. (For example,
f(16) =​2, f(35) =​0, and f(−11) =​ 3—​the
last because −11, being equal to −2 · 7 +​3,
  exceeds a multiple of 7 by 3.)
Exercise 2.3.11 An inverse function cannot
be defined unless the original function is both
one-​to-​one and onto. Reconsider the two non-​
bijective functions below (both introduced
previously), and describe the problems you
encounter if you attempt to define an inverse
for either of them:
(a) f: ℤ → ℤ defined by f(n) =​2n.
0 if n is even,
(b) g: ℤ → {0, 1} defined by g (n) = 
 1 if n is odd.
  
Exponential and logarithmic functions are
among the most important functions in math-
ematics. Exponential functions are defined by
formulas such as f(x) =​2x (2 raised to the xth
power), f(x) =​10x, or more generally f(x) =​ bx,
where b is a positive constant, the base of the
exponential. (Negative bases are problematic
when the exponent is not an integer, so we con-
sider exponential functions only for positive
values of b.) The argument x may be any real
number (positive, negative, or zero), and the
value bx is always positive; in fact, every expo-
nential function is a bijection from ℝ to ℝ>0.
The inverse function of the exponential function
f(x) =​ bx is the logarithmic function g(y) =​logb(y);
that is, logb(y) (the logarithm of the number y
to the base b) is defined to be the unique x such
that bx =​ y.
Standard texts in pre-​ calculus mathemat-
ics, calculus, and mathematical analysis detail
numerous important properties of exponential
and logarithmic functions. Although our need
for them will be limited, these functions deserve
mention here because they describe in a precise
way the relationship between pitch space and
frequency space, noted informally in Chapter 1.
Suppose x is a note in pitch space (either discrete
pitch space pitch or continuous pitch space
cpitch), numbered from C4 =​0 as in Figure
1.1.1. Tuned in A-​440 equal temperament, the
frequency associated with the note x is given by
 x −9 

y = f ( x ) = 440 ⋅ 2 12  .

Conversely, if y is a frequency in frequency space
freq (Figure 1.1.5), then the corresponding
pitch number in continuous pitch space is
( ) + 9.
x = g ( y ) = 12 ⋅ log 2
y
440
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 51
FIGURE 2.3.12 Relationships between pitch and frequency: (a) frequency as an exponential function
of pitch; (b) pitch as a logarithmic function of frequency
Graphs of the functions f and g are shown in
Figure 2.3.12. As is characteristic of inverse func-
tions, the two graphs are mirror images of each
other, flipped about a diagonal line. The shape of
the exponential/​logarithmic curve makes pos-
sible the familiar phenomenon already noted in
Chapter 1: notes that are equally spaced in pitch
space, such as the octave-​related Cs shown in
Figure 2.3.12a, become more widely spaced in
the upper registers of frequency space.28
Exercise 2.3.13 Use the above formulas to
answer the following questions. A calculator will
be needed for (c) and (d).29
(a) Verify that the formula for f(x) gives the
frequency 440 Hz for the note A4, and that
the formula for g(y) gives the note A4 for the
frequency y =​440.
(b) What is the frequency of the note A3?
(c) What is the frequency of middle C?
(d) A note on the piano has frequency 1396.91
Hz. What note is this?
(e) The numbers 2, 9, 12, and 440 all appear
in both of the above formulas. Explain the
musical relevance of each of these numbers,
as well as of the quantities (x − 9) ∕ 12 and
y ∕ 440 appearing in the formulas.
(f) Use the above formulas and the algebra
of exponential and logarithmic functions
to verify that the functions f and g are
inverses. That is, you should show that
52 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
g(f(x)) =​ x for every x in pitch, and that
  f(g(y)) =​ y for every y in freq.
The above discussion of inverse functions
included expressions such as f −1(f(x)), in which
the output of one function (f ) becomes the input
for another (f −1). This illustrates an important
process known as composition of functions, illus-
trated in Figure 2.3.14. In the most general set-
ting, composition of functions involves three
sets, S, T, and V, and two functions, f: S → T and
g: T → V. The first function must map into the
set that is the domain of the second function (or
a subset of that domain). In this case, if x ∈ S,
then y =​ f(x) is an element of T, and therefore z =​
g(y) =​ g(f(x)) (“g of f of x”) belongs to V. So we can
define a single function h: S → V by the equation
h(x) =​ g(f(x)). This h combines the action of both
f and g into a single function, called a composite
function, or the composition of the original two
functions.
Composition of functions is conceptually sim-
ple enough, but it leads to a thorny notational
conundrum known as the orthography problem. If
h(x) =​ g(f(x)), many mathematicians call h “the
composition of g and f,” commonly symbolized
h =​ g ○ f. In this notation g appears before f, as
it does in the expression g(f(x)). But in the set-
ting this notation describes, f is conceptually
prior to g: one must calculate f(x) before apply-
ing g to that result. Consequently when reading a
notation such as g ○ f or g(f(x)), we find ourselves
FIGURE 2.3.14 Composition of functions
reading from right to left in order to follow the
chronology of the operations. Accordingly, such
notations are referred to as right-​to-​left functional
orthography (or sometimes just left orthography).
In some musical applications a number of
transformations are composed in succession,
and in such situations the incorporation of a
string of symbols in right-​to-​left orthography
within a larger left-​to-​right narrative becomes
ever more confusing. For this reason we will
usually adopt a different convention, using the
symbol ● to denote composition of functions
in left-​to-​right functional orthography (or right
orthography), which follows the conceptual
chronology of the composition. That is, if h(x) =​
g(f(x)), we write h =​ f ● g. The solid black circle ●
may be pronounced as the word “then”; that is,
f ● g may be read as “f-​then-​g” or as “f followed
by g.” The composite function that we symbolize
by f ● g is precisely the same function that others
may write as g ○ f; only the orthography is differ-
ent. Often it will be convenient to suppress the
operation symbol entirely, writing simply fg for f
● g. When no symbol for the composition of func-
tions is present, we follow the convention that
left-​to-​right orthography is always understood: fg
always means “f-​then-​g,” never “g-​then-​f.” This
convention too can lead to some awkwardness,
as in equations such as z =​(fg)(x) =​ g(f(x)), but
the confusion can often be averted by recasting
the statement in strictly left-​to-​right fashion,
for example via the arrow notation x fg → z. 30
If S is any set, we can define a function E:
S → S by the equation E(x) =​ x. This E is called
the identity function on S.31 The identity func-
tion doesn’t actually do anything, as it merely
maps every element to itself. Identity functions
are useful in somewhat the same way that the
number 0 is useful: they arise in calculations and
are needed in order to complete a logical system.
The above discussion of inverse functions shows
that if f: S → T is a bijective function and f −1:
T → S is its inverse function, then f ● f −1 =​ E. To
be precise, we should note that each set has its
own identity function, so we should distinguish
ES, the identity function on the set S, from ET,
the identity function on T. The composite func-
tion f ● f −1 maps from S to S, ultimately mapping
each element of S to itself, so this composition
is ES, not ET.
Exercise 2.3.15 Assume as above that f: S → T
is a bijective function and f −1: T → S is its
inverse function; let ES and ET denote the
identity functions on the two sets. Three pairs
of statements are presented below. In each case
one of the two statements is correct; identify
the correct statements.
(a) Which is correct: f −1 ● f =​ ES or f −1 ● f =​ ET?
(b) Which is correct: ES ● f =​ f or ET ● f =​ f ?
(c)  Which is correct: f ● ES =​ f or f ● ET =​ f ?
In everyday life we are accustomed to the
idea that the order in which we do things mat-
ters. The instruction “go straight three blocks,
then turn right” will take you to a different place
from “turn right, then go straight three blocks,”
and it is surely important to take the lid off the
pot before you pour in the soup ingredients. On
the other hand, whether you add the potatoes
or the carrots first may not matter much, and
the instruction “go three blocks north, then two
blocks east” will often take you to the same place
as “go two blocks east, then three blocks north.”
In the realm of functions, compositions f ● g and
g ● f are generally different, but they may be the
same in some cases. If they are the same, we
say that f and g commute. The following exercise
illustrates the point that some pairs of functions
commute while others do not, along with an
additional important observation: to determine
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 53
whether two functions are equal it may not be
sufficient to check their values at just one or two
arguments.
Exercise 2.3.16
(a) Let f: ℝ → ℝ and g: ℝ → ℝ be defined by
f(x) =​ x2 and g(x) =​1 − x. Let h denote the
composite function f ● g, and let k denote
the composite function g ● f. Calculate
the following values of these composite
functions: h(0), k(0), h(1), k(1), h(2), k(2).
Are h and k the same function? That is, do f
and g commute? If possible, write formulas
for h(x) and k(x), and verify your answer to
the previous question algebraically.
(b) Repeat part (a) for the functions f(x) =​4x − 6
  and g(x) =​5x − 8.
Exercises 2.3.17–​2.3.19 below introduce sev-
eral musical transformations. All will be studied
at greater length later, but these exercises offer
quick overviews of some of their properties as
mathematical functions.
Exercise 2.3.17 In chromatic pitch-​class
space pc, T3 denotes upward transposition by
3 semitones, so for example T3(C) =​E♭. Also,
I denotes inversion about C, so for example
I(D) =​B♭. As functions from pc to pc, are
these transformations one-​to-​one? Are they
onto? Calculate the results of applying the
composite transformation I ● T3 (“I-​then-​T3”)
to the pitch classes C and D, and also the
composite transformation T3 ● I. Are there any
pitch classes for which I ● T3 and T3 ● I both
yield
   the same result?
The notation in the previous exercise is likely
to look somewhat familiar to readers who have
studied pitch-​class set theory. Note, however,
that I ● T3 is the transformation that is com-
monly written “T3I” in set theory, in right-​to-​left
orthography. The latter notation contradicts the
left-​to-​right convention followed here, whereby
“T3I” means T3 ● I. It should also be noted that
T0, “transposition by 0 semitones,” is simply
another name for the identity function on pitch-​
class space, a function that could also be denoted
Epc. When we are working in pitch-​class space, T0
will be our usual name for this identity function.
Transposition and inversion operators can also
be defined in pitch space and many other musi-
cal spaces; in pitch space the same notation T0
denotes the identity function Epitch.
54 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Exercise 2.3.18
(a) Let f be the mapping from pitch (chromatic
pitch space) to pc (chromatic pitch-​
class space) that maps every pitch to its
corresponding pitch class. For example,
f(E5) =​E. Is f one-​to-​one? Is it onto?
(b) Let g be the mapping from pc to pitch that
maps every pitch class to the corresponding
pitch in the fourth (middle C) octave. For
example, g(E) =​E4. Is g one-​to-​one? Is
it onto?
(c) Is g the inverse function of f ? Is it true that
x fg→ x for every pitch x in pitch? Is it
true that y  → y for every pitch class y in
gf
pc? (For f and g to be proper inverses, both
statements must be true.)
(d) Is it possible to construct a bijection
  between the sets pitch and pc?
Exercise 2.3.19
(a) Let triad denote the set of 24 major and
minor triads. Let P denote the parallel
transformation on triad, the function from
triad to triad that maps every triad to the
triad of opposite mode with the same root.
For example, P maps C major to C minor,
and also maps C minor to C major. Is P
one-​to-​one? Is it onto? What is the inverse
function of P?
(b) Let R denote the relative transformation,
which maps every triad to the triad of
opposite mode representing a key with the
same key signature. For example, R maps C
major to A minor, and maps C minor to E♭
major. Is R one-​to-​one? Is it onto? What is
the inverse function of R?
(c) P and R are transformations of great
importance in neo-​Riemannian theory.
A third fundamental neo-​Riemannian
transformation, L, takes its name from
Riemann’s word Leittonwechsel, there
being no comparable term in common
use in English.32 Applied to any major
triad, L yields a minor triad whose root
is a major third higher than the original
triad; applied to a minor triad, L yields a
major triad whose root is a major third
lower. For example, L maps C major to E
minor, and maps C minor to A♭ major. Is L
one-​to-​one? Is it onto? What is the inverse
function of L?
(d) What is the result of applying the composite
function PR (that is, P ● R, or “P-​then-​R”) to
a C-​major triad? To a C-​minor triad? What
 is the result of applying RP to each of these functions to ordered sets, as when transposing a
triads? Are PR and RP the same function? twelve-​tone row by T3.
What is the inverse function of PR? Answer
the same questions for PL and LP, and for Exercise 2.3.20
  RL and LR. (a) By the means just described, transposition
operators may be applied to triads. For
The importance of P, L, and R in neo-​ example, T3 maps the C-​major triad {C, E,
Riemannian theory springs from a combination G} to the E♭-​major triad {E♭, G, B♭}, and also
of many remarkable properties to be explored maps C minor to E♭ minor. As a function
later, most completely in Chapter 8. For exam- defined on the set triad, is T3 one-​to-​one?
ple: each of these transformations always maps Is it onto? What is the inverse function of
a triad to another triad with which it shares T3? Is T3 the same function as PR?
two common tones, and in fact P, L, and R are (b) What is the result of applying PT3 to a
the only ways to move from triad to triad while C-​major triad? To a C-​minor triad? What
preserving two common tones. Some of these is the result of applying T3P to each of
properties are related in fundamental ways to these triads? Are PT3 and T3P the same
Riemann’s ideas of harmonic dualism, to which function?33 Answer the same questions for
P, L, and R trace their heritage; we can justifiably   RT3 and T3R, and for LT3 and T3L.
call them Riemannian transformations (a term to
be given a precise definition in Chapter 8), not Now suppose that f: S → T is a function and
feeling an obligation to burden them with the B is a subset of T. It is common to write f −1(B)
more cumbersome adjective neo-​Riemannian at for the set {x ∈ S | f(x) ∈ B}. This set, a subset of
every appearance. This terminology should not S, consists of all elements of S that get mapped
be taken to imply, however, that the modern by the function f into the subset B; it is called
conception of these transformations is indis- the inverse image of B under f. For example, let
tinguishable from Riemann’s own conception; f: pitch → pc be the function from Exercise
indeed, Riemann’s practices differ from con- 2.3.18a, which maps every pitch to its corre-
temporary neo-​Riemannian theory and analysis sponding pitch class. If B is the pitch-​class set
in a number of important ways, some of which {E♭, E, G}, then f −1(B) is the pitch set {…, E♭3, E3,
were suggested in the discussion of tonnetzes in G3, E♭4, E4, G4, E♭5, E5, G5, …}, consisting of all rep-
Section 1.4 (where we were more insistent on dis- resentatives of the three pitch classes in B in all
tinguishing Riemannian from neo-​Riemannian). registers.
Suppose that f: S → T is a function and A is
a subset of S. In this situation it is common to Exercise 2.3.21
write f(A) for the set {f(x) | x ∈ A}. This set, a sub- (a) In the example just considered, f −1(B) is
set of T, consists of all the values taken by the a much larger set than B (in fact, f −1(B)
function f on elements of A; it is called the image is an infinite set while B is finite); this is
of A under f. To write f(A) for this set is a slight possible because the function f is not one-​
abuse of notation—​the function f is technically to-​one. It may also happen that f −1(B) is a
applied not to the object A (which is not an ele- much smaller set than B. Give an example,
ment of the domain of f) but to elements of the using the function g: pc → pitch from
set A, which are then collected to form another Exercise 2.3.18b. Also give an example of a
set—​but it rarely leads to confusion and is often nonempty set B for which g−1(B) =​ ∅.
very convenient. In music, it is this convention (b) If f: S → T is a function and B ⊆ T, the set
that allows us to suppose that the same transpo- f −1(B) may always be defined as above,
sition operators that are defined on pitch classes even if the inverse function f −1 does not
also act on pitch-​class sets. Knowing, for exam- exist. (Recall that f −1 exists only if f is
♭ ♯
ple, that T3(E ) =​F , T3(E) =​G, and T3(G) =​B , we♭ both one-​to-​one and onto.) If f −1: T → S
♭ ♯ ♭
may therefore write T3({E , E, G}) =​{F , G, B }. By does exist, however, we now have two
this ruse we understand that operators such as different meanings for the notation f −1(B):
T3 are well-​defined functions not only on pitch-​ it may refer either to (1) the inverse image
class space pc but also on the set of all subsets of of the set B under the function f, or to (2)
that space—​a set we may call pcset, the set of the image of the set B under the function
all pitch-​class sets. In a similar way we may apply f −1. Fortunately, in this situation sets (1)

Sets, Functions, and Relations • 55

 and (2) are always the same. Illustrate
this property using the function f =​ T3 on
pitch-​class space and the pitch-​class set
  B =​{E♭, E, G}.34
Occasionally we will encounter functions that
take two or more arguments, written in a form
such as f(x, y) =​ z rather than simply f(x) =​ y. Such
a “function of two variables” is readily accom-
modated in the theory of functions outlined
above, by regarding the ordered pair (x, y) as a
single entity. Specifically, (x, y) is an element of
a Cartesian product S × T, where S and T are sets
such that x ∈ S and y ∈ T. We may therefore take
S × T (or a subset of some such Cartesian prod-
uct) as the domain of the function, and write f:
S × T → V for some appropriate set V. Functions
of more than two variables may likewise be
defined on Cartesian products of a correspond-
ingly larger number of sets; for example, the
action of a function f: S1 × S2 × S3 × S4 → T may be
written f(x1, x2, x3, x4) =​ y.
Examples of functions of two variables
include the standard binary operations of arith-
metic. Addition, for example, may be regarded
as a function f: ℝ × ℝ → ℝ via the equation
f(x, y) =​ x +​ y. The operation symbol +​signi-
fies the function here, even though it appears
between the two arguments rather than before
them. The binary operations of subtraction, mul-
tiplication, and division are also functions of two
variables. The symbol −, however, also has a sec-
ond usage, syntactically distinct from the binary
operation of subtraction (f(x, y) =​ x − y): the same
symbol is used also in the usual notation for
negative numbers, where it denotes a function
of a single variable (f(x) =​−x)—​a unary operation.
The impossibility of dividing by 0 means that
the equation f(x, y) =​ x ∕ y does not define a func-
tion on the entire Cartesian product ℝ × ℝ as the
other binary operations do, but on the slightly
smaller domain ℝ × ℝ≠0.
An example of a binary operation whose argu-
ments are not numbers is afforded by composi-
tion of functions. If f and g are functions from a
set S to the same set S, then f ● g is another such
function. In this way we may regard ● as a binary
operation defined on the set of functions from
S to S—​a function whose arguments are them-
selves functions. This operation will be ubiqui-
tous in our study of musical transformations.
Another important musical application of
functions of two variables will emerge in the
study of intervals. Beginning in Chapter 5, we
will define an assortment of interval functions
56 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
on musical spaces. The interval function on
chromatic pitch space is a function int: pitch ×
pitch → ℤ that measures intervals in semitones;
for example, int(C4, E♭4) =​3.
In Section 1.1 we remarked that a labeling of
a space may be regarded as a mapping between
the space and a set of possible labels for that
space. In some situations it is convenient to con-
sider functions from the space S to a set of labels
L, while in other circumstances a function from
L to S may be more intuitive. We refer to a map-
ping of either kind as a label function for S. As an
example, review the picture of pitch-​class space
pc from Figure 1.2.3. This figure shows two sets
of labels for the elements of pc, one using pitch-​
class numbers and the other using note names.
In order to understand the relationship between
the two sets of labels it is important to maintain
a careful distinction between the labels and the
objects they represent: either a number or a note
name can stand for a pitch class, but neither one,
strictly speaking, is a pitch class.
The numerical labels may be said to define a
label function f: L → S from the set L =​{0, 1, …,
11} (the integers mod 12) to the space S =​ pc.
(The integers mod 12 will be described in Section
2.5, where we will make the point that integers
mod 12 are not precisely the same thing as the
ordinary integers 0, 1, … , 11—​but this dis-
tinction need not concern us at the moment.)
Carefully observing the distinction between
objects and labels, we may say, for example, that
this f maps the number 3 to the pitch class 3. This
function is a bijection between L and S, so it has
an inverse function f −1: S → L, which maps the
pitch class 3 to the number 3.
The note-​name labels imply a different label
function g: Lʹ → S, which maps from a different
set of labels, Lʹ =​ sl (signed letter space, from
Figure 1.2.11), into the same space S =​ pc. This
label function g is not one-​to-​one, because for
example the signed letters D♯ and E♭ are mapped
to the same pitch class (3) in pc. Indeed, because
Lʹ =​ sl contains more than twelve elements (it
is theoretically infinite), no one-​to-​one function
from Lʹ to the space S =​ pc is possible. Because
it is not one-​to-​one, g has no inverse function.
Figure 1.2.3 shows only one of the possible note-​
name labels for each note, so the figure does not
describe the label function completely.
Many different label functions are used in the
figures in this book, but we will rarely mention
them explicitly. Such functions will be of impor-
tance in Chapter 7, however, where we shall see
that each element of an interval space gives rise
to a particular label function (in this case a func-
tion from S to L), and in Chapter 11, in which it
will sometimes be convenient to apply multiple
labels to the points in a voice-​leading space.
Exercise 2.3.22
(a) For the function g: Lʹ → S just described,
where Lʹ =​ sl and S =​ pc, what is the value
of g(F♯ ♯)? What is g(A♭ ♭ ♭)? What is g(C♯ ♯ ♯)?
Express each answer as a pitch-​class
number.
(b) Suppose we use Figure 1.2.3 to define a
function gʹ: S → Lʹ, where S =​ pc and Lʹ =​ sl.
For example, gʹ maps pitch class 3 to the
signed letter D♯, not E♭, because D♯ is the
label that appears in the figure. Explain why
gʹ is not an inverse function for g. (Some
related functions will be described in more
  detail in Sections 2.4 and 2.6.)35
Exercise 2.3.23 Each of the Figures 1.1.6 (the
space gpitch), 1.2.8 (gpc), and 1.3.3 (spc)
includes two sets of labels. Each labeling may be
considered as a label function of the form f: L →
S for some set L of possible labels. Describe the
domain (L) of each of these label functions. Are
all  
of these functions one-​to-​one?
It was mentioned in Section 1.1 that a tun-
ing may be modeled as a mapping from a syntac-
tic space into a physical space, a function that
assigns a physical frequency to every note name.
Such tuning functions take the form f: L → freq;
they may be considered a special case of label
functions, mapping into frequency space rather
than into some other space. The final three
rather abstract exercises of this section investi-
gate three tunings defined in this way.
Exercise 2.3.24 Equal-​tempered tuning is
described in one sense by the function f that
was graphed in Figure 2.3.12a. This function
is defined on all of continuous pitch space
cpitch, but in particular it is defined on the
discrete space pitch. A tuning function defined
on the note names of signed registral letter
space srl (Figure 1.1.11), however, is also of
interest. There is a function g: srl → pitch that
describes the usual mapping from note names
to pitch numbers (g(C4) =​0, g(D♯4) =​ g(E♭4) =​3,
and so on); the desired tuning function on
srl is then the composition h =​ g ● f, where f:
pitch → freq is as above. This definition takes
h(A4) =​ f(g(A4)) =​ f(9) =​440 Hz as the basis for
the tuning; h(B♭4) =​ f(10) (one semitone higher)
is precisely 440 ∙ 21 ⁄ 12 Hz, and h(A5) =​ f(21) (one
octave higher) is precisely 440 ∙ 2 =​880 Hz. As
a function from signed registral letter space to
the positive real numbers, is h one-​to-​one? Is it
onto? If it is not onto, describe the range of h
mathematically.
Exercise 2.3.25
(a) To define Pythagorean tuning precisely it
is helpful to consider a different picture
of signed registral letter space—​a tonnetz
generated by octaves and fifths. Start with
the line of fifths (Figure 1.3.3). Assign a
register to each note so that A4 is in the
center and every interval along the line is a
perfect fifth; the line of fifths now reads …,
C3, G3, D4, A4, E5, B5, F♯6, … . Add a second,
vertical dimension to the figure, arranged
in octaves, so that the central A4 is in the
middle of a column that reads (from bottom
to top) …, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, …, and every
other note of the original line of fifths
is similarly surrounded in the vertical
dimension by its octave relatives. This
octave-​and fifth-​generated arrangement of
signed registral letter space may be called
Pythagorean pitch space.
(b) Every note name of signed registral letter
space appears exactly once in Pythagorean
pitch space. If A4 is at coordinates (0, 0),
then E5 is at (1, 0) and A5 is at (0, 1). What
are the coordinates of B♭4? What are the
coordinates of A♯4?
(c) In Pythagorean tuning the frequency ratio
of an octave is 2, and the frequency ratio of a
perfect fifth is 3 2 . If we take f(A4) again to be
440 Hz, then f(A5) will be exactly 440 · 2 =​
880 Hz, and f(E5) will be exactly 440 · 3 2 =​
660 Hz. In general, the note at coordinates
(x, y) will have a frequency of exactly 440 ·
(3 2 )x · 2y Hz. What is the frequency of B♭4?
What is the frequency of A♯4? Calculate the
interval between B♭4 and A♯4 as a frequency
ratio, and estimate its size in pitch space.
(d) As a function from srl to ℝ>0, is f one-​to-​
one? Is it onto? If it is not onto, describe
  the range of f.36
Exercise 2.3.26 Just tuning adds the pure
major third (frequency ratio 5 4 ) to the list of
privileged intervals, alongside the octave and
perfect fifth. Signed registral letter space is
not sufficient for defining just tuning, because
just intervals can lead to two different tunings
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 57
for the same note name (as was observed
previously in the discussion of the Riemannian
tonnetz in Chapter 1). The appropriate space
for defining just tuning—​just pitch space—​is
a three-​dimensional tonnetz, generated by
octaves, perfect fifths, and major thirds.
One can form such a space by starting with
the Riemannian tonnetz (Figure 1.4.14) and
supplying a third dimension for the octaves.
Define an xy coordinate system for the
Riemannian tonnetz as in Exercise 2.2.4b, but
with its origin (0, 0) at A4. The x coordinate
measures distance in perfect fifths away
from A4, while y counts major thirds. Add a z
coordinate in the third dimension to account
for octaves. Thus E5 is at (1, 0, 0), C♯5 (with an
underscore) at (0, 1, 0), and A5 at (0, 0, 1). It is
difficult to draw this three-​dimensional tonnetz
clearly, but try to draw a small part of it. Every
note name of signed registral letter space, in
any octave and altered with any desired number
of underscores or overscores, appears exactly
once somewhere in this tonnetz. If we take
f(A4) =​440 Hz as usual, then the frequency of the
note at coordinates (x, y, z) in just pitch space
is 440 · (3 2 )x · (5 4 )y · 2z Hz. The frequencies of E5,
C♯5 , and A5 are therefore exactly 440 · 3 2 =​660
Hz, 440 · 5 4 =​550 Hz, and 440 · 2 =​880 Hz,
respectively.
Calculate the coordinates, and the frequency,
of each of the notes C♯5 (without an underscore),
D♭5, and D♭5 in just pitch space. All should be
close to 550 Hz, the frequency calculated above
for C♯5, but each one should be slightly different.
The notation in the Riemannian tonnetz
indicates that C♯5 should be one syntonic
comma lower than C♯5. Estimate the musical
size of the syntonic comma. Is the new tuning
function f (a function from just pitch space
to frequency space) one-​to-​one? Is it onto?
Describe
   the range of f.37
2.4 RELATIONS
In expressions such as 3 +​7 =​10 or 9 > 2 ∙ 4,
the symbols +​and ∙ indicate binary operations,
as discussed in the previous section. The sym-
bols =​and >, on the other hand, are not opera-
tions. These symbols represent binary relations.
Operations are functions and map objects to
other objects: if x and y are numbers, then x +​
y and x ∙ y are also numbers. But x =​ y and x > y
58 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
are not numbers; they are statements that may
be either true or false. A binary relation may be
thought of as a property of elements in pairs—​a
condition that any pair of objects may or may
not satisfy. A relation symbol such as =​or > func-
tions syntactically as the verb of the statement
in which it appears.
The symbol ~ is commonly used to stand
for an abstract binary relation. If ~ is a binary
relation on a set S, then for any elements x and
y in S the statement x ~ y at least makes sense;
whether it is true or false depends on the spe-
cific elements x and y. (The statement x ~ y
may be pronounced “x is related to y,” though
many people informally pronounce the relation
symbol, saying for example “x twiddle y.”) Well-​
known examples of binary relations defined on
numbers (ℝ, ℚ, or ℤ) include =​, ≠, <, >, ≤, and
≥. One can define many other sorts of relations,
however, based on virtually any property involv-
ing two numerical variables. For example, we
could define x ~ y to mean that x2 − 9 ≤ y. In that
case the statements 1 ~ 3, 1 ~ 5, and 3 ~ 1 are all
true, but 5 ~ 1 is false (which may be symbolized
by writing 5 ≁ 1).
Relations and functions are different things,
but some connections between them are appar-
ent. A statement y =​ f(x) describes a particular
property of x and y, so in that sense a function
may be considered a special kind of relation. In
general a binary relation ~ may be identified
with the set of all ordered pairs (x, y) of ele-
ments for which the statement x ~ y is true. The
last sentence of the preceding paragraph says, in
this interpretation, that the set identified with
the relation ~ contains the ordered pairs (1, 3),
(1, 5), and (3, 1), but does not contain (5, 1). We
remarked in the previous section that a func-
tion f may also be identified with a set of ordered
pairs (x, y), namely those for which y =​ f(x). The
distinguishing feature of a function is that a
single x cannot be paired with two different y’s;
in a function, that is, no two ordered pairs may
have the same first component. There is no such
restriction on relations, as the ordered pairs
(1, 3) and (1, 5) in the above example illustrate.
Relations, like functions, can often be graphed.
The ordered-​pair restriction for functions typi-
cally results in graphs composed of lines or
curves, but the graph of a relation such as >
frequently includes a large area of two-​dimen-
sional space.
Various generalizations of the concept of rela-
tion are possible. There are some relations for
which the two objects being related need not be
elements of the same set. A familiar example is
the element relation ∈ itself. In the statement x
∈ Y, x and Y are objects of two different kinds,
one an element and the other a set. The most
general binary relation, therefore, is defined not
on a single set S but on two possibly different
sets S and T; as a set of ordered pairs, the rela-
tion is a subset of the Cartesian product S × T. In
the case of the element relation ∈, the set T must
be a set of sets.
In a situation often encountered in musical
applications, we may wish to define a transfor-
mation—​ a function—​ only to find that some
technical detail prevents us from doing so, and
therefore a relation is the only option. For exam-
ple, suppose we wish to define a transformation
f so that f(X) =​ Y is true whenever X is a fully
diminished seventh chord and Y is the minor
triad to which X resolves by viio7–​i motion;
that is, we want f(bo7) =​c, f(c♯o7) =​d, and so on.
If chords are defined as pitch-​class sets, then
apparently f should be a function from the set S
of all diminished seventh chords to the set T of
all minor triads. The fact that each diminished
seventh chord has multiple possible chords of
resolution, however, means that no function
with the specified behavior is possible: the state-
ments f(bo7) =​c and f(do7) =​e♭ cannot both be
true because bo7 and do7 are the same element of
S, while c and e♭ are two different elements of T.
The viio7–​i motion describes a relation on the sets
S and T, but not a function. The distinction is an
important one, because many established tech-
niques of transformation theory are not appli-
cable to general relations. Sometimes it may be
possible to rectify the problem by redefining the
objects, in this case considering the chords X and
Y to be not simply sets of pitch classes but sets
of spelled pitch-classes, as introduced in Section
1.2. The chords bo7, do7, fo7, and g♯o7 are identical
as pitch-class sets but different as spelled pitch-​
class sets—​but this modification may introduce
an undesirable complexity (because, for instance,
spc space is an infinite set). The moral is that it
is important to be precise in defining the objects
with which we are working, to distinguish func-
tions from relations carefully, and to specify the
domains of functions clearly.38
Exercise 2.4.1 Four musical definitions for the
symbol ⊛ are presented below. Two of these
are binary operations (functions) and two are
binary relations. Which are which? In addition
to any examples that may be given with the
definitions, give two more examples of the
action of each operation, and for each relation
give two examples of pairs of elements for
which the relation is true and two examples for
which it is false.
(a) If x and y are notes in chromatic pitch-​class
space pc, x ⊛ y means that x and y belong
to the same whole-​tone scale. For example,
E♭ ⊛ B is a true statement.
(b) If x and y are notes in pc, x ⊛ y denotes
the distance between x and y in fifths
space—​the number of steps separating the
two notes on the circle of fifths, measured
whichever way around the circle results in
the shorter path. For example, E♭ ⊛ B is 4.
(c) If x and y are notes in continuous pitch space
cpitch, x ⊛ y is the note that lies exactly
midway between x and y. For example, E♭4
⊛ B3 is C♯4. Why is it necessary to specify
continuous pitch space in this definition?
(d) If x and y are notes in cpitch, x ⊛ y means
that the interval between x and y is one
whole tone or less. For example, C♯4 ⊛ B3 is
  a true statement.
Exercise 2.4.2 In the examples below, assume
first that the chords X and Y are understood
to be pitch-​class sets. Four attempts to define
transformations are presented. Two of these are
valid functions; two are only relations. Which are
the functions? For each function, what exactly is
the domain? For the non-​functions, can you find
some way to modify the definition to capture the
essential information in a function?
(a) f(X) =​ Y is true whenever X is a minor triad,
Y is a fully diminished seventh chord,
and Y resolves to X via viio7–​i motion. For
example, f(c) =​bo7. (This is like the example
discussed above, but with the roles of X and
Y interchanged.)
(b) f(X) =​ Y is true whenever X is an augmented
triad and Y is the major triad that results from
lowering the fifth of X. For example, f(C+​) =​C.
(c) f(X) =​ Y is true whenever X is an
augmented triad and Y is the whole-​tone
scale containing all the notes of X. For
example, f(C+​) =​{C, D, E, F♯, G♯, A♯}.
(d) f(X) =​ Y is true whenever X and Y are
dominant seventh chords and Y may be
obtained from X by holding one common
tone, lowering two notes by one semitone,
and lowering one note by two semitones.
  For example, f(G7) =​C7.
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 59
 Relations need not be binary: like functions,
they may take any number of arguments. If A, B,
and C are points in Euclidean space, the state-
ment “points A, B, and C lie on a line” defines
a ternary relation, a relation among three vari-
ables. Relations of a single variable—​unary rela-
tions—​are possible as well. A property such as “n
is a perfect square” defines a unary relation on
the integers, a statement that is true for some
values of n but false for others.
An important category of binary relations,
known as equivalence relations, offers a frame-
work for formalizing various concepts that go
by the name equivalence, useful in situations
in which objects may be “the same” in some
meaningful way without being identical in all
respects. Familiar musical constructions such as
octave and enharmonic equivalence, which come
into play in many of the spaces described in
Chapter 1, are examples of equivalence relations.
Equivalence relations provide another perspec-
tive on these spaces and a general mathematical
apparatus for describing the equivalence itself.
An equivalence relation ~ on a set S is shown
in schematic fashion in Figure 2.4.3. An equiva-
lence relation has the effect of breaking up the
set S into smaller sets, called equivalence classes,
in such a way that two objects in the same equiv-
alence class are always “equivalent”—​ that is,
related to each other in whatever way the rela-
tion specifies. In the figure, the set S has been
sliced into four equivalence classes. Two ele-
ments of S are related by ~ if and only if they
are in the same equivalence class.39 Equivalence
classes are always disjoint subsets of S (an ele-
ment cannot be in two of them), and their union
must be all of S (every element belongs to one
of them). In the picture, the elements labeled x
and y are equivalent because they are in the same
FIGURE 2.4.3 An equivalence relation
60 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
slice—​the same equivalence class. Likewise w
and z are equivalent. But y and z are not equiva-
lent; the fact that they appear close together in
the diagram is irrelevant. An equivalence class
may contain many elements; we may say infor-
mally that all the elements in one class are equiv-
alent, but such a statement means technically
that any two elements of the class are equivalent,
because equivalence relations are always offi-
cially binary relations.
It is convenient to introduce the notation x
as shorthand for “the equivalence class contain-
ing x.” One equivalence class may have multiple
labels using this shorthand: in Figure 2.4.3, the
equivalence class labeled x could just as well be
called y instead. In general, a statement x = ​y
(a statement about equality of equivalence classes)
is true if and only if the statement x ~ y (a state-
ment about equivalence of elements) is true. So,
in the figure, x = ​y , and likewise w = ​z , but y ≠ z.
The set of all equivalence classes is called the quo-
tient set of S modulo the relation ~, denoted S ∕ ~.
That is, S ∕ ~ =​{x | x ∈ S}. In the figure, S ∕ ~ is a set
of cardinality 4. The word modulo derives from
modular arithmetic, an important special case
discussed in the next section.
We may define a function that maps every ele-
ment x in S to its equivalence class x in S ∕ ~. This
function is called the quotient map on S modulo ~,
denoted Q~. That is, Q~: S → S ∕ ~ is defined by the
equation Q~(x) = ​x . Because every equivalence
class contains at least one element, the quotient
map always maps S onto S ∕ ~. Quotient maps are
not generally one-​to-​one, however; from the dis-
cussion in the preceding paragraph, Q~(x) =​ Q~(y)
if and only if x ~ y.
Let us examine how these concepts apply in
the musically familiar case of octave equivalence.
In formalizing octave equivalence, we may con-
sider the set S to be either discrete or continu-
ous pitch space (pitch or cpitch), or possibly
generic pitch space gpitch or one of its diatonic
variants dpitch(n). We denote octave equiva-
lence by the notation ~O. The statements C3 ~O C4
and C3 ~O C5 are therefore true. In fact, all Cs, in
all registers, are related by ~O and form a single
equivalence class—​which is, of course, precisely
what we know as the pitch class C. Every equiva-
lence class of the relation ~O is such a pitch class,
consisting of pitches separated by whole num-
bers of octaves.
If we choose pitch as our original space, there
are twelve equivalence classes altogether; if we
start instead with cpitch, there are infinitely
many, and if we start with gpitch there are only
seven. In each case, the equivalence classes may
be identified with pitch classes of the appro-
priate type—​ elements of the corresponding
pc space (pc, cpc, or gpc). The construction of
pc space from pitch space, which was visual-
ized in Chapter 1 by bending the line of Figure
1.1.1 to form the circle of Figure 1.2.3, is there-
fore an example of the formation of a quotient
set (or quotient space). Using the notation just
described, we may write pc =​ pitch ∕~O, cpc =​
cpitch ∕~O, and gpc =​ gpitch ∕~O. Each of these
quotient spaces has a corresponding quotient
map QO. For example, QO(G♯5) =​G♯; that is, QO
maps the pitch G♯5 in pitch to the pitch class G♯
in pc—​and of course it also maps every other
G♯ in pitch to the same pitch class. (This quo-
tient map is precisely the function f studied in
Exercise 2.3.18a.) In effect, QO discards register
information, identifying octave-​ related notes.
Generally a quotient map may be described as
discarding any information that could be used
to differentiate elements within one equivalence
class, thereby rendering those elements indistin-
guishable. This is an important point: the value
of the quotient construction lies in its ability to
group like objects together, but the information
that differentiates those objects is lost in the
process. For this reason we should not imagine
that we must replace a set with a quotient set at
every opportunity; as in the case of pitch space
and pitch-​class space, it is often desirable to have
both the original set and the quotient set avail-
able for appropriate uses.40
Enharmonic equivalence ~E differs from
octave equivalence in its dependence on nota-
tion. Perhaps for this reason, formal aspects of
enharmonic equivalence as an equivalence rela-
tion have received comparatively little scholarly
attention.41 Enharmonic equivalence is defined
not on pitch space but on signed registral letter
space srl (Figure 1.1.11), signed letter space sl
(Figure 1.2.11), or spelled pitch-​class space spc
(the line of fifths from Figure 1.3.3, a reconfigura-
tion of sl). Exercises 1.1.12 and 1.2.12 suggested
depictions of the equivalence classes in srl and
sl. Enharmonic equivalence classes appear more
complex in structure than octave equivalence
classes in these spaces, because octave equiva-
lence is based on octaves of uniform size while
enharmonic equivalence depends upon the pat-
tern of unequal step sizes in the diatonic scale.
The quotient space of signed letter space modulo
~E, however, is something familiar: the twelve
equivalence classes may again be identified with
pitch classes, and the quotient space is simply
another representation of 12-​note pc space pc.
The quotient map QE: sl → pc is the label func-
tion called g in Exercise 2.3.22 and the preceding
discussion. The information discarded by this
quotient map is spelling information: QE maps
the differently spelled signed letters G♯ and A♭ in
sl to same pitch class in pc, the pitch class com-
monly denoted “8” in pc set theory.
The same space pc therefore arises as a quo-
tient space in two apparently quite different
ways: as a quotient of chromatic pitch space
pitch by octave equivalence, or as a quotient
of signed letter space sl by enharmonic equiva-
lence. To see why this is so, it is useful to con-
sider srl, a space in which both octave and
enharmonic distinctions may be made. In srl,
signed notes are octave-​equivalent if they are
indistinguishable when octave transpositions
are ignored (for example, G♯4 and G♯6); signed
notes are enharmonically equivalent if they are
indistinguishable when enharmonic spelling dif-
ference are ignored (that is, if they represent the
same note on the piano—​for example, G♯4 and
A♭4). The notes G♯4 and G♯6 are not enharmoni-
cally equivalent (they are not the same note on
the piano), and G♯4 and A♭4 are not octave-​equiv-
alent (octave transposition cannot make them
the same, because G♯ and A♭ are two different
signed letters).42 When octave equivalence ~O
is applied to srl, the resulting quotient space is
sl, but if enharmonic equivalence ~E is applied
to srl, the quotient space is pitch. The resulting
assortment of quotient spaces is listed below,
with one example of the action of the quotient
map shown for each quotient space:
QO(G♯5) =​ G♯
srl ∕ ~O =​ sl ∈ sl
sl ∕ ~E =​ pc QE(G♯) =​ 8 ∈ pc
srl ∕ ~E =​ pitch QE(G♯5) =​ 20 ∈ pitch
pitch ∕ ~O =​ pc QO(20) =​ 8 ∈ pc
Regarding the last two sample actions above,
when the pitches of pitch are numbered as in
Figure 1.1.1, the number associated with G♯5 is
20, because G♯5 lies 20 semitones above middle
C. Then QO maps the pitch 20 in pitch to the
pitch class 8 in pc via a simple calculation in
mod-​12 arithmetic, to be explained in the next
section.
These actions are summarized in Figure 2.4.4.
The upshot of the figure, and of the discussion
above, is that pc is derived from srl by applying
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 61
FIGURE 2.4.4 Actions of the quotient maps QO and QE on an element of signed registral letter space
both equivalence relations ~O and ~E, and they
may be applied in either order, resulting in the
two intermediate spaces sl and pitch. In fact,
we can obtain pc directly from srl by means of
a single composite equivalence relation ~OE. Two
notes in srl are related by ~OE whenever they
may be related by octave and enharmonic equiva-
lence in any combination; for example, G♯4 ~OE A♭6
is true because G♯4 ~O G♯6 and G♯6 ~E A♭6. The
quotient srl ∕ ~OE is the space pc. The quotient
map QOE associated with the composite equiva-
lence relation is precisely the composite function
QO ● QE. The figure illustrates the fact that QO
and QE commute: QO ● QE =​ QE ● QO.43 Whenever
two or more equivalence relations are defined on
the same space, composite equivalence relations
of this sort can always be formed, and the order
in which the original equivalence relations are
applied is of no consequence. This principle will
be of some importance in our study of voice-​lead-
ing spaces in Part Three, in which several equiva-
lence relations will be in play simultaneously.
Exercise 2.4.5 Another equivalence relation,
mentioned briefly in Chapter 1, is generic
equivalence ~G. Two notes in srl are generically
equivalent if they are the same when accidentals
are ignored; the quotient map QG simply
strips all sharps or flats from a note name. For
example, C3 ~G C♯3, D♭ ♭5 ~G D𝄪5, and QG(G♯5) =​G5.
(a) Which space from Chapter 1 arises as the
quotient space srl ∕ ~G?
62 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
(b) If you take the quotient space from part
(a) and then apply octave equivalence,
which space from Chapter 1 is the result?
What element of this space is the result
of applying the quotient map QO to the
note G5?
(c) Verify that the same quotient space from
(b) may be obtained from srl by applying
the equivalence relations ~G and ~O in the
reverse order. Make a diagram similar to
Figure 2.4.4 showing the actions of the
quotient maps QO and QG on the element
G♯5 of srl.
(d) The space obtained in parts (b) and (c)
may be constructed directly from srl by
applying a composite equivalence relation
~OG. Describe what it means for two notes
in srl to be related by ~OG.
(e) Having considered composite equivalence
relations ~OE and ~OG, you may wonder
about the possibility of a composite relation
~GE, or even a triple composite ~OGE.
Explain why a combination of generic and
enharmonic equivalence is not musically
useful.44
(f) In the tonnetz of Figure 1.4.1, what are the
  generic equivalence classes?
Exercise 2.4.6 Consider spelled pitch-​class
space spc (the line of fifths, Figure 1.3.3).
Which space from Chapter 1 arises as the
quotient space spc ∕ ~E? Recall that spc is
the same set as sl in a different geometric
arrangement. Is the quotient space the same set
as  
sl ∕ ~E in a different arrangement?
Equality, always denoted by the symbol =​, is
automatically an equivalence relation on any set
whatsoever. It is, in fact, an equivalence relation
of a special kind, because every element is in an
equivalence class by itself. (If x and y are two dif-
ferent elements, then of course the statement
x =​ y is never true.) It follows that that there
are as many equivalence classes as there are ele-
ments in the set, and that the quotient set is as
large as the original set. Another way of saying
this is to say that the quotient map Q=​ is a bijec-
tion. Quotient maps are always onto, but equal-
ity is the only equivalence relation for which the
quotient map is one-​to-​one.
At the other extreme, the minimum possible
number of equivalence classes is 1, which hap-
pens in the case of universal equivalence, defined
so that x ~ y is true for all x and y in a set. In this
case the quotient set contains only a single ele-
ment. Equality is the finest possible equivalence
relation on any set, in the sense that it distin-
guishes all elements from each other; universal
equivalence is the coarsest, as it recognizes no
distinctions at all. In general, fine equivalence
relations give rise to large quotient sets, and
coarse equivalence relations to small quotient
sets. The most interesting examples of equiva-
lence relations fall between these extremes, so
that some pairs of elements are related while
others are not.
Exercise 2.4.7 In Section 2.2 we defined a
kind of product of sets, the Cartesian product.
We have now defined a quotient of sets, via an
equivalence relation. The terminology suggests
that these two concepts are somehow related to
multiplication and division, and are inversely
related to each other. In fact, the sets involved
in a Cartesian product can be recovered from
the product by forming quotient sets. This
exercise shows how these relationships work in
a simple situation.
(a) Let S be the set {C, E, A♭} (a set of three
pitch classes), and let T be the set {+​, −},
interpreted as the triad qualities major (+​)
and minor (−). An element of the Cartesian
product S × T is an ordered pair such as
(E, +​), which may be identified with an E-​
major triad. List the six triads in S × T in an
appropriately organized 3-​by-​2 array. (These
six triads form a hexatonic system, to be
explored in Section 3.1.)
(b) On the set S × T, define two equivalence
relations ~S (S equivalence) and ~T (T
equivalence) as follows. Two ordered pairs
are S-​equivalent if they have the same first
component (S component); two ordered
pairs are T-​equivalent if they have the
same second component (T component).
For example, the statements (C, +​) ~S
(C, −) and (C, +​) ~T (A♭, +​) are both correct.
What are the ~S equivalence classes, and
what are the ~T equivalence classes? How
many equivalence classes of each type are
there? Verify that the elements of (S × T) ∕ ~S
are in one-​to-​one correspondence with
the elements of S, and the elements of
(S × T) ∕ ~T are in one-​to-​one correspondence
with the elements of T.
(c) Suppose we identify the elements of (S × T) ∕ ~S
with the elements of S as described above.
The quotient map QS associated with the
equivalence relation ~S may then be viewed
as a function QS: S × T → S. What element
of S is QS(C, −)? What is QS(E, +​)? With QT
defined in a corresponding way, what are
QT(C, −) and QT(E, +​)? (In this situation QS
and QT are sometimes called the projections
from the Cartesian product S × T onto the
  original sets S and T, respectively.)
Several other equivalence relations are
important in music theory besides those already
mentioned. At least three different equivalence
relations on the collection of all pitch-​class sets
are commonly recognized: two sets may be con-
sidered equivalent if they are related by trans-
position (T equivalence), or if they are related by
any combination of transposition and/​or inver-
sion (TI equivalence), or if they have the same
interval-​class vector (interval-​content equiva-
lence).45 T equivalence and TI equivalence will be
considered in more general contexts in Chapters
6 and 10.
Exercise 2.4.8 Of the three relations T
equivalence, TI equivalence, and interval-​
content equivalence, which is the finest?
   is the coarsest?46
Which
Not all binary relations are equivalence rela-
tions. The relation <, for example, is not an
equivalence relation: there is no way to break
down the integers, or the real numbers, into
smaller equivalence classes in such a way that all
elements within one class are related by < but ele-
ments in different classes are not. In general, for
a binary relation ~ on a set S to be an equivalence
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 63
relation, the following three conditions must be
satisfied for all elements x, y, and z in S:
(R) Reflexive property: x ~ x.
(S) Symmetric property: if x ~ y, then y ~ x.
(T) Transitive property: if x ~ y and y ~ z,
then x ~ z.
Reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity are proper-
ties of the relation ~, not properties of the set S or
of specific elements x, y, and z. Using symmetry as
an illustration, either a relation is symmetric or it is
not; if there is even a single pair of elements x and
y for which x ~ y but y ≁ x, then the relation ~ is not
symmetric. From the above discussion of equiva-
lence classes, and from Figure 2.4.3, it should be
clear why an equivalence relation must satisfy con-
ditions (R), (S), and (T). Symmetry, for example,
requires that if x and y are in the same equivalence
class, then y and x are in the same equivalence
class—​which is exactly the same thing.
What may not be so obvious is that condi-
tions (R), (S), and (T), taken together, are suf-
ficient to ensure that a binary relation ~ is an
equivalence relation. That is, if a relation ~ on a
set S is reflexive, symmetric, and transitive, then
~ automatically partitions S into equivalence
classes as described above. For this reason, in
the mathematical literature an equivalence rela-
tion is often formally defined as any binary rela-
tion satisfying conditions (R), (S), and (T), from
which the properties of equivalence classes are
then derived as consequences.47
To determine whether a given binary relation
is or is not an equivalence relation, therefore,
it suffices to check conditions (R), (S), and (T).
These checks are rarely difficult and sometimes
obvious. For octave equivalence the appropriate
statements are:
(R) Every pitch is octave-​equivalent to itself.
(S) If pitch x is octave-​equivalent to y, then y is
octave-​equivalent to x.
(T) If pitch x is octave-​equivalent to y and y
is octave-​equivalent to z, then x is octave-​
equivalent to z.
Considering that “octave-​ equivalent” means
“separated by a whole number of octaves,” the
truth of all three statements should be clear.
Exercise 2.4.9 Write out statements (R),
(S), and (T) for the relation of enharmonic
equivalence on signed registral letter space, and
verify
   that all three statements are true.
64 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
To show that a relation is not an equivalence
relation, one need only give a single example to
show that one of the conditions (R), (S), or (T)
fails. For instance, simply because the statement
2 < 2 is false, we see that the relation < is not
reflexive, which by itself tells us that < cannot be
an equivalence relation; nothing else needs to be
checked. For the record, though, symmetry also
fails for <, because 2 < 3 is true while 3 < 2 is
false. The relation < is transitive (if x < y and y
< z, it does follow that x < z), but transitivity in
the absence of reflexivity and symmetry means
little; the relation has still failed two of the three
required conditions for equivalence relation
status.
Exercise 2.4.10 Four binary relations are
described below. Two of them are equivalence
relations and two are not. Which ones are the
equivalence relations? For the equivalence
relations, verify conditions (R), (S), and (T),
and describe the equivalence classes. For the
other relations, determine which (if any) of the
three conditions are satisfied and which are not,
and give specific examples of the conditions
that fail.
(a) On the set ℝ of real numbers, the relation ≤
(“less than or equal to”).
(b) On the set ℤ of integers, the relation ≠ (“is
not equal to”).
(c) Let S be some collection of finite sets. If
X and Y are sets in S, define X ~ Y to be
true whenever #X =​#Y—​that is, whenever
X and Y contain the same number of
elements.
(d) Let S be the set of all lines in the plane. If L1
and L2 are lines in S, define L1 ~ L2 to be true
whenever the lines L1 and L2 are parallel.
  Consider every line to be parallel to itself.
Exercise 2.4.11 Five binary relations in
musical contexts are described below. At
least one of these is an equivalence relation,
while some others are not. Answer the same
questions as in the previous exercise.
(a) In continuous pitch space cpitch, define x
~ y to be true whenever the pitches x and y
are separated by an interval of 3 semitones
or less.
(b) In chromatic pc space pc, define x ~ y to
be true whenever there is some dominant
seventh chord containing both pitch classes
x and y.
(c) In pc, define x ~ y to be true whenever
there is some diminished seventh chord
containing both x and y.48
(d) This relation is defined on the set triad
consisting of the 24 major and minor triads
in pitch-​class space. For triads X and Y,
define X ~ Y to be true whenever the triads
X and Y share at least one common tone.
(e) Let S be the collection of all pitch-​class sets.
For pitch-​class sets X and Y in S, define X ~
Y to be true whenever X and Y are related by
  inversion only (not allowing transposition).
Exercise 2.4.12 Define a relation ~ on the
set ℝ>0 of positive real numbers as follows:
x ~ y is true whenever x ∕ y =​2n for some integer
n (that is, the ratio of one number to the other
is a power of 2). For example, 163 ~ 6 because
( 163 )/6 = 321 = 2−5. Verify that ~ is an equivalence
relation by checking conditions (R), (S), and (T).
Also describe a possible musical interpretation of
the relation ~. In which of the spaces described in
Chapter
   1 is this relation applicable?
Two additional equivalence relations, permu-
tational equivalence and cardinality equivalence,
will be of interest in later chapters. The notion
of permutational equivalence was implicit at the
beginning of Section 2.2, where we observed
that (E4, C4, D4, G3) and (G3, D4, E4, C4) are
two different ordered sets but that one may be
obtained from the other by permutation—​by
rearranging the same elements in a different
order. We say that these ordered sets are per-
mutationally equivalent, and we write (E4, C4, D4,
G3) ~P (G3, D4, E4, C4). For cardinality equivalence,
let S be a collection of multisets. For multisets X
and Y in S, define X ~C Y to be true whenever X
and Y have the same reductions as sets (eliminat-
ing duplicate elements and reducing each ele-
ment to multiplicity 1, as was also discussed in
Section 2.2). For example, {C, C, E, G} ~C {C, E, G,
G, G} is a true statement about pitch-​class mul-
tisets, because both of these multisets reduce to
the set {C, E, G}.
Exercise 2.4.13 Verify that conditions (R), (S),
and (T) hold for the relations ~P and ~C.
Let S be the collection of all pitch tuples, or
ordered pitch sets—​ordered sets of elements of
chromatic pitch space, of any length, possibly
with duplications. The relations of octave equiv-
alence, T equivalence, TI equivalence, permuta-
tional equivalence, and cardinality equivalence
may all be understood to be defined on S. These
equivalence relations, known collectively as the
OPTIC relations because of their initial letters,
will be of great importance in our study of voice-​
   spaces in Part Three.49
leading
Exercise 2.4.14 Listed below are five pairs of
pitch tuples. The two tuples in each pair are
equivalent in at least one of the above senses.
Identify which of the five equivalence relations
(~O , ~P , ~T, ~TI, and/​or ~C) is satisfied by each
pair of ordered sets.
(a) (C4, E4, G4) and (D5, F♯5, A5)
(b) (C4, E4, G4) and (E4, G4, C4)
(c) (C4, E4, G4) and (C4, C4, E4, G4)
(d) (C4, E4, G4) and (G4, E♭4, C4)
(e)  (C4, E4, G4) and (C4, E5, G4)
Exercise 2.4.15 Two other equivalence
relations introduced above, enharmonic
equivalence and generic equivalence, do not
make sense as relations on the collection
of pitch tuples. Why not? Can you devise a
space of musical objects in which all of the
relations ~O , ~P , ~T, ~TI, ~C, ~E , and ~G are
   ​defined?50
well-
2.5 MODULAR ARITHMETIC
Readers versed in pitch-​class set theory prob-
ably have some familiarity with mod-​12 arith-
metic. Central to the study of arithmetic mod
12 (or, more generally, arithmetic mod n) is an
equivalence relation, congruence mod n. Because
acquaintance with these concepts will be
assumed frequently, and because they will later
be extended in musically relevant ways, it is use-
ful to review them briefly here.
If n is an integer ≥ 2, then integers x and y are
congruent modulo n, usually abbreviated to mod n,
if the difference x − y is divisible by n—​that is, if
x − y =​ cn for some integer c. This congruence is
commonly notated x ≡ y (mod n), or occasionally
x ≡n y. For example, the congruences 15 ≡ 3 (mod
12), 19 ≡ −5 (mod 12), and 50 ≡ 1 (mod 7) are
all true statements. The number n is the modu-
lus associated with the congruence. If x and y are
positive integers, x ≡ y (mod n) means that x and
y both yield the same remainder when divided
by n. Care must be taken when extending this
interpretation to negative numbers: it may seem
counterintuitive to say that 19 and −5 yield the
same remainder when divided by 12, but it is
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 65
true that both 19 and −5 exceed the next smaller
multiple of 12 by the same amount (7).
To verify that congruence mod n is an equiv-
alence relation, we check conditions (R), (S),
and (T):
(R) For every integer x, x ≡ x (mod n). This is
true because x − x =​0 =​0 ∙ n.
(S) If x ≡ y (mod n), then y ≡ x (mod n). This is
true because y − x is the negative of x − y; if
one of those differences is divisible by n, so
is the other.
(T) If x ≡ y (mod n) and y ≡ z (mod n), then x ≡ z
(mod n). This is true because x − z =​(x − y) +​
(y − z); if the latter two differences are divis-
ible by n, so is x − z.
For reasons that are probably obvious by now,
the most important moduli for musical applica-
tions are 12 and 7. If pitch numbers are assigned
to the elements of chromatic pitch space as in
Figure 1.1, then congruence mod 12 is the same
thing as octave equivalence. In generic or dia-
tonic pitch space, it is congruence mod 7 that
corresponds to octave equivalence.51
The equivalence classes of the relation of mod-​
n congruence may be called congruence classes;
the names remainder classes and residue classes
are also used. The congruence classes mod 12 are
0 =​{…, −24, −12, 0, 12, 24, …}
(numbers ≡ 0 mod 12),
1 =​{…, −23, −11, 1, 13, 25, …}
(numbers ≡ 1 mod 12),
2 =​{…, −22, −10, 2, 14, 26, …}
(numbers ≡ 2 mod 12),
⋮
11 =​{…, −13, −1, 11, 23, 35, …}
(numbers ≡ 11 mod 12).
The class 0 consists of all the multiples of 12,
and the uniform spacing of 12 between succes-
sive elements of the class is maintained through
the other eleven congruence classes as well.
Every integer belongs to exactly one of these
twelve classes; for example, 21 ∈ 9 and −19 ∈ 5.
The equivalence class 9 could also be called 21,
and 5 could also be called −19; the classes are
identified in the list above using the numerically
simplest name for each of them, from 0 to 11.
We define ℤ12, the integers mod 12, to be the
set of the twelve congruence classes:
ℤ12 = { 0 , 1, . . . , 11 }.
66 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
In terminology from Section 2.4, ℤ12 is ℤ ∕ ≡12,
the quotient set of the integers ℤ by the equiva-
lence relation ≡ (mod 12). According to this
definition, an integer mod 12 is technically not
a number but a set of numbers, a subset of ℤ.
To say that each element of ℤ12 is identified
with an entire class of congruent numbers is
analogous to saying that a pitch class is not just
one note but an entire class of octave-​equiva-
lent notes.
Readers are probably accustomed to seeing
mod-​12 integers written 0, 1, …, 11, as if they
were ordinary integers, not sets, and indeed we
shall write them that way most of the time. The
more formal approach described above offers a
worthwhile reminder that integers mod 12 are
not quite the same things as the ordinary inte-
gers bearing those names, just as the pitch class
C is not the same thing as the note C4. In par-
ticular, ℤ12 is not a subset of ℤ; it is a quotient
set of ℤ. The ordinary integers 0, 1, …, 11 form
a subset of ℤ; this subset, which contains one
representative of each congruence class, may be
called a module for the quotient set ℤ12. In some-
what the same way, in Chapter 1 we described
the line segment of Figure 1.2.7b as a module for
pitch-​class space, and the tile in Figure 1.4.3 as
a module for the conformed tonnetz of Figure
1.4.2, as it contains one representative of each
note that appears in the full tonnetz.
The order in which the congruence classes
0–​11 are listed above is such that if 1 is added
to a number in one class, the resulting number
belongs to the next class in the list. If 1 is added
to a number in the class 11, the resulting num-
ber belongs to the class 0; thus 0 follows 11 in
the same way that 1 follows 0 and so on. For this
reason the integers mod 12, like the chromatic
pitch classes they are often used to represent,
may logically be arranged in a circular clock
diagram.
The addition mentioned in the preceding
paragraph is ordinary addition of integers (ele-
ments of ℤ), not addition of integers mod 12
(congruence classes). In order to perform arith-
metical operations on the integers mod 12, we
must first consider how those operations are
defined. For example, what is the mod-​12 sum
5+9 ​ ? Because 5 +​9 =​14 as a sum of ordinary
integers in ℤ, and because 14 belongs to the
congruence class 2, it seems logical to suppose
that 5 + 9​ =2​ . The clock circle seems to confirm
this conclusion: starting at 5 and counting 9
places clockwise, we arrive at 2. If we interpret
5 and 9 as interval sizes, then an interval of
5 +​9 semitones is exactly 2 semitones greater
than an octave; a musician comfortable with
mathematical language might even say “a per-
fect fourth and a major sixth add up to a major
second, modulo the octave.”
There is a potential pitfall in this reasoning.
The congruence classes 5 and 9 contain many
other numbers besides 5 and 9. If we were to
choose different representatives of the same
two congruence classes, add them, and get a
number that belongs to some congruence class
other than 2, our definition of addition would be
inconsistent. Fortunately, a little experimenta-
tion should convince the reader—​and it is not
difficult to prove rigorously—​that this problem
never arises. For example, choosing representa-
tives 29, 17, and −7 from the class 5 , and adding
them respectively to representatives −3, 21, and
−15 from the class 9, we calculate that 29 +​(−3) =​
26, 17 +​21 =​38, and (−7) +​(−15) =​−22, and
observe that the sum in every case belongs to the
same congruence class 2 that we calculated the
first time. Our definition of addition is consis-
tent after all; addition mod 12 is well-​defined as a
binary operation on ℤ12. Formally, the definition
may be stated in the form m − + ​n− = (m + n ): the
sum of two congruence classes m − and n− is the
congruence class of the sum m +​ n of representa-
tives of those classes.52
Similar considerations are at play in the defi-
nitions of subtraction and multiplication mod
12. For example, 5 − 9 = 8 ​ and 5 · 9 = 9​ , as the
reader can verify by choosing any representa-
tives of the congruence classes 5 and 9, perform-
ing the appropriate operations, and checking to
which congruence class the result belongs. But it
is important to realize that division mod n is not
defined. This should come as no surprise; after
all, division cannot be defined as an operation
on the integers ℤ to begin with (fractions being
unavailable in ℤ). But the difficulty in ℤ12 runs
deeper, as the equation 5 · 9 = 9 ​ illustrates. If it
were possible to perform division mod 12, we
should surely expect that 9 ÷ 9 should equal 1—​
for the equation 1 · 9 = 9 ​ is certainly true. But
5·9=9 ​ as well, which suggests that 9 ÷ 9 should
also equal 5. This curious circumstance—​that
two different integers mod 12 can satisfy the
condition demanded of the same quotient—​is
something that never arises in the world of ordi-
nary numbers.
Exercise 2.5.1 Actually there are three mod-​12
integers x satisfying x · 9 = 9
​ . Two of them are
1 and
   5 . What is the third?
At this point we may abandon the formal-
ism of the approach to modular arithmetic
outlined above, and agree to write the inte-
gers mod 12 as 0, 1, …, 11. We will usually
also write =​rather than ≡ for modular congru-
ence, though the qualifying “mod 12” should
be retained whenever ambiguity is possible.
So rather than writing 5 + 9 ​ =​ 2, we write
5 +​9 =​2 (mod 12). We will sometimes refer
to such a formula as an “equation”; technically,
it may be regarded either as an equation (=​)
of congruence classes or as a congruence (≡)
of numbers. At times when it is important to
remember that we are referring to a mod-​12
integer rather than to an ordinary integer, the
subscript notation 0mod 12, 1mod 12, …, 11mod 12 is
another useful alternative.
As a practical matter, to perform arithmetic
(addition, subtraction, and multiplication) in
the modular world without worrying about the
full apparatus of congruence classes, one can
perform the operations in the normal way, with
the understanding that whenever the calculation
yields a number larger than 11 or smaller than
0, we may add or subtract 12 as often as neces-
sary to put it back in range. The circle diagram
is often a helpful aid in visualizing mod-​12 addi-
tion (clockwise motion around the circle) and
subtraction (counterclockwise). Some additional
examples:
4 − 6 =​10 (mod 12): normally 4 − 6 is −2,
so add 12 to this result;
5 · 5 =​1 (mod 12): normally 5 · 5 is 25,
so subtract 12 twice; and
9 · 8 =​0 (mod 12): normally 9 · 8 is 72;
subtract 12 six times.
The last equation illustrates another way in
which modular arithmetic differs from ordinary
arithmetic: it is possible to multiply two mod-​
12 integers, neither of which is 0, and get 0 as
a product.
Exercise 2.5.2 Perform the indicated mod-​12
calculations. Write each answer in the simplest
possible form (that is, as an integer from 0
to 11).
(a) 10 +​10 (mod 12)
(b) 10 − 2 (mod 12)
(c) 5 − 11 (mod 12)
(d) 3 · 5 (mod 12)
(e) 11 · 11 (mod 12)
(f)  (9 +​10) · (4 − 7) (mod 12)53
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 67
 The quotient map Q12: ℤ → ℤ12 associated
with the equivalence relation ≡ (mod 12) maps
any integer n to its congruence class n in ℤ12. For
example, Q12(19) =​7 . We have just decided, how-
ever, to call this congruence class 7 rather than 7,
so we can write Q12(19) =​7. The number 7 that
we have chosen to name this class is numerically
the simplest of the various integers that are con-
gruent to 19 (mod 12)—​the only such number
in the range 0–​11. For this reason, calculation
of Q12 may be regarded as a process of reducing
a number mod 12. Although it is called a “quo-
tient map,” Q12 may intuitively be thought of as
a “remainder map” instead, in the sense that 7
is the remainder when 19 is divided by 12. As
before, care must be taken when applying this
interpretation to negative numbers.54
Most of the principles of mod-​12 arithmetic
described above apply equally well to mod-​7 arith-
metic, or for that matter to mod-​n arithmetic for
any integer n ≥ 2. The integers mod n are the con-
gruence classes of the congruence relation mod n,
and the set of these integers mod n, a set of car-
dinality n, is denoted ℤn. The reader may verify
the following equations in ℤ7: 6 +​6 =​5 (mod 7);
3 − 4 =​6 (mod 7); 6 · 5 =​2 (mod 7). The function
f described in Exercise 2.3.10g was precisely the
quotient map Q7.
We have described musical interpretations
of ℤ12 and ℤ7 in the formation of chromatic and
diatonic pitch-​class spaces. A musical application
of other moduli besides 12 and 7 arises in the
construction of beat-​class spaces, derivable from
the beat space mentioned in Example 1.4.20. In
a  time signature, for example, beats occupying
corresponding positions in two different mea-
sures have beat numbers that are congruent mod
4. Congruence mod 4 converts beat space beat
into  beat-​class space bc(4), in the same way
that congruence mod 12 converts pitch space
pitch into 12-​ note pitch-​
class space pc. The
beats traditionally numbered 1–​4 are identified
with the mod-​4 integers 0–​3 in bc(4), and any
subset of ℤ4 may be realized as a beat-​class set,
analogous in many ways to a pitch-​class set.55
Exercise 2.5.3 Perform the indicated
calculations. Write each answer in the simplest
possible form, as an integer from 0 to n − 1,
where n is the appropriate modulus.
(a) 3 +​5 (mod 7)
(b) 3 − 5 (mod 7)
(c) 3 · 5 (mod 7)
(d) 3 +​1 (mod 4)
68 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
(e) 1 − 2 (mod 4)
(f)  2 · 2 (mod 4)
The fact that 7 is a prime number is responsi-
ble for some distinctive features of mod-​7 arith-
metic, unlike anything in the mod-​12 world. For
example, while the equation 3 · 4 =​0 (mod 12)
is true, the equation x · y =​0 (mod 7) cannot be
satisfied unless either x or y is 0. Also, we saw in
Exercise 2.5.1 that three different mod-​12 inte-
gers x satisfy 9x =​9 (mod 12), but nothing of the
sort is possible mod 7. In fact, if a and b are inte-
gers mod 7 and a ≠ 0 (mod 7), it turns out that
the equation ax =​ b (mod 7) always has exactly
one solution x. In effect, this means that in the
mod-​7 world it is indeed possible to “divide” by
any nonzero mod-​7 integer, solving the equation
ax =​ b for x =​ b ∕ a. (This property is a manifesta-
tion of some principles of group theory to be dis-
cussed in Chapter 5—​see in particular Exercise
5.2.7b—​ and has important consequences
involving musical behavior in diatonic spaces, to
be explored in Chapter 13.)
Exercise 2.5.4 In parts (a)–​(d), determine the
unique solution (mod 7) of each equation:
(a) 2x =​1;
(b) 4x =​3;
(c) 5x =​2;
(d) 6x =​4.
(e) Give examples to show that the special
property of mod-​7 arithmetic described
above fails in mod-​4 arithmetic. Specifically,
give an example of mod-​4 integers a and b,
with a ≠ 0 (mod 4), for which the equation
ax =​ b (mod 4) has no solutions, and
another example for which there are at least
two different solutions.
(f) The equations 7 +​6 =​1 (mod 12) and
7 − 6 =​1 (mod 12) are identical except for
the operation signs (+​in one case, − in
the other), and both equations are true.
Is an analogous pair of mod-​7 equations
possible? That is, are there any mod-​7
integers a and b for which a +​ b =​ a − b
(mod 7), apart from the trivial case in
  which b =​0 (mod 7)?56
Exercise 2.5.5
(a) Suppose you know that x is an integer such
that x =​7 (mod 12). What, if anything, can be
said about x mod 3? About x mod 4? About
x mod 5? What special properties of the
numbers 3, 4, 5, and 12 are relevant here?57
(b) If a is an integer mod 3, the mod-​12 pitch-​
class numbers x such that x =​ a (mod 3)
form what sort of pitch-​class set? If b is
an integer mod 4, the mod-​12 pitch-​class
numbers x such that x =​ b (mod 4) form
what sort of pitch-​class set?
(c) Suppose m and n are coprime positive
integers, which means that m and n
have no common factors larger than
1. Suppose a is an integer mod m and
b is an integer mod n, and suppose
you are interested in finding a single
number x for which the congruences x
=​ a (mod m) and x =​ b (mod n) are both
true. It is a consequence of a theorem
of number theory, sometimes called the
Chinese remainder theorem, that these
two congruences always have a common
solution, which is unique mod mn (that
is, if x1 and x2 are both solutions of the
two given congruences, then x1 =​ x2 (mod
mn)). If m =​3, n =​4, a =​1, and b =​2,
what is the unique value of x mod 12?58
(d) Use the property from (c) to give an
alternative explanation for the fact noted in
Exercise 1.4.7a: a diminished seventh chord
and an augmented triad always have exactly
  one pitch class in common.
While modular arithmetic typically involves
integers only, constructions such as the real
numbers mod 12, denoted ℝ12, are possible as
well.59 The congruence relation ≡ (mod 12) is
defined for non-​integers in the same way as for
integers; for example, 4.25 ≡ 16.25 (mod 12).
The quotient set ℝ12 is the appropriate math-
ematical model for continuous pitch-​class space
cpc. Here there are infinitely many congruence
classes rather than merely twelve—​the infinitely
many points of the continuous circle of cpc. As
numerical representatives of these classes we
may take all the real numbers from 0 to 11.999... .
References to integers mod 12 (elements of ℤ12)
are common throughout this book; on the rarer
occasions when we refer to “numbers mod 12,”
elements of ℝ12 are what we have in mind.
2.6 RELATIONSHIPS AMONG
MODULAR SPACES
We conclude this chapter with a discussion of sev-
eral important aspects of the relationships among
chromatic, generic, and spelled pitch-​class spaces,
which hinge on modular structure. These proper-
ties, though not widely recognized, will be useful
on several later occasions; in particular, they will
figure into our more thorough exploration of
generic spaces and applications to chromatic har-
mony in Part Four. They also afford some oppor-
tunities to practice some moderately abstract
reasoning involving modular arithmetic.60
A central portion of spelled pitch-​class space
spc appears in Table 2.6.1. Immediately below
each note name is the associated spc number
from Figure 1.3.3. Recall that by convention,
spc numbers assign the number 0 to the note
D, unlike pc numbers, which assign 0 to C. Spc
numbers are integers, theoretically unbounded,
but common note names with no more than two
sharps or flats correspond to the spc numbers
shown in the table, ranging from −17 to 17.
The remaining three lines of the table display
numbers that can be calculated as functions of
the spc number n; we use the Greek letters π (pi),
γ (gamma), and α (alpha) to denote these three
functions. The mod-​12 pitch-​class number cor-
responding to spc n, π(n), is called the projection
of n in pc space. (The letter pi may be considered
to stand for either projection or pc.) In mapping
spelled pitch classes to ordinary pitch classes, π
effectively accomplishes the same thing as the
function QE: sl → pc, the quotient map of the
enharmonic equivalence relation on signed let-
ter space described in Section 2.4. Unlike QE,
however, π is defined on spelled pitch-​class num-
bers rather than on note names. That is, whereas
QE is a function from sl to pc, π is a function
from ℤ to ℤ12; an equation such as π(−6) =​8 cap-
tures in a completely numerical way the under-
standing that the note name A♭ (spc number −6)
represents pitch class 8. We will determine a way
to calculate the value of π(n) shortly.
Similarly, the generic projection of an spc n is
γ(n), the associated generic pitch-​class number
(or gpc number; gamma stands for generic). Gpc
numbers are integers mod 7, based on C =​0. The
function γ: ℤ → ℤ7 is therefore the numerical
representation of the quotient map QG: sl → gpc
explored in Exercise 2.4.5.
Finally, α(n) is the accidental index of the spc
n (alpha for accidental), an integer that simply
counts the sharps or flats in a note name, count-
ing sharps positive and flats negative. For exam-
ple, the accidental index of G♭ ♭ is −2, while the
accidental index of F♯ ♯ ♯ is +​3 (F♯ ♯ ♯ is spc 18, lying
just beyond the range shown in Table 2.6.1). As
the table shows, seven consecutive notes along
the line of fifths share the same accidental index;
α always advances from one value to the next
between the letter names B and F.
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 69
 Of the three functions π, γ, and α, it is α
that is easiest to calculate numerically: for
every spc n,
α(n) =​ n/​7 rounded to the nearest integer.
For example, α(11) =​+​2, because the integer
closest to 11 ∕ 7 is 2, and α(−2) =​0, because the
integer closest to −2 ∕ 7 is 0. This simple formula
is one reason for choosing D =​0 rather than
C =​0 as the origin for spc numbers; the latter
convention would necessitate a more compli-
cated formula for the accidental index.
To determine a formula for π(n), observe in
the table that each time n increases by 1, π(n)
increases by 7 (mod 12); this is because spc
numbers are organized along the line of fifths,
and a perfect fifth is seven semitones. Because
π(0) =​2, it follows that for every n,
π ( n) = 7n + 2 ( mod 12).
For example, π(11) =​7 ∙ 11 +​2 =​79 =​7mod 12, and
π(−2) =​7 ∙ (−2) +​2 =​−12 =​0mod 12. The number 2
that appears in the formula for π(n) is attribut-
able to the two-​semitone discrepancy between C
and D, the notes from which pc and spc numbers
are reckoned.61
Exercise 2.6.2
(a) Check that the formulas given above for
α(n) and π(n) hold for the notes E, G♭ ♭,
and F♯ ♯ ♯.
(b) Using reasoning similar to the above
discussion of π(n), obtain a formula for γ(n).
This will be a mod-​7 formula, not mod-​12.
Check that your formula works for the same
  three notes you considered in part (a).
The functions π, γ, and α map ℤ onto ℤ12, ℤ7,
and ℤ, respectively, but none of these functions
is one-​to-​one. We have already observed that α
takes the same value on seven successive spcs.
The formula π(n) =​7n +​2 (mod 12) implies that
if m and n are two spcs with m ≡ n (mod 12),
then π(m) =​ π(n), which is just another way of
saying that every twelfth note along the line
of fifths is enharmonically equivalent. The for-
mula for γ(n) from the preceding exercise like-
wise implies that if m ≡ n (mod 7), then γ(m) =​
γ(n)—​that is, every seventh note along the line
of fifths is generically equivalent (has the same
letter name).
70 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
If m and n are two different spcs with the
same accidental index (α(m) =​ α(n)), then we
know that m and n must lie fewer than seven
places apart along the line of fifths—​that is,
|m − n| ≤ 6. Therefore m and n cannot possibly
be separated by as many as twelve places, or even
as many as seven, so it follows from the preced-
ing paragraph that π(m) ≠ π(n) and γ(m) ≠ γ(n).
This means that two different spcs cannot share
the same value of α and also the same value of
either π or γ. In other words, if we know the
value of both α(n) and π(n), or if we know the
value of both α(n) and γ(n), then n is uniquely
determined.
Exercise 2.6.3 Answer the following questions,
preferably without consulting Table 2.6.1.
(a) If α(n) =​+​1 and π(n) =​10, what is n? (You
are looking for the spc number of a note
representing pitch class 10 whose spelling
includes one sharp.)
(b) If α(n) =​−3 and π(n) =​2, what is n?
(c) If α(n) =​−2 and γ(n) =​5, what is n? (The
note name should be obvious: there is only
one note whose spelling includes two flats
and the letter name A.)
(d) Is there any n for which α(n) =​+​1 and π(n) =​
  4? What does this mean musically?
The above discussion leaves open the ques-
tion of whether n can be determined from
knowing both π(n) and γ(n). A little thought
shows that the answer must be no: there are
only twelve possibilities for π(n) (an integer
mod 12) and only seven possibilities for γ(n)
(an integer mod 7), so there are only 7 ∙ 12 =​
84 possible combinations of π(n) and γ(n),
whereas the number of integers n is infinite.
Nevertheless, there is a practical sense in which
if we know both the pc-​space and the gpc-​space
projections of a note—​both its pitch-​class num-
ber and its letter name—​then we can deduce
what the note is.
To begin with, consider again the formula
π ( n) = 7n + 2 ( mod 12).
Let us try to solve this equation for n. Multiplying
both sides by 7 gives
7π ( n) = 49n + 14 ( mod 12).
Table 2.6.1. Mappings π, γ, and α defined on spelled pitch-​class space

NOTE NAME F♭♭ C ♭♭ G ♭♭ D ♭♭ A♭♭ E♭♭ B♭♭ F♭ C♭ G♭ D♭ A♭ E♭ B♭

Spelled pitch class n ∈ℤ −17 −16 −15 −14 −13 −12 −11 −10 −9 −8 −7 −6 −5 −4
Pitch class π(n) ∈ ℤ12 3 10 5 0 7 2 9 4 11 6 1 8 3 10
Generic pitch class γ(n) ∈ ℤ7 3 0 4 1 5 2 6 3 0 4 1 5 2 6
Accidental index α(n) ∈ℤ −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1

F C G D A E B F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯ F ♯♯ C ♯♯ G ♯♯ D ♯♯ A ♯♯ E ♯♯ B ♯♯
n −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
π(n) 5 0 7 2 9 4 11 6 1 8 3 10 5 0 7 2 9 4 11 6 1
γ(n) 3 0 4 1 5 2 6 3 0 4 1 5 2 6 3 0 4 1 5 2 6
α(n) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +​1 +​1 +​1 +​1 +​1 +​1 +​1 +​2 +​2 +​2 +​2 +​2 +​2 +​2

In a mod-​12 formula we can replace 49 by 1 and
replace 14 by 2, because 49 =​1 (mod 12) and
14 =​2 (mod 12). Therefore
7π ( n) = n + 2 ( mod 12),
or equivalently
n = 7π ( n) − 2 ( mod 12).
This formula tells us how to recover n from
π(n), except that it tells us only the congruence
class of n mod 12, not the actual value of the
integer n.
Exercise 2.6.4 Using reasoning similar to
the above, take your formula for γ(n) from
Exercise 2.6.2b and solve it for n, obtaining the
congruence
   class of n mod 7.
If we know both π(n) and γ(n), therefore, we
can determine the congruence class of n mod 12
and also the congruence class of n mod 7. Let us
suppose n ≡ a (mod 12) and n ≡ b (mod 7). The
numbers 12 and 7 are coprime, so by the Chinese
remainder theorem (see Exercise 2.5.5c), these
two congruences always have a common solu-
tion, and that solution is unique mod 84. So
while the integer n itself cannot be deduced
from π(n) and γ(n), we can determine its congru-
ence class mod 84. This is more than sufficient to
determine the common notation for any musical
note: recall that all the notes with no more than
two sharps or flats satisfy −17 ≤ n ≤ 17, and the
numbers in that range are all different mod 84.
Exercise 2.6.5 Questions (a)–​(c) below
can be answered on the basis of a musical
understanding of π(n) and γ(n). The following
exercise will develop an explicit formula, but
that formula is not needed here. In parts (a) and
(b), assume that the note in question is spelled
with no more than two sharps or flats. The note
in (c) may require three.
(a) If π(n) =​1 and γ(n) =​1, what is n?
(b) If π(n) =​9 and γ(n) =​4, what is n?
(c) If π(n) =​1 and γ(n) =​2, what is n?
(d) The rather extreme spc numbers m =​−42
and n =​42 are congruent mod 84. Determine
the note names corresponding to m and
n. Verify that π(m) =​ π(n) and γ(m) =​ γ(n).
(Fortunately this is not something that
  arises in practical situations!)

Sets, Functions, and Relations • 71

Exercise 2.6.6 This exercise, which requires
a bit of algebra, outlines a way to deduce an
explicit formula for n (mod 84), given the values
of π(n) (mod 12) and γ(n) (mod 7).
(a) Suppose first that we know n ≡ a (mod 12)
and n ≡ b (mod 7). Let k be the number
49a +​36b. Show that the congruences k ≡ n
(mod 12) and k ≡ n (mod 7) are both true.
What properties of the numbers 49 and 36
make both of these congruences work? It
follows that k − n is divisible by both 12 and
7, and hence divisible by 84—​which means
that k ≡ n (mod 84).
(b) Above we showed that the formula for
π(n) may be solved for n in the form n =​
7π(n) − 2 (mod 12). So 7π(n) − 2 plays the
role of the number a in part (a) above.
In Exercise 2.6.4 you showed that the
formula for γ(n) may be solved for n (mod
7); the result of that exercise is a formula
that may be used for the number b.
Making these two substitutions, write the
number k =​49a +​36b and simplify it mod
84. If you do this correctly, you should
arrive at the formula
n = 7π ( n) − 12γ ( n) − 2 (mod 84).
(c) Verify that the formula from (b) holds for
the notes D, C♯, and B♭ ♭.
(d) Verify that your answers to parts (a)–​(c)
of Exercise 2.6.5 are consistent with the
  formula from part (b) of this exercise.
We have referred several times to the trans-
position operators Tj on pitch-​ class space.
Two other families of functions that will
prove useful are generic transposition, denoted
by the lowercase letter t, and spc transposi-
tion, denoted by the Greek letter τ (tau). The
generic transposition operator tj transposes
generic pitch classes by j steps in generic pitch-​
class space gpc; thus the formula tj(n) =​ n +​ j
(mod 7) holds for all mod-​7 gpc numbers n. For
example, t5(E) =​C, or equivalently t5(2) =​0,
because the gpc numbers corresponding to
E and C are the mod-​7 integers 2 and 0, and
2 +​5 =​0 (mod 7). Musically, this means that
C is five generic steps—​a sixth—​above E. The
small t distinguishes generic transpositions tj
from the more familiar chromatic transposi-
tions Tj, which work analogously in mod-​12
chromatic space pc, as described by the equa-
tion Tj(n) =​ n +​ j (mod 12).
72 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
The spc transposition τk is defined on spc
numbers n by the formula τk(n) =​ n +​ k. In other
words, τk “transposes” spelled pitch classes
along the line of fifths spc in exactly the same
way that Tk transposes notes in chromatic
pitch space pitch.62 In fact, as functions from
ℤ to ℤ, τk and Tk are the same function. Because
the same numbers represent different notes in
the spaces spc and pitch, however, the musi-
cal interpretation is different and the alternate
notation is useful. Moreover, via the associa-
tion of spelled pitch classes with signed letters,
it is convenient to assume that τk is defined on
signed letters as well as on spc numbers. For
instance, we may write τ3(2) =​5 or equivalently
τ3(E) =​C♯, indicating that C♯ lies three places to
the right of E on the line of fifths; T3(E) is of
course something else entirely. The fact that B♭
lies five places to the left of A may be expressed
by the equation τ−5(1) =​−4, or equivalently
τ−5(A) =​B♭.
A fact that will prove useful several times is
that in a mod-​12 sense, either the spc trans-
position τj or the pitch-​class transposition Tk
may be converted to the other by multiplying
the index number by 7. If spelled pitch class m
occurs immediately to the left of n on the line
of fifths, then n =​ τ1(m) and the corresponding
pitch classes are fifth-​related, which is to say
π(n) =​ T7(π(m)). More generally, if n =​ τj(m), then
π(n) =​ T7j(π(m)); thus the pitch-​class transposi-
tion corresponding to τj is T7j. (Like the index
numbers of all transposition operators in pc, the
number 7j may be reduced mod 12.) Conversely,
if we know that π(n) =​ Tk(π(m)), for what value of
j can it be true that n =​ τj(m)? There will be more
than one such j since many notes on the line of
fifths are enharmonically equivalent. But what-
ever j is, we just established that the equation k =​
7j (mod 12) must be true. Multiplying both sides
of that congruence by 7 and using the fact that
7 ∙ 7 =​1 (mod 12), we conclude that j =​7k (mod
12): up to congruence mod 12, the spc transposi-
tion corresponding to Tk is τ7k. The congruence
7 ∙ 7 =​1 (mod 12) is essentially responsible for
the fact that the same multiplier 7 works in both
directions.
Exercise 2.6.7
(a) Determine j and k for which τj(F) =​B♭ and
Tk(F) =​B♭. Verify that k =​7j (mod 12) and
j =​7k (mod 12). Do the same for the notes
D and B, and for the notes E and A♭.
(b) The generic projections of spelled pitch
classes 2 (E) and 5 (C♯) are γ(2) =​2 (E) and
 γ(5) =​0 (C). The spelled pitch classes E and
C♯ satisfy the equation τ3(E) =​C♯, while the
corresponding generic pitch classes E and
C satisfy t5(E) =​C. In general, if two spcs
are related by τj, for what value of k will the
corresponding gpcs be related by tk? That
is, if τj(m) =​ n, for what value of k will it be
true that tk(γ(m)) =​ γ(n)? Write a mod-​7
  formula for k in terms of j.63
Exercise 2.6.8 The sets A, X, Y, and Z
appearing in the following questions are spc
sets—​sets of spelled pitch classes. Spc sets
may be written either in note names or in spc
numbers: for instance, the C-​minor triad is
the spc set {C, E♭, G} =​{−5, −2, −1}. Answer
the questions numerically, but also think
about musical implications. You will need to
recall the notation for images f(A) and inverse
images f −1(B) from Section 2.3.
(a) If A is any set of twelve or more consecutive
integers (spc numbers), what is π(A)?
(b) If A is any set of seven or more consecutive
integers, what is γ(A)?
(c) If y is any integer, what can you say about
α−1({y})?
(d) Let X, Y, and Z be the following spc sets:
X =​{−3, −1, 0, 3} =​{G, B, D, F}
Y =​{−6, −4, −3, 0} =​{B♭, D, F, A♭}
Z =​{−4, −3, 0, 6} =​{B♭, D, F, G♯}
Calculate the images π(X), π(Y), and π(Z)
(these are pc sets, or subsets of ℤ12), and also
γ(X), γ(Y), and γ(Z) (these are gpc sets, or
subsets of ℤ7). Which two of the three sets X, Y,
and Z have the same projection in pc space (the
same image under π)? Which two have the same
projection in gpc space (the same image under
γ)? Which two of the three sets X, Y, and Z are
related by spc transposition? Which sets have
projections that are related by T-​transposition
pc space?64
in   tell us whether x ∈ V or not. But certainly either x ∈ V
NOTES
1. The mathematical study of sets developed out
of a nineteenth-​century interest in the theory of infi-
nite series. The words collection, family, and class are
used more or less interchangeably with set (although
mathematicians make some technical distinctions,
particularly involving the word class). In early writings
on twelve-​tone music, the word set was often used to
refer to a row of notes in a specified order—​a usage
not consistent with standard mathematical terminol-
ogy, in which no fixed order of the elements of a set
is assumed. David Lewin opens his book Generalized
Musical Intervals and Transformations (Lewin [1987]
2007, 1) by explaining that he will avoid the word set for
this reason, but many recent music scholars have used
the word in the standard mathematical sense, with no
order implied.
2. It would perhaps be more accurate to say that
the use of braces to denote sets is “nearly univer-
sal except in music theory.” Allen Forte flouted this
convention by writing sets in square brackets, most
famously in Forte 1973 but previously in Forte 1964,
139, where an endnote ascribes the notation to now-​
obsolete “typographical reasons.”
3. Modern mathematicians recognize the first
prime number as 2, not 1. Uniquely among positive
integers, 1 is neither prime nor composite. It has many
distinctive properties not shared by the primes (for
example, it is its own multiplicative inverse). If 1 were
admitted to the list of primes, one of the most impor-
tant properties of prime numbers, the uniqueness of
prime factorization, would be sacrificed, as in the mul-
tiple factorizations 6 =​3 ∙ 2 =​3 ∙ 2 ∙ 1 =​3 ∙ 2 ∙ 1 ∙ 1.
4. Set theory distinguishes many different infinite
cardinalities; it can be shown, for instance, that #ℤ
and #ℚ are the same but #ℝ is larger. Such abstrac-
tions will not concern us here; interested readers may
see Stoll 1979, Chapter 2.
5. The prime symbol ʹ does not always imply com-
plementation; we shall employ it for other purposes
from time to time.
6. Hint for Exercise 2.1.2a: To be as general as pos-
sible, a Venn diagram for three sets should divide the
plane into eight regions, because there are eight pos-
sible combinations of sets to which any given element
may belong (including the possibility that it belongs to
none of the three sets).
7. Hint for Exercise 2.1.4d: The question asks for the
cardinality of a certain intersection S ∩ T. Perhaps you
can determine the cardinality of (S ∩ T)ʹ more easily.
8. Hint for Exercise 2.1.5d: If x ∈ S\T, that does not
or x ∉ V; what can you say about x in each case?
9. Hint for Exercise 2.1.7: If the union T1 ∪ T2 ∪ ⋯
∪ T6 is all of pc, then the intersection of this union
with S is all of S. If T1, T2, …, T6 are disjoint, then the
sets S ∩ T1, S ∩ T2, …, S ∩ T6 are also disjoint, so the
cardinality of their union is the sum of their cardinali-
ties. Your observations from (a) should show that this
sum cannot be 6.
10. Hints for Exercise 2.1.8: You may be able to see
intuitively why (a) must be true. For a formal proof, let
T1, T2, and T3 be the three diminished seventh chords.
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 73
By applying the distributive law from Exercise 2.1.7 to
the set S ∩ (T1 ∪ T2 ∪ T3), you should be able to show
that S must intersect one of the diminished seventh
chords in at least two notes; then apply the union-​car-
dinality law from Exercise 2.1.4 to determine some-
thing about the union of S with that chord. For (b), let
S be the complement of the given eight-​note set and
apply the result of (a).
11. In music theory, a row or a series is typically an
ordered set of pitch classes. Mathematicians sometimes
use the word sequence for an ordered set of numbers but
are unlikely to use the word series in this way, reserving
series for the sum of the numbers in a sequence.
12. Hints for Exercise 2.2.1: You will not want to write
out all the strings in part (b), because in this case the
number of ordered sets allowing repetitions is more than
ten times the number without repetitions. The answer to
(c) is a single simple formula, valid regardless of whether
m < n, m =​ n, or m > n. See Hook 2007d for these and
other techniques of counting pitch-​class sets, set classes,
ordered sets, and various other musical structures.
13. The integers a and b in this formula correspond
to the two types of “conformance” considered in
Exercise 1.4.15. Enharmonic respelling along the line
of fifths (conformance of the Pythagorean comma) is
represented by a (as can be checked by setting a =​1
and b =​0), while b accounts for conformance of the
syntonic comma (set a =​0 and b =​1).
14. The commonly encountered dictum “time
is the fourth dimension” has misled many people.
Mathematicians conceive freely of spaces with four or
more spatial dimensions. Time may be given its own
dimension in a multidimensional construction, but so
can essentially anything else that can be quantified:
temperature, population, money, and musical pitch
are just a few examples.
15. Although discussions of sets with multiplici-
ties can be traced back many centuries, such construc-
tions are not accommodated in classical set theory,
and a theory of multisets was not formalized until the
1980s (Blizard 1989). Robinson 2009 studies applica-
tions of multisets in pitch-​class set theory.
16. Lewin ([1987] 2007, 3) adopts a more restric-
tive definition of transformation, requiring that a
transformation be a function from a set S to the same
set S, what we are here calling a transformation on S. He
also uses the term operation specifically for bijective
transformations. Neither of these usages is standard
in mathematics, and they will not be followed here. In
the music theory literature one sometimes encounters
so-​called transformations that are not actually well-​
defined mathematical functions, a use of the word
that is discouraged here.
17. Mathematicians sometimes use two different
styles of arrows in these two situations, for instance
74 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
writing S → T to show a mapping from one set to
another and x ↦ y to show a mapping of elements.
18. Instead of supposing that a function trans-
forms one object into another, it may be preferable
to imagine that the first object is being replaced by, is
moving to, or is simply being associated with the sec-
ond object. The word function has a variety of uses in
everyday English, some of which resemble its use in
mathematics. To say “the president’s approval rating
is a function of economic conditions,” for example, is
effectively to make a statement of the form y =​ f(x),
postulating a hypothetical black box (f ) that takes
economic conditions (x) as input and calculates the
president’s approval rating (y). Other common uses
of the word seem to bear little relation to the mathe-
matical definition, as when function is used to describe
the purpose or role of something in a general sense
(“What is the function of this odd gizmo?”). The term
“harmonic function” in music theory is an uncertain
case. My understanding of the term is closer to the
“purpose or role” definition, more or less independent
of mathematical functions. Brian Hyer (2011, 112),
on evidence that he admits is “largely circumstantial,”
suggests that Hugo Riemann may have had the math-
ematical theory of functions in mind as he developed
his own Funktionstheorie, but Trevor Pearce (2008)
explores other possible origins of Riemann’s use of
the term.
19. Neo-​Riemannian theory presents numerous
opportunities for confusion of this kind because of
the many ways in which triadic transformations may
be defined and calculated. For example, we will see in
Section 4.2 that the composite transformations LPL
and PLP, though they may be calculated by differ-
ent sequences of steps, always yield the same results
when applied to any major or minor triad, so they
are in fact the same function (defined on the space
of major and minor triads). The composite LP, on the
other hand, is not the same function as the transposi-
tion T4 defined on triads, because while LP and T4 give
identical results when applied to any major triad, they
disagree when applied to a minor triad. In Section 8.3
we will discuss the diatonic mediant transformation
M, which acts like the neo-​Riemannian R on major
triads but like L on minor triads, and which is there-
fore (as a function) not equal to either of them. See
Exercises 2.3.20, 4.2.12, and 6.2.16 for some related
examples.
20. Variables may be contrasted with constants,
which always stand for the same objects. The symbols
3, −1∕8 , and π are numerical constants, always stand-
ing for the same fixed numbers; we would never dare
write “let 3 be a set.” Similarly the symbols P and T3
are functional constants, traditionally represent-
ing fixed functions, the neo-​Riemannian parallel
transformation and pitch-​ class transposition by 3
semitones respectively.
21. A single graph such as Figure 2.3.2 may appear
to be of little analytical value, in part because in an
abstract way it fairly closely resembles the score itself.
Nevertheless, many analyses resembling graphs of
pitch as a function of time, more elaborate than this
one, may be found in the music theory literature. See,
for example, Robert Cogan and Pozzi Escot’s graph
of the pitch structure of the Introduction to Elliott
Carter’s Second String Quartet (1976, 64–​66); several
figures in Jonathan Bernard’s study of the music of
Ligeti (1999); Miguel A. Roig-​Francolí’s “spatial reduc-
tion” of the first movement of Lutosławski’s Jeux véni-
tiens (2008, 290); or Richard Hermann’s analysis of
Berio’s 1956 Quartetto per archi (2009, 124–​27).
22. Loosely speaking, a function from ℝ to ℝ is
continuous if its graph can be drawn in a continuous
motion without taking one’s pen off the paper. Curves
and angles are permissible in the graph of a continu-
ous function, but skips like those in Figure 2.3.2 are
not. The formal definition of continuous functions,
important in the study of calculus, is rather technical,
depending in the most general setting on topological
features of the spaces involved.
23. The light vertical dotted line segments in Figure
2.3.2 serve only to tie the segments of the graph
together visually; they are not technically part of the
graph of the function. How exactly the function should
be defined at x =​2, the instant at which the melody
changes notes, could be a matter of some contention.
The description given here assumes that the function
takes its new value at that instant rather than retain-
ing its old one. The function therefore takes a constant
value on a “half-​closed, half-​open interval” denoted
[0, 2) by mathematicians, who might convey this
behavior in the graph by drawing a small solid circle
at the left end of each of the horizontal line segments
and a small open circle at the right end. Physically and
musically, however, this distinction is inconsequen-
tial, perhaps even meaningless, because a well-​defined
pitch cannot be produced in an infinitesimal point in
time (or in any span of time shorter than the period
of vibration of the corresponding sound frequency).
24. Hint for Exercise 2.3.3d: One and only one of
the following formulas is correct: g(t) =​ f(t +​ b) − s;
g(t) =​ f(t +​ s) − b; g(t) =​ f(t − b) +​ s; or g(t) =​ f(t − s) +​ b.
25. This chromatic version of the ascending 5–​6
sequence, though less familiar than the diatonic, is by
no means rare. An extended example, rising chromati-
cally through seven semitones, occurs in mm. 18–​32
of the chorus “Si ridesta” in Act I, Scene 4 of Verdi’s
La traviata.
26. The possibly larger set T is sometimes called
the codomain of the function. Different terminology
may be encountered elsewhere, however: some texts
refer to T as the range, and the smaller set of values
taken by the function as its image.
27. A definition by cases, like the definition of this
function g, is perfectly permissible. Although we infor-
mally described a function as a “rule,” there need not
be a single formula that prescribes the behavior of a
function in every case. This definition does not violate
the requirement that functions be deterministic: two
choices are apparently available, but the applicable
choice is completely determined by the number n.
28. Physicists and acousticians accustomed to
working with frequencies sometimes refer to pitch
space as log-​frequency space. The logarithmic relation-
ship between physical frequency and musical pitch is
among the best-​known illustrations of a more general,
largely empirical psychophysical principle known as
Fechner’s law after the German experimental psychol-
ogist Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801–​87). Fechner’s
law states that the subjective sensation produced by
a physical stimulus is proportional to the logarithm of
the intensity of the stimulus. Other musically relevant
forms of Fechner’s law apply in matters of loudness
(decibels are a logarithmic measure of sound inten-
sity) and, at least approximately, tempo (a difference
in tempo between 40 and 45 beats per minute is per-
ceived as a greater difference than that between 160
and 165, just as log2(45) − log2(40) is greater than
log2(165) − log2(160)). For the history of Fechner’s law
see Masin, Zudini, and Antonelli 2009.
29. Hint for Exercise 2.3.13: Many calculators offer
functions called “log” (the common logarithm to the
base 10) and “ln” (the natural logarithm to the base
e =​2.71828..., a function of importance in calculus).
Base-​2 logarithms may be calculated using the for-
mula log2(x) =​log10(x) ∕ log10(2), or log2(x) =​ln(x) ∕ ln(2).
30. Lewin ([1987] 2007, 2) briefly discusses the
orthography problem. Though Lewin settles on right-​
to-​left orthography for most purposes, much recent
work in transformation theory has employed left-​to-​
right orthography. Ultimately the problem originates
in the notation f(x) itself, in which the conceptually
prior x is written to the right of the conceptually sub-
sequent f. A notation such as (x)f, though it looks
peculiar to anyone accustomed to the traditional nota-
tion and would require various associated linguistic
adaptations, would alleviate orthographic difficulties
considerably.
31. The use of the letter E for identity functions is
consistent with the common use of e for the identity
element in group theory, to be discussed in Chapter 5.
Identity functions are sometimes denoted by the let-
ter I, but this notation seems inadvisable in musical
contexts in which confusion with inversion operators
is likely.
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 75
 32. While the English-​ speaking world has bor-
rowed the German word Leittonwechsel, the English
parallel contradicts German usage, in which the
Parallelklang corresponds to the English relative (and
the English parallel is known as Variant). In modern
neo-​Riemannian theory the letters P and R always
denote the English parallel and relative, respec-
tively. Jeffrey Prater, in his translation of Diether
de la Motte’s Harmonielehre (de la Motte [1976]
1991, 215), introduces in place of leittonwechsel the
term counter-​relative, a translation of de la Motte’s
Gegenparallelklang—​a logical name but one that has
never gained currency.
33. Hint for Exercise 2.3.20: This exercise has
included four yes-​no questions to this point, three in
part (a) and one in (b). Of these four questions, exactly
three should be answered yes.
34. Hint for Exercise 2.3.21b: Set (1) consists of all
pitch classes x such that T3(x) is E♭, E, or G. To calculate
set (2), you must determine what the function T3−1 is,
and apply this function to the notes E♭, E, and G.
35. Hint for Exercise 2.3.22b: Recall, as in Exercise
2.3.18c, that for g and gʹ to be proper inverse func-
tions, it would have to be the case that gʹ(g(x)) =​ x for
every x in sl, and also that g(gʹ(y)) =​ y for every y in
pc. One of these two equations is true, but the other
is not.
36. Hints for Exercise 2.3.25: The difference between
the frequencies of B♭4 and A♯4 is the Pythagorean
comma, mentioned in the notes to Section 1.4. Of the
three questions in part (d), one should have the same
answer as the corresponding question in Exercise
2.3.24, but the others should have different answers.
Pythagorean pitch space is sometimes known as 3-​
limit pitch space, as all its frequency ratios are rational
numbers generated by multiplying and dividing fac-
tors no larger than 3.
37. By analogy with the 3-​limit pitch space in the
preceding exercise, just pitch space may be called
5-​limit pitch space: all its frequency ratios may be
derived from factors no larger than 5. The space
of the Riemannian tonnetz itself, which does not
include register information, is 5-​limit pitch-​class
space. Because even-​numbered harmonics duplicate
lower harmonics at the octave, n-​limit pitch spaces
are of interest only for odd values of n. Spaces similar
to those described in Exercises 2.3.25 and 2.3.26 can
be constructed in higher dimensions for larger values
of n; 7-​limit spaces are implicit in Karg-​Elert [1930]
2004, 53–​56, and constructed explicitly in Johnston
[1976–​77] 2006, 72.
38. An example of a relation that is sometimes
presented in quasi-​transformational language is fuzzy
transposition, also called near-​transposition. Two pitch-​
class sets may be said to be related by *T5, “fuzzy T5,”
76 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
if, for example, all but one of the notes of one chord
are T5 transpositions of notes in the other chord, while
the notes in the remaining voice are related instead by
T4 or T6. This *T5 is a relation, not a function: if A is a pc
set, the set *T5(A) cannot be uniquely defined, because
several different sets may be related to A in this way.
Nevertheless, the notations for the functions Tn and
relations *Tn are deliberately similar, and the two have
been mingled productively in analytical applications;
see Straus 2003 and Straus 2005b.
39. The expression “if and only if” is common in
mathematical writing as a way of expressing the logi-
cal equivalence of two statements. Suppose p and q
are statements. “If p, then q,” sometimes symbolized
p ⇒ q, means that if p is true, q must also be true. This
statement rules out the possibility that p is true while
q is false, but leaves open the possibility that q may be
true while p is false. The assertion “p if and only if q,”
symbolized p ⇔ q, rules out the latter possibility also,
because it asserts p ⇒ q and q ⇒ p simultaneously,
thereby implying that p and q are either both true
or both false. To say that “two elements are related
by ~ if and only if they are in the same equivalence
class,” therefore, means that two elements related by
~ must be in the same equivalence class, and also that
two elements in the same equivalence class must be
related by ~.
40. It is tempting to suppose that a quotient
set is inherently more abstract than the set from
which it was constructed. Our formulation of octave
equivalence effectively regards pitches as indivisible
gestalts and defines pitch classes more abstractly,
as equivalence classes of pitches. But this assump-
tion can be misleading: musical pitch is already an
abstraction, and a case can be made that a pitch such
as A4 is itself an equivalence class comprising many
different acoustical signals, produced by various
instruments or other means, that can be recognized
as the pitch A4.
41. Aspects of the relationship between enhar-
monic and octave equivalence were presented in
Hook 2015.
42. For other illustrations of the point that
one kind of equivalence does not necessarily imply
another, see Cohn 2012, 102–​03.
43. We are being slightly careless in asserting
that QO and QE commute, for technically Figure 2.4.4
shows two different functions QO (one from srl to sl
and one from pitch to pc), and likewise two differ-
ent functions QE. But these identically named func-
tions are not independent: the action of QO on pitch
and that of QE on sl are determined by the actions of
the correspondingly named quotient maps on srl.
Intuitively, there is a clear sense in which both of the
functions QO do the same thing (they both discard
register information, thereby merging octave-​related
notes) and both of the functions QE do the same
thing (they both discard spelling information, merg-
ing enharmonically equivalent notes), and those two
things may be done in either order with the same
result.
44. Hint for Exercise 2.4.5e: Keeping in mind that
any number or sharps or flats is allowed in srl, you
should be able to show, for example, that C4 ~GE G4.
Are there any pairs of notes in srl that are not related
by ~GE?
45. In the early stages of his formalization of
pitch-​ class set theory, Allen Forte (1964) worked
with interval-​ content equivalence. His later, more
definitive presentation of the subject (1973) pro-
ceeded from the basis of TI equivalence. The familiar
set classes are based on TI equivalence, but vestiges
of interval-​content equivalence remain discernible in
various details of Forte’s theory such as the ordering
of the “Forte numbers.”
46. In general, given two equivalence relations ~1
and ~2, it is not always possible to classify one as finer
or coarser than the other. It may happen, for example,
that there are elements x and y such that x ~1 y but x
≁2 y, and also other elements w and z such that w ~2 z
but w ≁1 z. This situation does not arise, however, for
the three relations in Exercise 2.4.8, all of which are
comparable on the fine-​coarse scale.
47. For a formalization of equivalence relations as
described here, see Stoll 1979, 29–​31.
48. Hint for Exercise 2.4.11b–​c: Your answers to (b)
and (c) should be different. What properties of domi-
nant and diminished seventh chords make it possible
for chords of one of these types to be equivalence
classes, but not for chords of the other type?
49. There are some subtleties in the definitions of
these relations in the most general case, discussion
of which will be deferred to Chapter 10. Cardinality
equivalence in particular must be defined with care;
the definition we have presented here is incomplete.
Also, at present we have not defined I equivalence in
the absence of T equivalence, for reasons suggested by
Exercise 2.4.11e. In Chapter 10 we will define I equiva-
lence, which turns out to be only of limited interest by
itself; a satisfactory form of inversional equivalence will
still require that transposition be considered also.
50. Hint for Exercise 2.4.15: The last question has
no simple answer. Using Exercise 2.3.25 as a clue, you
may be able to devise a space in which most of the
listed relations are easily defined but in which the defi-
nitions of ~T and ~TI are rather complicated.
51. Coincidentally, we all acquire some facility with
both mod-​12 and mod-​7 arithmetic through our reck-
oning of time and the calendar. We use mod-​12 arith-
metic to calculate that five hours after 9:00 is 2:00,
and we use mod-​7 arithmetic to know that the 25th
day of the month falls on the same day of the week
as the 11th.
52. To be even more formal, we could adopt a nota-
tion such as +​12 for addition mod 12, calling attention
to the distinction between this binary operation on
ℤ12 and ordinary addition +​on ℤ. The definition of +​12
is then m +12 n = (m + n ). The symbol +​on the right
side of this equation is ordinary addition of integers,
and the symbol =​appears rather than ≡ (mod 12);
the relation here is equality of sets, not congruence
of numbers.
53. Hints for Exercise 2.5.2: The sums and differ-
ences in parts (a)–​(c) should be visualized in the
clock diagram. In a mod-​ 12 calculation involving
several steps, 12 may be freely added or subtracted
at any point along the way. An exercise like (f) may
therefore be completed in a variety of ways: inter-
mediate results may be simplified if desired, or the
entire calculation may be performed first in ordinary
arithmetic, with the mod-​12 reduction taking place
only at the end. In (e), it may simplify matters to
observe that 11 =​−1 (mod 12), so 11 · 11 should be
the same as (−1) · (−1).
54. An alternate terminology, encountered espe-
cially in some programming languages, treats mod as a
binary operation on ℤ equivalent to the quotient map
Q12; thus one may write “19 mod 12 =​7.” This is not
the standard mathematical syntax, and it will not be
employed here.
55. For musical meter conceived as equivalence
classes of time points (possibly at several levels), see
Benjamin 1984, 375. Beat-​class set analysis has been
developed by Cohn (1992b), Roeder (2003), and others.
56. Hint for Exercise 2.5.4f: By performing some
simple algebraic manipulations on the equation a +​ b
=​ a − b (mod 7), see if you can arrive at an equation
that can be solved for b, in the manner of parts (a)–​(d).
57. Hint for Exercise 2.5.5a: The answer to one of
the first three questions is “nothing at all.”
58. The Chinese remainder theorem has taken
many forms, the oldest of which appeared in a Chinese
text dated between 280 and 473 ce. See Davis and
Hersh 1981, 187–​95, for an informal discussion. The
form given here is a special case of Theorem 121 in
Hardy and Wright 2008, 121.
59. Observe carefully that 12 is a subscript in the
notations ℤ12 and ℝ12. A notation such as ℝ12, with a
numerical superscript, would denote a twelve-​dimen-
sional space, by analogy with our previous use of ℝ3
for the threefold Cartesian product ℝ × ℝ × ℝ.
60. Some of the formalism described in Section 2.6
was introduced in Hook 2011; the techniques relate
also to some constructions in Regener 1973. Regener
refers to the line of fifths as the quint group and to
Sets, Functions, and Relations • 77
diatonic steps as diatones. The origin of his system is
the note F rather than D or C.
61. If the same note were used as the origin for
the numbering of both spc space and pc space, the
formula for π(n) would be simply π(n) =​7n (mod 12).
As we have noted, however, setting D =​0 has decided
advantages in spc space, and the slight awkwardness
associated with using two different origins seems less
objectionable than violating the nearly universal con-
vention of C =​0 in pc space.
62. As we will explore in more detail in Chapter 5,
the notation Tk may be used for a transposition opera-
tor either in pitch space or in pitch-​class space. The
transposition τk is called the quint operation Qk in
Bazayev 2013.
63. Hint for Exercise 2.6.7b: You may be able to
come up with this formula by experimenting with
the spc and gpc numbers in Table 2.6.1. The formula
78 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
may also be derived from the formula for γ from
Exercise 2.6.2b.
64. Hint for Exercise 2.6.8d: The last four questions
have four different answers. The theory of spc sets will
be developed at greater length in Part Four.
SUGGESTED READING
Numerous texts on mathematical set theory are
available, at various levels of detail and sophis-
tication. Most of the concepts presented in this
chapter are covered in more depth in the opening
chapters of Stoll 1979. For the basics of pitch-​class
set theory see Straus 2016. Modular arithmetic is
part of the branch of mathematics known as num-
ber theory; a classic text on the subject, last revised
seventy years after its first publication, is Hardy
and Wright 2008.
 3
Graphs
IN STUDYING musical spaces such as those pre-
sented in Chapter 1, it is important to distinguish
between the spaces themselves and the diagrams
we draw of them. While the set theory introduced
in Chapter 2 is an appropriate tool for studying
some structural aspects of musical spaces and their
elements, many of the diagrams are more properly
in the province of graph theory, the subject of this
chapter. We have seen already that a single space
may often be diagrammed in several strikingly
different ways. In some cases graph theory itself
may not actually account for such distinctions;
for example, there is a technical sense in which
the three representations of signed letter space in
Figure 1.2.11 are “the same graph.” Nevertheless,
there are often musical or visual reasons for pre-
ferring one arrangement over another, and we
will examine some of these considerations here
as well. Graphs appear regularly in the literature
in the area known as neo-​Riemannian theory, and
our exploration of graph theory will provide an
opportunity to introduce a few neo-​Riemannian
concepts as musical motivation. The last section
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0003
of this chapter introduces transformation graphs
and networks, concepts of great importance in
the chapters to follow.
Graph-​ theoretic terminology varies from
source to source; the discussion on the follow-
ing pages will introduce terms appropriate for
our purposes and, whenever possible, consistent
with the terminology used in the relevant music
theory literature. Graph theory is fundamentally
a branch of discrete mathematics, and the empha-
sis in this chapter is accordingly on discrete
structures (chromatic rather than continuous pc
space, for example).
3.1 GRAPHS
We shall use the diagram in Figure 3.1.1 to
illustrate several basic concepts of graph the-
ory. This diagram shows voice-​leading relation-
ships among eight triads: major triads on the
roots C, E, and A♭, indicated by capital letters;
minor triads on the same roots, indicated by
lowercase c, e, and g♯; and augmented triads
B+​ and C+​.1 These triads form a hexatonic system,
in that they contain a total of only six differ-
ent pitch classes, the elements of the hexatonic
pitch-​class collection {11, 0, 3, 4, 7, 8}. Because
we will refer to Figure 3.1.1 and related graphs
frequently, for convenience we call it a hexatonic
triad graph. For the purposes of this diagram
triads should be considered as nothing more
than three-​note pitch-​class sets; chord inver-
sions and enharmonic spellings, for instance,
are of no import.2
Inspection of the diagram shows that two
triads connected by a line always share two
common tones, differing only by a single-​semi-
tone displacement in the remaining note. For
example, to convert B augmented to E minor,
one need only raise the pitch class D♯ to E, leav-
ing the other two notes (B and G) unchanged.
In contrast, the C-​minor and C-​augmented tri-
ads share only a single common tone, so no line
joins them.
FIGURE 3.1.1 A hexatonic triad graph
FIGURE 3.1.2 The underlying graph of Figure 3.1.1
80 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
The musical properties depicted in the hexa-
tonic triad graph are of some interest, and we
shall return to them. First, however, we turn our
attention to the diagram itself, shown in Figure
3.1.2 stripped of its musical content. This more
abstract diagram is indeed a graph as the term
is used in graph theory; we call it the underlying
graph of Figure 3.1.1. (This is an entirely differ-
ent usage of the word from the graph of a func-
tion, mentioned in Section 2.3. The word graph
in this book will be used most often in the sense
of graph theory, but we reserve the right to use
the word informally in other ways from time
to time.) This particular graph consists of eight
vertices (also called nodes or points) and twelve
edges (or lines). The graph is an undirected graph,
because the edges have no arrowheads attached
to indicate direction; we will consider directed
graphs later in this chapter. Two vertices joined
by an edge are said to be adjacent to each other,
and each edge is incident with its two end verti-
ces. The degree of a vertex is the number of edges
incident with it. If all vertices in a graph have the
same degree, the graph is regular. The graph in
Figure 3.1.2 is therefore regular, as all its verti-
ces are of degree 3.
The hexatonic triad graph in Figure 3.1.1 may
be called a vertex labeling of Figure 3.1.2. The label
attached to a vertex is sometimes also called the
contents of the vertex. In other situations it is
useful to label the edges of a graph, or both the
vertices and the edges. Most of the graphs we
encounter in musical applications will be labeled
in some way. Because every edge in a graph is
incident with exactly two vertices, graphs are
a particularly convenient means of depicting
binary relations: the vertices of a graph may be
labeled with the elements of the set on which
the relation is defined, and an edge is provided
for each pair of related elements. The graph in
Figure 3.1.1 indeed depicts a certain binary
relation on its eight triads: the single-​semitone
voice-​leading property described above.
Several subgraphs of the hexatonic triad graph
are shown in Figure 3.1.3. The defining property
of a subgraph is that its vertices form a subset
of the original vertices and its edges form a sub-
set of the original edges. The geometric arrange-
ments of the vertices in these subgraphs may not
match the original figure; more on that momen-
tarily. The subgraph in 3.1.3a is a path—​that is,
a series of alternating vertices and edges.3 This
picture is arranged in a musically suggestive way,
so that ascending voice leading corresponds with
upward movement in the graph: as one traverses
FIGURE 3.1.3 Five subgraphs of the hexatonic triad graph
the path from bottom to top, starting with the
B-​augmented triad, each of the three voices slips
up in succession until the C-​augmented triad is
reached.
In graph theory, the length of a path refers to
the number of its edges, so the length of the path
in Figure 3.1.3a is 3 (the number of voice-​leading
moves), not 4 (the number of triads).4 A quick
glance at Figure 3.1.1 (or 3.1.2) shows that every
pair of vertices is joined by some path—​one can
get from any vertex to any other by traversing
edges of the graph—​a property summarized by
saying that Figure 3.1.1 is a connected graph. The
distance from one vertex to another in a graph is
the length of the shortest path joining them. A
path of length 1 is a single edge, so the distance
between two adjacent vertices is 1; the distance
from any vertex to itself is 0. No paths from B+​ to
C+​ in Figure 3.1.1 have length shorter than 3, so
the distance from B+​ to C+​ is exactly 3.
Exercise 3.1.4
(a) How many different paths of length 3 are
there from B+​ to C+​ in Figure 3.1.1?
(b) Identify another pair of vertices in Figure
3.1.1, other than B+​ and C+​, whose distance
from each other is 3.
(c) Is there any pair of vertices in Figure 3.1.1
whose distance from each other is greater
  than 3?
The subgraphs in parts (b)–​(d) of Figure 3.1.3
are cycles (or cyclic graphs). A cycle is a path that
returns to its starting vertex. These three cycles
are of three different lengths—​4, 6, and 8—​and
all are of some musical interest. The 4-​cycle in
(b) consists of the four chords from the origi-
nal graph that contain the pitch class B, and the
edges from the original graph joining them. The
6-​cycle in (c), known as a hexatonic cycle, com-
prises the six major and minor triads from the
original graph, omitting the augmented triads.
A widely cited passage in the first movement of
Brahms’s Double Concerto, Op. 102, mm. 270–​
78, circumnavigates this hexatonic cycle slightly
more than once around, presenting chords in the
order A♭ –​g♯ –​E –​e –​C –​c –​A♭ –​g♯ –​E.5 Hexatonic
cycles are a characteristic construction in neo-​
Riemannian theory, and we will revisit them sev-
eral times. Finally, the 8-​cycle in Figure 3.1.3d is
notable because it includes every vertex of the
original graph (but not every edge); such span-
ning cycles are possible in some graphs but not
in others.6
Each of these cycles may be interpreted as
a series of harmonies, connected by smooth
chord-​ to-​
chord voice leading and returning
eventually to its starting point. One can con-
struct a cyclic graph depicting the sequence of
key areas appearing in a tonal work that begins
and ends in the same key. Cyclic graphs have
many other uses in music theory, and in fact
several of the diagrams in Chapter 1 are cycles.
Chromatic pitch-​class space pc and the circle of
fifths fifth are 12-​cycles, while gpc, gfifth,
and gthird (generic pitch-​ class space, fifths
space, and thirds space) are 7-​cycles. Each row
of a conformed tonnetz such as Figure 1.4.2
may be diagrammed as a 4-​cycle, and each col-
umn as a 3-​cycle (which, as a graph, is nothing
Graphs • 81
more than a triangle). All of these examples are
interval cycles, cycles of pitch classes generated
by a single interval, but no such restriction is
necessary when forming a cyclic graph. One can
arrange the notes of an octatonic collection as an
8-​cycle even though they are not generated by
a single interval—​indeed, one can form a cycle
using the notes of any pitch-​class set at all. Beat-​
class spaces are well-​known examples of cyclic
structure in the time domain.
Figure 3.1.3e may look like four graphs rather
than one, but the general definition of a graph
allows us to regard the figure as a single discon-
nected graph with four connected components.
Each component consists of just two vertices
joined by an edge; the musical interest in this
example lies in the fact that the same B–​C voice-​
leading move links all four pairs of triads. The
triads containing the pitch class B (the same tri-
ads appearing in 3.1.3b) appear in the lower row
of (e), with the corresponding triads containing
C arranged directly above them.
Graph theory texts often define graphs
abstractly, saying, for example, that a graph is
an ordered triple (V, E, i) consisting of a set V of
undefined objects called vertices, a set E of objects
called edges, and an incidence function i defined on
the domain E, which maps every edge to a 2-​ele-
ment subset of V (defining which two vertices are
incident with the edge). Such a definition takes no
account of how the graph may be arranged on the
page. One leading text goes so far as to say, “there
is no single correct way to draw a graph; the rela-
tive positions of points representing vertices and
the shapes of lines representing edges usually
have no significance” (Bondy and Murty 2008, 3).
It is this understanding that allows us to consider
FIGURE 3.1.5 A second representation of the hexatonic triad graph
82 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
different visual arrangements as manifestations of
“the same graph,” and to consider the diagrams in
Figure 3.1.3 to be subgraphs of 3.1.1 even though
their vertices are arranged differently.
The statement quoted above is true as far as
abstract graph structure is concerned, but it may
be qualified by remarking that some arrange-
ments may be more effective than others in com-
municating certain aspects of that structure. We
will expand on this observation by presenting
three additional figures (Figures 3.1.5, 3.1.7,
and 3.1.10), all of them “the same graph” as the
hexatonic triad graph from 3.1.1, and all convey-
ing the same basic information. That is, all these
graphs have vertices representing the same eight
triads, and edges join the same pairs of vertices
in all of them. Each picture, however, highlights
a different aspect of the musical relationships
among the triads, and each is appealing in its
own way.
Figure 3.1.5, taking its cue from the path in
3.1.3a, arranges all eight vertices so that ascend-
ing voice leading correlates with upward motion
through the graph. The vertices accordingly
arrange themselves in four tiers, with the B-​aug-
mented triad alone on the lowest tier, the three
minor triads on the second tier, the three major
triads on the third tier, and the C-​augmented
triad alone at the top. Pitch-​class numbers for
each triad have been added to this graph, with
the three voices displayed in an ordered-​triple
format in which the first component is always
11 or 0 (that is, either the note B or C), the sec-
ond component is always 3 or 4 (E♭ or E), and the
third is always 7 or 8 (G or A♭).
Each edge joins triads on two successive tiers
and is labeled with a notation for the appropriate
voice-​leading move: for example, “11–​0” on the
edge from E to C+​ indicates that the “lower” E-​
major triad is transformed to the “higher” C-​
augmented triad via the semitonal motion B –​C.
Each pair of adjacent triads (joined by an edge)
consists of an upper triad and a lower triad in this
way, linked by one moving voice. (This upper/​
lower nomenclature depends on the understand-
ing that pitch class 11 can ascend to pitch class
0; recall the discussion in Section 1.2 of ascend-
ing and descending motion in pitch-​class space.)
The sum class of a triad (or any pitch-​class set)
is the mod-​12 sum of its pitch-​class numbers.
For example, the E-​minor triad belongs to sum
class 10, because 11 +​4 +​7 =​10 (mod 12). In
every pair of adjacent triads, the sum class of the
upper triad exceeds the sum class of the lower
triad by 1. The sum classes of the triads shown,
which are all 9, 10, 11, or 0, correspond exactly
to the four tiers in the graph, as shown at right
in the diagram. Sum classes are thus an impor-
tant part of the organizing principle for the fig-
ure—​a principle that will become increasingly
significant when larger voice-​leading spaces are
considered in Part Three.
Exercise 3.1.6 Suppose all the triads in Figure
3.1.5 are transposed up by one semitone, so that
the triad on the lowest tier is C+​ and that on
the highest tier is D♭+​. The resulting figure is the
graph of a different hexatonic system, but it has
the same graphical appearance as Figure 3.1.5.
What are the new sum classes? What can you
say in general about the sum classes of major
triads?
   Of minor triads? Of augmented triads?
FIGURE 3.1.7 A third representation of the hexatonic triad graph
Figure 3.1.5 may remind the viewer of an
oblique view of a three-​ dimensional box. In
fact, as an abstract graph, the vertices and edges
of this figure correspond exactly to the frame
of a cube. The original hexatonic triad graph in
Figure 3.1.1 also may be thought of as a cube, in
a tilted perspective view, looking directly at one
face and seeing the opposite face receding into
the distance. Figure 3.1.7 makes this cube-​frame
structure more explicit. The figure has been
reoriented so that the edges of the graph align
with the coordinate axes in a representation of
three-​dimensional space ℝ3. Each of the three
dimensions represents one of the three voices
in the triads: the horizontal x axis represents
the 11–​0 voice (pitch classes B and C), the y axis
(which should be imagined pointing back into
the page, away from the viewer) represents the
3–​4 voice (E♭ and E), and the vertically oriented
z axis represents the 7–​8 voice (G and A♭). The
ordered triple designating any triad is precisely
the usual coordinate representation of the cor-
responding point in the three-​dimensional space
defined by these axes. In this way, we may see the
eight triads, or the eight vertices of the graph, as
elements of a three-​dimensional Cartesian prod-
uct, {11, 0} × {3, 4} × {7, 8}. This representation
suggests the possibility that the hexatonic triad
graph might be expanded to form a much larger
three-​dimensional Cartesian product containing
all possible three-​note chords—​an idea we will
pursue in Part Three.
The four triads bordering any one face of the
cube all share one coordinate. Figure 3.1.8 illus-
trates by highlighting the left face, whose four
Graphs • 83

FIGURE 3.1.8 Two faces of the cube of Figure
3.1.7, with the associated pitch-​
class numbers
11 and 0
FIGURE 3.1.10 A fourth representation of the
hexatonic triad graph
triads share pitch class 11 (B), and the right face,
whose triads share pitch class 0 (C). The left face
is exactly the subgraph from Figure 3.1.3b, and
the four edges oriented horizontally, joining the
two shaded faces, form the subgraph in 3.1.3e.
Exercise 3.1.9 A cube has six faces. Besides the
two faces highlighted in Figure 3.1.8, identify
the others, which form two more pairs of
opposing faces. Determine which pitch class is
common to the four triads on each face. These
faces are also present in the original hexatonic
triad graph of Figure 3.1.1. At a glance, Figure
3.1.1 may appear to consist of only five four-​
sided
   faces. Where is the sixth?
A final recasting of the hexatonic triad graph
is shown in Figure 3.1.10. The arrangement is
related to that of Figure 3.1.5, but there are
only two tiers instead of four: the B-​augmented
triad has been moved into the row with the
major triads, and C-​augmented into the row
with the minor triads. In terms of sum classes,
the chords with odd sum classes (9 and 11) are
on the top row, those with even sum classes (10
and 0) on the bottom. Musically, it may be hard
to see any advantages to drawing the graph
84 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
this way, but this representation calls atten-
tion to an aspect of the graph structure that
was not evident in any of the earlier pictures.
Specifically, the vertices have been partitioned
into two subsets—​the top row and the bottom
row—​in such a way that every edge joins one
subset to the other; no edge joins two vertices
within the same subset. A graph whose verti-
ces may be partitioned in this way is called a
bipartite graph. The hexatonic triad graph was
bipartite all along, but Figure 3.1.10 makes this
property explicit in a way that the previous rep-
resentations did not. The bipartite structure,
moreover, helps to explain some other features
and musical implications of the graph, as the
following exercise demonstrates.
Exercise 3.1.11
(a) The subgraphs of Figure 3.1.1 shown in
Figure 3.1.3 included a 4-​cycle, a 6-​cycle,
and an 8-​cycle, but not a 3-​cycle (triangle),
5-​cycle, or 7-​cycle. Explain why a bipartite
graph can never include any cycles of odd
length.
(b) Suppose a composer writes a succession
of triads from the hexatonic triad graph,
starting with C major on the downbeat
in a  meter. Suppose the chords move
consistently in quarter notes, and that each
triad is connected to the next by single-​
semitone motion corresponding to an edge
in the graph. On which beats of a measure is
it possible to return to C major? On which
beats is it possible for an E-​minor triad to
  occur?7
The original representation of the hexatonic
triad graph in Figure 3.1.1 possesses one nota-
ble characteristic not shared by any of the other
alternatives. All of our diagrams have, of course,
been drawn in the two-​dimensional plane of the
paper, but only in Figure 3.1.1 has the drawing
been accomplished in such a way that no two
edges cross each other. There are two crossings
each in Figures 3.1.5 and 3.1.7, and many cross-
ings in Figure 3.1.10. (The crossing points are
not vertices of the graphs.) A representation
without edges crossing is a planar embedding of
a graph. A graph for which a planar embedding
is possible is a planar graph. Some graphs with
many edges are not planar, which is to say that
a planar embedding is not possible; we will see
some examples of non-​planar graphs later in this
chapter.8
 Planarity and embeddings are important top-
ics in graph theory. Embeddings of graphs into
surfaces or spaces other than the plane are also
of interest, forming a link between graph theory
and topology. The cube of Figure 3.1.7 may be
viewed as an embedding in three-​dimensional
space ℝ3 rather than in a two-​dimensional plane
ℝ2. Alternatively, by curving the edges slightly
one can conceive of the cube as a spherical embed-
ding, an embedding of the same graph on the
surface of a sphere (a two-​dimensional surface,
itself embedded in three-​ dimensional space).
Planar embeddings and spherical embeddings
essentially amount to the same thing, at least
for finite graphs like those we have considered
so far: readers may be able to visualize ways to
convert any planar embedding to a spherical
embedding or vice versa, demonstrating that a
graph has a planar embedding if and only if it has
a spherical embedding.
Above we discussed the six faces of the cube
of Figure 3.1.7. Faces are, in fact, well-​defined
for any planar (or spherical) embedding of a
graph: they are simply the regions in the plane
(or sphere) bounded by the graph’s edges.9 The
unbounded region exterior to the graph counts
as one face. Thus the graph of Figure 3.1.1 has
six faces, corresponding to the faces of the cube
of Figure 3.1.7. While there may be many differ-
ent possible ways to embed a graph in a plane,
the various embeddings will always have the
same number of faces. In fact, the number of
faces is easy to calculate, using a classical theo-
rem called Euler’s formula: if the numbers of ver-
tices, edges, and faces in a planar embedding of
a connected graph are denoted v, e, and f respec-
tively, then v +​ f =​ e +​2.
Exercise 3.1.12
(a) Verify that Euler’s formula holds for the
graph of Figure 3.1.1 and for each of the
connected subgraphs in Figure 3.1.3a–​d.
(b) The statement of Euler’s formula given
above requires the graph to be connected.
Verify that the formula fails for the
disconnected graph of Figure 3.1.3e. If c is
the number of components of a graph, can
you find a generalization of Euler’s formula,
involving v, e, f, and c, that holds for all
  planar graphs?10
As noted above, each face of the hexatonic
triad graph is bounded by four triads shar-
ing a common pitch class, and each pitch class
of the hexatonic collection {11, 0, 3, 4, 7, 8} is
FIGURE 3.1.13 The dual graph of the hexatonic
triad graph
associated with one face. Figure 3.1.13 repro-
duces the original hexatonic triad graph in the
background, and labels each face with the corre-
sponding pitch-​class number (bold and circled).
The number 7, representing the pitch class G,
is the label for the exterior face of the original
graph. Whenever two faces share an edge in the
original graph, the corresponding pitch-​ class
numbers are connected by a new line, which
crosses the original edge. The result is a new
graph, shown in bold lines in the figure. (The
edges of a graph need not always be drawn as
straight lines!) This new graph is called the dual
graph of the original graph.
The dual graph is another planar graph, its
vertices corresponding to the original faces
(labeled with pitch-​class numbers), and its faces
corresponding to the original vertices (labeled
with triad names). While the original hexatonic
triad graph has eight vertices and six faces, its
dual graph has six vertices and eight faces. The
number of edges (12) is unchanged; each edge
of the dual graph crosses exactly one edge of
the original graph. Because only the vertices
and faces are exchanged, and because v and f
are added together in Euler’s formula, the sums
in that formula work out the same for both
graphs. A further aspect of the duality is that in
the original graph the faces are four-​sided, and
three edges meet at each vertex, while in the
dual graph the faces are three-​sided, and four
edges meet at each vertex. If we start with the
dual graph and perform the same construction
Graphs • 85

FIGURE 3.1.14 The octahedral dual graph of the
cube of Figure 3.1.7
again, we will simply exchange the vertices and
faces a second time, thereby recreating the origi-
nal hexatonic triad graph: the dual of the dual is
the original graph.11
A dual graph may be constructed for any
planar embedding of a graph, or indeed for any
embedding of a graph into any two-​dimensional
surface. For a graph with edge crossings such as
Figure 3.1.10, faces are not well-​defined and a
dual graph cannot be constructed. For the cube
of Figure 3.1.7, regarded as a spherical embed-
ding, the construction of the dual graph is illus-
trated in Figure 3.1.14. A new vertex is placed at
the center of each of the cube’s six square faces.
When the new edges are drawn, the resulting
dual graph is a three-​dimensional figure called an
octahedron, with eight triangular faces inscribed
within the cube in an arrangement resembling a
pyramid atop its mirror reflection. The cube and
the octahedron are two of the five Platonic sol-
ids (or regular polyhedra), known since antiquity,
and their graphs are dual to each other.12
Exercise 3.1.15 Figures 3.1.13 and 3.1.14 both
depict dual graphs of the hexatonic triad graph.
Are these two duals “the same graph”? That is,
do edges join all of the same pairs of labeled
vertices
   in both graphs?
Exercise 3.1.16 Carefully redraw the
octahedron of Figure 3.1.14 at a larger size.
Label each face of the octahedron with the
name of the triad whose pitch classes occupy
the surrounding vertices. Construct the dual
graph, which will now be a three-​dimensional
figure inscribed within the octahedron. Verify
that the resulting graph is “the same graph” as
the  original cube.
86 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
With only eight vertices, the hexatonic triad
graph is fairly simple, but a variety of more
complex graphs can be constructed based on
similar principles; a few are suggested in the
two exercises below. Such graphs may be con-
strued as resources for a composer seeking to
write nonfunctional progressions characterized
by smooth voice leading: from the chord at any
vertex in one of these graphs, the adjacent ver-
tices show other chords that might potentially
be available.
Exercise 3.1.17 Construct voice-​leading graphs
similar to the hexatonic triad graph as described
below. Try to arrange the vertices of each graph
in a way that is as simple, symmetrical, and
visually appealing as possible.
(a) Construct an octatonic triad graph with
eight vertices, labeled with the major and
minor triads on the roots C, E♭, F♯, and A.
The pitch classes of these eight chords form
an octatonic collection. Two vertices are
joined by an edge if the triads are related by
a semitone or whole-​tone displacement in a
single voice. Thus the C-​major and C-​minor
triads are adjacent, because they are related
by the semitonal displacement E –​E♭. But C
major is also adjacent to A minor, related by
the whole tone G –​A.
(b) Construct an enneatonic seventh-​chord graph
with nine vertices, labeled with the major-​
minor, minor-​minor, and half-​diminished
seventh chords on the roots C, E, and A♭.
The pitch classes of these chords form the
enneatonic collection enn234 =​{0, 2, 3, 4, 6,
7, 8, 10, 11}. Two vertices are joined by an
edge if the seventh chords are related by a
semitone or whole-​tone displacement in a
single voice. Thus the C7 chord is adjacent
both to Cmm7 (via the semitone E –​E♭) and
to eø7 (via the whole tone C –​D).
(c) Construct an octatonic seventh-​chord graph
with twelve vertices, labeled with the major-​
minor, minor-​minor, and half-​diminished
seventh chords on the roots C, E♭, F♯, and
A. The pitch classes of these chords form
an octatonic collection. Two vertices are
joined by an edge if the seventh chords
are related by a semitone (not whole-​tone)
displacement in a single voice. Thus the
Cmm7 chord is adjacent to four other
chords: cø7 (via G –​G♭), C7 (via E♭ –​E), E♭7
  (via C –​D♭), and aø7 (via B♭ –​A).13
Exercise 3.1.18
(a) Just as the voices in three-​note chords
may be modeled by the dimensions in a
three-​dimensional space, the voices in
four-​note chords may be modeled by the
dimensions in a four-​dimensional space.
The octatonic seventh-​chord graph from
Exercise 3.1.17c may be constructed as
part of a four-​dimensional hypercube whose
vertices are identified with elements of the
four-​dimensional Cartesian product {0, 1} ×
{3, 4} × {6, 7} × {9, 10}. Construct a graph of
this hypercube.
(b) How many vertices did the original
octatonic seventh-​chord graph have? How
many vertices are in the hypercube from
part (a)? What chords are represented by
the additional vertices?
(c) The hypercube has 32 edges, each of which
joins two chords sharing three common
tones, such as Cmm7 and cø7. The hypercube
also has 24 two-​dimensional faces and
eight three-​dimensional “hyperfaces”
more properly known as facets. Give
musical descriptions of the sets of chords
  represented by the faces and facets.14
3.2 ISOMORPHISM OF
GRAPHS
We used the expression “the same graph” sev-
eral times in the previous section. When the
vertices in one diagram have the same labels as
the vertices in another, it is a simple matter to
check whether edges in the two diagrams join
corresponding vertices, and if so we may deem
the two diagrams to represent “the same graph”
even if the vertices and edges are arranged dif-
ferently on the page. In some situations, how-
ever, two graphs with different vertex labels (or
none at all) may share an underlying structure in
a way that may not be apparent from the way the
graphs are drawn. To handle such cases requires
defining exactly what it means for two graphs to
be isomorphic.
As a simple illustration, consider the two
graphs in Figure 3.2.1. Part (a) reproduces the
hexatonic cycle from 3.1.3c, while (b) is a dia-
gram of a whole-​tone scale. Musically, the two
graphs represent two very different things: in the
first graph the vertices represent chords and the
edges indicate single-​semitone voice-​leading con-
nections, while in the second graph the vertices
FIGURE 3.2.1 Two isomorphic graphs
denote pitch classes and each edge represents the
interval of a whole step. Two of the same vertex
labels appear in both graphs, but they represent
chords in one graph and pitch classes in the other;
in one case (C) the matching labels appear at the
same location in both graphs, but in the other case
(E) they do not. So it perhaps does not seem accu-
rate to call these two pictures “the same graph.”
Nevertheless, it is clear that something about the
structure of the two graphs is the same. Indeed,
both are 6-​cycles, and it seems reasonable to say
that cycles of the same length have the same
graph-​theoretic structure. This phenomenon is
what the concept of isomorphism encapsulates.
Small labels v1–​v6 and v1ʹ–​v6ʹ have also been
attached to the vertices in the two graphs. We
may think of these as names for the vertices,
distinguished from the content labels indicat-
ing the triads and pitch classes. We may define a
function f from the vertices of the first graph to
the vertices of the second, mapping each vertex
to the vertex in the corresponding location: that
is, f(v1) =​ v1ʹ, f(v2) =​ v2ʹ, …, f(v6) =​ v6ʹ. This func-
tion has the following properties:
(a) f is one-​to-​one: different vertices in Figure
3.2.1a always map to different vertices in 3.2.1b.
(b) f is onto: every vertex in 3.2.1b is the
image under f of some vertex in 3.2.1a.
(c) f preserves adjacency: two vertices vi and
vj in Figure 3.2.1a are adjacent (joined by an
edge) in that graph if and only if the correspond-
ing vertices f(vi) and f(vj) are adjacent in 3.2.1b.
For example, an edge joins v3 and v4, and corre-
spondingly an edge joins v3ʹ and v4ʹ. There is no
edge joining v2 and v6, and correspondingly there
is no edge joining v2ʹ and v6ʹ.
In terminology from Chapter 2, properties (a)
and (b) mean that f is a bijection—​a one-​to-​one
Graphs • 87
correspondence between the vertices of the two
graphs. Property (c) then says something more:
it ensures that corresponding vertices under
this bijection are in the same structural rela-
tionships to each other. Specifically, the edges in
both graphs always join corresponding pairs of
vertices.
The above properties are precisely what is
required of an isomorphism of graphs. To be
explicit, suppose A and Aʹ are two graphs, with
sets of vertices V and Vʹ respectively. An isomor-
phism from A to Aʹ is a bijective function f: V → Vʹ
that preserves adjacency. That is, if v1 and v2 are
two elements of V (vertices of the graph A), then
f(v1) and f(v2) are elements of Vʹ (vertices of Aʹ),
and it is required that f(v1) and f(v2) be adjacent
(joined by an edge) in Aʹ if and only if v1 and v2
are adjacent in A. If an isomorphism from A to Aʹ
exists, we say that the graphs A and Aʹ are isomor-
phic, written A ≅ Aʹ.
Figures 3.1.1, 3.1.5, 3.1.7, and 3.1.10, our four
representations of the hexatonic triad graph, are
all isomorphic. The isomorphisms in this case
are apparent because of the way the vertices in
the graphs are labeled: the eight vertices bear the
same triadic labels in all four graphs, and map-
ping the vertices of one graph to the correspond-
ingly labeled vertices in another graph (B+​ → B+​,
c → c, and so on) defines an isomorphism in each
case. It is the identical vertex labels that jus-
tify calling these four graphs “the same graph”
rather than just “isomorphic graphs” like the
pair in Figure 3.2.1. The isomorphism, however,
conveys the essential similarity of graph struc-
ture; whether two identically labeled graphs are
actually “the same” or merely “isomorphic” is a
distinction that we need not concern ourselves
with too much.
It is important to be aware that even if the
vertices of two graphs bear the same labels, and
even if the graphs are isomorphic, mapping cor-
respondingly labeled vertices onto each other
will not always necessarily produce an isomor-
phism. As an illustration, recall the diagrams
in Chapter 1 of chromatic pitch-​class space pc
(Figure 1.2.3) and fifths space fifth (Figure
1.3.1). These two graphs are isomorphic: both
are 12-​cycles. But in this case the mapping C →
C, C♯ → C♯, D → D, … is not an isomorphism. That
mapping is a bijection, but it does not preserve
adjacency: C is adjacent to C♯ in pc but not in
fifth. The easiest way to construct an isomor-
phism between these two graphs is to associate
vertices in corresponding places on the circles,
mapping C → C, C♯ → G, and so on.
88 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Exercise 3.2.2 When two graphs are
isomorphic, there is often more than one
possible isomorphism between them. The above
discussion of the two 6-​cycles of Figure 3.2.1
referred to the specific isomorphism f(v1) =​
v1ʹ, f(v2) =​ v2ʹ, …, f(v6) =​ v6ʹ. This isomorphism
is the most obvious one, both because of the
way the graphs are drawn and because of the
way the vertices are numbered. It is not the
only possible isomorphism of the two 6-​cycles,
however. Construct a different isomorphism
from Figure 3.2.1a to 3.2.1b. How many
different isomorphisms are possible altogether?
How many different isomorphisms are possible
from chromatic pitch-​class space to the circle
of fifths? Also construct a bijection from the
vertices of 3.2.1a to those of 3.2.1b that is not
an  isomorphism.15
The power of isomorphisms is most evident
in the comparison of graphs whose vertices do
not bear the same labels, like the two 6-​cycles
of Figure 3.2.1. For another example consider
Figure 3.2.3, a graph whose vertices represent all
the forms of the twelve-​tone row appearing in
Webern’s Three Songs, Op. 23. The prime form
P0 for Op. 23 is the row form in the voice at the
beginning of the third song, “Herr Jesus mein.”
As is often the case in Webern’s serial works, the
row forms used here follow a particularly system-
atic scheme. Besides P0, the other rows include I0
(the inverted form beginning on the same pitch
class as P0); R0 and RI0 (the retrogrades of P0
and I0); and the tritone transpositions of those
four rows, P6, I6, R6, and RI6. In serial analy-
ses in this book, we will follow a convention of
using bold letters for row forms, which enables
us to distinguish bold I and R, representing row
forms, from italic I and R, which represent trans-
formations applied to row forms.16
The graph shows one way of conceiving serial
relationships among these eight row forms.
Two row forms are joined by an edge if they are
related by one of the three transformations I
(inversion about the initial pitch class of P0), R
(retrograde),17 or T6 (transposition by tritone).
The graph takes the form of a cube. Edges ori-
ented horizontally, along what we previously
called the x axis, join row forms related by inver-
sion; edges oriented along the y axis join row
forms related by T6; and edges oriented verti-
cally along the z axis join retrograde-​related row
forms. It is clear from this arrangement that
Figure 3.2.3 is isomorphic to Figure 3.1.7, the
cubic version of the hexatonic triad graph. This
FIGURE 3.2.3 A graph showing relationships among some forms of a twelve-​tone row
isomorphism is valid even though the musical
phenomena depicted in the two graphs—​voice-​
leading connections among triads and serial
operations on twelve-​ tone rows—​ may seem
unrelated. Of course, the cubic graph is a rela-
tively simple structure, and as with other simple
graphs such as paths or cycles, it should not sur-
prise us to see such a structure arising in a vari-
ety of contexts.18
If Figure 3.2.3 is compared to the original
hexatonic triad graph in Figure 3.1.1, it may not
be at all apparent that they are isomorphic, as
these two graphs have different vertex labels
as well as different visual appearances. They
must be isomorphic, however, because we have
now established that both of them are isomor-
phic to Figure 3.1.7. Drawing this conclusion
depends on the fact that graph isomorphism is an
equivalence relation. As detailed in Section 2.4,
this means that the relation of isomorphism is
reflexive, symmetric, and transitive. It is instruc-
tive to consider briefly why each of these proper-
ties holds:
(R) Reflexivity means that A ≅ A for every graph
A: every graph is isomorphic to itself. In
fact, the identity function on the vertices
of any graph (f(v) =​ v for every vertex v) is
automatically an isomorphism.
(S) The symmetric property states that if
A ≅ Aʹ, then Aʹ ≅ A. This is true because if
a function f: V → Vʹ from the vertices of
A to the vertices of Aʹ is an isomorphism,
then it is a bijection, so it has an inverse
function f −1: Vʹ → V. Because f preserves
adjacency, f −1 does as well, so f −1 is an iso-
morphism from Aʹ to A.
(T) Finally, transitivity requires that if A ≅ Aʹ
and Aʹ ≅ Aʹʹ, then A ≅ Aʹʹ. If f: V → Vʹ and g:
Vʹ → Vʹʹ are isomorphisms, the desired
isomorphism from A to Aʹʹ is the composite
function f ● g.
It is transitivity that allows us to conclude that
Figures 3.1.1 and 3.2.3 are isomorphic, by this
logic: 3.1.1 ≅ 3.1.7 and 3.1.7 ≅ 3.2.3; therefore
3.1.1 ≅ 3.2.3. In fact, transitivity shows explic-
itly how to construct an isomorphism from 3.1.1
to 3.2.3, once the two isomorphisms with 3.1.7
are known. For example, C in 3.1.1 corresponds
with C in 3.1.7, which is at the same location
as I6 in 3.2.3; the composite isomorphism f ● g
therefore maps the vertex labeled C in 3.1.1 to
the vertex labeled I6 in 3.2.3.
Exercise 3.2.4 One of the three graphs you
constructed in Exercise 3.1.17 is isomorphic to
the graph in one of the figures in Section 3.1.
Which
   two graphs are these?
Isomorphic graphs automatically share basic
graph-​theoretic properties. If A ≅ Aʹ, the iso-
morphism guarantees that A and Aʹ have the
same number of vertices and the same number
of edges, and corresponding vertices in the two
graphs have the same degrees. If A is regular, so
is Aʹ; the same is true if connected, bipartite, or
planar is substituted for regular. It is possible for
a planar embedding, such as Figure 3.1.1, to be
isomorphic to a graph that is not drawn as a pla-
nar embedding, such as Figure 3.1.7. Recall, how-
ever, that for a graph to be considered planar we
require only that a planar embedding be possible,
so the hexatonic triad graph is planar no matter
Graphs • 89

FIGURE 3.2.5 Two non-​isomorphic graphs shar-
ing many features
how it is drawn. If two planar embeddings are
isomorphic, they have the same number of faces.
If two isomorphic graphs are not connected,
they have the same number of components.
Isomorphism implies many things, but one
must be careful not to assume that some of these
things, even in combination, imply isomorphism.
Consider the two simple graphs in Figure 3.2.5.
Each of these graphs has the same number of
vertices (4) and edges (4); both graphs are pla-
nar embeddings, both have the same number of
faces (2), and both are connected. But they are
not isomorphic, as can be seen by noting that the
degrees of the vertices do not match: the cycle in
(a) is regular, with all its vertices having degree
2, while the graph in (b) has one vertex of degree
1 and one of degree 3. No adjacency-​preserving
bijection could map one of the degree-​2 vertices
of (a) onto the degree-​1 vertex of (b).
Exercise 3.2.6 The following assertion once
appeared in a music theory article: If two graphs
have (a) the same number of vertices, (b) the
same number of edges, (c) the same distribution
of degrees among the vertices, and (d) the
same number of components, then they are
isomorphic. Construct an example to show that
this assertion is false. That is, construct two
graphs that are not isomorphic even though
conditions
   (a)–​(d) are all true.19
We used the term isomorphic as early as
Chapter 1, where several of the spaces we exam-
ined were said to be isomorphic. Those isomor-
phisms sometimes involve graphs, but they
often involve additional elements of structure
besides the graph. In later chapters we will give
explicit definitions of isomorphism for sev-
eral other kinds of structures, including groups
(Section 6.3), interval spaces (Section 7.2), and
transformation graphs (Section 9.3).
A common strategy underlies the various
types of isomorphisms. In general, if X and Xʹ
are mathematical structures of some sort, an
90 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
isomorphism from X to Xʹ is a structure-​preserving
bijection. An isomorphism must first be a bijec-
tion—​a one-​to-​one correspondence between
the elements of the two structures. But more is
generally required for a function f to be an iso-
morphism: f must also preserve structure in the
sense that if elements x1, x2, … of X are in some
structural relationship in X, then their images
f(x1), f(x2), … are in the same relationship in Xʹ.
The language about “some structural relation-
ship” is necessarily vague, because we have
not specified the nature of the structures X
and Xʹ. If the structures are graphs, then the
structural relationships involve adjacency of
vertices, but other types of structures entail
different sorts of relationships among the ele-
ments, which the appropriate kind of isomor-
phism must preserve.
3.3 LOOPS, MULTIPLE
EDGES, AND INFINITE
GRAPHS
The graphs presented in the preceding sections
are the simplest sort of graphs studied in graph
theory: finite undirected graphs without loops
or multiple edges. We will have occasion to waive
all of these restrictions from time to time; in the
remainder of this chapter we examine a few of
these extensions of the graph concept.20
Figure 3.3.1, based on a graph of Joseph
Straus, is a voice-​leading graph of trichordal set-​
class space, depicting semitonal voice-​ leading
connections among the twelve three-​note set
classes, here identified by prime forms.21 The
edge connecting 025 to 036, for example, shows
that a set of type 025 may be converted into a set
of type 036 by moving one voice by semitone (for
instance {0, 2, 5} → {11, 2, 5}). This graph con-
tains four loops—​edges joining a vertex to itself.
For example, there is a loop on the vertex 025,
because any set of this type may be converted
into another set of the same type by a semitonal
displacement (for instance {0, 2, 5} → {0, 3, 5}).
There are no loops on most vertices, because
for most set classes single-​semitone motion to
another set of the same type is not possible.
The arrangement of the vertices in this fig-
ure deserves notice. After the initial 0, common
to all the prime forms, the second and third
numbers are arranged in a straightforward two-​
dimensional coordinate system, with the second
number (which ranges from 1 to 4) graphed ver-
tically and the third number (from 2 to 8) hori-
zontally. The graph is a planar embedding, and
FIGURE 3.3.1 A voice-​leading graph of trichordal set-​class space (after Straus)
many of the edges seem to be organized in a sys-
tematic arrangement. Nevertheless, the graph
as a whole has an oddly asymmetrical appear-
ance, due in part to the constraint provided by
the set classes themselves: there is no vertex in
the 017 position, for example, because there is
no set class with that prime form (the set {0, 1,
7} being inversionally related to {0, 1, 6}). Also
there is no obvious pattern to the positions of
the four loops.
In contemplating the appearance of Figure
3.3.1, it is worth remarking on an important dif-
ference between this graph and some of those
presented earlier, such as the hexatonic triad
graph of Figure 3.1.1. The vertices in 3.1.1 rep-
resented specific pitch-​ class sets, which are
fairly concrete musical objects (if perhaps not
as concrete as pitch sets would be). The vertices
in 3.3.1, on the other hand, represent objects
at a higher level of abstraction—​ set classes,
which are equivalence classes of pitch-​class sets
modulo an equivalence relation (TI equivalence,
described in Section 2.4). As the discussion in
Section 3.1 suggests and as we will see in detail
in Part Three, the hexatonic triad graph is a sub-
set of a larger space comprising all three-​note
pitch-​class sets. Because set classes are depen-
dent upon an additional equivalence relation,
however, Figure 3.3.1 is not something as simple
as a subset of that space; it is a quotient space.
A closer inspection of this quotient space in
Section 11.4 will shed light both on the general
shape of Figure 3.3.1 and on the placement of
the loops in the graph.
Exercise 3.3.2 Provide examples of voice
leadings for all four of the loops in Figure
3.3.1. One of these set classes has the
property that every set may be converted
to another set of the same type by single-​
semitone voice leading in two different ways.
Which
   set class is this?
Exercise 3.3.3 What is the greatest distance
between any two vertices in Figure 3.3.1?
Which pair(s) of set classes are separated from
each other by that maximum distance? Choose
such a pair of maximally distant vertices—​call
them set classes X and Y—​and write, in musical
notation, a series of trichords, each related to
the next by a one-​semitone displacement in
one voice, that moves from a chord of type X
to a chord of type Y as efficiently as possible,
following a path through the graph. (Recall that
“distance” refers to the number of edges in the
shortest possible path joining two vertices, so
the distance will be the number of semitone
moves in your chord progression, not the
number of chords.) Must one voice sustain a
common tone through all the chords of such a
progression?
Exercise 3.3.4 Construct a voice-​leading
graph of dyadic set-​class space, analogous to
Figure 3.3.1 but using two-​note rather than
   note set classes.22
three-​
Exercise 3.3.5 It is tempting to suppose
that the following statement about Figure
3.3.1 is true: If we start with any trichord and
displace one voice at a time by semitone, any
sequence of sonorities we can produce will trace
a path through the graph. This statement is
not accurate as it stands, however, because a
semitonal displacement such as {0, 1, 4} → {0,
0, 4} produces a sonority that is not a trichord
Graphs • 91
at all in the sense of pitch-​class set theory
and therefore does not appear anywhere in
the figure. Musically, {0, 0, 4} is a dyad with
a doubled note; mathematically it is not a
three-​note set but a multiset as defined in
Section 2.2.
This observation suggests that a more
complete picture of trichordal voice-​leading
space might include multiset classes such
as 004. Construct this larger graph. When
you are finished, you should have a graph
for which the italicized statement in the
preceding
   paragraph is true.23
Figure 3.3.6 introduces another new feature:
double edges. This graph shows the same major
and minor triads as in the hexatonic cycle of
Figure 3.1.3c, but models a different relation
between these triads. Specifically, each edge in
this graph represents one common tone between
two triads. The graph displays a regular pattern:
each triad in the hexatonic cycle shares two com-
mon tones with its two immediate neighbors in
the cycle, one common tone with the other two
triads of the same mode, and no common tones
at all with the triad on the opposite side of the
cycle (called its hexatonic pole).24
Exercise 3.3.7
(a) The graph in Figure 3.3.6 is not a planar
embedding, as there are six crossings
of the single edges in the interior of the
hexagon. This graph is actually planar,
however. Redraw the graph to show a planar
embedding.
(b) If the double edges in Figure 3.3.6 are
replaced by single edges, the resulting graph
is isomorphic to a graph in a figure earlier in
  this chapter. Which graph is this?
FIGURE 3.3.6 A common-​tone graph of a hexa-
tonic cycle
92 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Exercise 3.3.8
(a) Construct common-​tone graphs, in the
manner of Figure 3.3.6, corresponding to
the graphs you constructed in parts (a) and
(b) of Exercise 3.1.17.
(b) A common-​tone graph corresponding to the
octatonic seventh-​chord graph of Exercise
3.1.17c is probably too unwieldy to draw.
Counting all the multiple edges, calculate
  how many edges such a graph would have.25
The pitch spaces studied in Chapter 1 are infi-
nite sets, and several of the diagrams presented
there may be considered infinite graphs.26 The
diagram of discrete chromatic pitch space pitch
in Figure 1.1.1, for example, may be regarded as
a graph with infinitely many vertices and edges.
In Section 1.1 we called the line in this figure
a “fiction” as far as the representation of a dis-
crete space was concerned—​but now we may
consider the line to depict the edges joining
successive vertices. An infinite graph cannot be
drawn in its entirety, but the infinite sets of ver-
tices and edges and the adjacency relation can be
described mathematically. Many infinite graphs
feature a simple repeating pattern that can be
conveyed by drawing a small part of the graph,
as the examples from Chapter 1 illustrate.
Each vertex in Figure 1.1.1 is adjacent to
exactly two other vertices; for example, C4 is
adjacent to B3 and C♯4. In other words, every
vertex is of degree 2, and the graph is regular
as defined in Section 3.1. Other terms, such as
connected, bipartite, and planar also carry over
to infinite graphs. Two infinite graphs may
be shown to be isomorphic by constructing an
adjacency-​preserving bijection between them as
before, the only difference being that the func-
tions are now defined on infinite sets.
Exercise 3.3.9
(a) Is the infinite graph of Figure 1.1.1
connected? Bipartite? Planar?
(b) Exercise 1.1.9c asked for an informal
explanation why discrete chromatic pitch
space pitch and generic pitch space gpitch
are isomorphic. Make this explanation
more precise by showing how to construct
an isomorphism between the two graphs.
If the isomorphism f: pitch → gpitch is
defined so that f(C4) =​C4 and f(C♯4) =​D4,
  what is f(C5)?
The special nature of tonnetz graphs merits
some attention. The triangulated tonnetz of
Figure 1.4.5, shown again in Figure 3.3.10a, and
the three alternate representations from Figure
1.4.10 may all be regarded as infinite graphs. All
four of these graphs are isomorphic: adjacency-​
preserving bijections from the vertices of one
graph to identically labeled vertices in another
graph should be fairly easy to visualize. While
these graphs are infinite, we must remember
that the space they represent—​discrete pitch-​
class space pc—​is finite. The conformed prop-
erty of the tonnetz implies that the four vertices
labeled “G” in Figure 3.3.10a all represent the
same note in pitch-​class space, and the entire
infinite graph shows only twelve different pitch
classes.
As discussed in Chapter 1, there are advan-
tages and disadvantages to such a representa-
tion. In any case, a more efficient graph of the
tonnetz is at hand, in the modular tile from
Figure 1.4.3, redrawn in Figure 3.3.10b with
the addition of the triangulating diagonals. This
graph has only twelve vertices, not infinitely
many, and they are in one-​to-​one correspon-
dence with the notes of pc. The broken edges
at the boundaries of the picture must be read
with the understanding of the toroidal topology
implied by the arrowheads on the bounding rect-
angle: when an edge encounters the boundary
on one side of the diagram, it is understood to
continue at the opposite side. For example, the
edge sloping northeasterly from the note B
near the lower-​right corner of the figure arrives
at F♯ on the left side. Diagonals in this tonnetz
represent perfect fifths, so of course this edge
from B must arrive at F♯: B and F♯, despite their
distant positions in the picture, are adjacent ver-
tices in the graph.
FIGURE 3.3.10 The triangulated tonnetz as (a) an infinite graph; (b) a finite graph
Exercise 3.3.11
(a) The edge that slopes southwesterly from
D in Figure 3.3.10b arrives at what other
vertex?
(b) Define a function from the vertices of
Figure 3.3.10a to the vertices of 3.3.10b in
such a way that each vertex of (a) is mapped
to the unique vertex of (b) bearing the
same label. Is this function one-​to-​one? Is
it onto? Does it preserve adjacency? Is it
an isomorphism? Does it have an inverse
function? Is it possible to construct a one-​
to-​one adjacency-​preserving function from
the vertices of 3.3.10b to the vertices of
  3.3.10a?27
The conformed-​ tonnetz interpretation of
pitch-​class space is thus represented by two dif-
ferent graphs, one infinite and the other finite.
This point warrants elaboration, because these
two graphs and the relationship between them
are occasional sources of misunderstandings in
neo-​Riemannian theory. One possibly confusing
point is the fact that although the finite graph
of Figure 3.3.10b looks like a part of the infinite
graph of 3.3.10a, it is not technically a subgraph.
To be sure, one may identify the vertices of (b)
with correspondingly labeled vertices in a cen-
tral block of (a), and the unbroken edges in the
central part of (b) then correspond to edges of
(a). But the broken edges in (b) are a problem:
subgraph status would require that all edges of
(b) be literally present within the specified sub-
set of (a), while an edge such as B–​F♯ in (b) joins
two vertices that are not adjacent in (a). Rather
than a subgraph, 3.3.10b might more accurately
be called a quotient graph of 3.3.10a. The finite
Graphs • 93
graph can be constructed from the infinite one
not by isolating a subset, but instead by conjoin-
ing identically labeled vertices—​an equivalence
relation.
Confusion also sometimes arises about
whether the tonnetz is a planar graph. This ques-
tion is subtler than it may appear. The infinite
graph of Figure 3.3.10a is planar; to be precise,
that figure shows a finite portion of a planar
embedding of an infinite graph. The alternate
representations of infinite tonnetz graphs in
Figure 1.4.10 are also planar embeddings.
The subtlety emerges when the finite tonnetz
graph of Figure 3.3.10b is considered. This fig-
ure is drawn in a plane, and no edge crossings
are visible, so it is tempting to conclude that this
graph too is planar. But this reasoning is falla-
cious. In the context of planar embeddings, the
broken edges are tantamount to cheating: after
all, edge crossings in any graph can be eliminated
by breaking some edges in half. If you try to
extend the ends of the broken edges in the plane
of 3.3.10b so that each meets its partner in a
continuous curve, you will find yourself unable
to do so without introducing some edge cross-
ings, for the finite tonnetz graph is not a planar
graph. To depict the tonnetz as a finite graph, we
must sacrifice planarity: the options are an infi-
nite planar graph or a finite non-​planar graph.
We present the non-​planarity of the finite ton-
netz formally in Theorem 3.3.12 below, followed
by a proof. The proof depends on a standard
result in graph theory, the non-​planarity of the
graph known as K5, a proof of which is outlined
in Exercise 3.3.15. Some readers may choose to
skip these proofs, but it seems worthwhile to
include them here because the results are not
widely known in music theory.28 Additionally,
the proofs themselves may be instructive, as
they introduce a few new ideas from graph the-
ory in combination with other concepts already
presented, and Exercise 3.3.15 provides an illus-
trative model of a proof by contradiction.
Theorem 3.3.12: Non-​planarity of the finite
tonnetz graph The finite tonnetz (Figure
3.3.10b)
   is not a planar graph.
The proof of the theorem makes use of the
graph in Figure 3.3.13. This graph is called the
complete graph on five vertices, commonly denoted
K5; the word complete indicates that each vertex
is adjacent to every other. K5 is known as one of
the simplest non-​planar graphs. Edge crossings
are unavoidable in drawing this graph: it can be
94 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
FIGURE 3.3.13 K5, the complete graph on five
vertices
drawn with fewer than the five crossings visible
in Figure 3.3.13, but it cannot be drawn with no
crossings at all. See Exercise 3.3.15 below for a
proof that K5 is not planar. Here we will use this
result to show that the finite tonnetz graph can-
not be planar because a copy of K5 lurks within it.
A planar graph cannot have a non-​planar sub-
graph: a planar embedding of the larger graph, if
it exists, must include a planar embedding of the
smaller one. If we can find a subgraph of Figure
3.3.10b isomorphic to the non-​planar K5, there-
fore, that will prove that the finite tonnetz graph
is non-​planar. Figure 3.3.10b does not actually
have a subgraph isomorphic to K5, but it has a
subgraph that works just as well for this purpose.
This is the subgraph in Figure 3.3.14a, compris-
ing ten vertices and fifteen edges from the ton-
netz. Figure 3.3.14a is isomorphic to Figure
3.3.14b; the vertex labeling shows the isomor-
phism explicitly. Graph (b) is not isomorphic to
K5 (it has too many vertices), but its resemblance
to K5 is clear. Figure 3.3.14b is called a subdivi-
sion of K5: it may be obtained from K5 by adding
new vertices in the middle of some of the edges.
In the figure, the five vertices not part of K5 are
labeled in smaller type than the others. If a pla-
nar embedding of 3.3.14b were possible, these
extra vertices could be eliminated and a planar
embedding of K5 would result. Because we know
that is impossible, we may conclude that Figure
3.3.14b is not planar, so the isomorphic graph in
(a) is not planar either, nor is the finite tonnetz
graph of which 3.3.14a is a subgraph.
Exercise 3.3.15 This exercise outlines a
proof that K5 is not planar.29 We employ the
deductive technique of proof by contradiction.
That is, we start by assuming the opposite of
what we are trying to prove, namely that a
planar embedding of K5 does exist; the aim is
then to derive some logical contradiction from
this assumption. If we can do this, we will be
FIGURE 3.3.14 A subgraph of the finite tonnetz, isomorphic to a subdivision of K5
justified in concluding that the assumption
was false, and therefore that K5 is not a
planar graph.
(a) Suppose a planar embedding of K5 exists.
Such an embedding, like any planar
embedding of a graph, will have well-​
defined faces. Some of the faces may be
triangles with three sides, while others
may have more than three sides. Any faces
with more than three sides can always be
triangulated—​divided into triangles by
the addition of new edges to the graph.
For example, a face with four sides can be
divided into two triangles by drawing one
new edge. Suppose that all the faces of the
embedding of K5 (including the exterior
face, if necessary) are divided into triangles
in this way, and call the resulting fully
triangulated graph Kʹ. Suppose Kʹ has v
vertices, e edges, and f faces. Because every
face of Kʹ is bounded by exactly three edges,
it is tempting to conclude that 3f =​ e, but
that is not correct. Explain why this formula
is wrong, and make a simple modification
so that it becomes correct. Rewrite the
formula in the form f =​ _​_​_​, where the
right side of the equation is an expression
involving e but not f.30
(b) Recall that by Euler’s formula, v +​ f =​ e +​2.
We know that v =​5, because the vertices
of Kʹ are the vertices of the graph K5 that
we started with. Plugging v =​5 and the
result of part (a) into Euler’s formula, you
will get a formula involving e and no other
variables. Use basic algebra to solve this
equation for e.
(c) Noting that Kʹ, by the nature of its
construction, has at least as many edges as
K5, explain why the result of part (b) is a
contradiction. By the logic described above,
this contradiction completes the proof that
  K5 is not a planar graph.
Although the finite tonnetz cannot be embed-
ded in a plane, it can be embedded in a torus.
Indeed, it is because of the non-​planarity of the
tonnetz that we must tolerate the sometimes
perplexing aspects of the toroidal representa-
tion: if the finite graph could be embedded in a
plane, that embedding would surely be more con-
venient. The convention of depicting the torus
by a rectangle with opposite sides identified
allows us to regard the broken edges in Figure
3.3.10b as whole edges, without crossings. The
doughnut-​shaped tonnetz of Figure 1.4.4 is also
revealing in this context. The graph inhabits the
surface of the doughnut, and this surface corre-
sponds to the rectangular tile of Figure 3.3.10b.
The edges corresponding to 3.3.10b’s diagonals
were not shown in Figure 1.4.4, but they could
be added, within the surface of the doughnut,
with no crossings.
Exercise 3.3.16
(a) How many vertices and edges are in the
finite tonnetz? How many faces are in the
toroidal embedding of Figure 3.3.10b?31
(b) The basic statement of Euler’s formula, v +​
f =​ e +​2, holds only for connected graphs
embedded in a plane (or a sphere), not in a
torus. Your answers to (a) should confirm
that this formula fails for the finite tonnetz
graph. A more general version of Euler’s
formula is applicable, however. The general
statement is v +​ f =​ e +​ χ, where χ (the Greek
letter chi) is a number called the Euler
characteristic of the surface in which the
graph is embedded. The Euler characteristic
of a sphere is 2, but the Euler characteristic
of a torus is 0, so Euler’s formula for a
toroidally embedded connected graph is
Graphs • 95
 simply v +​ f =​ e. Verify that the numbers you for the continuous space, and this discrete grid
  obtained in (a) satisfy this formula.32 may help us to understand the structure of the
more complete continuous space. In Part Three
Because the tonnetz graph is embeddable in we will see more complex examples of continu-
a torus and a subdivision of K5 occurs within it, ous spaces that can be most easily visualized by
we may conclude that K5 itself is embeddable drawing a discrete subset in this way.
in a torus. In fact, more is true: K6 and K7, the
complete graphs on six and seven vertices, can 3.4 DIRECTED GRAPHS
each be embedded in a torus. We will encounter a
musical application of K7 in Section 4.3 for which A number of music theory textbooks include
the toroidal embedding will prove convenient. In diagrams resembling Figure 3.4.1, attempting to
the meantime, readers may enjoy the challenge show patterns formed by the most common func-
of trying to find this embedding on their own, in tional diatonic progressions in a major key.33 This
the way suggested in the following exercise. figure is not simply a graph like those discussed
above, but a directed graph: each edge is deco-
Exercise 3.3.17 The generic tonnetz of Figure rated with an arrowhead to indicate its direction.
1.4.27 shows a placement of seven vertices The figure shows, for instance, that motion from
in a torus. By joining these vertices with vi to ii is possible while the oppositely directed
carefully chosen edges, construct a toroidal ii → vi is not. The diagram resembles a flowchart
embedding
   of K7. for a computer program or decision-​making pro-
cedure, showing in a compact way which options
In Section 1.4 we distinguished the conformed are available at any moment. The arrowheads are
neo-​Riemannian tonnetz, which we have dis- an essential part of the information conveyed;
cussed further in this section, from the uncon- indeed, the figure would be meaningless without
formed Riemannian tonnetz. The latter was them, as every vertex is joined to every other
drawn without edges in Figure 1.4.14, but trian- vertex by an arrow in at least one direction. It
gulating edges could readily by added, yielding is possible for two vertices to be joined by a pair
an infinite graph isomorphic to Figure 3.3.10a. of opposing arrows ⇄, as is the case with the I
The preceding sentence should be read with cau- and V chords in the figure. A single bidirectional
tion, for while the two graphs are isomorphic, arrow ↔ may be used as a shorthand for the pair
the spaces they represent are not. Conformed of opposing arrows in this situation.
tonnetz space is finite; Riemannian tonnetz space Directed graphs entail some modest modi-
is infinite. The unconformed Riemannian ton- fications to the terminology introduced previ-
34
netz does not wrap around on itself as the torus ously for undirected graphs. The term directed
♯
does; the various vertices labeled C, B , and D♭ ♭ graph is sometimes shortened to digraph. It is
in Figure 1.4.14 all represent different notes. traditional to speak of arrows rather than edges.
The finite graph in Figure 3.3.10b has no coun- Whereas the degree of a vertex in an undirected
terpart for the unconformed tonnetz: while it is graph was defined simply as the number of
possible to represent a finite space using an infi- edges incident with it, in digraphs the in-​degree
nite graph as in 3.3.10a, an infinite space such as of a vertex (the number of arrows pointing into
Riemannian tonnetz space can never be depicted it) must be distinguished from its out-​degree
accurately by a finite graph. (the number of arrows pointing out). In Figure
Whether finite or infinite, planar or non-​ 3.4.1, the vertex labeled I has in-​degree 1 and
planar, graphs are by their very nature discrete
structures. If Figure 1.1.1 is viewed as continu-
ous pitch space cpitch, it is not a graph at all in
the sense of this chapter. Nevertheless, it is clear
that our diagrams of continuous spaces such
as cpitch (Figure 1.1.1) or cpc (the continu-
ous pitch-​class space of Figure 1.2.3) bear some
relation to the graphs of the corresponding dis-
crete spaces. A discrete graph may be effectively
converted into a continuous space by regarding
every edge as an infinite set of new points of the FIGURE 3.4.1 A directed graph showing com-
space. The discrete graph becomes a sort of grid mon functional diatonic progressions

96 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
out-​degree 4, suggesting that a larger variety of
chords may follow a tonic triad than precede it.
The opposite is true of V, which has in-​degree
4 and out-​degree 1, implying that while many
things can precede a dominant, what happens
next is much more predictable. While the precise
counts of in-​degrees and out-​degrees here may
oversimplify a complex situation, these general
conclusions are hard to dispute.
A directed path is a path in which all arrows
are traversed in the same direction. In Figure
3.4.1, we may trace a directed path I → vi →
ii → V. Ignoring arrowheads would enable us also
to trace a path I –​ii –​vi –​V, but that path is not
directed: it cannot be traversed, either from I to
V or in reverse from V to I, without traversing at
least one arrow backward. Likewise a cycle may
be either directed or undirected.
Exercise 3.4.2
(a) Although the in-​degree and out-​degree of a
vertex may differ, the sum of the in-​degrees
of all the vertices in a directed graph must
always match the sum of all out-​degrees.
Verify this property in Figure 3.4.1, and
explain why it must always hold.
(b) Identify all the directed 3-​cycles (cycles
containing three vertices), 4-​cycles, and 5-​
  cycles in Figure 3.4.1.
The use of arrows offers additional precision
and flexibility to graphs. It was remarked in
Section 3.1 that graphs are commonly used to
depict binary relations, but undirected graphs
tacitly impose a limitation on these relations. If
two vertices in a graph represent objects x and
y, an edge without an arrowhead cannot distin-
guish between a relation x ~ y and the opposite
FIGURE 3.4.3 Two digraph representations of the hexatonic triad graph
relation y ~ x. An undirected graph therefore
can depict only relations that are symmetric as
defined in Section 2.4—​relations with the prop-
erty that whenever x ~ y is true, then y ~ x is
also true. With directed graphs there is no such
restriction. The arrows in Figure 3.4.1 show that
on the set of diatonic triads, the relation “may
be followed by” is not symmetric: vi may be fol-
lowed by ii, but not vice versa.
To be sure, sometimes the information com-
municated by the arrowheads in a digraph
may be conveyed by a different means entirely.
Figure 3.4.3 recasts the hexatonic triad graph
from Figure 3.1.1 two more times, now as
digraphs. The arrangement of the vertices in
3.4.3a matches that of Figure 3.1.1, while 3.4.3b
matches Figure 3.1.5. The arrows in both graphs
point in the direction of ascending voice leading.
This same relation was already depicted in Figure
3.1.5 by the relative vertical positions of the ver-
tices; hence in 3.4.3b all the arrows point upward.
This figure therefore includes some redundancy,
as the relation represented by the arrows may
already be inferred from the visual arrangement.
In 3.4.3a, on the other hand, the arrows commu-
nicate something that is not otherwise apparent:
they do not all point in the same direction, and
the “highest” chord in the voice-​leading sense,
C+​, does not appear at the top of the figure. Figure
3.4.3b, like 3.1.5, includes edge crossings, while
3.4.3a, like 3.1.1, is a planar embedding. Only by
means of arrows is Figure 3.4.3a able to capture
the voice-​ leading relationship shown in 3.1.5
while retaining the planar configuration of 3.1.1.
The highest and lowest vertices in Figure
3.4.3b, and their counterparts in 3.4.3a, have
special properties: B+​ has in-​degree 0, and C+​
has out-​degree 0. B+​ is not accessible by directed
Graphs • 97
path from any other vertex, nor does a directed
path lead from C+​ to any other vertex. A vertex of
in-​degree 0 is called a source, and a vertex of out-​
degree 0 is a sink. (Of course these properties
arise only relative to a given graph. To say that
C+​ is a sink in this context does not imply any
special musical property of that triad; it simply
means that if any voice of the C-​augmented triad
is raised by semitone, the resulting sonority is
something not in this graph.) A directed graph is
strongly connected if every vertex is accessible by
directed path from every other vertex. Viewed
as undirected graphs, Figures 3.4.1, 3.4.3a, and
3.4.3b are all connected. As directed graphs,
however, Figure 3.4.1 is strongly connected, but
the graphs of Figure 3.4.3 are not—​because of
the absence of a directed path from C+​ to B+​, for
example.
It should come as no surprise that the two
graphs of Figure 3.4.3 are isomorphic. The defi-
nition of isomorphism, however, also requires
adjustment in the case of directed graphs. As
before, an isomorphism is first of all a bijection
from the vertices of one graph to the vertices of
the other, but it is no longer quite sufficient to
require that the bijection preserve adjacency; it
must preserve the direction of each arrow. That
is, if an arrow points from v1 to v2 in one graph
and f is an isomorphism, then there must be an
arrow from f(v1) to f(v2) in the second graph. The
isomorphism from Figure 3.4.3a to 3.4.3b maps
each vertex to the correspondingly labeled ver-
tex, and it is easy to check that arrows connect
all the same pairs of vertices, always in the same
directions, in both figures.
Exercise 3.4.4
(a) What is the length of the longest directed
path in Figure 3.4.3a or 3.4.3b? Are there
any directed cycles in this graph?
(b) The 4-​cycle containing the triads C, C+​, E,
and e in Figure 3.4.3a is not a directed cycle.
This subgraph may, however, be viewed as
a directed graph in its own right. Find a
subgraph of Figure 3.4.1 that is isomorphic
to this subgraph of 3.4.3a.
(c) Suppose we define the arrow relation in
the hexatonic triad graph in the opposite
way from what was described above, so
that the arrows represent descending
motion by semitone. This change amounts
to reversing the direction of every arrow
in Figure 3.4.3a. Show that the resulting
directed graph is isomorphic to the
  original Figure 3.4.3a.35
98 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
It is not always possible to arrange the verti-
ces of a directed graph so that all arrows point
upward. The possibility of such an arrangement,
as in Figure 3.4.3b, indicates a rather special
property of a graph. To describe this property
requires some additional terminology. If v1 and
v2 are vertices in a digraph, we say that v1 pre-
cedes v2, notated v1 ⇢ v2, if there is some directed
path from v1 to v2. This includes the case in
which there is an arrow directly from v1 to v2, but
also the case in which the two vertices are joined
only by a longer path. We also understand by
this definition that every vertex automatically
precedes itself; this is justifiable on the grounds
that a vertex by itself may be considered to be a
path of length 0, starting and ending at the same
point. If v1 ⇢ v2, then v1 is called a predecessor of
v2, and v2 a successor of v1. This precedence rela-
tion effectively extends the relation depicted by
the arrows to accommodate pairs of vertices sep-
arated by greater distances; in Figure 3.4.3, for
example, e precedes C+​, even though those two
vertices are not directly adjacent, because there
is a directed path e → C → C+​.
Because every vertex precedes itself, the pre-
cedence relation ⇢ is reflexive by the definition
from Section 2.4: the statement v ⇢ v is true for
every vertex v. Precedence is also automatically
transitive: if v1 ⇢ v2 and v2 ⇢ v3 are true, then a
path from v1 to v2 can be combined with a path
from v2 to v3 to obtain a path from v1 to v3, so
v1 ⇢ v3 is true as well.36 The relation ⇢ is not nec-
essarily symmetric, however, and therefore is not
generally an equivalence relation. If both v1 ⇢ v2
and v2 ⇢ v1 are true for some pair of vertices v1
and v2, the two paths can be combined to form a
directed cycle. In a graph without directed cycles,
the precedence relation is antisymmetric, which
means that one vertex can never be both prede-
cessor and successor to another—​the relations
v1 ⇢ v2 and v2 ⇢ v1 cannot both be true unless v1
and v2 are the same vertex.
A binary relation that is reflexive, antisym-
metric, and transitive is called a partial order.37
As noted above, the precedence relation in a
directed graph is always reflexive and transitive.
In Figure 3.4.3 (either (a) or (b)) the precedence
relation is also antisymmetric, and is therefore
a partial order. The antisymmetry property, or
equivalently the absence of directed cycles, is
what makes the upward-​pointing arrangement
of 3.4.3b possible: it ensures that no contradic-
tion can arise in the process of placing succes-
sors above their predecessors. The word order
in this context refers to the way the precedence
relation arranges the vertices from predecessors
to successors, or from lowest to highest in the
graph (indeed, we have already used the terms
“high” and “low” in reference to Figure 3.4.3b).
The order relation in this figure is partial (not
total) because the graph shows some pairs of
vertices that are not in the precedence relation
to each other at all: neither E nor C, for example,
precedes the other.
Exercise 3.4.5
(a) Is the precedence relation in the digraph
of Figure 3.4.1 antisymmetric? Does your
answer change if the arrow from I to V is
removed?
(b) The most common mathematical use of the
word order refers to the ordering of the real
numbers along the number line, described
by the relation < (“less than”) or ≤ (“less
than or equal to”). Verify that the relation
≤, defined on the set ℝ, is a partial order as
defined above. (Actually ≤ is a total order,
because given any two real numbers x and
y, either x ≤ y or y ≤ x must be true. A total
  order is a special case of a partial order.)
Partial order relations have many uses in
mathematics, and often give rise to lattice-​like
graphs depicting hierarchical relationships such
as those in Figure 3.4.6. The subsets of any set
are partially ordered by the subset relation ⊆.
The graph in (a) is the subset lattice for the pitch-​
class set {0, 1, 3, 6}. Two subsets are joined by
an edge in this graph only when the larger sub-
set is obtained from the smaller by adjoining a
single element (for example, {0, 1} and {0, 1, 3}).
FIGURE 3.4.6 (a) A subset lattice for the set {0, 1, 3, 6}; (b) an abstract subset “lattice” for the set
class 0136
Subset relations between sets that differ by two
or more elements (such as {1} and {0, 1, 3}) are
not shown directly by edges, but may be inferred
from the edges present and the transitivity of
the subset relation ({1} ⊆ {0, 1} and {0, 1} ⊆ {0,
1, 3}, therefore {1} ⊆ {0, 1, 3}). The original set
{0, 1, 3, 6} appears at the top of the lattice, and
the empty set ∅ at the bottom. No arrowheads
are shown; because the vertical dimension corre-
sponds to the precedence relation as in Example
3.4.3b above, the arrowheads are superfluous
and may be omitted with no loss of information.
Nevertheless, the antisymmetric precedence
relation remains implicit in such diagrams, and
upward-​pointing arrowheads on each edge may
be inferred from the configuration.
The abstract subset relation on set classes is
also a partial order. A set class X is an abstract
subset of a set class Y if some set in the class X
is a subset of some set in Y. For example, rep-
resenting set classes by their prime forms, the
dyadic set class 03 is an abstract subset of 025
because any set of type 025, such as the set {0,
2, 5}, has a subset of type 03, in this case the
set {2, 5}. The abstract subset “lattice” of the set
class 0136 is shown in Figure 3.4.6b. The two
graphs in Figure 3.4.6 are not isomorphic. They
do not even have the same number of vertices:
the set {0, 1, 3, 6} has six two-​note subsets and
four one-​note subsets, while the set class 0136
has only five different abstract two-​note subsets
and (of course) only a single abstract one-​note
subset. This difference between the literal and
abstract subset relations is a byproduct of the
TI equivalence relation that defines set classes.
Whenever two different subsets such as {0, 3}
Graphs • 99
and {3, 6} belong to the same set class, they will
appear separately in 3.4.6a but will be merged
into a single vertex in (b). The abstract subset
“lattice” of (b) is less regular in its construction
than the subset lattice in (a): in (a) all vertices
on the same level (sets of the same cardinality)
have the same in-​degree (edges connecting from
below) and the same out-​degree (edges connect-
ing from above), but this is not the case in (b),
where, for instance, only two abstract two-​note
subsets of set class 036 appear, compared with
three abstract two-​note subsets for every other
three-​note set class.
The word “lattice” appears in quotation
marks in reference to Figure 3.4.6b for a reason.
The word has a technical mathematical defini-
tion, which 3.4.6a satisfies but 3.4.6b does not.
Specifically, a lattice is a digraph whose prece-
dence relation is a partial order and in which
every pair of vertices has both a latest common
predecessor (more usually called a greatest lower
bound, abbreviated glb) and an earliest common
successor (least upper bound, or lub).38 In the sub-
set lattice of 3.4.6a, the greatest lower bound of
any two subsets is their intersection, the larg-
est common subset of both of them; similarly,
the least upper bound of any two subsets is
their union, or smallest common superset. For
example,
glb({0, 3}, {1, 3, 6}) =​{0, 3} ∩ {1, 3, 6} =​{3}
and
lub({0, 3}, {1, 3, 6}) =​{0, 3} ∪ {1, 3, 6}
=​{0, 1, 3, 6}.
The subsets of any set always form a lattice in
this way. The abstract subset relation, on the
other hand, is not so well-​ behaved in mat-
ters of greatest lower and least upper bounds.
In 3.4.6b, some pairs of set classes have well-​
defined greatest lower bounds: for example,
glb(02, 05) is the one-​note set class 0, while
lub(02, 05) is 025, the only three-​ note set
class in the graph of which 02 and 05 are both
abstract subsets. But set classes 02 and 03 have
no least upper bound. Two different three-​note
set classes, 013 and 025, are common upper
bounds (abstract supersets) of 02 and 03, and
neither of these is a subset of the other, so nei-
ther is a least upper bound. In effect, it is not
generally possible to define intersections and
unions of set classes as it is for actual sets.
100 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Abstract subset “lattices,” for this reason, are
not true lattices. We will continue to call them
“lattices,” however, because of their intuitively
lattice-​like appearance and because they have
been known by that name in the music theory
literature. (In Part Three we will also use the
word lattice in other contexts.)39
Exercise 3.4.7 Verify that the graph of Figure
3.4.3b is a lattice. Identify glb(C, A♭), lub(C, A♭),
glb(C, g♯), and lub(C, g♯) in this lattice. If an
arrow were added from g♯ to C, explain why the
graph
   would then fail to be a lattice.
Exercise 3.4.8
(a) Construct a subset lattice for the pitch-​
class set {0, 1, 4, 7}, and an abstract subset
“lattice” for the set class 0147.
(b) Construct a subset lattice for the pitch-​
class set {0, 3, 6, 9}, and an abstract subset
“lattice” for the set class 0369.
(c) Compare your graphs in (a) and (b) with
each other and with the two graphs in
Figure 3.4.6. Are any of the subset lattices
isomorphic? What about the abstract subset
“lattices”?
(d) One of the abstract subset “lattices” from
  part (a) or (b) is actually a lattice. Which one?
Exercise 3.4.9
(a) Explain why the subset relation ⊆, defined
on the subsets of any set, is always reflexive,
antisymmetric, and transitive.
(b) Explain why the abstract subset relation on
set classes is reflexive, antisymmetric, and
transitive.
(c) Any lattice whose partial order is the usual
subset relation ⊆ may be called an inclusion
lattice. Give an example of an inclusion
lattice that does not consist of all subsets of
  some set, but only of some of them.40
Lattices have also been used to depict metric
relationships. Figure 3.4.10 is a version of what
Richard Cohn has called a ski-​hill graph.41 The
vertices are labeled with duration values rang-
ing from small subdivisions of a beat to larger
values that typically span several measures.
triplet, while 3♪. indicates a duration equal
A notation such as indicates an eighth-​note
to 3 dotted eighth notes, or 9 sixteenth notes
(a duration that otherwise cannot be written
without ties). The edges indicate subdivisions:
 (such as the relation between 
duple subdivisions in the case of edges in the
and  or between ♪. and .), and triple subdivi-
orientation
sions for the edges (such as between  and .
and ♪).
or between
If we imagine an upward-​ pointing arrow
on each edge, then each arrow points from the
smaller unit to the larger—​from the subdivision
to its multiple. The precedence relation in Figure
tion. The duration ♪ is a subdivision of . (there
3.4.10 is, in other words, the subdivision rela-
♪ precedes . in this graph because there is a
are 12 eighth notes in a dotted whole note), and
directed path from ♪ to . in the graph. (In fact
there are three such paths; more on that shortly.)
horizontal row (such as  and .), because even
No edges connect different durations in the same
though one is a shorter duration than the other,
neither is a subdivision of the other.
This precedence relation is a partial order.
pairs of vertices such as 3. and 2. on the top
Technically, Figure 3.4.10 is not a lattice because
row have no common successor (multiple) in the
graph, and also because pairs of vertices such
as  and
on the bottom row have no com-
mon predecessor (subdivision). One can easily
imagine extending the graph to include these
multiple of 3. and 2. is 6., while a common
larger and smaller durations, however: a common
subdivision of  and is . In principle the
graph may be regarded as an infinite lattice,
extended in all directions by multiplying and
dividing note values by 2 and 3 as appropriate.
FIGURE 3.4.10 A portion of a ski-​hill lattice of metric durations (after Cohn)
Following Cohn, we shall call this infinite lattice
the ski-​hill lattice.42
Exercise 3.4.11
(a) Suppose a quarter note is assigned value 1,
so that the value of an eighth note is 1 2 ,
a dotted half note is 3, and so on. Redraw
Figure 3.4.10 using numbers rather than
note values.
(b) All the numbers appearing in your
redrawn figure in (a) are positive rational
numbers. Not all positive rational
numbers appear here, however, even in
the theoretically infinite ski-​hill lattice.
Of the six numbers 1 81 , 4 5 , 32 27 , 22 7 , 14, and
108, only three will appear in the lattice.
Which ones are these? By looking at a
rational number, how can you determine
quickly whether or not it belongs in this
lattice?43
(c) Determine an arithmetical formulation of
the precedence relation in this lattice. That
is, if x and y are two rational numbers in
this lattice, how can you easily determine,
from the numbers only, whether or not “x
precedes y” is a true statement?
(d) Arithmetically, if x and y are two rational
numbers in the lattice, what is glb(x, y)?
  What is lub(x, y)?44
Figure 3.4.12 presents six paths within the
ski-​hill lattice. Reading the edges as upward-​
pointing arrows as discussed above, we may
regard the paths in (a)–​(e) as directed paths. Each
Graphs • 101
of these directed paths corresponds to what
Cohn calls a metric state: a consonant hierar-
chy of pulses, each of which is a subdivision of
all longer durations and an integer multiple of
all smaller durations appearing in the path. The
graph in (f), in contrast, is not a directed path
as neither . nor  is a subdivision of the other,
and does not represent a metric state, inasmuch
and neither precedes the other in the precedence
relation of the lattice.
A metric state may be used to depict the met-
ric organization of a musical passage, and the
ski-​hill lattice facilitates comparisons between
metric states and the study of metric conflicts.45
In fact, the metric states in Figure 3.4.12a–​e are
all realized in the first movement of Brahms’s
Symphony No. 2. State (a) is the normative
metric state for the  time signature, and the
measure-​long . pulse is triply subdivided into ,
prevailing state in most of the movement. The
which in turn is duply subdivided into ; moving
upward in the hierarchy, the value . indicates
the common hypermetric grouping into two-​
measure units. At times four-​bar hypermeasures
are projected, indicated parenthetically in the
topmost segment of (a).
FIGURE 3.4.12 Five metric states in the ski-​hill lattice, and one impostor
102 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Brahms experiments extensively with alter-
native metric states, clearly presenting states
(b), (c), (d), and (e) at various points in the
movement—​ (b) and (c) many times, (d) and
(e) less often. State (b) regroups the six eighth
notes within a measure in threes, suggesting a
 meter in opposition to the prevailing . State
(c) is a hemiola pattern common in many triple-​
meter compositions; the grouping of the quarter
notes in twos could be notated in , or in three-​
bar hypermeasures in . Alternative states may
be projected not only by the actual note dura-
tions in the score, but also by phenomena such
as harmonic rhythm, accents, articulation, pat-
tern repetition, and phrasing.
Occasionally, two or more states are present
simultaneously, in different layers within the
orchestral texture. Figure 3.4.13a shows a climac-
tic passage from the movement’s development
imposed. The  pulse is common to these three
section in which states from 3.4.12a–​c are super-
metric states; the instruments projecting states
(a) and (c) are not actually playing eighth notes,
but their notes align with groupings of eighth
ric . pulse, equal in duration to twelve eighth
notes in the concurrent state (b). The hypermet-
notes, is also common to all three states. The
ric state to another (each state projects either  or
intervening levels, however, vary from one met-
., and either  or .). In the lattice, states (a)–​(c)
from  to ., reflecting the three different ways
correspond to the three possible directed paths
that the prime factors of the number 12 may be
arranged: (a) represents the factorization 2 × 3 ×
2 reading from bottom to top, while (b) is 3 × 2 × 2
and (c) is 2 × 2 × 3. It is this multiplicity of paths,
read instead from top to bottom, that motivates
poised at ., selecting any of the three available
Cohn’s ski-​hill metaphor: we may imagine a skier
routes down to the  vertex.
State (d) is the only state in Figure 3.4.12 to
incorporate triple subdivisions at two different
vision of the . measure. (Another metric state
levels: its triplet eighths are a nine-​part subdi-
with this property combines the pulses , .,

 time signature.) Figure 3.4.13b shows accom-
and 3., and is most often represented by the
panimental figuration in state (d) in the flute;
the eighth notes in the strings, meanwhile,
FIGURE 3.4.13 Metric states from Figure 3.4.12 in Brahms, Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73, I: (a)
mm. 246–​49; (b) mm. 156–​58; (c) mm. 28–​31
anchor the melody in the prevailing state (a).
The  time signature applies accurately to both,
illustrating the fact that a metric state often con-
veys more detailed information about more lev-
els of a metric hierarchy than an ordinary time
signature. State (e), illustrated in Figure 3.4.13c,
occurs only rarely in this movement. Because
lacks the . pulse common to all the others; only
the quarter notes are grouped in fours, this state
the higher 2. grouping can serve as a common
multiple.
Comparison of states (c) and (e) in Figure
3.4.12 shows that although different durations
appear in these paths, the paths have the same
shape. Musically this means the durations in
these two states are in the same proportions,
related by exact augmentation or diminution.
Any other durations in the same 1:2:4:12 pro-
portions from the ski-​hill lattice (for instance,
, , ♩ , and .) would form another path with
this shape. In principle, music notated using
the note values from one of these paths could
always be renotated using the note values from
Graphs • 103

FIGURE 3.4.14 The state class common to met-
ric states (c) and (e) of Figure 3.4.12
the other. The shape common to the three paths
is presented abstractly in Figure 3.4.14. Note
values have been removed here; in their absence,
notations ×2 and ×3 have been added to clarify
the metric relationships. We call this figure a
state class. A state class may be realized by any
of the various metric states sharing its shape.46
Exercise 3.4.15
(a) Verify that the relation “having the same
shape” is an equivalence relation on metric
states, and that the equivalence classes are
the state classes.
(b) States (c) and (e) from Figure 3.4.12
are paths of length 3, each representing
durations at four different levels in the
metric hierarchy. If we consider paths of
length 2 (representing durations at three
levels), common shapes become easier to
find. Identify three different state classes
of length 2, each of which appears as a
subgraph of at least three different metric
states from Figure 3.4.12.
(c) As directed graphs (assuming arrows
pointing upward), the paths in 3.4.12c
and 3.4.12e are isomorphic. But the
shape equivalence relation on metric
states, from part (a) of this exercise, is
not generally the same thing as digraph
isomorphism. Give examples to illustrate
the difference. One of the two statements
“digraph isomorphism implies shape
equivalence” and “shape equivalence
implies digraph isomorphism” is true,
and the other is false. Which is which? (In
Section 3.5 we will describe a property
stronger than digraph isomorphism that
adequately represents shape equivalence.
  See Exercise 3.5.12.)
104 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Exercise 3.4.16 Study the scores of the
following works by Brahms, and identify at least
three or four clearly projected metric states
in each of them. You may need to consider
hypermetric structure.
(a) Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90, I
(b) String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 51, No. 1, I
(c) String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 51, No. 2, IV
(d) String Quartet in B♭ Major, Op. 67, I47
(e) Capriccio in C Major, Op. 76, No. 848
(f) Intermezzo in E Major, Op. 116, No. 4 (do
not overlook mm. 30–​31)
(g) Piano
   Concerto No. 2 in B♭ Major, Op. 83, I
Three more state classes are shown in Figure
3.4.17. All of these are found in tonal music, but
somewhat rarely. State class (a) includes triple
subdivisions at three consecutive levels; (b) and
(c) include triple subdivisions at two non-​con-
secutive levels.
Exercise 3.4.18 Each of the thirteen excerpts
listed below illustrates one of the unusual state
classes in Figure 3.4.17. Consulting scores
of these works, determine the state class
applicable in each case, and supply the note
values to complete the metric state. In some
cases you will need to consider hypermetric
structure. Taking the actual note values into
account, you should find twelve different metric
states representing the three state classes
from Figure 3.4.17. Which two examples use
precisely the same metric state?
(a) Bach, Goldberg Variations, Variation 26 (the
voice notated in 18 16)
(b) Beethoven, Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111, II,
mm. 33–​48 (the L’istesso tempo variation
in “6 16 ”—​but is Beethoven’s time signature
correct?)
(c) Same piece as (b), the following variation
(mm. 49–​64, L’istesso tempo in “12 32”—​but is
Beethoven’s time signature correct?)
(d) Same piece as (b) and (c), the following
variation (mm. 65ff)
(e) Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, II,
mm. 177–​9449
(f) Brahms, Quintet in G Major, Op. 111, I,
mm. 57–​68
(g) Brahms, Vier ernste Gesänge, Op. 121,
No. 1 (“Denn es gehet dem Menschen”),
mm. 90–​95
FIGURE 3.4.17 Three rare state classes
FIGURE 3.4.20 Bach, Chorale No. 356, “Jesu, meine Freude,” mm. 1–​2: (a) score; (b) directed graph of
bass line; (c) Schenkerian graph
(h) Fauré, Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op. 15, II,
mm. 1–​18 (and elsewhere)
(i) Mendelssohn, Song Without Words in E
Major, Op. 38, No. 3, prevailing pattern
(j) Same piece as (i), mm. 38–​39 and 67–​68
(k) Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of
Paganini, Op. 43, Variation XIV, mm. 24–​25
(the last two measures before rehearsal 38),
in piano, flutes, oboes, and brasses
(l) Same piece as (k), Variation XIV, mm. 28–​33
(m) Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, I, mm. 116–​33
and 295–​312 (disregard subdivisions smaller
  than eighth notes)
Exercise 3.4.19 In Arvo Pärt’s Cantus in
repeatedly play the rhythm   (outlining a .
Memory of Benjamin Britten, the first violins
pulse), while the other string parts play the
( ), 4, 8, and 16. Construct a ski-​hill graph
same rhythm in augmentation by factors of 2
showing all the pulses projected in this texture.
The tubular bell, meanwhile, sounds a regular
pattern of attacks separated by 12, 12, and 24
quarter notes. How does the bell pattern fit into
the
  lattice you constructed for the string parts?
As a final example of a directed graph in this
section, consider Figure 3.4.20b, in which the
vertices are the notes in the bass line of the Bach
Chorale phrase given in (a). The arrows resemble
slurs, directed to indicate structural priority. The
various root-​ position and first-​inversion ton-
ics are analyzed as prolongations of (and hence
subordinate to) the initial tonic, so arrows point
Graphs • 105
backward from these notes to the initial D, while
other nearby notes are shown as subordinate to
the notes to which they resolve. The entire graph
takes on a suggestive quasi-​Schenkerian appear-
ance; a more traditional Schenkerian sketch is
shown for comparison in (c).50
Several aspects of this comparison merit com-
ment. First, while the digraph and the Schenkerian
graph are similar in appearance and in content,
the information they convey is not identical. The
well-​developed apparatus of Schenkerian theory
and notation includes various elements that the
digraph cannot directly accommodate. In par-
ticular, the passing motion D–​E–​F, neighboring
motion D–​C♯–​D, and Bassbrechung D–​A–​D are all
in effect ternary rather than binary relationships,
joining three elements by a single notation in a
way that is impossible in a digraph; just to con-
nect all the notes, Figure 3.4.20b requires more
arrows than 3.4.20c has slurs. Such distinctions
as beams vs. slurs and open vs. filled noteheads
are Schenkerian conventions for clarifying struc-
tural priority; these conventions are somewhat
redundant, however, as the hierarchical relation-
ships can usually be deduced without them, and
in any case some similar devices could be intro-
duced in the digraph notation.
Perhaps more importantly, while the digraph
enables the representation of these structural
relationships, it provides no guidance in deter-
mining them. Bach’s bass notes may be joined
by arrows in many different ways, most of them
musically nonsensical. Constructing a mean-
ingful representation such as 3.4.20b requires
external knowledge, an understanding of con-
cepts such as stability, prolongation, and resolu-
tion—​in short, something like the criteria used
in Schenkerian analysis. Accordingly, while the
digraph of 3.4.20b is hardly an adequate sub-
stitute for a Schenkerian analysis, it perhaps
reveals something about the structural relation-
ships implicit in such an analysis; the analysis,
while not Schenkerian in any explicit sense, is
nevertheless at least compatible with the basic
tenets of Schenkerian theory. In a similar vein,
transformational analyses, of which we will
see many in later chapters, can be compatible
with prolongational structure, and Schenkerian
concepts such as expansion, progression, and
unfolding may be considered transformational
in spirit; transformation and prolongation are
not inherently antithetical. Many scholars
have commented on questions like these, and
many hybrid transformational/​ prolongational
analyses have appeared.51 At the same time, on
106 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
occasion a well-​constructed and musically sensi-
tive directed graph may imply relationships that
violate Schenkerian principles; Exercise 3.5.2 in
the next section will offer an example.
Exercise 3.4.21 Is the precedence relation in
the graph of Figure 3.4.20b a partial order?
Is the graph a lattice? Why might the name
semilattice be appropriate for such a graph?
Discuss the implications of this semilattice
property for the graph’s depiction of musical
structure.
3.5 TRANSFORMATION
GRAPHS AND NETWORKS
Figure 3.5.1a shows a series of notes proceed-
ing alternately by descending major thirds and
ascending perfect fourths. Such a series could be
interpreted as the pattern of chord roots in the
chromatic ascending 5–​6 sequence encountered
previously in Figure 2.3.4b. We are interested
in these notes as pitch classes independent of
register. In the directed graph of Figure 3.5.1b,
the vertices are labeled with pitch classes cor-
responding to the notes of the series, and the
arrows are labeled with transposition operators
on pitch-​class space. The first diagonal arrow in
the diagram communicates the simple fact that
the transposition operator T8, applied to the
pitch class C, produces the pitch class A♭; the first
arrow in the top row shows similarly that T1(C) =​
C♯. The arrows in the graph form a repeating pat-
tern, a graphic representation of the sequential
two-​note pattern. The notes of the original series
proceed across the graph from left to right, fol-
lowing the zigzag path traced by alternating T8
and T5 arrows. The reasons for including the T1
arrows will be discussed below.52
Figure 3.5.1b is an example of a transforma-
tion network, one of many important concepts
whose analytical effectiveness was demon-
strated by David Lewin. This section offers an
introduction to transformation networks and
the related transformation graphs; Chapter 9 will
explore some of their more technical aspects. A
transformation network is a directed graph with
a particular kind of labeling: the vertices are
labeled with musical objects of some sort, and
the arrows are labeled with functions relating
those objects. A transformation network may be
thought of as a graphic extension of the func-
f
tion notation x →  y introduced in Chapter 2,
combining many objects and functions in a
single diagram—​ or, conversely, that function

FIGURE 3.5.1 (a) A pitch-​class series; (b) a T-​net
representation
notation may itself be regarded as a particu-
larly simple transformation network. Because
all of the transformations in Figure 3.5.1b are
transposition operators, this figure is a network
of an especially simple but useful type, called a
transposition network, or more briefly a T-​net. We
will soon see many examples of transformation
networks involving other kinds of objects and
mappings.53
Some of the arrows in Figure 3.5.1b—​those
labeled T8 and T5—​relate events that are con-
secutive on the musical surface of (a). The T1
arrows, in contrast, bypass intervening notes,
relating events that are not temporally adja-
cent. There are no general rules of construc-
tion for transformation networks to specify
which objects should or should not be joined by
arrows. We could, for instance, draw a new arrow
pointing from B♭ back to C in 3.5.1b, labeled T2,
without violating any rules of network construc-
tion—​even though B♭ follows C by some distance
in the music. There seems no good reason to add
this arrow, however, unless we are prepared to
assert some structurally or perceptually signifi-
cant relationship between these two notes or
chords. Perhaps more sensibly, if the musical
sequence ends at the note E, we might choose to
include an arrow labeled T4 from C to E, showing
the major-​third relationship between the start-
ing and ending points. The choice of arrows to
be included in a transformation network reflects
a series of conscious decisions on the part of the
analyst, and as such becomes an important part
of the analytical process. The arrows in 3.5.1b
are oriented to indicate chronological order,
always pointing from earlier events to later ones,
and the vertices in the graph have been arranged
from left to right in this order also—​but these
are deliberate choices, not necessarily appropri-
ate in every network. The T1 arrows are included
because, even though consecutive notes are not
related by T1, these transformations clarify the
relationships between two-​note groups and out-
line a chromatic ascent that is probably a clearly
audible feature of any musical passage in which
this series occurs.
Exercise 3.5.2 Add arrows to Figure 3.5.1a
corresponding to the arrows of 3.5.1b. If the
arrows are regarded as slurs, would all of these
slurs be permissible in a proper Schenkerian
graph? Does this observation make you want
to remove any arrows? Which ones, if any,
would you omit? Is any important information
sacrificed
   in doing so?54
Although arrows in a transformation network
may be included or omitted at the discretion of
the analyst, one firm rule must be observed.
We call this rule the label consistency requirement;
f
it demands that if an arrow x →  y appears in a
network, then it must be the case that f(x) =​ y.
Simply put, a transformation network must tell
the truth. The arrow from C to C♯ in Figure 3.5.1b
is labeled T1, and indeed T1(C) =​C♯ is a true state-
ment. If this arrow were labeled, say, T9 instead,
the network would be asserting that T9(C) =​C♯;
such a falsehood violates label consistency and is
disallowed in a proper transformation network.
If we for some reason decide to add an arrow
from B♭ to C, the only transposition operator
that can permissibly be used to label that arrow
is T2. (Other kinds of functions could map B♭ to
C, such as inversion about B, or the function x →
7x +​2 (mod 12) on pitch-​class numbers. These
functions may appear in transformation net-
works—​but such a network would no longer be
a T-​net.)
Figure 3.5.3 shows several variants on the
network from 3.5.1b, introducing some refine-
ments to the notation that are useful on occa-
sion (though these conventions are not observed
consistently in the transformational literature).
Figure 3.5.3a distinguishes between what may
be called direct and indirect transformations.
Direct transformations are those relating imme-
diately adjacent musical events; these are the
T8 and T5 arrows, unchanged from the previous
network. Indirect transformations, here the T1
transpositions, are shown by dashed arrows,
signaling connections between events not liter-
ally adjacent in the music. Directness and indi-
rectness are not properties of transformations
as functions, but rather characteristics of the
way transformations model events in a musical
context. The distinction is not necessarily always
of analytical interest, nor is it always clearly
Graphs • 107
defined: we will see many transformation net-
works that do not reflect temporal organization
at all. (Also, we reserve the right to use dashed
arrows for other purposes from time to time.)
Nevertheless, whenever the difference is mean-
ingful, the graphic convention of 3.5.3a may be
useful: one can immediately perceive the order
of events in the music by tracing the path of
the solid arrows, while the inclusion of indirect
transformations preserves the ability to make
analytical observations involving widely sepa-
rated events.
Parts (b) and (c) of Figure 3.5.3 group the
two-​note segments within bubbles, and show
the T1 transpositions acting not on individual
notes but on the bubbles—​that is, on two notes
at a time. This notation captures our intuition
that the chromatic ascent operates at the level of
two-​note groups. Each interbubble T1 arrow may
be interpreted as a shorthand for two separate
→ C ♯ and A ♭ 
T1 T1
T1 arrows (C  → a in the case
of the first T1 arrow in (b)), each of which maps a
pitch class in one bubble to the correspondingly
positioned pitch class in the other. Other trans-
formations now appear as arrows within bubbles:
T8 in (b) and T5 in (c). The pattern of these intra-
bubble arrows is the same in every bubble in a
network. The bubble technique may be applied
FIGURE 3.5.3 Alternate notations for the T-​net
of Figure 3.5.1b
108 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
to larger groupings of objects as an efficient
way of showing that one extended passage is a
transposition (or some other transformation)
of another, in a less cluttered way than would
be required to show all the arrows between indi-
vidual objects. Drawing the bubbled groupings
may require decisions about segmentation, as a
comparison of the alternative versions in (b) and
(c) illustrates, and an incomplete bubble may
sometimes appear at the beginning or end of a
pattern. The T5 arrows have been omitted from
(b) and the T8 arrows from (c), but these could be
added (at the risk of reintroducing some visual
complexity to the figures), not as arrows acting
on entire bubbles but as arrows pointing from
one note in one bubble to a different note in the
next.55
Networks incorporating several transforma-
tions typically reveal something about how the
transformations interact. We will study the alge-
braic properties of various transformations at
length in later chapters, but one straightforward
property of transpositions on pitch-​class space is
relevant here, namely the equation TmTn =​ Tm +​ n,
where the sum m +​ n in the subscript is calcu-
lated mod 12. (As always when combining func-
tions, TmTn denotes composition in left-​to-​right
order, Tm ● Tn—​though in this case the order
does not matter because the transpositions com-
mute.) For example, T8T5 =​ T1, because 8 +​5 =​
1 (mod 12). This equation is implicit in the first
triangle in Figure 3.5.1b, which incorporates two
different directed paths from C to C♯: a single
arrow labeled T1, and a path of length 2 labeled
with the transpositions T8 and T5. Because T8T5
and T1 are the same function, these two paths,
starting at the same point, are guaranteed to
arrive at the same pitch class. The T1 arrow is in
some sense redundant, as the transposition it
represents may be deduced from the other two
arrows—​but this redundancy is not necessar-
ily undesirable if one wishes to call attention to
multiple relationships in a single graph.
The bubble notation in Figure 3.5.3b–​ c
also reflects—​ indeed, depends on—​ certain
transformational properties. As noted above,
→ C♯
T1
the first T1 in (b) implies both C 
and A ♭ 
T1→ a. It follows, then, that there are
two different transformational paths from
→ C♯ 
T1 T8
C to A: a path C  → a and a second
path C  T8
→ A ♭ T1→ a with the same two tran­
spositions but in the opposite order. Of course,
T1T8 and T8T1 are the same function: both are
equal to T9. The fact that T1 and T8 commute,
that is, is implicit in the bubble notation. For the
bubble technique to work as it does here, each
interbubble transformation must commute with
all intrabubble transformations in the bubbles on
which it acts. Pitch-​class transpositions always
commute with each other, so bubble notation
may be used freely in T-​nets. In other situations,
however, this notation may be problematic, for
we shall see many examples of non-​commut-
ing transformations (even transpositions fail to
commute with some other transformations).56

Exercise 3.5.4 How is the commutativity of

T5 and T8 apparent in the original T-​net of
Figure
   3.5.1b?

Figure 3.5.3d shows one more variation

on the T-​net of 3.5.1b. The notes are arranged
as before, but the arrows have been reversed.
Correspondingly, each transformation has been
replaced by its inverse: the original T8, T5, and
T1 are now T4, T7, and T11 respectively. This sub-
stitution is consistent with the logic of inverse
f
functions: if x → y and g is the inverse g
func-
tion of f, then it is also true that y  → x . It
would be possible to rearrange the vertices so
that the arrows once again point from left to
right, but the arrangement shown here, which
preserves the original position of each pitch
class, shows the derivation of the new network
from the old more clearly. The network in 3.5.3d
may be called the reverse of the T-​net of 3.5.1b.
If the original note series was given in a tempo-
ral ordering, then the arrows in 3.5.3d trace that
ordering in retrograde (we refrain from using
the word retrograde for reversed networks gen-
erally, because not every network represents a
temporal series). Because some functions have
no inverses, some transformation networks
cannot be reversed. If every transformation in
a network has an inverse, we call the network
reversible. Transposition operators always have
inverses, so every T-​net is reversible.
Figure 3.5.5a reproduces the T-​net from
3.5.1b, and 3.5.5b shows a very similar T-​net.
Both T-​nets have the same configuration of ver-
tices and arrows, and even the same transfor-
mational labels on the arrows. The pitch classes
appearing as vertex labels, however, are differ-
ent. Musically, the series in (b) is simply a trans-
position of that in (a); one may imagine drawing
large bubbles around both networks and con-
necting the two bubbles by an arrow labeled T7.
The structure that the two T-​nets share
is shown in Figure 3.5.5c. This figure is not a
transformation network, because its vertices
FIGURE 3.5.5 Two transformation networks
and their underlying transformation graph
are unlabeled. Because of the absence of vertex
labels, Figure 3.5.5c stands in relation to (a)
and (b) as the abstract graph of 3.1.2 stands in
relation to the hexatonic triad graph of 3.1.1,
or as the state class of 3.4.14 stands in relation
to metric states (c) and (e) of 3.4.12. A digraph
such as 3.5.5c, whose arrows bear transforma-
tional labels but whose vertices are unlabeled, is
a transformation graph.
The careful distinction between transforma-
tion network and transformation graph was drawn
by Lewin. This distinction has been retained by
most recent practitioners of transformation
theory, and we will observe it throughout this
book (although the word graph by itself may
refer to a transformation network, which after
all is still a kind of graph). A transformation
graph, like Figure 3.5.5c, is the more abstract of
the two constructions: it shows relationships
among objects without specifying precisely
what those objects are. A transformation graph
may be likened to a network that has forgotten
its vertex labels, remembering only the arrow
labels. Abstract transformation graphs are use-
ful because the relationships are sometimes of
greater or more general interest than the objects
on which they act, and because it is common (as
in Figure 3.5.5a–​b) for two or more networks
to share the same graph structure. A trans-
formation network, like (a) or (b), is more con-
crete, bringing the graph to life in a real musical

Graphs • 109
setting. We call (c) the underlying transformation
graph of the networks in (a) and (b), and say
that each of those networks realizes the graph.
If the transformation labels are removed from a
transformation graph, the result is a still more
abstract structure, an unlabeled directed graph;
we call this the underlying digraph of both the
transformation graph and the transformation
network, both of which realize the digraph.
Following the discussion of isomorphism in
Section 3.2, the reader may suspect that the two
transformation networks of Figure 3.5.5a–​b are
isomorphic. Indeed they are—​but isomorphism
of transformation graphs and networks is a com-
plex subject, as several different types of isomor-
phism and the related concept of isography may
be defined for these structures. Some of these
concepts require an understanding of group-​the-
oretic properties of transformations, so a general
discussion of this subject is deferred until Section
9.3. The two networks of Figure 3.5.5a–​b, how-
ever, exhibit a particularly close relationship,
one that is easy to describe. These two T-​nets
are strongly isographic, which means simply that
they share the same underlying transformation
graph, including the arrow labels. More explic-
itly, the underlying digraphs are isomorphic (as
defined previously for directed graphs), and cor-
responding arrows in the two digraphs bear iden-
tical transformational labels. (To say that the
underlying transformation graphs of strongly
isographic networks must be “identical” is poten-
tially misleading, because in keeping with the
general notion of graph isomorphism, it is pos-
sible that the visual arrangements of the vertices
in the two graphs may be very different—​as we
observed previously with the various versions of
the hexatonic triad graph.)57
Figure 3.5.6 shows another T-​net resem-
bling those of Figure 3.5.5, but with some dif-
ferent transformations. The pitch-​ class series
here descends by perfect fifths, as indicated by
the T5 arrows. If these are chord roots in a har-
monic sequence, it is the familiar chromatic
FIGURE 3.5.6 Another T-​net
110 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
descending-​fifths sequence; this sequence pat-
tern is also sometimes called a “descending-​seconds
sequence” based on the relationship between
two-​chord segments, indicated here by the T10
arrows. Some structural likenesses between
Figure 3.5.6 and the previous networks are obvi-
ous, and it is evident that similar networks could
be constructed for other sequence patterns.
Nevertheless, as a transformation network,
Figure 3.5.6 is not strongly isographic to 3.5.5a,
because of the different transformational labels.
These two networks are not even isographic in the
more general group-​theoretic sense to be defined
in Chapter 9, which would require, loosely speak-
ing, that corresponding transformations play
corresponding roles in the group structure.
Because the arrows labeled T5 in Figure 3.5.6 cor-
respond to arrows bearing two different labels in
3.5.5a, no bijective mapping between the trans-
formations involved in the two networks is possi-
ble. The strongest statement that can be made in
comparing the graph structures of Figures 3.5.5a
and 3.5.6 is that the underlying digraphs of the
two networks are isomorphic.
Exercise 3.5.7 Each series of notes below
is the series of chord roots in a chromatic
sequence. Construct a T-​net representing each
sequence. Make multiple versions of each
graph, experimenting with direct and indirect
transformations and bubble notation. What
equation of functional composition, analogous
to T8T5 =​ T1 in Figure 3.5.1b, is applicable in
each case? Are any of these networks strongly
isographic to any from Figures 3.5.1–​3.5.6?58
(a) Beethoven, String Quartet in B♭ Major,
Op. 18, No. 6, IV, mm. 21–​25:
E–​F♯–​B–​C♯–​F♯–​G♯–​C♯–​E♭–​A♭
(b) Liszt, Etudes d’exécution transcendante,
No. 8, “Wilde Jagd,” mm. 178–​84:
E–​A♭–​E♭–​G–​D–​F♯–​D♭–​F–​C
(c) Dvořák, Symphony No. 7 in D Minor,
Op. 70, IV, mm. 233–​41:
F–​B–​B♭–​E–​E♭–​A–​A♭–​D–​C♯
(d) Rimsky-​Korsakov, Scheherazade, I, mm. 30–​39:
  C♯–​E–​B♭–​E♭–​G♭–​C–​F–​A♭–​D–​G–​B♭–​E–​A
Many of the graphs in the remainder of this
book will be transformation graphs and net-
works. Moreover, it is not unusual for a graph to
have the implicit structure of a transformation
graph or network even if no transformations
are explicitly indicated. To illustrate this point,
Figure 3.5.8 revisits four graphs introduced ear-
lier in this chapter and recasts them in the form
of transformation networks, demonstrating that
transformational structure was effectively pres-
ent in these graphs all along. Part (a) reproduces
the finite tonnetz from Figure 3.3.10b with the
addition of transposition labels T3, T4, and T7
on the triangulating edges; the tonnetz is now
a T-​net. The arrowheads, not present in previous
tonnetz figures, are needed here in order to indi-
cate which way the transpositions operate.
Figure 3.5.8b is the hexatonic cycle from
3.1.3c. Adjacent triads in this cycle are related
by the transformations P (parallel) and L (leit-
tonwechsel) in alternation. Both P and L are
involutions (they are their own inverses), so the
transformational relationships are appropriately
indicated with bidirectional arrows; as an alter-
native, the arrowheads could be omitted entirely.
Figure 3.5.8c reworks a portion of the ski-​hill
lattice from 3.4.10. The note values labeling
the vertices have been replaced with numerical
equivalents, taking the quarter note to have value
1, and the transformations shown are multiplica-
tion by 2 (labeled ×2) and by 3 (×3). As before,
FIGURE 3.5.8 Four transformation networks: (a) a tonnetz; (b) a hexatonic cycle; (c) a ski-​hill lattice;
(d) a network showing relationships among twelve-​tone rows
we may imagine the diagram extended to form an
infinite lattice, generated by repeating the same
pattern of transformations. Finally, Figure 3.5.8d
is the cubic graph of row forms from 3.2.3. The
transformations T6, I, and R were already shown
in 3.2.3, but they have now been incorporated
into the network as labels on the arrows.
Exercise 3.5.9 Show how discrete chromatic
pitch-​class space pc (Figure 1.2.3) and the circle
of fifths (1.3.1) may both be regarded as simple
transformation networks. (One transposition
operator, repeated many times, suffices for each
network.)
Exercise 3.5.10
(a) The T6 arrows in Figure 3.5.8d are
bidirectional, but the T arrows in most
other transformation networks we have
encountered were not (and could not have
been). Why? What is the only Tn other than
T6 that can be represented this way?
(b) All four transformation networks in
Figure 3.5.8 are reversible. Construct the
reverse of each network. In two cases,
Graphs • 111
 the reverse is identical to the original
network. What special property of these
  two networks makes this possible?
Exercise 3.5.11
(a) The hexatonic cycle of Figures 3.1.3c and
3.5.8b was originally a subgraph of the
hexatonic triad graph of Figure 3.1.1. There
is not an obvious way to interpret the entire
hexatonic triad graph as a transformation
network, because it includes augmented
triads, and no standard transformations
relate major or minor triads to augmented
triads. With some machinations, however,
it is possible to recast this graph as a
transformation network. Define a function
Aug on the domain of major and minor
triads as follows: applied to a major triad,
Aug raises the fifth of the chord by a
semitone, and applied to a minor triad, Aug
lowers the root by a semitone. Using Aug
as well as P and L, redraw Figure 3.1.1 as a
transformation network. Every edge should
be an arrow, either one-​or two-​headed,
with a transformational label.
(b) Is the function Aug one-​to-​one? Does it
have an inverse function? Is the network
you constructed in part (a) reversible?
How can you see the answers to all of these
questions immediately by looking at the
  network?
Exercise 3.5.12 In Exercise 3.4.15c you
observed that isomorphism of directed
graphs does not capture the relation of shape
equivalence on metric states in the ski-​hill
lattice. Does strong isography of transformation
networks capture that equivalence? That is, is it
true that two metric states, as subnetworks of
Figure 3.5.8c, have the same shape if and only if
they
   are strongly isographic?
Occasionally a single graph may have two
substantially different interpretations. Figure
3.5.8c was presented as a network of durations,
a construction in the time domain—​ but the
same graph may be interpreted instead as a pitch
space, by reading the vertex labels as frequencies
(based, for example, on middle C =​1) rather than
durations. In effect the ski-​hill graph becomes a
kind of tonnetz, one whose generating intervals
are pure octaves (ratio 2) and perfect twelfths
(ratio 3). The perfect fifth (3 2 ) arises through
combination of a twelfth and an octave, so the
same frequencies may be considered to have
112 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
been generated instead by octaves and fifths. In
fact, the following exercise shows that the ski-​
hill graph, regarded as a pitch space in this way,
is essentially equivalent to a pitch space con-
structed in a previous exercise.59
Exercise 3.5.13 Redraw Figure 3.5.8c using
pitch names—​more precisely, signed registral
letter names (as in Figure 1.1.11). If the vertex
labeled 1 in 3.5.8c is relabeled C4, then 2 will be
C5 (an octave higher), and 1 3 will be F2 (a perfect
twelfth lower). Compare this diagram of signed
registral letter space with the Pythagorean pitch
space
   you constructed in Exercise 2.3.25.
Example 3.5.14: Webern, “Herr Jesus mein”
Figure 3.5.8d, in its original incarnation as
Figure 3.2.3, was described as comprising
the row forms in Webern’s Op. 23 songs. This
abstract cube, however, tells us little about the
events of those songs. We conclude this chapter
by examining the row forms in the opening
measures of the third song from Op. 23, “Herr
Jesus mein,” with the aim of suggesting some
ways in which a transformation network may be
laid out to capture the narrative structure of a
musical composition.
Figure 3.5.15a shows the first two row
forms in the voice in “Herr Jesus mein” and
the first six in the piano, together occupying
approximately mm. 1–​7 (about the first quarter
of the song). Rows are presented linearly
in both the voice and the piano. The piano
states RI6 before the voice enters, then plays
RI0 and P0 during the vocal statement of P0.
Two statements of P0 are therefore heard
concurrently; the last seven notes of this
row form are stated at the same pitch levels
in both the voice and the piano, and in close
temporal proximity. The second vocal row,
R6, is accompanied by two rows in the piano,
R0 and P6, and the beginning of another,
I6. The figure lays out these eight row forms
in score order, showing transformational
relationships between the two rows in the
voice, between successive rows in the piano,
and between simultaneous rows in the two
parts. Recall the notational convention by
which we distinguish boldface row form
labels from italic transformational labels. The
transformations appearing here are those in
Figure 3.5.8d: T6, I, and R, and combinations of
those. In fact, 3.5.8d may be used to deduce the
transformational relationship between any two
of the eight row forms appearing there. These
transformations all commute with each other,60
so the composite transformations labeled RT6
and RI in 3.5.15a could equally well have been
labeled T6R and IR.
Figure 3.5.15b maps the same passage in
a different way. The layout here matches the
cube of 3.5.8d. The chain of arrows depicting
the piano’s row forms begins at RI6, traverses
an edge of the cube to the adjacent RI0, then
crosses a face diagonally to arrive at P0, the
vertex at the antipodal corner of the cube from
the RI6 starting point, and a location by now
already staked out by the voice. The voice and
piano then diverge again, moving away from P0
to two transpositionally related R forms. The
last three row forms in the piano form a pattern
that neatly reverses the first three, moving again
from one corner of the cube (R0) to the antipodal
corner (I6), this time traversing first a face
diagonal and then an edge. The concurrent row in
the voice, R6, is directly adjacent to the first two
of these three piano rows. The five arrows traced
by the piano form a symmetrical pattern, edge–​
diagonal–​edge–​diagonal–​edge. Transformations
that trace edges of the cube are the simple
twelve-​tone operations T6, R, and I (each of
which occurs exactly once in this passage),
while the face diagonals correspond to pairwise
FIGURE 3.5.15 Two transformation networks for Webern, “Herr Jesus mein,” Op. 23, No. 3, mm.
1–​7: (a) an event network; (b) a spatial network
combinations of these. Antipodal corners of the
cube are related by the triple composition RIT6,
but no such transformation occurs between
immediately successive or simultaneous rows in
these opening measures. (Only once in the song
does the voice negotiate this transformation,
leaping cross-​cube to an antipodal corner. This
is at the very end: the last two vocal rows in the
song are P0 and RI6, matching the first row in the
voice and the first in the piano. The piano ends
the song with this same pair of antipodal rows.)
Several details of the two networks of Figure
3.5.15 are instructive, as are the relationships
between the two. Both the event network of (a)
and the spatial network of (b) have their own
strengths and shortcomings, and both strategies
were of great interest to David Lewin.61 The
vertices of (a) correspond to events (rows) in
the music, and the left-​to-​right chronology of
this figure displays the narrative structure of
the piece; it is a blow-​by-​blow account, showing
with some precision what happens and when,
even (with the aid of a background grid of
measures, and boxes indicating the extent of
row statements) the temporal duration of each
row and brief overlaps between rows in the
piano. The spatial network in (b) shows these
chronological aspects less clearly, instead laying
Graphs • 113
out an abstract space of row forms—​the same
space as in Figures 3.2.3 and 3.5.8d. This space,
which we may call the underlying space of Figure
3.5.15b’s network, functions as a sort of game
board on which the music moves about; vertices
represent not events but points in this abstract
space.
If Figure 3.5.15a shows what happens
in Webern’s song, 3.5.15b offers a more
comprehensive picture of what might have
happened, and of the choices that Webern
made from the alternatives available to him.
This second figure encourages us to attend to
structural relationships that might otherwise
have escaped our notice; moreover, the relative
positions of row forms in the cube perhaps
make the transformational relationships more
palpable, less abstract than the arrow labels in
(a). A glance at (b) shows that one row form, P0,
appears in both the voice and the piano in these
opening measures, and that another potentially
available row form, I0, has yet to appear at
all. Another asset of (b) is that the same
spatial organization may be used in analyzing
other pieces, as long as all the row forms are
related by T6, I, and R. These advantages could,
however, become drawbacks as the analysis is
extended. It is clear how (a) could be expanded
to a larger network that encompasses the entire
piece, but the scheme of (b) quickly becomes
unworkable as the same row forms are visited
multiple times; a series of such diagrams, or an
animation, would be required to show even this
brief song in its entirety.62
Exercise 3.5.16 Study the score of “Herr
Jesus mein.” Following the suggestions in the
preceding paragraph, construct a single event
network, and a series of spatial networks,
spanning
   the entire song.63
The recent music theory literature includes
many transformation networks and other graphs
displaying an enormous variety of organiza-
tional precepts and graphic techniques. At this
juncture the reader may enjoy browsing through
the figures in the later chapters of this book to
sample the flavors of some of these graphs.
NOTES
1. In this book, when appended as a superscript to
a note name, the symbol +​represents an augmented
triad. Some authors use the notation C+​ for a C-​major
triad, in opposition to the minor triad C−. We will avoid
114 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
using this convention with note names, although we
will sometimes use it with pitch-​class numbers (so
that 0+​and 0− may in some contexts stand for C-​major
and C-​minor triads).
2. Hexatonic systems, explored in Cohn 1996,
play important roles in neo-​Riemannian theory, to be
detailed in Chapter 8. In Chapter 10 we will use exten-
sions of the hexatonic triad graph to motivate our
study of voice-​leading spaces.
3. Graph theory texts sometimes distinguish
between paths and walks: a walk is allowed to revisit
the same vertex of the original graph more than once,
while all the vertices in a path must be distinct. We
shall not observe this distinction here.
4. Measuring the length of a path by counting
edges rather than vertices is conceptually similar to
measuring the size of an interval by counting steps
rather than notes, as described in Section 1.1.
5. The Brahms example is discussed in Cohn
1996, 13–​15.
6. Spanning cycles are also known as Hamiltonian
cycles, after Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1805–​
1865), an Irish physicist, astronomer, and mathema-
tician who studied the surprisingly difficult general
problem of determining whether such a cycle exists in
a graph or not.
7. Hint for Exercise 3.1.11b: Imagine the chord
progression successively traversing edges of Figure
3.1.10, starting at C major. It is often useful to imag-
ine that the vertices of a bipartite graph are colored
using two different colors.
8. Finding a simple criterion for determining
whether a graph is planar was a tantalizing unsolved
problem in graph theory until Kazimierz Kuratowski
provided such a criterion in 1930. For Kuratowski’s
theorem and related results see Chapter 11 of Harary
1969 or Chapter 10 of Bondy and Murty 2008.
9. The term face is not defined in general for graphs
that are not embedded in a plane, although it is pos-
sible to define faces for some particular graphs in
higher dimensions, such as the hypercube of Exercise
3.1.18 below.
10. Hint for Exercise 3.1.12b: For a connected graph,
c =​1. For the graph of Figure 3.1.3e, c =​4 and f =​1. To
modify the formula v +​ f =​ e +​2 so that it works for
connected graphs, one need only replace the number 2
by a simple expression involving c.
11. In mathematics, the term dual appears in a
variety of settings, in reference to symmetrical rela-
tionships obtaining between two structures of which
one is formed from the other by interchanging certain
kinds of opposed elements (such as the vertices and
faces of a graph). In set theory, the two de Morgan
laws (see Exercise 2.1.3) illustrate a kind of duality
between the union and intersection operations. Other
manifestations of mathematical duality appear in
logic, Boolean algebra, projective geometry, and group
theory; a form of group-​theoretic duality will emerge
in our study of interval spaces (see Theorem 7.5.24).
Duality also plays important roles in modern phys-
ics, especially the wave-​particle duality of quantum
mechanics. The most famous duality in music theory
is the harmonic function theory of Hugo Riemann
(inspired by Moritz Hauptmann and others), in which
the dominant function is dual to the subdominant,
and major and minor chords, scales, and keys are seen
as mirror images of each other. We shall touch upon
some aspects of Riemann’s theories in later chapters;
for a thorough examination of its dualistic aspects see
Harrison 1994. Duality has also been linked to the
ideas of philosophers such as Hegel, who contended
that all processes result from the conflict of opposites.
12. The other three Platonic polyhedra are the tet-
rahedron (4 vertices, 6 edges, 4 triangular faces), the
dodecahedron (20 vertices, 30 edges, 12 pentagonal
faces), and the icosahedron (12 vertices, 30 edges, 20
triangular faces). The dodecahedron and icosahedron
are dual to each other in the same way as the cube and
octahedron, while the tetrahedron is dual to itself. For
graphs of all five, see Bondy and Murty 2008, 21.
13. Hint for Exercise 3.1.17: The graphs in parts
(a) and (b) are fairly simple; (c) is somewhat more
complex. In (c), try arranging the four minor-​minor
seventh chords in a square, positioning the dominant
seventh chords outside the square and the half-​dimin-
ished seventh chords inside; ideally, the shape of the
graph should have fourfold rotational symmetry, with
T3-​related chords positioned 90 degrees apart. All of
the graphs in this exercise, and the hexatonic triad
graph itself, are subgraphs of graphs presented in
Douthett and Steinbach 1998, some of which we will
encounter in later chapters.
14. Hints for Exercise 3.1.18: You can find the octa-
tonic seventh-​chord hypercube by looking ahead to
Figure 11.5.1b, but it is a good exercise to construct
it yourself. As noted in Chapter 2, spaces of more
than three dimensions are difficult to visualize and
impossible to construct physically. Nevertheless, it
is not difficult to draw a graph of a four-​dimensional
hypercube on a two-​dimensional sheet of paper. One
way to do this is to place graphs of two three-​dimen-
sional cubes similar to Figure 3.1.7 next to each other,
and draw additional edges connecting corresponding
vertices of the two cubes. In part (b), you should find
that the chords represented by the hypercube include
two additional chord types besides those of the origi-
nal octatonic seventh-​chord graph. In (c), each face
and facet may be obtained by fixing some voices while
allowing the others to vary by semitone. The facets are
ordinary three-​dimensional cubes.
15. Hint for Exercise 3.2.2: In constructing an iso-
morphism from 3.2.1a to 3.2.1b, one can choose to
map vertex v1 to any of the six vertices of 3.2.1b. That
choice does not completely determine an isomor-
phism, however, so the number of possible isomor-
phisms is greater than 6. Generally, the number of
possible isomorphisms is a measure of the symmetry
of a graph. When asymmetrical graphs are isomor-
phic, only a single isomorphism may be possible, but
for symmetrical graphs there may be a large number.
We shall see in Chapters 5–​6 that group theory plays a
role in graph isomorphisms, shedding particular light
on questions involving symmetry.
16. The row numbering here is that of Bailey 1991,
339, 372–​73 (where a detailed row analysis of the
three songs may be found). The symmetrical distribu-
tion of Webern’s row choices ensures that the same
eight row form designations would appear in the
graph if any of the other seven row forms appearing
here were called P0. Bailey’s row numbering is based
on a movable-​0 system; the first note of P0 is A♭, not C.
In a fixed-​0 system, the row designated P0 here would
be P8, and the graph would consist of row forms bear-
ing the index numbers 8 and 2 rather than 0 and 6,
but the relationships described in the graph would be
unaffected. For a general discussion of how row names
are altered by such changes of “coordinate system,” see
Section 9.5.
17. Here R denotes the retrograde transformation,
applicable to twelve-​tone rows or other ordered sets;
elsewhere we use the same symbol for the relative
transformation on triads. Because the domains on
which these two functions are defined do not inter-
sect, there should be little danger of confusion.
18. Both Figure 3.1.7 and Figure 3.2.3 are transfor-
mation networks generated by groups of transforma-
tions; the graphs are isomorphic because the groups are
isomorphic. See Exercises 6.4.8 and 6.4.9.
19. Hint for Exercise 3.2.6: There are many ways to
construct such a counterexample. The graphs in your
example need not have any particular musical signifi-
cance, but for a musical example, consider two different
ways of partitioning chromatic pitch-​class space into
two cycles, not necessarily of the same size. To make the
exercise a bit more challenging, see if you can construct
an example in which both graphs are connected (so the
number of components is 1). Harder still, construct an
example in which both graphs are connected and regular.
20. Terminology for graphs with loops and multiple
edges is not standardized. Harary 1969 reserves the
term graph for graphs without loops or multiple edges;
a multigraph may have multiple edges but no loops,
while a pseudograph may have either or both. In Bondy
and Murty 2008, all of these are called graphs, and a
graph with no loops or multiple edges is called simple.
Graphs • 115
None of these terms will be used in this book; most of
our graphs will have no loops or multiple edges, and
these will generally be noted when they appear.
21. Straus’s graph, which does not include the
loops, appears in Straus 2003, 337; Straus 2005b, 52;
and Straus 2016, 180.
22. Hint for Exercise 3.3.4: This graph is not very
interesting! Many published set-​class tables omit the
dyadic set classes, better known as interval classes 1–​
6. As set classes, their prime forms are 01, 02, …, 06.
A form of this graph appears in Straus 2005b, 51. A
closely related space will be studied in Chapter 11; see
Figure 11.2.12c.
23. Hints for Exercise 3.3.5: Seven multiset
classes must be added to the graph: six dyads with
doublings, and the multiset class 000, representing
a three-​voice unison. The full graph should have 19
vertices and 41 edges, including five loops. The mul-
tiset classes can be seen along with the traditional
set classes in Figure 11.4.12 of this book as well as
in Figure 10 in Callender 2004, though they appear
in both cases as reference points in a continuous
space rather than as vertices of a discrete graph. In
Section 10.4 we will develop a general theory of nor-
mal forms that justifies the use of labels such as 004
for multiset classes.
24. The common-​tone properties of the hexatonic
cycle depicted in Figure 3.3.6 are summarized in
Cohn 1996, 19. The hexatonic pole relation and other
aspects of hexatonic cycles will be explored in more
detail in Section 8.2.
25. Hints for Exercise 3.3.8: The common-​tone
graph corresponding to Exercise 3.1.17a (the octa-
tonic triad graph) is planar; draw a planar embed-
ding if you can. The graph corresponding to Exercise
3.1.17b (the enneatonic seventh-chord graph) is not
planar. This graph will include some single, some
double, and some triple edges, because a pair of sev-
enth chords may share as many as three common
tones. Instead of drawing double and triple edges,
you may choose to draw them all as single edges
labeled with the number 1, 2, or 3 as appropriate.
Counting all the multiple edges, the total number
of edges in this graph should be 54. To calculate
the number of edges required for the common-​tone
graph corresponding to Exercise 3.1.17c, figure the
number of edges incident with one dominant sev-
enth chord and multiply by 4 (the number of domi-
nant seventh chords in the graph); do the same for
a minor-​minor and a half-​diminished seventh chord;
add up these three numbers; and then divide by 2.
Why is the last step necessary?
26. Some authors restrict the term graph to finite
graphs only. For a survey article on infinite graphs see
Thomassen 1983.
116 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
27. Hint for Exercise 3.3.11b: Of the six yes-​no
questions in this exercise, exactly two should be
answered yes.
28. The non-​planarity of the finite tonnetz graph
is alluded to in London 2002, 136, but a formal proof
is not given.
29. Several different proofs of the non-​planarity of
K5 may be found in the graph theory literature. The
proof outlined in this exercise, using Euler’s formula,
is based on Harary 1969, 103–​04. For an entirely dif-
ferent proof, see Bondy and Murty 2008, 245. K5 is
one of two small “forbidden subgraphs” for planar
graphs; the other is the complete bipartite graph K3,3,
which may be defined as the graph on six vertices par-
titioned into two sets u1, u2, u3 and v1, v2, v3, such that
each u vertex is adjacent to each v vertex.
30. Hint for Exercise 3.3.15a: The formula you are
seeking is valid in every fully triangulated planar
graph. As an example, you may find it helpful to con-
sult the planar embedding you constructed in Exercise
3.3.7a. (Replace the double edges with single edges.)
If you solved that exercise correctly, you should have
a graph all of whose faces are triangles. Does the rela-
tion 3f =​ e hold in that graph?
31. Hint for Exercise 3.3.15a: The vertices are
easy to count; edges and faces are trickier. Each of
the broken edges appears in Figure 3.3.10b in two
pieces, so if you count the pieces, you should count
only one of each pair. As an alternative approach
to counting the edges, you may take advantage of
the fact that the tonnetz graph is regular, with six
edges meeting at each vertex. If you multiply the
number of vertices by 6, you will have counted every
edge twice, so the number of edges should be just
half of that number. See if you can find an analo-
gous method for counting the faces, based on the
fact that every face is bounded by three edges. Still
another approach would be to count the musical
objects represented by the vertices, edges, and faces
of the graph; for instance, each edge corresponds to
one instance of interval class 3, 4, or 5.
32. For uses of the Euler characteristic in graph
theory and the general problem of embedding graphs
in surfaces, see Harary 1969, 116–​20 or Bondy and
Murty 2008, 275–​81. For a more general discussion of
the Euler characteristic in topology, see Weeks 2020,
157–​78.
33. Figure 3.4.1 may be compared with similar dia-
grams in Chapter 7 of Kostka, Payne, and Almén 2018;
with Figure 8.1 in Gauldin 2004, 121; with the “table
of usual root progressions” in Piston 1987, 23; and
with the recent theories of Tymoczko (2011, 226–​30).
While pedagogically useful, such flowchart-​style maps
of functional harmony have been criticized on several
grounds. For one thing, they are inevitably incomplete.
To include even such common phenomena as iii and vii
chords and plagal and deceptive motion would require
so many additions to Figure 3.4.1 that the graph would
become unduly complex, running a risk of suggest-
ing that “anything is possible.” Other objections run
deeper, pointing out, for instance, that in their focus on
chord-​to-​chord connections and root motion these dia-
grams disregard underlying prolongational and voice-​
leading concerns. In presenting this figure as a first
example of a directed graph, our interest is less with the
musical merits of the diagram than with its properties
as a graph. For an alternative graphical model of func-
tional harmonic progressions see Figure 4.3.8.
34. Lewin ([1987] 2007, 193) uses the term node/​
arrow system rather than directed graph.
35. Hint for Exercise 3.4.4b–​c: To specify an isomor-
phism completely, you must indicate exactly how the
vertices of one graph are mapped to the vertices of the
other. That is, for every vertex v in one graph, which
vertex in the other graph is f(v)? There may be more
than one possible isomorphism, and therefore more
than one possible choice of f(v) for some vertices v, but
you need only define one isomorphism completely,
being sure to verify that your bijection preserves the
direction of all arrows.
36. The arrow relation in a directed graph need
not be transitive; the graphs of Figure 3.4.3 include
arrows e → C and C → C+​ but not e → C+​. The pre-
cedence relation may be called the transitive closure of
the arrow relation: it is the minimal transitive relation
that includes all the arrows.
37. For a survey of the theory of order relations,
see Stoll 1979, 48–​55.
38. There are alternative ways to define lattices
based purely on set theory or Boolean algebra with
no reference to graphs. See, for example, Stoll 1979,
248–​54. The graph of a lattice is sometimes called a
Hasse diagram.
39. Abstract subset “lattices” are intimately con-
nected with Allen Forte’s theory of K and Kh rela-
tions. See Morris 1997 for discussion, examples, and
analytical applications.
40. Hint for Exercise 3.4.9c: Such a lattice can arise
as a sublattice of Figure 3.4.6a—​ for example, by
regarding the elements 0 and 1 as an inseparable pair,
and considering only subsets that contain both or nei-
ther of those elements. Be sure to verify that your lat-
tice satisfies the glb and lub properties.
41. Cohn 2001 introduces ski-​ hill graphs with
applications to music by Brahms and Dvořák; Leong
2007 and Murphy 2009 offer further applications. For
some related graphs see London 2012, 25–​47.
42. If a pulse is defined (as Cohn sometimes
does) not as a single duration but as a set of time
points separated by equal durations, then each pulse
automatically becomes a subset of those pulses that
subdivide it; for example, the . pulse is a subset of
both the . and  pulses. With this understanding the
ski-​hill lattice becomes another example of an inclu-
sion lattice similar to those discussed previously, but
with the largest sets now appearing at the bottom of
the graph rather than at the top.
43. Hint for Exercise 3.4.11b: Start by factoring the
numerator and denominator of a rational number into
products of prime numbers.
44. The notions of divisibility, greatest common divi-
sor, and least common multiple, normally considered
only for integers, can be extended to all rational num-
bers (but not to all real numbers).
45. The metric conflicts whose analysis is enabled
by metric states are grouping dissonances in the termi-
nology of Harald Krebs (1999). Metric states do not
directly facilitate the analysis of Krebs’s displacement
dissonances.
46. Leong 2007 studies properties of metric states
sharing the same shape, as well as states whose shapes
are related by rotation or reflection such as those in
Figure 3.4.12b–​e.
47. Hint for Exercise 3.4.16d: Because the . becomes
the  at the change to  (m. 58), the notation for the
metric states could create misleading impressions about
the relationships among them. How might this problem
be addressed? (See the movement’s coda for an idea.)
48. See Lewin 1981 for commentary on relation-
ships between metric and tonal structure in the
C-​major Capriccio.
49. For a detailed discussion of many metrical
aspects of the Scherzo of the Ninth Symphony see
Cohn 1992a. The passage in Exercise 3.4.18e is exam-
ined on pp. 190–​91.
50. The graph in Figure 3.4.20b resembles the “sec-
ondary notation” of Lerdahl and Jackendoff (1983,
201–​03) more closely than it resembles a traditional
Schenkerian graph. Lerdahl and Jackendoff’s slurs
bear no arrowheads, but the same notion of structural
priority is implicit in them (they are derived from
the branching pattern in a prolongational tree, which
itself can be constructed as a directed graph).
51. Sentiments consonant with those put forth here
are expressed in Lewin [1987] 2007, 217–​18, Cohn 1989,
57, and Hook 2007b, 167–​68; also see Rings 2011b, 35–​
40 and 144–​48 for perceptive commentary. Cook (1996,
144) points out that Lewin’s analysis of Debussy’s “Feux
d’artifice” (Lewin [1993] 2007, 149), or at least his ter-
minology, displays an “increasingly Schenkerian” bent.
Kopp 2002 presents many transformation networks in
a quasi-​Schenkerian format resembling Figure 3.4.20b.
A special issue of the Journal of Schenkerian Studies
(vol. 2, 2007) is devoted entirely to the intersection of
Schenkerian and neo-​Riemannian methods.
Graphs • 117
 52. This example, in which the transformations are
defined on pitch classes rather than on chords, clearly
has its limitations as an analysis of the 5–​6 harmonic
sequence, as it disregards chord quality, inversion, and
voice leading. Transformations defined on chords,
including transformational analysis of harmonic
sequences, will be studied more extensively in Chapter
4 and especially in Chapter 8.
53. Lewin formalizes transformation networks
(and transformation graphs, discussed below) in
Chapter 9 of Lewin [1987] 2007, after presenting sev-
eral examples informally in Chapters 7 and 8; most of
those in Chapter 7 are T-​nets. For an extensive appli-
cation of T-​nets in analysis, see Sallmen 2016.
54. Hint for Exercise 3.5.2: The answer to the first
question in this exercise is no. See if you can make a
convincing argument that the answer to the last ques-
tion is yes. For a related example see Hook 2007b, 167.
55. For a few examples in later chapters making
prominent use of bubble notation, the reader may
refer to Figures 8.3.20, 9.3.17, 9.5.12, and 13.3.24.
An early example of bubble notation appears in Lewin
[1987] 2007, 205, Figure 9.8f–​g. Rather than regard-
ing the interbubble arrows as a shorthand for multiple
arrows, Lewin instead describes the entire graph as a
“network of networks,” in which the vertices of the
main network represent smaller networks. This con-
ception gains new importance in Lewin’s later study of
Klumpenhouwer networks (Lewin 1990, Lewin 1994),
and we will revisit it in Section 9.4.
56. In Chapter 9 we will consider generalized forms
of bubble notation in which this commutativity is not
required. These observations are related to a network
property to be called path consistency in Chapter 9; the
equation T8T5 =​ T5T8 =​ T1 ensures that the networks
in Figures 3.5.1 and 3.5.3 are path-​consistent. Path
consistency should not be confused with label consis-
tency, the truth-​telling property described previously.
While label consistency is required of all transforma-
tion networks, we (unlike Lewin) allow networks that
are not path-​consistent.
57. Strong isography was first defined by Henry
Klumpenhouwer for the networks now known as
Klumpenhouwer networks; see Chapter 9.
58. Hints for Exercise 3.5.7: Some pitch classes
occur more than once in some of these series, but
each occurrence may be given its own vertex in the
graph. For (c), in addition to constructing a T-​net as
suggested in this exercise, you may find it instruc-
tive to graph the sequence in the tonnetz from Figure
1.4.18, generated by semitones and tritones, and to
118 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
compare the two graphs. The sequence in (d) is based
on a three-​note pattern, requiring modifications to
the visual layout.
59. London (2002, 139) refers to the ski-​hill lattice
as a zeitnetz by analogy with the tonnetz. He is quick
to point out, however, that many aspects of the pitch
domain, such as the conformed property of the finite
tonnetz, have no direct analogs in the time domain.
60. The commutativity of T6 and I will be estab-
lished formally in Chapter 5 (see Theorem 5.5.6).
Commutativity properties involving R will be noted in
Chapter 6 and explored in more detail in Chapter 9.
61. Lewin’s most extensive commentary on the dif-
ference between event networks and spatial networks
appears in his analysis of Stockhausen’s Klavierstück
III (Lewin [1993] 2007, 16–​67), especially in reference
to his e­ xamples 2.4–​2.6. Borrowing terminology from
Bamberger 1986, Lewin refers to chronological and spa-
tial network layouts as “figural” and “formal,” respec-
tively. The terms event network and spatial network are
from Roeder 2009. See also Rings 2011b, 140–​44; the
distinction between syntagmatics and paradigmatics
described in McCreless 1991 is also relevant.
62. Apart from the graphic arrangement of the
vertices, both of the diagrams in Figure 3.5.15 include
some information that is not strictly part of the
transformation network. This information includes
the assignment of row forms to the voice or piano in
both graphs; the measure numbers and overlapping of
simultaneous row forms in (a); and, in (b), the inclu-
sion of several edges of the cube that do not corre-
spond to transformations occurring in the music.
63. Hint for Exercise 3.5.16: At least five or six
spatial networks are recommended. The detailed row
analysis in Bailey 1991, 372–​73, may be useful.
SUGGESTED READING
Among the wide selection of texts on graph theory,
Harary 1969 is regarded as a classic, while Bondy
and Murty 2008 is now widely used. For the hexa-
tonic systems that form the musical basis of the
hexatonic triad graph see Cohn 1996 and Chapter
2 of Cohn 2012, as well as Section 8.2 of this book.
For considerations arising in analytical applications
of transformation networks, see Chapter 9 of this
book, the four essays in Lewin [1993] 2007, Roeder
2009, and Buchler 2016. Roeder and other authors
in the same special issue of Music Theory Online
offer valuable commentary on strategies of network
construction.
 4
Spaces II
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces
THE SPACES studied in Chapter 1 are all some
form of pitch or pitch-​class space, and their ele-
ments are single notes. Higher-​ level musical
entities such as chords, key areas, and twelve-​
tone rows appear in these spaces only indirectly
if at all, not as elements but as groupings of
elements. Some of the diagrams in Chapter 3,
however, incorporate chords or rows as their
fundamental objects (vertex labels in a graph),
suggesting that it may be fruitful to construct
musical spaces with such objects as their ele-
ments. This chapter is devoted to exploring
these possibilities.
Many new considerations arise in conjunc-
tion with this more complex objective. The vari-
ety in the way such spaces may be constructed is
vast, and this chapter only hints at what is pos-
sible; later chapters will present some further
strategies. The representations in this chapter,
however, include some that have received signifi-
cant attention in the theoretical and analytical
literature, as well as some that will find applica-
tion in later chapters. Many of these spaces, like
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0004
some of those encountered previously, may be
construed as transformation networks, and the
clearest way to conceive of the structure of the
spaces is sometimes through an understanding
of transformational relationships. We will make
note here of the basic transformations under-
lying the organization of each space, and some
properties of these transformations, particu-
larly those involving triads, will begin to emerge.
The emphasis for now, however, remains on
the spaces themselves; more detailed study of
the properties of the transformations will be
deferred to Part Two.
4.1 DOUBLE-​C IRCLE
SPACES AND RELATED
CONSTRUCTIONS
As a first attempt to construct a space of triads,
we might start with a diagram such as Figure
1.2.3 (chromatic pitch-​class space pc) or Figure
1.3.1 (fifth, the circle of fifths), and consider
that each note name may stand not just for a
single note but for a chord or a key area—​that is,
a triad whose root is the given note, or the key
with that tonic triad. This strategy produces a
logical arrangement of the twelve major triads or
the twelve minor triads, but not both. A simple
way to integrate both qualities of triads in one
space—​a space we may call consonant triad space,
written triad for short—​is to provide two con-
centric circles, one for major triads and the other
for minor. Such double-​circle spaces take a variety
of forms, several of which we introduce in this
section. Some of these diagrams provide reveal-
ing glimpses into the transformational structure
of the spaces, in ways to be revealed more fully in
Chapter 6, and we will see applications of other
similar pictures in Chapters 8 and 9.1
The double-​ circle strategy allows for mul-
tiple possible arrangements of the 24 triads,
depending on whether pc or fifth is used as the
starting point and on the alignment of the two
circles.2 Two arrangements based on the chro-
matic circle are shown in Figure 4.1.1. Perhaps
the most obvious such scheme is 4.1.1a, in
which both circles of triads appear in the same
orientation as in the usual arrangement of pc.
This arrangement is organized by the transfor-
mations T1 and P: the transposition operator T1
defines clockwise motion from any triad to the
next higher triad of the same mode, and paral-
lel major and minor triads in the two circles are
aligned radially. The placement of major triads
in the outer circle and minor triads in the inner
is an arbitrary decision of no real consequence;
“inside” and “outside” have no meaning in the
space depicted here.
Figure 4.1.1b substitutes the inversion opera-
tor I of pitch-​class set theory for P. As usual, I
FIGURE 4.1.1 Two chromatic arrangements of consonant triad space (triad)
120 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
denotes inversion about the axis through C and
F♯ in circular pitch-​class space. In pitch-​ class
numbers, I maps pitch class x to pitch class −x
(mod 12). Applied to a C-​major triad, I yields
an F-​minor triad, as one can check by working
out the mapping of the three notes individu-
ally: 0 → 0, 4 → 8, 7 → 5 (C → C, E → A♭, G →
F). As a triad ascends by semitone, its inversion
about a fixed axis descends by semitone; thus I
applied to C major yields F minor, and I applied
to D♭ major (a semitone higher) yields E minor (a
semitone lower). In this scheme, consequently,
the two circles are oppositely oriented, with T1
corresponding to clockwise motion in the circle
of major triads and counterclockwise motion in
the circle of minor triads.
Every major triad is related to every minor
triad by some inversion. The parallel transfor-
mation P, appearing in Figure 4.1.1a, may be
regarded as a sort of inversion operator, but it
does not correspond to inversion about a fixed
axis as I does. Rather, P inverts any triad so that
its root maps onto its fifth and vice versa. The
axis of inversion is determined by the context—​
by the position of the triad within pitch-​class
space. For this reason P is sometimes called a
contextual (or contextually defined) inversion oper-
ator; triadic contextual inversions such as P are
also known as wechsels (Hugo Riemann’s term).
While fixed inversion operators such as I may be
more familiar to most readers through their use
in pitch-​class set theory and serial theory, the
relationships described by contextual inversions
often correspond more intuitively with familiar
ways of thinking about chordal relationships,
particularly in tonal contexts.3 The I-​related
pairs of triads in 4.1.1b include C–​f (a pair of
triads with one common tone and roots related
by fifth), E♭–​d (no common tones, roots related
by semitone), and E–​ c♯ (two common tones,
roots related by minor third)—​a less consistent
relationship than that exhibited by the P-​related
triads in 4.1.1a. We shall have more to say about
the group-​theoretic properties of these transfor-
mations and about fixed and contextual inver-
sions later, but for the present the point is that
the similar orientations of the two circles in (a)
are characteristic of the behavior of contextual
inversions, while the opposite orientations in
(b) are characteristic of fixed inversions. Fixed
inversions reverse the orientation not only of
individual chords but of entire spaces, in a way
that contextual inversions do not.
In either 4.1.1a or 4.1.1b, one of the two
circles could be rotated relative to the other,
creating twelve different possible alignments
between major and minor triads. The twelve pos-
sible alignments of (b) correspond to the twelve
fixed inversion operators In =​ ITn (that is, I ● Tn,
“I-​then-​Tn,” in accordance with the left-​to-​right
orthography convention introduced in Section
2.3). Similarly, the twelve possible alignments of
(a) correspond to twelve different wechsels, to be
studied further in Chapter 8.
Exercise 4.1.2
(a) Another example of a contextual inversion
is the leittonwechsel transformation L.
Redraw Figure 4.1.1a in an arrangement in
which L-​related triads such as C major and
E minor are aligned.
(b) Redraw Figure 4.1.1b in an arrangement in
which triads related by I7 (=​ IT7), such as C
major and C minor, are aligned.
FIGURE 4.1.4 A circle-​of-​fifths–​based arrangement of consonant triad space (triad)
(c) The construction of Figure 4.1.1a ensures
that P-​related triads always appear in pairs.
In your diagram for part (b) of this exercise,
some P-​related triads (such as C major and
C minor) are aligned, but others are not.
How far apart are A major and A minor
in this diagram? (Recall from Section 3.1
the definition of the distance between two
vertices in a graph.) How many P-​related
pairs are aligned? Are any P-​related pairs
aligned in Figure 4.1.1b? If you were to
construct diagrams like 4.1.1b using each of
the twelve fixed inversion operators, in how
many of those twelve diagrams would some
  P-​related triads be aligned?4
Exercise 4.1.3
(a) The transposition operator T1 and the fixed
inversion operator I do not commute; that
is, IT1 is not the same function as T1I. Verify
this by applying both IT1 and T1I to a C-​
major triad. How is this noncommutativity
evident in Figure 4.1.1b?
(b) Does T1 commute with P? How is your
answer to this question evident in
  Figure 4.1.1a?5
The circle of fifths may be used as readily as
the chromatic circle as the basis for a double-​
circle space. (Recall from Exercise 1.3.13 that
no other interval besides semitones and perfect
fifths generates a coherent picture of twelve-​
note pitch-​class space.) In fact, Figure 4.1.4a,
based on the circle of fifths, is likely a more famil-
iar configuration than either of the diagrams in
Figure 4.1.1, in which triads were arranged chro-
matically. The arrangement in 4.1.4a is generated
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 121
by the transposition operator T7 and the rela-
tive transformation R (a contextual inversion).
Rather than T7, transformation theorists have
sometimes worked with the so-​called dominant
transformation D, which maps any triad to the
triad of the same mode a fifth lower. As a func-
tion on triad space, D is equal to T5, the inverse
of T7; either T7 or T5 (=​ D) works equally well as a
generator for a double-​circle space.6
When the vertices of Figure 4.1.4a are taken
to represent key areas rather than simply triads,
the diagram is the familiar circle-​of-​fifths model
of key relationships. Each key is adjacent in the
graph to three other keys to which it is generally
considered to be closely related: the two fifth-​
related triads of the same mode, and its relative
major or minor. We may define key space, denoted
key, as the set of the 24 major and minor keys.
The elements of key space are of course in one-​
to-​one correspondence with the elements of
triad space, and any map of either space could
theoretically be a map of the other, but our dif-
fering conceptions of key and triad may make it
appropriate to impose different additional layers
of structure on the two spaces. For example, the
large distance separating F and c♯ in Figure 4.1.4a
is consistent with the way we likely understand
the relationship between F major and C♯ minor
as keys. But by some measures of triadic distance,
F major and C♯ minor are not so distant at all,
particularly if the distance measure is based on
voice leading, as a one-​semitone displacement
in each voice suffices to convert one triad to the
other (these triads are in the hexatonic pole rela-
tionship). Several measures of triadic distance
are defined below; the voice-​leading distance will
be introduced in Chapter 10, and distance func-
tions will be studied in a more general context in
Chapter 12.7
The first theorist to arrange key space as in
Figure 4.1.4a was apparently David Kellner in
1737.8 A refinement in Figure 4.1.4b makes
the graph an even better model of distances
between keys: the added diagonal edges bring
C major into adjacency with both E minor and
D minor, in accordance with the usual concep-
tion of closely related keys. Any given key is now
adjacent to five other closely related keys, those
whose signatures differ from that of the starting
key by no more than one sharp or flat. One can
use this graph to determine a distance between
any two keys, defined (as in Section 3.1) as the
number of edges in the shortest path joining the
two vertices. We refer to this distance measure
as the circle-​of-​fifths distance between keys; in
122 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Section 4.2 we will compare it with two other
distance measures. Closely related keys are sepa-
rated by a distance of 1; the distance between
keys that are not closely related is the number
of accidentals by which their signatures differ,
allowing for enharmonic respelling.
Exercise 4.1.5
(a) What is the distance between F major and
C minor in Figure 4.1.4b? What would this
distance have been if calculated using 4.1.4a
instead?
(b) What is the distance between E major and
A♭ major in Figure 4.1.4b?
(c) What is the greatest distance between any
  two keys in Figure 4.1.4b?
Exercise 4.1.6
(a) Construct a diagram of consonant triad
space based on the circle of fifths and the
fixed inversion operator I. (This diagram
could be a map of key space, but you will
need to think about triads in order to
understand the action of I.)
(b) Does T7 commute with R? Does T7 commute
with I? How are your answers to these
questions evident in Figure 4.1.4a and the
diagram you constructed in part (a) of this
exercise?
(c) On the basis of Exercises 4.1.3 and 4.1.6b,
what general conclusions can you draw
about the commutativity of transposition
operators with fixed or contextual inversion
  operators?
Exercise 4.1.7 As maps of key space, Figures
4.1.1 and 4.1.4 include only two modes, major
and minor. The goal of this exercise is to
construct a more comprehensive mode space
containing all seven diatonic modes on each of
the twelve tonic notes.
You may wish to experiment with several
ways to construct such a space, but a torus with
a 12-​by-​7 modular tile is suggested. In one
dimension, arrange the twelve transpositions
of the same mode in circle-​of-​fifths order (C
ionian, G ionian, D ionian, …). In the other
dimension, arrange the seven modes of the
same diatonic collection, also in circle-​of-​fifths
order (C ionian, G mixolydian, D dorian, …).
Construct the complete tile, which contains 84
elements. This arrangement may be regarded as
an extension of Figure 4.1.4a in which the radial
dimension is expanded to include seven modes
rather than two. Consider cycling through the
modes, starting with C ionian and raising one Computer animation can be a valuable tool for
note at a time by semitone to create a new mode: displaying longer stretches of music, but other
C ionian, C lydian, C♯ locrian, C♯ phrygian, … . strategies, such as the series of snapshots in
What path is traced through the torus by this Figure 1.4.23, can sometimes be devised.
progression
   of modes?9 In the case of the double circle of Figure 4.1.4,
a possible approach is to unwrap the circle of
The P and T1 relationships in Figure 4.1.1a fifths along the vertical axis of a graph whose
suggest specific voice-​ leading connections horizontal dimension is time; the two concentric
between triads: T1 is accomplished by sliding all circles of major and minor triads may be distin-
three voices up by semitone, while movement guished by using two different graphic symbols
to a parallel triad is accomplished by semitonal when plotting triads in the graph. The picture
motion in just one voice. In principle, however, that results has been called a tonality graph by
double-​circle spaces allow for any major triad to Stephen Jablonsky (2003); it is essentially the
be aligned with any minor triad, so there is no graph of a function that maps from the time
guarantee that smooth voice-​ leading connec- domain into fifths space. An example with some
tions will be present in a graph of this kind: a modifications to Jablonsky’s notation appears
graph might, for example, juxtapose C-​ major in Figure 4.1.8, a tonality-​graph analysis of the
and B♭-​minor triads, which are not connected by chorale-​like central section of Chopin’s Nocturne
any especially smooth voice leading. In general, in G Minor, Op. 37, No. 1. The excerpt is in E♭
therefore, double-​ circle graphs should not be major, so the horizontal line representing E♭
regarded as “voice-​leading graphs” but as some- major/​C minor is highlighted and taken as the
thing more abstract, perhaps as a kind of logical origin for the vertical circle-​of-​fifths axis. The
geometric catalog of all the major and minor tri- music proceeds in a regular quarter-​note har-
ads, a database that can be sorted in a variety of monic rhythm, four chords per measure. Black
ways. In Part Three we will examine spaces orga- circles represent major triads, white circles
nized in ways that more directly address voice-​ minor triads, and hybrid symbols are introduced
leading connections between chords. for the three dominant seventh chords (plotted
Chord progressions may be plotted in spaces in the same location as major triads on the same
such as those of Figures 4.1.1 and 4.1.4 simply by roots) and the excerpt’s one half-​diminished sev-
tracing the music from chord to chord through enth chord (eø7 in m. 54, plotted in the graph at
the graph, much as we traced the course of indi- the position corresponding to its G-​minor tri-
vidual notes in Lutosławski’s Musique funèbre adic subset).
in the ladder graph of Figures 1.4.22–​1.4.23, or The graph shows at a glance that the excerpt
Webern’s twelve-​tone rows in the cubic graph of opens in straightforward diatonic fashion: the
3.5.15b.10 As we noted in conjunction with those chords in mm. 41–​44, repeated exactly in mm.
earlier examples, however, plotting anything 45–​48, never stray more than one step from the
more than a short musical excerpt on one graph tonic, either in the dominant direction (“sharp-
becomes difficult when the music inevitably wise,” or upward in the graph) or the subdomi-
crosses or retraces portions of its earlier path. nant direction (“flatwise,” downward). Beginning

FIGURE 4.1.8 Tonality graph for Chopin, Nocturne in G Minor, Op. 37, No. 1, mm. 41–​57 (after
Jablonsky)

Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 123

in m. 49, however, the tonal territory covered and half-​diminished seventh chords, arranged in
by the graph expands dramatically, with wider circle-​of-​fifths order (reading “C” to mean C7 and
swings from chord to chord reflecting increased “c” to mean cø7). In fact, the same structure could
chromaticism in the music. The A-​major chord represent a space comprising the 24 sets belong-
on the last beat of m. 54 is six vertical steps from ing to any asymmetrical set class, such as 014
home, fully halfway around the circle of fifths. trichords. Such trichords do not have a “root” or
The graph may call attention to a variety of other “quality” in the traditional sense, so it may not be
interesting patterns as well; for example, in this immediately clear which vertex should stand for
primarily major-​key excerpt, minor triads appear which trichord, but this is not much of a concern:
substantially more often on the second and third we may, for example, represent each trichord by
beats of a measure (twelve occurrences) than on the first note in its normal order, placing the 014-​
the first and last beats (five). type trichords in the outer circle and the inver-
Figure 4.1.8 demonstrates some of the appeal sionally related 034-​type trichords in the inner
of graphs of this type, but limitations are also circle (so that “C” would represent the set {C, C♯,
apparent. Chord inversion is ignored, and if the E} while “f” would represent {F, G♯, A}).12
strategies noted above for plotting dominant
and half-​ diminished seventh chords are not Exercise 4.1.11 The restriction to asymmetrical
completely satisfactory, more serious problems set classes in the preceding paragraph ensures
are posed by chords such as diminished triads, that a set class is represented by 24 different
diminished seventh chords, and augmented pc sets. Symmetrical set classes have fewer
sixths (none of which occurs in this excerpt). representatives and correspondingly give rise
Perhaps a more significant problem still is the to simpler spaces. For each of the set classes
fact that no particular affinity is visible in the listed below, construct a space comprising all
graph between parallel major and minor triads. the sets in the class. Each space should consist
As a consequence, while the close relationship of either one circle or two concentric circles, as
between a major triad and its dominant is evi- appropriate. Adjacent sets on each circle should
dent, a minor triad and its major dominant are be related by T1, but symmetry may result in
separated by four steps along the vertical axis, some circles having fewer than twelve elements.
which makes even a simple diatonic passage in a
minor key such as the tonicization of F minor in (a) 0358 (the minor-​minor seventh chord)
mm. 50–​52 look more extravagantly chromatic (b) 013679 (the Petrushka chord)
than it actually is. (c) 0268 (the French augmented-sixth chord)
(d)  0369 (the fully diminished seventh chord)13
Exercise 4.1.9
(a) Keeping in mind that the vertical axis Even the requirement that the sets in the two
of Figure 4.1.8 is a circle, describe the circles be related by inversion may be relaxed if
appearance of the tonality graph of a piece desired: if we encounter a musical example in
that modulates all the way around the circle which major triads alternate with half-​dimin-
of fifths. ished seventh chords, we can model that pro-
(b) The topology of a tonality graph such as gression in a space that combines a circle of
Figure 4.1.8 is neither a plane nor a torus. major triads with a circle of half-​ diminished
  What is it? seventh chords. In principle, we could go further
and combine three or more concentric circles to
Exercise 4.1.10 Construct a tonality graph accommodate a greater variety of chord types in
similar to Figure 4.1.8 for Chopin’s Prelude in E a single space. The drawback in these far-​flung
   Op. 28, No. 9.11
Major, representations is that the meaning of moving
from one chord to an adjacent chord on a dif-
The construction of Figures 4.1.1 and 4.1.4 ferent circle—​the radial dimension in the dia-
began by associating points in pitch-​class space gram—​becomes increasingly nebulous, as it can
with triads. We can equally well establish a one-​ no longer be described in terms of a single (fixed
to-​one mapping between pitch classes and other or contextual) inversion operator.
types of pitch-​ class sets, thereby assembling Serial theory, however, offers an appealing
double-​circle diagrams for a variety of different opportunity to combine four circles. In Figures
chords. Figure 4.1.4a could be interpreted, for 3.2.3 and 3.5.8d we constructed a cube con-
example, as a space consisting of all dominant sisting of eight row forms related by inversion,

124 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
FIGURE 4.1.12 Two three-​dimensional representations of twelve-​tone row space (some vertical edges
omitted for clarity)
retrograde, and transposition—​but only trans-
position by tritone (T6). The T dimension of
that three-​dimensional figure may be extended
to include all twelve transpositions, replicat-
ing a square cross-​section of I-​ and R-​related
rows not just twice but twelve times, adjacent
slices related by T1. The slices must be circularly
arranged so that the initial slice is adjacent to its
T11 transposition. The resulting space, shown in
Figure 4.1.12a, consists of two concentric circles
on each of two layers; its 48 vertices represent all
the standard forms of a twelve-​tone row.
The row space of this figure, like the earlier
cube, is three-​dimensional: from any vertex one
can move circumferentially, vertically, or radi-
ally. Circumferential movement is defined by
transposition as just described. Vertical move-
ment is defined by retrograde: each row form in
the top layer is the retrograde of the correspond-
ing row in the bottom layer. (The vertical edges
on the inner shell of the figure, connecting I and
RI forms, have been omitted for clarity.) Finally,
radial movement is defined by an inversion
labeled J. Specifically, J inverts any row form to
preserve its index number. This is an awkward
way to define a transformation—​in traditional
row numbering, it means inverting a P or I row
form about its first note and an R or RI form
about its last note, so that we must know which
type of row form we are dealing with before
applying the transformation—​but it accurately
describes the relationship between radially
adjacent row forms in the figure, designed to
ensure alignment of all row forms with match-
ing indices.
This J is not one of the fixed inversion opera-
tors In, which are inversions about specific axes
in circular pitch-​class space; rather, J is a kind
of contextual inversion. Figure 4.1.12b shows
an analogous picture using the more familiar
fixed inversion operator I, inversion about C,
here assumed to be the first note of P0. A check
of the numerical subscripts confirms that circles
representing inversionally related row forms
(P and I, or R and RI) are oriented similarly in
Figure 4.1.12a but oppositely in (b), in keeping
with our earlier observations about the effects
of contextual and fixed inversion operators
in Figure 4.1.1. No properties of a particular
twelve-​tone row were used in the construction
of either part of Figure 4.1.12, so both figures
are applicable to the forms of any row at all. In
fact, both figures describe the structure of trans-
formation groups fundamental to twelve-​tone
music, in ways to be explored in Section 6.2.
Exercise 4.1.13 Some twelve-​tone rows are
symmetrical, so that some R or RI form of the
row is identical to P0. Construct examples of
twelve-​tone rows of these types. Explain how
the row space of Figure 4.1.12 may be simplified
the case of a symmetrical row.14
in  
Exercise 4.1.14 As described above, Figure
4.1.12a may be regarded as an expansion of
3.5.8d. In the cube of the earlier figure, the
inversion operator I represents inversion
about a fixed pitch class, the first note of
P0. Nevertheless, this inversion operator
apparently relates row forms sharing the same
index number, such as P0 and I0. Explain why a
fixed inversion operator suffices in that limited
situation but not in the greater generality of
   4.1.12a.15
Figure
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 125
Exercise 4.1.15 Construct a four-​circle graph
like Figure 4.1.12a whose elements are chords
of four types: major triads, minor triads,
dominant seventh chords, and half-​diminished
seventh chords. Each square cross section of the
space will consist of two parallel triads and the
two seventh chords containing those triads as
subsets,
   such as C, c, C7, and aø7.
The doughnut-​like appearance of the graph in
Figure 4.1.12 perhaps suggests a torus. Each of
these graphs is effectively a toroidal embedding,
and like the tonnetz graphs of previous chapters
can be represented conveniently by a rectangular
tile with opposite edges conjoined, as shown in
Figure 4.1.16. The circles of 4.1.12a have become
the horizontal rows of 4.1.16, and the square
cross-​sections have become the columns. A pos-
sible drawback to this arrangement is that two
different musical relationships, inversion and
retrograde, are now conflated in a single verti-
cal dimension, whereas in 4.1.12a J and R corre-
sponded to movement in the radial and vertical
dimensions respectively.
Exercise 4.1.17
(a) Like the tonnetz, the graph of row space in
Figure 4.1.12a or 4.1.16 can be embedded
in a torus but not in a plane. Referring back
to the proof of Theorem 3.3.12 as a model,
demonstrate that Figure 4.1.16 contains a
subdivision of the complete graph K5 and
therefore cannot be planar.
(b) As a graph embedded in a torus, how many
vertices, edges, and faces does Figure 4.1.12a
or 4.1.16 have? Verify that these numbers
satisfy v +​ f =​ e, the toroidal version of Euler’s
  formula from Exercise 3.3.16b.
Like the double-​circle graphs considered ear-
lier, the four-​circle graph of row space admits
FIGURE 4.1.16 A modular two-​dimensional representation of twelve-​tone row space
126 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
a variety of alignments between its circles (the
rows of Figure 4.1.16). Alternate alignments
may be exploited in analyzing combinatorial
relationships of the sort explored by Schoenberg
in many of his mature twelve-​tone works. The
arrangement in Figure 4.1.18, in which P0 and
R0 are aligned with I5 and RI5, is customized for
Schoenberg’s Piano Piece, Op. 33a, although the
same graph would serve as well for a number of
other pieces by Schoenberg, inasmuch as this
P0–​I5 combinatoriality seems to have been his
favorite type.
In Op. 33a, Schoenberg consistently pairs
row forms P10 and I3 because of combinatorial
considerations (the first hexachords of these two
rows combine to form a twelve-​tone aggregate).
Similarly he uses R10 in conjunction with RI3.
David Lewin introduced the notion of twelve-​tone
areas to describe such a collection of row forms;
here we write 𝒜10 for the twelve-​tone area {P10,
R10, I3, RI3}. Lewin suggested that Schoenberg’s
use of twelve-​tone areas is analogous in some
respects to the use of key areas in tonal music.
The first 27 measures of Op. 33a are “in 𝒜10,” as
only the four row forms of 𝒜10 appear in these
measures. At m. 28, however, Schoenberg “mod-
ulates” to area 𝒜0 =​{P0, R0, I5, RI5}; he then pres-
ents two row forms from 𝒜5 (P5 and I10) before
returning to 𝒜10 in the last section of the piece.
As Figure 4.1.18 illustrates, each twelve-​tone
area is one column of the modular row space (or
one cross-​section of a corresponding doughnut-​
shaped space).16
Exercise 4.1.19 The above discussion of Op.
33a assumes “fixed-​zero” row-​numbering;
row form P10 starts on B♭. In a “movable-​zero”
system this row might be called P0. Would the
map of row space in Figure 4.1.18 need to be
modified if the movable-​zero system were used?
Would
   the twelve-​tone areas change?
FIGURE 4.1.18 A row space showing twelve-​tone areas in Schoenberg, Piano Piece, Op. 33a
4.2 TONNETZ-​R ELATED
CHORDAL AND
TONAL SPACES
A useful picture of key relationships emerged
in Figure 4.1.4, the double circle of fifths align-
ing relative major and minor keys. A possible
shortcoming of this figure, already mentioned
in conjunction with the related tonality graph of
Figure 4.1.8, is that it pays no heed to the paral-
lel relationship. A double-​circle space may juxta-
pose relative keys or parallel keys, but not both.
Consequently, and somewhat counterintuitively,
Figure 4.1.4 places C major just as close to F♯
minor as it is to C minor: the circle-​of-​fifths dis-
tance from C major to either of those keys is 3.
If we wish to allow both parallel and relative
moves in the same graph, we will soon realize
that the number of other keys accessible from
a given key by combinations of P and R is lim-
ited. Starting from C major, the possibilities
are exhausted by the eight keys in the PR-​cycle
shown in Figure 4.2.1. Graphically, this figure
is indeed a cycle as defined in Section 3.1; musi-
cally, this particular cycle is a manifestation of
FIGURE 4.2.1 A PR-​cycle of major and minor
triads
the equal division of an octave into four minor
thirds. Any attempt to depict P and R simultane-
ously must therefore introduce some additional
relationship as well if it is to transcend this small
cycle and accommodate relationships among all
keys (that is, if it is to be a connected graph of all
of triad space).
Exercise 4.2.2 Figure 4.2.1 is a PR-​cycle (or an
RP-​cycle). The hexatonic cycle of Figure 3.5.8b
may similarly be called a PL-​ (or LP-​) cycle.
Construct an RL-​ (or LR-​) cycle. Comment on
the relationship between the RL-​cycle and the
circle
   of fifths.
If the space is to model tonal relationships,
the perfect-​fifth relationship T7 (or its inverse,
the dominant transformation D =​ T5) seems
a likely candidate for a way to expand the PR-​
cycle of Figure 4.2.1 to other keys. If we unwrap
the PR-​cycle in one dimension and the circle of
fifths in another, the result is the space shown in
Figure 4.2.3. We call this arrangement Weber
space, or weber, recognizing its often-​ cited
appearance in the work of Gottfried Weber
around 1820, although similar diagrams were
published as much as half a century earlier.17
In any case, the appeal of this space has been
powerful and enduring: the same basic organi-
zation underlies the “chart of the regions” in
Schoenberg’s posthumously published Structural
Functions of Harmony, and also the “regional
space” of Fred Lerdahl.18 Experimental work
by Carol Krumhansl has confirmed the cogni-
tive salience of Weber space: through investiga-
tion of listeners’ responses to a variety of tonal
stimuli, Krumhansl and her colleagues obtained
a measure of perceived distances between keys
and applied statistical techniques to convert
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 127
FIGURE 4.2.3 Weber space (weber)
these distances to a perceptual map, which
turned out to resemble a slightly distorted ver-
sion of Figure 4.2.3.19
The topology of Weber space is that of a torus,
but no simple rectangular module (comparable to
the tile of Figure 1.4.3 for the tonnetz or Figure
4.1.16 for row space) can be drawn in Figure 4.2.3
to describe the toroidal topology. The parallelo-
grams defined by dashed lines in the figure may
be used instead, opposite edges of each module
being stitched together in the usual way; the
process is topologically equivalent to the more
familiar rectangular modules if less tidy geo-
metrically. Like other toroidal spaces we have
studied, weber is finite—​there are only 24 major
and minor keys, after all—​and one of these paral-
lelogram tiles, which contains all 24 keys, theo-
retically suffices to model the entire space. As
before, however, it is often more convenient in
practice to imagine a theoretically infinite graph
and show at least some partial repetitions of the
pattern. We must just keep in mind, when draw-
ing the space this way, that duplicate key names
represent the same point of the space.20
Exercise 4.2.4
(a) Parallelogram tiles for Weber space may be
drawn in various ways other than the way
shown in Figure 4.2.3, but rectangles with
horizontal and vertical edges will not work.
What problem arises if one tries to use
rectangles, three rows by eight columns, as
tiles for the toroidal topology of this space?21
(b) As a finite graph embedded in a torus, how
many vertices, edges, and faces does Weber
space have? Verify that these numbers
satisfy v +​ f =​ e, the toroidal version of
  Euler’s formula.
128 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Two of the three basic neo-​Riemannian
operations, P and R, are explicitly present in the
construction of Weber space, and the third, L,
appears almost as handily, in the form of diago-
nal lines sloping downward from any minor key
to the major key positioned to its lower right.
Figure 4.2.5a adds edges to Weber space corre-
sponding to P, R, and L, effectively rendering the
space a transformation network. Because each
of these three transformations is an involution
(equal to its own inverse), every edge in this
graph may be considered to have arrowheads
at both ends. Each face of the resulting graph is
bounded by six edges, two labeled with each of
the three operations. In Figure 4.2.5b an adjust-
ment to the geometry reshapes these faces into
regular hexagons, which we will call cells, in a
honeycomb-​like grid.22
We will use the term neo-​Riemannian triad
space, or nrtriad, to refer to either of the
graphs of Figure 4.2.5, but especially the hex-
agonal cellular arrangement in (b). This version
of the graph gives equal status to all three of the
neo-​Riemannian operations while downplay-
ing the perfect-​fifth relations that were part of
the original motivation for Figure 4.2.3; the less
celebrated 4.2.5a has been included primarily
to clarify the relation between neo-​Riemannian
triad space and Weber space. Particularly when
contrasting it to Weber space, we will some-
times shorten the name “neo-​Riemannian triad
space” to Riemann space.23 Weber space and
Riemann space are identical as sets (both con-
sist of the same 24 triads or keys) but differ in
other respects, particularly in the edges that are
understood (explicitly or implicitly) to be part of
the graph-​theoretic structure of the spaces, the
associated transformations, and the geometric
FIGURE 4.2.5 Two representations of neo-​Riemannian triad space (nrtriad)
representations: Weber space is organized by P,
R, and T7 (or T5), while Riemann space is orga-
nized by P, R, and L.
Exercise 4.2.6
(a) Review, if necessary, the definition
of bipartite graphs in Section 3.1. The
graph of Riemann space in Figure 4.2.5
(either version) is bipartite in a musically
suggestive way. What are the two sets into
which the vertices (triads) are divided?
(b) As a finite graph embedded in a torus,
how many vertices, edges, and faces does
Riemann space have? As in the previous
exercise for Weber space, verify that these
numbers satisfy the toroidal version of
Euler’s formula.
(c) Riemann space as described above is a
directed graph with bidirectional arrows
exclusively. As an alternative approach, we
may define arrows to show the direction
of ascending voice leading: for instance,
an arrow points from C major to A minor,
not the other way around, because the
ascending voice leading G → A transforms C
major to A minor. Redraw Figure 4.2.5b as a
directed graph following this convention.
(d) In Riemann space each triad is adjacent
to the three other triads with which it
shares two common tones. How can you
tell by looking at Figure 4.2.5b which triads
share one common tone with a given triad?
Add edges to a copy of this graph so that
triads with one or more common tones are
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 129
 adjacent. In this new graph, each vertex is
adjacent to how many other vertices? What
is the largest distance between any two
  triads in this graph?
Exercise 4.2.7 Trace the pattern formed by a
PR-​cycle, an PL-​cycle, an RL-​cycle, and a circle-​of-​
fifths pattern in both Figure 4.2.5a and 4.2.5b.
Which one of these types of cycle is a spanning
cycle for the graph, as defined in Section 3.1?
What does the orientation of the arrows in your
directed graph from Exercise 4.2.6c tell you
about
   the voice leading in these cycles?
Each hexagonal cell in Figure 4.2.5b is sur-
rounded by six other cells, and the keys appear-
ing in these cells are systematically related.
Consider, for example, the highlighted cell com-
prising the keys F–​a–​C–​c–​A♭–​f. Immediately
to its right is another cell A♭–​c–​E♭–​d♯–​B–​g♯.
Geometrically, this second cell is a translation of
the first; musically, it represents a T3 transposi-
tion of the first cell, each of these keys being a
minor third higher than the correspondingly
placed key in the first cell. Similarly, immediately
above and to the left of each cell is its T4 trans-
position, a major third higher, and immediately
above and to the right is its T7 transposition, a
perfect fifth higher—​what we might call the
“dominant” of the original cell.
These relationships may have a familiar ring.
The transpositions T3, T4, and T7 are precisely
the relationships that defined the triangulated
tonnetz of Figure 3.5.8a as a transformation
network. Figure 4.2.8 demonstrates that the
correspondence between the triangulated ton-
netz and neo-​Riemannian triad space goes well
beyond this vague similarity. This diagram, which
synthesizes a number of different relationships
we have considered to this point, is constructed
in two layers. The foreground layer is a reorien-
tation of the cellular Riemann space of Figure
4.2.5b. The background layer is a separate graph,
its edges drawn in light dotted lines. This back-
ground graph is tonnetz space tonn, a triangu-
lated tonnetz identical to Figure 1.4.5 or 3.5.8a
except that note names have been replaced by
pitch-​class numbers to avoid confusion with the
triad or key names in the foreground layer.
Correspondences between the two layers of
Figure 4.2.8 are numerous. Each vertex of the
foreground layer lies in the middle of one tri-
angular face of the background layer. In the ter-
minology introduced in Section 3.1, the graph
of neo-​Riemannian triad space is the dual graph
130 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
of the triangulated tonnetz. Moreover, a fore-
ground vertex, representing a triad, lies not in
just any face of the background, but in the spe-
cific triangle whose three vertices are labeled
with the pitch classes of the foreground triad.
For instance, a vertex representing F major lies
at the center of the triangle whose vertices are
labeled 5, 9, and 0, the pitch-​class numbers of
the notes of the F-​major triad.24
We can think of T3, T4, and T7 as ways to move
either from vertex to vertex in the background
or from cell to cell in the foreground. Similarly,
we can think of P, L, and R as ways to move
either from vertex to vertex in the foreground or
from triangle to triangle in the background. The
parallel transformation P, for instance, is a diag-
onal move in the foreground (indicated by a solid
line)—​but we may also imagine performing P in
the background layer by flipping a triangle over
its diagonal edge (a dotted line). Similar remarks
apply to R and L. Two triangles related by P, L, or
R always share two common vertices, signifying
that each of these Riemannian transformations
preserves two common tones.
Exercise 4.2.9
(a) Imagine a colored version of Figure 4.2.8
in which the solid P lines and dotted T7
lines are red, the R and T4 lines are blue,
and the L and T3 lines are green. Every solid
line then crosses a dotted line of the same
color. While these crossings should not
be read too literally—​no musical meaning
attaches to the locations in the figure
where lines cross—​there is nevertheless
some significance to the relation between
the two phenomena illustrated by a
pair of intersecting lines. In the parallel
transformation, what role is played by
T7 (or notes related by T7—​that is, notes
separated by interval class 5)? Describe, in a
similar way, the connection between T4 and
R, and between T3 and L.
(b) Every hexagonal cell in the foreground
layer has a single background pitch class
at its center—​the “nucleus” of the cell. For
example, the nucleus of the cell D–​f♯–​A–​
a–​F–​d is pitch class 9 (the note A). What
property links that note to those six triads?
(c) In Exercise 3.3.16a you determined the
numbers of vertices, edges, and faces in
the triangulated tonnetz (as a finite graph
embedded in a torus). In Exercise 4.2.6b
you determined corresponding numbers
for neo-​Riemannian triad space. Verify
FIGURE 4.2.8 The triangulated tonnetz and neo-​Riemannian triad space as dual graphs
that these two sets of numbers are in
the proper relationship for a pair of dual
graphs: that is, both graphs should have the
same number of edges, and the numbers of
  vertices and faces should be interchanged.
Because of its strong affinity with the trian-
gulated tonnetz, neo-​Riemannian triad space
is sometimes described as a kind of tonnetz in
its own right. In the neo-​Riemannian litera-
ture, therefore, the word tonnetz may refer (1)
to the triangulated tonnetz of pitch classes;
(2) to some other related graphs presented in
Chapter 1, such as the unconformed tonnetz of
Figure 1.4.1; (3) to the neo-​Riemannian triad
space of Figure 4.2.5b; (4) to an amalgamation
of the triangulated tonnetz and Riemann space
as in Figure 4.2.8; or occasionally even (5) to
the Weber space of Figure 4.2.3. In keeping with
this tradition, we shall use the word tonnetz here
with some flexibility, though we will refrain from
applying it to Weber space. Of course we retain
the option to use our other, more specific names
for these diagrams when clarity demands.
In any case, it is the ease of depicting rela-
tions between triads or key areas (as in Weber
or Riemann space), more than pitch-​class rela-
tions (as in the triangulated tonnetz), that
drives much of the appeal of the tonnetz and
its widespread applications in neo-​Riemannian
theory and analysis. Both Weber and Riemann
space have proven valuable as maps in which
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 131

FIGURE 4.2.10 PL-​ cycle in Brahms, Double
Concerto, Op. 102, I, mm. 270–​78
to trace the progress of triadic progressions.25
Although our understanding of these triadic
relations will be further enhanced by our study
of algebraic properties of Riemannian and
other transformations in Chapter 8, pausing
now to explore a few such applications in the
tonnetz of Figure 4.2.8 will offer some new
ways to appreciate the behavior of P, L, and R,
among other musical rewards.
The PL-​ cycle from the Brahms Double
Concerto discussed in conjunction with the
hexatonic triad graph in Section 3.1—​the tri-
adic progression A♭–​g♯–​E–​e–​C–​c–​A♭–​g♯–​E—​may
serve again as an illustration. In the tonnetz,
this progression takes on the appearance shown
in Figure 4.2.10. This representation shows just
one module of the tonnetz (every triad appears
once), and exploits the drawing conventions of
the flat torus: moving downward through the
graph, the path reaches the bottom boundary of
the figure, at which point it reappears at the top.
One could avoid the need for a discontinuity in
the path by using an infinite tonnetz graph such
as Figure 3.3.10a, but such a depiction obscures
the fact that the progression’s opening chords
reappear at the end. Indeed, the progression
circumnavigates the PL-​ cycle and then some,
overshooting the initial A♭-​major triad and con-
tinuing as far as E.
The pitch classes in the background layer
that are engaged by this progression form two
adjacent columns in the triangulated tonnetz.
The three pitch classes in any one column define
an augmented triad; two adjacent columns
comprise a total of six pitch classes, forming a
hexatonic collection (prime form 014589) as the
union of two adjacent augmented triads. A PL-​
cycle thus exhausts the notes of one hexatonic
132 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
collection, and the tonnetz offers a concise visual
demonstration of why a PL-​cycle is also called a
hexatonic cycle. The tonnetz admits four different
pairings of two adjacent columns, corresponding
to the four transpositions of the hexatonic col-
lection. Following Straus (2016, 257), we label
these four sets hex01, hex12, hex23, and hex34,
indexing each set by the numerically smallest
pair of consecutive pitch-​class numbers appear-
ing within it;26 the Brahms progression inhabits
the collection hex34.
Exercise 4.2.11 Using reasoning similar to the
preceding paragraph, describe the appearance
of the three octatonic collections oct01, oct12,
and oct23 in the tonnetz, and explain why a
  cycle may be called an octatonic cycle.
PR-​
Starting from C major, the operations L and
R yield the two diatonic-​third–​related keys, E
minor and A minor respectively. In general, L
relations are characterized by the interval of
a major third between roots, R relations by a
minor third. Of course E minor and A minor
are also the diatonic mediant and submediant
keys of C major. The correspondence between L
and R, on the one hand, and mediant and sub-
mediant, on the other, works one way for major
keys and the opposite way for minor keys. That
is, the leittonwechsel of a major key is its medi-
ant and the relative is its submediant, while for
a minor key the relative is the mediant and the
leittonwechsel is the submediant. In Chapter 8
we will define mediant and submediant trans-
formations, M and M−1; these are not the same
functions as R and L, and we will see reasons why
it is not really accurate to apply any form of the
adjective “Riemannian” to M and M−1.27
When L or R is used in combination with
the mode shift characterizing the P transfor-
mation, as in the PL-​ and PR-​cycles, chromatic
third relations result, involving chords com-
monly called “mixture” chords. Starting from C
major, applying first R and then P yields A major:
C R → a P→ a , or, more compactly, C RP → a .
(As usual, RP denotes R ● P, “R-​then-​P.”) Similarly
the reader should be able to verify the follow-
ing composite actions and visualize them on
the tonnetz: C PR → E ♭, C LP → E, C PL → a ♭.
Generally PL-​ cycles (hexatonic cycles) feature
major-​third root relationships, while PR-​cycles
(octatonic cycles) move by minor thirds. It is
clear from the above actions that PR ≠ RP and
PL ≠ LP: Riemannian transformations do not
commute with each other.
 Each of P, L, and R is a mode-​reversing opera-
tion; that is, each transformation converts a
major to a minor triad or vice versa. In the tri-
angulated tonnetz, each application of P, L, or
R moves from a triangle in one orientation to
an adjacent triangle in the opposite orienta-
tion. Any composite of two of these operations
restores the original orientation and is therefore
mode-​preserving, which is why the composites
in the previous paragraph, applied to C major,
always yielded some other major triad (A, E♭, E,
A♭). Any combination of three of P, L, and R is
again mode-​reversing; by adjoining an additional
application of P to the composites PR and PL, we
can obtain the chords of E♭ minor and A♭ minor,
sometimes called “double mixture” chords in
relation to C major.
The ready availability of all these relations in
the tonnetz, coupled with the fact that progres-
sions involving chromatic thirds often prove
resistant to more traditional methods of tonal
analysis, makes such progressions particularly
amenable to analysis in the tonnetz. Perfect-​
fifth relations may be described using compos-
ites of L and R (C LR
→ g, C RL → F) , but in the
absence of clear third relations there is seldom
a good reason to conceive of the connection
between a tonic and its dominant or subdomi-
nant in this way. For these and other reasons
tonnetz analysis is generally less likely to offer
revealing insights about functional diatonic
progressions than about progressions featuring
chromatic third relationships.
Exercise 4.2.12
(a) Without repeating one transformation
twice in succession (which would
accomplish nothing), twelve different triple
composites of P, L, and R may be formed:
PLP, PLR, PRP, PRL, and eight others. List
all twelve, calculate the result of applying
each of these triple composites to a C-​major
triad, and trace these composite moves on
the tonnetz.
(b) In part (a) you should have found that
the composites PLP and LPL, applied to
a C-​major triad, lead to the same place.
You should also have found three other
pairs of composites with the property
that the two composites in each pair give
identical results. Recall from the discussion
of equality of functions in Section 2.3
that if f(x) =​ g(x) for some x, we cannot
automatically conclude that f =​ g; that
conclusion requires knowing that f(x) =​ g(x)
for every x. It turns out, however, that if f
and g are composites of P, L, and R, and if f
and g yield the same result when applied to
one triad, then they will automatically yield
the same result on every other triad as well,
so that in this case f and g must actually
be the same function. We will derive this
property in Section 8.2 as we study the
algebra of Riemannian transformations. For
now, in light of the four duplicate results
mentioned above, this property means that
four algebraic identities must hold: PLP
=​ LPL and three others. Can you explain
each of these identities visually, using
Figure 4.2.8? What kind of a path does PLP
describe through the tonnetz? What kind
of path does LPL describe, and why do they
lead to the same place? Write the other
three algebraic identities, and visualize
  them in the tonnetz.
Exercise 4.2.13 Several of the following
triadic progressions or key successions
from the nineteenth-​century repertoire
have been analyzed in the neo-​Riemannian
literature.28 Trace each progression in (a)–​(f)
as a path through the foreground graph
of Figure 4.2.8, identify the Riemannian
transformations involved, and answer the
additional questions (g)–​(i).
(a) Beethoven, “Spring” Sonata for Violin and
Piano, Op. 24, II, mm. 37–​54:
B♭–​b♭–​G♭–​f♯–​D–​d–​B♭
(b) Liszt, Consolation No. 3 in D♭ Major, mm.
18–​43 (see comment in (g) below):
D♭–​f–​F–​a–​A–​D♭
(c) Smetana, Overture to The Bartered Bride,
mm. 128–​44:
C–​c–​E♭–​e♭–​G♭–​f♯–​A–​a–​C
(d) Franck, Piano Quintet in F Minor, I,
mm. 26–​33:
E♭–​c–​C–​a
(e) Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, II, mm. 143–​71:
C–​a–​F–​d–​B♭–​g–​E♭–​c–​A♭–​f–​D♭–​b♭–​G♭–​e♭–
​C♭–​a♭–​E–​c♯–​A
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 133
(f) Chopin, Fantasy in F Minor, Op. 49, mm.
43–​60 (see comment in (g) below):29
f–​A♭–​c–​E♭–​g–​B♭–​e♭–​G♭–​b♭–​D♭–​f
(g) The examples in parts (b) and (f) above
include small irregularities in what is
otherwise a regular pattern. What chord
seems to be missing in the Liszt example?
Which composite transformation (PL, LP,
PR, RP, LR, or RL) might be invoked here?
The irregularity in the Chopin progression
cannot be explained as a single chord
missing from a pattern, but you should
have no trouble describing the harmonic
motion here in a more traditional way. (It
may be relevant to note that the B♭ chord in
(f), uniquely among all the chords in (a)–​
(f), is actually a dominant seventh chord.)
(h) Because of the irregularity just noted, the
Chopin example does not constitute a
complete cycle of the pattern it defines,
though it begins and ends with the same triad.
The Beethoven example in (e), despite its
remarkable length, is also not a complete cycle.
How many more chords would be needed to
bring this progression back to C major? Trace
this complete cycle in Figure 4.2.8.
(i) The progressions in parts (a) and (b)
exemplify the same basic cycle type as
the Brahms Double Concerto example
graphed in Figure 4.2.10. In the tonnetz,
your analyses should show that two of
these three progressions trace paths in
one direction while the other traces a path
in the opposite direction. What musical
features of the progressions explain this
observation? Compare your analyses in
  parts (c)–​(d) and (e)–​(f) in a similar way.30
Exercise 4.2.14 Manrico’s aria “Ah sì, ben mio,
coll’essere” from Part III of Verdi’s Il trovatore
begins with this series of modulations:
f–​A♭–​a♭–​F♭–​d♭–​D♭
(The triads are spelled in the score as notated
above.) Trace the path of this progression in
the tonnetz of Figure 4.2.8, and identify the
Riemannian transformations involved. What
additional transformation could theoretically
lead from the ending key back to the starting
key, completing a cycle? (Verdi does not supply
this transformation; the aria ends in D♭ major.)
How is the fact that the pitch class A♭ belongs to
134 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
every triad in the progression apparent in the
   31
graph?
The musical examples in the preceding exer-
cises are uncommonly systematic in the repeti-
tive patterns by which they move through the
space of the tonnetz. In general we have no right
to expect music to be so well-​behaved. The fol-
lowing exercise shows that even less orderly
musical passages may be amenable to tonnetz
analysis.
Exercise 4.2.15 The fourth movement of
Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet is a series of six
variations on his song “Die Forelle.” The
theme, Variations 1–​3 , and Variation 6 are
in D major. In this exercise we examine what
happens during the comparatively brief
time that the movement explores other
keys, and we analyze Schubert’s navigation
through the tonnetz, away from D major and
back again.
Variation 4 is in the parallel minor, and
Variation 5 begins with a sudden move to B♭
major, heard as VI of D minor. B♭ major proves
unstable; the second half of Variation 5 shifts to
B♭ minor before cadencing in D♭ major (tonally
the most remote point from D major—​but,
incidentally, the key of the original song). At
this point Schubert inserts a seven-​measure
transition that begins with a shift to D♭ minor
and then returns to D major by a series of
descending diatonic thirds, d♭ =​c♯–​A–​f♯–​D. The
large-​scale tonal trajectory may therefore be
summarized as
D–​d–​B♭–​b♭–​D♭–​d♭–​A–​f♯–​D.
Trace this path in the tonnetz of Figure 4.2.8,
and identify the Riemannian transformations
involved. Also compare this path with those
of the preceding exercises; you should find
fragments of several different patterns
combined
   here.
Several questions may occur to readers
working through exercises like those above,
especially when working in an infinite flat ton-
netz such as Figure 4.2.8. What does it mean
when, for example, Beethoven’s progression
from Exercise 4.2.13a begins at one B♭-​major
triad but apparently ends at a “different” B♭-​
major triad in the tonnetz? Does this analysis
imply that the passage is somehow not tonally
closed? The most satisfactory answer to this
question depends on distinguishing the graph
from the space it depicts, and on recalling the
toroidal topology of the latter, which allows an
infinite graph to represent a finite space, each
of whose elements appears at many different
places in the graph. It is therefore possible for
a progression to begin and end at two differ-
ent points of the graph while beginning and
ending at the same point of the space. The two
B♭s, though they appear distinct in the plane
figure, are nevertheless the same triad, and the
path in neo-​Riemannian triad space is a closed
one. There is no reason to think that the com-
posers of these progressions regarded them as
anything but tonally closed: hexatonic cycles
like that of Exercise 4.2.13a appeared in the
literature a handful of times before 1800 and
with increasing frequency thereafter,32 almost
never with any apparent attempt to compen-
sate by moving back to the starting point in the
tonnetz.33
Readers who have consulted scores of the
works in the preceding exercises may find them-
selves questioning the criteria by which some of
the chords enumerated above were chosen. In
the initial Brahms example and the Beethoven
excerpt in Exercise 4.2.13e, the analysis accounts
for every chord (indeed, every note) in the music,
so there should be little room for debate. Some
of the other examples, however—​ particularly
4.2.13a–​b, 4.2.14, and 4.2.15—​may be consid-
ered more problematic, as these excerpts contain
more chords than those given in the exercises.
Some of the listed chords are preceded by their
own dominants, which our analysis disregards;
the Beethoven analysis in 4.2.13a ignores a com-
plete I–​IV–​V–​I progression in G♭ major. Are we
guilty of cherry-​picking only the chords that fit a
desired pattern?
The question is a legitimate one, and sev-
eral points should be made in response. First,
the objects in neo-​Riemannian triad space may
represent triads or key areas. In some cases the
tonnetz analysis may literally recount a progres-
sion of triads; in other cases it may more accu-
rately depict a succession of tonal centers. In the
potentially troublesome examples mentioned
above, all of the listed chords are tonicized and
may legitimately be considered key areas. In
the “Trout” example of Exercise 4.2.15, it might
then be objected that other keys are also toni-
cized in this movement: A major within the
D-​major sections, F major within the D-​minor
variation, and F major again within the B♭-​major
portion of Variation 5. Moreover, some of these
other tonicizations last several measures, unlike
the very brief tonicizations of D♭ minor, A major,
and F♯ minor that figure crucially in our analysis
of the transition back to D major. A justification
for disregarding these other tonicizations might
be that, however salient they may seem in other
ways, they do not participate in any broader
movement through tonal space: they lead in
each case back to the previous key rather than
heading in some new direction. In contrast, each
step in the descending-​thirds chain in the final
transition, though brief, is an essential part of
that broader tonal movement: the modulation
back to D simply would not work (or at least
would not work in the same way) if any of these
keys were omitted.
This distinction leads to a more general
point. It is in the nature of analysis to be reduc-
tive, and the analyses suggested above are not
necessarily more so than other methods with
which readers may be familiar. The kinds of
reductions produced by different methods,
however, may differ. The tonnetz analysis of
the Liszt progression in Exercise 4.2.13b calls
attention to the way that Liszt divides the
octave symmetrically into three major thirds
and navigates through this cycle by a repeat-
ing pattern, alternating ascending thirds with
mode changes. A Schenkerian analysis of the
same passage would necessarily highlight
different features. The Schenkerian analyst
could not reasonably include the bass notes
D♭–​F –​A–​D♭ without also including A♭, the struc-
tural dominant preceding the return of the D♭
tonic; F might be read as a third-​divider within
the larger D♭–​A♭ span, and A =​B♭ ♭ as a more local
event (♭VI). In short, the tonnetz analysis accen-
tuates the symmetry of the pattern, while the
Schenkerian analysis subjugates that symmetry
to the norms of traditional diatonic tonality.34
The reader can probably think of a number of
reasons why tonnetz analysis could never be a
universal replacement for Schenkerian analysis.
To be sure, the musical phenomena that can be
described in the tonnetz are limited in variety
in comparison with all that a good Schenkerian
sketch may account for. Some readers may prefer
to think of the triadic spaces described here as
an abstract pre-​background level of structure, on
which common-​practice tonality superimposes
various kinds of conventions not intrinsic to the
spaces themselves. Even as representations of
chords and key areas in tonal music, Weber and
Riemann spaces have evident limitations: they
cannot distinguish a triad from a seventh chord,
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 135
or a tonic triad in C major from a dominant in F
major, and they generally pay no heed to diatonic
organization. The failure of tonnetz analysis
to recognize a tonal center might be seen as an
advantage in some cases, such as the PL-​cycle in
the Brahms Double Concerto, in which it is not
clear that any triad is more deserving than any
other of being called “tonic” (or “dominant” or
“subdominant”), but a drawback in other cases
in which a clearer tonal orientation prevails.
In response to some of these shortcomings,
Lerdahl refines his regional space (essentially
Weber space) into a more complex chordal-​
regional space, presented in Section 4.3 below.
Transformation theory has devised various ways
to confront the other limitations, some of which
we will consider in later chapters. While tonnetz
analysis continues to find its most appealing appli-
cations in passages displaying certain characteris-
tic patterns, and generally remains insufficient for
detailed analysis of complete works, tonnetz anal-
ysis and related methods can often be customized
for use in conjunction with other methods, some-
times in unexpectedly diverse musical situations
and with compelling results. The last section of
this chapter will offer a few illustrative analyses.
—​—​—​
In comparison with the double-​circle spaces of
Section 4.1, the spaces considered in this section
offer somewhat different conceptions of the dis-
tance between two key areas. Distances are still
figured between vertices in a graph, as described
more generally in Section 3.1, but the graph is
now either the rectilinear grid of Weber space
or the hexagonal grid of neo-​Riemannian triad
space. We call these two distance measures the
Weber distance and the neo-​Riemannian distance
(or PLR distance), respectively. The Weber dis-
tance between two triads is the smallest number
of P, R, and T7 (or T5) operations, in any combi-
nation, that will map one to the other; the neo-​
Riemannian distance is the smallest number of
P, L, and R operations. For example, the Weber
distance from C major to A♭ major is 3 because, at
the very least, some combination of one vertical
and two horizontal moves is required to get from
C to A♭ in Figure 4.2.3 (for instance, C–​F–​f–​A♭).
The neo-​Riemannian distance between the same
two triads is only 2, however, because the com-
bination of a single P and L leads from C to A ♭.
Table 4.2.16 compares these distance mea-
sures with the circle-​of-​fifths distance defined
in Section 4.1, showing the distance from a
C-​major triad to every other triad by all three mea-
sures. There are other alternatives: Krumhansl’s

Table 4.2.16. Circle-​of-​fifths distance, Weber distance, and neo-​Riemannian distance

from C major to every major and minor key

C IRC L E -​OF -​FIF T H S W E B E R DI S TA N C E F ROM NEO-​R IE M A NNI A N

DI S TA N C E F ROM C M A J OR T O … DI S TA N C E F ROM
C M A J OR T O … C M A JOR T O …

C major 0 C minor 3 C major 0 C minor 1 C major 0 C minor 1

D♭ major 5 C♯ minor 4 D♭ major 4 C♯ minor 4 D♭ major 4 C♯ minor 3
D major 2 D minor 1 D major 2 D minor 2 D major 4 D minor 3
E♭ major 3 D♯ minor 6 E♭ major 2 D♯ minor 3 E♭ major 2 D♯ minor 3
E major 4 E minor 1 E major 3 E minor 2 E major 2 E minor 1
F major 1 F minor 4 F major 1 F minor 2 F major 2 F minor 3
F♯ major 6 F♯ minor 3 F♯ major 4 F♯ minor 3 F♯ major 4 F♯ minor 3
G major 1 G minor 2 G major 1 G minor 2 G major 2 G minor 3
A♭ major 4 G♯ minor 5 A♭ major 3 G♯ minor 4 A♭ major 2 G♯ minor 3
A major 3 A minor 1 A major 2 A minor 1 A major 2 A minor 1
B♭ major 2 B♭ minor 5 B♭ major 2 B♭ minor 3 B♭ major 4 B♭ minor 5
B major 5 B minor 2 B major 4 B minor 3 B major 4 B minor 3

136 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
empirical studies have already been mentioned,
Lerdahl (2001) has developed some consider-
ably more elaborate distance measures between
chords and keys, and we will study distance
measurements in a more general setting in
Chapter 12. But the Weber distance in particu-
lar is appealingly simple and aligns well with
many musicians’ and theorists’ understandings
of key relationships. In particular, admitting the
parallel relationship as one way to achieve close-
ness rectifies the shortcomings of the circle-​of-​
fifths distance, noted at the beginning of this
section: by either the Weber distance or the
neo-​Riemannian distance, C major is no longer
as close to F♯ minor as it is to C minor. In light
of the central role of third relations in the con-
struction of Weber and Riemann space, it should
be unsurprising that third-​related keys, too, are
generally closer by either the Weber distance or
the neo-​Riemannian distance than by the circle-​
of-​fifths distance—​a feature exploited often by
Schubert, as analyses in Section 4.5 will show.35
Exercise 4.2.17
(a) Compare the circle-​of-​fifths, Weber, and
neo-​Riemannian distances from C major
to D minor, from C major to E major, and
from C major to F minor. Does one way
of measuring distance seem to correlate
best with your intuitions about the tonal
distances between these keys? Is your
intuition different if you think of distances
between chords rather than keys?
(b) What is the greatest circle-​of-​fifths distance
from C major to any other key? How
many keys are located at this maximum
distance from C major? Answer the
analogous questions for the Weber and neo-​
Riemannian distances.36
(c) The neo-​Riemannian distance from C major
to every major key is an even number, and
the neo-​Riemannian distance to every
minor key is an odd number. Why is this?
How is Exercise 4.2.6a related to this
property? Why does this property not hold
for the other two distance measures?37
(d) Table 4.2.16 may be used in conjunction
with transposition to determine distances
between other pairs of keys. For example,
the Weber distance from A major to F minor
may be found by transposing both keys up
three semitones to C major and G♯ minor,
and consulting the table for the answer (4).
Use this method to determine the circle-​of-​
fifths distance from F major to B major; the
Weber distance from E♭ major to G minor;
and the neo-​Riemannian distance from A♭
major to B minor.38
(e) In Table 4.2.16, the first column of
numbers, excluding the initial 0, forms a
symmetrical pattern (52341614325). Why
is this? Does a similar pattern hold for the
minor keys? Do the tables of Weber and
neo-​Riemannian distances have similar
properties?39
(f) Because Table 4.2.16 gives only distances
from C major, it cannot be used to calculate
distances between two minor keys.
Construct analogous tables giving the
double-​circle, Weber, and neo-​Riemannian
distances from C minor to every other
  minor key.
Distantly related keys, like those consid-
ered in part (b) of the preceding exercise, have
another distinctive characteristic: in Weber or
Riemann space, such keys may often be joined
by several different paths of equal or nearly
equal length, paths that may lead in different
directions and pass through entirely different
regions of the space. For example, the March to
the Scaffold from Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique
includes a notorious juxtaposition of the dis-
tant keys of G minor and D♭ major. Figure 4.2.18
shows that in Weber space one can move from G
minor to D♭ major in three very different direc-
tions. The horizontal Path 1 locates the two keys
FIGURE 4.2.18 Ambiguous relationship between
G minor and D♭ major in Berlioz, Symphonie
fantastique, IV, mm. 152–​58
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 137
three steps apart on a PR-​chain; that is, it identi- is not dependent on knowing which triads are of
fies D♭ major as “the relative of the parallel of the which qualities.
relative of G minor.” Path 2 is nearly vertical, and If the vertices of the generic tonnetz repre-
involves fifth relations: D♭ is now “the relative of sent triads, then the edges represent possible
the subdominant of the subdominant of the motions from one triad to another through
subdominant of G minor” (or if diagonal moves various intervals. As the legend beneath Figure
by L are admitted, it could be “the leittonwech- 4.3.1a shows, the graph accounts for all pos-
sel of the subdominant of the subdominant”). sible generic intervals, arranged along three
Finally, the northwesterly Path 3 describes D♭ axes: the diagonal seconds axis shows seconds
as “the major dominant of the leittonwechsel of and sevenths, the horizontal thirds axis shows
the major dominant of G minor.” The fact that all thirds and sixths, and the vertical fifths axis
of these descriptions are about equally complex shows fourths and fifths. Every generic triad is
could be said to contribute to a listener’s sense related to every other by one of these intervals,
of disorientation upon hearing this unortho- and therefore every one of the seven vertices in
dox pairing of keys: there are no musical clues the graph is adjacent to every other. The finite
to signal “which way we are going” when the graph of diatonic chordal space in (b) is actually
music lurches to D♭. When keys are separated a complete graph on seven vertices, which we called
by shorter distances there is no such ambiguity: K7 in Chapter 3. K7 is not a planar graph (recall
there is only one simple way to get from G minor from Exercise 3.3.15 that even the simpler graph
to D minor or to B♭ major. K5 cannot be embedded in a plane), but Figure
4.3.1b is a toroidal embedding of K7.40
4.3 GENERIC AND
DIATONIC CHORDAL Exercise 4.3.2
SPACES (a) The graph in Figure 4.3.1b is a complete
graph as described above. At a glance,
Fewer chords are available in generic or diatonic however, it might appear that this graph
space than in chromatic space, but notwith- cannot possibly be complete, because the
standing their limited numbers, generic chords diagonals are missing; only the opposing
form spaces in their own right. Figure 4.3.1a is diagonals are present. Explain this
the triangulated generic tonnetz from Figure apparent paradox.
1.4.28b. Originally the vertices in this graph rep- (b) In Figure 4.3.1b, trace the patterns formed
resented single notes—​points in generic pitch-​ by a generic (or diatonic) scale, circle
class space. The same graph can be repurposed of fifths, and circle of thirds. In other
as a chordal space by letting the letters stand for words, identify subgraphs of Figure 4.3.1b
triads constructed on those notes. There is only corresponding to Figures 1.2.8, 1.3.8, and
one triad on any note in generic space, so there is 1.3.12. Each graph should be a 7-​cycle.
no need to differentiate major and minor triads (c) As a graph embedded in a torus, how many
on the same roots, as we did in chromatic space. vertices, edges, and faces does Figure 4.3.1b
Generic triad space (gtriad) is therefore a space have? As in Exercises 4.1.17b, 4.2.4b, and
of only seven objects, isomorphic in at least some 4.2.6b, verify that these numbers satisfy
aspects of its structure to generic pitch-​class   the toroidal version of Euler’s formula.
space. As a finite tonnetz, the toroidal graph
in Figure 4.3.1a has only seven vertices, each The generic tonnetz, like its chromatic coun-
of which appears once in every parallelogram terpart, may be regarded as a transformation
tile. Figure 4.3.1b shows one of these tiles, after network. The appropriate transformations are
applying a shearing transformation that con- the generic transposition operators tk, first intro-
verts the tile into a rectangle (altering the slopes duced in Section 2.6 and shown in the legend
of the graph’s edges but preserving the adjacency beneath Figure 4.3.1a. Though often over-
relation). Like the generic spaces in Chapter 1, looked, generic (or diatonic) transpositions
Figure 4.3.1 may also readily represent a diatonic are extremely useful operations; the relation-
tonnetz, determined by a fixed assignment of ships they model are ubiquitous in virtually
sharps or flats to the seven generic pitch classes. all music in which diatonic structure plays a
In a diatonic context, three of the seven triads role.41 Generic tk, like chromatic Tn, may act
will be major, three minor, and one diminished, either on single notes (in this case generic pitch
but the organization of the generic chordal space classes) or on chords (gpc sets). The operator tk

138 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
FIGURE 4.3.1 (a) A generic tonnetz as a representation of generic triad space (gtriad); (b) one tile
of the generic tonnetz
transposes a note or chord up through k steps
within its generic or diatonic space. For exam-
ple, in generic pc space gpc, t1(G) =​A, t5(A) =​
F, and t3 applied to an A triad (A–​C–​E) yields a
D triad (D–​F–​A). In three-​flat diatonic pc space
dpc(−3) (“the E♭-​major scale”), t1(G) =​A♭, t5(A♭) =​
F, and t3 applied to an A♭-​major triad yields a D-​
diminished triad. Mathematically, tk is a mod-​7
operator, whose effect is to add k to any number
mod 7, just as Tn adds n mod 12. Using generic
pitch-​class numbers with C =​0, the relationship
t5(A) =​F is represented by the congruence 5 +​5
=​3 (mod 7): the first 5 is the gpc number for A,
the second 5 is the interval of generic transposi-
tion, and 3 is the gpc number for F. (Recall from
Section 1.1 the relationship between generic
intervals and familiar interval names; t5 corre-
sponds to transposition through the interval of
an ascending sixth, not a fifth.)
The idea that a diminished triad may be a
“transposition” of a major triad may strike some
readers as counterintuitive, but distinctions of
chord quality are external to the generic space
in which tk operates. Generic intervals are mea-
sured by counting steps within that space, not by
acoustic interval size. By this measure, all triads
in generic space have the same structure, and all
are related to each other by some tk. In chromatic
space, triads differing in quality are not related
by Tn—​which is precisely why other transforma-
tions such as P, L, and R are needed in order to
describe the chromatic tonnetz as a transforma-
tion network.
As Figure 4.3.1 suggests, the transpositions
t1 and t6 are inverses (comparable to T1 and T11
in chromatic space), as are t2 and t5, and also t3
and t4. Inverse functions relate the same pairs of
elements, exchanging their places: thus t2(E) =​G
and t5(G) =​E. A transposition by t2 in a generic or
diatonic pitch-​class space may represent either
an ascending third or a descending sixth in pitch
space, while t5 can be either an ascending sixth
or a descending third; similar remarks apply to
the pairs t1/​t6 and t3/​t4. We shall have more to
say about ways of measuring intervals, and their
relationships with transposition operators in
general, in Chapter 7.
Exercise 4.3.3 Express your answers to the
following calculations both in musical terms
and using generic pitch-​class numbers.
(a) In generic space gpc, calculate t4(F), t5(B),
and t6 applied to an E triad.
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 139
(b) In four-​sharp diatonic space dpc(+​4)
(“E major”), calculate t3(A), t5(D♯), and t6
  applied to a C♯-​minor triad.
Diatonic chord progressions may be mapped
in the generic tonnetz in much the same way
that we traced some chromatic progressions in
the tonnetz of Figure 4.2.8. Figure 4.3.4 shows
two common diatonic sequence patterns. The
descending-​fifths sequence in (a) is generated
by repeated application of the generic transposi-
tion t3, a descending fifth or ascending fourth,
and accordingly traces a straight vertical path
along the fifths axis of the generic tonnetz.
The sequence in (b) is the type familiar from
Pachelbel’s Canon, also known as the Romanesca
pattern; it consists of alternating t4 and t1 trans-
positions, descending fourths and ascending
steps, together forming a westbound zigzag path
on the tonnetz.
FIGURE 4.3.4 Two diatonic sequences in the generic tonnetz: (a) a descending-​fifths sequence (t3t3 =​ t6);
(b) a “Pachelbel” sequence (t4t1 =​ t5)
140 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Comparison of the sequence networks of
Figure 4.3.4 with those of Figure 3.5.3 is instruc-
tive. The present sequences are diatonic rather
than chromatic: the graph in 3.5.3a is a T-​net
while the new graphs are t-​nets. The diatonic
sequences follow regular patterns in generic
space but not in chromatic space: the specific
intervals in 4.3.4a include one diminished fifth,
which must always be present in sufficiently
long sequences of this type, and the t1 steps in
4.3.4b include both major and minor seconds. A
difference in the manner of graphical presenta-
tion may also be noted: in terminology intro-
duced previously in conjunction with Figure
3.5.15, Figure 3.5.3a is an event network (orga-
nized chronologically from left to right), while
the graphs in Figure 4.3.4 are spatial networks
(arranged like the diatonic tonnetz).
The dashed arrows in Figure 4.3.4, like those
in 3.5.3a, represent indirect transformations
arising as composites of two consecutive direct chords A♭–​D♭–​F–​b♭–​D♭–​G♭. These triads do
transformations. The combined effect of t4 and t1 not all belong to one diatonic space (the F-​
is t5 (that is, t4t1 =​ t5), because of course 4 +​1 =​5 major chord is a secondary dominant), but
(mod 7). The two-​chord blocks in the Pachelbel we may nevertheless analyze the sequence
sequence accordingly descend by thirds (t5)—​ in generic space as A–​D–​F–​B–​D–​G. Trace
this sequence is often called a “descending-​ this sequence in the generic tonnetz
thirds sequence”—​ and this explains why the and write the corresponding equation of
trajectory of the sequence as a whole parallels transposition operators.
the thirds axis of the tonnetz. The equation (c) Do the same with the sequence that opens
t4t1 =​ t5 may be compared with the notation Fauré’s Pavane, Op. 50: f♯–​D–​E–​c♯–​D–​b–​C♯.
D3(−4/​+​2) for the same sequence in Laitz 2016 (d) Unusual sequence types can sometimes be
(414–​16). Laitz’s notation may be read as “a described as alterations of more familiar
descending-​thirds sequence with root motions types, in which some chords are substituted
of descending fourths and ascending seconds.” for others a third away (with which they
The use of familiar ordinal interval numbers here therefore share two common tones). For
obscures the simplicity of the arithmetic, for −4 example, every other chord of a sequence
and +​2 do not add up to −3. Similarly, Laitz’s may be transposed by t2 or t5. Can either
notation for the descending-​fifths sequence in or both of the sequences in (b) and (c) be
(a) is D2(−5/​+​4), recognizing the fact that such described in relation to a more common
sequences are usually organized in two-​chord type in this way? How does the tonnetz
blocks descending by step; in the language of picture of the unusual sequence resemble
diatonic transposition operators this sequence that of the more familiar one?43
pattern is t3t3 =​ t6. The tonnetz analysis disre- (e) With your answers to (c) and (d) in mind,
gards the distinction between descending fifths analyze the following two passages from
and ascending fourths (both are t3), and also dis- Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte:
regards chord inversions, which are sometimes
used to distinguish various subtypes of these mm. 3–​6: C–​a–​D–​G–​C–​f♯ø–​b
sequence patterns. 42
mm. 30–​34: C–​a–​b–​G–​a–​f♯ø–​b

Exercise 4.3.5 Both progressions harmonize the same

(a) Another common sequence type is the
“ascending 5–​6” sequence with chord roots
C–​A–​D–​B–​E–​C–​⋯, labeled A2(−3/​+​4) by
Laitz. Trace this sequence as a path in the
generic tonnetz, and write the corresponding
equation involving a composition of generic
transposition operators. (This sequence was
graphed in a different way in Figure 2.3.4a.)
(b) Schubert’s Scherzo in D♭ Major for piano,
D. 593, No. 2, contains at mm. 5–​7 a
sequence of a less common type, with
melody. Most of the chords are diatonic
seventh chords, but the sevenths may be
  ignored for the purposes of this analysis.
In a tonal context, the seven triads in the dia-
tonic tonnetz may be assigned roman-​numeral
labels. Figure 4.3.6a, otherwise arranged like
Figure 4.3.1a, displays the labels associated
with a major tonic key, and 4.3.6b shows cor-
responding labels for a minor key. The mode-​
neutral labeling in 4.3.6c is occasionally useful

FIGURE 4.3.6 (a) Diatonic triad space in a major key; (b) diatonic triad space in a minor key; (c) a
mode-​neutral representation of generic triad space

Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 141

FIGURE 4.3.7 Chordal-​regional space (after Lerdahl)

in describing likenesses between passages that

share generic structure while differing in chro-
matic detail; we will encounter an illustration
in Figure 4.5.15 below. These diagrams corre-
spond to Lerdahl’s chordal space; one module
of such a tonnetz is what Lerdahl terms the
chordal core.44
This core forms an integral part of Lerdahl’s
chordal-​regional space, a portion of which is
shown in Figure 4.3.7. At the large-​scale level,
indicated by the boldface key names in the fig-
ure, chordal-​regional space is a map of key areas,
organized like Weber space (Figure 4.2.3). But
each key area is now not just a single point of
the space but a region with its own cluster of
satellites, a miniature representation of chordal FIGURE 4.3.8 Functional harmonic progres-
space in that key, corresponding to Figure 4.3.6a sions in the diatonic circle of thirds
or 4.3.6b. A point in chordal-​regional space may
be specified by naming one of the 24 keys and
one of the seven diatonic triads within that key. long as key areas can be identified unequivo-
Points of chordal-​regional space are therefore cally, chordal-​regional space enables more fine-​
in one-​to-​one correspondence with elements of grained analysis than Weber space or a tonnetz
the Cartesian product of Weber space and dia- by itself. Lerdahl supplies several such chordal-​
tonic triad space, a set of cardinality 24 ∙ 7 =​ regional analyses, and we will see an application
168. Lerdahl’s geometric arrangement, however, in Example 4.5.12.46
imposes an additional hierarchical organization Figure 4.3.8 diagrams the thirds axis of dia-
on chordal-​regional space not implied by its set-​ tonic triad space in circular form; the arrange-
theoretic description.45 ment is like Figure 1.3.12’s generic circle of
This space addresses a previously noted short- thirds but with roman numerals in place of the
coming of Weber space by differentiating among note names. The organization by thirds brings
appearances of the same triad in the context of together chords of the common functional cat-
different key areas: for example, a tonic triad in egories: iii and vi, adjacent to I, can in some
C major is indicated by the capital letter C at the circumstances extend or substitute for a tonic
center of its region, while a dominant triad in F harmony, while ii, IV, and vi commonly serve
major is V in the F-​major region and a mediant a pre-​dominant function and iii and viio, adja-
triad in A minor is III in the A-​minor region. As cent to V, can take on aspects of the dominant.

142 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
T–​P–​D–​T motion is directed counterclockwise
in this circle, and in fact this figure offers a
refinement of the standard T–​P–​D–​T harmonic
paradigm. It is sometimes noted that func-
tional harmonies tend to progress primarily by
three types of root motion: by descending fifth,
by ascending second, or by descending third.47
In Figure 4.3.8, a descending third is one posi-
tion counterclockwise, a descending fifth is two
positions counterclockwise, and an ascending
step is three positions counterclockwise. We
may therefore say briefly that functional har-
monic progressions tend to move counterclock- (b) This Möbius strip may be used to model
wise in the circle of thirds—​a more detailed rule
than the coarser T–​P–​D–​T principle, but more
straightforward than elaborate networks of
arrows such as Figure 3.4.1. (As with the T–​P–​
D–​T paradigm, the most common exceptions to
the counterclockwise rule occur in movement
away from the tonic.)48
4.4 SOME ADDITIONAL
MODELS
This section consists mostly of a series of exer-
cises, outlining a few other ways that tonal or
chordal structures may be depicted.
Exercise 4.4.1 This exercise involves a
representation of generic space as a Möbius
strip. You may find it helpful to review the
construction of a different Möbius-​strip
tonnetz in Section 1.4. (We will see another
application of that tonnetz in Figure 4.5.8.)
(a) Start with the generic tonnetz from Figure
1.4.28a, in which the note names represent
generic pitch classes and triads appear as
triangles. Apply a shearing transformation
to the columns, sliding each column up
slightly relative to the column to its left, so
that each triangle has one vertical edge and
two oppositely sloping edges. In this new
configuration E, rather than appearing to
the right of C and to the left of G, should
appear both to the left and to the right of
the midpoint of the vertical edge joining
C and G. In this figure you should be able
to draw rectangular modules, taller than
they are wide, each containing every note
name exactly once. Horizontally adjacent
modules should be identical, but vertically
adjacent modules are mirror images of each
other, so the ends of the rectangle can be
stitched together only if the rectangle is
twisted, forming a Möbius strip. Why is it
not necessary to conjoin the two vertical
edges in this module? You can construct
this Möbius strip physically using a strip
of paper or transparent plastic, labeling
the seven pitch classes along the edge of
the strip and drawing lines across the strip
to show the triangulation. The triangles
represent diatonic triads; in what order do
they fall along the strip? A Möbius strip has
only one edge; in what order do the pitch
classes occur along this edge?49
a chain of triads descending diatonically
by thirds. Each triad is represented by a
triangle, each note by a vertex; successive
triads share two common tones. If you
attempt a similar construction in which
triangles represent the triads of a PL-​cycle
in chromatic space such as C–​c–​A♭–​g♯–​E–​
e–​C, you will get not a Möbius strip but
an untwisted cylindrical loop. Why is this?
What determines whether a closed loop of
triangles will or will not require a twist?
Which do you get using the triads of a PR-​
  cycle? An RL-​cycle?
Exercise 4.4.2 Like many graphs, neo-​
Riemannian triad space can be drawn in
a number of strikingly different ways; the
hexagonal grid of Figure 4.2.5b is only one of
several viable representations. This exercise
explores two other possible ways to arrange 24
vertices representing triads or key areas and
to connect them with edges representing P,
L, and R. You may find it helpful to use three
different colors for the edges in these graphs, as
suggested in Exercise 4.2.9.50
(a) Arrange the 24 triads or keys in a circular
RL-​cycle, then add additional edges crossing
the interior of the circle as needed for
P. Riemann space is not a planar graph,
so some of the P edges will need to cross
each other.
(b) Another possibility is to arrange the
vertices of Riemann space in four concentric
circles, each of which is a PL-​cycle. Put
adjacent cycles such as C–​E–​A♭ and D♭–​F–​A
next to each other. Additional edges will
be needed for R; most of these edges will
connect two adjacent circles, but some of
them will have to connect the innermost
circle to the outermost, cutting across the
two intermediate circles. Align the vertices
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 143
 in the four circles in a way that maximizes
the symmetry of the resulting graph and
minimizes edge crossings. The ringlike
appearance of this graph befits its status as
a toroidal embedding: it can be seen as the
top view of an embedding of Riemann space
  in the surface of a doughnut.
The next several exercises explore ways of
using tonnetzes to model relationships among
types of chords other than simple triads.
Exercise 4.4.3
(a) Review the tonnetz of 014 trichords from
Exercise 1.4.9, based on an alternate
triangulation of the usual tonnetz.
Construct the dual graph of this 014
tonnetz, overlaid on the original graph in
the manner of Figure 4.2.8, and label each
vertex of the dual graph with an appropriate
trichord.
(b) The relationships among the 014 trichords
in this graph are in some ways similar to
relationships among triads in the usual
037 tonnetz. Label the edges of your dual
graph with three transformations P*, L*,
and R* by analogy with P, L, and R. Choose
the labels so that, for example, P*, like P,
represents motion across a diagonal edge of
the background graph. Trace a P*L*-​cycle, a
P*R*-​cycle, and an L*R*-​cycle in this tonnetz
and compare them with their triadic
counterparts. Do these cycles have the same
lengths as those in the usual tonnetz? Do
the P*L*-​ and P*R*-​cycles use the notes of
hexatonic and octatonic collections?
(c) Though they appear similar in the tonnetz
and satisfy many of the same algebraic
relationships, P*, L*, and R* differ from the
Riemannian triadic transformations P, L,
and R in their voice-​leading characteristics.
This difference should be apparent if you
write chord progressions corresponding to
the cycles you traced in (b). The usual P and
L move one voice by semitone while R moves
one voice by a whole tone. Only one of P*, L*,
or R* is comparably smooth; which is it?51
(d) In Exercise 1.4.25 you traced paths formed
by trichords in Schoenberg’s “Nacht” in the
014 tonnetz. Describe these paths using P*,
  L*, and R*.
Exercise 4.4.4
(a) Review the tonnetz of 013 trichords from
Exercise 1.4.17, construct its dual graph
144 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
as in the preceding exercise, and label the
appropriate transformations P̂, L̂, and R̂.52
(b) Although the 013 tonnetz bears a
superficial resemblance to the usual 037
tonnetz, it differs in important ways,
because the pitch classes repeat in a
different pattern (as identified in Exercise
1.4.17). Trace a P̂L̂-​cycle, a P̂R̂-​cycle, and an
L̂R̂-​cycle in this tonnetz and compare them
with their triadic counterparts.
(c) Trace the following cycle of 013 trichords in
the 013 tonnetz:
{0,1,3} → {0,2,3} → {2,3,5} → {2,4,5}
→ {1,2,4} → {1,3,4} → {0,1,3}
Analyze this trichord progression using P̂,
L̂, and R̂. Does the corresponding string of
the usual triadic transformations P, L, and
  R generate a cycle?
In the above examples, tonnetz structures
have consistently modeled spaces of three-​note
chords—​because, of course, a triangle has three
vertices. It is reasonable to wonder whether
similar diagrams can somehow model spaces of
chords of other cardinalities. The following exer-
cises explore two tonnetz models for the space
of 0258 tetrachords (dominant and half-​dimin-
ished seventh chords). One model is two-​dimen-
sional, the other three-​dimensional. Neither is
entirely satisfactory as a representation of this
space, though the three-​dimensional model is in
some ways more revealing. In Part Three we will
consider techniques by which spaces of chords of
any cardinality may be constructed.
Exercise 4.4.5 If a trichord is represented
by arranging three pitch classes in a triangle,
one might suppose that a tetrachord may be
represented by a square.
(a) Draw a square whose vertices (clockwise
from the lower left) are labeled 0, 7,
4, and 10—​the pitch-​class numbers
of the C7 chord. (Other arrangements
of the same four pitch classes around
a square are possible; the indicated
arrangement is recommended, but feel
free to experiment with others.) Add
other vertices surrounding these four
so that the four squares adjacent to this
one represent the chords aø7, c♯ø7, eø7,
and cø7, each of which shares at least two
pitch classes with C7. Arrange the added
 vertices in the most consistent possible
way (two different intervals will alternate
along the horizontal axis, and likewise
along the vertical axis), and expand the
graph to include additional dominant and
half-​diminished seventh chords, as many
as necessary so that the pattern becomes
clear. The graph is a grid of squares, not
a triangulation, and the dual graph is
another such grid. Label the vertices
of the dual graph with the appropriate
chord names.
(b) Discuss the shortcomings of this graph as
a representation of 0258 tetrachord space.
How many other 0258 chords share at least
two notes with C7? How many of these are
adjacent to C7 in the dual graph, and how
far away are the others? How many notes
are actually shared by the C7 and eø7 chords,
and in what way does the graph fail to
  represent this?
A somewhat more satisfactory version of
0258 chordal space is a three-​dimensional ton-
netz first studied by Edward Gollin (1998).53 The
first stage in the construction of such a tonnetz
is illustrated in Figure 4.4.6a. In layer 0 is a copy
of the triangulated tonnetz from Figure 1.4.10b,
with equilateral triangles, now viewed obliquely.
Layer 1 contains a second copy of the same graph,
FIGURE 4.4.6 (a) Major-​minor seventh chords and (b) half-​diminished seventh chords in a three-​
dimensional tonnetz (after Gollin)
positioned parallel to layer 0 so that B♭ in layer 1
lies above the center of the C–​E–​G triangle in
layer 0. The C7 chord is thus represented not by a
polygon in the plane but by a tetrahedron, a solid
three-​dimensional figure with four vertices and
four triangular faces (the C–​E–​G base and three
sloping faces). The distance between the two lay-
ers may be adjusted so that the tetrahedron is
regular, all its faces being equilateral triangles
of the same size. All the other notes in layer 1
are correctly positioned to combine with the
major triads in layer 0 to form dominant seventh
chords in the same way.
Consider the G-​minor triad represented by
the triangle G–​ B♭–​
D in layer 1. This triangle
perches atop the peaks of the tetrahedra rep-
resenting the A7, C7, and E7 chords. The note
E belongs to all three of these chords, and the
E in layer 0, directly beneath the center of this
triangle, combines with the three notes of the
G-​minor triad to form an eø7 chord. Half-​dimin-
ished seventh chords are represented in this
tonnetz by inverted tetrahedra, each comprising
three vertices from layer 1 and one from layer 0,
as shown in Figure 4.4.6b. The layers of vertices
in (b) are the same as those in (a); one should
imagine the two figures superimposed, so that
the inverted tetrahedra in (b) fit in between the
original tetrahedra in (a). The eø7 tetrahedron
shares two vertices and one edge with each of the
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 145
A7, C7, and E7 tetrahedra. All 0258 tetrachords
are represented as one type of tetrahedron or
the other. (These tetrahedra do not fill up all the
space between the two layers; three-​dimensional
space cannot be “tiled” with regular tetrahedra
in the way that the plane is tiled by equilateral
triangles.)
All dominant and half-​ diminished seventh
chords appear between layers 0 and 1, but in
principle the construction can continue with
additional layers upward (layers 2, 3, …) and
downward (layers −1, −2, …), forming a pattern
that repeats itself in all three dimensions. If the
various vertices labeled with the same pitch class
are conjoined, this conformed three-​ dimen-
sional tonnetz consists of many repetitions
of one small finite block, a three-​dimensional
counterpart of the rectangular tile of the usual
two-​dimensional tonnetz. The appropriate topo-
logical conception is the 3-​torus 𝕋3, a solid analog
of the two-​dimensional surface that is familiar
to us as the 2-​torus 𝕋2.
Exercise 4.4.7 This exercise requires visualizing
relationships in the three-​dimensional tonnetz.
You may find it helpful to make some additional
drawings, extending parts of Figure 4.4.6 to
include other nearby points and tetrahedra,
especially in layers 2 and −1.
(a) For each of the six edges of the tetrahedron
representing the C7 chord, identify an
inverted tetrahedron representing a half-​
diminished seventh chord that shares
this edge, and therefore shares the
corresponding two notes with the C7 chord.
One of these tetrahedra is the eø7 chord
shown in 4.4.6b, which shares the E–​B♭ edge.
Two other such tetrahedra also lie between
layers 0 and 1, while the rest lie below layer
0, formed by notes in layers 0 and −1.54
(b) Among the half-​diminished seventh chords
that share two or more pitch classes with
C7, one chord is not accounted for among
those in (a) above. Which chord is this?
Although no tetrahedron representing
this chord shares an edge with the C7
tetrahedron, you should find that two
different tetrahedra representing this chord
meet the C7 tetrahedron at two different
vertices.55
(c) One of the six chords you identified in
(a) has three common tones with C7, even
though the tetrahedra share only two
common vertices. Which chord is this?
146 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Does another tetrahedron representing this
same chord adjoin the C7 tetrahedron at a
different vertex?
(d) Altogether, how many different tetrahedra
representing dominant and half-​diminished
seventh chords meet at each vertex? List all
0258 chords that share one common tone
with C7, and verify that all of these chords
are represented by tetrahedra that meet the
C7 tetrahedron at one vertex.56
(e) The vertices in layer 1 are positioned above
the centers of the triangles in layer 0, not
directly above the vertices in that layer. The
first layer above layer 0 whose vertices line
up precisely above the vertices of layer 0 is
layer 3. What note in layer 3 falls directly
above C in layer 0? What is the first layer
above layer 0 whose notes line up exactly
  over the same notes in layer 0?57
Elaine Chew has devised a model she calls the
spiral array for representing an assortment of
tonal entities.58 As shown in Figure 4.4.8a, the
spiral array may be constructed by bending the
line of fifths into a helix. The resulting configu-
ration resembles Figure 1.2.2, but the notes in
that figure were not arranged by fifths. The spi-
ral array is more closely akin to the two spirals
of fifths suggested in Exercise 1.3.10, but it is
not identical to either of those; the distinguish-
ing feature of this representation is that notes
related by major thirds—​ every fourth note
along the line of fifths—​are aligned, thus bring-
ing the notes of any major or minor triad into
proximity on two successive coils of the helix.
As Figure 4.4.8b illustrates, the spiral array may
also be obtained by wrapping a tonnetz around
a cylinder in a certain way, conjoining the two
vertical boundaries of the figure.
The triangles representing F-​major, C-​major,
and G-​major triads are shaded in Figure 4.4.8a.
Chew calculates the positions of these triangles
in three-​dimensional space, and shows how each
triangle may be represented by a single point,
calculated as the centroid (center of gravity) of
the positions of the three vertices. Because these
three chords are the primary triads in the key of
C major and together include all the notes of the
C-​major scale, the key of C major is then repre-
sented in turn as the centroid of the points repre-
senting the three chords—​a point in the interior
of the spiral. The calculations for a minor key are
more complex, involving weighted centroids of i,
iv, IV, v, and V chords (all of which are required
in order to accommodate the notes in all forms
FIGURE 4.4.8 (a) The spiral array (after Chew); (b) construction of the spiral array by wrapping a ton-
netz around a cylinder
of the minor scale). Chew presents spiral-​array–​
based algorithms for determining the key of a
musical passage, for identifying key boundaries
(modulations), and for pitch-​spelling.
Exercise 4.4.9 Dominant and half-​diminished
seventh chords take the form of tetrahedra
in the spiral array, but not regular tetrahedra.
Draw the tetrahedron representing the C7
chord; observe that in three dimensions, the
edge connecting B♭ and E is longer than the
edge connecting C and E. Also draw several of
the half-​diminished seventh chords that share
two pitch classes with C7, and the one half-​
diminished seventh chord that shares three
pitch classes with C7. Recall from Exercise
4.4.7c that in the three-​dimensional tonnetz,
the tetrahedra representing chords with
three common pitch classes did not share a
triangular face, only an edge. Do the tetrahedra
representing those chords in the spiral array
share
   a triangular face?
Exercise 4.4.10 The spiral array as described
above is a partially conformed structure,
obtained by wrapping a tonnetz only in one
dimension. In the vertical dimension of
Figure 4.4.8a, the spiral array may be left
unconformed, like the original line of fifths,
so that ever-​sharper pitch classes appear as we
move up the helix and ever-​flatter pitch classes
as we move down. Under the assumption of
enharmonic equivalence, however, it is possible
to conform the space in this dimension as well.
Doing so requires wrapping the vertical axis and
cylindrical shell of the spiral array around on
themselves; this may be realized in a doughnut-​
shaped torus resembling Figure 1.4.4. The line
of fifths becomes a circle of fifths, but a wavy
one, not perfectly circular in shape. Draw a
picture of this doughnut-​shaped space, showing
the positions of all twelve pitch classes and the
circle
   of fifths.
4.5 ANALYTICAL EXAMPLES
We conclude this chapter with a series of ana-
lytical examples, illustrating a variety of applica-
tions of tonal, chordal, and serial spaces. Readers
should note the manner in which different spa-
tial models are chosen, and sometimes modified,
for use in different musical situations. It is hoped
that these examples will demonstrate the poten-
tial for the tonnetz and related spaces to illu-
minate aspects of musical structure that might
otherwise have been overlooked. Of course, the
brief discussions here should not be mistaken
for complete analyses of the passages being
examined; readers are encouraged to consult the
scores and supplement the analyses with further
details obtained by other appropriate methods.
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 147
Example 4.5.1: Webern, String Quartet,
Op. 28, I
Webern’s Op. 28 quartet offers an opportunity
to devise a customized variant of the row space
of Figure 4.1.12a. The work is based on the
“derived row” shown in Figure 4.5.2, comprising
three successive forms of a B–​A–​C–​H tetrachord
(to be called “BACH forms” for short). The
quartet is composed entirely of BACH forms,
and for reasons explored below, an analysis
using BACH forms is in many ways more
straightforward than an analysis using complete
twelve-​tone rows. To this end we shall construct
a space of BACH forms.
The BACH motive, like the entire row, has
RI symmetry: any RI form of the motive is
identical to some P form. There are therefore
only two types of BACH forms to consider: P
=​ RI forms such as B♭–​A–​C–​B♮, and R =​ I forms
such as B♮–​C–​A–​B♭. As a shorthand labeling for
the 24 BACH forms, we write n+​ for the P form
whose first note is pitch class n, and n− for the
retrograde of n+​, the R form whose last note
is n. In this notation, B♭–​A–​C–​B♮ is 10+​, and
B♮–​C–​A–​B♭ is 10−. This notation ensures that the
pitch-​class content of n+​ and n− is identical; as
FIGURE 4.5.2 Webern, String Quartet, Op. 28:
twelve-​tone row
FIGURE 4.5.3 (a) A space of BACH forms for Webern, Op. 28; (b) an orbit of BACH forms generated
by the transformation U =​ T4R
148 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
an unordered set, that pitch-​class content is the
chromatic tetrachord {n − 1, n, n +​1, n +​2}. For
convenience we call n the root of the two BACH
forms n+​ and n−; of course no association with
other meanings of the word root is implied. The
complete twelve-​tone row consists of the three
BACH forms 7+​, 11−, and 3+​. The successive T4
transpositions of the roots, and therefore of the
chromatic tetrachords, ensure that the three
BACH forms complete a twelve-​tone aggregate.
The 24 possible BACH forms are readily
organized in the double-​circle space shown in
Figure 4.5.3a. This space is generated by the
semitone transposition T1, which produces
motion around the circles, and the retrograde
operation R, which toggles between circles.
Because of the RI symmetry of BACH forms,
R is in this case equivalent to a contextual
inversion, specifically the inversion that
preserves the pitch-​class content of the
tetrachord.
In mm. 1–​12 of the quartet’s first movement,
Webern presents nine BACH forms in the order
7+​, 11−, 3+​, 7−, 11+​, 3−, 7+​, 11−, 3+​.
The pitch-​class content of the passage (and the
remainder of the work) leaves little doubt about
the tetrachordal organization, although the
segmentation of the musical surface into BACH
forms is not aurally apparent, as each form is
divided between two instruments and the forms
sometimes overlap temporally.
Analyzed in terms of twelve-​tone rows,
this series of notes is problematic. The last
three BACH forms restate the first three and
therefore the row of Figure 4.5.2, but the three
BACH forms in the middle do not constitute
any P, I, R, or RI form of that row. (There is a
row form that starts with 7−, but it continues
with 3+​ and 11−, not 11+​ and 3−.) Traditional
twelve-​tone analyses of the work grapple with
this problem in two ways, either by breaking
the passage into four rows, overlapping at the +​
BACH forms, or by supposing that the second
row is the same as the first but with its internal
tetrachords retrograded.59
As a progression of BACH forms, however,
the pattern is a perfectly regular one, generated
entirely by a transformation we shall call
U, whose action may be summarized “add 4
and change sign.” In terms of more familiar
transformations, U =​ T4R. The transformations
T4 and R commute (this should be clear from
Figure 4.5.3a; see also Exercise 4.1.6), so we
could equally well write U =​ RT4. Figure 4.5.3b
shows how the pattern travels twice around the
space of 4.5.3a, cycling through six different
BACH forms, then returns to its starting point
and begins retracing its earlier path.
The six BACH forms highlighted in
Figure 4.5.3b form one orbit generated by
the transformation U. The word orbit hints
suggestively at the route the BACH forms
trace around the figure, but is also a technical
term in group theory, to be defined precisely
in Chapter 6. An orbit is a set; this particular
orbit is the set {3+​, 3−, 7+​, 7−, 11+​, 11−} of six
BACH forms, three each of the +​and − types,
whose roots (3, 7, and 11) differ by multiples
of 4 (mod 12). This orbit is invariant under T4:
the T4 transposition of any BACH form in the
orbit also belongs to the orbit. The orbit is also
invariant under the retrograde R and under
the transformation U =​ T4R. If we apply U
successively to a BACH form not among those
listed above, such as 4−, a different orbit will
result, such as {0+​, 0−, 4+​, 4−, 8+​, 8−}. This 0–​4–​8
orbit is simply a T1 transposition of the 3–​7–​11
orbit in Figure 4.5.3b, a rotation of the picture
one position in the clockwise direction. Two
other orbits, a 1–​5–​9 orbit and a 2–​6–​10 orbit,
round out the collection; successive application
of U to any BACH form will always produce one
of these four orbits.
The large majority of the pitch-​class content
of Webern’s quartet arises through applications
of U to BACH forms. Long strings of forms
within one orbit therefore permeate the piece.
More details will be presented in Example
9.5.13, when we revisit this analysis with a
sharper focus on the algebraic structure of
the transformations involved. Also see Figure
9.6.11 for a graphic depiction of the symmetry
of the BACH tetrachord and of the entire row.
Exercise 4.5.4 If the symbols n+​ and n− are
reinterpreted to stand for major and minor
triads respectively, then Figure 4.5.3a matches
Figure 4.1.1a. What does an orbit such as
{0+​, 0−, 4+​, 4−, 8+​, 8−} represent in the triadic
interpretation? We have encountered a cycle
through the triads of this orbit previously; is
that cycle the same as the cycle generated by the
transformation
   U, or is it different?
Example 4.5.5: Adams, Phrygian Gates
Diatonic collections dominate the pitch
material of Phrygian Gates, John Adams’s
self-​described “behemoth” for piano of 1977–​
78. The opening 113 measures use almost
exclusively the notes of the four-​sharp diatonic
collection (the diatonic pitch-​class space
dpc(+​4)), the only exceptions being a few B♭s in
mm. 63–​73. At m. 114, the first of the “gates”
referred to in the title, there is an abrupt
shift to the one-​flat collection dpc(−1); this
section is shorter than the first but its diatonic
framework no less evident. Adams describes
these opening sections as being in A lydian
and A phrygian respectively, but while the
diatonic collections are not in dispute, the tonal
centers, and therefore the modes, are somewhat
ambiguous.60
The complete succession of diatonic
collections in Phrygian Gates is as follows:
4♯, 1♭, 5♯, 0♯/​♭, 6♯/​♭, 1♯, 5♭, 2♯, 4♭, 3♯, 3♭, 4♯, 2♭, 5♯
Of course, 0♯/​♭ denotes the white-​key
collection. The section marked 6♯/​♭ is notated
in six sharps, enharmonically equivalent to six
flats. This synopsis slightly oversimplifies the
last part of the piece, in which the 3♭, 4♯, 2♭, and
5♯ collections each appear numerous times,
sometimes in rapid alternation. Otherwise
the pattern is straightforward: at the “gates”
between sections, the diatonic collections
alternately shift five places in the flatwise
direction (as from 4♯ to 1♭) and six places in
the sharpwise direction (as from 1♭ to 5♯). In
light of enharmonic equivalence, moving six
places sharpwise has the same effect as six
places flatwise—​halfway around the circle of
fifths—​and five places flatwise is equivalent
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 149
to seven places sharpwise. In his notation,
Adams chooses between sharpwise and flatwise
moves for practical reasons, usually alternating
the two, in order to stay within the territory
bounded by the extremes of 6♭ and 6♯.
Transformational relationships among
diatonic collections will be examined in some
detail in Chapters 7 and 13. The collection shifts
in Phrygian Gates may be described using what
we will call signature transformations, a concept
applicable to a variety of diatonic structures.
Specifically, the signature transformation s6
adds six sharps to any key signature (deleting
a flat counts as adding a sharp), and a five-​
place flatwise move is s−5. The same actions
may be described in more familiar terms by
applying pitch-​class transpositions to diatonic
collections. The five-​place flatwise move
transposes a diatonic collection by T1 (think
of 4♯ → 1♭ as a transposition from the E-​major
collection to the F-​major collection), and the
six-​place move is T6 (1♭ → 5♯ as F major to B
major). Whichever formulation is preferred, the
transformations involved here represent two of
the most remote relationships possible between
diatonic collections, with the consequence that
adjacent collections in the above list always
share only two pitch classes—​the smallest
possible overlap between two seven-​note
collections (see Exercise 2.1.4b). The composite
of two successive operations, however, is
another matter. The transposition operators
T1 and T6 combine to form T7 (that is, T1T6 =​
T7), a transposition by perfect fifth, which is
the closest possible relationship between two
different diatonic collections. Consequently,
alternate collections in Adams’s chain, such as
4♯ and 5♯, always share six of their seven pitch
FIGURE 4.5.6 Graph of diatonic collections in Adams, Phrygian Gates
150 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
classes. In terms of signature transformations,
the analogous observation is s−5s6 =​ s1, reflected
in the fact that the 5♯ collection has one more
sharp than the 4♯ collection.
Figure 4.5.6 graphs this succession of diatonic
collections in a format similar to the tonality
graph of Figure 4.1.8, substituting diatonic
collections for the triads that appeared there on
the vertical axis. We have previously regarded
diatonic collections as musical spaces in their
own right, so this vertical axis (topologically a
circle) may be thought of as a “space of spaces.”
Because the 4♯ and 5♯ collections appear near
the beginning of the work and also near the
end, the graph is centered vertically on these
two collections. The regularity of the pattern is
apparent from the graph: a series of peaks and
valleys, each peak-​valley pair one step higher
than the pair before, so that the last two valleys
are at the same elevations as the first two peaks.
The figure may be regarded as a transformation
network of diatonic collections, using
either transposition operators or signature
transformations.61
Adams describes Phrygian Gates as a “tour
of half the cycle of keys.” All twelve diatonic
collections appear in the piece, but the graph
establishes a pattern that is not completed: for
the peaks and valleys to return to their initial
positions would require almost twice as many
sections, wrapping from the top of the graph
around to the bottom. Adams’s description
assigns all the peaks to the lydian mode and
all the valleys to the phrygian; if we accept this
interpretation, then each lydian-​phrygian pair
shares a single tonal center, and only seven
different tonics are heard, progressing by fifth,
sharpwise, from A to E♭/​D♯.
FIGURE 4.5.7 Revised graph showing durations

Adams also likens the structure of the piece

to a “modulating square wave,” an image more
suggestively approximated by Figure 4.5.7.
This graph refines the previous figure by taking
into account the durations of the sections,
calculated using the metronome indications
in the published score. This graph shows some
regularity in the time dimension as well. In
the first part of the piece the lydian peaks
progressively shrink in size while the phrygian
valleys widen, culminating in the ponderous
“System of Weights and Measures” in 3♯ (C♯
phrygian) at m. 640. The last large section of
the piece (mm. 809–​1092), in which each of
the final four diatonic collections appears many
times, has its own internal ternary structure.62
The consistent T1 and T6 relations between
successive diatonic collections suggest the
possibility of constructing a tonnetz generated
by those two transpositions. In fact, we have
already constructed such a tonnetz, in Figure
1.4.18. The elements in that tonnetz were single
pitch classes, but the twelve pitch classes may
be replaced with the twelve diatonic collections,
preserving the transpositional relationships
among them (for instance, replacing each pitch
class with the diatonic collection corresponding
to the major scale on that note). The resulting
tonnetz is shown in Figure 4.5.8a; the figure FIGURE 4.5.8 Diatonic collections in Phrygian
includes the 6-​by-​2 tiles, arrows showing Gates: (a) in a T1–​T6 tonnetz; (b) in a Möbius strip
the T1 and T6 relationships, and the path
traced by the collections in Phrygian Gates.
In terminology from Section 3.5, this figure the rectangle must therefore be twisted before
is a spatial network for Phrygian Gates, while its ends can be stitched together. This strip is
Figures 4.5.6 and 4.5.7 are event networks. shown in Figure 4.5.8b. The vertical edges of
This tonnetz, like its relative in Chapter the modules are not conjoined in the Möbius
1, is topologically a Möbius strip: vertically strip, but as before there is no real need to do
adjacent tiles are reflections of each other, and so. Each row of the tonnetz contains only two

Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 151

different diatonic collections, so rather than Claggart, who had falsely accused him of
crossing a vertical edge we can always arrive at mutiny. (The scene concludes Act III of the
the same collection by moving in the opposite original four-​act opera of 1951; in the two-​act
direction. revision of 1961 it is Act II, Scene 2.) Following
In Chapter 1 we applied the T1–​T6 tonnetz in a dramatic monologue by Captain Vere, who
an analysis of Lutosławski’s Musique funèbre. must now tell Billy his fate (“I am the messenger
Adams’s characteristic path through the of death”), a remarkable orchestral postlude
space of Figure 4.5.8 alternates horizontal presents a succession of 34 assorted major and
and vertical moves in the same way as
Lutosławski’s pattern in the earlier graph.
In our Lutosławski analysis we ultimately
abandoned the Möbius strip topology, because
Lutosławski does not exploit it: his movement
through the tonnetz always reverses direction
upon reaching the B–​F tritone, so the simpler
ladder graph of Figure 1.4.22, bounded at each
end by that tritone, proved more appropriate
for analytical purposes. The Möbius strip is
better suited for Phrygian Gates. Alternately
traversing rails and rungs of the twisted
ladder as shown in Figure 4.5.8b, Adams
circumnavigates the strip, and rather than
reversing direction, pushes forward a bit
further, suggesting a pattern that could
continue. The ladder metaphor is compromised
in the circumnavigation: a Möbius strip,
because of the twist, has only one rail. Every
rung is traversed exactly once, along with
seven different rail segments.
Two different short paths are possible from
4♯ to 5♯ in the Möbius strip, namely
4 ♯  → 1 ♭  → 5♯ and 4♯  → 2 ♭  → 5♯.
T1 T6 T6 T1
♭
The path through 1 is taken first, but the twist
brings us back to 4♯ in a different orientation
the second time, so that 2♭ follows this time,
completing the tour of twelve diatonic collec-
tions just before the process stops upon reach-
ing 5♯ for the second time. A second circuit of
the strip, completing the cycle suggested in the
above discussion of Figure 4.5.6, would traverse
the rail segments that were missed previously,
and would traverse all the rungs in the opposite
direction from the first time.

Exercise 4.5.9 Study the score of China Gates,

the shorter companion piece to Phrygian Gates.
Construct a graph of the diatonic collections
appearing in the piece, similar in style to Figure
4.5.6 or 4.5.7. Compare your graph to Adams’s
own schematic diagram of the piece, printed in
the
  front of the published score.
FIGURE 4.5.11 Tonnetz representation of tri-
Example 4.5.10: Britten, Billy Budd ads in Britten, Billy Budd, Act II, Scene 2, rehearsal
In a memorable scene from Billy Budd, Billy 102–​104: (a) chords 1–​34; (b) chords 1–​17 only;
is sentenced to death for accidentally killing (c) chords 18–​34 only

152 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
minor triads, each sustained a full measure in
broad tempo.
The kaleidoscopic variety of registers,
instrumental combinations, and dynamic
levels renders suspect any claims about “voice
leading” in this music. Indeed, after the first
six measures, no instrument so much as plays
even in two consecutive chords. Nevertheless,
tonnetz analysis proves revealing. Because
every triad harmonizes the note F, A, or C,
the triads cluster about the F-​major triad in
the tonnetz, as shown in Figure 4.5.11a. A
fragment of the dual graphs from Figure 4.2.8
appears here, just enough to show the complete
hexagonal cells centered on pitch classes 5, 9,
and 0. The picture shows not the order of the
chords but their frequency: the circles’ areas
are proportional to the number of times the
various triads appear among the 34 chords in
the passage.63 Thirteen different triads contain
at least one of the notes F, A, or C, and each of
those triads appears at least once, but the figure
shows a strong preponderance of F-​major and
C-​major triads, and a weaker preference for the
other major triads over the minor.
Dividing the passage in half reveals a temporal
aspect of Britten’s organization, reflected in
Figures 4.5.11b–​c. The first seventeen measures,
shown in (b), career unpredictably from chord
to chord, engaging all thirteen available triads
with only four duplications. But of the last
seventeen chords, in (c), twelve are either F
major or C major, and seven of the available
triads do not occur at all. This narrowing of
tonal focus, together with a generally reduced
dynamic (there are no tutti chords among the
last seventeen, and the only dynamic above
pianissimo coincides with the only minor triad),
suggests that Captain Vere is regaining his
composure, moving from barely controlled pain
and anger to subdued resignation and resolve—​
and also perhaps that the entire passage may be
considered an unorthodox composing-​out of an
F-​major triad.64
Example 4.5.12: Schubert, “Auf dem Flusse”
The final three analyses in this chapter involve
music by Schubert. Schubert’s works are often
attractive candidates for analysis in the tonnetz
and related spaces: his sometimes startling
excursions to remote tonal areas can pose
challenges to traditional analytical methods,
but because mode mixture and chromatic-​
third relationships are so frequently involved,
appropriate combinations of the P, L, and R
FIGURE 4.5.13 Modulations in Schubert, “Auf
dem Flusse,” mm. 1–​41, in chordal-​regional space
operations can often describe the connections.
Even when no simple PLR compound is suitable,
Schubert often uses the reduced distances to
third-​related keys available in the tonnetz or
Weber space to good advantage, producing
harmonic trajectories that trace compact and
logical paths in those spaces.
We begin with an application of Lerdahl’s
chordal-​regional space to Winterreise No. 7, the
much-​analyzed “Auf dem Flusse.”65 The status
of E minor as tonal center is highlighted by a
double circle in Figures 4.5.13 and 4.5.14, a
technique we will adopt on a few occasions.66
The song begins with two stanzas in E minor
followed by two in E major, then returns to E
minor for the climactic fifth stanza. Movement
between the parallel keys is accomplished in the
most straightforward of ways, by pivoting on
dominant triads (V/​e =​V/​E) at m. 22 and m. 38.
E minor and E major are adjacent keys in Weber
space and therefore adjacent regions in chordal-​
regional space. The pivot dominant is shown
in Figure 4.5.13 by a double line suggesting a
distended =​sign, connecting V/​e with V/​E and
labeled with the measure numbers where the
pivoting occurs. The arrows joining diatonic
triads in each key imply the functional harmony
that unfolds in those keys, but do not capture
its every detail.
The most striking tonal motion in this
opening segment of the song is not the shift
between parallel keys but rather the eerie drop
to D♯ minor for the second phrase of each of the
first two stanzas. D♯ minor acts as a shadow to E
minor, its half-​step-​too-​low strangeness a signal
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 153
of the poet’s pained reproach to the stream
(“You are fallen into silence … you lie there cold
and lifeless”).67 The movement to and from D♯
minor is accomplished by a pivot through the
very same B-​major triad (now V/​e =​VI/​d♯), its
sinister character enhanced by parallel octaves
between voice and bass (mm. 8–​9 and 17–​18).
Each of these tonal slips leads to a cadence in
the shadow key (mm. 12 and 21, the first two
authentic cadences in the song), followed by
another appearance of the B-​major pivot chord
and a return to the original tonic. The harmonic
progress of the piece may be traced in the figure
by consulting the measure numbers provided.
The remoteness of the shadow tonality is
graphically evident: as defined in Section 4.2,
D♯ minor lies at a Weber distance of 4 from E
minor and 3 from E major (the neo-​Riemannian
distances are the same as the Weber distances
in this case).68
The turbulent fifth stanza (“My heart, within
this brooklet/​Do you your image know?”),
expanded by text repetitions to nearly the
length of the first four combined, features the
more extravagant modulations diagrammed in
Figure 4.5.14. Three times Schubert surges from
E minor to a remote region and returns. The
first such journey, labeled “Excursion 1” in the
figure, begins with the now-​familiar drop to the
shadow key of D♯ minor, but this D♯ becomes the
dominant of G♯ minor. The return to E minor
is via its dominant as usual, but the presence
of a seventh (m. 52), not diatonic to G♯ minor,
deprives the B chord of the pivot-​chord status
that a triad might have claimed (shown by
FIGURE 4.5.14 Modulations in “Auf dem Flusse,” mm. 41–​74, in chordal-​regional space
154 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
dashed lines in the figure).69 Excursion 2 moves
first to G major, a closely related key for a
change, but the abrupt mid-​phrase modulation
(m. 56, two measures earlier than the slip to
the shadow key that we have by now come to
expect, and with no pivot chord other than
the G-​major triad itself) and the fragmented
vocal line make this move at least as jarring as
those before. In any event, G is subsequently
darkened by its own shadow tonality, F♯ minor,
before E minor is restored. In Excursion 3 the
mid-​phrase move is to the more remote G
minor, and the final return to E minor, only two
bars later, is equally unprepared; there is no
pivot chord in either case.
Figure 4.5.14 has an unkempt appearance, in
keeping with the savage, seemingly haphazard
nature of the tonal shifts in the fifth stanza. A
grain of method may be discerned by viewing
the modulations through the lens of generic
space. Setting aside the shadow keys, the
principal keys in each of the three excursions—​
G♯ minor, G major, and G minor—​are all some
flavor of “G,” hence some flavor of “III.” In
the mode-​neutral generic space from Figure
4.3.6c, therefore, all three excursions take the
simple form shown in Figure 4.5.15. Parallels
among the three “G” passages are not difficult
to detect; most obviously, the bass line states
the song’s opening motive in each of these
keys, and they are the only keys other than E
minor in which this motive appears. This trio
of IIIs might be said to function collaboratively
as “the secondary key area” for the song’s final
stanza.70
FIGURE 4.5.15 Modulations in “Auf dem
Flusse,” mm. 41–​74, in generic chordal space
Example 4.5.16: Schubert, Impromptu in F
Minor, D. 935 (Op. 142), No. 1
The first piece in Schubert’s second set of four
Impromptus exhibits a more orderly tonal
plan than the song in the preceding example,
its grander scale notwithstanding. All the
important key areas in the work belong to a
single PR-​cycle, one row of Weber space—​
(D), d, F, f, A♭, a♭, C♭, c♭
—​and all of these keys except D major are
touched upon at least briefly. Because Weber
space is organized vertically by perfect fifths,
the dominants of all the keys in this “tonic”
row appear in the next row above, and the
subdominants in the row below, as shown in
Figure 4.5.17. The three different rows of keys
that constitute Weber space—​the three disjoint
PR-​cycles—​therefore correspond to tonal
functions with great consistency throughout
the piece. For example, the subdominant keys D♭
major and B♭ major are tonicized briefly at m. 36
and m. 165, respectively, and the dominant keys
of E♭ major and C major at m. 110 and m. 223.71
Figure 4.5.18 traces the Impromptu’s path
through the space of the tonic PR-​cycle. The
fact that tonal motion takes place within this
essentially one-​dimensional space frees up the
vertical dimension of the figure for a temporal
segmentation. The piece is an expansive sonata
form without development. The principal
keys follow an entirely traditional scheme, the
exposition moving from F minor to A♭ major
(one place rightward in the PR-​cycle) and the
recapitulation from F minor to F major (one
place leftward). Lurking within the second-​
theme groups, however, are exploratory tendrils
probing the distant reaches of the space. The
exposition, having attained A♭ major as early as
FIGURE 4.5.17 Schubert, Impromptu in F
Minor, D. 935 (Op. 142), No. 1: association of
tonal functions with rows in Weber space
FIGURE 4.5.18 Graph of tonal centers in the
tonic PR-​cycle in D. 935, No. 1
m. 21, swerves back leftward to F minor at m.
34, touching off an unstable passage at the end
of which A♭ is regained, after a somewhat greater
effort, by m. 45. There follows an extraordinary
dream scene, pushing ever further rightward:
from A♭ major to A♭ minor (m. 69), C♭ major (m.
77), and a hint of C♭ minor (m. 81).
Then the course reverses; the dream ends, and
with it the exposition, in A♭ major. The secondary
material in the recapitulatory rotation follows an
essentially identical course, transposed down a
minor third to F major. This is a T9 transposition,
two places leftward in the PR-​cycle, indicated in
Figure 4.5.18 by a version of the bubble notation
introduced in Chapter 3 (Figure 3.5.3). From
the more westerly home base of F major, the
rightward probe in the recapitulation of the
dream scene now extends only as far as A♭ minor,
but the initial leftward swerve touches upon the
previously unexplored territory of D minor.
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 155
Exercise 4.5.19 Redraw the information from
Figure 4.5.18 in a style resembling Figure 4.5.7,
displaying time horizontally (in proportion to
measures in the score), but with the vertical
axis organized by the PR-​cycle instead of the
circle
   of fifths.
Exercise 4.5.20 The first movement of
Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 features
many key areas from the same PR-​cycle as
the Schubert Impromptu discussed above.
Study the tonal plan of this movement in the
tonnetz or Weber space, also describing, when
appropriate, relationships involving a few
significant key areas outside the tonic PR-​cycle.
How are the quasi-​sequences in movement
II, mm. 54–​62 and 110–​16 (the two are not
identical) relevant to your analysis of the first
movement?
  
Example 4.5.21: Schubert, String Quartet in
G Major, D. 887 (Op. 161), I
Many adventurous tonal odysseys unfold
within the epic dimensions of Schubert’s last
quartet. The keys range further afield than
the single PR-​cycle of the Impromptu just
considered, but many of the motions through
tonal space exhibit great regularity, and
tonnetz-​based analysis contributes insights
at times complementary to what others have
written about this much-​studied work. While
the entire quartet rewards close study, the
following discussion concentrates on the first-​
movement exposition and the beginning of the
development.72
The prominent keys of the exposition are
deployed about one hexagonal cell in the
tonnetz from Figure 4.2.5b—​the PLR-​c ycle
shown in Figure 4.5.22. This is the cell whose
nucleus is pitch class 2 in the background layer
of the dual tonnetz from Figure 4.2.8, which
FIGURE 4.5.22 The tonic-​dominant cell of tonal
centers in Schubert, String Quartet in G Major, D.
887, I, exposition
156 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
is to say that these are the six keys whose
tonic triads contain the note D.73 We call this
the tonic-​dominant cell, as it includes G major
and D major, the tonic and dominant keys of
the movement, as well as their parallel minor
keys. Those four harmonies, in fact, are stated
plainly at the outset: a G-​major triad sustains
for almost two measures, crescendo, inflects to
minor at the end of m. 2, and crashes into the
gigantic G-​minor chord at m. 3, after which the
very same thing happens on the dominant—​D
major and D minor—​in mm. 6–​8. (As if to
prove the equal status of major and minor, at
the recapitulation the modes exchange places;
G major and G minor are juxtaposed also in
the movement’s final bars.) In the progression
G–​g–​D–​d, the G–​g and D–​d moves could
of course be described as instances of the
parallel transformation P; transformational
descriptions of the g–​D relationship will be
considered in Chapter 8. The principal keys
of the exposition are G major and D major, as
we might expect, but G major in particular is
shaded continually with coloration from its
parallel key, G minor emerging more fully into
the limelight in mm. 43–​46 and 98–​102. D
minor announces its presence briefly in mm.
90–​91, 154–​56, and 158–​60.
The longest passages in the exposition not in
G or D are in the other two keys of the tonic-​
dominant cell, B minor and B♭ major. These are
the diatonic mediants of G major and G minor
respectively, an L relationship in the first case
and R in the second; in relation to D major and
D minor they are diatonic submediants, and
the Riemannian links are reversed. The medial
caesura on F♯ at m. 63 seems to prepare either
B major or B minor. The subsequent sidelong
slip to V⁴₃ in D major for the start of the second
theme is delectable, but if the G-​major material
seemed constantly to teeter on the edge of
G minor, the D-​major sections seem just as
frequently on the verge of resolving into B
minor after all: see mm. 68 and 72–​74, several
parallel passages later on, and especially the
extended segment in B minor at mm. 129–​41.
The second theme, like the first, is treated
to a series of variations. The serene B♭-​major
variation at mm. 110–​22 completes the roster
of keys in the tonic-​dominant cell, introduced
by a slip from D to V⁴₃/​B♭ that exactly transposes
the F♯–​V⁴₃/​D motion mentioned above.74
The most celebrated of Schubert’s
experiments in this movement is the chromatic
sequence descending by whole steps that takes
FIGURE 4.5.23 (a) D. 887, I, mm. 15–​20; (b) tonnetz representation
shape within the primary theme, shown in
Figure 4.5.23a. The I–​V6 in G major at mm.
15–​16 repeats a step lower in F, in the manner
of the opening of the “Waldstein” Sonata.75 But
Schubert pursues the sequential implications
one chord further than Beethoven, to E♭. Figure
4.5.23b shows this sequence speeding away
from G major in an east-​northeasterly direction
on the tonnetz. The dashed arrows labeled
“2m” show the two-​measure blocks descending
by whole step, from G to F to E♭, via a two-​
chord chromatic sequence pattern that may
be compared to the sequence patterns studied
previously in the generic tonnetz (Figure 4.3.4).
F major is already outside the bounds of the
tonic-​dominant cell, and E♭ apparently still more
remote. The toroidal wrapping of the tonnetz,
however, actually brings E♭ major nearer to G
major than either of those keys is to F major—​a
neo-​Riemannian distance of 2 rather than 4—​as
the dotted arrows at the lower left of Figure
4.5.23b remind us. (E♭ major, L of G minor,
belongs not to the tonic-​dominant cell but to
the subdominant-​tonic cell, which also contains
C major and C minor, keys that figure in the
recapitulation, and E minor, the key of the slow
movement.) The relative distances would be
reversed in Weber space—​the Weber distance
from G major to F major is 2, from G major to E♭
major 3—​but in this case the neo-​Riemannian
distances are more faithful to tonal function, ♭VI
typically having a more clearly defined function
than ♭VII. Indeed, it is as ♭VI that E♭ functions at
m. 19, moving down by step to the dominant of
G major, bringing the sequence back from the
brink of otherworldly realms, and revealing it all
as part of an extraordinarily colorful rendition
of the time-​honored lament-​bass pattern. The
descending fourth in the cello in mm. 15–​20 is
fully chromatic, but as David Beach has observed,
the sequential pattern and two-​bar groupings
prioritize the notes G–​F♮–​E♭–​D, the descending
tetrachord associated with the key of G minor.76
Figure 4.5.23b resembles Figure 12 in Lewin
1991, 125, which maps the same phrase in
a Riemann-​inspired tonnetz. According to
Lewin, the tonnetz reveals the passage to
be a “metaphorical modulation” because
it arrives at a G-​major triad in a different
location in the tonnetz from the one where
it began. Lewin does not claim that the two
Gs are acoustically distinguishable, and his
tonnetz does not indicate syntonic comma
differences as Riemann’s does. He contrasts
this interpretation with a Schenkerian reading
and with Dahlhaus [1978] 1986, which both
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 157
contend that the Gs are the same. Here we
would describe this circumstance by saying
that the two Gs, even if represented by distinct
vertices in a graph, are nevertheless the same
point in a musical space, and that the topology
of the space allows the phrase to return to
its starting point by a path that would not be
possible in a space of simpler topology.
This chromaticized descending-​tetrachord
theme with its internal whole-​step descent
is restated in varied form at m. 24, and again
in slower harmonic rhythm at m. 33. A third
variation seems to start at m. 54, but as shown
in Figure 4.5.24a there are two important
differences. First, the opening tonic triad gives way
momentarily to G minor before moving on to the
FIGURE 4.5.24 (a) D. 887, I, mm. 54–​59; (b) tonnetz representation
158 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
dominant, which undergoes another such mode
change, thus restating the G–​g–​D–​d progression
from the opening of the movement. This sequence,
in fact, develops this pattern at greater length,
traces an entirely new path on the tonnetz, and has
a new goal, befitting its formal role as transition to
the secondary key area. It is a chromatic ascending-​
fifths sequence, each bass note supporting a mode
change; at the two-​measure (four-​chord) level,
it steps not down by whole step like the original
sequence but up by whole step, from G to A, then
B, finally cadencing on the dominant of B at the
medial caesura mentioned above.77
In Figure 4.5.24b it is the move from D
minor northward to A, rather than eastward
to F, that propels this sequence on a different
course from the previous one. The chords D, F,
and A share a hexagonal cell of their own, the
dominant–​secondary-​dominant cell. The choice
of a different route across this cell gives this
sequence its north-​northeasterly trajectory,
traversed at the same speed as the previous
east-​northeasterly one. Neo-​Riemannian
distances are symmetric, so an ascending whole
FIGURE 4.5.25 (a) D. 887, I, mm. 168–​77; (b) tonnetz representation; (c) hierarchy of sequential
motion in pitch space
step spans the same distance as a descending
whole step. Like the earlier sequence, this one
traverses a broad swath of tonal space only to
end up fairly near to its starting point; the last
three stations on the sequential route (B major,
B minor, and F♯ major) share a cell with D
major, the key of the immediately forthcoming
second theme.
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 159
 The implications of the descending-​whole-​step
pattern are taken to their boldest extremes in
the remarkable passage in Figure 4.5.25a, which
springs from the close of the exposition and
launches the development section. No longer
confined by the interval of a perfect fourth or a
phrase of a sonata theme, the sequence spirals
into a bottomless void, descending from D
through an octave and more. The whole-​step
pattern D–​C–​B♭–​⋯ clearly derives from the
model of mm. 15–​19, and the dotted arrows in
Figure 4.5.25b show this whole-​step descent,
comparable to that in 4.5.23b. But harmonic
reinforcement is supplied only at every other
whole-​step arrival, highlighting a larger major-​
third pattern D–​B♭–​F♯–​⋯ at the two-​measure
level, shown by solid arrows. This pattern recalls
three important harmonic guideposts from
the second-​theme section in the exposition: its
main key area (D), the key of the one exceptional
variation (B♭), and the medial caesura (F♯). Here
the three are treated more democratically, but
not as precise equals. Details differentiate the
arrivals on B♭ (m. 170) and D (m. 174) from
those on F♯ (m. 172) and B♭ (m. 176)—​the
embellishing chords are V₅⁶ in the former cases,
augmented sixths in the latter—​highlighting a
still larger pattern encompassing only the initial
D, the central F♯, and the final B♭.
The developing hierarchy of sequential units
at various levels is most clearly shown not in the
tonnetz but in ordinary pitch space, as in Figure
4.5.25c. Every level of this hierarchy is articulated
in the score by one means or another, from the
single semitone (the entire whole-​tone scale is
filled in chromatically in the cello, broken only
at the central F♯) to the entire compass of 16
semitones. This boundary interval is theoretically
a doubly augmented ninth—​the sum of eight
major seconds—​but Schubert spells it as a major
tenth by notating the step from A♭ to F♯ as a
diminished third, and also reduces it to a major
third by an octave displacement after the same F♯.
Even when B♭ is reached at m. 176, Schubert
is not satisfied. This B♭ becomes the dominant
of E♭, and the original descending-​tetrachord
version of the primary theme is heard in
E♭ major, as if to prove that the whole-​tone
sequence could have continued from m. 19
all along. Then, astonishingly, it all happens
again. The endless descent from Figure 4.5.25 is
repeated whole, starting now on E♭ and tracing
the opposite whole-​tone scale from the one
outlined moments before, its eight steps leading
160 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
to B, followed by another statement of the
descending-​tetrachord theme on E.
As Carl Dahlhaus has noted, the “tonally
extraterritorial” whole-​tone scale was “a
perplexing phenomenon in the 1820s”; once such
a pattern has broken free of traditional harmonic
models Schubert apparently finds it sufficiently
fascinating that he must pursue its ramifications
at great length.78 In the movement’s coda
(mm. 415–​24), the long sequence is heard yet
again, but reintegrated with its functional tonal
surroundings: it descends this time from G to E♭,
like the tetrachordal model from which it grew,
and E♭ is once again ♭VI, its resolution to G major
intensified by the addition of an augmented
sixth (m. 426). While the movement as a whole
is a tonal sonata form conforming in its broad
outlines to expected norms, the challenges
that these “purple” passages pose to traditional
methods of tonal analysis only enhance the
appeal of spatial descriptions like those given
here.79
Exercise 4.5.26 Study the sequence in mm.
41–​49 of the first movement of Schubert’s
Piano Trio in B♭ Major, D. 898 (Op. 99) in
the tonnetz. Which of the sequences in the
G-​major Quartet does this sequence most
closely
   resemble?
Exercise 4.5.27 In the tonnetz, analyze the
chromatic sequences in Schubert’s Quartettsatz,
D. 703, mm. 105–​08 and mm. 173–​80. Each
of these sequences resembles one of those
discussed above in the G-​major Quartet; point
  any significant differences.80
out
Exercise 4.5.28 Study the remainder of the
first movement of the G-​major Quartet, as well
as the fourth movement, identifying sequential
patterns and other features amenable to analysis
in the tonnetz (or Weber space) similar to that in
the preceding discussion. You should not expect
that all parts of the work will be illuminated by
the tonnetz, but you may find several passages
or  
tonal relationships to be of interest.
Exercise 4.5.29 In a similar vein, study
the tonal design of the first movement of
Schubert’s B♭-​Major Sonata, D. 960, in the
tonnetz, being particularly on the lookout for
major-​third (PL-​c ycle) relationships. Compare
your analysis with that of Cohn (1999) or
Lerdahl
   (2001, 114–​15).
NOTES
1. See, for example, Figure 6.2.10b, which maps
the algebraic structure of transposition and inversion
operators; Figures 8.1.10, 8.1.11, and 8.2.3, describing
actions of various transformations on triads; and Figure
9.6.7, showing relationships among twelve-​tone rows.
2. The various arrangements of the same set of triads
in Figures 4.1.1 and 4.1.4 are all labeled with the name
of the set, triad. It is only for practical reasons that we
do not give each configuration its own name, as we did
for pc and fifth: we will mention the set triad often,
but only rarely will we need to refer specifically to one
of the arrangements in these figures. We will introduce
special names for some particular arrangements of triad
space, weber and nrtriad, later in this chapter.
3. As a useful aid for conceptualizing the differ-
ence between contextual inversions such as P and
fixed inversions such as I, a circular clock diagram of
pitch-​class space may be drawn on one old-​fashioned
overhead transparency and a triad on a second trans-
parency, overlaid on the first so that it can be rotated
and reflected to transpose and invert the triad. The
axis of inversion for the operator I is fixed in pc space
and therefore may be drawn on the first transparency,
but the axis of inversion for the contextual inversion
P is instead drawn on the transparency with the triad,
so that the axis moves as the triad is transformed.
For P, the axis bisects the perfect-​fifth interval in
the triad, an intervallic relationship that remains
unchanged no matter how the triad is transposed or
inverted.
4. Hint for Exercise 4.1.2c: You should find two cat-
egories of fixed inversion operators In, differentiated
by some simple property of the number n.
5. Hint for Exercise 4.1.3b: The question is whether
PT1 is the same function as T1P. Try applying both of
these composite functions to the same input triad,
such as C major. If the results differ, even on a single
input, then you know that PT1 and T1P are not the
same function. If you think that they are the same
function, then to conclude this definitively you must
verify that they always give the same results; conceiv-
ably they might match when applied to C major but
not when applied to some other triad. (Recall the dis-
cussion of equality of functions in Section 2.3: “f =​ g”
means that f(x) =​ g(x) for all possible inputs x, not just
for some x.) In practice, checking a few examples may
be sufficient to reveal a pattern and to give you confi-
dence that the pattern will always hold, and a graph
such as Figure 4.1.1a may also help you grasp such a
pattern. In the present situation, at the very least you
should certainly check the behavior of PT1 and T1P
when applied to both major and minor triads.
6. Lewin ([1987] 2007, 176) introduced the domi-
nant transformation under the name DOM, subse-
quently shortened to D by Hyer (1995) and many other
writers. The motivation for calling D the “dominant”
transformation is the idea that D models what happens
at a V–​I cadence, at least in a major key. Interactions
of D (and transpositions more generally) with other
triadic transformations will be explored in Chapter 8.
7. See Figures 12.4.7 and 12.5.11 for triadic dis-
tance calculations directly relevant to this example.
The triadic distance measures introduced here may be
compared with those in Chapter 1 of Cohn 2012, one
of which corresponds closely to the voice-​leading dis-
tance described here.
8. Early attempts to incorporate major and minor
together in a circle of fifths were oddly problematic.
In 1728 Johann David Heinichen arranged the 24 tri-
ads in a single circle, in the order C–​a–​G–​e–​D–​b–​⋯.
Two different kinds of relationships appear between
adjacent triads, relative pairs such as C–​a alternating
with stepwise connections such as a–​G. A few years
later Johann Mattheson produced the arrangement
C–​G–​e–​b–​D–​A–​f♯–​c♯–​⋯, in which major and minor
alternate not singly but in pairs, with the result that
while C major and G major are adjacent, two minor
triads separate G major from D major. The problem
with both of these schemes lies in the attempt to
depict two different types of relationship—​T7 and
R—​around the perimeter of a single circle. While
Heinichen’s and Mattheson’s circles fundamentally
remain one-​ dimensional figures as described in
Chapter 1 (using the second dimension only to real-
ize the closure of the circle), Kellner’s figure (4.1.4a),
like the other double-​circle diagrams in this chapter,
is genuinely a two-​ dimensional space. The figures
described here appeared in Heinichen [1728] 1969,
837; Mattheson [1735] 1980, 131; and Kellner [1737]
1979, 60. All three are reproduced and discussed in
Westergaard 1996, 12–​13.
9. For a picture of a mode space similar to the one
suggested in Exercise 4.1.7, see Bates 2012, 39. The
path through the modes described at the end of the
exercise may be formalized using signature transforma-
tions, to be studied in Section 13.3.
10. For a graph of tonal centers in the first move-
ment of Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata in the
double circle of Figure 4.1.4, see Carpenter 1983, 19.
11. The E-​Major Prelude is one of the examples of
tonality graphs in Jablonsky 2003, along with excerpts
by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Debussy.
12. The generalized theory of normal forms to be
introduced in Section 10.4 will clarify the status of
the descriptors 014 and 034 for the two inversionally
related trichord types (they are OPT normal forms).
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 161
 13. Hints for Exercise 4.1.11: Chords may be repre-
sented as sets of pitch-​class numbers, though in some
cases traditional names such as Cm7 may be more
convenient. One vertex in the graph for (b), for exam-
ple, might be labeled {0, 1, 4, 6, 7, 10} (or 01467t for
short). The Petrushka chord is the only set class that
possesses transpositional but not inversional sym-
metry. The four graphs constructed for this exercise,
taken together, should have a total of 33 vertices. The
graph for the French augmented-sixth chords may be
compared with a more elaborate space of the same
chords in Lind and Roeder 2009.
14. Hint for Exercise 4.1.13: A very simple answer
will suffice for the last question. Symmetrical rows will
be examined further in Section 9.5; see Exercise 9.5.1
for a few examples.
15. Hint for Exercise 4.1.14: Consider the special
nature of the tritone transposition (compare with
Exercise 3.5.10a).
16. Lewin (1967a and 1967b) introduced the idea
of twelve-​tone areas in analyzing passages from Moses
und Aron and Schoenberg’s Violin Fantasy, Op. 47,
and pursued the idea in several other articles written
around that time. For analyses of Op. 33a including
twelve-​tone areas, see Straus 2016, 347–​53, and Roig-​
Francolí 2008, 205–​12.
17. François-​Guillaume Vial’s “genealogical tree of
harmony” of c. 1767 (reproduced in Lester 1992, 230)
displays the same underlying organization as Weber
space. Weber’s diagram, actually a left-​right mirror image
of Figure 4.2.3, appears in Weber 1817–​21, vol. II, 81.
18. For the chart of the regions see Schoenberg
[1954] 1969, 20; interestingly, elsewhere in the same
volume (68–​75) Schoenberg presents a five-​part clas-
sification of key relationships that bears only a vague
relationship to his diagram. Lerdahl 2001 presents
Weber space on pp. 42–​43 and the similarly organized
regional space on pp. 63–​66.
19. Krumhansl’s map appears in Krumhansl 1983,
55; it is reproduced as Figure 2.3c in Lerdahl 2001, 46.
See Krumhansl 1990 for related considerations, and
Krumhansl 1998 for further empirical results.
20. An unconformed version of Weber space, orga-
nized by pure perfect fifths and minor thirds, is theo-
retically possible, but we will not have occasion to use
it. Identically named keys eight positions apart on the
same row of this unconformed space theoretically dif-
fer by the interval known as the greater diesis, the dif-
ference between four 6:5 minor thirds and an octave;
this is a sizable interval, given by the ratio 648:625
and equal to about 63 cents (0.63 equal-​tempered
semitones). The lesser diesis, also called the enharmonic
diesis, is the difference between three 5:4 major thirds
and an octave, given by the ratio 128:125 and equal to
about 41 cents.
162 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
21. Hint for Exercise 4.2.4a: Parallelogram tiles can
be converted to rectangles by a shearing transforma-
tion (see Figure 12.3.1b for such a picture of Weber
space), but with the triads arrayed as in Figure 4.2.3,
rectangular tiles are not possible. For a tile to deter-
mine a toroidal topology, its boundaries must be glued
together in such a way that any edge of the graph that
reaches one of those boundaries must continue from
the corresponding point on the opposite boundary.
22. This graph is dubbed the chicken-​wire torus in
Douthett and Steinbach 1998, 248.
23. The triadic space considered here is properly neo-​
Riemannian rather than Riemannian, in the sense that
it corresponds (as detailed below) with the conformed
neo-​Riemannian tonnetz rather than the unconformed
Riemannian tonnetz. Some readers might therefore
object to the shorthand Riemann space, preferring
instead the slightly more cumbersome neo-​Riemann
space. Because we shall have no occasion to refer to an
unconformed version of this space, however, the use of
the shorter term for the more frequently encountered
space is unlikely to lead to confusion.
24. A dual relationship between a chord-​ based
graph and a note-​ based graph was visible also in
Figures 3.1.13 and 3.1.14, the hexatonic triad cube
and its octahedral dual. Tymoczko 2012 studies dual
relationships of this kind in a more general context.
25. In addition to Lerdahl 2001, some analyses
incorporating Weber space appear in Rings 2007. The
neo-​Riemannian literature is rich with analyses in
assorted variants of Riemann space; see in particular
the many tonnetz analyses in Cohn 2012. For com-
parison of the analytical virtues of Weber and Riemann
space, see Cohn 2011, 327–​28. Cohn 2012, 131–​33,
offers a tonnetz analysis of the succession of tonal
centers in Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe, revising
Lerdahl’s Weber-​space analysis (Lerdahl 2001, 138–​39).
26. Hexatonic collections, like other scales, can
be musical spaces in their own right; this is why our
labels for such collections are typographically similar
to the labels for other spaces.
27. In keeping with the convention established for
the dominant transformation D introduced in Section
4.1, the mediant transformation M (first defined by
Lewin) maps from the mediant to its tonic, not the
other way around. Thus M applied to C major yields A
minor, and M applied to C minor yields A♭ major. See
Section 8.3.
28. The “Spring” Sonata example is mentioned in
Cohn 1996, 31 (where several additional examples of PL-​
cycles are also discussed), offered as an example in Cohn
2012, 26–​28, and graphed in a tonnetz in Hook 2006.
Liszt’s Consolation is analyzed in some detail in Kopp
2002, 240–​46, and in Cohn 2012, 172–​73, 180–​82, and
186–​88. Lewin (1967b, 25) likens Liszt’s modulations
by major third in this piece to the motions by minor
third through twelve-​tone areas in Schoenberg’s Violin
Fantasy, Op. 47. Extended PR-​ chains are consider-
ably rarer in musical practice; the Smetana excerpt is
analyzed in Goldenberg 2007, 71 and 75–​76, and the
Franck in Cook 2005, 113–​116. Cohn has written about
the sequence from the Ninth Symphony on several occa-
sions, most relevantly Cohn 1997, 34–​36, and about the
Chopin Fantasy excerpt in Cohn 2012, 98–​100.
29. A peculiar notation in Chopin’s manuscript
of the F-​ Minor Fantasy, reproduced inconsistently
in published editions, highlights the smooth voice
leading of the transformations in Exercise 4.2.13f: an
apparently superfluous eighth-​note beam, linking the
root of one triad to the fifth of the next, traces the
moving voice at each new chord.
30. Hint for Exercise 4.2.13i: There may be a tempta-
tion to answer the first question by saying that some
of the progressions start with P while others start
with L, or perhaps that some are “PL-​chains” while
others are “LP-​chains”—​but these are not satisfactory
explanations. Consider the possibility of removing the
initial A♭-​major triad from the Brahms progression:
the resulting progression would now start with a dif-
ferent operation, but it would still move in the same
direction on the tonnetz.
31. The Verdi example in Exercise 4.2.14 is dis-
cussed in Cohn 1997, 43–​45, and in Cohn 2012, 116.
The first two figures in Riemann [1914–​15] 1992 call
attention to a family of six triads such as these; see
Clark 2011b for related commentary.
32. Cohn (2012, 25–​28) notes examples of hexa-
tonic cycles in the finales of Mozart’s Symphony No.
39, K. 543, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 98.
33. In unconformed Riemannian (as opposed to
neo-​Riemannian) tonnetz space, the two B♭s would
be different. Acoustically this difference is the diesis
between three major thirds and an octave; notation-
ally it is betrayed by the enharmonic respelling that
must occur somewhere in every hexatonic cycle, with-
out which Beethoven’s progression, beginning in B♭
major, would end in C♭ ♭ major. But the acoustical dis-
tinction is unrealizable in instrumental performance,
making the conformed tonnetz model more appropri-
ate in a practical sense. Some related considerations
are discussed in the early neo-​Riemannian literature,
such as Cohn 1996, as well as in Chapter 1 of Cohn
2012, where a similar arrival on a supposed C♭ ♭ rather
than B♭ in the first movement of Schubert’s B♭-​major
Sonata is initially characterized as “an error to repair”
before other interpretations are considered. (The
Verdi progression of Exercise 4.2.14, hypothetically
completed by a final return to F minor, arrives back at
its starting point even in the unconformed tonnetz,
and accordingly requires no respelling en route.)
34. Rings 2007 offers further commentary on the
tension between tonic-​ dominant relationships and
others typically foregrounded in transformational
analyses.
35. Some comparisons between Weber and neo-​
Riemannian distances may be found in Spitzer 2003.
Spitzer refers to the tonnetz as “Riemannian space,”
and (somewhat confusingly) to Weber space as “pitch
space.”
36. There is only one key at the maximum neo-​
Riemannian distance from C major. Keys separated
by this maximum neo-​Riemannian distance are called
tonnetz poles (a name suggested by Scott Murphy).
37. A bonus question related to 4.2.17c: Explain
why Figure 4.2.3 is a bipartite graph if considered an
infinite graph, but is not bipartite when regarded as a
finite graph.
38. The property mentioned in Exercise 4.2.17d
holds because transposition is a distance-​preserving
operation in all three triadic spaces. That is, if Tn is a
transposition operator, if x and y are triads, and if dist
represents the distance function in double-​circle tri-
adic space, Weber space, or Riemann space, then the
equation dist(Tn(x), Tn(y)) =​dist(x, y) always holds.
Distance-​preserving transformations will be studied
more generally in Chapter 12.
39. Hints for Exercise 4.2.17e: This symmetry is
related to the distance-​preserving property in (d): a
path from C major to D♭ major, for example, has the
same length as some path from what other key to C
major? For paths linking keys opposite in mode, the
same conclusion cannot necessarily be drawn, but you
should nevertheless find some sort of symmetry in
two of the three tables of distances from C major to
minor keys.
40. For a slightly different representation of a
toroidal embedding of K7 see London 2002, 138.
41. The first scholar to call attention to the impor-
tance of transformational properties of diatonic trans-
position was John Clough; see particularly Clough
1979–​80. Many keyboard exercises, such as the cel-
ebrated exercises of Charles-​Louis Hanon, consist
largely of patterns transposed repeatedly by diatonic
t1. Vocal warm-​up exercises, in contrast, are often
sung in successive chromatic transpositions by T1.
42. See Hook [2014] 2020 for a detailed investiga-
tion of generic sequence patterns and their represen-
tation in the generic tonnetz, with many examples. A
tonnetz of equilateral triangles is appealing for this
purpose, as it enables a symmetrical presentation of
the six nonzero generic intervals. The approach to
diatonic sequences here may also be compared with
analyses in Ricci 2002, Clough 2008, Kochavi 2008,
and later in this book (see, for example, Figures 8.3.17
and 13.1.7).
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 163
 43. Third-​substitution figures prominently in the
model of diatonic harmony proposed in Chapter 7 of
Tymoczko 2011; for a discussion of sequences (includ-
ing that of Fauré’s Pavane) see pp. 238–​45.
44. See Lerdahl 2001, 57. Lerdahl diagrams the
chordal core as a 3-​by-​3 array, the most compact rect-
angular segment that includes every triad, although as
seen in Figure 4.3.6 it redundantly includes two of the
seven triads twice.
45. The construction of chordal-​regional space is
related to the mathematical concept of tangent spaces,
although the discrete nature of this space sets it apart
from most applications of tangent spaces. Generally,
each point x on a surface S may have its own tangent
space, a space that describes the possible directions in
which one can pass through x while moving within S.
46. See Lerdahl 2001, 96–​ 101, for a detailed
chordal-​regional analysis of Chopin’s E-​Major Prelude;
briefer analyses of numerous other works appear else-
where in the book.
47. This point is made, for example, in Laitz
2016, 375.
48. For diagrams similar to Figure 4.3.8 see Agmon
1995, 200–​01. A descending-​thirds–​based grammar
of functional harmony is outlined in Tymoczko 2011,
226–​30. For related considerations see also White
and Quinn 2018, and the discussion of M-​chains in
Section 8.3 of this book.
49. Several versions of the diatonic Möbius strip
appear in the literature, for example in Mazzola
2002, 322; Brower 2008, 74; and Cohn 2012, 175–​79.
Brower (p. 91) points out an elusive reference to such
a Möbius strip in David Lewin’s analysis of a passage
from Parsifal (Lewin [1984] 2006, 196).
50. The graphs described in Exercise 4.4.2 appear
in Waller 1978. For further alternative pictures of
neo-​Riemannian triad space, see Figure 10.2.15 and
Exercise 10.2.16.
51. The potential for smooth voice-​leading con-
nections with several different chords in the same set
class is a distinctive characteristic of the 037 triad.
Cohn (1997 and 2012) has remarked at length on
this property and its implications for voice leading
in triadic music. Tymoczko (2006) observes that this
property is attributable to the triad’s near-​symmetry,
as a single-​semitone displacement from the perfectly
symmetrical augmented triad—​a point to be clarified
in the discussion of voice-​leading spaces in Part Three.
52. Hint for Exercise 4.4.4: Your labeling of the
transformations P̂, L̂, and R̂ may depend on how you
laid out your original 013 tonnetz. For the purposes
of this exercise, the correspondence with P, L, and R
will be clearest if you organize the tonnetz horizon-
tally by minor thirds and vertically by whole steps.
Lewin’s (1998) analysis of the F♯-​minor fugue subject
164 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
from WTC I takes place in the dual graph considered
in this exercise. Reed and Bain 2007 pursue Lewin’s
idea further, offering three-​dimensional animations
of the same fugue in a space that is a hybrid of the
original 013 tonnetz and the pitch helix of Figure
1.2.2. Fitzpatrick 2011 comments on the merits of the
two approaches.
53. Tymoczko (2012, 42–​ 46) discusses Gollin’s
space in relation to other generalizations of the
tonnetz.
54. Hint for Exercise 4.4.7a: The relationship
between C7 and any of these half-​diminished seventh
chords may be modeled by inversion about the shared
interval. For example, C7 and eø7 are related by the
contextual inversion that inverts any dominant or
half-​diminished seventh chord about its tritone.
55. The chord mentioned in Exercise 4.4.7b,
uniquely, has the property that it shares two notes with
C7 only if one of the chords is misspelled: as properly
spelled dominant and half-​diminished seventh chords
in spelled pitch-​class space, these two chords can have
no more than one common tone. In an unconformed
three-​dimensional tonnetz, constructed without the
assumption of enharmonic equivalence, the two tet-
rahedra representing this chord, as described in the
exercise, would represent two different chords. On the
other hand, in the conformed finite tonnetz in which
enharmonically equivalent pitch classes are conjoined,
these “two tetrahedra” are actually the same tetrahe-
dron—​a tetrahedron with which the C7 tetrahedron
shares two vertices but no edge! Tetrahedra in this
relationship are geometrically impossible in ordinary
Euclidean space ℝ3 but possible in the 3-​torus 𝕋3.
56. Hint for Exercise 4.4.7d: If you count all tetra-
hedra adjacent to the C7 tetrahedron, including those
that share an edge (two vertices) as well as those that
share a single vertex, the total should be 22. Because
of the duplications mentioned in (b) and (c) and sev-
eral others, however, these 22 tetrahedra represent
something fewer than 22 different chords.
57. Hint for Exercise 4.4.7e: The B♭ in layer 1 falls
over the center of the C–​E–​G triangle in layer 0, a
point that is precisely one-​third of the way from G to A
in that layer. Some vertex in layer 2, which you should
be able to identify, falls over a point exactly two-​thirds
of the way from G to A, and some vertex in layer 3 falls
directly above A.
58. The most complete presentation of the spiral
array is Chew 2014. Chew offers a variety of analyses
in the spiral array, including a study of musical humor
and incongruity in P. D. Q. Bach’s Short-​Tempered
Clavier.
59. For an analysis in four overlapping rows see
Bailey 1991, 390–​91; for an analysis with retrograded
tetrachords, see Straus 2016, 342–​47.
 60. For Adams’s descriptions of Phrygian Gates and
China Gates see http://​www.ear​box.com/​phryg​ian-​
gates-​china-​gates/​; see also Adams 2008, 88–​90.
61. It is because T1 and s−5 yield the same results
when applied to the diatonic collections appearing
in Figure 4.5.6 that the arrows are labeled with nota-
tions such as “T1 or s−5.” The word or has been cho-
sen carefully. The label does not say “T1 =​ s−5”—​and
indeed it should not, because T1 and s−5 are not equal
as mathematical functions. Applied to most subsets of
a diatonic collection, the addition of five flats to a key
signature does not produce the effect of a T1 transpo-
sition at all.
62. For an analysis of temporal proportions in
Phrygian Gates see Fyr 2011. At the tempo change at
m. 402, Adams supplies a metric modulation instruc-
tion that is inconsistent with the given metronome
markings; the calculations for Figure 4.5.7 are based
on the (slower) metronome indications. The calculated
durations add up to a total duration for the work of
just under 22 minutes; most recorded performances
are a bit slower still, averaging between 24 and 25
minutes.
63. There are dangers in using two-​dimensional
areas to represent one-​dimensional data, as with
the circles in Figure 4.5.11. It is the areas, rather
than the diameters, of the circles that have been
set in proportion to the incidence of the triads.
The area of a circle is proportional to the square of
its diameter. If diameters were used instead, the
eye, in perceiving the circles’ areas, would greatly
overestimate the implied variation, as the F-​major
triad’s circle would have 64 times the area of the F-​
minor triad’s circle, even though the actual ratio in
frequency of appearance is only 8 to 1—​a misrep-
resentation exhibiting what Edward Tufte calls a lie
factor of 8. Using areas as the basis for proportions
is greatly preferable but runs the opposite risk, the
risk that variation may be underestimated instead
(Tufte 2001, 53–​77).
64. The last of the 34 chords is C major. In the orig-
inal version of the opera, this passage is followed by a
six-​measure codetta that closes the act in F major. The
codetta has been excised from the revised version, in
which the final C-​major triad leads attacca to the fol-
lowing scene, which opens in F major.
65. Lewin’s extended analysis of “Auf dem Flusse”
(Lewin [1986] 2006a) intersects the discussion pre-
sented here in a number of details, amid a wealth
of insights about text-​music relations. Lewin also
presents his own reductive analysis and a critique
of Schenker’s in Der freie Satz (Schenker [1935]
1979, Fig. 40/​2). Clark (2011a, 77–​92) comments on
Schenker’s and Lewin’s readings, particularly in rela-
tion to the G♯-​minor passage in the final stanza. Cohn
(2012, 122–​25) presents a transformational analysis
of the song organized as an event network (his Figure
6.8), which may be contrasted with the spatial graphs
presented here.
66. Rings 2011b uses double circles to denote root
nodes in his rooted graphs (graphs in which one ver-
tex is distinguished in some way from all the others);
his root nodes often, but not always, represent tonal
centers. Lerdahl 2001 highlights tonics and occasion-
ally other salient events with square boxes in some
graphs.
67. The word shadow has been applied in a nota-
bly similar context in reference to procedures of tonal
displacement common in the music of Prokofiev (Bass
1988). An example involving the same pair of keys—​
D♯ minor shadowing E minor—​occurs in the opening
measures of Prokofiev’s Cinderella.
68. Figure 4.5.13 suggests a return to E minor
at m. 22 and an immediately subsequent move to E
major. No E-​minor triad appears in this measure, so
the analysis could plausibly show a pivot directly from
VI/​d♯ to V/​E. The reading in the graph postulates that
the listener recognizes the B-major triad from its pre-
vious appearance at the parallel spot of m. 13, and,
expecting a corresponding resolution to E minor the
second time, hears it momentarily as V/​e.
69. G♯ minor lies at a Weber distance of 3 from
E minor, but a neo-​Riemannian distance of 2 (being
reachable from E minor by PL). Some remarks of
Lewin ([1986] 2006a, 113–​16) are relevant to this
difference and suggest a preference for the Weber dis-
tance. Lewin observes that G♯ minor projects a domi-
nant function in E minor, as it supports the structural
5̂ and 7̂, particularly the insistent leading tones in the
vocal line. For this reason he argues that G♯ minor is
more aptly regarded as the relative of B major rather
than as the leittonwechsel of E major.
70. Similar observations may sometimes be
advanced to support claims of unity among the
movements of multi-​movement works. In the Piano
Quartet in E♭ Major, Op. 87, by Dvořák (a composer
whose tonal journeys often resemble Schubert’s), the
three movements in E♭ have the secondary keys G
major (first movement), G minor (third), and G♭ major
(fourth; G♭ is also the main key of the second move-
ment)—​all again some form of III. In light of the com-
plete absence of B♭ as a significant tonal center, and
the many additional coloristic uses of G♭ throughout
the work, it may not be far-​fetched to claim for this
shared III the status of “dominant” in the large-​scale
tonal organization of the quartet.
71. Some readers will note the close likeness
between these PR-​ cycle tonal functions and the
“axis system” postulated by Ernő Lendvai for the
music of Bartók (Lendvai 1971, 1–​16). Indeed, an
Chordal, Tonal, and Serial Spaces • 165
association of functions with keys in a minor-​third
cycle such as a Lendvai axis or a row in Weber space
captures in a simple if imprecise way a number of
intuitions about tonal functions in a wide range
of repertoires. For instance, the tonic row appears
above the subdominant row, in accordance with the
tonic’s capability to function as the dominant of the
subdominant; similarly, the appearance of subdomi-
nants in the row above dominants is consistent with
the subdominant-​like function of a chord such as
V/​V. We have remarked on functional affinities
between third-​ related chords several times previ-
ously, in the discussion of the generic circle of thirds
in Section 1.3 and again in reference to Figure 4.3.8,
and also in Exercise 4.3.5d in the context of diatonic
sequences. In some situations, however, similarly
functioning chords may be related by major thirds
rather than minor thirds. Thus Cohn (1999, 219)
associates tonal functions with PL-​(rather than PR-​)
cycles in the first movement of Schubert’s B♭-​Major
Sonata, D. 960. (See Exercise 4.5.29 below.) Because
there are four PL-​cycles rather than three, one cycle is
left without an associated function.
72. Clark (2011a, 161–​82 and elsewhere) discusses
this movement at length, with many references to
analyses by other scholars. The analysis in Yust 2015
has common ground with our discussion of sequen-
tial passages (but Yust’s use of the word generic differs
from the sense of the word in this book).
73. Cohn 2012 refers to these hexagonal cells as
neighborhoods, and to the circumnavigation of such a
neighborhood as a pitch retention loop, coincidentally
abbreviated PRL.
74. Clark (2011a, 175–​82) comments on several
previous analyses of this second theme; see also Kopp
2002, 197–​98 and 205–​06. Hyland 2016 examines the
interaction of sonata and variation principles in this
movement.
75. Although its most famous use is in the
“Waldstein,” variants of this whole-​step descent appear
in many other works, from Chopin (the Trio theme
from the second movement of the Cello Sonata, Op. 65)
to Liszt (the final Stretto, m. 537, of the Piano Concerto
in A Major), Bruch (the main theme of the last move-
ment of the Scottish Fantasy), Richard Rodgers (“Climb
Ev’ry Mountain” from The Sound of Music), and, at least
in short sequential passages, Mozart (Sinfonia concer-
tante, K. 364, III, mm. 152–​56).
76. See Beach 1994, 10–​11. Beach relates this minor
tetrachord G–​F♮–​E♭–​D to a less conspicuous major tet-
rachord G–​F♯–​E♮–​ D that spans from the end of the
primary-​theme group (m. 54) to the cadence on D at the
end of the first statement of the second theme (m. 77).
77. In Beethoven’s “Waldstein,” the second state-
ment of the opening theme also begins with a whole-​
step ascent, from C major to D minor—​but here too,
166 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
Schubert extends the pattern sequentially, at much
greater length.
78. See Dahlhaus [1978] 1986, 10–​12. A claim that
“Schubert used the whole-​tone scale” in the G-​Major
Quartet, of course, invites justifiable criticism. That
the whole-​tone level of the hierarchy in Figure 4.5.25c
is articulated in the score is not in question, but its
presence does not prove that the whole-​tone scale is
for Schubert a space in which to compose (as it is for
Debussy on occasion) rather than, as seems more likely,
a particular subset of chromatic space that happens
to arise as a byproduct of sequential patterning. The
same may be said of an earlier example of tonal cen-
ters moving systematically through a whole-​tone scale,
the endlessly rising canon from Bach’s Musical Offering.
Tymoczko (2002) raises similar questions about
apparent octatonic organization in some examples by
Stravinsky.
79. Cohn (1999, 232) observes that “diatonically
indeterminate” passages in the nineteenth century
often occupy a middleground structural level, sand-
wiched between more traditional diatonic procedures
at both foreground and background levels.
80. Tymoczko (2011, 282–​ 84) analyzes the
Quartettsatz sequences and plots them in a segment
of a three-​dimensional chord space that we will study
in Chapter 11.
SUGGESTED READING
The analytical sketches in Section 4.5 have points
of contact with many modes of analysis that may
be encountered in the literature. The tonnetz-​based
analyses in Cohn 2012 are relevant to our work in
this and later chapters. The cognitively informed
analyses in Lerdahl 2001, often with an emphasis
on prolongational functions, play out in several
different spaces, including Weber space and chordal-​
regional space (as in our discussion of “Auf dem
Flusse” in Example 4.5.12).
In the realm of Schubert scholarship, Clark 2011a
offers not only original analytical insights but also
a wealth of commentary about two centuries of
analytical approaches to Schubert’s music. Lewin’s
extended essay on “Morgengruss,” written in 1974
for a never-​completed book of Schubert essays and
unpublished for four decades (Bard-​Schwarz and
Cohn 2015), predates Lewin’s groundbreaking work
in transformational theory, but the wide-​ranging
perspectives and rich detail are vintage Lewin.
Among other Schubert analyses with connections
to those in this chapter are Cohn 1999 (on the B♭-​
Major Sonata, D. 960), Rings 2007 (on the E♭-​Major
Impromptu, D. 899, No. 2), and Yust 2015 (on the
G-​Major Quartet).
 5
Groups I
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups
THE ABSTRACT algebraic structures known as
groups have played a central role in mathemati-
cal thought for almost two centuries. The foun-
dations of group theory are generally said to
have been laid by Évariste Galois (1811–​32) just
before his death in a duel at the age of twenty,
though the field’s origins can be traced through
an assortment of earlier work in number theory,
the theory of algebraic equations, and geometry.
Groups are intimately connected to symmetry—​
wherever symmetry appears, a group is probably
close behind—​and applications of group theory
abound in many branches of mathematics, phys-
ics, and chemistry.1
In music, Schoenberg’s twelve-​tone system
and the operations of pitch-​ class set theory
are inherently governed by group structures,
as Milton Babbitt was among the first to rec-
ognize. David Lewin’s 1987 book Generalized
Musical Intervals and Transformations called
unprecedented attention to the importance of
groups in musical contexts, identified the two
principal categories of musical groups to be
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0005
studied here—​interval groups and transforma-
tion groups—​and described in a novel way the
connections between them. Much of the power
and elegance of these applications stems from
symmetry, which as noted above is always inher-
ent in groups, but this symmetry also proves to
be a constraint in some contexts, for many musi-
cal constructions lack the symmetry that would
be required of a group.2
The elements of group theory in this chap-
ter, together with the somewhat more advanced
topics in Chapter 6, provide an introduction
to musical applications of group theory and
the group-​theoretic study of symmetry, which
should be sufficient to enable the reader to nego-
tiate the groups appearing in the remainder of
this book. Some parts of these chapters may
seem more suitable for a mathematics text than
for a book about music, but musical payoffs will
accumulate later in the book, and in this chapter
I have endeavored to keep musical motivations
close at hand by using intervals and transforma-
tions (about both of which much more will be
said in later chapters) as prototypes for the more
general concepts of group theory. This chapter
concludes with Lewin’s fundamental insight
relating intervals and transformations.
5.1 THE INTERVAL AND
TRANSPOSITION GROUPS
OF PITCH SPACE
The definition of a group, while not intrinsically
difficult, is rather abstract, even more so than
that of a graph (Chapter 3). A group consists of
a set and a binary operation satisfying certain
precisely defined properties, or axioms, to be
detailed in Section 5.2 below. Mathematicians
find it useful to define abstract structures in
this axiomatic way whenever they find similar
characteristics arising in a number of superfi-
cially different contexts. By defining a group to
be any set satisfying the specified properties,
and then studying the logical consequences of
those properties, we are able to deduce things
about many different groups at once, rather
than studying each individual group in isola-
tion and rehashing the same reasoning sepa-
rately for each one.3
To develop a good understanding of the defi-
nition, however, it is useful to have some specific
examples in mind from the start. Fortunately, a
number of musically relevant groups are already
at hand, lurking beneath the surface of some of
the musical spaces we have studied in Chapters
1–​4. In this section we will identify two of these
groups and note some of their properties, in
preparation for presenting the formal definition
of a group and further examples in the following
sections.
FIGURE 5.1.1 Interval relationships in a C-​major triad in discrete pitch space
168 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
We begin by revisiting the discrete chromatic
pitch space pitch from Figure 1.1.1. In Chapter
1 and again in Section 2.1, we observed an appar-
ent link between this pitch space and ℤ, the set
of integers. We now make this connection more
explicit; we shall see that it depends on the prop-
erties of ℤ not only as a set but as a group. The
example serves as a preliminary illustration not
only of the group concept, but more specifically
of the applicability of groups in studying musical
intervals and transformations.
Figure 5.1.1a shows a small collection of
notes in pitch—​C4, E4, and G4, the notes of a
C-​major triad—​and some of the intervals they
form. The number 4 on the arrow from C4 to E4
means that the interval from C4 to E4, measured
in semitones, is 4. As a shorthand for this state-
ment we write int(C4, E4) =​4. The notation “int”
in this equation represents a function, called
the interval function of discrete pitch space.
The function int maps from pitch × pitch (the
set of all ordered pairs of notes in pitch space)
into ℤ (the set of integers), because intervals
between notes in pitch are always integers.
Using a notation introduced in Chapter 2, we
may write int: pitch × pitch → ℤ. In an equa-
tion of the form int(x, y) =​ i, the interval i is a
different kind of object from x and y: x and y are
pitches (elements of the space pitch), while i is
an integer (an element of ℤ).
The figure shows that int(C4, E4) =​4, int (E4,
G4) =​3, and int(C4, G4) =​7. These numbers
satisfy the equation 4 +​3 =​7—​that is, int (C4,
E4) +​int(E4, G4) =​int(C4, G4). The general form
of this interval-​sum equation is int(x, y) +​int(y, z)
=​ int(x, z). This property may seem obvious, but
there are subtleties. The interval function int is
defined to model directed intervals (sometimes
also called ordered or oriented intervals). While
int(C4, E4), the ascending interval from C4 to E4,
is 4, int(E4, C4), the descending interval from E4
to C4, is not 4 but −4. Figure 5.1.1b shows why
the interval function must be defined in this
way—​with ascending and descending intervals
represented by numbers of opposite signs—​in
order for interval-​ sum equations to work in
general. If we choose the pitches x, y, and z in
the order x =​E4, y =​C4, and z =​G4, the interval-​
sum equation becomes int(E4, C4) +​int(C4, G4) =​
int(E4, G4), or (−4) +​7 =​3. This equation is true,
but it would fail if int(E4, C4) were taken to be
4 rather than −4. When intervals are oriented
differently, the orientation matters in the calcu-
lations and must be accounted for. This is why
the interval function must be defined on ordered
pairs of pitches rather than on unordered sets of
two pitches: int(x, y) and int(y, x) are two dif-
ferent things. In general, int(y, x) =​−int(x, y);
we call int(y, x) the inverse of int(x, y). With int
defined as a directed interval function in this
way, the interval-​sum equation int(x, y) +​int(y,
z) =​int(x, z) always holds, for any three pitches
x, y, and z at all.
The interval from any note to itself is always
0. Figure 5.1.1c illustrates the interval-​ sum
equation for the three notes C4, C4, and E4 (two
of which are the same): 0 +​4 =​4.
Exercise 5.1.2 Make sketches similar to Figure
5.1.1a–​c for each of the following combinations
of three notes. Assume that the notes are given
in the order x, y, z, and verify that the interval-​
sum equation int(x, y) +​int(y, z) =​int(x, z) holds
in each case.
(a) C4, E4, G5 (remember that some intervals in
pitch space are larger than 12)
(b) C4, E4, C4
(c) E4, G4, C4
(d) E4, G4, C5
(e) G4, E4, C4
(f) D3, F♯3, A3
(g) C4, A♭3, F3
(h)  C4, E♭4, G4
Exercise 5.1.3 Suppose we defined the interval
function to take positive values for descending
intervals and negative values for ascending,
rather than the other way around, so that, for
instance, int(C4, E4) =​−4 and int(E4, C4) =​4.
Does the interval-​sum equation work for this
upside-​
   down interval function?
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 169
We will refer to a set of objects and the inter-
vals they form as an interval configuration. This
definition will be made a bit more precise later
on, but the above discussion involves a three-​
note interval configuration, the set {C4, E4, G4},
whose complete roster of intervals includes 4, 3,
7, −4, −3, −7, and three intervals of size 0. All
of these intervals are shown in Figure 5.1.1d.
Clearly there is considerable redundancy in this
list of intervals. The 0s are automatic, and the
negative numbers represent the same intervals
as the positive numbers, oppositely directed.
In fact, the first two intervals in the above list
effectively tell us all we need to know about
the rest: given only that x, y, and z are three
notes with int(x, y) =​4 and int(y, z) =​3, from
the general properties of the interval func-
tion we may deduce that int(y, x) =​−4, that
int(x, z) =​7, and indeed all of the other intervals
in the configuration.
This point is illustrated by part (f) of Exercise
5.1.2 above: from the fact that the successive
notes in the set {D3, F♯3, A3} are related by the
same two intervals 4 and 3 that we saw in the
set {C4, E4, G4}, we know immediately that the
rest of the intervals in the configuration must
be identical as well. The D-​major triad is, of
course, a transposition of the C-​major triad in
pitch space. Interval configurations are trans-
posable, and transposition is an interval-​preserv-
ing operation: the transposed configuration has
exactly the same intervals as the original, so the
pictures of the two configurations look identical
except for the note names.4 Interval configura-
tions are also invertible, as part (g) of the same
exercise shows: the configuration of the F-​minor
triad is generated from the pitch C4, not by inter-
vals 4 and 3 but by −4 and −3. Inversion is not
an interval-​preserving operation but an interval-​
reversing one.
The pictures in Figure 5.1.1 are directed
graphs as defined in Chapter 3. The complete
picture of a three-​note interval configuration,
as in 5.1.1d, has nine arrows, one for every
ordered pair of notes. The preceding observa-
tion about our ability to deduce all the intervals
in the configuration from knowledge of two of
them is tantamount to saying that the complete
information about a configuration’s intervals is
determined as long as the graph is connected. A
graph with three vertices requires at least two
arrows in order to be connected, so at least two
intervals must be specified in order to deduce
the complete interval content of a three-​note
configuration.
Exercise 5.1.4
(a) The sets in parts (a) and (d) of Exercise
5.1.2, even though they are C-​major triads,
are not transpositions in pitch space of the
interval configuration {C4, E4, G4}. Why not?
(b) List all nine intervals present in the F-​minor
triad from Exercise 5.1.2g. Compare this list
with the intervals in the C-​major triad. What
can you conclude about the interval content
  of inversionally related configurations?
Exercise 5.1.5 A four-​note interval
configuration contains a total of sixteen
intervals: six positive intervals, their inverses,
and four 0s. List the six positive intervals in
each of the following four-​note sets:
(a) {C4, D♭4, E4, F♯4}
(b) {C4, D♯4, E4, F♯4}
(c) {C4, D♭4, E♭4, G4}
Successive notes in set (a) are related by
intervals 1, 3, 2, while successive notes in (b)
are related by the same intervals in a different
order, 3, 1, 2. In pitch-​class set theory, sets (a)
and (c), with prime forms 0146 and 0137, are
Z-​related, sharing the same interval-​class vector.
Despite these observations, for this exercise
you should have found three different lists of
intervals for the three sets. Why does this not
contradict
   the Z relation?5
The above discussion begins to show some of
the important roles that ℤ, the set of integers,
plays in describing interval structures in pitch
space, and suggests that addition of integers also
plays a role. In fact, the integers, with the binary
operation of addition, form a group, and this group
is the interval group of discrete pitch space pitch.
Technically, to specify a group we must identify
both a set (in this case ℤ) and a binary operation
defined on that set (in this case addition); there-
fore the group of integers is sometimes written
as an ordered pair (ℤ, +​). In practice, however, the
operation is often obvious once the set is specified
(in fact, the operation is often ordinary addition).
If we speak of “the group ℤ,” we understand implic-
itly that addition is the associated operation.
Several familiar properties of ℤ, and more
specifically of addition defined on ℤ, are relevant
to its status as a group. First, the sum of two
integers is always an integer: if x ∈ ℤ and y ∈ ℤ,
then x +​ y ∈ ℤ. This is the closure property; we say
that ℤ is closed under addition. This property is
probably obvious, and it is implicit when we say
170 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
that addition is “a binary operation defined on
ℤ” (that is, a function from ℤ × ℤ to ℤ); neverthe-
less it is crucial to the structure of any group to
ensure that the operation applied to group ele-
ments can never take us outside the group.
Two well-​known properties of addition are
the commutative property and the associative
property. The commutative property states that
x +​ y =​ y +​ x for all integers x and y: elements of ℤ
always commute. The associative property asserts
that (x +​ y) +​ z =​ x +​(y +​ z) for all integers x, y,
and z. While the commutative property involves
interchanging the order of the elements being
added, in the associative property it is not the
order of the elements that matters but the way
they are grouped, and therefore the order in
which the operations are performed. To calculate
(x +​ y) +​ z we first calculate x +​ y and then add z
to the result, while to calculate x +​(y +​ z) we first
calculate y +​ z and then add the result to x.
The commutative property of the interval
group ℤ is illustrated by comparison of the C-​
major triad discussed above and the C-​minor
triad in Exercise 5.1.2h: int(C4, E4) +​int(E4, G4) =​
4 +​3, while int(C4, E♭4) +​int(E♭4, G4) =​3 +​4.
Of course the two sums agree, since both must
equal int(C4, G4).
Exercise 5.1.6 Illustrate the associative property
using the intervals x =​int(C4, G4), y =​int(G4, B♭4),
and z =​int(B♭4, E4) (the last of these is a negative
number). Draw a graph showing these intervals,
and
  calculate both (x +​ y) +​ z and x +​(y +​ z).
The number 0 occupies a privileged position
in the group ℤ; it is known as the identity element
of the group. The distinctive property of the
identity element, observed previously in Figure
5.1.1c, is that x +​0 =​x (and also 0 +​x =​ x) for
every integer x. In pitch space, 0 appears as the
interval from any note to itself.
We have also seen examples of the inverse of
an integer in ℤ: the inverse of any number x is
the number −x. This is true even if x is already a
negative number, in which case its inverse −x is a
positive number. For example, the inverse of 3 is
−3, and the inverse of −4 is −(−4) =​4. A number
and its inverse always sum to the identity ele-
ment: the equations x +​(−x) =​0 and (−x) +​ x =​0
are true for every integer x. The identity ele-
ment 0, uniquely among the integers, is its own
inverse (−0 =​0). In pitch space, we have seen
that inverses arise whenever the orientation of
an interval is reversed: the equation int(v, u) =​
−int(u, v) holds for all pitches u and v.

FIGURE 5.1.7 Transposition relationships in a
C-​major triad
Figure 5.1.7 recasts Figure 5.1.1a using the
transposition operators T4, T3, and T7 rather than
the intervals 4, 3, and 7. It should be clear that
this figure conveys essentially the same infor-
mation as the earlier one, but the comparison
illustrates the contrast that David Lewin drew
between intervallic and transformational con-
ceptions of musical relationships. While the
interval labeled “4” in 5.1.1a tells us in a passive,
static way how far the note E4 lies from C4 (four
semitones), the transformation labeled “T4” on
the corresponding arrow in 5.1.7 replaces this
conception with a more active, dynamic one,
telling us what we must do to move from C4 to
E4 (go up four semitones). The conceptual shift
from intervals to transformations is signaled in
the figures by a change of arrowhead style, a con-
vention we will observe often, though it is not
possible to do so with complete consistency. We
will have more to say about these contrasting
conceptions at the end of this chapter; at present
we are interested in comparing the mathematical
behaviors of the transposition operators and the
interval arithmetic.6
The transposition operators Tn are not inte-
gers, and cannot be added like the intervals in
Figure 5.1.1—​an expression like T4 +​ T3 does
not make sense. The transposition operators
can nevertheless be combined in a way corre-
sponding exactly to the addition of intervals.
The appropriate operation for combining these
operators is composition of functions, denoted ●
in Chapter 2. Recall that T4 ● T3 means “T4-​then-​
T3”—​that is, “go up four semitones, then go up
three semitones.” The net effect of this compos-
ite function, clearly, is to go up seven semitones;
thus T4 ● T3 =​ T7. More generally, the equation
Tm ● Tn =​ Tm+​n holds for all integers m and n. This
property is closely analogous to the interval-​
sum equation discussed previously, expressed
in terms of transposition operators rather than
intervals; composition of the transposition oper-
ators Tm and Tn corresponds to addition of the
intervals m and n.
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 171
We observed some similar equations previ-
ously, for example in conjunction with Figure
3.5.1. In fact, Figure 5.1.7, like 3.5.1b, is a T-​net:
a transformation network all of whose trans-
formations are transpositions. One difference
is that the transpositions in Figure 5.1.7 act
on pitch while those of the earlier T-​net acted
on pc. While in pc there are only twelve differ-
ent transposition operators T0, …, T11, in pitch
there are infinitely many: …, T−2, T−1, T0, T1,
T2, …, one transposition Tn for every integer n.
Transposition operators with negative indices,
such as T−1 and T−2, are needed in order to trans-
pose downward. The functional composition
analogous to the interval-​sum equation (−4) +​7
=​3 associated with Figure 5.1.1b is T−4 ● T7 =​ T3.
Exercise 5.1.8 Why are transposition operators
with negative indices not needed in pitch-​
class
   space?
Exercise 5.1.9 Choose three of the interval
configurations from Exercise 5.1.2 and redraw
them as T-​nets in the style of Figure 5.1.7.
Do the same with one configuration from
Exercise
   5.1.5, using the positive intervals only.
For reasons that will become clearer later, we
denote the infinite set of transposition opera-
tors in pitch space {…, T−2, T−1, T0, T1, T2, …} by
the name 𝒯∞ (the subscript is the symbol for
infinity). If Tm and Tn are any two elements of
𝒯∞, then Tm ● Tn =​ Tm+​n is also an element of 𝒯∞;
in other words, composition of functions ● is a
binary operation defined on the set 𝒯∞, and 𝒯∞ is
closed under that operation. The crucial observa-
tion is that (𝒯∞, ●) turns out to be another exam-
ple of a group, and the correspondence between
intervallic and transformational thinking
shows us that this transformation group (𝒯∞, ●)
works in much the same way as the interval group
(ℤ, +​) discussed above. In fact, the groups (ℤ, +​
) and (𝒯∞, ●) are isomorphic in a sense to be made
precise in Chapter 6.
In some respects this observation may seem
surprising. The elements of the two groups are
entirely different sorts of objects (numbers in
one case, functions in the other), and the binary
operations are also very different (addition of
numbers, composition of functions). On the
other hand, comparison of Figures 5.1.1 and
5.1.7 shows that both groups seem to describe
the same musical situations equally well, and
the above discussion shows that any statement
about one of the groups (such as the integer
sum 4 +​3 =​7) can be readily translated to a cor-
responding statement about the other group
(the functional composition T4 ● T3 =​ T7). With
groups, as with graphs in Chapter 3, a great ben-
efit to the abstract mathematical approach is
its generalizing power—​the ability that it gives
us to make an observation in one context, and
thereby to conclude, because of a shared abstract
structure, that the observation applies also in
another, apparently very different, context.
The group (𝒯∞, ●), like (ℤ, +​), is commutative.
This may come as a surprise also, because the
reader may recall that composition of functions
in general is not commutative: there are numer-
ous examples of functions f and g for which
f ● g ≠ g ● f (see Exercise 2.3.16). But transposi-
tion operators in pitch space always commute
with each other. Formally this may be proved by
the chain of equations
Tm • Tn = Tm+ n = Tn+ m = Tn • Tm ,
which shows that Tm and Tn commute precisely
because addition of the numbers m and n is
commutative.
As we observed in Section 2.3, some things
commute and others do not. It is important to
recognize that while we may speak of a pair of ele-
ments commuting, commutativity is not a prop-
erty of an individual element. It does not make
sense to say “T4 is commutative,” because T4 com-
mutes with some other functions (such as T3 or
any other Tn) but not with others (T4 does not
commute with the inversion operator I). Most
often, commutativity is considered as a property
of a binary operation defined on a particular set;
FIGURE 5.1.10 The associative property for composition of functions
172 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
to assert this kind of commutativity means that
all pairs of elements of the set commute under
the given operation. An operation such as com-
position of functions may be commutative on
some sets (such as the set of transposition opera-
tors) but not on others.
The binary operation in the group (𝒯∞, ●) is
also associative. In this case a more general
statement is true: composition of functions is
always associative. It can be somewhat confusing
to puzzle out what this means, but the upshot
is simple, as Figure 5.1.10 demonstrates. A gen-
eral statement of associativity requires three
separate functions f: S → T, g: T → U, and h:
U → V, linking four possibly different sets S, T, U,
and V. Keeping in mind that f ● g means f-​then-​
g, applying the composition (f ● g) ● h to an ele-
ment x of S means that we first apply f-​then-​g to
x, then apply h to the result. Applying f ● (g ● h)
to x, meanwhile, means that we first apply f to
x, then apply g-​then-​h to the result. Either way,
clearly, the process amounts to applying f, g, and
h in that order, so the results are the same.
The identity element of the group (𝒯∞, ●) is the
transposition T0, transposition by zero semitones.
Applied to any pitch, this function leaves the pitch
unchanged. T0 is precisely the function that we
called the identity function in Section 2.3, denoted
E; more precisely it might be denoted Epitch, the
identity function on the space pitch. An identity
function ES may be defined on any set S; when the
set is a musical space on which transposition can
be defined, we usually use the notation T0 rather
than ES. The functional equation analogous to
an integer sum such as 3 +​0 =​3 is T3 ● T0 =​ T3.
More generally, if f: S → S is any function defined
on a set S, the equations f ● ES =​ f and ES ● f =​ f
always hold (see Exercise 2.3.15 for some slightly
more general statements).
Just as the inverse of the integer n in the group
(ℤ, +​) is −n, the inverse of Tn in the group (𝒯∞, ●)
is T−n. Inverses in (ℤ, +​) satisfy the equations n
+​ (−n) =​0 and (−n) +​ n =​0; the analogous equa-
tions in (𝒯∞, ●) are Tn ● T−n =​ T0 and T−n ● Tn =​ T0.
In terminology from Section 2.3, these equations
mean that T−n is the inverse function of Tn, and
we could write T−n =​ Tn−1. Observe the notation
carefully: the symbol − is part of the subscript in
T−n, and part of the superscript in Tn−1. Note also
that these uses of the words identity and inverse
for group elements are compatible with the ways
in which the same words were defined previously
for functions: in the transposition group on pitch
space (and in transformation groups more gener-
ally), the identity function is the identity element
of the group, and inverse functions are inverse
elements in the group.
Exercise 5.1.11 Listed below are four true
statements about the group (ℤ, +​). Convert each
statement to a corresponding statement about
the group (𝒯∞, ●).
(a) −4 +​17 =​13.
(b) (2 +​(−6)) +​7 =​5 +​(9 +​(−11)).
(c) −(m +​ n) =​(−m) +​(−n) for all integers m
and n. (Use the notation Tn−1 for inverse
functions.)
(d) There is only one n in ℤ for which n =​−n,
  namely n =​0.
It is clear by now that the properties of the
transposition group (𝒯∞, ●) are very similar to
the properties of the interval group (ℤ, +​). In
fact, the properties that we have enumerated for
these two groups correspond very nearly with
the group axioms—​the properties that every
group is required to satisfy. We are ready for the
formal definition of a group.
5.2 DEFINITION OF
A GROUP; ADDITIVE,
MODULAR, AND
MULTIPLICATIVE GROUPS
Formally, a group is defined as an ordered pair
(G, ⊗), where G is a set and ⊗ is a binary opera-
tion defined on the set G. This formulation
allows for great generality. It does not specify
what sort of a set G is: it may be a set of num-
bers or a set of functions or some other kind of
set entirely. Meanwhile, ⊗ is a binary operation
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 173
on G, which means that if x and y are any two
elements of G, then x ⊗ y is defined; but ⊗ may
be addition, multiplication, composition of func-
tions, or something utterly different. The opera-
tion ⊗ is called the group operation of the group
(G, ⊗). As mentioned above, we may refer to the
set G itself as the group, but only if the opera-
tion ⊗ is obvious or has already been specified;
in another common parlance, we say that “G is a
group under the operation ⊗.”
In order for (G, ⊗) to be a group, the following
four properties—​the group axioms—​must hold:
• Closure. For all elements x and y of the set G,
x ⊗ y is an element of G.
• Associativity. For all elements x, y, and z of G,
(x ⊗ y) ⊗ z =​ x ⊗ (y ⊗ z).
• Identity element. There exists an element e of G
such that x ⊗ e =​ e ⊗ x =​ x for every x in G.7
• Inverses. For every element x of G there exists
an element xʹ of G such that x ⊗ xʹ =​ xʹ ⊗ x =​ e.
A group, by definition, consists of any set G and
operation ⊗ satisfying the above four axioms.
All of these axioms are familiar from the
examples in Section 5.1. As noted there, the
closure axiom might be considered superfluous,
inasmuch as closure is implicit in the stipulation
that ⊗ be a binary operation defined on the set
G. Closure is essential to group structure, how-
ever, and there are situations in which a lack of
closure might easily be overlooked, so it is gener-
ally important to check that it is satisfied.
The reader will probably have noted that one
of the important properties discussed in Section
5.1 is missing from the group axioms, namely
commutativity.8 In fact, groups are not required
to be commutative. If the operation ⊗ in a group
(G, ⊗) is commutative—​that is, if it is true that
x ⊗ y =​ y ⊗ x for all elements x and y of G—​then
the group itself is called a commutative group.9
Both of the groups introduced in Section 5.1,
(ℤ, +​) and (𝒯∞, ●), are commutative, as are numer-
ous other familiar examples of groups, but many
other important groups are noncommutative.
We have previously noted some cases in which
commutativity fails (for example, transposition
operators do not generally commute with inver-
sion operators), and such behavior may often be
described using noncommutative group struc-
tures. We will encounter our first explicit exam-
ples of noncommutative groups in Section 5.5.
Many presentations of group theory use
multiplicative notation for the group opera-
tion, writing x ∙ y, or even xy with no operation
symbol at all. It is also common to refer to x ∙ y
as the product of x and y regardless of what the
operation ∙ actually is. We will lapse into these
habits occasionally, but multiplicative notation
carries the risk that the reader will assume that
the operation is multiplication, or something
much like multiplication, when it might in fact
be something quite different. For the moment
we have deliberately chosen a symbol ⊗ that has
no standard numerical interpretation, to avoid
preconceptions that may be associated with
multiplicative notation. Group theorists often
reserve the addition symbol +​for commutative
operations; this practice will be followed here,
and indeed +​will usually denote ordinary addi-
tion or modular addition.
Likewise, it is common to write x−1 (pro-
nounced “x inverse”) for the inverse of an ele-
ment x, the element called xʹ in the statement
of the inverse property above. This notation
is familiar from ordinary multiplicative arith-
metic, where x−1 denotes the number 1 ∕ x, the
reciprocal (multiplicative inverse) of x; but the
notation x−1 is commonly used in group theory
whether the group operation is multiplication
or not. In the additive group (ℤ, +​), x−1 is actu-
ally the number −x.
(ℤ, +​) is one familiar example of a group
whose elements are ordinary numbers, but other
such examples are close at hand. In the remain-
der of this section we will build up our repertoire
of groups by surveying several more examples,
introducing along the way a few more terms
and concepts from group theory. We will discuss
three main types of groups in this section: addi-
tive, modular, and multiplicative groups. (We will
encounter many more types of groups later.)
Additive groups—​ groups such as (ℤ, +​) in
which the elements are numbers and the group
operation is ordinary addition—​form our first
major category. In the construction of (ℤ, +​)
we could easily replace the integers ℤ with the
real numbers ℝ. To check that (ℝ, +​) is a group
requires verifying that the group axioms are
still satisfied for this larger set, which should be
apparent: clearly the sum of two real numbers is
always a real number (closure); addition is asso-
ciative whether the numbers being added are
integers or any other real numbers; 0 remains
the identity element; and every real number x
has an inverse −x. In a similar way, the rational
numbers ℚ form an additive group (ℚ, +​).
The group (ℝ, +​) plays the same role in contin-
uous pitch space cpitch that (ℤ, +​) plays in the
discrete space pitch: (ℝ, +​) is the interval group
174 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
of cpitch. If we consider Figure 1.1.1 to repre-
sent this continuous space, the intervals that
arise are no longer restricted to the integers but
can be any real numbers at all. For instance, if
C4+​0.5 indicates a pitch one quarter-​tone (0.5 semi-
tones) above C4, and E4−0.1 indicates a pitch 0.1
semitones below E4, then int(C4+​0.5, E4−0.1) =​ 3.4.
The group properties described in Section 5.1 for
the discrete space (and its group) hold as well for
the continuous space (and its group).
Exercise 5.2.1 Verify that the interval-​sum
equation int(u, v) +​int(v, w) =​int(u, w) holds if
  the pitch C4+​0.5, v is E4−0.1, and w is G4+​0.25.
u is
The interval-​sum equation, it may be noted,
is not strictly a group property, inasmuch as it
refers to things that are not part of the group—​
the notes u, v, and w and the interval function
int. This equation is characteristic of interval
spaces, to be defined formally in Section 5.4.
It is also possible to form additive groups
smaller than ℤ. For example, the even integers
…, −4, −2, 0, 2, 4, … form an additive group
(ℤeven, +​). To be certain that (ℤeven, +​) is a group,
we must check that the sum of two even integers
is always an even integer (closure); that the iden-
tity element 0 is an element of ℤeven; and that
the additive inverse −x of every even integer x is
even—​all of which are true, of course. It is not
necessary to check the associative property in
this case: we already know that addition is asso-
ciative on all of ℤ, so it is automatically associa-
tive on any subset of ℤ.
If the even integers form an additive group,
what about the odd integers ℤodd =​{…, −3, −1, 1,
3, …}? In fact, (ℤodd, +​) is not a group, for at least
two reasons. First, the closure property does not
hold: the sum of two odd integers is even, not
odd. Second, there is no identity element in ℤodd,
because the number 0 is even. We could try to
solve the second problem by adjoining the iden-
tity element 0 to the set ℤodd, but that would not
address the lack of closure, and even a single
violation of a group axiom is enough to prevent
something from being a group.
Suppose that (G, ⊗) is a group and H is a sub-
set of G. As the previous examples illustrate, it
may or may not happen that H, when consid-
ered together with the group operation ⊗ that it
inherits from G, is a group in its own right. If H
is a group, then it is a subgroup of G. The above
examples show that the even integers form a
subgroup of the additive group of integers, but
the odd integers do not.
 In general, to check that a subset H is a sub-
group of G requires verifying three things:
• Closure. H must be closed under the operation ⊗.
That is, for all elements x and y of H, x ⊗ y must
be an element of H. We know that x ⊗ y is some
element of G, because G is a group and therefore
satisfies the closure axiom—​but for the subset
H to be a subgroup, every product of elements
of H must also belong to H.
• Identity. The identity element e of G must be
an element of H. There is automatically an
identity element e in G, but it has to belong to
H in order for H to be a subgroup.
• Inverses. The inverse x−1 of every element x
in H must be an element of H. Every x has
an inverse x−1 in G; if H is to be a subgroup,
it must contain the inverses of all of its
elements.
As noted above in the case of ℤeven, it is not
necessary to check associativity for a subgroup
H: as long as G is known to be a group, then asso-
ciativity holds for all combinations of elements
of G, including those in H.
The additive groups considered so far form a
chain of subgroups,
(ℤeven, +) ⊂ (ℤ, +) ⊂ (ℚ, +) ⊂ (ℝ, +).
Each group in this chain is a subgroup of the fol-
lowing one.
Exercise 5.2.2
(a) Of what subset of pitch space pitch is
(ℤeven, +​) the interval group? There are two
such subsets; make sure you understand
why ℤeven, not ℤodd, is the interval group for
both of them.10
(b) The set ℤeven is sometimes denoted 2ℤ,
because it consists of all numbers of the
form 2x, where x ∈ ℤ. This notation may
suggest a way in which other subgroups
of ℤ could be constructed. Is the set 3ℤ
(multiples of 3) a subgroup of (ℤ, +​)? What
about nℤ for any positive integer n? Give
examples of subsets of pitch space for
which some of these groups serve as the
  interval group.
Exercise 5.2.3 Some additive groups fall
between ℤ and ℚ in the above chain of
subgroups: that is, there exist groups (H, +​)
such that (ℤ, +​) ⊂ (H, +​) ⊂ (ℚ, +​). Such a group
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 175
could be the interval group of a musical space
that is a superset of pitch and a subset of
cpitch. Two such groups are described in this
exercise.
(a) Construct the smallest possible additive
group that contains all integers and the
number 1 2 . Give a musical interpretation of
this group as the interval group of a certain
subspace of cpitch.
(b) Another group may be described in
reference to the time domain. Consider a
quarter note to have value 1, and consider
all durations that can be represented in
traditional notation, including quarter,
eighth, sixteenth notes, and so on;
ties are allowed, but triplets and other
tuplets are not. By including positive and
negative numbers and 0, we may consider
numbers to represent intervals from one
time point to another, directed either
forward or backward in time. Describe
this set mathematically and explain why it
forms an additive group. Can you see why
this group is sometimes called the ruler
  group?11
Consider the set ℤ>0 =​{1, 2, 3, …} of positive
integers. Under the operation of addition, ℤ>0
satisfies the closure axiom—​the sum of two pos-
itive integers is a positive integer—​and of course
the associativity axiom. ℤ>0 is not a group, how-
ever, because the identity and inverse axioms
fail in the absence of 0 and the negative num-
bers. Adding the number 0 to the set yields the
set ℤ≥0 =​{0, 1, 2, 3, …} of nonnegative integers,
which has an identity element but still lacks
inverses and therefore fails to be a group.
In general, a set S with a binary operation
satisfying the closure and associativity axioms
is called a semigroup. A group is therefore a spe-
cial case of a semigroup, namely a semigroup in
which the identity and inverse axioms hold. The
examples of ℤ>0 and ℤ≥0 suggest intuitively why
the name semigroup is appropriate: each of these
sets looks approximately like “half a group”—​
but for a group the other half is equally essen-
tial. If a semigroup lacks an identity element,
one can always be added if desired. In the case of
ℤ≥0, it is also a simple enough matter to expand
the semigroup to a group by including the nega-
tive numbers, but that is not always the case
with semigroups; some semigroups of transfor-
mations cannot reasonably be expanded to com-
plete group structures.
Exercise 5.2.4 Each of the following sets of
numbers fails to be an additive group for one or
more reasons. Give specific numerical examples
to show which group axioms fail in each case.
(For instance, to show that the closure axiom
fails you should exhibit two numbers in the set
whose sum is not in the set.) Two of the five
sets are semigroups; identify them.
(a) The set {−10, −9, −8, …, 8, 9, 10} consisting
of all integers from −10 to 10.
(b) The set ℝ>0 of all positive real numbers.
(c) The set ℚ≥0 of all rational numbers greater
than or equal to 0.
(d) The set ℝ≠5,−5 of all real numbers excluding
the numbers 5 and −5.
(e) The set {…, −13, −12, −11, −10, −91 2 , −9,
−81 2 , −8, …, 8, 81 2 , 9, 91 2 , 10, 11, 12, 13, …}
consisting of all integers, together with the
  half-​integers between −10 and 10 only.
The non-​groups in the preceding exercise call
our attention to a few requirements for groups
that, though not stated directly in the group
axioms, are consequences of them. Generally,
groups are symmetrical and homogeneous struc-
tures. The sets in (b) and (c) fail to be sym-
metrical because the positive numbers are not
balanced by their negative counterparts as the
inverse axiom would require. Sets (d) and (e) are
symmetrical—​they are perfectly balanced about
0—​but the numbers in these sets are not distrib-
uted uniformly, and this inhomogeneity makes
the closure axiom impossible to satisfy.
It may be tempting to conclude from an
example such as that in Exercise 5.2.4a that a
group must be an infinite set: the closure condi-
tion might seem to imply that one can always
combine two group elements to generate a third
“larger” element, then a fourth, and so on ad infi-
nitum. This conclusion is (with one exception)
true about additive groups of numbers, but it
is not true about groups in general—​illustrat-
ing the danger of leaping to general conclusions
based on only a few examples. In fact, there
are many important examples of finite groups,
some of them familiar in musical contexts (the
twelve transposition operators on pitch-​class
space form a group, for example, as do the 24
transposition and inversion operators), some of
which we will begin to study later in this chap-
ter. To see how this is possible, it may be help-
ful to attempt to construct a small finite additive
group, to see what goes wrong, and to see if it
can be fixed.
176 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
The sole example of a finite additive group
is the simplest group possible: the set {0}. The
empty set is not a group, because every group
must have at least an identity element—​but a
set with an identity element and nothing else is
indeed a group, sometimes called a trivial group.
In the group {0}, the element 0 is of course the
identity and is also its own inverse; this trivial
group satisfies the closure axiom because the
only thing to check is the equation 0 +​0 =​0.
If we attempt to include any other element
besides 0 in an additive group, we are quickly led,
as suggested above, to the conclusion that the
group must be infinite. If, for example, we want
our group to contain the number 3, then the clo-
sure axiom implies that it must also contain 6
(because 3 +​3 =​6), and therefore 9, 12, and so
on; moreover, the inverse axiom implies that the
negatives of these numbers must also be pres-
ent. So any additive group that contains 3 must
contain, at the very least, all multiples of 3. This
is the set called 3ℤ in Exercise 5.2.2b above. It is
the smallest symmetrical, homogeneous set con-
taining both 0 and 3 (in terminology to be made
precise in Section 5.3, it is the group generated by
the number 3)—​and it is an infinite set. Exactly
the same reasoning applies if any other nonzero
integer is used in place of 3. In fact, the only non-
trivial subgroups of ℤ are the infinite sets of the
form nℤ as described in Exercise 5.2.2b—​all the
multiples of n for some integer n. Groups of this
type will be described more fully in Section 5.3.
This implication of infinity could be avoided,
however, if a group could somehow cycle back on
itself. If repeated application of the group opera-
tion eventually produced elements that were
already accounted for—​if, say, an equation such
as 3 +​3 +​3 +​3 =​0 could somehow be true—​
then perhaps a finite group could be possible.
Such things never happen in ℤ or ℝ, but we know
another setting in which this very equation is
true: mod-​12 arithmetic. This observation intro-
duces our second main category of groups, mod-
ular groups. The integers mod 12 form a group
(ℤ12, +​), and more generally the integers mod n
form a group (ℤn, +​) for every integer n ≥ 2. Just
as (ℤ, +​) is the interval group of discrete pitch
space pitch, (ℤ12, +​) is the interval group of dis-
crete pitch-​class space pc. Similarly, (ℤ7, +​) is the
interval group of generic pitch-​class space gpc or
of any diatonic pitch-​class space dpc(n).
In a sense modular groups such as (ℤ12, +​) are
also “additive,” because the group operation is a
kind of addition, but it should be remembered
that the symbol +​in the group (ℤn, +​) represents
addition mod n, which, as discussed in Chapter
2, differs in important respects from ordinary
addition of integers or real numbers. In any case,
the modular groups (ℤn, +​) are some of the sim-
plest examples of finite groups. The cardinality
of ℤn is the number n. It is traditional to use the
word order rather than cardinality for the num-
ber of elements in a group, so we say that the
integers mod n form a group of order n.
The identity element of the group (ℤn, +​) is
the mod-​n integer 0, and the inverse of a mod-​n
integer x is the mod-​n integer −x. For example, in
ℤ12, the inverse of 1 is −1 =​11, and the inverse
of 8 is −8 =​4. We observed in Section 2.5 that
ℤn is technically not a subset of ℤ but a quotient
set. The same is true of the groups: (ℤn, +​) is not
a subgroup of (ℤ, +​) but a quotient group, a con-
cept to be defined formally in Chapter 6. (Even
if we contrived to make ℤ12 into a subset of ℤ
by identifying the mod-​ 12 integers with the
ordinary integers 0, …, 11, it would still not be
a subgroup because the group operations are dif-
ferent: 8 +​7 =​3 is a true statement in ℤ12 but a
false statement in ℤ.) Note also that (ℤ7, +​) is not
a subgroup of (ℤ12, +​): even though {0, 1, …, 6} ⊂
{0, 1, …, 11} is a true statement about subsets of
ℤ, integers mod n are not ordinary integers, and
integers mod 7 are not integers mod 12—​and,
again, the group operations are different.
Exercise 5.2.5 In Exercise 5.1.11d we observed
that only one element of the group ℤ is its own
inverse, namely 0. That statement is not true of
every group. Which element of ℤ12, besides 0, is
its  
own inverse?
At the end of the discussion of modular arith-
metic in Section 2.5 we noted the possibility of
constructing a quotient set ℝ12, the real num-
bers mod 12. In fact, (ℝ12, +​) forms a group, an
example of a continuous modular group. In ℝ12 the
equation 8.6 +​4.7 =​1.3 is a true statement; this
group arises musically as the interval group of
continuous pitch-​class space cpc.
We have noted that multiplicative notation
such as x ∙ y or xy is commonly used in group
theory, but we have yet to give any examples of
true multiplicative groups—​groups whose opera-
tion is ordinary multiplication. Multiplicative
groups, the last main category of familiar
numerical groups to be discussed in this section,
are in some respects prototypical of groups in
general. Multiplication, like addition, is com-
mutative as well as associative. The identity ele-
ment of a multiplicative group is not 0 but 1,
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 177
as demonstrated by the equations x ∙ 1 =​1 ∙ x
=​ x. The multiplicative inverse of a number x
must therefore be x−1 =​1/​x, the number which,
when multiplied by x, yields the identity ele-
ment 1; the characteristic equation for inverses,
the multiplicative counterpart of x +​(−x) =​0,
is x ∙ x−1 =​1. A new wrinkle arises, however, if
x =​0, because in this case no such number x−1
exists. Because 0 has no multiplicative inverse,
it follows that the number 0 can never be an ele-
ment of a multiplicative group. Consequently
familiar sets such as ℤ, ℚ, and ℝ do not form
multiplicative groups at all.
We can turn either the real numbers ℝ or the
rational numbers ℚ into a multiplicative group,
however, in the most straightforward way imag-
inable: by omitting the number 0. To verify that
(ℝ≠0, ∙) is a group requires recognizing that the
product of two nonzero real numbers is always
a nonzero real number, and that if x is a non-
zero real number, so is x−1 =​1/​x. The same state-
ments remain true if the word real is replaced
by rational (if x =​ a/​b, then x−1 =​ b/​a), so (ℚ≠0, ∙)
is a multiplicative group as well. Multiplicative
groups can also be formed using positive real
or rational numbers only; in fact these groups
(ℝ>0, ∙) and (ℚ>0, ∙) are sometimes more useful
than the larger groups (ℝ≠0, ∙) and (ℚ≠0, ∙).12
The integers, with or without 0, do not form
a group under multiplication, because the multi-
plicative inverse 1/​x of an integer x is not in gen-
eral an integer. The inverse and closure axioms
ensure that if a multiplicative group contains
all the positive integers, then it must contain all
the positive rational numbers as well, since all
such numbers may be obtained by multiply-
ing positive integers and their inverses. There
is, however, one nontrivial example of a finite
multiplicative group consisting of integers: the
group {1, −1}, a multiplicative group of order 2.
The reader should have little trouble seeing that
{1, −1} is closed under multiplication and that
each of the two elements is its own inverse.
Simple as it is, this group turns up with some reg-
ularity in musical applications. It is sometimes
convenient to write its elements simply as signs +​
and − rather than the numbers 1 and −1, with the
understanding that signs multiply by the rules
+​+​=​−− =​+​and +​− =​−+​=​−; we will occasionally
refer to this group as 𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛, the sign group.13
Exercise 5.2.6
(a) Do the negative real numbers form a
multiplicative group? In other words, is
(ℝ<0, ∙) a group?
(b) Do the real numbers form a group under
subtraction? In other words, is (ℝ, −) a
group?14
(c) Do the positive real numbers form a group
under division? In other words, is (ℝ>0, ÷)
a group?
(d) Do the positive real numbers form a group
under exponentiation? In other words, is
  (ℝ>0, ^) a group, where x ^ y denotes xy?
While the preceding exercise suggests that it
may not be appropriate to consider subtraction
as a potential group operation in its own right,
subtraction nevertheless arises naturally in addi-
tive groups. This is because subtraction amounts
to adding one element to the additive inverse
of another: that is, x − y =​ x +​(−y). The group
axioms therefore imply that an additive group is
closed under subtraction as well as under addi-
tion. Likewise division arises in multiplicative
groups. In a group, if we can add, we can auto-
matically subtract as well, and if we can multiply,
we can also divide.
In Figure 1.1.5 and again in Section 2.3 we
encountered frequency space freq, in which
intervals are calculated not by counting semi-
tones but by dividing frequencies. Frequencies
are always positive numbers, and the quotient of
two frequencies can be any positive number, so
the interval group of frequency space is exactly
the multiplicative group (ℝ>0, ∙). While continu-
ous pitch space cpitch and frequency space
freq contain exactly the same notes, their inter-
val groups (ℝ, +​) and (ℝ>0, ∙) may appear very
different: the first is an additive group while the
second is multiplicative. Structurally, however,
these two groups turn out to be isomorphic—​
another example of the power of group theory to
reveal likenesses between apparently dissimilar
situations. A formal definition of isomorphism
of groups, and further discussion of the isomor-
phism between (ℝ, +​) and (ℝ>0, ∙), will appear in
Section 6.3.
Having now seen examples of additive
groups, multiplicative groups, and additive mod-
ular groups, the reader may be wondering about
the possibility of multiplicative modular groups.
Integers mod n can be multiplied; does ℤn, or
some subset of ℤn, form a group under multipli-
cation? The answer is yes, but the appropriate
subset is perhaps not obvious. In general, some
integers mod n have multiplicative inverses,
while others do not—​and the exceptions are not
limited to the number 0. In ℤ12, for example, the
number 5 is its own inverse, since 5 ∙ 5 =​1 (mod
178 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
12). But the number 4 has no inverse: 4 ∙ x is
always 4, 8, or 0 for every mod-​12 integer x, and
can never be equal to 1 (the identity).
In general, an integer k has a multiplicative
inverse in ℤn if and only if the numbers k and n
are coprime, which (as defined in Exercise 2.5.5)
means that they have no common factors larger
than 1. This is consistent with the observa-
tions in the preceding paragraph: 5 and 12 are
coprime, but 4 and 12 are not. The mod-​n inte-
gers that are coprime to n are called units mod
n, and the set of all units mod n is denoted ℤn×.
Because a group element must always have an
inverse, any multiplicative group that is a sub-
set of ℤn must be a subset of ℤn×. It turns out
that ℤn× itself is always a group, the units group
mod n, and is therefore the largest possible mul-
tiplicative group within ℤn. The superscript ×
reminds us that ℤn× is a multiplicative group,
not to be confused with the additive group ℤn.
The number of units mod n is often denoted
φ(n), so ℤn× is a group of order φ(n); the func-
tion φ, is known as Euler’s phi function, has many
interesting properties. The following exercise
shows that φ(12) =​4 while φ(7) =​6, so that even
though ℤ7 is a smaller set than ℤ12, ℤ7 has the
larger units group.
Exercise 5.2.7
(a) The units mod 12 are 1, 5, 7, and 11; that
is, ℤ12× =​{1, 5, 7, 11}, so the cardinality of
ℤ12× is φ(12) =​4. What is the multiplicative
inverse of 7? Of 11? Verify that the
product of any two elements of ℤ12× is
an element of ℤ12×. Also verify that the
numbers 8 and 9 have no inverses mod 12,
and observe that each of these numbers
shares some factor (larger than 1) with the
number 12.15
(b) If p is a prime number, then every nonzero
integer mod p is automatically coprime
to p and hence a unit mod p; therefore
ℤp× =​{1, 2, …, p − 1}, and φ(p) =​ p − 1.
Calculate the multiplicative inverse of each
of the six elements of ℤ7×.
(c) What are the units mod 9? Calculate the
  inverse of each of them.
5.3 ABSTRACT GROUPS;
FURTHER PROPERTIES
OF GROUPS
The elements of the groups considered in the
preceding section are ordinary numbers or num-
bers mod n, but the real power of group theory
stems from the fact that group elements can be
many other kinds of objects besides numbers,
and that the same algebraic structures often
turn up in many different kinds of situations.
Harnessing this power requires adopting a more
abstract notation than the numerical nota-
tion that might be appropriate in some specific
group. This is why group elements are generally
denoted in the abstract by letters such as a, b, …
or x, y, …: whether the letters stand for numbers
or something else, we can deduce some things
about their behavior that apply in any case. We
may even define groups whose elements are let-
ters such as x, y, …: a set of abstract algebraic
symbols can form a group as long as we give a
precise definition of a binary operation on that
set and verify that the group axioms are satis-
fied. In this section, therefore, we forgo the con-
creteness of the preceding examples and adopt
this higher level of abstraction as we study fur-
ther properties of groups.
A number of elementary properties are direct
consequences of the group axioms and therefore
hold true in every group. A few of these proper-
ties are listed below without much elaboration.
Interested readers may attempt to derive these
properties from the axioms, or may consult a
text such as Dummit and Foote 2004 for details:
• Uniqueness of the identity. The identity element
of a group is unique. In any group, if an equa-
tion x ⊗ y =​ x or y ⊗ x =​ x is true of any group
elements x and y, then y must be e, the iden-
tity element of the group.
• Uniqueness of inverses. The inverse of every
group element is unique. If an equation x ⊗ y
=​ e or y ⊗ x =​ e holds for any group elements x
and y, then y must be x−1, the inverse of x.
• Reciprocal property of inverses. If y is the
inverse of x, then x is the inverse of y. In other
words, (x−1)−1 is equal to x for every element x
of every group. Inverses come in pairs—​except
when they come singly. The identity is always
its own inverse, and recall from Exercise 5.2.5
that other elements may have this property
as well. A non-​identity element that is its own
inverse is called an involution. That is, an invo-
lution is a group element x such that x ≠ e but
x ⊗ x =​ e.16
• Generalized associativity. For any elements x1,
x2, …, xk of a group, the product x1 ⊗ x2 ⊗ ⋯
⊗ xk is uniquely determined and does not
depend on the way the expression is brack-
eted. Parentheses are never required when
writing products of group elements.
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 179
A property that merits a bit more discus-
sion is the solvability of algebraic equations
in groups. In basic algebra we learn to solve
equations such as x +​3 =​8 or 9x =​−36 for the
unknown x, by subtracting 3 from both sides
of the first equation or dividing both sides of
the second by 9. A similar technique works in
any group. Suppose that (G, ⊗) is a group and
a and b are known elements of G, and suppose
we wish to find an element x of G satisfying the
equation a ⊗ x =​ b. Intuitively we would like to
“cancel” a somehow, obtaining an equation for
x, perhaps something like “b divided by a.” The
general way to do this is to use the operation
⊗ to multiply both sides of the given equation
by a−1, the inverse of the element we want to
“divide” by. If
a⊗x=b
is true, then, multiplying both sides on the left
by a−1, the equation
a–1 ⊗ (a ⊗ x) = a–1 ⊗ b
must be true as well. By the associative property,
a−1 ⊗ (a ⊗ x) is equal to (a−1 ⊗ a) ⊗ x, so
(a–1 ⊗ a) ⊗ x = a–1 ⊗ b.
But by the general property of inverses, we know
that a−1 ⊗ a is the identity e; therefore
e ⊗ x = a–1 ⊗ b.
Finally, by the property of the identity element,
e ⊗ x =​ x, so the equation reduces to
x = a–1 ⊗ b.
We have solved the original equation for x.
The reasoning by which we derived this solu-
tion made use of all of the group axioms: associa-
tivity, inverses, and the identity were mentioned
explicitly, and closure was needed in order to
know that we could multiply by a−1 and still have
an element of the group. A group is therefore the
most general mathematical structure in which
this kind of algebraic calculation can be carried
out. In any group at all, an equation of the form
a ⊗ x =​ b always has a solution, and that solution
is unique: x =​ a−1 ⊗ b is the only x satisfying the
given equation.
 With practice one learns to perform such
manipulations quickly. Because groups in gen-
eral need not be commutative, however, care
must be taken to multiply equations on the
proper side. If in the above process we multiplied
a ⊗ x by a−1 on the right rather than on the left,
we would obtain (a ⊗ x) ⊗ a−1. This expression,
often written more simply as axa−1, is called a
conjugate of x; in a general group this conjugate
is not necessarily equal to x. (Conjugation will be
studied in more detail in Section 6.6.) The ele-
ments a and a−1 cannot be canceled unless they
are adjacent, and there is no way to make them
adjacent unless we know that at least one of
them commutes with x. The unique x that solves
the equation a ⊗ x =​ b is x =​ a−1 ⊗ b, which is not
necessarily the same thing as b ⊗ a−1.
Similar reasoning, often combined with the
generalized associative property, may be used
to solve more complex algebraic equations. For
example, given the equation a−1 ⊗ b =​ x ⊗ c−1 with
known group elements a, b, and c and unknown
x, we multiply on the right by c and cancel c−1 ⊗ c
to obtain x on the right side of the equation,
equal to a−1 ⊗ b ⊗ c on the left. Because of asso-
ciativity, parentheses are unnecessary when
writing such a product.
Exercise 5.3.1
(a) Use reasoning similar to the above to show
how to solve the group equation x ⊗ a =​ b
for the unknown x. (This equation differs
from the first example above in that x
appears to the left of a rather than to the
right.)
(b) Solve the group equation a ⊗ b =​ c ⊗ x ⊗ d
  for the unknown x.
Exercise 5.3.2 Solve the following equations in
the specific groups from Sections 5.1 and 5.2 as
indicated. Also give musical interpretations of
each equation.17
(a) In (ℤ, +​), find x satisfying 24 +​x =​5.
(b) In (𝒯∞, ●), find Tn satisfying T−5 ● Tn =​ T4.
(c) In (ℤ12, +​), find x satisfying 6 +​x =​3.
(d) In (ℤ7, +​), find x satisfying 6 +​x =​3.
(e) In (ℝ>0, ∙), find x satisfying 3 2 ∙ x =​2.
(f) In (ℤ12×, ∙), find x satisfying 7 ∙ x =​11.
   (ℤ7×, ∙), find x satisfying 4 ∙ x =​3.
(g) In
Exercise 5.3.3
(a) Suppose a and b are elements of a group and
x =​ a ⊗ b. What is x ⊗ b−1?
(b) In the same situation, what is x ⊗ b−1 ⊗ a−1?
180 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
(c) Explain why the result of part (b) implies
the general property (a ⊗ b)−1 =​ b−1 ⊗ a−1 for
any elements a and b of any group. Note the
order reversal: the inverse of a ⊗ b is b−1 ⊗ a−1,
which in a noncommutative group may not
  be the same as a−1 ⊗ b−1.
Exercise 5.3.4 Clearly the identity element
e of any group satisfies e ⊗ e =​ e. Suppose a is
some group element such that a ⊗ a =​ a. Explain
why a =​ e must be true: the identity is the only
element
   satisfying this equation.18
Groups are often described in terms of one or
more generators. In the additive group (ℤ, +​), we
have noted that the subgroup generated by the
number 3 is the infinite group 3ℤ =​{…, −6, −3,
0, 3, 6, …} of all multiples of 3. Here “the group
generated by 3” means “the smallest possible
group containing the number 3”; as observed in
Section 5.2, the closure and inverse axioms force
any such group to include all other multiples of
3, both positive and negative. In the group ℤ12,
however, things are different: because 3 +​3 +​3
+​3 =​0 in this group, the subgroup generated by
the element 3 is here a finite group, namely {0, 3,
6, 9}. The reader should check that this is indeed
a subgroup of ℤ12. Musically, this group can be
interpreted as the interval group of a dimin-
ished seventh chord in pitch-​class space (any of
the three diminished seventh chords will do):
this means that the directed pitch-​class interval
between any two notes of such a chord is always 0,
3, 6, or 9. This group in some ways resembles the
group ℤ4 of integers mod 4; in fact, {0, 3, 6, 9} and
ℤ4 are another example of isomorphic groups.
Exercise 5.3.5
(a) What is the subgroup of ℤ12 generated by
the number 2? By the number 4? By the
number 6? These are all finite groups, so
you should be able to list all their elements.
Which of these three groups is the smallest?
The largest? These groups are the interval
groups of what subspaces of pc?
(b) What is the subgroup of ℤ12 generated by
the number 8? It is the same as one of the
subgroups from part (a) above, demonstrating
that it is possible for two different elements to
generate the same group.
(c) What is the subgroup of ℤ12 generated by
  the number 1? By the number 5?19
The concept of group generators extends to
general (not necessarily additive) groups, but
some new notations are appropriate. Suppose
(G, ⊗) is a group and a ∈ G. It is common to write
a2 for a ⊗ a, a3 for a ⊗ a ⊗ a, and so on, using
the power notation familiar from ordinary mul-
tiplication. Because of generalized associativity,
no parentheses are needed when writing these
expressions, and there is no ambiguity about
what an can mean. The closure axiom ensures
that if a ∈ G, then every power an also belongs
to G. We also write a−n for the powers of a−1: thus
a−2 =​(a−1)2, a−3 =​(a−1)3, and so on. The notation a0
always means the identity element e.
Exercise 5.3.6 Each of the following
expressions is equal to an for some n (which
may be positive, negative, or 0). Identify the
appropriate power of a in each case.20
(a) (a2)−1 =​ _​_​_​_​
(b) (a−2)−1 =​ _​__​ ​_​
(c) a3 ⊗ a2 =​ _​__​ ​_​
(d) (a3)2 =​ _​__​ ​_​
(e) a5 ⊗ a−2 =​ _​_​_​_​
(f)  (a−2)3 ⊗ a6 =​ _​__​ ​_​
If a is an element of the additive group (ℤ, +​),
then the element referred to above as “a2 ” is
actually a +​ a, the integer commonly called 2a,
and “an ” means na. If a is any nonzero element
of ℤ, then “a,” “a2,” “a3,” … (the numbers a, 2a,
3a, …) are all different. In a modular group such
as ℤ12, however, the number of elements is
finite, so duplications must eventually appear
in this chain. In (ℤn, +​), na will always equal 0
no matter what a is.
In the general setting, therefore, if a is an ele-
ment of a group G, it may or may not happen that
some an is equal to the identity e. If so, it follows
that an + ​1 =​ a, an + ​2 =​ a2, and so on; the sequence
of powers repeats exactly from that point on.21
Also, because an−1 ⊗ a =​ an =​ e, it follows that a−1
=​ an−1, and likewise a−2 =​(a2)−1 =​ an−2, a−3 =​(a3)−1
=​ an−3, and so on. In this case, the set H =​{e, a,
a2, …, an−1} contains all possible powers of a and
their inverses, and the exponents 0, 1, 2, …, n − 1
may be regarded as integers mod n rather than
ordinary integers. The set H is closed under the
group operation and the formation of inverses,
ensuring that H is a subgroup of G. H is called
the group generated by the element a; the angle-​
bracket notation 〈a〉 is often used to denote the
group generated by a. A group generated by a
single element in this way is called a cyclic group.
(It is possible, of course, that H =​ 〈a〉 is the entire
group G; we made no assumptions about the
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 181
group G, so it is possible that we started with
a cyclic group in the first place.) The modular
group (ℤ12, +​) is an example of a cyclic group of
order 12, generated additively by the number 1.
More generally, a cyclic group of order n is often
denoted 𝒞n. In the situation just described,
therefore, H =​{e, a, a2, …, an − 1} =​ 𝒞n.
If an is the smallest power of a that equals
the identity, then we say that a is an element of
order n. For example, in the cyclic group (ℤ12, +​),
1 is an element of order 12 (because 1 must be
added to itself 12 times to produce the identity
0), while 3 is an element of order 4 (because 3 +​
3 +​3 +​3 =​0 mod 12). If a is an element of order
n in any group, then a automatically generates a
cyclic subgroup of order n: the order of the ele-
ment a (defined in this way) is the same as the
order of the group that it generates (defined as
the cardinality of the group). In a finite group G,
the order of every element a must be less than or
equal to the order of G: “equal” if a generates the
entire group G, “less than” if a generates a proper
subgroup of G.
Exercise 5.3.7
(a) In (ℤ12, +​), in light of the results of Exercise
5.3.5, what is the order of the element 2? Of
the element 4? Of 5? Of 6?
(b) In chromatic pitch-​class space, start with
any pitch class of your choice and generate a
cycle by moving repeatedly through interval
2 (a major second)—​for example, C, D, E, F♯,
… . How many different pitch classes are in
the complete cycle? What if the generating
interval is 3, 4, 5, or 6 instead of 2? How are
these questions related to those in (a)?
(c) As noted in Exercise 5.3.5b, a cyclic group
may have more than one possible generator;
that is, it is possible that 〈a〉 =​ 〈b〉 for two
different elements a and b. In fact, four
different elements of ℤ12 are of order
12, which means that any one of them
generates ℤ12. Which elements are these?
How does this property explain the fact
that the only possible circular arrangements
of pitch-​class space generated by a single
interval are the chromatic circle (Figure
1.2.3) and the circle of fifths? (Compare
Exercises 1.3.13, 5.2.7, and 5.3.5c.)
(d) Now consider ℤ7, the integers mod 7. What
is the subgroup 〈2〉 of ℤ7 generated by the
element 2? The subgroup 〈3〉? What do
these results imply about cycles of generic
pitch classes generated by the generic
intervals 2 (“third”) and 3 (“fourth”)?
(e) Recall the multiplicative group ℤ7× from
Exercise 5.2.7b. In ℤ7×, what is the subgroup
〈2〉 generated by 2? The subgroup 〈3〉? The
subgroup 〈6〉? Is ℤ7× a cyclic group?22
(f) Recall the multiplicative group ℤ12× from
Exercise 5.2.7a. In ℤ12×, are there any
  elements of order 4? Is ℤ12× a cyclic group?23
In an infinite group, as we have noted, the ele-
ments a, a2, a3, … may all be different. In this case
a is said to be an element of infinite order, and the
subset {e, a, a2, a3, …} of G is an infinite set. This
set is closed under the group operation (the gen-
eral equation am ⊗ an =​ am +​ n remains valid), but it
is not closed under the formation of inverses. (If
a−1 were equal to some an, then an +​1 would equal e,
so the order of a would not be infinite after all.)
The set {e, a, a2, a3, …} is therefore a semigroup
but not a group in this case. It can be made into
a group, however, by including the inverses as
well: the set H =​{…, a−2, a−1, e, a, a2, …} is a sub-
group of G. In this case, H is called an infinite
cyclic group; as before, H is said to be generated
by the element a, and may be denoted 〈a〉. The
notation 〈a〉 by itself does not tell us whether
a group is finite or infinite. The word cyclic may
seem counterintuitive in the infinite case, since
an infinite cyclic group does not form a cycle in
the same way that a finite cyclic group does. In
group theory, the most general definition of a
cyclic group is this: any group, finite or infinite,
is cyclic if it is generated by a single element.
The group (ℤ, +​) is therefore an infinite cyclic
group, generated by the number 1; we may write
ℤ =​ 〈1〉. More generally, an infinite cyclic group
may be denoted 𝒞∞. It is important to remember
that an infinite group “generated” by an element
a includes not only the positive powers of a but
also their inverses, the negative powers of a—​it
includes, that is, all of the elements that must be
present in any group in which a is present. In the
situation just described, H =​ 〈a〉 =​{…, a−2, a−1, e,
a, a2, …} =​𝒞∞.
In Section 5.1 we introduced the notation
𝒯∞ for the group of transposition operators Tn
in chromatic pitch space. The evident similar-
ity between the sets 𝒞∞ =​{…, a−2, a−1, e, a, a2, …}
and 𝒯∞ =​{…, T−2, T−1, T0, T1, T2, …} suggests that
perhaps these two groups share a common struc-
ture. In fact, 𝒯∞ is an infinite cyclic group exactly
as described above, generated by the element T1.
The powers of T1 are T12 =​ T2, T13 =​ T3, …, T1−1 =​
T−1, T1−2 =​ T−2, …, and everything we have said
about the abstract group generated by a applies
in this group generated by T1. The transposition
182 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
group 𝒯∞, in other words, is a specific example of a
group in the class of infinite cyclic groups, any of
which might be denoted 𝒞∞; the additive group
ℤ is another specific group in that same class. By
the same token, we write 𝒞n for an abstract cyclic
group of order n, but some such groups may have
other names. One such group is ℤn, the integers
mod n; also, we will write 𝒯12 for the transposi-
tion group {T0, T1, …, T11} on pitch-​class space,
a group to be explored in Section 5.5. The group
𝒯12, like 𝒯∞, is generated by T1. The equations
𝒯∞ =​ 〈T1〉 and 𝒯12 =​ 〈T1〉 are both correct; they
do not conflict because the two T1s technically
represent different transposition operators, one
acting on pitch space and the other on pitch-​
class space.
Exercise 5.3.8
(a) In the transposition group 𝒯∞ =​{…, T−2,
T−1, T0, T1, T2, …} on pitch space, what is
the subgroup 〈T2〉 generated by T2? The
subgroup 〈T3〉? The subgroup 〈T−1〉?
(b) Let a be any positive real number. Describe
the subgroup 〈a〉 of (ℝ, +​) generated by a.
Does any element a generate all of ℝ? In
other words, is (ℝ, +​) a cyclic group?
(c) Generally, every subgroup of a cyclic group
is also cyclic. Suppose you know that H is
a subgroup of (ℤ, +​) and that the smallest
positive integer in H is 17. What is H?
(d) Even in an infinite group, it is possible for a
non-​identity element to be of finite order;
that is, it is possible that a ≠ e but an =​ e for
  some n. Give an example.24
Exercise 5.3.9
(a) List all the subgroups of (ℤ12, +​). Arrange
them in a subgroup lattice similar in concept
to the subset lattice of Figure 3.4.6a, clearly
showing which groups are subgroups of
which others.
(b) The subgroup lattice in part (a) closely
resembles a divisibility lattice for the number
12, in which the elements are the integer
divisors of 12, and in which x precedes y if
and only if x is a divisor of y. Construct this
divisibility lattice, and compare it with the
ski-​hill lattice from Section 3.4, particularly
  the numerical version in Exercise 3.4.11.
The notion of a group generated by an ele-
ment may be extended to a group generated by
two or more elements. Let us consider, for exam-
ple, the subgroup of (ℤ, +​) generated by the ele-
ments 3 and 4—​a subgroup that may be denoted
〈3, 4〉. If H is a subgroup of ℤ, and if 3 and 4 are
both in H, what else must be in H? The impor-
tant thing to notice is that 4 − 3 =​1 must be in H
(remember that additive groups are closed under
subtraction). Because the element 1 generates
the entire group ℤ, it follows that every integer
can be written in some way as a sum of 3s, 4s,
and their inverses. Even though neither 3 nor 4
by itself generates ℤ, 3 and 4 together generate ℤ;
we may write 〈3, 4〉 =​ ℤ. A musical consequence
of this statement is that every interval in chro-
matic pitch space may be obtained through some
combination of ascending and descending major
and minor thirds. The general principle is that
two integers together generate ℤ whenever they
are coprime. Still more generally, the subgroup
of ℤ generated by positive integers m and n is
always equal to the cyclic subgroup generated
by k, where k is the greatest common divisor of
m and n.
Exercise 5.3.10 Describe the subgroups of
(ℤ, +​) generated by the listed elements.
(a) The subgroup 〈3, 5〉 generated by 3 and 5.
(b) The subgroup 〈6, 10〉.
(c) The subgroup 〈6, 15〉.
(d) The subgroup 〈10, 15〉.
(e)  The subgroup 〈6, 10, 15〉.25
5.4 INTERVAL GROUPS
AND INTERVAL SPACES
In Section 5.2 we distinguished among some
broad categories of groups—​additive, modu-
lar, and multiplicative groups—​on the basis
of the nature of the objects they contain and
the binary operations performed on those
objects. But there are other useful ways to cat-
egorize groups. In musical contexts, groups
arise in two particularly significant ways:
interval groups and transformation groups. The
close correspondence between the two, already
foreshadowed in the discussion of the inter-
val group (ℤ, +​) and the transformation group
(𝒯∞, ●) in Section 5.1, is central to the work of
David Lewin. In the remainder of this chapter
we develop the concepts of interval groups and
transformation groups in greater generality
and present Lewin’s insight about the relation-
ship between them. These sections offer only
brief introductions to the respective types of
groups; both types will be explored at greater
length in Part Two.
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 183
In Section 5.1 we presented (ℤ, +​) as the
interval group of chromatic pitch space. Several
groups in Section 5.2 were then described some-
what more informally as the interval groups
associated with various other musical spaces.
In this section we make this concept both more
general and more precise, defining a kind of
musical space called an interval space, and we
show how this concept applies in some of the
examples considered previously. Intuitively, an
interval space is a musical space in which a viable
notion of “interval” can be defined; the intervals
in a proper interval space are required to form
some sort of group.26
The formal definition of an interval space
is axiomatic, like the definition of a group.
Generally, an interval space (S, G, int) consists of
• a nonempty set S, often referred to as the
space itself;
• a group (G, ⊕), called the interval group of the
space; and
• a function int: S × S → G, called the interval
function of the space.
Elements of the interval group G may be
called simply intervals, or, more fully, “the inter-
vals of the space S.” The notation int: S × S → G
means that the interval function is applied to
ordered pairs of elements of the space S; for each
x and y in S, int(x, y) is an element of the group G,
called “the interval from x to y.” This notation is
familiar from the special case int: pitch × pitch
→ ℤ considered in Section 5.1; see Figure 5.4.1
for a general picture.
The set S, group G, and function int are
required to satisfy the following two properties,
the interval-​space axioms:
• Homogeneity. For every element x in the space
S and for every interval i in the interval group
G, there exists one and only one element y in S
such that int(x, y) =​ i.
FIGURE 5.4.1 An interval in an interval space
• Interval-​sum equation. For any three elements most of the interval spaces we will study are
x, y, and z in S, int(x, y) ⊕ int(y, z) =​int(x, z).
commutative.
Readers who have studied vectors may notice
In pitch space, we know that a question such that the arrangement of arrows in Figure 5.4.2b
as “What note lies 15 semitones above F3?” suggests vector addition: if two vectors in the
always has a unique answer: whatever the given locations of the arrows labeled int(x, y) and int(y,
note and interval, there is always exactly one z) are added, the vector labeled int(x, z) is the
note that answers the question. The homogene- result.27 On the other hand, some readers, think-
ity axiom requires every interval space to have ing of distances on the page when looking at the
this property. In Figure 5.4.2a, given a point x same figure, may think that int(x, z) should not
in the space S and an interval i in the group G, equal int(x, y) ⊕ int(y, z) at all but should instead
there must always be some element of the space be something smaller: surely the straight-​line
at the location of the small circle—​at interval i distance from x to z is shorter than the path
from x. Every interval is available at every point from x to y to z. The latter intuition does not cor-
of the space; there cannot be an interval space respond with the behavior of interval functions,
in which certain intervals can be formed from but will apply in the context of distance functions,
some notes but not from others. Moreover, an to be studied in Chapter 12. The triadic distance
interval in the interval group can never take us measurements introduced in Chapter 4—​ the
outside the space. circle-​of-​fifths distance, Weber distance, and neo-​
The interval-​sum equation is illustrated in Riemannian distance—​are distance functions of
Figure 5.4.2b. This equation is familiar from this kind; none of these functions makes the set
Section 5.1, where it was discussed in the con- of major and minor triads into an interval space.
text of pitch space and its interval group (ℤ, +​). The reader should have no difficulty providing
In the general statement of the axiom, intervals examples to show that both the homogeneity
are combined using the group operation ⊕ in the axiom and the interval-​sum equation fail for all
group G, whatever that operation may be. three of these functions. (For example, if distweber
Intuitively, intervals are combined by “add- denotes the Weber distance, then distweber(C, E) =​
ing” them, which is why we are using a symbol 3 and distweber(E, f) =​4, but distweber(C, f) =​2,
that suggests addition in the context of interval which is certainly not equal to the sum 3 +​4.
groups, and why we call the second interval-​ Homogeneity would require a unique triad at a
space axiom the interval-​sum equation. In keep- Weber distance of 3 from C major, but in fact
ing with this choice of notation, we will write 0 there are six such triads.) Some possible interval
for the identity element of an interval group and structures on the space of triads will be consid-
⊖x for the inverse of the interval x. Many of the ered shortly, and relationships between distance
most important interval spaces (of which we will functions and interval functions will be consid-
list a few below, and more in subsequent chap- ered more broadly in Chapter 12.
ters) have as their interval groups some of the Two other simple but important properties of
additive or modular groups from Section 5.2, in interval spaces, consequences of the above axi-
which the group operation is in fact some form oms, involve the identity element and inverses
of addition, either ordinary addition or addition in interval groups:
mod n, and in which the notation −x is there-
fore appropriate. If the interval group G is com- • Identity interval. For every element x in any
mutative, we call S a commutative interval space; interval space, int(x, x) =​0: the interval from

FIGURE 5.4.2 (a) The homogeneity axiom and (b) the interval-​sum axiom in an interval space

184 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
 any point of the space to itself is the identity
element of the interval group. Moreover, if
int(x, y) =​0, then x =​ y.
• Inverse intervals. For all elements x and y in
any interval space, int(y, x) =​ ⊖int(x, y): the
interval from y to x is the inverse of the inter-
val from x to y.
Both of these properties can be derived from
the interval-​space axioms. We give the proof of
the identity interval property here, and leave the
proof of the inverse interval property as an exer-
cise. Let x be any element in an interval space S.
Then int(x, x) is some interval in G, the interval
group of S; say int(x, x) =​ i ∈ G. The interval-​sum
equation tells us that int(x, x) ⊕ int(x, x) =​int(x,
x). (The general statement of the interval-​sum
equation involves three variables x, y, and z, but
remember that it must hold for every possible
choice of x, y, and z. In particular, it holds when
x, y, and z are all replaced by the same x.) That is,
i ⊕ i =​ i. By Exercise 5.3.4, the only element of
any group that satisfies this property is the iden-
tity; this establishes the fact that int(x, x) =​0. By
the homogeneity axiom, for each x in S there is
a unique y in S such that int(x, y) =​0, so x itself
must be that unique y.
Exercise 5.4.3 Use the interval-​space axioms
and the identity interval property to prove the
   interval property.28
inverse
The definition of an interval space, like that of
a group, is essentially a construction in pure math-
ematics, and could be developed at some length
with no mention of music.29 (The same could be
said of some of Lewin’s other abstractions, such
as transformation graphs and networks as well as
Lewin’s theorem, presented in Section 5.6 below.)
One could conceive, for instance, of an inter-
val space modeling spatial relationships among
physical objects in three-​dimensional Euclidean
space, with a variety of possible non-​ musical
applications. Of course, musical interpretations
are our primary interest here. The interval space
discussed in Section 5.1 is chromatic pitch space
pitch, whose interval group is (ℤ, +​) and whose
interval function int is the directed pitch interval
obtained by counting semitones between notes,
considering them positive if in the ascending
direction and negative if in the descending direc-
tion. For example, int(C4, G4) =​7, int(G4, C4) =​−7,
and int(C4, G5) =​19. We may write this interval
function as intpitch if necessary to distinguish it
from interval functions in other spaces.
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 185
In Section 5.1 we also introduced what we
called interval configurations, such as the C-​major
triad {C4, E4, G4} from Figure 5.1.1a. We can now
define an interval configuration formally as any
subset of an interval space. The triad is a subset
of the interval space pitch. The triad offered our
first illustration of the interval-​sum equation, but
by itself it is not an interval space, because it does
not satisfy the homogeneity axiom. The note G4
is an element of the set, and intervals 3, 4, and 7
appear in the triad, so homogeneity would require
the existence of elements y, yʹ, and yʹʹ such that
int(G4, y) =​3, int(G4, yʹ ) =​4, and int(G4, yʹʹ ) =​7; of
course there are no such notes in the given triad.
Generally an interval space must contain enough
elements to reflect the complete homogeneous
and symmetrical structure of the interval group—​
a property not satisfied by smaller configurations
like the triad. In fact, as discussed at the end of
Section 5.3, the integers 3 and 4 together gener-
ate the entire group ℤ; any interval space contain-
ing C4, E4, and G4 must therefore contain intervals
of every integer value, and so must include all of
chromatic pitch space.30
We noted in Section 5.1 that all the intervals
in a three-​note configuration can be deduced
from knowing two of them. Such observations
can be formulated in the general setting of inter-
val spaces. Suppose, for example, that x, y, and
z are three elements of an interval space (S, G,
int). Suppose we know the values of int(x, y) and
int(x, z); how can we determine int(y, z)? This sit-
uation is illustrated in Figure 5.4.4. The unknown
interval is not the sum of the other two, but the
interval-​sum equation does tell us that int(x,
y) ⊕ int(y, z) =​int(x, z). If we write int(x, y) =​ a
and int(x, z) =​ b for the two known intervals and
int(y, z) =​ i for the unknown interval, this equa-
tion becomes a ⊕ i =​ b. This is precisely an equa-
tion of the form considered in Section 5.3, where
it was written a ⊗ x =​ b. The general solution
derived there is x =​ a−1 ⊗ b, which translates to
i =​ ⊖a ⊕ b in the present situation. (Intuitively, i
FIGURE 5.4.4 Solving an interval equation
is obtained by subtracting a from b; in the case of
a noncommutative group, however, i is ⊖a ⊕ b,
not b ⊕ ⊖a.) Similar techniques may be used to
solve other more elaborate interval equations;
the fact that intervals form a group ensures that
such equations are generally solvable.
Exercise 5.4.5 The interval-​sum equation for
elements y, x, and z (in that order) tells us that
int(y, x) ⊕ int(x, z) =​int(y, z). Use this equation,
together with the inverse interval property,
to give an alternate derivation of the result in
the preceding paragraph: if int(x, y) =​ a and
   z) =​ b, then int(y, z) =​ ⊖a ⊕ b.
int(x,
Exercise 5.4.6 In the questions below, assume
that x, y, z, and w are notes in chromatic
pitch space. First draw an appropriate picture
for each example and answer the question
using algebraic reasoning as in the preceding
paragraph; then choose a specific set of pitches
satisfying the given conditions and verify that
your answer is correct for those notes.
(a) Suppose int(x, y) =​9 and int(x, z) =​13.
What is int(y, z)?
(b) Suppose int(x, z) =​−4 and int(y, z) =​−7.
What is int(y, x)?
(c) Suppose int(x, y) =​11, int(z, w) =​−3, and
int(x, w) =​6. What is int(y, z)?
(d) Suppose int(x, y) =​7, int(y, z) =​−8, and
int(z, w) =​1. What can you conclude about
  x and w?
Some of the other groups studied in Section
5.2 were described as the interval groups associ-
ated with various musical spaces. Now that we
have formally defined interval spaces, we revisit
some of these examples briefly. Many spaces
will be mentioned in the remainder of this sec-
tion; readers who have difficulty in keeping them
straight may benefit from occasional reference
to the list in Appendix 1.
Several categories of interval spaces may be
distinguished, corresponding to the categories
of groups studied in Section 5.2. An interval
space whose interval group is the additive group
of real numbers (ℝ, +​) or any subgroup of (ℝ, +​)
will be called a real interval space. The two obvious
examples of real interval spaces are chromatic
pitch space pitch, whose interval group (ℤ, +​) is
a subgroup of (ℝ, +​), and continuous pitch space
cpitch, whose interval group is all of (ℝ, +​). The
interval function intcpitch simply extends intpitch
to the notes in the cracks between the notes of
186 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
the chromatic scale, taking as its values not just
integers but all real numbers.
Chromatic pitch space pitch is a subspace
of the continuous space cpitch—​a stronger
statement than saying merely that it is a subset.
Generally, if (S, G, int) is an interval space and Sʹ
is a subset of S, then to say that Sʹ is a subspace
of S is to say that Sʹ, with the interval function
that it inherits from S, forms an interval space
in its own right. In order for this to be true, two
conditions must be satisfied: all the intervals
formed by pairs of elements of Sʹ must form a
subgroup Gʹ of G; moreover, the homogeneity
axiom must hold in Sʹ relative to its own inter-
val group Gʹ. The latter statement means that for
every x in the subset Sʹ and for every interval i
in the subgroup Gʹ, there exists an element y in
Sʹ such that int(x, y) =​ i. A unique such y always
exists in S because the interval space S satisfies
the homogeneity axiom, but for Sʹ to be a sub-
space, this y must belong to Sʹ.
We have already observed that these condi-
tions are not satisfied in the case of an interval
configuration such as a triad, which is a subset of
pitch space but not a subspace. But both condi-
tions are satisfied in the case of the subset pitch
of cpitch: intervals in pitch form the subgroup
ℤ of ℝ, and if i ∈ ℤ, then the element at the inter-
val i from any element of pitch is also an element
of pitch. Other subgroups of (ℝ, +​), including
subgroups of (ℤ, +​), give rise to other subspaces,
which are therefore additional examples of real
interval spaces. For example, a subgroup such as
3ℤ =​{…, −6, −3, 0, 3, 6, …} could be the inter-
val group of a pitch space such as {…, F♯3, A3, C4,
E♭4, F♯4, …}, an infinite diminished-​seventh space
consisting of every third note of chromatic pitch
space. All intervals within this subspace are mul-
tiples of 3, so the interval function defined on
this subspace takes values in the subgroup 3ℤ.
A general principle applies here, summarized
in the following theorem.
Theorem 5.4.7: Interval subspace property
Suppose that (S, G, int) is an interval space, x0
is a fixed element of S, and Gʹ is a subgroup of
G. Define a subset Sʹ of S consisting of those
elements x in S for which int(x0, x) ∈ Gʹ. Then
(Sʹ, Gʹ, intʹ ) is an interval space, where intʹ:
Sʹ × Sʹ → Gʹ is the same as the function int, but
   only on the elements of Sʹ.
defined
The space Sʹ described in the theorem is called
“the subspace of S generated by the element x0
and the subgroup Gʹ.” In the above examples,
the diminished-​seventh space is the subspace of
pitch generated by the note x0 =​C4 and the sub-
group Gʹ =​3ℤ of ℤ, and pitch itself is the sub-
space of cpitch generated by the note C4 and the
subgroup ℤ of ℝ.
Exercise 5.4.8 This exercise outlines the two
crucial elements of the proof of Theorem 5.4.7.
(a) In the situation described in the theorem,
how do we know that intʹ: Sʹ × Sʹ → Gʹ ?
That is, how do we know that when the
function int is restricted to elements of the
subset Sʹ, it will always take values in the
subgroup Gʹ ?31
(b) It is clear that any three elements of Sʹ
satisfy the interval-​sum equation, because
that axiom holds in the larger space S. But
how do we know that (Sʹ, Gʹ, intʹ ) satisfies
the homogeneity axiom? That is, if x ∈ Sʹ
and i ∈ Gʹ, how do we know that there exists
  a unique y in Sʹ such that intʹ(x, y) =​ i?32
The diminished-​seventh space {…, F♯3, A3, C4,
E 4, F♯4, …} was described above as the subspace
♭   How many?
of pitch generated by the element x0 =​C4 and
the subgroup Gʹ =​3ℤ. If we chose x0 =​C♯4 rather
than C4, the generated subspace would be {…,
G3, B♭3, C♯4, E4, G4, …}, a different diminished-​
seventh space. If pitches are numbered from
C4 =​0, then the pitch numbers corresponding
to the subspace containing C4 are …, −6, −3, 0,
3, 6, …; these are the same numbers as the ele-
ments of the group 3ℤ. The pitch numbers cor-
responding to the subspace containing C♯4, on
the other hand, are …, −5, −2, 1, 4, 7, …, which
do not form a group at all. Here it is important
to keep in mind the distinction between the
elements of the space and the elements of the
group. The pitch numbers representing elements
of the space may or may not form a group, but
whether they do is irrelevant to the status of
the interval space, which depends on the fact
that the intervals between those pitches form a
group. Moreover, pitch numbering is arbitrary:
the structure of the interval space and interval
group would be unaffected if we chose to num-
ber pitches from C♯4 or any other reference pitch
instead of C4. Interval numbering, in contrast,
is not arbitrary: the interval from C4 to E♭4 is 3
regardless of how the pitches are numbered.
Exercise 5.4.9 The subspace of pitch
generated by the note E♭4 and the subgroup 3ℤ
is {…, F♯3, A3, C4, E♭4, F♯4, …}, exactly the same
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 187
diminished-​seventh space generated by C4 and
3ℤ. What aspect of the relationship between
the notes C4 and E♭4 explains this observation?
In general, if x0 and x1 are two notes of an
interval space (S, G, int) and Gʹ is a subgroup
of G, under what conditions will the subspace
generated by x0 and Gʹ be the same as the
subspace
   generated by x1 and Gʹ?
Exercise 5.4.10
(a) Give an example of a subspace of pitch
whose interval group is 4ℤ =​{…, −8, −4,
0, 4, 8, …}. How many different such
subspaces are there?
(b) Give an example of a subspace of pitch
whose interval group is 12ℤ =​{…, −24, −12,
0, 12, 24, …}. How many different such
subspaces are there?
(c) In Exercise 5.2.3a you described a subspace
of cpitch whose interval group is 1 2 ℤ =​
{…, −2, −11 2 , −1, −1 2 , 0, 1 2 , 1, 11 2 , 2, …}.
There is only one such space S for which
pitch is a subspace of S. Are there any such
spaces of which pitch is not a subspace?
As an example of a real interval space that
is not a subspace of cpitch, recall generic pitch
space gpitch (Figure 1.1.6). gpitch is an inter-
val space in which intervals are measured by
counting generic steps; for example, intgpitch(C4,
D4) =​1 (not 2), and intgpitch(C4, C5) =​7 (not
12). Because intervals in gpitch differ from
intervals between the notes of the same names
in the spaces pitch and cpitch, gpitch is not
a subspace of either of those spaces. The inter-
val group of gpitch is (ℤ, +​), the same as that
of pitch. In Section 7.2 we will define what it
means for interval spaces to be isomorphic; it
turns out that two interval spaces with the same
interval group are always isomorphic. The inter-
val spaces pitch and gpitch are therefore iso-
morphic, and neither is a subspace of the other.
Though gpitch is not a subspace of pitch or
of cpitch, elements of gpitch may be identified
with certain elements of pitch, namely the ele-
ments of dpitch(0), the white-​key diatonic set.
But dpitch(0), though it may be regarded as a
subset of pitch, is not a subspace either; in fact,
dpitch(0), with the interval function it inherits
from pitch, is not an interval space at all. This is
because a diatonic scale is not homogeneous in the
sense of the chromatic interval function: for exam-
ple, the elements E4 and F4 satisfy int(E4, F4) =​1,
but no y in dpitch(0) satisfies int(F4, y) =​1.
 Another example of an interval space whose
interval group is ℤ, and which is therefore iso-
morphic to both pitch and gpitch, is spelled
pitch-​class space spc, in the form of the line of
fifths (Figure 1.3.3). Intervals between spelled
pitch classes are calculated by counting “steps”—​
but these are steps along the line of fifths rather
than steps in a traditional scale. For example,
intspc(C, G) =​1, intspc(G, C) =​−1, intspc(C, C♯) =​ 7,
and intspc(C, B♯) =​12.
A second main category of interval spaces
consists of modular interval spaces, spaces whose
interval groups are modular groups like those
discussed in Section 5.2. The canonical example
of a modular interval space is chromatic pitch-​
class space pc, whose interval group is (ℤ12, +​),
the integers mod 12. The interval function intpc
is the usual directed interval measurement of
pitch-​class set theory, which counts semitones
in the clockwise direction around the pitch-​class
circle (Figure 1.2.3). For example, intpc(C, G) =​7;
intpc(G, C) =​5 (which is equal to −7, the inverse
of 7 in the group ℤ12); and intpc(C, B) =​11 (which
is equal to −1).
Enharmonically conformed fifths space,
defined by the circle of fifths (Figure 1.3.1), offers
another example of a modular interval space.
This space, fifth, consists of the same pitch
classes as the space pc—​as sets, that is, fifth =​
pc—​and its interval group (ℤ12, +​) also matches
that of pc. The interval function, however—​the
mapping from the space to the group—​is differ-
ent, as intervals in fifth are measured around
the circle of fifths. For example, intfifth(C, G)
=​1, intfifth(G, C) =​11, intfifth(C, C♯) =​7, and
intfifth(C, D) =​2. The spaces pc and fifth dem-
onstrate that it is sometimes possible to define
two different interval structures on the same set,
thus giving rise to two different interval spaces.
Because the interval groups of pc and fifth are
also the same, however, the two interval spaces
are isomorphic. The interval function intfifth
on fifth (conformed fifths space) is evidently
related to the interval function intspc on spc
(unconformed fifths space), described above;
this connection will be studied in Chapter 7.
Exercise 5.4.11
(a) In the space pc, verify that the interval-​sum
equation is satisfied by the notes E, G♯, and
B (the notes of an E-​major triad), and also
by the notes of an A♭-​major triad. Are the
sums the same for both triads?
(b) In the space fifth, verify that the
interval-​sum equation is satisfied by the
188 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
notes of an E-​major triad, and also by the
notes of an A♭-​major triad. Are the sums
the same for both triads? Are the sums the
  same as those in part (a)?
Exercise 5.4.12
(a) Although the interval functions intpc and
intfifth are different, they give the same
values in some cases: for example,
intpc(C, D) =​intfifth(C, D) =​2. In fact,
if you choose pitch classes x and y at
random, there is a 50 percent chance
that intpc(x, y) =​intfifth(x, y). Why is
this? For which pairs of pitch classes is
this equation true? In the cases in which
this equation is not true, how are the two
interval measurements related?
(b) Can you think of a simple mod-​12 equation,
valid in all cases, for calculating intfifth(x, y)
  in terms of intpc(x, y) or vice versa?33
An example of a modular interval space that
is not isomorphic to pc and fifth is generic
pitch-​class space gpc. The interval space of gpc
is (ℤ7, +​), the integers mod 7, and the interval
function intgpc counts steps around the generic
circle of Figure 1.2.8, so that, for example,
intgpc(C, D) =​1 and intgpc(C, G) =​4. Because pc
and gpc are finite sets of two different cardinali-
ties (12 and 7), these two spaces cannot be iso-
morphic: chromatic and generic pitch space are
isomorphic as interval spaces, but chromatic and
generic pitch-​class space are not.
The continuous modular group (ℝ12, +​) was
mentioned briefly in Section 5.2. This is the
interval group of continuous pitch-​class space
cpc, which is an example of an infinite modular
interval space.
The third category of groups introduced in
Section 5.2, after additive and modular groups,
consisted of multiplicative groups. We noted
there that the multiplicative group (ℝ>0, ∙)
serves as the interval group of frequency space
freq. In frequency space, int(x, y) is the ratio
fy / f​ x between the frequencies of the notes y and x,
so for example the intervals formed by the notes
C4 and C5 are int(C4, C5) =​2 and int(C5, C4) = 1​ 2 .
Elements of freq are pitches of specific fre-
quencies, and the exact value of an interval such
as int(C4, G4) in this space depends on tuning.
If the perfect fifth is purely tuned, this inter-
val is 3 2 ; if it is equal-​tempered, it is a number
very close to 3 2 , namely 27/​12 =​ s7, where s =​21/​12
(the twelfth root of 2), the frequency ratio of an
equal-​tempered semitone.
Exercise 5.4.13 Because frequency space is a
multiplicative interval space, the “interval-​sum
equation” in the second interval-​space axiom is
really an interval-​product equation in this space,
namely int(x, y) ∙ int(y, z) =​int(x, z). Verify that
this equation holds when x, y, and z are:
(a) the notes C4, E4, and G4, purely tuned;
(b) the same notes in equal temperament; and
(c) the same notes in the order E4, G4, C4,
  purely tuned.34
Continuous pitch space cpitch and frequency
space freq offer another example of two differ-
ent interval spaces defined on the same under-
lying set. As was the case with pc and fifth,
cpitch and freq turn out to be isomorphic
interval spaces. In a way that will be described
more precisely in Chapter 6, this isomorphism
follows from the isomorphism between the
interval groups (ℝ, +​) and (ℝ>0, ∙) mentioned in
Section 5.2, and ultimately from the exponen-
tial/​logarithmic relationship between pitch and
frequency from Figure 2.3.12.
Students working with frequencies for the
first time often make the mistake of subtract-
ing frequencies when they should be dividing.
Frequencies can be subtracted—​frequency dif-
ferences come into play in the acoustical phe-
nomenon known as difference tones—​but it is
the quotient of frequencies, not the difference,
that corresponds to the usual musical notion of
interval. Moreover, if we try to define an interval
function using frequency differences, we quickly
discover that musical pitches do not form a
proper interval space. To see this, consider the
frequencies x =​300 Hz and y =​100 Hz. Our sup-
posed interval function gives int(x, y) =​−200
Hz, so evidently −200 Hz is an element of the
interval group. But then the homogeneity axiom
implies the existence of some note z such that
int(y, z) =​−200 Hz, which implies that z must
have a frequency of −100 Hz. Such a note does
not exist, even in a theoretical sense. With inter-
vals defined in this way, the most we can say is
that musical pitches form a subset of a not very
useful interval space whose other elements are
musically fictitious.
5.5 TRANSFORMATION
GROUPS AND GROUP
ACTIONS
In this section we formally introduce transfor-
mation groups, the second of the two important
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 189
classes of musical groups (along with interval
groups). As a prototypical example of a transfor-
mation group, recall from Section 5.1 the infinite
cyclic group (𝒯∞, ●) of transposition operators Tn
acting on chromatic pitch space. Underlying this
example is the space pitch. The group 𝒯∞ con-
sists not of elements of the space or intervals
in the space but of functions Tn: pitch → pitch
defined on the space. If x is a note in pitch and
Tn is an element of 𝒯∞ (a transposition opera-
tor), then Tn(x) is again a note in pitch. If x is
identified by a pitch number (relative to C4 =​0),
then Tn(x) is given by the formula Tn(x) =​ x +​ n.
The group operation in 𝒯∞ is ●, composition of
functions. As usual we use left-​to-​right orthog-
raphy, so Tm ● Tn means “Tm-​then-​Tn,” although
for transposition operators Tn the order does
not matter, because the group 𝒯∞ is commuta-
tive. We noted in Section 5.1 the general formula
Tm ● Tn =​ Tm+​n for calculating the composition of
two transposition operators.
We now abstract these observations to a
more general setting. Suppose S is a nonempty
set (possibly one of the musical spaces we have
considered). As defined in Chapter 2, a transfor-
mation on S is simply a function f: S → S. If x is
an element of S and f is a transformation on S,
then f(x) is also an element of S. Two such trans-
formations f and g can always be composed, and
their composition f ● g (“f-​then-​g”) is another
transformation on S. If G is a set whose elements
are functions f: S → S, it may happen G forms a
group with the operation ●. In this case (G, ●) is
called a transformation group on S, or a group act-
ing on S, and S is called the space associated with
the transformation group G.35
For a set of functions to form a group, the
group axioms must be satisfied. Associativity
is not a problem; as noted in Section 5.1, com-
position of functions is always associative.
Composition is not in general commutative, but
that is not a problem either, as groups are not
required to be commutative. But the other three
axioms—​closure, the identity, and inverses—​
all require some rather special things to be true
about the functions in G if they are to form
a group.
The closure axiom demands that if f and g are
elements of a transformation group G, then their
composition f ● g must also belong to G. Any trans-
formation group on pitch space that contains
the transpositions T4 and T3, for example, must
also contain their composition T7. Of course the
group 𝒯∞ satisfies this requirement: if Tm and Tn
are in 𝒯∞, so is Tm ● Tn =​ Tm+​n.
 The function that plays the role of the iden-
tity element of G is the identity function ES on
the space S, defined by ES(x) =​ x for all x in S. The
equations f ● ES =​ f and ES ● f =​ f hold for every
function f: S → S, and these are precisely the
conditions demanded of the identity element
of a group. For G to be a group, ES must there-
fore belong to G: every transformation group must
contain the identity function on the space on which
it acts. In the group 𝒯∞, the identity function is
T0 (which could also be called Epitch, the identity
function on the space pitch).
We also observed in Section 5.1 that the
inverse of a function f in a group is the same
as the inverse function f −1 defined in Chapter 2.
Many functions do not have inverses: as detailed
in Section 2.3, f −1 exists if and only if f is one-​
to-​one and onto. Every element of a group, how-
ever, is required to have an inverse in the group.
Therefore every transformation f: S → S in a trans-
formation group G on S must be one-​to-​one and
onto, and its inverse function f −1 must also belong
to G. In 𝒯∞, every transposition operator Tn is
one-​to-​one and onto as a mapping on pitch space
(for every note y in pitch space there is exactly
one x such that Tn(x) =​ y), and the inverse of Tn is
T−n, which also belongs to 𝒯∞.
The inverse axiom is the most stringent of the
constraints on the functions in a transformation
group. Suppose we have a set A of functions f:
S → S, and suppose we would like to have a trans-
formation group. Every set automatically has an
identity function, so if the identity function ES is
not already in the set A, it is a simple matter to
expand the set to contain it. The set A may fail
to be closed under composition of functions, but
any two functions from S to S can be composed,
and once again we can expand A if necessary to
include all possible compositions (and iterated
compositions, if necessary) of functions in A. But
the requirement imposed by the inverse axiom
is not so easily fulfilled, because some functions
simply do not have inverses. If we were to define
a transformation on pitch that fails to be one-​
to-​one or onto (for instance, defining f on pitch
numbers by f(x) =​2x, or f(x) =​ x2, or f(x) =​ 0—​a
constant function that maps every note to mid-
dle C), such a function could never be an element
of any transformation group. The concept of
semigroup, defined in Section 5.2, is potentially
useful in this case; recall that the identity and
inverse axioms are not required of semigroups.
The above remarks imply that any set of func-
tions f: S → S may be expanded to form a semi-
group with identity. But not every semigroup
190 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
can be expanded to a group, and a semigroup
that is not a group will lack desirable group fea-
tures such as symmetry and the solvability of
algebraic equations.
In any case, there is no shortage of examples
of musical transformation groups satisfying
all the above constraints, including the inverse
axiom. Besides the group 𝒯∞ acting on chromatic
pitch space, we may also consider 𝒯12 =​{T0, T1,
…, T11} as a transformation group acting on
chromatic pitch-​class space. As we have noted,
the transformations T0, T1, …, T11 in 𝒞12 are not
the same as the transformations with the same
names in 𝒯∞, because they are functions defined
on a different set; if we wish to distinguish them
we may write T0pitch, T1pitch, … and T0pc, T1pc, …,
for example. Recall from Section 5.3 that 𝒯∞ is an
infinite cyclic group and 𝒯12 a finite cyclic group
of order 12; both are generated by T1 (though
these are two different T1s). The equations
Tn−1 =​ T−n and Tm ● Tn =​ Tm+​n hold in both groups,
but in 𝒯∞ the subscripts are ordinary integers
while in 𝒯12 the subscripts are integers mod 12.
Thus, for example, the equations T8−1 =​ T4 and T9
● T =​ T are valid in 𝒯
5 2 12 but not in 𝒯∞.
Exercise 5.5.1
(a) Calculate T7 ● T4−1 ● T11 ● T2−1 ● T3 in 𝒯∞,
and calculate the same composition in
𝒯12. (Because composition of functions is
associative, no parentheses are needed in
this expression. For practice, however, you
may try grouping the operations in several
different ways and verify that the result is
the same.)
(b) The techniques for solving equations from
Section 5.3 are valid in transformation
groups (as they are in any other kind of
group). In 𝒯∞, what transformation f
satisfies the equation T10 ● f =​ T3?
(c) In 𝒯12, what transformation satisfies the
  equation T7 ● f ● T8 =​ T2?
Besides transpositions, the other most
familiar transformations on pitch space and
pitch-​class space are the inversion operators.36
In pitch space, we define I as inversion about
middle C. With pitch numbers centered on C4 =​0
as usual, therefore, I(x) =​−x for every x in pitch.
Then, for every integer n, we define a transfor-
mation In by the equation In =​ I ● Tn. The sub-
script n is commonly called the index number
of the inversion operator In (or just the index of
inversion). Because T0 is the identity, I0 =​ I ● T0
implies that I0 is the same as I. The composition
In =​ I ● Tn means that In(x) =​−x +​ n for every
x in pitch. The latter formula may be rewrit-
ten in the form In(x) =​ n − x; note that x (the
pitch number) is subtracted from n (the index
of inversion), not the other way around. If
In(x) =​ y, then the equation y =​ n − x can be
rewritten as x +​ y =​ n, which tells us that any
two notes related by an inversion operator In
always sum to n, the index number.
The same equations, I(x) =​−x and In =​ I ● Tn,
may be used to define inversion operators on
chromatic pitch-​class space pc. As with transpo-
sition operators, we may if necessary write Inpitch
and Inpc to distinguish the operators on the two
spaces. The pitch-​ class inversion operators,
because of their widespread use in pitch-​class
set theory, are probably more familiar to most
readers than the corresponding transformations
on pitch space. Many aspects of the behavior
of these transformations are similar on both
spaces, however, and in some ways the operators
on pitch may be considered more fundamental.
Figure 5.5.2a illustrates the calculation
I3(G4) =​A♭3 in pitch space. First, I inverts G4 (pitch
number 7) about the fulcrum at middle C, pro-
ducing F3 (−7); then T3 maps F3 to A♭3 (−4). The
starting and ending pitch numbers 7 and −4
sum to 3, the index of inversion.
Left-​to-​
right orthography applies in the
equation In =​ I ● Tn. As we noted in Chapter 2,
authors who follow the convention of right-​to-​
left orthography would write the same equation
as In =​ Tn ○ I instead—​and indeed the right-​to-​
left notation “TnI ” is common in pitch-​ class
set theory. Whatever the notation, it is crucial
that I be performed before T3, as these transfor-
mations do not commute. Figure 5.5.2b shows
FIGURE 5.5.2 Inversions in pitch space
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 191
that if T3 ● I rather than I ● T3 is applied to G4
(7), the result is not A♭3 (−4) at all but rather D3
(−10). If the transposition is performed first, its
effect is reversed by the subsequent inversion.
Figure 5.5.2c shows, however, that the origi-
nal result A♭3 (−4) may be obtained by applying
T−3 ● I instead of T3 ● I. This illustrates a general
principle of interaction between transposition
and inversion operators: the composition I ● Tn
is not equal to Tn ● I but to T−n ● I. Any time we
want to exchange the positions of an adjacent
I and Tn, we may do so by reversing the sign of
the transposition. This principle applies both in
pitch space and in pitch-​class space.
Figure 5.5.2d shows that the effect of the
composite transformation I3 =​ I ● T3 can be
obtained in a single step by moving the fulcrum,
in this case reflecting the number 7 about the
point 3 2 on the number line rather than about 0.
In general, In may be regarded as inversion about
n/​2; the number n/​2 forms the axis of inversion
(or center of inversion) of the operator In. The
center of inversion, that is, is always half of the
index number. The number 3 2 is not an integer,
of course, and does not represent an element
of the discrete space pitch. In general n/​2 is an
integer if n is even but not if n is odd, creating
a distinction between an even-​indexed In, which
inverts about a note of chromatic space, and an
odd-​indexed In, which does not. For every even
integer n, the operator In has one fixed point
in the space pitch: there is exactly one note x
in pitch satisfying In(x) =​ x, namely the note
x =​ n/​ 2 that defines the axis of inversion.
Inversion operators of odd index have no fixed
points in pitch, although the fixed point at n/​2
exists within the continuous space cpitch.
Exercise 5.5.3 The midpoint, or average,
between any two real numbers x and y is
given by the formula (x +​ y)/​2. Use this
formula to verify that the midpoint
between
   x and In(x) is n/​2.
The reader may be familiar with the analo-
gous properties in pitch-​ class space, where
instead of inverting about a single point at
n/​2, the inversion In is a reflection about an axis
that passes through both n/​2 and n/​2 +​6 (mod
12), the latter number falling diametrically
opposite n/​2 on the pitch-​class circle. In mod-​
12 arithmetic, both the numbers x =​ n/​2 and
x =​ n/​2 +​6 satisfy the equation 2x =​ n. In pitch-​
class space, therefore, In has two fixed points if
n is even, the two points on the axis of inver-
sion, differing by 6 mod 12. If n is odd, then
In has no fixed points in the discrete space pc.
The difference between even and odd indices
of inversion is illustrated in Figure 5.5.4, both
in pitch space and in pitch-​class space. For the
odd indices, fixed points on the axes of inver-
sion exist as points of the continuous spaces
cpitch and cpc, so the qualitative difference
between even and odd indices that is so appar-
ent in the discrete spaces largely evaporates in
continuous space.37
Exercise 5.5.5
(a) In pitch, calculate I6(4), I13(−7), I−7(13),
I−1(E♭4), and I−12(F♯3).
(b) In pc, calculate I6(4), I1(5), I5(1), I11(E♭), and
I0(F♯). Compare your answers to (a) and (b).
(c) In pitch, what inversion operator In
satisfies In(C5) =​B♭3? What note is the fixed
point of this inversion?
(d) In pc, what inversion operator In satisfies
In(F) =​A♭? Does this inversion have any
fixed points in pc? In continuous pitch-​class
space cpc?
(e) What note in pitch is the unique fixed
point of I26?
(f) Which two notes in pc are fixed points of I4?
(g) In continuous pitch space cpitch, the
note E3+​0.5 (halfway between E3 and
F3) is the fixed point of what inversion
operator In?
(h) In continuous pitch-​class space cpc, D+​0.5
and G♯+​0.5 are fixed points of what inversion
  operator In?
Many properties of inversion operators and
their interaction with transpositions are tied
192 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
to the important observation that the transpo-
sition and inversion operators together form a
group. In pitch space this is an infinite group,
𝒯ℐ∞ =​{…, T−2, T−1, T0, T1, T2, …;
…, I−2, I−1, I0, I1, I2, …},
while in pitch-​class space it is a finite group,
𝒯ℐ12 =​{T0, T1, T2, …, T11; I0, I1, I2, …, I11}.
The semicolons in the lists of group elements
are “unofficial,” serving only as separators to
signal that two different types of elements are
being listed—​a property also suggested by the
label 𝒯ℐ that we are using for these groups.38
Generally a 𝒯ℐ group is twice as large as the
corresponding 𝒯 group (although of course 𝒯∞
is already an infinite group). In particular, 𝒯ℐ12
is a group of order 24, not 12: it is called 𝒯ℐ12
because it is a transformation group acting on a
12-​element set, the space pc.
As noted in Section 5.3, the transposition
groups 𝒯12 and 𝒯∞ are examples of cyclic groups,
as each is generated by the transposition T1; we
also introduced the notations 𝒞n and 𝒞∞ for more
general cyclic groups. The groups 𝒯ℐ12 and 𝒯ℐ∞
are not cyclic, as neither of them is generated by a
single element. Each group is, however, generated
by T1 and the inversion I (=​ I0); that is, we could
write 𝒯ℐ12 =​ 〈T1, I〉 and 𝒯ℐ∞ =​ 〈T1, I〉. As was the
case with the transposition groups, these equa-
tions look the same, but T1 and I have different
meanings in the two equations. The 𝒯ℐ groups are
examples of structures known as dihedral groups,
for which we will use the general notations 𝒟n and
𝒟∞. The dihedral group 𝒟n is sometimes defined
as the group of all rotations and reflections of a
regular n-​sided polygon; the transpositions Tk are
the rotations while the inversions Ik are the reflec-
tions. The order of the group 𝒟n is therefore 2n,
not n.39 Because transpositions do not commute
with inversions, the dihedral groups 𝒯ℐ12 (or 𝒟12)
and 𝒯ℐ∞ (or 𝒟∞) are our first musical examples of
noncommutative groups.
To be sure that 𝒯ℐ12 and 𝒯ℐ∞ are groups,
we must check the requirements listed previ-
ously: each of these sets of transformations
must contain the identity function and must be
closed under the formation of compositions and
inverses. Of course, the identity in each group is
T0 as before. The relevant properties of composi-
tions and inverses are summarized in the follow-
ing theorem.
FIGURE 5.5.4 Even and odd indices of inversion in discrete pitch space and pitch-​class space
Theorem 5.5.6: Group properties of
transposition and inversion operators
Statements (a)–​(g) below hold for all
transposition operators Tm and Tn and inversion
operators Im and In on pitch space pitch or pitch-​
class space pc. In pitch the subscripts m and n
are integers; in pc they are integers mod 12.
(a) Tm ● Tn =​ Tm+n;
(b) Im ● Tn =​ Im+​n;
(c) Tm ● In =​ In−m;
(d) Im ● In =​ Tn−m;
(e) Tm ● In =​ In ● T−m;
(f) Tn−1 =​ T−n;
(g)  In−1 =​ In (that is, In is an involution).
This theorem, which will be invoked many
times in subsequent chapters, effectively tells us
how to perform any kind of calculation involv-
ing compositions and inverses of transposition
and inversion operators. Parts (a)–​(d) cover all
possible compositions of T and I operators, and
tell us that every such composition is always
another T or I, so the set 𝒯ℐ∞ or 𝒯ℐ12 is closed
under composition of functions. Parts (f) and (g)
show that inverses of T and I operators are also T
or I operators, so the set is closed under inverses
as well. This is exactly what we need to know to
conclude that 𝒯ℐ∞ and 𝒯ℐ12 are groups.
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 193
At first glance the formulas may look com-
plex and arbitrary, but they possess a certain
symmetry and logic. Statements (a) and (f),
which deal with transposition operators only,
are already familiar to us. Parts (b) and (c)
tell us that a transposition composed with an
inversion, in either order, always produces an
inversion, and part (d) tells us that a compo-
sition of two inversions produces a transposi-
tion—​effectively, the space has been reflected
twice, returning to its original orientation. The
subscripts m and n are added (m +​ n) in parts
(a) and (b), but m is subtracted (n − m) in parts
(c) and (d); these are the cases in which the
second operation is an inversion, which (as
in the example from Figure 5.5.2 above) has
the consequence of reversing the effect of the
first operation. Part (e) generalizes the above
observation about exchanging the positions of
transposition and inversion operators: adjacent
operators Tm and In (not just I =​ I0, but any In at
all) may always be interchanged as long as the
sign of the transposition is reversed at the same
time. Finally, statement (g), stating that In is an
involution, should be intuitively clear: each In
is a reflection about a certain point (n/​2), and
when the same action is performed a second
time the effect of the first is undone. This prop-
erty is apparent also from Figure 5.5.4, where
the bidirectional arrows imply that a second
application of In reverses the first.
It is instructive to derive the formulas in
Theorem 5.5.6 directly from the formulas Tn(x) =​
x +​ n and In(x) =​ n − x. We do this below for state-
ments (b), (d), (e), and (g), leaving (c) as an exercise.
Statement (b) involves a composition of the
form Im ● Tn. We therefore calculate what hap-
pens when we apply an inversion Im to a note
x, then apply a transposition Tn to the result:
x I
m
→ m − x T
n
→ (m − x ) + n.
The outcome of this process, (m − x) +​ n, is the
same as (m +​ n) − x, which is what we would get if
we inverted x via the operator Im+​n. Therefore the
functions Im ● Tn and Im+​n give the same outputs
on all possible inputs. By the discussion of equal-
ity of functions in Section 2.3, it follows that they
are the same function: Im ● Tn =​ Im+​n, as (b) asserts.
For (d), we apply two inversion operators in
succession:
x I
m
→ m − x I
n
→ n − (m − x ).
The result, n − (m − x), is equal to x +​(n − m),
the same as if we had transposed x by Tn − m.
Therefore Im ● In =​ Tn − m.
Statement (e) compares two compositions,
one of the form T-​then-​I and the other of the
form I-​then-​T. We can calculate the former using
part (c) (proved in Exercise 5.5.7 below), and
the latter using (b). The left side of (e) is Tm ● In,
which according to (c) is equal to In−m. The right
side of (e), meanwhile, is In ● T−m. This is the type
of composition appearing in (b) (I-​then-​T), but
the subscripts are different, so to evaluate it we
must substitute n for m and −m for n in state-
ment (b). When we do this, the result is In ● T−m
=​ In+​(−m). This is equal to In − m, which as we just
saw is the same as Tm ● In. Thus the truth of (e)
follows from (b) and (c).
Statement (d) applies to any inversions Im and
In. In particular, m and n could be the same. In that
case the formula becomes In ● In =​ Tn − n =​ T0. In
other words, In is its own inverse, as part (g) states.
Exercise 5.5.7 Using reasoning similar to the
above,
   derive statement (c) of Theorem 5.5.6.
Exercise 5.5.8 Do the inversion operators by
themselves
   form a group? Why or why not?
194 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
The formulas in Theorem 5.5.6 may be used
to simplify complex expressions involving trans-
position and inversion operators. Deliberately
taking a somewhat unwieldy example for illus-
trative purposes, in the group 𝒯ℐ12, let us sim-
plify the composite function
I3 • T11 −1 • T8 • I5 • I1 −1 • I10 • T6 .
In the following calculation we omit the sym-
bols ● for simplicity; left-​to-​right orthography
is always assumed. The theorem provides an
arsenal of tools with which to simplify such an
expression: we can use parts (f) and (g) to elimi-
nate the inverses; combine adjacent T operators
using (a); combine adjacent I operators using (d);
and interchange adjacent T and I operators using
(e) so that more Ts will be adjacent. Because we
are in pitch-​class space, the subscripts are inte-
gers mod 12, and so, for instance, T11−1 =​ T1.
Here is one possible strategy, which proceeds by
first eliminating the inverses, then eliminating
as many inversion operators as possible:
I3T11−1T8I5I1−1I10T6
=​ I3T1T8I5I1I10T6    eliminating inverses
via (f) and (g)
=​I 3(T1T8)(I5I1)I10T6 grouping Ts and Is
to combine
=​I 3T9T8I10T6      combining them via
(a) and (d)
=​ I3T5I10T6      combining another
pair of Ts
=​ (I3T5)I10T6      grouping elements
to exchange
=​(T7I3)I10T6      exchanging them via (e)
=​ T7(I3I10)T6      regrouping
=​ T7T7T6      combining two Is
=​ T8        combining all Ts
In the first “combining” step, T1T8 =​ T9 by (a),
while I5I1 =​ T1 − 5 =​ T8 by (d) (the subtraction in
the subscripts is mod 12). In the “exchanging”
step, T5 is replaced by its inverse T7 when it is
swapped with the adjacent I3. At the final step,
the three subscripts on the adjacent T operators
are added mod 12. Of course, the calculation
could have proceeded in various other ways, such
as by combining operations in strict left-​to-​right
order. The original expression contains an even
number of inversion operators, so we may see at
a glance that the final result must be a transposi-
tion, not an inversion; in the calculation above
all inversions are ultimately eliminated in pairs.
Exercise 5.5.9 Verify that the above calculation
is correct when the composite transformation
in question is applied to the pitch class F
(5). That is, calculate the result of applying
I3T11−1T8I5I1−1I10T6 to x =​5, proceeding left to
right through the string of transformations,
and verify that the result is the same as
applying
   the single transformation T8.
Exercise 5.5.10
(a) In the group 𝒯ℐ12, what is T4−1I7T3I10−1T2?
(b) What is the same composite function
(T4−1I7T3I10−1T2) in the group 𝒯ℐ∞?40
(c) Explain why the equation T6In =​ InT6 is
always correct in 𝒯ℐ12 but never correct
in 𝒯ℐ∞.
(d) In 𝒯ℐ12, what transformation f satisfies the
equation I4 ● f ● T7 =​ T2 ● I3?
(e) In 𝒯ℐ∞, what transformation f satisfies the
  equation I7 ● f ● I7 =​ I3?
Cyclic groups of transformation operators
and dihedral groups of transposition and inver-
sion operators are some of the most important
and widely used musical transformation groups,
but many other kinds of transformations can
appear in groups as well. Familiar examples
include the multiplication operators M5 and
M7 on pitch-​class space, the retrograde opera-
tion in serial theory, and the neo-​Riemannian
transformations P, R, and L on triads. We will
study groups containing such transformations
in Part Two.
5.6 THE RELATION
BETWEEN INTERVALS
AND TRANSFORMATIONS
Figure 5.6.1, a simple arrow from a point x to
a point y, captures the essence of the first and
most famous figure in David Lewin’s Generalized
Musical Intervals and Transformations. This
unpretentious diagram appears on the first page
of Lewin’s introduction41 and gives the first
indication of the intimate connection between
intervals and transformations that is to become
FIGURE 5.6.1 An interval—​
or a transforma-
tion? (after Lewin)
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 195
a main theme of the book. The basic point is that
an arrow can be interpreted in two conceptually
distinct ways: as an interval, a measure of the dis-
tance separating a point x from a point y, or as a
transformation, an action that one must perform
to get from x to y.
We noted this point previously, in Section
5.1. Our knowledge of group theory now enables
us to grasp Lewin’s insight more completely
and to probe the connection at a deeper level,
because groups lie at the core of the connection
between the intervallic and transformational
conceptions. Interval groups, it turns out, are
always functionally equivalent to transforma-
tion groups of a certain kind, and conversely, a
transformation group of that kind may always
be used to define an interval-​space structure on
the space on which it acts.
The way to convert an interval group into a
transformation group is suggested in a straight-
forward way by reconsidering Figures 5.1.1a and
5.1.7, which showed intervallic and transposi-
tional relationships among the notes of a triad.
Given that the interval from E4 to G4 is 3, how
can we define a transformation that takes us
from E4 to G4? The appropriate transformation
is T3, transposition through the given interval.
This process, it turns out, is completely general:
we can define a transposition operator corre-
sponding to any interval in any interval space,
and the various transposition operators form a
transformation group on the space—​not just a
transformation group but a transposition group.
The broad scope of this statement is notewor-
thy. We are accustomed to thinking of transposi-
tion operators on familiar pitch and pitch-​class
spaces, but suddenly we are claiming that it is
somehow possible to define “transposition” on
any interval space at all—​a space whose inter-
val group may be any sort of group at all—​and
that these generalized transpositions also form
a group. To see how transposition operators may
be defined in such a general setting, suppose (S,
G, int) is an interval space and i is an interval in
G; we want to define a transformation we will call
Transi on S that “transposes” any element of the
space S through the interval i. In the case of the
familiar pitch and pitch-​class spaces, Transi will
be the same as Ti. We reserve the notations Ti,
ti, and τi for transpositions in particular spaces,
writing Transi in the more general case.42
If the transposition Transi behaves as we
should expect, then presumably the interval
from any x in S to its transposition Transi(x)
should be i, the interval of transposition.
That is, if y =​Transi(x), we should expect that
int(x, y) =​ i. Is there actually such a y, an element
of S for which int(x, y) =​ i? In fact there is: the
homogeneity axiom for interval spaces says that
there is exactly one such i. So here is our defini-
tion of generalized transposition operators: if
(S, G, int) is an interval space and i ∈ G, then
Transi: S → S is the function defined so that, for
every x in S, Transi(x) is the unique y in S such
that int(x, y) =​ i.
This definition of Transi is straightforward
enough, and it is clear that every such Transi is
a transformation on the space S, but it may be
far from obvious that all of these transpositions
form a group. Crucial to this conclusion is the fact
that G, the interval group of the space, is already
known to be a group (this is part of the defini-
tion of an interval space). Let 𝒯S denote the set
{Transi | i ∈ G} consisting of all the transposition
operators Transi on S, for the various intervals i
in G. We will see that the group structure on 𝒯S is
closely related to the group structure on G.
In 𝒯S, as in every transformation group, the
group operation is ●, composition of functions.
To be sure that (𝒯S, ●) is a group, we must check
that the identity transformation is in 𝒯S and
that 𝒯S is closed under the formation of com-
positions and inverses. The identity transfor-
mation in 𝒯S, as expected, is Trans0—​but we
must be careful about what this means. Here 0
is the identity element of G, which is not nec-
essarily the ordinary number 0. The identity
interval property established in Section 5.4 tells
us that int(x, x) =​0 for every x in an interval
space. Therefore Trans0(x), which by definition
is the unique y such that int(x, y) =​0, must be x
itself. This means that, regardless of what sort of
object the element called 0 may be, Trans0 really
is the identity function on S, and so the identity
is indeed present in 𝒯S.
To check that 𝒯S is closed under composition
of functions, consider two transpositions Transi
and Transj in 𝒯S. Is Transi ● Transj an element
of 𝒯S? From our knowledge of transpositions in
pitch and pitch-​class space, we might expect that
Transi ● Transj should be Transi + ​j. That is almost
right, but “i +​ j” in the subscript does not quite
make sense: the intervals i and j are elements of
the group G and must be “added” using the group
operation in G. In principle G could be any kind
of group at all; as in the definition of interval
spaces in Section 5.4, let us write ⊕ for the group
operation in G, whatever it may be. The “sum”
i ⊕ j is some interval in G, so Transi ⊕ j is a legiti-
mate transposition operator and an element of
196 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
𝒯S. We still must verify that Transi ● Transj is
equal to Transi ⊕ j. If x ∈ S, what element do we
get by applying Transi ● Transj to x? We know
from the definition of Transi that Transi(x) is the
unique y in S satisfying int(x, y) =​ i; then Transj(y)
is the unique z in S satisfying int(y, z) =​ j. So Transi
● Trans applied to x yields z, and by the interval-​
j
sum equation in the interval space S, int(x, z) =​
int(x, y) ⊕ int(y, z) =​ i ⊕ j. But by the definition
of Transi ⊕ j, this same z must also be equal to
Transi ⊕ j(x), which by definition is the unique z
such that int(x, z) =​ i ⊕ j. It follows that Transi ●
Transj and Transi⊕j are indeed the same function.
Finally, we must check that if Transi is a trans-
position in 𝒯S, then its inverse Transi−1 is also
in 𝒯S. Intuitively we might expect Transi−1 to
be Trans−i, but the general formula is Transi−1 =​
Trans⊖i, where, as in Section 5.4, ⊖i denotes the
inverse of i in the group (G, ⊕). To verify this for-
mula we must show that Transi ● Trans⊖i is equal
to the identity Trans0. We just established that
the equation Transi ● Transj =​Transi⊕j holds for
all intervals i and j in G. Substituting ⊖i for j in
this equation gives Transi ● Trans⊖i =​Transi ⊕ (⊖i),
which is equal to Trans0 because i ⊕ (⊖i) =​0 by
the general property of inverses.
The proof that 𝒯S is a group is complete. It is
worth noting how every step of this argument
about the transformation group 𝒯S relied directly
on the corresponding fact about the interval
group G. The intervals i in G, clearly, are in one-​
to-​one correspondence with the transposition
operators Transi in 𝒯S, and all the required prop-
erties of the latter were derived from the same
properties of the former. The situation general-
izes the observations we made in Section 5.1
about the groups (ℤ, +​) and (𝒯∞, ●): even though
G and 𝒯S may be very different in some respects
(the group operation in G could be anything,
while in 𝒯S it is always composition of functions),
something about their structure is very similar.
In fact, G and 𝒯S are always isomorphic groups,
in the way that we will formalize in Chapter 6.
It may be instructive to consider how the
relationship between intervals and transpo-
sitions works in the case of frequency space
freq, which was studied in Sections 5.2 and 5.4
as an example of a multiplicative interval space.
The interval group of freq is (ℝ>0, ∙). According
to our definition of the generalized transposi-
tion operator Transi, the interval equations
int(C4, C5) =​2 and int(C5, C4) = 1​ 2 in this space
translate to Trans2(C4) =​C5 and Trans1/​2(C5) =​
C4. In other words, “transposition by 2” is an
ascending octave, while “transposition by 1 2 ” is
a descending octave. Also, because 1 is the iden-
tity in the multiplicative interval group, Trans1
is the identity in the group of transpositions.
(There is no Trans0 here; remember that the
number 0 can never be an element of a multi-
plicative group.) While these equations may
look strange and fail to align with our intuitive
picture of the way transposition works, they
show how an abstract sort of “transposition”
can be defined in a logical way even in interval
spaces that are very different from the most
familiar ones.
The correspondence between intervals and
transformations works both ways. We have
shown how an interval group gives rise to a
transformation group consisting of general-
ized transpositions—​for every interval i we can
define a transposition Transi—​so that an inter-
vallic conception of a musical space can always
be effectively replaced by an equivalent trans-
formational conception. We now turn our atten-
tion to the opposite process, the conversion
from a transformational structure to an interval
structure.
If we try to follow the outline of the preced-
ing discussion in reverse, we might expect this
conversion to work roughly as follows. Given
a transformation group G acting on a space S,
we put the transformations in G in one-​to-​one
correspondence with some sort of “general-
ized intervals”: that is, we somehow define, for
each function f in G, something that we call an
“interval” Intf. We show that these generalized
intervals form a group Gʹ, probably very similar
in structure to G, and define an interval function
on the space S whose interval group is Gʹ, with
the property that for any elements x and y in S
and for any transformation f in G, int(x, y) =​Intf
if and only if f(x) =​ y.
A little reflection shows that the process
described in the preceding paragraph cannot
work in general. Consider, as an example, the
transformation group G =​{…, T−4, T−2, T0, T2,
T4, …} acting on chromatic pitch space S =​ pitch.
This group is a subgroup of the cyclic group 𝒯∞
of transposition operators on pitch, consist-
ing only of the even-​numbered operators (see
Exercise 5.3.8a). If we are to define an interval
structure on pitch using the transformations
in G according to the process just described, we
must somehow determine all possible intervals
between pairs of notes in the space. To deter-
mine an interval such as int(C4, C♯4) would
require identifying a function f in G such that
f(C4) =​C♯4—​but because C4 and C♯4 are separated
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 197
by a single semitone and the group G contains
no odd-​numbered transpositions, no such f is
available. This group G contains insufficient
transformations—​insufficient data—​to define
a complete interval structure on the space on
which it acts. (For a more extreme example, the
group {T0} consisting only of the identity trans-
formation does not tell us how to define any
intervals at all!)
A different problem arises when the transfor-
mation group 𝒯ℐ12 of transposition and inver-
sion operators acts on the space S =​ pc (chromatic
pitch-​class space). The notes x =​C and y =​E are
elements of S, the transposition T4 is an element
of 𝒯ℐ12, and these elements satisfy T4(C) =​ E.
If an interval space associated with 𝒯ℐ12 can
be constructed as described above, therefore,
int(C, E) must be the interval associated with
T4 (the interval IntT4 in the notation proposed
above). The problem is that T4 is not the only
transformation in 𝒯ℐ12 that maps C to E. The
equation I4(C) =​E is also true, so by the same
reasoning, int(C, E) would have to be equal to
the interval IntI4. Somehow two different trans-
formations would have to be associated with the
same interval, which means that the intervals
and transformations would not be in one-​to-​one
correspondence after all (and the groups could
not be isomorphic). This group, rather than con-
taining too few transformations to define an
interval structure, contains too many.
A reconsideration of Figure 5.6.1 at this point
may make the situation clear. If we are given
a transformation group and wish to use it to
determine the interval from x to y, we can do so
as long as there is one and only one function in the
group that maps x to y, but we have a problem if
there is no such function or if there are two or
more such functions. In the example with even-​
numbered transpositions only, the group is too
small for the space: for some elements x and y
there is no f in the group such that f(x) =​ y. In the
example with 𝒯ℐ12, the group is too large: for
some x and y, there are two different functions f
such that f(x) =​ y. For the idea outlined above to
succeed as a way of replacing a transformation
group with an equivalent interval group, there
must always be exactly one such f.
This condition has a name. Suppose G is a
transformation group acting on a set S. If for
every pair of elements x and y in S there exists
at least one function f in G such that f(x) =​ y,
the action of G on S is said to be transitive.43 If
for every x and y in S there exists exactly one
function f in G such that f(x) =​ y, the action of G
on S is said to be simply transitive.44 The action
of even-​numbered transposition operators on
pitch space fails to be transitive because the
group is too small; the action of 𝒯ℐ12 on pitch-​
class space is transitive but fails to be simply
transitive because the group is too large. In
order for there to be exactly one way to get
from any element of the space to any other, a
simply transitive group must be just the right
size.45
It is easy to say exactly what “just the right
size” means. Consider a specific element x0 in S,
and consider what happens when the various
functions in the group G are applied to x0. If the
action of G is simply transitive, then for every
y in S there must be a function fy in G such
that fy(x0) =​ y; therefore there are at least as
many elements in the group G as in the space
S. But there can be no more than that, because
every f in G must be fy for some y in S, namely
y =​ f(x0). In other words, the mapping from y to
fy is a one-​to-​one correspondence between the
elements of S and the elements of G. The order
of a simply transitive group, therefore, must
be exactly the same as the cardinality of the
set on which it acts. In particular, the group
𝒯ℐ12, whose order is 24, is too large to act
in simply transitive fashion on pc, a space of
cardinality 12. Also, a simply transitive group
acting on a finite set must always be a finite
group, and a simply transitive group acting on
an infinite set must be an infinite group. (The
example involving the even-​numbered trans-
position operators shows, however, that an
infinite group acting on an infinite set can fail
to be simply transitive.)
Exercise 5.6.2
(a) Is the action of 𝒯12 on pitch-​class space
simply transitive?
(b) Is the action of 𝒯∞ on pitch space simply
transitive?
(c) Is the action of 𝒯ℐ∞ on pitch space simply
  transitive?
Exercise 5.6.3 This exercise outlines an
example showing that even a finite group of
“just the right size”—​the same cardinality as
the space on which it acts—​can fail to be simply
transitive.
(a) Consider the set G =​{T0, T2, T4, T6, T8,
T10; I0, I2, I4, I6, I8, I10} of even-​numbered
transposition and inversion operators
acting on pitch-​class space. Use the
198 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
properties from Theorem 5.5.6 to verify
that G is a group (a subgroup of 𝒯ℐ12).
(b) The group G has 12 elements, as does the
space pc. Nevertheless, show that the
  action of G on pc is not simply transitive.46
Simple transitivity turns out to be exactly
the condition that we need in order to convert a
transformational structure into an interval struc-
ture. Suppose G is a transformation group whose
action on a space S is simply transitive. We wish
to replace G with an equivalent interval group.
Actually we don’t need to replace G with another
group at all, for we can define an interval-​space
structure on S whose interval group is G itself.
The simple transitivity of the action of G on S
tells us exactly how the interval function int: S ×
S → G must be defined: int(x, y) is defined to be
the unique function f in G such that f(x) =​ y.
There is no need to verify that this interval
group is a group, or that the transformation
group and interval group are in one-​to-​one cor-
respondence: they are the same group. We do
need to verify, however, that (S, G, int) is an
interval space, which means we must verify the
homogeneity axiom and the interval-​sum equa-
tion. Homogeneity is a direct consequence of the
way we have defined the interval function: for
any x in S and any “interval” f in G (remember
that the elements of G are functions f: S → S),
the unique y in S such that int(x, y) =​ f is y =​ f(x).
The “interval-​sum equation” in this context is a
statement about composition of functions (the
group operation in G), namely int(x, y) ● int(y, z)
=​ int(x, z). To see why this is true, the reader may
find it helpful to refer back to Figure 5.4.2b, now
reading the intervals as functions and replacing
⊕ with ●. Recall that int(x, y) is by definition a
function in G, say f, for which f(x) =​ y, and int(y,
z) is similarly a function in G, say g, for which
g(y) =​ z. The left side of the above “interval-​sum
equation” is therefore the composite function
f ● g, which must also belong to G because of the
closure property of the group G. Because f maps
x to y and g maps y to z, it follows that f ● g maps
x to z. But by simple transitivity, there can be
only one function in G that maps x to z, and by
the definition of the interval function, that func-
tion is the one we are calling int(x, z). Therefore
int(x, y) ● int(y, z) =​ f ● g =​int(x, z), as desired.
The process of redefining functions as “inter-
vals” may seem artificial. Because the elements
of a transformation group are not numbers
but functions, it may seem that these “inter-
vals” do not tell us anything about distances
between elements of a space, which (we might
suppose) is what intervals are supposed to do.
But this redefinition lies at the very heart of the
structural equivalence between the two concep-
tions—​and remember that the abstract defini-
tion of interval spaces does not require that an
interval group consist of numbers. (The distance
functions to be defined in Chapter 12 take exclu-
sively numerical values.)
Another example involving the transforma-
tion group 𝒯ℐ12 may be revealing. As we have
observed, the action of 𝒯ℐ12 on pitch-​class
space pc is not simply transitive. But 𝒯ℐ12 also
acts on the space triad of 24 major and minor
triads in pitch-​class space. Writing uppercase
letters for major triads and lowercase for minor,
for example, T4(C) =​ T4({0, 4, 7}) =​{4, 8, 11} =​E,
and I4(C) =​ I4({0, 4, 7}) =​{4, 0, 9} =​a. The group
𝒯ℐ12 has 24 elements, just the right number for
a simply transitive group acting on the set of
24 triads, and indeed the action of 𝒯ℐ12 on
triad is simply transitive. Any two triads,
major or minor, are related by exactly one
transposition or inversion operator, not both,
and the process outlined above suggests that
we can consider that operator as a sort of
“interval” between the two triads. The “inter-
val” between the C-​major and A-​minor triads
is the inversion operator I4—​the unique func-
tion in 𝒯ℐ12 that maps one to the other. This is
an unconventional use of the term “interval,”
but it is not hard to imagine that I4 provides
information loosely analogous to an interval
about the relation between the two objects,
and that this information might be a useful
way of “measuring” consonant triad space—​a
way that ensures an interval-​space structure,
unlike the triadic distance measures from
Chapter 4. Incidentally, because the group
𝒯ℐ12 is noncommutative, (triad, 𝒯ℐ12, int) is
our first example of a noncommutative inter-
val space.47
Exercise 5.6.4 Find the unique f in 𝒯ℐ12
satisfying each of the following equations
involving triads:
(a) f(B) =​F
(b) f(G♭) =​e
(c) f(b) =​G
(d)  f(c) =​b♭
Exercise 5.6.5
(a) Although the action of the group 𝒯ℐ12 (of
order 24) on the space pc (of cardinality 12)
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 199
is not simply transitive, the correspondence
between transformations in 𝒯ℐ12 and pitch
classes is systematic in another way. This
action is doubly transitive, which means that
for every pair of pitch classes x and y in pc
there are exactly two transformations f in
𝒯ℐ12 such that f(x) =​ y. If x and y are the
pitch classes 1 (C♯) and 5 (F), what are the
two functions? What if x and y are B and F?
(b) Let S denote the collection of all six
pc sets of prime form 0268 (French
augmented-​sixth chords). Is the action
of 𝒯12 on S doubly transitive?
(c) The definition of simple and double
transitivity can be extended in an obvious
way to n-​tuple transitivity for any positive
integer n. Give an example of a set S of
pitch-​class sets on which the action of 𝒯12
is triply transitive.
(d) What can you say about the transitivity
of the action of 𝒯ℐ12 on the collection of
  French augmented-​sixth chords?
Exercise 5.6.6 Re-​examine the construction of
a transposition group 𝒯S =​{Transi | i ∈ G} from
an interval space (S, G, int) in the first part of
this section, and explain why the action of 𝒯S
on  S must always be simply transitive.48
The functional equivalence between inter-
val spaces and simply transitive group actions
is summarized in the following theorem,
called Lewin’s theorem because of its centrality
in GMIT.
Theorem 5.6.7: Lewin’s theorem
(a) Suppose (S, G, int) is an interval space. For
every i in G, define Transi: S → S so that for
every x in S, Transi(x) is the unique y in S
such that int(x, y) =​ i. Then 𝒯S =​{Transi |
i ∈ G} is a transformation group acting on
S, 𝒯S is isomorphic to G, and the action of
𝒯S on S is simply transitive.
(b) Suppose G is a transformation group acting
in simply transitive fashion on a space S.
Define a function int: S × S → G so that
for all x and y in S, int(x, y) is the unique
function f in G such that f(x) =​ y. Then
  (S, G, int) is an interval space.
The above discussion traces a complete proof
of Lewin’s theorem except for the isomorphism
in part (a), which will be proved in Section 6.3
after we have formalized the concept of isomor-
phism of groups.
Exercise 5.6.8 This rather abstract exercise
shows that the two processes described
in Lewin’s theorem—​the conversion from
intervals to transformations and vice versa—​
are inversely related: if you convert from
intervals to transformations and back, or from
transformations to intervals and back, you
get essentially the same structure you started
with. This shows that no information is lost
in the conversion: we can always recover an
interval structure from a transformational
structure or vice versa.
(a) Suppose (S, G, int) is an interval space.
Define the generalized transposition
operators Transi: S → S and the
transformation group 𝒯S as in part (a)
of Lewin’s theorem. Then, using this
transformation group 𝒯S in the role of G
in part (b) of the theorem, define a new
interval function intʹ: S × S → 𝒯S, forming
a new interval space (S, 𝒯S, intʹ ) as part
(b) describes. (This new interval function
was called int in Theorem 5.6.7b, but in
the present situation it is not the same as
the original function int, so we call it intʹ
instead.) The two functions int and intʹ are
both interval functions on S, one taking
values in G, the other in 𝒯S. Show that, for
all x and y in S, if int(x, y) =​ i, then intʹ(x, y)
=​ Transi. This shows that although the two
interval functions are technically different,
they always map to corresponding elements
of the two interval groups. (In a way to be
made precise in Chapter 7, not only are
the groups G and 𝒯S isomorphic, but the
interval spaces (S, G, int) and (S, 𝒯S, intʹ )
are also isomorphic.)
(b) Suppose G is a transformation group acting
in simply transitive fashion on a space S.
Define int: S × S → G as in part (b) of Lewin’s
theorem, and then consider the interval space
(S, G, int) from the perspective of part (a)
of the theorem. For every f in G (originally
a transformation, now reinterpreted as an
interval), define a generalized transposition
operator Transf : S → S as described in part
(a). Show that the function Transf is identical
to f; that is, Transf(x) =​ f(x) for every x in S.
All the transformations in the original group
G are therefore recoverable from the interval
  structure.49
If some readers remain uncomfortable with
the idea of a function f as an “interval” in part
200 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
(b) of Lewin’s theorem, part (b) of Exercise
5.6.8 may offer some solace, allowing us to
substitute transpositions for intervals. We can
use the “interval” f to define a transposition
operator Transf ; this Transf is a now a function
rather than an interval, and in fact it is identi-
cal to f—​so an alternative formulation of part
(b) of Lewin’s theorem asserts that given a
group acting on a set in simply transitive fash-
ion, one can define an interval space whose
transpositions are precisely the functions in
the given group.
—​—​—​
In a celebrated passage in Chapter 7 of GMIT,
Lewin expands on the conceptual distinction
between intervallic and transformational think-
ing at some length. When we work with inter-
vals, he writes,
[W]‌e are very much under the influence of
Cartesian thinking… . We tend to conceive
the primary objects in our musical spaces
as atomic individual “elements” rather
than contextually articulated phenomena
like sets, melodic series, and the like. And
we tend to imagine ourselves in the posi-
tion of observers when we theorize about
musical space; the space is “out there,”
away from our dancing bodies or singing
voices. “The interval from s to t” is thereby
conceived as modeling a relation of exten-
sion, observed in that space external to
ourselves; we “see” it out there just as we
see distances between holes in a flute, or
points along a stretched string. …
In contrast, the transformational attitude
is much less Cartesian. Given locations s
and t in our space, this attitude does not
ask for some observed measure of exten-
sion between reified “points”; rather it
asks: “If I am at s and wish to get to t, what
characteristic gesture … should I perform
in order to arrive there?” … “If I want to
change Gestalt 1 into Gestalt 2 (as regards
content, location, or anything else), what
sorts of admissible transformations in my
space … will do the best job?” … This atti-
tude is by and large the attitude of some-
one inside the music, as idealized dancer
and/​or singer. No external observer (ana-
lyst, listener) is needed. (Lewin [1987]
2007, 158–​59)
 Many scholars who have written about musi- synthesizing the two approaches: only a page
cal transformation theory have seized on this later, he drives the point home, writing that “we
passage, underscoring the dichotomy between do not have to choose either interval-​language or
the “static,” “Cartesian,” “external” intervallic transposition-​language; the generalizing power
conception and the “dynamic,” “active,” “inter- of transformational theory enables us to con-
nal” transformational approach. The “transfor- sider them as two aspects of one phenomenon”
mational attitude” and associated “characteristic (Lewin [1987] 2007, 160). True to his word, he
gestures” are sometimes cited to bolster the idea regularly juxtaposes transformational and inter-
that transformation theory is a fundamentally vallic terminology throughout the remainder of
new approach to music theory with its own dis- the book.50
tinctive outlook.
While the distinction is certainly worth mak-
ing, I believe that it has sometimes been exag-
NOTES
gerated. Lewin’s theorem, as described above, 1. For a detailed history of group theory, see
shows an explicit equivalence between intervals Wussing 1984 or van der Waerden 1985. Another
and transformations: for any interval space one notable precursor of group theory, one with some
can define a simply transitive transformation musical interest, is found in the English tradition
group that captures all the information inher- of change ringing, the ringing of church bells in sys-
ent in the interval structure; conversely, given tematic permutations. It has even been suggested
a group with simply transitive action on a set, (White 1996) that Fabian Stedman (1640–​1713), the
one can define an interval space whose transpo- author of two publications on change ringing, perhaps
sitions are precisely the elements of the given deserves to be called the first group theorist.
group. In the paragraph of GMIT immediately 2. Babbitt’s dissertation on the twelve-​tone sys-
following the passage quoted above in which he tem (Babbitt 1992) was completed in 1946, though
contrasts the intervallic and transformational his degree was not awarded until 46 years later.
approaches, Lewin proceeds to reunify them: Group structure is noted in Babbitt’s seminal 1960
article “Twelve-​Tone Invariants as Compositional
Either [intervals or transformations] can Determinants” and in several of his other publica-
be generated formally from the charac- tions. Among other musical applications of group the-
teristic properties of the other. More sig- ory prior to or contemporaneous with Lewin’s GMIT,
nificant than this dichotomy, I believe, is attention may be called to Gamer 1967, Budden 1972
the generalizing power of the transforma- (a group theory text with a chapter on groups in
tional attitude: It enables us to subsume music), Starr 1978, several references in Rahn 1980,
the theory of [intervals] … into a broader Balzano 1980, and Morris 1987.
theory of transformations. This enables 3. The centrality of the axiomatic method moti-
us to consider intervals-​ between-​things vated Bertrand Russell’s tongue-​in-​cheek character-
and transpositional-​relations-​between-​ ization of mathematics: “Pure mathematics consists
Gestalts not as alternatives, but as the entirely of asseverations to the effect that, if such
same phenomenon manifested in different and such a proposition is true of anything, then such
ways. (Lewin [1987] 2007, 159) and such another proposition is true of that thing. It
is essential not to discuss whether the first thing is
It is only through an understanding of group really true, and not to mention what the anything is,
theory that we can grasp how this intervallic-​ of which it is supposed to be true. … Thus mathemat-
transformational rapprochement works. In the ics may be defined as the subject in which we never
case of simply transitive actions of transforma- know what we are talking about, nor whether what we
tion groups, Lewin’s theorem shows that the are saying is true” (Russell 1901, 83–​84). In the case of
equivalence is quite exact. Considered more group theory, in which not only objects but also opera-
broadly, transformation theory “subsumes” tions are defined axiomatically, Russell might have
interval theory, rather than the other way added that “we do not know what we are doing.”
around, because, as we have seen, some trans- 4. The transposability of interval configurations
formation groups are not simply transitive and and the interval-​preserving property of transpositions
therefore do not correspond to interval struc- always hold in pitch space, and in fact in all commuta-
tures; in such cases transformation theory may tive interval spaces (as defined later in this chapter).
be capable of making statements that have no We will see in Chapter 7 that these properties do not
intervallic equivalents. But Lewin persists in necessarily hold in noncommutative interval spaces.

Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 201

 5. For the Z relation, see Straus 2016, 112–​15.
The use of the letter Z in this context, coined by Allen
Forte, is of course unrelated to the traditional use of ℤ
to denote the integers. The Z relation is one instance
of a general and rather difficult mathematical problem
known as homometric sets; homometric structures are
of some importance in crystallography. Homometric
sets not related by transposition or inversion can be
constructed not only in pitch-​class space but also in
pitch space: the reader may verify that the pitch sets
{0, 1, 2, 6, 8, 11} and {0, 1, 6, 7, 9, 11} have the same
pitch interval content.
6. The similarity of the words transformation and
transposition occasionally leads to confusion. The let-
ter T in Tn stands for transposition, but every trans-
position operator is a transformation, so Tn is both
a transposition and a transformation. We shall not
use the letter T for any transformations other than
transpositions.
7. The use of the letter e for the identity element
of an abstract group, widespread since the nineteenth
century, apparently derives from the German Einheit.
The notation id. is also sometimes encountered.
Identity elements in particular groups may have other
names, such as 0, 1, or T0. In this book we use capital
E for the identity function, the identity element in a
group whose elements are functions.
8. The identity and inverse axioms include the
statements x ⊗ e =​ e ⊗ x and x ⊗ xʹ =​ xʹ ⊗ x, implying
that certain pairs of elements must commute (every
element commutes with the identity and with its own
inverse), but these special cases do not imply commu-
tativity of the entire group.
9. We use the term commutative group here, but
mathematicians often refer to commutative groups
as abelian groups, after Niels Henrik Abel (1802–​29),
a Norwegian mathematician who, like Galois, man-
aged to produce during his short lifetime a remark-
able quantity of important work. Although Abel did
not use the language of modern group theory, his
investigations into the solvability of algebraic equa-
tions depend in a crucial way on the commutativity of
underlying group structures.
10. Hint for Exercise 5.2.2a: Remember that the
interval group of a musical space consists of the inter-
vals between the notes of the space, not of numbers
assigned to the notes themselves.
11. Hint for Exercise 5.2.3b: The numbers 1 2 , 1 4 , and
3 belong to this group, but 1 , 1 , and 1 do not.
4 3 5 6 ing the inverses of some elements of ℤ12× and ℤ7×.
12. Omitting 0 may seem to leave a hole in the
real number line, in apparent violation of the homo-
geneity principle mentioned above as a general char-
acteristic of groups. Homogeneity—​ for which we
did not give a precise definition—​must, however, be
understood in the context of the group operation.
202 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
In the context of addition, homogeneity means that
differences between group elements are uniform
throughout the group; in the context of multiplica-
tion it means that ratios between group elements
are uniform throughout the group. In the latter
interpretation, there is a sense in which 0 is very
much unlike every other real number, and therefore
a sense in which the real numbers become homoge-
neous only when 0 is excluded. The sort of symmetry
required of a multiplicative group also differs from
that of an additive group: it is multiplicative symme-
try about the number 1, in which every number is
balanced by its reciprocal (rather than additive sym-
metry about 0, in which every number is balanced by
its negative).
13. The trivial group {1} and the order-​2 group
{1, −1} are the only finite subgroups of the multipli-
cative group (ℝ≠0, ∙). Readers who have studied com-
plex numbers, however, may verify that {1, −1, i, −i}
is a group of order 4 (where i is the imaginary square
root of −1), and may be able to construct other finite
multiplicative groups of complex numbers. Peck 2010
describes some (rather difficult) musical applications
of these complex groups.
14. Hint for Exercise 5.2.6b: Do not overlook the
obvious. What is (4 − 3) − 2, and what is 4 − (3 − 2)?
15. The numbers 1, 5, 7, and 11 play an assort-
ment of special roles in ℤ12. Though we have
defined units here in terms of their multiplicative
behavior, the units mod n are also precisely the ele-
ments that generate ℤn as an additive group. See
Exercise 5.3.7c.
16. We introduced the word involution in Section
2.3 for a function that is its own inverse; here it denotes
a group element that is its own inverse. The two usages
are closely analogous and often overlap, because func-
tions often form groups.
17. Hints for Exercise 5.3.2: These groups are com-
mutative, so in manipulating these equations we can
add or multiply on either the left or the right with the
same effect. A musical interpretation for (a) might
be “What pitch-​space interval x, combined with an
ascending double-​octave (+​24 semitones), produces
an ascending perfect fourth (5 semitones)?” In parts
(f) and (g), the groups are small, so it is not hard to
find the x that solves each equation by trial and error.
You should also be able to determine x using the rea-
soning given above, although this will require know-
A musical interpretation for (f) might be “If you wish
to start on C, transpose by a certain interval seven
times in succession, and end on B, what interval
should you choose?” The fact that the numbers 7 and
11 belong to the multiplicative group ℤ12× ensures
that this equation has a solution; if 7 is replaced with
4, for example, the resulting equation has no solution
in the integers mod 12.
18. Hint for Exercise 5.3.4: If a ⊗ a =​ a is true, then
x =​ a is a solution to the equation a ⊗ x =​ a—​but we
just derived a general way of solving equations of this
type. Note carefully the property proved in this exer-
cise: it states that if a ⊗ a =​ a, then a =​ e. It does not
state that if a ⊗ a =​ e, then a =​ e; we have already noted
the possibility of involutions, non-​identity elements
satisfying a ⊗ a =​ e.
19. Hint for Exercise 5.3.5c: Do not be misled by
the word subgroup. Technically every set is a subset of
itself, and every group is a subgroup of itself.
20. Hint for Exercise 5.3.6: In every case the answer
is the same as it would be in ordinary multiplicative
algebra. The proofs require nothing more than careful
attention to the definitions of the notations involved.
The notation (a−2)−1, for example, means the inverse
of a−2, and a−2 means a−1 ⊗ a−1, so in order to show
that (a−2)−1 =​ a2, you must show that a−1 ⊗ a−1 ⊗ a2 =​
e (of course we also know that a−1 ⊗ a =​ e).
21. Expressions such as an +​ 2 and a2 technically rep-
resent different products: a product of n +​ 2 a’s in the
first case and only two a’s in the second. The equation
an +​ 2 =​ a2 says that these two different expressions rep-
resent the same element of the group.
22. Hint for Exercise 5.3.7e: Make sure you under-
stand the difference between the questions in (d) and
those in (e). The three subgroups in (e) are groups
of order 2, 3, and 6—​but not necessarily in that
sequence!
23. Hint for Exercise 5.3.7f: The answer to the last
question in (f) should be different from the answer
to the corresponding question in (e). The elements of
ℤ12× (the units of ℤ12) are the same four generators of
ℤ12 that you identified in (c). There are three equiva-
lent ways to characterize the units mod n: they are the
mod-​n integers coprime to n, the possible generators
of ℤn as an additive cyclic group, and the mod-​n inte-
gers with multiplicative inverses.
24. Hint for Exercise 5.3.8d: There is such an ele-
ment in one of the multiplicative groups discussed in
Section 5.2.
25. Hint for Exercise 5.3.10e: If you can write the
number 1 in terms of 6, 10, and 15 using nothing but
addition and subtraction, then you can conclude that
these three numbers together generate all of ℤ, even
though the preceding parts of the exercise should tell
you that no two of them in combination are sufficient
to do so.
26. The notion of interval space defined here is
functionally equivalent to Lewin’s generalized interval
system (Lewin [1987] 2007, 26); the reader may imag-
ine that Lewin’s abbreviation GIS stands for either
generalized interval system or general interval space. The
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 203
name interval space is more consistent with the names
typically given to abstract structures by mathemati-
cians, and also with other nomenclature in this book.
Otherwise, the presentation here differs from Lewin’s
primarily in matters of notation; in particular, Lewin
uses multiplicative notation for the interval group,
while I have chosen to use a symbol that suggests
addition.
27. Vector addition is performed in algebraic struc-
tures called vector spaces; see any text in linear algebra
for details. A vector space is, among other things, an
additive group, and some interval groups are vector
spaces, so in some cases an interval-​sum equation can
indeed be considered an example of vector addition.
Not all interval groups are vector spaces, however; the
modular group ℤ12, for example, is not a vector space.
28. Hint for Exercise 5.4.3: What is int(x, y) ⊕
int(y, x)?
29. Interval spaces are equivalent to mathematical
constructions known as principal homogeneous spaces.
30. Because of considerations like these, the notes
playable on any given instrument, such as the 88 keys
of the piano, typically do not form an interval space.
Nevertheless, it is often not difficult to conceive of
a larger interval space containing them, so the play-
able notes may be regarded as an interval configura-
tion. For commentary on the nature of “instrumental
spaces” see De Souza 2017, especially 53–​63.
31. Hint for Exercise 5.4.8a: It may be helpful to
think about the specific example just discussed, where
Gʹ is the subgroup 3ℤ =​{…, −6, −3, 0, 3, 6, …} of ℤ, x0 is
C4, and Sʹ is a diminished-​seventh space. Suppose that
x and y are elements of Sʹ. By the definition of Sʹ, this
means that int(x0, x) and int(x0, y) are elements of Gʹ.
Why does it then follow that int(x, y) ∈ Gʹ ?
32. Hint for Exercise 5.4.8b: Because S is an interval
space, we know that a y satisfying int(x, y) =​ i exists
in S and is unique; we must show that this unique y
belongs to Sʹ, which means we must show that int(x0,
y) ∈ Gʹ. We also know that i ∈ Gʹ, that x ∈ Sʹ, and there-
fore that int(x0, x) ∈ Gʹ.
33. Hint for Exercise 5.4.12b: There are seven semi-
tones in a perfect fifth.
34. Hint for Exercise 5.4.13: The frequency ratios
for the pure major third and minor third are 5 4 and 6 5 ,
respectively. The frequency ratio for an interval of k
equal-​tempered semitones is sk, where s =​21/​12.
35. Algebra texts commonly present a more
abstract definition of the action of a group G on a set
S, in which G is not required to be defined as a set of
functions from S to S. In this approach, an action is
defined as a function α: S × G → S; the notation xg
may be used in place of α(x, g). An action is required
to satisfy x(g1∙g2) =​(xg1)g2 and xe =​ x for all elements x
in S, and g1 and g2 in G; here ∙ is the group operation
in G and e is the identity element. (More specifically,
this is the definition of a right group action; left actions
may be defined similarly, using a notation such as gx.
The notation for a right action is consistent with the
left-​to-​right functional orthography preferred in this
book.) If an action is defined in this abstract way, then
for every g in G we may define a function fg: S → S by
the formula fg(x) =​ xg; it can be shown that the func-
tions fg, for the various elements g in G, define a trans-
formation group on S as we have defined the term,
and that group is isomorphic to G. We are therefore
not sacrificing any generality by adopting an explicitly
transformational definition of group actions.
36. The words inverse and inversion are of course
related, but in the context of musical transforma-
tion groups the distinction between them is impor-
tant. Functions and group elements have inverses; the
mappings In on pitch space and pitch-​class space are
inversions.
37. For a study of the characteristics of even and
odd indices of inversion see Alegant 1999.
38. Some authors use a label such as 𝒯/​ℐ for a
group containing transpositions and inversions. We
avoid the /​notation here because of possible confu-
sion with the similar notation for quotient groups to
be introduced in Section 6.6.
39. Sources differ on the labeling of dihedral
groups: the group called 𝒟n here, of order 2n, is called
𝒟2n by some group theorists. The notation 𝒟n is
consistent with the names we are adopting for other
transformation groups, which are indexed not by the
order of the group but by the cardinality of the space
on which it acts.
40. Hint for Exercise 5.5.10a–​b: Remember that in
𝒯ℐ∞, the subscripts are ordinary integers, not inte-
gers mod 12, so for example T4−1 is T−4, not T8. Your
answers to (a) and (b) should each be a single transfor-
mation of the form Tn or In. The n’s in the answers to
(a) and (b) are different, but they should be congruent
mod 12.
41. See Lewin [1987] 2007. The figure is Figure 0.1
on page xi of the original 1987 edition, page xxix
of the 2007 reprint. Lewin labels the points s and t
rather than x and y, consistent with the notation for
points in musical spaces that he adopts in much of
the book.
42. Lewin ([1987] 2007, 46) and many subsequent
authors have written Ti for transposition in a general
interval space. We will encounter a few situations in
which using a different notation in the general case
will aid clarity.
43. Do not confuse transitivity of group actions
with transitivity of binary relations (discussed in
Section 2.4)—​two entirely different conditions with
the same name.
204 • E x p l o r i n g M u s i c a l S p a ces
44. If for every x and y in S there exists at most one
function f in G such that f(x) =​ y, the action of G on S
is said to be free (also known as semiregular). Therefore
a group action is simply transitive if and only if it is
both transitive and free. These definitions are standard
in group theory. The equivalence of simply transitive
action with interval structure is Lewin’s insight, but see
Vuza 1988 for some related mathematical structures.
45. It is common to speak of “simply transitive
groups,” but technically it is the action of a group on
a particular space that is (or is not) simply transitive.
The action of 𝒯ℐ12 on the space pc is not simply transi-
tive, but shortly we will show an action of 𝒯ℐ12 on a
different space which is simply transitive, demonstrat-
ing that simple transitivity depends not only on the
group but also on the set on which it acts.
46. Hint for Exercise 5.6.3b: You may show that this
action is not simply transitive either by exhibiting two
notes x and y in pc for which there is no function f in G
such that f(x) =​ y, or by exhibiting two notes x and y for
which there are two or more different such functions.
In this case both alternatives are possible.
47. The group 𝒯ℐ12 acts in simply transitive fashion
not only on triad but on some other spaces as well,
such as some spaces of 24 pitch-​class sets or of twelve-​
tone rows, and so can be used to formulate notions of
intervals in those spaces. Moreover, 𝒯ℐ12 is not the
only simply transitive group of transformations acting
on triad, and therefore not the only possible interval
group that allows triad to be construed as an inter-
val space. We will encounter several other examples
of simply transitive groups acting on triad in Part
Two, notably including the Riemann group, or PLR
group, generated by P, L, and R. In the interval space
corresponding to the Riemann group, the “interval”
between the C-​major and A-​minor triads is the relative
transformation R.
48. Hint for Exercise 5.6.5: 𝒯S consists of transposi-
tions Transi. For any elements x and y in S, you must
show that there is exactly one transposition Transi
such that Transi(x) =​ y. What is i?
49. Hints for Exercise 5.6.8: These properties may
appear forbiddingly abstract, but the proofs are short,
requiring nothing more than careful consideration
of the definitions involved. In part (a), if int(x, y) =​ i,
what does that say about Transi, and therefore about
intʹ ? In part (b), if f(x) =​ y, what does that say about
int(x, y), and therefore about Transf ?
50. For a more fully developed argument that the
distinction between the intervallic and transforma-
tional approaches has sometimes been overblown,
see Hook 2007b, 172–​77, which responds in part to
Klumpenhouwer’s (2006) claim that Lewin advocated
replacing intervallic thinking with transformational
thinking.
SUGGESTED READING
Details of the principles of group theory covered
in Chapters 5 and 6 are available in many abstract
algebra texts, such as Dummit and Foote 2004.
Grossman and Magnus 1964 and Carter 2009 pres-
ent visually oriented approaches to group theory
that many readers may find appealing. A classic
work on symmetry is Weyl 1952; more recent
presentations of symmetry include du Sautoy
2008 (which includes an elementary discussion
of symmetry in music) and Conway, Burgiel, and
Goodman-​Strauss 2008 (which develops a new cat-
egorization of, and notation for, symmetry types).
Interval Groups and Transformation Groups • 205
Lewin’s Generalized Musical Intervals and
Transformations (Lewin [1987] 2007), though
idiosyncratic, challenging for many readers, and
by now showing its age, remains an indispensable
resource in transformation theory. For further
commentary on GMIT and the Lewinian enter-
prise more generally, see Satyendra 2004 (“an
informal introduction to some formal concepts”),
Klumpenhouwer 2006 (on the “anti-​Cartesian”
nature of the transformational approach), Rings
2006 and Hook 2007b (reviews of the 2007 repub-
lication), and Attas 2009 (on cognitive aspects of
transformation theory).
 PART TWO
Transformation Theory
Intervals and Transformations, including
Neo-​Riemannian Theory
 6
Groups II
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and
Other Topics in Group Theory
PART TWO further develops the transforma-
tional topics introduced in piecemeal fashion
in Part One. Some of this work reflects the
continuing influence of David Lewin, espe-
cially the advanced study of interval spaces in
Chapter 7 and the sections of Chapter 9
devoted to transformation graphs and net-
works. Chapter 8 examines triadic transforma-
tions, including neo-​Riemannian theory.
Group theory plays essential roles in all of
these areas, sometimes going beyond our intro-
duction to groups in Chapter 5, so the present
chapter continues that study with a number
of additional topics. Among these are the con-
ception of finite transformation groups as per-
mutation groups (Section 6.1); representations
of a group’s structure in tabular form or via a
directed graph known as a Cayley diagram (6.2);
the long-​ promised formalization of isomor-
phism of groups (6.3); the formation of product
and quotient groups (6.4 and 6.6); and the appli-
cation of groups in the study of symmetry (6.5).
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0006
These concepts shed new light on various con-
structions from earlier chapters; it turns out,
for example, that several graphs from Chapters
3 and 4, as well as many spatial transformation
networks, are Cayley diagrams in disguise. The
topics here are standard ones in group theory,
but conceptually some of this material, espe-
cially in Sections 6.5 and 6.6, is more abstract
than that in Chapter 5. Readers who find them-
selves getting bogged down in the formalism
should try to grasp the basic definitions and
examples but may choose to skip over some
details, referring back to this chapter later for
reference.
6.1 PERMUTATION GROUPS
Recall from Section 5.5 the cyclic transposition
group 𝒯12 acting on chromatic pitch-​class space
pc, and consider as an example the transposition
T3. The action of T3 may be conveniently tabu-
lated in a 2-​by-​12 matrix,
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
within its cycle (so that, for instance, T3(0) =​3),
T3 =   , and also that each cycle wraps around from its
 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 0 1 2 
last element to its first (for instance, T3(9) =​0).
where each element in the upper row is mapped
by T3 to the element appearing directly below
it. The matrix representation encourages us to
think of T3 as a permutation of the set ℤ12, a way
of reordering the twelve pitch classes. The initial
ordering shown in the top row of the matrix is
transformed by T3 into a new ordering in the
bottom row. The position initially occupied by pc
0 is occupied after the reordering by pc 3, and
likewise with the other pitch classes. The twelve
pitch classes in the top row of the matrix are
listed here in numerical order, but in principle
they may be listed in any order at all, as long as
the matrix pairs each pc x with T3(x).
Matrix representations for two other trans-
formations on pc (or ℤ12) are
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
I =
 0 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 
and
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
M7 =  .
 0 7 2 9 4 11 6 1 8 3 10 5 
Here I is the familiar inversion operator, and M7
is mod-​12 multiplication by 7, defined by the
equation M7(x) =​7x (mod 12). (Below we will
study some transformation groups containing
this multiplication operator.)
Exercise 6.1.1 Write matrix representations
for the pitch-​class transformations T2, T6, I3,
and
  M5 (multiplication by 5).
Another convenient representation for per-
mutations is the cycle representation. The cycle
representation for T3 is
T3 = (0, 3, 6, 9)(1, 4, 7, 10)(2, 5, 8, 11).
The four-​element groupings are the cycles in this
representation. The cycle notation (0, 3, 6, 9)
may be regarded as a typographic simplifica-
tion of the more explicit notation 0 → 3 → 6 →
9 → 0. That is, we understand that T3 maps each
pitch class to the element immediately following
210 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
The cycles are disjoint—​no element appears in
more than one cycle—​and every element of ℤ12
appears somewhere in one of the cycles.
Cycle representations can provide reveal-
ing information about the structure of permu-
tations. As a permutation, T3 consists of three
four-​element cycles, or 4-​cycles; we say that T3 is
a permutation of cycle type 43. Musically each of
the three 4-​cycles is a diminished seventh chord;
starting from any given note, repeated applica-
tion of T3 will cycle through the notes of one of
these chords but will never lead to a note from a
different chord.
The other two permutations considered above
have rather different cycle structures:
I = (0)(1, 11)(2, 10)(3, 9)(4, 8)(5, 7)(6);
M 7 = (0)(1, 7)(2)(3, 9)(4)(5, 11)(6)(8)(10).
Neither of these operators has any cycles as long
as the 4-​cycles we observed in T3. The cycle struc-
ture of the inversion operator I includes seven
cycles altogether, five 2-​cycles and two 1-​cycles;
the cycle type of this permutation is therefore
1225. The 1-​cycles are the fixed points of this
operator (0 and 6), discussed in Section 5.5. The
multiplication operator M7 has cycle type 1623,
with no fewer than nine cycles, including six
fixed points (every even pc is fixed by M7) and
three 2-​cycles.
The cycles in the cycle representation for
any permutation may be listed in any order,
and within one cycle any element may be
listed first. By convention, we usually choose
the notation so that the first cycle starts with
0 and each subsequent cycle starts with the
smallest element not yet accounted for. Fixed
points may be omitted from a cycle representa-
tion, so we may write I =​(1, 11)(2, 10)(3, 9)
(4, 8)(5, 7) and M7 =​(1, 7)(3, 9)(5, 11), with
the understanding that all elements not shown
in such a representation are fixed. Apart from
rearrangements and omissions of these kinds,
the cycle representation of a permutation is
uniquely determined.
Exercise 6.1.2 Write cycle representations for
T2, T6, I3, and M5. What is the cycle type of each
of these permutations? Which two have the
same
   cycle type?
Exercise 6.1.3
(a) Among the twelve transposition operators
T0, T1, …, T11, how many different cycle
types are there?
(b) Among the twelve inversion operators I0,
I1, …, I11, how many different cycle types
  are there?1
Any permutation on a finite set may be written
in matrix form and also via a cycle representation.
In general, the matrix has two rows and n columns,
where n is the cardinality of the set. A permuta-
tion must be a bijective function (one-​to-​one and
onto), which ensures that every element of the set
appears exactly once in each row of the matrix.
Similar matrices can be constructed for non-​
bijective functions, in which case the bottom row
includes duplications. Such functions are not per-
mutations; the following exercise gives an example.
Exercise 6.1.4
(a) The function M2 (multiplication by 2) is
a well-​defined function on ℤ12, but it is
neither one-​to-​one nor onto. Construct a
matrix representation for M2, and observe
that the bottom row of the matrix is not a
permutation of the elements of ℤ12.
(b) What happens if you try to construct a
  cycle representation for M2?
Either matrices or cycle representations may
be used to facilitate calculations involving per-
mutations. For instance, if p and q are permu-
tations on ℤ12 (or some other finite set), the
composition of functions p ● q is defined, and we
may calculate the action of p ● q by first consult-
ing either the matrix or cycle representation for
p to determine y =​ p(x), then locating y in the
corresponding representation of q to determine
z =​ q(y). As bijective functions, permutations
always have inverses; calculating the inverse of a
permutation amounts to reading its matrix rep-
resentation from the bottom up, or the cycles of
its cycle representation from right to left.
Exercise 6.1.5
(a) Use the matrix representations for T3 and
I as described above to construct a matrix
representation for I ● T3, and also for T3 ● I
(which by Theorem 5.5.6e is the same as I ● T9).
(b) Use the cycle representations for T3 and I
to construct cycle representations for I ● T3
and T3 ● I.
(c) Using either the matrix or cycle
representations for I and M7, construct
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 211
representations of the same type for
I ● M7 and M7 ● I. Do I and M7 commute?
Compare your representations for these
transformations with the results of
Exercise 6.1.1 or 6.1.2. What do you
  notice, and why does it happen?
Exercise 6.1.6 Two permutations p and
q on ℤ12 are defined below. The matrix
representation is given for p, and the cycle
representation for q:
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
p= ;
 3 8 1 6 11 4 9 2 7 0 5 10
q = (0, 5, 6, 11)(1, 10, 7, 4 )(2, 3, 8, 9) .
(a) Write the cycle representation for p and the
matrix representation for q.
(b) Use the matrix representation for p to
derive a matrix representation for p−1.
(c) Use the cycle representation for q to derive
a cycle representation for q−1.
(d) How are p and q related?
(e) Can you find a way to express p and q as
compositions of transformations Tn, In,
  and/​or Mn?2
A single cycle such as c =​(0, 3, 6, 9) may be
regarded as a permutation of ℤ12 in its own
right, the elements not appearing in the cycle
being understood as fixed points. The term cyclic
permutation is widely used, although technically
a cyclic permutation of a set S is a permutation
that collects all the elements of S into a single
cycle—​a permutation of cycle type n1, where n is
the cardinality of S. The cycle c above, though it
may be considered a permutation of ℤ12, is not a
cyclic permutation of ℤ12; c is a cyclic permuta-
tion only of the subset {0, 3, 6, 9}.
Any two permutations acting on ℤ12 may be
composed, so we may consider products such
as p =​(0, 3, 6, 9)(0, 6). This expression writes
p as a composition of two cycles, p =​ c ● cʹ, where
c is the 4-​cycle (0, 3, 6, 9) as before and cʹ is the
2-​cycle (0, 6). Although it is written as a prod-
uct of cycles, (0, 3, 6, 9)(0, 6) is not the standard
cycle representation for p, because the two cycles
appearing here are not disjoint (the elements 0
and 6 appear in both of them). To understand
how this product works, remember that func-
tions are composed from left to right. When p is
applied to the element 0, the 4-​cycle c maps 0 to 3,
which is unaffected by the 2-​cycle cʹ, so p(0) =​3.
When p is applied to 3, c maps 3 to 6 and then
cʹ maps 6 to 0, so p(3) =​0. By similar reasoning,
p(6) =​9 and p(9) =​6. The standard cycle repre-
sentation for p is therefore p =​(0, 3)(6, 9).
Exercise 6.1.7
(a) Verify that the compositions
(0, 3, 6, 9)(0, 6) and (0, 6)(0, 3, 6, 9) are
different, demonstrating that non-​disjoint
cycles do not generally commute.
(b) Verify that the compositions
(0, 3, 6, 9)(1, 4) and (1, 4)(0, 3, 6, 9)
are the same, illustrating the fact that
disjoint cycles do commute.
(c) Verify that the composition of 2-​cycles
(0, 3)(0, 6)(0, 9) is equal to the 4-​cycle
(0, 3, 6, 9).
(d) Verify that the composition of 2-​cycles
(0, 6)(0, 9)(0, 6) is equal to the 2-​cycle (6, 9).
(e) Using the result of either (c) or (d),
conclude that the composition of 2-​cycles
(0, 3)(0, 6)(0, 9)(0, 6) is equal to the
permutation p =​(0, 3, 6, 9)(0, 6) =​
  (0, 3)(6, 9) discussed above.
Multiplying the cycle c =​(0, 3, 6, 9) by itself
repeatedly, we obtain the permutations
c =(0, 3, 6, 9) ,
c 2 = (0, 3, 6, 9)(0, 3, 6, 9) = (0, 6)(3, 9),
c 3 = (0, 3, 6, 9)(0, 3, 6, 9)(0, 3, 6, 9) = (0, 9, 6, 3),
c 4 = (0, 3, 6, 9)(0, 3, 6, 9)(0, 3, 6, 9)(0, 3, 6, 9)
= (0)(3)(6)(9) = e.
As mappings on the set {0, 3, 6, 9}, these per-
mutations c, c2, c3, and c4 are simply the trans-
positions T3, T6, T9, and T0 (the identity), and
together they form a cyclic group of order 4.
Because c4 =​ e, the 4-​cycle c is itself a group ele-
ment of order 4, as defined in Section 5.3. The
connection between the cycle c =​(0, 3, 6, 9) and
the cyclic group 〈c〉 =​{e, c, c2, c3} =​{T0, T3, T6,
T9} generated by c is apparent. We recall from
Chapter 5, though, that any element a of a group
G generates a cyclic subgroup 〈a〉 of G, regardless
of whether a is a cyclic permutation—​or, for that
matter, whether the elements of G are conceived
as permutations at all.
Every permutation may be written as a prod-
uct of cycles, and by means of the technique
illustrated in Exercise 6.1.7c, every cycle may be
212 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
broken down further into a product of 2-​cycles.
(Generally a k-​cycle (x1, x2, …, xk) is equal to a
product of (k − 1) 2-​cycles of the form (x1, x2)
(x1, x3) ⋯ (x1, xk).) Consequently every permu-
tation may be written as a product of 2-​cycles.
The 2-​cycles in such a product are not necessar-
ily disjoint, and Exercise 6.1.7e shows that the
2-​cycle representation of a permutation is not
unique: the same permutation p can be written
as either (0, 3)(0, 6)(0, 9)(0, 6) or (0, 3)(6, 9).
In this case one representation involves four 2-​
cycles and the other involves two. A theorem of
permutation theory states that if a permutation
can be written as a product of an even number
of 2-​cycles, then every 2-​cycle representation
of that permutation has an even number of
2-​cycles, and likewise if one 2-​cycle representa-
tion is odd, then every such representation is
odd. Permutations of these two types are known
as even and odd permutations.3
The function p just considered, with repre-
sentations consisting of two or four 2-​cycles,
is an even permutation. The 4-​cycle (0, 3, 6,
9), according to the 2-​cycle representation in
Exercise 6.1.7c, is an odd permutation. In gen-
eral, a cycle of even length is an odd permutation
and vice versa. When two permutations, each a
product of 2-​cycles, are composed, the num-
ber of 2-​cycles in the product is the sum of the
numbers of 2-​cycles in the two original permu-
tations. It follows that the product of two even
permutations is even (because the sum of two
even numbers is even), the product of two odd
permutations is even, and the product of an even
and an odd permutation, in either order, is odd.
These principles make it a straightforward
matter to determine the parity (evenness or odd-
ness) of any permutation from its cycle struc-
ture. Whenever a permutation is written as a
product of cycles (whether disjoint or not), the
cycles of odd length, being even permutations,
always contribute an even number of 2-​cycles
to any 2-​cycle representation. The parity of the
permutation, therefore, is determined entirely
by the number cycles of even length (including 2-​
cycles themselves). If the total number of cycles
of even length is even, the permutation is even;
if the number of cycles of even length is odd, the
permutation is odd.
Exercise 6.1.8
(a) Using the above principles and the cycle
representations of T3, I, and M7 presented
previously, show that all three of these
transformations are odd permutations.
(b) Among the twelve transposition operators
T0, T1, …, T11, which are even permutations
and which are odd?
(c) Among the twelve inversion operators I0,
I1, …, I11, which are even permutations and
which are odd?
(d) Is M5 an even or odd permutation?
(e) Of the four elements in the cyclic group
generated by the cycle (0, 3, 6, 9), which are
  even permutations, and which are odd?4
Permutations arise in a variety of musical con-
texts. Twelve-​tone rows may be described as per-
mutations of ℤ12; in Chapter 9 we will note that
row transformations may be described as permu-
tations of either pitch-​class numbers or order num-
bers. More generally, the objects permuted by a
permutation need not be numbers at all. The rela-
tive transformation R of neo-​Riemannian theory,
for example, may be regarded as a permutation of
the set triad of 24 major and minor triads, with a
cycle structure comprising twelve 2-​cycles:
R = (C, a)(D♭, b♭)(D, b). . .(B, g♯).
R is thus an even permutation on triads; permuta-
tion parity will inform our study of triadic trans-
formations in Section 8.3. In another application,
to be explored in Example 6.1.13 below, the per-
muted objects may be lines in a contrapuntal
texture. The relation of permutational equivalence,
which holds between tuples such as (E4, C4, D4,
G3) and (G3, D4, E4, C4) that are rearrangements
of the same elements, was introduced in Section
2.4 and will play an important role in our study of
voice-​leading spaces in Part Three.5
If S is a set of cardinality n, every permuta-
tion of the elements of S may be represented as
above by a 2-​by-​n matrix. When the n elements
are arranged in some fixed order in the top row
of this matrix, it becomes clear that the number
of such permutations is just the number of ways
in which the elements may be ordered on the
bottom row. We know from Section 2.2 that this
number is n! (n factorial). We have shown above
how to calculate compositions and inverses of
permutations, and in fact the n! permutations
form a group, under the operation of composi- Exercise 6.1.9
tion of functions. This group is called the sym- (a) The units mod 12 are 1, 5, 7, and 11,
metric group on n objects, denoted 𝒮n. As long as
n ≥ 3, 𝒮n is a noncommutative group.
𝒮n is the largest possible transformation
group on a set S of n elements: every one-​to-​
one, onto mapping f: S → S may be regarded as
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 213
a permutation of the elements of S and there-
fore as an element of 𝒮n, so any other transfor-
mation group on S is always a subgroup of 𝒮n.
In particular, the cyclic group 𝒞n (or 𝒯n) and
dihedral group 𝒟n (or 𝒯ℐn), both introduced in
Chapter 5, are subgroups of 𝒮n. For convenience
in the following discussion, we assume that the
elements of S are labeled 0, 1, 2, …, n − 1 (that is,
we assume that S =​ ℤn), although elements with
other names could be used instead. The cyclic
group 𝒯n consists of the transposition opera-
tors T0, T1, …, Tn−1 on ℤn. As a permutation, T1 is
simply the n-​cycle (0, 1, …, n − 1), and the other
transpositions may be generated by repeated
application of T1. The dihedral group 𝒯ℐn con-
sists of these n transpositions Tk and also the
n inversions Ik, where I =​ I0 is the permutation
(0)(1, n − 1)(2, n − 2)⋯ and Ik =​ I ● Tk. 𝒯n is a
commutative group of order n; 𝒯ℐn is a group of
order 2n, noncommutative for all n ≥ 3.6
A few other subgroups of 𝒮n are worth noting.
The even permutations of S, defined above, form
a subgroup, known as the alternating group 𝒜n.
The order of 𝒜n is n! ∕ 2, because as it turns out,
for every n ≥ 2, exactly half of the permutations
in 𝒮n are even. (More is true: every permutation
group G always consists either of even permuta-
tions exclusively—​if G is a subgroup of 𝒜n—​or of
even and odd permutations in equal numbers.)
Multiplication operators such as M5 and M7
do not generally belong to 𝒞n or 𝒟n, and Exercise
6.1.4 showed that for some a, the function Ma fails
to be one-​to-​one and onto, and therefore cannot
be an element of any group. In Section 5.2, how-
ever, we introduced ℤn×, the group of units mod
n, a multiplicative group of order φ(n) consisting
of those mod-​n integers a that are coprime to n.
The functions Ma where a ∈ ℤn× likewise form a
commutative group of order φ(n), a subgroup of
𝒮n known as ℳn, the multiplication group on ℤn.
Larger groups may be constructed by combining
multiplication and transposition operators. In
particular, the affine group 𝒜𝑓𝑓n is generated by
all transpositions Tk on ℤn and all multiplication
operators Ma with a coprime to n. This group will
be considered further in Section 6.2.
so ℳ12 is the group {M1, M5, M7, M11}.
By what other name(s) do we know the
multiplication operator M1? By what other
name do we know M11?
(b) Start with the discrete pitch-​class space pc
of Figure 1.2.3, and replace every pitch class
x with M7(x). What is the resulting picture?
If you apply M7 again to the resulting
picture, what is the result and why? What
if you use M5 or M11 instead of M7? Can you
see why M5 and M7 are sometimes called
“circle-​of-​fifths transformations”?
(c) The permutations T1 and M7 do not
commute, but T1 ● M7 is the same as
M7 ● Tk for some k. What is k?
(d) Let G be any permutation group on ℤ12
containing M5, M7, and T1. Explain why
G must contain all the transposition
and inversion operators as well as all the
  multiplication operators in ℳ12.7
The common groups described above are sum-
marized in Table 6.1.10. The groups are listed in
order from smallest to largest (with some excep-
tions to this ordering for small values of n). As n,
the number of permuted objects, grows large, n!
quickly becomes enormous, and therefore 𝒮n and
𝒜n become much larger than all the other groups
listed. For example, the order of the group 𝒮n is
12! =​479,001,600. Most of these nearly half-​bil-
lion permutations are of little apparent musical
relevance as transformations, although any of
them could arise in the form of a twelve-​tone
row. In any case, it is useful to remember that
even 𝒯12 (or 𝒞12) and 𝒯ℐ12 (or 𝒟12), the groups
most familiar in musical contexts, are part of a
larger and deeper permutational structure. The
subset relations 𝒞n ⊆ 𝒟n ⊆ 𝒜𝑓𝑓n ⊆ 𝒮n generally
hold. All of the listed groups smaller than 𝒜n
may contain odd permutations, so those groups
are not generally subgroups of 𝒜n (although they
may be for some values of n; see Exercise 6.1.12g
below), and ℳn is not generally a subgroup of
𝒞n or 𝒟n.
In Chapter 5 we reviewed some familiar prop-
erties of transpositions Tk and inversions Ik on
ℤ12, which can now be supplemented through
our understanding of these transformations as
permutations. Some properties of the transfor-
mations on ℤ12 carry over to the more general
case of ℤn. If the elements of ℤn are arranged
around a circle like the usual pitch-​class clock,
then replacing every number x with Tk(x) is
equivalent to rotating the circle through k posi-
tions, and replacing every x with Ik(x) is equiv-
alent to reflecting the circle through an axis
passing through k ∕ 2, just as in ℤ12. Other char-
acteristics of these transformations Tk and Ik
on ℤn, however, depend in various ways on the
number n, or on the relationship between k and
n. This is particularly true when it comes to the
cycle structure of Tk and Ik as permutations of
ℤn. The following exercises explore a few of these
sometimes confusing properties.
Exercise 6.1.11
(a) Write the cycle representations of all seven
transposition operators and all seven

Table 6.1.10. Some permutation groups acting on ℤn (n ≥ 3)

NA M E OR DE R DE S C R IP T ION COMMU TAT I V E?

ℳn Multiplication φ(n) All invertible multiplication yes

group operators: Ma(x) =​ ax (mod n),
a ∈ ℤn×
𝒞n (𝒯n) Cyclic group n All transpositions: yes
Tk(x) =​ x +​ k (mod n)
𝒟n (𝒯ℐn) Dihedral group 2n All transpositions and no
inversions:
Tk(x) =​ x +​ k, Ik(x) =​ k − x
(mod n)
𝒜𝑓𝑓n Affine group n ∙ φ(n) All affine transformations: no
f(x) =​ ax +​ b (mod n), a ∈ ℤn×,
b ∈ ℤn
𝒜n Alternating group n!/​2 All even permutations of ℤn no
𝒮n Symmetric group n! All permutations of ℤn no

214 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces

 inversion operators acting on ℤ7 (which
may be identified with generic pitch-​
class space gpc). Which of these are even
permutations, and which are odd?
(b) Do the same for all the transposition and
inversion operators on ℤ9.
(c)  Do the same for ℤ10.
Exercise 6.1.12 Answer the following
questions based on your knowledge of
transpositions and inversions on ℤ7, ℤ9, ℤ10,
and ℤ12 from the above discussion and the
preceding exercise. In parts (b) and (f), fill in
each blank with the word even or odd to make
the statements true.
(a) Consider the transposition operator Tk on
ℤn. Let d be the greatest common divisor of
k and n, and let j =​ n ∕ d. In terms of d and j,
what is the cycle type of Tk?
(b) If n is even, then Tk is an _​_​_​_​_​
permutation of ℤn if k is even, and an _​_​_​_​_​
permutation if k is odd. If n is odd, then
every Tk is an _​_​_​_​_​ permutation of ℤn.8
(c) Now consider the inversion operator Ik on
ℤn. Suppose n is an even number, say n =​2r.
If k is also even, what is the cycle type of Ik?
(d) If n =​2r and k is odd, what is the cycle
type of Ik?
(e) If n is an odd number, say n =​2s +​1, what is
the cycle type of Ik?
(f) If n =​0 (mod 4), then Ik is an _​_​_​_​_​
permutation of ℤn if k is even, and an _​_​_​_​_​
permutation if k is odd. If n =​1 (mod 4),
then every Ik is an _​_​_​_​_​ permutation. If
n =​2 (mod 4), then Ik is an _​_​_​_​_​
permutation if k is even, and an _​__​ ​_​_​
permutation if k is odd. Finally, if n =​3
(mod 4), then every Ik is an _​_​_​_​_​
permutation.9
(g) As noted above, every permutation group
always consists either of even permutations
exclusively or of even and odd permutations
in equal numbers. For which values of n
does the cyclic group 𝒞n consist entirely of
even permutations? For which values of n
does the dihedral group 𝒟n consist entirely
  of even permutations?
Example 6.1.13: Bach, Fugue in B♭ Major
(WTC I)
Triple counterpoint provides a straightforward
musical motivation for studying permutations
on a three-​element set.10 If the three subjects in
a contrapuntal texture are A, B, and C, let
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 215
A/​B/​C (“A over B over C”) denote their
appearance in that registral ordering, from
highest voice to lowest. We will refer to such an
arrangement as a contrapuntal configuration, or
a configuration for short. In the B♭-​Major Fugue
from Book I of the Well-​Tempered Clavier, if A
denotes the subject, B the first countersubject,
and C the second countersubject, the first
complete configuration is C/​B/​A at m. 9, but
the same materials appear in a variety of other
registral orderings later in the piece.
The symmetric group 𝒮3 comprises the
six (=​3!) possible permutations of the three-​
element set S =​{A, B, C}: the identity E =​
(A)(B)(C), two 3-​cycles (A, B, C) and (A, C, B),
and three 2-​cycles (A, B), (A, C), and (B, C). Note
carefully the notational distinctions among
{A, B, C}, which is the set S; (A, B, C), which
is a permutation (a function p: S → S); and
A/​B/​C, which is a contrapuntal configuration
(a musical deployment of the elements of S). If
A, B, and C are replaced with the elements 0, 1,
and 2 of ℤ3, then E and the two 3-​cycles are the
transposition operators T0, T1, and T2, while the
three 2-​cycles are the inversion operators I0, I1,
and I2. (The reader may construct or imagine
a three-​note clock diagram—​an equilateral
triangle with vertices labeled A, B, and C—​
and visualize the 3-​cycles as rotations and
the 2-​cycles as reflections.) The two 3-​cycles
are inverses of each other in the group
((A, B, C)−1 =​(A, C, B)), and every 2-​c ycle is an
involution ((A, B)−1 =​(A, B)). The identity and
the two 3-​cycles are even permutations, while
the three 2-​cycles are odd permutations. In the
particular case n =​3, the group 𝒮3 is the same
as 𝒟3 (a group of order 6), and 𝒜3 the same as
𝒞3 (a group of order 3); these relationships do
not hold for any larger values of n.
After the initial configuration C/​B/​A at m. 9,
the three subjects subsequently appear in
the configurations A/​C/​B (m. 13), B/​A/​C
(m. 22), C/​B/​A again (m. 26), B/​A/​C again
(m. 35), A/​B/​C (m. 37), and a final appearance
of B/​A/​C (m. 41). The transformation network
of Figure 6.1.14a charts this progression of
counterpoints, linking successive configurations
with the permutations in 𝒮3 that relate them.
Crucial to the construction of this network is
the fact that the group of six permutations acts
on the space of six configurations in simply
transitive fashion, as defined in Section 5.6: for
any two configurations x and y, there is always
exactly one permutation p in 𝒮3 such that p(x) =​
y, so there can never be any doubt about which
permutation is being applied.11 From C/​B/​A to
A/​C/​B, the permutation is the 3-​cycle (A, B, C);
that is, A is replaced in the texture by B, B by C,
and C by A. This same cyclic permutation then
recurs twice more in succession, yielding a third
configuration B/​A/​C before returning to the
original C/​B/​A . The musical effect of this cycle
is that each of the three subjects moves one
position lower in the texture at each iteration,
rotating back to the top after reaching the
bottom.
To this point the transformations have
been completely systematic, but rather than
cycling repeatedly through these same three
configurations, Bach now begins to vary his
procedure. The first permutation other than (A,
B, C) to appear is (A, C, B), the other available
3-​cycle. (A, C, B) is the inverse of (A, B, C),
however, so even though the transformation
is new, it does not lead to a new configuration,
but instead back to the configuration B/​A/​C
heard just before. To escape this set of three
configurations Bach next introduces a new
permutation in the form of the 2-​cycle (A, B).
This 2-​cycle, the first odd permutation to be
employed, interchanges A and B in the top two
FIGURE 6.1.14 Two transformation networks showing permutations of triple counterpoint in Bach,
Fugue in B♭ Major (WTC I): (a) an event network; (b) a spatial network
216 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
voices while leaving C in the bass, producing the
new configuration A/​B/​C. The same 2-​cycle is
then repeated, yielding B/​A/​C once more, the
final appearance of this triple counterpoint in
the fugue. The recurrences of the configurations
C/​B/​A and B/​A/​C are shown in Figure 6.1.14a
by the identity E, the dashed arrows signaling
indirect transformations in the manner of
Figure 3.5.3a and other previous examples.
In terminology from Section 3.5, Figure
6.1.14a is an event network that displays
the various contrapuntal configurations in the
order in which they are heard. This network
may be contrasted with the spatial network
of part (b) of the figure, which exhibits a
space of the six possible configurations and
shows how the fugue traces a route through
four of them. The large triangle shows the
three cyclically related configurations C/​B/​A ,
A/​C/​B, and B/​A/​C, the first three configurations
presented. These are related among themselves
by the permutations (A, B, C), a clockwise
move around the triangle, and (A, C, B), the
corresponding counterclockwise move. These 3-​
cycles, together with the identity permutation
E, constitute the cyclic group 𝒞3 generated by
(A, B, C); application of any element of that
group to any configuration in the outer triangle
will never lead out of that triangle. In a sense
to be defined precisely in Section 6.5, these
three configurations constitute one orbit of the
group 𝒞3. The other three configurations are
arranged in an inner triangle, each positioned
near the configuration in the outer triangle to
which it is related by the 2-​cycle (A, B). These
inner configurations constitute another orbit
of 𝒞3, but Bach does not exploit this property.
The only evidence of this inner orbit in the
fugue is the single appearance of A/​B/​C near the
end, which both arises from and immediately
returns to B/​A/​C via the (A, B) exchange.
Exercise 6.1.15 Write a comparative discussion
of the two networks of Figure 6.1.14, using
as a model the comparison of event networks
and spatial networks for Webern’s “Herr Jesus
mein”
   from Example 3.5.14.
Exercise 6.1.16 Study the triple counterpoint
in the following two works by Bach, producing
for each an event network and a spatial network
similar to those in Figure 6.1.14:
(a) Fugue in C Minor from WTC I12
(b) Three-​Part Sinfonia in F Minor,
  BWV 79513
Exercise 6.1.17 Use permutations to study the
registral ordering of the chords played by the flute,
clarinet, and violin in mm. 1–​9 of “Eine blasse
Wäscherin” from Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire.
For example, the two chords in m. 1 illustrate
configurations that might be notated C/​V/​F
(“clarinet
   over violin over flute”) and F/​V/​C.14
FIGURE 6.2.1 Two group tables
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 217
6.2 GROUP TABLES AND
CAYLEY DIAGRAMS
In this section we present two convenient ways
to describe the behavior of finite groups, one
involving a table, the other involving a directed
graph. A group table generalizes the grade-​school
multiplication table, showing how all possible
pairs of elements combine under the group
operation. Two group tables are shown in Figure
6.2.1: part (a) shows the table for the modu-
lar group (ℤ4, +​), while (b) shows the table for
the permutation group (𝒮3, ●) (or equivalently
(𝒟3, ●)), acting on the three-​element set {A, B, C},
as discussed above in Example 6.1.13.
The group operation in ℤ4 is mod-​4 addi-
tion, while that in 𝒮3 is composition of func-
tions, so these tables might more accurately be
called an “addition table” and a “composition
table,” respectively—​but as noted in Chapter
5 it is common to use multiplicative terminol-
ogy in discussing general groups. In general, the
“product” xy (or x ⊗ y, whatever the operation ⊗
may be) of group elements x and y appears in the
group table at the intersection of the row labeled
x and the column labeled y, so the circled cells in
the two tables show that 2 +​3 =​1 in ℤ4 and that
the equation (B, C)(A, C, B) =​(A, C) is true of
permutations in 𝒮3. Because ℤ4 is a commutative
group, 2 +​3 is the same as 3 +​2; this commuta-
tivity is visible in the fact that the table for ℤ4 is
symmetrical about a diagonal line. The group 𝒮3
is not commutative, so its table lacks this sym-
metry, and indeed confirms that (B, C)(A, C, B) is
different from (A, C, B)(B, C).
From Figure 6.2.1a, the reader can probably
imagine the appearance of the group table for a
general modular group ℤn with little difficulty.
The way in which the table in (b) generalizes
to larger permutation groups, however, is less
apparent. Even the order in which the permuta-
tions should be listed in the table is not obvious;
in principle, a group table may be constructed
using any order at all. It is conventional to list
the identity element first, however, and the
order chosen in (b), in which the two 3-​cycles
follow immediately after the identity, has the
further advantage that the three elements of
the subgroup 𝒞3 (or equivalently 𝒜3) appear
first, so that the group table for 𝒞3 appears as
the upper-​left quadrant of the larger table.
Exercise 6.2.2 Verify that the entries in all the
cells of the group table for 𝒮3 in Figure 6.2.1b
are  correct.
Exercise 6.2.3 Construct group tables for the
following small finite groups:
(a) The modular group ℤ6
(b) The dihedral group 𝒯ℐ4 =​{T0, T1, T2, T3, I0,
I1, I2, I3} acting on the set ℤ4 (construct this
table so that the upper-​left quadrant is the
table for 𝒯4)15
(c) The multiplicative group {1, −1}
(d)  The mod-​12 units group ℤ12× =​{1, 5, 7, 11}
In constructing a few group tables as in the
above exercise, one becomes aware of charac-
teristic patterns, one of which deserves special
mention. In the table for a group G, the row
labeled with an element a (“row a” for short)
contains all the products ax as x varies through
the elements of G. Recall from Section 5.3 that
if b is any other element of G, the equation ax
=​ b always holds for exactly one x in G. It fol-
lows that the element b appears exactly once in
row a. This property holds for any a and b in any
finite group at all, and it is true for columns as
well (every b occurs exactly once in column a, as
can be seen by considering the equation xa =​ b).
That is, every element of the group appears exactly
once in every row and column of the group table.
Each row and column is therefore a permuta-
tion of the elements of the group. This prop-
erty—​which we call the row/​column permutation
property for group tables—​is familiar to those
who have worked with twelve-​tone matrices or
Sudoku puzzles, and as in both of those settings,
can serve as a quick check on the accuracy of a
group table: if an element appears twice in a row
or column, or not at all, something is wrong with
the table.16
218 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
Exercise 6.2.4 Verify that the row/​column
permutation property holds for all of the group
tables
   in Figure 6.2.1 and Exercise 6.2.3.
The directed graph associated with a group,
known as the Cayley diagram for the group, is a
way of depicting group structure visually. We will
see that in some cases, the Cayley diagram for a
group may closely resemble a diagram that we
have already constructed for a space on which the
same group acts. In a connection that has per-
haps been underappreciated in transformation
theory, Cayley diagrams are also closely related to
transformation networks; in fact they are trans-
formation networks of a particular kind.17
Cayley diagrams corresponding to the tables
in Figure 6.2.1 are shown in Figure 6.2.5a–​b. The
reader can probably see an intuitive connection
between the graph in 6.2.5a and the cyclic group
ℤ4, but it is important to understand exactly
how the diagram is constructed. The graph has
vertices labeled 0, 1, 2, and 3, one vertex for each
element of the group. The graph also includes
four arrows, which, as the legend below the
graph indicates, are associated with the element
1. An arrow x → y appears in the graph whenever
the equation x +​1 =​y holds in the group; hence
the four arrows are 0 → 1, 1 → 2, 2 → 3, and 3 →
0. In effect, the group element 1 is acting as a
transformation, namely the mod-​4 transposition
T1(x) =​ x +​1, and the graph shows the action of
that transformation. For every x there is exactly
one y such that x +​1 =​y, so every vertex in the
graph has out-​degree 1 (exactly one arrow point-
ing out from it); likewise for every y there is
exactly one x satisfying this equation, so every
vertex also has in-​degree 1.
Because of the special role played by the ele-
ment 1 in its construction, this graph may more
precisely be called “the Cayley diagram for ℤ4 on
the generator 1.” In principle we could include
additional arrows associated with adding 2 or 3
to each element of the group, but these are not
necessary: the element 1 generates the group
(adding 2 is equivalent to adding 1 twice, and so
on), so the complete behavior of the group oper-
ation can be deduced from the arrows shown in
the figure. Because of this generating property,
the graph is strongly connected as defined in
Section 3.4—​that is, every vertex is accessible
from every other vertex by a directed path.
Exercise 6.2.6
(a) Construct a Cayley diagram for ℤ4 on the
generator 3. This means that an arrow x → y
FIGURE 6.2.5 Three Cayley diagrams: (a) (ℤ4, +​) on the generator 1; (b) (𝒮3, ●) on the generators x =​
(A, B, C) and y =​(A, B); (c) (ℤ, +​) on the generator 1
in the graph corresponds to the equation
x +​3 =​y in ℤ4.
(b) The number 2 by itself does not generate ℤ4,
and therefore cannot be used to construct
a proper Cayley diagram for ℤ4. If you
try to construct such a graph, which of
the properties mentioned above will fail
  to hold?
Figure 6.2.5a is an unusually simple Cayley
diagram, because the group ℤ4 is cyclic. When
a group is not generated by a single element, a
more elaborate diagram is needed, as Figure
6.2.5b illustrates in the case of the permuta-
tion group 𝒮3 acting on the set {A, B, C}. Again
there is one vertex for each of the elements of
the group, now six in number. No single ele-
ment generates 𝒮3, so a single cycle of six arrows
does not suffice to convey the structure of this
group. In such cases the construction of a Cayley
diagram requires choosing a small set of generat-
ing elements for the group. The graph in 6.2.5b
is derived from the fact that the 3-​cycle x =​(A,
B, C) and the 2-​cycle y =​(A, B) together generate
𝒮3; that is, the figure is the Cayley diagram for 𝒮3
on the generators x and y. (If the fact that x and y
generate 𝒮3 is not obvious, we shall see that the
graph itself confirms this property.) Solid arrows
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 219
depict “multiplication” (composition) by the per-
mutation x =​(A, B, C)—​that is, an arrow p → q
appears whenever the permutation equation
p ● (A, B, C) =​q holds. For instance, the equation
(A, B, C)(A, B, C) =​(A, C, B) is represented by
the arrow (A, B, C) → (A, C, B). A second set of
arrows, drawn with dashed lines, represents
multiplication by y =​(A, B); for instance, the
arrow (A, B, C) ⇢ (B, C) represents the equation
(A, B, C)(A, B) =​(B, C). The dashed arrows are
bidirectional because y is an involution. Each ver-
tex now has out-​degree 1 and in-​degree 1 relative
to both sets of arrows in the graph, and therefore
out-​degree 2 and in-​degree 2 for the graph as a
whole. The fact that x and y together generate the
group is confirmed by the fact that the graph as
a whole is strongly connected: if we can get from
any vertex to any other by following some chain
of arrows representing x and y, that means that
every element in the group can be expressed as
some combination of these two. The subgraph
formed by the solid arrows alone, however, is a
disconnected graph, as is the subgraph formed by
the dashed arrows alone (the former graph has
two components, the latter three), because nei-
ther element generates the group by itself.
As before, we could in principle add arrows
showing the results of multiplying by other
group elements, but once again this is unnec-
essary: with practice, any product of group ele-
ments can be deduced quickly from the graph in
Figure 6.2.5b. Consider, for example, the prod-
uct (A, C, B)(A, C). To use the graph to multiply
by (A, C), first look for a directed path from the
identity E to (A, C). One such path consists of
one dashed arrow followed by one solid arrow,
E ⇢ (A, B) → (A, C), which tells us that (A, C)
is equal to the product of the generators repre-
sented by those arrows, yx =​(A, B)(A, B, C). To
multiply any other element by (A, C), simply fol-
low that same dashed-​then-​solid chain of arrows.
From a starting point at (A, C, B), the only possible
dashed-​then-​solid path takes the form (A, C, B) ⇢
(A, C) → (B, C), ending with (B, C), so we may
conclude that (A, C, B)(A, C) =​(B, C), as examina-
tion of the permutations (or consultation of the
table in Figure 6.2.1b) will confirm. The fact that
a dashed-​then-​solid arrow chain leads to a differ-
ent place from a solid-​then-​dashed chain tells us
that the generators x and y do not commute, and
therefore that the group is noncommutative.
The reader may have noted that there is more
than one possible path in the graph from E to
(A, C). Rather than following the just-​described
path E ⇢ (A, B) → (A, C), we could choose
instead to traverse two solid arrows followed by
a dashed arrow: E → (A, B, C) → (A, C, B) ⇢ (A, C).
Alternatively, we could consider traversing a solid
arrow in reverse followed by a dashed arrow,
which might be represented E ← (A, C, B) ⇢
(A, C). Each of these paths describes a way to
express the permutation (A, C) in terms of the
generators x and y. Because a solid arrow rep-
resents x and a dashed arrow represents y, the
three expressions are yx, x2y, and x−1y. (Because
a solid arrow traversed normally indicates multi-
plication by x, a solid arrow traversed backward
indicates multiplication by x−1.) The reader may
verify that when x and y are the permutations
(A, B, C) and (A, B), respectively, the products yx,
x2y, and x−1y are indeed all equal to (A, C). These
observations begin to suggest a way in which
Cayley diagrams may be useful in deducing alge-
braic relations among the generators of a group.
The following exercise explores this idea.
Exercise 6.2.7 Use the Cayley diagram in
Figure 6.2.5b to answer the following questions
about the group 𝒮3 and its generators x =​(A, B,
C) and y =​(A, B). Confirm each algebraic result
by an appropriate permutation calculation or by
referring to the group table in Figure 6.2.1b.
220 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
(a) Show how the graph illustrates the equation
yx2y =​ x.
(b) What simpler expression is xyx equal to?
(c) What simpler expression is yxy equal to?
(d) What simpler expression is xyx2y equal to?
(e) The expression xyxy represents a path that
begins and ends at the same vertex of the
graph. What does this mean about the
  group element xyxy?
Theoretically even an infinite group can
have a Cayley diagram; such a diagram will be
an infinite graph as described in Section 3.3.
A portion of a Cayley diagram for the infinite
group (ℤ, +​) on the generator 1 is shown in
Figure 6.2.5c.
We know from Exercise 6.2.6 that there
may be more than one way to construct the
Cayley diagram for a group. Constructing such
a diagram requires first choosing a generating
set—​ a set of group elements that together
generate the group. In the case of 𝒮3 we chose
the generators (A, B, C) and (A, B), but various
other pairs of elements could have been cho-
sen instead (see Exercise 6.2.8 below). Perhaps
even more important, we must decide how to
arrange the vertices on the page; changing the
layout can dramatically affect the appearance
of a graph. Symmetrical arrangements are gen-
erally preferred—​the symmetry of the group
structure is an important part of what the dia-
gram is supposed to convey—​but larger groups
often exhibit complex kinds of symmetry that
are difficult to capture adequately in a two-​
dimensional picture.
Exercise 6.2.8
(a) Construct a Cayley diagram for the
permutation group 𝒮3 (acting, as above,
on the set {A, B, C}) on the generators
(A, C, B) and (B, C). At first, leave the
vertices positioned and labeled as they
are in Figure 6.2.5b; change only the
arrows. Then consider the possibility of
repositioning the vertices so that the
arrows shown in your new graph form
a more symmetrical configuration. As
a directed graph, is your new graph
isomorphic to the graph in 6.2.5b?
(b) Construct another Cayley diagram for 𝒮3,
this time on the generators (A, C) and (B, C).
Is this graph isomorphic to Figure 6.2.5b?
(c) Is it possible to construct a Cayley diagram
  for 𝒮3 on (A, B, C) and (A, C, B)?
Exercise 6.2.9 The symmetry inherent in the
structure of a group ensures that the same
configurations of arrows occur everywhere in
the graph. Once a Cayley diagram has been
constructed, therefore, any element of the
group may occupy any vertex of the graph;
as soon as one element has been assigned to
a vertex, the other vertex labels can then be
determined from the generators. Illustrate this
idea by relabeling Figure 6.2.5b so that the
identity E appears at the vertex that was labeled
(A, C) in the original figure. Leave all arrows
unchanged. The resulting graph is still a Cayley
diagram for 𝒮3 on the generators (A, B, C) and
(A, B), but each group element now occupies a
different
   location in the graph.
The reader may have noticed a strong likeness
between the Cayley diagram in Figure 6.2.5b and
the spatial transformation network of Figure
6.1.14b, which involved the same permuta-
tion group. The arrows in 6.1.14b represented
transformations in the specific musical example
at hand, but we could easily image all of Figure
6.2.5b’s arrows transferred onto the earlier
graph. A more significant difference between
the two graphs is that in 6.1.14b the vertices
represented contrapuntal configurations, while
in 6.2.5b the vertices represent group elements
(permutations). But the action of the group
works essentially the same way in both cases: a
permutation in 𝒮3 maps one contrapuntal con-
figuration to another, but also maps one group
element to another by multiplication within the
group. This observation is known as Cayley’s the-
orem: every element in a group may be regarded
as a transformation acting on the group by
multiplication.
More explicitly, every element a of a group
G determines a function Multa: G → G defined
by the equation Multa(x) =​ xa for all x in G.
This function may be called right-​multiplication
by a, and is conceptually similar to multiplica-
tion operators such as M7 (though in a general
group the operation might be something other
than ordinary multiplication). By identifying the
group element a with the transformation Multa,
every group may be regarded as a permutation
group acting on itself, and therefore as a sub-
group of a symmetric group, even if the original
conception of the group did not involve trans-
formations or permutations at all. This theorem
is the principle underlying the interpretation of
Cayley diagrams as transformation networks,
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 221
and is also connected to the row/​column permu-
tation property of group tables.18
The vertices of a Cayley diagram for a group
G are traditionally considered to represent ele-
ments of G itself, and the action of G on itself, as
detailed in the above discussion of Cayley’s theo-
rem, is always simply transitive. When a group
G acts on some other set S in simply transitive
fashion, the vertices may be labeled instead with
elements of S, and the resulting graph becomes a
transformation network depicting the action of
G on S. This is the case in Figure 6.1.14b, where
the simple transitivity of the action of 𝒮3 on the
space of contrapuntal configurations ensures a
one-​to-​one correspondence between elements
of the group and elements of the space; the net-
work showing the action of G on S describes the
group structure as completely as the original
Cayley diagram labeled with the elements of G.
Moreover, because Lewin’s theorem (Theorem
5.6.7) asserts an equivalence between simply
transitive group actions and interval spaces,
the same diagram may be regarded as a picture
of an interval structure on S, described, like the
original Cayley diagram, in terms of generators
of the group.
Cayley diagrams for the transformation
groups 𝒯12 (or 𝒞12) and 𝒯ℐ12 (or 𝒟12) are shown
in Figure 6.2.10. For groups of these sizes (order
12 and 24, respectively), Cayley diagrams are
simpler in appearance than group tables, as one
can quickly confirm by starting to construct a
24-​by-​24 table for 𝒯ℐ12. These graphs show pat-
terns characteristic of cyclic and dihedral groups,
and in fact they are discernibly similar to the
graphs in Figure 6.2.5a–​b (ℤ4 is cyclic, and recall
that 𝒮3 is the same group as 𝒟3). The graph for
𝒯ℐ12 in 6.2.10b reintroduces a convention noted
in some examples in Chapters 3 and 4: because
the inversion operator I is an involution, we have
dispensed with the arrowheads on the dashed
lines representing I, with the understanding
that every such arrow points both ways. The sub-
scripts on the T and I operators in the vertices of
this graph proceed in opposite directions around
the two circles, as the inversion aligned with Tk
is Tk ● I, which is the same as I ● T−k, or I−k. The
arrows in the two circles are oppositely directed
as well, reflecting the fact that T1I is equal not
to IT1 but to IT1−1. (Tracing a solid-​then-​dashed
arrow chain, that is, does not produce the same
result as tracing a dashed-​then-​solid chain—​but
it does if the final solid arrow is traversed in
reverse.) The reverse alignment of the subscripts
FIGURE 6.2.10 Cayley diagrams for two transformation groups on pitch-​class space: (a) the cyclic
group (𝒯12, ●) on the generator T1; (b) the dihedral group (𝒯ℐ12, ●) on the generators T1 and I =​ I0
could be “fixed” by labeling the inversion opera-
tors differently, using for instance Jk =​ TkI rather
than Ik =​ ITk. But the oppositely directed arrows
are intrinsic to the structure of the group and
will not be altered by any relabeling.19
Exercise 6.2.11 Construct Cayley diagrams
for the cyclic and dihedral groups 𝒯7 and 𝒯ℐ7
acting on ℤ7 (which may be identified with
generic
   pitch-​class space gpc).
The close resemblance between the Cayley dia-
gram for 𝒯12 and the structure of a space such as
pc on which this group acts should be apparent.
The vertices in Figure 6.2.10a could be labeled
with pitch-​class numbers 0, …, 11 rather than
transpositions T0, …, T11; in this way the Cayley
diagram shows the simply transitive action of
𝒯12 on pc. It may come as more of a surprise to
realize that we have essentially encountered the
Cayley diagram for 𝒯ℐ12 in another guise pre-
viously as well, in the double-​circle diagram of
Figure 4.1.1b. When constructing this graph, we
assumed that 𝒯ℐ12 was acting on the space triad
of major and minor triads; because that action
is simply transitive, the action—​and therefore
the diagram—​displays the entire structure of
the group. (To read 4.1.1b as a complete Cayley
diagram we must infer that all edges shown are
arrows, continuing the patterns shown in which
T1 arrows circumnavigate the two circles in
opposite directions and I arrows connect the two
circles radially.) The relation between 4.1.1b and
the Cayley diagram of 6.2.10b is similar to the
222 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
relation we have observed between the depic-
tions of 𝒮3 in the transformation network of
6.1.14b and the Cayley diagram of 6.2.5b.
Several other graphs from Chapter 4 are
Cayley diagrams in disguise as well. Figure 4.1.1a
is effectively the Cayley diagram for a different
group acting on triad, the group 〈T1, P〉 gen-
erated by T1 and the parallel transformation P.
The structure of this group will be examined in
Section 6.4, but it may be noted here that the
arrows in both circles point in the same direc-
tion, illustrating the fact that the generators T1
and P commute (unlike T1 and I in 𝒯ℐ12).
In a similar way, the three-​dimensional graphs
in Figure 4.1.12 suggest Cayley diagrams for two
different groups of order 48 acting (in simply
transitive fashion) on the space of all 48 forms
of a twelve-​tone row. Each of these groups is gen-
erated by three generators: the transposition T1,
the retrograde operator R, and either the fixed
inversion operator I (in 4.1.12b) or the contextual
inversion J (in 4.1.12a). Drawn as more traditional
Cayley diagrams, these graphs might incorporate
arrows of three different styles (or colors) for the
three generators. The group 〈T1, R, I〉 of 4.1.12b is
called the serial group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, as it contains exactly
the row transformations inherent in the twelve-​
tone system as codified by Schoenberg.20
Exercise 6.2.12 Review the definition of the
contextual inversion operator J from Section 4.1.
Verify that J commutes with both T1 and R. The
group 〈T1, R, J〉 associated with Figure 4.1.12a
is therefore a commutative counterpart to the
serial group, in much the same way that
G =​ 〈T1, P〉 is a commutative counterpart to
𝒯ℐ 12 on the space triad.
  
Figure 6.2.13 is a Cayley diagram for the group
G =​ 〈T1, M〉 generated by the transposition oper-
ator T1 and the multiplication operator M7 (here
shortened to M for convenience). Like 𝒯ℐ12, G is
a noncommutative group of order 24. G consists
of the twelve transpositions Tk and twelve prod-
ucts TkM. The operator M, like I, is an involution,
but M interacts with transpositions differently
from I, and that difference is reflected in the
appearance of the graph. The graph includes, for
example, a T1 arrow pointing from the element
M to the element T7M, illustrating the algebraic
identity MT1 =​ T7M. This equation can be verified
by the mod-​12 calculations
T In general, the affine group 𝒜𝑓𝑓n consists of all
x M
→ 7 x 
1
→ 7 x + 1,
T
x  7
→ x + 7 M → 7( x + 7 )
= 7 x + 49 = 7 x + 1 (mod 12).
The twelve-​pointed star that appears in Figure
6.2.13 may be considered a visual representa-
tion of the relationship between the chromatic
pitch-​class circle and the circle of fifths, as for-
malized by the operator M. The semitone and
the perfect fifth, the intervals that generate the
two circles, are mapped to each other by M; recall
also Exercises 1.3.2b and 6.1.9b in this context.
FIGURE 6.2.13 Cayley diagram for the group
generated by T1 and M =​ M7
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 223
Exercise 6.2.14
(a) Construct a Cayley diagram for the mod-​12
units group ℤ12× =​{1, 5, 7, 11}, using 5 and
7 as the two generators.
(b) The multiplication operator M5 does not
appear in the group G of Figure 6.2.13.
Construct a Cayley diagram for the group
Gʹ =​ 〈T1, M5〉.
(c) The affine group 𝒜𝑓𝑓12 is generated by T1, M
(=​ M7), and I. This group has 48 elements:
twelve transpositions Tk, twelve inversions
Ik, twelve elements of the form TkM (as in
Figure 6.2.13), and twelve of the form IkM.
When the elements are named in this way,
which one is equal to M5?21
(d) Construct a Cayley diagram for 𝒜𝑓𝑓12, using
three different styles (or colors) of arrows
  for the three generators T1, M, and I.22
transpositions Tk on ℤn, all multiplication opera-
tors Ma with a coprime to n, and all other func-
tions generated from these by composition. In
other words, 𝒜𝑓𝑓n is the group generated by the
subgroups 𝒞n and ℳn; this definition accords
with the description of 𝒜𝑓𝑓12 in the preceding
exercise because the group ℳ12 is generated by
M7 and I. Generally I =​ M−1 ∈ ℳn, so 𝒜𝑓𝑓n contains
all inversion operators and therefore includes
𝒟n as a subgroup. Every affine transformation f:
ℤn → ℤn may be written in the form f(x) =​ ax +​ b for
some a in ℤn× and some b in ℤn. From Section 5.2
we know that there are φ(n) choices for the num-
ber a, where φ is Euler’s phi function, and there
are n choices for b, so 𝒜𝑓𝑓n is a group of order
n ∙ φ(n). For all n ≥ 7, this number is larger than
2n but smaller than n! ∕ 2, so 𝒜𝑓𝑓n takes its place
between 𝒟n and 𝒜n in the roster of permutation
groups acting on ℤn in Table 6.1.10.
Exercise 6.2.15
(a) In 𝒜𝑓𝑓12, let f(x) =​5x +​9 and g(x) =​7x +​6.
Calculate formulas for f −1, g−1, f ● g, and g ● f,
writing a formula of the form ax +​ b for each
of these functions.
(b) The permutations p and q from Exercise 6.1.6
both belong to 𝒜𝑓𝑓12. Write formulas of the
  form ax +​ b for both of these functions.
Exercise 6.2.16
(a) Consider P and L, the parallel and
leittonwechsel transformations acting on
triad. Both are involutions (PP =​ LL =​ E),
so they can generate other elements only
when combined in alternation: PL, PLP,
 PLPL, … or LP, LPL, LPLP, … . There appear
to be infinitely many possible combinations
in these two lists, but in Exercise 4.2.12b
we observed that in fact PLP =​ LPL. Use this
fact to deduce other identities among the
elements in the two lists, and then explain
why P and L together generate a group
of order 6, known as the PL group or the
hexatonic triad group.23
(b) Draw a Cayley diagram for the hexatonic
triad group, on the generators P and L.
  Compare your graph to Figure 3.5.8b.
Most of our musically motivated Cayley
diagrams are fairly small and straightforward.
Cayley diagrams for larger groups can be stun-
ningly intricate and beautiful, revealing in strik-
ing ways the symmetry inherent in the structure
of a group. See Carter 2009 for examples.
6.3 ISOMORPHISM
OF GROUPS
Figure 6.3.1 shows group tables for three groups
of order 4, called G1, G2, and G3. The group G1
is the modular group ℤ4, already familiar from
Figure 6.2.1a; G2 is the cyclic group 𝒯4 =​{T0,
T1, T2, T3} that acts on ℤ4; and G3 is an abstract
group with an identity element e and other ele-
ments called a, b, and c.
Examination of the three tables shows that
all three exhibit the same basic pattern of
entries: any one of the tables can be converted
to any other simply be renaming the elements
of the group. In a sense all three groups have the
same essential structure; these are examples of
isomorphic groups. All three are cyclic groups
as defined in Section 5.3; they are generated
by the elements 1, T1, and a, respectively. The
isomorphism is visible also in the Cayley dia-
grams for the groups: a Cayley diagram for G1
appeared in Figure 6.2.5a, and it is easy to visu-
alize how—​by changing the vertex labels and
FIGURE 6.3.1 Group tables for three isomorphic groups of order 4
224 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
the labels identifying the generating arrows—​
we might convert this graph to Cayley diagrams
for G2 and G3.
When we studied graph isomorphism in
Section 3.2, an isomorphism was defined as
a structure-​preserving bijection. In the context
of graphs, the essential structure that an iso-
morphism must preserve is the adjacency rela-
tion, which determines which pairs of vertices
are joined by edges: a mapping from the ver-
tices of one graph to those of another graph
is structure-​ preserving if adjacent vertices
always map to adjacent vertices. In the con-
text of groups, the essential structure is pro-
vided by the group operation, and a mapping
is structure-​preserving if corresponding ele-
ments of the two groups combine in the same
way according to their respective operations.
Construction of such a function is one of the
most common ways to demonstrate relation-
ships between two groups.
To make this intuition precise, suppose (G, ⊕)
and (Gʹ, ⊗) are two groups. The group opera-
tions in the two groups need not be the same, so
we use two different symbols for them. A func-
tion f: G → Gʹ is called a homomorphism (more
specifically a group homomorphism) if, whenever
x, y, and z are elements of G satisfying x ⊕ y =​ z,
then the corresponding property f(x) ⊗ f(y) =​
f(z) holds among the elements f(x), f(y), and f(z)
in the group Gʹ. To write this requirement a bit
more compactly, f is a homomorphism if the
equation f(x) ⊗ f(y) =​ f(x ⊕ y) is true for all x and
y in G. This property is illustrated in Figure 6.3.2:
the dashed lines within each group show two
elements combining to determine a third via the
group operation, and the solid arrows show that
the function f relates corresponding elements of
the two groups. An isomorphism from G to Gʹ is
a homomorphism that is also bijective (one-​to-​
one and onto). If an isomorphism from G to Gʹ
exists, the groups G and Gʹ are said to be isomor-
phic, written G ≅ Gʹ.

FIGURE 6.3.2 A group homomorphism
In the case of the groups in Figure 6.3.1, an
example of an isomorphism from G1 to G2 is the
function f defined by f(i) =​ Ti for all i =​0, 1, 2, 3.
This isomorphism makes the correspondence
of the group tables explicit, as it maps each ele-
ment of G1 to the element that appears in all
the corresponding positions in the table for G2
(row and column headings included). An iso-
morphism h: G1 → G3 is defined by h(0) =​ e, h(1)
=​ a, h(2) =​ b, and h(3) =​ c. As was the case with
isomorphic graphs, isomorphic groups may
reasonably be considered “the same group” for
many purposes, as they have identical under-
lying structure, the isomorphism amounting
to nothing more than a renaming of the ele-
ments. Nevertheless, as was also the case with
graphs, isomorphic groups may appear super-
ficially quite different, as the groups G1, G2,
and G3 illustrate: the three are isomorphic, but
G1 is a modular group of numbers, G2 a trans-
formation group, and G3 an abstract group of
undefined symbols.
Exercise 6.3.3 Consider the group G4 =​{T0,
T3, T6, T9} consisting of four transposition
operators on pitch-​class space pc. Construct a
group table for G4. Verify that this table has the
same pattern as the tables in Figure 6.3.1, and
construct
   an isomorphism from G1 to G4.
It is true, as the above examples illustrate,
that if one group table is converted to another
by a simple renaming, the two groups are iso-
morphic. Conversely, if two groups are isomor-
phic, then a table for one group may always be
converted to a table for the other by renaming. It
is a mistake to conclude, however, that isomor-
phism can always be judged by noting whether
two given group tables share the same pattern,
because the elements of two isomorphic groups
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 225
may be ordered differently in the tables. The fol-
lowing exercise illustrates.
Exercise 6.3.4
(a) Construct a second group table for the
group G3 from Figure 6.3.1, but instead of
listing the elements in the order e, a, b, c
when constructing the table, list them
in the order e, b, a, c. Because the group
itself is unchanged, all the products will be
unchanged; for example, the table should
show that a ⊗ a =​ b, as the original table for
G3 does. Does your new table have the same
pattern as the three tables in Figure 6.3.1?
(b) We already know that groups G1 and G3 are
isomorphic: an isomorphism h: G1 → G3
was exhibited above. The existence of one
isomorphism, however, does not imply that
every bijection between the two groups is an
isomorphism. Use your observation from
part (a) to construct a bijective function hʹ:
  G1 → G3 that is not an isomorphism.
For every n, the modular group (ℤn, +​) and
the transformation group (𝒯n, ●) acting on ℤn are
isomorphic. The groups G1 and G2 in Figure 6.3.1
are ℤ4 and 𝒯4, and in Chapter 5 we remarked
informally on the isomorphism between ℤ12 and
𝒯12 (the interval group and transposition group
of pc). One example of an isomorphism from ℤ12
to 𝒯12 is the function f defined by f(i) =​ Ti. Of the
many possible bijections between ℤ12 and 𝒯12,
only a few are isomorphisms; in Section 6.5 we
will determine exactly which functions these are.
Exercise 6.3.5 Use the definition of a group
homomorphism to explain why the following
two simple properties must always hold:
(a) If f: G → Gʹ is a homomorphism, e is the
identity element of G, and eʹ is the identity
element of Gʹ, then f(e) =​ eʹ.
(b) If f: G → Gʹ is a homomorphism, then f(x−1)
  =​ (f(x))−1 for every x in G.
Exercise 6.3.6 Confirm that isomorphism is an
equivalence relation on groups; that is, explain
why the relation ≅ is reflexive, symmetric, and
transitive.
   24
Because isomorphism is an equivalence
relation, it divides all groups into equivalence
classes, or isomorphism classes, isomorphic
groups always belonging to the same isomor-
phism class. The concept of isomorphism classes
is implicit in our use of abstract labels such as 𝒞n
and 𝒟n for cyclic and dihedral groups: 𝒞12 may
be used as a name for any group in the entire
isomorphism class of cyclic groups of order 12,
of which (ℤ12, +​) and (𝒯12, ●) are two specific
instances. The division into isomorphism classes
provides a useful way to classify groups. In the
case of the smallest groups, this classification is
quite simple. For example, it should be clear that
there is only one possible structure for a trivial
group of order 1; that is, all groups of order 1 are
isomorphic. There is, after all, only one cell in the
group table for such a group, and whether this
single element (which is automatically the iden-
tity element of the group) is called 0 or 1 or e or
something else does not matter much.
It is almost as easy to see that all groups of
order 2 are isomorphic. Suppose that G =​({e, x}, ⊗)
is some group of order 2, where e is the identity
element, x is the other element, and ⊗ is the
group operation. The table for G has four cells,
but three of those are automatic simply because
e is the identity: the first row consists of e ⊗ e =​ e
and e ⊗ x =​ x, and the first element in the second
row is x ⊗ e =​ x. The remaining entry in the table,
x ⊗ x, then can only be e, because of the row per-
mutation property of group tables (each element
must appear once in row 2). We have shown that
the group table for G has (e, x) as its first row and
(x, e) as its second. This argument shows that
the group tables for all groups of order 2 have
the same pattern, so all such groups are isomor-
phic. This pattern is, of course, the pattern of the
group table for (ℤ2, +​), so we may conclude that
every group of order 2 is isomorphic to ℤ2 (or
equivalently to 𝒞2).
Exercise 6.3.7 Two other groups of order 2
have been mentioned previously in this chapter
or in Chapter 5: the multiplicative group {1, −1}
and the symmetric group 𝒮2 of permutations
of a two-​element set. (The elements of 𝒮2
might be labeled E, the identity permutation,
which fixes both elements of the set, and X, the
non-​identity permutation, which exchanges
them.) Verify that both of these groups are
isomorphic
   to ℤ2.
Exercise 6.3.8
(a) Construct the group table for (ℤ3, +​).
(b) Suppose G =​({e, x, y}, ⊗) is some other
group of order 3. Fill in the first row and
the first column of the table for G based
on the behavior of the identity e. Then use
226 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
the row/​column permutation property to
deduce the remaining entries in the table.
Compare the result with your table from
part (a), and conclude that every group of
  order 3 is isomorphic to ℤ3.
Speaking loosely, we may say based on the
above observations that “there is only one group
of order 1, one group of order 2, and one group of
order 3.” The smallest n for which there are two
different—​that is, non-​isomorphic—​groups of
order n is n =​4. One group of order 4 is the cyclic
group ℤ4 or 𝒞4, represented by any of the tables
in Figure 6.3.1. But now consider the group G5 =​
{T0, T6, I0, I6} acting on pc, whose table appears
in Figure 6.3.9.
Exercise 6.3.10
(a) Use the formulas from Theorem 5.5.6 to
verify that the entries in the table for G5 in
Figure 6.3.9 are correct.
(b)  Verify that G5 is a group.25
The pattern of the table for G5 is different
from the pattern of the three tables in Figure
6.3.1. For instance, the same element T0 appears
in all four places down the diagonal of this table,
which was not true of any of the earlier tables.
Exercise 6.3.4 demonstrated that group tables
may have different patterns even if the groups
are isomorphic; perhaps a simple reordering
could give this new table the same pattern as the
others. But that is not the case here: elements
on the diagonal of a group table are products
of the form x ⊗ x of an element with itself, and
therefore will remain on the diagonal following
any possible reordering. So the fact that only one
element appears on the diagonal of the table for
G5 while two different elements appear on the
diagonal of the table for G1 shows that G5 cannot
be isomorphic to G1 (or to G2 or G3).
FIGURE 6.3.9 Group tables for two Klein groups
of order 4
 The second table in Figure 6.3.9 shows an
abstract group with the same structure as G5.
This group structure is common and important
enough that it has a name: it is called the Klein
group (or the Klein four-​group), and commonly
denoted 𝒱4. The Klein group, represented by
either of the tables in Figure 6.3.9, is not a cyclic
group like all of those in 6.3.1: because every
non-​identity element of 𝒱4 combines with itself
to produce the identity, no single element can
generate all of the others. The Klein group is, in
fact, the smallest non-​cyclic group. In the case
of the transformation group G5, the non-​cyclic
structure means that repeated application of any
single transformation (T6, I0, or I6) can never rec-
reate the actions of all of the other transforma-
tions in the group; this contrasts with the cyclic
group G4 =​{T0, T3, T6, T9} from Exercise 6.3.3, in
which repeated application of T3 will recapture
all of the others. Like the cyclic groups, however,
the Klein group is commutative, as can be seen
from the symmetry of its table about the diag-
onal. In Section 6.4 we will see another way to
describe the structure of the Klein group, and we
will encounter other musical manifestations of
this group structure in exercises below and from
time to time thereafter.
It turns out that every group of order 4 is iso-
morphic to one of the two that we know—​either
the cyclic group 𝒞4 or the Klein group 𝒱4—​so
there are “only two groups of order 4.” The cyclic
group 𝒞5 is the only group of order 5, and in fact
if p is any prime number, the cyclic group 𝒞p
is the only group of order p. The smallest non-
commutative group is 𝒮3, the order-​6 symmet-
ric group on three elements discussed at some
length in Sections 6.1 and 6.2 above, where we
noted also that the symmetric group 𝒮3 is the
same group as the dihedral group 𝒟3. 𝒞6 and 𝒮3
are the only groups of order 6, and in fact if p is
any prime number ≥ 3, then the only groups of
order 2p are 𝒞2p and 𝒟p. Group classification gets
progressively more difficult as groups get larger,
particularly when the order of a group is a num-
ber with many factors (there is only one group of
order 23, a prime number, but there are 15 dif-
ferent groups of order 24).26 All finite groups can
be broken down into building blocks called sim-
ple groups of particular types; in what is widely
considered one of the great achievements of
modern mathematics, exhaustive work by hun-
dreds of mathematicians over the last decades of
the twentieth century, totaling many thousands
of pages dense with details, has completed the
classification of all the finite simple groups.27
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 227
Exercise 6.3.11 By examining the group
table you constructed in Exercise 6.2.3d for
the mod-​12 units group ℤ12×, show that ℤ12×
is isomorphic to the Klein group 𝒱4. (You also
constructed a Cayley diagram for this group
in Exercise 6.2.14a, so that diagram—​which
required two generators, as the group is not
cyclic—​may serve as a model Cayley diagram
for  a Klein group.)
Exercise 6.3.12 Let G be the transformation
group G =​{T0, I0, R, RI0} acting on twelve-​tone
rows, where I0 is inversion about C as usual,
and R is the retrograde operation. G acts on
the set of all possible twelve-​tone rows, but
you may find it helpful to consider the simply
transitive action of G on a set consisting of four
forms of a particular row, S =​{P0, I0, R0, RI0}.
Construct a group table for G. Is G a cyclic
group
   or a Klein group?
Exercise 6.3.13 As noted above, every group
of order 6 is isomorphic either to the cyclic
group 𝒞6 (or equivalently to the modular
group ℤ6) or to the symmetric group 𝒮3.
One version of a group table for 𝒮3 was
presented in Figure 6.2.1b, and you
constructed a table for ℤ6 in Exercise 6.2.3a.
Listed below are three 6-​element subsets of
the dihedral group 𝒟12. For each of the listed
sets, verify that the set is a group; construct
a group table or Cayley diagram if you find
it helpful; and determine whether it is
isomorphic to 𝒞6 or to 𝒮3.
(a) {T0, T2, T4, T6, T8, T10}
(b) {T0, T4, T8, I0, I4, I8}
(c)  {T0, T4, T8, I2, I6, I10}28
Exercise 6.3.14 Listed below are two more
groups of order 6. One of them is isomorphic to
𝒞6 and the other to 𝒮3. Which is which?
(a) The hexatonic triad group (PL group) from
Exercise 6.2.1629
(b) The mod-​7 units group ℤ7× from
  Exercise 5.2.7b
Exercise 6.3.15 Recall the discussion of ski-​
hill lattices, metric states, and state classes
from Section 3.4. Let S be the set of all
possible state classes. Define transformations
f and g on S as follows: f reflects a state class
about a horizontal axis, and g reflects a state
class about a vertical axis.
(a) Geometrically, what is accomplished by
the composition f ● g? By g ● f? Do f and g
commute?
(b) Of the state classes represented by the
metric states in Figure 3.4.12, which two
are related by f? Which two are related by g?
Which two are related by f ● g?
(c) A state class may be described by a string
of 2s and 3s, reading the duration ratios
upward from the bottom of the graph.
For example, the metric state common
to parts (c) and (e) of Figure 3.4.12 is
(2, 2, 3). What is the effect of the action
of f on a string of this kind? What is
the effect of g? Of f ● g? Interpret these
relationships musically.
(d) By making a group table, show that f and g
generate a Klein group of transformations
  on S.30
The concept of isomorphism is applicable to
infinite as well as finite groups. Certain exam-
ples are of particular importance. First, recall
from Section 5.3 the discussion of infinite cyclic
groups of the form H =​ 〈a〉 =​{…, a−2, a−1, e, a,
a2, …}, consisting of all powers of an element a
along with their inverses. It is perhaps obvious
that all infinite cyclic groups are isomorphic; an
isomorphism maps a generator of one group
to a generator of the other. More explicitly, if
H is generated by a as above and Hʹ =​ 〈x〉 =​
{…, x−2, x−1, e, x, x2, …} is another infinite cyclic
group, generated by x, then the function f: H →
Hʹ defined by f(ak) =​ xk for every integer k is auto-
matically an isomorphism.
The integers form an infinite cyclic group
(ℤ, +​) generated by the number 1, and the
even integers ℤeven also form an infinite cyclic
group, generated by 2. The preceding paragraph
therefore implies that ℤeven ≅ ℤ, even though
ℤeven is a proper subset of ℤ. We observed in
Chapter 5 that ℤ is the interval group of chro-
matic pitch space pitch, and ℤeven is the inter-
val group of a subspace of pitch consisting of a
whole-​tone scale. In Chapter 7 we will formally
define isomorphism of interval spaces, and we
will establish a result called the interval-​space
homomorphism theorem (Theorem 7.2.7), which
implies that if two interval spaces have isomor-
phic interval groups, then they are automatically
isomorphic as interval spaces. The chromatic
and whole-​tone scales are therefore isomorphic
as interval spaces, even though one is a subset
of the other.
228 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
We have alluded several times, most recently
in Sections 5.2 and 5.4, to a relationship between
continuous pitch space cpitch and frequency
space freq. These spaces have interval groups
(ℝ, +​) and (ℝ>0, ∙), respectively, and in fact these
two groups are isomorphic. An example of
an isomorphism f: (ℝ, +​) → (ℝ>0, ∙) is given by
f(x) =​2x. The function f is a bijection, its inverse
is given by f −1(y) =​log2(y), and f is a homomor-
phism because 2x +​ y =​2x ∙ 2y. It then follows from
the interval-​ space homomorphism theorem
that cpitch and freq are isomorphic interval
spaces, justifying our intuition that whether we
choose to measure distances between pitches by
subtraction in cpitch or as ratios in freq, we
are doing essentially the same thing. Moreover,
every subspace of cpitch is isomorphic to a
corresponding subspace of freq. In particu-
lar, chromatic pitch space pitch, a subspace of
cpitch with the cyclic interval group ℤ, corre-
sponds under the above isomorphism to a sub-
space of freq with interval group {…, 1 8 , 1 4 , 1 2 ,
1, 2, 4, 8, …}, an infinite cyclic multiplicative
group (generated by the element 2).31
To conclude this section we revisit a bit of
unfinished business from Section 5.6, where
one assertion in part (a) of Lewin’s theorem
(Theorem 5.6.7) was left unproved. Given an
interval space (S, G, int), for every i in G and
every x in S, we defined Transi(x) as the unique
y in S such that int(x, y) =​ i. We showed that Gʹ =​
{Transi | i ∈ G} is a transformation group acting
on S, but left without proof the assertion that
Gʹ is isomorphic to G. Now that we have formal-
ized group isomorphism, we are in a position to
verify that the function f: G → Gʹ defined by f(i) =​
Transi is an isomorphism. This requires checking
that f is one-​to-​one, that f is onto, and that f is a
group homomorphism.
Saying that f is a homomorphism amounts
to the equation Transi ● Transj =​Transi ⊕ j, which
was already established in Section 5.6. That f is
onto follows immediately from the definition of
Gʹ, which consists of the functions Transi and
nothing else. Finally, to see that f is one-​to-​one,
suppose i and j are intervals in G, and suppose
that f(i) =​ f(j), which means that Transi and
Transj are the same function. For any x in S, if y
=​ Transi(x), then y =​Transj(x) as well. From the
definitions of Transi and Transj it follows that
int(x, y) =​ i and also int(x, y) =​ j—​so in fact i =​ j.
This shows that f(i) and f(j) can be the same only
if i =​ j, which means that f is indeed one-​to-​one.
The proof of Lewin’s theorem is at last complete.
6.4 DIRECT-​P RODUCT
GROUPS
Recall from Section 2.2 that if S and T are two
sets, then S × T, the Cartesian product of S and
T, is the set of all ordered pairs (s, t) such that s
∈ S and t ∈ T. If G and H are groups, it is possible
to define a binary operation on the Cartesian
product G × H in such a way that G × H becomes
a group. The group G × H, traditionally called the
direct product of G and H in this context, effec-
tively combines the structure of G and H in a
single group. Many important groups in musical
applications arise as direct products of smaller
groups.
The group operation on the G × H is defined
componentwise. This means that if (g1, h1) and
(g2, h2) are two elements of G × H (which means
that g1 and g2 belong to G while h1 and h2 belong
to H), and if the group operations in G and H are
⊕ and ⊗ respectively, then the product of (g1, h1)
and (g2, h2) in G × H is defined to be (g1, h1) ∙
(g2, h2) =​(g1 ⊕ g2, h1 ⊗ h2). Here the dot ∙ denotes
the group operation in the direct-​product group.
The first component g1 ⊕ g2 of this product cap-
tures information about how elements combine
in the group G, while the second component h1
⊗ h2 captures the corresponding information
about H. The group axioms for G × H are direct
consequences of the same axioms for G and H;
for example, if the identity elements in the two
groups are eG and eH, then the identity element
in G × H is the ordered pair (eG, eH), and the
inverse of an element (g, h) is (g, h)−1 =​(g−1, h−1),
where g−1 and h−1 are calculated in the groups G
and H respectively.
Figure 6.4.1 presents group tables for two
simple direct products, starting with ℤ2 × ℤ2 in
part (a). This is a group of order 4, so the table
is a 4-​by-​4 table of ordered pairs. The elements
FIGURE 6.4.1 Group tables for two direct-​product groups
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 229
of ℤ2 × ℤ2 are the ordered pairs (0, 0), (0, 1),
(1, 0), and (1, 1). These elements are listed at the
top and at the left side of the table in the lexico-
graphic ordering, so that the elements whose first
component is 0 are listed before those whose
first component is 1; other orderings are pos-
sible. The reader should be able to verify in the
table that ordered pairs are added component-
wise, by the formula (x1, y1) +​(x2, y2) =​(x1 +​ x2,
y1 +​ y2), where the addition in both components
is mod 2. (In direct products of additive groups,
it is common to write +​for the group operation
in the direct product as well as in the original
groups.)
From Section 6.3 we know that as a group of
order 4, this group ℤ2 × ℤ2 must be isomorphic
either to the cyclic group 𝒞4 or to the Klein
group 𝒱4. In fact, the pattern of entries in the
table of Figure 6.4.1a is the same as in the tables
for the Klein groups in Figure 6.3.9, not the cyclic
groups of Figure 6.3.1: every non-​identity ele-
ment combines with itself to produce the iden-
tity. This is the alternative characterization of
Klein groups promised in Section 6.3: the Klein
group 𝒱4 is isomorphic to the direct product
ℤ2 × ℤ2, or equivalently 𝒞2 × 𝒞2.
The direct product ℤ2 × ℤ3, whose table
appears in Figure 6.4.1b, may be slightly more
confusing. In calculating the sums in this table
it is essential to remember that the sum in the
first component is always calculated by mod-​2
addition in ℤ2, while the sum in the second com-
ponent takes place in ℤ3 and so is calculated mod
3; this is why, for example, the sum (1, 1) +​(1, 1)
is equal to (0, 2). It is interesting to notice, in
a direct-​product table like this one, how the
structure of each of the two original groups is
magnified in the product. If the table is divided
into four quadrants as shown by the dashed
lines in the figure, the first component is 0 for all
ordered pairs in the upper-​left and lower-​right the conformed neo-​Riemannian tonnetz a finite
quadrants and 1 for all ordered pairs in the other array suffices, suggesting the possibility of con-
two quadrants, so the 2-​by-​2 group table for ℤ2 is nections between tonnetzes and direct products
effectively reproduced at a larger scale in the first of small cyclic groups, to which we now turn our
components of these four large blocks. Within attention.
each block, meanwhile, the second components Figure 6.4.3 shows three Cayley diagrams for
form a 3-​by-​3 pattern identical to a group table the direct product ℤ4 × ℤ3. The first, drawn on
for ℤ3. a torus, arranges the twelve elements in recti-
The only groups of order 6 are the cyclic linear fashion reflecting the Cartesian-​product
group ℤ6 (or 𝒞6) and the symmetric group 𝒮3,
so ℤ2 × ℤ3 must be isomorphic to one of these.
We have seen that 𝒮3 is noncommutative, but
the symmetry of the table in Figure 6.4.1b
shows that the group ℤ2 × ℤ3 is commutative; in
fact, direct products of commutative groups are
always commutative. So ℤ2 × ℤ3 must be isomor-
phic to ℤ6—​that is, it must be a cyclic group. The
first part of the following exercise confirms that
this is the case.

Exercise 6.4.2
(a) Show that the element (1, 1) generates
ℤ2 × ℤ3.
(b) The pattern of entries in the table in Figure
6.4.1b probably differs from the pattern in
the table you constructed for ℤ6 in Exercise
6.2.3a, but we know that these patterns
depend on the order in which the elements
are listed. By listing the elements of ℤ2 × ℤ3
in an order corresponding to the order
in which they are generated by (1, 1),
construct an alternate group table for
ℤ2 × ℤ3 with the same pattern of entries as
in your earlier table for ℤ6.
(c) Let U be the subset {(0, 0), (1, 0)} of ℤ2 × ℤ3,
and let V =​{(0, 0), (0, 1), (0, 2)}. Verify
that U and V are subgroups of ℤ2 × ℤ3
with U ≅ ℤ2 and V ≅ ℤ3.
(d) Explain why ℤ2 × ℤ3 is isomorphic to
  ℤ3 × ℤ2.32

Having noted previously that ℤ2 × ℤ2 is not

isomorphic to ℤ4, one may be surprised to dis-
cover that ℤ2 × ℤ3 is isomorphic to ℤ6. It is the
two equal moduli in the product ℤ2 × ℤ2 that
make it impossible for one element to generate
this product. In general, it turns out that ℤm × ℤn
≅ ℤmn (or equivalently 𝒞m × 𝒞n ≅ 𝒞mn) if and only
if the integers m and n are coprime.
Recall from Figure 2.2.2 that Cartesian prod-
ucts may often be conveniently depicted in rect-
angular arrays. Tonnetzes are rectangular arrays,
and in fact Exercise 2.2.4a suggested labeling FIGURE 6.4.3 Cayley diagrams for ℤ4 × ℤ3: (a)
the vertices of an infinite tonnetz graph with on the generators (1, 0) and (0, 1); (b) and (c) on
ordered pairs of integers (elements of ℤ × ℤ). For the generator (1, 1)

230 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces

structure, using the generators (1, 0) and (0, 1)
as the basis for the Cayley diagram. Addition of
(1, 0) to any element of the group corresponds
to a move one place to the right, and addition of
(0, 1) is a move one place up. The now-​familiar
convention by which opposite sides of a rectan-
gular tile are conjoined enables a convenient rep-
resentation of the arrows that wrap around from
the right side of the figure to the left and from
the top to the bottom. The rows of this figure are,
essentially, three copies of a Cayley diagram for
ℤ4, while the columns are four copies of a Cayley
diagram for ℤ3.
The group ℤ4 × ℤ3, however, does not require
two generators. The numbers 3 and 4 are coprime,
so ℤ4 × ℤ3 must be a cyclic group isomorphic to
ℤ12. As was the case above with ℤ2 × ℤ3, the ele-
ment (1, 1) is a generator of this group. Figure
6.4.3b retains the toroidal organization of (a),
but this graph uses the single generator (1, 1) as
the basis for the Cayley diagram. Addition of the
element (1, 1) to any element of the group corre-
sponds to a diagonal move up and to the right. The
wraparound connections are perhaps not as clear
when the arrows are diagonal, but the arrows in
(b) trace a single cycle (0, 0) → (1, 1) → (2, 2) →
(3, 0) → (0, 1) → ⋯ through all twelve vertices.
The graph in Figure 6.4.3c is the same as that
in (b), but the vertices have been repositioned
to make the cyclic structure more apparent.
Comparison with Figure 6.2.10a confirms that a
group with this graph is isomorphic to 𝒞12.
Of course, the 3-​by-​4 module in Figure 6.4.3a
closely resembles the module of a conformed
tonnetz such as Figure 1.4.3, and in fact ℤ4 ×
ℤ3 may be regarded as the interval group for
this familiar tonnetz space. Informally, the ton-
netz may be described as “the direct product of
a diminished seventh chord and an augmented
triad.” The following exercise explores several
aspects of this connection.
Exercise 6.4.4
(a) Redraw graphs (a) and (b) of Figure 6.4.3,
replacing the ordered-​pair vertex labels with
pitch-​class names. Put C in place of (0, 0),
and follow the usual tonnetz arrangement,
with minor thirds displayed horizontally
and major thirds vertically. The arrows may
still be labeled with the ordered pairs (1, 0),
(0, 1), and (1, 1), now representing intervals
in the modular two-​dimensional tonnetz
space. In this way tonnetz space may be
viewed as an interval space tonn whose
interval group is ℤ4 × ℤ3.
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 231
(b) Because of the close correspondence
between intervals and transformations
described in Chapter 5, the same pictures
may be considered transformation networks
on tonnetz space. The (1, 0) arrows in
graph (a) correspond to the minor-​third
transposition T3 and the (0, 1) arrows to
the major-​third transposition T4. As a set,
tonnetz space is the same as ordinary
pitch-​class space pc, and we know that
the group 𝒯12 =​{T0, …, T11} acts in simply
transitive fashion on this set. What
transposition operator Tn is represented
by the (1, 1) arrows in graph (b)? What
is the musical interpretation of the cycle
comprising all the arrows in this graph?
Sketch this cycle on a copy of the doughnut-​
shaped tonnetz from Figure 1.4.4.
(c) In tonnetz space, what is the ordered-​
pair interval from E to F? From F to E?
What ordered pair corresponds to the
transposition operator T1? Give a general
formula (in terms of n) for the ordered
pair that corresponds to Tn. Can you find a
general formula (in terms of a and b) for the
transposition operator Tn that corresponds
to the ordered pair (a, b)?33
(d) Four different elements of ℤ12 (1, 5, 7, and
11) are of order 12, which means that any
one of them generates the group. The same
must therefore be true of the isomorphic
group ℤ4 × ℤ3. One of the four ordered pairs
capable of generating ℤ4 × ℤ3 is (1, 1). What
are the other three? To which transposition
operators Tn do they correspond?
(e) The numbers 2 and 6 are not coprime, so
the direct product ℤ6 × ℤ2 is not isomorphic
to the cyclic group ℤ12. Draw a Cayley
diagram for ℤ6 × ℤ2 similar to Figure 6.4.3a.
What happens if you try to construct a
tonnetz for mod-​12 pitch-​class space with
  this graph?
Direct-​product groups underlie some other
constructions we have studied in earlier chap-
ters as well. In Section 6.2 we remarked that
the double-​circle diagram from Figure 4.1.1a is
effectively a Cayley diagram showing the action
on the space triad of a group G =​ 〈T1, P〉. The ele-
ments of G include the transpositions T0, T1, …,
T11, as well as the products of all of these with P,
namely T0P (=​ P), T1P, …, T11P. This is a complete
list of the elements of G: because P commutes
with T1 and therefore with every transposition
(TnP =​ PTn) and is an involution (P2 =​ T0), any
composition of any number of T1 and P opera-
tions can be reduced to one of the 24 forms
listed above.
Of course, T1 by itself generates the cyclic
transposition group 𝒯12 =​{T0, …, T11}, and the
involution P generates a group of order 2, say
H =​{T0, P}. The group G therefore consists of all
products (compositions) X ● Y of a transforma-
tion X in 𝒯12 with a transformation Y in H. In
this situation it is common to write G =​ 𝒯12H.
This description makes G look very similar to the
direct product 𝒯12 × H. The latter group consists
not of compositions X ● Y but of ordered pairs
(X, Y), specifically the ordered pairs (T0, T0),
(T1, T0), …, (T11, T0) and (T0, P), (T1, P), …, (T11, P).
The above enumeration of the elements of G
shows that the function f: 𝒯12 × H → G defined
by f(X, Y) =​ X ● Y is one-​to-​one and onto. In fact,
this function is an isomorphism. (The homomor-
phism property will be illustrated in Exercise
6.4.5 below.) Therefore G ≅ 𝒯12 × H: the group
G =​ 〈T1, P〉 is isomorphic to the direct product of
the group 𝒯12 =​ 〈T1〉 and the group H =​ 〈P〉. As a
2-​element group, H is isomorphic to 𝒞2, so it fol-
lows that G ≅ 𝒞12 × 𝒞2.
The fact that T1 and P commute is essential
to this conclusion, as Exercise 6.4.6 will demon-
strate. A more general statement is true. Suppose
that H1 and H2 are two transformation groups
acting on the same set S, suppose that H1 ∩ H2
=​ {E} (that is, H1 and H2 have no elements in
common except the identity transformation),
and finally suppose that every element of H1 com-
mutes with every element of H2. Let G be the set
H1H2, defined as {h1h2 | h1 ∈ H1, h2 ∈ H2}. (Here
h1h2 means h1 ● h2. Because H1 and H2 are trans-
formation groups on S, both h1 and h2 are func-
tions defined on S, so they may be composed in
the usual way.) Then G is a group isomorphic to
the direct product H1 × H2. It is not required that
H1 and H2 be commutative groups, only that
elements of each group always commute with
elements of the other. Such groups are called
pairwise commuting groups.
The pairwise commuting property effectively
ensures that the two groups act on S indepen-
dently: transformations in H1 and transforma-
tions in H2 may be mixed at will, without danger
that the action of one group will somehow inter-
fere with the action of the other. If this is the
case, then the group obtained by combining
elements of both H1 and H2 is isomorphic to
their direct product. For example, we observed
in Section 2.3 that in a typical city street grid,
north-​south motion commutes with east-​west
232 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
motion; in fact, the group of all possible move-
ments in the grid is the direct product of the
group of north-​south movements and the group
of east-​west movements.
Exercise 6.4.5
(a) Consider the function f: 𝒯12 × H → G above,
where H =​{T0, P}, G =​ 〈T1, P〉, and all the
groups act on the space of triads. By the
definition of f, f(T5, P) =​ T5P and f(T9, T0) =​
T9T0 =​ T9. According to the definition of
the group operation in 𝒯12 × H, what is
(T5, P) ∙ (T9, T0)? In the group G, what is
T5P ● T9? Verify that f(T5, P) ● f(T9, T0) =​
f((T5, P) ∙ (T9, T0)), as is required in order for
f to be a homomorphism.34
(b) The group G, being isomorphic to a direct
product of two commutative groups (𝒯12
and H), is itself commutative. Is G a cyclic
group? What are the cyclic subgroups
  generated by the various elements of G?
Exercise 6.4.6 Figure 4.1.1b showed the action
of the dihedral group 𝒯ℐ12 (or 𝒟12) on the space
triad. In some ways 𝒯ℐ12 may appear similar
to the group G in the previous exercise: G is
generated by T1 and the involution P, while
𝒯ℐ12 is generated by T1 and the involution I.
Crucially, however, T1 commutes with P but not
with I. Suppose we try to reconstruct the above
reasoning in the case of 𝒯ℐ12. It is true that
𝒯ℐ12 =​{T0, …, T11, T0I, …, T11I}; it is true that
I generates a subgroup Hʹ =​{T0, I} of order 2;
and it is true that the function f ʹ(X, Y) =​ X ● Y
defines a one-​to-​one correspondence between
the direct product 𝒯12 × Hʹ and 𝒯ℐ12. But this
function f ʹ is not a homomorphism. Demonstrate
this by showing that f ʹ(T5, I) ● f ʹ(T9, T0) ≠
f ʹ((T
  5, I) ∙ (T9, T0)).35
In fact, the dihedral group 𝒟12 cannot be iso-
morphic to the direct product of cyclic groups
𝒞12 × 𝒞2, as the earlier group G was, because
𝒟12 is noncommutative while direct products of
cyclic groups are always commutative. The differ-
ent structures of these two groups are manifest
in the directions of the arrows in Figure 4.1.1
(which, as we have noted, are essentially Cayley
diagrams for the groups).
Another illustration of the way pairwise
commuting groups generate direct products is
found in the group G5 =​{T0, T6, I0, I6}, whose
table was presented previously in Figure 6.3.9.
This group is a subgroup of 𝒟12; its elements are
transformations on the space pc. The elements
T6 and I0 are involutions, so {T0, T6} and {T0, I0} Exercise 6.4.9 Figure 3.1.7 showed the triads
are subgroups of G5, both isomorphic to 𝒞2. in the hexatonic collection hex34 =​{0, 3, 4, 7, 8,
Also, T6 and I0 commute: transpositions do not 11} in the form of a cube depicting a Cartesian
generally commute with inversions, but it is product S =​ X × Y × Z, where X =​{11, 0}, Y =​{3,
true that T6I0 =​ I0T6 =​ I6. Therefore G5, the group 4}, and Z =​{7, 8} (these are subsets of pc). Let
generated by T6 and I0 together, is isomorphic ΔX be the non-​identity permutation on the set
to {T0, T6} × {T0, I0} and hence to 𝒞2 × 𝒞2, the X—​that is, the function that exchanges the
Klein group. two elements of X, so that ΔX(11) =​0 and
ΔX(0) =​11. Similarly, let ΔY and ΔZ denote
Exercise 6.4.7 Review the toroidal mode space the non-​identity permutations on Y and Z.
from Exercise 4.1.7. By joining horizontally Clearly ΔX, ΔY, and ΔZ are involutions, and
and vertically adjacent modes in this space each of them generates a group of order 2,
with arrows labeled (0, 1) and (1, 0), we may {E, ΔX}, {E, ΔY}, and {E, ΔZ}, all isomorphic to
view this mode space as an interval space 𝒞2. The functions ΔX, ΔY, and ΔZ each act on
whose interval group is ℤ12 × ℤ7. Because one coordinate of the ordered triples in S, and
12 and 7 are coprime, this direct-​product so they may be considered to act on S itself;
group is isomorphic to ℤ84. The cycle of for instance, ΔY(0, 4, 7) =​(0, 3, 7). Visualize
modes mentioned at the end of Exercise 4.1.7 the action of ΔX, ΔY, and ΔZ in Figure 3.1.7,
illustrates a generator of this cyclic group. and give a few examples to show that ΔX, ΔY,
What is the ordered-​pair representation of and ΔZ commute. Because they commute, they
this generator? What musical transformations generate a group G7 of order 8, isomorphic to
correspond
   to the intervals (0, 1) and (1, 0)? 𝒞2 × 𝒞2 × 𝒞2 and therefore to the group G6 of
row transformations discussed above. Consider
Direct products of more than two groups may how Figure 3.1.7 conveys the structure of a
also be considered. The group G5 =​{T0, T6, I0, I6} Cayley diagram for G7, and compare it with the
was defined as a transformation group on pitch-​ Cayley    diagram for G6 from Exercise 6.4.8.
class space, but these same transformations may
also act on twelve-​tone rows. Another involu- 6.5 GROUPS, EQUIVALENCE
tion defined on the space of twelve-​tone rows RELATIONS, AND
is the retrograde operation R, which generates
a group {T0, R}. R commutes with both T0 and
SYMMETRY
I6, and indeed with all transpositions and inver- Group structure lurks beneath the surface of
sions on twelve-​tone rows. It follows that T6, I0, many everyday musical phenomena, including
and R together generate a group of order 8, G6 =​ some of the equivalence relations that we have
〈T6, I0, R〉 =​{T0, T6, I0, I6, R, RT6, RI0, RI6}, isomor- already described in other ways, as well as famil-
phic to the triple direct product {T0, T6} × {T0, I0} × iar notions of symmetry. When two elements are
{T0, R} and therefore to 𝒞2 × 𝒞2 × 𝒞2. This group equivalent in some way, this often means that
is a subgroup of the serial group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 =​ 〈T1, I0, R〉; they are related by the action of some transfor-
the serial group is a group of order 48 contain- mation group. To say that a thing is symmetri-
ing all the transpositions and inversions in 𝒟12 cal typically means that it is invariant under
together with R, and is isomorphic to 𝒯ℐ12 × the action of one or more transformations in a
{T0, R}, or to 𝒟12 × 𝒞2. group. Even when objects themselves are not
symmetrical, relationships between objects can
Exercise 6.4.8 Construct a Cayley diagram for often be described using transformation groups
G6 =​ 〈T6, I0, R〉. Which figure from Chapter 3 displaying symmetry in their structure. This sec-
does
   it closely resemble?36 tion explores the ramifications of these ideas.
We start with some general definitions.
Group-​ theoretic considerations involving Suppose G is a transformation group acting on
twelve-​ tone rows will be studied further in a set S. Two elements x and y of S are said to be
Sections 9.5 and 9.6, where the fact that the G-​equivalent, denoted x ~G y, if there is some trans-
retrograde operation R commutes with trans- formation f in G such that f(x) =​ y. It is not hard
positions and inversions will be seen as a special to verify that G equivalence is an equivalence
case of the more general principle that pitch-​ relation.37 The equivalence classes of the relation
class transformations always commute with order ~G are called the orbits of the action of G. More
transformations. specifically, if x ∈ S, the orbit of x is the set of all

Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 233

those elements of S to which x is mapped by some
transformation in G; this set could be written as
{y ∈ S | y =​ f(x) for some f ∈ G}, or more briefly as
{f(x) | f ∈ G} or {y ∈ S | x ~G y}. This orbit will be
denoted OrbG(x), or simply Orb(x) if there is no
likely confusion about which group G is involved.
Because of the reflexive property x ~G x, every x is
automatically an element of its own orbit Orb(x).
Also, because orbits are equivalence classes, any
two orbits of a group action are always either
identical or disjoint: if x ~G y, then OrbG(x) =​
OrbG(y), but otherwise OrbG(x) ∩ OrbG(y) =​ ∅.
As an example, consider the transposition
group G =​ 𝒯∞ =​{…, T−2, T−1, T0, T1, T2, …} acting
on chromatic pitch space pitch, as described in
Sections 5.1 and 5.2. The action of G on pitch
is simply transitive as defined in Section 5.6,
because for any two notes x and y in pitch, there
is always exactly one Ti in G such that Ti(x) =​ y,
namely the Ti with i =​int(x, y). For any given x,
therefore, every y in pitch is some Ti(x), so every
y is G-​equivalent to x. This group action, in other
words, has only one orbit: for every x, OrbG(x) is
the entire space pitch. The analogous statement
is true for every transitive group action: to say
that a transformation group G acts transitively
on a set S means that all elements of S belong to
the same orbit.
More interesting orbits arise if instead of look-
ing at the entire transposition group G =​ 𝒯∞ we
consider subgroups of G. For example, let H be
the subgroup H =​ 〈T12〉 =​{…, T−24, T−12, T0, T12,
T24, …} consisting of transposition operators
whose indices are multiples of 12. Mathematically,
𝒯∞ is isomorphic to the additive group of inte-
gers ℤ, and H corresponds via this isomorphism
to the subgroup 12ℤ =​{…, −24, −12, 0, 12,
24, …} (which, as a group, is again isomorphic to
ℤ itself). Under the action of the subgroup H, the
orbit of an element of x is not all of pitch, but
the smaller set OrbH(x) =​{…, x − 24, x − 12, x,
x +​ 12, x +​24, …} consisting of all elements whose
distance from x is a multiple of 12. The action
of H partitions pitch into twelve distinct orbits,
which are exactly the equivalence classes of the
mod-​ 12 congruence relation, enumerated in
Section 2.5. Musically, H consists of transposi-
tions by any whole number of octaves; the orbit
of a note x is the set of all notes octave-​equivalent
to x, so the orbits may be identified with pitch
classes. The construction of the space pc as a
quotient space of pitch is familiar from Chapter
2, but now we see that the equivalence relation
itself is determined by the action of a subgroup
of the transposition group on pitch space.
234 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
Exercise 6.5.1 Let K be the subgroup K =​ 〈T2〉 =​
{…, T−4, T−2, T0, T2, T4, …} of G. The action of
K partitions pitch into how many different
orbits?
   What are these orbits?
Enharmonic equivalence arises in a closely
analogous way from the space spc, the line of
fifths from Figure 1.3.3. As in Section 2.6, let τn
denote upward transposition by n fifths, a move
n places to the right in spc space, analogous to
Tn in chromatic pitch space. The spc transposi-
tions τn form a group G* =​ 〈τ1〉 =​{…, τ−2, τ−1,
τ0, τ1, τ2, …}, isomorphic to the transposition
group G =​ 𝒯∞ in pitch space considered above,
and the action of G* on spc, like the action of
G on pitch, is simply transitive. Moreover,
the subgroup H* =​ 〈τ12〉 =​{…, τ−24, τ−12, τ0, τ12,
τ24, …} plays a role in G* corresponding to H
above. Because every twelfth note on the line of
fifths is enharmonically equivalent, H* equiva-
lence is nothing more than enharmonic equiva-
lence. The orbit of any note under the action of
H* consists of all possible enharmonic respell-
ings of the given note; for example, OrbH*(C) =​
{…, E♭ ♭ ♭ ♭, D♭ ♭, C, B♯, A♯ ♯ ♯, …}.
Exercise 6.5.2 Let J* be the subgroup J* =​ 〈τ7〉 =​
{…, τ−14, τ−7, τ0, τ7, τ14, …} of G*. The action of J*
partitions spc into how many different orbits?
What
   are these orbits?
For another familiar example, let G be the
dihedral group G =​ 𝒯ℐ12 =​{T0, T1, …, T11, I0, …,
I11} acting on the space pcset of all pitch-​class
sets. In this situation G equivalence is TI equiva-
lence. The action of G is not transitive on pcset,
because many pairs of pc sets are not TI-​equiva-
lent. The orbits of G are simply TI-​classes—​the
usual set classes. If X is a pitch-​class set, then
OrbG(X) is the set class to which X belongs. For
the cyclic subgroup 𝒯12 =​{T0, T1, …, T11} of trans-
positions only, 𝒯12 equivalence is T equivalence.
As defined in Section 2.4, T equivalence is a finer
equivalence relation than TI equivalence, so
the action of 𝒯12 partitions pcset into a larger
number of orbits than the action of 𝒯ℐ12. If X
is a pc set with no symmetry, then the set class
Orb𝒯ℐ12(X) consists of 24 pc sets; under the
action of 𝒯12 this 𝒯ℐ12 orbit splits into two 𝒯12
orbits of twelve sets each. If, on the other hand,
X is inversionally symmetrical, then Orb𝒯ℐ12(X) =​
Orb𝒯12(X). Altogether the 4,096 pitch-​ class
sets are partitioned into 352 orbits under
𝒯12(T-​classes), and 224 orbits under 𝒯ℐ12 (TI-​
classes, or the usual set classes).38
Exercise 6.5.3 For each of the following
pitch-​class sets X, describe Orb𝒯ℐ12(X) and
Orb𝒯12(X).
(a) X =​the C-​major triad {0, 4, 7}
(b) X =​the C-​minor triad {0, 3, 7}
(c) X =​the C-​diminished triad {0, 3, 6}
(d) X =​{0, 1, 4}
(e)  X =​the Petrushka chord {0, 1, 4, 6, 7, 10}
Another familiar group action is that of the
serial group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 =​ 〈T1, I, R〉 on row, the space
of all twelve-​tone rows. Two rows are 𝒮𝑒𝑟12-​
equivalent if they are related by some combina-
tion of transposition, inversion, and retrograde.
In twelve-​tone theory such rows are considered
“forms of the same row”; the orbits under the
action of 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 are called row classes. Almost all
row classes contain exactly 48 rows, but a small
number of symmetrical rows give rise to row
classes of cardinality 24 (recall Exercise 4.1.13,
and see Sections 9.5 and 9.6 for more details).
On a class of 48 rows, the action of 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 is sim-
ply transitive. Figure 4.1.12b, which shows this
action on one row class, is essentially a Cayley
diagram for 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, as we noted in Section 6.2.
Exercise 6.5.4
(a) The transposition group 𝒯12 =​{T0, T1, …,
T11} acts on row, as it is a subgroup of
𝒮𝑒𝑟12. Explain why every orbit of row
under the action of 𝒯12 contains exactly
twelve rows, and use this fact to calculate
how many orbits of this action (T-​classes of
twelve-​tone rows) there are altogether.
(b) The dihedral group 𝒯ℐ12 =​{T0, T1, …, T11, I0,
…, I11} is also a subgroup of the serial group
and therefore acts on row. Does every orbit
of this action contain exactly 24 rows? How
  many orbits are there altogether?
For some of the pitch-​class sets X in Exercise
6.5.3, some transformation f in 𝒯ℐ12 has the
property that f(X) =​ X. In this situation we may
say that f fixes X, that f stabilizes X, or that X is
invariant under f. For example, the inversion
operator I6 fixes the diminished triad {0, 3, 6}.
Generally, if a transformation group G acts on
a set S and if x ∈ S, the stabilizer of x (in G) is
defined to be the set {f ∈ G | f(x) =​ x}—​the set
of all those transformations in G that fix x. This
stabilizer will be denoted StG(x) or simply St(x).
The stabilizer StG(x) is a subset of the group
G while the orbit OrbG(x) is a subset of the set
S. Because the identity transformation E in G
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 235
automatically fixes every x in S (E(x) =​ x), stabi-
lizers (like orbits) are always nonempty sets: x is
always an element of Orb(x), and E is always an
element of St(x). If the action of G on S is simply
transitive, then there can be only one f in G with
the property that f(x) =​ x, and this must be f =​ E.
In the case of a simply transitive group action,
then, orbits and stabilizers are not very interest-
ing: there is only one orbit, and all stabilizers are
trivial, consisting of the identity transformation
only. In other situations, however, St(x) may pro-
vide revealing information about the object x.
Consider again the action of the dihedral
group 𝒯ℐ12 on pcset. If X =​{2, 4, 5, 7}, then
Orb(X) is the set class 0235, consisting of X itself
and its transpositions by T1, …, T11. The inver-
sions I0, I1, …, I11 are elements of 𝒯ℐ12 as well,
but they do not contribute anything new to this
orbit: because of the symmetry of X, its inver-
sions are the same as its transpositions. The
inversion I9 maps the specific set X to itself; the
other inversions map X to its transpositions. The
stabilizer St(X) is the set {T0, I9}; no transposition
or inversion other than those two fixes the set X.
Now let Y be the diminished seventh chord
{1, 4, 7, 10}. In this case, Orb(Y), the set class
0369, is a small set, consisting only of Y and its
two transpositions T1(Y) and T2(Y). The stabilizer
of Y, on the other hand, is large. In addition to the
identity T0, Y is fixed by three other transposi-
tions and four inversions; in fact, St(Y) =​{T0, T3,
T6, T9, I2, I5, I8, I11}. The higher degree of symmetry
of Y in comparison with X is reflected in the fact
that its orbit is smaller and its stabilizer larger.
More can be said. Notice the following
properties:
• The inversion I9, like every inversion operator,
is an involution, so the stabilizer St(X) =​{T0,
I9} is a subgroup of 𝒯ℐ12. Using the formulas
from Theorem 5.5.6, one may check that the
stabilizer St(Y) =​{T0, T3, T6, T9, I2, I5, I8, I11} is
also a subgroup of 𝒯ℐ12.
• Orb(X), St(X), Orb(Y), and St(Y) are sets of
cardinality 12, 2, 3, and 8 respectively. The
products #Orb(X) ∙ #St(X) and #Orb(Y) ∙ #St(Y)
are both equal to 24, which is also the order of
the group 𝒯ℐ12.
The above properties are very general.
Whenever any transformation group G acts on
any set S, the stabilizer St(x) of every element x
of S is always a subgroup of G, and the equation
#Orb(x) ∙ #St(x) =​#G always holds. This equation
is called the orbit-​stabilizer theorem.39
Exercise 6.5.5 List the elements in the orbit the group). Give examples of pc sets whose
and stabilizer of each of the following pitch-​ degrees of symmetry are 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12,
class sets under the action of 𝒯ℐ12, verify that and 24. (Although 3 is a divisor of 24, there
the stabilizer is a subgroup of 𝒯ℐ12, and verify are no pc sets whose degree of symmetry is
that the orbit-​stabilizer theorem holds: 3; see part (d) below.)
(b) Give an example of pc sets X and Y with
(a) the augmented triad {2, 6, 10} the property that X and Y have the same
(b) the French augmented-​sixth chord degree of symmetry relative to the action of
{0, 4, 6, 10} 𝒯ℐ12 but two different degrees of symmetry
(c) the C-​major triad {0, 4, 7} relative to the action of 𝒯12.
(d) the C-​major scale {0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11} (c) Give an example of pc sets X and Y with
(e) the whole-​tone scale {0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10} the property that X and Y have the same
(f) the Petrushka chord {0, 1, 4, 6, 7, 10} degree of symmetry relative to the action of
(g)  the twelve-​tone aggregate40 𝒯12 but two different degrees of symmetry
relative to the action of 𝒯ℐ12.
Symmetry has been mentioned repeatedly in (d) Why are there no pc sets whose degree of
the above discussion; evidently, symmetry has symmetry relative to 𝒯ℐ12 is 3? One can
something to do with group actions. In pitch-​ construct such sets in pitch-​class spaces
class set theory it is widely recognized that sym- of cardinality other than 12, however. Can
metry is described by invariance. The pc set X =​ you find a subset of ℤ18 whose degree of
{2, 4, 5, 7}, for example, is inversionally symmet- symmetry is 3 relative to 𝒯ℐ18, the dihedral
rical because it is invariant under the inversion   group acting on ℤ18?42
operator I9; the transformation I9 may be called a
symmetry of X. A highly symmetrical set such as a Set-​class tables, as in Straus 2016 (378–​81)
diminished seventh chord has many symmetries; and other texts, sometimes list degrees of “T
that is, it is invariant under (fixed by) several dif- symmetry” and “I symmetry” for each set class.
ferent transposition and inversion operators, or, The T symmetry of a set is the number of trans-
to put it differently, it has a large stabilizer. Of position operators that fix the set, and the I
course, every pc set is fixed by the identity trans- symmetry is the number of inversion opera-
formation T0; a set that is fixed by no other Tn or tors. A set’s degree of symmetry relative to 𝒯12
In besides T0 is said to be asymmetrical. is therefore the same as its T symmetry, and the
This conception of symmetry may be extended sum of the T and I symmetries is the degree of
to actions of general transformation groups. If G symmetry relative to 𝒯ℐ12. (The I symmetry by
acts on S and x ∈ S, elements of StG(x) are called itself is not the degree of symmetry relative to
symmetries of x, and the cardinality of StG(x) is any group.) The possibility of defining the degree
called the degree of symmetry of x. A highly sym- of symmetry for a set class depends on the fact
metrical element is one with a large stabilizer—​ that all sets in the class have the same degree of
and therefore, by the orbit-​stabilizer theorem, a symmetry. That is, if pc sets X and Y are related
small orbit.41 If the degree of symmetry of x is 1, by some Tn or In, then X and Y are fixed by the
then x is asymmetrical, as it is fixed only by the same number of transposition operators and by
identity transformation. The group G itself may the same number of inversion operators (but not
be called a symmetry group (or group of symme- necessarily by precisely the same operators). The
tries) on S. A possible point of confusion is that following exercise explores a few examples of
the above definitions depend on the transforma- this property.
tion group, and more than one symmetry group
may act on the same set: an inversionally sym- Exercise 6.5.7 In parts (a)–​(d) below, fill
metrical pitch-​class set, for instance, will have a in each blank with the appropriate Tn or In
higher degree of symmetry relative to the action operator (disregarding T0). Also give examples
of the group 𝒯ℐ12 than it has relative to 𝒯12. of sets X and Y satisfying the given conditions
in each case, and use them to verify that your
Exercise 6.5.6 answers are correct.
(a) It is a consequence of the orbit-​stabilizer
theorem that the degree of symmetry of (a) If X is fixed by T4 (and therefore also by
every pitch-​class set relative to the action T8) and Y =​ T5(X), then Y is fixed by the
of 𝒯ℐ12 must be a divisor of 24 (the order of operators _​_​_​_​_​ and _​__​ ​_​_​ .

236 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces

(b) If X is fixed by T6 and Y =​ I1(X), then Y is
fixed by _​_​_​_​_​ .
(c) If X is fixed by I10 and Y =​ T3(X), then Y is
fixed by _​_​_​_​_​ .
(d) If X is fixed by I5 and Y =​ I4(X), then Y is
fixed by _​_​_​_​_​ .
(e) If a set is inversionally symmetrical (that is,
if its I symmetry is greater than 0), explain
why its T symmetry and I symmetry must
be the same, so that its degree of symmetry
relative to 𝒯ℐ12 must be exactly twice its
  degree of symmetry relative to 𝒯12.43
Every set is invariant under T0, so to be con-
sidered transpositionally symmetrical, a set must
have T symmetry greater than or equal to 2. It
should be obvious that there are no transposi-
tionally symmetrical sets of cardinality 1 or 11;
the next exercise shows that there are none of
cardinality 5 or 7 either (the other mod-​12 inte-
gers coprime to 12). This property has important
consequences in the study of scales, and we will
cite it several times in Part Four. The exercises
that follow examine a few other consequences of
transpositional symmetry.
Exercise 6.5.8 Suppose X is a pc set of
cardinality c with 1 ≤ c ≤ 11, and suppose that X
is invariant under some Tn other than T0. Let d
be the greatest common divisor of n and 12, and
let k =​12 ∕ d.
(a) Show that under these assumptions n
cannot be coprime to 12. Conclude that
2 ≤ d ≤ 6 and 2 ≤ k ≤ 6.
(b) Recall from Exercise 6.1.3 that every cycle
in the cycle structure of Tn is of length
k. Conclude that c is divisible by k, and
  therefore c cannot be coprime to 12.
Exercise 6.5.9 Suppose X is a pitch-​class set
and x and y are pitch classes (which may or
may not belong to X). We say that x and y are
intervallically distinguishable with respect to
X if there is some interval i in ℤ12 such that
one of the two notes Ti(x) and Ti(y) belongs
to X but the other does not. For example, if
X is the Petrushka chord {0, 1, 4, 6, 7, 10},
then the elements 1 and 6 are intervallically
distinguishable with respect to X, because
T1(6) ∈ X while T1(1) ∉ X. The elements 1 and
7, however, are intervallically indistinguishable
with respect to X, because they are in identical
intervallic relationships to the elements of X:
Ti(1) and Ti(7) both belong to X if i is 0, 3, 5, 6,
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 237
9, or 11, while for other values of i neither Ti(1)
nor Ti(7) belongs to X.
(a) Show in general that if x and y are
intervallically indistinguishable with
respect to X, then X is invariant under Tn,
where n =​ y − x. (In the example just given,
7 − 1 =​6, and the Petrushka chord is
invariant under T6.)
(b) Show, conversely, that if a set X is invariant
under some Tn with n ≠ 0, and if x and y are
pitch classes such that Tn(x) =​ y, then x and
y are intervallically indistinguishable with
respect to X. In other words, intervallically
indistinguishable elements exist only in the
  case of transpositionally symmetrical sets.
Exercise 6.5.10 If X is a pitch-​class set, a mode
of X may be defined as the string of intervals
between successive notes of the set, starting
with any desired note and wrapping around
to the same note at the end. Intervallically
indistinguishable starting notes, as defined in
the previous exercise, will give rise to the same
mode. For example, an octatonic collection has
only two modes, given by the strings 12121212
and 21212121; notes of the collection related
by interval class 3 or 6 are intervallically
indistinguishable. A diatonic collection has
seven different modes, all of which may be
obtained by rotating the pattern 2212221
characteristic of a major scale. A mode of X is
an ordered n-​tuple of positive integers, where
n =​#X and the integers in the string sum to 12.
(a) There is a simple equation, valid for every
nonempty pitch-​class set X, by which the
number of modes of X may be calculated
from the cardinality of X and the T
symmetry of X. What is this equation?44
(b) Verify that your equation is valid for sets of
each of the following types: a whole-​tone
scale, a hexatonic collection, an enneatonic
collection, a diminished seventh chord,
a dominant seventh chord, a French
augmented-​sixth chord, and a major triad.
What word other than mode might more
traditionally correspond to the modes of a
  triad or seventh chord?
Another important distinction is to be made
between symmetry in pc space and symmetry in
pitch space. The former is the type of symmetry
most often studied in pitch-​class set theory; the
latter is more restrictive. A finite set in pitch
space cannot be invariant under any transposi-
tion other than T0. (An infinite set can be: for
instance, the infinite whole-​tone scale {…, −4,
−2, 0, 2, 4, …} is invariant under Tn for every
even n.) A finite set in pitch space can be invari-
ant under one inversion operator, but never
more than one; it can have at most one axis of
inversion, and at most one pitch can lie on that
axis. In pitch-​class space, it is possible for two
different notes to lie on an inversional axis. An
inversion operator fixes a note that falls on its
axis, and matches other notes in pairs. Either
in pitch or pitch-​class space, therefore, if a set
of odd cardinality is inversionally symmetrical,
there must be exactly one note of the set on the
axis of inversion.
If a set in pitch space is symmetrical, then
the corresponding set in pitch-​ class space is
automatically symmetrical as well; in fact it is
invariant under the same In, reducing n mod 12
if necessary. For example, the pitch set {E4, G4,
A4, C5} =​{4, 7, 9, 12} is invariant under the pitch
inversion I16, and in pitch space this set reduces
to {C, E, G, A} =​{0, 4, 7, 9}, which is invariant
under I4. The converse does not always hold:
for instance, the asymmetrical pitch set {C4, E4,
G♯5} =​{0, 4, 20} reduces to {C, E, G♯} =​{0, 4, 8}, a
symmetrical augmented triad in pc space. The pc
set {0, 4, 8} does have symmetrical representa-
tions in pitch space, but whether such a repre-
sentation exists for every symmetrical pc set is
a subtler question than it might appear, as the
following exercise demonstrates.
Exercise 6.5.11 Listed below are eight
inversionally symmetrical sets in pc space.
Determine the axis (or axes) of symmetry for
each of them. If possible, construct symmetrical
representations for each set in pitch space.
What are the possible axes of symmetry in
pitch space? In one case you will find that even
though the pc set is symmetrical, there is no
possible symmetrical representation as a pitch
set of the same cardinality. Why is this? Can
you find a symmetrical pitch set in this case if
octave doublings are permitted?
(a) {C, D} (=​{0, 2})
(b) {C, F♯}
(c) {C, D, E}
(d) {C, C♯, D}
(e) {C, D, G}
(f) {C, C♯, D, G}
(g) {C, D, F♯, G♯}
(h)  {C, D♭, F, A♭}
238 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
Exercise 6.5.12
(a) Listed below are some significant pitch
sets in the opening measures of “From
the Island of Bali,” No. 109 from volume
IV of Bartók’s Mikrokosmos. For each set,
determine the axis (or axes) of symmetry in
pitch space and in pc space.
X =​{G♯3, A3, D4, E♭4} (left hand in mm. 1–​11)
Y =​ T3(X) =​{B3, C4, F4, G♭4} (right hand in
mm. 1–​4)
Z =​ T12(Y) =​{B4, C5, F5, G♭5} (right hand in
mm. 5–​11)
X ∪ Y (both hands together in mm. 1–​4)
X ∪ Z (both hands together in mm. 5–​11)
Y ∪ Z (right hand in mm. 1–​11)
(b) Study the score of “From the Island of Bali.”
Comment on the importance of the various
axes of symmetry you identified in (a) as
the piece progresses, and identify any other
  axes (in pitch or pc space) that appear.
Exercise 6.5.13
(a) True or false: If pitch-​class sets X and Y
are related by In and pitch class x is an
element of both X and Y, then In(x) also
belongs to both X and Y. (If the statement
is true, explain why; if it is false, give a
counterexample.)
(b) True or false: If two pitch-​class sets related
by In have exactly one note in common,
then that note must map to itself under In.
(c) Is it possible for two pitch-​class sets related
by I5 to have exactly one note in common?
(d) Is it possible for two pitch-​class sets
related by I5 to have exactly three notes in
  common?
Exercise 6.5.14 This exercise explores
symmetry in spelled pitch-​class space—​the
line of fifths.
(a) Consider the following four spc sets,
where the numbers are spc numbers as in
Figure 1.3.3: {−2, 1, 4}, {−2, 1, 3, 6}, {−1,
2, 3, 6}, {−5, −1, 2, 4}. Three of these sets
are symmetrical in spc space. Identify
these sets; for each of them, describe
a transformation that leaves the set
invariant, and locate the axis of symmetry
(which, as in pitch space, may be either an
integer or a half-​integer).
(b) For the four sets in (a), replace the spc
numbers with the equivalent note names
(for example, {−2, 1, 4} =​{C, A, F♯}), and
reinterpret the spc sets as pc sets. Which
 of them are now symmetrical? What can
you conclude about a logical relationship
between symmetry in spc space and
symmetry in pc space? How are axes of
  symmetry in the two spaces related?
Exercise 6.5.15 Twelve-​tone rows can be
symmetrical, but the possibilities are limited.
Within the confines of the serial group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, no
twelve-​tone row can have a degree of symmetry
greater than 2. Review the sample symmetrical
rows you constructed in Exercise 4.1.13, verify
that each has degree of symmetry 2, and
determine which non-​identity serial operation
fixes
   each row.45
The connections between groups and sym-
metry are too varied and profound to explore
here in detail; see Carter 2009 for many excel-
lent illustrations. One important aspect of
the symmetry of a group itself will be of some
interest to us, however. Consider the cyclic
group ℤ4. The Cayley diagram in Figure 6.2.5a
and the alternate diagram in Exercise 6.2.6
perhaps suggest that the elements 1 and 3
in this group are somehow interchangeable.
Either 1 or 3 by itself generates the group; only
the direction in which the cycle is traversed is
affected by the choice. No other exchanges of
elements seem possible without violating the
group structure, however: the identity 0 is of
course unique, and 2, as the only non-​iden-
tity element that does not generate the entire
group, plays a structural role different from
that of any other element.
This interchangeability of 1 and 3 can also be
seen in the group table for ℤ4 from Figure 6.2.1a.
If every 1 in this table is replaced by a 3 and vice
versa (including those in the row and column
headings), the resulting table is still an accurate
addition table for ℤ4. No other rearrangements
of the table, involving either the number 0 or the
number 2, have this property.
The rearrangement we are considering here
is a bijection f: ℤ4 → ℤ4 given by the equations
f(0) =​0, f(1) =​3, f(2) =​2, f(3) =​1. There are some
other ways to describe this function. In the ter-
minology from Section 6.1, f is a permutation
with the cycle representation (1, 3). Using sim-
ple modular arithmetic we may note that for
every x in ℤ4, f(x) =​−x (mod 4), or equivalently
f(x) =​3x (mod 4). We may therefore identify f
with the inversion operator I: ℤ4 → ℤ4 or with
the mod-​4 multiplication operator M3: ℤ4 → ℤ4.
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 239
Clearly M3 (or I or f) is a bijective mapping from
ℤ4 to itself. Also, M3 satisfies the requirement
for a group homomorphism, because M3(x +​ y) =​
3(x +​ y) =​3x +​3y =​ M3(x) +​ M3(y). Therefore M3
is an isomorphism from ℤ4 to ℤ4 itself. An iso-
morphism from a group G to G itself is called
an automorphism of G. Loosely speaking, auto-
morphisms of a group may be considered sym-
metries of the group itself. Our observation
about the interchangeability of the elements 1
and 3 in the group ℤ4 is an observation about
the symmetry of that group, made explicit by
the fact that multiplication by 3 is an automor-
phism of ℤ4.
For any group G, the identity function EG
on G is trivially an automorphism of G. If f:
G → G is an automorphism, then so is f −1; and if
f and g are automorphisms of G, then so is f ● g.
Consequently all automorphisms of G together
form a new group, called the automorphism group
of G and denoted Aut(G).
In the case of ℤ4, the only automorphisms
are the identity E and M3, so Aut(ℤ4) is a group
of order 2 isomorphic to ℤ2. The identity on ℤ4
is the same thing as the multiplication opera-
tor M1, so Aut(ℤ4) =​{M1, M3}. This observation
is suggestive because 1 and 3 are the units of ℤ4
(the elements coprime to 4); thus Aut(ℤ4) may
also be identified with the units group ℤ4×. This
property holds for all cyclic groups: the automor-
phisms of ℤn are precisely the mod-​n multiplica-
tion operators Ma for which a is coprime to n,
and therefore the automorphism group Aut(ℤn)
is isomorphic to ℤn×. (Recall that ℤn is an addi-
tive group while ℤn× is multiplicative.)
In particular, Aut(ℤ12) is the units group ℤ12×,
which by Exercise 6.3.11 is isomorphic to the
Klein group. There are 12! bijective functions
from the set ℤ12 to itself, but only four of them
are automorphisms of the group: the multipli-
cation operators M1 (=​ T0), M5, M7, and M11 (=​
I), all of which we have now encountered many
times. An automorphism of the additive group
ℤ12 must map the generator 1 to one of the
four generators 1, 5, 7, or 11; once that choice
is made, the automorphism is completely deter-
mined by the homomorphism property. The
same reasoning gives the answer to a question
posed in Section 6.3: there are just four isomor-
phisms from ℤ12 to 𝒯12 =​{T0, T1, …, T11}, deter-
mined by mapping the generator 1 of ℤ12 to one
of the four generators T1, T5, T7, or T11 of 𝒯12.
Recall from Exercise 6.1.9b that the transforma-
tion M7 relates the chromatic and circle-​of-​fifths
orderings of pitch-​class space; the fact that this 6.6 QUOTIENT GROUPS;
transformation is an automorphism of ℤ12 CONSIDERATIONS WITH
underlies the structural similarity between the NONCOMMUTATIVE GROUPS
two pictures.
The group ℤ7, though smaller than ℤ12, has a We have made many observations about the
larger automorphism group, for ℤ7× is a group of relationship between chromatic pitch space
order 6 (see Exercise 5.2.7b). As measured by the pitch and chromatic pitch-​class space pc, and
count of automorphisms, ℤ7 is a more symmetri- also about the relationship between their inter-
cal group than ℤ12, even though as a transforma- val groups ℤ and ℤ12. In Chapter 1 we formed
tion group ℤ12 (or 𝒯12) acts on a larger space withpc by wrapping the line of pitch into a circle.
a greater variety of symmetries. In Section 2.4 we showed more precisely how to
obtain pc as a quotient set of pitch by apply-
Exercise 6.5.16 Consider generic pitch-​class ing an equivalence relation (octave equiva-
space gpc in the stepwise configuration of lence), and in Section 6.5 we observed that this
Figure 1.2.8, as well as generic fifths space equivalence relation is defined by the action
gfifth of 1.3.8 and generic thirds space of a transformation group H =​ 〈T12〉 =​{…, T−24,
gthird of 1.3.12. T−12, T0, T12, T24, …} on pitch. We also noted
that under the isomorphism of 𝒞∞ with ℤ, the
(a) Determine which automorphism of ℤ7 subgroup H of 𝒞∞ corresponds to the subgroup
(a mod-​7 multiplication operator Ma) maps 12ℤ =​ 〈12〉 =​{…, −24, −12, 0, 12, 24, …} of ℤ. In
the pitch-​class numbers in gpc to the Section 2.5, meanwhile, we showed how to con-
numbers in the corresponding locations struct ℤ12 as a quotient set of ℤ by the relation
in gfifth. Is this automorphism an of congruence mod 12. It will probably come as
involution, like M7 in ℤ12? no surprise that congruence mod 12 may also
(b) What automorphism of ℤ7 maps the be defined by a group action, specifically by an
pitch-​class numbers in gpc to the numbers action of the subgroup 12ℤ on the entire group
in the corresponding locations in gthird? ℤ. From this observation it follows that ℤ12 is
(c) What automorphism of ℤ7 maps the not merely a quotient set of ℤ but a quotient
pitch-​class numbers in gfifth to the group, a concept that we now make precise by
numbers in the corresponding locations in dissecting the construction of ℤ12 even a bit
  gthird? further than before.
By Cayley’s theorem (from Section 6.2), every
Another noteworthy automorphism group is group acts on itself by multiplication within the
that of the Klein group 𝒱4. In the group table for group: the transformation corresponding to an
𝒱4 in Figure 6.3.9, all three of the non-​identity element a in G is Multa(x) =​ xa, defined for all x
elements x, y, and z play symmetrical roles in the in G. Any subgroup H of G also acts on G in this
structure of this group: all are involutions, and way. In the present situation, the group G =​ ℤ
the product of any two of these elements is the and the subgroup H =​12ℤ are additive groups,
third. Consequently these three elements may so they act on ℤ by addition; changing the name
be rearranged in any way at all without changing of the transformation accordingly, the function
the content of the table. In other words, all pos- Adda is defined by Adda(x) =​ x +​ a for every x in
sible permutations of the set {x, y, z} are auto- ℤ. Elements x and y of ℤ are related by Adda for
morphisms of 𝒱4, and Aut(𝒱4) is the group of some a in 12ℤ if and only if x ≡ y (mod 12). The
permutations of a three-​element set—​the sym- relation of congruence mod 12 is therefore the
metric group 𝒮3. As we know, this is a group of same as the equivalence relation defined by the
order 6; the Klein group 𝒱4 has a higher degree group action of 12ℤ on G (in the notation from
of symmetry than the cyclic group 𝒞4, and the Section 6.5 this relation would be denoted ~12ℤ),
automorphism group of a Klein group is larger and the equivalence classes—​the elements of
than the Klein group itself. ℤ12—​are the orbits of this action. For example,
Automorphisms and automorphism groups Orb12ℤ(3) is the set {…, −21, −9, 3, 15, 27, …},
will come into play several times in the follow- the set denoted 3 in Section 2.5. Each such orbit
ing chapters, in our study of isomorphism of looks much like the subgroup 12ℤ, but shifted
interval spaces in Section 7.2, of transformation (“transposed”) by a constant value. That is, the
graphs and networks in Section 9.3, and of well-​ equivalence class 3 consists of all integers a
formed scales in Section 13.2. +​3 (or 3 +​a), where a ∈ 12ℤ. This set may be

240 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces

denoted by the shorthand 12ℤ +​3 (or 3 +​12ℤ);
it is called a coset of the subgroup 12ℤ.
In the set ℤ, the cosets of 12ℤ, orbits under
the action of 12ℤ, and congruence classes mod
12 are precisely the same sets. Every coset has
multiple names: the coset 12ℤ +​3 could also
be labeled 12ℤ +​15 or 12ℤ +​(−9), for example.
There are twelve of these cosets, a situation
summarized by saying that 12ℤ is a subgroup
of index 12 in the group ℤ. (Somewhat loosely,
this means that 12ℤ contains one-​twelfth of the
elements of ℤ—​but in this case of course both
ℤ and 12ℤ are infinite groups.) Figure 6.6.1 is
a Cayley diagram for ℤ in which the elements
of each coset have been brought together. The
arrows form a single spiral, not a series of con-
centric circles. This figure could be produced by
bending the linear Cayley diagram from Figure
6.2.5c into a spiral; it may also be compared
with Figure 1.2.1, a similar spiral representa-
tion of pitch space.
The collection of the twelve cosets of the
subgroup 12ℤ within the group ℤ is frequently
denoted ℤ ∕ 12ℤ. This notation ℤ ∕ 12ℤ (or more
generally G ∕ H) is standard in group theory, but
FIGURE 6.6.1 A Cayley diagram for (ℤ, +​) on the generator 1, showing the cosets in ℤ/​12ℤ
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 241
of course this is precisely the set that we already
know as ℤ12, the integers mod 12. The notation
ℤ ∕ 12ℤ is commonly pronounced “ℤ mod 12ℤ,”
showing its derivation from modular arithmetic;
the cosets of 12ℤ effectively define “modules”
that repeat over and over throughout the larger
group ℤ. Here ℤ12 =​ ℤ ∕ 12ℤ is not merely a quo-
tient set (the general term for the set of equiva-
lence classes of an equivalence relation), but
something more: it is a quotient group, specifically
the quotient of the group ℤ by the subgroup 12ℤ.
Further examination of the construction of this
quotient group, and especially the binary opera-
tion in this group, will enable us to understand
the concept of quotient groups more generally.
In Section 2.5 we formalized addition in ℤ12 by
the definition m + n = (m + n ). Translating this
definition into the language of cosets of 12ℤ, we
may define the sum of cosets (12ℤ +​ m) +​(12ℤ +​ n)
to be the coset 12ℤ +​(m +​ n). Defined in this
way, addition is a binary operation on ℤ ∕ 12ℤ.
We observed in Chapter 2 that this addition is
well-​defined; in terms of cosets, this observation
means that choosing different names for the
cosets 12ℤ +​ m and 12ℤ +​ n cannot result in a
different sum. That is, if 12ℤ +​ m1 =​12ℤ +​ m2
and 12ℤ +​ n1 =​12ℤ +​ n2, then 12ℤ +​(m1 +​ n1) is
the same coset as 12ℤ +​(m2 +​ n2). A special case
of this property is clearly visible in the graph of
Figure 6.6.1: if two numbers m1 and m2 lie in the
same coset, then the arrows directed away from
m1 and m2 always point to the same coset. That
is, the coset containing m1 +​1 also contains m2 +​
1. If two of these +​1 arrows with origins in the
same coset had their destinations in two differ-
ent cosets, a coherent definition of addition in
the quotient group would be impossible.
Another general definition is useful here.
Suppose (G, ⊗) is a group and ~ is an equivalence
relation on G. The relation ~ is said to be a group
congruence if, whenever g1, g2, h1, and h2 are ele-
ments of G such that g1 ~ g2 and h1 ~ h2, then it
is also true that g1 ⊗ h1 ~ g2 ⊗ h2. This definition
means that the equivalence relation is compat-
ible with the group operation: when group ele-
ments are replaced by other elements to which
they are equivalent (related by ~), the product
of a group operation may change, but the new
product will be equivalent to the original prod-
uct in the same way. In these terms, the obser-
vation in the preceding paragraph says precisely
that the relation ~12ℤ (congruence mod 12) on
the group ℤ is a group congruence.
In fact, this is so precisely because 12ℤ is a
subgroup of ℤ. The hypotheses 12ℤ +​ m1 =​12ℤ +​
m2 and 12ℤ +​ n1 =​12ℤ +​ n2 imply that m1 ≡ m2
and n1 ≡ n2 (mod 12), so the differences m1 − m2
and n1 − n2 belong to 12ℤ. Because the subgroup
12ℤ is closed under addition, it follows that the
sum of these two differences, (m1 − m2) +​(n1 − n2),
belongs to 12ℤ as well. But this sum is the same
as (m1 +​ n1) − (m2 +​ n2), so it follows that m1 +​ n1
≡ m2 +​ n2 (mod 12), and therefore it is indeed
true that the cosets 12ℤ +​(m1 +​ n1) and 12ℤ +​
(m2 +​ n2) are the same. So it is the status of 12ℤ
as a subgroup of ℤ that allows us to define addi-
tion on the quotient set, turning it into a quo-
tient group. The identity element of this quotient
group is the coset 12ℤ +​0, the coset containing
the identity element 0 of ℤ. As a subset of ℤ, this
coset is equal to the group 12ℤ itself. Because
12ℤ is the only coset containing 0, it is therefore
also the only coset that is itself a group; in the
quotient group ℤ ∕ 12ℤ, the subgroup 12ℤ effec-
tively collapses to the identity. The inverse of
the element 12ℤ +​ n in ℤ ∕ 12ℤ is 12ℤ +​(−n), the
coset containing the integer −n; this coset could
also be written 12ℤ − n.
Is a similar construction possible for any sub-
group H of any group G? Can we always form a
242 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
quotient group G ∕ H, collapsing H to the iden-
tity? The general answer to this question is no,
for reasons explored below. As long as G is a
commutative group, however, a quotient group
G ∕ H can always be formed, exactly following the
model of ℤ ∕ 12ℤ as described above.
Exercise 6.6.2 Review the above discussion
demonstrating that congruence mod 12 is a
group congruence. Locate a specific step where
this explanation relied on the commutativity of
  group ℤ.
the
To be precise, suppose (G, ⊕) is a commuta-
tive group and H is a subgroup of G. If x ∈ G,
write H ⊕ x for the set {h ⊕ x | h ∈ H}; this is
a coset of the subgroup H in the group G. This
coset is also OrbH(x), where the subgroup H acts
on the group G by “addition” (⊕). The number
of different cosets is the index of H in G; if G is a
finite group, this index is simply #G ∕ #H, the ratio
of the cardinality of the group G to that of the
subgroup H. The set of all the cosets is denoted
G ∕ H (“G mod H”). Two elements x and y of G
are in the same coset if x ~H y, which means that
y =​ h ⊕ x for some h in H; this relation ~H is a
group congruence on G, which may be called
congruence mod H. (As above, this conclusion
depends on the commutativity of G.) We can
therefore define a binary operation on the cosets
in G ∕ H by the equation (H ⊕ x) ⊕ (H ⊕ y) =​ H ⊕
(x ⊕ y), and under this operation, G ∕ H becomes
a group, the quotient group of G by the subgroup
H. The identity element of G ∕ H is the coset H
itself (or H ⊕ 0, where 0 denotes the identity of
G), and the inverse of H ⊕ x in G ∕ H is H ⊕ (⊖x),
where ⊖x denotes the inverse of x.
For a second example of a quotient group,
let G be the cyclic transposition group 𝒯12 =​{T0,
T1, …, T11} acting on pc, and let H be the sub-
group {T0, T3, T6, T9}. Of course G is commu-
tative, and we observed in Section 6.1 that H
is a cyclic subgroup of G. The index of H in G is
12 ∕ 4 =​3. One of the three cosets is H itself; the
others may be denoted HT1 and HT2, obtained by
“multiplying” H on the right by the elements T1
and T2 of G. “Multiplication” here is really com-
position of functions; the cosets could be writ-
ten H ● T1 and H ● T2, but we omit the symbol ●
for simplicity. Other representatives could have
been chosen for these cosets, but T1 and T2 are
numerically the simplest.
Because the elements of H are T0, T3, T6, and
T9, the elements of the coset HT1 are T0T1 =​ T1,
T3T1 =​ T4, T6T1 =​ T7, and T9T1 =​ T10, and similarly
HT2 =​{T2, T5, T8, T11}. The coset H is a subgroup
of G; HT1 and HT2 are not subgroups. Elements
such as T4 and T10, both in the coset HT1, are
congruent mod H in the sense that T4 can be
multiplied by some element of H, namely T6, to
give T10. Intuitively, two transpositions that are
congruent mod H might be considered “congru-
ent modulo a diminished seventh chord”: they
might map the note C, for example, to two dif-
ferent places, but we can be certain that the two
resulting notes will always have pitch-​class num-
bers that differ by a multiple of 3. This relation
~H is a group congruence on G, so multiplication
of cosets is well-​defined. For example, T4T11 =​ T3,
and if we replace T4 and T11 with any other ele-
ments in the same cosets (HT1 and HT2 respec-
tively), such as T10 and T8, the resulting product,
in this case T10T8 =​ T6, is guaranteed to be in the
same coset as T3, in this case the coset H itself. In
the quotient group G ∕ H, therefore, the product
(HT1)(HT2) is equal to H. We know from Section
6.3 that every group of order 3 is cyclic; it is not
difficult to see that G ∕ H is isomorphic to (ℤ3, +​)
via the correspondence H ↔ 0, HT1 ↔ 1, HT2 ↔ 2.
Exercise 6.6.3 In Section 5.4 we used the
interval subspace property (Theorem 5.4.7)
to describe a “diminished-​seventh space”
{…, F♯3, A3, C4, E♭4, F♯4, …}, the subspace of pitch
generated by the element C4 and the subgroup
3ℤ of ℤ. A different diminished-​seventh space
such as {…, G3, B♭3, C♯4, E4, G4, …} could arise by
choosing a reference point other than C4.
Now that we have studied cosets, a
generalized version of the interval subspace
property may be formulated in which the
reference point need not belong to the
generated subspace. Suppose (G, ⊕) is a
commutative group; (S, G, int) is an interval
space; s0 is a fixed element of S; Gʹ is a subgroup
of G; and g0 is a fixed element of G. Define a
subset Sʹ of S consisting of all elements x in S
such that int(s0, x) is an element of the coset
Gʹ ⊕ g0. (The original interval subspace property
required that int(s0, x) belong to Gʹ itself.) The
generalized interval subspace property states
that, under these conditions, (Sʹ, Gʹ, intʹ ) is
an interval space, where intʹ: Sʹ × Sʹ → Gʹ is the
same as the function int, but defined only on
the elements of Sʹ.
(a) Verify that the diminished-​seventh space
{…, G3, B♭3, C♯4, E4, G4, …} is the subspace
of pitch generated by the element C4 and
the coset 3ℤ +​1 of the subgroup 3ℤ, as
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 243
the above generalized interval subspace
property describes.
(b) In pitch-​class space pc, show how the
augmented triad {D, F♯, B♭} may be
generated from the note E♭ and a certain
coset of a certain subgroup of the interval
group ℤ12.
(c) Prove the generalized version of the interval
subspace property stated above, and
observe how commutativity of the interval
  group is essential in the proof.46
If G is a noncommutative group, things are
more complicated. In general, some subgroups
will give rise to quotient groups while others
will not. To illustrate, consider our most familiar
example of a noncommutative transformation
group, the dihedral group G =​ 𝒯ℐ12 =​{T0, …, T11,
I0, …, I11} acting on pc, and consider two sub-
groups of order 4: the cyclic subgroup H =​{T0,
T3, T6, T9}, and K =​{T0, T6, I0, I6}, which as we
observed in Section 6.3 is a Klein group.
The index of each of these subgroups in G is
24 ∕ 4 =​6. The cosets are obtained by multiplying
each element of each subgroup with other ele-
ments of G, which may be accomplished using
the now-​familiar formulas from Theorem 5.5.6.
The six cosets of H are
H =​{T0, T3, T6, T9}, HI0 =​{I0, I3, I6, I9},
HT1 =​{T1, T4, T7, T10}, HI1 =​{I1, I4, I7, I10},
HT2 =​{T2, T5, T8, T11}, HI2 =​{I2, I5, I8, I11}.
Calculation of the cosets containing inversion
operators may be slightly less obvious than it
appears; in HI1, for instance, T3I1 =​ I10 (not I4)
while T9I1 =​ I4 (not I10). Nevertheless, the index
numbers of the inversions within each coset
remain congruent mod 3. The situation is some-
what similar to the case considered above in
which G was not 𝒯ℐ12 but 𝒯12. The subgroup H is
the same while the group G is now twice as large,
so there are twice as many cosets, but three of
them are exactly the same as before, the trans-
formations in each coset are still “congruent
modulo a diminished-​seventh chord,” and the
relation ~H is again a group congruence. The fol-
lowing exercise explores a few properties of this
congruence and the quotient group G ∕ H.
Exercise 6.6.4
(a) In the situation described above, observe
that I4 ~H I7 (because I4 and I7 are in the
 same coset HI1), and T2 ~H T8 (both are in
the coset HT2). Verify that I4T2 ~H I7T8.
(b) In a similar manner, verify that T2I4 ~H T8I7.
(c) Also verify that I4I3 ~H I7I0.
(d) Use the results from parts (a)–​(c) to
determine the products (HI1)(HT2),
(HT2)(HI1), and (HI1)(HI0) in G ∕ H.
(e) Is G ∕ H a commutative group? From Section
6.3 we know that every group of order 6 is
isomorphic either to the cyclic group 𝒞6 or
to the symmetric group 𝒮3. Which type of
  group is G ∕ H?
Now consider the subgroup K =​{T0, T6, I0, I6}
in place of H. This subgroup contains transposi-
tions and inversions in equal numbers, and a full
set of cosets can be obtained by multiplying K by
transpositions only:
K =​{T0, T6, I0, I6}, KT3 =​{T3, T9, I3, I9},
KT1 =​{T1, T7, I1, I7}, KT4 =​{T4, T10, I4, I10},
KT2 =​{T2, T8, I2, I8}, KT5 =​{T5, T11, I5, I11}.
Each transformation in 𝒯ℐ12 appears in one of
these cosets, and this list might appear to be a
logical partition of the elements of G; at least
it defines a sort of tritone equivalence of index
numbers. But the presence of both transposi-
tions and inversions in the same coset is a com-
plication. The first sign that something is amiss
is the realization that when multiplying K by the
transpositions T1, …, T5, it makes a difference
whether we choose to multiply on the right or on
the left. Recall, for example, that I0T1 =​ I1, while
T1I0 =​ I11. Therefore I1 belongs to the right coset
KT1 in the above list, but does not belong to the
left coset T1K. The full list of left cosets of K is
K =​{T0, T6, I0, I6}, T3K =​{T3, T9, I3, I9},
T1K =​{T1, T7, I5, I11}, T4K =​{T4, T10, I2, I8},
T2K =​{T2, T8, I4, I10}, T5K =​{T5, T11, I1, I7}.
Only K and T3K match the corresponding right
cosets. In attempting to form a quotient group
G ∕ K, we are faced with deciding which collection
of cosets to use. In fact, the following exercise
shows that neither one will work.
Exercise 6.6.5
(a) In the situation described above, write ~K
for “right-​coset equivalence.” Therefore
244 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
T1 ~K I7 and I2 ~K T8. Is it true that T1I2 ~K
I7T8? Explain why your answer shows that
~K is not a group congruence on G and
that there is no coherent way to define the
product (KT1)(KT2) of right cosets in G ∕ K.
(b) Also write K~ for “left-​coset equivalence.”
Produce an example similar to part (a) to
show that K~ is not a group congruence on
G and that there is no consistent way to
  define a product of left cosets.
Exercise 6.6.6 Return to the group H =​{T0, T3,
T6, T9} from Exercise 6.6.4. Verify that the left
cosets
   of H are the same as its right cosets.
The last two exercises capture the significant
difference between the subgroups H and K. In
general, a subgroup of a group G is called a nor-
mal subgroup of G if its right cosets are the same
sets as its left cosets. Of the above two examples
of subgroups of G =​ 𝒯ℐ12, the subgroup H =​{T0,
T3, T6, T9} is normal but the subgroup K =​{T0, T6,
I0, I6} is not. If H is a normal subgroup of G and
if x ∈ G, then the cosets Hx and xH are the same
set, and for any element h of H, the elements hx
and xh belong to the same coset as x itself. For
every normal subgroup H a relation ~H may be
defined so that for x and y in G, x ~H y means that
x and y belong to the same coset of H (we need
not specify right or left cosets, because they are
the same). As long as the subgroup H is normal,
~H is a group congruence; it is therefore pos-
sible to define a binary operation on the cosets
in G ∕ H by the equation (Hx)(Hy) =​ H(xy), and
under this operation, G ∕ H becomes a group. No
such quotient group construction is possible for
subgroups that are not normal.
If H is a normal subgroup of G, then every x
in G defines a coset Hx in G ∕ H, so we may define
a function QH: G → G ∕ H by the equation QH(x)
=​ Hx. This function is simply the quotient map
of the equivalence relation ~H, as defined in
Section 2.4, where such maps were denoted Q~.
The equation (Hx)(Hy) =​ H(xy), by which we have
defined the group operation in G ∕ H, then says
that QH(x)QH(y) =​ QH(xy), which means that the
quotient map QH is a homomorphism. We call
such a quotient map a quotient homomorphism;
it is also often called the canonical (or natural)
homomorphism from G to G ∕ H. This mapping is
automatically onto. It is not one-​to-​one unless
H is {e}, the trivial subgroup of G; this is because
all elements of H map to the identity element H
of G ∕ H. In general, if f: G → Gʹ is a group homo-
morphism, the set {x ∈ G | f(x) =​ e} is called the
kernel of f. In the present context, the kernel of
the quotient map QH: G → G ∕ H is the normal
subgroup H itself. It happens that the kernel of
any group homomorphism f: G → Gʹ is always a
normal subgroup of G. In fact, this is another
way to characterize normal subgroups: a sub-
group of G is normal if and only if it is the kernel
of some homomorphism defined on G.
There are still other ways to define normal
subgroups. Rather than using the normal sub-
group H to define the congruence ~H, it is pos-
sible to work the other way around: if ~ is any
group congruence on a group G, then H =​{x ∈
G | x ~ e}, the set of elements of G congruent
to the identity, is a normal subgroup of G, and
the cosets in G ∕ H are precisely the equivalence
classes of the congruence ~. Another character-
ization involves the operation of conjugation.
A group element of the form x−1hx is called the
conjugate of h by x. A subgroup H of a group G is
normal if and only if, for every x in G and every
h in H, x−1hx belongs to H; that is, H is a normal
subgroup of G if and only if H contains the con-
jugates of all of its elements by all elements of G.
(If x−1hx =​ hʹ ∈ H, then hx =​ xhʹ. But hx belongs to
the right coset Hx, while xhʹ belongs to the left
coset xH; if this is true for every x, it follows that
the cosets are the same.)47
Exercise 6.6.7
(a) In 𝒯ℐ12, determine formulas for the conjugate
of Tn by Tm, the conjugate of Tn by Im, the
conjugate of In by Tm, and the conjugate of
In by Im. That is, use the formulas from
Theorem 5.5.6 to simplify the expressions
Tm−1TnTm, Im−1TnIm, Tm−1InTm, and Im−1InIm.
(b) If G =​ 𝒯ℐ12 and H =​{T0, T3, T6, T9}, use
appropriate formulas from part (a) to
explain why, if x is any element of G and h
FIGURE 6.6.9 Conjugation of functions
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 245
is any element of H, then x−1hx ∈ H, thus
confirming that H is a normal subgroup
of G.48
(c) If G =​ 𝒯ℐ12 and K =​{T0, T6, I0, I6}, use one
of your formulas from part (a) to find
elements x in G and k in K such that x−1kx ∉
K, thus confirming that K is not a normal
  subgroup of G.
Exercise 6.6.8 Consider the permutation
group 𝒮3 acting on the set {A, B, C}, as in the
table of Figure 6.2.1b and the Cayley diagram
of 6.2.5b. Let H =​{E, (A, B, C), (A, C, B)} be the
cyclic subgroup of order 3 generated by the
3-​cycle (A, B, C), and let K =​{E, (A, B)} be the
cyclic subgroup of order 2 generated by the 2-​
cycle (A, B). List the elements in all the right
and left cosets of both H and K. One of the
two subgroups is normal and the other is not.
Which
   is which?49
The operation of conjugation is very impor-
tant in group theory. The abstract transformation
network in Figure 6.6.9a suggests one reason.
Suppose that objects x and y in some space S
are related by a transformation g. Suppose also
that f: S → Sʹ is a mapping from S into a space Sʹ
(which may or may not be the same as S), and
suppose that we are interested in knowing how
the elements f(x) and f(y) are related.50 There is,
in general, no guarantee that the same transfor-
mation g that maps x to y also maps f(x) to f(y); it
is possible that the function g is not even defined
on the space Sʹ. But as long as the function f is a
bijection, we can use its inverse function f −1 to
trace a path
−1 g
f ( x ) f→ x  f
→ y →
 f ( y ),
from which we may conclude that while f(x) and
f(y) may not be related by g, they are at least
related by a conjugate of g, namely f −1gf.
This formula is valid whether or not f and g
belong to a transformation group, but is of spe-
cial importance if they do. Figure 6.6.9b shows a
simple case involving the action of the dihedral
group 𝒯ℐ12 on triads. Here the roles of the func-
tions f and g are played by the transposition T7
and the inversion I8, respectively. The C-​major
triad is mapped by I8 to the C♯-​minor triad. When
both triads are transposed by T7, the resulting
G-​major and G♯-​minor triads are related not by
I8 but by its conjugate T7−1I8T7, which (as one of
your formulas from Exercise 6.6.7a should con-
firm) is equal to I10. Conjugation relations of this
kind will play an important role in our discussion
of isomorphism of transformation networks in
Section 9.3.
Exercise 6.6.10 Make diagrams analogous to
those in Figure 6.6.9b, always starting with the
C-​major triad, in which the following pairs of
transformations play the roles of f and g:
(a) f =​ I8, g =​ T7
(b) f =​ I3, g =​ I8
(c)  f =​ T7, g =​ T3
We are familiar with the fact that every group
acts on itself by multiplication (or whatever the
group operation is); that is, for every element
a of a group G we can define a function Multa:
G → G by the equation Multa(x) =​ xa for all x in G.
We can also see now that conjugation defines an
action of a group on itself. That is, if G is a group
and a ∈ G, we may define a function Conja: G →
G by the formula Conja(x) =​ a−1xa for all x in G.
In fact, for every a in G, the conjugation Conja
is an automorphism of G, known as an inner
automorphism.
In Section 6.5 we saw that any transforma-
tion group G acting on a set S determines an
equivalence relation ~G on S, defined so that x
~G y if and only if y =​ f(x) for some f in G. When
G acts on itself by conjugation, the group G and
the set S are the same thing. In this case, x ~G
y if and only if x and y are conjugates—​that is,
if and only if there is some a in G such that y =​
a−1xa. The equivalence classes of this relation
(the orbits of the conjugation action) are known
as conjugacy classes. The example in Figure 6.6.9b
shows that in the group 𝒯ℐ12, the inversions I8
and I10 belong to the same conjugacy class.
246 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
A few other definitions relevant to noncom-
mutative groups will be useful in later chapters. If
G is a group and A is a subset of G (not necessarily
a subgroup), the centralizer of A in G is the set
CentG ( A) = { x ∈G|xa = ax for every a ∈ A}.
That is, the centralizer of A consists of those ele-
ments of G that commute with all elements of A.
It turns out that CentG(A) is always a subgroup of
G. If A =​{a} consists of a single element, we write
CentG(a) (rather than the more cumbersome
CentG({a})) for the centralizer, which is simply
the set of those elements that commute with a.
The centralizer of the entire group, CentG(G) or
Cent(G) for short, is known as the center of the
group G; Cent(G) consists of those elements of G
that commute with every element of G. Cent(G)
is always a normal subgroup of G; centralizers of
subsets of G may fail to be normal.
If x and y are elements of G, the commutator
of x and y is the element x−1y−1xy. If x and y com-
mute, their commutator is equal to the identity
element e. The subgroup of G generated by all
commutators of pairs of elements of G is called
the commutator subgroup of G.
It is worth noting how much simpler all of
this is if the group G is commutative. In that
case, right-​multiplication and left-​multiplication
are the same; right and left cosets are the same;
all subgroups of G are normal; every conjugate
x−1hx is equal to the element h being conjugated;
every element is in a conjugacy class by itself; the
centralizer of every subset is the whole group;
the group is its own center; all commutators are
equal to the identity; and the commutator sub-
group is the trivial group {e}. For a noncommu-
tative group, some of these concepts measure in
some sense how close G is to being a commuta-
tive group: conjugacy classes and commutator
subgroups may be large, and centers and cen-
tralizers may be small. The identity e, however,
always commutes with every element, so e is
always in a conjugacy class by itself and belongs
to every centralizer.
The following exercise explores how these
concepts apply in the case of the dihedral
group 𝒯ℐ12.
Exercise 6.6.11
(a) Use the formulas from Exercise 6.6.7a to
make a list of all the conjugacy classes in the
group G =​ 𝒯ℐ12.
(b) Use the formulas from Theorem 5.5.6 to Consequently, whenever two groups are anti-​
determine CentG(T3), and verify that this isomorphic, they are automatically isomorphic
set forms a subgroup of G. also—​but if the groups are noncommutative, the
(c) Determine CentG(I3), and verify that it is a isomorphisms and anti-​isomorphisms are differ-
subgroup of G. ent functions.
(d) What is CentG({T3, I3})?
(e) What is Cent(G)?
(f) All possible commutators in G are of
NOTES
the forms Tm−1Tn−1TmTn, Tm−1In−1TmIn, 1. Hints for Exercise 6.1.3: In part (a), if 1 ≤ n ≤
Im−1Tn−1ImTn, and Im−1In−1ImIn. Calculate 11, then every cycle in the cycle structure of Tn is of
formulas for each of these. length 12 ∕ d, where d is the greatest common divisor
(g)  What is the commutator subgroup of G?51 of n and 12. For part (b), Figure 5.5.4 may be help-
ful. The sum of the answers to questions (a) and (b) is
Recall from Section 6.3 that the definition 8, but there are only seven different cycle types alto-
of a homomorphism from a group G to a group gether, because (as you should have discovered in the
Gʹ requires that f(x ⊕ y) =​ f(x) ⊗ f(y), where ⊕ previous exercise) one of the transposition cycle types
and ⊗ are the group operations in G and Gʹ duplicates one of the inversion cycle types.
respectively. When noncommutative groups are 2. Hints for Exercise 6.1.6d–​e: The second rows of
involved, the order of elements matters on both the matrix representations for p and q should be rec-
sides of this equation. Occasionally one encoun- ognizably similar. For (e), what do you get if you sub-
ters functions that reverse, rather than preserve, tract 3 from every number in the second row of the
the order of group products, satisfying the equa- matrix for p?
tion f(x ⊕ y) =​ f(y) ⊗ f(x) instead. Such a func- 3. In permutation theory 2-​cycles are commonly
tion is called an anti-​homomorphism. Extending called transpositions, as they simply “transpose” two
this definition in fairly obvious ways, an anti-​ elements. For obvious reasons, it seems prudent to
homomorphism that is one-​to-​one and onto is avoid this terminology in a musical context. For an
an anti-​isomorphism; an anti-​isomorphism from elementary discussion of permutations including a
a group to itself is an anti-​automorphism; and if proof of the theorem about the number of 2-​cycles
an anti-​isomorphism exists between two groups in a permutation representation, see Chapter 13 of
they are said to be anti-​isomorphic. In the case of Grossman and Magnus 1964.
commutative groups, homomorphisms and anti-​ 4. Hint for Exercise 6.1.8: In parts (b), (c), and (e),
homomorphisms are the same thing, but in the you should find even and odd permutations in equal
noncommutative case they may be different. numbers.
5. Other musical applications of permutation the-
Exercise 6.6.12 Define a function g: 𝒯ℐ12 → ory range from dice games for producing short com-
𝒯ℐ12 by the formulas g(Tn) =​ T−n and g(In) =​ In. positions, in vogue in the late 18th century (Ratner
Use the formulas from Theorem 5.5.6 to show 1970), to a formalization of “banjo pick permutations”
   g is an anti-​automorphism of 𝒯ℐ12.
that (Rockwell 2009). Permutation theory also figures
in techniques for enumerating set classes and other
The function g in the above exercise has an musical objects (Alegant 1993, Hook 2007d).
alternate definition: for every X in 𝒯ℐ12, whether 6. The reader who takes an interest in such details
a transposition or an inversion, g(X) is equal to may confirm that if n =​2, the inversions I0 and I1 are
X−1. An analogous formula g(x) =​ x−1 defines an the same as the transpositions T0 and T1—​inevitably,
anti-​automorphism on any group G whatsoever, as these are the only two permutations in the group
known as the inverse mapping on G (not to be 𝒮2—​so in this case 𝒟2 has only two elements, not
confused with an inverse function f −1). There are four, and 𝒞2 =​ 𝒟2 =​ 𝒮2. If n =​3, inversions are differ-
cases in which the most readily apparent map- ent from (and do not commute with) transpositions,
ping between two groups turns out to be an anti-​ but because 3! =​2 ∙ 3 =​6, the group 𝒟3 is the same
homomorphism or anti-​isomorphism; we shall as 𝒮3. Permutations in 𝒮3 will be studied in Example
see musically relevant examples in Chapters 7 6.1.13 below.
and 8. An anti-​isomorphism f: G → Gʹ may always 7. Hints for Exercise 6.1.9: If the answers to (a)
be composed with the inverse mapping g: Gʹ → Gʹ are not obvious, construct the matrix representa-
on the group Gʹ. In this case f ● g, the composi- tions for M1 and M11. For (c), use the formulas Tk(x) =​
tion of two order-​reversing anti-​isomorphisms, is x +​ k and M7(x) =​7x (mod 12) to write formulas for
an order-​preserving isomorphism from G to Gʹ. T1 ● M7 and M7 ● Tk. For (d), remember that T1

Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 247

generates all transposition operators, and T1 and I
generate all inversion operators, so it suffices to show
that I and M11 can somehow be written as combina-
tions of M5, M7, and T1.
8. Hints for Exercise 6.1.12a–​b: The case n =​12, k =​8
is instructive for part (a). In this case, what is d, what
is j, and what is the cycle type of T8? For (b), note that
if n (=​ d ∙ j) is odd, then d and j must both be odd, but if
n is even, at least one of d and j must be even.
9. Hints for Exercise 6.1.12c–​f: The cycle types in
parts (c)–​(e) may be expressed in terms of the num-
bers r and s. For (f), observe that if r is even, then n =​
0 (mod 4); if r is odd, then n =​2 (mod 4); if s is even,
then n =​1 (mod 4); and if s is odd, then n =​3 (mod 4).
10. The idea of applying permutation group theory
to lines in a contrapuntal texture was suggested by
Daniel Harrison (1988) and pursued by David Lewin
in notes later published in the Preface to the 2007
reprinting of GMIT (Lewin [1987] 2007, xviii–​xx). For
an extended permutational analysis in four voices,
see Gollin 2009 (inspired by Hisama 1995), a study
of Ruth Crawford’s use of instrumental register in
the third movement of her string quartet. Generally,
n-​voice counterpoint admits n! permutations. Writing
out the 120 permutations of the five-​part counter-
point that brings down the curtain on the “Jupiter”
Symphony has been suggested as apt punishment for
refractory music theory students. Joseph Riepel in
1755 did write out the 120 possible orders in which
five closely related keys may appear in a composition
(Ratner 1970, 353).
11. We originally defined an action of 𝒮3 on the set
S =​{A, B, C}, not on the set of contrapuntal configu-
rations such as A/​B/​C. Extending this action to con-
figurations is a straightforward matter, however: if p ∈
𝒮3, we simply define p(A/​B/​C) to be the configuration
p(A)/​p(B)/​p(C). It is this action of 𝒮3 on the space of
six configurations that is simply transitive; the origi-
nal action of 𝒮3 on the three-​element set {A, B, C} is
not simply transitive.
12. Your analysis of the permutations in the C-​
Minor Fugue may be compared with the table in
Schenker [1926] 1996, 33.
13. The F-​Minor Sinfonia is among the works exam-
ined in Harrison 1988, as is the D-​Major Sinfonia. A
persistent rumor holds that Bach never employs all six
of the configurations available in triple counterpoint,
but the D-​Major Sinfonia is an instance in which he
does so. The rumor may have originated with Tovey
(1931, 70), but Tovey qualifies his observation, saying
only that “I know of no case” in which Bach uses all six
permutations.
14. Changing instrumental colors were of great
importance to Schoenberg in many works, most
famously in the five-​voice structure that runs through
248 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
the entirety of “Farben,” Op. 16, No. 3. The analysis
of “Farben” in Burkhart 1973–​74 uncovers striking
patterns in the changing instrumentation, though
those patterns cannot be described strictly in terms
of permutations.
15. Hint for Exercise 6.2.3b: The equations from
Theorem 5.5.6 are all valid in 𝒯ℐ4, except that the sub-
scripts are integers mod 4 rather than mod 12.
16. The row/​column permutation property is not
sufficient to ensure that a group table is completely
correct; indeed, not every matrix satisfying this prop-
erty is the group table for some group. Sudoku grids
are not generally group tables, and although group
theory underlies much of twelve-​tone theory in ways
to be described in Chapter 9, a twelve-​tone matrix is
not a group table either.
17. The British mathematician Arthur Cayley
(1821–​95), who was employed as a lawyer during
many of his most productive years of mathematical
work, was the first to write the modern definition of a
group and to recognize the equivalence of this defini-
tion with permutation groups. The graphs mentioned
in the title of Grossman and Magnus’s book Groups and
Their Graphs (1964) are Cayley diagrams. Many more
examples of Cayley diagrams and group tables appear
in Carter 2009. Gollin 2000 studies Cayley diagrams
in the context of musical transformation groups.
18. The function Multa is defined here by mul-
tiplication by a on the right (Multa(x) =​ xa). If the
group G is not commutative, then multiplication by
a on the left (Multaʹ(x) =​ ax) may define a different
function. Either right-​or left-​multiplication may be
used to define group actions and Cayley diagrams,
but we use right-​multiplication because it accords
better with the left-​to-​right functional orthography
that we generally favor; this definition ensures, for
example, that if a and b are two elements of G, then
the function Multab is the same as Multa ● Multb. The
distinction between right-​and left-​ multiplication
will figure importantly in the discussion of quotient
groups in Section 6.6.
19. The dihedral group 𝒟n, rather than being
defined as the group of rotations and reflections of an
n-​sided polygon, can instead be defined purely alge-
braically as the group generated by two elements a and
b such that an =​ e and ab =​ ba−1. Here T1 plays the role
of a, I the role of b.
20. A serial group 𝒮𝑒𝑟n acting on permutations of
n objects may be defined; of course 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 is the famil-
iar example. 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 is sometimes called the classical
serial group; in Chapter 9 we will extend 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 to larger
groups containing other operations such as serial
rotations.
21. The elements of the group 𝒜𝑓𝑓12 are called
twelve-​tone operators (TTOs) by Morris (1987, 66).
Morris and some other authors use the abbreviation
M for M5 rather than M7.
22. Hint for Exercise 6.2.14d: This graph, best visu-
alized in three dimensions, is similar to Figure 4.1.12
but incorporates the twelve-​pointed star characteris-
tic of M. The elements Tk and TkM occupy one layer,
identical to Figure 6.2.13, and the elements Ik and IkM
form a similar figure in a second layer, connected to
the first layer by I. Recall that I and M are involutions
and that they commute with each other (see Exercise
6.1.5c). To direct the T1 arrows properly in the second
layer you will need to answer this question: if IkMT1 is
equal to IjM, what is the relationship between k and j?
23. Hint for Exercise 6.2.16a: A “word” of more than
three letters, such as PLPL, may be simplified using
the identity LPL =​ PLP: that is, (PLP)L =​ (LPL)L =​
(LP)(LL) =​ LP. Words in musical transformation groups
will be related to distance measures in Section 12.3.
24. Hint for Exercise 6.3.6: The corresponding
facts about isomorphism of graphs were examined in
Section 3.2; those explanations carry over to groups
with only minimal changes.
25. Hint for Exercise 6.3.10: G5 is a subset of the
group 𝒯ℐ12, so to verify that it is a group, it suffices
to check the requirements for subgroups from Section
5.2: closure, identity, and inverses.
26. The classification of commutative groups is
much easier: an elementary result called the funda-
mental theorem of finite abelian groups states that every
finite commutative group is isomorphic to a direct
product of cyclic groups. (Direct products are defined
in Section 6.4 below.) Of the 15 groups of order 24,
only three are commutative; they are isomorphic to
ℤ24, ℤ12 × ℤ2, and ℤ6 × ℤ2 × ℤ2.
27. For a “brief history” (running nearly 40 pages)
of work on the group classification problem, see
Solomon 2001. Humphreys 1996 includes detailed
study of many small groups, and an appendix describ-
ing the structure of all groups up to order 31. The
simple groups include the cyclic groups 𝒞p of prime
order and the alternating groups 𝒜n. Some other
“simple” groups are not so simple: a few of them are
known as sporadic groups because they do not follow
any particular pattern, and one of these, famous as
the monster group, has as its order a number of 54
digits. Remarkably, one of the sporadic groups is at
least mathematically implicit in the serial transforma-
tions used by Olivier Messiaen in “Île de feu 2” from
Quatre études de rythme (1950). Messiaen derives the
piece from two order-​number permutations whose
cycle representations are (0, 6, 9, 1, 5, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11)
(2, 7) and (0, 5, 8, 1, 6, 2, 4, 3, 7, 9, 10)(11); together
these permutations generate a sporadic group of order
95,040 known to group theorists as the Mathieu
group M12. Needless to say, Messiaen uses only a
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 249
tiny proportion of the permutations available in this
group. His procedures in this work are described in
Berry [1976] 1987, 410–​13, and the implicit group
structure is noted in Benson 2007, 358–​59.
28. Hint for Exercise 6.3.13: In this and the fol-
lowing exercise, you should be able to arrive at the
answers quickly by noting that if a group of order 6
is commutative, it must be isomorphic to 𝒞6; if not,
it must be isomorphic to 𝒮3. Of course, it is still good
practice to construct the isomorphisms explicitly.
29. Hint for Exercise 6.3.14a: The transformations
P and L generate hexatonic triad cycles as in Figure
3.5.8b. Cohn (1996, 18–​23) overlays a 𝒞6 group struc-
ture on such a cycle to make the six triads into an
interval space. In the context of the present exercise,
however, this apparent cyclic structure is misleading:
no single element of the PL group generates this cycle,
and the transformation that Cohn calls “T1” (rotation
by one position clockwise in Figure 3.5.8b) does not
correspond to a fixed element of the PL group. The
Cayley diagram you constructed in Exercise 6.2.8b
may help you to see a relevant isomorphism for the PL
group. Clampitt 1998 compares the actions of several
different groups on a hexatonic cycle: Cohn’s cyclic
group, the PL group, and a group of transposition
and inversion operators similar to those in Exercise
6.3.13b–​c.
30. Transformations equivalent to f and g are stud-
ied in Leong 2007 and Murphy 2009. Leong draws
parallels between these metric transformations and
dramatic relationships in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und
Gretel and Wagner’s Parsifal, while Murphy postulates
correspondences with relationships of key, harmony,
and form in Brahms.
31. Perceptive readers will have noticed that
the isomorphism f(x) =​2x does not map intervals
in cpitch, calculated from the pitch numbers of
Figure 1.1.1, to the correct frequency ratios of
the corresponding musical notes. (For example,
f(1) ∕ f(0) =​2 ∕ 1 =​2, but pitch numbers 0 and 1 are
only a semitone apart while 2 is the frequency ratio
of an octave.) In fact, when two groups are isomor-
phic it is often possible to construct many different
isomorphisms between them. In the present situ-
ation, pitch numbers may be scaled up or down by
any constant factor before exponentiating, and the
exponentiation may be calculated using any base
b > 1 in place of 2. A more musically suitable iso-
morphism might be the function given by f(x) =​ sx,
where s =​21/12 ​ is the frequency ratio of an equal-​
tempered semitone.
32. Hints for Exercise 6.4.2c–​d: There are several
ways to establish the isomorphisms in this exercise,
the most explicit being to construct structure-​pre-
serving bijections directly. Alternatively, you may
use the transitive property of group isomorphism (if
two groups are both isomorphic to the same third
group, they must be isomorphic to each other). These
properties are completely general: if G and H are any
two groups at all, then U =​{(g, eH) | g ∈ G} and V =​
{(eG, h) | h ∈ H} are subgroups of G × H with U ≅ G
and V ≅ H (sometimes called the coordinate axis sub-
groups of G × H), and also G × H ≅ H × G. (The lat-
ter isomorphism holds even if the groups G and H are
noncommutative.)
33. Hint for Exercise 6.4.4c: If (a, b) corresponds to
T1, then (2a, 2b) corresponds to T2—​but remember
that a and 2a are integers mod 4, while b and 2b are
integers mod 3.
34. Hint for Exercise 6.4.5a: The statement to be
verified may look complex, but this is exactly the situ-
ation illustrated in Figure 6.3.2, the general picture of
a group homomorphism. The group called G in that
picture is the direct-​product group 𝒯12 × H, and the
group called Gʹ is the present transformation group G,
generated by T1 and P. The operation ⊕ in Figure 6.3.2
is the group operation on 𝒯12 × H, which is defined as
usual for direct products by the equation (g1, h1) ∙ (g2,
h2) =​(g1g2, h1h2); the operation ⊗ is the group opera-
tion in G, namely composition of functions (which is
also the group operation in both 𝒯12 and H, the com-
ponent groups within the direct product). The ordered
pairs (T5, P) and (T9, T0) in 𝒯12 × H play the roles of
x and y in the figure. Of course any other elements
of 𝒯12 × H could have served as well for illustrative
purposes.
35. Hint for Exercise 6.4.6: Remember Theorem 5.5.6e.
36. Hint for Exercise 6.4.8: A Cartesian product of
three sets is most conveniently depicted as a three-​
dimensional figure. The group 𝒞2 × 𝒞2 × 𝒞2, inciden-
tally, is the smallest group that cannot be generated by
only one or two of its elements: any two non-​identity
elements of 𝒞2 × 𝒞2 × 𝒞2 generate a Klein subgroup
of order 4.
37. The identity transformation in G maps every
x to itself, so x ~G x (the reflexive property). If f maps
x to y, then f −1 maps y to x, so x ~G y implies y ~G x
(the symmetric property). Finally, if f maps x to y and
g maps y to z, then f ● g maps x to z, so x ~G y and y ~G z
together imply x ~G z (the transitive property).
38. See Hook 2007d for combinatorial techniques
for enumerating orbits. Some sources give the num-
ber of TI set classes as 222 or 220, disregarding sets
of cardinalities 0 and 12, and possibly 1 and 11 as
well (there is just one set class of each of these car-
dinalities). Not all equivalence relations are readily
described by group actions. In Section 2.4 we noted
a third equivalence relation on pcset, coarser than TI
equivalence, namely interval-​content equivalence; the
250 • E x plor i n g M u s i cal S paces
equivalence classes of this relation are not the orbits
of any standard group action.
39. See Humphreys 1996, 89–​97 for a thorough
discussion of the orbit-​stabilizer theorem. If G is a
finite group, the theorem is an ordinary arithmetic
equation. If G is infinite, then for every x in S, either
Orb(x) or St(x) must be an infinite set (or both).
40. Hint for Exercise 6.5.5: In some order, the cardi-
nalities of the orbits of these seven sets are 1, 2, 4, 6,
12, 12, and 24.
41. Small orbits underlie Olivier Messiaen’s
descriptions of symmetry in terms of impossibil-
ity, as when he refers to palindromic rhythms as
“non-​retrogradable” and to transpositionally sym-
metrical sets as “modes of limited transposition.”
As he explains (Messiaen [1944] 1956, 8): “Modes
which cannot be transposed beyond a certain num-
ber of transpositions, because one always falls again
into the same notes; rhythms which cannot be used
in retrograde, because in such a case one finds the
same order of values again—​these are two striking
impossibilities.”
42. Hints for Exercise 6.5.6: All the required exam-
ples for part (a) may be found in the preceding dis-
cussion and exercises. The Petrushka chord, the only
set class that is transpositionally but not inversionally
symmetrical, will be useful for (b), and you may be
able to find an example similar to the Petrushka chord
that works for the last question in (d). For the first
question in (d), 𝒯ℐ12 has only one subgroup of order
3, so that group is the only possible stabilizer for such
a set—​but you should be able to see that any pc set
fixed by those transformations must be fixed by oth-
ers as well.
43. Hint for Exercise 6.5.7: The formulas from
Theorem 5.5.6 may be useful. In two of the first four
parts of this exercise, Y is fixed by exactly the same
operator(s) as X. The property in (e) is visible in set-​
class tables that show degrees of symmetry; in the
appendix to Straus 2016, for example, the numbers
in the two symmetry columns are always of the form
“x, 0” or “y, y.”
44. Hint for Exercise 6.5.10a: For the examples
mentioned in the introduction to the exercise, an
octatonic collection has cardinality 8, T symmetry 4,
and two modes, while a diatonic collection has cardi-
nality 7, T symmetry 1, and seven modes.
45. Symmetry of twelve-​tone rows will be dis-
cussed in more detail in Sections 9.5 and 9.6, where we
will consider some groups larger than 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, admitting
additional kinds of symmetry.
46. Hint for Exercise 6.6.3c: Review Exercise 5.4.8,
in which the two important steps in proving the origi-
nal interval subspace property (corresponding to the
two properties required for a subset to be a subspace)
were outlined.
47. Some authors write conjugates in the form
xhx−1 rather than x−1hx. Of course, both are conjugates
of h; according to the terminology given here, x−1hx
is the conjugate of h by x, and xhx−1 is the conjugate
of h by x−1.
48. Hint for Exercise 6.6.7b: Your formulas should
show that every subgroup of 𝒯12 (consisting of trans-
positions only) is a normal subgroup of 𝒯ℐ12.
49. Hint for Exercise 6.6.8: In any group, every sub-
group of index 2 is normal. Your work for this exercise
will probably show you why.
50. The situation described here is what Lewin
([1987] 2007, 148–​49) calls “system modulation.”
The point of the term is that the “system” contain-
ing x and y is “modulated” by the function f to the
system containing f(x) and f(y). A diagram similar
to Figure 6.6.9a appears in Morris 2001, vol. 2,
Example 4.7c.
51. Hints for Exercise 6.6.11: You should find nine
conjugacy classes in part (a). The five subgroups in
Permutations, Isomorphisms, and Other Topics • 251
parts (b)–​(e) and (g), in some order, are groups of
order 2, 2, 4, 6, and 12.
SUGGESTED READING
Further details on the group-​theoretic topics in
this chapter may be found in algebra texts such
as Dummit and Foote 2004, as well as in more
advanced references such as Dixon and Mortimer
1996 (permutation groups), Humphreys 1996 (the
classification of finite groups), and Carter 2009
(group tables and Cayley diagrams, with many
visually appealing presentations). Nathan Carter is
also the developer of Group Explorer (nathancarter.
github.io/​group-​explorer), a web application for
studying group structures and producing group
tables and Cayley diagrams. An important early
article on group properties associated with pitch-​
class space is Balzano 1980; in particular, Balzano
was the first to call attention to the importance
of the isomorphism between ℤ12 and ℤ4 × ℤ3 for
tonnetz models of pitch-​class space.
 7
Intervals
INTERVAL FUNCTIONS and interval spaces,
introduced in Chapter 5, provide a valuable way
of modeling musical relationships in many situ-
ations. This chapter further develops the theory
of interval spaces and offers additional examples.
Among the concepts made precise here are label
functions (Section 7.1), homomorphisms and
isomorphisms of interval spaces (mentioned sev-
eral times in previous chapters and formalized
in Section 7.2), direct products and quotients
of interval spaces (7.3 and 7.4), and general-
ized kinds of transposition and inversion opera-
tors (7.5 and 7.6). A few musical examples are
offered as illustrations; the chapter also includes
an assortment of small mathematical theorems.
Some of these concepts have their origins in
Lewin’s GMIT, while others were introduced in
Hook 2007a, but the presentation and examples
here are new.
This chapter is lengthy and sometimes
technical, especially in some parts of Sections
7.2, 7.5, and 7.6, though complexity of nota-
tion perhaps makes the material appear more
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0007
difficult than it should. Even readers who have
not worked through all the theoretical devel-
opment may benefit from scanning the musi-
cal examples in Sections 7.5 and 7.6. Detailed
proofs are not supplied for every assertion;
some proofs are suggested via exercises, and
others are omitted entirely. Even though some
concepts in the following chapters formally
depend on material in this chapter, readers
who find the details here too knotty can prob-
ably skip ahead and read Chapters 8 and 9 more
comfortably.
7.1 LABEL FUNCTIONS
FOR INTERVAL SPACES
The structure of an interval space is closely tied
to the structure of its interval group. This con-
nection is responsible for much of the theoreti-
cal appeal of interval spaces but also for some of
their practical limitations. The label functions
studied in this section make this correspondence
between space and group more explicit.
 In the picture of pitch space from Figure 1.1.1,
we may distinguish carefully between the pitch
numbers and the pitches they stand for: pitches
such as F3 and C5 are represented by the num-
bers −7 and 12. From our understanding of pitch
space as an interval space, we may recognize that
these pitch numbers are actually intervals, cho-
sen from the interval group ℤ: a certain element
of the space (middle C) is labeled with the iden-
tity element of the group (0), and every other
pitch x is labeled with int(C4, x). Consequently
the numerically labeled picture of the space
pitch looks much like a picture of the group
ℤ: something resembling a Cayley diagram for a
group is used to depict a space with that inter-
val group. Identifying elements with intervals is
perhaps even more familiar in the case of pitch-​
class space pc. The usual pitch-​class numbers
are intervals reckoned from the referential pitch
class C, but the correspondence is so ingrained
that we often imagine that the mod-​12 num-
bers are pitch classes; again, a picture of the
space resembles a Cayley diagram for its interval
group ℤ12.
The labeling of elements with intervals is
possible in any interval space. In Section 2.3
we noted that various label functions, mapping
either from a space S to a set L of possible labels
or vice versa, may be of interest. When (S, G, int)
is an interval space, a convenient choice for a set
of labels for S is readily at hand in the group G,
and a family of label functions labu: S → G may be
defined. Each such function labu depends on the
choice of a reference point u in S. Any element of
S may be used as a reference point, though there
may be some musical or other reason for select-
ing a particular u. In pitch our reference point
was C4; in pc it is traditionally the pitch class C.
Generally, for every x in S, labu(x), the u-​label of
x, is defined by the equation labu(x) =​int(u, x).
FIGURE 7.1.1 Two label functions for pitch space: (a) labu, where u =​C4; (b) labv, where v =​G4
Then labu: S → G is the label function of S with
respect to the reference point u.1 The homogeneity
axiom for interval spaces guarantees that every
interval i in G occurs as the u-​label of exactly one
x in S (the unique x such that int(u, x) =​ i), so the
function labu is both one-​to-​one and onto, put-
ting the elements of the space S in one-​to-​one
correspondence with the elements of the group
G. The unique point labeled with the identity
element of the group is the reference point u
itself: labu(u) =​int(u, u) =​ e.
Figure 7.1.1 shows two different label func-
tions for pitch. The labeling in part (a) is the
familiar one from Figure 1.1.1, namely labu,
where u is the pitch C4. The labeling in (b) is labv,
where v is G4. All the labels are shifted by seven
places from one picture to the other, 7 being the
interval between the two reference points. The
figure shows that we may regard a label func-
tion as superimposing a picture of the interval
group (in this case ℤ) on a picture of the space
(pitch), effectively adjusting the relative posi-
tions of the two so that the identity element of
the group aligns with the chosen reference point
in the space. The symmetry and homogeneity of
the group structure ensure that shifting of this
kind is always possible.
In pitch, the interval between two pitches
may be calculated by subtracting pitch num-
bers: in traditional C4-​ based pitch numbers,
for example, int(E3, D5) =​14 − (−8) =​22. More
generally, the equation int(x, y) =​labu(y) −
labu(x) holds for any pitches x and y and any
reference pitch u: in G4-​based labeling we could
make the above calculation in the form int(E3,
D5) =​7 − (−15) =​22, arriving at the same
answer as before. The same equation works also
in pitch-​class space in mod-​12 arithmetic. In
fact this equation holds in any interval space
whose interval group is additive (and therefore
Intervals • 253
commutative). Some care must be taken in gen-
eralizing to other cases, particularly the case of
a noncommutative interval group. If the inter-
val group is (G, ⊕), then the interval-​sum equa-
tion in the space S takes the form int(u, x) ⊕
int(x, y) =​int(u, y), or equivalently labu(x) ⊕
int(x, y) =​labu(y). Techniques for solving this equa-
tion for int(x, y) were derived in Section 5.3: add-
ing the inverse of labu(x) on the left to both sides
of the equation gives int(x, y) =​ ⊖labu(x) ⊕ labu(y).
This is the general equation for calculating an
interval from the values of a label function: if
labu(x) =​ i and labu(y) =​ j, then int(x, y) =​ ⊖i ⊕ j.
If the operation ⊕ is the familiar commutative
operation of ordinary addition (or mod-​12 addi-
tion), then ⊖i ⊕ j is the same as j − i.
Exercise 7.1.2 Verify that the equation
int(x, y) =​labu(y) − labu(x) holds in each of the
following cases:
(a) S =​ pitch, u =​C4, x =​A4, y =​E3
(b) S =​ pitch, u =​D3, x =​A4, y =​E3
(c) S =​ pc, u =​C, x =​B, y =​E♭
(d)  S =​ pc, u =​E♭, x =​B, y =​E♭
Exercise 7.1.3 The interval equations derived
above require that x and y be labeled with
respect to the same reference point u. If u and
v are two different reference points, labu(x) =​ i,
labv(y) =​ j, and int(u, v) =​ k, write an equation
for int(x, y) in terms of i, j, and k. Give a simple
equation valid in an additive interval group,
and also a more general equation valid in any
(possibly noncommutative) group (G, ⊕). Check
that your equation works in pitch space when
u =​
  C4, v =​D3, x =​A4, and y =​E3.2
We have noted other instances in which
Cayley diagrams for groups closely resemble pic-
tures of spaces on which the groups act. In many
such cases a label function lies at the heart of
the correspondence. In Section 5.6, for exam-
ple, we saw that consonant triad space triad
may be construed as an interval space whose
interval group is the dihedral group 𝒯ℐ12. If we
start with the double-​ circle picture of triad
in Figure 4.1.1b but replace the name of each
triad X with labC(X) =​int(C, X), the interval
from the C-​major triad to X in 𝒯ℐ12, the result-
ing graph is exactly the Cayley diagram for
𝒯ℐ12 in Figure 6.2.10b. For another example,
Figure 6.1.14b showed a space of contrapuntal
configurations in Bach; if each configuration is
labeled with the permutation required to obtain
254 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
it from the initial configuration at the top of the
figure, the Cayley diagram in Figure 6.2.5b is the
result. Because the symmetric group 𝒮3 acts on
the configurations in simply transitive fashion,
Lewin’s theorem tells us that the configurations
form an interval space with group 𝒮3, and the
label function just described identifies each ele-
ment of the space with an element of the group.
Exercise 7.1.4
(a) In the interval space triad with interval
group 𝒯ℐ12, using the C-​major triad as
the reference point, calculate labC(F)
and labC(b♭), and verify that the interval
equation int(x, y) =​ ⊖labu(x) ⊕ labu(y) gives
the correct result for int(F, b♭).3
(b) Verify that your equation from
Exercise 7.1.3 gives the correct result for
int(F, b♭), where the two referential triads
  are u =​C and v =​f♯.
7.2 HOMOMORPHISMS
AND ISOMORPHISMS
OF INTERVAL SPACES
The correspondence between space and group
takes on additional significance when mappings
from one space to another are considered. In
Section 6.3 we studied homomorphisms and iso-
morphisms of groups; these concepts have close
counterparts in the theory of interval spaces.
As was the case with groups, construction of a
homomorphism between two interval spaces is
a valuable way of demonstrating relationships
between the spaces. Because the interval group
is an essential part of the structure of an interval
space, it should come as no surprise that homo-
morphisms and isomorphisms of groups play
central roles in the corresponding concepts for
interval spaces. In general a homomorphism is
a structure-​preserving mapping, the meaning
of the word “structure” depending on the kinds
of objects being related by the homomorphism.
When the objects are interval spaces, a homo-
morphism must preserve something about the
space, something about the group, and some-
thing about the relationship between the two—​
a constraint that adds some complexity to the
mathematical formalism required to express it.4
Suppose that (S1, G1, int1) and (S2, G2, int2)
are two interval spaces, with interval groups
(G1, ⊕) and (G2, ⊗) respectively. In this situation
two kinds of functions may be considered: map-
pings f: S1 → S2 from one space to the other and
also mappings g: G1 → G2 from one group to the
other. We say that such functions f and g are
interval-​compatible (or simply compatible) if for
all x and y in S1, g(int1(x, y)) =​int2(f(x), f(y)). As
depicted in Figure 7.2.1, interval compatibility
shows something about how an interval in the
space S1 translates to an interval in S2. For any
pair of elements in S1, we can form their interval
(int1) in G1 and then map via g to an interval in
G2; alternatively we can first map the elements
to S2 via f and then form the interval (int2) in G2.
Compatibility of f and g means that the resulting
interval in G2 will be the same in either case; in
short, compatibility says that f-​related elements
form g-​related intervals.
An interval-​space homomorphism from S1 to S2
is a function f: S1 → S2 that is interval-​compat-
ible with some group homomorphism g: G1 → G2.
(Recall the definition illustrated in Figure 6.3.2: if
the group operations in G1 and G2 are ⊕ and ⊗
respectively, then g: G1 → G2 is a homomorphism
if g(i) ⊗ g(j) =​ g(i ⊕ j) for all i and j in G1.) If g is
a group isomorphism (a homomorphism that
is one-​to-​one and onto), then a function f that
is compatible with g is an interval-​space isomor-
phism, and in that case S1 and S2 are isomorphic
interval spaces. It is possible that S1 and S2 are
the same space S; an interval-​space automorphism
of S is an isomorphism from S to S.
For a first example of an interval-​space homo-
morphism, let S1 and S2 be discrete pitch space
pitch and pitch-​ class space pc, respectively,
and consider the mapping from pitch to pc
that maps every pitch to its corresponding pitch
class. In terminology from Section 2.4, pc is a
quotient set and this mapping is the quotient map
associated with octave equivalence, QO: pitch
→ pc. (In fact, pc is a quotient interval space, in
a way to be made precise in Section 7.4.) The
group mapping g with which QO is interval-​com-
patible is also a quotient map, namely the group
FIGURE 7.2.1 The interval compatibility condi-
tion for an interval-​space homomorphism
mapping associated with mod-​12 congruence,
Q12: ℤ → ℤ12, which reduces any integer to an
integer mod 12. (All we need to know about Q12
for the moment is that it is a group homomor-
phism, but in terminology from Section 6.6, Q12
is the quotient homomorphism QH from a group G
to its quotient group G/​H, where G is the addi-
tive group ℤ of integers and H is the subgroup
12ℤ. Such mappings are always well-​ defined
group homomorphisms as long as H is a normal
subgroup of G, which is always the case in com-
mutative groups.) The interval functions are (in
S1) int1 =​intpitch, which measures pitch intervals
in the space pitch, and (in S2) int2 =​intpc, which
measures mod-​12 intervals in pc. The interval
compatibility condition in this case says that
octave reduction can take place either before or
after the calculation of an interval. For example,
given pitches x =​B4 and y =​E♭3, we may form
their interval in pitch space and then reduce it
mod 12, or we may arrive at the same result by
calculating the pitch-​class interval between the
pitch classes B and E♭. The first approach gives
g(int1(x, y))
= Q12(intpitch(B4, E♭3)) =​ Q12(−20) =​4;
the second gives
int2(f(x), f(y))
=​ intpc(QO(B4), QO(E♭3)) =​intpc(B, E♭) =​4.
The reader should understand how the agree-
ment between these two calculations illustrates
the general situation depicted in Figure 7.2.1.
Interval compatibility ensures that the
pitch-​class interval between two notes can
always be calculated from the pitch interval: if
we know that a pitch interval is −20, we can be
sure that the corresponding pitch-​class interval
is 4, even without knowing the original notes.
The converse, of course, is not true: intervals in
pitch space cannot be deduced from intervals
in pc space. Generally, if we know an interval-​
space homomorphism f and if we know how
to calculate int1(x, y) in S1, then we can always
deduce the value of int2(f(x), f(y)) in S2. If the
homomorphism f maps S1 onto S2 (as is the case
in the above example), then all int2 intervals in
S2 can be deduced from corresponding intervals
in S1. But interval compatibility does not give
us a way to calculate intervals in S1 from inter-
vals in S2.
It is also easy to see that Q12 is the only map-
ping g: ℤ → ℤ12 with which f =​ QO could possi-
bly be compatible: the compatibility condition
Intervals • 255
g(intpitch(x, y)) =​intpc(QO(x), QO(y)) determines
what g(intpitch(x, y)) must be for all pitches x and
y, and therefore what g(i) must be for every i in
the interval group G1. This uniqueness of g is a
general principle: a mapping of interval spaces
f: S1 → S2 can be interval-​compatible with at most
one function g: G1 → G2. (This principle depends
upon the homogeneity axiom for interval spaces,
which ensures that every element i of G1 occurs
as int1(x, y) for some x and y in S1.) In the case of
functions f that are not homomorphisms, there
is no such group mapping g at all; the following
exercise offers an example.
Exercise 7.2.2 Define f: pitch → pc so that
f maps C4 and all lower pitches to the pitch
class C but maps all pitches higher than C4 to
D. Explain why no function g: ℤ → ℤ12 can be
interval-​compatible with f, so that f is not an
interval-​
   space homomorphism.5
Another important property illustrated by
the homomorphism QO is label compatibility.
If, as usual, pitches are labeled with integers
relative to the reference point u =​C4 and pitch
classes are labeled with mod-​12 integers relative
to v =​C, then the mod-​12 reduction of any pitch
label is the same as the corresponding pitch-​class
label: Q12(labu(x)) =​labv(QO(x)). Taking the pitch
A5 as an example, Q12(labu(A5)) =​ Q12(21) =​9,
while labv(QO(A5)) =​labv(A) =​9. Label compat-
ibility is a consequence of interval compatibility
in general: if mappings f: S1 → S2 and g: G1 → G2
are interval-​compatible, and if u and v are ref-
erence points in S1 and S2 such that f(u) =​ v,
then for every x in S1, the interval compatibil-
ity condition applied to the elements u and x
is g(int1(u, x)) =​int2(f(u), f(x)), which says that
g(labu(x)) =​labv(f(x))—​the general form of the
label compatibility condition. If elements of the
spaces S1 and S2 are labeled with their u-​ and
v-​labels, then label compatibility says that the
mapping g on these labels has the same effect as
the mapping f on the original elements. In the
above example, label compatibility is responsible
for the striking similarity between the quotient
maps f =​ QO: pitch → pc and g =​ Q12: ℤ → ℤ12: if
pitches and pitch classes are identified with their
standard labels, f and g are the same function.
Exercise 7.2.3
(a) Draw a diagram similar to Figure 7.2.1
illustrating label compatibility.
(b) Using the function f =​ QO above, give
an example to show that the label
256 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
compatibility condition fails if the
equation f(u) =​ v is not true. (A more
general equation, valid for interval-​space
homomorphisms even if f(u) ≠ v, appears
in Theorem 7.2.13c below.)
(c) Show that if g is a group homomorphism,
then label compatibility implies interval
compatibility. That is, assuming that
a mapping f: S1 → S2 and a group
homomorphism g: G1 → G2 satisfy
g(labu(x)) =​labv(f(x)) for every x in S1, show
that g(int1(x, y)) =​int2(f(x), f(y)) for every x
  and y in S1.6
Of course, pitch space and pitch-​class space
are not isomorphic as interval spaces. The func-
tion g =​ Q12: ℤ → ℤ12 is onto but not one-​to-​one,
so g is not a group isomorphism and f =​ QO: pitch
→ pc is not an interval-​space isomorphism. For
an example of an interval-​space isomorphism,
let S1 be pitch as before, and let S2 be generic
pitch space gpitch, first depicted in Figure 1.1.6.
An isomorphism between pitch and gpitch was
mentioned informally in Exercise 1.1.9, and the
graphs of the two spaces were observed to be
isomorphic in Exercise 3.3.9; we are now able to
show that they are isomorphic as interval spaces.
Both spaces have the integers ℤ as their inter-
val group; the interval functions simply count
steps within their respective scales. Because
a mapping from pitch to gpitch maps from
one scale to another, such a function is called
an interscalar mapping. The homomorphism
f: pitch → gpitch maps C4 to C4 and maps a
note k chromatic steps above or below C4 in pitch
to the note k generic steps above or below C4 in
gpitch. More precisely, for any x in pitch, f(x) is
the unique y in gpitch such that intgpitch(C4, y) =​
intpitch(C4, x)—​or equivalently the unique y
in gpitch whose v-​label is the same as the u-​
label of x, where both reference points u and v
are C4 in their respective spaces. For example,
f(G4) =​C5 because intpitch(C4, G4) =​intgpitch(C4,
C5) =​7, and likewise f(E♭3) =​A2 because intpitch(C4,
E♭3) =​intgpitch(C4, A2) =​−9.
The interval compatibility condition in this
situation takes a special form: for this func-
tion f, int1(x, y) =​int2(f(x), f(y)) for every x
and y in pitch. For example, the chromatic
interval between G4 and E♭3 is the same as the
generic interval between f(G4) and f(E♭3) (that is,
between C5 and A2); with f defined as above, both
intervals are −16. No function g appears in the
equation int1(x, y) =​int2(f(x), f(y)). The left side
of the equation is, however, equal to g(int1(x, y)),
where g is the identity mapping Eℤ on ℤ (g(n) =​ n
for every integer n). That is, the group mapping
with which f is interval-​compatible is Eℤ. The
identity mapping on a group is trivially an iso-
morphism, so compatibility with Eℤ ensures that
f is an isomorphism between the two interval
spaces.
A function f such that int1(x, y) =​int2(f(x),
f(y)) for all x and y is said to be interval-​preserv-
ing. It is the fact that the two interval spaces
share the same interval group that makes the
interval-​preserving condition possible. One of
the intervals in the interval-​preserving condi-
tion is an int1 interval in the group G1 while
the other is an int2 interval in G2, so the equa-
tion cannot be satisfied if the groups are dif-
ferent. But it is common for different spaces
to share the same interval group, and in that
situation interval-​ preserving mappings are
possible. As we saw in the previous example,
the interval-​ preserving condition says that
the function is interval-​compatible with the
identity mapping on the group, and therefore
every interval-​ preserving mapping is auto-
matically an interval-​ space homomorphism.
Interval-​ preserving functions are closely
akin to transposition operators, in ways to be
detailed in Section 7.5.
In particular, many spaces share the interval
group ℤ, including not only pitch and gpitch
but all the diatonic pitch spaces dpitch(n),
any of which could take the place of gpitch in
this discussion. Chromatic pitch space, generic
pitch space, and all diatonic pitch spaces are
simply infinite scales; they may all be drawn
by relabeling the same picture, and they are all
isomorphic as interval spaces. There can be no
interval-​preserving function from chromatic
pitch-​class space pc to generic pitch-​class space
gpc, because the interval groups are differ-
ent: an interval in ℤ12 cannot also be an interval
in ℤ7. Interval-​preserving mappings are possible,
however, between gpc and a diatonic pitch-​class
space dpc(n).
Exercise 7.2.4 In the above discussion of the
isomorphism from pitch to gpitch, the interval
compatibility condition g(intpitch(x, y)) =​
intgpitch(f(x), f(y)) was illustrated by example.
The chain of equalities below constitutes
a more rigorous proof of this condition.
Explain every step in this chain, noting which
equalities illustrate general properties of
interval spaces and which ones are specific to
this example.
g(intpitch(x, y)) =​ Eℤ(intpitch(x, y))
=​intpitch(x, y)
=​intpitch(x, C4) +​intpitch(C4, y)
=​−intpitch(C4, x) +​intpitch(C4, y)
=​−intgpitch(C4, f(x)) +​intgpitch(C4, f(y))
=​intgpitch(f(x), C4) +​intgpitch(C4, f(y))
  =​intgpitch(f(x), f(y)).
Interval-​space homomorphisms have many
distinctive properties, summarized in the
remainder of this section. The properties listed
in Theorem 7.2.5 are true of interval-​compat-
ible mappings in general; that is, they do not
require g to be a group homomorphism. The
later Theorems 7.2.7 and 7.2.13 depend on the
full homomorphism structure.
Theorem 7.2.5: Properties of
interval-​compatible mappings
Suppose (S1, G1, int1) and (S2, G2, int2) are
interval spaces, and suppose the functions f:
S1 → S2 and g: G1 → G2 are interval-​compatible.
(a) Uniqueness of group mappings. The function
g is uniquely determined by f. That is, if f is
interval-​compatible with both g: G1 → G2
and g ′: G1 → G2, then g =​ g ′.
(b) Label compatibility. If u and v are reference
points in S1 and S2 such that f(u) =​ v, then
for every x in S1, g(labu(x)) =​labv(f(x)).
(c) The function f: S1 → S2 is one-​to-​one if and
only if g: G1 → G2 is one-​to-​one.
(d) The function f: S1 → S2 is onto if and only if
  g: G1 → G2 is onto.
Parts (a) and (b) of Theorem 7.2.5 have been
established already. Parts (c) and (d) comprise
four assertions—​the “if” and “only if” parts of
each statement. Here we provide a proof that
if f is one-​to-​one, then g is one-​to-​one, leaving
the other three parts for the following exercise.
Suppose f is one-​to-​one, and suppose i and j are
elements of G1 such that g(i) =​ g(j); we need to
show that i =​ j. Choose any reference point u
in S1, and let x and y be the elements of S1 sat-
isfying int1(u, x) =​ i and int1(u, y) =​ j (such ele-
ments exist by the homogeneity axiom for the
interval space S1). The equation g(i) =​ g(j) there-
fore says that g(int1(u, x)) =​ g(int1(u, y)), which
by interval compatibility translates to int2(f(u),
f(x)) =​int2(f(u), f(y)). That is, in S2, both f(x) and
f(y) lie at the same interval from f(u). But by
the homogeneity axiom for S2, only a single ele-
ment can lie at a particular interval from a given
point; therefore f(x) =​ f(y). Since f is one-​to-​one
Intervals • 257
by hypothesis, it follows that x =​ y, and there-
fore i =​int1(u, x) =​int1(u, y) =​ j, which is what we
needed to prove.
Exercise 7.2.6: Complete the proofs of parts
(c)  
and (d) of Theorem 7.2.5.7
Some parts of Theorem 7.2.5 reinforce our
intuitions about the close parallels between the
structure of interval spaces and their interval
groups. For example, because a group isomor-
phism is both one-​to-​one and onto, it follows
from (c) and (d) that the same is always true
of interval-​space isomorphisms, and moreover
that every interval-​space homomorphism that is
one-​to-​one and onto is an isomorphism, as we
should expect.
The functions f and g do not play entirely
symmetrical roles. In particular, the uniqueness
property described in Theorem 7.2.5a works only
in one direction. A given function f can be com-
patible with only one g, but a single function g
is typically compatible with more than one f.
Consider again the construction of an isomor-
phism from pitch to gpitch, and suppose we
have decided that the group mapping g should be
Eℤ—​that is, that f should be interval-​preserving.
If we know that f should map u =​C4 to v =​C4, we
are left with no choice about how to define f(x)
for other elements x of pitch: the compatibility
condition intgpitch(v, f(x)) =​intpitch(u, x) implies
that f must be the function described previously.
We could obtain a different f, however, by declar-
ing that f should map u =​C4 to v =​C5, or by select-
ing some other pair of reference points entirely.
As the following theorem clarifies, the choice of
reference points in both spaces, together with the
homomorphism of interval groups, completely
determines an interval-​space homomorphism.
Theorem 7.2.7: Interval-​space
homomorphism theorem
Suppose that (S1, G1, int1) and (S2, G2, int2)
are interval spaces, u ∈ S1, v ∈ S2, and g: G1 → G2
is a group homomorphism. Then there exists a
unique interval-​space homomorphism f: S1 → S2,
interval-​compatible with g, such that f(u) =​ v.
For every x in S1, f(x) is the unique y in S2 such
that int2(v, y) =​ g(int1(u, x)) (or equivalently
labv(y) =​ g(labu(x))). The homomorphism f is an
interval-​space isomorphism if and only if g is a
group
   isomorphism.
Mathematically proficient readers may try
writing out a rigorous proof of this theorem. It
258 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
is easy to see why the f defined in the theorem is
the only possible function satisfying the stated
requirements; the interval compatibility of f and
g may be proved via a chain of equalities similar
to that in Exercise 7.2.4 above.8
It is convenient to introduce a notation for
the function f specified in the interval-​ space
homomorphism theorem. Because f is completely
determined by the group homomorphism g and
the two reference points u and v, we shall write
f = g uv , or occasionally in more explicit fashion
f = guv∈∈SS12 . The notation g uv may be pronounced “g-​
bar-​u-​v”; this function may be called the interval-​
space homomorphism induced by g, mapping u to v.
Notice that u appears in this notation as the sub-
script and is pronounced before v, the superscript.
We will use similar notations in some other situ-
ations, always understanding that functions writ-
ten in this way map from subscript to superscript.9
The last sentence of the interval-​space homo-
morphism theorem has a corollary already
noted in Chapter 6: if two interval spaces have
isomorphic interval groups, then the interval
spaces themselves are isomorphic. If g: G1 → G2
is a group isomorphism, then g uv is an interval-​
space isomorphism, interval-​compatible with g,
for any choice of reference points u and v at all.
We commented above that chromatic, generic,
and diatonic pitch spaces are all isomorphic; in
fact, any other type of scale—​a harmonic minor,
whole-​tone, or octatonic scale, for example—​also
defines an interval space whose interval group
is ℤ and which is therefore isomorphic to pitch
and gpitch. These spaces are all defined as infi-
nite scales in pitch space, not modular scales of
pitch classes. Chromatic, generic, and whole-​tone
pitch-​class spaces have interval groups of differ-
ent cardinalities and are not isomorphic. A har-
monic minor pitch-​class space is a seven-​note
space with interval group ℤ7 and so is isomor-
phic to gpc. Scalar spaces will be studied in more
detail in Part Four.
Section 6.3 provided an example in which
two interval groups are isomorphic but not iden-
tical: continuous pitch space cpitch and fre-
quency space freq, with interval groups (ℝ, +​)
and (ℝ>0, ∙). As noted there, g(i) =​2i defines an
isomorphism of the interval groups (this func-
tion was called f in the discussion in Chapter 6),
so the interval-​space homomorphism theorem
confirms the isomorphism of the spaces.
Exercise 7.2.8
(a) The traditional reference points for the
correspondence between pitch and freq
 are u =​A4 in pitch and v =​440 (Hz) in freq. The discussion is brief; readers are encouraged to
For this purpose the preferred interval supply missing details.
function in pitch space is intpitch′ =​ We start with a rather trivial example.
intpitch ∕ 12, which measures intervals in Discrete pitch space pitch is, of course, a sub-
octaves rather than semitones; the interval set of continuous pitch space cpitch. Define f:
function in frequency space, intfreq, pitch → cpitch by the equation f(x) =​ x—​that
calculates the ratio between two frequencies. is, for every x in pitch, f(x) is the same pitch,
The isomorphism f = g uv induced by the considered now as an element of cpitch. Such a
group mapping g(i) =​2i maps the pitch function is called an inclusion mapping. An inclu-
A4 to the frequency 440 Hz and assigns sion mapping is the same thing as an identity
to every other pitch its frequency in an mapping except that it is understood to map
equal-​tempered A-​440 tuning. To say that into a set larger than the domain; we write f =​
f is interval-​compatible with g means, for Epitch–​cpitch to indicate the inclusion mapping
example, that raising a pitch (x) by one octave
from pitch to cpitch. Then f is an interval-​space
raises the corresponding frequency (f(x)) by homomorphism. It is interval-​compatible with
a factor of 2 (=​g(1)). Calculate f(A5), f(E5),
the inclusion mapping g =​ Eℤ–​ℝ from the interval
and f(C4), making sure that you understand group ℤ into ℝ; this compatibility means simply
how the results follow from the way g uv is that the interval between two notes in discrete
defined.10 pitch space remains the same if they are consid-
(b) The reference points A4 and 440 are ered to inhabit continuous pitch space instead.
conventional but arbitrary. In principle, an The function f is therefore interval-​preserving,
isomorphism between pitch and freq may but this statement broadens our understand-
be constructed using any reference points ing of interval-​preserving mappings: for such a
at all. Suppose we choose u =​C4 in pitch mapping to exist, it is not strictly necessary that
and v =​1 in freq, while still using the same the groups G1 and G2 be equal, but it is neces-
interval functions intpitch′ and intfreq and sary that G1 at least be a subgroup of G2. In this
the same group mapping g(i) =​2i to define case the intervals of the form int2(f(x), f(y)) are
f = g uv . This choice of reference points always integers, but the group G2 =​ ℝ also con-
assigns to middle C one “frequency unit”—​a tains non-​integer intervals that do not arise as
different unit from the usual Hz. In this intervals in this way.
formulation, calculate f(C3), f(G4), The above function f is not an isomorphism,
and f(A4). as it does not map pitch onto cpitch, so it does
(c) How would the answers to part (b) be not have an inverse function. It is reasonable to
affected if we measured pitch intervals in ask whether a homomorphism can be defined
semitones rather than octaves—​that is, if in the other direction, from cpitch to pitch.
we used the usual interval function intpitch We might try, for example, to define f: cpitch
  rather than intpitch′? → pitch by rounding down: for every pitch x in
cpitch, f(x) is the highest note in pitch that
Exercise 7.2.9 Our construction of a is no higher than x (so, for example, all notes
homomorphism from pitch to gpitch started between C4 and C♯4 are mapped to C4, as is C4
with the group homomorphism g =​ Eℤ, the itself). This f is a valid function—​rounding func-
identity mapping on ℤ. Suppose we instead tions of this sort will find applications in our
choose the inverse mapping g(n) =​−n. Is g: ℤ → study of maximally even sets in Chapter 14—​
ℤ a group homomorphism? Use the reference but it is not an interval-​space homomorphism,
points u =​C4 in pitch and v =​C4 in gpitch to because it cannot be interval-​compatible with
define the induced homomorphism f = g uv from any mapping g: ℝ → ℤ. Observe that intcpitch(C4,
pitch to gpitch. Calculate f(G5), f(C5), and C4+​0.5) and intcpitch(C4+​0.5, C♯4) are both equal
♭3). Is f an isomorphism?
f(E   11 to 1 2 . Interval compatibility would therefore
require that g( 1 2 ) be equal to both intpitch(f(C4),
f(C4+​0.5)) and intpitch(f(C4+​0.5), f(C♯4)). But by
In the following discussion and exercises, we our definition of f, the first of these is equal to
present several additional examples of interval-​ intpitch(C4, C4), which is 0, while the second is
space homomorphisms, along with a few nega- intpitch(C4, C♯4), which is 1. Clearly g( 1 2 ) can-
tive examples—​mappings f: S1 → S2 that do not not be both 0 and 1; therefore no such g can
satisfy the requirements for a homomorphism. exist.12 This example suggests a general way

Intervals • 259
of showing that a function f: S1 → S2 is not
an interval-​ space homomorphism (useful in
Exercise 7.2.12 below): if elements w, x, y, and
z of S1 can be found so that int1(w, x) =​int1(y, z)
but int2(f(w), f(x)) ≠ int2(f(y), f(z)), then f cannot
possibly be interval-​compatible with any map-
ping g: G1 → G2.
In Section 5.4 we noted a likeness between
pc and fifth, enharmonically conformed fifths
space. Both spaces contain the same twelve pitch
classes, and both have ℤ12 as their interval group,
but the interval functions are different: intfifth
measures intervals around the circle of fifths.
Define f: pc → fifth so that f maps every pitch
class in the chromatic circle (Figure 1.2.3) to the
pc that occupies the corresponding position in
the circle of fifths (Figure 1.3.1); thus f(C) =​C,
f(C♯) =​G, f(D) =​D, and so on. As a mapping of
mod-​12 pitch-​class numbers, f is the multiplica-
tion operator M7, but the domain and range of
the function are two different interval spaces, pc
and fifth. Then f is an interval-​space isomor-
phism; in fact, f is interval-​preserving. That may
seem counterintuitive since intervals are obvi-
ously measured differently in the two spaces,
but it reflects the way f is defined; for instance,
intfifth(f(C), f(C♯)) =​intfifth(C, G) =​1 =​intpc(C, C♯).
As noted previously, the interval-​preserving pro­
perty means that f is interval-​compatible with
the identity mapping on the interval group ℤ12.
Exercise 7.2.10 Since the spaces pc and fifth
are identical as sets, there is another obvious
mapping h: pc → fifth, namely the identity
mapping, which maps every pitch class in pc
to the same pitch class in fifth. Whereas the
function f defined above satisfies f(C) =​C and
f(C♯) =​G, h satisfies h(C) =​C and h(C♯) =​C♯.
Sorting out the properties of the two functions f
and h is a good exercise in understanding various
kinds of homomorphisms and isomorphisms.
(a) The statements f(C) =​C and h(C) =​C are
both true. According to the interval-​space
homomorphism theorem, only one function
from pc to fifth mapping C to C can be
interval-​compatible with the identity mapping
on ℤ12, and hence only one such function can
be interval-​preserving. We noted above that
f is interval-​preserving, so it follows that h
cannot be. Give an example of the failure of
the function h to preserve intervals.13
(b) Although h is not interval-​preserving, it is
an interval-​space isomorphism from pc to
fifth. The group automorphism of ℤ12 with
260 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
which h is interval-​compatible is not the
identity mapping on ℤ12; what is it?
(c) The functions f and h may be regarded as
mappings from the vertices of Figure 1.2.3
(chromatic pitch-​class space) to the vertices
of Figure 1.3.1 (the circle of fifths). Only
one of these two functions is a graph
isomorphism as defined in Chapter 3.
  Which is it?
In Section 1.3 we observed that the line of
fifths (spelled pitch-​ class space spc) may be
wrapped into the circle of fifths in much the
same way that pitch is wrapped into pc. We can
see now that isomorphic interval-​space struc-
tures underlie both of these constructions. In
Section 5.4 we described an interval-​space struc-
ture on spc, with intervals measured along the
line of fifths. The interval group of spc is ℤ, so
as an interval space, spc is isomorphic to pitch.
In Section 2.6 we defined a function π: spc → pc,
which maps a spelled pitch class (for example, E♯)
to its projection in pitch-​class space (pitch class
5, or F); π is the quotient map QE associated
with the enharmonic equivalence relation on
spc. Although we described π as a mapping from
spc to pc, we may also consider it as a mapping
from spc to fifth, the circle of fifths; this is the
wrapping of spc into fifth mentioned above.
Moreover, π: spc → fifth is an interval-​space
homomorphism, compatible with the same
group homomorphism Q12: ℤ → ℤ12 with which
the interval-​space homomorphism QO: pitch →
pc is compatible. For example, the spc numbers
of B♭ and E♯ are −4 and 9 respectively, so the spc
interval between them is 13. Their projections in
pc or fifth are the pitch classes π(B♭) =​10 and
π(E♯) =​5, and the interval from 10 to 5 in fifths
space is 1. The chain of equalities
Q12(intspc(B♭, E♯)) =​ Q12(13) =​1
=​ intfifth(B♭, F) =​intfifth(π(B♭), π(E♯))
confirms the interval compatibility of π and Q12.
Exercise 7.2.11 Let f1: pitch → spc be the
isomorphism that maps the pitch C4 to the
spelled pitch class C, induced by the identity
mapping on the group ℤ, as described in the
interval-​space homomorphism theorem. This
means that f1 maps the pitch a certain number
of semitones above or below C4 to the spelled
pitch class the same number of positions to
the right or left of C on the line of fifths; for
example, f1(E♭4) =​A and f1(B4) =​E♯. Also let
f2: pc → fifth be the isomorphism called f in
Exercise 7.2.10 and the preceding discussion, interval-​compatible. Explain why the other two
mapping C to C and induced by the identity functions are not homomorphisms. Which of
mapping on ℤ12. the homomorphisms are isomorphisms?
Make a diagram showing the four spaces
pitch, spc, pc, and fifth, the isomorphisms (a) f: pc → pc is the transposition operator T3.
f1: pitch → spc and f2: pc → fifth, and the (b) f: cpitch → cpitch is the inversion
homomorphisms QO: pitch → pc and π: spc → operator I (inversion about C4).
fifth. Choose several elements of pitch and (c) f: pitch → cpitch is defined so that for
trace the elements to which they are mapped in every pitch x in discrete pitch space, f(x) is
the  other spaces. Is it true that QO ● f2 =​ f1 ● π? the pitch one quarter-​tone higher than x;
for example f(C4) =​C4+​0.5.
The noncommutative interval space triad (d) f: spc → pc maps any spelled pitch class
with the dihedral interval group 𝒯ℐ12 offers to the corresponding pitch class assuming
additional examples of interval-​ space homo- enharmonic equivalence. This f is same
morphisms. Let P: triad → triad denote the as the mapping π: spc → fifth described
neo-​Riemannian parallel transformation, which above and in Exercise 7.2.11, except
changes the mode of any triad while preserv- that for any spelled pitch class x, f(x) is
ing its root. For any triads X and Y, the interval considered to be an element of the space pc
inttriad(X, Y) (the Tn or In operation that maps X rather than an element of fifth.
to Y) is the same as inttriad(P(X), P(Y)). (Readers (e) f: pc → triad maps any pitch class x to the
should be able to convince themselves of the truth x-​m inor triad.
of this assertion by checking a few examples. It is (f) f: triad → pc maps any major or minor
a consequence of a principle to be established in triad to its root.
Chapter 8: Riemannian triadic transformations (g) f: triad → triad maps any triad, major
always commute with transpositions and inver- or minor, to the major triad with the
sions.) In other words, P is an interval-​preserving same root.
transformation on the space of triads, interval-​ (h) f is the neo-​Riemannian relative
compatible with the identity mapping on the   transformation R: triad → triad.
interval group 𝒯ℐ12, and therefore P is an auto-
morphism of the interval space triad. Theorem 7.2.13 below, the final theorem of
Now consider the function f: pc → triad this section, collects several properties of interval-​
defined so that for every pitch class x, f(x) is the space homomorphisms, especially induced homo-
v
major triad (the major triad whose root is morphisms g u as specified in the homomorphism
x-​
x). This f is an interval-​space homomorphism. theorem. The notation is sometimes cumber-
The compatible group mapping g: ℤ12 → 𝒯ℐ12 is some, but the concepts are straightforward. Some
defined so that, for any mod-​12 integer i, g(i) is motivation for these properties is given in the
the transposition Ti, an element of 𝒯ℐ12. Interval examples and exercises following and in Figure
compatibility of f and g amounts to a fairly obvi- 7.2.14. We will encounter further illustrations of
ous statement: if x and y are pitch classes with these properties in our study of generalized trans-
int(x, y) =​ i, then the transposition operator Ti position and inversion in Sections 7.5 and 7.6.
14

maps the x-​major triad to the y-​major triad (and

Ti is therefore the “interval” between those two Theorem 7.2.13: Properties of interval-​space
triads in the space triad). This homomorphism homomorphisms
is similar to an inclusion mapping: in this case the In the following statements, (S1, G1, int1),
interval group ℤ12 is isomorphic to a subgroup of (S 2, G2, int2), and (S3, G3, int3) are assumed to be
𝒯ℐ12 (the group 𝒯12 of transposition operators interval spaces; ⊕ is the group operation in G2;
only), and the space pc is likewise isomorphic, as and ⊖i denotes the inverse of the group element
interval spaces, to a subspace of triad (the sub- i in G2. The letters u, x, a, and b always denote
space containing major triads only). elements of S1; v and y are elements of S2; w is
an element of S3.
Exercise 7.2.12 Six of the eight mappings
described below are interval-​space (a) Composition of interval-​space homomorphisms.
homomorphisms; two are not. Identify the Suppose f1: S1 → S2 and f2: S2 → S3
homomorphisms and describe the group are interval-​space homomorphisms
homomorphism with which each of them is interval-​compatible with the group

Intervals • 261
FIGURE 7.2.14 Properties of interval-​space homomorphisms, from Theorem 7.2.13
homomorphisms g1: G1 → G2 and g2:
G2 → G3 respectively. Then f1 ● f2: S1 → S3
is an interval-​space homomorphism
interval-​compatible with the group
homomorphism g1 ● g2: G1 → G3. If f1 = g 1uv
and f2 = g 2 wv , then f1 • f2 = ( g1 ● g2)wu.
If both f1 and f2 are interval-​space
isomorphisms, then f1 ● f2 is an
interval-​space isomorphism.
(b) Inverses of interval-​space isomorphisms.
Suppose f: S1 → S2 is an interval-​space
isomorphism interval-​compatible with
the group isomorphism g: G1 → G2.
Then f −1: S2 → S1 is an interval-​space
isomorphism compatible with the group
isomorphism g−1: G2 → G1. If f = g uv, then
f −1 = g–1wu.
(c) Label functions for induced interval-​space
homomorphisms. Suppose labu: S1 → G1
and labv: S2 → G2 are the label functions
associated with u and v, and suppose g:
G1 → G2 is a group homomorphism. Then
for every a in S1,
labv( g xy( a))
= labv ( y ) ⊕ (⊖g ( labu(x ))) ⊕ g ( lab u(a)).
262 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
(d) Intervals formed by induced interval-​space
homomorphisms. Suppose g: G1 → G2 and
h: G1 → G2 are group homomorphisms. Then
for every a and b in S1,
int 2( g uv ( a), h xy(b ))
= g (int 1( a, u)) ⊕ int 2( v, y ) ⊕ h( int 1( x , b )).
(e) Change of reference points. If g: G1 → G2 is a
group homomorphism, then g xy = g uv if and
  only if g uv ( x ) = y .
Parts (a)–​(d) of the above theorem are illus-
trated in the corresponding parts of Figure
7.2.14. Parts (a) and (b) show that compositions
and inverses of interval-​space homomorphisms
behave as we should expect. As an example of (a),
the mapping from pitch classes to minor triads in
Exercise 7.2.12e may be obtained as the composi-
tion of two other functions described previously,
f ● P, where f: pc → triad maps each pitch class to
a major triad and P: triad → triad is the parallel
transformation. Because both f and P are interval-​
space homomorphisms, the same is true of f ● P.
The group mapping interval-​compatible with f ● P
is g1 ● g2, the composition of the group mappings
associated with f and P, but g2 is the identity map
on 𝒯ℐ12, so the group mapping for f ● P is the same
one described previously for f, which maps i in ℤ12
to Ti in 𝒯ℐ12.
In part (b) of the theorem it is necessary to
assume that f is an isomorphism because inverse
functions are defined only for one-​to-​one, onto
mappings. The isomorphism f: pitch → gpitch
described above, for example, has an inverse
f −1: gpitch → pitch, which is also an isomor-
phism. Both f and f −1 are interval-​compatible
with the identity map Eℤ and both map C4 to C4,
so both could be denoted Eℤ CC44 ; at the risk of
making the notation more unwieldy, the space
names may be included in the subscript and
superscript if it is necessary to distinguish the
two. In the final statement of part (b), the posi-
tions of u and v are exchanged in the inverse
function: f maps u to v, so f −1 maps v to u.
Part (c) gives a very general formula for calcu-
lating the label of any point in S2 arising as the
image of a point a in S1 under an induced interval-​
space homomorphism g xy, in terms of the labels
of a, x, and y, and reference points u and v in
the two spaces. If the interval group G2 is addi-
tive, the formula takes the slightly simpler form
labv ( g xy( a)) = labv ( y ) − g ( labu( x )) + g ( labu( a)). In a
commutative group, the terms may be rear-
ranged if desired; the formula in the theorem
gives the proper order of factors in the general,
possibly noncommutative, case. Figure 7.2.14c
provides some motivation for this formula,
using additive notation. The label in question,
labv ( g xy( a)), is equal to int 2( v, g xy( a)) , the inter-
val j1 in the figure. The interval-​sum equation
in S2 implies that j1 =​ j2 +​ j3. The interval com-
patibility of g xy with g means that j3 =​ g(i3). The
interval-​sum equation in S1 implies that i1 =​ i2 +​
i3, or equivalently i3 =​−i2 +​ i1; because g is a group
homomorphism it follows that g(i3) =​−g(i2) +​
g(i1). Therefore j1 =​ j2 − g(i2) +​ g(i1); the assertion
in the theorem then follows by expressing all of
these intervals as equivalent label functions. In
the special case in which x =​ u and y =​ v, labu(x)
and labv(y) are the identity elements of their
respective groups, so in this case the formula
reduces to labv( g uv( a)) = g ( labu( a)), which simply
restates the label compatibility property.
Theorem 7.2.13d is another general formula,
this one for the interval between two points of
S2 arising as images of points a and b in S1 under
two (possibly different) induced interval-​space
homomorphisms g uv and h xy, in terms of various
intervals formed by a, b, u, v, x, and y. In Figure
7.2.14d, the interval-​sum equation in S2 implies
that j1 =​ j2 +​ j3 +​ j4; interval compatibility for the
two homomorphisms then allows j2 and j4 to be
replaced by g(i2) and h(i4), leading directly to the
formula in the theorem.
Theorem 7.2.13e makes the point that the
induced homomorphism notation g uv is not
unique: the reference points u and v may be
replaced by any other pair of points related by
the same mapping. For example, earlier we con-
structed an isomorphism from pitch to gpitch
as g uv, where u and v were both C4. This function
mapped G4 (in pitch) to C5 (in gpitch), so the
same homomorphism could also be denoted g xy ,
where x =​G4 and y =​C5.
Exercise 7.2.15 Continuing your work
from Exercise 7.2.8, verify that the formula
in Theorem 7.2.13c holds in the following
situation: S1 is the space cpitch; S2 is the space
freq; g is the homomorphism from (ℝ, +​)
to (ℝ>0, ∙) given by g(x) =​2x; u, x, and a are
respectively the pitches C4, A4, and E5; and v and
y are respectively 1 and 440. In pitch space use
the interval function intpitch′ =​intpitch ∕ 12, as
in  
the previous exercise.15
Exercise 7.2.16 Verify that the formula
in Theorem 7.2.13d holds in the following
situation: S1 is the space pc; S2 is the space
triad; g and h are both the homomorphism from
ℤ12 to 𝒯ℐ12 that maps the mod-​12 integer i to
the transposition Ti; u, x, a, and b are respectively
the pitch classes C, C, E, and G; and v and y are
respectively
   the C-​major and C-​minor triads.16
Exercise 7.2.17 If x =​ u, y =​ v, and g =​ h, show
that Theorem 7.2.13d reduces to the interval
compatibility
   condition.
7.3 DIRECT PRODUCTS OF
INTERVAL SPACES
The concepts of direct products and quotients
of groups, described in Chapter 6, have coun-
terparts in the theory of interval spaces. In
fact, we have seen examples of both of these
constructions already. Product spaces are for-
malized in this section, quotient spaces in
the next.
Suppose (S1, G1, int1) and (S2, G2, int2) are two
interval spaces. The direct product of S1 and S2 is
the interval space (S, G, int) defined as follows.
The space S is S1 × S2, the Cartesian product of
the sets S1 and S2—​that is, the set of ordered
pairs (x, y) with x in S1 and y in S2. Similarly, the
Intervals • 263
group G is G1 × G2, the product of the two original
groups, with the direct-​product group structure
described in Section 6.4. The interval function
int on S is defined componentwise. Specifically,
if (x1, x2) and (y1, y2) are elements of S, then x1
and y1 belong to S1 while x2 and y2 belong to S2,
so we can form the intervals i1 =​int1(x1, y1) in G1
and i2 =​int2(x2, y2) in G2; the interval int((x1, x2),
(y1, y2)) in the product space is by definition the
ordered pair (i1, i2), an element of G1 × G2.
To be sure that S is an interval space, one
must verify the homogeneity condition and the
interval-​ sum equation from Section 5.4—​ but
both are immediate consequences of the corre-
sponding properties of S1 and S2. For homogene-
ity, if (x1, x2) ∈ S and (i1, i2) ∈ G, then the unique
element of S that lies at the interval (i1, i2) from
(x1, x2) is (y1, y2), where y1 is the unique ele-
ment of S1 such that int1(x1, y1) =​ i1 and y2 is the
unique element of S2 such that int2(x2, y2) =​ i2.
The interval-​sum equation in S takes the form
int((x1, x2), (y1, y2)) +​int((y1, y2), (z1, z2))
  =​ int((x1, x2), (z1, z2)),
which follows directly from the direct-​product
structure of the group and the interval-​ sum
equations in each component. The +​sign in the
above equation represents the group operation
in the product group G1 × G2, defined compo-
nentwise (as in Chapter 6) using the group oper-
ation of G1 in the first component and that of G2
in the second.
We noted in Section 2.2 that Cartesian prod-
ucts of more than two sets are often useful; for
example, chords in a four-​ voice texture may
be modeled as ordered 4-​tuples of pitches, ele-
ments of the space pitch4. Our work with voice-​
leading spaces in Part Three will make extensive
use of product spaces of this form, but in the
continuous version: cpitchn, the direct product
of n copies of continuous pitch space cpitch.
The elements of cpitchn are ordered n-​tuples of
pitches; each pitch may be represented by a real
number, so the elements of cpitchn correspond
with points in n-​dimensional Euclidean space
ℝn. Spaces of the form pitchn or cpitchn may
be called pitch-​tuple spaces. As we know, pitch
and cpitch are interval spaces with interval
groups ℤ and ℝ respectively. The discrete and
continuous pitch-​pair spaces pitch2 and cpitch2
(that is, the direct products pitch × pitch and
cpitch × cpitch), which could be used to model
sonorities in a two-​voice texture, therefore have
interval-​space structure with the interval groups
264 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
ℤ × ℤ, or ℤ2, and ℝ × ℝ, or ℝ2, respectively. More
generally, the n-​voice pitch-​tuple spaces pitchn
and cpitchn have interval groups ℤn and ℝn.
Pitch-​class–​tuple spaces pcn and cpcn, with inter-
val groups (ℤ12)n and (ℝ12)n respectively, may
also be constructed.
Intervals in pitch-​tuple space, as elements of
ℤn or ℝn, are themselves n-​dimensional objects of
the form (i1, i2, …, in). As an example of an inter-
val in pitch3, consider the chords α =​(G3, B3,
F4) and β =​(C3, C4, E4), an incomplete dominant
seventh chord and an incomplete tonic triad. (In
our study of voice-​leading spaces we will often
use Greek letters to stand for pitch tuples.) Then
the interval int(α, β) =​(−7, 1, −1) tells us pre-
cisely how far, and in which direction, each of
the three voices moves as chord α progresses to
chord β. This interval function does not report
a single number as the “distance” between the
two chords. In Chapter 12 we will introduce dis-
tance functions that always take a single numeri-
cal value. In the context of voice-​leading spaces,
distance spaces, defined by distance functions,
will prove to be more broadly applicable than
interval spaces—​but the basic pitch-​tuple spaces
pitchn and cpitchn possess both an interval-​
space structure and a distance-​space structure.
As the example of cpitchn shows, a direct-​
product interval space may be used as a way of
combining information from multiple objects
in a single entity, such as several notes in one
chord or voices in a texture. In other situa-
tions, direct products may be used to capture
two or more kinds of information about a single
object. Consider pitch × beat, the product of
discrete pitch space with beat space. Beat space,
introduced in Example 1.4.20 as an infinite
chain of equally spaced beats, forms an interval
space in which, for example, an equation like
intbeat(x, y) =​3 means that beat y occurs 3 beats
after x. For present purposes we assume a dis-
crete beat space measured in quarter notes, with
interval group ℤ. This is the same interval group
as that of discrete pitch space pitch, so from
Section 7.2 it follows that the interval spaces
pitch and beat are isomorphic—​but the musi-
cal information they convey is very different.
An element of pitch × beat is a specific pitch
at a specific time, the two types of information
conveyed in a straightforward way by an ordered
pair of integers.
In the canon from the closing-​theme group
in the first movement of Beethoven’s Fourth
Symphony (Figure 7.3.1), the bassoon imitates
the clarinet one octave lower (pitch interval
−12) and one measure later (beat interval 4).
Corresponding notes in the two voices are there-
fore consistently related by the interval (−12, 4) in
the product space. We noted in Section 5.6 that
a kind of “transposition” Transi makes sense in
any interval space, the statement “Transi(x) =​ y”
being synonymous with “int(x, y) =​ i.” The bas-
soon part is a standard T−12 transposition of the
clarinet in pitch space, but it may also be con-
sidered a T4 transposition of the clarinet in beat
space; both pieces of information may be cap-
tured by saying that the bassoon transposes the
clarinet at Trans(−12, 4) in the product space pitch
× beat. A consistent interval of transposition in
this product space is characteristic of canonic
and fugal imitation in general.17
The reader can no doubt imagine many vari-
ants on the preceding construction. Either pitch
space or beat space could be replaced with its
continuous counterpart. Chromatic pitch space
could be replaced by a generic or diatonic space
(useful in the study of diatonic sequences) or
by pitch-​class space. Lewin ([1987] 2007, 37–​
44) offers a detailed analysis of the opening of
the third movement of Webern’s Variations for
Piano, Op. 27, in the space pc × beat, modular-
izing the pitch dimension but retaining the infi-
nite time dimension. One could also reverse the
order of the two components, forming a product
space such as beat × pitch rather than pitch
× beat; the two interval spaces are isomorphic
via the function that maps the ordered pair
(x, y) to (y, x).
Chromatic and generic (or diatonic) informa-
tion may also be usefully combined in a product
space.18 Steven Rings (2011b) has demonstrated
many analytical virtues of the space sd × pc, the
product of scale-​degree space (first introduced
in Figure 1.2.10) with pitch-​ class space. The
interval group of this space is ℤ7 × ℤ12; the first
component of an interval is a mod-​7 interval
between scale degrees, while the second is a mod-​
12 interval between pitch classes. Identification
FIGURE 7.3.1 The pitch × beat interval (−12, 4) in Beethoven, Symphony No. 4 in B♭ Major, Op. 60,
I, mm. 141–​45
of scale degrees presupposes a tonal center, and
Rings comments extensively on “tonal qualia,”
perceptual attributes associated with events in
tonal contexts. The following example offers a
few simple observations in this space, in a com-
parison of several occurrences of the tritone
C♯–​G in Debussy’s “Afternoon of a Faun.”
Example 7.3.2: Debussy, Prélude à “L’après-​midi
d’un faune”
Measure 21 of Debussy’s score appears in
reduction at the top left of Figure 7.3.3. The
flute’s C♯ sounds as an added sixth in a tonic
triad in E major, so this note is represented by
the ordered pair (6,̂ 1) in the product space—​
pitch class 1 heard as scale degree 6̂. This
ordered pair appears as the top-​left vertex in
the network at the center of the figure. From C♯,
the flute melody descends almost chromatically
to G♮, supported by a ♭VI chord over a tonic
pedal. Scale-​degree space does not distinguish
between 3̂ and ♭3̂, but the ordered pair (3̂, 7)
confirms that the note is G♮ rather than G♯. The
interval between the C♯ and G in the product
space is (4, 6): the second note is four steps
clockwise from the first in mod-​7 scale-​degree
space (in this case a fourth down rather than
a fifth up) and six steps clockwise in mod-​12
pitch-​class space (in this case six semitones
down). Rings sometimes conveys additional
musical information via notations that
transcend the formal structure of the space;
in this spirit this interval might be written in
the form (−3, −6), or even—​Rings’s preferred
notation—​(4th−1, −6).
The first harmony in the measure includes
a G♯, and the flute’s descending line traverses
G♯ just before its arrival at G♮. In this context,
one might argue that a listener will hear G♮
not as ♭3̂ at all but as ♯2̂, a chromatic lower
neighbor to 3̂. This hearing is modeled at
the bottom left in the figure. The interval
spanned by the flute in this reading is not
Intervals • 265
(4, 6) but (3, 6) (or (5th−1, −6))—​a descending
fifth rather than a fourth. Intervals between
the two hearings appear as vertical arrows
in the network. The two C♯s, (6̂, 1) in both
hearings, are related by the identity interval
(0, 0). The G♮ and F𝄪 are related by the interval
(6, 0), indicating that while the pitch class is
unchanged (pc interval 0), the scale degree
in the second hearing is one step lower (sd
interval 6 mod 7). Intervals between the first
chord’s G♯ and the second chord’s G♮ (F𝄪),
though not shown in the graph, could also
be computed for both hearings. In the first
hearing this interval is (3̂, 8) ( 0, 11 )
→ (3̂, 7),
indicating a chromatic inflection of a fixed
scale degree, while in the second it is
(3̂, 8) (
6, 11 )
→ (2̂, 7), a characteristic lower-​
neighbor relationship.19
Both the descending-​fourth and descending-​
fifth hearings of the interval between
pitch classes 1 and 7 are instantiated less
ambiguously elsewhere in the piece. At m. 11,
as shown at the upper right, C♯ and G are 7̂
and 4̂ in an apparent D-​major tonal context.
The interval between them is (4, 6), the
descending fourth, matching the interval in
our first interpretation of m. 21. Though the
interval between the two notes may be the
same, the tonal context is different: these two
instances of C♯–​G are related in the product
space by the interval (1, 0). This information is
conveyed in the graph by bubble notation: in
the product space, C♯–​G in m. 11 is a Trans(1, 0)
transposition of C♯–​G in m. 21. Rings would
FIGURE 7.3.3 Interpretations of the interval C♯–​G in Debussy, Prélude à “L’Après-​midi d’un faune” in
the product space sd × pc
266 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
call this interval (1, 0) a pivot 2nd: there is no
change in pitch classes but the scale degrees
have shifted by a step, reflecting the change in
tonal center. The bubble notation works here
because the interval group is commutative. The
bubbles imply two paths through the graph
from (6̂, 1) to (4̂, 7): one can traverse the
(4, 6) arrow followed by (1, 0), or the other
way around, and by the interval-​sum equation
the composite transposition is (5, 6) in either
case—​the interval in sd × pc from C♯ in E major
to G in D major.
In the central D♭-​major episode of the piece,
shown at the lower right, the tritone D♭–​G♮
appears in the bass line as 1̂ and ♯4̂. The interval
here is again (3, 6), the descending fifth;20 this
D♭–​G is related to the descending fifth C♯–​F𝄪
in the second interpretation of m. 21 by the
interval (2, 0), a pivot 3rd, as the scale degrees
have shifted by two steps. The vertical arrows
on the right side of the graph bear the interval
labels (0, 0) and (1, 0): G♮ is (4̂, 7) in both the
D-​major and the D♭-​major passages, but the scale
degree associated with C♯ (D♭) has changed. On
the left side of the graph, the two C♯s are heard
in the same way while the Gs are interpreted
differently, so the identity interval (0, 0) relates
only the C♯s; on the right side this situation is
reversed.
Exercise 7.3.4
(a) By following arrows in the graph in Figure
7.3.3, six different paths may be traced from
(6̂, 1) at the upper left to (4̂, 7) at the lower
 right. Verify that the sums of the intervals
along all six paths are the same. Why must
this be the case?21
(b) If the passage at m. 55 were notated in C♯
major rather than D♭ major, would anything
in the graph change?
(c) The last tritone heard in the piece is not
C♯–​G but E–​A♯, presented harmonically
at m. 109 as 1̂ and ♯4̂ in E major. These
are the same scale degrees as D♭–​G at
m. 55, so the final E–​A♯ may be considered
a transposition of m. 55’s D♭–​G. As an
interval in sd × pc, what is the interval of
  transposition from m. 55 to m. 109?
We may imagine combining many types of
information in a multidimensional direct-​product
interval space whose components might include,
for example, a chromatic pitch number, a generic
pitch class, a tonal center, a scale degree, a time
point, and a beat-​class number. Such a space may
be thought of as a spreadsheet to be filled in with
detailed information about various details of,
potentially, every note in a piece. This approach
can enable a thorough accounting of musical
events (and relationships between events, in the
form of multidimensional intervals)—​but at the
cost of an overwhelming profusion of data. Even
the comparatively simple product spaces of Lewin
(pc × beat) and Rings (sd × pc) described above
can seem complex. More important, while the
spaces provide a framework for recording infor-
mation, it remains up to the analyst to decide
which of the myriad data points are of analytical
significance in any given situation.22
In Rings’s space sd × pc, if for every scale degree
s and every pitch class x we define π1(s, x) =​ s,
then π1: sd × pc → sd (the projection mapping
from the product onto its first component) is an
interval-​space homomorphism from the product
space sd × pc to scale-​degree space sd. By fixing
any pitch class such as 0, we can define a homo-
morphism in the opposite direction, ε1: sd →
sd × pc, by ε1(s) =​(s, 0); ε1 is an embedding of sd
into the first component of the product space.
The image of sd under this embedding is the set
S0 =​ sd × {0} =​{(1̂, 0), (2̂, 0), …, (7̂, 0)}, a cross sec-
tion of sd × pc consisting of only those elements
of the product space having 0 as their second
component. This subset of the product space is
an interval space in its own right: the interval
function is that of the product space, but the sec-
ond component of every interval formed within
the subspace is 0. (Intervals of this type form
a subgroup of the interval group ℤ7 × ℤ12, and
the fact that S0 is an interval space follows from
the interval subspace property from Theorem
5.4.7.) It should come as no surprise that this
seven-​note interval space S0 is isomorphic to sd
itself, and the embedding ε1 is an interval-​space
isomorphism from sd to S0. These constructions
are completely general: in any product interval
space, projections onto each component and
embeddings of each of the original spaces into
isomorphic cross sections of the product space
can always be defined in this way.
Exercise 7.3.5
(a) Rewrite the preceding paragraph to show
how to define the projection π2 of sd × pc
onto its second component and the
embedding ε2 of pc into the cross section
S1̂ =​{1̂} × pc of sd × pc.
(b) Carefully describe the group homomorphisms
of interval groups with which the interval-​
space homomorphisms π1 and ε1 described
  above are interval-​compatible.
Exercise 6.4.4 described the conformed ton-
netz of Figure 1.4.3 as an interval space whose
interval group is ℤ4 × ℤ3. To move in this space
by an interval such as (2, 1) means to move two
places rightward and one place up. It should
come as no surprise that this tonnetz is a direct-​
product interval space, formed as the product of
spaces whose interval groups are ℤ4 and ℤ3—​or
at least it is isomorphic to such a product space.
It does not much matter how the elements of
the two smaller spaces are labeled; the ordered
pairs in the product space may in any case be
relabeled with pitch classes in the usual ton-
netz arrangement. (The relabeling is the iso-
morphism.) We know from Section 6.4 that the
group ℤ4 × ℤ3 is isomorphic to ℤ12, so it follows
from the interval-​space homomorphism theo-
rem (Theorem 7.2.7) that this tonnetz space
is isomorphic as an interval space to ordinary
pitch-​class space pc.
Other aspects of the relationship between
tonnetzes and product spaces may be high-
lighted by considering frequency spaces with
multiplicative interval groups. In Exercise 2.3.25
we constructed Pythagorean pitch space in the
form of a tonnetz generated by octaves and per-
fect fifths. If we orient this space so that octaves
run horizontally and fifths vertically, then the
note at coordinates (x, y) has a frequency of
2 x ⋅ ( 3 2 ) y ⋅ c Hz, where c is the frequency assigned
to whichever note lies at the origin (0, 0). A hori-
zontal cross section of this space is a space of
Intervals • 267
octave-​related pitches such as {. . ., C2, C3, C4, C5,
C6, . . .}, which is itself a simple frequency space
whose interval group is { , 1 4 , 1 2 , 1, 2, 4, },
the multiplicative group of powers of 2. A verti-
cal cross section, meanwhile, is a space of purely
tuned fifth-​related pitches such as {. . ., B♭2, F3, C4,
G4, D5, . . .}, an interval space with the multipli-
cative interval group { , 4 9 , 2 3 , 1, 3 2 , 9 4 ,  } of
powers of 3 2 . Pythagorean frequency space pyth
may be identified with the product of these two
simpler spaces. In this conception, an interval in
pyth is technically an ordered pair of the form
(2 x, ( 3 2 ) y ) for some integers x and y, each of
which may be positive, negative, or zero. It is use-
ful, however, to replace this ordered pair with the
product 2 x ⋅ ( 3 2 ) y, which is the exact frequency
ratio between two notes in this relationship.
Because 2 x ⋅ ( 3 2 ) = 2 x − y ⋅ 3 y, intervals in this
y class spaces. To form pitch-​class spaces entails
group can always be written in the simple form
2a · 3b for some integers a and b. The set Gpyth =​
{2a · 3b | a, b ∈ ℤ} is a multiplicative group—​the
interval group of Pythagorean frequency space
pyth. This group is a subgroup of the multiplica-
tive group (ℝ>0, ∙), the interval group of freq, so
pyth’s status as an interval space is confirmed
by the interval subspace property.
Exercise 7.3.6 After the previous discussion of
tonnetzes as interval spaces, we might expect
that intervals in the infinite two-​dimensional
tonnetz of Pythagorean pitch space should be
depicted as ordered pairs of integers. In fact,
ℤ × ℤ, the additive group of ordered pairs of
integers, is isomorphic to the multiplicative
interval group Gpyth described above. One
possible isomorphism maps the ordered pair
(a, b) to the number 2a · 3b. Verify the following
properties of this mapping f, both of which
must be true for it to be an isomorphism:
(a) The mapping f must satisfy the homo­
morphism property f(x) ⊗ f(y) =​ f(x ⊕ y).
Replace x and y by ordered pairs (a, b) and
(c, d) and the operation symbols ⊕ and ⊗
by the appropriate operations in the two
groups, and verify that this equation holds.
(b) The mapping f is evidently onto by
the definition of Gpyth, but to be an
isomorphism it must also be one-​to-​one,
which means that the same number cannot
be 2a · 3b for two different choices of (a, b).
  Why is this true?23
Exercise 7.3.7 Review the construction of just
pitch space in Exercise 2.3.26: this is the space
268 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
of all notes obtained from a given starting
pitch via purely tuned octaves, perfect fifths,
and major thirds. Using reasoning similar
to the above, show that just pitch space may
be constructed as a direct product of three
interval spaces, and that when regarded as
a frequency space its interval group is the
multiplicative group Gjust =​{2a · 3b · 5c | a, b,
c ∈ ℤ}, which is isomorphic to ℤ × ℤ × ℤ, the
direct product of three copies of the additive
group
   of integers.24
7.4 QUOTIENTS OF
INTERVAL SPACES
The frequency-​based tonnetz spaces described at
the end of Section 7.3 are pitch rather than pitch-​
removing the octave component (2a) from con-
sideration. The appropriate means for doing so is
a quotient interval space, the topic of this section.
While product spaces combine information from
two or more spaces in a single larger space, quo-
tient spaces reduce a given space to something
smaller by identifying some points with others,
effectively discarding the information by which
we can tell those points apart. We have previ-
ously described quotient sets (Chapter 2) and
quotient groups (Chapter 6), formed by imposing
equivalence relations on sets or groups; we now
show how the quotient concept may be extended
to interval spaces under appropriate conditions.
Throughout this discussion it will be help-
ful to recall a simple and familiar example that
we have described from a number of different
perspectives already: the construction of pitch-​
class space from pitch space. In Section 1.2 we
obtained pc from pitch informally by wrapping
a line into a circle; in Section 2.5 we formalized
this construction via an equivalence relation;
and in Section 6.6 we formed the interval group
ℤ12 as a quotient group of ℤ. The discarded infor-
mation that distinguishes pitches but not pitch
classes is register information, present in the
space pitch but not in pc.
We know from Section 6.6 that a quotient
group G ∕ H may be formed as long as H is a nor-
mal subgroup of G. The construction of a quo-
tient interval space correspondingly requires a
normal subgroup H of the interval group (G, ⊕).
The subgroup H defines a group congruence ~H
on G; two elements of G are related by ~H if they
belong to the same coset of H, which also means
that one element can be obtained from the other
by adding (using the group operation ⊕, on
either the left or the right) some element of H.
The elements of the quotient group G′ =​ G ∕ H are
the cosets of H, which are also the equivalence
classes of the congruence ~H. In this situation H
may be called the congruence subgroup, and the
equivalence classes may also be called congruence
classes. The requirement that H be a normal sub-
group is a limitation only in the noncommuta-
tive case; many of the most important interval
spaces have commutative interval groups, which
ensures that every subgroup is normal.
The congruence ~H is defined on the group G,
but the subgroup H also provides a way to define
an equivalence relation on the space S, a rela-
tion we will denote ≈H. Two elements of S are H-​
equivalent if the interval between them belongs
to H: x ≈H y is true whenever int(x, y) ∈ H, or
equivalently whenever int(x, y) ~H e. We say that
≈H is the equivalence relation on S induced by the
normal subgroup H of G.25 We will use the term
normal equivalence relation for any equivalence
relation on an interval space that is induced by a
normal subgroup of the interval group.
In the familiar example, S is pitch; the inter-
val group G is ℤ; H is the subgroup 12ℤ; ~H is
the relation of congruence mod 12; and the quo-
tient group G′ is ℤ12, the integers mod 12. The
equivalence relation induced by the subgroup
12ℤ is octave equivalence—​that is, the rela-
tion ≈12ℤ on pitch is just the familiar relation
~O—​because two pitches are octave-​equivalent
if and only if the interval between them belongs
to 12ℤ. As an equivalence relation induced by
a normal subgroup, ~O is a normal equivalence
relation on pitch.
As the familiar example demonstrates, the
congruence ~H on G (mod-​ 12 congruence of
integers) and the equivalence ≈H on S (octave
equivalence of pitches) are notably similar in
structure, because the structure of the space
corresponds so closely to the structure of the
group. This space-​ group correspondence was
described in Section 7.1 via label functions. If u
is a reference point and x and y are any elements
of S, we can now see that x and y are H-​equiv-
alent elements of the space (x ≈H y) if and only
if their labels labu(x) =​int(u, x) and labu(y) =​
int(u, y) are H-​congruent elements of the group
(labu(x) ~H labu(y)). To see this, note first that by
the interval-​sum equation, int(u, x) ⊕ int(x, y) =​
int(u, y). If we know that x ≈H y, that means that
int(x, y) ∈ H—​but then int(u, x) ⊕ h =​int(u, y) for
some h in H, which implies (because H is a nor-
mal subgroup) that int(u, x) and int(u, y) are H-​
congruent. The converse is true as well: if int(u, y)
~H int(u, x), then int(u, y) =​int(u, x) ⊕ h for some
h in H. But the interval-​sum equation int(u, y) =​
int(u, x) ⊕ int(x, y) holds as well, from which it
follows that int(x, y) =​ h ∈ H and therefore that
x ≈H y. Thus the equivalence relation ≈H on the
space S corresponds exactly, via the label func-
tion labu, to the congruence ~H on the group G.
Equivalence relations always enable the for-
mation of quotient sets. Let S′ be the quotient
set S ∕ ≈H, the set of equivalence classes of the
normal equivalence relation ≈H. To complete the
construction of the quotient interval space, we
must show how to define an interval function int′
on S′. If x and y are elements of S whose equiva-
lence classes in S′ are x and y , define int′( x , y )
to be the equivalence class in the quotient group
G′ of the interval int(x, y) in G. In the familiar
example, this definition says that pitch-​ class
intervals are obtained by reducing pitch inter-
vals mod 12. To be sure that int′ is a well-​defined
interval function on S′, we must check that if a
second pair of elements x1 and y1 were chosen as
representatives of the same equivalence classes
x and y , then int(x1, y1) would belong to the
same equivalence class as int(x, y), and so the
definition of int′( x , y ) would be unaffected. To
see why this is true, observe that
int(x1, y1) =​int(x1, x) ⊕ int(x, y) ⊕ int(y, y1).
Because x1 ≈H x and y1 ≈H y, the first and last
intervals in this sum both belong to H, so the
entire sum is H-​congruent to int(x, y).
Therefore (S′, G′, int′) is an interval space, the
quotient interval space of S induced by the subgroup
H. Moreover, there is always a quotient interval-​
space homomorphism from the original space to
the quotient space, namely the quotient map
Q≈H: S → S′. In the familiar example this is the
mapping QO: pitch → pc, discussed in Section
7.2. The definition of int′ ensures that Q≈H is
interval-​
compatible with the quotient group
homomorphism Q~: G → G′; this compatibility
with a group homomorphism ensures that Q≈H is
an interval-​space homomorphism.
The familiar example immediately sug-
gests other examples, because we know sev-
eral other interval spaces sharing the interval
group ℤ and therefore isomorphic to pitch. In
generic and diatonic pitch spaces gpitch and
dpitch(n), notes are octave-​ equivalent if the
interval between them is a multiple of 7, so
~O is induced by the subgroup 7ℤ of ℤ (rather
than 12ℤ), giving rise to gpc and dpc(n) as quo-
tient interval spaces. In spc, the subgroup 12ℤ
Intervals • 269
induces enharmonic equivalence; the quotient
interval space is conformed fifths space fifth.
Beat space beat also has ℤ as its interval group;
any subgroup of the form nℤ gives rise to mod-​n
beat-​class space bc(n) as a quotient space.
Octave equivalence is a normal equivalence
relation and determines a quotient interval space
not only in the discrete case (the formation of pc
from pitch) but also in the continuous case (cpc
from cpitch), and not only in one dimension but
in multiple dimensions (pcn from pitchn, and
cpcn from cpitchn). Taking pitch3 as an exam-
ple, the interval group is ℤ3, and the congruence
subgroup H =​(12ℤ)3 consists of those ordered
triples all of whose components are multiples of
12. The induced relation ≈H on pitch3 is precisely
octave equivalence, which we have previously
denoted ~O: two ordered triples in pitch3 are
octave-​equivalent if the three-​dimensional inter-
val between them belongs to H, which is to say
that the notes in corresponding components are
octave-​equivalent. The quotient space pitch3∕~O
is the space pc3, three-​dimensional pitch-​class–​
triple space, consisting of ordered triples of pitch
classes. Because this space arises through octave
equivalence, in our study of general voice-​lead-
ing spaces in Part Three we will call it three-​voice
O-​space. As an interval space, its interval group
is the quotient group ℤ3 ∕ (12ℤ)3, which may be
identified with (ℤ12)3, the direct product of three
copies of the integers mod 12.
If α and β are chords written as ordered triples
in pitch3, the interval between them in the quo-
tient space may be calculated by forming int(α, β)
in pitch3 and reducing all three components mod
12. In the general notation employed above, this
–
interval would be denoted intʹ(α–, β ), but in this
situation we might more conveniently write
intO(α, β), understanding that the notation intO
refers to an interval between equivalence classes
in O-​space. For example, we noted in Section 7.3
that the incomplete dominant seventh chord α =​
(G3, B3, F4) and incomplete tonic triad β =​(C3, C4,
E4) are related in pitch3 by the interval int(α, β) =​
(−7, 1, −1), whose components are integers; in
O-​space they are related by intO(α, β) =​(5, 1, 11),
whose components are integers mod 12.
Octave equivalence is one of the OPTIC rela-
tions introduced in Section 2.4, all of which will
be discussed in more detail in Chapter 10 in the
context of the continuous spaces cpitchn. As
we will see in Chapter 12, not all of the OPTIC
relations are normal equivalence relations and
give rise to quotient interval spaces; the only
relation besides octave equivalence that meets
270 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
this requirement is transpositional equivalence
~T. In pitch3, two chords are transpositionally
equivalent if they are related by transposition Ti
for some integer i; the interval of transposition
must be the same in all three coordinates, which
means that the interval between the chords is an
ordered triple of the form (i, i, i), a multiple of
(1, 1, 1). The congruence subgroup for this rela-
tion is the subgroup of ℤ3 consisting of all such
triples (i, i, i). In the continuous space cpitch3,
analogously, the congruence subgroup for ~T
consists of ordered triples (r, r, r), where r may
be any real number. When we study the geom-
etry of the OPTIC spaces in Chapter 11, we will
see that although cpitch3 is a three-​dimensional
space, the quotient space cpitch3∕~T (three-​voice
T-​space) is only two-​ dimensional; it may be
obtained by flattening the three dimensions of
cpitch3 into a plane in a certain orientation.
In discrete three-​voice T-​space pitch3∕~T, an
interval intT(α, β) is an element of the quotient
group ℤ3 ∕ K, where K is the congruence subgroup
{(i, i, i) | i ∈ ℤ}. As such, an interval is not an
ordered triple of integers but an equivalence
class of ordered triples, a coset of K. If (x, y,
z) belongs to a certain coset, then every triple
of the form (x +​ i, y +​ i, z +​ i) belongs to that
same coset. In Chapter 11 we will explore vari-
ous ways to describe these equivalence classes;
in one representation (which we will call the yz
form), the three components are adjusted by
the same amount so that the first component
becomes 0. In the above example for which
int(α, β) =​(−7, 1, −1) in pitch3, the interval
intT(α, β) in T-​space is the equivalence class
of (−7, 1, −1); the yz form in this class is (0, 8,
6), obtained by adding 7 to each of the original
coordinates. This interval may be interpreted as
showing not precisely how the individual voices
move from chord α to β but how they move rela-
tive to each other. If the three voices move from
α =​(G3, B3, F4) through intervals of 0, 8, and 6
semitones, the resulting chord (G3, G4, B4) is not
the same as β =​(C3, C4, E4) but is transposition-
ally equivalent to β.
Exercise 7.4.1 Two pitch triples in pitch3 are
OT-​equivalent if they are related by O and T
equivalence in any combination. For instance,
(G3, B3, F4) and (C4, E5, B♭3) are OT-​equivalent
because (G3, B3, F4) ~O (G4, B5, F4) ~T (C4, E5,
B♭3). Three-​voice OT-​space pitch3∕~OT may be
constructed as a quotient interval space from
pitch3. Describe the congruence subgroup of ℤ3
associated
   with OT-​equivalence.26
 We return now to the construction of quo-
tients of continuous frequency space freq,
mentioned at the beginning of this section. As
we know from Section 7.2, the interval group
of freq is the multiplicative group (ℝ>0, ∙),
which is isomorphic to the additive group
(ℝ, +​); this group isomorphism confirms the
isomorphism of freq and cpitch as inter-
val spaces. In freq, the congruence subgroup
for octave equivalence is the powers-​
group H = {2a | a ∈ ℤ } = { , 1 4 , 1 2 , 1, 2, 4, }, a
cyclic subgroup of ℝ>0. Two notes are octave-​
equivalent whenever the interval between
them, defined multiplicatively in the sense
of freq, belongs to H. The interval group of
frequency-​class space freq ⁄~O, therefore, must
be the quotient group G′ =​ ℝ>0 ⁄ H. An element
of this quotient group (a coset of H) is a con-
gruence class of positive real numbers related
multiplicatively by powers of 2; for example,
the number 5 belongs to the congruence class
{ , 5 4 , 5 2 , 5, 10, 20, }, the coset 5H, which
is the element of G′ representing the interval
from pitch class C to pitch class E in just tun-
ing. Every such congruence class contains
exactly one number x in the range 1 ≤ x < 2 (for
the class listed above, that element is 5 4 ), cor-
responding to an ascending interval smaller
than an octave. The group G′ may be thought of
as a multiplicative group of numbers between
1 and 2, with the understanding that larger or
smaller numbers may be brought within that
range by multiplying or dividing by 2 as often
as necessary. We have remarked before that a
tuning of pitch space may be specified by defin-
ing a mapping from pitch into freq; in a simi-
lar way, a mapping from pc into the quotient
space freq ⁄~O may be regarded as a tuning of
pitch-​class space. Such a mapping determines
frequency ratios in the range 1 ≤ x < 2 between
any two pitch classes, thereby fixing the precise
acoustic interval between them, without the
need to specify the registers of the notes.
Pythagorean frequency space pyth, studied
in Exercise 7.3.6, has the multiplicative interval
group Gpyth =​{2a · 3b | a, b ∈ ℤ}. Octave equiva-
lence converts pyth into pyth ⁄~O, a Pythagorean
frequency-​class space. The congruence subgroup
for octave equivalence in Pythagorean space is
the same powers-​of-​2 group H described above,
which is a subgroup of Gpyth. An element of the
quotient group Gpyth ⁄ H is a congruence class
as before, but its elements are limited now to
numbers of the form 2a · 3b. Because all power-​
of-​2 multiples of one number are H-​congruent,
a congruence class always consists of a single
power of 3 and its multiples by all possible pow-
ers of 2; for example, one congruence class is
{ , 9 8 , 9 4 , 9 2 , 9, 18, 36, }, consisting of 32 =​9
and all its power-​of-​2 multiples. We may take
9 (the power of 3) to stand for the entire class;
taking the powers of 3 as representatives of the
elements of Gpyth ⁄ H in this way, we see that
the interval group of Pythagorean frequency-​
of-​
2 class space is simply the group of powers of
3: GpYTH /H = { 3b | b ∈ ℤ } = { , 1 9 , 1 3 , 1, 3, 9, } .
We noted earlier that Gpyth is isomorphic to the
additive direct-​product group ℤ × ℤ, and H is a
cyclic group isomorphic to the additive group ℤ.
One of the ℤs in the product is effectively can-
celed in the formation of the quotient group,
so that quotient {3b | b ∈ ℤ} is again isomor-
phic to a single copy of ℤ. This should come as
no surprise, because the simplest depiction of
Pythagorean pitch-​class space is as a discrete
one-​dimensional space, the line of fifths. The
frequency ratio of a pure perfect fifth is 3 2 , not
3, but because 3b and ( 3 2 )b always belong to the
same congruence class in Gpyth ⁄ H, it does not
matter whether we choose powers of 3 or powers
of 3 2 in the representation of this quotient group.
The notion of interval sizes in the interval
group Gpyth ⁄ H may be somewhat unintuitive.
Using the powers-​of-​3 representatives for ele-
ments of the quotient group, the Pythagorean
interval from C to G is 3, while the interval from
C to D is 9. It is important to remember that
these intervals are really “3 modulo the powers
of 2” and “9 modulo the powers of 2.” For grasp-
ing the size of an interval, the number between
1 and 2 representing an equivalence class may be
more helpful than the power of 3; when 3 and 9
are reduced in this way, these intervals become
the more musically comprehensible 3 2 and 9 8 .
Expressing intervals as numbers between 1 and
2, on the other hand, disguises the cyclic struc-
ture of the group, so it is useful to have both con-
ceptions available.
Exercise 7.4.2 Calculate each of the following
intervals in Pythagorean frequency-​class space.
Represent each interval in two ways: as a power
of 3 (for example, 9), and also as a number
between 1 and 2 (for example, 9 8 ).
(a) int(C, F)
(b) int(G, E)
(c) int(E, G)
(d) int(C, C♯) (the Pythagorean semitone)
(e)  int(C, B♯) (the Pythagorean comma)
Intervals • 271
Exercise 7.4.3 A frequency ratio of y corresponds
to an interval of log2(y) octaves, or 12 · log2(y)
equal-​tempered semitones, or 1200 · log2(y)
cents. (See Section 2.3 for some related formulas.)
Use these formulas to calculate sizes in semitones
or cents for each of the intervals in Exercise 7.4.2.
The notes in the previous exercise were given as
pitch classes; choose representatives from those
classes to make the pitch-​space intervals as small
as  
possible.
Just frequency space just, described in
Exercise 7.3.7, has the interval group Gjust =​
{2a · 3b · 5c | a, b, c ∈ ℤ}. The powers-​of-​2 group
H, a subgroup of Gjust, is again the congru-
ence subgroup for octave equivalence in this
space. Proceeding as above, we find that every
congruence class may be reduced to a number
of the form 3b · 5c, so the interval group of just
frequency-​class space is Gjust ⁄ H =​{3b · 5c | b,
c ∈ ℤ}. One congruence class in this quotient
group, for example, is { , 3 10 , 3 5 , 6 5 , 12 5 , 24 5 , },
represented by the number 3 5 = 31 ⋅ 5−1; this class
corresponds to the pitch-​class interval from E
to G in the just C-​major scale (and differs from
the Pythagorean int(E, G) in Exercise 7.4.2c
above). We noted previously that Gjust is iso-
morphic to the additive direct-​product group
ℤ × ℤ × ℤ; forming the quotient by the subgroup
H again cancels one ℤ, so Gjust ⁄ H is isomorphic to
ℤ × ℤ. A picture of just frequency-​class space as a
two-​dimensional grid is familiar to us: the uncon-
formed Riemannian tonnetz of Figure 1.4.14.
The powers of 3 correspond to the axis of per-
fect fifths in the tonnetz (a horizontal row of
Figure 1.4.14), while the powers of 5 correspond
to an axis of major thirds (a diagonal). The just
C-​major scale consists of pitch classes F, C, G,
and D from one row of the tonnetz and A, E, and
B from the row above, so the interval from E to G
mentioned above is really the interval from E to
G; to say that this interval is 31 · 5−1 means that
one can get from E to G by moving one place in
the positive direction along the “3” (fifths) axis
and one place in the negative direction along the
“5” (thirds) axis.
Exercise 7.4.4 Calculate each of the following
intervals in just frequency-​class space and
visualize them in the Riemannian tonnetz.
Represent each interval in two ways: as a
number of the form 3b · 5c (for example, 3 5 ),
and also as a number between 1 and 2 (for
example, 6 5 ).
272 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
(a) int(C, D) (the C–​D whole step in the just
C-​major scale)
(b) int(D, E) (the D–​E whole step in the just
C-​major scale)
(c) int(E, F) (the just diatonic semitone)
(d) int(E, E) (the syntonic comma)
(e) int(C, D♭♭) (the enharmonic diesis, the
difference between three pure major
  thirds and an octave)
Exercise 7.4.5 Use the formulas given in
Exercise 7.4.3 to calculate sizes in semitones or
cents
   for each of the intervals in Exercise 7.4.4.
As an interval space, the Riemannian ton-
netz may be compared with two other two-​
dimensional figures from Chapter 1 that also
depict product interval spaces. Intervals in
signed registral letter space srl may be defined
as ordered pairs derived from the positions of
notes in Figure 1.1.11; for example, intsrl(G4,
E♯4) =​(−2, 1), because from G4, the note E♯4
lies two places to the left (two generic steps
down from G4 to E4) and one place up (from ♮
to ♯). The interval group of srl is ℤ × ℤ, so as an
interval space it is isomorphic to discrete pitch-​
pair space pitch2, to Pythagorean frequency
space, or to just frequency-​class space. Signed
letter space sl, illustrated in Figure 1.2.11, is
similar but lacks octave designations; there are
only seven distinct columns in 1.2.11a, and the
interval group of sl is ℤ7 × ℤ rather than ℤ × ℤ.
Octave equivalence ~O, generic equivalence
~G, and enharmonic equivalence ~E are all well-​
defined equivalence relations on srl, giving rise
to quotient maps QO: srl → sl, QG: srl → gpitch,
and QE: srl → pitch. The exercise below shows
that only two of these three equivalence relations
on srl are induced by subgroups of ℤ × ℤ, and
correspondingly only two of the three quotient
mappings are interval-​space homomorphisms.
Exercise 7.4.6
(a) Identify the subgroup of ℤ × ℤ that induces
octave equivalence ~O on srl, and show
that QO: srl → sl is an interval-​space
homomorphism.
(b) Identify the subgroup of ℤ × ℤ that induces
generic equivalence ~G on srl, and show
that QG: srl → gpitch is an interval-​space
homomorphism.
(c) In Exercise 1.1.12 you drew a picture
of enharmonic equivalence in srl; the
apparent complexity of this relation was
 discussed further in Section 2.4. Explain
why no subgroup of ℤ × ℤ induces the
relation ~E on srl, and why the quotient
map QE: srl → pitch is not an interval-​
space homomorphism.
(d) As a set, sl is identical to spelled pitch-​
class space spc (the line of fifths). The two
cannot be isomorphic as interval spaces,
however, because the interval group of spc
is ℤ while the interval group of sl is ℤ7 ×
ℤ, and the two groups are not isomorphic.
Let Esl–​spc denote the function that maps a
spelled pitch class in sl to the same spelled
pitch class as an element of spc. Is Esl–​spc
  an interval-​space homomorphism?27
In light of part (c) of the above exercise, while
the space pitch may accurately be described as a
quotient set of srl modulo enharmonic equiva-
lence, it is not a quotient interval space, since no
subgroup of its interval group induces ~E. The
same is true of the relationship between signed
letter space sl and pitch-​class space pc. As sets,
however, sl is identical to spelled pitch-​class
space spc while pc is identical to fifths space
fifth, and we noted above that fifth is a quo-
tient interval space of spc: the interval structure
on spc ensures that ~E is induced by the sub-
group 12ℤ of the interval group ℤ.
7.5 TRANSPOSITION
OPERATORS AND INTERVAL-​
PRESERVING MAPPINGS
In this and the following section we discuss
extensions of the concepts of transposition and
inversion operators in the setting of general
interval spaces, and the closely related ideas
of interval-​preserving and interval-​ reversing
mappings. With the exception of inversions
in non-​commutative interval spaces, these are
special cases of the general concept of interval-​
space homomorphisms from Section 7.2.
Transposition and inversion operators act in
reasonably familiar ways as long as the interval
spaces in question are commutative, but their
behavior (especially that of inversions) may be
counterintuitive and confusing when noncom-
mutative interval groups are involved. We will
explore some of those complications at the end
of Section 7.6, but for some purposes we will dis-
regard them and assume commutativity.
Recall the generalized definition of transposi-
tion from Section 5.6: if (S, G, int) is an interval
space, then for every element x of S and every
interval i in G, Transi(x) is defined to be the unique
y in S such that int(x, y) =​ i. Exactly one such y
exists by the homogeneity condition for interval
spaces. For every i, Transi: S → S is a well-​defined
transformation, and it is an immediate conse-
quence of the basic properties of interval spaces
that Transi is one-​to-​one and onto. We know from
Chapter 5 that the transposition operators form
a group isomorphic to G and that the equations
Transi ● Transj =​Transi⊕j and Transi−1 =​Trans⊖i
generally hold, where ⊕ is the group operation
in G and ⊖i denotes the inverse of the interval i.
The reader may suspect that every transposition
operator is an interval-​space automorphism of S;
that is true, but we defer discussion of this prop-
erty for a few pages, turning our attention first to
other properties of transpositions.
We start by using generalized transposi-
tions to formulate a general statement of the
so-​called Babbitt hexachord theorem, which
in its basic form states that a six-​note pitch-​
class set always has the same interval content
as its complement.28 Here is the more general
statement:
Theorem 7.5.1: Generalized hexachord
theorem
Suppose (S, G, int) is a finite interval space. If
X is a subset of S and i is an interval in G, let αi(X)
denote the number of elements z in X such that
Transi(z) is also in X. If X ′ is the complement of X
S, then αi(X ′) − αi(X) =​#X ′ − #X.
in  
If S is pc and 1 ≤ i ≤ 5, then αi(X) is simply
the number of occurrences of interval class i in
the pitch-​class set X. For i =​6, α6(X) is twice the
number of occurrences of interval class 6 in X,
because every tritone {z, z +​6} in X is counted
once for z and once for z +​6. If #X (the cardi-
nality of X) is 6, then #X ′ is also 6, so the theo-
rem asserts that αi(X ′) =​ αi(X) for every interval
i, showing that the interval content of X and of
X ′ are identical. More generally, the theorem
shows, for a set X of any cardinality in any finite
interval space, exactly how the interval content
of X and that of X ′ are related.
To prove the theorem, consider all ordered
pairs of the form (z, Transi(z)) for z in S. Because
X and X ′ are complements, these pairs may be
partitioned into four sets:
ZXX =​{(z, Transi(z)) | z ∈ X, Transi(z) ∈ X}
ZXX ′ =​{(z, Transi(z)) | z ∈ X, Transi(z) ∈ X ′}
ZX′X =​{(z, Transi(z)) | z ∈ X ′, Transi(z) ∈ X}
ZX ′X ′ =​{(z, Transi(z)) | z ∈ X ′, Transi(z) ∈ X ′}
Intervals • 273
 Because αi(X) counts the z’s for which (z, function from pc to pc, or T4(10) =​2, a function
Transi(z)) ∈ ZXX, it is clear that #ZXX =​ αi(X); sim-
from ℤ12 to ℤ12.
ilarly #ZX ′X ′ =​ αi(X ′). Every element of X occurs In some common spaces the operators Transi
as the first element of exactly one ordered pair are known to us by other names. In pitch or pc,
in either ZXX or ZXX ′, so #X =​#ZXX +​#ZXX ′. Every Transi is nothing more or less than the familiar
element of X ′ occurs as the second element of Ti, where i is either an integer (for transposi-
exactly one ordered pair in either ZXX ′ or ZX ′X ′, so
tions in pitch) or an integer mod 12 (in pc). In
#X ′ =​#ZXX ′ +​#ZX ′X ′. When the first of these twocontinuous space cpitch, analogously, a trans-
equations is subtracted from the second, the position takes the form Tr where the interval
#ZXX ′ terms cancel, leaving #X ′ − #X =​#ZX ′X ′ − r may be any real number. Among other trans-
#ZXX =​ αi(X ′) − αi(X), as the theorem states. positions we have encountered are the generic
To illustrate the theorem in a case in which operators ti. We saw in Figure 4.3.4, for exam-
#X and #X ′ are not the same, consider a tetra- ple, that diatonic sequences are characterized by
chord X of prime form 0257 and its comple- patterns of generic transpositions. The opera-
ment X ′, an eight-​note segment of the circle of tors ti may be defined either on generic or on
fifths. The traditional interval-​class vector of X diatonic spaces, and like their chromatic coun-
is 021030.29 By the theorem, for every i, αi(X ′) terparts, they may be applied either to pitches
exceeds αi(X) by 4, the difference in cardinality or to pitch classes. The pitch spaces gpitch
between X and X ′. It follows that the first five and dpitch(n) are infinite spaces with interval
entries in the interval-​class vector of X ′ must be group ℤ, so infinitely many different opera-
46547, obtained by adding 4 to the correspond- tors ti are available in these spaces, whereas in
ing entries in the vector of X. For the i =​6 posi- gpc or dpc(n)—​modular spaces with interval
tion we must add only 2, not 4, because as noted group ℤ7—​there are only seven operators ti. Of
above, α6 counts tritones twice; the vector of X ′ course, corresponding operators may be defined
is 465472. in other scalar spaces as well, for which we may
adapt the ti notation as needed; for example, we
Exercise 7.5.2 may introduce a notation such as tiO for transpo-
(a) For each of the following small subsets X sition by i steps within an octatonic scale. These
of pc, determine the interval-​class vectors scalar (or intrascalar) transpositions measure
of X and X ′, and verify the relationship their intervals by counting steps within their
described in Theorem 7.5.1: X =​ ∅, X =​{C}, respective scales, and therefore they differ from
X =​{C, C♯}, X =​{C, F♯}. transpositions of the same music in chromatic
(b) Use Theorem 7.5.1 to calculate the interval-​ space.31 Another kind of transposition in our
class vector of an enneatonic collection repertoire is spc transposition along the line of
by first determining the vector of its fifths, introduced in Section 2.6; the operators τi
complement, an augmented triad. are the transposition operators Transi in spelled
(c) Messiaen’s sixth mode of limited pitch-​class space spc.
transposition is a scale of prime form One more notation will prove useful: if u and
0124678t. Use Theorem 7.5.1 to find the v are specific elements of S, we will sometimes
  interval-​class vector of this collection.30 write Transvu for the transposition operator
Transi, where i =​int(u, v). This notation is similar
to the notation g uv introduced for interval-​space
The behavior of transpositions may be homomorphisms in Section 7.2. Like g v , Trans v
u u
expressed simply using label functions: Transi is a function that maps u to v (pronounced
adds i to the label of any element to which it is “Trans-​u-​v,” not “Trans-​v-​u”), and a given trans-
applied. More precisely, labu(Transi(x)) =​labu(x) ⊕ position Trans may be written as Trans uv for
i
i; this equation is nothing more than the interval-​ many different pairs of reference points u and
sum equation int(u, Transi(x)) =​int(u, x) ⊕ int(x, v—​all pairs for which int(u, v) =​ i.
Transi(x)). Transposition operators are technically
functions Transi: S → S, but in many familiar Exercise 7.5.3
settings, it is common to write them as func- (a) The interval spaces pitch, gpitch, and
tions on labels instead, so that the operators are spc share the interval group ℤ. When the
regarded as functions Transi: G → G given by the transposition operators Ti (on pitch), ti
simple formula Transi(j) =​ j +​ i. In pc, for exam- (on gpitch), and τi (on spc) are considered
ple, we may write either T4(B♭) =​D, implying a as functions on ℤ (that is, on labels, as

274 • E x p loring M usical S p aces

 discussed above), all three are the same
function: for example, the equations
T5(3) =​8, t5(3) =​8, and τ5(3) =​8 are all
correct. Explain what these three equations
mean in the spaces pitch, gpitch, and spc.
As reference points for the label functions,
use C4 in pitch and gpitch; use D in spc.
(b) The transposition operator acting on an
interval space may be distinguished from
the one on its interval group by writing
them as Transi: S → S and Transi ′: G →
G. The group mapping Transi ′ is then the
conjugate of the space mapping Transi by the
label function labu:
Transi ′ =​labu−1 ● Transi ● labu.
Explain why this equation is correct and
show how it applies in the case of the
  examples in (a).32
Having defined transposition operators on
the elements of a space (such as pitch classes)
we may then apply them also to sets of elements
(pitch-​class sets). This is a straightforward appli-
cation of a general convention about functions
noted in Section 2.3: if f: S1 → S2 is a function
and A is a subset of S1, then f(A) denotes the set
{f(x) | x ∈ A}. Thus we may transpose pitch sets
or pitch-​class sets by Ti, sets of generic or dia-
tonic pitch classes by ti, and sets of spelled pitch
classes by τi. Ordered sets may be similarly trans-
posed, by transposing each component through
the same interval: in pitch3, for example, we
may write T7(G3, E4, C4) =​(D4, B4, G4). (In this
case “T7” is equivalent to transposition by the
interval (7, 7, 7) in the product space pitch3.)
Depending on the nature of the interval space,
the relationship between a set A and a transpo-
sition Transi(A) may or may not resemble the
usual understanding of the word transposition—​
but because transposition operators are always
one-​to-​one, we can say at least that if A is a finite
set, Transi(A) is always a set of the same cardi-
nality as A.
Exercise 7.5.4 Show that it is possible for a
major triad and a minor triad to be related
by t1O, transposition by one step within
an octatonic scale. What do you get if you
transpose
   a major triad by t2O? By t3O?
The Debussy analysis in Example 7.3.2
made reference to several ordered-​pair inter-
vals in Rings’s space sd × pc. Each of these
intervals (i, j) defines a transposition operator
Trans(i,j) in the product space. Transposition
by an ordered-​pair interval works component-
wise: the first component is a mod-​7 interval
in sd, while the second is a mod-​12 interval
in pc. For example, the relationship between
C♯ and G at m. 21, modeled by the interval (4,
6) in Figure 7.3.3, may be described equiva-
lently by the equation Trans(4,6)(6̂, 1) =​(3̂,
7): the scale degree is transposed up by four
steps (t4(6̂) =​3̂) and the pitch class by six semi-
tones (T6(1) =​7).
In sd × pc, let X be the set {(1̂, 0), (3̂, 4), (5̂,
7)}, or {(1̂, C), (3̂, E), (5̂, G)}, a tonic triad in C
major. Here are a few transpositions of X:
X = {(1̂, C), (3̂, E), (5,̂ G)} — ​a
tonic triad in C major
Trans(0,7)(X) =​ {(1,̂ G), (3,̂ B), (5,̂ D)} — ​a
tonic triad in G major
Trans(4,7)(X) =​ {(5̂, G), (7̂, B), (2,̂ D)} — ​a
dominant triad in C major
Trans(3,0)(X) =​ {(4,̂ C), (6,̂ E), (1,̂ G)} — ​a
subdominant triad in G major
Trans(2,4)(X) =​ {(3̂, E), (5̂, G♯), (7,̂ B)} — ​an
E-​major triad (V/​vi) in C major
A transposition such as Trans(0,7), which leaves the
scale-​degree component unchanged, is termed
a real transposition by Rings (2011b, 81–​83). An
interval such as (3, 0), as noted in Section 7.3, is
a pivot interval, and the corresponding transposi-
tion Trans(3,0), which relates two different tonal
interpretations of the same set of pitch classes,
may be called a pivot transposition. The last exam-
ple in the list above, Trans(2,4), is one instance of
what Rings generally calls chromatic transposition.
Trans(2,4)(X) is an E-​major triad, not the E-​minor
triad that would be a diatonic iii chord in C major.
No transposition by an interval in sd × pc relates
a major triad to a minor triad. We know one way
to relate a I and a iii chord using the diatonic
transposition operator t2; Rings accomplishes
something comparable by defining diatonic
scales within his system and defining diatonic
transposition within those scales.
Exercise 7.5.5 Let Y be the set {(2,̂ B♭), (4,̂ D),
(6̂, F)} in sd × pc. Calculate the result of
applying each of the transposition operators
Trans(2,0), Trans(4,0), Trans(4,7), and Trans(3,6) to Y,
and describe musical situations in which each of
these
   transpositions might be of interest.
Intervals • 275
 Transpositions are closely related to interval-​
preserving mappings. As defined in Section 7.2,
a transformation f: S → S on an interval space (S,
G, int) is interval-​preserving if int(f(x1), f(x2)) =​
int(x1, x2) for all x1 and x2 in S. Equivalently, f is
interval-​preserving if it is interval-​ compatible
with the identity mapping EG on the interval
group G. Because EG is an automorphism of G, our
work in Section 7.2 (particularly Theorem 7.2.5)
shows that every interval-​preserving transfor-
mation on S is automatically an interval-​space
automorphism of S. Also, for every u and v in S
there exists one and only one interval-​preserving
function f: S → S such that f(u) =​ v, namely f = g uv ,
where g =​ EG. For any x in S, f(x) is the unique y in
S such that int(v, y) =​int(u, x). Consequently an
interval-​preserving function is completely deter-
mined once its value at any point is known: if f: S
→ S and f ′: S → S are both interval-​preserving
and if f(u) =​ f ′(u) for some u in S, then f and f ′ are
the same function. We write presuv for the unique
interval-​preserving function that maps u to v.
As was the case with g uv and Transuv, the function
presuv is well-​defined, but the same function may
be written as presuv for many different choices of
the reference points u and v.
Exercise 7.5.6 The equation int(v, y) =​int(u, x)
may be rewritten using label functions in the
form labv(y) =​labu(x), so presuv( x ) is the element
of S whose v-​label is the same as the u-​label
of x. We describe this situation by saying
that the transformation presuv is u–​v label-​
preserving. The u–​v label-​preserving property
is a special case of the interval-​preserving
property, requiring only that a function
preserve intervals of the form int(u, x) with
the starting point u. But this property implies
the interval-​preserving property in its full
generality. Suppose u and v are elements of an
interval space S. Show that if f: S → S is u–​v
FIGURE 7.5.7 (a) Matching intervals under a transposition Transi; (b) matching intervals under an
interval-​preserving mapping Pres uv
276 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
label-​preserving, then f is interval-​preserving,
and therefore that presuv is the only u–​v label-​
preserving
   transformation on S.33
In Section 7.1 we remarked that a label func-
tion essentially superimposes a picture of the
interval group on a picture of the space. An
interval-​preserving mapping presuv shifts the
alignment of the two pictures to a different refer-
ence point, moving the label 0 (the identity ele-
ment) from u to v and exchanging u-​based labels
for v-​based labels. To see how this works, the
reader may consult Figure 7.1.1 again: if u =​C4
and v =​G4, then presuv maps any pitch in 7.1.1a to
the pitch with the same number in 7.1.1b. In this
case, presuv is simply the transposition operator
T7. This shift is also analogous to the relabeling
of Cayley diagrams noted in Exercise 6.2.9.
It is not by accident that the interval-​preserv-
ing mapping in this example is a transposition.
Figure 7.5.7 compares the characteristic behav-
iors of transpositions in part (a) with those of
interval-​ preserving functions in (b). The ele-
ments u and v, appearing at the bottom of each
figure, may be thought of as reference points
relative to which other elements are situated;
f is a function mapping u to v, and f also maps
some other element x to y. If f is a transposition
Transi, as in 7.5.7a, then the intervals int(u, v)
and int(x, y) must be the same, because both are
equal to the interval of transposition i. Hence
the horizontal dashed arrows in (a) depict equal
intervals. The condition required of an interval-​
preserving function, as in part (b), says not that
int(u, v) =​int(x, y) but instead that int(u, x) =​
int(v, y): in this case it is the other two intervals,
those drawn (almost) vertically in the figure,
that are required to match.
These two conditions, though different, are
closely related. The geometry of Figure 7.5.7 per-
haps suggests that if the two arrows in one pair are
equal in length and direction, the same must be
true of the other pair—​but of course we must be
careful about extrapolating from plane geometry
to a general interval space. Suppose that f is a trans-
position Transi, so that the horizontal intervals
match as in Figure 7.5.7a, and consider the verti-
cal interval int(v, y) on the right side of the figure.
By the interval-​sum equation, int(v, y) =​int(v, u) ⊕
int(u, x) ⊕ int(x, y), where ⊕ is the group operation
in G (not necessarily ordinary addition). This inter-
val sum can be visualized in the figure by tracing a
path from v to u to x to y. Because f is the transpo-
sition Transi, int(u, v) =​int(x, y) =​ i, and therefore
int(v, u) =​ ⊖i, the inverse of i in the group G. Hence
the equation becomes int(v, y) =​ ⊖i ⊕ int(u, x) ⊕ i.
If the group G is commutative, then we may rear-
range the terms on the right side of the equation
and cancel ⊖i with ⊕i, concluding that int(v, y) =​
int(u, x)—​the condition required of an interval-​
preserving function. If G is commutative, therefore,
every transposition is also interval-​preserving. A
similar argument shows that if int(u, x) =​int(v, y)
and if G is commutative, then int(u, v) =​int(x, y), so
every interval-​preserving mapping is a transposi-
tion. In a commutative interval space, therefore,
transpositions and interval-​preserving mappings
are the same thing, and the functions Transuv and
presuv are always the same. We already established
in general that presuv is an interval-​space automor-
phism of S, so the same is true of Transuv in the
commutative case. These properties offer a first
illustration of the general principle that transposi-
tion and inversion are better behaved in commu-
tative spaces, and they also explain why our only
examples of interval-​preserving transformations
so far have been transpositions: the most famil-
iar interval spaces are commutative, so no other
examples are possible.
Returning once more to the Debussy analy-
sis in Figure 7.3.3, we can see several illustra-
tions of the interval-​ preserving property of
transpositions in the commutative interval
space sd × pc. For example, the arrow labeled
(1, 0) at the top of the graph may be inter-
preted as a transposition Trans(1,0), which maps
the ordered pairs (6̂, 1) and (3̂, 7) to (7̂, 1) and
(4̂, 7), respectively. The fact that the intervals
int((6̂, 1), (3̂, 7)) and int((7̂, 1), (4̂, 7)) in the
two bubbles are both equal to (4, 6) shows the
interval-​preserving behavior of this transpo-
sition. We remarked earlier that the bubble
notation works because of the commutativity
of the interval group; we could just as well say
that it works because of the interval-​preserving
nature of transpositions.
Commutativity is essential to most of the
conclusions of the preceding paragraph; indeed,
in noncommutative interval spaces, transpo-
sitions and interval-​ preserving functions are
different things. Even in the noncommutative
case, however, transpositions are interval-​space
automorphisms. To see this, consider a transpo-
sition Transi =​ Transuv, for fixed elements u and v
and interval i =​int(u, v), with no assumption of
commutativity. The discussion above established
the equation int(v, Transuv(x)) =​ ⊖i ⊕ int(u, x) ⊕
i. In the commutative case, the right side of this
equation reduces to int(u, x), but in general it is
equal to Conji(int(u, x)), the conjugate of int(u, x)
by i =​int(u, v). (The general formula for the con-
jugate of a group element, from Section 6.6, is
Conji(a) =​ i−1ai—​or, in the notation we are using
for the interval group, Conji(a) =​ ⊖i ⊕ a ⊕ i.)
Therefore int(v, Transuv(x)) =​Conji(int(u, x)), or
equivalently labv(Transuv(x)) =​Conji(labu(x)). This
equation, valid for every u, v, and x in any inter-
val space S, means that for every u and v, the
transposition Transuv: S → S is label-​compatible
with the mapping Conji: G → G, where i =​int(u, v).
Because (from Section 6.6) every conjugation
is an automorphism of G, Exercise 7.2.3c then
implies that the mappings Transuv and Conji are
interval-​compatible, from which it follows that
Transi =​ Transuv is an interval-​space automor-
phism of S.
Often the functions of greatest interest
are not those of the form f: S → S defined on
a single interval space but rather mappings
f: S1 → S2 from one interval space (S1, G1, int1)
to another space (S2, G2, int2). Such mappings
may relate two entirely different types of objects
and accordingly are sometimes called cross-​type
transformations. In Figure 7.5.8, the elements u
and x belong to S1, while v and y belong to S2.
FIGURE 7.5.8 A cross-​type interval-​preserving
mapping between two spaces with the same inter-
val group
Intervals • 277
The conditions described in the preceding para-
graphs do not necessarily apply in this more gen-
eral setting. The intervals int(u, v) and int(x, y)
are not even defined, as the elements involved
belong to two different spaces. The intervals
int(u, x) and int(v, y) exist, but they cannot in
general be compared because they potentially
belong to two different interval groups.
We noted in Section 7.2, however, that the
interval-​preserving condition can be satisfied if
the groups G1 and G2 are the same, or even if G1
is a subgroup of G2. As we know, chromatic pitch
space pitch, generic pitch space gpitch, and
spelled pitch-​class space spc (the line of fifths)
all share the interval group ℤ. If f is a function
from one of these spaces to another, the interval-​
preserving property int1(x1, x2) =​int2(f(x1), f(x2))
makes sense: the spaces may be different and
the interval functions may be different, but
as long as the interval functions take values in
the same group the equation may be satisfied.
For an example in which G2 is a larger group
than G1, consider the inclusion mapping Epitch–​
cpitch from chromatic pitch space into continu-
ous pitch space, with interval groups ℤ and ℝ,
respectively; this function, which maps every
note in pitch to the same note in cpitch, is cer-
tainly interval-​preserving, but the intervals in
pitch, which are always integers, do not exhaust
the real-​number intervals in cpitch.
As long as G1 ⊆ G2, then for any choice of u in S1
and v in S2, there is a unique interval-​preserving
function presuv : S1 → S2 such that presuv (u) =​ v.
The name of the function may be written more
explicitly as presvu∈∈SS21 , indicating the spaces
involved. This is the function shown in Figure
7.5.8; presuv (x) is defined, for every x in S1, to be
the unique element y of S2 such that int2(v, y) =​
FIGURE 7.5.10 Scalar and interscalar “transpositions” in Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, Prelude to Act I,
mm. 2–​7, and Prelude to Act III, mm. 1–​4
278 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
int1(u, x), or equivalently labv(y) =​labu(x). If the
groups are the same, then this interval equa-
tion means that presuv is label-​compatible and
therefore interval-​compatible with the identity
mapping on the group, and hence is an interval-​
space isomorphism. If G1 is a proper subgroup
of G2, then presuv is interval-​compatible with the
inclusion mapping EG1 −G2 from G1 to G2, which is
a group homomorphism but not an automor-
phism, so in this case presuv is an interval-​space
homomorphism but not an isomorphism.
Technically a cross-​type mapping presvu∈∈SS21 is
an interval-​preserving function, not a transposi-
tion. There can be no “interval of transposition”
from a space S1 to another space S2 unless inter-
vals from points of S1 to points of S2 are well-​
defined, which is not generally the case unless S1
is the same as (or a subspace of) S2—​a consider-
ably more restrictive condition than saying that
G1 is the same as (or a subgroup of) G2. Interval-​
preserving cross-​type mappings have sometimes
been called transpositions, however;34 the term
is convenient and there is probably no harm in
it as long as the interval groups are commuta-
tive and there is no other kind of “transposition”
with which presuv could be confused. To main-
tain precision in the following examples we will
adhere to the presuv notation, but in the narrative
we will occasionally refer to such transforma-
tions informally as “transpositions,” in quota-
tion marks.
Example 7.5.9: Wagner, Tristan und Isolde
Cross-​type mappings between scales with
interval group ℤ are particularly useful.
Melodic motives are transformed from one
scale basis to another in many works, and
interscalar cross-​type mappings often model
such situations effectively. Figure 7.5.10 shows
a well-​known example, a comparison of the
oboe line at the beginning of the Prelude to Act
I of Tristan und Isolde with the similar melodic
fragment that opens the Prelude to Act III.
The Act I excerpt appears at the bottom of the
figure; several analytical figures in this chapter
are organized chronologically from bottom to
top, so that the subscript-​to-​superscript reading
of the transformational labels matches the
orientation of the arrows. The Act I melody is
chromatic, while the Act III melody inhabits the
F-​minor diatonic collection dpitch(−4). From
the starting notes G♯4 and G3, both melodies
ascend through four-​note segments of their
respective scales, so these initial fragments are
related by an interscalar “transposition”
presGG3♯ ∈∈DpITCH(
4 pITCH
−4)
. Other notations for the same
mapping are possible; this one takes the initial
notes in both voices as reference points. Even
though the diatonic motive spans a larger
absolute interval than the chromatic one,
each motive spans three steps of its own scale,
allowing the interval-​preserving transformation
to relate them exactly.
In both Preludes the opening fragment
is followed by a restatement. In the Act III
Prelude the second fragment is identical to
the first, shown here as a t0 transposition in
dpitch(−4), but in Act I, the second statement is
transposed up a minor third, a T3 transposition
FIGURE 7.5.12 Scalar and interscalar “transpositions” in Grieg, Violin Sonata in C Minor, Op. 45, I
in pitch. The interval-​preserving mapping
presGB43 ∈∈pITCH
DpITCH( −4)
between the two second
statements
   completes the network.
Example 7.5.11: Grieg, Sonata in C Minor
for Violin and Piano, Op. 45, I
The second theme in the first movement of
Grieg’s C-​Minor Violin Sonata undergoes the
unusual series of melodic transformations
shown in Figure 7.5.12. The first phrase (mm.
59–​66), at the bottom of the figure, is diatonic
in E♭ major, emphasizing the notes of the tonic
triad. The second phrase transposes the first
to G♭ major. This minor-​third transposition,
which we just encountered in Wagner as well,
was a favorite of Grieg’s, appearing in many
works. It could of course be modeled as T3 in
chromatic pitch-​class space (or in this case T15
in chromatic pitch space), but as shown in the
figure it may also be described as an interval-​
preserving mapping between the two diatonic
scales, DPC(−3) and DPC(−6). The last pitch
class of the first phrase, B♭, reappears as the
first pitch class of the second, forming a pivot
third (5, 0) from (5̂, 10) to (3̂, 10) in the product
space sd × pc.
Measure 79 marks the beginning of a 23-​
measure passage in which almost every note
in both the violin and the piano belongs to the
octatonic collection oct23. Like other scales, an
octatonic scale may be regarded as an interval
space in either of two ways: as a pitch space
Intervals • 279
with interval group ℤ, or as a pitch-​class space
with a modular interval group, in this case
ℤ8. At a small risk of confusion, we use labels
such as oct23 for both kinds of spaces. In the
present situation an octatonic pitch space must
be used for the cross-​type mappings, because
only the pitch space shares its interval group
with the diatonic spaces. The tonal focus of
Grieg’s octatonic passage is indistinct, but
much of it unfolds over a B pedal, perhaps
suggesting a dominant prolongation in
E. Melodically, the four measures of mm. 79–​
82 form a diminution of the previous eight-​
measure phrases, reconfigured to conform to
the octatonic scale; the pitches are derived
almost exactly from the melody in mm. 67–​74
by the interval-​preserving cross-​type mapping
shown in the figure. The only deviations
from this “transposition,” marked by Xs in
the example, serve to highlight the melody’s
triadic frame even more strongly than before,
with striking effect because the triad in
question is now diminished in quality.
These four measures are then restated at
a higher pitch level in mm. 83–​86. At first
glance this may appear to be a straightforward
chromatic T1 transposition, but the
A in m. 81—​the only note of mm. 79–​82
not belonging to the G♯-​diminished triad—​is
transposed by T2, not T1. This deviation allows
mm. 83–​86 to conform to the prevailing
octatonic scale—​and in fact the transposition
of the four-​measure phrase is exact as a scalar
transposition within oct23 (t1O rather than
chromatic T1).
Other transformational descriptions of
this passage are possible. If one considers the
middle two lines of Figure 7.5.12 and disregards
(1) register; (2) the key signature; (3) accidentals;
and (4) the notes marked with Xs, the two lines
become completely identical: both consist of the
same notes B –​D –​B –​G –​⋯. In other words,
the two phrases are identical in generic pitch-​
class space. The second phrase inhabits the
diatonic collection dpitch(−6). The third phrase
was described above as octatonic, but all the
melody notes in this phrase (whatever its tonal
orientation may be) also belong to dpitch(+​3).
The transformation between the two could
therefore be accomplished through alteration
of an implied key signature, leaving the generic
notes unchanged—​an example of a signature
transformation (in this case s9, from six flats
to three sharps), a concept to be formalized in
Chapter
   13.
280 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
Exercise 7.5.13
(a) Measures 75–​78, omitted from Figure
7.5.12, transpose mm. 71–​74 down a
whole step to E major. Give as many
transformational descriptions as you can of
relationships between this phrase and the
surrounding music.
(b) Although the melody notes in mm. 79–​82
belong to dpitch(+​3), the relationship
between the third and fourth phrases in
Figure 7.5.12 (even ignoring the asterisked
notes) cannot be described as an interval-​
preserving mapping between diatonic
spaces. Why not?
(c) The melody notes in mm. 83–​86 belong
to the E harmonic minor scale. This scale
forms an interval space isomorphic to the
other scales; in Chapter 14 we will call it
hmin(+​2). Can the relationship between the
third and fourth phrases be described using
an interval-​preserving mapping between
  dpitch(+​3) and hmin(+​2)?35
Example 7.5.14: Ginastera, Danzas
argentinas No. 1
In the first of Ginastera’s Danzas argentinas,
the right hand plays on white keys and the left
hand on black almost exclusively; Ginastera
writes a five-​flat key signature on the lower
staff only. The white-​key diatonic pitch space is
dpitch(0). For pentatonic collections we adopt
a naming convention based on the observation
that a pentatonic collection, like a diatonic one,
is a consecutive segment of the line of fifths; we
index the collection by the central one of its five
notes. The pentatonic collection G♭–​D♭–​A♭–​E♭–​B♭
is thus indexed by the number −6, the spc
number assigned to A♭, so our label for this
space is pent(−6).36 As with the octatonic space
in the previous example, this label could refer
either to a pitch space or to a modular pitch-​
class space (in this case with interval group ℤ5);
in the present example it refers to a pitch space.
Two short excerpts from the piece appear
in parts (a) and (c) of Figure 7.5.15. At
m. 26 the right hand plays a series of diatonic
transpositions of the initial trichord B–​C–​E,
ascending through the diatonic scale as shown
in (a). “Planing” chords of this sort, either in
diatonic or in chromatic space, are common
in some musical styles and are easily modeled
using transposition operators of the appropriate
kind. The top portion of the analytical graph
in (b) is typical of such analyses: not only are
successive chords related by diatonic t1, but
FIGURE 7.5.15 Scalar and interscalar “transpositions” in Ginastera, Danzas argentinas No. 1
also the lines formed by the three voices are
related to each other by t1 and t2, reflecting the
intervals in the planing chord.
What makes this passage distinctive is
the left hand, which is doing the same thing
in its pentatonic world. Here t1P indicates
transposition by one step in the space pent(−6),
relating successive notes of the pentatonic
scale. The pentatonic line is related to any of the
diatonic lines by an interscalar “transposition”
such as pres GB3♭3∈∈DpITCH(0)
pENT( −6), shown between the
lowest two voices. Although all the motion is
in some sense parallel, the mixtures of interval
sizes within both the diatonic and pentatonic
scales result in motion that is not closely
parallel at all when viewed chromatically. The six
chords exhibit five different chromatic interval
structures; only the second and third chords are
related exactly by chromatic transposition, as
major seconds happen to occur simultaneously
in all four voices at that moment. The pentatonic
voice, having fewer notes to play, traverses an
octave more quickly than the diatonic voices do,
starting a perfect fourth below the next lowest
voice but nearly catching up to it by the end
of the measure. The example shows why the
interscalar mapping must be defined on pitch
spaces rather than on pc spaces: the two G♭s in
Intervals • 281
the pentatonic line correspond to two different
pitch classes in any of the right-​hand lines.
A similar passage a few measures letter,
shown in (c) and analyzed in (d), moves a
second voice into pentatonic space. The two
right-​hand voices move diatonically in parallel
thirds. The left hand plays a pentatonic version
of parallel thirds; that is, the two left-​hand
voices are consistently related by pentatonic
transposition t2P, but some of these pentatonic
“thirds” are perfect fourths in the chromatic
world. Consequently the entire two-​voice
units in the two hands are related exactly by
an interscalar “transposition,” as shown by the
large dashed bubbles in (d); this mapping is the
same one that related the lowest two voices
in (b). Except for the literal chord repetitions,
no two chords in this example have the same
chromatic
   structure.
Exercise 7.5.16 Examine the fugue subject
in mm. 1–​5 of the first movement of Bartók’s
Music for String Instruments, Percussion, and
Celesta and the transformed version in mm.
204–​09 of the fourth movement. Show how
the relationship between the two may be
expressed as an interval-​preserving interscalar
transformation.
   37
Exercise 7.5.17 Debussy’s “Mouvement” (No.
3 of Images I), mm. 67–​73, offers an unusual
hybrid of diatonic and chromatic planing. The
top-​voice melody is diatonic in DPC(0), but the
harmonies are of the nondiatonic prime form
01369, and successive chords are transposed
exactly in chromatic space. Examine the score,
reduce it to a five-​voice texture, and construct
an analysis in the style of Figure 7.5.15,
assigning
   each voice its own scalar space.
Exercise 7.5.18 Write the subject from the
C-​Minor Fugue from Bach’s WTC I (to the
downbeat of m. 3). Then write a transformed
version of the same subject, starting on the
same pitch C5, in which every note n semitones
above or below C5 is replaced by a note n whole
steps above or below C5. (The first four notes,
originally C5–​B4–​C5–​G4, thus become C5–​B♭4–​
C5–​D4.) Show how the relationship between
the two subjects may be expressed as an
interval-​preserving interscalar transformation.
This transformation, unlike those considered
above between scales of different cardinalities,
defines a coherent mapping even on the
282 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
appropriate pitch-​class spaces (although the
pitch-​space mapping probably remains more
useful). Why is a pc-​space mapping possible in
this
  situation?38
These examples will suffice for the time being;
we will later see examples of cross-​type mappings
in other settings. The remainder of this section
assembles many properties of transpositions and
interval-​preserving functions, many of which
have been observed already, in a series of theo-
rems (Theorems 7.5.19, 7.5.20, and 7.5.24). The
formulations given here are sometimes more gen-
eral than in the discussion above. We will not have
occasion to apply all of these properties, so com-
plete proofs are not presented, but a few remarks
are given below by way of elaboration, and some
readers may enjoy working out the details.
Theorem 7.5.19: Properties of transposition
operators
In the statements below, (S1, G1, int1), (S2,
G2, int2), and (S3, G3, int3) are interval spaces
satisfying S1 ⊆ S2 ⊆ S3 and G1 ⊆ G2 ⊆ G3. (In
particular, the spaces may all be the same.) It is
assumed that the interval functions of the larger
spaces extend those of the smaller (for example,
for all x1 and x2 in S1, int1(x1, x2) =​int2(x1, x2)).
The symbol ⊕ denotes the group operation in
G2, and ⊖i is the inverse of i. The letters u, x, a,
and b always denote elements of S1; v and y are
elements of S2; w is an element of S3.
(a) Definitions and basic properties. For every
i in G2, Transi: S1 → S2 is the interval-​
space homomorphism induced by the
conjugation mapping Conji: G1 → G2.
For every x in S1, Transi(x) is the unique
element y of S2 such that int2(x, y) =​ i. For
every u in S1 and v in S2, Transuv is the
same function as Transi, where i =​int2(u,
v). If S1 =​ S2, then Transi is an interval-​
space automorphism of S1.
(b) Identity mapping. For every u in S1, Transuu
is the inclusion mapping ES1 −S2 from S1 to
S2. If S1 =​ S2, then Transuu is the identity
mapping ES1 on S1.
(c) Composition of transpositions. For every u in
S1, v in S2, and w in S3, Transuv ● Transwv
=​ Transuw .
(d) Inverses of transpositions. If S1 =​ S2, then for
every u and v in S1, ( Transuv )−1 = Transuv . If
Transuv = Transi , then ( Transvu )−1 = Trans⊖i.
(e) Label functions for transpositions. Suppose
labv: S2 → G2 is the label function
associated with v. Then for every a in
S1, labv (Trans xy(a)) =​labv(a) ⊕ i, where
i =​int2(x, y).
(f) Intervals formed by transpositions. For every
u, x, a and b in S1 and for every v and y in S2,
int2(Transuv (a), Trans xy (b))
=​ int2(v, u) ⊕ int1(a, b) ⊕ int2(x, y).
(g) Change of reference points. For every u and
x in S1 and for every v and y in S2, Transuv =​
y
Trans x if and only if Transuv(x) =​ y—​that is,
  if and only if int2(u, v) =​int2(x, y).
Theorem 7.5.20: Properties of
interval-​preserving mappings
In the statements below, (S1, G1, int1), (S2,
G2, int2), and (S3, G3, int3) are interval spaces
whose interval groups satisfy G1 ⊆ G2 ⊆ G3. (The
three spaces and the interval functions may be
entirely different as long as the groups are in this
relationship.) The symbol ⊕ denotes the group
operation in G2, and ⊖i is the inverse of i. The
letters u, x, a, and b always denote elements of S1;
v and y are elements of S2; w is an element of S3.
(a) Definitions and basic properties. For every
u in S1 and v in S2, presvu∈∈SS21 : S1 → S2 is
the interval-​space homomorphism
mapping u to v, induced by the inclusion
mapping EG1 −G2 from G1 to G2. For every
x in S1, presuv( x ) is the unique element
y of S2 such that int2(v, y) =​int1(u, x), or
equivalently such that labv(y) =​labu(x).
presuv is the unique interval-​preserving
mapping from S1 to S2 that maps u to v.
If G1 =​ G2, then presuv : S1 → S2 is an
interval-​space isomorphism, induced by
the identity mapping EG1 on G1.
(b) Identity mapping. If S1 is a subspace of S2,
then for every u in S1, presuu is the inclusion
mapping ES1 −S2 from S1 to S2. If S1 =​ S2, then
presuu is the identity mapping ES1 on S1.
(c) Composition of interval-​preserving mappings.
For every u in S1, v in S2, and w in S3,
presuv • preswv = presuw.
(d) Inverses of interval-​preserving isomorphisms.
If G1 =​ G2, then for every u in S1 and v in S2,
( presuv )−1 =​ presvu ; this function is an
interval-​preserving interval-​space
isomorphism from S2 to S1.
(e) Label functions for interval-​preserving
mappings. Suppose labu: S1 → G1 and labv:
S2 → G2 are the label functions associated
with u and v. Then for every a in S1,
labv(presxy( a))
= labv ( y ) ⊕ ( ⊖ labu( x )) ⊕ labu( a).
(f) Intervals formed by interval-​preserving
mappings. For every u, x, a, and b in S1 and
for every v and y in S2,
int 2(pres vu( a), pres xy ( b ))
= int 1( a, u) ⊕ int 2(v, y ) ⊕ int 1( x , b ).
(g) Change of reference points. For every u
and x in S1 and for every v and y in
S2, presuv = pres xy if and only if presuv (x)
=​ y—​that is, if and only if
int1(u, x) =​int2(v, y).
(h) Intervals formed (commutative case). If G2 is
commutative, then for every u, x, and a in S1
and for every v and y in S2,
int 2(presvu ( a), pres xy( a))
= int 1( x , u) ⊕ int 2( v, y ).
(i) Change of reference points (generalized
formula in commutative case). If G2 is
commutative, then for every u and x in S1
and for every v and y in S2,
y
presx = ( Transi )−1 • presuv • Transj ,
where i =​int1(u, x) and j =​int2(v, y).
(j) Relationship with transposition. If S1 =​ S2
and G1 is commutative, then presuv is the
same function as Transuv, which is the
transposition operator Transi: S1 → S1,
where i =​int1(u, v). If S1 is a subspace of S2
and G2 is commutative, then presuv(x) =​
Transi(x) for all x in S1, where i =​int2(u, v);
that is, presuv is the same as the trans­
position operator Transi, defined only on
  the elements of S1.
In both Theorems 7.5.19 and 7.5.20, parts
(c)–​(g) follow from the five parts of Theorem
7.2.13, though in some cases more direct proofs
are possible. The earlier theorem, about interval-​
space homomorphisms in general, is here
applied in the special cases of transpositions
and interval-​preserving mappings, for which the
interval-​compatible group homomorphism is
either a conjugation or an identity mapping. It
is also instructive to compare the corresponding
parts of the two theorems in detail.
Intervals • 283

FIGURE 7.5.21 Change of reference points in
interval-​preserving mappings (Theorem 7.5.20i)
Theorem 7.5.20g applies in the situation
shown previously in Figure 7.5.8, where int(u, x)
and int(v, y) are equal intervals and presuv and
pres xy are the same function. Theorem 7.5.20i
then provides, in the commutative case, a more
general formula relating presuv and pres xy , valid
even if int(u, x) and int(v, y) are different. Here
Transi and Transj are transpositions within the
spaces S1 and S2 respectively. This situation is
depicted in Figure 7.5.21, where it is clear that
(Transi)−1 ● presuv ● Transj maps x to y, as does
pres xy . Assuming commutativity, the transposi-
tions Transi and Transj are interval-​preserving,
and therefore so is the above composition of
functions, which then must be the same func-
tion as pres xy by the uniqueness condition in (a).
Even if the interval spaces are commutative, the
functions in a statement such as (i) must still be
combined in the order shown: these functions
are not elements of the interval group and do
not commute with each other.
The Ginastera analysis from Figure 7.5.15
provides simple illustrations of some of the prop-
erties in Theorem 7.5.20. One can get from any
note to any other note in its network by some
combination of the interval-​preserving mappings
shown; the mappings combine as specified in part
(c) of the theorem, and arrows may be traversed
in reverse using (d). The following exercise offers a
few illustrations of the later parts of the theorem.
Exercise 7.5.22
(a) Label pitches in pent(−6) using labu,
where u is the reference pitch D♭4, and
label pitches in dpitch(0) as usual with
respect to v =​C4. Let x and y be G♭3 and B3
respectively, so that pres xy is the cross-​type
mapping shown in Figure 7.5.15b. Let a be
G♭4, the last note in the lowest voice in the
figure, so that pres xy (a) is G4, the last note
284 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
in the next higher voice. Verify the formula
for labv(pres xy (a)) in Theorem 7.5.20e in
this case.
(b) Let x and y be as in part (a) of this exercise,
but now let u =​G♭4 and v =​C5, so that pres uv
is a cross-​type mapping from the lowest
voice to the highest in Figure 7.5.15b,
defined using the final notes in
the two voices as reference pitches.
Let a and b be A♭3 and E♭4 respectively, the
second and fifth notes in the pentatonic
voice. Let int1 and int2 be the interval
functions in pent(−6) and dpitch(0)
respectively. Verify that the formulas for
int2(presuv (a), presxy(b)) and int2(presuv(a),
presxy (a)) in parts (f) and (h) of Theorem
7.5.20 are correct in this case, and verify
that the relationship between presuv and
  presxy is as described in part (i).
Exercise 7.5.23 In the formula in part (h) of
Theorem 7.5.20, the element a does not appear
to the right of the =​sign. This means that in the
commutative case, the interval from presuv(a)
to pres xy (a) is the same for all elements a in S1.
If S1 =​ S2, presuv = Transi , and presxy = Transj ,
what is this interval? Express the answer in
terms
   of i and j.
The final theorem of this section summarizes
the symmetrical relationship between transpo-
sitions and interval-​ preserving mappings—​ a
duality that manifests itself in several ways.
Though some of the properties enumerated in
the theorem are by now familiar, we have not yet
seen any examples demonstrating the full extent
of this duality, so the theorem may seem rather
abstract at this point. Readers eager for exam-
ples will find their patience rewarded in Section
8.3, where the mappings involved will be triadic
transformations; one of the two dual groups is
the familiar transposition-​inversion group 𝒯ℐ12,
while the other comprises Riemannian transfor-
mations such as P, L, and R. Another example,
involving descriptions of twelve-​tone rows as
permutations, will be encountered in Section 9.6.
For any interval space (S, G, int), let 𝒯S denote
the set {Transi | i ∈ G} of all transposition opera-
tors on S, and let 𝒫S be the set {presuv | u, v ∈ S}
of all interval-​preserving mappings on S. Both 𝒯S
and 𝒫S are subsets of 𝒮S, the group of all bijective
transformations from S to S; in fact, the theorem
shows that they are both subgroups of 𝒮S.39
Theorem 7.5.24: Duality of transpositions Part (c) illustrates another aspect of the
and interval-​preserving mappings symmetry: when either the transformation
Suppose (S, G, int) is an interval space, with f(i) =​Transi or gu(i) =​ presuv is applied to an ele-
𝒯S, 𝒫S, and 𝒮S defined as above. ment x of S, the u-​label of x is adjusted by the
addition of the interval i, but Transi adds i to the
(a) 𝒯S is a transformation group on S right of labu(x), while presuv adds i on the left.
isomorphic to G; the mapping f: G → This property of Transi was noted earlier in this
𝒯S defined by f(i) =​Transi is a group section; for the corresponding property of presuv
isomorphism. The action of 𝒯S on S is see Exercise 7.5.26.
simply transitive. The commutativity of Transi and presuv in
(b) 𝒫S is a transformation group on S (d) follows from the definitions of transposi-
isomorphic to G. For any reference point tions and interval-​ preserving functions, as
u in S, define a mapping gu: G → 𝒫S by shown in Exercise 7.5.27a. The theorem does
gu(i) =​ presuv , where v =​Transi(u). Then gu is not say that transpositions always commute
an anti-​isomorphism. The action of 𝒫S on S with other transpositions or that interval-​pre-
is simply transitive. serving mappings always commute with other
(c) Suppose u ∈ S, i ∈ G, f(i) =​Transi and interval-​preserving mappings; indeed, if the
gu(i) =​ presuv as in parts (a) and (b) above, interval group is noncommutative there are
and suppose ⊕ is the group operation in G. always some non-​commuting pairs of both of
Then for every x in S, labu(Transi(x)) =​labu(x) those types. The fact that every Transi com-
⊕ i, while labu(presuv(x)) =​ i ⊕ labu(x). mutes with every presuv implies, in terminology
(d) For every i in G and every u and v in S, from Chapter 6, that the groups 𝒫S and 𝒯S are
Transi ● presuv =​ presuv ● Transi. Within pairwise commuting and that each of them is at
the group 𝒮S, each of 𝒯S and 𝒫 S is the least a subset of the centralizer of the other.
centralizer of the other: 𝒫 S =​Cent𝒮S(𝒯S) The theorem says something stronger: each of
and 𝒯S =​Cent𝒮S(𝒫S). 𝒫S and 𝒯S is exactly the centralizer of the other.
(e) Define a new interval function int~: This means that a transformation on S is inter-
S × S → 𝒫 S so that for all u and v in S, val-​preserving if and only if it commutes with
int~(u, v) =​ presuv . Then (S, 𝒫S, int~) is all transpositions, and is a transposition if and
an interval space, called the dual of the only if it commutes with all interval-​preserving
original interval space (S, G, int). The mappings. Parts (b) and (c) of Exercise 7.5.27
original space (S, G, int) and its dual outline these proofs.
(S, 𝒫 S, int~) are isomorphic. In (S, 𝒫 S, Part (e) of the theorem completes the
int~) the transpositions are the original description of the duality between the groups
functions presuv , and the interval-​ 𝒯S and 𝒫S by showing that it is possible to rede-
preserving mappings are the original fine the interval function on S so that the roles
  functions Transi. of the two groups are exchanged: the functions
in 𝒫 S, originally interval-​ preserving, become
Part (a) of the above theorem, the group the new “transpositions,” while those in 𝒯S, the
structure of transposition operators, is noth- original transpositions, become “interval-​ pre-
ing new, as it restates a part of Lewin’s theorem serving.” Part (e) follows from the earlier parts
(Theorem 5.6.7). It is repeated here for compari- of the theorem together with Lewin’s theorem.
son with the corresponding property of interval-​ The construction of the new interval function is
preserving mappings in (b). The mapping f in given to us directly by part (b) of Lewin’s theo-
(a) is an isomorphism while gu in (b) is an anti-​ rem, which shows how any set acted upon by a
isomorphism. From Section 6.6 we know that if simply transitive transformation group may be
two groups are anti-​isomorphic, they are auto- made into an interval space whose transposi-
matically isomorphic. In the case of the groups tion operators are the transformations in the
G and 𝒫S it happens to be easier to construct an given group. In the present situation we use the
anti-​isomorphism than an isomorphism; there transformation group 𝒫S (whose action on S is
is actually a whole family of anti-​isomorphisms, simply transitive by (b)) for this purpose. The
one function gu for each reference point u of the elements of 𝒫S then automatically become the
space.40 Exercise 7.5.25 below outlines a proof “transpositions” in the new space. By part (d) of
that gu is an anti-​isomorphism. the present theorem applied to the new space,

Intervals • 285
the new “interval-​ preserving” mappings are
the transformations that commute with these
“transpositions” (elements of 𝒫 S)—​but from
part (d) applied to the original space we know
that these 𝒫 S-​commuting transformations are
just the elements of 𝒯S. Lewin’s theorem tells
us that the functions in any simply transitive
transformation group can become the trans-
positions in an interval-​space structure on the
group; the present theorem tells us that those
same functions may, if we define the interval-​
space structure in the dualized way, become the
interval-​preserving mappings instead.
As with several other results in this section,
Theorem 7.5.24 is of interest primarily in the
noncommutative case. If the interval group G is
commutative, then transpositions and interval-​
preserving mappings are the same thing; they all
commute with each other; no other transforma-
tions commute with all of them; adding i on the
right is the same as adding i on the left; and the dual
space is essentially the same as the original space.
Exercise 7.5.25 To show that the function
gu: G → 𝒫S in Theorem 7.5.24b is an anti-​
homomorphism, we must show that if i and j
are elements of G, then gu(i ⊕ j) =​ gu(j) ● gu(i). As
described in the definition of gu, gu(i) =​ pres uv ,
where v =​Transi(u) or equivalently int(u, v) =​ i;
similarly, gu(j) =​ pres uw, where int(u, w) =​ j; and
gu(i ⊕ j) =​ pres uz , where int(u, z) =​ i ⊕ j.
(a) Use basic interval properties to show that
int(v, z) =​ j.
(b) Use the interval-​preserving property of
pres uv to show that int( v, presuv( w )) = j.
(c) Using the results of (a) and (b) together
with Theorem 7.5.20g, show that
presuv = preswz .
(d) Use Theorem 7.5.20c to complete the proof
that gu(i ⊕ j) =​ gu(j) ● gu(i).
(e) Complete the proof of Theorem 7.5.24b by
explaining why the group mapping gu:
G → 𝒫S is one-​to-​one and onto, and why
  the action of 𝒫S on S is simply transitive.
Exercise 7.5.26 In the situation described in
Theorem 7.5.24c, where gu(i) =​ presuv , use the
interval-​preserving property of presuv to show
that if z =​ presuv( x ), then int(v, z) =​labu(x). Then
use the interval-​sum equation to show that
u( presu ( x )) =​ i ⊕ labu(x).
lab   v
286 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
Exercise 7.5.27 This exercise outlines the proof
of Theorem 7.5.24d.41
(a) Given functions Transi and presuv , take
any element a in S. Let b = presuv( a), let
x =​Transi(a), and let y = presuv ( x ). Use the
interval-​preserving property of presuv to
show that Transi(b) =​ y, and explain why it
follows that Transi and presuv commute.
(b) To show that interval-​preserving mappings
are the only transformations in the
centralizer of 𝒯S, suppose g: S → S
commutes with every transposition
on S; we wish to show that g is interval-​
preserving. To do this, suppose int(u, v) =​ i;
use the fact that g commutes with Transi to
show that int(g(u), g(v)) =​ i.
(c) Finally, to show that transpositions are the
only transformations in the centralizer of
𝒫S, suppose f: S → S commutes with every
interval-​preserving mapping on S; we wish
to show that f is a transposition. Choose
any u in S and let i =​int(u, f(u)); the goal is
to show that f =​Transi. For any v in S, use
the interval-​preserving property of presuv
and the fact that pres uv commutes with f
to show that int(v, f(v)) =​ i and therefore
  f(v) =​Transi(v).
7.6 INVERSION OPERATORS
AND INTERVAL-​R EVERSING
MAPPINGS
In extending the concept of transposition opera-
tors to general interval spaces in the preceding
section, we formulated two kinds of interval-​
space homomorphisms: Transi (or Transuv ), a
straightforward generalization of the familiar
transposition operators Tn on pitch and pitch-​
class spaces, and pres uv , based on the interval-​
preserving property. When the interval spaces
involved are commutative, the two formulations
are equivalent. The situation involving inversion
operators is similar up to a point: below we pres-
ent a generalized definition of inversion opera-
tors Invi (or Inv uv ) analogous to the familiar In,
and also a definition of interval-​reversing map-
pings. If the interval spaces are commutative all
is well: inversions and interval-​reversing map-
pings turn out to be the same thing, and they are
interval-​space homomorphisms.
In the noncommutative case, however, the
potential for confusion turns out to be much
greater for inversions than for transpositions.
In a noncommutative space there are two equally
reasonable but inequivalent ways to define Inv uv,
neither of which is assured of being an
interval-​ space homomorphism, and neither
of which is interval-​reversing. In fact there
are no interval-​reversing mappings at all in
a noncommutative space. For these reasons,
and because the large majority of the interval
spaces studied in this book are commutative,
we will assume commutativity in much of this
section, deferring most of our discussion of the
peculiarities of the noncommutative case until
the end of the section. Some results are pre-
sented without complete proofs. Because we
will often need to consider the same intervals
forward and backward, we remind the reader
of the inverse interval property from Section
5.4: for any elements x1 and x2 in an interval
space, int(x2, x1) =​ ⊖int(x1, x2).
As usual, it is helpful to keep pitch-​class space
in mind as a familiar example. In pc, one dif-
ference between transpositions and inversions
is that the numbering of inversions In depends
on the arbitrary choice of C as a referential pitch
class. The transposition T10 transposes pitch
classes by ten semitones, but the inversion I10
has no inherent “10-​ness.” Instead, as detailed in
Section 5.5, the index number 10 locates the axis
of inversion relative to C: two pitch classes are
related by I10 if their pc numbers—​their labels
with respect to C—​sum to 10 in ℤ12. If we chose
D rather than C as the basis for pc numbering,
the indexing of the inversion operators would
change, and the name I10 would refer to a differ-
ent transformation.
In the general setting of an interval space
(S, G, int), analogously, the definition of Invi
depends on the choice of a reference point u of
the space. To make the dependence on u clear
when necessary, we write the function as Inv[u]i.
If u ∈ S, i ∈ G, and x ∈ S, then Inv[u]i(x) =​ y should
be true whenever labu(x) ⊕ labu(y) =​ i, or equiva-
lently int(u, x) ⊕ int(u, y) =​ i. By this definition,
the usual inversion operator In in pc is Inv[C]‌n for
each n in ℤ12.
If commutativity is assumed, the equation
labu(x) ⊕ labu(y) =​int(u, x) ⊕ int(u, y) =​ i is equiv­
alent to labu(y) ⊕ labu(x) =​int(u, y) ⊕ int(u, x) =​ i.
This is the first sign of a complication in the
noncommutative case. In the absence of com-
mutativity, the two orderings of the sum are not
necessarily equal, and it is not clear which one
should be used in the definition of inversion.
Even in the commutative case, each ordering
has its own distinctive consequences. For future
reference, we refer to these two properties as
inversion condition 1 and inversion condition 2:
Inversion condition 1 for Inv[u]‌i(x) =​ y:
int(u, x) ⊕ int(u, y) =​ i
Inversion condition 2 for Inv[u]i(x) =​ y:
int(u, y) ⊕ int(u, x) =​ i
For a given u, i, and x, each of the inversion
conditions is satisfied for a unique y. Assuming
commutativity, the same y satisfies both; hence
Inv[u]i: S → S is a single well-​defined function in
the commutative case. Moreover, for a given u, i,
and y, the conditions are satisfied for a unique x,
which means that the function Inv[u]i is one-​to-​
one and onto.
Let v be the element Transi(u), so int(u, v) =​ i.
According to the interval-​sum equation, int(u, x)
⊕ int(x, v) =​int(u, v) =​ i. Comparing this equa-
tion with inversion condition 1 above, we see
that both equations take the form int(u, x) ⊕ j =​ i;
in one case j is int(u, y) while in the other case j
is int(x, v). As discussed in Section 5.3, such an
equation can be solved uniquely for j (the solution
is j =​ ⊖int(u, x) ⊕ i), so it follows that int(u, y) =​
int(x, v). That is, in order to satisfy condition 1,
Inv[u]i(x) must be the unique element y of S for
which int(u, y) =​int(x, v), where v =​Transi(u).
Similar reasoning applies to inversion con-
dition 2, the equation int(u, y) ⊕ int(u, x) =​ i.
By the interval-​sum equation again, int(u, y) ⊕
int(y, v) =​int(u, v) =​ i. Comparing these two
equations shows, as above, that int(y, v) must
be equal to int(u, x), or equivalently int(v, y) =​
⊖int(u, x) =​int(x, u). So condition 2 implies that
Inv[u]i(x) is the unique y in S for which int(v, y) =​
int(x, u), where v =​Transi(u).
Both of these properties are illustrated in
Figure 7.6.1a. The heavy arrow depicts the
function f =​Inv[u]i. The arrangement is simi-
lar to that of Figure 7.5.7a illustrating Transi,
but the elements v (=​Transi(u)) and y (=​ f(x))
have exchanged places. The equation int(u,
y) =​int(x, v), derived above from condition 1,
says that the two horizontal intervals in the
figure are equal; the second property, int(y,
v) =​int(u, x), derived from condition 2, says
that the vertical intervals are equal. In a com-
mutative interval space, the two properties
are equivalent and the inversional relation-
ship y =​Inv[u]i(x) ensures that both of them
are true.
What happens if we apply the function Inv[u]i
to the reference point u itself? If we substitute
x =​ u in either condition 1 or condition 2, the
Intervals • 287
FIGURE 7.6.1 Interval relationships in a commutative interval space: (a) under the inversion Inv[u]i;
(b) under an interval-​reversing mapping f
term int(u, u) appears, which of course is 0
(the identity element of the interval group), and
the condition reduces to int(u, y) =​ i. Because
int(u, v) =​ i, it follows that in this case y =​ v; in
other words, Inv[u]i(u) =​ v =​Transi(u). We therefore
introduce the notation Inv uv for the function Inv[u]i,
where i =​int(u, v). We have just established that
Inv uv : S → S maps u to v, consistent with the simi-
lar notations for the functions Transuv and pres uv .
In pitch-​class space, pitch classes x and y are
related by I10 (the inversion we are now calling
Inv[C]‌10) if their labels relative to the reference
point u =​C sum to 10 in ℤ12. The property Inv[u]i(u)
=​ v derived above says that Inv[C]10(C) =​B♭, the pc
whose interval from C is 10. Therefore Inv[C]10
could also be called Inv CB♭ . But these are not the
only names for this inversion. The inversion that
maps C to B♭ also maps D to A♭, B♭ to C, and F to
F (among other things), so we might expect that
♭
Inv BC is the same function as Inv DA♭ , Inv BC♭ , and
Inv F . Because int(D, A ♭) =​6, int(B♭, C) =​2, and
F
int(F, F) =​0, these are by definition the same as
Inv[D]6, Inv[B♭]2, and Inv[F]0, respectively. Indeed, all
of these things are the same function as Inv[C]10 =​
♭ can be convenient; such a function generally
Inv CB , but this is perhaps not obvious from
the definitions above, in which functions such
as Inv[D]6 and Inv DA♭ are framed in terms of the
comparatively unfamiliar labeling of elements
relative to the pc D rather than C. For example,
Inv[D]6(C) =​B♭ is a true statement because labD(C)
+​ labD(B♭) =​10 +​8 =​6 (mod 12).
Two questions arise: Under what conditions
is Inv[u]i, the inversion with reference point u and
interval i, the same function as Inv[w]j, the inver-
sion with reference point w and interval j? And
under what conditions is Inv vu , the inversion with
reference points u and v, the same function as
Inv wz, the inversion with reference points w and z?
The following exercise answers the first question
and provides a preliminary answer to the second.
The second question has a more elegant answer,
288 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
to which we will work our way in the course of
the discussion below.
Exercise 7.6.2
(a) Suppose u and w are two different reference
points in a commutative interval space
S. Let j =​int(w, u), and let k =​ j ⊕ j. Show
that for every interval i and every x in S,
Inv[u]i(x) =​Inv[w]i⊕k(x), and therefore Inv[u]i
and Inv[w]i⊕k are the same function.42
(b) Suppose u, v, w, and z are reference points
in a commutative interval space S. Let
i =​int(u, v), j =​int(w, u), and k =​ j ⊕ j. Show
that the functions Inv vu and Inv wz are the
same if and only if int(w, z) =​ i ⊕ k.
(c) Use the results of (a) and (b) to verify that
Inv[C]‌10, Inv[D]6, Inv[B♭]2, Inv[F]0, Inv CB♭, Inv DA♭,
Inv CB ♭ , and Inv FF are all the same function
  on pitch-​class space.
The notation Inv FF shows explicitly that F is
a fixed point of this inversion (the usual I10).
Naming a function by a fixed point in this way
takes the form Inv uu or equivalently Inv[u]0, and
may be called inversion about u. But not every
inversion operator arises in this way: recall from
Figure 5.5.4 that in pitch or pc only the even-​
numbered inversion operators have fixed points.
Also, the notation Inv FF disguises the fact that in
pc, this inversion has a second fixed point (B).
Exercise 7.6.3 Refer back to the pictures
of pitch space in Figure 7.1.1. Let u =​C4 and
v =​G4. We remarked previously that the
interval-​preserving transformation presvu maps
every pitch in 7.1.1a to the correspondingly
numbered pitch in 7.1.1b. Construct another
labeling of pitch space so that the inversion
Inv vu maps every pitch in 7.1.1a to the
correspondingly numbered pitch in your figure.
This inversion is the same as Inv[u]i for some i,
and it is also Inv[v]j for some j. What are i and j?
Does
   this inversion have a fixed point?
Exercise 7.6.4 In a commutative interval space,
   that if Inv[u]i(x) =​ y, then Inv[u]i(y) =​ x.43
show
Exercise 7.6.4 implies that Inv[u]i ● Inv[u]i =​ ES,
the identity mapping on the space S: in a com-
mutative interval space, every inversion is an
involution. Of course, this property is familiar in
pitch-​class space; recall Theorem 5.5.6g.
In pitch-​class space, transpositions preserve
intervals while inversions reverse them. For
example, consider the pitch classes C♯ and E, for
which int(C♯, E) =​3. Applying T4 to both pcs gives
T4(C♯) =​F and T4(E) =​G♯, and the interval between
the transformed pcs is still the same: int(F, G♯) =​3.
But if we apply I4 instead, we get I4(C♯) =​E♭ and
I4(E) =​C, and the new interval is int(E♭, C) =​9, the
inverse (in ℤ12) of the original interval.
Generally, a function f: S → S on an interval
space (S, G, int) is interval-​reversing if int(f(x1),
f(x2)) =​ ⊖int(x1, x2) for all x1 and x2 in S, or equiva-
lently (by the inverse interval property) int(f(x1),
f(x2)) =​int(x2, x1). This property is illustrated in
Figure 7.6.1b, where the elements x1, x2, f(x1), and
f(x2) are renamed u, x, v, and y, respectively, to clar-
ify the similarity with the inversion Inv[u]i =​ Inv vu in
part (a). The equality int(y, v) =​int(u, x) between
the two vertical intervals in (a), derived from
inversion condition 2, appears in (b) in the form
int(v, y) =​ ⊖int(u, x), or in other words int(f(u),
f(x)) =​ ⊖int(u, x): the function has reversed the
interval, and the arrow has reversed direction. The
equation may be written using label functions as
labv(y) =​ ⊖labu(x): the v-​label of y is the inverse of
the u-​label of x. In these last two formulations,
the inverse symbol ⊖ is the only thing that distin-
guishes the interval-​reversing property from the
interval-​preserving property studied previously.
For any given u and v, the discussion above
shows that the function f =​ Inv vu satisfies the equa-
tion labv(f(x)) =​ ⊖labu(x) for every x. A function
satisfying this property is called u–​v label-​revers-
ing. Because labu(u) =​0, a u–​v label-​reversing
function must satisfy labv(f(u)) =​0, and there-
fore f(u) =​ v. The label-​reversing property tells us
exactly what f(x) must be for every x in S: it must
be the unique y such that labv(y) =​ ⊖labu(x). For
a given u and v, therefore, there is one and only
one u–​v label-​reversing function, and that func-
tion must be Inv vu.
The label-​ reversing property labv(f(x)) =​
⊖labu(x) is a special case of the interval-​revers-
ing property, requiring only that f reverse inter-
vals int(u, x) with the starting point u, but saying
nothing about any other intervals. Exercise 7.5.6
examined the analogous case of u–​v label-​pre-
serving functions, concluding in that situation
that the special implied the general: a u–​v label-​
preserving function is completely interval-​pre-
serving. That conclusion required no assumption
of commutativity. The situation with label-​and
interval-​reversing functions is not so agree-
able: in a noncommutative space, it turns out,
u–​v label-​reversing functions exist, but they are
not fully interval-​reversing. In a commutative
interval space, however, a u–​v label-​reversing
function is indeed interval-​reversing. This can
be proved directly (see Exercise 7.6.5 below),
but it follows also from other principles we
have established. In terminology from Section
7.2, the interval-​ reversing property int(f(x1),
f(x2)) =​ ⊖int(x1, x2) says that an interval-​revers-
ing mapping on an interval space (S, G, int) is
interval-​compatible with the inverse mapping
g(i) =​ ⊖i on the interval group G. As noted at the
end of Section 6.6, an inverse mapping g(x) =​ x−1
is generally an anti-​automorphism of a group,
not an automorphism; this is because the inverse
of xy is not x−1y−1 but rather y−1x−1, reversing the
order of the product (that is, g(xy) =​ g(y)g(x)).
In a commutative group, however, x−1y−1 and
y−1x−1 are the same thing, homomorphisms
and anti-​homomorphisms are the same thing,
and the inverse mapping is an automorphism. In
a commutative interval space, therefore, every
interval-​reversing mapping is an interval-​space
automorphism.
Moreover, it follows from the interval-​space
homomorphism theorem (Theorem 7.2.7) that
for any u and v in S, there is a unique interval-​
space automorphism f: S → S, mapping u to v,
compatible with the inverse mapping g: G → G—​
which is to say that f is interval-​reversing. That
automorphism, called g uv in Section 7.2, must be
u–​v label-​reversing. But we observed above that
the only u–​v label-​reversing transformation on S
is Inv vu. Hence it follows, in a commutative inter-
val space S, that g uv =​ Inv vu; that Inv vu is both the
unique u–​v label-​reversing transformation on S
and the unique interval-​reversing transforma-
tion on S that maps u to v; and, more generally,
that inversions and interval-​reversing transfor-
mations are precisely the same thing. In noncom-
mutative spaces these statements are false.
Intervals • 289
Exercise 7.6.5 Suppose f: S → S is a u–​v
label-​reversing function in a commutative
interval space. Prove directly that f is
interval-​reversing by writing a chain of
equalities, beginning with
int(f(x1), f(x2))
=​ int(f(x1), f(u)) ⊕ int(f(u), f(x2))
(which follows from the interval-​sum
equation)
   and ending with ⊖int(x1, x2).44
Our general work with interval-​space homo-
morphisms in Section 7.2 now provides the
elegant answer to the question raised above: in
a commutative interval space, under what condi-
tions are Inv vu and Inv wz the same function? By
Theorem 7.2.13e, if g: G1 → G2 is a group homo-
morphism, then g wz = g uv if and only if g uv( w ) = z.
In the present situation, g is the inverse map-
ping, an automorphism of G, and g uv is Inv vu .
So whenever Inv vu ( w ) = z, we may conclude that
Inv vu = Inv wz. Only one inversion can map a par-
ticular w to a particular z; if two differently
named inversions do so, they are merely two dif-
ferent names for the same function. Moreover,
because we have established that Inv vu ( v ) = u, it
follows that in a commutative interval space,
Inv vu and Inv uv are the same function. (This prop-
erty may seem obvious, but in a noncommutative
space it is not true.) In pitch-​class space, there-
fore, simply from knowing that the inversion
Inv BC♭ maps D to A♭, we can conclude that Inv BC♭
and Inv DA♭ are the same function.
The definition of interval-​ reversing map-
pings, like that of interval-​ preserving map-
pings, may in some circumstances be extended
to cross-​type mappings from one interval space
(S1, G1, int1) to another space (S2, G2, int2). The
interval-​reversing property int2(f(x1), f(x2)) =​
⊖int1(x1, x2) relates an int1 interval to an int2
interval; even if these intervals are in differ-
ent spaces, they can potentially be equal if the
interval groups G1 and G2 are the same, or if G1
is a subgroup of G2. Interval-​reversing mappings
are applicable in some cross-​type situations in
which inversions are not: the definition of Inv vu,
like that of Transvu, requires u and v to inhabit
the same space, and therefore applies only in the
more restrictive case in which the spaces S1 and
S2 are the same, or S1 is a subspace of S2.
Generally, we write Rev uv , or more explic-
itly Rev vu∈∈SS21, for a cross-​type interval-​reversing
mapping. This notation presupposes commuta-
tive interval spaces, for reasons just outlined.
If u ∈ S1, v ∈ S2, and the commutative interval
groups satisfy G1 ⊆ G2, then Rev uv exists and
is an interval-​space homomorphism; it is also
the unique interval-​reversing function from S1
to S2 that maps u to v. If the spaces S1 and S2
are the same, then Rev uv is the same thing as
Inv vu . If the spaces are different, then the cross-​
type Rev uv is not strictly speaking an inversion,
but we may occasionally call it an “inversion,”
in quotation marks, just as cross-​type inter-
val-​preserving mappings are sometimes called
“transpositions.”45
Example 7.6.6: Bach, Fugue in G Major
(WTC I)
In tonal music, diatonic inversions in some
space dpitch(n) or dpc(n) arise more commonly
than chromatic inversions in pitch or pc.

FIGURE 7.6.7 Scalar inversions and interscalar “transpositions” in Bach, WTC I, Fugue in G Major

290 • E x p loring M usical S p aces

When more than one diatonic scale is involved,
cross-​type mappings can be useful. The network
in Figure 7.6.7 relates six appearances of the
subject in the G-​Major Fugue from WTC I. The
analysis is carried out in seven-​note pitch-​
class spaces sharing the interval group ℤ7,
beginning with dpc(+​1) at the lower left. (A
pitch-​space analysis, starting in dpitch(+​1)
instead, would be very similar.) The real answer
in mm. 5–​7, shown at center left, transposes
the subject from mm. 1–​3 by the usual T7 in pc,
but is described here as an interval-​preserving
mapping, or “transposition,” from dpc(+​1) to
dpc(+​2)—​that is, from G major to D major. As
reference points in the presvu notation, we use G
and D, the initial notes of the excerpts, but of
course there are other options.
A counterexposition in inversion begins
at m. 20, whereupon the inverted subject
appears in the same two diatonic scales heard
previously. Each inverted subject is related to
the corresponding recto subject from the first
exposition by a diatonic (intrascalar) inversion
operator, indicated by a horizontal Inv vu arrow,
and the two inverted subjects are related to each
other by the interscalar “transposition” presDA as
shown. Finally, the top of the figure shows two
subject entries in mm. 38–​40 and 43–​45, where
a recto statement in E minor is answered by an
inverted statement in the same key. Both of
these entries conform to the E harmonic minor
scale, labeled hmin(+​2) (a name to be explained
in Chapter 14). These subjects are related to
the earlier diatonic subjects by cross-​type
“transpositions,” and to each other by a scalar
inversion
   within hmin(+​2).
Exercise 7.6.8 In Figure 7.6.7, two arrows
(from mm. 1–​3 to mm. 5–​7 and from mm.
20–​22 to mm. 24–​26) represent cross-​type
“transpositions” from dpc(+​1) to dpc(+​2).
The reference points shown for these two
cross-​type mappings presvu are different. Are
they actually different functions, or are they
different names for the same function? Are the
two interval-​preserving mappings shown from
dpc(+
   ​2) to hmin(+​2) the same function?46
Exercise 7.6.9
(a) Inspection of Figure 7.6.7 shows that
each of the three inversions in the figure
has exactly one fixed point. For example,
the inversion Inv GD in dpc(+​1) has B as a
fixed point, so Bs occur in corresponding
places in mm. 1–​3 and in mm. 20–​22.
What are the fixed points of the other
two inversions? Explain why an inversion
operator in a mod-​12 pitch-​class space can
have either no fixed points or two fixed
points, while every inversion operator in
a mod-​7 pitch-​class space has exactly one
fixed point.47
(b) If the analysis in Figure 7.6.7 were carried
out in pitch space rather than pitch-​class
space (dpitch(+​1) rather than dpc(+​1), and
so on), would every inversion operator have
  one fixed point?
Example 7.6.10: Brahms, Symphony
No. 1, III
The inversions in Figure 7.6.7 operate
strictly within their respective mod-​7 spaces.
Some interval qualities change when the fugue
subject is inverted, so the transformations are
not inversions in chromatic space. The opening
clarinet melody from the Allegretto of Brahms’s
First Symphony, shown in Figure 7.6.11, offers
an example of an interscalar diatonic “inver-
sion” that is also a chromatic inversion. The
measure phrase, starting on E♭ in
first five-​
dpc(−4) (A♭ major), is immediately inverted in
dpc(−3), starting on C as shown. The interscalar
interval-​reversing mapping shown in the fig-
ure accurately describes the relationship—​but
in this case every interval quality is preserved
in the inversion. That is, the transformation
reverses not only diatonic intervals but also
chromatic intervals, so despite the diatonic
nature of the material the relationship is cor-
rectly modeled by the inversion operator I3 in
chromatic space.
Diatonic inversions that are also chromatic
inversions are rare in tonal music, at least among
passages of more than a few notes. Recall that
a diatonic collection, as a subset of chromatic
space, is symmetric about its dorian tonic. Of
FIGURE 7.6.11 An interscalar diatonic “inver-
sion” or chromatic inversion in Brahms, Symphony
No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68, III
Intervals • 291
the seven possible intrascalar inversions of a
diatonic pitch-​class space, the only one that pre-
serves all interval qualities is the inversion about
that note. An interscalar “inversion” from one
diatonic scale to another will preserve all inter-
val qualities only if the dorian tonic of the first
scale maps onto the dorian tonic of the second.
That is precisely what happens in Figure 7.6.11:
the mapping is identified here as RevEC♭ based on
the initial notes of the phrases, but it also maps
B♭, the dorian tonic for dpc(−4), to F, the dorian
tonic for dpc(−3).
Another way to model the mapping in this
example is by using an inversion operator in
Rings’s product space sd × pc. Doing so requires
identifying a tonic for the second phrase. C and
E♭ are both plausible choices; if we choose C,
the applicable inversion is Inv vu, indexed by u =​
(5̂, 3) and v =​(1̂, 0), the starting notes of the
two phrases (E♭ as scale degree 5̂ and C as 1̂).
The first interval in m. 1 is (6, 10): a descending
step in mod-​7 scale-​degree space, and a descend-
ing whole step in mod-​12 pitch-​class space. The
second interval is (6, 11), only a semitone. An
interval in this space is inverted by inverting
both its mod-​7 and mod-​12 components; the
inverses of (6, 10) and (6, 11) are (1, 2) and (1, 1)
respectively, the first two intervals in the sec-
ond phrase. Had we chosen E♭ rather than C as
the tonic for the second phrase, the scale-​degree
numbers and the notation for the inversion
operator would change, but the intervals within
each of the two phrases would not. Because an
inversion in sd × pc must operate in both com-
ponents, such an analysis is possible only with
an inversion that works both diatonically and
chromatically.
Exercise 7.6.12
(a) Inversions that function both diatonically
and chromatically may be conveniently
described using spelled pitch-​class numbers.
The dorian tonic is the central note of a
diatonic collection along the line of fifths,
and its spc number is the index number
of the collection. If the referential notes u
and v of a cross-​type interval-​reversing
mapping Rev vu∈∈DpC ( n)
DpC ( m ) from dpc(m) to dpc(n)
are identified by their spc numbers, the
mapping will be a true chromatic inversion
if and only if u and v are symmetrically
situated relative to the dorian tonics of
their respective scales, which is true if and
only if u +​ v =​ m +​ n. Verify that this formula
292 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
holds for the interscalar “inversion” in
Figure 7.6.11, and verify that it does not
hold for either of the two scalar diatonic
inversions in Figure 7.6.7.
(b) The third inversion in Figure 7.6.7 takes
place within a harmonic minor scale. No
scalar inversion of this space can be a
  chromatic inversion. Why not?
Example 7.6.13: Szymanowski, Etude,
Op. 33, No. 3
The third of Karol Szymanowski’s
Twelve Etudes, Op. 33 (1916), like the
Ginastera example considered previously
in Example 7.5.14, opposes the white-​key
diatonic collection in one hand with the black-​
key pentatonic in the other, but in this work
gestures in the two hands often mirror each
other. Figure 7.6.14a shows a representative
two-​measure passage.48 The analysis in
(b) shows relationships between the top voice
in the right hand and the middle voice in the
left. (In the first measure the bass moves more
slowly than the other voices; otherwise any
of the three voices in the left hand could be
used in this analysis.) As with the Ginastera
example, the analysis must be carried out
in the pitch spaces S1 =​ dpitch(0) and
S2 =​ pent(−6), not in the corresponding pitch-​
class spaces, because the scales are of different
cardinalities.
The analysis takes four-​note cells as the units
of transformational action. Each such cell in the
right hand mirrors the simultaneous cell in the
left via a cross-​type “inversion” Rev uv from S1 to
S2. In three of the four cells, this transformation
amounts to nothing more than reversing the
contour and flatting the notes (transforming
B–​A to A♭–​B♭ in the first cell, for example). The
third cell is of particular interest, however,
because the diatonic step G–​F is inverted to
the pentatonic “step” E♭–​G♭, a minor third.
Horizontally within each voice, successive cells
are shifted stepwise within their respective
scales (the contour of the figure being modified
between the second cell and the third); the
two right-​hand cells in the second measure are
related by the pentatonic transposition t1P but
not by chromatic transposition. These stepwise
shifts move in the same direction in both
hands, so that for example diatonic t−1 occurs
simultaneously with pentatonic t−1P, not with
t1P. The “inversions” Rev uv operate only at a local
level, on no more than four notes at a time; at
the  larger scale the hands move in parallel.
FIGURE 7.6.14 Scalar transpositions and interscalar “inversions” in Szymanowski, Etude, Op. 33, No.
3, mm. 7–8
The following theorem summarizes many
properties of interval-​reversing mappings and
inversions. Section 7.5 presented similar prop-
erties of transpositions and interval-​preserving
mappings in two separate theorems (Theorems
7.5.19 and 7.5.20), but here we assume com-
mutativity, so that interval-​ preserving map-
pings are the same things as inversions, and we
combine the results in a single theorem. For the
greatest generality in the cross-​type setting the
theorem primarily uses the notation Rev vu, but
in the case of mappings within a single space,
as clarified in part (b), Rev uv is the same func-
tion as Inv vu .
Theorem 7.6.15: Interval-​reversing
mappings and inversions in commutative
spaces
In the following statements, (S1, G1, int1),
(S2, G2, int2), and (S3, G3, int3) are interval
spaces whose interval groups are commutative
and satisfy G1 ⊆ G2 ⊆ G3; the symbol ⊕ denotes
the group operation in G2, and ⊖i is the inverse
of i. The letters u, x, a, and b always denote
elements of S1; v and y are elements of S2; w is
an element of S3.
(a) Definition and basic properties. For every
u in S1 and v in S2, Rev vu∈∈SS21 : S1 → S2 is the
interval-​space homomorphism mapping
u to v, induced by the inverse mapping
g(i) =​ ⊖i from G1 to G2. For every x in S1,
Rev vu∈∈SS21( x ) is the unique element y of S2 such
that int2(v, y) =​ ⊖int1(u, x), or equivalently
such that labv(y) =​ ⊖labu(x). Rev uv is the
unique u–​v label-​reversing mapping from
S1 to S2, and it is also the unique interval-​
reversing mapping from S1 to S2 that maps
u to v. If G1 =​ G2, then Rev vu: S1 → S2 is an
interval-​space isomorphism, induced by the
inverse mapping on G1.
(b) Relationship with inversion. If S1 =​ S2 and
int1 =​int2, then Rev vu is the same function as
the inversion operator Inv vu ,
which is the same as Inv[u]i: S1 → S1, where
i =​int1(u, v). If S1 is a subspace of S2, then
Rev vu( x ) = Inv vu( x ) =​Inv[u]i(x) for all x in
S1, where i =​int2(u, v); that is, Rev vu is
the same as the inversion operator Inv vu,
defined only on the elements of S1.
(c) Compositions of interval-​preserving and
interval-​reversing mappings. For every u in
S1, v in S2, and w in S3,
presvu ● presvw =​ presuw ,
Rev vu ● presvw =​ Rev uw ,
presvu ● Rev vw =​ Rev uw ,
and Rev vu ● Rev vw =​ presuw .
(d) Compositions of transpositions and inversions.
If S1 =​ S2 and int1 =​int2, then for every u in
S1 and every i and j in G1,
Transi ● Transj =​Transi⊕j,
Inv[u]i   ● Transj =​Inv[u]i⊕j,
Transi ● Inv[u]j   =​ Inv[u](⊖i)⊕j,
and Inv[u]i   ● Inv[u]j    =​ Trans(⊖i)⊕j.
(e) Inverses of interval-​reversing isomorphisms.
If G1 =​ G2, then for every u in S1 and v
in S2, (Revuv )−1 =​ Rev uv ; this function is an
Intervals • 293
 interval-reversing isomorphism from S2 to
S1. If S1 =​ S2 and int1 =​int2, then Rev vu =​
Rev uv =​ Inv vu =​ Inv uv ; this function is an
involution.
(f) Label functions for interval-​reversing
mappings. Suppose labu: S1 → G1 and labv:
S2 → G2 are the label functions associated
with u and v. Then for every x and a in S1
and every y in S2,
labv(Revxy( a))
=​ labv(y) ⊕ labu(x) ⊕ (⊖labu(a)).
(g) Intervals formed by interval-​reversing
mappings. For every u, x, a, and b in S1 and
for every v and y in S2,
int 2(Revuv( a),Revxy( b ))
=​ int1(u, a) ⊕ int2(v, y) ⊕ int1(b, x)
and int 2(Revuv( a),Revxy( a ))
  =​ int1(u, x) ⊕ int2(v, y).
(h) Change of reference points. For every u and x
in S1 and every v and y in S2, Rev vu =​ Rev xy if
and only if Revuv ( x ) = y—​that is, if and only
if int(v, y) =​ ⊖int(u, x).
(i) Change of reference points (generalized formula).
For every u and x in S1 and every v and y in S2,
Rev xy =​(Transi)−1 ● Rev vu ● Transj,
  where i =​int1(u, x) and j =​int2(v, y).
Parts (c) and (d) of the above theorem warrant
special comment. If the commutative spaces S1 and
S2 are the same, we know that interval-​preserving
and interval-​reversing mappings are the same thing
as transpositions and inversions, respectively. The
statements in (c) (which follow immediately from
Theorem 7.2.13a) could be converted into state-
ments about transpositions and inversions simply
by replacing presvu by Transvu and Rev vu by Inv vu .
When these statements are translated into the
notation of Transi and Inv[u]i as in part (d), the
resulting formulas take forms recognizable from
Theorem 5.5.6 as properties of transpositions and
inversions in pitch or pc. It also follows from these
properties (and previously established facts about
the inverses of Transi and Inv vu ) that the transpo-
sition and inversion operators on a commutative
interval space always form a group.
Exercise 7.6.16 Show how the statements in
part (d) of Theorem 7.6.15 may be derived from
the
  statements in (c).49
294 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
Exercise 7.6.17
Draw a picture similar to Figure 7.5.21 to
illustrate
   Theorem 7.6.15i.
Exercise 7.6.18 Return to the Brahms analysis
in Example 7.6.10. Taking the tonics of the two
scales, A♭ and C, as the reference points u and
v, and the initial notes of the two phrases, E♭
and C, as x and y, show how the relationship
between the final notes of the two phrases, B♭
and  F, illustrates Theorem 7.6.15f.
Exercise 7.6.19
(a) Return to the Szymanowski analysis in
Example 7.6.13. Take the interscalar
mappings of the first and third four-​note
cells as Rev vu and Revxy . That is, take u =​B3
and x =​G3 in dpitch(0), and take v =​A♭4
and y =​E♭4 in pent(−6). Verify that the first
interval formula in Theorem 7.6.15g holds
when a is the note A3 in the first left-​hand
cell and b is the note F3 in the third left-​
hand cell.
(b) Verify that Theorem 7.6.15i holds for the
  same two mappings Rev vu and Revxy .
Many of the properties described above go
badly awry if the interval spaces involved are
not commutative. We conclude this section with
a few observations about the noncommutative
case. This discussion is perhaps of more theo-
retical than practical interest, as noncommuta-
tive interval spaces are not a significant focus of
attention in this book, and we will not employ
inversion operators in any such spaces.
Let (S, G, int) be an interval space, no longer
assumed commutative. A complication we have
already noted is that in the absence of commu-
tativity, conditions 1 and 2 in the definition of
inversion are no longer equivalent; a function may
satisfy one condition but not the other, and either
of the two could reasonably be taken as the basis
for defining inversion. It is convenient to recall
the two conditions in the forms below, which
were shown above to be equivalent to our origi-
nal formulations (proposed as interpretations of
the statement Inv[u]i(x) =​ y, or Inv vu( x ) =​ y, where
i =​int(u, v)):
Inversion condition 1: int(u, y) =​int(x, v)
Inversion condition 2: int(v, y) =​int(x, u)
Lewin ([1987] 2007, 51) defines his inversion
v
operator Iu in a way equivalent to condition
2, so we will use this as our definition of Inv vu
in the general noncommutative case. That
is, Inv vu( x ) is the unique y such that int(v, y) =​
int(x, u), or equivalently int(v, y) =​ ⊖int(u, x). In
our terminology this statement says that Inv vu
is u–​v label-​reversing.
Condition 2 does not imply condition 1 in
general, so if Inv vu( x ) =​ y, we cannot conclude
that int(u, y) =​int(x, v). There is a kind of dual-
ism between the two conditions, however, which
makes it easy to see exactly what the function is
that satisfies condition 1. The following exercise
explores this dualism.
Exercise 7.6.20
(a) Show that Inv vu (u) =​ v and also
that Inv vu(v )=​ u.50
(b) Let f be the function analogous to Inv vu
defined using condition 1 instead of
condition 2. That is, for fixed reference
points u and v in S, define f: S → S so
that for every x in S, f(x) is the unique y
satisfying int(u, y) =​int(x, v). Show that
f(x) =​ y if and only if Inv vu( y ) =​ x. Conclude
that f is the function (Inv vu)−1, the inverse
function of Inv vu.51
(c) For the same function f as in (b), show that
f(x) =​ y if and only if Inv uv( x )=​ y. (Note the
reversal of the reference points: Inv uv,
not Inv vu .) Conclude that f is the
function Invvu .52
  
To summarize: for elements u and v in a
noncommutative interval space, the inversions
Inv vu and Invvu may be different. Inv vu satisfies
condition 2, while Invvu satisfies condition 1.
Both functions map u to v and v to u, and the
two functions are inverses. Inv vu is u–​v label-​
reversing, which means that it reverses every
interval involving the element u. Inv vu , analo-
gously, is v–​u label-​reversing, which means that
it reverses every interval involving the element
v. Neither Inv vu nor Invvu is interval-​reversing
in general.
The two short theorems below restate results
of Lewin.53 It is reasonable to wonder whether
Inv vu and Invvu can ever be the same function even
if the interval group is noncommutative. In fact
this is possible, and Theorem 7.6.21 describes
exactly when it happens. Theorem 7.6.22 shows,
as promised previously, that interval-​reversing
mappings cannot exist in a noncommutative
interval space.
Recall from Section 6.6 that the center of a
group G, Cent(G), is the subgroup consisting
of those elements that commute with all ele-
ments in G.
Theorem 7.6.21: Identity of dual inversions
For every u and v in an interval space (S, G,
int), Inv vu =​ Inv uv if and only if the interval
int(u,
   v) belongs to Cent(G).
To prove this theorem, recall that the state-
ment Inv vu( x )=​ y is equivalent to condition 2,
int(v, y) =​int(x, u), or, reversing both intervals,
int(y, v) =​int(u, x). Use the interval-​sum equa-
tion to split the right side of this equation into
two intervals:
int(y, v) =​int(u, v) ⊕ int(v, x)
(equivalent to Inv vu( x ) =​ y).
Meanwhile, Inv uv( x ) =​ y is equivalent to con-
dition 1, which says that int(u, y) =​int(x, v), or,
reversing both intervals, int(y, u) =​int(v, x).
Adding int(u, v) to the right side of both sides
of the last equation gives int(y, u) ⊕ int(u, v) =​
int(v, x) ⊕ int(u, v), which by the interval-​sum
equation is equivalent to
int(y, v) =​int(v, x) ⊕ int(u, v)
(equivalent to Inv uv( x ) =​ y).
Of the last two displayed equations, the first
is equivalent to Inv vu( x ) =​ y and the second to
Inv uv( x ) =​ y, and the two are identical except
for the order in which the two intervals on the
right side are added. If int(u, v) and int(v, x)
commute, therefore, Inv vu( x ) =​ Inv uv( x ). If the
interval int(u, v) belongs to Cent(G), then it
commutes with int(v, x) for every x, and in that
case the functions Inv vu and Invvu are the same.
If, on the other hand, int(u, v) ∉ Cent(G), then
there is some interval j such that j ⊕ int(u, v) ≠
int(u, v) ⊕ j. In that case we may choose x so that
int(v, x) =​ j. For that x, Inv vu( x ) and Inv uv( x ) will be
different, so the functions are different.
Theorem 7.6.22: Impossibility of interval-​
reversing mappings in noncommutative
spaces
Suppose (S1, G1, int1) and (S2, G2, int2) are
interval spaces, with G1 ⊆ G2. If an interval-​
reversing mapping f: S1 → S2 exists, then G1 is a
commutative group. In particular, if an interval-​
reversing mapping f: S → S on a single interval
space
   S exists, the interval space is commutative.
Intervals • 295

FIGURE 7.6.23 Proof that an interval-​reversing
mapping implies commutativity
The proof of Theorem 7.6.22 is illustrated in
Figure 7.6.23. Assume that f: S1 → S2 is interval-​
reversing, and let i and j be any elements of G1;
we must show that i and j commute. Let x be
any element of S1, and choose y and z so that
int1(x, y) =​ i and int1(y, z) =​ j. The figure shows
x, y, and z in S1 and their images f(x), f(y), and
f(z) in S2. The interval-​reversing property implies
that int2(f(y), f(x)) =​int1(x, y) =​ i; that is, the two
intervals labeled i in the figure are the same.
Likewise int2(f(z), f(y)) =​int1(y, z) (the two j’s are
the same), and int2(f(z), f(x)) =​int1(x, z) (the two
k’s). But by the interval-​sum equation, the inter-
val k on the left side of the figure is int1(x, z) =​
i ⊕ j, while the same interval k on the right side is
int2(f(z), f(x)) =​ j ⊕ i. Therefore i ⊕ j =​ j ⊕ i.
In Section 7.5 we demonstrated that trans-
positions Transvu and interval-​preserving map-
pings presvu may be defined in every interval
space and that if the space is commutative,
then Transvu =​ presvu . One might expect some-
thing similar to be true of inversions Inv vu and
interval-​reversing mappings Rev vu, but we now
see that the situation is more complicated. In
the noncommutative case there are two inver-
sions to consider, Inv vu and Inv vu ; both of these
inversions reverse some intervals, but neither
of them can reverse all intervals, as no interval-​
reversing function Rev vu exists at all. If int(u, v) ∈
Cent(G), then Inv vu and Inv vu are the same func-
tion, but that function is not interval-​reversing
unless the entire group is commutative.
In the general setting in which G1 is a subgroup
of a possibly larger group G2, the interval-​revers-
ing property implies that all G1 intervals map
into G1 intervals, so this property says nothing
about elements of G2 lying outside G1. It is pos-
sible, therefore, for an interval-​reversing map-
ping to map from a commutative interval space
into a commutative subspace of a larger noncom-
mutative space. For example, the twelve major
triads form a commutative interval space S1 with
296 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
interval group 𝒯12 (isomorphic to the interval
space pc with interval group ℤ12). The mapping
C → C, D♭ → B, D → B♭, … defines an interval-​
reversing transformation on this commutative
space. This mapping may be considered to map S1
into the larger noncommutative interval space S2
comprising the 24 major and minor triads with
interval group 𝒯ℐ12, but there is no possible way
of extending this mapping to an interval-​revers-
ing transformation on the entire larger space.
NOTES
1. Label functions of this type were introduced
by Lewin in his original development of Generalized
Interval Systems (Lewin [1987] 2007, 31–​32). Lewin
writes “ref” for the reference point u and LABEL for
the function labu; thus the name of the function does
not explicitly indicate the reference point.
2. Hint for Exercise 7.1.3: You may find it helpful to
draw a diagram showing the points u, v, x, and y, with
arrows depicting four relevant intervals.
3. Hint for Exercise 7.1.4a: The group operation in
𝒯ℐ12 is composition of functions, which is noncom-
mutative, so care must be taken with the order of
terms in the equation.
4. The presentation of interval-​space homomor-
phisms here is considerably reworked from Hook
2007a, where a homomorphism is defined as an
ordered pair of functions (f, g). Equivalent formula-
tions of some of these concepts are developed inde-
pendently in Kolman 2004, where the structural
correspondences between groups and Generalized
Interval Systems are called “transfer principles.”
5. Hint for Exercise 7.2.2: The interval functions
intpitch and intpc here are still the usual ones.
Consider the implications of the equations g(intpitch
(C4, C♯4)) =​intpc(f(C4), f(C♯4)) and g(intpitch(C♯4, D4)) =​
intpc(f(C♯4), f(D4)).
6. Hint for Exercise 7.2.3c: Start by writing g(int1(x,
y)) =​ g(int1(x, u) ⊕ int1(u, y)), using the interval-​sum
equation to write int1(x, y) in terms of intervals that
can be described by label functions. Extend this equa-
tion to a chain of equalities ending with int2(f(x), f(y)).
You will need to use the inverse interval property (to
replace int1(x, u) with ⊖int1(u, x)), the fact that g is a
group homomorphism (the property mentioned in
Exercise 6.3.5b may be useful), and the assumption of
label compatibility.
7. Hints for Exercise 7.2.6: If g is one-​to-​one and
f(x) =​ f(y), and if u is a reference point in S1, what can be
said about int2(f(u), f(x)) and int2(f(u), f(y)), and there-
fore about int1(u, x) and int1(u, y)? If f is onto and j ∈ G2,
choose v and w in S2 such that int2(v, w) =​ j; can you then
use interval compatibility and the assumption that f is
onto to find i in G1 such that g(i) =​ j? If g is onto and y ∈
S2, and if reference points u in S1 and v in S2 are chosen
so that f(u) =​ v, choose i in G1 such that g(i) =​int2(v, y);
can you use this i to find x in S1 such that f(x) =​ y?
8. A proof of a differently formulated but equiva-
lent statement of the interval-​space homomorphism
theorem is found in the appendix to Hook 2007a.
9. Some readers will recognize this reading-​from-​
the-​bottom-​up convention from standard mathematical
b
notations; in calculus, for example, ∫a is the integral
from a to b, not from b to a. In Sections 7.5 and 7.6
we will introduce other notations that follow the same
convention.
10. Hint for Exercise 7.2.8a: The frequency a pure
perfect fifth above 440 would be 660; f(E5) is not pre-
cisely 660, but something very close to that.
11. Hint for Exercise 7.2.9: Inverse mappings of the
form g(x) =​ x−1 were discussed at the end of Section
6.6, where it was noted that in general an inverse map-
ping is an anti-​automorphism of a group. Remember,
however, that the interval group under consideration
in the present situation is commutative.
12. The only group homomorphism from ℝ to
ℤ is the trivial one, which maps every real number
to 0. It follows that the only possible interval-​space
homomorphisms from cpitch to pitch are trivial as
well: every note in cpitch must be mapped to the
same element of pitch.
13. Hint for Exercise 7.2.10a: This conclusion may
sound paradoxical: if h is the identity mapping, how
can it not be interval-​preserving? In fact, h is an iden-
tity mapping of sets, but not an identity mapping of
interval spaces. In this situation the interval-​preserving
condition requires comparison of intervals measured
by two different interval functions, intpc and intfifth.
14. Some parts of Theorem 7.2.13 are proved in the
appendix to Hook 2007a.
15. Hints for Exercise 7.2.15: The function g xy in
this example was called g uv in Exercise 7.2.8a. The
interval group of frequency space is multiplicative,
so in the formula from the theorem, ⊕ must be
interpreted as multiplication, and ⊖i means i−1, the
reciprocal of i. Intervals in S1, including u-​labels, are
fractions of an octave (multiples of 1 12 for equal-​tem-
pered pitches).
16. Hint for Exercise 7.2.16: The interval group of S2
is the noncommutative group 𝒯ℐ12 in which the group
operation ⊕ is composition of functions ●, so the order
of factors in the equation is important. The formulas
from Theorem 5.5.6 may be useful.
17. Nowhere in this discussion have we needed to
specify which beat is labeled 0—​or, for that matter,
which pitch is labeled 0. Intervals do not depend on
label functions.
18. For early instances of pitch structures repre-
sented by ordered pairs of mod-​7 and mod-​12 inte-
gers, see Brinkman 1986 and Agmon 1989. Some
related constructions will be explored in the study of
signature transformations in Chapter 13.
19. Rings (2011b, 76–​78) studies a similar ♭3/̂ ♯​2̂
ambiguity in Tatyana’s letter scene in Tchaikovsky’s
Eugene Onegin.
20. Figure 7.3.3 shows the bass line descending
from D♭ to G♮ in m. 55, as Debussy’s basses do. The
widely anthologized piano transcription by Leonard
Borwick misleadingly shows D♭ ascending to G here
instead.
21. Hint for Exercise 7.3.4a: If you are having trou-
ble finding six paths, remember that an arrow join-
ing two bubbles theoretically stands for two different
arrows between vertices.
22. For an example of an ambitious undertaking
somewhat resembling the multidimensional approach
described here, see Pople 2004.
23. Hints for Exercise 7.3.6: The operation ⊕ is com-
ponentwise addition in ℤ × ℤ; ⊗ is ordinary multipli-
cation; and f(a, b) is 2a · 3b. If the same f(a, b) results
from different choices of a and b, you should be able
to deduce an equation in four variables showing that
a power of 2 is equal to a power of 3. Why must the
exponents on the 2 and 3 both be 0?
24. Just frequency space appears as Example 2.1.5
in Lewin [1987] 2007, 17–​20. The discussion is some-
what informal, as it occurs before Lewin has defined
generalized interval systems and direct products
thereof, but it includes commentary on Lewin’s
way of hearing intervals in this space as “harmonic
sensations.”
25. In Lewin’s formulation of quotient GISes
(Lewin [1987] 2007, 33–​35), the equivalence relation
on S is induced by a group congruence rather than by
a normal subgroup. The two formulations are equiva-
lent, because normal subgroups give rise to group con-
gruences and vice versa. A group congruence ~ on G
determines a normal subgroup H =​{x ∈ G | x ~ e}; the
relation on S induced by ~, as defined by Lewin, is the
same as the relation ≈H defined here.
26. Hint for Exercise 7.4.1: The example in the exer-
cise shows that the interval (5, 17, −7) is an element
of this congruence subgroup. The subgroup may be
described as H +​ K, the set of all ordered triples that
can be obtained as the sum of a triple in H (the congru-
ence subgroup for ~O) and a triple in K (the congruence
subgroup for ~T). (Rather than constructing OT-​space
directly as a quotient of pitch-​triple space via a single
congruence subgroup, as described in this exercise, we
could instead construct it in two stages, first forming
O-​space and then forming a quotient of that quotient
Intervals • 297
to account for T-​equivalence or vice versa. Interested
readers are encouraged to work out the details.)
27. Hints for Exercise 7.4.6c–​d: For generic equiva-
lence recall Exercise 2.4.5. The answer to the question
in (d) must be no: Esl–​spc is a bijection, so if it were
a homomorphism, according to Theorem 7.2.5c–​d it
would be an isomorphism, and as noted in the present
exercise, sl and spc cannot be isomorphic. For both
(c) and (d), remember a technique from Section 7.2 for
showing that a particular function f: S1 → S2 is not an
interval-​space homomorphism: find two pairs of ele-
ments of S1, separated by the same interval, whose
images under f are separated by two different inter-
vals in S2.
28. The hexachord theorem, attributed to Babbitt,
apparently first appeared in print in Lewin 1960 and
has since been rediscovered frequently and proved
and generalized in many different ways. The state-
ment presented here could be generalized further by
replacing Transi with any bijective transformation on
a finite set S—​a formulation essentially equivalent
to the one given in Lewin [1987] 2007, 144–​45. For
other versions see Rahn 1980, 105–​07, and Morris
1987, 74–​77.
29. For interval-​ class vectors see, for example,
Straus 2016, 16–​17.
30. Hint for Exercise 7.5.2: As a check on your
answers, the sum of the entries in the interval-​class
vector for a set of cardinality n is always n(n − 1) ∕ 2, the
total number of intervals (2-​element subsets) present
in the set. A curious corollary of this observation, rele-
vant to the first two questions in (a), is that the unique
set classes of cardinalities 0 and 1 are the only pair of
set classes of different cardinalities sharing the same
interval-​class vector.
31. Tymoczko (2011, 119–​23) uses the term sca-
lar transposition. Messiaen illustrates “parallel suc-
cessions of chords,” related by scalar rather than
chromatic transposition, in several of his modes of
limited transposition (Messiaen [1944] 1956, 87–​95).
Neidhöfer 2005 studies Messiaen’s use of such trans-
positions in composition.
32. Hint for Exercise 7.5.3b: Recall the discus-
sion of conjugation from Section 6.6; in particular,
Figure 6.6.9a may be helpful. Interpret the set S′ in
the figure as the group G.
33. Hint for Exercise 7.5.6: A short way to prove this
result is to apply the result of Exercise 7.2.3c, using
the identity mapping on the interval group for the
function g.
34. In Hook 2007a, 16–​ 21, I used the term
“cross-​type transposition” and the notation T uv for
interval-​preserving mappings in a cross-​ type set-
ting; Tymoczko 2011 (140–​53) uses the term “inter-
scalar transposition.” See both of those sources for
298 • E x p loring M usical S p aces
additional examples of interscalar mappings similar
to those presented below.
35. Hints for Exercise 7.5.13: In part (a), chromatic
transposition, interscalar mappings of diatonic scales,
pivot intervals on common tones, and signature
transformations are all possible. You should be able to
answer (c) by examining only the first interval in each
of the two phrases.
36. A pentatonic collection is a subset of three dif-
ferent diatonic collections—​in this case dpitch(−7),
dpitch(−6), and dpitch(−5)—​and shares its index
number with the middle one. The pentatonic index
number does not reflect the number of sharps or
flats in the scale, as a diatonic index number does.
Pentatonic index numbers with that property could
not be unambiguously defined, because for example
three different pentatonic collections contain white
notes only.
37. Hint for Exercise 7.5.16: The mapping is from
chromatic pitch space to the pitch space of the acous-
tic scale C–​D–​E–​F♯–​G–​A–​B♭. In notation to be intro-
duced in Chapter 14, the latter space could be called
mmin(0). See also Hook 2007a, 17–​19.
38. Hint for Exercise 7.5.18: The mapping is from
chromatic space to the whole-​tone space wt0. This
example was given by Joseph Schillinger (1946,
vol. 1, 216), who advocated this kind of transfor-
mation, which he called “geometric expansion,” as
a compositional technique. Subsequently Nicolas
Slonimsky wrote a short fugue on the whole-​tone
subject in No. 48 of his 51 Minitudes for piano
(1972–​76), subtitled “Bach × 2 =​Debussy.” See
Hook 2007a, 19–​21.
39. Underlying the 𝒯S-​𝒫S duality is the following
theorem of pure mathematics: Suppose a transfor-
mation group G acts on a set S in simply transitive
fashion, and let H be the centralizer of G, the group
of all bijective transformations on S that commute
with all transformations in H. Then H is isomorphic
to G, the action of H on S is simply transitive, and
G is the centralizer of H. Among mathematicians
this theorem seems not to be well known, but it is a
consequence, for example, of Theorem 4.2A in Dixon
and Mortimer 1996, 109. Musically, the duality is
described telegraphically in the final paragraph of
Lewin’s GMIT (Lewin [1987] 2007, 253), where the
groups 𝒯S and 𝒫S are called STRANS and STRANS′,
respectively, and more completely in Lewin 1995,
100–​01, where they are called SIMP and COMM.
For more thorough accounts with proofs and many
generalizations, see Fiore and Satyendra 2005 and
Peck 2010.
40. The interval-​ preserving mapping gu(i) cor-
responds with the function labeled P ref i in Lewin
[1987] 2007, 47. Lewin’s definition of this function
is motivated by the property described in Theorem
7.5.24c.
41. Hint for Exercise 7.5.27: In all parts of this exer-
cise you may find it helpful to draw a diagram showing
the elements and mappings involved.
42. Hint for Exercise 7.6.2a: Compare the sums
int(u, x) ⊕ int(u, y) and int(w, x) ⊕ int(w, y) (from
inversion condition 1) relative to the two reference
points u and w. Use the interval-​sum equation and
commutativity to show that these two sums always
differ by the interval k, independent of x and y. If
y =​Inv[u]i(x), you should then be able to conclude that
y =​Inv[w]i⊕k(x). To visualize this relationship, you
may find it useful to add points w and z to a copy of
Figure 7.6.1a, positioned so that an arrow from w to u
has the same length and direction as an arrow from v
to z, implying that int(w, z) =​ i ⊕ k and Inv[w]i⊕k =​ Inv wz .
43. Hint for Exercise 7.6.4: If you exchange x and y
in condition 1 for the inversion, what do you get?
44. Hint for Exercise 7.6.5: In addition to the
interval-​sum equation, you will need to use the u–​v
label-​reversing property, the inverse interval prop-
erty, and commutativity.
45. Hook 2007a refers to “cross-​type inversions”
and extends Lewin’s notation I uv to such mappings,
which in the present terminology are Rev vu.
46. Hint for Exercise 7.6.8: See Theorem 7.5.20g.
The two questions in this exercise have different
answers.
47. Hint for Exercise 7.6.9a: Recall Figure 5.5.4.
48. A longer excerpt from this work is analyzed in
Hook 2007a, 22–​25.
49. Hint for Exercise 7.6.16: Remember that
presvu =​Transi and Rev vu =​Inv[u]i, where in both cases
i =​int(u, v). In some cases you may need to change
the reference point u in the definition of Inv[u]i; such a
change may be made with the aid of the formula from
Exercise 7.6.2a.
50. Hint for Exercise 7.6.20a: Recall that Inv vu( x ) = y
if and only if condition 2 holds. To show that Inv vu( u) =​
v, therefore, you must show that if you replace x with
u and y with v in condition 2, the resulting statement
is always true.
51. Hint for Exercise 7.6.20b: In the commutative
case, by Theorem 7.6.15e, (Inv vu)−1 =​ Inv vu. In the non-
commutative case this is not necessarily true. The
assertion Inv vu( y ) = x is equivalent to a statement
obtained by exchanging x and y in condition 2. You
must show that such a statement is equivalent to con-
dition 1, which defines f(x) =​ y.
52. Hint for Exercise 7.6.20c: Inv uv ( x ) = y is equiva-
lent to a statement obtained by exchanging u and v in
condition 2. You must show that such a statement is
equivalent to condition 1.
53. Corollary 3.5.4 on page 53 of Lewin [1987] 2007
matches Theorem 7.6.21, stated in terms of Lewin’s
inversions I uv and I vu . Theorem 3.6.4 on page 59
matches Theorem 7.6.22, but only in the case of map-
pings on a single interval space. Lewin’s proofs of
both properties are longer and more complex than
the proofs presented here.
SUGGESTED READING
In Chapter 3 of GMIT (Lewin [1987] 2007), Lewin
develops some aspects of the theory of transposi-
tion and inversion operators, including the non-
commutative case, beyond what is considered here;
products and quotients of generalized interval
systems are defined in the same chapter. Many
readers find this part of GMIT especially dense and
forbidding, and comprehension is further hindered
by a few mathematical errors (compounded, in
some printings, by typographical errors; see Hook
2007b, 181–​82). Lewin does not define GIS homo-
morphisms or isomorphisms, and his formaliza-
tion of transposition and inversion allows only for
transformations from a space to itself, never from
one space to another. The treatment of some of
these topics here is reworked (substantially) from
Hook 2007a.
A decade before GMIT, Lewin 1977 works with
pitch classes in a more abstract way than is usual in
set theory, avoiding the assignment of integer labels
to the twelve pcs. This article effectively presents
pitch-​class space as an interval space, developing
the interval function, the interval-​space axioms,
and definitions of transposition and inversion
operators in this special case.
The analytical chapters in Rings 2011b employ
the product space sd × pc with a richness and
subtlety that the short summary and quasi-​
Ringsian Debussy analysis in Section 7.3 can only
suggest. The book’s earlier chapters offer valu-
able commentary on transformational techniques
in general, with emphasis on applications to
tonal music.
Intervals • 299
 8
Transformations I
Triadic Transformations
IN THIS chapter and the next, we expand our
repertoire of transformations and related ideas.
The study of triadic transformations in this
chapter encompasses and extends our previous
observations about the neo-​Riemannian P, L, and
R, clarifying aspects of algebraic structure that
have so far been left unexplored. Many impor-
tant triadic transformations may be formalized
as uniform triadic transformations, studied in
Section 8.1. In Section 8.2 the focus narrows
to the 24 transformations in the Riemann group
(the so-​called schritts and wechsels, including P,
L, and R). The scope broadens again in Section
8.3, which examines other triadic transforma-
tions and related topics. Analytical examples
illustrate the many and varied applications of
these techniques.
8.1 UNIFORM TRIADIC
TRANSFORMATIONS
In this section the word triad always refers to a
consonant (major or minor) triad, one of the 24
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0008
elements of the space triad. By a triadic transfor-
mation we mean a mapping f: triad → triad. For
the time being we will be concerned only with
transformations that are bijective (one-​to-​one
and onto); this eliminates from consideration,
for example, a function that maps both the
C-​major and C-​minor triads to G major.
An example of a bijective triadic transforma-
tion is the relative transformation R. When R
maps the C-​major triad to the A-​minor triad, the
triad’s root descends by three semitones and its
mode (or quality) changes from major to minor.
The same observations describe the action of R
on any other major triad as well. When R acts
on minor triads, the rule is different—​the chord
root now ascends by three semitones—​but again
the action of the transformation on one minor
triad is representative of its action on all minor
triads. The behavior of the transformation is
completely characterized by three pieces of
information: first, the mode of the triad always
changes; second, if the input triad is major, the
root (as a pitch class) transposes by T9; and
third, if the input triad is minor, the root trans-
poses by T3.
We summarize the above observations by
saying that the action of R on triad is uniform,
which means loosely that R transforms all major
triads “the same way” and likewise transforms
all minor triads “the same way.” If a uniform
transformation maps C major to A minor, then
it must also map D♭ major to B♭ minor, D major to
B minor, and so on. More generally, if a uniform
transformation maps a triad X to a triad Y, then
it must also map T1(X) to T1(Y), T2(X) to T2(Y),
and indeed Tn(X) to Tn(Y) for every transposi-
tion Tn. The equation U(Tn(X)) =​ Tn(U(X)) there-
fore holds for every uniform transformation U,
every triad X, and every mod-​12 integer n. But
to say that U(Tn(X)) =​ Tn(U(X)) for all X implies
that the composite functions Tn ● U and U ● Tn
are the same function. A triadic transformation
is uniform, therefore, if and only if it commutes
with all transpositions.1 We refer to this property
as the uniformity condition. Uniformity ensures
a kind of musical coherence of the transforma-
tion; a bijective triadic transformation satisfying
the uniformity condition is called a uniform tri-
adic transformation, or UTT.
Other examples of UTTs include the neo-​
Riemannian P and L as well as the transpositions
Tn themselves. Transpositions are defined on
many things besides triads, but they map triads
bijectively to triads and so may be considered tri-
adic transformations in their own right. A trans-
position does not change the mode of the triad to
which it is applied, and in the case of a transpo-
sition the associated root motion is the same for
triads of both modes. The inversion operators In
are familiar examples of transformations whose
action on triads is not uniform, since we know
from Section 5.5 that inversions do not com-
mute with transpositions. When the inversion I
=​ I0 (inversion about the pitch class C) is applied
to a C-​major triad, the result is an F-​minor triad,
but when I is applied to D♭ major (one semitone
higher), the result is not F♯ minor as uniformity
would require, but rather E minor, a semitone
lower—​an explicit example of non-​uniform action.
A few remarks about the structure of the
space triad are in order before we proceed
with our formalization of UTTs. A major or
minor triad may be represented by an ordered
pair (r, σ), where r is a mod-​12 integer denot-
ing the triad’s root and σ (sigma) is a sign,
either +​or −, denoting its mode (+​for major, −
for minor). For example, the ordered pair (8, +​)
represents the A♭-​ major triad, while (5, −)
is F minor. In this way we may associate the
space triad with the Cartesian product ℤ12 ×
𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛; here 𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛 is the sign group {+​, −}, which
as noted in Section 5.2 may be identified with
{1, −1}, a multiplicative group of order 2. The
elements of this product are ordered pairs (r,
σ), but we will sometimes use a more com-
pact notation in which the sign is written as a
superscript on the pitch-​class number; by this
convention A♭ major is 8+​ and F minor is 5−.
We will on occasion use a variable such as X
to stand for a triad; the components r and σ
of the triad X may be written as rX and σX if
confusion with other r and σ is possible.
Both ℤ12 and 𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛 are groups. Signs multiply
by the rules +​+​=​−− =​+​and +​− =​−+​=​−; algebra-
ically, the group 𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛, like every group of order 2,
is isomorphic to ℤ2 or 𝒞2. According to Section
6.4, therefore, the product G =​ ℤ12 × 𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛 has a
direct-​product group structure. The space triad
may be regarded as an interval space whose inter-
val group is this product group G. This is a differ-
ent interval-​space structure on triad from the
one discussed in Sections 5.6 and 7.1–​7.2 whose
interval group is 𝒯ℐ12. In the space considered
here, the interval from A♭ major to F minor is
int(8+​, 5−) =​(9, −). This last ordered pair (9, −)
represents not a triad but an interval between
triads. The first component (9) is not a pitch
class but rather int(8, 5), an interval between
roots in pc space, and the second component (−)
indicates not the minor mode but the “interval”
between the signs +​and − of the original triads,
the sign by which +​must be multiplied to yield −.
When a +​occurs in the second component of
an interval it indicates that the two triads being
compared are of like mode, while a − means they
differ in mode. The ordered-​pair notation for
triads, in this interpretation, is a label function
as described in Section 7.1, using C major as the
reference point of the space: the C-​major triad
is labeled with (0, +​), the identity element of G,
and every other triad is labeled with its interval
from C major.
A UTT may now be defined as an ordered
triple, conventionally written in the form
U =​ 〈σ, t+​, t−〉 using angle brackets.2 Here σ is a
sign (called the sign of U and denoted σU when
necessary), and t+​ and t− are mod-​12 integers,
called the transposition levels for major and minor
triads respectively. If U =​ 〈σU, t+​, t−〉 is a UTT and
X =​(r, σX) is a triad, then U acts on X by trans-
posing its root upward by either t+​ or t− semi-
tones, depending on the mode of the triad X
(depending, that is, on whether σX is +​or −),
Triadic Transformations • 301
and by adjusting that mode depending on the
sign of the UTT U (that is, changing the triad’s
sign if and only if σU is −). More precisely, if σX
is +​, then U(X) =​(r +​ t+​, σU), while if σX is −, then
U(X) =​(r +​ t−, −σU). A UTT whose sign is +​always
maps major triads to major triads and minor to
minor, and is accordingly called mode-​preserv-
ing (or quality-​preserving); a UTT whose sign is
− maps major to minor and minor to major, and
is mode-​reversing (or quality-​reversing).
The UTT notation for the relative trans-
formation is R =​ 〈−, 9, 3〉. To apply this trans-
formation to the A♭-​major triad X =​(8, +​), we FIGURE 8.1.1 Calculating the action of the UTT
observe that the starting triad is major, so the R =​ 〈−, 9, 3〉: two examples
applicable transposition level is t+​ =​9, which we
add to the triad’s root to obtain 8 +​9 =​5 (mod
12); we then change the triad’s mode because
the sign of the UTT is −. Therefore R(X) =​(5, −),
the F-​minor triad. If instead we apply the same
R to the C♯-​minor triad (1, −), we add t− =​3
to the root 1 and change the mode, obtaining
(4, +​), the E-​major triad. Figure 8.1.1 summa-
rizes these calculations.
Notably, R is the only UTT that maps A♭ → f
and c♯ → E: these actions, together with uni-
formity, imply exactly how the transformation
must behave when applied to any other triad.
Generally, two sample actions—​one application
to a major triad and one to a minor triad—​are
sufficient to determine a UTT completely. FIGURE 8.1.2 Calculating the product of two
The UTT notations for the other uniform UTTs: two examples
transformations mentioned previously are sum-
marized here, along with R, and with representa-
tive actions of each:

Tn =​〈 +​, n, n〉 for n =​0, 1, …, 11:

T5 T5
C  → F, c  →f
P =​〈 −, 0, 0〉 (parallel):
C P
→ c, c P
→C
L =​〈 −, 4, 8〉 (leittonwechsel):
C L → e, → A♭
c L
R =​〈 −, 9, 3〉 (relative):
FIGURE 8.1.3 Calculating the inverse of a UTT:
C R
→ a, → E♭
c R two examples

Transpositions, by definition, transpose every-

thing the same way: when Tn is written as a UTT,
its two transposition levels t+​ and t− are both
equal to the number n. The case n =​0 deserves
special notice: T0 =​ 〈+​, 0, 0〉 leaves every triad
unchanged, and is therefore nothing more than
the identity mapping Etriad on the space triad.
The transformations P, L, and R all have the
property that the two transposition levels are
mod-​12 inverses: that is, 0 +​0 =​4 +​8 =​9 +​3 =​
0 (mod 12). The action of one of these UTTs on
minor triads, that is, is equal and opposite to its
action on major triads. This property shared by
P, L, and R comports with a conception of har-
monic dualism espoused by Hugo Riemann and

302 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces

others, whereby minor triads, scales, and keys
are seen as upside-​down images of their major
counterparts.3 Accordingly, UTTs for which
t+​ +​ t− =​0 (mod 12), or equivalently t− =​−t+​, are
called Riemannian UTTs.
Riemannian as defined here is a technical
term identifying certain UTTs. We have previ-
ously referred to P, L, and R as neo-​Riemannian,
a looser term encompassing a constellation
of related concepts, useful especially in situa-
tions in which it is important to distinguish the
modern perspective from that of Riemann (for
example, the Riemannian and neo-​Riemannian
tonnetzes of Figures 1.4.14 and 1.4.5, respec-
tively). In the theoretical development in this
chapter the distinction between Riemannian
and neo-​Riemannian is of less importance than
the distinction between Riemannian and non-​
Riemannian—​between the few UTTs that sat-
isfy t+​ +​ t− =​0 and the larger number that do
not. Many principles of recent neo-​Riemannian
theory can be derived from the distinctive prop-
erties of Riemannian UTTs, and we will have
more to say about them in the next section. In
particular, some Riemannian transformations
are recognized for their smooth voice leading:
when we write C L → e, we often imagine two
stationary voices and one voice moving by semi-
tone. It is important to realize, however, that
a UTT or any triadic transformation defined
on triad operates on a triad as an indivisible
entity and does not directly describe action at
the level of individual pitch classes: the action
of L applied to pitch class 0, for instance, is not
defined. A C-​major triad played by cellos, fol-
lowed by an E-​minor triad two octaves higher in
the woodwinds, may be modeled as an L trans-
formation despite the lack of coherent voice
leading between the chords. The smooth voice
leading commonly associated with L is inher-
ent in the transformation only in the sense of
potential: an L relation between two elements
of triad admits a possible realization in pitch
or pitch-​class space with smoother voice lead-
ing than is possible for most other triadic
transformations.4
When two or more UTTs are applied in suc-
cession, the composite transformation may be
calculated by simple arithmetic. Figure 8.1.2
shows two such calculations, composing the
UTTs 〈+​, 4, 5〉 and 〈−, 9, 3〉 in both possible
orders. The operation by which the two UTTs
are combined is composition of functions,
denoted in the figure by the symbol ● but often
omitted in practice. The two signs multiply in
the usual way: in both calculations in the figure,
a mode-​preserving (+​) and a mode-​reversing (−)
UTT combine to produce a mode-​reversing (−)
UTT. The transposition levels combine differ-
ently in the two calculations, because the rule
for composing UTTs depends on the sign of the
first UTT. If the first UTT is mode-​preserving, as
in the product 〈+​, 4, 5〉〈−, 9, 3〉, then the second
UTT is applied to a triad of the same mode as
the first, so corresponding transposition levels
are added (4 +​9 and 5 +​3). But if the first UTT is
mode-​reversing, as in the product 〈−, 9, 3〉〈+​, 4,
5〉, then the second UTT acts on a triad opposite
in mode from the first, so opposite transposi-
tion levels must be added (9 +​5 and 3 +​4).
As bijective mappings, UTTs always have
inverse functions. Figure 8.1.3 illustrates the
calculation of inverses. The inverse of a mode-​
preserving UTT 〈+​, t+​, t−〉 is simply 〈+​, −t+​, −t−〉,
obtained by replacing each transposition level
with its mod-​12 inverse, but the inverse of a
mode-​reversing UTT 〈−, t+​, t−〉 is 〈−, −t−, −t+​〉,
which also requires exchanging the positions of
the two transposition levels.
Exercise 8.1.4
(a) Use the method illustrated in Figure 8.1.1
to calculate the result when each of the
UTTs P, L, and R is applied to a D-​major
triad, and also to a G♯-​minor triad. Verify
that the results are consistent with the
familiar behavior of these neo-​Riemannian
transformations.
(b) Let U and V be the UTTs U =​ 〈+​, 3, 2〉 and
V =​ 〈−, 2, 3〉. Calculate the result when each
of the transformations U and V is applied to
  a G-​major triad, and also to a G-​minor triad.5
Exercise 8.1.5
(a) Consider the UTTs 〈+​, 4, 5〉 and 〈−, 9, 3〉
appearing in Figure 8.1.2. Starting with an
F-​minor triad, first apply 〈+​, 4, 5〉, then apply
〈−, 9, 3〉 to the result. Verify that the answer
is the same as if you had applied the single
transformation 〈−, 1, 8〉 to the F-​minor triad
(as it should be, since the figure shows that
〈+​, 4, 5〉〈−, 9, 3〉 =​ 〈−, 1, 8〉). Perform a similar
check to confirm the product of the same
transpositions in the opposite order.
(b) Use the method illustrated in Figure 8.1.2
to calculate each of the following UTT
products:6
〈+​, 4, 5〉〈+​, 9, 3〉 and 〈+​, 9, 3〉〈+​, 4, 5〉
〈+​, 8, 0〉〈−, 6, 5〉 and 〈−, 6, 5〉〈+​, 8, 0〉
〈−, 3, 5〉〈−, 8, 10〉 and 〈−, 8, 10〉〈−, 3, 5〉
Triadic Transformations • 303
(c) Let U and V be the UTTs U =​ 〈+​, 3, 2〉
and V =​ 〈−, 2, 3〉. Show that the equations
PU =​ V and PV =​ U both hold, where P is the
parallel transformation 〈−, 0, 0〉. How do
your answers to Exercise 8.1.4b illustrate
these equations? Are the equations UP =​ V
  and VP =​ U true as well?
Exercise 8.1.6
(a) Verify the inverses shown in Figure 8.1.3
by calculating the UTT products 〈+​, 4, 5〉
〈+​, 8, 7〉 and 〈−, 4, 5〉〈−, 7, 8〉 and showing
that both are equal to T0 =​ 〈+​, 0, 0〉.
(b) Use the method illustrated in Figure 8.1.3
to calculate the inverse of each of the
following UTTs: 〈+​, 2, 6〉; 〈−, 6, 5〉; 〈+​, 7, 7〉
(=​ T7); and 〈−, 9, 3〉 (=​ R).
(c) The last calculation in (b) confirms that R
is an involution—​that is, R−1 =​ R. Verify
that the neo-​Riemannian P and L are also
involutions, and identify a few other UTTs
that are involutions.
(d) Suppose U and V are any two UTTs such
that PU =​ V. Use the fact that P is an
involution to show that the equation PV =​ U
must be true as well. (Exercise 8.1.5c
  illustrated this property.)
Exercise 8.1.7 Three different UTTs U have
the property that U3 =​ P. (Here U3 indicates the
product UUU.) One of them is P itself. What are
the
  other two?
The formulas for UTT actions, products, and
inverses given above presented two separate rules
to follow depending on whether a certain sign was
+​or −. It is possible, in each instance, to write a
single formula applicable in all cases, though the
formulas may be rather difficult to read:
Action of a UTT: If U =​ 〈σU , t+​, t−〉 is a UTT
and X =​(r, σX) is a triad, then
U(X) =​(r +​ t(σ ), σX ∙ σU).
X
Product formula: If U =​ 〈σU , t+​U , t−U〉 and
V =​ 〈σV, t+​V, t−V〉 are UTTs, then
UV =​ 〈σU ∙ σV, t+​U +​ t(σ )V, t−U +​ t(−σ )V〉.
U U
Inverse formula: If U =​ 〈σ, t+​, t−〉 is a
UTT, then U−1 =​ 〈σ, −tσ, −t(−σ)〉.
In these formulas, the signs σX and σU
sometimes occur in superscripts. The nota-
tion t(σ )V, for example, means t+​V if σU is +​, or
U
t−V if σU is −.
304 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
Exercise 8.1.8 Use the above formulas to
reproduce the results of Exercises 8.1.4b,
8.1.5b,
   and 8.1.6b.
Exercise 8.1.9 Consider the action of a UTT
U =​ 〈σU, t+​, t−〉 on a triad X =​(r, σX). In the
interval-​space structure on triad with interval
group ℤ12 × 𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛, the interval from X to U(X)
is either (t+​, σU) or (t−, σU) depending on the
mode of X. In the spirit of the general formulas
presented above, write a single formula for this
interval,
   valid in all cases.
Under the operation of composition as
described above, the UTTs form a group 𝒰 with
a rich and complex structure. The order of the
group is 2 ∙ 12 ∙ 12 =​288, as there are two pos-
sibilities for the sign of a UTT and twelve pos-
sibilities for each of its two transposition levels.
Elements of the group 𝒰 are in one-​to-​one cor-
respondence with elements of the direct-​product
group ℤ2 × ℤ12 × ℤ12 (or 𝒞2 × 𝒞12 × 𝒞12), but as a
group, 𝒰 is not isomorphic to that direct prod-
uct. A direct product of commutative groups
is commutative, but examples such as those in
Figure 8.1.2 and Exercise 8.1.5 show that the
UTT group is not commutative.
Algebraically, the group 𝒰 is called a wreath
product of the groups 𝒞12 and 𝒞2, symbolized
𝒞12 ≀ 𝒞2. Figure 8.1.10, which is similar in con-
struction to double-​circle diagrams in Chapters
4 and 6, may be helpful in understanding the
structure of this group. Imagine two copies of
the cyclic group 𝒞12 at work, one transposing
FIGURE 8.1.10 The wreath-​ product structure
𝒞12 ≀ 𝒞2 of the UTT group 𝒰
the +​circle of major triads by means of the
transposition level t+​, the other transposing the
− circle of minor triads via t−. These two copies
of 𝒞12 are called the fiber groups of the wreath
product. If these transpositions, acting indepen-
dently on major and minor triads, were the only
possible transformations, the group would be
𝒞12 × 𝒞12. But the sign σ of a UTT comes into
play by allowing us to exchange triad modes,
effectively swapping the roles of the two circles.
The sign group 𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛, a group of order 2 isomor-
phic to 𝒞2, is the control group of the wreath prod-
uct. Despite the simplicity of this control group,
its action entangles with the actions of the fiber
groups to create a group structure more complex
than an ordinary direct product. Metaphorically
we may imagine a two-​drawer dresser in which
major triads occupy one drawer and minor triads
the other. Within each drawer we are allowed to
permute the contents cyclically, but additionally
we are allowed to pull out the two drawers and
exchange them.7
Double-​circle diagrams are also useful aids
for visualizing actions of specific UTTs, as Figure
8.1.11 shows. When the UTT U =​ 〈−, 2, 5〉 is
applied to any triad in the configuration on the
left, we may look to the same position in the con-
figuration on the right to see the result; thus for
example the actions U(7+​) =​9− and U(11−) =​4+​
may be read from the picture. Geometrically,
the new configuration is derived from the old
by rotating the two circles counterclockwise as
determined by the transposition levels t+​ =​2 and
t− =​5, and (because the sign of the given UTT is −)
exchanging the +​and − signs.
Exercise 8.1.12 To see how double-​circle
configurations can illustrate UTT products,
FIGURE 8.1.11 Double-​circle illustration of the action of a UTT
add a third configuration to the right of
Figure 8.1.11, showing the result of applying
the UTT 〈−, 8, 7〉 to the configuration on the
right side of the original figure. Calculate the
UTT product 〈−, 2, 5〉〈−, 8, 7〉 and verify that
if this product is applied to the configuration
on the left side of the figure, the resulting
configuration
   matches the one you drew.
As described in Chapter 6, a group action
on a set may be conceived in terms of permuta-
tions of the set. There are theoretically 24! per-
mutations of the set triad—​ a vast number,
24 digits long—​but most of them are of little
apparent musical interest, and most of them are
not UTTs. Double-​circle diagrams clarify the sig-
nificant way in which the uniformity condition
constrains permutations: the only admissible
configurations are those obtained by rotating
the two circles and exchanging them. We may
not mix major and minor triads on one circle,
nor may we rearrange the triads on either cir-
cle in anything other than clockwise-​ascending
order. These constraints limit the number of
configurations, and the number of UTTs, to the
manageable total of 288.
Still, the UTT group is much larger than the
set of 24 triads on which it acts. We have noted
that R is the only UTT that maps A♭ → f and
c♯ → E. If we know that a UTT maps A♭ → f but do
not know how it acts on any minor triad, then
we do not have enough information to identify
the UTT. Such a UTT must be mode-​reversing
and its +​transposition level must be 9, but the
− transposition level cannot be determined from
the given information. Such a UTT may be R =​
〈−, 9, 3〉, but it may equally well be 〈−, 9, 0〉, or
T9P =​ 〈−, 9, 9〉, or any of nine other possibilities
Triadic Transformations • 305
of the form 〈−, 9, x〉. The action of the group 𝒰
on the space triad is clearly not simply tran-
sitive, which as defined in Section 5.6 would
require that for any two triads X and Y there be
one and only one UTT U such that U(X) =​ Y. As
we observed there, simple transitivity is possible
only for a group of the same size as the set on
which it acts. (In the terminology of Exercise
5.6.5c, the action of 𝒰 on triad is 12-​tuply tran-
sitive: for every X and Y there are exactly twelve
possible UTTs.)
The multiplicity of UTTs sharing the same
action contributes to the algebraic richness and
analytical potential of the group 𝒰, but it can
lead to indecision in practical situations: if we
want to model A♭ → f transformationally, how
do we decide which of the twelve available UTTs
to choose? For some purposes, a smaller and
simpler group may be preferred, especially one
whose action on triad is simply transitive. One
such group of particular interest in analysis com-
prises the Riemannian UTTs, to which we next
turn our attention.
8.2 RIEMANNIAN UTTs
AND NEO-​R IEMANNIAN
ANALYSIS
Riemannian UTTs were defined in the previous
section as UTTs for which t+​ +​ t− =​0. In gen-
eral, t+​ +​ t−, the sum of the two transposition
levels of a UTT U =​ 〈σ, t+​, t−〉, is a mod-​12 inte-
ger called the total transposition of U, denoted
tt(U). Riemannian UTTs are therefore those
UTTs U for which tt(U) =​0. There are only 24
Riemannian UTTs, twelve of each of two kinds:
mode-​ preserving Riemannian UTTs of the
form Sn =​ 〈+​, n, −n〉, known as schritts, and
mode-​reversing Riemannian UTTs of the form
Wn =​ 〈−, n, −n〉, known as wechsels.8 In both cases
n may range over the integers mod 12, but if
either transposition level of a Riemannian UTT
is known, the other is uniquely determined.
The set of all 24 Riemannian UTTs is denoted
ℛ; we will show below that ℛ is a group, which
we call the Riemann group. (It is also sometimes
known as the schritt-​wechsel group or the PLR
group.) We will also use the notation ℛ+​ for
the set of schritts, which is a subgroup of ℛ
called the schritt group. The schritts S0 =​ 〈+​, 0, 0〉
and S6 =​ 〈+​, 6, 6〉 are the same as the transpo-
sitions T0 (the identity) and T6; these are the
only two transformations that belong to both
ℛ and 𝒯ℐ12.
306 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
The transformations P =​ 〈−, 0, 0〉 =​ W0, L =​
〈−, 4, 8〉 =​ W4, and R =​ 〈−, 9, 3〉 =​ W9 are all exam-
ples of wechsels. We are familiar already with
many characteristics of these transformations.
In Section 4.1 we described them as contextual
inversions, in contrast to the fixed inversion oper-
ators In; every wechsel maps a triad to an inver-
sionally related triad, but not via a fixed axis in
pitch-​class space. Figures 4.2.5 and 4.2.8 showed
neo-​Riemannian triad space nrtriad, or Riemann
space for short, a toroidal tonnetz-​style arrange-
ment of the 24 triads foregrounding P, L, and R
relationships; we may now regard the Riemann
group ℛ as a transformation group for navigat-
ing Riemann space. While some properties of P,
L, and R are specific to those transformations,
we will see that others are characteristic of wech-
sels or Riemannian UTTs more generally. For
example, Exercise 8.1.6c verified that P, L, and R
are all involutions—​a property easily seen to be
true of all wechsels. The following exercise pro-
vides examples of several properties involving
P, L, R, and a few other Riemannian transforma-
tions, to be described more generally in Theorem
8.2.2 below.
Exercise 8.2.1
(a) Verify that the wechsel W5 =​ 〈−, 5, 7〉 is an
involution.
(b) Verify that the inverse of the schritt
S5 =​ 〈+​, 5, 7〉 is S7 =​ 〈+​, 7, 5〉.
(c) Verify that RL =​ W9W4 =​ S5 (=​ S9 –  4) while LR
=​ W4W9 =​ S7 (=​ S4 –​9). Therefore RL ≠ LR, but
by (b), (RL)−1 =​ LR.
(d) Verify that S5L =​ S5W4 =​ W9 (=​ W5 + ​4) =​ R
while LS5 =​ W4S5 =​ W11 (=​ W4 – ​5).
(e) Exercise 4.2.12 demonstrated in the
tonnetz that PLR =​ RLP. Use UTTs to
show that both of these composite
transformations are equal to W5.
(f) Use UTTs to confirm that PLP =​ LPL
  (another identity from Exercise 4.2.12).
Theorem 8.2.2: Properties of Riemannian
transformations
(a) Products of schritts and wechsels may be
calculated by the following formulas, in
which the subscripts are integers mod 12:
SmSn =​ Sm+​n,
SmWn =​ Wm+​n,
WmSn =​ Wm−n,
WmWn =​ Sm−n.
(b) Inverses of schritts and wechsels may be
calculated by the formulas Sn−1 =​ S−n and
 Wn−1 =​ Wn. In particular, every wechsel is an
involution.
(c) If U1, U2, …, Uk are wechsels, then
(U1U2 ⋯ Uk)−1 =​ Uk ⋯ U2U1. If k is odd,
then U1U2 ⋯ Uk =​ Uk ⋯ U2U1.
(d) ℛ is a normal subgroup of 𝒰, the kernel
of the group homomorphism tt: 𝒰 → ℤ12.
ℛ is isomorphic to 𝒟12, the dihedral group
of order 24, and acts in simply transitive
fashion on the set triad.
(e) The two UTTs S1 =​ 〈+​, 1, 11〉 and P =​ W0
=​ 〈−, 0, 0〉 together generate ℛ. The two
wechsels L =​ W4 =​ 〈−, 4, 8〉 and R =​ W9 =​
〈−, 9, 3〉 also generate ℛ.
(f) ℛ+​, the set of schritts Sn, is a normal subgroup
of 𝒰 isomorphic to 𝒞12, the cyclic group of
order 12, generated by S1 =​ 〈+​, 1, 11〉. ℛ+​
acts in simply transitive fashion on the
set of major triads, and also on the set of
  minor triads.
We will outline proofs of all parts of this theo-
rem; readers are encouraged to fill in the missing
details. The properties in (a) and (b), which were
illustrated in parts (a)–​(d) of Exercise 8.2.1, fol-
low directly from the UTT product and inverse
formulas and the definitions of the schritts and
wechsels involved. For example,
WmSn = 〈−, m, − m〉〈+, n, − n〉
= 〈−, m + ( −n), ( −m) + n〉
= 〈−, (m − n), − (m − n)〉
= Wm− n .
Part (c) of the theorem presents two use-
ful properties about products of wechsels.
The inverse of any product of wechsels may be
obtained by reversing the order of the product,
and any product of an odd number of wechsels
remains unchanged if the order is reversed. In
particular, these properties hold for products of
P, R, and L in any combination. Parts (c) and (e)
of Exercise 8.2.1 offered two illustrations in the
equations (RL)−1 =​ LR and PLR =​ RLP. The first
of these equations involves even-​length prod-
ucts, so the inverse is required; the second state-
ment, involving odd-​length products, includes
no inverses, but the equation would remain true
if written in the form (PLR)−1 =​ RLP.
To see why these properties hold, recall
from Exercise 5.3.3 that group inverses gener-
ally reverse the order of products: the equation
(a1a2 ⋯ ak)−1 =​ ak−1 ⋯ a2−1a1−1 holds for any ele-
ments a1, a2, …, ak in any group. In particular,
(U1U2 ⋯ Uk)−1 =​ Uk−1 ⋯ U2−1U1−1 holds for any
UTTs U1, U2, …, Uk in the group 𝒰. If all of these
UTTs are wechsels—​that is, if each Ui is equal to
some Wn—​then every Ui is an involution by part
(b) of the theorem, so we may replace each Ui−1
on the right side of this equation with Ui itself,
giving the first statement in (c).
Generally, the product of an even number of
mode-​ reversing (−) UTTs is mode-​ preserving
(+​
), while the product of an odd number of
mode-​reversing UTTs is mode-​reversing. Thus
the product of an odd number of wechsels is
again a wechsel. If k is odd, therefore, U1U2 ⋯ Uk
in the first part of (c) is itself a wechsel
and therefore an involution, so we may replace
(U1U2 ⋯ Uk)−1 with U1U2 ⋯ Uk, yielding the second
statement in (c).
Parts (a) and (b) show that ℛ is closed under
the formation of UTT products and inverses,
which is sufficient to ensure that ℛ is a sub-
group of 𝒰 as (d) asserts, but we will show this
in another way as well. According to the product
rule, if U =​ 〈σU, t+​U, t−U〉 and V =​ 〈σV, t+​V, t−V〉 are
UTTs, the two transposition levels of the prod-
uct UV are either t+​U +​ t+​V and t−U +​ t−V (if σU is +​)
or t+​U +​ t−V and t−U +​ t+​V (if σU is −). Either way,
the sum of the two transposition levels of the
product is equal to the sum t+​U +​ t−U +​ t+​V +​ t−V ;
in other words, tt(UV) =​tt(U) +​tt(V). This equa-
tion says that the total transposition function tt:
𝒰 → ℤ12 is a group homomorphism as defined in
Section 6.3. The set ℛ is the kernel of this homo-
morphism as defined in Section 6.6: the set of
elements U of 𝒰 for which tt(U) =​0, the identity
element in ℤ12. The kernel of a group homomor-
phism is always a normal subgroup (also defined
in Section 6.6), so it follows that ℛ is a normal
subgroup of 𝒰. (Normality can be established in
other ways; see Exercise 8.2.10 below.) The last
assertion in (d), the simple transitivity of the
action of ℛ on triad, follows from the observa-
tion that if triads X and Y are given, there are
twelve different UTTs U for which U(X) =​ Y, but
only one of the twelve is Riemannian—​the one
for which t− =​−t+​.
The dihedral structure of ℛ is illustrated
by either of the two Cayley diagrams in Figure
8.2.3, each of which shares the structure of the
Cayley diagram for the dihedral group 𝒯ℐ12 from
Figure 6.2.10b. The graphs in Figure 8.2.3 are
constructed using two different pairs of genera-
tors for ℛ. In (a) the generators are the schritt
S1 and the parallel transformation P (=​ W0).
Following the usual practice for Cayley dia-
grams, the vertices are labeled with elements of
Triadic Transformations • 307
FIGURE 8.2.3 Two Cayley diagram for the Riemann group ℛ: (a) on the generators S1 and P; (b) on the
generators LR and R, acting on the space triad
the group. The solid arrows representing S1 point
from Sn to Sn+​1 and from Wn to Wn−1, reflecting
the identities SnS1 =​ Sn+​1 and WnS1 =​ Wn−1. The
dashed edges representing P are bidirectional
arrows showing that SnP =​ Wn and WnP =​ Sn.
All of these equations are special cases of the
formulas in Theorem 8.2.2a. Figure 8.2.3a also
demonstrates that S1 and P generate the entire
group ℛ, the first statement in part (e) of the
theorem.
The arrow pattern in 8.2.3b matches that
in (a), but here the solid arrows represent the
transformation LR (=​ S7) while the dashed
lines represent R. In this diagram the vertices
are labeled not with group elements but with
the elements of a set on which the group acts
in simply transitive fashion, namely the space
triad. (For this use of Cayley diagrams, recall
the discussion in Section 6.2 comparing Figures
6.1.14b and 6.2.5b.) The arrangement of triads
here is the circle-​of-​fifths arrangement of con-
sonant triad space with relative keys aligned,
encountered previously in Figure 4.1.4; the pres-
ent figure may be seen as a Riemannian inter-
pretation of this familiar diagram, contrasted
with the reading implicit in the earlier figure
involving T7. Figure 8.2.3b shows that LR and
R together generate the group ℛ, from which it
follows immediately that L and R generate ℛ,
the second statement in (e). The Riemann group
is often called the PLR group, understood to be
the group generated by P, L, and R. That is true,
but P is redundant in this list of generators: ℛ
308 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
is generated by L and R alone. (It follows that
P must be expressible in terms of L and R; see
Exercise 8.2.5 below.)
The cyclic structure of the schritt group ℛ+​,
generated by S1 as Theorem 8.2.2f asserts, is
probably clear; it follows from the product for-
mula SmSn =​ Sm+​n for schritts. Of course (S1)n =​
Sn, and (S1)12 is S0, the identity. For a proof that
the subgroup ℛ+​ is normal, see Exercise 8.2.10
below. If X and Y are any two triads, we already
know there is exactly one Riemannian U such
that U(X) =​ Y; if X and Y are of the same mode,
that U must be mode-​preserving and therefore
a schritt. Therefore ℛ+​ acts in simply transitive
fashion both on the set of major triads and on
the set of minor triads. While the twelve schritts
form a group, the twelve wechsels do not, since
the set of wechsels is not closed under the for-
mation of products—​the product of two wech-
sels is a schritt, not a wechsel—​and does not
contain the identity S0.
Exercise 8.2.4 Redraw Figure 8.2.3b as a
traditional Cayley diagram for ℛ whose vertices
are labeled with elements of the group. Use the
labels Sn and Wn, putting the identity S0 in place
of  
the C-​major triad in the figure.
Exercise 8.2.5 Show how the Riemannian
UTTs S3, S6, W3, and W6 can be written as
products of S1 and P. Also show how the same
UTTs, as well as P (=​ W0), can be written as
products
   of L and R.9
Exercise 8.2.6
(a) Compare the formulas for products and
inverses of schritts and wechsels from
parts (a) and (b) of Theorem 8.2.2 with the
corresponding formulas for transpositions
and inversions from Theorem 5.5.6. The
formulas are similar but not identical; if
each S in Theorem 8.2.2 is replaced with T
and each W with I, the resulting formulas
are not correct. In other words, the mapping
f: ℛ → 𝒯ℐ12 defined by f(Sn) =​ Tn and
f(Wn) =​ In is not an isomorphism between
the Riemann group ℛ and the transposition-​
inversion group 𝒯ℐ12. Use the formulas from
both theorems to show that f is an anti-​
isomorphism between the two groups.10
(b) Compare the Cayley diagram for ℛ in Figure
8.2.3a with the Cayley diagram for 𝒯ℐ12 in
Figure 6.2.10b. Schritts and transpositions
are arranged identically in the two pictures,
but the arrangement of the inversions is
reflected relative to that of the wechsels. The
vertex labels in the two diagrams are therefore
related by the mapping g: ℛ → 𝒯ℐ12 defined
by g(Sn) =​ Tn and g(Wn) =​ I−n. The identical
arrow structure of the two diagrams suggests
that the mapping g is an isomorphism. Use
the formulas from Theorems 5.5.6 and 8.2.2
to verify that this is the case.
(c) Define h: ℛ → 𝒯ℐ12 by the equations h(Sn) =​
T−n and h(Wn) =​ In. Is h an isomorphism or
  an anti-​isomorphism?
Exercise 8.2.7 Show that for any mod-​12
integer k, the mapping f: ℛ → ℛ defined by
f(Sn) =​ Sn, f(Wn) =​ Wn+​k is an automorphism
  isomorphism from the group ℛ to itself).
(an
Exercise 8.2.8 Many other pairs of
Riemannian transformations generate the
group ℛ besides the two pairs mentioned in
Theorem 8.2.2e. Some of the five pairs listed
below generate ℛ while others do not. Which
are the generating pairs?11
(a) S4 and S9
(b) S4 and W9 (=​ R)
(c) S7 and W3
(d) W0 (=​ P) and W4 (=​ L)
(e)  W2 and W7
Exercise 8.2.9 Generalize the previous exercise
by answering the following questions:
(a) For which pairs of mod-​12 integers m and n
do Sm and Wn generate ℛ?
(b) For which pairs of mod-​12 integers m and n
  do Wm and Wn generate ℛ?
Exercise 8.2.10
(a) We can show directly that the group ℛ is a
normal subgroup of 𝒰 via a method from
Section 6.6, by showing that ℛ contains
the conjugates of all of its elements by all
elements of 𝒰. If U ∈ ℛ and V ∈ 𝒰, explain
why tt(V−1UV) must equal 0, and therefore
V−1UV ∈ ℛ.12
(b) In the same situation, if U ∈ ℛ+​ (that is, if
U is a schritt rather than a wechsel), explain
why V−1UV must also be in ℛ+​; conclude
  that the subgroup ℛ+​ of 𝒰 is also normal.
The simple transitivity of ℛ simplifies the
problem of determining whether two different
composites of P, L, and R determine the same
function. We know from Section 2.3 that if f and
g are functions such that f(x) =​ g(x) for some par-
ticular x, we cannot generally conclude that f =​ g,
which requires knowing that f(x) =​ g(x) for every
x. But if f and g belong to a group and x is an ele-
ment of a set on which the group acts in simply
transitive fashion, then f(x) =​ g(x) implies f =​ g.
The following exercise illustrates the application
of this principle to the group ℛ.
Exercise 8.2.11
(a) Show that the composite transformations
PLRL and LPRP, applied to C major, yield
the same triad. Conclude that PLRL =​ LPRP.
(b) Show that LRLR and RPRL, applied to F
minor, yield the same triad. Conclude that
LRLR =​ RPRL.
(c) Is it true that RLRP =​ LRPR?
(d) Is it true that PLRLR =​ RPRPL?
(e) One of the two statements in (c) and (d)
is false. Can you make it true by changing
the last transformation in one of the two
  products?
Exercise 8.2.12
(a) Exercise 4.2.15 analyzed the chord
succession D–​d–​B♭–​b♭–​D♭–​d♭–​A–​f♯–​D from
Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet as a series
of moves in a tonnetz. Write the string
of Riemannian transformations that
produces this series of triads. Because
the progression begins and ends on the
same triad, the simple transitivity of
ℛ implies that the composite of all the
transformations in the string must equal
T0, the identity. Use properties of these
transformations to reduce the string to the
Triadic Transformations • 309
 identity. (For example, you may replace
PLP with LPL, or PLR with RLP, or you may
eliminate two consecutive Ps.)
(b) Rewrite the same string of transformations
using the Wn notation and use the product
formulas from Theorem 8.2.2a to show that
  the composite transformation is S0.
To derive the structure of the Riemann group
using UTTs defined by root-​interval relation-
ships, as above, is far from the only possible
way to describe this group. In fact, the dihedral
structure of ℛ was established before UTTs were
introduced into the literature.13 One can, for
example, define P, L, and R as contextual inver-
sions (for instance, R inverts a triad to preserve
its major third) and show that they generate a
group isomorphic to 𝒟12. The latter approach
highlights distinctive features of P, L, and R; for
example, two triads share two common tones if
and only if they are in one of these three relation-
ships. Such properties have played central roles
in the development of neo-​Riemannian theory,
are essential to the status of neo-​Riemannian
triad space as the dual graph of the triangulated
tonnetz (Figure 4.2.8), and contribute to the
musical coherence of PL-​cycles and many other
triadic progressions of which we saw examples
in Chapter 4 (and more that we will see in this
section). The root-​interval approach, in contrast,
situates P, L, and R democratically among nine
other wechsels in a way that clarifies algebraic
relationships but may leave the reader guess-
ing about the reasons for the disproportionate
attention paid to these three transformations.
We noted in Section 8.1 that the definition of
a triadic transformation implies nothing about
voice leading at the level of individual pitch
classes. Algebraic properties of transformations
are likewise distinct from voice-​leading behavior,
and algebra confers no special privileges upon P,
L, or R. Theorem 8.2.2e tells us that L and R gen-
erate the group ℛ, but by Exercise 8.2.9, many
other pairs of schritts and wechsels generate ℛ
as well. Moreover, given any two wechsels Wm
and Wn, by Exercise 8.2.7 we can always con-
struct an automorphism of ℛ that maps Wm to
Wn. The possibility of constructing such auto-
morphisms means in effect that all twelve wech-
sels play indistinguishable roles in the algebraic
structure of the group ℛ—​but these wechsels
include not only P, L, and R, celebrated for their
common-​tone retention and smooth voice lead-
ing, but also other wechsels such as W10, which as
a triadic transformation (C → b♭, c → D) exhibits
310 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
no common tones and voice leading that is awk-
ward at best. Furthermore, we will see below that
some of the same transformation groups that
act on triads may act also on spaces of seventh
chords, twelve-​ tone rows, and other musical
entities, and voice leading in many of these con-
texts bears little resemblance to the triadic case.
Because group structure and voice leading have
been commingled in the neo-​Riemannian litera-
ture, this point is worth reiterating: the algebraic
structure of a musical transformation group does
not determine the voice-​leading properties of the
transformations involved.14
—​—​—​
We turn now to an examination of several
Riemannian transformations besides P, L, and
R that have proven to be of much theoretical
and analytical interest. The reader will note in
this discussion that wechsels generally receive
more attention than schritts. Several justifi-
cations may be cited for this imbalance, chief
among them the involution property of wech-
sels (Theorem 8.2.2b). A wechsel pairs each
triad uniquely with another in a reciprocal rela-
tionship.15 While wechsels are transformations
(functions), their status as involutions allows us
to think of them also as a special kind of binary
relation between triads; indeed, we have already
described P, L, and R at times as relations.
Twelve distinct root relationships are possible
between two triads of opposite mode, and the
twelve wechsels Wn become apt descriptors for
these relationships. Wechsels, the prototypical
contextual inversions, are more convenient for
this purpose than the fixed inversion operators
In, because (owing to the non-​uniformity of In) a
root relationship cannot be determined from an
In label.16 Schritts, not being involutions, display
no reciprocity of this kind: for example, S2(D) =​
E but S2(E) ≠ D. In the case of two triads of the
same mode such as D major and E major, there
is seldom a compelling reason to identify the
relationship as a schritt S2 rather than a trans-
position T2—​a choice to be considered further
in conjunction with Figure 8.2.21 and Example
8.2.27 below.
A wechsel that has attracted abundant atten-
tion is the hexatonic pole relation, illustrated in
Figure 8.2.13. Disregarding the arrows labeled
H for the moment, the PL-​cycle in part (a) was
presented previously in Figure 3.5.8b; (b) shows
the same cycle in a tonnetz. The cycle is maxi-
mally smooth in the sense that adjacent triads
FIGURE 8.2.13 The hexatonic pole relation H: (a) in a PL-​cycle; (b) in the neo-​Riemannian tonnetz;
(c) characteristic voice leading
are connected by single-​semitone voice leading
in one voice. (Among Riemannian transforma-
tions only P and L have this property; R pre-
serves two common tones but moves the third
voice by whole step.)17 The reader may also recall
Figure 3.3.6, a common-​tone graph of the tri-
ads in this cycle. The division of the octave into
three major thirds is characteristic of the PL-​
cycle, and this cycle engages only the notes of
the hexatonic collection hex34 =​{0, 3, 4, 7, 8,
11}, the pitch classes in two adjacent columns
of the triangulated tonnetz in the background
of Figure 8.2.13b.
Two vertices in a 6-​cycle can be no more than
three positions apart. Triads at that maximum
distance in a PL-​cycle, such as C major and G♯
minor, are hexatonic poles. Such triad pairs are
opposite in mode and related by the Wechsel W8,
denoted H in Figure 8.2.13.18 From either part
(a) or (b) of the figure it is clear that one may
get from C major to G♯ minor via either PLP or
LPL; as a transformation, therefore, H =​W8 =​
PLP =​ LPL, consistent with the calculation in
Exercise 8.2.1f. Hexatonic poles share no com-
mon tones but are related by single-​semitone
displacements in all three voices, as shown in
Figure 8.2.13c. Taken together, two triads in this
relation engage all six notes of the governing
hexatonic collection.
A pair of hexatonic poles cannot belong to
a single diatonic collection. They cannot even
come close: if a triad belongs to a diatonic col-
lection dpc(m) and its hexatonic pole belongs
to dpc(n), then m and n must differ by at least
3. For example, the C-​major triad belongs to
dpc(−1), dpc(0), and dpc(+​1) (the diatonic col-
lections from one flat to one sharp), while its
hexatonic pole G♯ minor belongs to the distant
collections dpc(+​4), dpc(+​5), and dpc(+​6).
Presumably because of this tonal remoteness,
direct juxtaposition of hexatonic poles is uncom-
mon in music before the late nineteenth century.
Figure 8.2.14 shows two often-​cited passages in
Wagner that exemplify the exotic, “uncanny”
sound often associated with this juxtaposition.19
The hexatonic pole in (a) acts as a chromatic
neighbor chord to a tonic triad, while in (b) the
combination of H and L leads to other distant
tonal regions. More examples of hexatonic poles
will be encountered in exercises later in this sec-
tion. So foreign to diatonic tonality are these
progressions that merely spelling them is prob-
lematic. In Figure 8.2.14a, Wagner writes each
linear interval as a minor second but is forced
Triadic Transformations • 311
FIGURE 8.2.14 Hexatonic poles in two excerpts by Wagner: (a) Das Rheingold, Scene 4, m. 3836; (b)
Parsifal, Act III, mm. 1098–​1100
into a nonsensical spelling of the E-​minor chord;
in 8.2.14b, as in 8.2.13c, the triads are spelled
coherently but chromatic semitones appear in
the voice leading.
Algebraically, P and L generate a group of
order 6, the hexatonic triad group, studied previ-
ously in Exercises 6.2.16 and 6.3.14. In schritt-​
wechsel terminology this group consists of all
transformations Sn and Wn for which n ≡ 0 (mod
4): the schritts S0 (=​ T0, the identity), S4, and
S8, and the wechsels W0 (=​ P), W4 (=​ L), and W8
(=​ H). The PL-​cycle graph (Figure 8.2.13a with-
out the H arrows) is a Cayley diagram for this
group on the generators P and L. Although the
graph is a cycle, the group is not cyclic: two differ-
ent generators are involved, and the group is not
even commutative. Exercise 6.3.14 showed that
the hexatonic triad group is isomorphic to the
symmetric group 𝒮3, or equivalently the dihedral
group 𝒟3. As the hexatonic triad group acts on
triad, its orbits are the four hexatonic cycles
(the triads in hex01, …, hex34), and the group
acts in simply transitive fashion on each orbit, so
we may regard this group as the subgroup of ℛ
appropriate for navigating among the six triads
of a particular cycle.
PL-​cycles are not the only 6-​cycles formed
by Riemannian transformations. Another hex-
agonal assemblage of triads familiar to us from
Chapter 4 is the PLR-​cycle, an example of which
is given in Figure 8.2.15a. The figure shows a
portion of Riemannian triad space, the dual
graph of the triangulated tonnetz. To emphasize
the symmetries inherent in the relationships we
312 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
use the tonnetz geometry from Figure 4.2.5b, in
which the P, L, and R edges are of equal length
and the hexagons are regular. Within one of
these hexagonal cells, the three pairs of oppo-
sitely positioned triads exhibit three different
relationships. These three wechsels have been
dubbed Pʹ, Lʹ, and Rʹ by Robert Morris; the Pʹ
arrow runs parallel to the P edges in the ton-
netz, Lʹ parallel to L, and Rʹ parallel to R.20 Parts
(b) and (c) of Figure 8.2.15 show the same three
transformations in relation to a starting triad of
C major.
We list here several properties of Pʹ, which
apply with appropriate adjustments to Lʹ and Rʹ
as well:
• Pʹ relates triads at diametrically opposite
vertices of one PLR hexagon, in the direction
parallel to the P edges. From any triad in
the tonnetz (such as from C major in Figure
8.2.15b), P and Pʹ point in opposite directions.
• Pʹ =​ LPR =​ RPL. The two products are equal by
Theorem 8.2.2c, and P occupies the central
position in both of them.
• Because Pʹ relates C major and C♯ minor, or by
direct calculation of the product LPR or RPL,
Pʹ is the wechsel W1.
• P preserves two common tones of any triad to
which it is applied; Pʹ preserves one common
tone. When P is applied to a triad, its root
and fifth are unchanged while its third moves
by semitone. When Pʹ is applied to the same
triad, its third is unchanged while its root and
fifth move by semitone in the other direction.
FIGURE 8.2.15 The wechsels Pʹ, Lʹ, and Rʹ: (a) in a PLR-​cycle; (b) in relation to C major; (c) character-
istic voice leadings
• P may be defined as the contextual inversion of
a triad about its perfect-​fifth interval. Pʹ may
be defined as the contextual inversion about
the triadic third, the note that does not belong
to the perfect-​fifth interval.
Exercise 8.2.16 Summarize properties of Lʹ and
Rʹ   
corresponding to the above properties of Pʹ.
Both Pʹ (W1) and Lʹ (W5) have been widely
studied, though often under other names. It
was Lewin ([1987] 2007, 178) who first defined
the slide transformation as the operation that
“preserves the third of a triad while changing its
mode,” which is precisely Pʹ; the name slide has
been abbreviated to S by Cohn (2012) and oth-
ers.21 The startling chromatic effect of Pʹ can rival
that of H, as at m. 29 in the second movement
of Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major, D. 956,
when the opening section’s serene E major gives
way without warning to a tempestuous F minor;
or at the moment of transfiguration (m. 229) in
Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, when the chilly
loneliness of E♭ minor is dispelled by a warm
D-​major triad.
The relation Lʹ (W5), as between C major
and F minor, lacks the exotic character of Pʹ,
being ubiquitous in tonal music as the relation
between a minor tonic and its major dominant
or between a major tonic and its minor subdomi-
nant. Cohn’s label for Lʹ is N, from Weitzmann’s
term nebenverwandt.22 Lʹ, like Pʹ, features paral-
lel semitonal motion in two voices. While paired
Lʹ-​related triads may be aurally unremarkable,
examples below will show that Lʹ often partici-
pates in sequential motion and in character-
istic ways of navigating certain regions in the
tonnetz.
Analytical invocations of Rʹ, the W7 relation
between C major and G minor, are conspicuously
rarer than those of Pʹ or Lʹ. The voice leading asso-
ciated with Rʹ is less smooth, two voices moving
by whole step. In tonal contexts, the relation is
common enough: the ii–​V progression in a major
key is an Rʹ relation. If either of two Rʹ-​related tri-
ads is the tonic, the presence of the other imparts
a modal coloration, mixolydian I–​v or dorian i–​
IV—​impressions that are indeed pronounced in
the few examples of Rʹ that we will encounter (see
Figure 8.2.21 and Exercise 8.2.24).
The transformations Pʹ, Lʹ, and Rʹ offer new
and expedient ways to describe certain motions
in a tonnetz. For example, Exercise 4.2.13f con-
sidered the progression
f–​A♭–​c–​E♭–​g–​B♭–​e♭–​G♭–​b♭–​D♭–​f
from Chopin’s F-​minor Fantasy, in which an RL-​
chain, ascending by thirds, is disrupted by one
irregularity, the B♭ –​e♭ move. We may now ana-
lyze that irregularity as a substitution of Lʹ for
L. While a strict RL-​chain would cycle through
Triadic Transformations • 313
FIGURE 8.2.17 Hexatonic triad families and hexatonic bridge families in the tonnetz
all 24 triads before repeating, the substitution
enables Chopin to return to the starting key of F
minor far sooner.23
Like the hexatonic pole transformation, Pʹ, Lʹ,
and Rʹ participate in subgroups of ℛ appropriate
for navigating through certain tonnetz regions,
several of which are illustrated in Figures 8.2.17
and 8.2.18. The vertical axis is emphasized in
8.2.17, which groups together triads related by
major thirds, while 8.2.18 similarly highlights
the horizontal axis and minor-​third relations.
The four hexatonic triad families encircled in
8.2.17 are familiar to us as PL-​cycles, each con-
taining three major and three minor triads. Each
hexatonic triad family is labeled in the figure with
the name of the hexatonic collection (hex01, …,
hex34) comprising the pitch classes of its tri-
ads. The toroidal topology of the tonnetz loops
the six triads of each family into a cycle in the
vertical direction and brings family hex34 on
the left side of the figure adjacent to hex01 on the
right. These families are the orbits of the hexa-
tonic triad group {S0, S4, S8, W0, W4, W8}, whose
three wechsels are P, L, and H. Within each fam-
ily, triads opposite in mode are related by these
three wechsels, as shown for the C-​major triad in
the hex34 region. The same-​mode triads within
each family, aligned vertically in the figure, are
related by S4 and S8, not shown explicitly. While
314 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
the smooth voice leading associated with P and
L makes a PL-​chain the most common way to
move through a hexatonic triad family (as in
some examples from Section 4.2), other paths
are possible: the Parsifal example from Figure
8.2.14b explores hex23 by alternating H and L.
Pairings of two different wechsels provide the
most systematic routes through all the regions
we will study, and many of our most interesting
examples are of this kind.24
The shaded regions labeled hb0, …, hb3 in
Figure 8.2.17 group the triads differently, pair-
ing the three major triads from one hexatonic
triad family with the three minor triads from
an adjacent family. Accordingly we call these
regions hexatonic bridge families. The number-
ing is such that, for example, family hb2 bridges
hexatonic collections hex12 and hex23. Family
hbn is centered on an axis of pitch classes consti-
tuting the augmented triad that contains pitch
class n; for example, the central axis of hb2 is
the D-​augmented triad, labeled at the top of the
axis. The full pitch-​class content of the triads in
hb2 is the enneatonic collection enn123 =​{1, 2, 3,
5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11}. The same-​mode triads within a
hexatonic bridge family are related by the major-​
third schritts S4 and S8; opposite-​mode triads are
related by W1, W5, and W9, also known as Pʹ, Lʹ,
and R. Dashed arrows in the figure show the Pʹ-​,
FIGURE 8.2.18 Octatonic triad families and octatonic bridge families in the tonnetz
Lʹ-​, and R-​partners of C major within hb0. This
set of transformations {S0, S4, S8, W1, W5, W9} is
another group (see Exercise 8.2.22 below), the
hexatonic bridge group, whose orbits are the four
hexatonic bridge families. Just as some musical
passages use P, L, and H to navigate through a
hexatonic triad family, others explore a hexa-
tonic bridge family via some combination of Pʹ,
Lʹ, and R.
The triadic groupings in Figure 8.2.18 are
oriented horizontally in the tonnetz, along
the minor-​third dimension, but are otherwise
closely analogous to the major-​third–​oriented
families from 8.2.17. An octatonic triad family,
encircled in the figure, contains the eight triads
of a PR-​cycle (see Exercise 4.2.13c for an exam-
ple), whose notes form an octatonic collection,
oct01, oct12, or oct23. Each of these families
is an orbit of the octatonic triad group {S0, S3,
S6, S9, W0, W3, W6, W9}, whose wechsels include
P (=​ W0) and R (=​ W9). Shaded in Figure 8.2.18
are the octatonic bridge families ob0, ob1, and ob2,
each of which combines the four major triads of
one octatonic triad family with the four minor
triads of another. Each octatonic bridge family
is an orbit of the octatonic bridge group {S0, S3, S6,
S9, W1, W4, W7, W10}. Three of the four wechsels
in this group are Pʹ (=​ W1), L (=​ W4), and Rʹ (=​ W7).
The fourth wechsel is W10, the tonnetz pole, which
as noted in Exercise 4.2.17b is the remotest rela-
tion possible as defined by distance in the ton-
netz, though it is familiar from the progression
iv–​V in a minor key.
Octatonic bridge families have not been
widely studied, but hexatonic bridge families
correspond closely with what Cohn has called
Weitzmann regions. The six triads in a hexatonic
bridge family are minimal displacements of the
augmented triad that forms the family’s central
axis in the tonnetz, each differing from that aug-
mented triad by a single semitone in one voice.
For Cohn, a Weitzmann region includes not only
the six consonant triads but also the augmented
triad itself, regarded as an essential member
of the region.25 An alternative picture facilitating
this conception is shown in Figure 8.2.19. The
toroidal topology of the tonnetz is abandoned
here in favor of a symmetrical graph that dis-
plays the four augmented triads as links between
hexatonic triad families. Edges in this graph,
including the dashed edges forming connections
with the augmented triads, exclusively indicate
single-​semitone voice-​leading relationships,
so the less smooth Pʹ, Lʹ, and R relationships
are not shown explicitly as they were in Figure
8.2.17. Figure 8.2.19 is inspired by the graph
called “Cube Dance,” devised by Jack Douthett.26
The reader should be able to visualize the four
segments of this graph stretching from one aug-
mented triad to the next as distended cubes; the
cube on the left side replicates the hexatonic
triad graph from Figure 3.1.5, which was deliber-
ately structured in the form of a cube.
The solid edges within the hexatonic triad
families of Figure 8.2.19 represent P and L, but
no transformations adequately model the dashed
Triadic Transformations • 315
FIGURE 8.2.19 Another picture of hexatonic triad families and hexatonic bridge families (after
Douthett, “Cube Dance”)
lines, inasmuch as UTTs and other conventional
triadic transformations are not defined on aug-
mented triads. Exercise 3.5.11 addressed the
difficulty of defining such mappings; the func-
tions defined there operate in one direction only,
from consonant triads to augmented triads but
not vice versa, and because they are not one-​to-​
one they cannot participate in transformation
groups. The important voice-​ leading relation-
ship between consonant and augmented triads
is more satisfactorily addressed through a geo-
metric approach than a transformational one.
We will return to figures much like Figure 8.2.19
as we begin our geometric study of voice-​lead-
ing spaces in Chapter 10 (see in particular Figure
10.2.11); for the time being we set this figure
aside and return to the tonnetz-​based depictions
of the regions in Figures 8.2.17 and 8.2.18.27
The two short but dramatic excerpts from
piano works of Ravel in Figures 8.2.20 and
8.2.21 explore some of these regions. At the
astonishing climax of “Ondine” (Figure 8.2.20),
the extravagant texture, extended tertian
harmonies, and whole-​ tone melody disguise
the simplicity of the underlying progression,
which cycles through hexatonic bridge fam-
ily hb2 via a regular alternation of R and Lʹ. A
second complete traversal of the same cycle
follows in the next measure.28 The passage in
316 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
Figure 8.2.21 also occurs twice in succession,
this one in the coda of the finale of the Sonatine;
here the harmonies are simple triads but the
pattern is less regular. The major triads come
from the minor-​third cycle F♯ –​A –​C –​E♭ –​F♯,
but the minor triads include two from the ton-
netz row above and one from the row below, so
that the progression as a whole veers asymmet-
rically between ob1 and oct01.
A strictly chronological Riemannian analy-
sis of the tonnetz path in Figure 8.2.21b would
read
R ′ ♯ S4 S3 ♯
F♯ →  E♭ →
S5 L S3
 c → a → e → C → F .
Logical organization is hard to discern in this
reading; in particular, the schritts S4 and S5 seem
to contravene the minor-​third cycle, where S3 or
S9 might be expected. The analysis in 8.2.21c is
more satisfactory: here the minor-​third cycle is
shown as a T3-​chain even though these chords
are not consecutive in the score. One of these tri-
ads, A major, does not occur at all, but the analy-
sis shows A major as an important nexus binding
together its T3 relatives and the minor triads.
The A-​minor triad may be heard as a parallel
substitution for the absent A major, and the C♯-
minor and E-minor triads hint at the mixolydian
FIGURE 8.2.20 (a) Ravel, Gaspard de la nuit, I, “Ondine,” m. 66; (b) path through hb2 in the tonnetz
flavor associated with the Rʹ relation. That modal
coloration is one of several aspects of this coda
that recall earlier elements in the piece: ♭7̂ plays
important melodic and harmonic roles in all
three movements of the Sonatine, and octatoni-
cism and the key of A major are especially sig-
nificant in the last movement. All of these traits
are on prominent display in an extended passage
in mm. 60–​94, which prolongs an A-​major har-
mony, repeats the motive A–​G♮–​E unceasingly,
and inhabits oct01 exclusively.29
The two Ravel examples share a metrical
peculiarity. In each of them, the octave divi-
sion is at odds with the metric structure, neces-
sitating adjustments in harmonic rhythm. In
“Ondine,” a three-​part division of the octave is
traversed over a 44 measure; Ravel halves the
harmonic rhythm in the second half of the mea-
sure so that B minor will return on schedule at
the next downbeat. In the Sonatine, a four-​part
division of the octave is traversed over the three
segments of a two-​bar hemiola in ; here the sec-
ond half of the cycle is compressed into the final
hemiola segment by omission of the Rʹ relatives
of the C and E♭ chords.
In Figure 8.2.21c, the use of the transposition
T3 rather than the schritt S3 warrants commen-
tary. The convenience of wechsel notation for rela-
tions between triads of opposite mode was noted
above, and in the company of wechsels, one might
assume that algebraic consistency should dictate
the use of schritts for same-​mode relationships.
Indeed, in a strictly Riemannian analysis of the
Ravel passage, the horizontal arrows could only
be labeled S3. When non-​Riemannian transposi-
tions mingle with the Riemannian P, L, and Rʹ,
the transformations do not all belong to one sim-
ply transitive group. Moreover, in terminology
to be introduced in Section 9.2, the network in
Figure 8.2.21c is not path-​consistent, because the
Triadic Transformations • 317
FIGURE 8.2.21 (a) Ravel, Sonatine, III, mm. 162–​64; (b) path through oct01 and ob1 in the tonnetz;
(c) analysis
product of the wechsels Rʹ and L is not equal to
T3 (it is W7W4 =​ S3). For reasons like these, some
authors, unwilling to abide a wechsel-​transposi-
tion hybrid, might advocate the use of schritts in
an analysis of this kind.30
Many analysts, however, have not considered
themselves bound by such constraints. Cohn
(2012, 90–​95) displays a “T11 sequence” gener-
ated by P and Pʹ, whereas in fact PPʹ =​ S11; he also
presents a multiplication table for wechsels in
the hexatonic triad and hexatonic bridge groups
in which, for example, the product of L and R is
given as “T±5”—​a calculation as musically intui-
tive as it is algebraically uncomfortable. Presented
with two major triads, most of us will probably
describe the relationship more readily as a trans-
position than as a schritt; the latter choice seem-
ingly requires us to imagine an alternate universe
in which the triads are minor and the interval
between them is reversed. To say that if the Ravel
example were in a minor key it would descend by
thirds is at best unverifiable, at worst laughable.
These considerations motivate the wechsel-​trans-
position analysis in Figure 8.2.21 and in Example
8.2.27 below. Chapter 9 will offer further justifi-
cations for the viability of non–​path-​consistent
networks.
318 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
Exercise 8.2.22
(a) Construct a multiplication table for the
hexatonic triad group {S0, S4, S8, W0, W4, W8}
and construct an isomorphism between
these six transformations and a group of
mod-​3 transpositions and inversions to
show that the group is isomorphic to the
dihedral group 𝒟3.
(b) Do the same for the hexatonic bridge group
{S0, S4, S8, W1, W5, W9}.
(c) To what familiar group are the octatonic triad
  group and octatonic bridge group isomorphic?
Exercise 8.2.23 This exercise generalizes the
construction of the hexatonic and octatonic
triad and bridge groups. All subgroups of ℛ
that contain both schritts and wechsels belong
to the family of groups defined below; the only
other subgroups are cyclic groups of schritts
only, subgroups of ℛ+​.
(a) Suppose d is one of the numbers 2, 3, 4,
or 6—​a divisor of 12—​and k is an integer
with 0 ≤ k < d. Let ℛd,k denote the subset
of ℛ containing all schritts Sm for which
m ≡ 0 (mod d) and all wechsels Wn for
which n ≡ k mod (d). For example, ℛ4,1
 is {S0, S4, S8, W1, W5, W9}, the hexatonic
bridge group. Verify that every ℛd,k is
closed under products and inverses and is
therefore a subgroup of ℛ.
(b) The hexatonic triad group is ℛd,k for which
values of d and k? What about the octatonic
triad group and the octatonic bridge group?
(c) List the schritts and wechsels in the group
ℛ4,2. List the triads in one orbit of this
group. Write a chord progression that
cycles through this orbit using the wechsels
W2 and W10.
(d) The chord progression C –​g –​D –​a –​E –​⋯
is a cycle through an orbit of which group
ℛd,k? (The progression uses Rʹ and Lʹ in
alternation, and the group in question is
generated by Rʹ and Lʹ.)
(e) Any two wechsels Wm and Wn generate
either a group ℛd,k or the entire group ℛ
(which may be considered to be ℛ1,0). Given
m and n, how can you determine the values
of d and k? What is the order of the group?
In other words, how long are the cycles
generated by Wm and Wn?
(f) Does the definition of ℛd,k make sense if d =​
  12? What is the group ℛ12,9?
Exercise 8.2.24 Each of the triadic
progressions below traces a path through
one of the triadic families in Figure 8.2.17 or
8.2.18. Most of the progressions are sequences;
one is slightly irregular but remains within a
single family. Analyze each progression using
Riemannian transformations, identify or
describe the subgroup of ℛ generated by these
transformations, identify the triadic family
traversed by the progression, and draw or
describe the path in the tonnetz.31
(a) Schubert, Octet in F Major, D. 803, VI, mm.
172–​75:
c–​E♭–​a♭–​C♭–​e–​G–​c–​E♭
(b) Schubert, Mass in E♭ Major, D. 950, Sanctus,
mm. 1–​7:
E♭–​b–​g–​e♭–​C♭
(c) Liszt, Grande fantaisie symphonique über
Themen aus Berlioz’ “Lélio,” mm. 195–​98:
b♭–​A–​c♯–​C–​e–​E♭–​g–​F♯–​b♭–​ ⋯
(d) Glazunov, Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op.
33, I, mm. 276–​92:
e♭–​A♭–​c–​F–​a–​D–​f♯–​B–​e♭
(e) Rachmaninoff, Sonata in G Minor for Cello
and Piano, Op. 19, II, mm. 116–​20:
   E–​f–​A♭–​a
Exercise 8.2.25 The chord succession below
models the essential harmonic structure of
Schubert’s Fantasy in F Minor for piano four
hands, D. 940, mm. 57–​92:
f–​C–​d♭–​E–​a–​E–​f
Though the progression is not sequential,
it remains within one triadic family
from Figure 8.2.17. Identify the family,
analyze the progression using Riemannian
transformations, and trace the path of the
progression in the tonnetz and in Figure
8.2.19. Noting that the progression begins
and ends on the same triad, verify that the
product of all the transformations involved is
the  identity.32
Exercise 8.2.26 Progressions (a)–​(e) below
do not remain within any of the named
triadic families we have identified, but they
are strictly sequential, generated by regular
alternation of wechsels, and they trace
regular paths through the tonnetz. For each
progression, identify the transformations
involved and draw or describe the tonnetz
path. Answer the additional questions in
(f)–​( h).33
(a) Bach, Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor, BWV
542, mm. 31–​34:
D–​g–​G–​c–​C–​f–​F–​b♭–​B♭–​e♭–​E♭–​a♭–​A♭–​d♭–​D♭
(b) Mozart, Requiem, K. 626, Confutatis,
mm. 10–​12:
C–​c–​G–​g–​D–​d–​A–​a–​E–​e
(c) Schubert, Sonata in C Minor, D. 958, II,
mm. 105–​07:
C–​f–​D♭–​f♯–​D–​g
Triadic Transformations • 319
(d) Liszt, Études d’exécution transcendante, No.
8, “Wilde Jagt,” mm. 180–​84:
E♭–​g–​D–​f♯–​D♭–​f–​C
(e) Prokofiev, Scherzo in A Minor, Op. 12, No.
10, mm. 161–​64:
C–​c♯–​C♯–​d–​D–​d♯–​D♯–​e
(f) How are sequences (a) and (b) related? How
are (c) and (d) related?
(g) Which of the progressions in this exercise
illustrates the same basic sequence type as
Figure 2.3.4b? Which is the same type as
Figure 4.5.24?
(h) What can you say about the group
generated by the transformations in any of
  these sequences?34
Example 8.2.27: Martin, Prelude No. 2
The second of Frank Martin’s Eight Preludes
for piano (1948) projects a distinctive character
through its pervasive use of sequences that
pair hexatonic poles, then transpose them
successively by whole steps. Figure 8.2.28a
shows the first phrase. The harmony is triadic;
FIGURE 8.2.28 Triadic sequences in Martin, Prelude No. 2
320 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
when the right hand moves in sixteenth notes,
one of the two notes of each pair consistently
completes a major or minor triad with the
concurrent left-​hand interval. The first sequence
starts in the middle of m. 2 with the triads
c–​E–​d–​F♯–​e–​G♯, generated by alternate
application of the wechsels H (=​ W8) and W10,
shown in the analysis by solid black arrows.
Triads are labeled in abbreviated ordered-​
pair notation (0− for C minor, 4+​ for E major)
to facilitate recognition of W10 and other
somewhat unfamiliar transformations that
occur in this example. Two-​chord segments
are related by T2, indicated by dashed arrows
linking the bubbles. Each pair of hexatonic
poles completes a hexatonic collection, which
combines with its T2 transposition to form a
twelve-​tone aggregate in a span of four chords.
The choice of the transposition T2 in
preference to a schritt in this analysis is not
only intuitively appealing but technically
required: no schritt could take the role of T2
in the figure’s bubble notation. In Riemannian
terms, successive minor triads are related
by W8W10 =​ S10 while successive major triads
are related by W10W8 =​ S2—​but in both
cases the transposition is up by whole step.
Bubble notation, as we have remarked when
using similar notations previously, requires
that the transformation linking the bubbles
(here T2) commute with all transformations
within bubbles (H). The fact that all UTTs
commute with transpositions—​the uniformity
condition—​uniquely qualifies transpositions for
analyses of this kind.
The phrase deviates from the pattern at
both ends. The first bubble in the analysis
shows a hypothetical D-​major triad on the
downbeat of m. 2, which fits the pattern but
is supplanted in the score by its L-​partner, F♯
minor. In m. 4 C major occurs where B♭ major is
expected, another T2 transposition. The phrase
is bookended by the opening B-​minor triad and
the bass B in m. 4, which stand out as the only
odd numbers among the chord roots in the
analysis, each related by semitone to the nearest
chord of the sequence.
The second phrase introduces a related
pattern, shown in reduction in Figure 8.2.28b.
The structure is similar, but here the hexatonic-​
pole pairs transpose not by T2 but by T10,
descending by whole step. This arrangement
entails a tritone root relation between each
major triad and the following minor triad;
chord-​to-​chord Riemannian analysis now
reveals an alternation of the wechsels H (=​ W8)
and W6.
The sequence patterns from (a) and (b) recur
several times throughout the short piece.
The coda introduces a new variant, shown in
(c). Here, for the only time, the major triad
comes first within each hexatonic-​pole pair.
The result is a sequence that combines the
T2 transpositions from (a) with the W8W6
wechsel pattern from (b); W8 is now applied
to major triads and W6 to minor, the opposite
arrangement from (b). A sequence of type (c)
may be obtained from (a) by reversing the order
of the two chords in each pair (compare the first
four chords in (c) with m. 3 of (a)), or from (b)
by playing the entire progression backward (in
the figure, (c) exactly retrogrades (b) a semitone
lower).35
The H relations in Martin’s sequences are
presented with the characteristic semitonal
voice leading in all three voices, but the
other wechsels that appear, W6 and W10,
do not allow for comparably smooth voice
leading. Moreover, to express H or W6 as a
composite of P, L, and R requires at least
three transformations, while W10 requires
five. For these reasons the usual tonnetz
does not admit satisfactory representations
of these sequences. Algebraically, however,
these patterns are closely akin to others whose
component transformations are more typical.
Either the H–​W10 pair in sequence (a) or the
H–​W6 pair in (b) or (c) generates a subgroup of
ℛ containing all the even-​numbered schritts
and wechsels; in the notation from Exercise
8.2.23 this group is ℛ2,0. An orbit of this group
contains six major and six minor triads, all
with roots belonging to one whole-​tone scale.
In Figure 8.2.28, the sequences in (a) and (c)
trace the even-​numbered (wt0) orbit, while
in (b) the chord roots are odd; both orbits
occur several times in the piece, with frequent
phrase-​level modulations between the two.
Although these orbits do not form compact
tonnetz regions, they are triad families
somewhat analogous to those in Figures 8.2.17
and 8.2.18, and any of Martin’s sequences,
sufficiently prolonged, will cycle through all
twelve triads of one of the two families.
The networks in Figure 8.2.28 will be revisited
in Section 9.3 as illustrations of the concept of
network
   isomorphism.
Exercise 8.2.29 Progressions (a)–​(e) below
are strictly sequential, but some of them
include some less familiar transformations,
and none can be conveniently graphed in
the tonnetz. Analyze each sequence using
Riemannian transformations, identify or
describe the subgroup of ℛ generated by
these transformations, and describe the
set of triads traversed by the progression.
You may identify wechsels when possible
using familiar names such as P, H, or Lʹ, but
some will need to be identified by number
(for example, W10). Answer the additional
question in (f).36
(a) Beethoven, String Quartet in B♭ Major,
Op. 18, No. 6, IV, mm. 20–​28:
B–​e–​F♯–​b–​C♯–​f♯–​G♯–​c♯–​E♭–​a♭–​ ⋯
(b) Liszt, Dante Symphony, I, “Inferno,”
mm. 232–​51:
B–​f–​D♭–​g–​E♭–​a
(c) Saint-​Saëns, Symphony No. 3 in C Minor,
Op. 78, I, mm. 63–​70:
c–​G–​e♭–​B♭–​f♯–​C♯–​a–​E–​c
Triadic Transformations • 321
(d) Rimsky-​Korsakov, Legend for orchestra
(Skazka), Op. 29, mm. 529–​33:
c♯–​F–​b♭–​D–​g–​B–​e–​G♯–​c♯
(e) Britten, Peter Grimes, Passacaglia,
mm. 63–​69:
f♯–​F–​e–​E♭–​d
(f) Which two of the sequences in this
exercise are retrograde-​related in the same
way as the sequences in parts (b) and (c) of
Figure 8.2.28?
  
Exercise 8.2.30 Many sequential patterns
of Riemannian transformations are possible
besides those represented in the above
examples and exercises. Seven combinations of
wechsels are listed below. For each one, write
a chord progression that repeats the given
transformations cyclically at least twice. In
(a), for example, you must write five chords
to cycle through P and H twice. Begin with
either a major or a minor triad. Try to keep all
voices strictly sequential, but also strive for
appropriate voice leading. (These two guidelines
may conflict; you may find more satisfactory
solutions by writing in four voices rather than
three, and you may find it helpful to repeat one
chord in a pattern twice in succession, with
different voicing.) Trace the pattern in the
tonnetz, and identify the triad region traversed
if appropriate.
(a) P, H
(b) R, Rʹ
(c) Pʹ, Lʹ
(d) Pʹ, Rʹ
(e) Pʹ, Lʹ, Rʹ
(f) L, P, R, P
(g) Pʹ, R, Pʹ, L (Start (f) and (g) on the same major
  triad, and compare the two sequences.)
8.3 OTHER TOPICS IN
TRIADIC TRANSFORMATION
THEORY
Only one-​twelfth of the 288 UTTs are Riemannian,
but to this point, the only non-​Riemannian UTTs
about which we have had much to say are the
transpositions Tn =​ 〈+​, n, n〉. Many other triadic
transformations, both uniform and non-​uniform,
322 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
are of theoretical and analytical interest, as are
many subgroups of 𝒰 besides ℛ and 𝒯12; this sec-
tion provides an overview of some of these topics.
Some transformations, introduced by Lewin
alongside P, L, and R, are designed to model
familiar tonal or functional relations between tri-
ads, without the constraints of the Riemannian
dualism condition.37 Among these are the domi-
nant and mediant transformations, D and M. As a
transformation, D is nothing new, as it is simply
T5 =​ 〈+​, 5, 5〉. Lewin conceives of D as mapping
from a dominant to a tonic—​what happens at a
V–​I cadence. Importantly, D is mode-​preserving:
it maps V–​I or v–​i, never V–​i. In a tonal context,
D can also map I–​IV or vi–​ii, for example. The
inverse of D is D−1 =​ T7 =​ 〈+​, 7, 7〉, the subdominant
transformation, which maps IV–​I (among other
possibilities).38 As transpositions, D and D−1 are
already familiar elements of our transformational
repertoire. Because 1, 5, 7, and 11 are genera-
tors of ℤ12, either D or D−1 by itself generates the
transposition group 𝒯12, as do T1 and T11.
The mediant transformation M, on the other
hand, is no mere transposition. While D maps
any triad to the triad of which it is the same-​
mode dominant, M is defined so that it maps
any triad to the triad of which it is the opposite-​
mode diatonic mediant: thus M maps C major
to A minor and C minor to A♭ major. As a UTT,
M =​ 〈−, 9, 8〉; its inverse, the submediant trans-
formation M−1 =​ 〈−, 4, 3〉, maps C → e and c → E♭.
Two successive applications of M, as in C → a → F
or a → F → d, always yield the same-​mode triad a
fifth lower, illustrating the equation M2 =​ D. In
the transposition group 𝒯12, D has no “square
root”—​there is no transposition Tn such that
(Tn)2 =​ T5—​but in the larger UTT group, M is just
such a transformation.39
Exercise 8.3.1
(a) Use the product formula for UTTs to
confirm that M2 =​ D.
(b) M is not the only UTT whose square is D;
give an example of another.
(c) More generally, explain why if U is any
mode-​reversing UTT, then U2 is always
equal to the transposition Tn, where
  n =​tt(U).
The six consonant triads in any diatonic col-
lection are adjacent along an M-​chain:
G M
→ e M
→ C M
→ a M
→ F M
→d
The same triadic succession may also be described as part of an M-​chain. Our discussion of the
as an RL-​chain: earlier figure alluded to the importance of
descending-​third relationships in functional
harmony, an observation that gives M-​based
G R L
 C R
→ e → L
 F R
→ a → →d analysis a certain appeal for common diatonic
progressions:
As a transformation, M =​ 〈−, 9, 8〉 is not the
same as either R =​ 〈−, 9, 3〉 or L =​ 〈−, 4, 8〉, but it 2 −5 3
shares one transposition level with each of them, I M
→ vi M→ ii M
→ V M→ vi M
→
−4
so that M behaves like R when it is applied to a IV M
→ V M→ I
2

major triad and like L when applied to a minor

triad. The submediant transformation M−1 =​
A Riemannian (schritt-​wechsel) analysis of this
〈−, 4, 3〉 flips the pairings of transposition lev-
progression would be unrevealing, but because
els with R and L and reverses the arrows in the
of the proximity of the diatonic triads in the M-​
M-​chain:
chain, the relationship between any two such
triads may always be modeled by a small positive
M −1 M −1 M −1 M −1 M −1 or negative power of M. Functional progressions
d  → F  → a  → C  → e  →G
typically mix small positive powers of M with
R L R L R a few larger negative powers, as in the above
d  → F →  a  → C → e  →G example, which intersperses five small moves to
the right in the M-​chain with two larger jumps
For either of these chains of thirds, the M-​based to the left (M−5 and M−4). The common root
analysis could be said to have the advantage motions by descending third, descending fifth,
of efficiency, as it models the entire chain by and ascending step are described in most cases
repeated application of a single transformation. by the transformations M, M2 (=​ D), and M3,
The RL analysis makes it clear that two differ- respectively, all corresponding to counterclock-
ent triadic relationships appear in alternation, wise motion in the circle and to small rightward
something the M analysis disguises. An RL-​ moves in the M-​chain. The exceptions are the
chain, however, may either ascend or descend by moves from pre-​dominant to dominant, ii–​V and
thirds, whereas M-​based analysis distinguishes IV–​V in the above example. These are also coun-
the two: an M-​chain always descends by thirds, terclockwise in the circle, but they occur at the
while its ascending-​ thirds counterpart is an point where continued rightward motion in the
M−1-​chain. M-​chain would escape the family of diatonic tri-
Figure 8.3.2 redraws Figure 4.3.8, a circle-​ ads (and where the diminished triad intervenes
of-​
thirds arrangement of diatonic triads, in the circle), so the leftward leap compensates.
along with a diagram showing the same triads If M2 is applied to the ii chord, the result is not

FIGURE 8.3.2 Diatonic triads in a diatonic circle of thirds and in an M-​chain

Triadic Transformations • 323

V but the non-​diatonic minor v; the seven posi-
tions separating V and v in the M-​chain account
for the difference between M2 (ii–​v) and M−5
(ii–​V ).40
Exercise 8.3.3 Major V and minor v are related
by M7, but they are also related by P. Is it true
that
   M7 =​ P?
Exercise 8.3.4 Recall from Section 6.6 that a
group element of the form a−1xa is called the
conjugate of x by a, denoted Conja(x). If U is
a UTT, then ConjM(U) =​ M−1UM. Determine
general formulas for ConjM(Sn) and ConjM(Wn).
What
   are ConjM(R) and ConjM(L)?
Because M2 =​ D =​ T5, it follows that M24 =​ D12 =​
T0, the identity. An M-​chain, continued beyond
the bounds of the six triads in one diatonic
collection, follows the course of the RL-​chain,
cycling through all 24 major and minor triads
before returning to the initial triad. All powers
of M up through M23 are different; as an element
of a transformation group, M generates a cyclic
group ℳ =​{T0, M, M2, M3, …, M23} of order 24,
the mediant group. As UTTs, the first few powers
of M are M =​ 〈−, 9, 8〉, M2 =​ D =​ 〈+​, 5, 5〉, M3 =​ 〈−,
2, 1〉, M4 =​ D2 =​ 〈+​, 10, 10〉, M5 =​ 〈−, 7, 6〉, … . In
looking at the odd and even powers separately, it
is not hard to see the pattern: the mode-​preserv-
ing UTTs in the group ℳ are the transpositions
Tn =​ 〈+​, n, n〉, while the mode-​reversing UTTs are
the twelve UTTs of the form 〈−, n, n − 1〉. Because
all 24 triads lie in the same M-​cycle, the action
of the group ℳ on triad, like the action of ℛ, is
simply transitive.
The transformations appearing in an analy-
sis need not always remain within one simply
transitive group, as we saw when mixing wech-
sels with transpositions in Figure 8.2.21 and
Example 8.2.27. An advantage of a simply tran-
sitive group is that it admits only one possible
analysis for any transformation. If we are work-
ing in the group ℳ and we encounter the chord
succession G–​a, we have no choice but to identify
it as M3 =​ 〈−, 2, 1〉, but if we are working in ℛ,
we must choose W2 =​ 〈−, 2, 10〉 instead. The two
analyses of the descending-​thirds chain above
(RL-​chain or M-​chain?) may therefore be seen as
byproducts of selecting a simply transitive group
in which to carry out the analysis (ℛ or ℳ?). A
variety of considerations may come into play in
making such a choice, but the above discussion
suggests that if a transformational analysis of a
diatonic progression is desired, analysis in the
324 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
group ℳ will likely align better with common
intuitions about functional behavior.41
The groups ℛ and ℳ are not the only sim-
ply transitive subgroups of 𝒰, and M is not the
only UTT capable of generating chains of all 24
triads. As it turns out, there are exactly 24 sub-
groups of 𝒰 that act in simply transitive fashion
on triad.42 All of these groups are of order 24;
recall from Section 5.6 that the order of a simply
transitive group always matches the cardinality
of the set on which it acts. By Lewin’s theorem
(Theorem 5.6.7), each of the simply transitive
groups defines its own interval-​space structure
on the space triad. In the interval space with
the group ℳ, the interval from the G-​major triad
to the A-​minor triad is int(G, a) =​M3—​effec-
tively measured on the M-​cycle, corresponding
loosely to intuitions about triadic distance in
diatonic progressions as discussed above. In the
interval space with the group ℛ, int(G, a) is the
wechsel W2, which is less easily interpreted as a
“distance.” (Chapter 12 will introduce distance
functions, which are distinct from interval func-
tions.) Both of these interval structures on triad
are different from the one with the group 𝒯ℐ12
introduced in Section 5.6, in which int(G, a) =​I11.
Six of the simply transitive groups, including
ℳ (but not ℛ), are cyclic; each of them contains
eight different elements that generate the group
(this is true of any cyclic group of order 24).
These 48 elements are all the UTTs of order 24,
and any of them will generate a chain through
the 24 triads. The order-​24 UTTs are easy to
identify: they are the mode-​reversing UTTs U
whose total transposition tt(U) is equal to 1, 5,
7, or 11 (mod 12)—​a requirement satisfied by
M =​ 〈−, 9, 8〉, since tt(M) =​9 +​8 =​5 (mod 12). All
UTTs not satisfying this condition are of order
12 or less.
Exercise 8.3.5 Identify the eight generators of
  cyclic group (ℤ24, +​).43
the
Exercise 8.3.6 By Theorem 8.2.2d, ℛ is a
normal subgroup of 𝒰. The subgroup ℳ, on the
other hand, is not normal. Calculate the UTT
LML, show that it does not belong to the group
ℳ, and explain why this shows that ℳ is not a
   subgroup of 𝒰.44
normal
Just as M offers an alternative description
of an RL-​chain, some other UTTs provide new
ways to conceive of some of the sequential pat-
terns analyzed using wechsels in Section 8.2. For
example, the sequence B–​e–​F♯–​b–​C♯–​f♯–​G♯–​c♯–​ ⋯
was analyzed in Exercise 8.2.29a as an alterna-
tion of two wechsels, but it could instead be
generated entirely by the single transformation
U =​ 〈−, 5, 2〉. This is one of the order-​24 UTTs; its
total transposition (7) appears in the sequence
as the interval between successive same-​mode
triads, because U2 =​ T7. Writing out U3 =​ 〈−, 0,
9〉, U4 =​ 〈+​, 2, 2〉, U5 =​ 〈−, 7, 4〉, …, we see that
this chain generates a group consisting of all
the transpositions Tn together with the mode-​
reversing UTTs of the form 〈−, n, n +​9〉. This is
another of the cyclic simply transitive groups;
its structure is similar to that of ℳ as described
above. This structure is characteristic of the six
cyclic simply transitive groups, each of which
contains the transpositions Tn together with the
mode-​reversing UTTs of the form 〈−, n, n +​ b〉
for some odd number b.
Exercise 8.3.7 Each of the triadic successions
below is generated by a UTT of order 24. In
each case, identify the UTT U, identify the
transposition Tn =​ U2 between successive same-​
mode triads, and describe the elements of the
cyclic group generated by U.45
(a) Bach, Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor, BWV
542, mm. 31–​34 (from Exercise 8.2.26a):
D–​g–​G–​c–​C–​f–​F–​b♭–​ ⋯
(b) Verdi, La traviata, Act I, Scene 4, “Si ridesta,”
mm. 18–​32 (pattern from Figure 2.3.4b):
f–​D♭–​g♭–​D–​g–​E♭–​a♭–​E–​ ⋯
(c) Sequence of keys from Bach, Well-​Tempered
Clavier:
C–​c–​C♯–​c♯–​D–​d–​E♭–​e♭–​ ⋯
(d) Sequence of keys from Chopin, Preludes,
Op. 28:
   C–​a–​G–​e–​D–​b–​A–​f♯–​ ⋯
Another of the simply transitive groups, dis-
cussed briefly in Sections 6.2 and 6.4, is the group
generated by T1 and P, which contains all trans-
positions Tn together with the mode-​reversing
transformations TnP. In UTT notation, Tn =​ 〈+​,
n, n〉 while TnP =​ 〈−, n, n〉, so this group consists
of all UTTs with two equal transposition levels.
This group is commutative (see Exercise 8.3.8a
below) but not cyclic; we showed in Chapter 6
that it is isomorphic to 𝒞12 × 𝒞2 or equivalently
ℤ12 × ℤ2 (but not to the cyclic group ℤ24, because
12 and 2 are not coprime). The double-​circle
diagram from Figure 4.1.1a is a Cayley diagram
for this group. A triadic analysis in this simply
transitive group identifies every transforma-
tion as some Tn or TnP, which amounts to little
more than an accounting of root movement and
mode changes. In the triadic interval space with
this group, int(G, a) =​T2P; this interval space is
essentially the same as the space with the group
ℤ12 × 𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛, introduced in Section 8.1, where this
interval takes the form (2, −).
Exercise 8.3.8
(a) Use UTT notation to verify that the group
generated by T1 and P is commutative.46
(b) Analyze the chord succession G–​e–​C–​a–​F–​d
  using transformations from this group.
The UTT group has a rich and complex sub-
group structure.47 Some maps and transforma-
tional systems for triadic space are implicitly
based on groups containing more than 24 trans-
formations (and therefore not simply transitive)
but smaller than the full UTT group. For exam-
ple, Weber space, first presented in Figure 4.2.3,
combines a horizontally oriented PR-​chain with
D relations arranged vertically. A group gener-
ated by P, R, and D therefore enables navigation
through Weber space freely in both the horizon-
tal and vertical dimensions; we call this group
𝒲, the Weber group. The Riemannian P and R
generate the octatonic triad group G =​{S0, S3, S6,
S9, W0, W3, W6, W9} from Figure 8.2.18, while D
generates the transposition group 𝒯12. Because
transpositions commute with all UTTs, the
group 𝒲 consists of all products of the form SmTn
and WmTn, where m is restricted to the values 0,
3, 6, and 9. It may appear that there should be
4 ∙ 12 =​48 transformations of the form SmTn and
another 48 of the form WmTn, but actually there
are only half that many, because the groups G
and 𝒯12 intersect nontrivially: the schritt S6 in G
is the same as the transposition T6 =​ 〈+​, 6, 6〉 in
𝒯12, so the products SmTn and WmTn with 6 ≤ n ≤
11 duplicate those with 0 ≤ n ≤ 5. 𝒲 is therefore
a group of order 48, six times the size of the octa-
tonic triad group. The following exercise offers
another description of the Weber group.
Exercise 8.3.9 Give a simple arithmetical
description of the UTTs in 𝒲. Your description
should make it possible to look at any UTT
〈σ, t+​, t−〉 and see immediately whether it
Triadic Transformations • 325
belongs to the group or not. Is the simply
transitive group generated by T1 and P,
described
   above, a subset of 𝒲?48
An important study by Brian Hyer (1995)
develops a group of triadic transformations gen-
erated by P, L, R, and D. The Weber group does not
contain L, so the Hyer group is larger. Without
recourse to UTTs, Hyer gives standardized rep-
resentations for the transformations in his group
as products of the four generators, and a table for
multiplying them.49 The Hyer group still does not
contain all UTTs, however; in particular, M can-
not be expressed as a product of P, L, R, and D.
To understand the structure of the Hyer
group, a new definition will be helpful. A UTT
U =​ 〈σ, t+​, t−〉 is even (more specifically even in the
sense of total transposition) if its total transposi-
tion tt(U) =​ t+​ +​ t− is an even number; U is odd
if tt(U) is odd. Equivalently, U is even if its two
transposition levels are of the same parity (both
even or both odd), and odd if they differ in par-
ity. All of the UTTs of order 24 are odd, because
as noted above the total transposition of such a
UTT must be 1, 5, 7, or 11. The even UTTs include
all transpositions, whose two transposition lev-
els are the same, as well as all Riemannian UTTs,
for which tt(U) is 0. By Theorem 8.2.2d, the func-
tion tt: 𝒰 → ℤ12 is a group homomorphism; that
is, tt(UV) =​tt(U) +​tt(V) for all U and V. It follows
that the product of two UTTs of the same parity
is always even, while the product of two UTTs of
opposite parity is always odd.
There is a second sense in which UTTs may be
called even or odd. Every UTT is a permutation
of the elements of the set triad. From our study
of permutations in Section 6.1 we know that
every permutation can be written as a product of
cycles, which can be broken down further into a
product of 2-​cycles; a permutation is even or odd
depending on whether the number of 2-​cycles is
even or odd. While different 2-​cycle representa-
tions of the same permutation are possible, the
parity is the same for all of them. Accordingly,
we may classify each UTT as even or odd in the
sense of permutation. A few examples illustrate
this definition:
• The Riemannian R, as a permutation of
triad, is the product of twelve 2-​cycles: R
=​(C, a)(D♭, b♭)(D, b) ⋯ (B, g♯). In notation
from Chapter 6, the cycle type of R is 212.
It follows that R is even in the sense of per-
mutation. All twelve wechsels share this
cycle type and are therefore even.
326 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
• The transposition T3, as a permutation of
triad, is of cycle type 46, consisting of six
4-​cycles such as (C, E♭, F♯, A): three cycles of
major triads and three more of minor tri-
ads. A 4-​cycle, or any cycle of even length,
is an odd permutation, but the product of
an even number of such cycles is even, so T3
is even.50 In fact, all transpositions of triads
are even in the sense of permutation, even
though several different cycle structures
occur among them, because the cycle struc-
ture of a transposition always divides into
matching halves for major and minor triads.
• The cycle structure of the mediant trans-
formation M is a single 24-​cycle, M =​(C, a,
F, d, …, e). Because an even cycle is an odd
permutation, M is odd in the sense of per-
mutation. Every order-​24 UTT shares this
cycle type and is therefore odd.
The reader may have noted that in the above
examples, the two definitions of even and odd
UTTs are in agreement: wechsels and transposi-
tions are even both in the sense of total trans-
position and in the sense of permutation, while
M and the other order-​24 UTTs are odd in both
senses. This equivalence turns out to be com-
pletely general: a UTT is even in the sense of
total transposition if and only if it is even in the
sense of permutation.51 We may therefore speak
simply of even or odd UTTs with no ambiguity.
Exercise 8.3.10 Determine the parity of each
of the following UTTs in the sense of total
transposition and in the sense of permutation,
and verify that the two are the same.
(a) The schritt S1 =​ 〈+​, 1, 11〉
(b) The UTT 〈+​, 0, 1〉
(c) The UTT M3 =​ 〈−, 2, 1〉
(d)  The UTT T3P =​ 〈−, 3, 3〉
Exactly half of the 288 UTTs are even. Because
products and inverses of even UTTs are even, the
144 even UTTs form a subgroup 𝒰even of 𝒰; this
group 𝒰even, which contains P, L, R, and D but not
M, is precisely the Hyer group. The same group
arises in other contexts as well. Our discussion of
Figure 8.2.21 and Example 8.2.27 noted the ben-
efits of analyzing triadic progressions via combi-
nations of transpositions and wechsels; as UTTs
these are all even, and together they generate
𝒰even. (Transpositions and wechsels do not form
a group by themselves, and no simply transitive
group contains them all.) David Kopp (2002)
defines a larger set of basic transformations than
Hyer, but as UTTs, all of Kopp’s transformations
are even and expressible within Hyer’s system, so
the group structure implicit in Kopp’s theory and
his many analyses is also 𝒰even.52
—​—​—​
Some groups of triadic transformations even
larger than 𝒰 are of interest. In particular, the
UTT formalism may be extended to accom-
modate the inversion operators In, which may
be regarded as mode-​reversing triadic trans-
formations but are not UTTs. Though inver-
sions violate the uniformity condition, they
do so in a way that is easy to describe. Figure
8.3.11a uses double-​ circle diagrams in the
manner of Figure 8.1.11, here illustrating the
action of I0, inversion about the pitch class C, as
a triadic transformation. The figure shows, for
instance, that I0(0+​) =​5− while I0(1+​) =​4−; that
is, the C-​major triad inverts about C to F minor
while D♭ major (a semitone higher) inverts to E
minor (a semitone lower). These actions illus-
trate the transformational equation T1I0 =​ I0T11.
FIGURE 8.3.11 (a) Double-​circle illustration of the anti-​uniform action of the inversion I0 as a triadic
transformation; (b) double-​circle illustration of the action of a QTT
Uniformity requires a transformation to com-
mute with every Tm, but by Theorem 5.5.6e,
inversions instead satisfy the rule TmIn =​ InT−m.
In the circles on the right, consequently, triads
ascend by semitone in the counterclockwise direc-
tion; the circles have been not merely rotated
as uniform action would accomplish, but also
reflected. We refer to such action as anti-​uniform.
The theory of UTTs may be extended to allow
anti-​uniform action; we summarize the appro-
priate formalism here only briefly.53 Reflections
are accommodated by the introduction of two
additional signs into each transformation,
called the reflection factors for major and minor
triads and labeled ρ+​ and ρ− respectively (using
the letter rho for reflection). A reflection factor
indicates whether the action of a transforma-
tion is uniform (+​), in which case the circle is
rotated only, or anti-​uniform (−), in which case
it is rotated and reflected. There are two such
factors, allowing the possibility that a transfor-
mation may act uniformly on major triads but
anti-​uniformly on minor triads or vice versa.
These generalized transformations, which may
be uniform, anti-​uniform, or a hybrid of the
Triadic Transformations • 327
two, are called quasi-​uniform triadic transforma-
tions, or QTTs. A QTT is written as an ordered
5-​tuple U =​ 〈σ, t+​, t−, ρ+​, ρ−〉.
If the reflection factors ρ+​ and ρ− are both +​,
then the action of the QTT 〈σ, t+​, t−, +​, +​〉 matches
that of the UTT 〈σ, t+​, t−〉. In general, the action
of a QTT U =​ 〈σ U, t+​, t−, ρ+​, ρ−〉 on a triad X =​
(r, σ X) may be calculated in the following stages.
First, as usual, the root r is incremented by the
appropriate transposition level, either to r +​ t+​
(if σ X is +​) or to r +​ t− (if σ X is −). Next, if the
reflection factor ρ+​ or ρ− corresponding to the
mode σ X is −, the transposed root is replaced by
its mod-​12 inverse; this step reflects the circle,
changing uniform behavior to anti-​ uniform
when appropriate. Finally, if the sign σ U of the
QTT is −, the mode σX is changed to −σ X.
For example, to apply the QTT U =​ 〈−, 2, 5,
+​, −〉 to the B-​minor triad 11−, we first transpose
the root 11 by the transposition level 5, yielding
4; then, because the initial triad is minor and the
reflection factor ρ− is −, we replace 4 with its mod-​
12 inverse 8; finally, because the sign σU of the
QTT is also −, we change the triad’s mode from
− to +​. The result is 8+​, the A♭-​major triad. The
double-​circle picture in Figure 8.3.11b illustrates
the action of this QTT; consistent with the calcu-
lation above, the triad 8+​ appears on the right in
the same position as 11− on the left. Comparison
of this figure with Figure 8.1.11, the correspond-
ing diagram for the UTT 〈−, 2, 5〉, shows that the
two pictures are identical except that the inner
circle on the right, showing the application of U
to minor triads, has been reflected about the axis
through 0+​ and 6+​.
Exercise 8.3.12
(a) Calculate the result of applying the QTT
〈+​, 6, 4, −, +​〉 to an F-​major triad and to a
C♯-​minor triad.
(b) What is the inverse of the QTT 〈−, 2, 5, +​, −〉?
Of 〈+​, 6, 4, −, +​〉?
(c) Calculate the QTT products 〈−, 2, 5, +​, −〉
  〈+​, 6, 4, −, +​〉 and 〈+​, 6, 4, −, +​〉〈−, 2, 5, +​, −〉.54
Because of the two reflection factors, QTTs
are four times as numerous as UTTs, numbering
288 ∙ 4 =​1152 in all. They form a group 𝒬, of
which 𝒰 is a subgroup. Algebraically, 𝒬 is a wreath
product 𝒟12 ≀ 𝒞2. The two dihedral fiber groups
𝒟12 (in place of the cyclic fiber groups 𝒞12 for the
group 𝒰, from Figure 8.1.10) allow for either uni-
form or anti-​uniform action on each of the two
circles of triads, while the control group 𝒞2, as
before, allows the two circles to be exchanged.
328 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
In QTT notation, inversion operators may
be expressed in the form Jn =​ 〈−, n, n, −, −〉.
For example, J0 exchanges triads in the pat-
tern 0+​ ↔ 0−, 1+​ ↔ 11−, 2+​ ↔ 10−, …—​that is,
C ↔ c, D♭ ↔ b, D ↔ b♭, …. At the level of pitch
classes, triadic inversion maps the root of one
triad to the fifth of another, so J0 corresponds
to the inversion we know as I7. In general, In, as
a triadic transformation, is the same as J7 − n.
The transformations Jn are just the inversions
In, renumbered; the group 𝒯ℐ12, which we have
generally defined as the collection of all trans-
formations Tn and In, could equally well be
said to comprise all transformations Tn and Jn.
While the mapping from ℛ to 𝒯ℐ12 defined by
Sn → Tn and Wn → In is an anti-​isomorphism of
the two dihedral groups by Exercise 8.2.6a, the
mapping defined by Sn → Tn and Wn → Jn is an
isomorphism.
Schritts, wechsels, and transpositions are
UTTs, while inversions are QTTs, so both the
Riemann group ℛ and the transposition-​inver-
sion group 𝒯ℐ12 are subgroups of 𝒬, and both
act in simply transitive fashion on triad. The
transpositions in 𝒯ℐ12 commute with every-
thing in ℛ, because transpositions commute
with all UTTs. It is perhaps less obvious that the
inversions in 𝒯ℐ12 also commute with all trans-
formations in ℛ. The following examples illus-
trate the commutativity of the inversion J5 with
the schritt S3:
S J J S
0 + 
3
→ 3 + 
5
→ 4 −; 0 + 
5
→ 7 − 
3
→ 4−
S J J S
0 − 
3
→ 9 − 
5
→ 10 +; 0 − 
5
→ 7 + 
3
→ 10 +
In general, if either SmJn or JnSm is applied to the
major triad (r, +​), the result is the minor triad
((−r − m − n), −), and if either of those compos-
ite transformations is applied to the minor triad
(r, −), the result is the major triad ((m − r − n), +​).
Exercise 8.3.13 below works through similar calcu-
lations for the combination of an inversion and a
wechsel. Elements of 𝒯ℐ12, therefore, always com-
mute with elements of ℛ, even though both 𝒯ℐ12
and ℛ are noncommutative groups. Inversions
generally do not commute with each other or with
transpositions, and wechsels do not commute with
each other or with schritts—​but all the transfor-
mations in one group commute with all the trans-
formations in the other group. As described in
Section 6.4, 𝒯ℐ12 and ℛ are pairwise commuting
groups.
 More can be said: not only does every transfor-
mation in 𝒯ℐ12 commute with every transforma-
tion in ℛ, but the transformations in ℛ are the
only triadic transformations that commute with
every transformation in 𝒯ℐ12, and vice versa. In
terminology from Section 6.6, ℛ is the centralizer
of 𝒯ℐ12 and vice versa. To see this, suppose we
know that a triadic transformation f commutes
with every Tn and Jn; we claim that f must be
some schritt or wechsel. The specific Sn or Wn may
be determined from knowing f(0+​). Suppose, for
instance, we know that f(0+​) =​3−—​that is f(C) =​
e♭. Using the assumed commutativity and the for-
mulas for the actions of Tn and Jn, the action of f
on any major triad n+​ is determined by
f ( n+ ) = f (Tn (0+ )) = Tn ( f (0+ )) = Tn (3− )
= (n + 3)− ,
while the action on any minor triad n− must be
f ( n − ) = f ( J − n (0 + )) = J − n ( f (0 + )) = J − n (3− )
= ( n − 3 )+ .
The only transformation that maps all triads
as these equations specify is the wechsel W3.
Exercise 8.3.14 below illustrates the similar rea-
soning showing that the only transformations
that commute with all the transformations in ℛ
are the transpositions and inversions.
Exercise 8.3.13
(a) Calculate the result of applying the
composite transformations W3J5 and J5W3
to the C-​major and C-​minor triads 0+​ and
0−, and verify that the two composites give
the same result in each case.
(b) Generally, what is the result of applying
WmJn or JnWm to a major triad (r, +​)? To a
minor triad (r, −)?
(c) Only one of the following two equations is
true in general: Jn =​ J0Tn or Jn =​ TnJ0. Which
  equation is the correct one?
Exercise 8.3.14 Suppose a triadic transformation
f commutes with every Sn and Wn and satisfies
f(0+​) =​7−. Determine the action of f on every
major and minor triad, and show that f can only
be  the inversion J5 (or equivalently I2).
This description of two simply transitive trans-
formation groups that are both isomorphic and
pairwise commuting will carry a familiar ring to
readers who worked through the discussion of
duality in Section 7.5. Theorem 7.5.24 described
a duality between the group of transpositions 𝒯S
and the group of interval-​preserving mappings
𝒫S in any interval space S: both groups act on S
in simply transitive fashion, the two groups are
isomorphic (though it is easier to construct an
anti-​isomorphism between them than an isomor-
phism), and each group is the centralizer of the
other. The triadic transformation groups 𝒯ℐ12
and ℛ provide an example of this duality. In this
setting, S is the set triad; depending on how we
define “intervals” between triads, either 𝒯ℐ12 or ℛ
can play the role of 𝒯S, and the other then auto-
matically becomes 𝒫S.55
We noted the possibility of regarding triad
as an interval space with 𝒯ℐ12 as its interval
group first in Section 5.6, again in Section 7.2
in illustrating interval-​space homomorphisms,
and earlier in this section in discussing simply
transitive groups on triad. As Lewin’s theo-
rem describes, 𝒯ℐ12 serves both as the group
of “intervals” and as the associated group 𝒯S of
“transposition” operators on this space. The cau-
tionary quotation marks remind us of the non-
traditional meanings of the words: “intervals”
in this sense are defined by Tn and In relations
between triads (for example, int(G, a) =​I11),
and those same mappings Tn and In are also the
“transpositions” Transi in this interval space (G
major “transposed” by I11 produces A minor).
But from Section 7.5 we know that every
interval space S also has a group 𝒫S of “inter-
val”-​preserving mappings, and that 𝒫S is the
centralizer of 𝒯S. Because the centralizer of
the triadic transformation group 𝒯ℐ12 is the
Riemann group ℛ, it follows that ℛ plays the
role of 𝒫S in the space triad. That is, when
we use the transformations Tn and In to define
“intervals,” the “interval”-​preserving mappings
are the Riemannian transformations Sn and Wn.
The duality tells us, moreover, that we could
have approached the construction the other
way around, starting with the simply transitive
group ℛ, taking schritts and wechsels to define
“intervals” (for example, int(G, a) =​W2). In this
alternate universe ℛ plays the role of 𝒯S (Sn and
Wn are now “transpositions”), while 𝒫S is 𝒯ℐ12
(Tn and In are no longer “transpositions,” but
instead are “interval”-​preserving).
Triadic Transformations • 329
 The duality between the groups ℛ and 𝒯ℐ12
may be described in other ways. We noted above
that the mapping defined by
Sn =​ 〈+​, n, −n, +​, +​〉 → Tn =​ 〈+​, n, n, +​, +​〉,
Wn =​ 〈−, n, −n, +​, +​〉 → Jn =​ 〈−, n, n, −, −〉
is an isomorphism between the two groups. This
mapping may be extended to a function defined
on the entire group 𝒬, a mapping that inverts
the second transposition level of any QTT and
reverses the two reflection factors if and only if
the QTT is mode-​reversing. That is, the function
f: 𝒬 → 𝒬 defined by
f ( 〈σ, t +, t −, ρ+, ρ− 〉) = 〈σ, t +, −t −, σρ+, σρ− 〉
satisfies f(Sn) =​ Tn and f(Wn) =​ Jn. The statements
f(Tn) =​ Sn and f(Jn) =​ Wn are also true; f is an
involution.
Let us write U~ in place of f(U) for the result
of applying this mapping to the QTT U. The
mapping ~ is an involution, since (U~)~ =​ U for
every U. Moreover, ~ is a group homomorphism,
which means that the equation (UV)~ =​ U~V~
always holds. Clearly ~ is one-​to-​one and onto,
so ~ is an automorphism of 𝒬. We call U~ the dual
of the QTT U. The mapping ~ extends the dual
relationship between ℛ and 𝒯ℐ12 to the entire
group 𝒬. Dual QTTs may be said to play identi-
cal roles in the algebraic structure of the group
𝒬—​ even though they obviously may differ in
significant ways.
Because ~ is an automorphism of 𝒬, any true
algebraic statement about QTTs remains true if
the QTTs are replaced by their duals. For exam-
ple, the UTTs form a subgroup 𝒰 of 𝒬, and their
duals also form a subgroup, the group of dual-​
UTTs 𝒰~ =​{U~ | U ∈ 𝒰}. From the definition of
~, it is clear that the dual of a mode-​preserving
UTT 〈+​, t+​, t−, +​, +​〉 is another mode-​preserving
UTT, 〈+​, t+​, −t−, +​, +​〉, but the dual of a mode-​
reversing UTT 〈−, t+​, t−, +​, +​〉 is 〈−, t+​, −t−, −, −〉,
which is anti-​uniform and therefore not a UTT at
all. So the dual-​UTT group 𝒰~ consists of QTTs
of these two types: mode-​preserving uniform
transformations and mode-​reversing anti-​uni-
form transformations. Equivalently, 𝒰~ consists
of all QTTs whose three signs σ, ρ+​, and ρ− are
all the same.
Recall that the UTTs are exactly the transfor-
mations that commute with all transpositions
Tn; thus in the large group 𝒬, the centralizer of
330 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
the transposition group 𝒯12 is the UTT group
𝒰. The duals of the transpositions Tn are the
schritts Sn, elements of the group ℛ+​, so by dual-
ity we may conclude that the transformations
that commute with all schritts are exactly the
dual-​UTTs: 𝒰~ is the centralizer of ℛ+​.
Exercise 8.3.15
(a) Verify that the equation (U~)~ =​ U holds if
U =​ 〈−, 2, 5, +​, −〉.
(b) Verify that the equation (UV)~ =​ U~V~ holds
  if U =​ 〈−, 2, 5, +​, −〉 and V =​ 〈+​, 6, 4, −, +​〉.
Exercise 8.3.16
(a) What is the dual of the M-​chain G–​e–​C–​a–​
F–​d? First determine the QTT M~, where
M is the mediant transformation. Then,
starting with the G-​major triad 7+​, apply
M~ repeatedly. Is the M~-​chain a sequence
formed by transpositions of two-​chord
blocks? Why or why not? Alternate chords
in the M-​chain, such as G–​C–​F, are related
by M2 =​ D; are alternate chords in the M~-​
chain related by D~?
(b) Now consider G–​e–​C–​a–​F–​d as an RL-​chain
rather than an M-​chain, and determine its
dual. (That is, start with 7+​ and apply R~
and L~ in alternation.) Do you get the same
  triads as in the M~-​chain? Why or why not?
There are several additional ways in which
the UTT theory may be generalized, a few of
which we sketch briefly in the remainder of
this section. We have described UTTs and QTTs
as transformations on the set triad, but the
ordered pairs (r, σ) in ℤ12 × 𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛 on which these
transformations act could stand for other kinds
of musical objects. In particular, the 24 sets in
any set class of asymmetrical pitch-​class sets
may be labeled with (r, σ) pairs.56 Any such set
class, therefore, admits its own groups of UTTs
and QTTs, algebraically isomorphic to the tri-
adic case, complete with transpositions and
inversions, schritts and wechsels, M-​chains,
the ℛ-​𝒯ℐ12 duality, the other simply transitive
subgroups, and more.57 A number of studies
have developed transformational systems on
set classes other than triads, systems that are
easily reinterpreted within the UTT formalism.
For example, Childs 1998 and Gollin 1998 inde-
pendently proposed dualistic transformational
theories for the set class of dominant and half-​
diminished seventh chords (prime form 0258),
effectively reconstructing on this set class the
Riemann group ℛ; the systems of Childs and
Gollin could be subsumed in larger groups,
counterparts of 𝒰 and 𝒬.58
There are other possibilities. Pairs of the form
(r, σ) may be associated with ordered sets of pitch
classes, the 24 ordered sets in one equivalence
class being related by transposition or inver-
sion.59 Such an ordered set may be a twelve-​tone
row or some other serial structure. So far we
have assumed that the +​and − “modes” of the
objects (r, σ) are related by inversion, but the
UTT formalism does not depend on this assump-
tion. In principle the two “modes” of objects on
which generalized UTT-​ type transformations
act can be defined by any sort of binary opposi-
tion—​they could be major triads and dominant
seventh chords, or triads in root position and
in first inversion—​as long as the two modes are
distinguishable somehow and objects of both
kinds can be transposed to twelve different pitch
levels. If the objects are twelve-​tone rows, we
may use (r, −) to denote the retrograde, rather
than the inversion, of (r, +​). In Section 9.5 we
will explore serial applications of UTTs further,
refining our observations from Example 4.5.1
about Webern’s String Quartet, Op. 28, by apply-
ing UTTs to ordered pairs (r, +​) and (r, −) repre-
senting BACH tetrachords.
Yet another constraint subject to loosening
is the assumption of an underlying mod-​12
pitch-​class structure. Mod-​n UTTs are mathe-
matically just as viable as mod-​12 UTTs, though
with some differences in details of algebraic
structure for different values of n.60 In particu-
lar, mod-​7 UTTs may be used to model some
diatonic or generic structures. In the same way
that some chromatic sequences are generated
by repeated application of a single mod-​ 12
UTT, the diatonic sequence in Figure 8.3.17 is
generated entirely by the UTT U =​ 〈−, 5, 3〉7 (the
subscript signaling a mod-​7 UTT). The trans-
position levels in this UTT indicate generic
transposition operators t5 and t3, as in analyses
of similar sequences in Section 4.3. In generic
space there is only a single triad on any root
FIGURE 8.3.17 A diatonic sequence generated by the mod-​7 UTT U =​ 〈−, 5, 3〉7
r, so the +​/​− distinction cannot indicate chord
qualities; in this analysis r+​ denotes a root-​
position triad whose root is generic pitch class
r (0 =​C, 1 =​D, …), while r− denotes the corre-
sponding first-​inversion triad. Even sequences
with all chords in root position may be modeled
in this way, using the +​/−​ distinction simply to
indicate a chord’s position as the first or second
element of a sequential block. Mod-​7 structure
will be explored further in Part Four.
Exercise 8.3.18 The diatonic sequences below
were graphed in a generic tonnetz in Figure
4.3.4. Determine a mod-​7 UTT that generates
each sequence.
(a) G–​C–​F–​bo–​e–​a
(b)  C–​G–​a–​e–​F–​C
Example 8.3.19: Rimsky-​K orsakov,
Christmas Eve We conclude this section with
an analysis that engages four “modes” of
chords, major and minor triads and dominant
and half-​diminished seventh chords, in a
comparison of two excerpts from Rimsky-​
Korsakov’s 1894–​95 opera Christmas Eve.61
The opera, a charming blend of comedy and
fantasy, is an adaptation of a story by Gogol
in which the village blacksmith Vakula wins
his bride by flying to Petersburg on the
Devil’s back in order to procure for her the
Empress Catherine’s slippers. The Prelude
to the opera opens with the series of root-​
position major triads shown at the top of
Figure 8.3.20. What the figure does not
show is the remarkable orchestration: every
chord is scored for a different combination
of winds. Only rarely does one player play a
note in two consecutive chords; the concept
of voice leading is foreign to this music. The
chords are projected as a series of isolated,
frozen jewels, an evocation of the moonlit,
snow-​covered landscape on which the curtain
is about to rise.
Triadic Transformations • 331
FIGURE 8.3.20 Transformational relationships in Rimsky-​Korsakov, Christmas Eve: Act I, Prelude
(top); Act III, Procession of Comets (bottom)
Our analysis regards this succession of
triads as a chromatic alteration of a now-​
familiar pattern, the RL-​chain E–​c♯–​A–​f♯–​ ⋯,
which appears across the top row of the
transformation network in the upper of the
two bubbles in the figure. Rimsky-​Korsakov’s
music follows not this row of transformations
but the zigzag path of solid arrows, in which
all chords are major. The chord roots descend
alternately by minor and major thirds as in the
RL-​chain, and alternate chords are dominant-​
related as shown by the curved arrows, but
the exclusive use of major triads means that
332 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
the third relations are now chromatic, with
prominent cross relations. The major triads
on C♯, F♯, and B are analyzed as parallel (P)
substitutions for the minor triads in the RL-​
chain, or simply as T9 transpositions of the
preceding chords.
The scene of Vakula’s flight is divided into
several fantastic episodes, among them the
Procession of Comets, which opens as shown
at the bottom of the figure. Apart from an
identical tempo indication, this excerpt bears
little outward resemblance to the opening of the
Prelude. A quartet of horns, doubled by other
winds, plays dominant seventh chords, cycling
systematically through all four inversions
with efficient voice leading. The instability of
these sonorities is intensified by violin trills,
doubled in woodwinds, with highlights in
harp and celesta. The pattern continues nine
measures beyond the seven in the figure, the
trills ascending inexorably into the realm of the
comets. The musical depiction of flight is as vivid
as was the crystalline stillness of the Prelude.
It is remarkable, then, to find exactly the same
root-​interval relationships in both excerpts.
While the transformations in the upper bubble
are the usual triadic transformations, those in
the lower bubble are transformations of the
seventh chords in the Procession of Comets.
But within each bubble all transformations
belong to the group 𝒰, whose action on the set
sev of dominant and half-​diminished seventh
chords, as described above, corresponds exactly
to its action on triads, at least in terms of root
relationships. For example, R (or W9) relates the
ordered pairs (4, +​) and (1, −); in triad this is
a relationship between E-​major and C♯-​minor
triads, while in sev it is a relationship between
the E7 and c♯ø7 chords.
As we have noted in other contexts, an
algebraic isomorphism between two musical
passages does not imply that they share other,
non-​algebraic properties. Voice-​leading behavior
is not preserved by this isomorphism between
triad and sev: R-​related triads are related by a
two-​semitone displacement in one voice, while
R-​related seventh chords require two voices to
move by semitone. Triads related by R belong
to a common diatonic scale; seventh chords
related by R do not. These differences are even
more pronounced for the relationships among
the same-​mode chords that actually appear in
the excerpts: Exercise 8.3.21 below points out a
difference between the voice-​leading behaviors
of the transpositions T8 and T9 on triads and
the behaviors of those same transformations
on seventh chords, a difference for which we
will see a geometric explanation in Section 11.5.
For reasons like these, readers may justifiably
be less inclined to hear the seventh-​chord
progression as an altered RL-​chain than to hear
the triadic progression that way.
We could regard the two bubbles in Figure
8.3.20 as separate transformation networks;
the two networks are then isographic in
terminology to be made precise in Section
9.3. It is possible, however, to define
transformations directly relating triads and
seventh chords—​cross-​type mappings, as we
used the term in Chapter 7. A particularly
straightforward mapping of this kind is the
transformation X (for exchange) that maps
every triad to the seventh chord represented
by the same (r, σ) pair and vice versa; thus X
maps the B-​major triad to the B7 chord and
vice versa, and the G♯-​minor triad to the g♯ø7
chord and vice versa. The bubble notation in
the figure shows that the upper bubble is DX
of the lower: starting from any seventh chord
in the lower bubble, if we apply the dominant
transformation D (that is, transpose by T5)
and exchange the seventh chord for a triad,
we get the chord at the same location in the
upper bubble. Indeed, every dominant seventh
chord in the Procession of Comets is V7 of the
corresponding triad in the Prelude.
Evidently X is an involution; it generates a
group 𝒳 =​{E, X} of order 2, isomorphic to 𝒞2.
We could write XD in place of DX, because X
and D commute; in fact X commutes with all
UTTs. By principles outlined in Section 6.4, the
UTTs in 𝒰, together with X, generate a group of
order 288 ∙ 2 =​576 isomorphic to 𝒰 × 𝒳, which
now acts not just on triad but on the larger set
triad ∪ sev, a space of cardinality 48 containing
triads and seventh chords, two qualities of each.
Half of the transformations in this large group
are the UTTs U; the others are of the form UX
(=​ XU). All of these transformations are defined
on all 48 chords: UTTs map triads to triads and
seventh chords to seventh chords, while the
transformations UX exchange the two. (When
the set triad ∪ sev is regarded in this way as
the space of transformational action, X need no
longer be considered a cross-​type mapping at
all; like the UTTs, it maps to and from the same
space, triad ∪ sev.)62
However one chooses to describe the
transformational patterns exhibited by these
two excerpts, Rimsky-​Korsakov seems to
have been enamored with them. The Prelude’s
opening chords recur several times during
the opera. Once the seventh-​chord version is
introduced, it becomes a motto for Vakula’s
flight, and forms the basis for the khorovod
that follows the Procession of Comets. The
csárdás that comes next opens with a newly
animated statement of the triadic progression
in which the subtle rhythmic acceleration of
the Prelude chords, all but imperceptible at
first, gains new urgency. The seventh-​chord
variant immediately follows, then a hybrid
version in which the top voice follows the
Triadic Transformations • 333
ascending pattern of the Prelude chords but
the harmonies are seventh chords in third
inversion.
   63
Exercise 8.3.21
(a) Determine the smallest possible total
number of semitones of voice-​leading
displacement needed to connect two major
triads related by T9. Assume that the chords
are written in three voices and may be in
any inversion. Do the same for T8. Which
of the two transpositions is potentially
smoother?
(b) Answer the same questions as in (a) for
the transpositions T9 and T8 applied to
  dominant seventh chords.
NOTES
1. In order to show that a transformation com-
mutes with all transpositions, it suffices to show that
it commutes with T1 (or with T5, T7, or T11—​any one
of the generators of the transformation group 𝒯12). If,
for example, U commutes with T1, we can write UT2 =​
UT1T1 and exchange U with the T1s one by one to show
that U commutes with T2.
2. There is no particular theoretical reason for the
convention of writing UTTs and some other related
transformations in angle brackets, but the visual con-
trast is helpful in distinguishing UTTs from other
tuples, written in parentheses, that may appear nearby
in various contexts. In Chapters 5 and 6 we used angle
brackets to denote groups generated by certain ele-
ments, an unrelated notation that is not employed in
this chapter.
3. Riemann introduced terms and notations for
triadic relationships akin to our P, R, and L, though
his conceptions of these relations were not explic-
itly “transformational” in the modern sense. For
Riemann and harmonic dualism more generally, see
Harrison 1994.
4. A transposition operator such as T3 may seem
to be an exception to the generalization that triadic
transformations do not directly imply voice lead-
ing, since the action of T3 on a triad is determined
by the action of T3 on the pitch classes of that triad:
“T3 of pitch class 0” makes sense in a way that “L
of pitch class 0” does not. It nevertheless remains
true that once we admit T3 as a triadic transforma-
tion, that object called T3—​a function from triad to
triad—​implies nothing about the mapping of indi-
vidual notes.
5. Hint for Exercise 8.1.4b: The four calculations do
not have four different answers.
334 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
6. Hint for Exercise 8.1.5b: In at least one of these
cases, the product is unchanged when the order of the
two UTTs is reversed, demonstrating that some pairs
of UTTs may commute even if no transpositions are
involved.
7. Generally, if G and H are groups of orders m and
n, acting on sets of cardinalities j and k, respectively,
we may imagine k drawers with a copy of a set of car-
dinality j in each drawer. For the UTT group, m =​ j =​
12 and n =​ k =​2. The wreath product G ≀ H is a group
of order mk ∙ n acting on a set of cardinality jk (all ele-
ments in all drawers), involving k copies of the fiber
group G (one acting on each drawer) interrelated by
the control group H (which controls how the drawers
may be exchanged). A wreath product is a special case
of a more general construction known as a semidirect
product; see Humphreys 1996, 163–​73. Wreath prod-
ucts play a central role in a sweepingly general theory
of abstract forms and the storage of information in
Leyton 2001, including a description of sequential
structure in music (477–​93).
8. Riemann’s terms schritt and wechsel have been
widely adopted, but the terminological variants are
many. See Table 1 in Hook 2002, 80–​81, for a com-
parison of names by which schritts and wechsels have
been known. The notations Sn and Wn appear in sev-
eral sources, including Hook 2002 and Clough 2008.
This convention conflicts with an earlier use of the
same notations in Gollin 1998, based not on intervals
between the traditional roots of triads but on inter-
vals between Riemannian dual roots (the dual root
of a minor triad being its fifth). Gollin’s schritt labels
match the notation here, but the wechsel we call Wn is
Gollin’s Wn+7.
9. Hints for Exercise 8.2.5: You can use Figure
8.2.3b, or your redrawn figure from Exercise 8.2.4,
to express any element of ℛ in terms of LR and R,
and thereby in terms of L and R. Because L and R are
involutions, the only way to generate other transfor-
mations from them is to use the two in alternation,
LRLRL⋯ or RLRLR⋯. Both chains produce all 24
Riemannian transformations. If you start with L and
find that more than 12 transformations are required,
you can obtain a shorter expression by starting with R.
See Table 1 in Hook 2002.
10. Hint for Exercise 8.2.6a: As defined in Section
6.6, f is an anti-​isomorphism if it reverses, rather than
preserves, the order of products—​that is, if the equa-
tion f(U)f(V) =​ f(VU) holds for all U and V in ℛ. The fol-
lowing chain of equalities demonstrates this property
when U is a schritt and V is a wechsel:
f(Sm)f(Wn) =​ TmIn =​ In−m =​ f(Wn−m) =​ f(WnSm).
(To see that Wn−m is the same as WnSm requires
exchanging the roles of m and n in the equation
WmSn =​ Wm − n from Theorem 8.2.2a.) The other cases
can be verified similarly. Anti-​isomorphic groups are
always isomorphic, so this anti-​isomorphism is con-
sistent with our observation that ℛ and 𝒯ℐ12 are
both isomorphic to the dihedral group 𝒟12.
11. Hints for Exercise 8.2.8: Two of the five pairs
generate ℛ. As with transpositions, any one of the
four schritts S1, S5, S7, or S11 by itself generates the
cyclic group ℛ+​, so if you can produce any one of these
four, you can generate all twelve schritts. If you can
produce all the schritts and any one wechsel, then you
can generate ℛ.
12. Hint for Exercise 8.2.10a: By Theorem 8.2.2d, tt:
𝒰 → ℤ12 is a group homomorphism. What is tt(V−1UV)
in terms of tt(U) and tt(V)?
13. See Engebretsen 2008 for a study of implicit
group structure in the work of Riemann and his pre-
decessors. The root-​ interval approach, predating
Riemann’s more celebrated formalization of the con-
cept of harmonic function, may be traced through
Riemann 1880, Oettingen 1866, and Hauptmann
1853. Following and expanding upon Oettingen,
Riemann employs such terms as Quintschritt and
Kleinterzwechsel (“fifth-​ schritt” and “minor-​ third–​
wechsel”), named to convey (dualistic) root rela-
tions. Klumpenhouwer 1994 identifies Riemann’s
system as a group; the dihedral structure, implicit in
Klumpenhouwer’s formulation, is noted specifically in
Gollin 1998, 203.
14. In this context the reader may recall the ton-
netz of 014 trichords studied in Exercise 4.4.3. The
transformations P*, L*, and R* defined there gener-
ate a group isomorphic to the Riemann group, even
though they differ markedly from P, L, and R in their
voice-​leading behavior.
15. A wechsel does not intrinsically privilege one
of the two triads over the other; depending on the
context, either of the two may be the more stable or
the more structurally salient. For commentary on this
notion of reciprocity see Chapter 3 of Cohn 2012.
16. Wechsels enjoy other advantages over inver-
sions as well. As noted in Section 7.6, the numbering
of inversions is arbitrary in the sense that it depends
on the choice of C as pitch class 0; the numbering
of wechsels does not depend on this choice (though
the numbering of both schritts and wechsels would
be reversed if we identified minor triads as the
+​mode). Also, a well-​trained listener without abso-
lute pitch can identify a wechsel Wn by ear, but not
an inversion In.
17. Cohn (1996, 16) observes that the triadic PL-​
cycle is one of only a few possible examples of maxi-
mally smooth cycles consisting of more than two sets
from the same set class. The twelve pitch classes (sets
of cardinality 1) form a trivial example, the cycle C –​
C♯ –​D –​⋯. A more interesting example is obtained
by arranging the twelve diatonic collections (sets of
cardinality 7) in circle-​of-​fifths order. The only other
examples are formed by the complements of the sets
just mentioned: sets of cardinality 11, pentatonic col-
lections, and the nine-​note complements of conso-
nant triads.
18. The use of the label H for hexatonic poles is
attributed to Robert Cook. Some authors have used
the abbreviated name hexpole.
19. For analyses of the Grail theme from Parsifal
(8.2.14b) see Lewin [1984] 2006; Cohn 1996;
Clampitt 1998; and particularly Rings 2011b, 83–​88,
wherein Rings’s interval space sd × pc is invoked to
reinterpret the chromatic Grail theme as a distortion
of the diatonic form heard previously. Cohn has stud-
ied hexatonic cycles and hexatonic poles extensively;
see Cohn 1996, Cohn 2004, and Chapter 2 of Cohn
2012. Cohn’s hexatonic pole examples date back to
Gesualdo, Monteverdi, and Bach, but most are by the
likes of Wagner, Franck, Grieg, Mahler, Strauss, and
Puccini. For examples of a major hexatonic pole used
as a chromatic neighbor chord to a minor tonic rather
than the other way around, see the opening sections of
both the first and third movements of the Piano Trio
in G Minor, Op. 3, by Ernest Chausson. The opening of
Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony owes its jaw-​drop-
ping effect to hexatonic poles; more recent examples
may be found in Shostakovich and Adams.
20. See Morris 1998, 184–​88. Morris calls Pʹ, Lʹ,
and Rʹ the obverses of P, L, and R. Importantly, they
are not the inverses of P, L, and R: all six of these trans-
formations are involutions, so each is its own inverse.
21. We avoid the S notation here as it risks confu-
sion with Sn (Pʹ is a wechsel, not a schritt); the letter
S has also been used elsewhere for the subdominant
transformation discussed in the next section. In this
book we have also used S as a label for a general set or
interval space, a notation that we avoid in any context
involving transformations labeled S.
22. See Cohn 2012, 47 and 61–​62, and Cohn 2000,
92. For Weitzmann, as for Hauptmann before him,
C-​major and F-​minor triads were neighbors along a
line of thirds, F–​A♭–​C–​E–​G. Weitzmann conceived the
nebenverwandt relation as the inversion of either triad
about the central note of that series—​the root of the
major triad or the fifth of the minor triad.
23. Cohn (2012, 96–​97) analyzes an RL-​chain in
Brahms’s Deutsches Requiem in which Lʹ substitutes
not for an L but for an R. Chopin’s sequence ascends
by thirds while Brahms’s descends, but in both cases Lʹ
is applied to a major triad, effectively inserting a V–​i
resolution into the middle of a sequence.
Triadic Transformations • 335
 24. Patterns formed by a pair of wechsels in alterna-
tion are called uniform flip-​flop circles in Clough 2008.
25. See Chapter 4 of Cohn 2012. The name is in
homage to Carl Friedrich Weitzmann’s 1853 trea-
tise on the augmented triad, in which voice leading
between augmented and consonant triads is a primary
concern.
26. The Cube Dance graph was devised by Douthett
in 1992 and first published in Douthett and Steinbach
1998, 254. A version appears also in Cohn 2012, 86.
As noted in Cohn 2000, many features of this graph
are alluded to in Weitzmann 1853, though Weitzmann
does not present the complete figure.
27. A chord progression containing augmented tri-
ads can be traced through the graph of Figure 8.2.19,
but such a path is not a transformational analysis.
Cohn 2012 includes some graphs of this kind. More
often, Cohn graphs progressions in the triangulated
tonnetz, in which consonant triads are triangles and
the occasional augmented or diminished triad may be
depicted as a straight line segment. Cohn’s analysis of
Schubert’s “Auf dem Flusse” (2012, 122–​25), which
floats among hexatonic triad and bridge families, is
germane to the discussion here; readers may find it
instructive to map the “voice-​leading zones” in Cohn’s
Figure 6.8 onto our Figure 8.2.17.
28. Cohn 2012 gives many examples of RLʹ-​chains
(“N/​R chains” in his terminology), by composers
including Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt.
29. Baur (1999, 568–​71) studies mm. 60–​94 in the
context of a wide-​ranging study of octatonicism in
Ravel’s music.
30. Such a preference is expressed, for example, in
Klumpenhouwer 1994, and as we will note in Chapter
9, Lewin requires path consistency of transformation
networks.
31. The two Schubert examples and the Glazunov
appear in Taruskin 1985, 84–​86 and 130–​31. For the
Schubert Mass see also Cohn 2012, 30–​32 and the
rather different discussion in Salzer and Schachter
1969, 215–​18. The Liszt example is cited in Douthett
2008, 102, and in Cohn 2012, 91–​92.
32. This Schubert example is studied in Cohn
1998b, 290–​91.
33. The Bach sequence in (a) is studied in Harrison
1994, 33–​34.
34. Hint for Exercise 8.2.26h: How many different
triads would appear in any of these sequences before
the pattern repeats?
35. This family of sequence patterns would theo-
retically be completed by a fourth type, in which the
major chord of each pair comes first and successive
pairs descend by T10. This hypothetical sequence—​
call it (d)—​ would be a W8W10 sequence like (a),
but with W8 applied to major triads, W10 to minor.
336 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
While the three sequence types that Martin uses
are seemingly foreign to common-​ practice tonal-
ity, examples of type (d) occur in a number of well-​
known works, from Bach (B–​g–​A–​f–​G in m. 8 of the
A-​Minor Prelude from WTC II) to Schubert (g–​A–​f–​G
in mm. 12–​15 of “Morgengruss,” No. 8 of Die schöne
Müllerin) to Debussy (E–​c–​D–​b♭–​C in the distant,
evocative horns at m. 107 in the coda of L’après-​midi
d’un faune).
36. The Liszt example appears in Bass 1996, 271–​72,
the Rimsky-​Korsakov in Taruskin 1985, 97.
37. See Lewin [1987] 2007, 175–​80. At first Lewin
used the transformational labels PAR, LT, REL, DOM,
and MED, but within a few years these were largely
supplanted by the single-​ letter labels used here
(except M). The notation D brings with it a need to
exercise care in distinguishing italic D, the dominant
transformation, from roman D, the D-​major triad.
38. Lewin ([1987] 2007, 177) devotes considerable
effort to explaining why the dominant transforma-
tion is defined so that dominants point to their tonics
rather than the other way around, going so far as to
criticize Riemann’s function theory for not conceiv-
ing of dominant-​tonic relations in this way. Formally,
either way is as good as the other—​in a group, if we
have D, we also have D−1—​but the additional layer of
interpretation is evidently of considerable importance
to Lewin.
39. Some authors have used the label M for triadic
transformations other than 〈−, 9, 8〉. In Kopp 2002,
“M” is the transposition T8; in Segall 2017, it is the
schritt S3.
40. If the M-​chain is tuned in pure major and minor
thirds, the roots of triads seven places apart differ by a
syntonic comma; recall Exercise 1.4.16.
41. It would be an overstatement to claim that the
choice of a simply transitive group makes all analyti-
cal decisions inevitable. As we know, transformations
need not always model chord-​to-​chord relationships
in strictly chronological fashion; the determination
that we wish to model the chord succession G–​a with a
transformation is an analytical decision that no group
can make for us.
42. See Hook 2002, 84–​93, for details of the simply
transitive subgroups of 𝒰, and see Hook and Douthett
2008 for additional structural properties and applica-
tions of these groups. The 24 simply transitive groups
are labeled 𝒦a,b, where a and b are mod-​12 integers;
a must be one of the mod-​12 units (1, 5, 7, or 11),
and b must be such that ab ≡ b (mod 12). Each group
𝒦a,b consists of twelve mode-​preserving UTTs of the
form 〈+​, n, an〉 and twelve mode-​reversing UTTs of
the form 〈−, n, an +​ b〉. The Riemann group ℛ is 𝒦11,0,
while ℳ is 𝒦1,11. The group generated by T1 and P, dis-
cussed below, is 𝒦1,0. Only the twelve groups 𝒦1,b are
commutative, and of those, only the six groups with
odd values of b are cyclic.
43. Hint for Exercise 8.3.5: The generators are the
units mod 24 (the numbers coprime to 24).
44. Hint for Exercise 8.3.6: Remember this charac-
terization of normal subgroups from Section 6.6: H is
a normal subgroup of G if and only if H contains the
conjugates of all of its elements by all elements of G.
45. Hint for Exercise 8.3.7: The four patterns are
generated by four different UTTs, but two of them
generate the same group.
46. Hint for Exercise 8.3.8a: Because transpositions
commute with all UTTs, all that must be shown is that
two different transformations of the form TnP (say
TmP and TnP) commute with each other.
47. Hook 2002, 100–​04, describes some subgroups
of 𝒰 not considered here.
48. Hint for Exercise 8.3.9: Write the UTT notations
for the eight transformations in the octatonic triad
group. Note the difference between the two transposi-
tion levels of each of them, and consider whether this
difference is preserved when the UTT is composed
with a transposition.
49. See Hyer 1995, 120, for the general form of
his multiplication table. Table 1 in Hook 2002, 80–​81,
may be used to convert Hyer’s canonical forms to UTT
notation.
50. This conclusion about T3 may seem to con-
tradict Exercise 6.1.8a, which determined that T3 is
an odd permutation—​but in that context “T3” was a
permutation of the 12-​element set pc rather than of
the 24-​element set triad, so there were only three 4-​
cycles rather than six.
51. See Hook 2002, 97. The equivalence can be
proved by exhibiting a generating set of transfor-
mations for the group 𝒰 and verifying that the two
definitions agree for each of the generators and there-
fore for any product thereof. One such generating
set consists of the three transformations 〈+​, 0, 1〉,
〈+​, 1, 0〉, and P.
52. For a summary of Kopp’s basic transformations
see Kopp 2002, 146. Some of Kopp’s notations conflict
with traditional transformational terminology.
53. The idea of extending UTTs in this way was
suggested by John Clough. See Hook 2002, 106–​11,
for a more thorough formalization of QTTs.
54. Hint for Exercise 8.3.12: You may find it
helpful to make double-​circle diagrams similar to
Figure 8.3.11.
55. This dual relationship between 𝒯ℐ12 and ℛ is
noted in Clough 1998.
56. To be explicit, we may associate the set whose
pitch-​class numbers match the prime form of the set
class with the ordered pair (0, +​) and the transposi-
tions of that set with (n, +​); then we may associate the
I0-​inversion of (0, +​) with the ordered pair (0, −), and
the transpositions of that set with (n, −). While this
strategy can be applied in general, it is not the only
possibility, and in fact it does not match the stan-
dard assignment of (r, σ) labels to triads. If the sets
are labeled differently, some transformational labels
change, but the group structure is unaffected.
57. The first T in the abbreviation UTT is obsolete
if the transformed objects are not triads, but we retain
the name, as triads remain the prototypical example
for these transformations. Similarly, the r in a pair
(r, σ) may no longer be the “root” of the object in ques-
tion in any traditional sense.
58. Gollin points out the isomorphism between
his group and the triadic schritt-​wechsel group, and
notes that the same group structure is applicable to
other set classes. For another example, Lewin [1993]
2007, 16–​67, develops a transformational system for
pentachords of prime form 01236 in Stockhausen’s
Klavierstück III, paying particular notice to the contex-
tual inversion that preserves the chromatic tetrachord
within a pentachord of this type. By combining this
wechsel with transpositions, Lewin essentially works
not in the group ℛ but in one of the other simply
transitive subgroups of 𝒰. See Hook 2002, 111–​13,
for more details about the UTT reformulations of the
systems of Childs, Gollin, and Lewin described here.
59. In some cases the theory may be applicable
to a class of ordered sets even if, because of sym-
metry, it is not applicable to the associated class of
unordered sets; for instance, there are 24 distinct
TI-​relatives of the ordered pitch-​class set (0, 3, 6, 9)
but not of the unordered set {0, 3, 6, 9}. Any ordered
set containing two distinct pitch classes forming an
interval class other than ic6 will have 24 different
forms. Fiore and Satyendra 2005 note that under
this assumption, a transformational system isomor-
phic to triadic transformations can be constructed;
while the action of transpositions and inversions on
ordered sets is straightforward, Fiore and Satyendra
show that schritts and wechsels are also well-​defined
in this setting and the ℛ-𝒯ℐ12 duality applies in
full. Lewin 2008 examines a class of pentachords in
Schoenberg’s Op. 23, No. 3 as both unordered and
ordered sets, defining contextual inversions appli-
cable in both senses.
60. For a summary of some of these differences see
Hook 2002, 114–​15.
61. The Rimsky-​Korsakov analysis is adapted from
Hook 2007a, 32–​35.
62. The direct product 𝒰 × 𝒳 is the simplest group
that accommodates UTTs on both triads and seventh
chords and provides a way to relate the two, but other
strategies, involving higher-​order wreath products, are
also possible. We could take two copies of the group 𝒰,
Triadic Transformations • 337
one acting on triads and the other on seventh chords,
as the fiber groups in a wreath product 𝒰 ≀ 𝒞2 (or
(𝒞12 ≀ 𝒞2) ≀ 𝒞2). A transformation in this group is of
the form 〈σ, Utriad, Usev〉, consisting of two indepen-
dent UTTs for triads and seventh chords along with a
sign that allows the two to interact. Alternatively, we
could take four copies of the transposition group 𝒯12,
one for each of the four qualities of chords in triad
∪ sev, and combine them in a more complex wreath
product 𝒯12 ≀ 𝒮4 (algebraically, 𝒞12 ≀ 𝒮4), whose control
group is not 𝒞2 but the symmetric group 𝒮4. A UTT-​
style transformation in this group incorporates four
transposition levels, and, in place of a sign, a permuta-
tion in 𝒮4, enabling the four modes to be permuted in
any desired way: a transformation might, for example,
employ the permutation (in cycle notation) (M, m,
ø7)(Mm7), which permutes three of the chord quali-
ties cyclically while leaving dominant seventh chords
unchanged. Both of these proposed groups are much
larger than 𝒰 × 𝒳—​the order of 𝒰 ≀ 𝒞2 is 2882 ∙ 2 =​
165,888, while that of 𝒯12 ≀ 𝒮4 is 124 ∙ 4! =​
497,664—​and musically unwieldy; in many musical
situations it is far from clear how one should deter-
mine which of the many possible transformations in
one of these two groups is most suitable.
63. In Rimsky-​Korsakov’s harmony text, written
almost a decade before Christmas Eve, direct juxtapo-
sition of third-​related triads of the same mode falls
into the category called “false progressions” (Rimsky-​
Korsakov [1886] 1930, 108–​11). Writing late in his
life about Christmas Eve, he regretted that his free
incorporation of mythological elements into Gogol’s
tale had been a mistake—​“but a mistake which offered
the opportunity of writing a wealth of interesting
music” (Rimsky-​ Korsakov [1909] 1942, 343–​ 44).
Both the Prelude and the Procession of Comets appear
338 • E x p l oring M usica l S p aces
among the examples in Rimsky-​ Korsakov’s post-
humously published treatise on orchestration, but
they are widely separated in the book and there is no
discussion of a connection between them or of the
harmonic progressions involved (Rimsky-​ Korsakov
[1913] 1964, Examples 106 and 143).
SUGGESTED READING
Lewin turns his attention to triadic transforma-
tions for a few pages at the beginning of Chapter
8 of GMIT (Lewin [1987] 2007, 175–​80)—​a pas-
sage that may be seen in hindsight as the de facto
birth of neo-​Riemannian theory, among the most
influential pages in Lewin’s writings. Many scholars
contributed to the subsequent development of neo-​
Riemannian theory, none more influentially than
Richard Cohn. Many examples and insights in Cohn
1996 and Cohn 1997 remain valuable today; Cohn’s
work culminates in his book Audacious Euphony
(2012), whose compelling tonnetz-​based analyses
engage ideas in Section 8.2 of this book. Analytical
applications in the early years of neo-​Riemannian
theory concentrated on late nineteenth-​century
examples, but triadic transformations have also
been applied to a diverse assortment of more recent
music, including pop-​rock examples (Capuzzo
2004) and works by Gavin Bryars (Cook 2009),
John Adams (Johnson 2011), and Alfred Schnittke
(Segall 2017).
The discussion of UTTs in this chapter incorporates
material first published in Hook 2002, but many
technical details from that article are omitted here.
A concise introduction to UTTs may also be found
in Hook and Douthett 2008, 92–​98.
 9
Transformations II
Transformation Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations
TRANSFORMATION GRAPHS and networks
were introduced in Section 3.5 and have made
appearances in every subsequent chapter of this
book. This chapter examines some formal and
theoretical considerations involving graphs and
networks that we have not yet considered. Some
of this material originates in the work of David
Lewin, but the formalism presented here departs
from Lewin in several ways, notably by allowing
cross-​type networks and relaxing Lewin’s path
consistency condition (discussed in detail in
Section 9.2). Section 9.3 describes several kinds
of isomorphism and isography of graphs and
networks, and Section 9.4 is a brief introduction
to Klumpenhouwer networks.
The final two sections of the chapter exam-
ine transformational relationships among
serial structures, particularly twelve-​tone rows,
in greater depth than we have to this point.
In Section 9.5 we show how UTTs and simi-
lar transformations may be applied to rows;
examples from the serial music of Webern
demonstrate that such an analysis may yield
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0009
musical insights that might escape notice in a
conventional twelve-​ tone analysis. UTTs may
also play the role of coordinate transformations
relating different labeling schemes for the forms
of a twelve-​tone row. Section 9.6 describes the
duality between pitch-​class numbers and order
numbers.
9.1 TRANSFORMATION
GRAPHS AND NETWORKS:
BASIC PROPERTIES
We begin by using a series of small transforma-
tion graphs and networks to review basic defini-
tions and to define some new properties. These
graphs are designed less to model specific musi-
cal passages than to illustrate the aspects of net-
work structure that are now our primary focus.
As defined in Section 3.5, a transformation
network is a directed graph endowed with two
sets of labels: the vertices are labeled with the
names of elements in some space S while the
arrows are labeled with transformations on S.
The analyst constructing a transformation net-
work is bound by few constraints. There are no
structural constraints on the space: S is often
an interval space, for example, but this is not a
requirement. No rules specify which elements of
the space must appear in the network, how often
any element may appear, which pairs of verti-
ces must be joined by arrows, or the direction
in which a particular arrow should point. The
transformations appearing in a network must
be functions defined on S, which implies that
S must be closed under each of them—​but the
transformations are not required to belong to a
group, so they need not be one-​to-​one or onto.1
Formally, a transformation network may be
defined by enumerating four things: a directed
graph, a space S, and two label functions, of
which one assigns an element of S to every ver-
tex in the graph and the other assigns a function
f: S → S to every arrow.2 The only other general
constraint on transformation networks is label
consistency: arrow labels must be consistent with
vertex labels in the sense that an arrow labeled
f from element x to element y is permitted in a
network only if the implied equation f(x) =​ y is
true. (The path consistency condition, imposed by
Lewin as an additional requirement, will be dis-
cussed in Section 9.2.)
Figure 9.1.1a presents a simple transforma-
tion network called N1. The elements are major
and minor triads; the transformations R, L, and D
are familiar from Chapter 8. While in principle it
is possible that the space of some transformation
network might consist only of S =​{E♭, c, A♭, f}, the
four triads appearing in the figure, that minimal
FIGURE 9.1.1 (a) A triadic transformation
network N1; (b) the underlying transformation
graph gr(N1)
340 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
space is not possible for this network, because S
is not closed under some of the transformations
appearing here (R may be considered a function
from S to S, but D and L cannot). In fact, R and
L together generate a cycle through all 24 triads,
so the smallest space possible for this network is
the complete space triad. This figure, like many
in this chapter, includes a legend identifying the
space associated with the network. (While the
network label N1 in Figure 9.1.1a is merely for
ease of reference, the space label triad may tech-
nically be considered part of the network.) The
precise extent of the space on which a network is
defined is not always a significant consideration,
but careful attention to spaces is needed in the
case of cross-​type networks, discussed below. The
transformations in the figure are all functions f:
triad → triad, as required; in fact all are UTTs,
elements of the group 𝒰 from Chapter 8. Label
consistency is easily checked; for example, the
network shows that the F-​minor triad is simul-
taneously D of C minor and R of A♭ major, both
true statements.
Part (b) of the figure shows the underlying
transformation graph of the network N1, labeled
gr(N1). The configuration of vertices and arrows
in the graph gr(N1) matches that in the network
N1, and the arrows are labeled with the same
transformations, but the vertices in a transfor-
mation graph are unlabeled. Even though no ele-
ments of the space S appear in a transformation
graph, to make sense of the arrow labels we must
assume that a space has been specified as a part of
the definition of the graph; Figure 9.1.1b makes
the space triad explicit via the same legend as
in (a).3 A transformation graph thus consists of
all the same components as a transformation
network except for the vertex labeling: a directed
graph, a space S, and a label function that assigns
to each arrow of the graph a function f: S → S.
Because there are no vertex labels, label consis-
tency is not a consideration for transformation
graphs.
FIGURE 9.1.2 A triadic transformation net-
work N2
 Every transformation network N has an
under­lying transformation graph gr(N), obtained
by removing its vertex labels. In comparison with
transformation networks, transformation graphs
are less explicit and more abstract. Their use-
fulness lies in the fact that one graph can con-
vey information common to several networks.
Figure 9.1.2 shows a network N2 that is identical
to N1 except for its vertex labels. The two net-
works, that is, share the same underlying trans-
formation graph: gr(N1) =​gr(N2). This property,
called strong isography, is one of several kinds of
isomorphism and isography of transformation
graphs and networks to be studied in Section
9.3. A network is said to realize its underlying
graph; thus the networks N1 and N2 both realize
the graph in Figure 9.1.1b.
Exercise 9.1.3 How many different realizations
are  possible for the graph in Figure 9.1.1b?4
The network in Figure 9.1.4a captures a
relationship between the first two triads from
networks N1 and N2, employing two shorthand
notations we have used previously. When an
involution such as P, L, R, or T6 appears among
the transformations in a graph or network, it may
be indicated by means of a bidirectional arrow—​
or by a more efficient shorthand that omits
both arrowheads, leaving a simple line segment
that we understand to represent two oppositely
directed arrows bearing the same label. The two
segments labeled R in 9.1.4a therefore stand for
four separate applications of the transformation
FIGURE 9.1.4 (a) A transformation network
incorporating shorthand notations; (b) the full
network implied in (a)
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 341
FIGURE 9.1.5 (a) An event network; (b) a spa-
tial network
R. The bubble notation in the figure indicates
that the transposition T9 relates pairs of corre-
sponding vertices in both bubbles; because there
are two vertices in each bubble, the T9 arrow
stands for two separate vertex-​to-​vertex arrows,
E♭ → C and c → a. By means of these abbrevia-
tions Figure 9.1.4a, though it displays only a
single arrowhead, represents a network with six
arrows, shown completely in 9.1.4b. The appear-
ance of the transformation T9 in this figure con-
veys something about the similarity between the
networks N1 and N2 and the role of transposition
in that similarity, considerations to be examined
in the discussion of isomorphism and isography
in Section 9.3.
As with other graphs, the elements of a trans-
formation network may be arranged in many
different ways on the page, though there may
be musical or aesthetic reasons for preferring a
certain layout. Figure 9.1.5, based on a Schubert
progression from Exercise 8.2.25, revisits the
distinction between spatial networks and event
networks first introduced in Section 3.5. Figure
9.1.5a is an event network of an unusually
straightforward type, simply accounting for the
triads in the order in which they appear and
identifying transformations between succes-
sive chords. (For the transformations Pʹ and Lʹ
see Section 8.2.) Part (b) of the figure displays
the same triads and transformations in a spa-
tial network, organized like a partial map of
neo-​Riemannian triad space. (The space label
nrtriad implies this spatial organization, as in
Figure 4.2.5b; as a set, nrtriad is identical to
triad.) The spatial network reveals an organiza-
tional logic not apparent in the event network,
possibly at the cost of obscuring the chronol-
ogy of the passage. F-​minor and E-​major triads
each occur twice in the progression and in Figure
9.1.5a; in (b), F minor appears twice but E major
only once. Duplicate vertex labels in a network
indicate that two or more vertices represent the
same element of the space, something encoun-
tered commonly in event networks but not nec-
essarily in spatial networks. The duplication of
F minor in (b) arises because the progression
completes a circuit around the toroidal topology
of the space between the first appearance of F
minor and the last. Nothing of the sort happens
between the two E-​major triads, so both are rep-
resented by the same vertex.
Figure 9.1.5b provides spatial context for the
chord progression by showing some nearby tri-
ads in the space. Formally, a vertex or an arrow
either belongs to a network or it does not; the
nearby triads such as E minor and A major may
be considered external to the network, or alter-
natively we may regard the figure as a larger net-
work that incorporates them, along with a large
number of bidirectional P, L, and R arrows corre-
sponding to the unlabeled edges. Similar consid-
erations apply to other graphic conventions we
have observed from time to time, such as enclos-
ing some vertex labels in parentheses or display-
ing some transformations as dashed arrows. The
difference between spatial and event networks
is itself only an informal distinction, and many
transformation networks do not fall cleanly into
either category. Network N1 from Figure 9.1.1a,
for example, resembles an event network for the
progression E♭ –​c –​A♭ –​f: the chords proceed
through the network from left to right, though
the network also includes two indirect transfor-
mations linking nonconsecutive chords. On the
other hand, the zigzag path between major and
minor triads hints at a spatial arrangement, and
it would be a simple matter to adjust the posi-
tions of the four vertices to match the configura-
tion of the triads in a tonnetz.
The network in Figure 9.1.6a illustrates octave
equivalence by displaying elements from two dif-
ferent spaces, pitch space and pitch-​class space.
The pitch transposition T12 relates two pitches
an octave apart, both of which are mapped to the
same pitch class by the quotient map QO: pitch →
pc from Section 2.4. The quotient map is a
cross-​type transformation—​ not a function on
342 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
FIGURE 9.1.6 (a) A cross-​type transformation
network; (b) the underlying cross-​type transfor-
mation graph
a single space but a mapping from one space to
another—​and the network is a cross-​type trans-
formation network. Figure 9.1.6b, the underlying
transformation graph of the network in (a), is a
cross-​type transformation graph.
Though not accounted for in Lewin’s formal-
ization of transformation networks, cross-​type
graphs and networks are often useful. Chapter
7 offered examples of mappings relating two dif-
ferent scalar spaces and networks featuring such
mappings; Figure 8.3.20 presented a network
combining triads and seventh chords. In a gen-
eral cross-​type graph or network there may be
not just two spaces but an entire family of spaces
S1, S2, …. Each vertex is assigned to one space (as
indicated in Figure 9.1.6 by the dual legends),
and in a network must be labeled with an ele-
ment of that space.5 Even in a cross-​type trans-
formation graph with unlabeled vertices, the
space associated with each vertex must be iden-
tified. This is necessary in order to know what
labels are available for each arrow: an arrow from
a vertex in space S1 to a vertex in space S2 may be
labeled only with a function f: S1 → S2. Thus each
QO arrow in Figure 9.1.6 points from a vertex in
pitch to a vertex in pc; the label T12 would not be
possible on those arrows, and a QO arrow cannot
map from pitch to pitch. Functions f: S1 → S2
and g: S3 → S4 may be composed in the order f ● g
only if S2 ⊆ S3; the transformations appearing in a
cross-​type graph or network therefore cannot be
composed arbitrarily but only in certain orders.
All the transformations in a cross-​type graph
generally do not belong to a single group, semi-
group, or any other familiar algebraic structure.
In conjunction with Figure 8.3.20 we noted
that a cross-​type network may sometimes be
regarded as, or replaced by, an ordinary single-​
type network on a single space S1 ∪ S2 ∪ ⋯.
Because a function must be defined on every
element of its domain, this interpretation
requires that every transformation in a cross-​
type network be defined on all elements of that
large space—​and there is not always a musically
coherent way to define all the functions in this
way. Even in the simple case of Figure 9.1.6 it is
not clear how QO could be sensibly defined on
the set pitch ∪ pc. Similarly, many interscalar
mappings in Chapter 7 were designed explicitly
to map from one space to another, with no clear
way to apply them to larger domains. For such
reasons many transformation networks are most
effectively presented in cross-​type fashion.6
In addition to being the first cross-​type trans-
formation to appear in this chapter, the quotient
map QO in Figure 9.1.6 is also the first transfor-
mation that lacks an inverse. To have an inverse,
a function must be a bijection, and while QO
certainly maps pitch onto pc, a mapping from
an infinite space to a finite space can never be
one-​to-​one. When all transformations appearing
in a graph or network have inverses, the graph is
reversible as defined in Section 3.5: every arrow
may be replaced by an oppositely directed arrow
labeled with the inverse of the original transfor-
mation. (Recall the T-​net in Figure 3.5.1b and
its reverse in 3.5.3d.) A network and its reverse
convey essentially identical information about
structural relationships among the elements
of the space or spaces, though arrow directions
may convey information of other kinds such
as the chronology of a musical passage. All the
networks and graphs in Figures 9.1.1–​9.1.5 are
reversible, but those in 9.1.6 are not. Cross-​type
graphs can be reversible only if all of the spaces
are of the same cardinality, a necessary condition
for the existence of bijections between them.
Even a single-​type graph may fail to be reversible
if some of its transformations are not bijective.
Group elements always have inverses, however,
so a single-​type graph whose transformations
belong to a group is always reversible.
Exercise 9.1.7 Construct a cross-​type
transformation network to model this
sequence from Mozart’s Piano Quartet in
E♭ Major, K. 493, I, mm. 172–​75:
B♭7 –​E♭ –​G7 –​c –​E♭7 –​A♭ –​C7 –​f
Arrange seventh chords in one row of the
network and triads in a second row. Include
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 343
transpositions relating the four seventh
chords, Riemannian transformations relating
the triads, and an appropriate cross-​type
transformation relating each seventh chord
to the following triad. Compare your network
with
   Figure 9.1.1a.7
9.2 CONSISTENCY
PROPERTIES
Lewin’s formalization of transformation graphs
and networks includes a provision that we have
so far disregarded, a requirement that in fact
many graphs and networks in this book and else-
where have violated: the so-​called path consis-
tency condition. Path consistency applies when
two different directed paths lead from one vertex
to another, a situation we will refer to as paired
paths. Figure 9.2.1 shows paired paths from
vertex v to vertex w, one path with transforma-
tions f1, f2, …, fm and the other with g1, g2, …, gn.
Paired paths need not be of the same length, so
m and n may differ. Path consistency requires
that the products of the transformations along
paired paths be equal: f1 ● f2 ● ⋯ ● fm =​ g1 ● g2 ● ⋯ ● gn.
If this equality holds for every instance of paired
paths in a graph or network, the graph or net-
work is path-​consistent. Path consistency applies
both to transformation graphs and to networks,
but vertex labels play no role in the property, so
a transformation network is path-​consistent if
and only if its underlying graph is path-​consis-
tent. Lewin presents the condition as part of his
definition of transformation graphs, a require-
ment that must be satisfied by every proper
transformation graph or network. Here we
extricate path consistency from the definition,
regarding it as an independent property that a
graph or network may or may not satisfy.8
FIGURE 9.2.1 Paired paths and the path consis-
tency condition
 If Figure 9.2.1 occurs as part of a transfor-
mation network in which element x occupies
vertex v and element y occupies vertex w, and if
we write f for the product f1 ● f2 ● ⋯ ● fm and g
for g1 ● g2 ● ⋯ ● gn, then label consistency (which
we have adopted as a requirement in all net-
works) ensures that f(x) =​ g(x) =​ y. We know from
Section 2.3, however, that an equation of the
form f(x) =​ g(x) for a particular x does not guar-
antee that the functions f and g are the same,
as path consistency demands. Path consistency
thus implies a stronger conclusion than label
consistency, and path consistency may fail even
for a network that displays transformational
relationships accurately. Figure 9.2.2, which
slightly modifies Figure 9.1.4a, offers a simple
example. This network is based on an analysis by
Robert Cook of a passage from the introduction
to the first movement of Franck’s Piano Quintet
(also analyzed in Exercise 4.2.13d): a modula-
tion from E♭ major to C minor is followed by a
shift to the parallel major and a repetition of
the same modulation, transposed down a minor
third.9 As in Figure 9.1.4, the bubble nota­tion
implies two arrows,E♭ T 9
→ c and c T9
→a .
The network thus includes paired paths from
E♭ to C, a path E♭ T 9
→ c of length 1 and a path
♭
E  R
→ c → P
 c of length 2. As UTTs, T9 is
〈+​, 9, 9〉, while RP is 〈+​, 9, 3〉, the Riemannian
schritt S9. These two transformations will
always produce the same result when applied
to a major triad as they are here, but never
when applied to a minor triad; they are not
the same function, the transformational prod-
ucts along the paired paths do not match,
and the network is not path-​ consistent.10
Lewin provides little justification for requir-
ing path consistency in every case, saying only
that it is needed “to ensure that no contradiction
can possibly arise.” But Figure 9.2.2 contains no
contradictions. The network is label-​consistent,
and the transformations are legitimate triadic
FIGURE 9.2.2 A triadic transformation network
that is not path-​consistent
344 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
transformations; in fact all are UTTs. The R–​P–​
R chain resembles neo-​Riemannian analyses of
similar passages in Chapters 4 and 8. The sec-
ond half of the passage is an exact transposition
of the first half, a relationship captured by no
transformation other than T9. Path consistency
effectively forbids the analyst from combining
these observations in one network, not because
of a contradiction in this network but because of
a hypothetical contradiction in some other net-
work, a mode-​reversed one that does not model
the musical passage in question. With R and P
arrows placed as shown, the only transformation
that could appear on the E♭ → C arrow in a path-​
consistent network would be RP (though it could
be called 〈+​, 9, 3〉 or S9 or some other name for
the same function). This label RP would not fit
the c → a arrow, which could only be labeled PR
(or S3), so bubble notation would be unavailable
and the second half of the passage could not be
described as the simple transformation of the
first half that it manifestly is. A path-​consistent
labeling is essentially redundant; no path-​con-
sistent network can convey the same fusion of
musical insights that the non–​path-​consistent
one can.
Wittingly or unwittingly, many analysts have
flouted Lewin’s requirement, producing net-
works for which path consistency fails. First to
do so was Lewin himself: at least three networks
in the pages of GMIT fail the path consistency
test.11 Rings (2011b, 115–​ 19) explicitly sets
aside Lewin’s path consistency requirement in
his work, noting the usefulness of non–​path-​
consistent graphs in analysis and offering sev-
eral examples.12
Path consistency interacts with other con-
cepts we have explored. The failure of path
consistency in Figure 9.2.2 involves the simulta-
neous presence of Riemannian transformations
P and R along one path and the non-​Riemannian
transposition T9 along the other. In the path-​
consistent alternative proposed above, with
RP and PR in place of T9, all transformations
are Riemannian. As detailed in Section 8.2,
the Riemannian transformations form a group
whose action on triad is simply transitive. Every
network all of whose transformations belong to
one simply transitive group, it turns out, is path-​
consistent. To see this, recall that any network
containing paired paths as in Figure 9.2.1 must
satisfy f(x) =​ g(x) =​ y, where x is the element at
vertex v, y is the element at w, and f and g are the
composite functions along the paired paths. If
in this situation all the transformations belong
to a simply transitive group, f and g must be the
same function. (This reasoning relies on vertex
labels and label consistency, so the conclusion is
valid for transformation networks only, not for
transformation graphs. The conclusion holds,
however, in the case of realizable transformation
graphs, discussed below.)
Path consistency of networks with sim-
ply transitive groups applies, for example, to
either of the two networks in Figure 9.1.5. The
network in 9.1.5a is trivially path-​consistent:
a graph with no paired paths cannot violate
path consistency. But 9.1.5b is path-​consistent
as well, even if all the unlabeled edges in the
figure are included in the network with appro-
priate PLR labels, because all of the transforma-
tions are Riemannian. This complete version of
Figure 9.1.5b includes many examples of paired
paths, such as E R → d♭ →  D♭ →
P L
 f and
E → L ♯
 g →  A♭ 
P R
→ f, but path consistency
holds in every case (recall from Section 8.2 that
RPL =​ LPR =​ Pʹ ).
Similarly, any triadic transformation network
whose transformations are all transpositions
or inversions is automatically path-​consistent,
because the action of 𝒯ℐ12 on triad is simply
transitive. By Lewin’s theorem (Theorem 5.6.7),
interval spaces always give rise to simply tran-
sitive groups, so any transformation network
whose transformations are transpositions in
an interval space—​ any network depicting an
interval configuration, in the generalized termi-
nology from Section 5.4—​is path-​consistent. In
Example 8.2.27, however, we noted analytical
benefits of combining transpositions with wech-
sels. No simply transitive group mixes trans-
positions and wechsels, and the paired paths
involving H, W10, and T2 prevent Figure 8.2.28a
from being path-​consistent.
FIGURE 9.2.5 Consistency properties of transformation graphs on triad
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 345
Exercise 9.2.3 Seven transformation networks
from this book are listed below. Determine
whether each of them is path-​consistent.13
(a) The network of row forms in Figure 3.5.8d
(b) The Debussy network in Figure 7.3.3
(c) The PL-​cycle in Figure 8.2.13a (consider the
network to contain bidirectional arrows for
each P, L, and H)
(d) The Ravel network in Figure 8.2.21c
(e) The Rimsky-​Korsakov network in
Figure 8.3.20
(f) Network N1 in Figure 9.1.1a
(g)  The cross-​type network in Figure 9.1.6a
Exercise 9.2.4 Is the network you constructed
in  
Exercise 9.1.7 path-​consistent?
In addition to path consistency, several other
consistency properties of graphs and networks
may be formulated. The four graphs in Figure
9.2.5 illustrate some of these properties. All of
these figures are transformation graphs, not
networks. Spaces are not shown; all four graphs
are understood to be defined on the space triad.
The argument for requiring path consistency
is perhaps motivated by graphs like the non-
sensical one in Figure 9.2.5a. The graph is not
path-​consistent: the transformational products
along the paired paths from the leftmost to the
rightmost vertex are T1 and T0. More obviously,
though, our intuition tells us immediately that
this graph is impossible. Formally, we say that a
transformation graph is realizable if some net-
work realizes it—​that is, if its vertices can be
labeled with elements of the appropriate space
(or spaces, in the case of a cross-​type graph) to
produce a valid transformation network. The
underlying graph of any transformation network
is therefore automatically realizable, but a graph
like 9.2.5a has no possible triadic realization:
in any proper network realization, the three
T0 arrows imply (by label consistency) that the
same triad must occupy all four vertices, ren-
dering the T1 arrow impossible. If, however, the
same figure is considered to be a transformation
graph on the space of all pitch-​class sets, rather
than just triads, it becomes realizable, as we may
place the complete twelve-​tone aggregate or the
empty set in all four vertices. This observation
reminds us why the space on which a graph is
defined is an important part of the definition of
the graph: changing the space can change some
properties of the graph.
The graph in (b) presents a subtler case. This
graph is unrealizable also, but it may appear to
contain no paired paths and therefore no poten-
tial violations of path consistency. In fact, how-
ever, there are paired paths in this graph. One
can follow two different paths from a vertex to
itself by going around the cycle either once or
twice: one path is of length 4, with transfor-
mational product T1, and the other is a path
of length 8 traversing every edge twice, with
product T2. Graph (b), like (a), is therefore not
path-​consistent. In general, if the product of
transformations around a directed cycle is f, path
consistency demands that f ● f =​ f; if f is bijective
(in particular, if f belongs to a group), it follows
that f must be the identity mapping.
Path consistency similarly constrains oppo-
sitely directed paired arrows like those shown
previously in Figure 9.1.4b. Two such arrows
form a cycle of length 2, so by the argument in
the preceding paragraph, for such a graph to be
path-​consistent the product f of the transforma-
tions on the two arrows must satisfy f ● f =​ f. If
the transformations are bijections, then f is the
identity, the two transformations are inverses,
and they can be equal only if the transformation
is an involution. Further, if any loops (arrows
starting and ending at the same vertex) appear
in a transformation graph, path consistency
requires that each loop be labeled with a trans-
formation f satisfying f ● f =​ f—​which, if bijec-
tive, can only be the identity.14
With Figure 9.2.5c, we encounter an unrealiz-
able arrangement that truly contains no paired
paths, and which is therefore trivially path-​
consistent. Of the four graphs in the figure,
only (c) is path-​consistent and therefore a valid
transformation graph according to Lewin’s defi-
nition. It may seem odd that path consistency
does not apply equally to (a), (b), and (c): all are
346 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
unrealizable for essentially the same reason,
and they differ only in the directions of arrows
labeled T0. If the objective is to prohibit self-​con-
tradictory graphs like these, path consistency
would appear to fall short of what is needed.
It is a simple matter to strengthen the defini-
tion of path consistency to disallow a graph like
9.2.5c. This graph contains no paired directed
paths of the sort we have been considering, but
there are paired undirected paths from the left-
most vertex to the rightmost—​ by which we
mean they are paths if arrow directions are disre-
garded. In order to travel from one vertex to the
other along either of these paths, an edge must be
traversed backward, in the direction opposite the
arrow. We may form the transformational prod-
uct along such a path, replacing a transforma-
tion by its inverse whenever an edge is traversed
backward. We call such products directionally
adjusted. The directionally adjusted products
along the paired undirected paths in (c) are T0−1
● T =​ T along the upper path, T −1 ● T =​ T along
1 1 0 0 0
the lower. A graph is strongly path-​consistent if
all paired undirected paths have equal direction-
ally adjusted transformational products. By this
definition, graph (c), though path-​consistent, is
not strongly path-​consistent. Replacing trans-
formations with their inverses is possible only if
all transformations have inverses, so strong path
consistency is defined only for reversible graphs
and networks; in particular, it is defined for all
single-​type transformation graphs or networks
whose transformations belong to a group.
The realizability condition, too, may be
strength­ened. Figure 9.2.5d is a subgraph of
the underlying transformation graph of Figure
9.2.2. As we have noted, this graph is not path-​
consistent because T9 ≠ RP. The graph is never-
theless realizable; its realization in Figure 9.2.2
motivated our argument that non–​ path-​con-
sistent graphs should not be rejected outright.
The possible realizations of this graph, however,
are limited: if the leftmost vertex is occupied by
a major triad, the graph can be realized, but if
a minor triad is placed there it cannot. (Applied
to C minor, for example, T9 yields A minor while
RP yields E♭ minor.) We say that a transforma-
tion graph is universally realizable if it remains
realizable after any single vertex of the graph is
labeled arbitrarily—​that is, if for any labeling of
one vertex with any element of the appropriate
space, some labeling of the remaining vertices
is label-​consistent with the arrows. Universal
realizability fails for Figure 9.2.5d for the rea-
sons we have noted: the leftmost vertex may be
labeled not arbitrarily but only in certain ways.
(The same is true for each of the other vertices:
the rightmost vertex must be major, the lower
vertex minor.)
Exercise 9.2.6 Consider the underlying
transformation graphs of the seven networks
from Exercise 9.2.3 and the one from Exercise
9.2.4. Because all these graphs were originally
presented as networks, all are realizable. Which
of  
them are universally realizable?15
Exercise 9.2.7
(a) Using two vertices, two opposing arrows,
and the same bijective transformation
on both arrows, construct a triadic
transformation graph that is realizable but
not universally realizable.
(b) Construct a realizable triadic
transformation graph with a single vertex
and a loop bearing a transformational label
  f such that f ● f ≠ f.16
Exercise 9.2.8 If a reversible graph includes
an undirected cycle (as in part (a) or (c) of
Figure 9.2.5), and if the graph is strongly
path-​consistent (which those figures are not),
then by reasoning similar to the discussion
above, the directionally adjusted product of
transformations around the cycle must be
the identity. Explain why the converse is also
true: if a reversible transformation graph has
the property that the directionally adjusted
transformational product around every cycle is
the identity transformation, then the graph is
strongly
   path-​consistent.17
If a subgraph of a transformation graph
violates path consistency, the same violation
is present in the full graph. A realization of a
graph, meanwhile, is also a realization of every
subgraph of that graph. It follows from these
observations that all four of the consistency
properties defined in this section—​path consis-
tency, strong path consistency, realizability, and
universal realizability—​are hereditary, mean-
ing that if a graph has a certain property, all its
subgraphs have the property also. It is possible,
though, for a subgraph to have stronger consis-
tency properties than the larger graph of which
it is a part. For example, omission of the P arrow
would make Figure 9.2.2 into a path-​consistent
network.
The four consistency properties describe
transformation graphs in two fundamentally
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 347
different ways. A distinction between syntax
and semantics is recognized in linguistics, formal
logic, and computer programming. Path consis-
tency and strong path consistency are syntactic
properties, constraints on the formal structure of
a graph. Realizability and universal realizability,
in contrast, are semantic properties, concerned
less with the structure of a graph than with its
meaning: its ability to model a real musical situ-
ation. The following theorem shows, remarkably,
that the stronger of the two syntactic properties
and the stronger of the two semantic properties
are logically equivalent.
Theorem 9.2.9: Completeness theorem
for transformation graphs A reversible
transformation graph is strongly path-​consistent
if and
   only if it is universally realizable.
For a proof of the theorem see Hook 2007a,
36–​38. The theorem is called the complete-
ness theorem by analogy with certain results
in mathematical logic known by that name,
asserting equivalence of syntactic and semantic
concepts.18
Exercise 9.2.10
(a) It is clear that strong path consistency
implies path consistency and universal
realizability implies realizability.
These observations, together with the
completeness theorem, limit the possible
combinations of consistency properties
that a graph may satisfy to five: a graph
may be (1) neither path-​consistent
nor realizable; (2) path-​consistent but
not strongly path-​consistent, and not
realizable; (3) realizable but not universally
realizable, and not path-​consistent;
(4) path-​consistent and realizable but
not strongly path-​consistent and not
universally realizable; or (5) strongly
path-​consistent and universally realizable.
Give examples of triadic transformation
graphs of all five types.19
(b) For a graph all of whose transformations
belong to a simply transitive group, only
three of the five types are possible. Which
  types are these?
9.3 ISOMORPHISM AND
ISOGRAPHY
In this book we have discussed the concept of
isomorphism as it applies to several different
kinds of structures: graphs and directed graphs
in Chapter 3, groups in Chapter 6, and interval
spaces in Chapter 7. In this section we explore
isomorphism of transformation graphs and
networks. The topic is complex: structural like-
nesses between graphs and especially networks
take many different forms, so we will define rela-
tionships of several kinds. Varied as they are,
these definitions do not exhaust the possible
approaches to the subject.20 For ease of reference
we set out the relevant definitions first, with dis-
cussion following.
• Isomorphism of directed graphs. As defined in
Section 3.4, an isomorphism from a directed
graph A to a directed graph Aʹ is a bijective
function θ from the vertices of A to the
vertices of Aʹ with the property that there is
an arrow from θ(v1) to θ(v2) in Aʹ if and only
if there is an arrow from v1 to v2 in A. An
isomorphism of directed graphs is required
for all the other types of graph and network
isomorphism and isography listed below.
• Isomorphism of transformation graphs.
Suppose A and Aʹ are transformation graphs
on spaces S and Sʹ with transformation
groups G (transformations on S) and Gʹ
(on Sʹ ), respectively, and suppose A and
Aʹ are isomorphic as directed graphs. An
isomorphism of transformation graphs is
then a group isomorphism φ: G → Gʹ such
that if a transformation f appears on an
arrow in A, then the transformation on the
corresponding arrow in Aʹ is φ(f).21
• Isography of transformation networks. An
isography of transformation networks
is an isomorphism of the underlying
transformation graphs. Two networks are
isographic if their underlying graphs are
isomorphic.
• Strong isography of transformation networks.
Two transformation networks are strongly
isographic if their underlying transformation
graphs are identical (not merely isomorphic).
This requires that all corresponding
transformations be equal as mathematical
functions, which implies that the spaces on
which they act must also be the same.
• Isomorphism of transformation networks. Suppose
N is a network on a space S and Nʹ is a network
on a space Sʹ, and suppose the underlying
graphs gr(N) and gr(Nʹ ) are isomorphic
as directed graphs. An isomorphism of
transformation networks is a bijection h: S → Sʹ
such that if an element x of S appears at a vertex
348 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
of N, then the object at the corresponding
vertex of Nʹ is h(x), and if a transformation
f: S → S appears on an arrow in N, then the
transformation on the corresponding arrow in
Nʹ is Conjh(f ) =​ h−1 ● f ● h: Sʹ → Sʹ.
• Strong isomorphism of transformation networks.
Two transformation networks are strongly
isomorphic if they are both isomorphic
and strongly isographic—​that is, if their
underlying transformation graphs are
identical and the objects at corresponding
vertices are related by an isomorphism h as
described above. We will see that a network
isomorphism h is strong if and only if h
commutes with all of the transformations
that appear on the arrows in the network.
• Isomorphism of interval spaces. Interval-​space
isomorphisms, defined in Section 7.2, are not
mappings of graphs or networks, but they are
potentially applicable if the spaces S and Sʹ
on which networks N and Nʹ are defined are
interval spaces. In many musically significant
cases a network isomorphism h is also an
interval-​space isomorphism, ensuring a kind
of intervallic coherence to the correspondence
between networks.
Isomorphism of directed graphs, discussed
previously, describes a correspondence between
arrangements of vertices and arrows but says
nothing about transformational structure. Of
the conditions that involve transformations,
isomorphism of transformation graphs is the
weakest and the most abstract; detailed discus-
sion of this property will be deferred until later
in this section. The remaining properties in the
above list, which we discuss first, apply to trans-
formation networks. Isomorphism of networks
is stronger than isography, in that isography
depends only on the underlying transformation
graphs without reference to the objects (vertex
labels) in the networks; network isomorphism
also involves a mapping of the objects. The con-
straints on network isomorphism are consider-
able, making isography a more useful relation in
many cases.
We start with an example of strong network
isomorphism. Figure 9.3.1 reproduces the tri-
adic networks N1 and N2 from Figures 9.1.1 and
9.1.2. Assume for the moment that the figure
shows two separate networks, disregarding the
two bubbles and the arrow joining them. There
is an inconsequential change in notation from
the earlier figures: the dominant transformation
D has been renamed T5 to clarify relationships
FIGURE 9.3.1 The transposition T9 as isomorphism between networks N1 and N2
with other transformations in the discussion
below. N1 and N2 are two different networks, but
as noted in Section 9.1, the underlying transfor-
mation graphs gr(N1) and gr(N2) are identical in
every respect: they have identical configurations
of vertices and arrows as well as identical trans-
formational labels on corresponding arrows. The
identity of underlying transformation graphs
means that the networks N1 and N2 are strongly
isographic. Any realizable transformation graph
may be regarded as an equivalence class of trans-
formation networks under the relation of strong
isography. Strong isography, as its name sug-
gests, is a special case of the more general phe-
nomenon of isography, to be considered below.
More can be said about the relationship
between N1 and N2. The triads appearing in the
two networks are related in a systematic way:
compared with the triads in N1, those in N2
are transposed by T9. The four-​chord progres-
sions modeled in the two networks are, in fact,
parts of the same harmonic sequence—​the long
Beethoven sequence from Exercise 4.2.13e.
(Network analysis of sequential passages often
reveals strongly isographic blocks.) The bubble
notation in Figure 9.3.1 shows the T9 relationship
explicitly, extending the mapping first shown in
Figure 9.1.4 to encompass the entirety of the
networks. Figure 9.3.1 may now be regarded as
a single large network, but it remains useful to
think of it as a simultaneous depiction of the two
networks N1 and N2 (indicated by the separate
labels) and the transposition that relates them.
We say that N2 is the T9-​transform of N1, and we
write N2 =​ T9(N1).22 The transposition T9 is an iso-
morphism of transformation networks, and since
this isomorphism is also a strong isography, we
call it a strong isomorphism. Networks N1 and N2,
that is, are both strongly isographic and isomor-
phic, and therefore strongly isomorphic.
We have noted previously that bubble nota-
tion works as long as the bubble transforma-
tion (T9 in Figure 9.3.1) commutes with all
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 349
transformations within the bubbles. All the
transformations in the network N1 are UTTs,
which always commute with transpositions.
It is precisely because T9 commutes with R, for
example, that R may occur in the same locations
in both bubbles: the A-​minor triad in N2 may be
obtained from E♭ major in N1 via either R ● T9 or
T9 ● R. Commutativity thus ensures the strong
isography of the networks: an isomorphism
is generally not required to commute with all
transformations in the network to which it is
applied, but if it does, the underlying transfor-
mation graph is unchanged in the transformed
network, so the original and transformed net-
works are strongly isographic, and the isomor-
phism is strong.
Network isomorphism implies isography, but
it does not imply strong isography. Networks
can be isomorphic without being strongly iso-
graphic or vice versa. Bubble notation may be
generalized to accommodate isomorphisms that
do not commute with all transformations in a
network, giving rise to forms of network iso-
morphism lacking the identical transformation
graphs characteristic of strong isography. The
network N3 appearing in the right half of Figure
9.3.2, for example, attempts to recreate the con-
figuration of N1 and N2 but with a minor triad
in the leftmost position. In comparison with N1
and N2, the vertices, arrows, and R and L labels
appear just the same in N3, but the former T5
labels have had to be replaced by T7. The under-
lying transformation graph gr(N3), therefore, is
not the same as gr(N1) and gr(N2); the relation-
ship between N3 and either N1 or N2 is not one of
strong isography.
It is, nevertheless, a kind of isomorphism.
Figure 9.3.2 depicts the relationship between
N1 and N3 using the bubble transformation I0
in place of the earlier T9: each triad in N3 is the
I0-​inversion of the corresponding triad from N1.
We know from Section 8.3 that inversions In
commute with Riemannian transformations, so
FIGURE 9.3.2 The inversion I0 as isomorphism between networks N1 and N3
the R and L arrows in N3 match those in N1. But
inversions do not commute with transpositions;
the arrows in Figure 9.3.2 confirm the formula
T5 ● I0 =​ I0 ● T7 from Theorem 5.5.6e. The mapping
I0 in this example is a network isomorphism but
not a strong isomorphism.
Exercise 9.3.3 Using bubble notation, draw
a network showing an isomorphism between
the networks N2 and N3. Is this isomorphism a
strong
   isomorphism?
The reader may have noticed another kind of
resemblance between N2 and N3 besides the one
described in the above exercise: the four triads
of N2—​C, a, F, and d—​appear also in N3, rear-
ranged. If we form the reverse of N2—​leaving its
triads unchanged, reversing the direction of each
arrow, and replacing each transformation with
its inverse (leaving R and L in place but replacing
T5 with T7)—​and if we also perform the cosmetic
alteration of rotating the picture by 180 degrees,
the resulting network is exactly N3. The relation-
ship between N2 and N3 can thus be described
in two different ways: as an isomorphism by
pitch-​class inversion or as a network reversal.
Neither of these relationships implies the other;
both are applicable here because the networks
under consideration exhibit a certain symmetry.
FIGURE 9.3.4 Isomorphism of transformation
networks
350 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
As detailed in Chapter 6, symmetry manifests as
invariance under some operation; the network
N2 is invariant under the operation of reverse-​I0.
The isomorphisms T9 (from N1 to N2 in Figure
9.3.1) and I0 (from N1 to N3 in Figure 9.3.2) are
both bijective transformations on triad. Any
bijective mapping of spaces may give rise to a
network isomorphism in the same way.23 Figure
9.3.4 shows the general situation: a network N is
defined on a space S, and h: S → Sʹ is a bijective
mapping from S into a possibly different space
Sʹ. A new network Nʹ is defined on the space Sʹ
as follows. The vertices and arrows of Nʹ are in
one-​to-​one correspondence with those of N; that
is, the directed graphs are isomorphic. If an ele-
ment x of S appears at a certain vertex in N, then
the element at the corresponding vertex in Nʹ is
xʹ =​ h(x), an element of Sʹ.
There remains only to specify how the trans-
formational label f on an arrow x → y in N is
converted to a label f ʹ on the corresponding
arrow xʹ → yʹ in Nʹ, where xʹ =​ h(x) and yʹ =​ h(y).
In fact the transformations are related by con-
jugation: f ʹ is the function Conjh(f) =​ h−1 ● f ● h,
which satisfies f ʹ(xʹ ) =​ yʹ in Nʹ. (Label consis-
tency in N requires f(x) =​ y, from which we see
−1
that x ′ h→ x f → y h → y ′. For conjugation
recall Figure 6.6.9a; the role of the function g in
that figure is now played by f, and the original f
is now h.) Because h is bijective, h−1 exists and
a conjugate of this kind can formed for every f;
it is not necessary that f and f ʹ be bijective. If
h commutes with f, then f and f ʹ are the same
function. If h commutes with all transforma-
tions appearing in N, as was the case with h =​
T9 in Figure 9.3.1, then the underlying graphs
gr(N) and gr(Nʹ ) are identical, so N and Nʹ are
strongly isographic and (because h is an isomor-
phism) strongly isomorphic. The isomorphism
h =​ I0 in Figure 9.3.2 illustrates the case in which
full commutativity does not hold, so that some
transformations in the two networks differ even
though the networks are isomorphic.
Exercise 9.3.5 In Figure 9.3.2, verify that every
transformation appearing in N3 is the conjugate
Conjh(f) of the corresponding transformation f
in  
N1, where h =​ I0.
In Section 6.6 we noted that if a is an element
of a group G, then Conja: G → G is an automor-
phism of G. If S =​ Sʹ in Figure 9.3.4, and if the
transformations in the network N belong to a
group G of transformations on S to which the
isomorphism h also belongs, then Conjh is an
automorphism of G. Even if S and Sʹ are differ-
ent, as long as the transformations in N belong
to a group G, Conjh is an isomorphism from G
to a group Gʹ =​Conjh(G) of transformations on
Sʹ. Whenever the transformations in a network
belong to a group, therefore, an isomorphism
of transformation networks implies an isomor-
phism of groups.24
The “prime” notation we have been using (N,
Nʹ; S, Sʹ; x, xʹ; f, f ʹ; G, Gʹ ) disguises the fact that
an isomorphism of transformation networks
involves several different mappings between the
two networks. First, there must be an isomor-
phism of directed graphs, a mapping of the ver-
tices of N to the vertices of Nʹ which preserves
arrow relationships. Second, there is the func-
tion h (informally, “the isomorphism”), mapping
the elements of S bijectively to the elements of
Sʹ. Finally, Conjh (under appropriate conditions,
a group isomorphism) maps the transformations
in N (elements of G) to the transformations in Nʹ
(elements of Gʹ ). If Conjh is the identity mapping
on G, then the same transformations appear
in both networks, which are therefore strongly
isomorphic.
Figure 9.3.2 demonstrated that isomorphic
transformation networks are not always strongly
isographic; Figure 9.3.6 shows that strongly iso-
graphic networks need not be isomorphic at all.
Networks N4 and N5 combine the Riemannian
transformations R and L with the mediant
FIGURE 9.3.6 Networks N4 and N5: strongly iso-
graphic but not isomorphic
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 351
transformation M from Section 8.3. The two
networks are strongly isographic, as their under-
lying transformation graphs are identical. For
them to be isomorphic, some bijective mapping
on triad would have to map the triads in N4 to
the correspondingly positioned triads in N5, but
there is no such mapping: no bijective function
maps both C → d and F → d, and no function at
all maps both a → B♭ and a → F. The presence of
the same element at more than one vertex of a
network can be a complicating factor in the con-
struction of network isomorphisms; this is one
reason why isomorphism is not always the most
useful way to describe relationships between
similar networks and why we must explore other
ways to characterize those relationships.
Exercise 9.3.7 Are networks N4 and N5 path-​
consistent?
   Are they strongly path-​consistent?25
For an example of isomorphic networks
defined on different spaces, the reader may again
consult Figure 8.3.20, modeling two passages
in Rimsky-​Korsakov’s Christmas Eve. If the two
bubbles in the figure are regarded as separate net-
works, one on the space triad and the other on
sev (the space of dominant and half-​diminished
seventh chords), the bubble mapping DX is an
isomorphism between the two. Though the trans-
formations within both bubbles are notated iden-
tically, they are defined on different spaces and are
therefore not really the same functions; the two
networks, while isomorphic, are not strongly iso-
graphic. The identically notated transformations
are related to each other by ConjDX; for example,
Rtriad =​(DX)−1 ● Rsev ● DX.
In Section 8.1 we noted that triad forms an
interval space with the commutative interval
group G =​ ℤ12 × 𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛. In this interval space, for
example, int(E, c♯) =​(9, −). Likewise, sev may
be regarded as an interval space with the same
group G; in this space int(B7, g♯ø7) =​(9, −). The
isomorphism DX between the two networks is
also an interval-​space isomorphism; in fact, DX
is interval-​ preserving, which in terminology
from Section 7.2 means that DX is interval-​com-
patible with the identity mapping on the group
G. The fact that the network isomorphism is also
an interval-​space isomorphism ensures that the
similarity of network structure carries over to
encompass intervallic structure as well.
The definition of network isomorphisms car-
ries no guarantees about intervallic structure,
and it is possible to construct many network
isomorphisms that do not have this property.
In the general setting of Figure 9.3.4, any
bijection h: S → Sʹ theoretically gives rise to a
network isomorphism as long as the transfor-
mations in Nʹ are h-​conjugates of those in N.
Of the vast number of possible bijective map-
pings between two sets (such as the 24! bijec-
tions between triad and sev), most have no
apparent musical relevance, and such mappings
may be used to produce isomorphic networks
that, while theoretically valid, appear musically
nonsensical. For example, one could produce a
network isomorphic to N1 in which the posi-
tions originally occupied by the triads E♭, c, A♭,
and f are filled by the seventh chords fø7, f♯ø7,
bø7, and A7, respectively. There exist bijections
h: triad → sev that map chords in this way, but
any such mapping will result in an incoherent
jumbling of intervallic relationships between
chords, which is to say that such functions h are
not interval-​space isomorphisms. The transfor-
mations in the h-​transformed network, being
conjugations-​by-​jumbling of the original trans-
formations, will likewise be musically incoher-
ent (though, inasmuch as the transformations
in N1 are UTTs, the new transformations will
all belong to a group of incoherent transforma-
tions isomorphic to the UTT group). For these
reasons, the most revealing network isomor-
phisms are often interval-​space isomorphisms
as well. Exercise 9.3.11 below confirms that the
isomorphisms T9 and I0 in Figures 9.3.1 and
9.3.2 have this property if interval spaces are
defined appropriately.
Figure 9.3.8 simplifies intervallic consider-
ations by using pitch classes rather than triads
and limiting the transformations in the net-
works to ordinary transpositions: the four net-
works in this figure are T-​nets. T-​nets may be
considered to be especially simple examples of
Klumpenhouwer networks, to be studied more
FIGURE 9.3.8 Intervallic relations in four T-​nets
352 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
generally in Section 9.4. Network N6 shows
the notes of an 014 pc set related by transpo-
sitions T1, T3, and T4. N7 is the I0-​transform of
N6: its pitch classes have been inverted about
C, forming an inverted 014 set, and its trans-
positions invert those in N6. The mapping I0: pc
→ pc is a bijection and therefore defines a net-
work isomorphism as described above. But pc
is an interval space, and I0 is an interval-​space
isomorphism. The definition of interval-​space
isomorphism requires that there be a group iso-
morphism g: ℤ12 → ℤ12 with which I0 is interval-​
compatible in the sense that int(I0(x), I0(y)) =​
g(int(x, y)) for all pitch classes x and y (recall
Figure 7.2.1). In fact, int(I0(x), I0(y)) =​−int(x, y),
so g is the mapping g(n) =​−n (which as a func-
tion on ℤ12 is the same as I0). It is useful for
future reference to recall that I0 could also be
called M11, mod-​12 multiplication by 11 (or −1),
and also that I0 is an involution, so the arrow
joining the bubbles for N6 and N7 points both
ways. Because N6 and N7 are two different net-
works sharing the same space pc and the same
interval group ℤ12, it is technically correct to say
that Figure 9.3.8 shows an automorphism of both
the interval space and the group, but an isomor-
phism (not an automorphism) of networks.
In a similar way, N8 is obtained from N6 via
the multiplication operator M7. In comparison
with N6, both the pitch-​class numbers and the
index numbers of the transpositions in N8 have
been multiplied by 7. This mapping too is both
a network isomorphism and an interval-​space
isomorphism (because g =​ M7 is a group auto-
morphism of ℤ12), as well as an involution. The
pc-​set in N8 is a C-​major triad, the M7-​transform
of N6’s 014 set.
The last network in Figure 9.3.8, N9, may be
described as the M2-​transform of N6: in compari-
son with N6, the interval sizes in N9 have been
doubled. While the process by which this new
network is formed resembles the processes that
produced N7 and N8, there is a fundamental dif-
ference in that the mapping M2: ℤ12 → ℤ12 is not
a bijection, a group isomorphism, or an involu-
tion. Odd-​numbered pitch classes or transposi-
tions can never appear in an M2-​transformed
network; had any tritone-​related pitch classes
appeared in the original network N6, the M2
transformation would have introduced a pitch-​
class duplication. M2 has no inverse: a second
application of M2 would not map N9 back to N6,
nor would any other multiplication operator on
ℤ12 do so. For these reasons M2 fails to be a net-
work isomorphism. Notwithstanding its similar-
ity to the other three networks in the figure, N9
is not isomorphic to them.26
Exercise 9.3.9
(a) Recall from Section 6.5 that the only
automorphisms of ℤ12 are M1 (=​ T0),
M5, M7, and M11 (=​ I). The M7-​ and M11-​
transforms of the network N6 are N8 and N7
respectively. Draw the M5-​transform of N6.
(b)  What isomorphism relates N7 and N8?
Exercise 9.3.10 Let N8ʹ be the T2-​transform
of N8, a network whose notes form a D-​major
triad. This network is isomorphic to N6, N7, and
N8. Write a formula for the bijection h: pc → pc
that maps the pitch classes of N6 to those of N8ʹ.
In this case the group automorphism g: ℤ12 →
ℤ12 with which h is interval-​compatible is not
the same function as h; in fact h is not a group
isomorphism.
   What is g?27
Exercise 9.3.11
(a) Consider triad to be an interval space
with the commutative interval group G
=​ ℤ12 × 𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛 as described in Section 8.1;
for instance, int(E♭, c) =​(9, −). Verify
that the network isomorphism T9 from
N1 to N2 in Figure 9.3.1 is an interval-​
space isomorphism. What is the group
automorphism g: G → G with which T9 is
interval-​compatible?
(b) With the same interval space as in (a),
verify that the network isomorphism
I0 from N1 to N3 in Figure 9.3.2 is an
interval-​space isomorphism. What is the
corresponding group automorphism?
(c) A different interval structure on triad,
discussed in Sections 5.6 and 7.2, has the
dihedral group 𝒯ℐ12 as its interval group;
for instance, int(E♭, c) =​I10. Verify that
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 353
T9 in Figure 9.3.1 is an interval-​space
isomorphism in this space. What is the
group automorphism?
(d) With the same interval space as in (c),
show that I0 in Figure 9.3.2 is an interval-​
space isomorphism. What is the group
  automorphism?28
We have discussed isomorphism and strong
isography of transformation networks, but we
have yet to say much about the more general
kind of isography. Network isography depends
only on the transformation graphs underlying
the networks, not on the objects appearing as the
vertex labels. Two networks are isographic if and
only if their underlying transformation graphs
are isomorphic—​so we now turn our attention
to isomorphism of transformation graphs.
Our understanding of network isomorphism
reveals something about graph isomorphism,
because every network isomorphism is also an
isomorphism of the underlying transformation
graphs. Suppose N is a transformation network
defined on a space S, whose transformations
belong to a group G of transformations on S,
and let A =​gr(N) be the underlying transforma-
tion graph.29 We have seen that a network iso-
morphism from N to another network Nʹ entails
a bijection h from S to the space Sʹ associated
with Nʹ, and also a group isomorphism Conjh
from G to a group Gʹ of transformations on Sʹ.
Because we have stipulated that the space asso-
ciated with a transformation graph must be
specified as part of the definition of the graph,
the mappings h and Conjh can be described for
the graph A without referring to the specific
elements of S that appear in N. That is, we can
define such mappings on transformation graphs,
referring to the spaces but without reference to
vertex labels; we can do so even for unrealizable
graphs, for which no corresponding network N
exists at all.
The description in the preceding paragraph,
which manufactures a graph isomorphism from a
bijection of spaces, accounts for many instances
of graph isomorphism, but it does not account for
all of them. We can see as much by returning to
Figure 9.3.6, the two networks that are strongly
isographic but not isomorphic. The underlying
graphs of these two networks, being identical,
are surely isomorphic—​but as we have noted, no
bijection h correctly relates the objects in the two
networks. Some examples of graph isomorphism,
therefore, arise from bijective mappings on the
associated spaces, but some others do not.
FIGURE 9.3.12 (a) Two isomorphic transformation graphs; (b) two isographic transformation
networks
What a graph isomorphism requires in gen-
eral is a group isomorphism φ: G → Gʹ between
the transformation groups. To be precise, if A
and Aʹ are transformation graphs on spaces S
and Sʹ with transformation groups G and Gʹ,
respectively, then an isomorphism from A to
Aʹ requires an isomorphism of the underlying
directed graphs and a group isomorphism φ: G
→ Gʹ. If the transformational label on an arrow
in the graph A is f, then the label on the corre-
sponding arrow in Aʹ must be φ(f). In some cases
φ is Conjh for some bijection h: S → Sʹ, but in gen-
eral there need not be such an h, and φ need not
take the form of a conjugation.
In Figure 9.3.12 the triadic transformations
belong to the Riemann group ℛ. Exercise 8.2.7
showed that for any mod-​12 integer k, the map-
ping φ: ℛ → ℛ defined by φ(Sn) =​ Sn, φ(Wn) =​ Wn+​k
is an automorphism of ℛ. For k =​5, φ maps the
transformation P (=​ W0) to Lʹ (=​ W5) and likewise
maps L (=​ W4) to R (=​ W9). The two transforma-
tion graphs in 9.3.12a, a PL-​cycle and an LʹR-​cycle,
are therefore isomorphic, as φ maps the transfor-
mations in the first graph to the corresponding
transformations in the second graph. Part (b) of
the figure supplies triads to turn these isomor-
phic graphs into a pair of isographic networks.
The PL-​cycle, familiar from the Brahms Double
Concerto example first introduced in Section 3.1,
circumnavigates the hexatonic triad family hex34
from Figure 8.2.17. We have encountered the
354 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
LʹR-​cycle previously as well: it maps the trajectory
traced by the excerpt from Ravel’s “Ondine” in
Figure 8.2.20 through the hexatonic bridge family
hb2. Some other sequential paths through hexa-
tonic triad and bridge families generate 6-​cycles
that are isomorphic, as transformation graphs, to
those in Figure 9.3.12a. See Exercise 9.3.15 below
for some related examples.
Isomorphic transformation graphs are iso-
morphic as directed graphs, but the converse
does not hold: if two transformation graphs are
isomorphic as directed graphs, we cannot con-
clude that they are isomorphic as transforma-
tion graphs. Two other transformation graphs
taking the form of 6-​cycles are shown in Figure
9.3.13, and neither of these is isomorphic to
the graphs in 9.3.12. The transformations in
the PLR-​cycle in 9.3.13a are not in one-​to-​one
correspondence with those in the graphs from
9.3.12—​ three transformations occur twice
each, rather than two transformations three
times each—​so no group isomorphism φ could
match the transformations properly. The T1T3-​
cycle in 9.3.13b is obviously not isomorphic to
the graphs in 9.3.12 as it stands, since its arrows
point only one way—​but even if the graphs
from 9.3.12 were redrawn with one-​way arrows,
they would not be isomorphic to the T1T3-​cycle.
The earlier figure’s transformations are involu-
tions; the image of an involution under a group
isomorphism must be another involution, and

FIGURE 9.3.13 Two transformation graphs not
isomorphic to those in Figure 9.3.12
neither T1 nor T3 is an involution. The graphs in
Figure 9.3.13 are isomorphic to those in 9.3.12
only as directed graphs; as transformation graphs
they are not isomorphic.
Exercise 9.3.14 The two isographic networks
in Figure 9.3.12b are isomorphic as
transformation networks. Describe the
isomorphism h: triad → triad and verify that
   h(L) =​ R and Conjh(P) =​ Lʹ.30
Conj
Exercise 9.3.15 The triadic networks N10–​N13
in Figure 9.3.16 illustrate isomorphisms and
automorphisms involving the dihedral groups
ℛ and 𝒯ℐ12. Arrowheads are omitted in this
figure; all the transformations are wechsels or
inversions, and all arrows are bidirectional.
Networks N10 and N11 expand the networks
from Figure 9.3.12b, adding arrows across the
FIGURE 9.3.16 Four triadic transformation networks with groups ℛ and 𝒯ℐ12, for Exercise 9.3.15
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 355
centers of both hexagons for the hexatonic
pole relation H (=​ W8) in N10 and the slide
relation Pʹ (=​ W1) in N11. Networks N12 and N13
depict relationships among the same triads
(rearranged) using inversions In rather than
wechsels Wn. This exercise shows that the
underlying transformation graphs gr(N10)–​
gr(N13) are all isomorphic, and therefore the
networks N10–​N13 are all isographic.
(a) Verify that the isomorphism φ: ℛ →
ℛ defined by φ(Sn) =​ Sn, φ(Wn) =​ Wn+​5,
described above in conjunction with
Figure 9.3.12, determines an isomorphism
of the expanded transformation graphs
gr(N10) and gr(N11). Call this mapping φ10–​11.
(b) Define φ10–​12: ℛ → 𝒯ℐ12 by φ10–​12(Sn) =​
T−n, φ10–​12(Wn) =​ In+​7. Verify that φ10–​12
is a group isomorphism and that φ10–​12
maps each transformation in N10 to the
corresponding transformation in N12. Thus
φ10–​12 determines an isomorphism from
gr(N10) to gr(N12).31
(c) Define an appropriate mapping φ12–​13: 𝒯ℐ12
→ 𝒯ℐ12 and verify that φ12–​13 determines an
isomorphism from gr(N12) to gr(N13).32
(d) Finally, define an appropriate mapping
φ11–​13: ℛ → 𝒯ℐ12 and verify that φ11–​13
determines an isomorphism from gr(N11)
to gr(N13). Is it true that φ10–​12 ● φ12–​13 =​
  φ10–​11 ● φ11–​13?
 In Figure 9.3.17, portions of the three net-
works from Figure 8.2.28, depicting sequences
in Martin’s Prelude No. 2, have been rear-
ranged in order to highlight isomorphisms.
Each of the three large networks N14–​N16
consists of two two-​chord blocks encircled by
dashed bubbles. Networks N14 and N16 depict
sequences ascending by T2, while the sequence
in N15 descends by T10. If the two bubbles in
one network are regarded as small networks
in their own right, the six small networks are
all strongly isographic, and the two small net-
works within one large network are strongly
isomorphic, befitting the sequential pattern-
ing. The isomorphisms are the bubble transfor-
mations T2 and T10, which commute with the
transformation W8 (=​ H) inside the bubbles.
Our primary interest now is the relationships
among the three large networks, each of which
contains a slightly different assortment of
transformations.
Consider first the ascending sequences in N14
and N16. The UTT U =​ 〈−, 10, 6〉 maps each triad
in N14 to the corresponding triad in N16: each
major triad in N14 corresponds in N16 to a minor
triad a whole step lower (E–​d, F♯–​e), and each
minor triad maps to a tritone-​related major triad
(c–​F♯, d–​A♭). This U: triad → triad is a network
isomorphism, playing the role of the mapping
called h in previous examples. Transpositions
commute with all UTTs, including U, so T2
appears in both N14 and N16. U does not com-
mute with all wechsels, however; the wechsels in
N16 are obtained from those in N14 by ConjU (see
Exercise 9.3.18 below).
Next consider N15 and N16. One sequence
ascends and the other descends, so the tri-
adic mapping is not uniform. But it is straight-
forward: corresponding triads in these two
FIGURE 9.3.17 Network isomorphisms in Martin, Prelude No. 2
356 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
networks are related by the inversion operator I8
(g–​F♯, B–​d, and so on). I8 commutes with wech-
sels but not with transpositions, so the same
wechsels appear in N15 and N16, while the trans-
position T2 in N16 is the I8-​conjugate of T10 in
N15. This isomorphism I8, unlike U, is an involu-
tion, so its arrow is bidirectional.
Networks N14 and N15 contain neither the
same wechsels nor the same transpositions,
and they are related neither by a UTT nor by
an inversion. From the relationships we have
already established between these networks and
N16, however, we can deduce that the composite
mapping UI8 must be an isomorphism from N14
to N15.
Exercise 9.3.18
(a) Verify these assertions from the above
discussion of Figure 9.3.17: U−1W8U =​ W8;
U−1W10U =​ W6; I8−1T10I8 =​ T2.
(b) Verify that UI8 maps the triads in N14 to the
corresponding triads in N15. What is UI8
  as a QTT?
We close this section with a small theorem.
We have observed that it is possible for transfor-
mation networks to be isographic without being
isomorphic. The networks in Figure 9.3.6 that
illustrated this possibility combined Riemannian
and non-​Riemannian transformations, and in
the next section Klumpenhouwer networks will
provide more examples. The theorem shows that
no such example is possible when the transfor-
mation groups are simply transitive: in that case
every isography is a network isomorphism.
Theorem 9.3.19: Isography of networks
with simply transitive groups Suppose N is
a transformation network on a space S whose
transformations belong to a simply transitive
group G of transformations on S, and Nʹ is a
transformation network on a space Sʹ whose
transformations belong to a simply transitive
group Gʹ of transformations on Sʹ. If the
networks N and Nʹ are isographic via a group
isomorphism φ: G → Gʹ, then N and Nʹ are
isomorphic via a bijection h: S → Sʹ for which
φ   
=​Conjh.

Exercise 9.3.20 This rather abstract exercise

outlines a proof of Theorem 9.3.19; fill in the
gaps.
Choose any element a of S and any element
aʹ of Sʹ. For any x in S, let gx denote the unique
function in G such that gx(a) =​ x, and let gxʹ
denote φ(gx), an element of Gʹ and therefore
a transformation on Sʹ. Define h(x) =​ gxʹ(aʹ ).
Explain why this definition implies that h is a
bijection and h(a) =​ aʹ.
To prove that φ =​Conjh, we must show that
for every transformation f in G, if f ʹ =​ φ(f),
then f ʹ =​ h−1 ● f ● h. To establish this, we must
show that for every xʹ in Sʹ, f ʹ(xʹ ) =​ h(f(h−1(xʹ ))).
If x =​ h−1(xʹ ) and y =​ f(x), then both x and y are
elements of S, and the equation to be proved
reduces to f ʹ(xʹ ) =​ h(y). You may find it helpful
to draw a diagram showing the elements a, x,
and y in S and aʹ, xʹ, and f ʹ(xʹ) in Sʹ, along with
the functions relating them.
Use simple transitivity to show that f =​ gx−1 ● gy,
and therefore f ʹ =​ φ(f) =​(φ(gx))−1 ● φ(gy) =​
(gxʹ )−1 ● gyʹ, and so f ʹ(xʹ ) =​ gyʹ((gxʹ )−1(xʹ )). From
h(x) =​ gxʹ(aʹ ), deduce that (gxʹ )−1(xʹ ) =​ aʹ, and
conclude
   that f ʹ(xʹ ) =​ gyʹ(aʹ ) =​ h(y).
9.4 KLUMPENHOUWER
NETWORKS
Chords α and β in Figure 9.4.1a are all-​interval
tetrachords, both with interval-​ class vector
111111. The chords are Z-​related, not related by
any Tn or In operation. The figure shows, how-
ever, that each chord may be partitioned into
two dyads, one forming interval class 3 and the
other forming interval class 6. The network in
part (b) of the figure, a transformation network
on the space pc, shows transpositions T3 and T6
defining these dyads as well as transpositions T5
and T7 relating the same-​size dyads in the two
chords.
The network in (b) is disconnected: no arrows
connect notes of the ic3 dyads to notes of the
ic6 dyads. Part (c) shows a different set of con-
nections among the same pitch classes, splitting
FIGURE 9.4.1 (a) Tetrachords α and β related
by dyad transposition; (b) network showing
dyad transpositions; (c) strongly isographic
Klumpenhouwer networks K1 and K2
them into networks called K1 and K2, one net-
work for each chord. T3 and T6 arrows join notes
within the ic3 and ic6 dyads as in (b). The T5 and
T7 arrows from α to β have been abandoned, but
I arrows have been added, connecting notes of
the two dyads within each chord. The arrow con-
figurations and labels in the two networks match
exactly: as transformation networks, K1 and K2
are strongly isographic.
K1 and K2 are Klumpenhouwer networks, or
K-​nets: networks of pitch classes whose trans-
formations are transpositions and inversions
from the group 𝒯ℐ12. First studied by Henry
Klumpenhouwer, K-​nets were introduced into
the music theory literature in Lewin 1990 and
enjoyed a modest explosion of analytical atten-
tion for some years thereafter. A large part of the
appeal of K-​nets lies in their ability to model (via
network isography) relationships between pc
sets belonging to different set classes, as in Figure
9.4.1; K-​nets have most often been employed in
analysis of atonal passages lacking set-​class con-
sistency. This introductory example also perhaps
raises a question about the appropriateness of
the K-​net approach: which is a more intuitive
description of the relationship between chords
α and β, the K-​net isography of Figure 9.4.1c or
the paired transpositions of 9.4.1b? In the years
after K-​nets were introduced, such skepticism

Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 357

was occasionally voiced, most pointedly in
Buchler 2007, and K-​net applications have more
recently receded in prominence. Neither all the
uses of K-​nets nor all of the attendant contro-
versy can be described here, nor will we present
any substantive K-​net analyses, but this section
will summarize some of the most important con-
siderations, including a few theoretical points
that have generally been overlooked.
The partitioning of the pitch classes into dyads
in K1 and K2 illustrates a feature that deserves
closer scrutiny. We say that network K1 implies
a T-​partition of the tetrachord {D♯, E, G, A} into
dyads {D♯, A} and {E, G}. A T-​partition, when one
exists, divides the vertices of a network into two
parts that we will call T-​sets. Within each T-​set,
the vertices are joined only by T arrows—​in K1
each T-​set is a dyad with a single T arrow—​so
each T-​set by itself forms a smaller network of
the kind we have called a T-​net. Notes in oppos-
ing T-​sets in the same network are joined only
by I arrows. Any T arrow may theoretically
be reversed, the transposition replaced by its
inverse; I arrows, representing involutions, are
bidirectional. The network K1 does not include
I arrows joining all possible pairs of notes from
the two T-​sets, but the other I relationships may
be deduced from the ones that are present; for
example, D♯ and G are related by I7T3 =​ T6I4 =​ I10.
(Both products give the same result because the
network is path-​consistent; consistency proper-
ties of K-​nets will be discussed further below.)
The paired transpositions T5 and T7 in Figure
9.4.1b are now seen to be transpositions of the
T-​sets of the networks K1 and K2. The two net-
works, as we have seen, are strongly isographic.
Equivalence classes of K-​ nets under strong
isography may be identified with K-​graphs, the
underlying transformation graphs of K-​ nets.
The fact that that the same inversions I7 and I4
appear in both K1 and K2 may be traced to the
fact that the paired transpositions T5 and T7 are
equal and opposite: inversional relationships
FIGURE 9.4.2 K-​net K3 (right), positively iso-
graphic to K1 and K2 and isomorphic to K2
358 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
are preserved when the inversionally related
elements are transposed symmetrically in this
way. If chord β is replaced with its transposition
T1(β), the paired transpositions relating the T-​
sets in α and T1(β) become T6 and T8, no longer
equal and opposite; the K-​net for T1(β), shown as
K3 at the right side of Figure 9.4.2, consequently
requires different inversions, I9 and I6 in place of
the original I7 and I4.
Though K3 is not strongly isographic to K1
and K2, it is nevertheless isographic to them.
As defined in Section 9.3, network isography
requires an isomorphism of transformation
groups, in this case an automorphism of 𝒯ℐ12.
The transformations appearing in K1 (or K2) are
related to those in K3 by the mapping φ2: 𝒯ℐ12
→ 𝒯ℐ12 defined by φ2(Tn) =​ Tn, φ2(In) =​ In+​2, and
this function φ2 is an automorphism of 𝒯ℐ12. In
fact, the mapping φk defined by φk(Tn) =​ Tn, φk(In)
=​ In+​k defines an automorphism of 𝒯ℐ12 for every
mod-​12 integer k (analogous automorphisms for
the isomorphic group ℛ were noted in Exercise
8.2.7). K-​nets whose transformations are related
by an automorphism φk—​K-​nets, that is, whose
corresponding transpositions always match,
and whose corresponding inversions differ by a
constant number k—​are said to be positively iso-
graphic. Strong isography is a special case of posi-
tive isography, the case in which k =​0.
The pitch classes in K3 were obtained as T1
transpositions of those in K2, and this T1 map-
ping illustrates a K-​net isomorphism between K2
and K3. Generally if all pitch classes of a K-​net
are transposed by Tk, each inversion In appear-
ing in the original K-​net must become In+2k in
the transposed K-​ net; the transpositions are
unchanged in the new K-​net, so the transfor-
mations are related by φ2k and the old and new
K-​nets are positively isographic. But Tk is also a
network isomorphism in this case. Exercise 9.4.3
below confirms that the group automorphism
φ2k arises via conjugation by the pitch-​ class
mapping Tk, as we know from Section 9.3 that
it must. Of the three networks K1–​K3, only K2
and K3 are isomorphic. The pitch classes of K1 are
not related to those of either K2 or K3 by trans-
position, and the relationship of K1 to either of
the other two networks is one of isography, not
isomorphism.
Exercise 9.4.3 If h =​ Tk, verify that Conjh =​ φ2k;
that
   is, Conjh(Tn) =​ Tn and Conjh(In) =​ In+​2k.
Positive isography is not the only kind of K-​
net isography. Because the T-​sets in the pc sets

FIGURE 9.4.4 K-​net K4 (right), negatively iso-
graphic to K1 and K2
we have been considering are simply dyads, the
T-​sets in α can be mapped to those in T1(β) not
only by transposition but also by inversion. The
K-​net K4, shown in Figure 9.4.4 along with K1 and
K2, illustrates. We may imagine that the ic3 dyad
E–​G from K1 has been transformed by I5 to C♯–​B♭,
and the ic6 dyad D♯–​A by I8 to F–​B. This opera-
tion affects not only the K-​net’s inversion opera-
tors but its transpositions as well: each Tn in K1
has been replaced in K4 by T−n, so the original T6
is unchanged but the original T3 has become T9.
Each inversion operator In, meanwhile, has been
replaced by I1−n. In fact, the mapping ψk defined
by ψk(Tn) =​ T−n, ψk(In) =​ Ik−n defines an automor-
phism of 𝒯ℐ12 for every k. Two K-​nets whose
transformations are related by one of these
automorphisms ψk—​K-​nets whose correspond-
ing transposition indices always sum to 0, and
whose corresponding inversion indices sum to
a constant number k—​are called negatively iso-
graphic. Networks K1 and K4 are negatively iso-
graphic via ψ1.
The following exercise examines the signifi-
cance of the index numbers of the mappings φk
and ψk in positive and negative isography.
Exercise 9.4.5
(a) The isography between K1 and K3 is a positive
isography φk with k =​2. The number 2 is also
the mod-​12 sum of the index numbers of the
paired transpositions T6 and T8 relating the
T-​sets in these networks. Explain why this is
the case. That is, show that if pitch classes x
and y are related by In, then Ti(x) and Tj(y) are
related by In+​k, where k =​ i +​ j.
(b) The isography between K1 and K4 is a negative
isography ψk with k =​1. The number 1 is also
the mod-​12 sum of the index numbers of the
paired inversions I5 and I8 relating the T-​sets
in these networks. Explain why this is the
case. That is, show that if pitch classes x and y
are related by In, then Ii(x) and Ij(y) are related
  by Ik−n, where k =​ i +​ j.
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 359
Positive and negative isography together do
not exhaust the possible varieties of K-​net isog-
raphy. The automorphisms of 𝒯ℐ12 are 48 in
number; they may be enumerated in the form
ωj,k, where j is one of the mod-​12 units (1, 5, 7, or
11) and k is any mod-​12 integer.33 The automor-
phism ωj,k acts on 𝒯ℐ12 by the rules ωj,k(Tn) =​ Tjn,
ωj,k(In) =​ Ijn+​k. Indices of transposition, that is,
are transformed by the multiplication operator
Mj (that is, n → jn), while indices of inversion are
transformed by the affine mapping n → jn +​ k. The
twelve automorphisms of the form ω1,k are the
same as the ones we have called φk, giving rise to
positive isography of K-​nets; strong isography is
the special case ω1,0. The twelve automorphisms
ω11,k are the same as ψk, giving rise to negative
isography. Of the examples discussed above, K1
and K3 are isographic via ω1,2, while K1 and K4
are isographic via ω11,1. The automorphisms ωj,k
with j =​5 or j =​7 have been invoked in analytical
practice much less frequently than positive and
negative isography; they correspond to trans-
forming T-​sets by the multiplication operators
M5 and M7 rather than by transposition or inver-
sion. In some cases, networks produced by these
isographies may duplicate networks produced by
simpler positive or negative isographies, as the
following exercise shows.
Exercise 9.4.6 Construct a K-​net isographic to
K1 via the automorphism ω5,10. Put the note B♭
in your network in the vertex occupied by E in
. This K-​net should look familiar. What is it?
K1  
Exercise 9.4.7
(a) Show that K3 and K4 are isographic via ω11,3.
(b) The chain of isographies linking K1, K3, and
K4 suggests that ω1,2 ● ω11,3 =​ ω11,1. Verify
that this equation is true.
(c)  Derive a general formula for ωj,k ● ωu,v.
As is evident from the above examples, the
possibilities for K-​net isography are diverse, and
two pc sets may often be modeled by isographic
K-​nets in more than one way. This “promiscuity”
of K-​net relations is another of the grounds on
which K-​net analysis has been criticized (Buchler
2007). The possibilities expand further if differ-
ent basic configurations of T and I arrows are
considered. K-​nets K5 and K6 in Figure 9.4.8
partition tetrachords into T-​sets of cardinali-
ties 3 +​1 rather than 2 +​2; that is, each of these
networks shows three pitch classes related by
transposition, with the remaining pitch class
related to each of those three by inversion. These

FIGURE 9.4.8 Negatively isographic K-​nets K5
and K6
K-​nets model the same pc sets α and T1(β) as in
previous examples, and K5 and K6 are negatively
isographic via ω11,10. This isography is possible
because both tetrachords contain trichordal
subsets of prime form 026; the isography must
be negative because the two trichords are inver-
sionally related.
Exercise 9.4.9
(a) Construct a series of K-​nets like K5 but
with the pitch class E replaced by another
pitch class chosen from the eight pcs not
appearing in this network. Leave the other
three pcs and the transpositions unchanged,
adjusting the inversion operators as needed.
Explain why all K-​nets obtained in this way
are positively isographic to K5. How many
different tetrachordal set classes can be
modeled by these isographic K-​nets?
(b) Construct three different K-​nets of a 2 +​1
type for a trichord of prime form 026 such
as CDF♯. Each network should be a triangle
formed by one T arrow and two I arrows.
The T arrows in the three networks should
be labeled T2, T4, and T6.
(c) Explain why every three-​note pitch-​class set
can be modeled by a K-​net that is positively
isographic to one of the three networks you
  drew in (b).34
A number of tacit conventions have perme-
ated the K-​net literature: K-​nets appearing in
analytical applications have overwhelmingly
shared certain characteristics not formally
required by any published definition of K-​nets.
The K-​ net configurations we have encoun-
tered—​the 2 +​2 (“box”) and 3 +​1 (“umbrella”)
arrangements for tetrachords, and the 2 +​1
trichordal type in Exercise 9.4.9b—​ are the
ones most frequently used. Significantly larger
K-​nets have appeared only rarely. Almost all
360 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
K-​nets in analytical applications are connected,
with every vertex linked to every other by some
chain of T and/​or I arrows. (Some T arrows may
need to be traversed backward in such a chain;
I arrows are almost always understood to be
bidirectional.) In principle a T-​net with only T
arrows, like networks N6–​N9 from Figure 9.3.8,
is a special kind of K-​net, but sometimes it is
assumed that a proper K-​net must contain both
T and I arrows. Duplication of one pitch class
in two different vertices, though theoretically
possible in K-​nets, is rarely encountered.35
Consistency properties of K-​ nets, though
rarely discussed, deserve consideration.36 Most
writers on K-​nets have implicitly adopted Lewin’s
definition of transformation networks and
thereby assumed path consistency as a require-
ment—​but many useful features of K-​nets, and
properties often assumed to be true of them
generally, depend not only on path consistency
but on strong path consistency. (Realizability,
of course, is not a concern for networks, which
always realize their underlying graphs.) Non–​
path-​consistent K-​nets like Figure 9.4.10a have
not appeared in the literature—​but neither have
examples like 9.4.10b, which is trivially path-​
consistent (for the same reasons as Figure 9.2.5c
discussed previously: it has no paired directed
paths) but not strongly path-​consistent. Neither
network in Figure 9.4.10 has a proper T-​parti-
tion, a point to which we shall return shortly.
We know from Section 9.2 that every network
all of whose transformations belong to a simply
transitive group is strongly path-​consistent. But
the action of 𝒯ℐ12 on pc is not simply transitive;
as defined in Exercise 5.6.5, it is doubly transitive.
That is, for any two pitch classes x and y, exactly
two transformations in 𝒯ℐ12 map x to y: the
transposition Ty−x and the inversion Ix+​y. It is this
duplication of transformational action that gives
K-​nets the flexibility to model one pitch-​class set
in so many different ways—​but it is also what
allows path consistency to fail as in the K-​nets of
Figure 9.4.10.
The following exercise shows that strong path
consistency for K-​nets is easily recognized.
Exercise 9.4.11 Explain why a K-​net is strongly
path-​consistent if and only if every cycle in
the network (disregarding arrow directions)
contains
   an even number of I arrows.37
The two K-​nets of Figure 9.4.10, each con-
sisting of a cycle with a single inversion, fail the
criterion provided by the above exercise. These

FIGURE 9.4.10 (a) A K-​net that is not path-​con-
sistent; (b) a K-​net that is path-​consistent but not
strongly path-​consistent
K-​nets also lack the characteristic feature that
motivated our introduction of K-​nets: neither of
these networks admits a T-​partition. In each of
these networks, all the vertices are linked by T
arrows; when the single I arrow is included, each
network implies both transpositional and inver-
sional relationships between any two vertices.
Every K-​ net that is both connected and
strongly path-​consistent, however, implies a T-​
partition. Suppose we are given such a K-​net;
we will describe how a T-​partition may be con-
structed, identifying the two T-​sets by coloring
vertices black and white, as shown schematically
in Figure 9.4.12. All we need to know are the
locations of T and I arrows; the numerical indi-
ces are irrelevant, as are the directions of the T
arrows, so the figure omits these details. Start
by choosing any vertex v0—​perhaps the leftmost
vertex in the figure—​and coloring it black. Now
color every other vertex v by the following rule:
if a path from v0 to v contains an even number
of I arrows, color v black, but if a path from v0
to v contains an odd number of I arrows, color
v white. Because the network is assumed to be
connected, this process will assign a color to
every vertex. It is reasonable to ask if a contra-
diction in coloring might arise: what if there are
two paths from v0 to v, one with an even num-
ber of I arrows and one with an odd number? In
FIGURE 9.4.12 Coloring the vertices of a con-
nected, strongly path-​consistent K-​net
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 361
fact, strong path consistency makes such a con-
tradiction impossible: taken together the two
paths would form a cycle with an odd number
of I arrows, which according to Exercise 9.4.11
cannot happen as long as the K-​net is strongly
path-​consistent.
Exercise 9.4.13
(a) Show how the above algorithm can be used
to identify the T-​partitions of the K-​nets K1
and K5.
(b) Show that the coloring algorithm fails for
both networks in Figure 9.4.10, which are
  not strongly path-​consistent.
In Figure 9.4.12, the T-​partition consists
of a black T-​set containing five vertices and a
white T-​set with four. The white T-​set is T-​con-
nected, meaning that it is connected as a T-​net:
all the white vertices are linked by T arrows. The
black T-​set is not T-​connected; we cannot navi-
gate from the upper three black vertices to the
lower two without traversing some I arrows. The
network implies transpositional relationships
among all the white vertices, but the transpo-
sition that relates an upper black vertex to a
lower black vertex cannot be deduced from the
T arrows alone.
We call a K-​net T-​complete if both of its T-​
sets are T-​ connected. Of the strongly path-​
consistent K-​ nets presented so far, most are
T-​complete, but a K-​net with a configuration like
Figure 9.4.12 is not. A T-​complete K-​net’s poten-
tial for isography, it turns out, can be deduced
from its T arrows alone. In K1 from Figure 9.4.1c,
for example, the T arrows are T3 and T6. Suppose
Kʹ is any K-​net of the 2 +​2 type with the same
configuration of T and I arrows as K1, and sup-
pose the T arrows of Kʹ are also T3 and T6. Then
without even knowing the index numbers on the
I arrows of either network we can assert that Kʹ
is positively isographic to K1. If instead the T
arrows of Kʹ are T9 and T6, then we know Kʹ is
negatively isographic to K1.
To see why this property holds, suppose K is a
connected, strongly path-​consistent, and T-​com-
plete K-​net with T-​sets S1 and S2 (imagine black
and white vertices). Suppose Kʹ is another K-​net
with the same configuration of T and I arrows as
K, and with T-​sets S1ʹ and S2ʹ corresponding to
S1 and S2, and suppose the transpositions in Kʹ
match those of K exactly. Let x be the pitch class
at any vertex in S1, let xʹ be the pitch class at the
corresponding vertex in S1ʹ, and let i =​int(x, xʹ ),
so that x ʹ =​ Ti(x). Because S1 is T-​connected, every
other vertex in S1 is linked to x by some combi-
nation of T arrows, and all the vertices of S1ʹ are
linked to xʹ by corresponding T arrows, identi-
cally labeled. Consequently the (black) pitch
classes in S1ʹ must all be Ti-​transpositions of the
corresponding (black) pitch classes in S1. By the
same reasoning, the (white) pitch classes of S2ʹ
must be some transposition Tj of those of S2.
(This deduction is not possible in the absence of
T-​completeness; see Exercise 9.4.14 below.) Ti
and Tj are precisely the paired transpositions of
T-​sets that motivated our first example of K-​net
isography.
The index numbers of the inversions in Kʹ
may not match those in K exactly, but if an inver-
sion In occurs between pitch classes x (in S1) and
y (in S2) in the network K, the corresponding
inversion in Kʹ must map Ti(x) to Tj(y), and must
therefore be Ti−1InTj, which is In+i+​j. All the indices
of inversion in Kʹ therefore differ from those in
K by the constant value k =​ i +​ j, and the two net-
works are positively isographic via φk. If instead
the transpositions in Kʹ are the inverses of those
in K, similar reasoning shows that the T-​sets in
Kʹ are related by inversion, say Ii and Ij, to those
in K, and the two networks are negatively iso-
graphic via ψk, where k =​ i +​ j.
Although the possibility of deducing isogra-
phy from T arrows alone has sometimes been
asserted or assumed for K-​nets generally, the
following exercise shows that this property does
not hold for networks that are not T-​complete.
Exercise 9.4.14 Form two K-​nets from the
graph in Figure 9.4.12, filling in pitch classes
and specific transpositions and inversions in
two different ways, so that the T labels in the
two networks match exactly but the index
numbers of the inversions in the two K-​nets
do not differ by a constant value. The K-​nets
therefore
   cannot be isographic.
Any strongly path-​consistent K-​net that is
not T-​complete can be made T-​complete by add-
ing one or more T arrows. In Figure 9.4.12 a sin-
gle additional T arrow, joining some vertex in the
upper part of the black T-​set to some vertex in
the lower part, suffices to make the network T-​
complete. The new T arrow effectively provides
the missing information about the network’s
potential isographies.
We conclude this section with a short dis-
cussion of the use of K-​nets to build networks
of networks, a technique commonly described
as recursion. The intuition underlying K-​ net
362 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
recursion is that positive and negative isography
of K-​nets resemble transposition and inversion,
so networks of isographic K-​nets can resemble
K-​nets themselves. This intuition is supported
by the fact that the 24 automorphisms φk and
ψk associated with positive and negative isogra-
phy form a dihedral group isomorphic to 𝒯ℐ12.
This isomorphism is traditionally highlighted by
the suggestive notation 〈Tk〉 (“hyper-​Tk”) for the
relationship of positive isography via φk, and 〈Ik〉
(“hyper-​Ik”) for negative isography via ψk.38 In
this notation, our discussion earlier in this sec-
tion shows that K1 and K3 are related by 〈T2〉, K3
and K4 by 〈I3〉, and K1 and K4 by 〈I1〉.
The hyper-​transformations 〈Tk〉 and 〈Ik〉 are
associated with the mappings φk and ψk, but they
are not the same objects. While φk and ψk are
automorphisms of the group 𝒯ℐ12, 〈Tk〉 and 〈Ik〉
are commonly described as relations between
K-​nets. Technically 〈Tk〉 and 〈Ik〉 are not well-​
defined transformations on K-​nets, because a
given K-​net can be related by a particular 〈Tk〉 or
〈Ik〉 to more than one other K-​net. For example,
the two strongly isographic K-​nets K1 and K2 are
related by 〈T0〉 not only to themselves but also to
each other, and K3 is related to both of them by
〈T10〉. Formally, 〈Tk〉 and 〈Ik〉 may be understood
as transformations defined on K-​graphs (strong
isography classes of K-​nets); we may write cor-
rectly that 〈T10〉(gr(K3)) =​gr(K1) =​gr(K2).
Translated into the notation of hyper-​trans-
formations, the formula from Exercise 9.4.7b
describing the chain of isographies from K1 to K3
to K4 becomes 〈T2〉 ● 〈I3〉 =​ 〈I1〉, apparently obey-
ing the same rule of composition Tm ● In =​ In−m
satisfied by ordinary transpositions and inver-
sions according to Theorem 5.5.6c. The following
exercise confirms this observation, establishing
that the mapping Tk → 〈Tk〉, Ik → 〈Ik〉 defines
an isomorphism from 𝒯ℐ12 to the analogously
notated group of 〈T〉 and 〈I〉 operations—​a group
we will call 〈𝒯ℐ12〉.
Exercise 9.4.15 Use your formula from
Exercise 9.4.7c to verify that all possible
compositions of hyper-​T and hyper-​I
transformations satisfy equations analogous
to formulas from Theorem 5.5.6 (〈Tm〉 ● 〈In〉 =​
〈In−m
   〉 and three others).
Figure 9.4.16 illustrates K-​ net recursion.
Networks K7–​K10 in (a) model four different all-​
interval tetrachords.39 All of these K-​nets are iso-
graphic to each other and to the networks K1–​K4
presented previously; in fact K8 is identical to K1.
Part (b) of the figure is a network of networks,
showing 〈T〉 and 〈I〉 relations among the K-​nets
K7–​K10 (or more properly among their graphs).
Strikingly, the pattern of 〈T〉 and 〈I〉 relations
in (b) exactly duplicates the pattern of T and I
relations in the network K8. It is tempting to say
that the hypernetwork is strongly isographic to
K8, but that is not strictly accurate, as the trans-
formations in the two networks belong to two
different (though isomorphic) groups: the group
𝒯ℐ12 acting on pitch classes and the group 〈𝒯ℐ12〉
acting on K-​graphs. The relation is certainly an
isography, however, and since K8 is already iso-
graphic to the other three K-​nets in (a), it follows
that the hypernetwork is isographic to all four
of them.
K-​net recursion has garnered considerable
attention, proving both tantalizing and con-
troversial. Lewin 1994 extends recursion to a
third level of structure—​networks of networks
of networks. Higher-​level networks are said
to “prolong” lower-​level ones, and recursion is
seen as evidence of large-​scale structural unity
comparable with what we may find in the lev-
els of a Schenkerian analysis. But a variety of
reservations have been expressed about K-​net
recursion, starting with the nature of the levels
themselves: in a Schenkerian analysis each level
is a subset of the previous one, with objects of
the same kinds (pitches) appearing at all levels,
whereas in K-​net recursion the objects at the
lowest level are pitch classes, those at the sec-
ond level are K-​nets (or K-​graphs), and those
at the third level are something still more
abstract. (For this reason a mathematician
FIGURE 9.4.16 (a) K-​nets K7–​K10; (b) a hypernetwork illustrating K-​net recursion
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 363
might question whether the use of the word
recursion is strictly appropriate.) Isography
across levels imposes artificial limitations on
the number of objects that can be analyzed:
since the networks K7–​K10 in Figure 9.4.16a
depict tetrachords, the isography between K8
and the hypernetwork in (b) is possible only
because we chose to construct a hypernetwork
of four chords. A given chord may be modeled
by a K-​net in numerous ways; an analyst can
forage for isography by rearranging the pitch
classes within each of the several K-​nets of a
hypernetwork in various ways to see what
works—​and the arrangement that works fre-
quently bears no relationship to the registral
positions of notes within chords or to the voice
leading between chords.
A more technical objection is that in order
to identify isomorphic mappings between 𝒯ℐ12
and 〈𝒯ℐ12〉, we must disregard half of all pos-
sible K-​net isographies, those obtained via the
mappings ωj,k with j =​5 and j =​7.40 Moreover,
as noted above, the correspondence Tk → 〈Tk〉, Ik
→ 〈Ik〉 is not truly a strong isography, so it is per-
haps misleading to suppose that the hypernet-
work of Figure 9.4.16b is somehow more like K8
than like any of the other K-​nets in 9.4.16a with
which it is also isographic. It is also reasonable to
question what an assertion of structural likeness
between networks at different levels is supposed
to mean, musically or phenomenologically, or
whether it is something one can hear. These
points are reinforced by the following exercise,
which shows that a correspondence of index
numbers between networks and hypernetworks
may vanish if the networks are transposed by a
constant interval.41
Exercise 9.4.17 Construct four networks
T1(K7)–​T1(K10) by transposing all pitch classes
in K7–​K10 by T1 and making the necessary
adjustments to the inversions. Construct a
hypernetwork of the four transposed networks.
Do the index numbers of the hyper-​inversions
match the index numbers of the inversions in
any
  of the transposed networks?
9.5 SERIAL
TRANSFORMATIONS
AND UTTs
Some of the first musical applications of group
theory were in the realm of twelve-​tone struc-
ture, notably in the writings of Milton Babbitt
([1960] 2003, [1961] 2003). This work also
played an important role in shaping the devel-
opment of Lewin’s transformational theory.
The final two sections of this chapter investi-
gate some aspects of serial structure in relation
to other concepts we have explored, including
UTTs, transformation networks, and symmetry.
Some preliminary remarks on notation are in
order. We will write twelve-​tone rows in the form
A =​(a0, a1, …, a11). Letters denoting rows will
generally be boldfaced. The twelve pitch classes
a0, …, a11 are indexed by order positions 0–​11;
thus the first note of a row occupies order posi-
tion 0. Using order numbers 0–​11 rather than
1–​12 ensures that the same mod-​12 integers
that denote pitch classes also denote order posi-
tions, a correspondence that will be essential in
Section 9.6. In the remainder of this chapter R
always denotes the retrograde operation acting
on ordered sets, not the neo-​Riemannian R on
triads.
Chapter 6 introduced the serial group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, a
group of order 48 generated by T1, I, and R, act-
ing on the space row of all 12! twelve-​tone rows.
Every transformation in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 takes one of the
forms Tn, In, RTn, or RIn for some mod-​12 integer
n. The last two of these expressions could equally
well be written TnR and InR, as R commutes with
all transpositions and inversions—​ a property
that also ensures that 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 is isomorphic to a
direct-​product group 𝒯ℐ12 × {T0, R}, or 𝒟12 × 𝒞2.
If A is a row, then Orb𝒮𝑒𝑟12(A), the orbit of A
under the action of 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, is a row class contain-
ing all the T-​, I-​, and R-​related rows traditionally
considered “forms of A.” When no confusion
with orbits of other groups is likely, we denote
364 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
this class simply Orb(A). Thus Orb(A) =​Orb(B) if
and only if A and B are “forms of the same row,”
related by some serial transformation. One orbit
is only a small part of the full space row, but
Orb(A) may nevertheless be regarded as a space
in its own right. We encountered a few depic-
tions of this space in Section 4.1; Figure 4.1.12b,
in particular, is a Cayley diagram for 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 acting
on such a space.
Almost all orbits are sets of 48 rows on
which the action of 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 is simply transitive.
Exceptions to this generalization occur in the
cases of symmetrical rows, to be considered in a
moment. The 48 forms of an asymmetrical row
comprise four T-​classes of twelve row forms each,
related by transposition. The T-​classes are related
by transformations we may call E (the identity),
I, R, and RI. For example, if two row forms are
related by some Tn they are in the same T-​class,
which is to say their T-​classes are E-​related; if
two row forms are related by some RTn their T-​
classes are related by R, and so on. The group {E,
I, R, RI} acting on the four T-​classes, which is the
quotient group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 ∕ 𝒯12 of the serial group by
the subgroup of transpositions, is isomorphic
to the direct product {E, I} × {E, R} or 𝒞2 × 𝒞2, a
Klein group.
Symmetrical rows are invariant under some
non-​identity transformation in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12. The reader
may recall the construction of some symmetrical
rows in Exercise 4.1.13 as well as some related
discussion in Section 6.5. No Tn or In operation
other than T0 fixes all twelve pitch classes, so the
only possible nontrivial symmetries of a twelve-​
tone row in the group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 are operations of the
form RTn and RIn. No row can be invariant under
more than one such operation, so relative to the
group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, the degree of symmetry of a row (as
defined in Section 6.5) can be no larger than 2.
By the orbit-​ stabilizer theorem, symmetrical
rows always have exactly 24 distinct forms, half
of the usual 48, and two distinct T-​classes rather
than four.
A symmetry of either the R or the RI type
imposes constraints on the relationship between
notes in symmetrically situated order positions. If
RIn(A) =​ A =​(a0, a1, …, a11), then ak +​ a11−k =​ n for
every order position k, whereas if RTn(A) =​ A, then
a11−k =​ ak +​ n for every k; the latter condition is
possible only for n =​6 (see Exercise 9.5.2 below).
The severity of these restrictions makes sym-
metry statistically rare among twelve-​tone rows:
fewer than one-​tenth of one percent of all rows
possess either type of symmetry. When all twelve-​
tone rows are considered, the average degree of
symmetry is about 1.0007, barely larger than 1,
the degree of symmetry for an asymmetrical row.
The average number of rows per row class is about
47.97—​barely smaller than 48, the number for
an asymmetrical row class—​and the number of
row classes, 9,985,920, is only slightly larger than
1/​48 of 12!, the total number of twelve-​tone rows.
If composers used symmetrical rows in propor-
tion to their frequency in the universe of all possi-
ble rows, we would rarely if ever see a symmetrical
row. In fact, while the proportion of twelve-​tone
compositions based upon symmetrical rows is
fairly small, it is much larger than random selec-
tion would dictate; nearly 20 percent of Webern’s
twelve-​tone rows are symmetric. The exercise
below includes a few examples.42
Exercise 9.5.1 Six twelve-​tone rows are given
below as strings of pitch-​class numbers. Some
but not all of these rows are symmetrical.
Identify the symmetrical rows, and for each of
them determine the operation RT6 or RIn under
which the row is invariant.43
(a) Schoenberg, Serenade, Op. 24:
(9, 10, 0, 3, 4, 6, 5, 7, 8, 11, 1, 2)
(b) Webern, Symphony, Op. 21:
(9, 6, 7, 8, 4, 5, 11, 10, 2, 1, 0, 3)
(c) Webern, Concerto for Nine Instruments,
Op. 24: (11, 10, 2, 3, 7, 6, 8, 4, 5, 0, 1, 9)
(d) Berg, Lyric Suite:
(5, 4, 0, 9, 7, 2, 8, 1, 3, 6, 10, 11)
(e) Lutosławski, Musique funèbre:
(5, 11, 10, 4, 3, 9, 8, 2, 1, 7, 6, 0)
(f) Nono, Il canto sospeso:
  (9, 10, 8, 11, 7, 0, 6, 1, 5, 2, 4, 3)
Exercise 9.5.2 If RTn(A) =​ A, explain why n
must be 6, and also explain why the central
interval of A (between a5 and a6) must be a
tritone.
  
The traditional assignment of labels Pn, In,
Rn, and RIn to the forms of a row depends on
choosing two inversionally related forms to serve
as P0 and I0. There are many ways to do this; we
shall refer to a particular labeling of the rows in
a class Orb(A) as a coordinate system for Orb(A).
Conventionally the first row form in a piece, or
some form that appears prominently near the
beginning, is chosen as a P form, but there is
not always a single obvious choice for such a row.
Historically, many twelve-​tone analysts labeled
this first row P0 regardless of its starting note.
In such a movable-​0 system, I0 is usually but not
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 365
necessarily taken to be an inverted form that
starts on the same note as P0; then Pn and In are
Tn(P0) and Tn(I0) respectively. In recent decades
fixed-​0 row labeling, in which Pn and In always
denote row forms starting with pitch class n,
has gained favor. The equations Rn =​ R(Pn) and
RIn =​ R(In) hold in all traditional labelings.
(Observe the orthographic distinction between
boldface R and I and italic R and I: the first two
occur as part of row labels, while the latter two
are transformations.)
While either a fixed-​0 or a movable-​0 system
provides workable labels for all 48 row forms,
the fixed-​0 system enjoys two modest advan-
tages. First, it reduces the number of arbitrary
decisions to be made when labeling rows—​
though one must still decide somehow which of
the four T-​classes is to be called P. Perhaps more
important, fixed-​0 labeling ensures that the con-
venient equation In =​ In(P0) always holds. In a
fixed-​0 system, one can calculate the row label
that results when any transformation in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12
is applied to any row form, using nothing but
the row labels and transformations involved.
In every fixed-​0 system, for example, RI7(I2) =​
R(I7(I2(P0))) =​ R(T5(P0)) =​ R(P5) =​ R5. (In left-​to-​
right orthography, the composition of the inver-
sions in this equation is I2 ● I7, which is T5 by
Theorem 5.5.6d.) In a movable-​0 system, RI7(I2)
is always some R form, but not necessarily R5.
Relationships between fixed-​and movable-​ 0
coordinate systems, and among various row
labelings more generally, will be studied further
later in this section.
Exercise 9.5.3
(a) Does the equation RIn =​ In(R0) always hold
in a fixed-​0 system? In a movable-​0 system?
(b) In a fixed-​0 system, is it true that
RIn(RIn) =​ P0?
(c) In a movable-​0 system in which both P0 and
I0 are row forms starting with F♯, does the
  equation In =​ In(P0) hold?44
Exercise 9.5.4 In a movable-​0 system in which
the first pitch class of P0 is i and the first pitch
class of I0 is j, explain why In(P0) =​ Ik, where
k =​ n − i − j. In the same situation, what is
In(P
  m)? What is In(Im)?
Even though a row class Orb(A) is defined via
the transformations in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, those transforma-
tions are not the only ways to model relations
between rows in Orb(A). While Figure 4.1.12b
was a Cayley diagram for 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, the alternative
picture in 4.1.12a was a Cayley diagram for a dif-
ferent group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12ʹ acting on the same row forms,
a group generated by T1, R, and the contextual
inversion operator J that inverts any row about
its first note. The group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12ʹ offers an alternate
way of conceiving of row relationships; as noted
in Exercise 6.2.12, 𝒮𝑒𝑟12ʹ may be considered a
commutative counterpart to 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, and its action
on any asymmetrical row class is also simply
transitive.
The central observation of this section is that
serial transformations can also be modeled by
UTTs and related transformations.45 As a first
illustration we examine the celebrated mirror
canon that constitutes the second movement of
Webern’s Variations for Piano, Op. 27. The move-
ment opens with two row forms we call D and C,
for dux and comes:
First row in dux:
D =​(10, 9, 1, 11, 2, 0, 6, 5, 4, 8, 7, 3)
First row in comes:
C =​(8, 9, 5, 7, 4, 6, 0, 1, 2, 10, 11, 3)
Rows D and C are related by I6: the canon’s two
voices famously mirror each other about A4, and
I6 is the inversion that relates pitch class A to
itself.
Let us provisionally choose a movable-​0 coor-
dinate system in which row D plays the role of
P0 and the inverted form beginning with the
same pitch class (B♭) is I0. Row C is then T10(I0),
or I10. In this system, I10 is I6(P0), not I10(P0) as
would be the case in every fixed-​0 system. While
the names D and C, on the one hand, and P0 and
I10, on the other, refer to the same two rows,
we interpret these names in conceptually differ-
ent ways: D and C denote fixed strings of pitch
classes, while P0 and I10 are labels for those rows,
their coordinates in a particular coordinate sys-
tem. Observing this distinction will be crucial as
we compare coordinate systems below.
The transformation network in Figure 9.5.5a
shows relationships among successive and
simultaneous row forms throughout the move-
ment, labeled in the system just described. The
comes is placed above the dux in the network for
easiest comparison with the score: though not
consistently higher in register, the comes is usu-
ally (but not always) written on the upper staff
and played by the right hand. The transforma-
tions in this network are dictated by the simply
transitive group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, but because only P and I
row forms occur in the movement, all the trans-
formations here belong to 𝒯ℐ12. The mirroring
366 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
FIGURE 9.5.5 Row transformation networks for
Webern, Variations for Piano, Op. 27, II: (a) with
transpositions and inversions; (b) with schritts
and wechsels; (c) with schritts and wechsels, in
bubble notation
about A4 persists throughout, so the I6 rela-
tionship established between the first pair of
rows holds for every pair of simultaneous rows.
The other six transformations in the network,
however, are all different. Because I6 does not
commute with the other transformations, the
transformations in the comes, T7–​I11–​T9, differ
from those in the dux, T5–​I1–​T3. A close relation-
ship between these two chains of transforma-
tions is nevertheless evident: corresponding
index numbers are mod-​12 inverses, with one
transformation always acting on a P form as the
other acts on an I form.
UTTs offer a way to generate both voices of
the canon using exactly the same transforma-
tions—​ not transpositions and inversions but
schritts and wechsels. Let us write (n, +​), or
more briefly n+​, for the row form Pn, and simi-
larly (n, −) or n− for In. We can then apply UTTs
to the objects n+​ and n− exactly as in Chapter 8,
where the ordered pairs (n, σ) represented triads.
Figure 9.5.5b redrafts the Op. 27 analysis in this
fashion. Here a single schritt-​wechsel chain S5–​
W7–​S9 appears in both voices of the canon; the
schritt S5 behaves like the transposition T5 when
applied to a P form but like T7 when applied
to an I form. This serial manifestation of the
Riemannian dualism condition, more familiar
in its triadic form, is exactly what is needed to
model the similarity between the canon’s two
voices.
The analysis in Figure 9.5.5b requires only
four different transformations altogether, com­
pared with seven in (a). The two voices are
always related by the fixed inversion I6, not by
any contextual inversion, so the vertical arrows
in (b) retain the I6 label. Inversions are not UTTs,
though they are QTTs as described in Section
8.3; all transformations in the network belong
to the QTT group 𝒬. The network shows directly
that I6 commutes with each transformation in
the schritt-​wechsel chain; for instance, the first
square shows that S5I6 =​ I6S5. Part (c) of the fig-
ure recasts (b) in bubble notation, with dux and
comes bubbled separately and related by I6. If the
bubbles are regarded as separate networks, the
two are strongly isomorphic: I6 is the isomor-
phism (the mapping called h in Section 9.3), and
the isography is strong because the transforma-
tions in both bubbles are identical.
Exercise 9.5.6 The equation I6(0+​) =​10−,
implied by Figure 9.5.5b, would not be correct
in the usual triadic interpretation of the
symbols 0+​ and 10−, but it is correct in the
present row interpretation. Verify that this
equation is consistent with an appropriate
formula
   from Exercise 9.5.4.
Exercise 9.5.7 As discussed in Section 9.3,
bubble notation can be feasible even when the
bubble transformation does not commute with
all transformations within the bubbles. Redraw
Figure 9.5.5a in this way, and verify that the
transformations in the two bubbles are related
by Conjh, where h =​ I6. Are the two bubbles
isomorphic?
   Are they strongly isographic?
Exercise 9.5.8 Draw another network for the
second movement of Op. 27, using exclusively
transformations from the group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12ʹ
generated
   by T1, R, and J.46
The many published analyses of Op. 27 are
notable for the variety of row-​labeling conven-
tions employed by different authors. Table 9.5.9
summarizes four different coordinate systems
that have appeared in the literature for this
work. System ① in the table’s first column is
the movable-​0 system described above, which
appears in what Kathryn Bailey (1991, 350) calls
her “transposed” analysis of this movement. It
may also be called a local analysis, in that it takes
as its P0 a particular row form in the excerpt
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 367
under consideration—​our row D, the first row
in the dux. The table shows the relationship
between rows and labels in two different ways.
The top portion of each column identifies the
rows upon which the appropriate coordinate
system bestows the labels P0 and I0, describing
them in terms of D and C: in system ①, P0 is D
while I0 is T2(C). In general, a coordinate system
is completely determined by the choice of two
inversionally related row forms to serve as P0
and I0, as all other row labels may be determined
from these.47 The bottom part of the table shows
the coordinates (row labels) that each system
assigns to D and C themselves: in system ①, D is
P0, or 0+​, while C is I10, or 10−.
Coordinate system ②, adopted by Catherine
Nolan (1995, 50), is a fixed-​0 system adopting
a more global perspective. Nolan’s P0 is T4(C),
chosen because it starts with pitch class 0—​a
row that occurs nowhere in the movement.
Peter Westergaard (1963, 108) uses system ③, a
local, movable-​0 system different from system
①. Westergaard takes the first pair of rows in
the movement as his P0 and I0 notwithstanding
their different starting notes: C, the first row of
the comes, is P0, while D is I0.48 Finally, system ④
is a movable-​0 system, but not one that is local-
ized for the second movement: its row labels are
derived from the form P0 stated at the beginning
of the third movement. This row, which happens
to be the retrograde of C, is identified in Webern’s
sketches as the original form of the row, and
Bailey uses this coordinate system in her primary
analyses of all three movements of Op. 27.
The retrograde row forms in system ④ will
require some refinements to the n+​/​n− notation,
to be detailed below. A relationship between
systems ③ and ④, however, is easy to describe:
system ④’s P0 and I0 are the retrogrades of the
correspondingly labeled rows in system ③, and
the same is therefore true for all row forms in
these two systems. Converting coordinates
between system ③ and system ④, therefore, is
straightforward. We now extend this idea to
show more generally how UTTs and related
transformations may be used to convert from
one coordinate system to another.
For the moment we continue to assume that
ordered pairs n+​ and n− represent row labels Pn
and In respectively; the actual rows represented
by these labels depend on the choice of a coordi-
nate system. Comparing the row labels for coor-
dinate systems ① and ② in the bottom portion of
Table 9.5.9, we see that system ①’s 0+​ (row D) is
system ②’s 10−, and system ①’s 10− (C) is system
Table 9.5.9. Row coordinate systems for Webern, Op. 27, II

CO OR DI NAT E SY S T E M

① ② ③ ④
M O VA BL E -​0 F I X E D -​0 MOVA BL E-​0 MOVA BL E-​0
Bailey Nolan Westergaard Bailey
(transposed analysis) (primary analysis)

P0 P0 =​ D (10, 9, …, 7, 3) P0 =​ T4(C) (0, 1, …, 3, 7) P0 =​ C (8, 9, …, 11, 3) P0 =​ R(C) (3, 11, …, 9, 8)

I0 I0 =​ T2(C) (10, 11, …, 1, 5) I0 =​ T2(D) (0, 11, …, 9, 5) I0 =​ D   (10, 9, …, 7, 3) I0 =​ R(D) (3, 7, …, 9, 10)

D D =​ P0 =​0+​ D =​ I10 =​10− D =​ I0 =​0− D =​ RI0 =​0−−

C C =​ I10 =​10− C =​ P8 =​8+​ C =​ P0 =​0+​ C =​ R0 =​0+​−

D =​(10, 9, 1, 11, 2, 0, 6, 5, 4, 8, 7, 3)
   (first row in dux)
    C =​(8, 9, 5, 7, 4, 6, 0, 1, 2, 10, 11, 3) =​I6(D) (first row in comes)

FIGURE 9.5.10 Row coordinate transformations: (a) in Op. 27, II, first two rows of dux in coordinate
systems ① and ②; (b) general case, rows A and B in coordinate systems Φ and Ψ

②’s 8+​. More generally, system ①’s n+​ is always sys-
tem ②’s (n − 2)−, and system ①’s n− is system ②’s
(n − 2)+​. It follows that the UTT 〈−, 10, 10〉,
applied to any row label in system ①, yields the
label for the same row in system ②. We call this
UTT the coordinate transformation from system ①
to system ② and label it h①–​②.
Figure 9.5.10a shows the labels for the first
two rows in the dux of the Op. 27 canon in sys-
tems ① and ② and the transformation h①–​② =​
〈−, 10, 10〉 that relates them. The rows labeled
0+​ and 5+​ here match the first two rows of the
dux in Figure 9.5.5b, which was based on system
①; 10− and 3− are the labels for the same rows in
system ②. Figure 9.5.10b, more abstractly, shows
transformations between two row forms A and
B in coordinate systems called Φ and Ψ. Here AΦ
and BΦ are the labels assigned to the two rows
in the system Φ, and AΨ and BΨ are the labels
for the same rows in Ψ. The situation is famil-
iar from our general study of isomorphisms of
transformation networks in Section 9.3, espe-
cially Figure 9.3.4; indeed, the coordinate trans-
formation h =​ hΦ–​Ψ is an isomorphism of the
two small networks within the bubbles. In the
general setting of Figure 9.3.4 the two bubbles
contain different objects; in 9.5.10b they con-
tain different labels for the same objects. In
either case, objects (or labels) in one bubble are
mapped to objects (or labels) of the other by h,
and a transformation f in one bubble becomes
f =​Conjh(f ) =​ h−1 ● f ● h in the other.
By similar reasoning, the coordinate transfor-
mation from system ① to system ③ in Table 9.5.9
is h①–​③ =​ 〈−, 0, 2〉, and from system ② to system ③
is h②–​③ =​ 〈+​, 4, 2〉.
Exercise 9.5.11
(a) In Figure 9.5.10a, verify that S7 =​Conjh(S5),
where h =​ h①–​② =​ 〈−, 10, 10〉.
(b) Verify that the coordinate transformations
  identified above satisfy h①–​② ● h②–​③ =​ h①–​③.

368 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es

 The ordered-​pair notation (n, σ) (either n+​
or n−) accommodates only the 24 P and I row
forms. To handle the R and RI forms in sys-
tem ④ we may append a second sign, forming
an ordered triple (n, σ, ρ), or in abbreviated
form nσρ. Here σ, the inversion sign, is the same
as before, while ρ is the retrograde sign. If ρ is
+​, then nσρ =​ nσ+​ represents the same P or I row
label that we have previously denoted nσ; if ρ is
−, then nσρ =​ nσ− is the retrograde of nσ. Table
9.5.9, in the column for coordinate system ④,
shows the row forms R0 and RI0 in this nota-
tion as 0+​− and 0−− respectively.
All 48 row forms may be notated in this way
and related by transformations of the form U or
UR (=​ RU) for various UTTs U (or more generally
QTTs). The formalism is simplified by the fact
that the retrograde operation R commutes with
all UTTs. Whenever a transformation involving
R is applied to a row nσρ, the retrograde sign ρ
changes. All such transformations form a group
isomorphic to 𝒰 × 𝒞2 (or 𝒬 × 𝒞2). It would be
FIGURE 9.5.12 Analysis of Op. 27, II in coordinate systems ①–​④, with coordinate transformations
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 369
possible to incorporate a retrograde sign into the
UTT notation to accommodate the transforma-
tions that include R, but writing such transfor-
mations in the form UR, where U is a standard
UTT, is sufficient for present purposes. (In the
next section we will devise a more comprehen-
sive row-​ labeling system accounting for both
pitch-​class and order transformations.)
As we have observed, the coordinate transfor-
mation h③–​④ from system ③ to system ④ is R itself.
Consequently h①–​④ =​ h①–​③ ● h③–​④ =​ 〈−, 0, 2〉R and
h②–​④ =​ h②–​③ ● h③–​④ =​ 〈+​, 4, 2〉R. Figure 9.5.12 repro-
duces the Op. 27 analysis from Figure 9.5.5b in all
four coordinate systems, displaying the coordi-
nate transformations as bubble transformations.
The four bubbles, regarded as separate networks,
are all isomorphic, the coordinate transforma-
tions acting as network isomorphisms. Within
each bubble, the horizontal arrows are schritts
and wechsels, always matching in both voices of
the canon (as discussed above for system ①); in
different bubbles, these transformations are not
necessarily the same but are related by conju-
gation. We noted in Section 9.3 that a network
isomorphism is strong if and only if it commutes
with all the transformations in the network. Of
the coordinate transformations in Figure 9.5.12,
the only one that commutes with all transforma-
tions in the bubbles is h③–​④ =​ R. Because of this
commutativity, conjugation by R has no effect, so
the transformations appearing in bubbles ③ and
④ are identical; these two networks are strongly
isographic and hence strongly isomorphic.
Example 9.5.13: Webern, String Quartet,
Op. 28, I (revisited) Our understanding of
serial transformations enables us to refine
the analysis of Webern’s String Quartet, Op.
28, from Example 4.5.1.49 As noted there, the
quartet is composed entirely of “BACH forms,”
serial transformations of the ordered tetrachord
B♭–​A–​C–​B♮, and the work’s structure is described
in terms of BACH forms more readily than
complete twelve-​tone rows. Following the
notation introduced in Chapter 4, we index P
forms of BACH by their first notes and R forms
by their last, writing 10+​ for the tetrachord (10,
9, 0, 11) (B♭–​A–​C–​B♮) and 10− for (11, 0, 9, 10),
the retrograde of 10+​. The sign in this notation is
a retrograde sign, but because of the tetrachord’s
RI symmetry, R forms are also I forms, and the
24 forms n+​ and n− exhaust all BACH forms.
The quartet’s first movement, a theme with
variations, opens with the chain of BACH forms
7+​, 11−, 3+​, 7−, 11+​, 3−, 7+​, 11−, 3+​,
generated entirely by the transformation
U =​ T4R. Figure 4.5.3 presented a double-​circle
FIGURE 9.5.14 Event network for Webern, String Quartet, Op. 28, I, theme and variation 1
370 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
space of BACH forms and a spatial network
showing the path traced by repeated
applications of U in this space. We may now
identify U with the UTT 〈−, 4, 4〉, which
generates the group G =​{T0, T4, T8, R, T4R, T8R}.
This group has a direct-​product structure {T0, T4,
T8} × {T0, R} isomorphic to 𝒞3 × 𝒞2, but because
2 and 3 are coprime we know from Section 6.4
that such a group is cyclic, generated in this case
either by U =​ T4R or by U−1 =​ T8R.
The BACH forms in the chain above are those
with index numbers 3, 7, and 11. These six
forms constitute one of the four orbits of G, an
orbit we shall call 3 . The other orbits are 0, 1,
and 2; each orbit m contains all forms n+​ and
n− for which n ≡ m (mod 4). If the symbols n+​
and n− are interpreted as triads, these orbits are
the hexatonic triad families from Section 8.2.
In the triadic interpretation the transformation
U =​ 〈−, 4, 4〉 cycles through the triads of one
orbit via an LH-​chain (and not, for example, an
LP-​chain, which would be more a more common
way of navigating the triadic family).
The U-​chain breaks at the second appearance
of the BACH form 3+​ =​(3, 2, 5, 4), whose last
two notes overlap with the first two notes of the
next form 5+​ =​(5, 4, 7, 6). With this T2 move
Webern departs from the orbit 3 for the first
time, moving to 1 , where the theme of this
variations movement soon concludes after two
more U moves, from 5+​ to 9− and then 1+​.50
The event network in Figure 9.5.14 tells the
transformational story of BACH forms in the
theme and the first variation. Variation 1 is
a canon in which two chains of BACH forms
proceed in counterpoint. BACH forms 6+​ and 3+​
initiate the dux and comes respectively. Of these,
3+​ is another T2 transformation of the last-​
heard tetrachord 1+​, while 6+​ is obtained from
1+​ via T5. The tetrachords 6+​ and 3+​ represent
the orbits 2 and 3 , and both of the canonic
voices in variation 1 are generated entirely by U,
so the voices remain in these orbits throughout
the variation. Each voice traces an exact pitch-​
class transposition of the first nine BACH forms
of the theme, and the canon always maintains a
T9 relationship between the voices, established
by the initial BACH forms 6+​ and 3+​ and shown
in the figure as a bubble transformation.
The techniques introduced in these
opening measures foreshadow much of the
transformational activity in the movement, and
indeed in the entire quartet.51 All six variations
are two-​voice canons at T9, with motion via
U predominating in each canonic voice. A few
short U−1-​chains reverse the order of BACH
forms from the prevailing U-​chains; more than
80 percent of the BACH forms in the movement
are obtained from an immediately preceding
BACH form via either U or U−1. Consequently
the music consistently inhabits a pair of adjacent
orbits such as the first variation’s 2 /​ 3 pair. The
most common interorbital moves, and the most
frequent transformations other than U and U−1,
are T2 and T5, whose first occurrences were noted
above. In particular, T5 occurs several times at
variation boundaries, modulating to a new orbit
pair for the next variation. The 5+​ –​9− –​1+​ codetta
that introduces a new orbit at the end of the
theme does not reappear consistently but has
later ramifications: variation 2 contains a similar
codetta, and variations 3 and 5 each switch to a
different orbit pair for three tetrachords before
switching back. Variations 4 and 6, like variation
1, remain entirely in orbits 2 /​ 3 . The similarities
between orbit pairs and key areas in tonal music
are suggestive, with the pair 2 /​ 3 playing the
role of the movement’s tonic—​an idea recalling
Lewin’s concept of twelve-​tone areas, illustrated
previously in Figure 4.1.18. U-​directed motion is
even more prevalent in the two later movements
of the quartet: the second movement is generated
without exception by U and U−1, never straying
from
   the orbit 0 .
9.6 TRANSFORMATIONS
OF PITCH CLASSES AND
ORDER NUMBERS
To this point we have assumed that a twelve-​ each order-​pc pair now appearing as one col-
tone row is defined as an ordered 12-​tuple of umn of the matrix.52 For theoretical purposes, in
the twelve pitch classes. For example, the first this section we regard rows as sets of order-​pc
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 371
row in Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 4—​a
row we will call Q, to be used for illustrations
throughout this section—​is identified with the
ordered set
Q =​(2, 1, 9, 10, 5, 3, 4, 0, 8, 7, 6, 11).
This simple definition suffices for many pur-
poses, and we will continue to display rows in
this way when convenient, but some aspects of
serial structure are illuminated more effectively
by a different formalization.
The notes of a row may be indexed by order
numbers 0, 1, …, 11. In the notation (a0, a1,
…, a11) from the previous section, these order
numbers are the subscripts. We write order =​
{0, 1, …, 11} for the set of order numbers. Each
note of a row is also a pitch class, an element of
pc =​{0, 1, …, 11}. Numerically, the sets order
and pc are identical—​both are simply ℤ12—​but
in the context of a row they are interpreted dif-
ferently. A number in order specifies a posi-
tion within a row without naming the note that
appears there, while the same number in pc speci-
fies a pitch class without indicating where in a row
it occurs. A row is specified by pairing each order
number with a specific pitch class; that is, a row is
a bijection between the sets order and pc. A row
may be identified with a set of twelve ordered
pairs (i, x), a subset of order × pc, in which the
first component i of each pair is an order number
from the set order, while the second component
x is a pitch-​class number from pc—​and with the
crucial property that each mod-​12 integer occurs
exactly once in each component. In this notation
Schoenberg’s row is the set
Q =​{(0, 2), (1, 1), (2, 9), (3, 10), (4, 5),
(5, 3), (6, 4), (7, 0), (8, 8), (9, 7), (10, 6),
(11, 11)}.
This notation tells us that pitch class 2 (D) occurs
at order position 0 (the first note), pitch class 1
at order position 1, and so on. The same informa-
tion may be conveyed in the form of a 2-​by-​12
matrix similar to the permutation matrices stud-
ied in Section 6.1,
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Q= ,
 2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 7 6 11
pairs, but we will sometimes display these pairs
in matrix form.
The set of order-​pc pairs is itself an unor-
dered set (as the curly braces in the ordered-​
pair representation of Q imply); the row’s order
information is determined by the ordered pairs
in the set, not by the order in which they are
listed. Thus the appearance of the order-​pc
pair (3, 10) tells us that a row’s fourth note
(order position 3) is B♭ (pitch class 10) regard-
less of where (3, 10) may appear in the list of
ordered pairs. We may, if we wish, rearrange the
ordered pairs within the braces, or equivalently
rearrange the columns of the matrix, listing
them in numerical order by the pc component
rather than by the order component. The row
Q then takes the appearance
 7 1 0 5 6 4 10 9 8 2 3 11
Q= ,
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
which tells us successively that pitch class 0 (C)
is in order position 7, pitch class 1 is in order
position 1, and so on. This is the same informa-
tion conveyed in the previous matrix; the set of
order-​pc pairs is the same either way.
Order numbers may be regarded as defining
the horizontal dimension of a row and pitch-​
class numbers as the vertical dimension—​ a been transposed and inverted.
conception facilitated by the ordered-​pair nota-
tion. This perspective reveals complete symme-
try between the two domains. The symmetry is
manifest in particular in the relations between
pitch-​class transformations and order transforma-
tions, two distinct kinds of mappings that never-
theless exhibit completely isomorphic behavior.
These topics have been studied extensively; the
discussion in this section will be limited to a
few observations about the algebraic structures
involved.53
Of the classical serial operations Tk, Ik, and
R, the first two are pitch-​ class transforma-
tions, while the last is an order transforma-
tion. We consider the more familiar pitch-​class
transformations first. Any bijective function
g: ℤ12 → ℤ12 may be regarded as a transforma-
tion on pc, a permutation of the twelve pitch
classes. As such, g determines a transforma-
tion gp: row → row that acts on twelve-​tone
rows by applying g to the second component
of each ordered pair in the row, the pitch-​class
component (hence the superscript p). That is,
372 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
gp transforms a row’s ordered pairs by the rule
gp(i, x) =​(i, g(x)). Such a mapping gp is called
a pitch-​class transformation on twelve-​ tone
rows. Familiar operations such as Tk or Ik can
play the role of g: Tk and Ik are fundamentally
mappings on pc, but we may apply them to
a row by applying them to all the row’s pitch
classes. Applying T3p and I6p to the row from
Schoenberg’s quartet, for example,
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Q= ,
 2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 7 6 11
and therefore
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
T3P(Q ) = 
 5 4 0 1 8 6 7 3 11 10 9 2 
while
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
I6P (Q ) = 
 4 5 9 8 1 3 2 6 10 11 0 7 
.
The last two rows may be called simply T3(Q) and
I6(Q), but the notations T3p and I6p remind us
that it is the pitch-​class components that have
The order components—​ the first compo-
nents of the ordered pairs—​ may be trans-
formed in all the same ways. Any bijection
f : ℤ12 → ℤ12 may be regarded as a transforma-
tion on order, giving rise to an order trans-
formation f o on twelve-​tone rows, defined by
f o(i, x) =​(f(i), x), the superscript o signaling the
order transformation. Operations such as Tk or
Ik can play the role of this f just as they played
the role of g above. Applying T3o to Schoenberg’s
row Q entails transforming the first component
of each ordered pair by T3:
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Q= ,
 2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 7 6 11
and therefore
 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 0 1 2 
T3O (Q ) = 
 2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 7 6 11
.
Rearranging the matrix by order number, composers have made use of them.54 In any
case, the algebraic structure of the rotation
and retrograde transformations in the order
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 domain is completely isomorphic to that of
T3O (Q ) = 
 7 6 11 2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8  transpositions and inversions in the pitch-​class
.

domain. We know that the transformations

p p
In ordered-​set notation, this row is T3 (Q) =​ Tk and Ik form a dihedral
o
p
group of order 24,
(7, 6, 11, 2, 1, 9, 10, 5, 3, 4, 0, 8). The origi- which we now call 𝒯ℐ12 to distinguish it fromo
nal row Q has been rotated three places to the the analogous (and isomorphic) group 𝒯ℐ12
o o
right, a transformation sometimes denoted r3. of order transformations Tk and Ik . All alge-
In general, Tko =​ rk. Row rotations are “order braic properties of 𝒯ℐ12 that we have studiedo
transpositions,” counterparts in the order in previous chapters remain valid in both 𝒯ℐ12
p o
domain of transpositions in the pitch-​ class and 𝒯ℐ12 ; for ­example, the equation Ik =​ R ●
domain. r k +​1 in the previous paragraph may be written
o o o
Among the order-​number inversions Iko, the in the form Ik =​ I11 ● Tk+​1 , which is a special
case k =​11 is notable: case of the equation Im Tn =​ Im+​n from Theorem
●

5.5.6b. Transformations in 𝒯ℐ12o may be writ-

ten using the common notations rk and R, but
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 the notation with Tko and Iko clarifies the cor-
Q= ,
 2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 7 6 11 respondence with the pitch-​class transforma-
tions in 𝒯ℐ12p. The transformations in 𝒯ℐ12o and
so 𝒯 ℐ12p together generate the extended serial group
𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​, which contains order transformations,
pitch-​class transformations, and composites of
 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0  the two. This is a larger group than 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, the
I 11O (Q ) = 
 2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 7 6 11 “classical” serial group discussed in the previous
section, which contains combinations of Tk, Ik,
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 and R but not rk.
= .
 11 6 7 8 0 4 3 5 10 9 1 2  Transpositions (as pitch-​ class transforma-
tions) do not generally commute with inversions
This row is (11, 6, 7, 8, 0, 4, 3, 5, 10, 9, 1, 2), the (also pitch-​ class transformations), and rota-
retrograde of the original row Q: I11o is another tions (order transformations) do not commute
name for the transformation we have denoted with retrogrades (also order transformations).
R. The other order-​number inversions Iko are Conveniently, however, order transforma-
rotated retrogrades. For example, for k =​0, tions always commute with pitch-​class trans-
formations: statements of the form f o ● gp =​
gp ● f o hold in general, a principle that makes
 0 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1  the structure of groups such as 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​ easy to
I 0 (Q ) = 
O

 2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 7 6 11 grasp.55 Consider the result of applying both an

order transformation f o and a pitch-​class trans-
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11  formation gp to a row, where f: ℤ12 → ℤ12 and
=  . g: ℤ12 → ℤ12 are any bijections. Because f o affects
 2 11 6 7 8 0 4 3 5 10 9 1
only the first component of an ordered pair and
gp affects only the second, the order in which
This row is (2, 11, 6, 7, 8, 0, 4, 3, 5, 10, 9, 1), the two transformations are applied makes no
obtained by rotating the retrograde form by r1 difference: an ordered pair (i, x) will be trans-
(or T1o). That is, I0o =​ R ● r1. The general equa- formed to (f(i), g(x)) regardless of whether f or g
tion is Iko =​ R ● rk+​1; retrogrades are “order is applied first.
inversions.” The group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​, large as it is, contains only a
Retrogrades have of course been a part of the small fraction of all possible order and pitch-​class
serial system since its invention by Schoenberg. transformations. The multiplication operators
Row rotations have not been employed com- M5 and M7 do not belong to this group, but they
positionally on an equal footing with the other may be applied to any row, either as order trans-
transformations, though a number of serial formations or as pitch-​ class transformations.

Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 373

For that matter, any of the 12! bijections from
ℤ12 to ℤ12 may be applied to any row as a trans-
formation of either kind. Given any two rows
A and B at all, we can always obtain B from A
by transforming the pitch classes; that is, there
always exists a unique bijection g: ℤ12 → ℤ12 such
that gp(A) =​ B. (The function g maps every pc x to
the pc y that occupies the same order position in
B that x occupies in A. That is, if the order-​pc
pair (i, x) occurs in A and (i, y) occurs in B, then
g(x) =​ y.) But it is equally true that we can always
obtain B from A by transforming order numbers:
there always exists a unique bijection f: ℤ12 →
ℤ12 such that f o(A) =​ B. (If (i, x) occurs in A and
(j, x) occurs in B, then f(i) =​ j.) These observations
describe two different simply transitive actions
of the symmetric group 𝒮12, the group of the 12!
permutations of ℤ12, on row, the space of all 12!
twelve-​tone rows: one action permutes pitch-​
class numbers while the other permutes order
numbers. We use the notations 𝒮12p and 𝒮12o for
these two isomorphic groups acting on row.
This situation offers another example of the
𝒯S-​𝒫S duality described in Theorem 7.5.24, at
the grand scale of the complete space row.56 We
may use the simply transitive action of 𝒮12p to
turn row into an interval space whose interval
group is 𝒮12 and whose “transpositions” are all
the pitch-​class transformations gp in 𝒮12p. The
“interval”-​ preserving transformations in this
space are precisely the order transformations f o
in 𝒮12o. Conversely, the transformations f o could
be the “transpositions” and gp the “inversions.”
Because the cardinality of row is 12!, the total
number of bijections from row to row is the
unimaginably large number (12!)! (12 factorial
factorial); within that vast group the two iso-
morphic subgroups 𝒮12o and 𝒮12p, both of order
12!, are centralizers of each other.57
The group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​ is much more manageable
in size than 𝒮12o and 𝒮12p. Because 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​ is gen-
erated by the elements of the two groups 𝒯ℐ12o
and 𝒯ℐ12p, and because elements of 𝒯ℐ12o always
commute with elements of 𝒯ℐ12p, it follows
that 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​ is a group of order 24 ∙ 24 =​576 iso-
morphic to the direct product 𝒯ℐ12o × 𝒯ℐ12p, or
𝒟12 × 𝒟12. The serial group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, as noted in
Section 6.4, is a group of order 48 isomorphic to
𝒟12 × 𝒞2; 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 incorporates the full structure of
𝒯ℐ12p but only the subgroup {T0, R} of 𝒯ℐ12o.
Every element of 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​ may be written in
the form f ogp (or equivalently gpf o), where both
f and g are some Tk or Ik. The order component
of the notation may alternatively be written in
374 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
terms of rk and/​or R. For example, the transfor-
mation I5oT4p (or T4pI5o) combines the retrograde
rotation I5o, or equivalently Rr6, with the ordi-
nary pitch-​class transposition T4. This transfor-
mation may be applied to Schoenberg’s row
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Q=
2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 7 6 11
by transforming the order numbers in the top
line of the matrix by I5 and the pc numbers
in the bottom line by T4, then reordering the
columns:
5
I5O T4P(Q ) = 
4 3 2 1 0 11 10 9 8 7 6
5 1 2 9 7 8 4 0 11 10 3
6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
=
 7 9 2 1 5 6 3 10 11 0 4 8 
—the row (7, 9, 2, 1, 5, 6, 3, 10, 11, 0, 4, 8).
The traditional system of row labels such as
P0 and RI5 accommodates only the 48 trans-
formations in the group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, but this system
may be expanded to accommodate the 576 row
forms that arise from the larger group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​.
One way to do this is to use labels of the form
FoGp, where the labels F and G are boldfaced ver-
sions of the transformations f and g. For better
correspondence with the traditional notation we
may substitute the label P for T. As usual, some
referential row form must first be selected as
P0 (or more completely P0oP0p); there are advan-
tages to a fixed-​0 coordinate system in which
this referential row starts with pitch class 0 and
thus contains the order-​pc pair (0, 0). If we des-
ignate Schoenberg’s row Q, which starts with D,
as P0oP2p (=​ T2p(P0oP0p)), then I5oT4p(Q), the row
form calculated above, will bear the label I5oP6p.
A row form traditionally labeled Ik becomes
P0oIkp in this notation, while Rk becomes I11oPkp
and RIk becomes I11oIkp (recall that the retro-
grade transformation R is I11o).
Exercise 9.6.1 Calculate each of the following
transformations of Schoenberg’s row Q:
(a) T4oI5p(Q)
(b) I11oI11p(Q)
(c) T6oT6p(Q)
(d) Row form P6oI5p (where Q =​ P0oP2p)
(e)  Row form I2oI10p
Exercise 9.6.2 Each of the rows given below
is obtained from Q by some transformation in
𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​. For each one, identify the transformation
in the form f ogp, and give the row label in the
form FoGp.58
(a) (5, 10, 9, 1, 2, 11, 6, 7, 8, 0, 4, 3)
(b) (9, 10, 6, 2, 1, 0, 5, 8, 7, 3, 4, 11)
(c)  (10, 11, 9, 4, 5, 1, 0, 3, 8, 7, 6, 2)
Exercise 9.6.3 Each of the six transformational
identities below is true. Illustrate each of them
by applying the given transformations to the
row Q, and verify that the transformations
on both sides of each equation give the same
result. In (b) and (c), I2 and M7 refer to the
pitch-​class transformations I2p and M7p; these
two formulas illustrate the commutativity
of order transformations with pitch-​class
transformations. The formulas in parts (d)–​(f)
are order-​number manifestations of the rules
of composition for pitch-​class operations from
Theorem 5.5.6.
(a) R ● r8 =​ r4 ● R
(b) I2 ● r3 =​ r3 ● I2
(c) M7 ● r4 =​ r4 ● M7
(d) I7o ● T3o =​ I10o
(e) T3o ● I7o =​ I4o
(f)  I4o ● I1o =​ T9o
Exercise 9.6.4 Recall from Figure 5.5.4 that
pitch-​class inversion operators Ik always have
either two fixed points (if k is even) or no fixed
points (if k is odd). What analogous property
is true of the order transformations Iko on
twelve-
   ​tone rows?
Exercise 9.6.5 As we know from Section
6.5, the degree of symmetry of a musical
entity depends on the symmetry group under
consideration. In Section 9.5 we observed that
the possibilities for symmetrical rows relative
to the group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12 are very limited. The larger
group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​, however, makes additional kinds of
symmetry possible.
(a) The row of Berg’s Violin Concerto, (7, 10, 2, 6,
9, 0, 4, 8, 11, 1, 3, 5), is not symmetrical in the
traditional sense of 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, but is symmetrical
relative to 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​. What non-​identity
transformation in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​ is a symmetry of this
row (maps the row to itself)?59
(b) Babbitt’s Composition for Four Instruments
makes use of a trichordal array derived
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 375
from the row (1, 2, 10, 9, 5, 6, 0, 11, 3, 4,
8, 7). What is the degree of symmetry of
this row relative to 𝒮𝑒𝑟12? What is its degree
of symmetry relative to 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​? List all
symmetries of this row in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​ (there are
more than two).
(c) If a chromatic scale (0, 1, …, 11) is considered
as a twelve-​tone row, what is its degree
of symmetry relative to 𝒮𝑒𝑟12? What is its
  degree of symmetry relative to 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​?60
The symmetry between order numbers and
pitch classes suggests another kind of serial
operation. The order/​pitch-​class exchange trans-
formation X acts on any ordered pair (i, j) by the
formula X(i, j) =​(j, i), reinterpreting the original
order number as a pitch-​class number and vice
versa.61 By exchanging what we have called the
horizontal and vertical dimensions of a row,
X effectively turns a twelve-​ tone row “side-
ways”—​an intuition for which we will develop
a more exact visualization shortly. When a
row is represented in its 2-​by-​12 matrix form,
X exchanges the top and bottom lines of the
matrix. Using Schoenberg’s row Q again as an
example,
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Q=
1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 7 6 11
,
2
2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 7 6 11
so X (Q ) = 
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
=
 7 1 0 5 6 4 10 9 8 2 3 11
.
That is, X(Q) is the row (7, 1, 0, 5, 6, 4, 10, 9, 8,
2, 3, 11). In terms of interval or subset structure,
X(Q) may appear to bear scant resemblance to Q;
for example, tritones occur three times between
successive notes of X(Q) while Q has no tri-
tones at all. On the other hand, the row’s many
semitones are preserved under X; the chromatic
segment 8–​7–​6 in order positions 8–​9–​10 of Q
converts directly to pitch classes 10–​9–​8 in order
positions 6–​7–​8 of X(Q).
The exchange transformation seems not to
have been employed directly by composers,
but it enables further study of the relationship
between pitch classes and order numbers, may
be used to model additional kinds of symme-
try exhibited by some rows, and gives rise to
algebraic structures related to others we have involution, X−1 could be replaced by X in this
seen. When X is combined with the transforma- equation, but the fact as stated is a useful
tions in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​, a still larger group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X is gener- one: order transformations are X-​conjugates
ated. Clearly X is an involution, and the group of pitch-​class transformations and vice versa.
𝒮𝑒𝑟12X is twice as large as 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​. It is not isomor- In particular, any order transformation may
phic to 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​ × 𝒞2, however, because X does not be rewritten as a combination of a pitch-​class
commute with the transformations in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​. The transformation and two exchanges, and simi-
interaction of X with those transformations is larly any pitch-​class transformation may be
nevertheless easy to describe. For the row Q we rewritten using an order transformation and
calculated above that two exchanges.
The availability of X doubles the number of
rows in a typical row class, from 576 in a 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​-​
T3 ( Q ) = r3( Q ) =
O  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 . class to 1152 in a 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X-​class (compared with 48
 7 6 11 2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 
in a classical 𝒮𝑒𝑟12-​class). The FoGp row-​labeling
system described above for rows in a 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​-​class
Therefore may be extended to 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X-​classes by including
the letter X in the label. If Schoenberg’s row
Q is P0oP2p, then X(Q) could be called either
(
X (T3 ( Q )) =
O 7 6 11 2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ) P0oP2pX or XP2oP0p (note the reversal of the
o and p components). We arbitrarily choose to

( )
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
place X first when it occurs, so our standard label
= 10 4 3 8 9 7 1 0 11 5 6 2 . for X(Q) is XP2oP0p.
Readers who worked through Section 8.3 have
seen the number 1152 before: it is the order of
We can obtain the same result by applying X the group 𝒬 of quasi-​uniform triadic transforma-
first (as calculated above), followed not by T3o tions (UTTs extended to accommodate inversion
but by T3p: operators). In fact, the groups 𝒬 and 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X are
isomorphic, sharing the wreath-​product struc-

( )
ture 𝒟12 ≀ 𝒞2. We will illustrate this isomorphism
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
X (Q ) = 7 1 0 5 6 4 10 9 8 2 3 11 , with double-​circle configurations like those we
introduced for UTTs and QTTs in Chapter 8—​
using them now to visualize the transformations
and therefore in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X.
Figure 9.6.7 shows six such configurations
P
(
T3 ( X( Q )) =
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
10 4 3 8 9 7 1 0 11 5 6 2 ) ,
and transformations relating them. The configu-
rations are like those in Chapter 8 (for example
in Figure 8.3.11) except that the superscripts
+​and − have been replaced with o and p (arbi-
matching X(T3o(Q)) above. In left-​ to-​
right trarily associating the order domain with the +​
o ●
orthography, that is, T3 X gives the same mode). The symbols no and np appearing in the
result as X ● T3p. More generally, the equation configurations do not represent specific objects;
f o ● X =​ X ● f p holds for every order transforma- rather, a configuration as a whole represents one
tion f o, and similarly gp ● X =​ X ● go for every of the 1152 rows in a 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X-​class. The orienta-
pitch-​class transformation gp. The most general tions of the two circles show how each configu-
form of the equation, showing the interaction ration is related to the referential configuration
of X with any transformation f ogp in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​, is at the upper left, which depicts the row form
f ogp ● X =​ X ● gof p. P0oP0p. In the next configuration to the right,
depicting P2oP0p, the o circle is rotated two posi-
Exercise 9.6.6 Use the equations f o ● X =​ tions counterclockwise. This row transforma-
X ● f p and gp ● X =​ X ● go to derive the general tion is T2o, and the symbols no in the o circle are
o p o p
form
   of the equation, f g ● X =​ X ● g f . transposed by T2. In Chapter 8 we modeled this
transformation of a double-​circle configuration
The equation gp ● X =​ X ● go implies that with the UTT 〈+​, 2, 0〉, or equivalently the QTT
g =​  X−1 ● gp ● X =​ConjX(gp). Because X is an 〈+​, 2, 0, +​, +​〉.
o

376 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es

 The third configuration in the top row, for
P2oI7p, is obtained from P2oP0p by I7p; here the
symbols np are transformed by I7. The corre-
sponding QTT is 〈+​, 0, 5, +​, −〉, which according
to the instructions from Section 8.3 rotates the
− circle (now the p circle) five places counter-
clockwise and replaces each np with its mod-​12
inverse −np.
The configurations in the bottom row
of Figure 9.6.7 are the X-​transforms of
those above. Graphically, X leaves numbers
unchanged but swaps the superscripts o and p;
in these configurations, therefore, the o circle
is on the inside. The QTT corresponding to X
is 〈−, 0, 0, +​, +​〉, which in its triadic guise as
the parallel transformation P swaps the +​and −
modes. The transformations relating the three
configurations in the bottom row are the same
as those above but with o and p exchanged:
T2p and I7o in place of T2o and I7p. On these
configurations, T2p rotates the p (outer) cir-
cle while I7o reflects and rotates the o circle.
FIGURE 9.6.7 Double-​circle configurations for row forms and transformations in 𝒮er12X
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 377
The identities T2o ● X =​ X ● T2p and I7p ● X =​
X ● I7o are visible in the figure, along with cor-
responding identities involving QTT prod-
ucts. The network, that is, is path-​consistent,
whether we choose to regard it as a network of
transformations in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X acting on row forms
or as a network of QTTs acting on double-​circle
configurations. Both of these group actions are
simply transitive, so we know from Section 9.2
that the network must be path-​consistent. The
composite mapping from P0oP0p at the upper
left to XI7oP2p at the lower right is XI7oT2p (or
equivalently T2oI7pX) as a serial transforma-
tion, or 〈−, 2, 5, +​, −〉 as a QTT.
The groups 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X and 𝒬 are isomorphic
via an isomorphism that maps the row trans-
formation Tko to the QTT 〈+​, k, 0, +​, +​〉, Iko to
〈+​, −k, 0, −, +​〉, Tkp to 〈+​, 0, k, +​, +​〉, Ikp to 〈+​, 0, −k,
+​, −〉, and X to 〈−, 0, 0, +​, +​〉. Transformations
in the group 𝒯ℐ12o map to QTTs of the form
〈+​, t+​, 0, ρ+​, +​〉, while those in 𝒯ℐ12p map to QTTs
of the form 〈+​, 0, t−, +​, ρ−〉. The QTTs of these
two kinds form two pairwise commuting sub-
groups, both isomorphic to 𝒯ℐ12.
Exercise 9.6.8
(a) Identify the QTT corresponding to each of
the following transformations in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X:
I11oT0p (=​ R); XT8oT4p; and I9oI6pX.
(b) Identify the transformations in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X
corresponding to each of the following
QTTs: 〈+​, 3, 9, +​, +​〉 (the schritt S3);
  〈−, 0, 5, −, +​〉; and 〈−, 6, 6, −, −〉.
Double-​circle configurations like those in
Figure 9.6.7 are helpful in visualizing trans-
formational algebra in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X, but they reveal
nothing about pitch-​class relationships within
a particular row. A standard twelve-​tone matrix
displays the 48 row forms in one classical row
class in a compact 12-​by-​12 format.62 Perhaps
surprisingly, it is not difficult to construct an
array of the same size that makes many row
characteristics visually apparent, and from
which all 1152 row forms in a 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X-​class can
be read easily. Figure 9.6.9 illustrates, return-
ing to Schoenberg’s row Q for the last time. The
array for Q (=​ P0oP2p ) in part (a) of the figure
maps the row’s order-​pc pairs, its horizontal
and vertical dimensions labeled order and
pc in the manner of the axes of a graph. The
entries in the array could be 1s and 0s; we have
opted to show black dots and blank squares
instead.63
Any row in the 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X-​class of Q may be read
from this same array by an appropriate relabel-
ing of the axes. A pitch-​class transposition Tkp is
obtained by transposing every number on the pc
axis by Tk, shifting the 0 point of the axis in the
FIGURE 9.6.9 Array representations of twelve-​tone rows and serial transformations
378 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
process; numbers on the axis wrap around from
top to bottom in the manner of a torus. For a
pitch-​class inversion Ikp the pitch-​class numbers
are transformed by Ik, which also reverses the
orientation of the axis. The corresponding order
transformations Tko and Iko are achieved via the
same relabelings of the order axis. Finally, to
accomplish the exchange transformation X, we
simply switch the labels order and pc, toggling
the interpretations of the two axes. Compared
with the array in 9.6.9a, the array in (b) trans-
forms order numbers by T2 and pitch-​ class
numbers by I7; the resulting order-​pc pairs are
correct for the row T2oI7p(Q) (=​ P2oI5p). Part (c)
then applies X to (b), showing the row XI5oP2p.
Exercise 9.6.10
(a) Relabel the axes of the array in Figure 9.6.9
to illustrate the following rows in the 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X-​
class of Q: I5oI6p; XP0oP0p; and
XP2oI5p. Use the array to write the string
of pitch classes for each of these rows.
Remember that the original row Q is
P0oP2p, not P0oP0p.
(b) Rather than relabeling the axes to perform
these transformations, it would be possible
to leave the labels unchanged but to
transform the array itself, translating it
horizontally or vertically (wrapping around
as needed) for Tko or Tkp, reflecting about
a vertical or horizontal axis for Iko or Ikp,
or reflecting about a diagonal axis for X.
Redraw arrays for the rows in part (a) of
  this exercise in this alternative way.
The group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X further expands the possi-
bilities for row symmetry, and arrays like those
just considered can aid in visualizing this sym-
metry. A simple example is offered by the BACH
tetrachord, viewed as a four-​note row (1, 0, 3, 2).
As a set of order-​pc pairs, this row is {(0, 1),
(1, 0), (2, 3), (3, 2)}; as such, it is invariant under
the exchange transformation X. Figure 9.6.11a
shows a 4-​by-​4 array for this short row. The
invariance of this array under 180-​degree rota-
tion signals the tetrachord’s RI symmetry, while
the symmetry about the diagonal signals X-​
invariance. The array is also symmetric about
the diagonal; this is a consequence of the two
symmetries already noted, because the combina-
tion of a 180-​degree rotation with a reflection
over one diagonal is equivalent to a reflection
over the other diagonal.
Exact X-​invariance is rare in longer rows, but
the twelve-​tone row of Webern’s String Quartet,
Op. 28, offers an example, at least in one care-
fully selected transposition. Example 9.5.13
analyzed the piece via transformations of BACH
forms, but we now consider the complete row,
comprising three BACH forms in succession, in
the transposed form W =​(1, 0, 3, 2, 6, 7, 4, 5, 9,
8, 11, 10). The array for W in Figure 9.6.11b has
the same symmetries as the tetrachord in (a),
and W is invariant under X. Like the BACH tetra-
chord, the complete row W is also RI-​symmetric.
FIGURE 9.6.11 Arrays for Webern, String
Quartet, Op. 28: (a) BACH tetrachord; (b) com-
plete twelve-​tone row W
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 379
Its degree of symmetry is 2 relative to the classi-
cal serial group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, but increases to 4 relative
to 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X; the symmetries of W in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X are T0,
RI11 (=​ I11oI11p), X, and XRI11 (=​ XI11oI11p).
Exercise 9.6.12
(a) Relabel the axes of the array in Figure
9.6.11b as appropriate for the last three
transformations named above, and verify
that these relabelings all determine the
original row W.
(b) The array in 9.6.11b was constructed using
a row form transposed to start with pitch
class 1—​a row form that might be called
P1 in a fixed-​0 coordinate system or P0oP1p
in the more general row labeling described
above—​because that form is invariant
under X. Other forms of the row are no
less symmetrical, but their symmetries
are more complex transformations. Draw
the array for P0 (that is, W transposed
down by semitone) and visualize its
symmetry. Calculate X(P0) and overlay
it in the same array, using a different
symbol to distinguish it from P0. What
other transformations applied to P0
yield the same row as X(P0)? Under what
transformations is P0 invariant?
(c) Of the transpositions of W, only P1 is
X-​invariant. But one inversion of W
(some row P0oIkp) is X-​invariant, as is one
rotated transposition of W (some row
PjoPkp). Identify these row forms and draw
  their arrays.
Exercise 9.6.13 The first row in Babbitt’s song
cycle Du is B =​(3, 0, 5, 1, 2, 4, 10, 8, 7, 11, 6, 9).
Divide the row into hexachords B1 and B2.
Write each hexachord as a set of order-​pc
pairs, using order numbers 6–​11 for B2. Apply X
to each hexachord; what other transformations
give the same results? What transformations
in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X fix each hexachord? Make an array for
the entire row and note the appearance of the
two hexachords. What transformations in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X
   B1 to B2?
map
Exercise 9.6.14
(a) Construct a twelve-​tone row that
has no nontrivial symmetry in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12
but is invariant under the exchange
transformation X, and draw its array.
(b) We informally described the action of X as
turning a row “sideways.” That is not quite
accurate; as we have seen, X transforms the
 shape of a row (as depicted in its array) by
reflection across a diagonal, not by rotation.
What happens if you take the array for
Q from Figure 9.6.9a and rotate it 90
degrees clockwise, leaving the order and
pc labels in their original locations? What
transformation in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12X is this?
(c) Construct a row that is invariant under the
transformation described in (b), and draw
  its array.
NOTES
1. Lewin ([1987] 2007, 195) requires the trans-
formations in a transformation graph or network to
belong to a semigroup, but this stipulation does not
constrain the functions that can appear: the set of all
functions f: S → S is always a semigroup, from which
the transformations appearing in any transformation
network on S may be selected.
2. For Lewin ([1987] 2007, 196) a transforma-
tion network is an ordered 6-​tuple: the sets of verti-
ces and arrows in the directed graph are enumerated
separately, and the transformation semigroup is also
included.
3. The space S is not explicitly included in Lewin’s
definition of transformation graphs ([1987] 2007,
195); Lewin requires only that arrows be labeled with
elements of some semigroup, not necessarily a semi-
group of transformations on any particular space.
(For Lewin, a transformation graph is an ordered 4-​
tuple comprising the sets of vertices and edges, the
semigroup, and the label function for the arrows.)
In musical applications, the semigroup elements are
always transformations, and we assume here that we
always know what kind of elements the transforma-
tions act on, even if we do not know the specific ele-
ments. This assumption is essential in the formulation
of cross-​type transformation graphs and has some
ramifications for the discussion of strong isography in
Section 9.3.
4. Hints for Exercise 9.1.3: In a proper realization,
all vertices must be labeled with triads and label con-
sistency must be observed. Is it possible to construct
a realization in which the leftmost vertex is occupied
by a minor triad?
5. Formally, the definition of a cross-​type transfor-
mation network includes a set 𝒮 of spaces and a space
assignment function, mapping from the vertices of the
graph into 𝒮. In the case of a single-​type network, 𝒮
consists of a single space, so the space assignment
function is trivial and may be disregarded.
6. See Hook 2007a for additional examples of
cross-​type transformations and networks.
380 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
7. Hint for Exercise 9.1.7: The mapping X from Figure
8.3.20 may be useful in labeling the cross-​type trans-
formations. For an analysis of this Mozart sequence in
generic space see Hook [2014] 2020, 83–​85.
8. Path consistency is condition D in GMIT’s defi-
nition of transformation graphs (Lewin [1987] 2007,
195). The commentary and additional definitions in
this section are revised from Hook 2007a, where the
term path consistency was introduced.
9. See Cook 2005, 126. Acknowledging the lack
of path consistency, Cook describes the network as
“malformed.”
10. The failure of path consistency is not attrib-
utable to the bubble notation. Figure 9.2.2 remains
non–​path-​consistent if the bubbles and the single T9
arrow are replaced by two arrows as described above—​
or even by just the single arrow from E♭ to C. Figure
9.1.4a, which incorporates the bubble notation but
omits the P arrow, is path-​consistent.
11. Shortly after the publication of GMIT, Lewin
realized that the “Tarnhelm network” of his Figure
8.2a (Lewin [1987] 2007, 179) ran afoul of his rules;
he offered a path-​consistent alternative in the notes
that became the Preface to the 2007 reprinting, and
further revisions in Lewin [1992] 2006. Though Lewin
considered the revised analysis “better,” Hook 2007a
argues that it sacrifices musical insight in the name
of path consistency. Both of the networks in Figure
9.14, GMIT p. 213, modeling the slow movement
of Beethoven’s “Appassionata,” are also non–​ path-​
consistent, as observed by Rings (2011b, 115) but
apparently unnoticed by Lewin. When I presented
preliminary observations about path consistency at
the 2002 meeting of the Society for Music Theory, I
noted that non–​path-​consistent networks appeared in
two other papers in the same session.
12. Further support for relaxing the path consis-
tency requirement may be found in mathematical
practice. The definitions of transformation graphs
and networks, like some other definitions in this
book, are fundamentally mathematical, not musical.
Mathematicians construct such graphs frequently,
typically referring to them as diagrams. A diagram
satisfying the condition we call path consistency is
called a commutative diagram; in common parlance,
“the diagram commutes” (Dummit and Foote 2004,
100). The notion of a commutative diagram may be
said to generalize the concept of a commutative binary
operation: if functions f and g are defined on a set S,
a simple diagram—​that is, a transformation graph on
S—​can be constructed with the property that the dia-
gram commutes if and only if f ● g =​ g ● f. Many impor-
tant mathematical concepts are described in terms
of commutative diagrams, which play a central role
in the field of category theory. Importantly, however,
commutativity is not a requirement for all diagrams,
and mathematicians construct noncommutative dia-
grams often and for many purposes.
13. Hints for Exercise 9.2.3: Four of the networks
are path-​consistent. In (a), it is helpful to realize that
T6, I, and R all commute. The concepts of paired paths
and path consistency are fully applicable to cross-​type
networks as in (e) and (g). In (e), the answer is unaf-
fected if only the triadic portion of the network is
considered. In (g), the question is whether T12 ● QO
is the same function as QO (a mapping from pitch to
pc). An equation of the form ab =​ b is not possible for
elements of a group unless a is the identity, but recall
that cross-​ type transformations generally do not
belong to a group.
14. An idiosyncrasy in Lewin’s formalization of
directed graphs (node-​arrow systems in his terminol-
ogy) is that he postulates a loop at every vertex: “we
shall stipulate that every node is in the arrow relation
with itself” (Lewin [1987] 2007, 193). The reasons
for this unusual assumption are not explained, and
Lewin’s figures never show the loops. His intention
may have been to rule a graph like Figure 9.2.5b inad-
missible on the grounds that path consistency would
require the transformational product around the cycle
to equal the transformation on the loop, which (if the
transformations belong to a group) must be the iden-
tity. In fact, as we have seen, no loop is needed to con-
clude that this graph is not path-​consistent.
15. Hint for Exercise 9.2.6: Four of the seven graphs
in Exercise 9.2.3 are universally realizable. In consid-
ering the bottom vertex in (g), note that universal
realizability does not require that a labeling of one
vertex determine a unique realization of the graph.
16. Hints for Exercise 9.2.7: Neither of these graphs
can be path-​consistent. Consider writing transforma-
tions in UTT notation. Which non-​identity UTTs can
map a triad to itself?
17. Hint for Exercise 9.2.8: To prove strong path
consistency, assume the graph contains a set of paired
undirected paths, and consider the cycle formed by
the two paths together.
18. For example, Gödel’s completeness theorem for
first-​order languages asserts that a set of statements
(axioms) within a certain kind of formal system is con-
sistent, in the sense that it cannot be used to derive a
logical contradiction, if and only if it has a model—​a
mathematical structure in which interpretations are
assigned to the symbols of the system and in which
all the axioms are true. See Mendelson 2015, 82–​92.
19. Hint for Exercise 9.2.10a: Graphs of all types
except (4) have appeared among examples in this
chapter. For type (4), try combining Riemannian and
non-​Riemannian transformations in a graph with a
configuration of arrows like Figure 9.2.5c.
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 381
20. The definitions of isomorphism of transfor-
mation graphs and isography of transformation net-
works presented here are equivalent to those of Lewin
[1987] 2007, 199–​ 200, though formulated some-
what differently. Strong isography and isomorphism
of networks were first defined by Klumpenhouwer
in the special case of Klumpenhouwer networks, as
described in Lewin 1990.
21. The reference to “corresponding arrows” in the
definition of isomorphism of transformation graphs,
to be precise, is a statement of compatibility between
the group isomorphism φ and the bijection θ between
the vertices of the two graphs, mentioned in the pre-
vious definition of isomorphism of directed graphs.
Specifically, if the transformational label on an arrow
from vertex v1 to v2 in graph A is f, then the label on
the arrow from θ(v1) to θ(v2) in Aʹ must be φ(f). Similar
compatibility requirements are implicit elsewhere
in this section when corresponding arrows or corre-
sponding vertices are mentioned.
22. This is a minor abuse of notation. The vertices,
arrows, and transformations that are integral parts
of network N1 are not “transposed” by T9—​only the
triads are transposed. It is nevertheless convenient to
think of T9 as a transformation applied to networks,
making Figure 9.3.1 a “network of networks” as
described by Lewin ([1987] 2007, 204–​06).
23. The following discussion assumes single-​type
networks: each network is defined on a single space,
but different networks may have different associated
spaces. The theory of network isomorphism can be
extended to cross-​type networks, each of the several
spaces of one network being in bijective correspon-
dence with one space in the other. This more general
definition presents no theoretical obstacles apart
from notational complexity, but we will not pursue
it here.
24. If the transformations in N belong not to a
group but to a semigroup K of transformations on
S, Conjh is an isomorphism from K to a semigroup of
transformations on Sʹ.
25. Hint for Exercise 9.3.7: See Exercise 8.3.4.
26. Though M2 is not an automorphism of the
additive group ℤ12, it is a group homomorphism. It
is possible to define homomorphisms of transforma-
tion graphs and networks, relaxing the bijection con-
straints for both the objects and the transformations.
Analytical benefits of network homomorphisms are
less apparent than of isomorphisms, in part because
homomorphism does not produce an equivalence rela-
tion on networks.
27. Hints for Exercise 9.3.10: The isomorphism h is
an affine transformation (discussed in Section 6.2); g
must be the function that maps int(x, y) to int(h(x),
h(y)) for all pitch classes x and y.
 28. Hints for Exercise 9.3.11: For each part of the
exercise, draw a diagram showing the interval int(X,
Y) between two triads X and Y, the mapping T9 or I0
as appropriate, and the interval int(T9(X), T9(Y)) or
int(I0(X), I0(Y)). (You may need two diagrams, depend-
ing on whether X and Y are of the same mode or oppo-
site mode.) In each case determine the mapping g
that converts the original interval to the transformed
one, and determine whether g is an automorphism of
the interval group. In particular, the homomorphism
requirement g(i)g(j) =​ g(ij) must be checked.
29. We assume a group structure in this discus-
sion, but similar remarks apply if the transformations
belong only to a semigroup.
30. Hint for Exercise 9.3.14: The isomorphism h,
which must map every triad in the PL-​cycle in the
figure to the correspondingly located triad in the LʹR-​
cycle, can be expressed as a QTT.
31. Hint for Exercise 9.3.15b: To verify that φ10–​12 is
a group homomorphism you must show φ(X) ● φ(Y) =​
φ(X ● Y) for all transformations X and Y in ℛ. Consider
schritts and wechsels in all possible combinations,
using formulas from Theorem 8.2.2 to calculate X ●
Y and the analogous formulas from Theorem 5.5.6 to
calculate φ(X) ● φ(Y).
32. Hint for Exercise 9.3.15c: The way to define
φ12–​13 on inversions should be clear from the graphs.
To determine the behavior of φ12–​13 on transpositions,
remember that Tn =​ I0In and that φ12–​13 must be a
homomorphism.
33. Unsurprisingly, automorphisms of dihedral
groups are mathematically well known. Appendix A to
Lewin 1990 provides a proof that all automorphisms
of 𝒯ℐ12 are of the types described here.
34. Hint for Exercise 9.4.9c: Every pc set of cardinal-
ity ≥3 contains at least one even interval class.
35. Lewin 2002 offers rare counterexamples to sev-
eral of these generalizations: his Example 1.3 is a large
K-​net with nine vertices but only eight pitch classes
because of a duplication, and Example 6.1 shows a dis-
connected K-​net. Lewin 1990 opens with several T-​net
examples. Figure 4.10 in Morris 2001 also includes
some large K-​nets of uncommon types.
36. Brief discussions of path consistency of K-​nets,
in the name of “well-​formedness,” may be found in
O’Donnell 1998, 57, and Peck 2004–​05, 26–​28.
37. Hints for Exercise 9.4.11: Show both implica-
tions: if the K-​net is strongly path-​consistent, then
every cycle contains an even number of I arrows, and
vice versa. The result of Exercise 9.2.8 may be useful.
38. The 〈Tn〉-​〈In〉 notation, introduced in Klum-
penhouwer 1991, is employed in Lewin 1994 and
many subsequent publications.
39. The four tetrachords in Figure 9.4.16a occur
together with other all-​interval tetrachords in mm.
382 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
37–​42 of Elliott Carter’s Scrivo in vento. Childs 2006,
inspired by Capuzzo 1999, analyzes the Carter pas-
sage, describing relationships among the tetrachords
via dyadic transposition but without using K-​nets.
40. Appendix B to Lewin 1990 considers the pos-
sibility of admitting M5 and M7 as pitch-​class trans-
formations in K-​nets, and Peck 2004–​05 examines
recursion in networks with M operators in more detail.
If the group of basic transformations is expanded in
this way, however, the automorphism group expands
as well, so the possible isographies still are not in one-​
to-​one correspondence with the basic transforma-
tions. There exist groups that are isomorphic to their
own automorphism groups (the dihedral group 𝒟4 is
an example), but none of the most commonly used
musical transformation groups have this property.
41. Losada 2007, par. 12, presents this observa-
tion in an equivalent form: a correspondence between
inversional subscripts in a network and hypernetwork
may disappear if some pitch class other than C is cho-
sen as the reference point for pc labeling. Losada con-
cludes that the original correspondence was “merely
coincidental.”
42. For principles of enumeration involving
twelve-​tone rows (and generalizations to n-​tone rows)
see Hook 2007d, pars. 77–​80. For statistical confirma-
tion that composers choose symmetrical rows dispro-
portionately often, see Hunter and von Hippel 2003.
43. Hint for Exercise 9.5.1: Five of the rows are
symmetrical.
44. Hint for Exercise 9.5.3: Of the four yes-​no ques-
tions in this exercise, three have the same answer.
45. The possibility of applying UTTs to twelve-​tone
rows was suggested by Jack Douthett in a 2001 con-
ference paper. The discussion in this section is con-
densed from Hook and Douthett 2008, which explores
the idea in more detail, with an extended analysis of
trichordal structure in Webern’s Concerto for Nine
Instruments, Op. 24, in addition to the examples con-
sidered here.
46. Hints for Exercise 9.5.8: The group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12ʹ is com-
mutative, so JTn =​ TnJ; you may call this transforma-
tion Jn (it is not the same transformation called Jn in
Section 8.3). Caution: most of the transformations Jn
are not involutions.
47. There are similarities between coordinate sys-
tems for row labeling and label functions for interval
spaces, discussed in Section 7.1. While Orb(A) can
be an interval space with interval group 𝒮𝑒𝑟12, row
labeling is more complex than interval-​space label-
ing. A label function labu in an interval space is deter-
mined by the selection of a single reference point u to
be labeled with the identity element of the group. A
row labeling, in contrast, depends on two reference
points: we must select two inversionally related rows
to be labeled P0 and I0. The number of possible row
labelings is therefore larger than the cardinality of the
space. If we require that P0 and I0 begin with the same
pitch class, then it becomes possible to formalize row
labeling in terms of interval-​space labeling, but at the
price of excluding viable labelings such as coordinate
system ③ in Table 9.5.9.
48. In Westergaard’s unusual row numbering, cus-
tomized for the mirror canon, I forms bear negative
indices, so paired rows are labeled P0 and I0, P7 and I−7
(rather than I5), and so on.
49. For a more complete analysis of BACH forms
and related structures in the first movement of the
quartet see Hook and Douthett 2008, 110–​19, and
Moseley 2018, 186–​93. Moseley (165–​69) also stud-
ies similar cycles of BACH forms in the second move-
ment of the same work. A study of the work by David
Clampitt (2009, 207–​15) describes a transformation
functionally equivalent to the UTT U =​ 〈−, 4, 4〉 dis-
cussed here, as well as an alternative analysis making
use of two contextual inversions in alternation, corre-
sponding in UTT notation to the wechsels W4 and W8.
50. The move from 3+​ to 5+​ is an example of RI-​
chaining, dubbed RICH by Lewin ([1987] 2007, 180–​
84). The last two notes of any pitch or pitch-​class series
always coincide with the first two notes of some RI-​
related form of the same series; here the pitch classes
5 and 4, though they belong to two BACH forms, are
presented only once, not twice. For the symmetri-
cal BACH forms, RI-​related forms are also related by
transposition, and RICH(n+​) =​ T2(n+​) while RICH(n−)
=​ T10(n−). On BACH forms in general, therefore, RICH
is the same as the schritt S2 =​ 〈+​, 2, 10〉—​but the label
T2 suffices here because Webern applies the technique
only to P forms. See Hook and Douthett 2008, 108–​
10, for further UTT analyses of RI-​chaining (and the
related T-​chaining), including commentary on some of
Lewin’s analyses.
51. A network in Hook and Douthett 2008, 117,
expands Figure 9.5.14 to encompass the entirety of
the first movement.
52. To make the correspondence with permuta-
tions explicit, if the matrix for Q is regarded as the
permutation matrix for a permutation q defined on
the space pc, then the row Q is the result of apply-
ing the permutation q to the pitch classes of the chro-
matic row (0, 1, …, 11). These order-​pc matrices are of
course entirely different from the usual row matrices
of twelve-​tone theory, which are 12-​by-​12 matrices,
not 2-​by-​12.
53. The symmetry between pitch-​class numbers
and order numbers was noted in Babbitt [1960] 2003
and subsequently developed in O’Connell 1968 and
other sources. For the most thorough study see Mead
1988 and 1989. Morris 2001 offers a brief overview.
Graphs and Networks; Serial Transformations • 383
54. The rotational arrays used by Stravinsky in sev-
eral compositions of the 1960s employ rotation not to
entire twelve-​tone rows but to hexachords. Babbitt’s
trichordal arrays deploy multiple rows simultane-
ously, some of which are often related by rotation (see
Exercise 9.6.5b). For discussion of these practices see
Straus 2016, 328–​38. Examples of rotation can be
found in the early serial music of the Second Viennese
School as well. Mead 1985 discusses rotation in
Schoenberg’s Wind Quintet, Op. 26; see also Exercise
9.6.5a. In non-​serial contexts, rotation in the horizon-
tal (time) dimension can be related to beat-​class trans-
positions, invoked in analytical study of the phase
techniques of Steve Reich (Cohn 1992b, Roeder 2003).
55. The general commutativity of pitch-​ class
operations with order operations is noted in Morris
1987, 108.
56. There is nothing special about the number 12
here. Permutations of a finite set of any cardinality
may be described as permutations of elements or as
permutations of order positions, and the two concep-
tions give rise to transformation groups that are dual
to each other in this way.
57. The 𝒯S-​𝒫S duality does not apply in full to the
smaller groups 𝒯ℐ12o and 𝒯ℐ12p, even though they are
isomorphic and pairwise commuting, because these
two groups do not act in simply transitive fashion on
the same space. An orbit of rows under the action of
𝒯ℐ12p (rows related by transposition and inversion) is
not the same as an orbit under 𝒯ℐ12O (rows related by
rotation and retrograde). When the full groups 𝒮12p
and 𝒮12o are considered, however, the same 12! rows
are produced by either group.
58. Hint for Exercise 9.6.2: Look for distinctive
interval patterns within the row, such as a trichord
that could be a transformation of the chromatic seg-
ment 8–​7–​6 from Q.
59. Hint for Exercise 9.6.5a: Consider rotating the
row by r3. What other row operation yields this same
form of the row?
60. Hint for Exercise 9.6.5c: The chromatic row has
multiple symmetries obtained by combining rota-
tions with transpositions. Consider not only these
symmetries but also combinations of them with the
one nontrivial symmetry of this row in 𝒮𝑒𝑟12.
61. This X differs from the transformation called X in
Example 8.3.19, though that mapping also exchanged
elements between two isomorphic structures.
62. For twelve-​ tone matrices see, for example,
Straus 2016, 301–​02.
63. O’Connell 1968 displays figures similar to the
arrays presented here. A matrix of 0s and 1s with a
single 1 in each row and column is an alternative form
of permutation matrix, describing the permutation of
pitch classes required to transform the chromatic row
(0, 1, …, 11) to the row under consideration. Mathe-
maticians would probably prefer a default configuration
in which the pitch-​class numbers 0–​11 are ordered from
top to bottom, in the orientation of a matrix rather than
a graph; this is one reason we refer to our figures as arrays
rather than matrices (another reason is to avoid confu-
sion with traditional twelve-​tone matrices and with the
2-​by-​12 permutation matrices employed earlier). The
bottom-​to-​top ordering adopted here is consistent with
musical intuitions of direction in pitch-​class space, but
the distinction is of little importance once transforma-
tions that reverse that direction are allowed.
SUGGESTED READING
Transformation graphs and networks are formal-
ized in Chapter 9 of GMIT (Lewin [1987] 2007,
193–​219), though some examples appear earlier
in the book. The discussion here of cross-​type net-
works (not considered by Lewin) and the path con-
sistency condition is revised from Hook 2007a.
384 • E x ploring M usi c al S pa c es
Important mileposts in the K-​net literature include
Lewin 1990 and 1994; the Klumpenhouwer
Network Symposium in Intégral (vol. 12, 1998), par-
ticularly O’Donnell 1998; a dedicated issue of Music
Theory Spectrum (vol. 24 (2), 2002); the skeptical
reconsideration in Buchler 2007; and the series of
responses to Buchler in the following issue of Music
Theory Online (vol. 13 (3), 2007).
Morris 2007 provides a valuable overview of math-
ematical literature on serial theory. O’Connell 1968
is a rich and underappreciated study, among the
first to examine multiplication operators, the order-​
pc duality (studied more thoroughly in Mead 1988
and 1989), and arrays similar to those in Section
9.6. Twelve-​tone topics of mathematical inter-
est not explored here include invariance matrices
(Morris 1991, Chapter 14, and in greater generality
Morris 2001, Section 4.6); partitions of the aggre-
gate (Morris and Alegant 1988); and complex multi-
plication (Losada 2014).
 PART THREE
Geometric Music Theory
The OPTIC Voice-​Leading Spaces
 10
Spaces III
Introduction to Voice-​Leading Spaces
If two notes are close together in pitch space,
one note may be transformed to the other by
motion through a small interval—​that is, by a
small voice leading. (Small voice leadings are com-
monly called “smooth,” “efficient,” or “parsimo-
nious.”) Pitch space may therefore be taken as
a prototypical example of a voice-​leading space:
a space with the property that distances in the
space reflect the possibility of connecting ele-
ments by efficient voice leadings.
The discussion of musical spaces in the fore-
going chapters, particularly the triadic spaces
introduced in Chapter 4 and studied further in
Chapter 8, has included occasional commentary
about voice-​leading relationships among the ele-
ments of those spaces. For various reasons, how-
ever, many of the spaces studied to this point do
not meet the above criterion for a voice-​leading
space, and many of the techniques employed
so far are unsatisfactory as tools for studying
voice leading. In particular, the structure of an
interval space, developed at length in Chapters
5–​7, guarantees nothing about voice-​ leading
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0010
behavior. Recall, for example, that pitch-​class
space pc and fifths space fifth are isomorphic
as interval spaces—​but while pc may be consid-
ered a voice-​leading space, fifth surely is not.
Moreover, we shall see that the group-​theoretic
structure required of interval spaces creates
constraints that many important voice-​leading
spaces do not, and cannot, satisfy.
A related point is that voice leadings are gener-
ally not transformations, and for a broad assort-
ment of reasons, transformations (mathematical
functions) are of limited value as models of voice
leading. To be sure, transformations have been
employed productively in the study of voice
leading,1 and some characteristic voice-​ leading
motions may be elegantly modeled using trans-
formations—​the neo-​Riemannian P, L, and R
are obvious examples—​but there is no reason to
expect this to be true in general. In Section 2.4 we
considered some of the difficulties in defining a
function that adequately depicts the voice leading
in a characteristic viio7–​i resolution of a fully dimin-
ished seventh chord. Numerous complications
arise, including the enharmonic equivalence of
differently spelled diminished seventh chords, the
unequal cardinalities of the two chords as pitch-​
class sets, the fact that there are only three dimin-
ished seventh chords but twelve different minor
triads to which they may resolve, the merging of
two voices in the first chord into a single note of
the second, the need to identify not just the initial
and final chords but the movement of individual
voices in order to differentiate between two differ-
ent voice leadings joining the same pair of chords,
and the desire to define a function not just on a
single input chord or a few chords of a particular
type but on a domain containing enough chords to
make the function broadly applicable.
To avoid such difficulties, we will now work
primarily with chords not just as pitch-​class sets
but as points in more general kinds of spaces—​
voice-​leading spaces. There is not just one such
space but a large family of them. Voice lead-
ings are modeled as paths through appropriate
spaces—​a kind of relation more general than
a function. A particular bo7–​ c resolution, for
example, determines a path joining two points
in a space of chords in four voices, and the path
shows how each voice moves.
The voice-​leading spaces considered here were
introduced to music theory in remarkable work by
Clifton Callender, Ian Quinn, and Dmitri Tymoczko
(2008).2 This area of research is sometimes called
geometric music theory, and the spaces are referred
to variously as CQT spaces, orbifold spaces, or OPTIC
spaces (the first of these names derives from the
authors’ initials; the other two will be explained in
due course). One way to describe this approach is
to say that it adds a geometric component to pitch-​
class set theory; indeed, OPTIC spaces offer many
ways to generalize and extend the traditional study
of pc sets. The OPTIC spaces are continuous spaces,
not discrete. They are multidimensional; chords of
larger cardinalities generally require more dimen-
sions, and the geometry sometimes includes sur-
prising complexities. For these reasons, OPTIC
spaces contain many unfamiliar chords and can be
difficult to visualize.
The first two sections of this chapter explore,
tentatively and informally, a voice-​leading space
of three-​note chords—​a three-​voice space, as we
shall call it. In Section 10.3, recognizing the need
for a more rigorous theoretical development, we
revisit the OPTIC relations, or OPTIC symmetries,
first introduced in Section 2.4, and describe them
more systematically, partly in group-​ theoretic
terms. Each subset of the five OPTIC relations
gives rise to a voice-​leading space. Section 10.4
shows how the notion of normal form, familiar
388 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
from pitch-​class set theory, may be extended to
elements in any of the OPTIC spaces. Normal
forms become a convenient way of labeling
points in the spaces and will prove useful in our
study of specific examples in Chapter 11, where
the focus will turn increasingly from the algebraic
and transformational to the topological and geo-
metric as we examine some spaces in detail, iden-
tifying musical objects within them and tracing
trajectories through them. Chapter 12 then con-
siders the meaning of the word distance in a more
rigorous way, introducing distance functions as an
alternative to interval functions, better suited to
application in voice-​leading spaces.
10.1 THE HEXATONIC TRIAD
GRAPH AS A CONTINUOUS
VOICE-​L EADING SPACE
A few figures in previous chapters may be legiti-
mately regarded as representations of voice-​
leading spaces. Although these examples are
somewhat limited in scope, they embody some
essential aspects common to voice-​leading spaces
in general, and it is worthwhile to review them
here with attention to those aspects. One such
example, developed at some length in this sec-
tion, is based on the hexatonic triad graph, sev-
eral versions of which were explored in Section
3.1. This example will lead to a broader explora-
tion of the complexities of larger spaces of three-​
note chords in Section 10.2, where we will also
revisit a few other familiar spaces in relation to
the requisite conditions for voice-​leading spaces.
Figure 10.1.1 redraws the hexatonic triad
graph, combining information from Figures 3.1.5
and 3.1.7 along with some new features. The
reader should be able to visualize this graph as a
three-​dimensional figure. The x, y, and z coordi-
nate axes from Figure 3.1.7 have been reoriented;
these axes remain at right angles to each other
in three dimensions, but the entire coordinate
system is now tilted so that the cube balances on
the corner representing the B-​augmented triad,
and the graph as a whole more closely resembles
the orientation of Figure 3.1.5.3 The dimensions
of the cube are the same in all three coordinates,
but distances in the z coordinate appear fore-
shortened in the perspective of the figure. A ver-
tical axis, distinct from the x, y, and z axes, passes
through the B-​ augmented and C-​ augmented
triads and through the center of the cube. If the
cube were spun like a top about this central axis,
the two augmented triads would remain in place
while the other six triads would revolve about the
axis. The planes slicing horizontally across the
FIGURE 10.1.1 The hexatonic triad graph as a voice-​leading space
cube will be discussed below and may be disre-
garded for the time being.
As in Figure 3.1.7, each of the x, y, and z coor-
dinates defines a single voice in the triadic sonor-
ities. Each voice is free to move within its own
dimension independent of the other two voices,
but for the purposes of this figure, the move-
ment of each voice is restricted to the gamut of
a single semitone. Major, minor, and augmented
triads are customarily regarded as discrete enti-
ties, which is tantamount to restricting the coor-
dinates x, y, and z to the integer values shown: x
=​11 or 0, y =​3 or 4, and z =​7 or 8. Coordinates
(x, y, z) in three-​dimensional space for which
x, y, and z are all integers are commonly called
lattice points.4 Figure 10.1.1, however, may be
regarded as a depiction of a continuous space, in
which each voice is free to execute a continuous
glissando through the intermediate non-​integer
values. We may imagine, for example, a violist
sliding up slowly from E♭ to E♮ while a cellist and
violinist sustain the notes C and G. In this situ-
ation, y would increase continuously from 3 to 4
while x and z remain fixed at 0 and 7; this motion
traces a straight-​line path along a back edge of
the cube from the C-​minor to the C-​major triad,
passing through intermediate points such as the
“triads” (0, 3.01, 7), (0, π, 7), (0, 31 2 , 7), and (0,
3.99, 7) of possibly indeterminate quality. It is
useful to think of a glissando of this sort as an
idealized model of smooth voice leading, even if
such gestures are rarely executed in practice.
We may even imagine all three voices playing
intermediate pitches simultaneously, defining
points such as (11.9, 3.2, 7.3) in the interior of the
cube, not on any edge or face at all. This point is
closer to the C-​minor triad (0, 3, 7) than to any
other lattice point, but the voices are displaced
from C, E♭, and G by −0.1, +​0.2, and +​0.3 semitones,
respectively; adopting a shorthand introduced pre-
viously, the chord might be labeled C−0.1–​E+​0.2–​G+​0.3.
Microtonal chords of this sort, though unfamiliar,
are acoustically just as viable as the chords we play,
and to understand voice-​leading spaces it is impor-
tant to regard the familiar equal-​tempered objects
as a distinguished set of lattice points in a continu-
ous space also populated by the more numerous
microtonal sonorities. In this way the entire solid
cube becomes a voice-​leading space. Every point of
the cube is given by coordinates (x, y, z) with 11 ≤ x
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 389
≤ 0 (mod 12), 3 ≤ y ≤ 4, and 7 ≤ z ≤ 8, and every such
point represents some three-​note chord. If a string
trio plays a B-​augmented triad and then sharpens
it to a C-​augmented triad by glissandos in each
instrument, the sonority will trace a path through
the cube from the bottom vertex to the top: a
straight path up the central axis if the three instru-
ments move in perfectly parallel motion, or a more
circuitous path if they move at different rates. Any
continuous path through the space may be taken to
represent a particular voice leading from one three-​
note chord to another.
Exercise 10.1.2 In Figure 10.1.1, locate, as
accurately as possible, each of the following
points, given by coordinates (x, y, z). For each
point, indicate whether it lies in the interior of
the cube, on a face of the cube, or on an edge of
the cube, and also indicate which of the eight
lattice points it lies closest to.
(a) (0, 3, 7 2 3 )
(b) (0, 33 8, 71 4)
(c) (11, 3.8, 7.8)
(d)   (111 2 , 31 2 , 7 1 2 )
Exercise 10.1.3 For each pair of points given
below, visualize a straight-​line path from one
point to the other in Figure 10.1.1. Describe the
paths musically in terms of the motion of each
of the three voices in the chords. Each of these
paths passes through exactly one of the points
given in Exercise 10.1.2 above; determine which
point belongs to each path. Also determine, for
each path, whether the path passes through the
interior of the cube or whether it lies entirely in
one face or one edge.
(a) the path from the B-​augmented triad to the
E-​major triad
(b) from the E-​major triad to the C-​minor triad
(c) from the C-​minor triad to the A♭-​major triad
(d)  from the A♭-​major triad to the point (0, 31 2, 7)
When Figure 10.1.1 is considered in isolation,
it is not too much of a simplification to identify
this space with a portion of ordinary three-​dimen-
sional Euclidean space ℝ3, as the xyz coordinates
imply, and it is tempting to assume that ℝ3 might
serve as a model for a more comprehensive space
of three-​voice chords. There are complications,
however, which gain in significance as larger tracts
of this space are explored. First, within each of the
three dimensions, we have effectively presupposed
a modular pitch-​class space, not pitch space. We
have tacitly assumed octave equivalence, referring
390 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
consistently to pitch classes rather than pitches
(E rather than E4, for example), and we have also
assumed that the values 11 and 0 in the x coordi-
nate differ by 1, as they do only in mod-​12 arithme-
tic (ℤ12, or in the continuous case ℝ12, rather than
ℤ or ℝ). We know from Section 1.4 that modular-
izing two dimensions independently, effectively
wrapping lines into circles, creates the topology of a
torus 𝕋 2, which, it should be recalled, is fundamen-
tally a two-​dimensional surface even though its
well-​known representation as a doughnut requires
three. In the present situation, we are modular-
izing three dimensions independently, suggest-
ing that the appropriate topology, rather than ℝ3,
may be the 3-​torus 𝕋 3, the solid analog of the usual
torus, mentioned previously in conjunction with
the three-​dimensional tonnetz of Figure 4.4.6.
In fact, even 𝕋 3 fails to capture the complex-
ity of three-​voice chord space, because of another
equivalence relation that we have yet to consider.
Triads and other pitch-​class sets are customarily
regarded as unordered sets, but the coordinate sys-
tem of Figure 10.1.1 requires them to be plotted as
ordered triples. The C-​major triad, the set {0, 4, 7},
appears in this figure at the coordinates (0, 4, 7).
The point (0, 7, 4), though it represents the same
chord, would fall at a different place in this coordi-
nate system. (This point would lie in the same hori-
zontal plane with the three major triads in Figure
10.1.1, but it would lie far outside the cube, some
distance back and to the left within that plane.)
The triples (0, 4, 7) and (0, 7, 4) are permutationally
equivalent; permutational equivalence was intro-
duced in Section 2.4, and permutations were stud-
ied algebraically in Chapter 6. A proper three-​voice
chord space should somehow recognize the equiva-
lence of the six possible permutations of a chord,
but neither the coordinate system of Figure 10.1.1
nor the toroidal topology of 𝕋 3 does so. This com-
plication and others will be addressed in the more
general constructions later in this chapter. The rel-
ative simplicity of the limited space encompassed
by the cube of Figure 10.1.1 allows us to disregard
these considerations for the time being.
Each face of the cube may be described by
holding one of the three voices fixed on a specific
pitch while allowing the other two to move freely.
For example, the face on the lower right side of
Figure 10.1.1, bounded by the triads B+​, g♯, A♭, and
c, is defined by fixing y =​3—​that is, by holding
one voice to the note E♭. The value y =​3 specifies
a single point on the y axis, but in three-​dimen-
sional space there are two other dimensions in
which points may move, so this equation defines
a plane orthogonal (perpendicular) to the y axis.
(The oblique orientation of the text label “y =​3”
in the figure is intended to suggest that the label
itself lies in this plane.) Fixing y =​4 instead defines
the opposite face, bounded by the triads e, E, C+​,
and C. Fixing an intermediate value of y between
3 and 4 will describe another plane, parallel to
and intermediate between these two faces of the
cube. For instance, the equation y = 31 5 describes
a plane parallel to the B+​–​g♯–​A♭–​c face, but off-
set by one-​fifth of the distance to the opposite
face. Points such as (0, 31 5, 7 ), (11, 31 5, 8), and
( 111 2 , 31 5 , 71 4 ), “triads” one of whose notes is
20 cents higher than E♭, all lie somewhere on this
intermediate plane.
The sum classes 9, 10, 11, and 0 from Figure
3.1.5, indicating the mod-​12 sums of a triad’s
three pitch classes, reappear in Figure 10.1.1,
where these sum classes also determine planes.
Each sum-​class plane is, by definition, specified
by a simple equation: for example, the equation
for the plane defining sum class 11 is x +​ y +​ z =​11,
where the arithmetic is mod 12. This equation,
like the equation y =​3 for one face of the cube,
is a linear equation—​that is, an equation of the
form ax +​ by +​ cz =​ d, involving sums of x, y, and z,
multiplied by constant coefficients a, b, and c. (All
three of the coefficients in the equation x +​ y +​ z =​
11 are equal to 1, while in the equation y =​3 the
coefficients of the variables x and z are 0.) In gen-
eral, any linear equation in three variables defines
a plane in ℝ3; more generally, a linear equation
involving the variables in an n-​dimensional space
defines an (n − 1)-​dimensional subspace.5
The sum-​class planes are not faces of the cube
but cut across the tilted cube horizontally, orthogo-
nal to the central axis. The planes corresponding to
FIGURE 10.1.4 The sum-​class-​11 plane of Figure 10.1.1
integer sum classes 9, 10, 11, and 0 (mod 12) are
shown, but in the continuous space, intermediate
planes corresponding to non-​integer sum classes
exist as well. Every sum-​class plane intersects the
central axis in a single point, and in fact sum classes
may be used to label points on that axis, from 9 at
the bottom to 0 at the top. For this reason, we may
think of the central axis as the s axis (“sum axis”);
every point in the three-​dimensional space has an s
coordinate satisfying the equation x +​ y +​ z =​ s.
The intersections of the sum-​class planes with
the tilted cube are of some interest. The sum-​
class-​9 and sum-​class-​0 planes each intersect the
cube in only a single point, the augmented triads
B+​ and C+​ respectively. The planes for sum classes
10 and 11 each cut through the cube in a triangu-
lar cross section; the sum-​class-​11 plane is shown
in Figure 10.1.4 as viewed from above. The tri-
angle is equilateral; its only lattice points are the
three major triads at its corners, but every other
point in the triangle is represented by some non-​
integer coordinates (x, y, z) that sum to 11. Some
of these points, those whose coordinates are all
multiples of 1 6 , are shown in the figure, arranged
in a triangular lattice of their own.
A few of these intermediate points are of par-
ticular interest. At the midpoints of the triangle’s
three sides lie quarter-​tone chords, whose coordi-
nates are multiples of 1 2 . For instance, the chord
(0, 31 2 , 71 2 ), midway between the C-​major and
A♭-​major triads, shares the note 0 (C) with both
of those triads, but its other two notes bisect the
semitones E♭–​E and G–​A♭; this chord could be writ-
ten C–​E♭+​0.5–​G+​0.5. The lower of the two “thirds” in
this “triad,” the interval C–​E♭+​0.5, is 31 2 semitones
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 391
in size, exactly halfway between equal-​tempered
major and minor thirds; the upper third E♭+​0.5–​G+​0.5
is exactly the size of an equal-​tempered major third,
though both of its notes are displaced from the
usual equal-​tempered pitches by a quarter-​tone.
At the center of the triangle, equidistant
from the three major triads at the vertices, lies
the point (112 3 , 32 3 , 72 3 ). This chord lies on the
central axis shown in Figure 10.1.1, at the point
where that axis intersects the sum-​ class-​
11
plane. The intervals between the notes of this
chord are precisely 4, which means that the chord
is an augmented triad, all of whose notes are dis-
placed from equal-​tempered pitches by the same
amount: the chord is two-​thirds of a semitone
higher than a B-​augmented triad and one-​third
of a semitone lower than C-​augmented.
In fact, every point on Figure 10.1.1’s central axis
is an exact augmented triad, ranging continuously
over the semitone span from B+​ to C+​. Every such
point satisfies the equations y =​ x +​4, z =​ y +​4, and
x =​ z +​4 (mod 12). Any one of these three equations
may be deduced from the other two: for example, if
y =​ x +​4, then z =​ y +​4 implies z =​ x +​8 =​x − 4 (mod
12), or equivalently x =​ z +​4. So the central axis is
defined by two independent equations, such as y =​
x +​4 and z =​ y +​4, which may be combined in the
single formula z =​ y +​4 =​x +​8 that appears at the
top of Figure 10.1.1. In three-​dimensional space, a
single linear equation defines a plane (reducing the
dimensionality of the space by 1); adding a second
independent equation then defines a line within
this plane (reducing the dimensionality again).
Independence of the equations is essential: if one
equation can be deduced from the other (such
as x +​ y =​1 and 2x +​2y =​2), then the two equa-
tions together simply define the same plane that is
already defined by either equation alone.6
Exercise 10.1.5 The x axis in Figure 10.1.1 is
a line in three-​dimensional space. What pair of
independent
   equations defines this line?7
Restricting our attention to the plane of Figure
10.1.4, we may note that points aligned horizon-
tally in this view share the same z coordinate. As
a point moves downward in this figure, away from
the C-​major triad—​for instance, from (0, 4, 7) to
(115 6 , 35 6 , 71 3 ) to (112 3 , 32 3 , 72 3 ) to (111 2 , 31 2 , 8)—​
the z coordinate steadily increases. Similarly, the x
and y coordinates of points in this plane increase
with movement away from the E-​major and A♭-​
major triads, respectively, in the directions shown
in the small system of coordinate axes supplied at
the upper right. In three dimensions, the x, y, and
392 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
z axes lie not in this plane but at angles to it; the
axes shown in Figure 10.1.4 are the projections of
the true axes onto the sum-​class-​11 plane. In the
plane of this figure, the three coordinates are not
independent—​a consequence of labeling points
in a two-​dimensional plane using three-​dimen-
sional coordinates. In moving down away from
the C-​major triad as described above, not only
does the value of z increase, but x and y simulta-
neously decrease as required to preserve the sum
class 11. (To understand why all three coordi-
nates must change, the reader should visualize
this movement not only in the plane of Figure
10.1.4 but also in the sum-​class-​11 plane within
the three-​dimensional view of Figure 10.1.1.) Any
two of the three coordinates theoretically suffice
to determine any point within this plane; the
equation x +​ y +​ z =​11 can then be used to deduce
the third.8
Exercise 10.1.6
(a) Draw a picture corresponding to Figure
10.1.4 showing the sum-​class-​10 plane as it
slices through the cube.
(b) Draw a picture showing the sum-​class-​91 2
plane as it slices through the cube.
(c) Draw a picture showing the sum-​class-​101 2
  plane as it slices through the cube.9
Two particularly important kinds of voice-​
leading motion are implicit in the above dis-
cussion. Vertical motion in the space of Figure
10.1.1, along the central axis or any other line
parallel to that axis, corresponds musically to par-
allel voice leading in which all three voices ascend
or descend by the same amount. For example, the
B-​augmented and C-​augmented triads are related
by parallel voice leading. Parallel voice leading
may be thought of as a process of continuous
transposition, and B+​ may be transformed into C+​
by such a process: the motion is straight up the
central axis, from the bottom vertex of the tilted
cube to the top, passing through all of the other
non-​equal-​tempered augmented triads that pop-
ulate this axis, and stopping when the interval of
transposition is precisely one semitone. Earlier we
described the vertical axis as the sum axis, but it
may also be thought of as the axis of transposition;
this simple depiction of the ubiquitous transposi-
tion operation is one reason why we have oriented
the figure in this way. The T1 transposition from
B+​ to C+​ might be notated (11, 3, 7) → (0, 4, 8);
numerically, this transposition operates by add-
ing 1 to every coordinate (11 → 0, 3 → 4, 7 → 8), or
by adding the vector (1, 1, 1) componentwise.10 In
the geometry of Figure 10.1.1, parallel voice lead-
ing always corresponds to addition of some (pos-
sibly non-​integer) multiple of (1, 1, 1). Apart from
the two augmented triads, no other pairs of lattice
points in Figure 10.1.1 are related by parallel voice
leading, but many pairs of microtonal chords inte-
rior to the cube are so related. For example, the
chords (B+​0.25, E♭, G+​0.25) =​(111 4 , 3, 71 4 ) and (C−0.25,
E−0.5, A♭−0.25) =​(113 4 , 31 2 , 73 4 ) are related by parallel
voice leading, because the second chord is a T0.5
transposition of the first.
Exercise 10.1.7 Locate the points (111 4 , 3,
71 4 ) and (113 4 , 31 2 , 73 4 ) in Figure 10.1.1, and
visualize
   the relationship between them.11
The second important type of voice leading
is represented by horizontal motion in Figure
10.1.1. This kind of motion takes place within
one sum-​class plane, such as the sum-​class-​11
plane of Figure 10.1.4. As a point moves within
this plane—​for instance, from the C-​major triad
(0, 4, 7) to the A♭-​major triad (0, 3, 8), or from C
major to the point (112 3 , 32 3 , 72 3 ) on the central
axis—​some voices ascend while others descend,
with the result that the sum of the coordinates
remains fixed. For this reason we refer to this
type of voice leading as zero-​ sum voice lead-
ing.12 The first of the examples just mentioned,
(0, 4, 7) → (0, 3, 8), involves contrary motion in
FIGURE 10.1.8 The parallel and zero-​sum components of a voice leading
two voices (4 → 3, 7 → 8, or in musical terms E →
E♭, G → A♭) while the other voice remains station-
ary. In the other example, (0, 4, 7) → (112 3 , 32 3 ,
72 3 ), all three voices move, but the sum class
is unchanged because the one ascending voice
(7 → 72 3 ) moves twice as far as each of the two
descending voices (0 → 112 3 , 4 → 32 3 ).
A single moving voice in a three-​note chord
cannot execute either parallel or zero-​sum voice
leading by itself; both concepts depend on the
interaction of multiple voices. For parallel voice
leading, all three voices must move together. If
voice leading is constrained to be parallel, then
motion of any one voice uniquely determines
how the others must move, so parallel voice
leading is essentially a one-​ dimensional phe-
nomenon, along vertical lines in Figure 10.1.1.
For zero-​sum voice leading, ascending motion
in one voice must be balanced by descending
motion in some other voice or voices. This con-
dition allows freedom of movement throughout
one sum-​class plane, so zero-​sum voice leading is
essentially two-​dimensional. More generally, in a
space of n-​voice chords, zero-​sum voice leading
is (n − 1)-​dimensional, while parallel voice lead-
ing always remains one-​dimensional.
The sum-​class planes in which zero-​sum voice
leading takes place are all orthogonal to the lines
in which parallel voice leading takes place. It
should be clear geometrically that it is possible to
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 393
get from any point in Figure 10.1.1 to any other
by some combination of motion along a vertical
line and motion in a horizontal plane. Musically,
this means that given any two three-​note chords,
say α and β, even though α and β may not be related
to each other by either parallel or zero-​sum voice
leading, we can always find some other chord γ for
which it is possible to move from α to γ by paral-
lel voice leading, and then from γ to β by zero-​sum
voice leading. That is, γ is a transposition of α and
shares a sum class with β. A caveat, however, is that
even if α and β are equal-​tempered chords, γ may
not be. Figure 10.1.8 illustrates this principle when
α is the B-​augmented triad and β is A♭ major. The
most direct path from B+​ =​(11, 3, 7) to A♭ =​(0, 3,
8) traverses a diagonal of the y =​3 face of the cube,
exhibiting neither parallel nor zero-​sum voice lead-
ing. But starting at B+​, it is possible instead to move
up the central axis via parallel voice leading to the
point where that axis intersects the sum-​class-​
11 plane in which the A♭-​major triad resides. This
intersection point, the chord γ, is the augmented
triad (112 3 , 32 3 , 72 3 ) at the center of Figure 10.1.4.
From there, the motion to A♭ major can take place
in the sum-​class-​11 plane, via zero-​sum voice lead-
ing in which y descends 32 3 → 3 while the other
two voices ascend 112 3 → 0 and 72 3 → 8. In three-​
dimensional space, the arrows corresponding to
the parallel and zero-​sum components of the voice
leading form a right angle, and the straight-​line
path from B+​ to A♭ is the hypotenuse of a right tri-
angle. This principle, that any voice leading may be
broken into parallel and zero-​sum components at
right angles to each other, holds in suitably gener-
alized forms in many of the spaces we will consider
in this chapter and the next.13
Exercise 10.1.9 In each part of this exercise,
points α and β are given, representing chords
in the voice-​leading space of Figure 10.1.1.
Determine in each case a third chord γ, related
to α by parallel voice leading and to β by zero-​
sum voice leading. Visualize the path from α to
γ to β in the figure.14
(a) α =​C+​ =​(0, 4, 8), β =​e =​(11, 4, 7)
(b) α =​c =​(0, 3, 7), β =​C =​(0, 4, 7)
(c) α =​(0, 31 2 , 8), β =​(111 2 , 31 2 , 7)
(d)  α =​A♭ =​(0, 3, 8), β =​B+​ =​(11, 3, 7)
Exercise 10.1.10 Suppose points α and β have
coordinates α =​(xα, yα, zα) and β =​(xβ, yβ, zβ)
respectively. Derive a general formula for the
coordinates of the point γ =​(xγ, yγ, zγ) that is
related to α by parallel voice leading and to β by
zero-​
   sum voice leading.15
394 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
10.2 A LARGER SPACE OF
THREE-​VOICE CHORDS
The cube discussed in the preceding section
illustrates the association between voices of a
chord and dimensions of a space, but its musical
limitations are apparent, starting with the fact
that the cube allows only a single semitone of
motion in each voice. In this section we consider
how this cube may be expanded to a space that
includes more chords. This is easy enough up to
a point, but complications (some of which have
already been suggested) soon begin to arise with
which any attempt to construct a comprehensive
space of three-​note chords will need to contend.
Figure 10.2.1, which adjoins several new hexa-
tonic triad cubes to the original one, illustrates
both the straightforwardness of the basic idea
and some of the complications.
The cube from Figure 10.1.1 appears at the
bottom of Figure 10.2.1; let us work our way
up. The lattice points forming the corners of the
original cube, depicted here as small spheres,
have coordinates limited to the hexatonic collec-
tion hex34 =​{11, 0, 3, 4, 7, 8}, and within this
cube in continuous space the three coordinates
are limited to the ranges 11 ≤ x ≤ 0, 3 ≤ y ≤ 4, and
7 ≤ z ≤ 8. If we transpose each of these ranges
up a semitone to 0 ≤ x ≤ 1, 4 ≤ y ≤ 5, and 8 ≤ z
≤ 9, the second cube in the stack is the result.
The vertices of this second cube inhabit the
hexatonic collection hex01 =​{0, 1, 4, 5, 8, 9}, a T1
transposition of hex34. This cube introduces six
new major and minor triads, T1 transpositions
of the triads in the original cube, along with the
D♭-​augmented triad. The two cubes are joined at
the C-​augmented triad, which is shared by the
two hexatonic collections.
With appropriate numerical modifications,
everything we have said about the hex34 cube
is true also about the hex01 cube. It may be
regarded as a continuous space, bounded by
planes defined by fixed values in each coordi-
nate, including the new boundary values x =​1,
y =​5, z =​9. It is sliced horizontally by planes cor-
responding to sum classes 0, 1, 2, and 3. Its cen-
tral axis is a continuation of the original central
axis, given by the same formula z =​ y +​4 =​x +​ 8
as before. Parallel voice leading is still parallel
to the central axis, while zero-​sum voice leading
takes place within one sum-​class plane.
Exercise 10.2.2
(a) If instead of transposing the ranges spanned
by each coordinate of the original cube we
instead extended the ranges, allowing the
FIGURE 10.2.1 A chain of hexatonic triad cubes, joined at the augmented triads

full ranges of values 11 ≤ x ≤ 1, 3 ≤ y ≤ 5, observing how the two smaller hexatonic

and 7 ≤ z ≤ 9, we would obtain a larger cube, triad cubes fit within it. The chords at the
two units on each side, bounded at the six outer vertices of the large cube are not
bottom by the B+​ triad and at the top by D♭+​. major and minor triads. What are they?
Visualize this large cube in Figure 10.2.1, Like the major and minor triads of the

Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 395

 smaller cubes, do they consist of three
representatives each of two inversionally
related chord types?
(b) Altogether, how many lattice points (equal-​
tempered chords) lie within or on the
boundary of this 2 × 2 × 2 cube? Besides the
major, minor, and augmented triads and
the chords you identified in part (a), what
are the others?
(c) You have now identified several set classes
to which the equal-​tempered chords within
the 2 × 2 × 2 cube belong. Of course, the
cube does not contain every chord in any of
these set classes. Perhaps more surprisingly,
a chord in one of these set classes may fail
to lie within this cube even if all its notes
belong to hex34 ∪ hex01, the total set of
equal-​tempered pitch classes available in
the cube. Give an example of such a set
  lying outside the cube.16
The remainder of Figure 10.2.1 is constructed
by successive T1 transpositions of the original
hexatonic triad cube. Triads in the third and
fourth cubes in the stack belong to the hexatonic
collections hex12 =​{1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10} and hex23 =​
{2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11}, respectively. The fifth cube
depicts the same collection hex34 as the first
(there are, after all, only four different hexatonic
collections in equal-​tempered pc space) and con-
tains the same triads. (The augmented triads
labeled B+​ and C+​ in the first cube are the same
pitch-​class sets as E♭+​ and E+​ in the fifth cube.)
The relationship between the first and fifth
cubes will be examined further below.
The first four cubes correspond to the four
hexatonic triad families studied in transforma-
tional terms in Section 8.2, a connection that
will be described further below. All twelve major
triads, all twelve minor triads, and all four aug-
mented triads are accounted for in these four
cubes. Each major or minor triad appears in only
one hexatonic system, each augmented triad in
two. All twelve sum classes are also accounted
for in the four cubes, as indicated at right. Dark-​
colored vertices represent chords of even sum
class, while light vertices represent chords of
odd sum class. Every edge of a cube joins a dark
vertex to a light vertex, demonstrating that the
graph of the entire cube chain, like the hexatonic
triad graph of Chapter 3, is a bipartite graph.
Every point on the central axis of Figure
10.2.1 represents an augmented triad such as
(1, 5, 9), dividing the octave exactly into three
equal intervals of size 4. Points very near the
396 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
central axis, such as (1.01, 4.99, 9.02), cor-
respond to chords that divide the octave into
three nearly equal parts (in this case intervals
of size 3.98, 4.03, and 3.99). In the equal-​tem-
pered world, apart from the augmented triads,
the three-​ note chords that divide the octave
most nearly evenly are the major and minor tri-
ads shown in the figure, sets of prime form 037
that divide the octave into intervals of sizes 3,
4, and 5. Trichords of prime forms other than
048 and 037 divide the octave less evenly, and
theoretically lie at larger distances from the cen-
tral axis of the figure; loosely speaking, a chord’s
proximity to the central axis may be consid-
ered a measure of the evenness with which the
chord’s notes are spaced through the octave. The
idea that chords that divide the octave evenly or
nearly so lie on or near the central axis of a space
is an important one and will reappear in several
other contexts in this and subsequent chapters.
Exercise 10.2.3
(a) What augmented triad lies closest to the
C♯-​minor triad (1, 4, 8)? If only equal-​
tempered chords are considered, the answer
is the C-​augmented triad (0, 4, 8), but some
other points on the central axis in Figure
10.4 lie closer to c♯ than C+​ does. Which one
is closest?
(b) The distance from c♯ =​(1, 4, 8) to C+​ =​
(0, 4, 8) is, of course, 1. Calculate the
distance from the C♯-​minor triad to the
point you identified in part (a), and verify
  that this distance is smaller than 1.17
Example 10.2.4: Fauré, Barcarolle No. 4 in A♭
Major, Op. 44 The central episode of Fauré’s
fourth Barcarolle illustrates smooth voice
leading through the chain of hexatonic triad
cubes. Following a cadence in A♭ major at m. 39,
the episode begins at m. 41 with a shift to the
parallel minor, the A♭-​minor triad then promptly
giving way to E♭ augmented and G major as
shown in Figure 10.2.5a. In the space of only
two measures Fauré effectively modulates down
a semitone by the simple means of dropping
each voice of the triad in turn: the third (A♭–​a♭),
then the root (a♭–​G+​, spelled as E♭+​), then
the fifth (G+​–​G).18 Figure 10.2.5b shows this
motion as a three-​step descent from A♭ major
in the hex34 cube (the uppermost cube from
Figure 10.2.1) to G major at the corresponding
location in the hex23 cube.
That modulation is the essential harmonic
motion of the first phrase of the episode
FIGURE 10.2.5 Fauré, Barcarolle No. 4 in A♭ Major, Op. 44: chord progressions and paths in the
cube chain
(mm. 41–​44). The second phrase (mm. 45–​48)
begins with a subdominant triad in G major
and ultimately cadences in G again. The path
from IV to I, however, is not a traditional
diatonic progression but rather the functionally
confounding C–​C+​–​E–​E♭+​–​G. As shown in Figure
10.2.5c, this second phrase recapitulates the
hex34–​ hex23 motion of the first phrase, but
with different triads representing hex34; the
emphasis is again on smooth voice leading
through hexatonic systems with the augmented
triad as a crucial link. The slip from E to E♭+​ is
the only point in either phrase where two voices
move simultaneously, expressed geometrically
by a diagonal move across one face of the hex34
cube rather than a move along a single edge.
In mm. 49–​56, the two phrases just heard
repeat a semitone lower, cadencing now in G♭
major. At m. 57 a third cycle begins like the first
two, dropping briefly to F major in m. 58 before
veering off course. The entire trajectory in mm.
39–​58 is shown in parts (d) and (e) of Figure
10.2.5, omitting the second phrases of the
G-​major and G♭-​major sections. The path
engages all four hexatonic families en route
from A♭ major to F major, its regular geometry
reflecting the systematic if somewhat
mysterious descent of the chords, one note
at a time dropping by semitone. The pattern
breaks with an E chord at m. 60, which could be
seen as an early arrival of hex34, the hexatonic
system that might have been expected to arrive
a few measures later. Of course, hex34 is also
the system in which the pattern began, and the
home system of the piece’s A♭-​major tonic; the
E chord harbors a seventh and eventually
resolves
   as an augmented sixth to A♭.19
Exercise 10.2.6 The chord progression at the
Barcarolle’s final cadence (mm. 92–​94) is F–​f–​
A♭+​–​C–​c–​A♭. Trace this path in a diagram similar
to those in Figure 10.2.5. Observe that all of
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 397
these triads lie in a plane. What does this mean
musically?
  
Exercise 10.2.7 A chord progression in
Bruckner’s Psalm 150 (mm. 207–​11) is
D–​B♭+​–​g–​E♭+​–​a♭–​A♭+​–​a–​F+​–​B♭
(Bruckner’s spelling). Write this progression to
illustrate smooth voice leading (the bass note of
the first chord is A), and trace the progression
in  a hexatonic triad cube chain.
We now consider more closely the relation-
ship between the two hex34 cubes appearing at
the top and bottom of Figure 10.2.1. It is tempt-
ing to suppose that these cubes coincide simply
because octave equivalence wraps the cube chain
around on itself like the circle of pitch-​class space.
To be sure, octave equivalence comes into play: it is
octave equivalence that allows us to label the front-​
facing plane at the top of the top cube z =​0 rather
than z =​12, and to consider the sum classes 9, 10,
11, and 0 in the top cube to be the same as those
in the bottom. Because of octave equivalence, the
mod-​12 coordinates shown in the figure are effec-
tively coordinates in the three-​dimensional torus
𝕋 3 rather than in unbounded Euclidean space ℝ3.
(We have equivocated so far about whether Figure
10.2.1 is supposed to depict ℝ3, 𝕋 3, or something
else; such questions will be addressed more rigor-
ously later.)
But octave equivalence is not the whole story.
Moving from one cube to the next in the chain
corresponds to a T1 transposition; by this rea-
soning, the relationship between the first (bot-
tom) and fifth (top) cubes should be T4—​a major
FIGURE 10.2.8 A voice-​exchange progression joining two C-​major triads
398 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
third, not an octave. Indeed, chords in corre-
sponding locations in the two cubes are not the
same chord, but are related by T4: A♭ major in the
first cube appears in the same position as C major
in the fifth.20 Of course, C major is already pres-
ent in the first cube, but at a different location.
A hexatonic triad cube is closed under T4: the T4
transposition of a chord in such a cube always
lies elsewhere in the same cube. The two shaded
faces in Figure 10.2.1 call attention to the dif-
fering orientations of the two hex34 cubes: both
shaded faces contain the same chords, but they
are angled in different directions. Compared with
the orientation of the first cube, the fifth has
been rotated one-​third of a turn (120 degrees)
about the central axis of the space.
It is instructive to consider the coordinates
of the chords in these two cubes in the xyz coor-
dinate system. The C-​major triad in the bottom
cube has coordinates (0, 4, 7); we can see in
Figure 10.2.1 that this point lies at the intersec-
tion of the planes x =​0, y =​4, and z =​7. The C-​
major triad in the top cube, in contrast, lies in
planes labeled x =​4, y =​7, and z =​0, so its coor-
dinates are (4, 7, 0). The coordinates for these
two C-​major triads, (0, 4, 7) and (4, 7, 0), are not
identical but permutationally equivalent. Both
octave and permutational equivalence play into
the geometry of our three-​dimensional voice-​
leading space. A 120-​degree rotation of any point
in the space about the central axis effects a cyclic
permutation of its coordinates, transforming
(a, b, c) into (b, c, a). We can therefore describe
the top cube as derived from the bottom cube
in any of several different ways: by T4 transposi-
tion, by 120-​degree rotation, or by cyclic permu-
tation of coordinates.
 The chord progression shown in Figure of the new hex34 cube match that of either the
10.2.8a, in which a root-​position C-​major triad top or the bottom cube in Figure 10.2.1, or
moves to a first-​inversion C-​major triad through does it differ from both of them? The fifth cube
a chromatic voice exchange, illustrates further in the new cube chain contains yet another
implications of permutational equivalence as point representing a C-​major triad; what are its
well as additional complexities that arise as we coordinates?
  
move away from the central axis of the cube
chain. Let us suppose that the point with coor- The various C-​major triads considered above,
dinates (0, 4, 7) at the back corner of the origi- in the first and fifth cubes of Figure 10.2.1 and
nal hexatonic triad cube represents the initial at the right side of Figure 10.2.8b, are fairly
C chord in this progression, so that the x coor- distant from each other in our chordal space.
dinate corresponds to the bass voice, y to the Permutationally equivalent points are not
soprano, and z to the middle voice. In each suc- always so widely separated, however. The path in
ceeding chord, x increases by 1 as the bass rises 10.2.8b contains two occurrences of the pitch-​
chromatically, while y simultaneously decreases class set {1, 3, 7}, at coordinates (1, 3, 7) and (3,
by 1 as the top voice descends. The z coordinate 1, 7), and those two points are closer together
remains stationary at 7. The resulting chain than any two of the C-​major triads. This is pos-
sible because the set {1, 3, 7} contains two notes
(0, 4, 7) →
 (1, 3, 7) → (2, 2, 7) → (3, 1, 7) that are closer together than any pair of notes in
→ (4, 0, 7) a triad; points differing only in the permutation
of those two notes are therefore separated by
is traced by the arrow in Figure 10.2.8b. only a small voice-​leading distance. In continu-
The original hexatonic triad cube appears in ous space, we could also consider points such as
outline at the left side of this figure. To allow for (1.99, 2.01, 7) and (2.01, 1.99, 7), located at a
the changing x and y coordinates in the progres- small distance to the left and right of (2, 2, 7)
sion under consideration, the plane z =​7, which on the path: these points are permutationally
includes the triads C, e, c, and B+​ in that cube, equivalent and represent the same pitch-​class
is extended to show a grid of squares spanning set, and they are spatially very near to each other.
other x and y coordinates beyond the limited The central chord (2, 2, 7) is itself noteworthy
range of the original cube. The progression traces because of the doubled D (2). As an ordinary
a rightward path, cutting diagonally across a pitch-​class set, this chord is not a trichord at all
series of grid squares in the z =​7 plane (7 being but a dyad {2, 7}; somewhat more informatively,
the pitch class common to all the chords in the it could be associated with the (unordered) mul-
chain). The path also illustrates a zero-​sum voice tiset {2, 2, 7}, which shows the doubling without
leading, as all the chords in the chain belong to specifying which voices are involved.
sum class 11. In fact, as the picture shows, the We might hope that an idealized space of three-​
straight line of this path is the intersection of note chords should respect both octave and permu-
the sloping z =​7 plane with the horizontal sum-​ tational equivalence: that is, a pitch-​class set such as
class plane x +​ y +​ z =​11. The final chord in the {0, 4, 7} should be represented only by a single point
progression, (4, 0, 7), is another permutation of in the space, not by various points at various dis-
the coordinates of the C-​major triad, different tances from each other, as seems to be the case in the
from both of the C-​major triads (0, 4, 7) and (4, spaces we have considered so far. In such a space there
7, 0) seen previously in Figure 10.2.1. should be only a single hex34 hexatonic triad cube,
not two or more. Our ideal space must also contain
Exercise 10.2.9 Although (4, 0, 7) is a multisets such as {2, 2, 7} to accommodate the com-
permutation of (0, 4, 7), it is not a cyclic mon phenomenon of doublings; in effect our three-​
permutation, and this point lies far from the voice space must contain two-​note pitch-​class sets as
central axis of the original hexatonic triad cube well. In Chapter 11 we will describe three-​voice OP-​
chain. This new C-​major triad is nevertheless space, which satisfies these conditions.
part of its own hexatonic triad cube, all of As a preliminary attempt at grasping such a
whose chords are permutationally equivalent to space, we may try wrapping the cube chain of
the chords in the original hex34 cube—​and this Figure 10.2.1 into a large cycle of four cubes,
cube is part of its own chain of hexatonic triad so that the fifth cube coincides with the first.
cubes. Visualize the position of this new cube Because of the different orientations of those
chain in Figure 10.2.8b. Does the orientation two cubes, however, the wrapping must be

Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 399

accomplished simultaneously with some sort of
twisting. A 30-​degree rotation of each cube rela-
tive to the preceding cube will accomplish the
120-​degree twist of the fifth cube required to
align it with the first. Figure 10.2.10 illustrates
FIGURE 10.2.10 A chain of hexatonic triad cubes,
with a twist
400 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
such a twisted cube chain. The successive rota-
tions of the cubes are evident from the shifting
orientations of the shaded faces, each of which is
a T1 transposition of the shaded face in the next
lower cube but is angled in a slightly different
direction. The twist enables the two hex34 cubes
at the top and bottom of the chain to appear in
the same orientation: in this figure, unlike the
simpler chain in Figure 10.2.1, triads in the
top and bottom cubes appear in corresponding
locations.
Figure 10.2.11 then wraps the cube chain into
a cycle, effectively gluing together the first and
fifth cubes. Part (a) of this figure attempts to per-
form this wrapping without a twisting; (b) takes
the twisting into account, rather like a Möbius
strip. In both pictures the hex34 cube appears at
the left side in approximately its original orien-
tation; from there, one may imagine that (a) has
been produced by bending the untwisted cube
chain from Figure 10.2.1 into a circle, while in
(b) it is the twisted arrangement from 10.2.10
that has been bent. Part (a) is more regular in
appearance than (b), but in the absence of the
twisting, intervallic relationships cannot remain
consistent from cube to cube. The dashed line in
each figure traces successive T1 transpositions of
the E-​major triad. In (a), one sees that the triads
E, F, F♯, and G all occupy corresponding locations
in their respective cubes, but then A♭ jumps to a
new location—​the twist happens all at once. In
(b) these triads shift progressively from a loca-
tion in one cube to a nearby location in the next,
as the cubes gradually rotate.
The four cubes in these figures comprise the
same major and minor triads as the four hexatonic
triad families studied in Section 8.2. In particular,
Figure 10.2.11a resembles a more explicitly three-​
dimensional version of Figure 8.2.19, the graph
inspired by Douthett’s Cube Dance graph, which
included augmented triads as links between hexa-
tonic triad families. Chapter 8’s transformational
apparatus explored the P and L relations among
the major and minor triads within each family at
length, but did not accommodate the augmented
triads. The edges of the graph in Figure 8.2.19
depicted single-​ semitone voice-​ leading displace-
ments, now represented similarly by the edges
of the cubes, but the earlier graph (like previous
published versions of the Cube Dance) made no
attempt to account for the twisting of the cube
chain as in Figure 10.2.11b, and was not conceived
as part of a larger space also containing other kinds
of three-​note chords, whose construction is our
present goal.
FIGURE 10.2.11 (a) A cycle of hexatonic triad cubes (after Douthett, “Cube Dance”); (b) a cycle of
hexatonic triad cubes, with a twist

Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 401

Exercise 10.2.12 Trace each of the following
chord progressions in the two graphs of Figure
10.2.11:
(a) Bruckner, Psalm 150 (from Exercise 10.2.7):
D–​B♭+​–​g–​E♭+​–​a♭–​A♭+​–​a–​F+​–​B♭
(b) Smetana, Overture to The Bartered Bride
(from Exercise 4.2.13c):
C–​c–​E♭–​e♭–​G♭–​f♯–​A–​a–​C
(c) Wolf, Mörike-​Lieder, No. 22, “Seufzer,”
mm. 5–​8:
D♭–​g♭–​G♭–​G♭+​–​D–​g–​G–​E♭+​–​E♭–​a♭–​A♭–​A♭+​–​E–​a–​A
  
Exercise 10.2.13 Construct a hexatonic triad
cube chain analogous to Figure 10.2.1 but using
a T9 relationship (rather than T1) between
successive cubes. Why is this possible (whereas
a T2 relationship, for example, would not be
possible)? Is a twist required in order for the
first and fifth cubes to appear in the same
orientation? What shortcomings, if any, does
this
  arrangement have?21
The cycle of cubes in Figure 10.2.11 has intui-
tive appeal but also some unintended byprod-
ucts. Some triadic relationships are misleadingly
depicted even in the twisted version in (b): for
example, A-​major and B♭-​minor triads appear
to be close together, while E-​major and F-​minor
triads, which are in the same musical relation-
ship, appear more distant. A more fundamen-
tal problem is that the coordinate system that
determined the geometry of Figure 10.2.1 has
been distorted beyond recognition. In Figure
10.2.1, every point in three-​dimensional space,
even a point lying far outside the cube chain,
may be labeled unambiguously with xyz coordi-
nates and therefore associated with a musical
chord. Already in Figure 10.2.10, the direction
associated with the x, y, or z coordinate varies
from cube to cube, and the circular wrapping
of the cube chain in 10.2.11 further confounds
the association. At best it seems that a coordi-
nate system might be applicable at a local level in
such a figure, but not globally. It is not clear what
musical chord a point lying outside the cubes
shown should represent, even if its location
relative to the points appearing in the figure can
somehow be specified exactly. It is also far from
402 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
clear how the path from Figure 10.2.8b could be
traced in this space, as it moves away from the
hexatonic triad cubes but nevertheless some-
how ends up back at the C-​major triad where it
started, after apparently passing through many
points twice along the way.22
Even for some simpler graphs like the famil-
iar circle of pitch-​class space (Figure 1.2.3), we
have observed that the two-​dimensional plane
in which the figure is drawn is a musical fiction:
points lying off the circle cannot be associated
with pitch classes. Something similar is true of
a picture like Figure 10.2.11. The discussion of
finite and infinite tonnetz graphs in Chapter 3
is also worth recalling in this context. In Figure
10.2.1, as in an infinite tonnetz, every point of
the musical space—​in this case every three-​note
chord—​ appears at multiple locations. Figure
10.2.11, like the finite tonnetz, eliminates (or
at least reduces) this redundancy at the cost
of introducing new geometric and topological
complications—​and still leaves many questions
unanswered.
When we study three-​voice OP-​space more
rigorously in Chapter 11, we shall see that it is
indeed a three-​dimensional space, but for rea-
sons that should by now be apparent, its geome-
try and topology cannot be as straightforward as
Euclidean space ℝ3 or even a 3-​torus 𝕋3, and even
though an xyz coordinate system underlies the
construction of the space, locations in the space
cannot be modeled by those coordinates alone.
In this space, a chain of hexatonic triad cubes
must somehow loop back on itself in the man-
ner of Figure 10.2.11—​but at the same time, it
must be possible to move from a C-​major triad
along the path of Figure 10.2.8b and also arrive
back at the starting point. The space must appar-
ently contain multisets such as {2, 2, 7}, and the
above discussion suggests that there must be
something unusual about the geometry in the
vicinity of such points, in that a chord such as
{1.99, 2.01, 7}, though itself a single point of the
space, is somehow simultaneously located on
two opposite sides of {2, 2, 7}.
Before we develop the theory required to
grasp the structure of such spaces, it is appro-
priate to reconsider a few other figures from
previous chapters in relation to voice-​leading
spaces. We have noted some points of contact
between our discussion of voice-​ leading rela-
tionships among three-​note chords and triadic
transformations. Let us consider the tonnetz, in
the form of the neo-​Riemannian triad space of
Figure 4.2.5b or 4.2.8. Certainly the P, R, and L
relations, elegantly modeled by these graphs, are
characterized by efficient voice leading, and voice
leading often figures prominently in tonnetz-​
based analysis. Nevertheless, comparison of
the tonnetz with the space we have been tenta-
tively exploring in this section suggests that as a
potential voice-​leading space, the tonnetz leaves
much to be desired.23 Among its shortcomings
may be noted the following:
• The tonnetz is fundamentally a discrete graph;
the above discussion suggests that a continu-
ous space is required to model voice leading
adequately.
• The logic of the tonnetz is based on interval-
lic relationships, which also enable certain
voice-​leading behavior. From time to time (for
instance, in Exercises 1.4.9 and 1.4.17 and
Figure 1.4.18) we have encountered alternate
tonnetzes based on intervallic relationships
different from the usual ones. The fact that
the resulting graphs may resemble the usual
tonnetz even while the corresponding voice-​
leading properties are dramatically different
suggests that the association between the ton-
netz and voice leading is only incidental.
• The only chords in the standard tonnetz are
major and minor triads. Consequently, the
only kind of voice leading that can be depicted
in the tonnetz is from one major or minor
triad to another. Many possible smooth voice
leadings, such as the progressions in Figures
10.2.5 (with augmented triads) and 10.2.8
(with chords of other types, including dou-
blings) cannot be adequately modeled in a
tonnetz.
• The tonnetz treats the P, R, and L relations
symmetrically, but connections between
P-​ or L-​related triads, which entail only a
one-​semitone displacement in one voice, are
intrinsically more efficient than those between
R-​related triads, which require a two-​semitone
displacement.
• Adjacent vertices in the tonnetz represent
chords connected by smooth voice leading
(with the qualification just noted), but dis-
tances between non-​adjacent vertices do not
accurately reflect voice-​leading distances.
The last point deserves elaboration. Distances
between vertices in the tonnetz are measured by
what we called the neo-​Riemannian distance in
Section 4.2. C-​major and F-​minor triads are not
adjacent in the tonnetz, as they are not related
by P, R, or L. According to Table 4.2.16, or by
inspection of Figure 4.2.5b, the neo-​Riemannian
distance between C major and F minor is 3.
Nevertheless, there is a smooth voice leading
from a C-​major triad to an F-​minor triad, requir-
ing only that two voices (E and G) be raised by
semitone. We say that the voice-​leading distance
from C major to F minor is 2. This is the same
as the voice-​leading distance between R-​related
triads such as C major and A minor, whose neo-​
Riemannian distance is only 1. So two triads,
both apparently at distance 2 from C major in
terms of voice leading, lie at two very different
distances (1 and 3) from C major in the tonnetz.
Exercise 10.2.14
(a) Calculate the neo-​Riemannian distance and
the voice-​leading distance between C-​major
and F-​major triads. Compare the results
with the distances between C-​major and
F-​minor triads discussed above. You should
find that as measured by neo-​Riemannian
distance, C is nearer to F than to f, but as
measured by voice-​leading distance, C is
nearer to f than to F.
(b) Make a table analogous to Table 4.2.16
showing the voice-​leading distance from the
C-​major triad to every other major or minor
triad. What is the largest voice-​leading
distance from C major to any other major or
minor triad?24
(c) Unlike the distance measurements in Table
4.2.16, voice-​leading distance can be defined
for other kinds of chords besides major and
minor triads. Calculate the voice-​leading
distance from the C-​major triad to each of
the following chords: the C-​augmented triad;
the C♯-​augmented triad; the C-​diminished
triad; the C♯-​diminished triad; the chords
{D♭, E♭, G} and {D, D, G} from Figure 10.2.8;
and the multiset {B♭, B♭, B♭}.
(d) What is the largest voice-​leading distance
between any two three-​note chords
(allowing doublings)? Give an example of
  two chords separated by that distance.25
Having seen some inadequacies of the ton-
netz as a voice-​leading space, the reader may
now be surprised by Figure 10.2.15, which
reveals a tonnetz lurking inside the hexatonic
triad cube chain. As a finite graph with 24 verti-
ces (six of which are repeated at the top and bot-
tom of the figure), this picture is isomorphic to
the neo-​Riemannian triad space of Figure 4.2.5.
The abstract graph, however, is oblivious to the
deeper aspects of the organization of the cube
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 403
 connected by additional edges of the graph
representing R. Construct another graph of
neo-​Riemannian triad space by drawing the
three PR-​cycles and supplying additional
edges for L. (The PR-​cycles will not look like
  cubes.)

Another graph worth reconsidering in rela-

tion to voice-​ leading spaces is Figure 3.3.1,
depicting trichordal set-​ class space. Like the
hexatonic triad cube chain, this graph shows
three-​note chords, and here as well, edges depict
single-​semitone displacements connecting one
chord to another. Nevertheless, the two pictures
convey different information and differ mark-
edly in appearance. The distinguishing feature
of Figure 3.3.1 is that its vertices stand for set
classes, not sets. C-​major and E-​major triads, for
example, are two different points in the voice-​
leading spaces we have considered in this chap-
ter, but both are represented by the same vertex
in Figure 3.3.1: the vertex labeled 037, which
also represents the other 22 major and minor
triads.
Figure 3.3.1 can, in fact, be regarded as a voice-​
leading space, and in Chapter 11 we will gain
some understanding of why this figure takes the
form that it does. It is, however, a voice-​leading
space of a different sort from those discussed so
far. By replacing sets with set classes, this figure
FIGURE 10.2.15 A tonnetz (neo-Riemannian effectively adds transpositional and inversional
triad space) in a hexatonic triad cube chain equivalence into the mix along with octave
and permutational equivalence. The OPTIC
equivalence relations introduced in Section
chain. In particular, the augmented triads are 2.4—​ octave, permutational, transpositional,
not part of the tonnetz graph. Figure 10.2.15 inversional, and cardinality equivalence—​ may
shows three edges representing the R transfor- appear in different combinations and give rise
mation apparently intersecting at a point cor- to different kinds of voice-​leading spaces. While
responding to each augmented triad in the cube the hexatonic triad cube chain is a part of three-​
chain—​but that point is not a vertex of the ton- voice OP-​space, Figure 3.3.1 shows three-​voice
netz graph, and in more familiar representations OPTI-​space. An understanding of voice-​leading
of the tonnetz those edges do not intersect at all. spaces in general depends on a detailed under-
The tonnetz may be conceived as a part of voice-​ standing of the OPTIC relations and the ways in
leading space, in other words, but the full space which they interact with each other, as well as
contains a great deal of additional information on knowing which equivalence relations apply in
that the tonnetz lacks. any given situation. It is to these matters that we
turn our attention in the next section.
Exercise 10.2.16
(a) Trace the path of a PL-​cycle, a PR-​cycle, 10.3 THE OPTIC RELATIONS
an RL-​cycle, and a PLR-​cycle in the graph
of Figure 10.2.15. (See Exercises 4.2.13 Several figures in Sections 10.1 and 10.2 were
and 4.2.14 for musical examples of these constructed using an xyz coordinate system as
cycles.) a way of labeling points in three-​dimensional
(b) In Figure 10.2.15, each cube contains space with ordered triples of numbers. At times,
a PL-​cycle; the four PL-​cycles are then without considering all the implications, we have

404 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces

assumed the coordinates to be mod-​12 numbers
representing pitch classes, but in the simplest sit-
uation they are real numbers—​positive or nega-
tive, with no upper or lower bounds—​standing
for pitches. The association of continuous pitch
space cpitch with the real numbers ℝ has been
familiar since Chapter 1, and in Section 7.3 we
considered pitch-​tuple space cpitchn as an inter-
val space. Pitch-​tuple space will form the basis
for the construction of voice-​leading spaces in
this chapter and the next, but its interval-​space
structure will now figure less prominently than
its geometry and topology.
A pitch tuple in cpitchn is an ordered n-​
tuple of pitches, which may be identified with
an ordered n-​tuple of real numbers, a point in
n-​dimensional Euclidean space ℝn. As long as we
consider ordered n-​tuples only, with no equiva-
lence relations imposed, this identification is
uncomplicated—​but it is important to recognize
that the ordered tuples in cpitchn are not the
same thing as unordered sets of n numbers (or
notes). Associating the pitch C4 with the num-
ber 0 as in previous applications, the numerical
ordered triple (0, 4, 7) in ℝ3 indicates the pitch
triple (C4, E4, G4). This is a more specific con-
struct than the pitch-​class triple (C, E, G) consid-
ered in the previous section, and it is still more
specific than the concept “C-​major triad,” which
corresponds not to an ordered triple at all but
to the unordered set {C, E, G}. Unordered sets
arise through the application of permutational
equivalence, and set classes arise through addi-
tional equivalence relations. As we have noted
in Sections 2.4 and 7.4, application of an equiva-
lence relation effectively discards a certain kind
of information, such as order or register, which
differentiates some elements that we may wish
to consider “equivalent” for some purposes. As
suggested in the preceding section, however,
applying an equivalence relation can complicate
the geometry, so we begin our construction of
voice-​leading spaces with the more general and
geometrically simpler Euclidean space of ordered
tuples. The pitches in an ordered pitch tuple may
sometimes be regarded as the notes in a melodic
line, but for present purposes it is usually more
suggestive to regard them as the voices in an n-​
voice chord, with the voices listed in a particular
order.26 We will refer to spaces of pitch n-​tuples,
n-​note chords, or n-​note set classes as examples
of n-​voice spaces. Thus cpitch3 could be called
three-​voice pitch-​tuple space, or simply pitch-​triple
space; informally we may also call it three-​dimen-
sional pitch space.
ℝn and cpitchn are well-​defined spaces for
every value of n =​1, 2, 3, …. We will also have
occasion to refer to the sets cpitch≤n or ℝ≤n,
defined as ℝ≤n =​ ℝ1 ∪ ℝ2 ∪ ℝ3 ∪ ⋯ ∪ ℝn, the union
of all the pitch-​tuple spaces of n or fewer voices.
The most general space we will encounter is
cpitch* or ℝ*, defined as ℝ* =​ ℝ1 ∪ ℝ2 ∪ ℝ3 ∪ ℝ4 ∪
⋯, the union of all the sets ℝn, theoretically infi-
nite in number, comprising ordered tuples of any
number of real numbers or musical pitches.
As preliminary illustrations of the OPTIC
relations, consider the following pitch tuples,
labeled with Greek letters for reference:
α =​(0, 4, 7) =​(C4, E4, G4)
β =​(24, 4, −5) =​(C6, E4, G3)    α  ~O β
γ =​(4, 7, 0) =​(E4, G4, C4)     α  ~P γ
δ =​(2, 6, 9) =​(D4, F♯4, A4)           α  ~T δ
ε =​(0, −4, −7) =​(C4, A♭3, F3)           α  ~I ε
ζ =​(0, 0, 4, 7) =​(C4, C4, E4, G4)  α  ~C ζ
As pitch tuples, α, β, γ, δ, ε, and ζ are all dif-
ferent; that is, they are six different points in the
space cpitch*. The first five belong to cpitch3,
while ζ is an element of cpitch4. As indicated
at right in the above list, however, each of the
last five tuples is equivalent to α via one of the
OPTIC relations:
• Tuples α and β are octave-​equivalent (~O)
because one can be obtained from the other
by transposing some notes up or down by
whole octaves. If notes are considered as pitch
classes instead of pitches, α and β become
indistinguishable. “Octave-​equivalent” may be
understood as “identical except for octaves”; a
mathematician might say that octave-​equiva-
lent pitches are “equal modulo the octave.”
• Tuples α and γ are permutationally equiva-
lent (~P) because they consist of the same
pitches in a different order. They are “identical
except for permutation,” or “equal modulo
permutation.”
• Tuples α and δ are transpositionally equivalent
(~T, “equal modulo transposition”) because
one can be obtained from the other by trans-
position; in this case δ =​ T2(α).
• Tuples α and ε are inversionally equivalent (~I)
because they are related by inversion about C4
(0); that is, ε =​ I(α).
• Finally, tuples α and ζ are cardinality-​equiva-
lent (~C) because they become identical if the
doubled C4 in ζ is reduced to a single C4. These
tuples are “identical except for cardinality”;
according to the definition of the cardinality
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 405
 of an ordered set from Section 2.2, the cardi-
nality of α is 3 while the cardinality of ζ is 4.
Recall that equivalence relations are reflexive,
symmetric, and transitive. By symmetry, any of
the above relations could just as well have been
written the other way around (β ~O α rather than
α ~O β, for example).
Traditional music theory pedagogy includes
ample discussion of the O, T, and I relations but
is much less explicit about our frequent reliance
on P and C. All five relations are conceptually
straightforward and musically suggestive, but
there are enough subtleties in their application
that it is important to have a firm mathematical
understanding of exactly how they are defined,
so even though we already have some familiar-
ity with most of these relations, in this section
we will work through each of them in turn in
some depth. We will see that four of the five rela-
tions may be described via group actions of the
sort described in Section 6.5. Combinations of
these equivalence relations correspond to vari-
ous symmetry groups; indeed, the OPTIC rela-
tions may be called the OPTIC symmetries. In the
discussion below, we work mainly with abstract
ordered triples σ =​(s1, s2, s3) and τ =​(t1, t2, t3) in
ℝ3; the general situation in ℝn works essentially
the same way. Cardinality equivalence, which
relates points in spaces of different dimensions,
will require some special considerations.
—​—​—​
Octave equivalence has been studied from sev-
eral perspectives already. As we know, it is based
on mod-​12 congruence of pitch numbers, and
pitch space (pitch or cpitch) is converted into
pitch-​class space (pc or cpc) by the formation of
equivalence classes of this relation. In Section
7.4 we extended the idea of octave equivalence
from the single dimension of cpitch to the n-​
dimensional space cpitchn. Two pitch triples
in cpitch3 are octave-​equivalent whenever all
pairs of corresponding notes in both triples are
octave-​equivalent. That is, if σ =​(s1, s2, s3) and
τ =​(t1, t2, t3), then σ ~O τ means that the congru-
ences s1 ≡ t1, s2 ≡ t2, and s3 ≡ t3 (mod 12) are all
true. For α =​(0, 4, 7) and β =​(24, 4, −5) as above,
the statements 0 ≡ 24, 4 ≡ 4, and 7 ≡ −5 (mod
12) are all true, so it is indeed the case that α ~O
β. Octave equivalence does not require that β be
obtained by transposing the entire ordered triple
α uniformly by a fixed number of octaves: in the
present example, to produce β from α, the first
406 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
note must be transposed up two octaves while
the third is transposed down an octave and the
middle note is left unchanged. Uniform trans-
position of a pitch triple by octaves, as in the
relation (0, 4, 7) ~O (24, 28, 31), is a special case
of octave equivalence (and also a special case of
transpositional equivalence); the general case is
much more flexible.
Exercise 10.3.1 Determine whether the
following statements about octave equivalence
are true or false.27
(a) (0, 4, 7) ~O (−24, 28, 31).
(b) (0, 4, 7) ~O (24, −28, 31).
(c) (F3, G4, A5) ~O (F5, G4, A3).
(d) (F3, G4, A5) ~O (A3, G4, F5).
(e)  (F3, F3, G4, A5) ~O (F5, G3, G4, A3).
A group action underlies this equivalence. We
know from Chapter 7 that cpitch3 is a direct-​
product interval space with interval group ℝ3.
Addition in ℝ3 is defined componentwise; that is,
(x1, x2, x3) +​(y1, y2, y3) =​(x1 +​ y1, x2 +​ y2, x3 +​ y3). The
interval int(σ, τ) from σ =​(s1, s2, s3) to τ =​(t1, t2, t3)
is the ordered triple τ − σ =​(x1, x2, x3), where x1 =​
t1 − s1, x2 =​ t2 − s2, and x3 =​ t3 − s3. The pitch triples
σ and τ are octave-​equivalent if and only if all three
of the componentwise differences x1, x2 and x3
belong to the set 12ℤ =​{…, −24, −12, 0, 12, 24, …},
the subgroup of the additive group ℝ generated by
the number 12. In other words, σ ~O τ is true if and
only if τ − σ ∈ 12ℤ × 12ℤ × 12ℤ =​(12ℤ)3.
The set (12ℤ)3, consisting of ordered triples
whose components are all multiples of 12, is a
subgroup of ℝ3. In Section 7.4 we described
(12ℤ)3 as the congruence subgroup associated
with the relation ~O; it may also be regarded as
the symmetry group for octave equivalence in
three dimensions. Strictly speaking, the congru-
ence subgroup is a group of intervals in cpitch3
while the symmetry group is a group of transfor-
mations on cpitch3—​but these are effectively
the same because of the general equivalence of
intervals and transpositions in interval spaces,
outlined in Section 5.6. That is, the triple (x1, x2,
x3) may be regarded as the interval between pitch
triples σ and τ, or it may be identified with the
transposition operation T(x1, x2, x3) which, applied
to σ, will produce τ.
The equivalence between cosets of subgroups
and orbits of group actions noted in Section 6.6
is also relevant here. The statement σ ~O τ is true
if and only if σ and τ belong to the same coset of
the subgroup (12ℤ)3 of ℝ3. Equivalently, σ ~O τ if
and only if σ is mapped to τ by transposition by
some element of the subgroup (12ℤ)3—​that is, if
σ and τ lie in the same orbit of the transforma-
tion group (12ℤ)3. The equivalence classes of the
relation ~O, or O-​classes, are the orbits; we write
σO for the class containing σ and all its transposi-
tions by elements of (12ℤ)3. In terminology from
Section 6.5, octave equivalence is the same thing
as H equivalence, where H is the subgroup (12ℤ)3.
As an additive group, 12ℤ is isomorphic to ℤ
itself, so (12ℤ)3 is isomorphic to ℤ3—​but ℤ3 and
(12ℤ)3 are two different subgroups of ℝ3, and the
symmetry group in question is (12ℤ)3, not ℤ3. In
n dimensions, the symmetry group for octave
equivalence is (12ℤ)n.
If we imagine three-​ dimensional space ℝ3
filled with 12 × 12 × 12 cubes (“cubic octaves”),
the points of (12ℤ)3 form a discrete grid of lattice
points at the corners of the cubes. These cubes
form a repeating pattern of modules in three
dimensions, filling up the entire space in a man-
ner similar to the two-​dimensional tiles we have
encountered in many plane figures. If we focus
on the single cube in which all three coordinates
lie between 0 and 12, then every pitch triple in
the entire space cpitch3 is octave-​equivalent to
some point in this cube; the cube may be called
a fundamental region for octave equivalence. The
fundamental region represents the quotient space
cpitch3/​~O, also known as three-​voice O-​space.28
Fundamental regions (or fundamental
domains) are an important concept in topology.
Generally a fundamental region for an equiva-
lence relation ~ defined on a space S is a region
R within S having the property that every point
in S is equivalent via ~ to a unique point in R.29
In a minor abuse of terminology, we sometimes
refer to a fundamental region for an equiva-
lence relation (such as octave equivalence), while
at other times we may refer instead to a fun-
damental region for a space (such as O-​space
cpitch3/​~O, the quotient space arising from
that relation). That is, if ~ is an equivalence
relation on a space S, and if S′ is the quotient
space S/​~, then a region R as described above (a
subset of S) may be called either a fundamental
region for ~ or a fundamental region for S′—​and
because the points of R are in one-​to-​one cor-
respondence with the points of S′, the funda-
mental region may often be identified with the
quotient space S′ itself.
A fundamental region is not unique: any 12 ×
12 × 12 cube whose edges lie parallel to the coor-
dinate axes could serve as a fundamental region
for octave equivalence. Points in O-​space may be
associated with ordered triples of pitch classes
(rather than pitches), so this quotient space may
be identified with continuous pitch-​class–​triple
space cpc3. This quotient space cpc3 remains
three-​dimensional, but it is now bounded; that
is, the whole space fits inside a box of finite
size. Octave equivalence generally preserves
the dimensionality of a space but reduces an
unbounded space to a bounded one.
Topologically the space cpc3 is a three-​dimen-
sional torus 𝕋 3, with the property (characteris-
tic of tori in general) that if we exit the cube on
one side we will re-​emerge at the corresponding
point on the opposite side. Algebraically, octave
equivalence reduces ℝ3 (the interval group of
pitch-​triple space cpitch3) to the quotient
group ℝ3/​(12ℤ)3. In one dimension, the quotient
group ℝ/​12ℤ is ℝ12, the real numbers mod 12;
the three-​dimensional quotient group ℝ3/​(12ℤ)3
may be identified with (ℝ12)3, the direct product
of three copies of ℝ12. Indeed, (ℝ12)3 is the inter-
val group of the quotient interval space cpc3. (In
Section 7.4 we considered the analogous situa-
tion involving discrete spaces, identifying the
quotient space pitch3/​~O with discrete pitch-​
class–​triple space pc3, whose interval group is
not (ℝ12)3 but (ℤ12)3.)
—​—​—​
Much of what we need to know about permuta-
tional equivalence was developed in Chapter 6. In
the present situation the three components s1, s2,
s3 of the ordered triple σ are being permuted. Two
elements of ℝ3 are permutationally equivalent if
they have the same components but possibly in a
different order. This is the case, for instance, with
the ordered triples α =​(0, 4, 7) =​(C4, E4, G4) and
γ =​(4, 7, 0) =​(E4, G4, C4) in the list at the begin-
ning of this section. We know from Section 6.1
that the number of permutations of three ele-
ments is 3! =​6, and that these permutations,
regarded as transformations, form the symmet-
ric group 𝒮3. In ℝ3, then, permutational equiva-
lence is the same as 𝒮3 equivalence; the P-​class αP
consists of the six permutations of the triple α.
The cycle notation for permutations from
Section 6.1 can be adapted to fit the present sit-
uation. We write permutations of the numbers
1, 2, and 3, indicating the three coordinates in
an ordered triple. For example, the 2-​cycle (1, 2)
interchanges the first two components, while
the 3-​cycle (1, 2, 3) moves the first component
to the second position, the second component
to the third position, and the third component to
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 407
the first position. In the above example, the tri-
ple α =​(0, 4, 7) is mapped to γ =​(4, 7, 0) by the
3-​cycle (1, 3, 2), because the first component (0)
moves to the third position, the third component
(7) to the second position, and the second com-
ponent (4) to the first position. Permutational
equivalence is symmetric, so some permutation
must map γ to α as well; in fact, γ is mapped to
α by the 3-​cycle (1, 2, 3), which is the inverse of
(1, 3, 2).30
Unlike the symmetry group ℝ3/​(12ℤ)3 for
octave equivalence, 𝒮3 is a noncommutative
group. Because there are six permutations in 𝒮3,
a typical ordered triple in ℝ3 is permutationally
equivalent to five other triples. Orbits of the
action of 𝒮3, that is, generally contain six ele-
ments. Pitch triples with doublings, however,
are exceptions: for example, nothing new results
if the first two components of the ordered triple
(0, 0, 7) are interchanged. That triple is therefore
fixed by the 2-​cycle (1, 2), so its orbit under the
action of 𝒮3 contains fewer than six elements.
Exercise 10.3.2 Determine whether the
following statements about permutational
equivalence are true or false. For each true
statement, give the cycle representation of
a permutation in 𝒮3 or 𝒮4 that maps the first
point to the second.31
(a) (0, 4, 7) ~P (0, 7, 4).
(b) (0, 0, 7) ~P (7, 0, 0).
(c) (0, 0, 7) ~P (7, 7, 0).
(d) (F4, G4, A4, B4) ~P (B4, A4, G4, F4).
(e)  (F4, G4, G4, A4) ~P (A4, G4, F4, G4).
Exercise 10.3.3 List the elements in the orbit of
(0, 0, 7) under the action of 𝒮3. What subgroup
of 𝒮3 is the stabilizer of (0, 0, 7)? Verify that
the orbit-​stabilizer theorem from Section 6.5,
#Orb
   G(x) ∙ #StG(x) =​#G, holds in this case.
The preliminary discussion of three-​ voice
chord space in the previous section suggests
that permutational equivalence introduces some
geometric complications. These will be explored
more thoroughly in Chapter 11, but a few general
observations may be made now. We have noted
the exceptional nature of pitch triples with dou-
blings. An ordered triple (x, y, z) contains a dou-
bling only if it lies on one of the planes x =​ y, x =​
z, or y =​ z in ℝ3. If those three planes are excluded
from consideration, points contain no doublings
and orbits under the action of 𝒮3 always contain
six elements. The quotient space cpitch3/​~P
408 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
(also called P-​space), therefore, should intuitively
be only one-​sixth the size of the original space
cpitch3. As it turns out, permutational equiva-
lence divides cpitch3 into six regions, any one
of which may serve as a fundamental region
representing the quotient space, and the planes
mentioned above form the boundaries between
these regions. All six regions are three-​dimen-
sional and unbounded.
Unlike the symmetry group for octave equiv-
alence, the group 𝒮3 for permutational equiva-
lence has no clear relation to the interval group
of cpitch3; we shall see in Chapter 12 that while
P-​space is a valid quotient space, it cannot be
constructed as a quotient interval space. Points
in P-​space may be regarded as unordered pitch
sets, or, allowing for doublings, pitch multisets—​
three-​note chords in pitch space. The complexity
increases with the number of dimensions; recall
that the order of the symmetric group 𝒮n is n!.
In four-​dimensional pitch space cpitch4, most
orbits of 𝒮4 have 4! =​24 elements, so the quo-
tient space cpitch4/​~P , four-​voice P-​space, is
only 1 24 the size of cpitch4.
Constructing a space of unordered chords in
pitch-​class space entails using the relations ~O and
~P in combination. OP-​space is among the most
important voice-​ leading spaces; the discussion
in Section 10.2 began to probe some of its com-
plexity, which will be further explored in Chapter
11. New considerations arise when two or more
equivalence relations interact. Of the pitch triples
in the above examples, we know that β ~O α and
α ~P γ. Equivalence relations are transitive (if x ~ y
and y ~ z, then x ~ z), but ~O and ~P are two differ-
ent relations, so we cannot conclude that either
β ~O γ or β ~P γ is true—​and indeed, β =​(C6, E4,
G3) and γ =​(E4, G4, C4) are neither octave-​equiva-
lent nor permutationally equivalent. We may say,
however, that β and γ are OP-​equivalent, written
β ~OP γ. In general, two tuples are OP-​equivalent
whenever their equivalence follows from O and P
equivalence in any combination; that is, σ ~OP τ
if there exist some tuples μ1, μ2, …, μk such that
σ ~ μ1 ~ μ2 ~ ⋯ ~ μk ~ τ, where each ~ in the chain
is either ~O or ~P.32 In the above example the OP
equivalence of β and γ follows from the fact that α
=​ (C4, E4, G4) is octave-​equivalent to β and permu-
tationally equivalent to γ.
O equivalence or P equivalence by itself
implies OP equivalence, so the three tuples
α, β, and γ are all OP-​equivalent and therefore
belong to the same OP-​class, which could be
called αOP (or βOP or γOP). OP-​classes in general
are larger than either O-​classes or P-​classes; in
terminology from Section 2.4, OP equivalence
is a coarser equivalence relation than either O
or P equivalence. Regarded as pitch-​class sets,
triples α, β, and γ all reduce to {0, 4, 7}. In fact,
OP-​classes correspond closely with the familiar
concept of pitch-​class set, in which octave dis-
placements and note order are disregarded. The
only qualification to this correspondence is that
doubled notes are also routinely disregarded in
pc set analysis (for example, the pitch triple (C4,
G4, C5) is associated with the two-​note pc set {C,
G} rather than with the three-​note multiset {C,
C, G}), so pc set theory implicitly assumes car-
dinality equivalence ~C as well. We may say that
OP-​classes correspond to pitch-​class multisets,
or to pitch-​class sets as long as no pitch-​class
doublings are involved.
Exercise 10.3.4 Determine whether the following
statements about OP equivalence are true or false.
For each true statement, identify a tuple that is
octave-​equivalent to one of the two given tuples
and permutationally equivalent to the other.33
(a) (0, 4, 7) ~OP (28, 31, −24).
(b) (0, 0, 7) ~OP (7, −24, 31).
(c) (F4, G4, A4, B4) ~OP (B2, A3, G4, F5).
(d) (F4, G4, F4, G4) ~OP (F3, F4, G4, G5).
(e)  (F4, G4, G4, A4) ~OP (A4, G4, F4, G4).
—​—​—​
Transpositional equivalence is, of course, defined
in terms of transposition operators. Many prop-
erties of the transpositions Tn on discrete pitch
space pitch were studied in Chapter 5. In con-
tinuous pitch space cpitch, transpositions take
the form Tr, where r, the interval of transposi-
tion, may be any real number, not necessarily an
integer. The characteristic behavior of transposi-
tions remains the same: for any pitch x and any
interval of transposition r, the equation Tr(x) =​
x +​ r holds.
In multiple dimensions, a transposition opera-
tor Tr acts on pitch tuples by transposing every
component of the tuple by the same interval
r: that is, Tr(s1, s2, s3) =​(Tr(s1), Tr(s2), Tr(s3)) =​
(s1 +​ r, s2 +​ r, s3 +​ r). In other words, Tr in three
dimensions is the same thing as transposition by
the interval (r, r, r) in the product space cpitch3.
Two triples σ =​(s1, s2, s3) and τ =​(t1, t2, t3) are
transpositionally equivalent (~T) if τ =​ Tr(σ) for
some r. For this to be true, the interval int(σ, τ) =​
(t1 − s1, t2 − s2, t3 − s3) in pitch-​triple space must be
of the form (r, r, r): it must be an ordered triple all
of whose components are the same, or, regarded
as a vector, it must be a multiple of the vector (1,
1, 1). In the case of the triples α =​(0, 4, 7) =​(C4,
E4, G4) and δ =​(2, 6, 9) =​(D4, F♯4, A4) in the list at
the beginning of this section, the difference δ − α
is the triple (2, 2, 2). From this we may conclude
that δ =​ T2(α) and therefore that α ~T δ.34
The discrete transposition group 𝒯∞ =​{Tn | n
∈ ℤ} introduced in Chapter 5 is an infinite cyclic
group, isomorphic to the additive group (ℤ, +​).
The continuous transposition group {Tr | r ∈ ℝ},
or {Tr} for short, is not cyclic. In fact, this group is
isomorphic to the additive group (ℝ, +​). The iso-
morphism is given by Tr → r; the equation Tr ● Ts =​
Tr+​s confirms that this mapping is a homomor-
phism. (In the transposition group {Tr}, as usual
with group actions, the group operation is composi-
tion of functions.) This continuous group {Tr} is the
symmetry group for transpositional equivalence.35
The same transpositions Tr that act on cpitch act
also on cpitch3 (or cpitchn), so the transposi-
tion group {Tr} is independent of the number of
dimensions of the space, in contrast to the symme-
try groups underlying octave and permutational
equivalence, which grow larger and more complex
as the number of dimensions increases.
We described the vertical axis in Figures
10.1.1 and 10.2.1 as the axis of transposition,
because all triples lying along that axis are
related by transposition. Any other line parallel
to the central axis of those figures is also a line
of transposition: the orbits of the action of the
transposition group {Tr} on the space cpitch3
are straight lines. These lines are T-​classes; the T-​
class αT is the vertical line through α. The lines of
transposition are vertical because of the tilt we
imposed on the coordinate system when draw-
ing the figures; in a traditionally oriented coor-
dinate system with horizontal and vertical axes,
transpositional orbits would be diagonal lines,
though they would still all be parallel to the vec-
tor (1, 1, 1) and to each other.
In the quotient space cpitch3/​~T, or T-​space,
each line of transposition reduces to a single point.
We may locate a set of such points representing
T-​space by projecting onto any horizontal plane
in Figure 10.1.1 or 10.2.1; these are the planes
identified previously as the sum-​class planes. In
particular, we may take the sum-​class-​0 plane to
represent T-​space: every pitch triple in cpitch3 is
transpositionally equivalent to a unique triple in
the sum-​class-​0 plane.36 Importantly, three-​voice
T-​space reduces to a two-​dimensional plane. In
effect, the one-​dimensional orbits of the transpo-
sition group {Tr} are collapsed by the equivalence
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 409
relation ~T, leaving one fewer dimension in the the more precise concept of T-​classes of pitch-​
quotient space. In four-​dimensional pitch space, class sets. (As pc sets, the above triads are {0, 4,
the tuples of sum class 0 (or any other fixed 7} and {2, 6, 9}: not the same pc set, but trans-
sum class) form a three-​dimensional subspace. positionally related sets.) This sense of chord
In general, n-​voice T-​space cpitchn/​~T is not quality does not correspond to the set classes of
dimensional but (n − 1)-​dimensional. In one-​
n-​ pitch-​class set theory, which incorporate inver-
dimensional pitch space cpitch1, all points are sional equivalence also. Inversion preserves set
transpositionally equivalent, so one-​voice T-​space class, but it does not preserve chord quality; a
reduces to a single point—​ a zero-​dimensional major triad cannot be OPT-​equivalent to a minor
space. This reduction in dimensionality results triad. As in the discussion above regarding OP-​
from the straight-​line orbits of the transposition classes, a qualification about doublings applies:
group {Tr}, and is related also to the continuous OPT-​classes correspond to T-​classes of pitch-​
nature of the group—​very different from the dis- class multisets, or to T-​classes of pitch-​class sets
crete symmetry groups for ~O and ~P, discussed as long as no pitch-​class doublings are involved.
above, and ~I, to be considered shortly.
Exercise 10.3.7 Four of the following five pairs
Exercise 10.3.5 Determine whether the of pitch tuples are related by ~OPT —​that is, by
following statements about transpositional some combination of octave, permutational,
equivalence are true or false. For each and transpositional equivalence. Connect
true statement, determine the interval of each such pair by a chain of ~O, ~P, and ~T
transposition relating the two tuples.37 relations similar to the chain above, introducing
intermediate tuples as needed. The tuples in one
(a) (0, 4, 7) ~T (−7, −4, 0). OPT-​equivalent pair are actually PT-​equivalent,
(b) (0, 4, 7) ~T (−32 3 , 1 3 , 31 3 ). so ~O is not needed in the chain; which pair is
(c) (0, 0, 7) ~T (−7, 0, 0). this? Which pair is not related by ~OPT?39
(d) (C4, E4, G4) ~T (A5, C♯5, E5).
(e)  (F4, G4, A4, B4) ~T (D6, C6, B♭5, A♭5). (a) (0, 4, 7) and (−2, 3, 7)
(b) (0, 0, 7) and (0, 5, 17)
Exercise 10.3.6 (c) (C4, E4, G4) and (F3, A♭3, C4)
(a) What pitch triple in the sum-​class-​0 plane (d) (F4, G4, A4, B4) and (D6, C6, B♭5, A♭5)
is transpositionally equivalent to the (e)  (G3, B3, C♯4, F4) and (D4, E4, A♭4, B♭4)
augmented triad (0, 4, 8)?
(b) What pitch triple of sum class 0 is —​—​—​
transpositionally equivalent to the
C-​major triad (0, 4, 7)? Inversional equivalence is almost always consid-
(c) In cpitch3, write a general formula for ered in conjunction with transpositional equiva-
the pitch triple of sum class 0 that is lence, as was the case in Chapters 2 and 5, where
transpositionally equivalent to (s1, s2, s3). we described the relation ~TI but not a relation
(d) In cpitch4, what pitch tuple of sum class ~I. Inversional equivalence by itself is simple in
0 is transpositionally equivalent to the conception but narrow in application, because
  dominant seventh chord (0, 4, 7, 10)?38 it must be defined in reference to a single (and
arbitrary) axis of inversion in pitch space. A
The triples (0, 4, 7) =​(C4, E4, G4) and (9, 14, pitch triple σ =​(s1, s2, s3) is therefore inversion-
−6) =​(A4, D5, F♯3), though they differ in pitch-​ ally equivalent to only two things. Equivalence
class content, in register, and in ordering, are relations must be reflexive, so σ must be equiva-
both major triads: they are chords of the same lent to σ itself. The other is the triple −σ =​ I(σ) =​
quality. They are also OPT-​equivalent, as the fol- (I(s1), I(s2), I(s3)) =​(−s1, −s2, −s3), in which every
lowing chain of equivalences demonstrates: component has been inverted via the inversion
operator I. As usual in pitch space, I denotes I0,
(0, 4, 7) ~O (12, −8, 7) ~P (7, 12, −8) the fixed inversion about pitch 0 (C4), described
~T (9, 14, −6). by the equation I(x) =​−x. As with transposition,
I acts on pitch triples in cpitch3 by acting the
OPT-​classes of pitch tuples correspond closely same way on each component pitch class.40
to the usual notion of chord quality, to the more Of the pitch triples listed at the beginning of
informal understanding of “chord type,” or to this section, α =​(0, 4, 7) =​(C4, E4, G4) and ε =​(0,

410 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces

−4, −7) =​(C4, A♭3, F3) are I-​related, and therefore
inversionally equivalent, because I(0) =​0, I(4) =​
−4, and I(7) =​−7. No other triple can be related
to either α or ε by ~I; the I-​class αI is the two-​
element set {α, ε}. Every I-​class consists of such
a pair of I-​related pitch triples, with one excep-
tion: the triple (0, 0, 0) is its own I-​inversion and
therefore occupies an I-​class by itself. The sym-
metry group for inversional equivalence is the
group {E, I} of order 2, consisting of the identity
E and the inversion I. We know from Chapter 6
that all groups of order 2 are isomorphic to the
cyclic group 𝒞2, or equivalently ℤ2, the additive
group {0, 1} of integers mod 2. The symmetry
group for inversional equivalence, like that for
transpositional equivalence, is independent of
the dimensionality of the space on which it acts.
One might suppose that inversional equiva-
lence could be defined more inclusively so that
triples σ =​(s1, s2, s3) and τ =​(t1, t2, t3) are inver-
sionally equivalent if they are related by inver-
sion about any pitch; that is, we might suppose
σ ~I τ to be true whenever τ =​ Ir(σ) =​(r − s1, r − s2,
r − s3) for any real number r. But Exercise 2.4.11e
showed that this definition fails to produce an
equivalence relation. This definition implies logi-
cally enough that C-​major and C-​minor triads are
I-​equivalent, and that C-​minor and F-​major tri-
ads are I-​equivalent. But transitivity would then
imply that the C-​major and F-​major triads must
be I-​equivalent as well, whereas of course these
two major triads are related by transposition,
not inversion. As we know from Chapter 5, two
inversions combine to produce a transposition,
so if we are to allow inversion about more than
one axis we must allow transposition also. The
equivalence relation obtained by extending the
proposed definition above to ensure transitivity
is not I equivalence but rather TI equivalence.41
Compared with strict inversional equivalence,
TI equivalence is more familiar, more useful, and
more complex. In continuous pitch space, trans-
position operators Tr (described by the equation
Tr(x) =​ x +​ r) and inversion operators Ir (equal to
I ● Tr, and described by the equation Ir(x) =​ r − x)
continue to obey the properties described in the
discrete case in Section 5.5, except that now the
subscripts may be any real numbers. In particu-
lar, the formulas given in Theorem 5.5.6 hold in
general; for example, inversions Ir and Is about
two different axes combine to produce a transpo-
sition Ir ● Is =​ Ts−r (5.5.6d), and every inversion Ir
is an involution (5.5.6g). The formulas also show
that any combination of operators Tr and Ir will
always produce some other operator of one of
those types. The same properties hold in mul-
tiple dimensions. Pitch triples σ =​(s1, s2, s3) and
τ =​(t1, t2, t3) are TI-​equivalent if and only if either
τ =​ Tr(σ) or τ =​ Ir(σ) for some real number r. If
τ =​ Tr(σ), then σ and τ are T-​equivalent (which
implies TI equivalence). If τ =​ Ir(σ), then σ and τ
are TI-​equivalent but not T-​equivalent (and not
I-​equivalent unless r =​0). The symmetry group
for TI equivalence is {Tr, Ir | r ∈ ℝ}, or {Tr, Ir} for
short. This is a continuous analog of the infi-
nite dihedral group 𝒯ℐ∞ (or 𝒟∞) introduced in
Section 5.5; it is sometimes known as the gener-
alized dihedral group of the real numbers, 𝒟ℝ.
Exercise 10.3.8 Determine whether the
following statements about TI equivalence are
true or false. For each true statement, identify a
transposition Tr or inversion Ir that relates the
two tuples. Do any of the statements remain
true if ~TI is replaced with ~I?42
(a) (0, 4, 7) ~TI (0, 3, 7).
(b) (0, 4, 7) ~TI (7, 3, 0).
(c) (0, 0, 7) ~TI (0, 0, −7).
(d) (F4, G4, A4, B4) ~TI (B4, A4, G4, F4).
(e)  (F4, G4, F4, G4) ~TI (B4, A4, B3, A3).
OPTI equivalence, the combination of the
four equivalence relations considered so far, cap-
tures the concept of set class from pitch-​class set
theory as long as no doublings are involved. For
example, the triples (0, 4, 7) =​(C4, E4, G4) and (9,
14, −7) =​(A4, D5, F3), their various differences
notwithstanding, are a major and a minor triad,
so as pitch-​class sets they both belong to set
class 037. The chain below confirms that these
triples are OPTI-​equivalent:
(0, 4, 7) ~I (0, −4, −7) ~T (9, 5, 2) ~P (9, 2, 5)
~O (9, 14, −7).
Exercise 10.3.9 Four of the following five pairs
of pitch tuples are related by ~OPTI. Connect
each such pair by a chain of ~O, ~P, ~T, and ~I
relations, or as many of these as are necessary.
Which pair is not related by ~OPTI? Are any pairs
related by ~OPT or other combinations of three
or fewer relations?43
(a) (0, 4, 7) and (0, 4, −3)
(b) (0, 4, 7) and (−18, 1, 22)
(c) (0, 0, 7) and (7, 0, 7)
(d) (C4, E4, G4, C5) and (C4, E♭4, G4, C5)
(e)  (G3, C4, E4, E4) and (G3, C4, E♭4, E♭4)
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 411
 As the number of equivalence relations
increases, the associated symmetry group
expands, and the resulting quotient space shrinks.
The symmetry group for ~OPTI is an infinite non-
commutative group generated by all the relations
in all of the groups described above for ~O, ~P,
~T, and ~I: for pitch triples this group contains
transposition of individual coordinates by whole
octaves (elements of the group (12ℤ)3), permu-
tations (elements of 𝒮3), transpositions Tr, the
inversion operator I, and all possible composi-
tions of these. In a way that we will describe more
exactly in Section 11.4, three-​voice OPTI-​space
corresponds roughly to a continuous version of
the trichordal set-​class space from Figure 3.3.1,
a compact triangular region in two dimensions
and a vastly smaller space than the unbounded
three-​dimensional pitch-​triple space with which
our study began. (See Figure 11.4.12.) Inversional
equivalence contributes only a group of order 2, {E,
I}, to the large symmetry group—​a smaller contri-
bution than that of any of the other equivalence
relations. In ways that we will grasp more fully in
Chapter 11, OPTI-​space is therefore about half the
size of OPT-​space, and TI-​space is roughly half the
size of T-​space.
—​—​—​
Uniquely among the OPTIC relations, cardinality
equivalence can relate tuples of different sizes, a
property that engenders numerous complications.
Musically, however, cardinality equivalence is use-
ful and familiar. We rely on it whenever we say, for
example, that a three-​voice triad and a four-​voice
triad with a doubled root can both be “C-​major
triads”; in effect ~C allows us to equate multi-
sets with sets, which are more easily described.
Cardinality equivalence is usually invoked in com-
bination with permutational equivalence, and
often octave equivalence as well.44
Taken by itself, cardinality equivalence allows
for adding or dropping immediately repeated
pitches in a tuple; that is, one note may split into
two identical adjacent notes, or two identical
adjacent notes may fuse into one.45 The formal
definition of cardinality equivalence makes use
of a fuse function defined on all of cpitch*, the
set of pitch tuples of all cardinalities. If σ =​(s1,
s2, …, sn) is a pitch tuple, then fuse(σ) is the tuple
obtained from σ by deleting all immediate rep-
etitions—​that is, by deleting every component
pitch si for which si =​ si−1. For example:
fuse(0, 0, 4, 7) deleting the second 0
=​(0, 4, 7)
412 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
fuse(0, 0, 0, 0, 4, 7, 7, 7) deleting three 0s and
=​(0, 4, 7) two 7s
fuse(G3, G3, B3, B3, F4) deleting one G3 and
=​ (G3, B3, F4) one B3
fuse(G3, G3, B3, F4, F4, B3) deleting one G3 and
=​ (G3, B3, F4, B3) one F4
fuse(G2, G3, B3, F4) deleting nothing
=​ (G2, G3, B3, F4)
Although the definition says that the repetitions
are deleted, it is useful to imagine, as the terminol-
ogy suggests, that the repeated notes are fused, or
merged. The non-​immediate repetition of B3 in the
fourth example is not eliminated; we will see below
that it may be eliminated using ~C and ~P in com-
bination. Also, the repeated pitch class G in the last
example is not eliminated, which would require ~C
together with ~O. The last example also shows that
if there are no immediate pitch repetitions, the
fuse function leaves the original tuple unchanged.
Two tuples σ and τ are cardinality-​equivalent if
fuse(σ) =​fuse(τ). From the above examples, we see
that the tuples (0, 0, 4, 7) and (0, 0, 0, 0, 4, 7, 7, 7)
are cardinality-​equivalent, because fusing yields (0,
4, 7) in both cases. Of course, (0, 4, 7) itself is also
cardinality-​equivalent to both of the original tuples;
every pitch tuple σ is automatically cardinality-​
equivalent to fuse(σ). In C-​space, the quotient space
cpitch*/​~C, the three tuples (and many others) col-
lapse to one equivalence class, and the triple (0, 4, 7)
may be taken to stand for that class.
The tuples in the last three of the above
examples of the fuse function, θ1 =​(G3, G3,
B3, B3, F4), θ2 =​(G3, G3, B3, F4, F4, B3), and θ3
=​ (G2, G3, B3, F4), yield three different tuples
upon fusing, so no two of them are cardinality-​
equivalent. The tuples θ1 and θ2, however, are
PC-​equivalent, because they can be related by
a combination of permutational and cardinality
equivalence:
θ1 =​(G3, G3, B3, B3, F4) ~C (G3, G3, B3, B3, F4, F4)
~P (G3, G3, B3, F4, F4, B3) =​ θ2.
Moreover, θ1 and θ3 are OC-​equivalent:
θ 1 =​ (G 3 , G 3 , B 3 , B 3 , F 4 ) ~ C (G 3 , G 3 , B 3 , F 4 )
~O (G2, G3, B3, F4) =​ θ3.
All three tuples θ1, θ2, and θ3 are OPC-​equivalent. Of
course, all three of these tuples reduce to the same
pitch-​class set, the set {F, G, B} or {5, 7, 11}. We noted
above that OP-​classes correspond to pitch-​class sets
in the absence of doubled pitch classes; OPC-​classes
correspond exactly to pitch-​class sets in the general
case in which doublings are allowed. Any other tuple
(of any cardinality) whose notes include Fs, Gs, and
Bs (in any registers) but nothing else will always be
OPC-​equivalent to the tuples above.
Similarly, we noted earlier that OPT-​classes
and OPTI-​classes correspond to chord qualities
and set classes, respectively, in the absence of
doublings. To account for doublings, we may use
OPTC-​classes and OPTIC-​classes for these pur-
poses. For example, the 9-​tuple
β =​(−12, −5, 0, 4, 7, 10, 16, 22, 28)
=​ (C3, G3, C4, E4, G4, B♭4, E5, B♭5, E6)
represents the first chord in Beethoven’s Symphony
No. 1, a dominant seventh chord with many octave
doublings, with the pitches listed in registral order.
The 4-​tuple
ω =​(−7, −1, 3, 8) =​(F3, B3, D♯4, G♯4)
is Wagner’s Tristan chord, a half-​diminished sev-
enth chord with no doublings. Dominant and
half-​diminished seventh chords belong to the
same set class 0258, and indeed these two tuples
are OPTIC-​equivalent, as the following extended
chain confirms:
β=​(−12, −5, 0, 4, 7, 10, 16, 22, 28)
~P (−12, 0, 4, 16, 28, −5, 7, 10, 22)
~O (0, 0, 4, 4, 4, 7, 7, 10, 10)
~C (0, 4, 7, 10) ~I (0, −4, −7, −10)
~T (3, −1, −4, −7) ~O (3, −1, 8, −7)
~P (−7, −1, 3, 8) =​ω.
All five of the OPTIC relations appear in this chain,
and all are essential: the tuples β and ω are not equiv-
alent via any four or fewer of the OPTIC relations.
Exercise 10.3.10 Apply the fuse function to
each pitch tuple as indicated.
(a) fuse(0, 0, 4, 4, 7, 7, 4, 5, 5, 2, 2, −1, −1, −5)
(b) fuse(0, −5, −3, −1, 0, −5, −3, −1, 0)
(c) fuse(G4, G4, G4, E♭4, F4, F4, F4, D4)
(d) fuse(F♯4, F♯4, G4, A4, A4, G4, F♯4, E4, D4, D4, E4,
F♯4, F♯4, E4, E4)
(e)  fuse(D4, F♯4, A4, A4, A5, A5, F♯5, F♯5)
Exercise 10.3.11 Determine whether the
following statements about cardinality
equivalence are true or false.46
(a) (0, 4, 7) ~C (7, 7, 4, 4, 0, 0).
(b) (0, 4, 7) ~C (0, 0, 0, 0, 7, 7, 7, 7).
(c) (D3, A3, A3, F4, D5, D5) ~C (D3, D3, A3, F4, F4, D5).
(d) (D2, A2, A3, F4, D5, D6) ~C (D2, D3, A3, F4, F5, D6).
(e) (D4, F4, D4, F4, A4, F4, A4, F4)
  ~C (F4, D4, F4, D4, F4, A4, F4, A4).
Exercise 10.3.12 Each of the following five
pairs of pitch tuples is related by ~OPC. Connect
each pair by a chain of ~O, ~P, and ~C relations
(or as many of these as are necessary). Are any
pairs related by ~OP, ~OC, or ~PC?47
(a) (0, 4, 7) and (−17, −5, 0, 4, 7, 12, 16)
(b) (0, 0, 7) and (0, −5, 7, −5, 0)
(c) (E♭4, G4, B♭4) and (E♭3, G3, E♭3, B♭2, E♭3, G3, B♭3, E♭3)
(d) (G4, G4, G4, E♭4, F4, F4, F4, D4)
and (D4, E♭4, F4, G4)
(e) (F♭2, A♭2, C♭3, F♭3, G3, B♭3, D♭4, E♭4)
  and (A♭3, B♭3, C♭4, D♭4, E♭4, F♭4, G4, A♭4)
Exercise 10.3.13 Four of the following five
pairs of pitch tuples are related by ~OPTIC.
Connect each such pair by a chain of ~O, ~P, ~T,
~I, and ~C relations (or as many of these as are
necessary). Which pair is not related by ~OPTIC?
Are any pairs related by some combination of
four or fewer relations?48
(a) (0, 4, 7) and (3, 6, 10, 15, 18, 22)
(b) (0, 4, 7, 10) and (−16, −9, −7, −4, 0, 3, 12)
(c) (G4, G4, G4, E♭4, F4, F4, F4, D4)
and (C4, G3, A3, B3, C4, G3, A3, B3, C4)
(d) (A♯3, C♯4, E4, G♯4) and (B♭3, D4, F4, A♭4)
(e)  (B♭1, D5, A♭5, F♭6) and (E♭2, G4, D♭5, A5, E♭6)
Mathematically, cardinality equivalence is the
problem child in the OPTIC family. Even if one
desires to study tuples with no more than three
notes, a proper study of cardinality equivalence
requires considering a space such as cpitch≤3 =​
cpitch1 ∪ cpitch2 ∪ cpitch3, because some pitch
triples with doublings are cardinality-​equivalent
to pitch pairs or single pitches. To be applied in
a useful way, therefore, ~C must be defined on
cpitch* or at least some space cpitch≤n rather
than on a fixed cpitchn. A quotient space involv-
ing cardinality equivalence must somehow fuse
different dimensions, something that is difficult
to fathom geometrically. For example, the pitch
triples (0, 0, 7) and (0, 0.01, 7) lie near each
other in cpitch3, but in C-​space cpitch*/​~C, the
former somehow occupies the same point as the
ordered pair (0, 7) in cpitch2, while the latter
can exist only in three or more dimensions. We
will see in Chapter 12 that while distance mea-
sures in spaces involving cardinality equivalence
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 413
can be defined, they are less intuitive than dis-
tances in the other OPTIC spaces. There are alge-
braic complications as well. Uniquely among the
OPTIC symmetries, cardinality equivalence is
not defined by a group action: no transforma-
tion group maps tuples to all the other tuples to
which they are cardinality-​equivalent.
Exercise 10.3.14 The fuse function maps
a pitch tuple to another tuple to which it is
cardinality-​equivalent—​but this function cannot
belong
   to any transformation group. Why not?49
The good news is that as long as the tuples or
chords under consideration contain no doublings,
C equivalence is immaterial. We will see in Chapter
11 that multisets with doublings often lie on some
sort of boundary of a space, so for example OPC-​
space looks just like OP-​space everywhere except on
that boundary. Moreover, in some low-​dimensional
spaces of interest, especially those involving chords
with no more than three voices, even the boundaries
are less complicated and easier to describe than the
foregoing description may suggest.
The five OPTIC relations may be applied in any
combination. The set of five relations has 25 =​32
subsets, ranging from the empty set to the full
set of five relations. In principle, therefore, 32
different composite equivalence relations may be
imposed on pitch-​tuple space, and 32 different
quotient spaces are formed as a result, ranging
from the full pitch-​tuple space (if no equivalence
relations at all are applied) to the much smaller
OPTIC-​space (in which all five are applied). The
foregoing discussion suggests that some of these
combinations are of greater musical relevance
than others: inversional equivalence is unlikely
to be of much interest without transpositional
equivalence, and cardinality equivalence is usu-
ally applied only in conjunction with permu-
tational equivalence. These restrictions—​ no
I without T, and no C without P—​reduce the
number of possibilities to 18. Table 10.3.15 enu-
merates these 18 quotient spaces and describes

Table 10.3.15. Eighteen quotient spaces of the OPTIC relations (after Callender,
Quinn, and Tymoczko)

no T or I T TI
T-​classes TI-​classes

no P or C pitch-​tuple space: T-​space: TI-​space:

ordered tuples pitch tuples T-​classes of TI-​classes of
pitch tuples pitch tuples

no O P P-​space: PT-​space: PTI-​space:

pitches multisets pitch multisets T-​classes of TI-​classes of
pitch multisets pitch multisets
PC PC-​space: PTC-​space: PTIC-​space:
sets pitch sets T-​classes of TI-​classes of
(chords) pitch sets pitch sets
O O-​space: OT-​space: OTI-​space:
ordered tuples pitch-​class tuples T-​classes of TI-​classes of
pitch-​class tuples pitch-​class tuples
(line species)
O OP OP-​space: OPT-​space: OPTI-​space:
pitch multisets pitch-​class multisets T-​classes of TI-​classes of
classes pitch-​class multisets pitch-​class multisets
(multiset classes)
OPC OPC-​space: OPTC-​space: OPTIC-​space:
sets pitch-​class sets T-​classes of TI-​classes of
pitch-​class sets pitch-​class sets
(chord qualities; (set classes)
chord species)

414 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces

the elements of each.50 Most of the descriptions
simply restate the definitions of the equivalence
relations or recast them in other familiar terms.
The names “line species” and “chord species” will
be used in our study of scales in Chapter 13.
In analytical work we often switch, tacitly and
with little effort, from one type of space to another.
When we speak of major triads and half-​dimin-
ished seventh chords we are talking about objects
in OPTC-​space. When we describe the relationship
between the pitch-​class sets {G, G♯, B} and {D♭, E,
F} in the opening measures of Schoenberg’s Piano
Piece, Op. 11, No. 1, we are working in OP-​ or OPC-​
space, but when we describe properties of the set
class 014 we are talking about an element of OPTIC-​
space. If by the “Tristan chord” we mean specifically
the chord {F3, B3, D♯4, G♯4}, then the Tristan chord is
a pitch set, an element of PC-​space.51
Exercise 10.3.16
(a) If we speak of a category of chords such as
“major triads with a doubled root” or “half-​
diminished seventh chords with a doubled
third,” we are implicitly referring to an
object in which quotient space? What if we
speak more specifically about “a C-​major
triad with a doubled root” or “an eø7 chord
with a doubled third”?
(b) The opening attack in the last movement of
Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major, D. 956,
consists of a doubled G2, a doubled G3, a single
G4, and a single G5. The preceding sentence
describes an object in which quotient space?
(c) The opening melody of Chopin’s Sonata
in B Minor, Op. 58, begins with the notes
G–​F♯–​D–​B–​F♯. The preceding sentence
describes an object in which space? What if
we instead describe the melody as G5–​F♯5–​
D5–​B4–​F♯4? As 6–̂ ​5̂–​3̂–​1̂–​5̂ in a minor key?
(d) The chords (pitch sets) {F3, B3, D♯4, G♯4} and
{F3, B♭3, D3, A♭4} are related by inversion
in pitch space. Both of these chords are
therefore represented by the same element
  of which quotient space?
OPC-​, OPTC-​, and OPTIC-​space, which appear
in the last row of Table 10.3.15, have intuitive
appeal as spaces of pitch-​class sets, chord quali-
ties (T-​classes of pitch-​class sets), and set classes,
respectively. The anomalous behavior of cardinal-
ity equivalence unfortunately makes the struc-
ture of these spaces complex and mathematically
intractable, and the Callender-​Quinn-​Tymoczko
model does not describe them completely. The
simpler OP-​, OPT-​, and OPTI-​space in the row
immediately above capture the same concepts in
a less complete way, without allowing for cardinal-
ity change—​but these “non-​C ” spaces exhibit geo-
metric structure of great elegance and beauty, and
it is these spaces that will be the primary focus of
our study in Chapter 11. The effect of this restric-
tion is that we can consider only a single cardi-
nality at a time and that we must allow for the
possibility of multisets containing doubled notes.
10.4 NORMAL FORMS IN
OPTIC SPACES
Students of pitch-​class set theory are taught to
represent set classes using prime forms. En route to
calculating a prime form, one generally determines
a normal order (or normal form) for the set. The
normal-​order calculation involves reducing pitches
to pitch classes, eliminating repetitions, and reor-
dering the pitch classes following an algorithm to
optimize the spans between notes, ensuring that
they are “packed to the left” as much as possible.
These steps invoke O, P, and C equivalence. The nor-
mal order, in fact, stands for an OPC equivalence
class: two pitch tuples will have the same normal
order if and only if they are OPC-​equivalent. To cal-
culate the prime form one takes the normal order
and performs additional steps invoking T​ and I
equivalence: transposing the normal order to start
with 0, repeating the calculation for an inverted
form of the set, and comparing the two candidates
by the span-​optimization criteria. The prime form
thus represents an OPTIC equivalence class.
The concepts of normal order and prime form
can be extended to define what we will call a
normal form for a pitch tuple under any possible
combination of the OPTIC relations. These gen-
eralized normal forms become convenient names
for OPTIC equivalence classes of all types: just as
an OPC normal form may be used as the name for
an OPC-​class, we may use OT normal forms, PTI
normal forms, OPTC normal forms, and so on, as
names for the corresponding equivalence classes.
These less familiar normal forms are potentially
useful in a variety of analytical and theoretical sit-
uations. In Chapter 11 we will use normal forms
as an aid in identifying fundamental regions, and
also to label the points of various OPTIC spaces.
An elementary application arises, for example,
when examining the trichords of prime form
014 in “Nacht” from Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire
(some of which were studied in Exercise 1.4.25).
These trichords are of two types: the “014 type,”
transpositionally related to the prime form, and
the “034 type,” inversionally related to the prime
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 415
form. The informal language of the preceding
sentence is potentially confusing: there are 24
trichords of prime form 014, but only twelve of
them are of the “014 type”—​and if 034 is not a
prime form, what is it? Generalized normal forms
allow us to clarify what we mean: [0, 1, 4]OPTIC, as
we shall write it, is the OPTIC normal form for a
class of 24 trichords, but those trichords have two
different OPTC normal forms, [0, 1, 4]OPTC and [0,
3, 4]OPTC. In mm. 1–​2, for example, the trichords
E1–​G1–​E♭1 and G1–​E♭1–​G♭1 both have the OPTIC
normal form [0, 1, 4]OPTIC, but while E1–​G1–​E♭1
has the OPTC normal form [0, 1, 4]OPTC, G1–​
E♭1–​G♭1 has the OPTC normal form [0, 3, 4]OPTC,
because without appealing to inversion it can be
reduced to [0, 3, 4] but nothing simpler. (Neither
trichord includes any pitch-​class repetitions, so
C equivalence is irrelevant in these calculations;
the OPTIC normal forms are also OPTI normal
forms, and OPTC normal forms match OPT nor-
mal forms.)
We use square brackets to denote normal
forms. For example, while αOPT denotes the OPT
equivalence class of a pitch tuple α, the OPT nor-
mal form of α, a particular representative of the
class αOPT, is denoted [α]OPT. When tuples are
written numerically, a notation such as [0, 3,
4]OPT indicates that the tuple inside the brackets
is the normal form. We might write, for exam-
ple, (7, 3, 6)OPT to stand for the entire OPT-​class
of which the triple (7, 3, 6) is a member; many
other notations for that class are possible, but
only [0, 3, 4]OPT is its normal form. A bracketed
tuple such as [0, 3, 4] without a subscript indi-
cates that the tuple is some sort of normal form,
presumably clear from the context.
For convenience we will use terms such as
O+​ space and non-​O space. By an O+​ space we
mean any OPTIC space whose defining equiva-
lence relations include ~O and possibly others;
a non-​O space is any OPTIC space whose defin-
ing equivalence relations do not include ~O. Thus
OPC-​space is an example of an O+​space and also
a non-​T space, while PTI-​space is an example of
a T+​space and also a non-​O space. We may com-
bine these descriptors, referring for instance to
a PC+​, non-​O space, meaning any OPTIC space
whose defining relations include ~P and ~C but
not ~O . Analogously we may refer to O+​ normal
forms, non-​T normal forms, and so on.
The various normal forms of a pitch tuple α =​
(a1, a2, …, an) may be calculated by applying steps
1–​7 in the order given below. These calculations are
illustrated in Table 10.4.1 with the 32 normal forms
of the 7-​tuple α =​(−5, −11, 14, 9, 14, 14, 2). Most
416 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
parts of the algorithm are familiar from the calcula-
tion of the usual normal order and prime form; the
subtleties arise in the decisions about what needs
to be done, and in what order, when some of the
OPTIC relations are in force and others are not.
Calculations involving octave, permutational, and
cardinality equivalence, as in the usual normal order,
are performed first, in steps 1–​5. Transpositional
and inversional equivalence are saved for steps
6–​7, but step 7 for ~I requires revisiting steps 1–​5
for an inversionally related tuple in order to choose
between two competing candidates. Because the
procedure is designed for application in continuous
spaces, it is applicable to all tuples in ℝn, interpreted
as pitch tuples in cpitchn. Steps not applicable for
the normal form under consideration are to be dis-
regarded. For example, step 1, for O+​normal forms,
should be skipped in a non-​O context.52
Steps 4 and 5 require choosing among two
or more candidates in such a way that a cer-
tain quantity (either a number representing a
note or an interval between two notes) is “opti-
mized.” This word is interpreted as follows. If
the quantities being compared are real num-
bers, “optimized” means “minimized in absolute
value”—​that is, of the available candidates, we
should choose the number that is as close to 0
as possible. If facing a choice between a posi-
tive and a negative number equally far from 0,
choose the positive number. (For example, −3
is preferred over −5; −5 is preferred over 6; 3 is
preferred over −3.) If the quantities being com-
pared are numbers mod 12, “optimized” means
“as close to 0 as possible in the ascending direc-
tion”—​that is, measured clockwise in the usual
clock diagram. (For example, 4 is preferred over
6; 6 is preferred over 7; 9 is preferred over 11.)
Steps involving ~O, ~P, and ~C:
1. 
If calculating an O+​normal form, reduce all
components to numbers mod 12, writing them
in the range 0 ≤ ai < 12. For an O+​ normal
form, this step immediately reduces the real
numbers to real numbers mod 12, and all
subsequent calculations are then performed
mod 12, with tuples in (ℝ12)n. (In some cases
the initial tuple may be presented as a tuple
of pitch classes rather than pitches; then an
O+​normal form is assumed, and the notes
should be written as mod-​ 12 numbers
throughout the calculation.)
2. 
If calculating a P+​normal form, arrange the
components in ascending order: a1 ≤ a2 ≤ ⋯
≤ an. In a P+​, non-​O normal form, these
components are real numbers representing
Table 10.4.1. The 32 normal forms of the pitch tuple α =​(−5, −11, 14, 9, 14, 14, 2)

N OR M A L F OR M PRO C E D UR E

Normal forms involving O, P, and C only

α       =​ (−5, −11, 14, 9, 14, 14, 2) initial pitch tuple α =​(a1, a2, …, an)
[α]O     =​[7, 1, 2, 9, 2, 2, 2] apply step 1 to α: reduce all components mod 12
[α]P      =​[−11, −5, 2, 9, 14, 14, 14] apply step 2 to α: arrange components in ascending order
[α]C  =​[−5, −11, 14, 9, 14, 2] apply step 3 to α: fuse immediate repetitions
[α]OP    =​ [7, 9, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2] apply step 2 to [α]O: arrange ascending; rotate/​optimize by step 4
     =​GAC♯DDDD (normal order of α as a pitch-​class multiset)
[α]OC  =​[7, 1, 2, 9, 2] apply step 3 to fuse [α]O
[α]PC       =​[−11, −5, 2, 9, 14] apply step 3 to fuse [α]P
[α]OPC  = [7, 9, 1, 2] apply step 3 to fuse [α]OP; rotate/​optimize by step 4
     = GAC♯D (normal order of α as a pitch-​class set)
Normal forms involving T but not I
[α]T      =​[0, −6, 19, 14, 19, 19, 7] apply step 6 to α: transpose in pitch space so a1 =​0
[α]OT   =​[0, 6, 7, 2, 7, 7, 7] apply step 6 to [α]O: transpose in pc space so a1 =​0
[α]PT     =​[0, 6, 13, 20, 25, 25, 25] apply step 6 to [α]P: transpose in pitch space so a1 =​0
[α]TC    =​[0, −6, 19, 14, 19, 7] apply step 6 to [α]C: transpose in pitch space so a1 =​0
[α]OPT   =​[0, 2, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7] apply step 6 to [α]OP: transpose in pc space so a1 =​0
(T type of α as a pitch-​class multiset)
[α]OTC   =​[0, 6, 7, 2, 7] apply step 6 to [α]OC: transpose in pc space so a1 =​0
[α]PTC     =​[0, 6, 13, 20, 25] apply step 6 to [α]PC: transpose in pitch space so a1 =​0
[α]OPTC = ​[0, 2, 6, 7] apply step 6 to [α]OPC: transpose in pc space so a1 =​0
(T type of α as a pitch-​class set)
Normal forms involving I but not T
[α]I     =​[5, 11, −14, −9, −14, −14, −2] step 7: compare α and I(α); choose a1 > 0 by step 5
[α]OI    =​[5, 11, 10, 3, 10, 10, 10] step 7: compare [α]O and [I(α)]O; optimize a1 by step 5
[α]PI   =​ [−14, −14, −14, −9, −2, 5, 11] step 7: compare [α]P and [I(α)]P; optimize spans by step 4
[α]IC =​[5, 11, −14, −9, −14, −2] step 7: compare [α]C and [I(α)]C; choose a1 > 0 by step 5
[α]OPI =​[10, 10, 10, 10, 11, 3, 5] step 7: compare [α]OP and [I(α)]OP; optimize spans by step 4
[α]OIC =​[5, 11, 10, 3, 10] step 7: compare [α]OC and [I(α)]OC; optimize a1 by step 5
[α]PIC =​[−14, −9, −2, 5, 11] step 7: compare [α]PC and [I(α)]PC; optimize spans by step 4
[α]OPIC =​[10, 11, 3, 5] step 7: compare [α]OPC and [I(α)]OPC; optimize spans by step 4
Normal forms involving T and I
[α]TI   =​ [0, 6, −19, −14, −19, −19, −7] step 7: compare [α]T and [I(α)]T ; choose a2 > 0 by step 5
[α]OTI =​[0, 6, 5, 10, 5, 5, 5] step 7: compare [α]OT and [I(α)]OT ; optimize a3 by step 5
[α]PTI  =​[0, 0, 0, 5, 12, 19, 25] step 7: compare [α]PT and [I(α)]PT ; optimize spans by step 4
[α]TIC =​[0, 6, −19, −14, −19, −7] step 7: compare [α]TC and [I(α)]TC ; choose a2 > 0 by step 5
[α]OPTI =​[0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 5, 7] step 7: compare [α]OPT and [I(α)]OPT ; optimize spans by step 4
(TI type of α as a pitch-​class multiset)
[α]OTIC =​[0, 6, 5, 10, 5] step 7: compare [α]OTC and [I(α)]OTC ; optimize a3 by step 5
[α]PTIC  =​[0, 5, 12, 19, 25] step 7: compare [α]PTC and [I(α)]PTC; optimize spans by step 4
[α]OPTIC  = [0, 1, 5, 7] step 7: compare [α]OPTC and [I(α)]OPTC; optimize spans by step 4
(TI type of α as a pitch-​class set; traditional prime form of α)

Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 417

 pitches. In an OP+​ normal form, the com-
ponents will already have been reduced in
step 1 to mod-​12 numbers representing
pitch classes. In step 2 they should simply
be arranged in ascending order between 0
and 12; rotations of this arrangement will
be considered in step 4. (In some cases the
initial collection may be presented as an
unordered set or multiset rather than as
an ordered tuple; then a P+​normal form
is assumed, and the components should be
arranged in ascending order in step 2.)
3. 
If calculating a C+​normal form, apply the
fuse function, reducing the cardinality of
the tuple as appropriate, to ensure that no
two consecutive components are identi-
cal. In a PC+​normal form, identical com-
ponents will already have been grouped
together by step 2, so step 3 will eliminate
all duplications. In a C+​, non-​P normal
form, nonconsecutive duplications may
remain. For tuples with no duplicated
pitch classes, step 3 has no effect, and
every C+​normal form will be the same as
the corresponding non-​C normal form.
4. 
Span-​ optimization tiebreaker (P+​normal
forms only): When necessary, choose
among the candidates for a P+​normal form
by the following procedure: first choose
the candidate(s) for which the difference
an − a1 is optimized (as defined above); if
ties remain, choose the candidate(s) for
which an−1 − a1 is optimized; and so on.53
This step, which implements the “packed-​
to-​left” criterion, is applicable only in a P+​
context, so the components will already
have been arranged in ascending order in
step 2. For an OP+​normal form, where the
components are mod-​12 numbers, all rota-
tions (cyclic permutations) of the ascend-
ing order must be compared in this way.
For a non-​O normal form whose compo-
nents are real numbers, there are no com-
peting candidates at the first pass through
step 4, but in the case of PI+​normal forms,
even in a non-​O context, step 7 will require
a second pass through the span-​optimiza-
tion tiebreaker in order to compare two
inversionally related candidates.
5. 
First-​note tiebreaker (if necessary): If the
previous steps fail to produce a unique nor-
mal form, choose the candidate whose first
component a1 is optimized. If necessary,
consider subsequent components a2, a3, …
by the same criteria until the tie is resolved.
418 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
Steps involving ~T and ~I:
6. 
If calculating a T+​normal form, first use steps
1–​5 to calculate the normal form on the
basis of all applicable relations among ~O ,
~P , and ~C ; then transpose the tuple so that
its first component is a1 =​0. In a T+​, non-​O
normal form, this transposition takes place
in pitch space, so the components are real
numbers; in an OT+​normal form the trans-
position takes place in pitch-​ class space
and all components remain numbers mod
12. Every T+​normal form begins with 0. (A
non-​T normal form can begin with 0 only
incidentally, if the first component deter-
mined by other criteria happens to be 0.)
7. 
If calculating an I+​normal form, first use
steps 1–​6 to calculate the two normal forms
[α] and [I(α)] on the basis of all applicable
relations except ~I; then choose between the
two using the tiebreakers in step 4 (for PI+​
normal forms) and, if necessary, step 5.
The 7-​tuple in Table 10.4.1 has been chosen
deliberately, if artificially, so that all 32 of its nor-
mal forms are distinct (a property satisfied by only
a small percentage of pitch tuples). Notes summa-
rizing each calculation are included in the table.
Several of the normal forms, as indicated, may be
described in somewhat familiar ways: [α]OP, [α]OPT,
and [α]OPTI may be called, respectively, the normal
order, T type, and TI type of α as a pitch-​class mul-
tiset, while [α]OPC, [α]OPTC, and [α]OPTIC are the
corresponding forms of α as a pitch-​class set.54
For the non-​T, non-​I normal forms listed in the
top section of the table, the numbers appearing
in the normal forms are pitch numbers (in non-​O
normal forms) or pitch-​class numbers (in O+​ nor-
mal forms). As soon as either T or I equivalence
is introduced, actual pitches or pitch classes are
no longer discernible from the normal form. For
O+​normal forms whose coordinates are integers,
familiar conventions may be observed such as
omitting commas, spaces, and brackets, and writ-
ing t and e for 10 and 11. In OP and OPC normal
forms in particular, it is often convenient to replace
the numbers with pitch-​class names. For example,
the 5-​tuple (2, 6, 8, 10, 14) has the OP normal
form (2, 2, 6, 8, 10), which could be written 2268t
or DDF♯A♭B♭, and the OPC normal form (6, 8, 10,
2), which could be written 68t2 or F♯A♭B♭D. In this
case the span-​optimization tiebreaker produces
a different ordering when the doubling is elimi-
nated: (2, 2, 6, 8, 10) is preferred over (6, 8, 10, 2,
2), but (6, 8, 10, 2) is preferred over (2, 6, 8, 10).
FIGURE 10.4.2 Lattice of normal forms of the pitch tuple α =​(−5, −11, 14, 9, 14, 14, 2)
 The 32 normal forms in Table 10.4.1 are dis-
played another way in Figure 10.4.2. This graph
takes the form of a subset lattice for the set {O,
P, T, I, C}, similar in concept to the lattice from
Figure 3.4.6a. The complete set of relations is dis-
played in the OPTIC normal form (prime form)
at the bottom of the lattice, while the empty set
(no equivalences at all—​that is, the original pitch
tuple) appears at the top. The lattice shows the
hierarchical structure of the composite relations
more clearly than the table. One consequence of
this hierarchy is that normal forms may be calcu-
lated progressively, adding one new relation at a
time, as detailed in Exercise 10.4.5 below.
Exercise 10.4.3 In order for all of the 32
normal forms of α in Table 10.4.1 to be
different, it is necessary that the sixteen I+​
normal forms in the lower half of the table be
the same as the corresponding non-​I normal
forms of the tuple I(α) =​(5, 11, −14, −9, −14,
−14, −2) rather than the corresponding non-​I
normal forms of α itself (which appear in the
top half of the table). Confirm the entries in
the lower half of the table by carrying out the
calculation of all the non-​I normal forms of
I(α) and verifying that all sixteen of them win
the tiebreakers (from steps 4 and 5) over the
corresponding
   normal forms of α.
Exercise 10.4.4 Calculate the 32 normal forms
of  
the 6-​tuple (−5, −5, 4, 1, 7, −5).55
Exercise 10.4.5 For the α of Table 10.4.1 and
Figure 10.4.2, suppose we wish to calculate
normal forms by adding relations in the order T,
P, C, I, O. Let α1 =​[α]T, α2 =​[α]PT, α3 =​[α]PTC, α4
=​ [α]PTIC, and α5 =​[α]OPTIC.
(a) Show that [α1]PT =​ α2. That is, if we have
already calculated the T normal form for α,
in order to calculate the PT normal form we
may start with the T normal form instead of
starting with α itself.
(b) Continuing in this way, verify that [α2]PTC =​
α3, [α3]PTIC =​ α4, and [α4]OPTIC =​ α5.
(c) Show also that [α1]PTIC =​ α4 and [α3]OPTIC =​
α5. The general principle illustrated here is
that if X and Y are subsets of {O, P, T, I, C}
and if X ⊂ Y, then [[α]X]Y =​[α]Y : calculation
of the normal form based on the larger set
of relations (Y) may begin with calculation of
the normal form based on the smaller set (X).
(d) Since ~T was considered in the calculation of
α1 =​[α]T, one might suppose that in order
420 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
to calculate α2 =​[α]PT, it should suffice to
calculate the P normal form of α1. Show that
this supposition is false by showing that [α1]P
≠ α2, and moreover that [α1]P is not the same
as any of the 32 normal forms of α. In general,
when calculating [[α]X]Y, it is important that
all the relations in Y be considered, including
those that were considered previously in the
calculation of [α]X.
(e) Show that [α4]PT =​ α4 and [α5]PTC =​ α5.
Generally, if X ⊂ Y, then [[α]Y]X =​[α]Y : every Y
  normal form is also its own X normal form.
Exercise 10.4.6 Consider the eight ordered
trichords from Schoenberg’s “Nacht” listed
below. Make a table showing the O, P, OP, T,
OT, PT, OPT, and OPTI normal form of each.
All the OPTI normal forms are the same, and
because the trichords contain no repeated
notes, there is no need to consider C+​ normal
forms. Whenever two or more trichords share
a normal form, verify that they are indeed
related by the appropriate relations, and also
verify that they share all other normal forms
that include those relations (for example, if two
trichords share an OT normal form, then they
should be OT-​equivalent, and they should also
share an OPT normal form).
(a) (E1, G1, E♭1) (m. 1, piano)
(b) (B♭1, G♭1, A1) (mm. 1–​2, piano)
(c) (E3, G3, E♭3) (m. 4 or m. 8, bass clarinet, or
m. 10, voice)
(d) (B♭2, A2, G♭3) (mm. 5–​6, bass clarinet, or mm.
6–​7, cello)
(e) (G3, B♭3, G♭3) (m. 8, bass clarinet)
(f) (E♭4, D4, B3) (m. 16, voice)
(g) (E2, G2, E♭3) (m. 17, cello)
(h)  (D5, B♭4, D♭5) (m. 19, piano)
Exercise 10.4.7 An example in Section 10.3
compared the chords β =​(−12, −5, 0, 4, 7, 10, 16,
22, 28) and ω =​(−7, −1, 3, 8) from Beethoven’s
Symphony No. 1 and Wagner’s Tristan
respectively. These tuples share the prime form
(OPTIC normal form) [β]OPTIC =​[ω]OPTIC =​0258,
but they differ in all of the other 31 normal
forms. Calculate the OPC, OPT, OPTC, OPIC, and
   normal forms of both tuples.56
OPTI
Exercise 10.4.8 The pulsing dominant ninth
chord that introduces the E-​minor theme in the
development section of the first movement of
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (mm. 280–​82) is ε =​
(B1, B2, F♯3, A3, C4, D♯4), or (−25, −13, −6, −3, 0, 3).
Each of the following tuples is the normal form
of ε under some subset of the OPTIC relations.
Identify an appropriate combination of
relations in each case. In some cases more than
one combination may be possible.
(a) [0, 12, 19, 22, 25, 28]
(b) [0, 3, 6, 9, 16, 28]
(c) [0, 1, 3, 6, 9]
(d) [0, 2, 3, 6, 9]
(e) [0, 1, 1, 3, 6, 9]
(f) [0, 2, 2, 3, 6, 9]
(g) ABCD♯F♯
(h)  ABBCD♯F♯
NOTES
1. See, for example, Roeder 1994, Straus 2003, and
Straus 2005b. While Straus’s techniques of “transfor-
mational voice leading” have yielded valuable analyti-
cal insights, it is fair to note that in the most literal
senses of the terms they often involve neither trans-
formations nor voice leading. “Fuzzy” transposition
and inversion operators are relations, not transfor-
mations, because a given operator, applied to a given
input, does not produce a uniquely determined out-
put. “Transformational voice leading” relates a note
in one chord to a note in another chord to which it
is mapped (possibly fuzzily) by the appropriate opera-
tion, which may or may not be the note to which it
moves by “voice leading” in the traditional sense.
2. Relevant publications prior to 2008 include Cohn
2003, Callender 2004, and Tymoczko 2006 (which intro-
duces the OP-​spaces, a subfamily of the OPTIC spaces).
Preliminary aspects of the CQT work were presented at
the John Clough Memorial Conference at the University
of Chicago in 2005 and in a special session at the Society
for Music Theory annual meeting in 2007.
3. As a matter of graphical convenience, Figure
10.1.1 shows x, y, and z axes intersecting not at the
usual origin (0, 0, 0) of a three-​dimensional coordinate
system, but at the point (11, 3, 7) corresponding to
the B-​augmented triad. The axes correctly show the
directions of motion possible in the three mutually
perpendicular dimensions.
4. This use of the word lattice is distinct from
the directed graphs known as lattices, discussed in
Section 3.4.
5. Other sorts of expressions such as x2, 2x, xy, or
log x are not permissible in linear equations.
6. The simpler formula z =​ y =​ x (which also incor-
porates two independent linear equations) corre-
sponds to a line parallel to the central axis. While the
line z =​ y +​4 =​x +​8 passes through the point (0, 4,
8), the line z =​ y =​ x passes through the true origin
of the coordinate system, (0, 0, 0). In general, a line
parallel to the central axis of Figure 10.1.1 and passing
through a point (a, b, c) is given by the formula z =​ y +​
(c − b) =​ x +​(c − a).
7. Hint for Exercise 10.1.5: Both equations are very
simple, and neither of them involves the variable x.
8. This redundant system, in which n-​dimensional
coordinates are used to plot points in an (n − 1)-​
dimensional space, is a form of what are sometimes
called simplicial coordinates.
9. Hints for Exercise 10.1.6: The picture for (a) should
be a triangle the same size as Figure 10.1.4 whose cor-
ners are the three minor triads from Figure 10.1.1. The
picture for (b) is a smaller triangle; one of its corners
is the point (11, 31 2 , 7). The picture for (c) is not a tri-
angle but something more complex. Observe that all
of the following points have coordinates that sum to
101 2 : (11, 31 2 , 8), (111 2 , 3, 8), (0, 3, 71 2 ), (0, 31 2 , 7),
(111 2 , 4, 7), (11, 4, 71 2 ), and (111 2 , 31 2 , 71 2 ).
10. A detailed understanding of vectors is not
essential here, but loosely speaking, the vector (1, 1,
1) may be thought of as a movable arrow pointing
straight up in Figure 10.1.1, parallel to the central
axis. If the tail of the vector is placed at (11, 3, 7), its
tip will be at (0, 4, 8). The vector’s coordinates (all 1s
in this case) are the same as the coefficients in the lin-
ear equations for the sum-​class planes (x +​ y +​ z =​ d
for various values of d). In general, a vector with coor-
dinates (a, b, c) is orthogonal to a plane given by the
equation ax +​ by +​ cz =​ d.
11. Hints for Exercise 10.1.7: The coordinates of the
second point (113 4 , 31 2 , 73 4 ) sum to 11 (mod 12), so
you should be able to locate this point somewhere in
the plane of Figure 10.1.4. It is not one of the points
labeled in that figure, but lies midway between two
labeled points. Having located this point in Figure
10.1.4, find the corresponding location in the sum-​
class-​ 11 plane of Figure 10.1.1. The other point,
(111 4 , 3, 71 4 ), must lie on a vertical line (parallel to the
central axis) somewhere directly below the first point
you located. This point also lies on the face of the cube
defined by the equation y =​3, and on a boundary of
the sum-​class-​91 2 plane that you drew in Exercise
10.1.6b.
12. Geometric interpretations of parallel and zero-​
sum voice leading are discussed in Tymoczko 2011,
81–​85. Tymoczko refers to zero-​sum voice leading as
“pure contrary motion.” This term is apt when only
two voices are moving but less so when there are more
than two, which is why we prefer the “zero-​sum” name.
13. In Figure 10.1.8, the straight-​line path and
the two components may all be regarded as vectors.
The straight-​line path is the vector (1, 0, 1), which is
the sum of the parallel component ( 2 3 , 2 3 , 2 3 ) and the
zero-​sum component ( 1 3 , –​ 2 3 , 1 3 ).
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 421
 14. Hints for Exercise 10.1.9: Although α and β
always lie in (or on the boundary of) the cube, in some
cases γ may lie outside the cube. The chords given in
part (d) are the same as those in Figure 10.1.8, but the
roles of α and β are reversed, and γ will be different.
15. Hint for Exercise 10.1.10: To be related to α by
parallel voice leading, γ must be of the form (xα +​ r, yα +​
r, zα +​ r) for some number r. You must determine what
value of r will put γ in the same sum-​class plane with β.
16. Hints for Exercise 10.2.2: For part (b), there
are three integer possibilities for the x coordinate of
a chord (x =​11, 0, or 1), and likewise three possibili-
ties each for y and z, so the total number of lattice
points must be 3 ∙ 3 ∙ 3. For (c), note that the x, y, and
z ranges for the cube do not overlap, so for example a
chord in the cube cannot contain two notes from the
set {11, 0, 1}.
17. Hints for Exercise 10.2.3: To get from c♯ to
the nearest point on the central axis, the shortest
path is horizontal (perpendicular to the axis), and
therefore a zero-​ sum voice leading—​ so the near-
est point must share the same sum class with the
triad c♯. In three-​ dimensional space ℝ3, the dis-
tance between two points (x1, y1, z1) and (x2, y2, z2)
is ( x2 − x1 )2 + ( y2 − y1 )2 + ( z2 − z1 )2. This exercise
assumes a traditional Euclidean understanding of
distance in ℝ3; in Chapter 12 we will consider some
alternative ways of measuring distance in this space.
18. The spelling in Figure 10.2.5 is Fauré’s. The geo-
metric structure under consideration here does not
depend on spelling; the analysis treats the chords as
pitch-​class sets, effectively disregarding both spelling
and chord inversion.
19. Hook 2013 includes the Barcarolle example
as a supplement to a study of a passage from Fauré’s
String Quartet, Op. 121, the latter illustrating motion
through a four-​dimensional chord space.
20. A chord in the top cube is a T4 transposition
of the corresponding chord in the bottom cube, but
the sum classes traverse an entire octave in between.
When a three-​note chord is transposed by T1, its sum
class increases by 3; thus the T4 and T8 transpositions
belong to the same sum class as the original chord.
21. Hint for Exercise 10.2.13: Consider whether the
xyz coordinate system relates in a consistent way to
the triads in the cube chain, and whether the graph
depicts a voice-​leading space according to the criteria
described earlier in this chapter.
22. In both parts of Figure 10.2.11, the cubes them-
selves appear somewhat distended; in some published
versions of the Cube Dance graph they are stretched to
the point of being unrecognizable as cubes. Assuming
perfect cubes identical in size, the construction shown
in the figure is not physically possible in three-​dimen-
sional space without the cubes intersecting each other.
422 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
23. Dmitri Tymoczko has critiqued the tonnetz at
some length on these grounds. See the brief discussion in
Appendix C of Tymoczko 2011; see also Tymoczko 2009b
for further exploration of related topics, and Tymoczko
2012 for a detailed study of the relationship between gen-
eralized tonnetz graphs and voice-​leading spaces.
24. Hint for Exercise 10.2.14b: The voice-​leading
distance between two chords should be defined as
the smallest possible total number of semitones of
motion required to get from one chord to the other.
In moving from a C-​major triad to a D-​minor triad, for
example, one could move the voices either up or down
to the nearest available note; in this case moving up
requires five semitones of motion while moving down
requires seven, so the voice-​leading distance is 5. In
some cases, such as C major and E major, the most effi-
cient voice leading may require one voice to move up
while another moves down; both must be counted, so
the voice-​leading distance in that case is 2. The voice-​
leading distance and other related distance measures
will be studied in more detail in Chapter 12.
25. Hint for Exercise 10.2.14d: The greatest distance
that any one voice may need to move is 6 semitones.
Can you find a pair of multisets requiring that all three
voices move 6 semitones?
26. Tymoczko (2011, 36) refers to pitch tuples as
“basic musical objects.”
27. Hint for Exercise 10.3.1: Only two of the state-
ments are true.
28. Some area and volume calculations in OPTIC
spaces will be considered in Chapter 12. A 12 × 12
× 12 cube—​a cubic octave—​is much larger than the
cubes in Figure 10.2.1 and the other figures presented
previously in this chapter, which are cubic semitones
measuring only a single unit on each side. All of
Figure 10.2.1 would fit inside a 5 × 5 × 5 cube, tilted
along with the coordinate system employed there.
Remember that many of the relationships discussed
in conjunction with that figure involved something
other than octave equivalence.
29. To account for the boundary points precisely
in the present example, the fundamental region for
octave equivalence may be defined to consist of triples
(s1, s2, s3) such that s1, s2, and s3 are greater than or equal
to 0 but strictly less than 12. Points on region boundar-
ies are often exceptional in some way, and for most
purposes we may simply call them “boundary points”
without worrying about whether they are elements of
the region or not.
30. This is a slightly different application of the
cycle notation in comparison with Example 6.1.13,
where the elements appearing in the cycles were the
objects being permuted rather than numbers speci-
fying the positions of those objects in a tuple. When
a fixed set of n objects is permuted, the same n!
permutations may be obtained either by permuting
the objects themselves or by permuting their order
positions. We observed this principle in the case of
twelve-​tone rows in Section 9.6, where the two groups
were called 𝒮12p and 𝒮12o; the two groups are dual to
each other in the sense described in Theorem 7.5.24.
The order-​position permutations employed here allow
for the greater generality required in the present situ-
ation, in which the components of an ordered triple
will not always be the same three objects but can be
any real numbers at all.
31. Hint for Exercise 10.3.2: Four of the statements
are true. If two points with doublings are permuta-
tionally equivalent, more than one permutation will
map one to the other. In part (b) there are two such
permutations, a 2-​cycle and a 3-​cycle.
32. In the case of OP-​equivalent pitch tuples, a sin-
gle intermediate tuple can always be found; that is, σ
~OP τ if and only if there exists some tuple μ such that
σ ~O μ and μ ~P τ. The general definition of composite
equivalence relations of this sort, however, requires
that chains of arbitrary length be considered.
33. Hint for Exercise 10.3.4: Four of the statements
are true.
34. We know from Chapter 7 that transposition
may be defined in any interval space, including prod-
uct spaces such as cpitch3. This generalized defini-
tion allows for transposition through any interval (r,
s, t) whose components are not necessarily the same,
and in this sense (as in any interval space) any two
elements are related by some transposition. To be
transpositionally equivalent in the sense defined in
this chapter, elements of cpitch3 must be related by
a transposition of the form (r, r, r).
35. The continuous symmetry groups {Tr} and
{Tr, Ir} described in this section are both examples of
Lie groups (pronounced “Lee”), a class of groups having
both algebraic and topological structure.
36. Figure 10.2.1 appears to show two different
sum-​class-​0 planes, but in cpitch3 there is only one.
(If the discussion in Section 10.2 suggested otherwise,
it is because we sidestepped questions of octave equiv-
alence at that time.) If the C-​augmented triad near the
bottom of Figure 10.2.1 has coordinates (0, 4, 8), then
the E-​augmented triad at the top will have coordinates
(4, 8, 12). These two triads lie in planes corresponding
to sum classes 12 and 24, respectively; the true sum-​
class-​0 plane lies below the bottom of the picture.
37. Hint for Exercise 10.3.5: Only one statement is
true. Remember that this exercise involves transpo-
sitional equivalence only; two tuples are not trans-
positionally equivalent if other operations such as
permutation or octave displacements of individual
notes are also required in order to express the rela-
tionship between them.
38. Hint for Exercise 10.3.6: Remember that in
cpitch3, the sum class of (0, 4, 8) is 12, not 0. Even
if a pitch triple has integer coordinates, its transpo-
sitional equivalent in the sum-​class-​0 plane may not.
39. Hint for Exercise 10.3.7: Many different chains
of ~O , ~P , and ~T relations are possible; the three
may be combined in any order. You may find it easi-
est to start with ~T : find a transposition of one of
the given tuples that contains the pitch classes of the
other tuple.
40. In the generalized inversion terminology from
Section 7.6, the inversion I on cpitch3 is the same as
the inversion Inv[u]i, where u is the referential pitch
triple (0, 0, 0) in cpitch3 and i is the interval (0, 0, 0)
in the interval group ℝ3.
41. The choice of C4 as the axis of inversion in the
definition of ~I is arbitrary. One could define an inver-
sion operator on cpitch3 that inverts about any other
fixed pitch, giving rise to an alternate definition of ~I.
Each pitch triple would still have a unique inversion,
and the resulting form of inversional equivalence would
be just as limited in application as the relation that we
have defined. The relation of TI equivalence would be
unaffected by the change; the definition of ~I depends
on the arbitrary choice of axis, but the definition of ~TI
does not.
42. Hint for Exercise 10.3.8: Three of the statements
are true as written; one of those remains true if ~TI is
replaced with ~I. Remember that two tuples are not
TI-​equivalent if octave or permutational equivalence
must be invoked to relate them. The two tuples in one
part of this exercise, however, are both permutation-
ally equivalent and TI-​equivalent. What special prop-
erty of this tuple makes this possible?
43. Hint for Exercise 10.3.9: One pair is related by
~OPT and two others by ~PTI; only one pair requires all
four relations. In constructing chains of equivalences
you may find it easiest to take the OPTI relations in
reverse order, starting with I, as in the example pre-
ceding the exercise.
44. Twelve-​tone rows are often treated as elements
of OC-​space, in that octave displacements and imme-
diate note repetitions are disregarded—​an otherwise
rather uncommon situation in which cardinality
equivalence is invoked without permutational equiva-
lence. The OPTIC relations do not account for all the
symmetries of twelve-​tone theory studied in Sections
9.5 and 9.6.
45. The terms split and fuse were introduced in
Callender 1998, 224. Callender describes fusing as a
voice-​leading event, in which a D and an E may fuse
directly into an E♭. Our usage here is stricter: we con-
sider the voice-​leading move by which D and E move
to a doubled E♭ separately from the fusion of the two
E♭s into one.
Introduction to Voice-Leading Spaces • 423
 46. Hint for Exercise 10.3.11: Only one statement
is true.
47. Hint for Exercise 10.3.12: One pair is related
by ~PC. The observation implicit in part (e) is that the
pitch-​class content of the “Augurs of Spring” chord
from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring is exactly an A♭ har-
monic minor scale; see Tymoczko 2002, 78.
48. Hint for Exercise 10.3.13: One pair of tuples is
related by ~OPTC, one by ~PTIC, and one by ~PTI.
49. Hint for Exercise 10.3.14: You will find the
answer in Section 5.5.
50. A briefer version of this table appears in
Tymoczko 2011, 40. For more extensive commentary
see Callender, Quinn, and Tymoczko 2008, especially
the supporting online material.
51. The names for a few of the OPTIC spaces create
some potential for confusion. PC-​space, accommodat-
ing permutational and cardinality equivalence, is not
the same thing as “pc space” (pitch-​class space pc),
familiar since Chapter 1; continuous pc space is actu-
ally one-​voice O-​space, cpitch/​~O . Also, we use the
general term OPTIC spaces (in which OPTIC may be
pronounced like the word optic) to refer to the entire
family of quotient spaces formed from pitch-​tuple
space by application of any subset of the O, P, T, I, and
C symmetries; in contrast, the specific term OPTIC-​
space, with a hyphen (and with the five letters pro-
nounced individually), refers to the particular space in
which all five symmetries are applied.
52. The normal-​form algorithm introduces equiva-
lence relations in the order OPCTI, and Table 10.4.1
is organized accordingly. In the subscripts identifying
normal forms, we continue to use the mnemonically
convenient OPTIC ordering.
53. The left-​packing algorithm given here matches
that in Rahn 1980, 33–​38, and the first three editions
of Straus’s Introduction to Post-​Tonal Theory (for exam-
ple, Straus 2005a, 35–​38), among other texts. Spans
are considered in the order an − a1, an−1 − a1, …, a2 − a1.
Forte 1973, 3–​5, gives a different algorithm, taking the
spans in the order an − a1, a2 − a1, a3 − a1, …, an−1 − a1.
Straus 2016, 45–​46, introduces a new wrinkle, choos-
ing as the normal form the ordering that is most packed
to the right in cases where that ordering corresponds
to the inversion of the prime form. For example, for
the “ ♯9 chord” C–​E–​G–​B♭–​D♯, our algorithm gives [10,
0, 3, 4, 7] as the OP or OPC normal form, matching the
“normal form” in Rahn and in Straus 2005a; for Forte,
the “normal order” of this set is [3, 4, 7, 10, 0], and
for Straus 2016, it is [7, 10, 0, 3, 4]. All are reorder-
ings of the same set, and representatives of the same
OPC-​class. In this case all the algorithms agree that the
prime form (OPTIC normal form) is [0, 1, 4, 6, 9], but
424 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
there are some sets for which Forte’s prime form dif-
fers from the others. For example, Straus and Rahn’s
prime form [0, 1, 5, 6, 8] corresponds to Forte’s [0, 1,
3, 7, 8]). The algorithm given here is most suitable for
our generalization here, in which the left-​packing step
may or may not be combined with other calculations
involving transposition and inversion.
54. Rahn 1980, 75–​77, uses the names “Tn-​type”
and “Tn/​TnI-​type” for our “T type” and “TI type.”
55. Hint for Exercise 10.4.4: There are some duplica-
tions among the 32; your list should include 26 differ-
ent normal forms.
56. Hint for Exercise 10.4.7: Of the ten normal
forms specified in the question (not counting the two
OPTIC normal forms), four are equal to 0258.
SUGGESTED READING
The most comprehensive published exploration of
the OPTIC spaces, in the journal Science (Callender,
Quinn, and Tymoczko 2008), is recommended
to readers who can negotiate its many technical
aspects. A previous publication in Science, Tymoczko
2006, introduces only the OP-​spaces. For additional
commentary on the Callender-​Quinn-​Tymoczko
work see Hook 2006 and Hall 2008. Tymoczko 2011
takes a gentler approach than the Science articles,
largely eschewing group theory and the origins
of the OPTIC symmetries therein and describing
only a few of the lower-​dimensional OPTIC spaces
most relevant to the musical applications discussed
elsewhere in the book. Hook 2013 contrasts the
geometric approach with other methods in com-
parative analyses of a passage from Fauré’s String
Quartet, Op. 121. The CQT work owes a debt to
early work on voice leading by John Roeder (1987
and 1994) and engages in complex and profound
ways with the Fourier balances studied by Ian Quinn
(2006 and 2007, inspired by Lewin 1959); the lat-
ter work is not considered here. An important link
between neo-​Riemannian theory and geometric
theory is Douthett and Steinbach 1998. Douthett
and Steinbach’s discrete lattices were developed as
generalizations of the tonnetz but depict voice-​lead-
ing distances more faithfully, and several of them
can be located within the central regions of OPTIC
spaces.
Linear equations and vectors, mentioned in Section
10.1, are part of the province of mathematics
known as linear algebra. Many texts on linear alge-
bra are available; Lay, Lay, and McDonald 2016
offers a good introduction.
 11
Spaces IV
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces
HAVING LAID the groundwork for the study
of OPTIC spaces in the previous chapter, we are
now in a position to examine these spaces more
systematically. Section 11.1 introduces the con-
cept of orbifold, which comes into play in topo-
logical descriptions of OPTIC spaces. This section
also reviews the various spaces whose elements
are single notes, straightforward spaces mostly
familiar to us already. The power of OPTIC spaces
lies in the higher-​dimensional examples, which
can model collections of notes of any cardinality
under assumptions corresponding to any desired
subset of the OPTIC relations. Subsequent sec-
tions of this chapter take up two-​, three-​, and
four-​voice OPTIC spaces in turn. As the number
of notes increases, the spaces become progres-
sively more complex, and some aspects of their
geometry can seem abstruse even after inten-
sive study. The discussion here, though far from
encyclopedic, is in many cases more detailed
than other published descriptions of the OPTIC
spaces, and it is hoped that the examples and
exercises here will provide hands-​on assistance
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0011
to the reader who wishes to demystify these
spaces and understand some of the many ways
in which music can move through them.
Some cautions are in order. First, most of
our attention will be devoted to a few spaces of
particular importance, the OP-​, T-​, PT-​, OPT-​,
and OPTI-​spaces in two, three, and four voices.
Because the complexities of cardinality equiva-
lence make C+​spaces particularly intractable,
such spaces will receive only minimal consid-
eration here; although we continue to refer to
OPTIC spaces, this chapter deals almost exclu-
sively with non-​C spaces, arising from combina-
tions of the other four relations. The disregard
for cardinality equivalence is of little conse-
quence in two-​voice spaces and some three-​voice
spaces, but it becomes increasingly significant
as the number of voices increases. A second cau-
tion is that this chapter, like the preceding one,
contains occasional references to “distances”
between points in a space. Distances in OPTIC
spaces can behave in complex and sometimes
counterintuitive ways, and in fact there is not
just one way to conceive of distances in these
spaces. This chapter will not attempt a thorough
study of distance measurements; the topic will
be explored more fully in Chapter 12. Finally, in
light of the abstract nature of some of the spaces
considered here, readers should not be discour-
aged if they find some of the exercises in this
chapter to be quite challenging.
11.1 MANIFOLDS AND
ORBIFOLDS; ONE-​VOICE
SPACES
The quotient spaces arising from the O, P, T, and
I symmetries belong to a class of mathematical
spaces known as orbifolds. Orbifolds are a gen-
eralization of manifolds, mentioned in Section
1.2. The precise definitions of manifolds and
(especially) orbifolds are technical and will not
be given here, but the basic underlying ideas are
not hard to grasp.1 An n-​dimensional manifold
(or n-​manifold) is a space that locally resembles
ℝn, ordinary n-​ dimensional Euclidean space.
More precisely, an n-​manifold has the property
that about any point, there is some small region,
called a neighborhood in topological parlance,
that is topologically indistinguishable from a
neighborhood about a point in ℝn.
Pitch-​tuple space cpitchn, described in
Section 10.3, is just ℝn itself, so it is an n-​mani-
fold by default. O-​space (cpitchn/​~O, or cpcn) is
an n-​dimensional torus 𝕋 n, which is also an n-​
manifold. In one dimension, one-​voice O-​space is
the 1-​torus 𝕋  1, which is nothing more than the
continuous pitch-​class circle cpc. Every point in
this circle has a neighborhood that is topologi-
cally indistinguishable from a neighborhood of a
point in continuous pitch space cpitch; cpc and
cpitch cannot be distinguished except by looking
FIGURE 11.1.1 (a) A path in continuous pitch space; (b) the corresponding path in one-​voice I-​space
426 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
at them in a more global way. The same thing is
true of tori in higher dimensions. For example,
two-​voice O-​space, consisting of ordered pairs of
pitch classes, is a 2-​torus 𝕋 2, a 2-​manifold locally
indistinguishable from a plane ℝ2, and three-​
voice O-​space is 𝕋 3, a 3-​manifold. Spheres 𝕊n of
various dimensions constitute another familiar
class of manifolds. The plane-​like appearance of
a small region on the sphere 𝕊2 (the two-​dimen-
sional surface of a three-​dimensional ball) led
many generations of human beings to assume,
reasonably enough, that the earth was flat.2
Some combinations of OPTIC relations,
however, yield quotient spaces that are not
quite manifolds. As an example, consider the
simple if somewhat unfamiliar construction of
one-​voice I-​space cpitch/​~I shown in Figure
11.1.1. As described in Section 10.3, inversional
equivalence, in the absence of transpositional
equivalence, relates pairs of notes symmetrically
positioned about C4 (0). The picture of pitch space
in 11.1.1a shows pitch numbers and the associ-
ated I normal forms, representing I-​classes. The
first-​note tiebreaker in the normal-​form algo-
rithm from Section 10.4 gives preference to pos-
itive numbers, so pitches 1 and −1 (C♯4 and B3)
both have the I normal form [1]‌I, here written
simply as 1. The I-​class containing any pitch s is
the set sI =​{s, −s} of points with the same normal
form; thus sI is the same class as (−s)I. That is, 1I =​
−1I, 2I =​−2I, and so on—​or in musical terms,
(C♯4)I =​(B3)I, (D4)I =​(B♭3)I, and so on.
While cpitch (Figure 11.1.1a) is the space
of all pitches, represented by pitch numbers,
cpitch/​~I (11.1.1b) is the space of all I-​classes,
which correspond to I normal forms. In the
conversion to I-​space, pitch space is effectively
folded over on itself at the point 0, reducing the
line to a half-​line. Most points on this half-​line
have neighborhoods indistinguishable from
neighborhoods of points in the line ℝ, but there
is one exception: the point 0I (or (C4)I) in I-​space
is now a boundary point, and a neighborhood of
this point does not resemble that of any point
in ℝ. Motion is possible in two directions from
any point in ℝ, but there is only one direction
in which to move from 0I: this point has only
a one-​sided neighborhood instead of the usual
two-​sided neighborhood. Such a point is called
a singularity of the space: a point where the local
topology is different from the topology typical
of most points of the space. The fact that I(0) =​
0 is significant: the singularity of I-​space occurs
at the point of the quotient space corresponding
to the unique fixed point in ℝ of the inversion
operator I defining the equivalence relation.3
The presence of even this one singularity pre-
vents I-​space from being a manifold, but it is a
one-​dimensional orbifold, which may be thought
of as a space like a manifold but with singulari-
ties allowed. While the singularity in one-​voice
I-​space is an isolated point, we shall see that a
space of higher dimension may contain an entire
line or plane of singularities—​but in these cases
also, the singularities generally correspond to
fixed points of some symmetry operation.4
The bold arrows in Figure 11.1.1 show a path
through pitch space and the image of that path
in I-​space. Imagine that a violinist plays the note
F4 on the G string and then begins to slide her
finger away from the bridge. In pitch space, the
moving pitch traces a simple downward path
(leftward in 11.1.1a). Nothing of particular
interest happens when this path passes through
C4: the pitch keeps descending, to B3 and beyond.
If we trace the corresponding path in I-​space,
however, the points reached after C4 are the
same as those traversed previously, in reverse:
remember that (B3)I is the same as (C♯4)I and
so on. In I-​space, the path hits the singularity
at C4 and bounces, heading back in the direction
from which it came. As we shall see, this mirror
boundary property also characterizes many sin-
gularities in higher-​dimensional spaces.
One-​voice spaces are simple, and there is little
else to say about them here beyond a brief enu-
meration. Starting with the line of pitch space
cpitch, octave equivalence produces one-​voice
O-​space cpitch/​~O , familiar to us as circular
pitch-​class space cpc. Because all single pitches
are transpositionally equivalent, one-​ voice
T-​space cpitch/​~T reduces to a single point,
as does every one-​voice space obtained from
any combination of equivalence relations that
includes ~T. An ordered 1-​tuple does not allow
for permutation and, as there is no possibility
of doublings, cannot be reduced to a smaller
tuple, so permutational and cardinality equiva-
lence yield nothing new. Inversional equivalence
produces one-​voice I-​space cpitch/​~I, the half-​
line of Figure 11.1.1b. Apart from these spaces,
only one other space arises from applying OPTIC
symmetries to one-​voice pitch space; this space
is studied in the following exercise.
Exercise 11.1.2 One-​voice OI-​space, resulting
from the combination of octave and inversional
equivalence, is not the same as any of the spaces
just mentioned. Describe this space cpitch/​~OI
and draw a picture of it, using OI normal forms
as  
labels.5
11.2 TWO-​VOICE SPACES
Spaces whose elements are two-​ note sonori-
ties exhibit a significant increase in complexity
in comparison with the single-​voice spaces just
considered. Two-​voice pitch-​tuple space cpitch2,
or pitch-​pair space, is graphed in Figure 11.2.1 in
an ordinary xy coordinate system whose axes are
tilted 45 degrees. In this and many subsequent
figures, a small open circle marks the origin of
the coordinate system. The diagonal orientation
of the axes, analogous to the tilt of the x, y, and
z axes in some three-​dimensional figures from
Chapter 10, ensures that lines of transposition
are vertical. Three of these lines of transposi-
tion are shown, along with four sample points
on each line; the reader may verify that the pitch
pairs shown on the same line are always related
by some transposition Tr. Particular examples of
the transpositions T6 and T21 2 are shown on one
line. Four horizontal lines corresponding to sum
classes are also shown; these are analogous to
the horizontal sum-​class planes encountered in
Chapter 10.
Exercise 11.2.2 The three lines of
transposition shown in Figure 11.2.1 happen
to be equally spaced. Explain in musical terms
what
   this means.6
Figure 11.2.1 also identifies a fundamental
region for ~O . We saw in Section 10.3 that a
fundamental region for octave equivalence in
three dimensions is a 12 × 12 × 12 cube ori-
ented with its edges parallel to the x, y, and
z axes. Analogously, a fundamental region
for octave equivalence in two dimensions is a
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 427
FIGURE 11.2.1 Pitch-​pair space cpitch2, with a fundamental region for ~O
12 × 12 square whose sides are parallel to the x
and y axes, and therefore tilted in the view
of Figure 11.2.1—​the shaded square in the fig-
ure. The plane of cpitch2 is tiled by a diagonal
grid of such squares; the figure includes one
complete square and portions of several neigh-
boring squares. In two dimensions the symme-
try group for octave equivalence is 12ℤ × 12ℤ,
or (12ℤ)2; every other square in the grid is
related by some transposition in this group to
the shaded square. Consequently every pitch
pair in the plane is O-​equivalent to some point
in the shaded square; this is the defining char-
acteristic of a fundamental region. The shaded
region may be taken as a representation of
two-​voice O-​space cpitch2/​~O , which is topo-
logically a two-​dimensional torus 𝕋 2, a 2-​mani-
fold. (The boxed legend identifies Figure 11.2.1
as cpitch2, the space of the plane as a whole.
O-​space cpitch2/​~O corresponds to the funda-
mental region within that larger space.)
Fundamental regions are not unique: any
12 × 12 square with sides parallel to the coordi-
nate axes could serve as a fundamental region
for octave equivalence, and it would even be
possible to construct a fundamental region that
is not square at all. The shaded square in Figure
11.2.1, however, has a particularly noteworthy
428 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
feature. This square consists of ordered pairs
(x, y) for which x and y lie between 0 and 12.
(Let us not worry about whether the points on
the boundary of the square, for which one coor-
dinate is equal to 0 or 12, belong to the region
or not.) According to step 1 from Section 10.4’s
normal-​form algorithm, ordered pairs in this
range are precisely the ones that can arise as
the O normal forms of pitch pairs. Points in
any fundamental region for ~O will always be
in one-​to-​one correspondence with elements
of the quotient space cpitch2/​~O, and there-
fore in one-​ to-​
one correspondence with O
normal forms—​but the shaded square is the
only fundamental region whose elements’
coordinates are O normal forms. We therefore
call this particular fundamental region the nor-
mal region for octave equivalence. In a normal
region, coordinates match normal forms; there
are many possible fundamental regions, but
only one normal region. Later in this chapter
we will use normal forms to identify normal
regions for various combinations of OPTIC
relations, thereby providing some insight into
the appearance of the corresponding quotient
spaces.
In some cases, however, the normal region
may be less convenient to work with than some
FIGURE 11.2.3 (a) A fundamental region for two-​voice OP-​space; (b) cpitch2 tiled with regions for
OP-​space, showing the dyads BD♯ and D♯F in each region

other fundamental region. Such a situation arises
when we consider octave equivalence in combi-
nation with permutational equivalence. Of all
two-​voice spaces, OP-​space has the most subtle
and interesting structure. Figure 11.2.3a iden-
tifies a fundamental region for ~OP: an upright
square with horizontal and vertical edges, not
a tilted square like the fundamental region for
~O (which appears here in dashed outline). This
is a compact and convenient region, but we will
see that it is only a fundamental region for ~OP,
not a normal region.

The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 429

 It may at first be far from obvious that this
smaller square is a fundamental region for
~OP —​that is, that every point in the plane is OP-​
equivalent to some point in this square. Before
considering this property, let us take note of the
size of this square. The symmetry group for per-
mutational equivalence in two dimensions is 𝒮2,
a group of order 2 (there are after all only two
ways to permute two notes). We should there-
fore expect that two-​voice OP-​space should be
half the size of two-​voice O-​space—​and indeed,
the area of the shaded region in Figure 11.2.3a is
exactly half that of the normal region for ~O . The
smaller square is split by its diagonal into two
triangles of equal size; four such triangles could
be assembled to fill the larger square.
Figure 11.2.3b shows this ~OP fundamen-
tal region surrounded by eight other similar
squares. Some points in this figure are labeled
in two notations: xy coordinates in cpitch2 as
before, and also OP normal forms, written with
pitch-​class names. Recall from Table 10.3.15
that OP-​ classes are pitch-​class multisets. For
example, the ordered pair (3, −1) in the shaded
square is an element of cpitch2 that could also
be labeled (D♯4, B3). Its OP-​class is the pitch-​
class multiset {3, 11}, whose OP normal form is
[11, 3]OP (the traditional normal order); here 3
and 11 are numbers mod 12 representing pitch
classes, so this normal form may also be writ-
ten in the form BD♯. The musical note names are
suggestive but disguise the continuous nature of
OP-​space, which also contains nearby multisets
such as {3.1, 10.75}. The OP-​class BD♯ is repre-
sented by many different points in the plane of
cpitch2. Figure 11.2.3b shows nine such points
(small black circles), one in each square, among
them the ordered pairs (−1, 3) =​(B3, D♯4), (3, 11)
=​ (D♯4, B4), and (11, 3) =​(B4, D♯4). Points repre-
senting the multiset D♯F =​{3, 5} are also shown
(open circles).
In terminology from Section 2.3, the two
labelings of Figure 11.2.3b illustrate two differ-
ent label functions defined on the plane of the
figure. The ordered-​pair labeling is the standard
labeling of a plane in xy coordinates; the val-
ues of this function are ordered pairs in ℝ2. The
range of the other label function is two-​voice
OP-​space, cpitch2/​~OP, whose points are identi-
fied by OP normal forms. The plane as a whole
depicts cpitch2, and the label function from
cpitch2 to ℝ2 is a bijection. The OP-​space label
function, in contrast, is not one-​to-​one, because
of the multiple appearances of the same normal
forms. The two labelings are redundant in the
430 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
sense that OP-​space labels can be deduced from
cpitch2 labels: the two labels for any point are
related by the quotient map from cpitch2 to
cpitch2/​~OP . Nevertheless, inclusion of both
labels is useful for illustrating the relationship
between the two spaces.
OP-​classes are multisets rather than sets
because in the absence of cardinality equivalence,
doublings must be accounted for. The four corners
of the shaded square are the ordered pairs (0, 0),
(6, 6), (12, 0), and (6, −6), two of which belong to
the OP-​class {0, 0} (OP normal form CC) and two
of which belong to {6, 6} (F♯F♯), though only two of
the four are doublings in pitch space. The plane of
Figure 11.2.3b is tiled with squares the same size as
the shaded square. The corners of all these squares
represent the same doublings, CC and F♯F♯. The
figure shows that the OP-​classes BD♯ and D♯F each
have exactly one representative in each square—​
and the same is true of every other two-​note pitch-​
class multiset (with the caveat, already noted, that
some OP-​classes may appear twice on the bound-
ary of a square). This is, again, the defining feature
of a fundamental region. Within the interior of
the shaded square or any one of the other squares
(which are also fundamental regions), the OP-​
space label function is one-​to-​one.
Exercise 11.2.4
(a) Locate points representing the OP-​class A♯B
in the fundamental region and in each of
the other square regions in Figure 11.2.3b.
(b) Also locate points representing the OP-​class
  C♯G in each square.
As suggested above, the fundamental region
highlighted in Figure 11.2.3a is not a normal
region for ~OP . It cannot be, because it is not a
subset of the normal region for ~O (the tilted
square identified previously). Points in the lower-​
right half of the OP fundamental region, such as
(3, −1), do not lie within the O normal region, are
not O normal forms, and therefore cannot be OP
normal forms either. We have already remarked
that the OP normal form of (3, −1) is not [3, −1]
but [11, 3]. The point (5, 3), in the other half of
the OP fundamental region, does correspond
to an O normal form, but not to an OP normal
form: its OP normal form is [3, 5]. The OP normal
region in this case takes a surprisingly complex
form, revealed in the following exercise.
Exercise 11.2.5
(a) Plot the ordered pairs (1, 2), (1, 6), (1, 8),
(1, 11), (4, 11), (6, 11), (8, 4), and (10, 11)
 in cpitch2. Those ordered pairs are in O
normal form, so the points all lie within the
O normal region of Figure 11.2.3.
(b) Which of the eight ordered pairs from part
(a) are in OP normal form? For the ordered
pairs that are not already in OP normal
form, calculate the OP normal forms, and
plot those points also, in the same figure.
(c) Determine the shape of the OP normal
region, keeping in mind that it must include
exactly half the area of the O normal region,
that all OP normal forms must lie within
it, and that ordered pairs not in OP normal
  form must lie outside of it.7
Any of the squares in Figure 11.2.3b could
theoretically serve as a fundamental region for
~OP , but there is an important way in which
these squares are not all identical. The squares
in this figure appear in two different orienta-
tions, related to each other as left-​right mirror
FIGURE 11.2.6 Two-​voice OP-​space (after Tymoczko)
images. This is why the points representing the
OP-​classes BD♯ and D♯F appear in the left half
of some squares and in the right half of others.
There is no mirror reversal in the vertical direc-
tion: BD♯ lies in the bottom half of every square
and D♯F in the top half. In Exercise 11.2.4 you
should have found that the OP-​class A♯B lies on
the opposite side of each square from BD♯ and
D♯F, while the tritone C♯G lies exactly on the cen-
tral axis of every square, midway between the
left and right edges.
We have encountered a tiling of the plane
with rectangles in two opposite orientations
previously, in Figure 1.4.18, a tonnetz gener-
ated by semitones and tritones. We observed
on that occasion that the implied topology was
that of a Möbius strip—​and two-​voice OP-​space
is topologically a Möbius strip as well. Figure
11.2.6, based on a figure by Tymoczko, is an
enlarged picture of the fundamental region for
OP-​space.8 Lattice points representing all 78
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 431
equal-​tempered two-​note pitch-​class multisets
are labeled with their OP normal forms; the grid
of lattice points, like the underlying coordinate
system, is tilted on a diagonal.9
In Figure 11.2.6, as in the preceding figures,
horizontal lines correspond to sum classes.
Because of octave equivalence, these sum classes
are now mod-​12 numbers; both the top and bot-
tom edges of the figure correspond to sum class
0. All the sum-​class-​0 dyads, symmetric about C,
appear on both the top and bottom edges, but in
the reverse order, as indicated by the oppositely
directed arrowheads and on those edges.
If we were to wrap the figure around to glue the
top and bottom together, a twist would have to
be introduced, characteristic of the Möbius strip.
As we remarked in Chapter 1, the twist is not an
intrinsic feature of the musical space but merely
something required in order to realize the topol-
ogy of that space within our three-​dimensional
Euclidean surroundings.
We encountered the term false boundary in
Chapter 1 as well. In Figure 11.2.6, the top and
bottom edges of the square are false boundar-
ies of OP-​space: they look like boundaries of the
figure, but they are not true boundaries of the
space. One can move uninterrupted off the top
of the figure and re-​emerge at the bottom, but
on the opposite side of the central axis. Points
on these boundaries are not singularities of
OP-​space, and there is nothing unusual about
the topology in the vicinity of such a point. It
would be possible to draw OP-​space with the
false boundary positioned elsewhere, perhaps
coinciding with the sum-​ class-​
6 line rather
than the sum-​class-​0 line; in such a picture
the points of sum class 0 would not look like
boundary points at all.
The left and right edges of Figure 11.2.6 con-
tain unison dyads, but those on the left side
are different from those on the right, so these
two edges are not conjoined as the top and bot-
tom edges are. These sides are true boundaries of
the space—​the edges of the Möbius strip. The
unison dyads are singularities, with one-​sided
neighborhoods unlike the neighborhoods of all
other points in the space; these singularities
make OP-​space an orbifold, not a manifold.10
The properties of these boundaries will be
explored below, but we note now that the plu-
ral noun boundaries is not quite appropriate:
because of the Möbius-​strip topology, the two
sides of the figure are two segments of the same
line. A Möbius strip has only a single boundary
edge, not two.
432 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
Vertical lines in Figure 11.2.6 are lines of
transposition. The dyads on any such line are
characterized by a fixed interval class, from ic0
on the edges of the strip to ic6 at the center. As
with the ic0 boundary edges discussed above,
every interval class other than ic6 appears to be
represented by two different lines of transposi-
tion, but in the Möbius strip the two segments
are merely two parts of the same line. Moving
up the ic3 line from D♯F♯, for example, we pass
through EG, then exit the figure at the top and
re-​enter at the bottom of the other ic3 segment
to continue with FG♯, F♯A, and so on. After two
trips around the strip we will return to the start-
ing point. The central ic6 line is unique in that
it returns to its starting point after a single
circumnavigation. This property is musically
familiar: the tritone, which divides the octave in
half, is the only interval that may be transposed
to itself by a transposition less than an octave.
This is the two-​voice counterpart of the property
of augmented triads observed in Section 10.2,
whereby sets that divide the octave equally lie on
the central axis of a space.
Only the equal-​tempered dyads are labeled
in Figure 11.2.6, but OP-​space is continuous,
not discrete. In principle both non-​integer sum
classes and non-​integer interval classes are pres-
ent here. One could locate, for example, the dyad
consisting of pitch-​class numbers 7.1 and 9.8, at
the intersection of the horizontal line for sum
class 4.9 and the vertical line for interval class
2.7, near the dyad labeled GA♯ in the figure.
The continuous nature of OP-​space is use-
ful to keep in mind when studying voice
leading—​ the ways in which chords move in
space. We define a voice leading in n voices to
be a path through, or a succession of points
in, n-​voice pitch-​tuple space cpitchn or any of
the OPTIC spaces arising as quotient spaces of
cpitchn (such as OP-​space). A voice leading is
not completely determined by its initial and
final sonorities; rather, a voice leading describes
a particular way of getting from one sonority
to another, through a particular succession of
intermediate states—​sonorities that occur en
route.11 A path that can be traced as a continu-
ous line (not necessarily a straight line) defines
a continuous voice leading, while a discrete succes-
sion of points, not joined by continuous paths,
is a discrete voice leading. The voice leadings in
most familiar musical situations are discrete,
but as long as the voices move relatively short
distances from chord to chord, it is conceptually
a straightforward matter to regard discrete voice
leadings as subsets of implicit continuous voice
leadings, an understanding of which can clarify
the underlying geometry. Importantly, while
some voice leadings may be described in trans-
formational terms (for example, a parallel voice
leading may be described as a transposition), a
voice leading is not itself a transformation, and
in many cases there may be no transformation
(that is, no mathematical function defined on
the space) that captures the essential features
of a voice leading.
A voice leading in cpitchn automati-
cally defines a unique voice leading in each
of the OPTIC spaces that are quotient spaces
of cpitchn. Because the quotient maps from
cpitchn to its quotient spaces are onto but not
one-​to-​
one, many different pitch tuples can
map to the same point of a quotient space, and
therefore a voice leading defined in OP-​space or
some other quotient space does not determine a
unique voice leading in cpitchn.
The following example explores a voice lead-
ing in two voices in some detail, first in cpitch2
and then in two-​voice OP-​space. The example is
an artificial one, designed to illustrate some of
the complexities that can arise even in appar-
ently unpretentious two-​voice spaces.
Example 11.2.7: A voice leading in two voices
Consider the succession of two-​note
sonorities shown in Figure 11.2.8a, consisting
of milepost sonorities α, β, γ, and δ joined by
continuous voice leading. The first sonority,
α, is a major third B3–​D♯4. In cpitch2, α may
be represented by an ordered pair, either (−1,
3) or (3, −1), depending on which voice we
assign to the first coordinate; we arbitrarily
choose (−1, 3).12 The corresponding points in
O-​space and OP-​space are given by the normal
forms [11, 3]O and BD♯, respectively; each of
these notations is shown in the figure. From
this initial sonority α, both voices ascend
in parallel motion through the interval of a
tritone in continuous pitch space, arriving at
another major-​third dyad β =​(5, 9) (F4–​A4).
The lines joining the dyads indicate that the
voice leading is understood to be continuous,
each voice sliding smoothly through pitch
space joining one notated sonority to the
next. One could, of course, reduce this
continuous voice leading to a discrete voice
leading consisting only of the equal-​tempered
dyads playable on the piano, ascending
chromatically. In the next segment of the
voice leading, the upper voice continues its
upward trajectory through another tritone
while the lower voice reverses course and
descends; this contrary motion continues
until γ =​(−1, 15) (B3–​D♯5) is reached. Finally,
the upper voice holds D♯5 while the lower voice
ascends through an octave, yielding δ =​(11,
15) (B4–​D♯5).
Figure 11.2.8b graphs this voice leading
in pitch-​pair space cpitch2, where it forms
three straight line segments linking the four
mileposts, changing directions at β and γ.
Several intermediate points, discussed below,
are also labeled. We will use the term straight-​
line voice leading for any voice leading that
traces a straight line through pitch-​tuple space
cpitchn, and the term segmental straight-​
line voice leading for a voice leading like the
complete one in the figure, formed by joining
together several segments of straight-​line voice
leading. The three segments will be denoted
α → β, β → γ, and γ → δ; this arrow notation
will be used consistently to denote straight-​
line voice leadings between the indicated
sonorities. Although α, γ, and δ are all BD♯
dyads, they are distinct elements of cpitch2
and lie in three different square fundamental
regions from Figure 11.2.3b, while β, which
is not a BD♯ dyad, lies in still another region.
The continuous nature of the voice leading is
reflected in the fact that the entire trajectory
from α to δ is a continuous path through
cpitch2, which can be drawn without lifting
one’s pen from the paper.
The definition of straight-​line voice leading
is subtler than it may appear. For one thing, it
turns out that a straight-​line voice leading may
not always look like a single straight line when
graphed in OP-​space or some other quotient
space; we will nevertheless continue to call it a
straight-​line voice leading as long as the original
path in cpitchn is straight. Also, to be sure
that the segment from α to β is a straight line,
we need to know that the two voices ascend in
perfectly parallel fashion as they move from
one dyad to the other. If the upper voice moves
faster in the first part of the motion and the
lower voice catches up later on, so that intervals
larger than a major third are present along the
way, the voice leading will trace some sort of
curve or zigzag path from α to β rather than
a straight line. The simplest way to ensure
straight-​line motion is to assume that all voices
move at a uniform speed between milepost
sonorities, which we will assume to be the case
unless otherwise specified.13
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 433
FIGURE 11.2.8 (a) A voice leading in two voices; (b) the corresponding path in cpitch2; (c) the cor-
responding path in two-​voice OP-​space

434 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces

 The three segments of straight-​line voice
leading in Figure 11.2.8b illustrate voice
leadings of three different types. Segment
α → β is a parallel voice leading, depicted by
motion along a vertical line of transposition
in cpitch2. The contrary-​motion segment β
→ γ, a horizontal move from (5, 9) to (−1, 15)
in cpitch2, is a zero-​sum voice leading within
the sum-​class-​14 line, as ascending motion in
one voice is balanced by descending motion in
the other. In cpitch2, parallel and zero-​sum
voice leading always correspond to vertical and
horizontal motion, respectively, as was also
the case in the hexatonic triad cube studied in
Section 10.1. Finally, segment γ → δ is oblique
in two senses: as the word is traditionally used
with respect to voice leading (one stationary
voice and one moving voice), and also in the
sense of a diagonal line in the plane of the
figure. Voice leading along a diagonal line
parallel to either the x or y axis in pitch-​pair
space is always oblique in both senses; in this
example γ → δ lies parallel to the x axis because
all its points share the y coordinate 15, signaling
the held note D♯5.
The three segments of this path correspond
in a straightforward way to the pitch-​space
motions of the original voice leading. Four
times, however—​at the points labeled α′, β′, γ′,
and γ ′′—​the path crosses boundaries between
two of the square fundamental regions for
OP equivalence. Things therefore become
considerably more complicated when the path
is graphed in OP-​space, as in Figure 11.2.8c.
The square in 11.2.8c is theoretically the
same size as each of the square regions in (b),
but has been enlarged for clarity. This figure
superimposes all the path segments in a single
fundamental region corresponding to Figure
11.2.6. Some of the path segments in 11.2.8c
look just like the corresponding segments in (b),
but others appear in mirror reflection because
of the differing orientations of the fundamental
regions. The resulting path appears to consist of
no fewer than seven separate segments, labeled
①–​⑦, which we now examine in turn.
The path begins at α, the dyad BD♯.14 The
initial segment, segment ① in Figure 11.2.8c,
is vertical as before. When the path hits α′, the
dyad EG♯, it has reached the false boundary
at the top of the figure. In the Möbius strip
the same point α′ appears also on the bottom
edge; from α′ the voice leading continues with
segment ②, which captures the final semitone
of the parallel ascent to β, the dyad FA. The
jump from one α ′ to the other is akin to what
we described in Section 1.4 as “teleporting,”
or passing through a “wormhole,” from one
side of a tonnetz tile to the other—​but as we
remarked in the context of the tonnetz, the
event is no more mysterious than passing from
one side of a map to the other when traveling
around the world. No musical features
distinguish this moment from any other in
the α → β segment, and the two points labeled
α′ are the same point of OP-​space, so the
teleportation does not indicate any motion
at all in that space. Although α → α′ and
α′ → β appear in Figure 11.2.8c as separate
line segments, the two together form a single
straight line in the Möbius strip, and α → β
as a whole remains a single straight-​line voice
leading by definition because of its appearance
in cpitch2.
At β the contrary-​motion portion of the voice
leading begins. In OP-​space as in cpitch2, the
path turns left here, now following segment
③, a portion of the sum-​class-​2 line. Another
region boundary is reached at β′, the dyad
C♯C♯. This sonority is an octave (1, 13) in the
original voice leading, but in OP-​space it is
indistinguishable from a unison. The vertical
edges are true boundaries of OP-​space, and
the behavior of the path at β′ is different from
what we observed at the false boundary point
α′. In cpitch2 several points on the path in the
vicinity of β′ are (3, 11) (labeled β ʺ in Figure
11.2.8b), (2, 12), (1, 13) (=​β′), (0, 14), and
(−1, 15) (=​γ). The corresponding OP normal
forms are BD♯ (βʺ ), CD, C♯C♯ (β′), CD, and BD♯
(γ), from which we can see that in OP-​space
(11.2.8c) the path bounces at β′ (C♯C♯), heading
rightward again along segment ④, retracing part
of segment ③ in reverse. The left and right edges
of the figure together form the single edge of
the Möbius strip; all the points on this edge are
singularities of OP-​space, and the edge acts as
a mirror boundary, a higher-​dimensional analog
of the unique singularity in the one-​voice I-​
space of Figure 11.1.1b. Like the singularity in
I-​space, these singularities in OP-​space arise
from fixed points of a symmetry operation, in
this case the permutation that interchanges the
two components in cpitch2. The bounce at β′
represents a sort of voice crossing in OP-​space.
The voices do not literally cross in pitch space,
as they are an octave apart; the motion from βʺ
(dyad D♯4–​B4 in cpitch2) to γ (B3–​D♯5) describes
what music theorists would more likely call a
voice exchange. But if the two moving voices
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 435
were traced in a pitch-​class circle, they would
meet here, moving in opposite directions.
At γ the BD♯ dyad is reached again, and the
oblique voice leading begins, during which one
voice ascends through an octave while the other
holds D♯. The path in 11.2.8c turns sharply at
γ and proceeds along segment ⑤. In 11.2.8b
this segment angled instead; the difference
stems from the two different orientations of
the square fundamental regions in (b), and
specifically the fact that this portion of the path
traverses a region whose orientation is opposite
to the one we chose as the basis for our map
of OP-​space. The oblique motion soon leads
to another octave at γ′ (D♯D♯), where the path
again bounces off the mirror boundary, this
time obliquely, proceeding along segment
⑥. The false boundary at the top of the figure
is reached again at γ′′, the tritone D♯A. After
another top-​to-​bottom wormhole, the path
continues with segment ⑦, again, until the
final BD♯ dyad δ is reached, coinciding in OP-​
space with α and γ.
Ricochets like those at β′ and γ′ may be
likened to billiard balls bouncing off the
cushions of a pool table. A physicist might
refer to these bounces as specular reflections,
meaning that they satisfy the property “angle
of incidence equals angle of reflection.” At
β′ both angles are 90 degrees, so the path
exactly reverses course. At γ′ both angles are 45
degrees. Specular reflections are characteristic
of the behavior of straight-​line voice leadings at
mirror boundaries in OPTIC spaces. Musically,
in each case the voice leading after the ricochet
merely continues whatever was happening
before; in cpitch2 there is no change of
direction at all at β′ or γ′.
The path in Figure 11.2.8c appears to consist
of seven different line segments, but we still
describe it as a single continuous voice leading,
divided into three segments of straight-​line
voice leading demarcated by the original
milepost dyads α, β, γ, and δ. Segments ② and
FIGURE 11.2.11 Voice leadings for Exercise 11.2.10
436 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
⑦ are continuations of segments ① and ⑥,
respectively, at the false boundary, and the
two specular reflections at the side boundary
illustrate what straight lines do at mirror
boundaries of orbifolds. Only at β and γ,
where at least one voice changes its pattern
of motion, is there a true change of musical
direction.
The path in OP-​space calls our attention to
aspects of the voice leading that we might have
overlooked in pitch space. For instance, while
it was apparent all along that the milepost
sonorities α, γ, and δ are all BD♯ dyads and
therefore all lie at the same point in OP-​space,
the path actually visits this point four times:
another BD♯ dyad, βʺ, occurs partway through
the contrary-​motion segment ③, as a minor
sixth D♯4–​B4. Also, path segments ① and ⑥ cross
each other at D♯G, because this dyad occurs on
two separate occasions: in segment ① as αʺ, the
major third D♯4–​G4, and in segment ⑥ as γ‴, the
   sixth G4–​D♯5.
minor
Exercise 11.2.9
(a) In Figure 11.2.8b, points α, β, and δ all lie
on the same vertical line. Interpret this
statement musically.
(b) In Figure 11.2.8b, points αʺ, βʺ, and γ′ all
lie on a diagonal line parallel to the y axis.
Interpret this statement musically.
(c) The complete voice leading visits interval-​
class-​3 dyads four times and also visits
interval-​class-​5 dyads four times. Use
Figure 11.2.8c to identify all these dyads.
(d) Suppose that instead of listing the lower
voice first in our ordered pairs, we had
adopted the opposite convention, listing
the upper voice first. How, if at all, would
the paths in Figures 11.2.8b and 11.2.8c be
  affected by this change?15
Exercise 11.2.10
(a) Consider the voice leading given in Figure
11.2.11a. Draw corresponding paths in
 cpitch2 and in two-​voice OP-​space similar
to those in Figure 11.2.8.16
(b) Consider the two-​voice counterpoint in
Figure 11.2.11b. Draw corresponding paths
  in cpitch2 and in two-​voice OP-​space.17
Our discussion in this section has addressed
pitch-​pair space cpitch2 and two-​ voice OP-​
space cpitch2/​~OP; we have yet to consider T
or TI equivalence. Recall from Section 10.3 that
T equivalence reduces the dimensionality of a
space by one. T-​classes appear in cpitch2 (Figure
11.2.1) as vertical lines of transposition, and to
impose T equivalence is to collapse every such
line to a single point, essentially eliminating the
vertical dimension from the picture. Two-​voice
T-​ and TI-​spaces, cpitch2/​~T and cpitch2/​~TI,
are therefore one-​dimensional spaces, and the
same is true of any two-​voice T+​space, possibly
incorporating ~O and/​or ~P as well.
One way to achieve this collapsing is to proj-
ect each vertical line in cpitch2 onto a point of
a single referential line, which could be a hori-
zontal line like the sum-​class-​0 line or a diago-
nal line like the x or y axis. For example, one of
FIGURE 11.2.12 (a) Two-​voice T-​space; (b) two-​voice OT-​space; (c) two-​voice OPTI-​space
(interval-​class space)
the lines of transposition shown in Figure 11.2.1
contains the points labeled (−31 2 , −11 2 ), (−1, 1),
(31 2 , 51 2 ), and (91 2 , 111 2 ). The point (−1, 1) lies on
the sum-​class-​0 line, so we may take this point
as a representative of the entire T-​class—​but
we could equally well choose the point (−2, 0),
which lies just below (−1, 1) on the x axis, or (0,
2), which lies above (−1, 1) on the y axis. We call
(−1, 1) the balanced form of the T-​class, (−2, 0)
the x form, and (0, 2) the y form. The y component
of an x form and the x component of a y form are
always 0. The y form of a two-​note T-​class is the
same as the T normal form defined in Section
10.4, so technically the normal region for ~T in
Figure 11.2.1 is the y axis—​a one-​dimensional
“region” in the two-​dimensional space.
Figure 11.2.12a shows the line of two-​voice
T-​space and several points on that line, with the
balanced forms of many of these points indi-
cated and the x and y forms of somewhat fewer.
The y forms are bracketed in recognition of their
status as normal forms. The multiple labels
serve as a reminder that a point on this line is
not a specific pitch pair but a T-​class consist-
ing of many different pairs—​which is also the
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 437
reason why points in T-​space cannot be labeled Figure 11.2.12a, the point moves rightward
with note names. Like all the spaces studied in from (0, 0), passing through the points with x
this chapter, T-​space is a continuous space. All forms (1, 0), (2, 0), and so on. When x reaches
the discrete points shown on the line, including 12, the pitch pair is (12, 0); other labels for this
those with half-​integers in their balanced forms, point in T-​space include the y form [0, −12] and
can arise as T-​classes of equal-​tempered dyads; the balanced form (6, −6). But (12, 0) ~O (0, 0),
for instance, the pitch pair (B3, D4) has balanced so in O-​ or OT-​space (0, 0) and (12, 0) are the
form (−11 2 , 11 2 ), x form (−3, 0), and y form [0, same point. Octave equivalence wraps the line
3]. It should be evident from the picture that of two-​voice T-​space around on itself to form a
two-​voice T-​space cpitch2/​~T is isomorphic to circle in the same way that the line of one-​voice
cpitch—​ordinary one-​voice pitch space.18 pitch space cpitch is converted to the circle of
pitch-​class space cpc. Figure 11.2.12b shows
Exercise 11.2.13 This exercise illustrates a the circle of cpitch2/​~OT. The portion of T-​space
simple property of inversion and permutation shown in 11.2.12a corresponds to two full loops
in two-​voice spaces: an inversion of a pitch around this circle. Points in OT-​space can still be
pair may always be accomplished by combining identified by x forms or y forms, (x, 0)OT or [0,
a permutation with a transposition, and a y]OT respectively, but the coordinates are now
permutation of a pitch pair may always be numbers mod 12; the y forms proceed around
accomplished by combining an inversion with the circle in the opposite direction from the x
a transposition. It follows that in two-​voice T+​ forms. The y form [0, y]OT matches the OT nor-
spaces, I equivalence means the same thing as mal form.19
P equivalence—​or, to put it differently, in two In light of the observations in Exercises 11.2.13
voices, PT, TI, and PTI equivalence all amount and 11.2.14 above, two-​voice OPT-​space, OTI-​
to the same thing. space, and OPTI-​space are all the same thing. This
space is obtained by imposing inversional equiva-
(a) Pitch pairs (5, 3) and (−5, −3) are I-​equivalent. lence onto the circle of OT-​space. Every point on
Show that they are also PT-​equivalent. the right side of the circle in Figure 11.2.12b is both
(b) Pitch pairs (2, 7) and (7, 2) are P-​equivalent. inversionally and permutationally equivalent to a
  Show that they are also TI-​equivalent. point on the left side. For example, the pitch pair
(5, 3) is represented by the point labeled with x
Exercise 11.2.14 Because two-​voice T-​space form (2, 0) and y form [0, 10]OT, which appears on
cpitch2/​~T (Figure 11.2.12a) is isomorphic to the right side of the circle; (5, 3) is T-​equivalent to
one-​voice pitch space cpitch, it should come as (2, 0) and OT-​equivalent to (0, 10). Its inversion
no surprise that two-​voice TI-​space cpitch2/​~TI (−5, −3) and its permutation (3, 5) both appear
is isomorphic to one-​voice I-​space cpitch/​~I, on the left side at the point (10, 0) or [0, 2]OT. In
shown previously in Figure 11.1.1b. Moreover, OPTI-​space the original point and its inversion/​
as noted in the previous exercise, two-​voice permutation are the same: the ordered pairs
TI-​space, PT-​space, and PTI-​space are all the (5, 3), (3, 5), (2, 0), (0, 2), (10, 0), and (0, 10) are all
same space. Draw a picture of cpitch2/​~TI. OPTI-​equivalent. The OPTI normal form for this
Label several points in this space with several OPTI-​class is [0, 2]OPTI. Any other interval-​class-​
representative ordered pairs, including some 2 dyad will be represented by this same point in
that illustrate inversional or permutational OPTI-​space. OPTI-​space effectively conflates the
equivalence.
   two halves of the circle, leaving only a single line
segment of length 6, as shown in Figure 11.2.12c.
It is a straightforward matter to impose According to Table 10.3.15, elements of
octave equivalence on the two-​ voice T-​space OPTI-​space are multiset classes. The numbers
just considered. An intuition similar to that in 0–​6 in Figure 11.2.12c identify those classes: 0
the above exercise might lead us to expect that, stands for the multiset class of unison doublings
because two-​voice T-​space is isomorphic to one-​ {x, x}, while numbers greater than 0 correspond
voice pitch space, two-​ voice OT-​space should to two-​note set classes. Thus the number 2 rep-
be isomorphic to one-​voice O-​space, the pitch-​ resents [0, 2]OPTI, the set class 02, commonly
class circle cpc—​and this is indeed the case. known as interval class 2. In fact, two-​voice
Consider a voice leading starting with the pitch OPTI-​space may be called interval-​class space. It
pair (0, 0) in which the x voice slowly ascends is a continuous space with two singularities, at
while y remains fixed at 0. In the T-​space of the unison 0 and the tritone 6. The voice leading

438 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces

described above, in which one voice holds the
pitch 0 while the other rises through an octave,
describes a path in interval-​class space starting
at 0, moving rightward as far as 6, then bouncing
back leftward and ending at 0. If the ascending
voice continues beyond an octave, the path will
bounce rightward again upon hitting 0.
Exercise 11.2.15 Consider the five pitch pairs
(B3, D4), (D4, B3), (D4, B4), (B3, D5), and (B4, D5).
Identify each pair with a point in two-​voice
T-​space (Figure 11.2.12a), OT-​space (11.2.12b),
and
  OPTI-​space (11.2.12c).20
Exercise 11.2.16 Consider the three pitch pairs
(5, 3), (5, −5), and (−4, 18). Identify each pair
with a point in two-​voice T-​space, OT-​space, and
OPTI-​space. Use the procedure from Section
10.4 to verify that the OPT, OTI, and OPTI
normal
   forms of all three pairs are [0, 2].
Exercise 11.2.17 Reconsider the voice leading
examined in Example 11.2.7 and Figure 11.2.8.
Trace the image of this voice leading in two-​voice
space, OT-​space, and OPTI-​space.21
T-​   two-​voice spaces just described, but conceptually
Exercise 11.2.18
(a) Review your picture of dyadic set-​class
space from Exercise 3.3.4, and compare it
with the spaces considered in this section.
(b) Review the picture of one-​voice OI-​space you
drew in Exercise 11.1.2. Because two-​voice
T-​space is isomorphic to one-​voice pitch
space, we might expect that two-​voice OTI-​
space (which is the same as the OPTI-​space
of Figure 11.2.12c) should be isomorphic to
  one-​voice OI-​space. Is it?
One principle evident in the above examples
and exercises remains true in higher dimen-
sions. Because of the reduction in dimensional-
ity associated with transpositional equivalence,
n-​voice T-​space cpitchn/​~T is always isomorphic
to (n − 1)-​voice pitch space cpitchn−1. Our pri-
mary interest here is topological equivalence, but
we observed in Section 7.4 that T-​space forms a
quotient interval space; in fact cpitchn/​~T and
cpitchn−1 are isomorphic as interval spaces. The
topological isomorphism remains valid if addi-
tional equivalence relations are imposed: for
example, n-​voice OPT-​ space is isomorphic to
(n − 1)-​voice OP-​space, and n-​voice OPTI-​space
is isomorphic to (n − 1)-​voice OPI-​space. (We will
see in Chapter 12 that some of these spaces are
not interval spaces.) The equivalence of TI-​space
and PT-​space described in Exercises 11.2.13 and
11.2.14 is a feature unique to two-​voice spaces,
not valid in higher dimensions.
We remarked in the introduction to this chap-
ter that disregarding cardinality equivalence has
no serious consequences in the context of two-​
voice spaces. The reason is simple: two different
pitch pairs can never be cardinality-​equivalent.
The only effect of cardinality equivalence in
cpitch2 is that a unison doubling (x, x), which
lies on a vertical line through the origin in Figure
11.2.1, is cardinality-​ equivalent to the single
pitch x in cpitch. The C normal form of (x, x) is
[x]C, but no other pitch pair has that C normal
form. Elements of C-​space cpitch2/​~C are there-
fore in one-​to-​one correspondence with the ele-
ments of cpitch2 itself; for sonorities with no
more than two notes, cardinality equivalence
does not give rise to any new spaces.
11.3 THREE-​VOICE
OP-​S PACE
Three-​voice spaces are more complex than the
many aspects of their structure are similar. We
start our discussion in this section with three-​
voice OP-​space, then turn our attention in the
next section to spaces incorporating T equiva-
lence. It will be helpful here to recall our pre-
liminary work in Sections 10.1 and 10.2, which
developed an informal picture of a portion of
three-​voice OP-​space.22
The description of two-​voice OP-​space in the
previous section remains relevant as we consider
its three-​voice counterpart. Two-​voice OP-​space
may be constructed by starting with a cross sec-
tion depicting sum class 0—​the horizontal line
segment that marks the bottom edge of Figure
11.2.6—​ and projecting it through a second
(vertical) dimension to account for other trans-
positions of the same dyads. The transpositions
range not through an entire octave but only
from T0 through T6: when both notes of a dyad
are transposed by Tr, the sum class increases by
2r, so under the assumption of octave equiva-
lence a T6 transposition of a sum-​class-​0 dyad
is another sum-​class-​0 dyad. Our study of the
analogous three-​voice space will likewise begin
with a cross section containing the chords of
sum class 0. This slice will now be two-​dimen-
sional, and the full figure will then be obtained
by projecting it through a third dimension to
account for other transpositions. The transposi-
tions will now range only from T0 through T4: the
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 439
sum class of a three-​note chord increases by 3r
under a Tr transposition, so a T4 transposition
leaves the sum class unchanged.
The sum-​class-​0 cross section of three-​voice
OP-​space is the triangular region shown in
Figure 11.3.1. The equal-​tempered chords within
this region are labeled in the figure, where they
form a grid of equilateral triangles. Elements
of this space are OP-​classes (pitch-​class multi-
sets), labeled by their OP normal forms, written
with note names. The figure also shows ordered
triples in xyz coordinates. These are O normal
forms, elements of O-​ space rather than OP-​
space. For example, B♭BE♭, near the bottom of
the figure, is the OP normal form for the pitch-​
class multiset {3, 10, 11}, while the accompany-
ing notation [11, 3, 10] denotes the O normal
form of one of the six O-​space representatives
of the OP-​class B♭BE♭. The figure with ordered-​
triple labels may be regarded as a portion of the
sum-​class-​0 plane of O-​space—​a fundamental
region for ~OP within that plane. The dual nota-
tion—​multisets in OP-​ space and ordered tri-
ples in O-​space—​is similar to that employed in
Figure 11.2.3b, where ordered pairs in cpitch2
and two-​note multisets in OP-​space were shown.
As in Figure 10.1.4, another triangular cross sec-
tion of a three-​dimensional space, the x, y, and
z axes corresponding to the O-​space coordinates
do not lie in the plane of the figure but are tilted
FIGURE 11.3.1 The sum-​class-​0 cross section of three-​voice OP-​space
440 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
relative to it; the projections of the axes onto the
plane are shown at the upper right.
Motion along any of the light dashed grid-
lines in the figure is not motion in a single coor-
dinate: motion in one voice cannot take place
within one sum-​class plane. Rather, along any
gridline, ascending motion in one coordinate is
balanced by descending motion in another, so
that the sum class is unchanged. For example, in
the motion in O-​space from (0, 4, 8) (CEA♭) at the
center of the figure to the nearby point (1, 3, 8)
(C♯E♭A♭), the x coordinate increases from 0 to 1 (C
to C♯) while the y coordinate decreases from 4 to
3 (E to E♭). The z coordinate is unchanged, as the
line of motion is perpendicular to the z axis. If
this path through O-​space is extended further in
the same direction, it will lead to (2, 2, 8) (DDA♭).
This chord, a three-​voice chord with a doubled
note, lies on a boundary of the figure. Extended
still further, the path will lead to (3, 1, 8); this
point of O-​space lies outside the region of the fig-
ure, but it is permutationally equivalent to (1, 3,
8), and in OP-​space it represents the same C♯E♭A♭
chord visited previously. The complete path from
(0, 4, 8) to (3, 1, 8) is a straight-​line voice leading
as defined in Section 11.2 and describes a single
line segment in O-​space, but in OP-​space it hits
the boundary at DDA♭ and bounces back, in the
manner of some of the paths considered previ-
ously in two-​voice OP-​space. All three edges of
the figure contain chords with doublings and are
mirror boundaries of OP-​space.
Exercise 11.3.2 Consider moving from (0, 2,
10) to (1, 2, 9) in O-​space (B♭CD to AC♯D in OP-​
space). Locate this path in Figure 11.3.1. If this
straight-​line voice leading is extended further
in the same direction, what are the O-​space
coordinates of the next two lattice points that
will be reached? What are the corresponding
points in OP-​space? Does the path bounce
off one of the boundaries of the space? Write
the corresponding voice leading in musical
notation.
  
Figure 11.3.1, the sum-​ class-​0 cross sec-
tion of three-​voice OP-​space, resembles Figure
10.1.4, a region in the sum-​class-​11 plane of
the same space. The earlier figure covers a much
smaller portion of the space, as it allows for only
one semitone of motion in each coordinate. The
points at the corners of Figure 10.1.4 are major
triads, but there are no major triads among the
chords identified in Figure 11.3.1, because no
equal-​tempered major triad belongs to sum class
0. The following exercise investigates questions
suggested by these observations.
Exercise 11.3.3
(a) Three points near the center of Figure
11.3.1, not lattice points, are marked by
open circles and labeled ρ, σ, and τ. Each
of these points represents a major triad,
some transposition Tr of CEG, but the
interval of transposition r is not an integer.
Determine O-​space coordinates for ρ, σ, and
τ, consistent with the O-​space coordinates
given for the surrounding points in the
figure. (There will be fractions in the
coordinates.)
(b) If you draw the triangular region bounded
by ρ, σ, and τ at a larger scale and rotate
it 30 degrees clockwise, you should find
that it matches Figure 10.1.4, except that
the coordinates of all the points in the
figure have been uniformly transposed,
accounting for the difference in sum class.
What is the interval of transposition that
relates these two triangles?23
(c) There are also three minor triads somewhere
in the region of Figure 11.3.1. Where are
they, and what are their coordinates?
Compare the triangle bounded by the three
minor triads to the sum-​class-​10 region you
  drew in Exercise 10.1.6a.
Figure 11.3.1 shows only one cross section of
three-​voice OP-​space. To obtain the rest of the
space, we must extrude this triangular region
along an axis of transposition through a third
dimension, forming the prism shown in Figure
11.3.4.24 The perspective of the figure disguises
the fact that the triangular cross sections are
equilateral. In the orientation shown, the sum-​
class-​0 plane from Figure 11.3.1 appears at the
bottom—​and also at the top, as a T4 transposi-
tion of the bottom layer. The top layer is rotated
relative to the bottom, evident in the differing
positions of the unison dyads CCC, EEE, and
A♭A♭A♭, consistent with the T4 transposition. This
rotation is a higher-​dimensional analog of some-
thing we observed in the two-​voice OP-​space
of Figure 11.2.6, where the sum-​ class-​
0 line
segment at the bottom of the figure reappears
at the top in the opposite orientation. In two
dimensions, gluing the top and bottom of the
figure together requires a half-​twist and yields a
Möbius strip. In three dimensions, the top and
bottom layers are likewise conjoined, but the
gluing now requires only a one-​third twist (120
degrees), resulting in a three-​dimensional orbi-
fold that we will call a Möbius prism—​a higher-​
dimensional analog of a Möbius strip. As in the
two-​dimensional case, the top and bottom of the
figure are false boundaries of the space; one can
pass continuously from one to the other, allow-
ing for the twist just described.
The walls forming the three lateral faces of
the prism are mirror boundaries, as the above
exploration of the sum-​class-​0 slice suggests. All
the points on these boundary walls are trichords
with doublings, such as DDA♭ in the sum-​class-​
0 layer. The vertical line segments at the three
corners of the prism consist entirely of triple
unisons such as CCC. When the gluing is taken
into account, these three line segments are seen
to be segments of the same line: if the triple uni-
son CCC is transposed continuously upward, it
first traces a path up one corner segment to EEE,
where it crosses the sum-​class-​0 seam and con-
tinues along the next corner segment as far as
A♭A♭A♭, then finally traces the third corner seg-
ment back to CCC. Moreover, the three appar-
ent boundary walls are three portions of one
continuous surface; for example, the top of the
front face, the edge labeled CCC–​EEE, contin-
ues across the seam to become the bottom of
the right rear wall. While the Möbius strip of
two-​voice OP-​space has only one edge (a mir-
ror boundary consisting of doubled notes), the
Möbius prism of three-​voice OP-​space has only
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 441
FIGURE 11.3.4 Three-​voice OP-​space (after Tymoczko)
a single face (a mirror boundary consisting of
trichords with doublings) and a single edge (con-
sisting of triple unisons).
This space at last provides a proper setting
in which to investigate the questions raised in
Section 10.2. Visible in the middle of the prism in
Figure 11.3.4 is a chain of hexatonic triad cubes.
The four cubes shown here match the top four of
the five cubes in Figure 10.2.1, in approximately
the same perspective.25 In the earlier figure the
bottom cube duplicated the top (hex34) cube
except for a 120-​degree rotation; we now under-
stand that OP-​space contains only a single hex34
cube, and we see how both the cycle of linked
cubes (Figure 10.2.11) and the rotation are
manifested in OP-​space. The central axis of the
cube chain, the line of transposition through the
442 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
augmented triads, is also the central axis of the
entire space. The major and minor triads in the
cube chain divide the octave slightly less evenly
than the augmented triads, and correspondingly
lie near the central axis but not on it. The labels
on the triads are OP normal forms, which for
major and minor triads always begin with the
root. If space permitted, it would be useful to
display O normal forms here also, ordered triples
corresponding to the coordinate system used in
constructing Figure 10.2.1; the O normal forms
would in some cases show the voice-​leading rela-
tionships between nearby triads more clearly
than the OP forms.26 For example, the single-​
semitone displacement from a B-​minor to a G-​
major triad is more apparent from the notation
(2, 6, 11) → (2, 7, 11) than from BDF♯ → GBD.
 The three segments of the line of transpo-
sition for major triads appear as dashed lines
in Figure 11.3.4; this line passes through the
points ρ, σ, and τ in the sum-​class-​0 plane (from
Exercise 11.3.3 above), as well as through all
twelve equal-​tempered major triads in the cube
chain. The minor triads in the cube chain lie
on a different line of transposition, not shown
explicitly. Almost all the vertical lines of trans-
position in the Möbius prism are divided into
three segments in this way. The unique excep-
tion is the central axis of augmented triads,
which returns to its starting point after a single
T4 transposition. Layers corresponding to all
possible sum classes are present within the T4
range of transposition of the prism, as shown
at the right side of the figure. Again with the
exception of augmented triads, every transpo-
sition class (that is, every trichordal OPT-​class)
occurs three times in every layer, the three
chords related by T4/​T8 and the three points
FIGURE 11.3.5 Locating the trichord CE♭F in three-​voice OP-​space
related by 120-​degree rotations. These proper-
ties refine some of our observations about the
cube chain from Chapter 10 and show how they
extend to the rest of OP-​space.
Allowing for the duplication of the top and
bottom layers, every three-​note pitch-​class mul-
tiset (OP-​class) appears exactly once somewhere
in the Möbius prism. As an example, let us locate
the multiset CE♭F ({0, 3, 5}) in this space. Figure
11.3.5 illustrates. Because the pitch-​class num-
bers sum to 8, this point lies somewhere in the
sum-​class-​8 plane. To pinpoint its location in
that plane, we first calculate a point in the sum-​
class-​0 plane of which CE♭F is a transposition
between T0 and T4. To convert the multiset {0,
3, 5} of sum class 8 to something transposition-
ally equivalent but with sum class 0, we must
subtract 8 3 , or 22 3 , from each of the three coor-
dinates, yielding {91 3 , 1 3 , 21 3 }; that is, {0, 3, 5} =​
Tr({91 3 , 1 3 , 21 3 }), where r =​22 3 . (The transposition
will be an integer only if the difference in sum
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 443
classes is a multiple of 3, the cardinality of the
chords.)
The next step involves locating this trichord
{91 3 , 1 3 , 21 3 } in the sum-​class-​0 plane of Figure
11.3.1—​a potentially tricky task for two rea-
sons. First, the coordinates are not integers,
so it will not be among the points labeled in
the figure; and second, while the multiset in
question has OP normal form [91 3 , 1 3 , 21 3 ],
the coordinates of the O normal form in the
figure may appear in a different order. One of
the small triangles formed by the gridlines in
the right side of Figure 11.3.1 is bounded by
points with O-​space coordinates (0, 3, 9), (1,
2, 9), and (0, 2, 10). The point (1 3 , 21 3 , 91 3 ), a
permutation of the desired multiset, must lie
somewhere within that triangle, because its x,
y, and z coordinates all lie within the ranges of
the corresponding coordinates at the corner
points. In fact, this point lies precisely at the
center of that small triangle. (The center of an
equilateral triangle lies two-​thirds of the way
from any vertex to the midpoint of the oppo-
site side.) The original multiset CE♭F therefore
lies on the line of transposition directly above
the point (1 3 , 21 3 , 91 3 ), at the intersection of
that line of transposition with the sum-​class-​8
plane of OP-​space. Figure 11.3.5 shows these
points, as well as the other two points in the
sum-​class-​0 plane transpositionally equivalent
to CE♭F (trichords of OPT normal form 035),
the three segments of the line of transposition
for this OPT class, and all the other equal-​tem-
pered chords in this class.
Exercise 11.3.6 Determine the coordinates of
the other two points in the sum-​class-​0 plane
that are transpositions of CE♭F, and the note
names corresponding to each of the other
nine equal-​tempered chords shown on the line
of transposition in Figure 11.3.5. Which sum
classes are represented by the equal-​tempered
chords?
  
Exercise 11.3.7
(a) Carefully draw a picture similar to Figure
11.3.1 that shows the sum-​class-​8 cross
section of three-​voice OP-​space. Your figure
should show the locations of all the equal-​
tempered trichords of sum class 8.27
(b) In which other sum-​class planes do the
equal-​tempered trichords fall in the same
locations as in the sum-​class-​0 plane? In
which other planes do they fall in the same
locations as in the sum-​class-​8 plane? Are
444 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
there any other sum-​class planes containing
equal-​tempered trichords at still different
  locations?
Exercise 11.3.8 Using reasoning similar to
that in the above discussion, locate each of the
following OP-​classes in the Möbius prism of
Figure 11.3.4.28
(a) CC♯D
(b) BDF
(c) CCD
(d) CCE
(e) CDF
(f) CCF♯
(g) C♯E♭G
(h) DDG
(i)  {1.99, 2.01, 7}
Exercise 11.3.9 In a copy of Figure 11.3.4,
locate the seven triads that can be formed
using notes of the C-​major diatonic collection.
Six of them are already labeled in the figure,
and the other is the B-​diminished triad from
Exercise 11.3.8b. Join the seven chords with
line segments to show the smooth voice leading
characteristic of diatonic triads moving by
   (C –​a –​F –​⋯).29
thirds
Comparison of the locations of the major tri-
ads in Figure 11.3.4 and the 035OPT chords in
Figure 11.3.5 illustrates a relationship between
the voice-​leading potential of chords of a given
type and the locations of those chords in OP-​
space. The other equal-​ tempered 035 chords
closest to CE♭F in OP-​space are those directly
above and below it on its line of transposition,
C♯EF♯ and BDE. Moving from CE♭F to one of
these chords requires all three voices to move
by semitone, for a total of three semitones of
motion. Of course, a T1 or T11 transposition of
this kind is possible for any trichord. Starting
from a C-​major triad, however, two other major
triads can be reached via only two semitones of
total motion: an E-​major triad is available by the
semitone moves C–​B, G–​G♯ (corresponding to
the neo-​Riemannian LP) and an A♭-​major triad
by the moves E–​E♭, G–​A♭ (neo-​Riemannian PL).
The major triads in each of the hexatonic triad
cubes in Figure 11.3.4 are related in this way.
Because major triads lie near the central axis
of OP-​space, they automatically lie close (in the
voice leading sense) to their T4 and T8 transposi-
tions, to which they are related by rotation about
that axis. Consequently, major triads may be
joined to other major triads by smoother voice
leading than is possible for 035 chords or most
other chord types. (An 035 chord does, however,
lie close to one of its inversions in OP-​space, as
can be seen by comparing the locations of CE♭F
in Figure 11.3.5 and CDF in Exercise 11.3.8e.)
Meanwhile, the picture you constructed in
Exercise 11.3.9 should confirm that within a dia-
tonic scale, smoother voice-​leading is possible
between third-​related triads than between triads
related in any other way.
We are now equipped for a better under-
standing of the voice-​ exchange progression
from Figure 10.2.8 as a voice leading in OP-​
space. The progression may be identified with
the straight-​ line zero-​sum voice leading (0,
16, 7) → (4, 12, 7) in pitch-​triple space (this
notation matches the order of voices in Figure
10.2.8, but the coordinates in the original figure
assumed octave equivalence). The voice leading
begins at the C-​major triad in Figure 11.3.4’s
uppermost cube and passes through the points
C♯E♭G and DDG, identified in parts (g) and (h) of
Exercise 11.3.8. This much of the path forms a
straight line segment in the sum-​class-​11 plane
of OP-​space, from the C-​major triad to the point
DDG on the front face of the prism. At DDG
the voice leading hits the mirror boundary at a
right angle and bounces back, retracing its path
through C♯E♭G and back to the initial C-​major
triad. Immediately before and after the bounce
at DDG, the path passes through the multiset
{1.99, 2.01, 7} from Exercise 11.3.8i. We noted
in Section 10.2 that “there must be something
unusual about the geometry” in the vicinity of
a point such as DDG in order for a straight-​line
path through that point to pass through the
same point on both sides. This something is the
mirror-​boundary property—​the singularity of
the orbifold.
The voice leading just described takes place
within a single horizontal slice of OP-​space.
Figure 11.3.10 illustrates a voice leading that
exploits the vertical dimension of the space as
well. The chords in part (a) are labeled with the
first seven Greek letters. Because each of the
three voices moves by semitone in a consistent
direction (the bass descending as the upper two
voices ascend), the motion is a straight-​ line
voice leading α → η, or (9, 13, 17) → (3, 19, 23) in
pitch-​triple space.30 Ordered-​triple coordinates
are given in cpitch3 (ordering the voices from
lowest to highest) and in O-​space, as well as OP
normal forms with note names.
Part (b) of the figure shows this voice leading
in OP-​space. The path begins at α, the D♭-​aug-
mented triad at the center of the sum-​class-​3
plane, and ends at η, the E♭-​augmented triad at
the corresponding location in the sum-​class-​9
plane. Chords γ and ε contain pitch-​class dou-
blings and therefore lie on boundary walls of
the prism, in the sum-​class-​5 and sum-​class-​7
planes respectively. The OP-​space path forms
three straight segments α → γ, γ → ε, and ε →
η, reflecting specularly off the walls at γ and ε.
Chords β, δ, and ζ lie at the midpoints of the
three segments. The three segments are of equal
length and slope; the projection of the path onto
a horizontal plane such as the sum-​class-​0 plane
is an equilateral triangle, visible at the bottom
of the figure.
Exercise 11.3.11
(a) The projection of the path in the sum-​class-​
0 plane passes through points α′, β′, …,
η′, located directly below (and therefore
transpositionally equivalent to) α, β, …, η.
The starting and ending points α′ and η′
coincide at the augmented triad {0, 4, 8} at
the center of the plane. Calculate numerical
representations (as pitch-​class multisets)
for the other five points β′ through ζ′ in this
plane.
(b) Of the points α′ through η′ in the sum-​
class-​0 plane, only α′, δ′, and η′ (the same
as α′) are lattice points representing equal-​
tempered chords. The path in this plane
does, however, pass through two other
lattice points, one between β′ and γ′ and
the other between ε′ and ζ′. Determine the
pitch-​class multisets represented by these
two lattice points, and determine numerical
representations for the corresponding
points in the three-​dimensional path above
(which are not lattice points).
(c) What will the path in Figure 11.3.10b
look like if the voice leading in (a) is
transposed by T4?
(d) What if the voice leading is transposed
  by T2?31
Exercise 11.3.12 In Euclidean space ℝn, only
one straight line segment is possible from one
given point to another. In orbifolds, things are
not so simple. For example, the points α (D♭FA)
and η (E♭GB) in Figure 11.3.10 may be joined
by an infinite number of different straight-​line
voice leadings in OP-​space.
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 445
FIGURE 11.3.10 (a) A voice leading in three voices; (b) the corresponding path in three-​voice OP-​space
(a) There is a straight-​line voice leading
ascending from α to η along the central
axis of the prism, and another straight-​
line voice leading descending from α to η
(departing the bottom of the figure upon
reaching the sum-​class-​0 plane and re-​
emerging at the top). Describe each of
those voice leadings musically.
(b) The path shown in Figure 11.3.10b, which
reflects twice off the walls of the prism, is
another straight-​line voice leading from α to
η, and parts (c) and (d) of Exercise 11.3.11
446 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
above suggest several others. Describe a
family of voice leadings of this type. How
many are there, and how are they related to
each other musically?
(c) Construct a straight-​line voice leading from
α to η that reflects off a wall only once, and
describe it musically.
(d) Construct a straight-​line voice leading from
α to η that reflects off walls more than twice.
(e) Construct a straight-​line voice leading from
α to η that crosses the sum-​class-​0 plane
  more than once before reaching η.32
FIGURE 11.3.14 Three-​voice harmonic progression from Saariaho, Vers le blanc
Exercise 11.3.13 Figure 11.3.14 shows a
continuous voice leading that takes place
over the course of fifteen minutes in Kaija
Saariaho’s 1982 electronic composition Vers le
blanc.33 Over this time span, one voice ascends
continuously from C3 to E3 while a second voice
descends from A3 to D3 and a third descends
from B3 to F3. In cpitch3, this motion describes
the straight-​line voice leading (−12, −3, −1)
→ (−8, −10, −7). The two pitch triples are
ordered to respect the voice leading; the lowest
notes of the two sonorities appear in different
components because they are in different
voices. Follow the steps below to graph this
motion in OP-​space.
(a) The passage describes a path joining the
multisets α (ABC) and β (DEF). Locate
these two points in the Möbius prism of
OP-​space.
(b) The path from α to β in OP-​space is not the
most obvious one. It must bounce off a wall
of the prism, because the lower two voices
cross near the end of the time span, at γ in
Figure 11.3.14. To calculate where γ is, it is
helpful to describe each of the three voices
as mathematical functions of time, as in
Section 2.3. For simplicity, consider the
duration of the passage to be one time unit,
so t ranges from 0 to 1 over the course of
the voice leading. During this time, the top
voice (the third component in the ordered-​
triple notation in the figure) descends six
semitones from −1 to −7 in pitch space, so
that voice may be described by the function
f3 given by the equation f3(t) =​−1 − 6t.
Write similar equations for functions f1
and f2 describing the other two voices, and
calculate the value of t for which f1(t) =​ f2(t).
The coordinates at that time point will
determine γ, which you should then locate
in OP-​space. (It is not an equal-​tempered
trichord.)
(c) As you consider a path from α through γ
to β, you will realize that this path must
at some point, say δ, cross the sum-​class-​
0 plane. Locate δ by calculating the value
of t for which f1(t) +​ f2(t) +​ f3(t) =​0 (mod
12). Does δ occur before or after γ? In your
picture of the path, the point δ will appear
at both the top and bottom of the Möbius
prism, as usual in two different places in
those two cross sections.
(d) Complete your picture of the path by
putting the points α, β, γ, and δ in the
proper order and joining them with straight
  line segments.
11.4 THREE-​VOICE T-​, PT-​,
PTI-​, OPT-​, AND OPTI-​S PACE
Three-​voice OP-​space, described in the previous
section, does not account for transpositional
or inversional equivalence. Because T equiva-
lence reduces the dimensionality of a space,
quotient spaces such as three-​ voice T-​space
(cpitch3/​~T) and OPTI-​space (cpitch3/​~OPTI)
are two-​dimensional. The reduced dimension-
ality makes these spaces easier to depict on
paper than three-​ dimensional OP-​space, but
they nevertheless take forms that may be far
from obvious. In this section we shall explore
three-​voice T-​space and a series of other two-​
dimensional spaces obtained by imposing other
OPTIC relations on T-​space.34
Our conception of three-​ voice T-​space
depends on viewing the three dimensions of
pitch-​triple space cpitch3 from below. Consider
a cube, one semitone unit on each side, with one
corner at the origin (0, 0, 0). If we recall the ori-
entation of the space cpitch3 as we have been
considering it, with the coordinate axes tilted,
and if we view this cube from directly below, it
will appear as in Figure 11.4.1a. The origin, in
the center of the picture, is the nearest point of
the cube; the three coordinate axes angle away
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 447
FIGURE 11.4.1 (a) A unit cube in cpitch3, viewed from below; (b) three-​voice T-​space, conceived by
viewing cpitch3 from below; (c) locating the point (4, 2, 5)T =​(−3, −5, −2)T in T-​space

from us at equal angles as we look up. The figure
could be rotated, depending on the orientation
of the viewer’s head. The negative portions of
the coordinate axes, for which x < 0, y < 0, and
z < 0, extend in our direction, as shown partially
in dashed lines. Three of the cube’s six faces are
visible, as are seven of its eight vertices. The
eighth vertex, at (1, 1, 1), is not visible; from this
angle it lines up precisely behind the vertex at
the origin. It is significant that the two vertices
that align in this view, (0, 0, 0) and (1, 1, 1), are
transpositionally equivalent: the line of transpo-
sition through these points is parallel to our line
of sight, so from this perspective we cannot dis-
tinguish any point on this line from any other.
In other words, we are looking at T-​space.
As detailed in Section 10.3, T equivalence col-
lapses each line of transposition in pitch-​triple
space (each orbit of the transposition group) to a
single point, effectively flattening the space into
a plane—​the plane of the figure. If we imagine
all of cpitch3 divided into wire-​frame cubes a
semitone on each side, and if we imagine view-
ing this space from far below, perhaps from a
point such as (−100, −100, −100) far down the
central axis through the origin, Figure 11.4.1b is
what we will see. Both the positive and negative
portions of the x, y, and z axes are now shown in
their entirety; these axes do not lie in a plane,
but angle away from the viewer at equal angles.

448 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces

The space is filled by a grid of 1 × 1 × 1 cubes
formed by straight lines parallel to the three
coordinate axes; from our vantage point we see
all these cubes in corner view like the one in part
(a) of the figure, their edges forming a grid of
equilateral triangles in this projection. Because
our line of sight is parallel to the lines of trans-
position, we are not able from this angle to dis-
tinguish transpositionally equivalent points. The
projection in (b) will be our standard model of
three-​voice T-​space, though we note that, as was
the case with (a), the orientation of the figure
is somewhat arbitrary; the entire picture could
be rotated, and if viewed from above instead of
from below it would appear in mirror image.
Plotting chords in T-​space by their coordi-
nates is straightforward, as Figure 11.4.1c illus-
trates using the pitch triple (E4, D4, F4) =​(4, 2,
5)—​a triple we shall use for many examples in
this section. Starting at the origin and following
the solid black arrows, we move four units in the
positive x direction (that is, in the direction
of the arrowhead on the x axis), then two units
in the positive y direction ( ), and finally five
units in the positive z direction ( ). The result-
ing point, which lies to the lower right of the ori-
gin in the orientation of the figure, represents
the T-​class (4, 2, 5)T. This T-​class also stands for
any other pitch triple transpositionally equiva-
lent to (4, 2, 5). One such triple is (A3, G3, B♭3) =​
(−3, −5, −2), which is T−7(4, 2, 5); the dashed
arrows in the figure confirm that (−3, −5, −2),
plotted in T-​space, falls at the same point as
(4, 2, 5). Because the coordinates of this triple
are negative numbers, the dashed arrows point
in the negative x, y, and z directions, opposite
to the corresponding solid arrows. In the three
dimensions of cpitch3, the two chains of arrows
shown in the figure would terminate in two dif-
ferent points, but from our viewpoint far below,
the two points line up because the two chords
are transpositionally equivalent.
Every line of transposition in cpitch3 inter-
sects the sum-​class-​0 plane in a single point. As
in the two-​voice space studied in Section 11.2,
therefore, every T-​class contains exactly one bal-
anced form whose three pitch-​space coordinates
sum to 0. For the T-​class (4, 2, 5)T, the balanced
form is (1 3 , −12 3 , 11 3 ), obtained by subtracting
11 =​32 from each coordinate in (4, 2, 5). The
3 3
subtracted quantity is the original sum class (11)
divided by the number of dimensions (3).
In two-​voice T-​space we also noted an x form
and y form for each T-​class. In three-​voice space
a single coordinate is not enough to identify a
T-​class; there is no x for which (4, 2, 5) ~T (x, 0,
0) (and we should not expect that all the points
in a two-​dimensional space could be described
by a single variable). Two coordinates are suf-
ficient, however, because by appropriate sub-
traction we can always find a transpositionally
equivalent point for which any one coordinate is
0. For example, (4, 2, 5) is T-​equivalent to (0, −2,
1) (subtracting 4 from all three coordinates); it
is also equivalent to (2, 0, 3) (subtracting 2), and
to (−1, −3, 0) (subtracting 5). For this T-​class, we
call (0, −2, 1) the yz form, (2, 0, 3) the xz form,
and (−1, −3, 0) the xy form.
Exercise 11.4.2 In T-​space, trace the paths from
the origin to (0, −2, 1), (2, 0, 3), (−1, −3, 0), and
(1 3 , −12 3 , 11 3 ), and verify that these points all fall
at   the same location as (4, 2, 5).
The yz form for a T-​class is the same as its T
normal form; we will often use yz forms in the
discussion below. Such points are easily plot-
ted in Figure 11.4.1, using the y and z coordi-
nates only and ignoring the x axis. Figure 11.4.3
enlarges the area around the origin in T-​space,
giving the balanced form and the yz form for
each equal-​tempered trichordal T-​class in this
small region. The relationship between yz forms
and the xyz coordinates deserves attention.
Movement in the positive y or z direction coin-
cides with an increase in the corresponding coor-
dinate of the yz form, for example from [0, 1, 1]
to [0, 2, 1] (increasing y) or to [0, 1, 2] (increas-
ing z). The x coordinate of a yz form is always 0,
however, and cannot change even with move-
ment along the x axis; movement in the positive
x direction brings about a decrease in both the y
and z coordinates of a yz form, for example from
[0, 1, 2] to [0, 0, 1].
The T-​classes that appear in Figure 11.4.3
lie close to the origin because they consist of
three closely spaced notes. The triple (E7, D7,
F7) shares the same yz form [0, −2, 1] with (E4,
D4, F4) and lies at the same point of T-​space, but
the triple (E4, D4, F7) lies far from the origin in
T-​space (its yz form is [0, −2, 37]). The triples (E4,
D4, F4) and (E4, D4, F7) are octave-​equivalent but
not transpositionally equivalent. Our construc-
tion of T-​space so far takes no account of octave,
permutational, or inversional equivalence, so
triples that are equivalent in any of those ways
may be distant from one another in T-​space. We
now proceed to impose each of these additional
equivalence relations one by one, starting with
permutational equivalence.
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 449
FIGURE 11.4.3 Balanced forms and yz forms of points in three-​voice T-​space

FIGURE 11.4.4 Permutations of (4, 2, 5) in three-​voice T-​space, with regions for PT-​space

Figure 11.4.4 plots the six permutations of
(4, 2, 5) in T-​space, also showing the yz form
(T normal form) of each. A notation such as
(4, 2, 5)T =​[0, −2, 1]T shows two different labels
for the same T-​class, of which the second, in
brackets, is the T normal form. The six yz forms
are not all permutationally related, though they
consist of three pairs whose y and z coordinates
are interchanged. The six P-​equivalent points
form a figure that is symmetric about all three
axes. If (4, 2, 5)T is reflected about the z axis,
the resulting point is (2, 4, 5)T, which could have
been obtained by interchanging x and y. Every
other permutation of (4, 2, 5) can be obtained
by a series of such exchanges, illustrating a gen-
eral principle noted in Section 6.1: every permu-
tation in a permutation group 𝒮n can be written
as a product of 2-​cycles. The three coordinate
axes divide the plane into six sectors, each con-
taining one permutation of (4, 2, 5). The sectors
may be defined by order relations among the
three coordinates, as shown in the figure: for
example, the sector containing (4, 2, 5)T, at the
lower right, consists of all T-​classes (x, y, z)T for

450 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces

which y < x < z. In other words, the sectors are
contour classes: all triples (x, y, z) satisfying y < x
< z share a “middle-​low-​high” contour.35 Points
with two equal coordinates lie on the coordi-
nate axes, the boundaries between sectors: for
example, the z axis comprises points of the form
[0, 0, z]T for which x =​ y. Such points are permu-
tationally symmetric, as they are left invariant by
some permutation of the coordinates (such as
interchanging x and y).
The six permutations of (4, 2, 5) represent
six different T-​classes, but they all represent the
same PT-​class. The plane of T-​space contains
every T-​ class exactly once, but (disregarding
points on the axes) contains every PT-​class six
times, once in each sector. Any one of the six
sectors could therefore serve as a fundamental
region for PT equivalence and a representation
of three-​voice PT-​space cpitch3/​~PT. The sector
containing (2, 4, 5)T, shaded in Figure 11.4.4, is
the normal region. In this region the coordinates
appear in ascending order x < y < z, as is always
the case in P or PT normal forms (except on the
boundary of the sector, where at least x ≤ y ≤ z
is always true). Every pitch triple α is P-​equiva-
lent to some point in the normal region, namely
its P normal form [α]P, obtained by arrang-
ing the three coordinates in ascending order.
For α =​(4, 2, 5), the P normal form is [2, 4, 5]P,
and the PT normal form is [0, 2, 3]PT, obtained by
transposing [α]P to start with 0. Because (2, 4, 5)
and (0, 2, 3) are transpositionally equivalent,
they lie at the same point in the plane of T-​space.
PT normal forms such as [0, 2, 3]PT will be our
standard labels for points in PT-​space. PT-​space,
like T-​space, is an unbounded two-​dimensional
space, but it is only one-​sixth of the plane—​as
we should expect, because PT-​space is the quo-
tient space obtained from T-​space through the
action of a group 𝒮3 of order 6.
Consider the straight-​ line voice leading
(2, 4, 5) → (4, 2, 5) shown in Figure 11.4.5a, mov-
ing from α =​(D4, E4, F4) to β =​(E4, D4, F4). The
first voice ascends continuously through a whole
tone from 2 to 4 (D4 to E4) while the second voice
executes the opposite motion from E4 to D4, the
third voice all the while fixed at F4. In the plane of
T-​space, shown in part (b) of the figure, this voice
leading describes a straight line from (2, 4, 5)T
(yz form [0, 2, 3]) to (4, 2, 5)T (yz form [0, −2, 1]).
The two moving voices cross at E♭4, momentarily
forming the pitch triple γ =​(3, 3, 5) (yz form [0,
0, 2]), a permutationally symmetric point where
the path in T-​space crosses the z axis.
Now consider the same voice leading in PT-​
space, represented by the normal region as shown
in Figure 11.4.5c. In PT-​space, α and β are the same
point (PT normal form [0, 2, 3]PT), while γ ([0, 0,
2]PT) lies on a boundary of the space. The path starts
at α, bounces off the boundary at γ, and retraces
its path to α, illustrating the fact—​not apparent in
T-​space—​that the sonorities heard after the voice
crossing are the same as those before, in reverse
order. The coordinate axes in T-​space become mir-
ror boundaries of PT-​space: whenever a continuous
path in T-​space crosses an axis, the corresponding
path in PT-​space reflects off a boundary. Because
of this boundary behavior, PT-​space cannot be a
manifold: pitch-​triple space and T-​space are mani-
folds, but PT-​space is an orbifold.
Exercise 11.4.6 Reconsider the Saariaho voice
leading (−12, −3, −1) → (−8, −10, −7) from
Exercise 11.3.13 and Figure 11.3.14.
(a) Graph this motion in T-​space and PT-​space.
What happens at the point γ where the
lower two voices cross?
(b) Suppose the initial pitch triple α =​(C3, A3,
B3) is transposed up an octave to α′ =​(C4,
A4, B4) but β =​(E3, D3, F3) remains in its
original register. In T-​space, is the path
from α′ to β the same as the path from α to
β? What about the path in PT-​space? Does
the crossing point γ represent the same
pitch-​class set as before? What if α and β
  are both transposed up an octave?36
Next we introduce inversional equivalence.
The image of (4, 2, 5) under the inversion
operator I is I(4, 2, 5) =​(−4, −2, −5), a point
that does not coincide with (4, 2, 5) in T-​space
or PT-​space. Like every pitch triple, however,
it is permutationally equivalent to a point in
the fundamental region for PT equivalence, in
this case (−5, −4, −2), with yz form [0, 1, 3]. As
shown in Figure 11.4.7, the two inversionally
related points (4, 2, 5)PT =​[0, 2, 3]PT and (−4, −2,
−5)PT =​[0, 1, 3]PT are symmetrically positioned
in opposite halves of the sector of PT-​space. The
dashed line that bisects PT-​space in the figure is
an axis of inversional symmetry. Points on this
line include yz forms such as [0, 1, 2], [0, 2, 4],
and [0, 3, 6]—​inversionally symmetric chords,
invariant under some inversion in pitch space.37
For triples (x, y, z) on this line, y is equidistant
in pitch space between x and z; the line is char-
acterized by the equation y − x =​ z − y, or more
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 451

FIGURE 11.4.5 (a) The voice leading (2, 4, 5) →
(4, 2, 5); (b) the corresponding path in three-​voice
T-​space; (c) the corresponding path in three-​voice
PT-​space
FIGURE 11.4.7 Inversion in three-​voice PT-​space,
with the normal region for PTI-​space
452 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
compactly 2y =​ x +​ z. Inversion I maps any point
in PT-​space to its reflection across this axis of
symmetry.
With inversional equivalence added to the
arsenal of available equivalence relations, every
point is now equivalent to some point in each
half of PT-​space; we may therefore take either
one of these half-​ sectors as a fundamental
region for PTI equivalence. The lower half-​sector
is the normal region—​the PTI normal form of
(4, 2, 5) is [0, 1, 3], not [0, 2, 3]—​so we will use
this normal region as a representation of three-​
voice PTI-​space. This region of T-​space consists
of points (x, y, z) with x < y < z such that y is
closer to x than to z. PTI-​space is half the size
of PT-​space—​plausibly, inasmuch as inversion
generates a group of order 2—​and one-​twelfth
the size of T-​space. Excepting boundary singu-
larities, the full plane of T-​space includes every
T-​class once, every PT-​class six times, and every
PTI-​class twelve times.
Exercise 11.4.8
(a) Each of the six sectors of T-​space shown in
Figure 11.4.4 (any of which could represent
PT-​space) has its own axis of inversional
symmetry, comparable to the dashed line in
Figure 11.4.7. Locate the six permutations
of (0, 2, 4) in T-​space and verify that they
all lie on one of these axes. Determine
equations analogous to x +​ z =​2y for each of
the other axes.
(b) The six permutations of the pitch triple
(−4, −2, −5) may be obtained by applying the
inversion operator I to the six permutations
of (4, 2, 5) shown in Figure 11.4.4. Plot
these six new points in T-​space, noting
how they are related to each other (by
reflection about the coordinate axes) and
to the original permutations of (4, 2, 5)
(by reflection about the axes of inversional
  symmetry in the six sectors).
Consider the simple voice leading (2, 4, 5) →
(2, 3, 5) shown in Figure 11.4.9a, in which the
middle voice descends continuously through
the semitone from E4 to E♭4 while the other two
voices hold the pitches D4 and F4. In PT-​space, as
shown in (b), this voice leading traces a straight-​
line path from α =​(2, 4, 5) (PT normal form [0, 2,
3]PT) to β =​(2, 3, 5) ([0, 1, 3]PT). This path crosses
the boundary separating the two half-​sectors of
PT-​space; the crossing occurs at γ =​(2, 31 2 , 5)
(PT normal form [0, 11 2 , 3]PT). Although γ is not
an equal-​tempered trichord, it is inversionally
 FIGURE 11.4.10 Two octave-​equivalent points
in three-​voice PTI-​space

direction parallel to any of the coordinate axes

will always yield an O-​equivalent point, pro-
ducing a closed path of some sort in any space
that accounts for O equivalence. In the setting
that already includes P, T, and I equivalence,
however, the modular structure created by O
equivalence turns out to be considerably more
complex than the mod-​12 cubes that arise in
the case of 𝕋 n.
Consider once more the pitch triple (E4, D4,
F4) =​(4, 2, 5). We know that this triple appears
in PTI-​space at the point whose yz form is [0, 1,
FIGURE 11.4.9 (a) The voice leading (2, 4, 5) → 3]. Suppose now that the triple’s second note
(2, 3, 5); (b) the corresponding path in three-​voice is octave-​transposed from D4 to D5, yielding
PT-​space; (c) the corresponding path in three-​ the O-​equivalent triple (4, 14, 5). This triple is
voice PTI-​space P-​equivalent to (4, 5, 14), whose yz form is [0,
1, 10]. This is another point of PTI-​space, lying
seven units to the right of the original point at
symmetric. In PTI-​space, as shown in (c), α and coordinates [0, 1, 3]. The idea that transposing
β are the same point, and γ lies on a boundary of a pitch by twelve semitones causes the position
the space. It is another mirror boundary: at γ the of a point to shift by seven units may seem unex-
path in PTI-​space bounces back in the direction pected—​but as Figure 11.4.10 shows, these two
from which it came. points are symmetrically positioned about a ver-
Coordinates in the PTI normal region, such tical line through the point [0, 0, 6]. This line is
as [0, 1, 3], often resemble prime forms of a line of symmetry, but what kind may not be
pitch-​class sets—​but because we have not yet immediately clear. Another point on this line
introduced octave equivalence, the triples here has the yz form [0, 2, 7]. In pitch space, {0, 2,
still stand for sets of pitches, not pitch classes, 7} is not a symmetrical set, but pitch-​class sets
and chords with widely separated notes, lying of prime form 027 are inversionally symmetric.
far from the origin, may have coordinates The symmetry of [0, 2, 7] and other points on
larger than 12. Like PT-​space, PTI-​space is an the vertical line depends on both octave and
unbounded two-​ dimensional orbifold; only inversional equivalence; the line is a line of OI
octave equivalence will produce a bounded symmetry for PT-​classes.38 All points on this line
space. Octave equivalence converts unbounded satisfy the equation x +​ y +​12 =​2z.
pitch space to bounded pitch-​class space—​or Figure 11.4.11 shows a broader picture of
in multiple dimensions, converts unbounded lines of O, P, and I symmetry in the plane of
pitch-​tuple space ℝn to bounded pitch-​class–​ T-​space.39 The original x, y, and z axes (solid
tuple space 𝕋 n. Moving twelve semitones in a black lines) are lines of permutational symmetry,

The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 453

FIGURE 11.4.11 Axes of symmetry in the plane of three-​voice T-​space, with the normal region for
OPTI-​space (after Callender)
intersecting at the origin and dividing the
plane into six sectors. The central axes of the
six sectors (dashed black lines) are the lines
of inversional symmetry described in Exercise
11.4.8 above. The full picture in Figure 11.4.11
emerges through octave equivalence, which
effectively allows us to translate this entire
system of axes by twelve units along the x, y,
or z axis, in either the positive or the negative
FIGURE 11.4.12 Three-​voice OPTI-​space
454 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
direction, and to combine these translations in
any desired way. The translated copies of the
axes are in gray.
The various axes and their translated copies
tile the plane with right triangles, all identical
in size but occurring in twelve different orien-
tations. Any one of these triangles could serve
as a fundamental region for OPTI equivalence.
The normal region is the shaded triangle, the
triangle closest to the origin within the funda-
mental region for PTI equivalence defined pre-
viously. This triangle, representing three-​voice
OPTI-​space, is reproduced at a larger scale in
Figure 11.4.12. All the lattice points within and
on the boundary of the triangle are identified by
their yz forms, which in this region coincide with
OPTI normal forms—​traditional prime forms of
pitch-​class multisets. The normal forms are writ-
ten in compressed fashion without brackets or
commas. Multisets with doublings, with normal
forms 00z, occur along the lower boundary. The
arrangement is consistent with that of other fig-
ures in this section, but more interesting is the
resemblance to the graph of trichordal set-​class
space from Figure 3.3.1—​or, better, with the
graph constructed in Exercise 3.3.5, with mul-
tisets added. The appearance of this graph was
described as “oddly asymmetrical” in Chapter 3;
our work with continuous voice-​leading spaces
in this chapter effectively validates the earlier
graph and shows how it fits within a larger struc-
ture (Figure 11.4.11) that exhibits symmetry of
many kinds.
The gridlines in Figure 11.4.12 indicate
continuous motion in the x, y, and z coordi-
nates; as in the graph in Chapter 3, chords at
adjacent vertices along any gridline differ by
a single semitone in one voice. The loops in
the earlier graph, the edges joining a vertex to
itself, appear here not as loops but as bounces:
places where a single-​semitone motion reflects
off a mirror boundary and returns to its start-
ing point. The bounce from 013, off the axis of
inversional symmetry, was illustrated in Figure
11.4.9c above; similar bounces are possible at
001, 025, and 037. Meanwhile, 016 and 037
admit a different kind of bounce, off the ver-
tical axis of OI symmetry. For example, the
T-​space voice leading (0, 1, 6) → (0, 1, 7)
bounces in OPTI-​space at (0, 1, 61 2 ), an OPTI-​
symmetric trichord, only to return to its start-
ing point 016 in OPTI-​space.
Exercise 11.4.13
(a) Consider the neo-​Riemannian PL-​cycle
c –​C –​e –​E –​g♯ –​A♭ –​c. Start with the pitch
triple (0, 3, 7), and realize each P and L
transformation through a single-​semitone
voice leading. Write the cycle as a series of
pitch triples; then, conceiving of the voice
leading as continuous motion, graph the
cycle in three-​voice T-​space, PT-​space, PTI-​
space, and OPTI-​space.
(b) Figure 3.3.1 showed only a single loop
at the trichord 037, but Figure 11.4.12
reveals that two different loop motions
in OPTI-​space are possible here: a single-​
semitone voice leading may return to 037
after bouncing off either the sloping axis
of inversional symmetry or the vertical
axis of OI symmetry. One of these loops
corresponds with the transformation P and
the other with L. Which is which?
(c) The loops just discussed are single-​semitone
voice leadings. If the neo-​Riemannian R is
regarded as a voice leading in which one
voice moves continuously through a whole
tone, then R creates yet another kind of
loop at 037. How does the voice leading
associated with R appear in OPTI-​space?
(d) Graph the voice leadings associated with
the Riemannian transformations P′, L′, R′,
and H (from Section 8.2) in OPTI-​space. All
of these paths in OPTI-​space should match
others you have considered previously. Why
  is this?40
Exercise 11.4.14 Write a straight-​line voice
leading in three voices (a straight line in
cpitch3) which, in OPTI-​space (Figure 11.4.12),
starts at 016, bounces off the corner of the
space
   at 006, and returns to 016.
Exercise 11.4.15 Locate all points in Figure
11.4.11 that are OPTI-​equivalent to (E4, D4, F4) =​
(4,  
2, 5).
Exercise 11.4.16 Figure 11.4.11 enables us
to deduce something about the symmetry
of pitch triples from their position relative
to the various axes of symmetry in T-​space.
Specifically, a pitch triple such as (0, 3, 3) lying
on a solid black axis is P-​symmetric, meaning
that it has a doubled pitch; a point such as (0,
−3, 9) on a solid gray axis is OP-​symmetric,
meaning that it has a doubled pitch class; a
point such as (0, 3, 6) on a dashed black axis is
PTI-​symmetric, meaning that it is inversionally
symmetric as an unordered multiset in pitch
space; and a point such as (0, −3, 6) on a dashed
gray axis is OPTI-​symmetric, meaning that it
is inversionally symmetric as an unordered
multiset in pitch-​class space.
First, verify the examples in the preceding
paragraph, locating each point in T-​space,
identifying the axis on which it lies, and
verifying the symmetry numerically. Then
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 455
determine the type(s) of symmetry, if any, for
each of the following pitch triples.41
(a) (−4, 1, 3)
(b) (5, 1, 3)
(c) (5, 1, 5)
(d) (5, 1, 7)
(e) (5, 1, 13)
(f)  (7, 1, 13)
Exercise 11.4.17 Write equations in the
variables x, y, and z for all of the axes (black or
gray,
   solid or dashed) visible in Figure 11.4.11.42
Consider the voice leading (2, 4, 5) → (2, 4,
17) shown in Figure 11.4.18a, in which two
voices hold the pitches D4 and E4 while the third
ascends continuously through an octave from
F4 to F5. In pitch-​triple space this voice leading
describes a straight line parallel to the z axis from
α =​(2, 4, 5) to β =​(2, 4, 17). It is also a straight
line in T-​space, extending 12 units rightward
because the only motion is in the z coordinate.
The three voices remain in ascending order x < y
< z throughout the voice leading, so the T-​space
path lies entirely within the normal region for
~PT, and therefore the graph in PT-​space looks
identical to the graph in T-​space. This graph in
T-​space or PT-​space is shown in (b).
The straight-​line path in T-​space does not
cross any axes of permutational symmetry
(Figure 11.4.11’s solid black lines), but it crosses
no fewer than six other axes of symmetry en route
from α to β. The six crossing points are labeled in
(b) with the next six Greek letters, γ through θ,
and they divide the entire path into seven seg-
ments, labeled ①–​⑦. The first axis encountered,
at the symmetrical pitch triple γ =​(2, 4, 6) =​(D4,
E4, F♯4), is a dashed black line of PTI symmetry,
so in PTI-​space the path bounces off a boundary
at γ. The path enters the lower half of PT-​space
at γ—​the normal region for ~PTI—​and remains
in that region through segments ②–​⑦. Segment
① from α to γ, however, lies in the upper half of
PT-​space and must therefore be reflected into
the lower half when the voice leading is graphed
in PTI-​space. As we have seen, α maps onto the
point (0, 1, 3) in PTI-​ space; Figure 11.4.18c
shows that the graph of the voice leading in PTI-​
space differs from that in T-​ or PT-​space only in
the appearance of segment ①.
In OPTI-​space, things get much more com-
plicated, because the path encounters five
more mirror boundaries, all gray lines from
Figure 11.20 depending in some way on octave
456 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
equivalence. Figure 11.4.18d shows the OPTI-​
space path. One way to conceive of this path
is to take the original straight-​line path from
(b), visualize each of the seven segments in its
own triangular tile, and map those seven sepa-
rate tiles into the normal region by a series of
reflections across boundaries. Because α and β
are octave-​equivalent, they are the same point
in OPTI-​ space; the path bounces six times
between the two, including the first bounce
at γ, already encountered in PTI-​space. At δ =​
(2, 4, 9) =​(D4, E4, A4) (OPTI normal form 027)
it bounces at a right angle off the vertical axis
of OI symmetry and heads leftward again for
segment ③; here we may envision the triangle
containing segment ③ in (b) mapped onto the
normal region by reflection about the vertical
line through δ. Point ε =​(2, 4, 12) =​(D4, E4, C5)
is OPT-​equivalent to γ, and therefore the same
point of OPTI-​space (OPTI normal form 024).
Here the path bounces back in the direction of
α, and in fact the path passes through αOPTI =​
013 in the middle of segment ④.
The final three bounces are closely spaced,
separated by single semitones of voice leading.
The first of these occurs at ζ =​(2, 4, 14) =​(D4,
E4, D5), an OP-​symmetric point on a solid gray
axis in (b) and (c), with OPTI normal form 002.
A right-​angle bounce follows at the OPTI-​sym-
metric point η =​(2, 4, 15) =​(D4, E4, E♭5) (OPTI
normal form 012), after which there is a final
bounce at θ =​(2, 4, 16) =​(D4, E4, E5), another
OPT-​symmetric point coincident with ζ in OPTI-​
space, leading back to the starting point at β =​(2,
4, 17) =​(D4, E4, F5).
Exercise 11.4.19 To show that the pitch triple
γ =​(2, 4, 6) is PTI-​symmetric, we could write,
for example,
(2, 4, 6) ~I (−2, −4, −6) ~T (6, 4, 2) ~P (2, 4, 6).
In a similar way, verify numerically the
assertions below, all of which figured in the
above description of the voice leading in
OPTI-​space:
(a) Pitch triple δ =​(2, 4, 9) is OPTI-​symmetric.
(b) Pitch triples γ =​(2, 4, 6) and ε =​(2, 4, 12)
are OPT-​equivalent.
(c) Pitch triple ζ =​(2, 4, 14) is OP-​symmetric.
(d) Pitch triple η =​(2, 4, 15) is OPTI-​symmetric.
(e) Pitch triple θ =​(2, 4, 16) is OP-​symmetric.
(f) Pitch triples ζ =​(2, 4, 14) and θ =​(2, 4, 16)
  are OPTI-​equivalent.
FIGURE 11.4.18 (a) The voice leading (2, 4, 5) → (2, 4, 17); (b) the corresponding path in three-​voice
T-​space; (c) the corresponding path in three-​voice PTI-​space; (d) the corresponding path in three-​voice
OPTI-​space

The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 457

Exercise 11.4.20 What are the coordinates
of the pitch triple that lies between ε and ζ on
segment ④ of the path described above and
which coincides in OPTI-​space with α and β?
Verify numerically that this triple is OPTI-​
equivalent
   both to α and to β.
We will not attempt to cover every pos-
sible combination of the OPTIC symmetries
for three-​voice spaces, but OPT-​space deserves
attention. Because ~OPT resembles ~OPTI but
without inversion, we should expect that OPT-​
space should be twice as large as the OPTI-​space
described above. The normal region for ~OPT is
shown in T-​space in Figure 11.4.21a, where it
takes the form of the shaded kite-​shaped figure
FIGURE 11.4.21 (a) The normal region for three-​voice OPT-​space; (b) the voice leading (2, 4, 5) →
(2, 4, 17) in OPT-​space
458 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
obtained by combining the triangular normal
region for ~OPTI (Figure 11.4.12) with its reflec-
tion across the dashed axis of inversional sym-
metry. This region contains two representatives
of every asymmetrical three-​note multiset class,
one for each of its two T-​classes, symmetrically
positioned on opposite sides of the inversional
axis. For example, the figure shows points at
coordinates [0, 1, 3] and [0, 2, 3], both of which
are in OPT normal form, though they share the
single OPTI normal form [0, 1, 3].
This normal region differs in important
respects from others we have studied. The two
shorter boundary segments of this figure are
false boundaries, not mirror boundaries. This
is because the pitch triples on one of these two
boundary segments are OPT-​equivalent to those
on the other: for example,
(0, 6, 6) ~T (6, 12, 12) ~O (6, 0, 0) ~P (0, 0, 6)
and
(0, 5, 7) ~T (7, 12, 14) ~O (7, 0, 2) ~P (0, 2, 7).43
These two edges of the region therefore repre-
sent the same line segment in OPT-​space; the
two are glued together in the orientation implied
by the arrowheads on these edges.44
Figure 11.4.21b traces the voice leading (2,
4, 5) → (2, 4, 17) from Figure 11.4.18 in OPT-​
space. Unlike the path in OPTI-​space, the path
in OPT-​space does not retrace its own course in
reverse; instead, corresponding segments mirror
each other about the axis of inversional symme-
try. The voice leading starts by moving rightward
from αOPT =​023. At γOPT =​024, the path crosses
the inversional axis, but this is not a boundary
of OPT-​space, so there is no change of direc-
tion here; the path simply continues rightward
into the other half of OPT-​space. At δOPT =​027,
one of the false boundaries of the fundamental
region is reached. Rather than bouncing back as
in OPTI-​space, the path re-​emerges at the other
boundary point representing δ, still moving at
right angles to the boundary, and continues its
journey from there via segments ③ and ④, which
mirror segments ② and ① in reverse. The path
crosses its previous course at ε, which coincides
with γ on the line of inversional symmetry. In
quick succession, the path then reflects off the z
axis at ζ, crosses the inversional axis again at η,
and bounces off the x axis at θ, finally arriving at
β, which coincides with α.
Exercise 11.4.22
(a) Verify that all labeled points are correctly
plotted in Figure 11.4.21b.
(b) In Exercise 11.4.20 you identified another
pitch triple in this voice leading that
coincided with α and β in OPTI-​space.
  Where is this pitch triple in OPT-​space?
Exercise 11.4.23 Return once more to the
Saariaho voice leading from Figure 11.3.14
and Exercises 11.3.13 and 11.4.6. Graph this
voice leading in PTI-​space, in OPTI-​space, and
in OPT-​space. Your picture should show that
in addition to the initial and final sonorities,
one other OPTI-​class occurs twice in this
voice leading; identify the coordinates of this
point.
   45
Exercise 11.4.24 The OPT normal region
of Figure 11.4.21, formed by combining the
triangular OPTI normal region with the triangle
above it in Figure 11.4.11, is not the only
possible fundamental region for OPT-​space.
Consider these two possibilities:
(a) Combine the OPTI normal region with the
triangle below it (its reflection across the z
axis), forming an equilateral triangle.
(b) Combine the OPTI normal region with the
triangle to its right (its reflection across
the dashed vertical axis of OI symmetry),
  forming a broad, flat isosceles triangle.
One of these two possibilities yields a valid
construction of a fundamental region for OPT-​
space, but the other does not. Which is which,
and why? Plot the (2, 4, 5) → (2, 4, 17) voice
leading from Figures 11.4.18 and 11.4.21b
using the alternate fundamental region you
have identified, and describe advantages and
disadvantages of using this region as a model of
OPT-​space instead of the normal region.46
We conclude this section with some brief
remarks about cardinality equivalence in three-​
voice spaces. In the OPTI-​space of Figure 11.4.12,
C equivalence turns out to be inconsequential,
as was the case in all two-​voice spaces. The only
trichords potentially affected are those with dou-
blings, on the lower boundary of the triangle
in the figure. The OPTI normal form of such a
trichord is of the form [0, 0, z]OPTI for some z with
0 ≤ z ≤ 6, which reduces via C equivalence to the
OPTIC normal form [0, z]OPTIC (or [0]‌OPTIC in the
case of the triple unison [0, 0, 0]OPTI). The line seg-
ment of trichords with doublings looks just like
the line segment of two-​voice OPTI-​space (Figure
11.2.12c), and in all cases there is a one-​to-​one
correspondence between OPTI normal forms
and OPTIC normal forms. As a result, three-​voice
OPTIC-​space is essentially the same thing as
three-​voice OPTI-​space.
It would be a mistake to infer, however, that
cardinality equivalence has no bearing on any
three-​voice spaces. While two different pitch
pairs cannot have the same C normal form, two
different pitch triples can: for example, (0, 0, 5)
and (0, 5, 5) share the C normal form [0, 5]C.
In cpitch3 or any quotient space of cpitch3 in
which pairs of points like (0, 0, 5) and (0, 5, 5)
remain distinct, cardinality equivalence will
affect the form of the space. In OPT-​space, for
example, [0, 0, 5]OPT and [0, 5, 5]OPT are two
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 459
different points (both are in OPT normal form),
so the fact that they are cardinality-​equivalent
means that three-​voice OPTC-​space cannot be
the same as the OPT-​space of Figure 11.4.21.47
Exercise 11.4.25 Locate two different points
in the Möbius prism of three-​voice OP-​space
(Figure 11.3.4) that must be conjoined in
   space.48
OPC-​
Three-​voice OPTI-​space turns out to be the
last space for which we may say that cardinal-
ity equivalence does not make a difference: all
spaces of four or more voices are substantively
altered by the inclusion of ~C, usually in ways
too complicated to describe here. The “worm-
holes” joining distant points become even more
difficult to visualize when spaces of different
dimensions are involved. Even in the case of
three-​voice OP-​space, as in the above exercise,
the identifications required to account for ~C
are complex. Cardinality equivalence matters
only for chords with doublings, which charac-
teristically occupy only a very small portion of a
space: a single line in a plane, a boundary edge,
or a two-​dimensional slice within a three-​dimen-
sional space, for example. While these small
regions may seem statistically insignificant, they
are of considerable musical importance because
of the prevalence of sonorities with doublings—​
and because these regions often occur on space
boundaries, they are often atypical in other ways
as well. See Exercise 11.6.17 at the end of this
chapter for another illustration.
11.5 FOUR-​VOICE OP-​S PACE
The complexity of OPTIC spaces increases dra-
matically as the number of notes increases, and a
thorough study of higher-​dimensional examples
is beyond the scope of this book. In the final two
sections of this chapter we confine ourselves to a
brief overview of some four-​voice spaces.
We began our study of three-​voice spaces with
the hexatonic triad cube. The analogous construc-
tion in four notes is an octatonic seventh-​chord
hypercube. A hypercube is a higher-​dimensional
analog of a cube, in this case a four-​dimensional
cube or 4-​cube.49 Just as a three-​dimensional cube
may be constructed from a (two-​ dimensional)
square by projecting it through a third dimension
perpendicular to the first two, a 4-​cube may be
constructed by starting with a three-​dimensional
cube and projecting it through a fourth dimension
perpendicular to the first three. Four dimensions
460 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
are difficult to conceptualize in a three-​dimen-
sional world and even harder to draw in a two-​
dimensional picture, but Figure 11.5.1a shows
one way to visualize this construction. Vertices
are labeled with four-​dimensional coordinates (w,
x, y, z), each coordinate taking the values 0 and
1. The original cube, in xyz space (all the vertices
have w =​0), is shown in black, in an orientation
similar to Figure 10.1.1 and other figures we have
examined in three-​voice spaces. The translated
copy, on the vertices with w =​1, appears in gray;
the projection through the fourth (w) dimen-
sion, connecting the two cubes, is shown by
dashed lines.
Exercise 11.5.2 A 4-​cube has 16 vertices
(twice as many as an ordinary 3-​cube), 32
one-​dimensional edges (line segments), 24
two-​dimensional square faces, and eight three-​
dimensional facets or “hyperfaces,” which are
themselves ordinary cubes. Identify all of these
objects
   in Figure 11.5.1a.50
Figure 11.5.1b shows an octatonic seventh-​
chord hypercube, which may look familiar if you
solved Exercises 3.1.17 and 3.1.18. The verti-
ces of this 4-​cube are identified with four-​note
chords, labeled with O normal forms in wxyz
coordinates and also with chord names repre-
senting OP-​classes. The hypercube in (b) is like
the one in (a), but its coordinates have been
translated to a different location in four-​dimen-
sional space: the coordinates in (b), which are O
normal forms, may be obtained by adding (0, 3,
6, 9) componentwise to the coordinates in (a). As
with the three dimensions of the hexatonic triad
cube, each dimension of this hypercube encom-
passes a single semitone of motion in one voice:
the w voice (the first coordinate of the ordered
4-​tuple) moves between 0 and 1, x between 3
and 4, y between 6 and 7, and z between 9 and
10. All notes of the chords at the vertices of the
graph therefore belong to the octatonic collec-
tion oct01.
The OP-​classes in (b) could have been labeled
with OP normal forms, rotations of the O nor-
mal forms as determined by the span-​optimiza-
tion criterion from Section 10.4. For example,
the OP normal form derived from O normal
form [0, 3, 7, 10]O would be [7, 10, 0, 3]OP, which
could be written in note names as GB♭CE♭. Rather
than displaying OP normal forms in this way, the
figure instead employs familiar chord names,
so that the chord just discussed is labeled Cm7.
Fully diminished seventh chords co7 and c♯o7
FIGURE 11.5.1 (a) Construction of a 4-​cube; (b) an octatonic seventh-​chord hypercube
appear at the bottom and top vertices of the
figure. The other fourteen vertices include the
half-​diminished, minor, and dominant seventh
chords whose roots are pitch classes 0, 3, 6,
and 9, as well as two French augmented-​sixth
chords, labeled CFr and E♭Fr. For example, CFr
is the chord C–​E–​F♯–​A♯, a chord that might also
be called F♯Fr, C♭⁷₅, or F♯ ♭⁷₅. The octatonic seventh-​
chord hypercube thus includes chords in four
different tetrachordal set classes (prime forms
0258, 0268, 0358, and 0369), compared with
just two trichordal set classes in the hexatonic
triad cube (037 and 048). The mod-​ 12 sum
classes of the chords in Figure 11.5.1b range
from 6 for co7 at the bottom of the figure to 10
for c♯o7 at the top. Dark vertices represent chords
of even sum class (6, 8, and 10), while light ver-
tices are chords of odd sum class (7 and 9). Each
edge, depicting a single-​semitone voice leading,
joins a dark vertex to a light vertex; the graph of
a cube in any number of dimensions is always a
bipartite graph. The above discussion describes
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 461
the chords at the vertices of the hypercube as
discrete objects, but the octatonic 4-​cube, like
the hexatonic 3-​cube, is a continuous structure,
points in its four-​dimensional interior corre-
sponding to non-​equal-​tempered chords.
The hypercube in Figure 11.5.1b is part of a
chain of similar hypercubes, shown in Figure
11.5.3. Diminished seventh chords form the
links between successive hypercubes, playing
a role analogous to augmented triads in the
hexatonic triad cube chain from Figure 10.2.1.
This chain is a short one: the three hyper-
cubes in the figure are the only three octatonic
FIGURE 11.5.3 A chain of octatonic seventh-​chord hypercubes
462 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
seventh-​chord hypercubes in four-​ voice OP-​
space. There are, after all, only three different
octatonic collections, and the d♯o7 chord at the
top of Figure 11.5.3 is the same OP-​class as co7
at the bottom. The chain must therefore loop
back on itself somehow in the manner of Figure
10.2.11, presumably with some sort of twist.
Apart from the co7–​d♯o7 duplication, every other
equal-​
tempered chord of prime form 0258,
0268, 0358, and 0369 appears exactly once in
Figure 11.5.3.51
Like the hexatonic cube, a single octatonic
hypercube may be conceived as a subset of
FIGURE 11.5.4 The sum-​class-​0 tetrahedron in four-​voice OP-​space
pitch-​tuple space or O-​space, but when the full
chain is considered, complexities arise requir-
ing a fuller conception of OP-​ space. Here the
increased dimensionality of four-​ voice space
presents a greater conceptual challenge. Recall
that three-​voice OP-​space takes the form of the
Möbius prism in Figure 11.3.4, whose triangular
top and bottom layers, consisting of trichords of
sum class 0, are glued together with a 120-​degree
rotation. In four-​ voice pitch-​tuple space, tetra-
chords of sum class 0 lie not in a plane but in a
three-​dimensional subspace, consisting of solu-
tions to a single linear equation w +​ x +​ y +​ z =​ 0
in four variables. In four-​voice OP-​space, the sum-​
class-​0 tetrachords form the tetrahedron shown in
Figure 11.5.4; zero-​sum voice leading takes place
not in a plane but in a tetrahedron of this sort.
As a picture of the sum-​class-​0 cross section
of OP-​space, Figure 11.5.4 is far from complete.
The analogous figure for three-​ voice spaces,
Figure 11.3.1, showed all the equal-​tempered
trichords of sum-​class 0 and included O normal
forms in xyz coordinates as well as OP normal
forms. In Figure 11.5.4, no attempt is made to
show wxyz coordinates, and only 22 of the 116
equal-​tempered four-​note multisets present in
the tetrahedron are labeled in the figure—​those
on its edges. These 22 tetrachords, all of which
include multiple pitch-​class doublings, are iden-
tified by OP normal forms. The multisets CCCC,
E♭E♭E♭E♭, F♯F♯F♯F♯, and AAAA at the corners of the
tetrahedron are the quadruple unisons of sum
class 0, analogous to the multisets CCC, EEE,
and A♭A♭A♭ at the corners of Figure 11.3.1. Four
of the six edges of the tetrahedron contain mul-
tisets with a tripled pitch class, such as DDDF♯;
the other two edges contain multisets with two
doubled pitch classes, such as DDEE. Multisets
with a single doubling fall on the faces of the tet-
rahedron: for example, C♯D♯EE falls near the top
of the rightward-​facing face, midway between
the labeled points CEEE and DDEE. The inte-
rior of the tetrahedron is filled with tetrachords
without doublings; for example, C♯DEF is also
relatively near the top of the tetrahedron, but
within the interior, not on a face.
Exercise 11.5.5
(a) Some tetrachords of sum class 0, such as the
whole-​tone tetrachord E♭FGA, are invariant
under the inversion I0—​that is, they are
symmetric about the C–​F♯ axis in pitch-​class
space. Where do such tetrachords lie in the
tetrahedron of Figure 11.5.4?
(b) Some tetrachords of sum class 0, such as
the Em7 chord BDEG, are invariant under
I6, symmetric about the E♭–​A axis. Where do
such tetrachords lie in the tetrahedron?
(c) A few tetrachords of sum class 0, such as
the D♭Fr chord FGBD♭, are symmetric about
both the C–​F♯ and E♭–​A axes. Where do such
  tetrachords lie in the tetrahedron?52
Exercise 11.5.6 The four-​voice straight-​line
voice leading shown in Figure 11.5.7a is similar
to the three-​voice example studied previously
in Figure 11.3.10a.53 Now, however, two voices
descend while two others ascend, so the voice
leading is zero-​sum, and it lies entirely within
the sum-​class-​0 tetrahedron of Figure 11.5.4.
(a) Graph this voice leading in the tetrahedron.
First locate α and η, which are among the
chords labeled on the edges of the figure.
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 463
FIGURE 11.5.7 (a) A zero-​sum voice leading in four voices, for Exercise 11.5.6; (b) omnibus progres-
sion for Exercise 11.5.8d
Then locate γ and ε, each of which contains
one doubled pitch class and therefore lies
on a face of the tetrahedron. The complete
path consists of straight line segments
α → γ, γ → ε, and ε → η; chords β, δ, and
ζ, interior to the tetrahedron, lie at the
midpoints of these three segments.54
(b) If the voice leading continues in the same
manner beyond chord η (all four voices
continuing to move in their established
directions), what path will be traced
through the tetrahedron?
(c) Chord δ is the chord labeled D♭Fr in the
oct12 hypercube of Figure 11.5.3, also
mentioned in Exercise 11.5.5c. The chord
EFr also belongs to sum class 0 and is
symmetric about the same axes; visualize
its location within the tetrahedron.
(d) The four minor seventh chords in the
oct12 hypercube also belong to sum class
0. Can you visualize their locations in the
tetrahedron? If you draw a line segment
through the tetrahedron from Em7 to B♭m7,
what (non-​equal-​tempered) chord lies at the
  midpoint of that segment?55
Exercise 11.5.8
(a) Tetrachords of sum class 1 form a
tetrahedron like Figure 11.5.4, but with
every pitch class 1 4 semitone higher. One
vertex of this tetrahedron is the quadruple
unison OP-​class [ 1 4 , 1 4 , 1 4 , 1 4 ]OP , which may
464 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
also be notated C+​0.25C+​0.25C+​0.25C+​0.25. Draw
this tetrahedron in a manner resembling
Figure 11.5.4, labeling chords in the latter
notation.
(b) The vertices of the sum-​class-​1 tetrahedron
are not equal-​tempered tetrachords, but
many equal-​tempered chords belong to sum
class 1 and therefore may be found here.
Locate the triple unisons C♯EEE, FFFB♭,
and AAAB♭ on the edges of the tetrahedron.
Also locate the (non-​equal-​tempered) chord
E♭+​0.5E♭+​0.5AA on one edge. Do any equal-​
tempered chords lie on that edge?
(c) Consider the straight-​line voice leading
(−3, −2, 9, 9) → (−3, 31 2 , 31 2 , 9) in four-​
voice pitch-​tuple space. During the course
of this voice leading, voice x ascends
through 51 2 semitones while y descends
through the same interval; the entire
voice leading remains within the sum-​
class-​1 tetrahedron. In OP-​space, this
voice leading describes a straight line
from AAAB♭ to E♭+​0.5E♭+​0.5AA, two of the
points identified in part (b). The w and z
coordinates hold two pitches (−3 and 9)
representing the same pitch class, and the
entire voice leading in OP-​space remains
within one face of the tetrahedron.
After x and y have moved through four
semitones, the chord (−3, 2, 5, 9)OP (DFAA)
is encountered, a D-​minor triad with a
doubled fifth. Locate this chord on one face
 of the tetrahedron. In a similar fashion, sum classes as transpositions of sum class 0. The
locate the chords A♭C♭E♭E♭ and FA♭CC. axis of transposition extends only from T0 to T3
(d) The omnibus progression shown in Figure before the original tetrahedron reappears in a
11.5.7b is a zero-​sum voice leading entirely different orientation. Any attempt to show this
within the sum-​class-​1 tetrahedron. As four-​dimensional construction in a two-​dimen-
a whole it is not a straight-​line voice-​ sional image, as in Figure 11.5.9, is inevitably
leading (why not?), but it divides into three less than completely satisfactory. The tetrahedra
segments of straight-​line voice leading at at the top and bottom of this figure both cor-
chords γ and ζ. Chords α, δ, and η were respond to the three-​dimensional sum-​class-​0
identified in part (c) above; the other four tetrahedron from Figure 11.5.4; they are identi-
chords are dominant seventh chords. Graph cal except for their orientation. The vertical lines
this omnibus in the tetrahedron.56 connecting the two appearances of this tetrahe-
(e) The omnibus could continue through six dron depict the fourth dimension in this figure.
more chords, arriving back at A♭C♭E♭E♭. The sum-​class indications at the right side of the
  Graph this extended voice leading. figure run the risk of being somewhat mislead-
ing, as every sum class occupies a three-​dimen-
The sum-​ 0 tetrahedron is a three-​ sional tetrahedral region in four-​
class-​ dimensional
dimensional cross section of four-​ voice OP-​ space. The two appearances of the sum-​class-​0
space. The full space, which we will call a Möbius tetrahedron cap the hyperprism of four-​voice
hyperprism, is obtained by extruding the tetrahe- OP-​space at its ends; conjoining the two tetra-
dron through a fourth dimension corresponding hedra in the appropriate orientations imposes a
to transposition, thereby producing the other twist through four-​dimensional space analogous

FIGURE 11.5.9 Four-​voice OP-​space

The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 465

to the twist described previously for the Möbius
prism of three-​voice OP-​space.57
The octatonic seventh-​ chord hypercube
chain surrounds the central axis of four-​voice
OP-​ space, much as the hexatonic triad cube
chain does in the three-​voice space. The hyper-
cubes, unlike the tetrahedra, are four-​dimen-
sional objects in themselves. The hypercubes
are joined at the diminished seventh chords,
but unlike augmented triads, no equal-​ tem-
pered diminished seventh chord belongs to sum
class 0. Consequently the oct12 hypercube is
split between the top and bottom of the figure;
the gluing of the two tetrahedra unites the two
halves in a complete hypercube. The intersection
of the oct12 hypercube with the sum-​class-​0
tetrahedron, appearing at both the top and the
bottom of Figure 11.5.9, contains the four minor
seventh and two French sixth chords examined
in Exercise 11.5.6c–​d. The center of the oct12
hypercube coincides with the center of the sum-​
class-​0 tetrahedron; this is the midpoint men-
tioned in the last question in Exercise 11.5.6d.
We remarked in Section 11.3 that a major
or minor triad divides the octave nearly evenly,
lies near the central axis of three-​ voice OP-​
space, shares a hexatonic triad cube with its T4
and T8 transpositions, and therefore is related
to those two chords by smooth voice leading.
The analogous property for seventh chords near
the central axis of four-​voice OP-​space is that a
seventh chord falls in the same octatonic hyper-
cube with its T3, T6, and T9 transpositions. One
can see in the hypercube chain of Figure 11.5.3
that an E7 chord can move to G7, B♭7, or D♭7 by
moving two voices by semitone (such a move
occurs in chords β–​γ of the omnibus progres-
sion of Figure 11.5.7b), while at least four semi-
tones of motion are needed to reach any other
dominant seventh chord. Tymoczko describes
this property as a fundamental contrast in the
voice-​leading potential of triads and seventh
chords: for triads the smoothest voice leadings
connect major-​ third–​related chords, but for
seventh chords the smoothest voice leadings
connect minor-​third–​related chords.58 In both
cases, however, the location of chords near the
central axis allows for a richer and more varied
network of voice-​ leading connections than if
we restricted our attention to the symmetrical
chords on the axis itself. The reader may find it
instructive to revisit the pair of examples from
Rimsky-​Korsakov’s Christmas Eve in Example
8.3.19 and the associated Exercise 8.3.21 with
this contrast in mind. Both examples feature
466 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
root motion in alternating minor and major
thirds; in the triadic excerpt the implied voice
leading is smoother in the major-​third steps,
while in the seventh-​chord excerpt the minor-​
third steps are smoother.
Exercise 11.5.10 In three voices, many chords
are related by single-​semitone voice leading to
inversionally related chords (P-​ and L-​related
triads being among the many examples). Do any
equal-​tempered tetrachords have this property?
Give an example or explain why no such
example
   can exist.59
Example 11.5.11: Chopin, Prelude in E
Minor, Op. 28, No. 4 Figure 11.5.12a shows
in slightly simplified form the chords in mm.
2–​8 of Chopin’s E-​Minor Prelude, a widely
studied passage celebrated for its remarkable
voice leading in four voices.60 Part (b) traces
this voice leading in OP-​space. The vertical
sonorities include all five qualities appearing
in the octatonic seventh-​chord hypercube but
no others, and the passage consists entirely
of smoothly descending motion within the
hypercube chain. The path begins at B7 (V7 in
E minor) in the oct23 hypercube and descends
through oct12 and oct01 to reach oct23 a
second time, tracing different routes through
each hypercube but always passing through the
diminished seventh chords at cube junctions.
When g♯o7 is reached for the second time at the
end of the passage, it leads to iv6 in preparation
for a half cadence in E minor (not shown). In
general, voices move individually by semitone,
traversing edges of the hypercubes. The only
exceptions are segments ⑥ and ⑦, in which two
voices move together twice in succession. With
the aid of these double moves the path traverses
the oct12 and oct01 hypercubes more rapidly
and
  spends most of its time in oct23.
Exercise 11.5.13 Figure 11.5.14 shows three
chromatic passages from Chopin’s Etudes, Op.
10. Chopin’s complex textures are reduced to
block chords, but the voice leading in the figure
faithfully follows the score, and the spellings are
Chopin’s. Graph each of these voice leadings in
four-​
   voice OP-​space.61
Exercise 11.5.15 Figure 11.5.16 shows a
sequence from Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony.
(The root movement in this passage was
examined in Exercise 3.5.7c.) The voice leading
shown is simplified, the instrumental parts
FIGURE 11.5.12 Chopin, Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28, No. 4: (a) voice leading in mm. 2–​8; (b) path in
four-​voice OP-​space (after Tymoczko)
being highly disjunct. Graph this passage in
OP-​space, noting the systematic alternation of
zero-​
   sum and parallel voice leading.
Exercise 11.5.17 Figure 11.5.18 shows two
excerpts from works by Liszt, each featuring
smooth voice leading in the vicinity of a single
diminished seventh chord. Graph both passages
in  
OP-​space.
Exercise 11.5.19 The hypercube chain of
Figure 11.5.3, situated within the Möbius
hyperprism of Figure 11.5.9, is the four-​voice
analog of the three-​voice cube chain first shown
in Figure 10.2.1, which lies within the Möbius
prism of Figure 11.3.4. What is the analog
of this cube chain within the Möbius strip of
two-​voice OP-​space (Figure 11.2.6)? Observe
the types of sonorities appearing in this chain,
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 467
FIGURE 11.5.14 Voice leading from Chopin Etudes for Exercise 11.5.13: (a) Etude in A♭ Major, Op.
10, No. 10, mm. 49–​53; (b) Etude in F Major, Op. 10, No. 8, mm. 37–​40; (c) Etude in E♭ Minor, Op. 10,
No. 6, mm. 33–​38

FIGURE 11.5.16 Chordal reduction of Dvořák, Symphony No. 7 in D Minor, Op. 70, IV, mm. 233–​40,
for Exercise 11.5.15

FIGURE 11.5.18 Two excerpts by Liszt for Exercise 11.5.17: (a) Années de pèlerinage, troisième année,
No. 2, “Aux cyprès de la Villa d’Este: Thrénodie I,” mm. 107–​11; (b) Valse oubliée No. 1, mm. 1–​7

and the type of twist required to glue its ends
together.
   62
11.6 FOUR-​VOICE T-​, OPT-​,
AND OPTI-​S PACE
The construction of OPT-​ and OPTI-​space,
already complex in the case of three-​note chords,
becomes even more so in the case of four-​note
chords; moreover, there are many ways to describe
and depict these spaces. The abbreviated discus-
sion below suggests one way in which they may
be conceived.63
Because T equivalence reduces the dimen-
sionality of a space, four-​voice T-​space and its
compounds such as OPT-​ and OPTI-​space are
three-​dimensional. We introduced T equivalence
for three-​voice spaces by projecting an xyz coor-
dinate system into a plane (Figure 11.4.1b); all
three coordinate axes (or more accurately their

468 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces

FIGURE 11.6.1 Four-​voice T-​space in three dimensions
two-​dimensional projections) are visible in this
plane, radiating away from each other at equal
angles. In an analogous construction of four-​
voice T-​space, the four dimensions of a wxyz
coordinate system must be projected into a three-​
dimensional space, as shown in Figure 11.6.1. In
this three-​dimensional space, the four axes (or
more accurately their three-​dimensional projec-
tions) point away from each other, forming equal
angles at the origin. To understand the orienta-
tion of these four axes in three dimensions, the
reader may find it helpful to envision the cube
shown in the picture (this is an ordinary three-​
dimensional cube, not a 4-​cube). The center of
the cube lies at the origin of the coordinate sys-
tem, and each of the four coordinate axes passes
through two opposite corners of the cube. The
scale of the figure, in which the diagonals of the
cube are of length 24, and its orientation with
the z axis pointing to the right and the w and z
axes lying in a horizontal plane, have been cho-
sen to facilitate the upcoming discussion.64 The
view of T-​space in this figure is from a vantage
point slightly above the wz plane.
Points in the three-​ dimensional space of
Figure 11.6.1 stand for T-​ classes of pitch 4-​
tuples. As was the case in three-​voice T-​space, any
T-​class may be represented by a balanced form
whose coordinates sum to 0; alternatively, any
one of the four coordinates may be set equal to 0,
resulting in an xyz form, a wyz form, a wxz form,
and a wxy form for each T-​class. For example,
for the T-​class (3, 7, 10, 12)T (an added-​sixth
or inverted minor seventh chord), the balanced
form is (−5, −1, 2, 4), the wxy form is (−9, −5,
−2, 0), and the xyz form is [0, 4, 7, 9]; xyz forms
are the same as T normal forms. Points may be
plotted in T-​space, using any form of their coor-
dinates, by moving appropriate distances in the
direction of each axis in turn, as was the case in
the three-​voice T-​space of Figure 11.4.1b. Figure
11.6.1 shows the xyz forms of the coordinates
of the cube’s eight corners. In the three dimen-
sions of four-​voice T-​space, distances along all
four axes are measured in the same units, and
all eight corners lie at a distance of 12 from
the origin. The two-​dimensional projection in
the figure, however, foreshortens distances in
some directions. In particular, distances in the w
dimension appear compressed because that axis
points roughly toward the viewer.
Exercise 11.6.2 Calculate the wyz and wxz
forms of the T-​class (3, 7, 10, 12)T. Visualize the
location of this T-​class in Figure 11.6.1, using
at least two different forms of its coordinates
(both should, of course, lead you to the same
location).
Exercise 11.6.3 This exercise requires some
facility in trigonometry. Show that the angle
formed at the center of a cube by any two
axes oriented like those in Figure 11.6.1 (for
example, the angle between the positive
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 469
directions of the w and z axes shown there) is
approximately
   109.5 degrees.65
In the wz plane of Figure 11.6.1 lies a triangle
bounded by the positive z axis, the negative w
axis, and one edge of the cube. The three vertices
of this triangle are the origin [0, 0, 0, 0]T, the T-​
class [0, 0, 0, 12]T on the z axis, and [0, 12, 12,
12]T, which is the xyz form of the T-​class on the
negative w axis that may also be denoted (−12,
0, 0, 0)T. Figure 11.6.4a shows the construction
of a shallow tetrahedron whose base is this tri-
angle. The vertex at the top of this tetrahedron
is the T-​class [0, 3, 6, 9]T. A tetrahedron has
four triangular faces; we will refer to the faces of
this one as the base (the triangle in the wz plane
described above), the front face (with corners at
the origin, [0, 0, 0, 12]T, and [0, 3, 6, 9]T), the
left face (barely visible in the perspective of the
figure), and the right rear face (with corners at [0,
0, 0, 12]T, [0, 12, 12, 12]T, and [0, 3, 6, 9]T).
Exercise 11.6.5
(a) The right rear face of the tetrahedron is a
portion of one face of the cube from Figure
11.6.1. The plane of this face is defined by
the equation w +​ x +​12 =​y +​ z. Verify that
the four corners of one face of the cube
satisfy this equation, as does (0, 3, 6, 9).
(b) Write similar equations for the other faces
  of the cube.
Within the tetrahedron, lattice points whose
xyz forms have integer coordinates are arranged
in four horizontal layers, shaded and numbered
0 through 3 in the figure. Layer 0, with the
lightest shading, is the base of the tetrahedron;
layer 3 is the single vertex [0, 3, 6, 9]T at the top.
Top-​down views of the four layers are shown in
Figure 11.6.4b, where all 152 lattice points are
labeled in two ways. The labels omit commas
and brackets for compactness, and the letters t,
e, and v stand for 10, 11, and 12. The upper label
on each point is its xyz form (T normal form).
The point labeled 000v at the lower right corner
of layer 0 is the same point that appears in both
Figures 11.6.1 and 11.6.4a with the label [0,
0, 0, 12]T. The coordinates of xyz forms within
the tetrahedron satisfy the relations 0 =​w ≤ x ≤
y ≤ z ≤ 12. The lower label on each point is its
OPT normal form, which may be obtained
from the T normal form by the algorithm from
Section 10.4. For instance, the OPT normal
form corresponding to the T-​class 0239T in
layer 1 is 0356OPT.
470 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
Layer 0 consists of multisets with doublings.
Generally, for k =​0, 1, 2, or 3, the smallest inter-
val between any two notes of any tetrachord in
layer k is exactly k. Some inversionally related
pairs of tetrachords appear in the tetrahedron,
such as 0239T and 0679T in layer 1; such pairs
are symmetrically positioned about the dotted
diagonal line in each layer. Apart from some
duplications on the boundaries (discussed
below), every tetrachordal OPT normal form
appears exactly once in the tetrahedron. This is
why our tetrahedron is of interest: it is a fun-
damental region for four-​voice OPT-​space, the
space of T-​classes of pitch-​class multisets. (It is
not the normal region, because for many points
the T and OPT normal forms do not match. The
relations 0 =​w ≤ x ≤ y ≤ z, however, imply that all
T normal forms within the tetrahedron are also
PT normal forms, so the tetrahedron is a subset
of the normal region for PT-​space.)
As in the other spaces considered in this
chapter, proximity in this space indicates prox-
imity in the sense of voice leading. For example,
the tetrachord in layer 1 of the tetrahedron
with OPT normal form 0236OPT is related by
single-​semitone voice leading to the tetrachords
0125OPT, 0235OPT, 0237OPT, and 0347OPT in layer
1 as well as to 0226OPT and 0336OPT in layer 0
and 0246OPT in layer 2, and it lies near each of
those points in the tetrahedron. As an aid to
visualizing relationships among the various
layers in Figure 11.6.4b, light outlines in each
layer show the extent of the higher layers. The
tetrachord 0236OPT in layer 1 lies directly over a
point midway between 0226OPT and 0336OPT in
layer 0. The triangles formed by the lattice points
within each layer are not equilateral (nor are the
entire layers); according to Exercise 11.6.3, the
angle formed at the origin between the positive
z and negative w axes is approximately 180° −
109.5° =​70.5°, not 60° as in an equilateral tri-
angle. In layer 1, 0236OPT lies slightly closer to
the tetrachords named above than to 0126OPT
or 0346OPT, two tetrachords to which 0236OPT is
not related by single-​semitone voice leading.
Careful readers may have noted an omis-
sion in the above list of tetrachords adjacent
to 0236OPT. By moving any of the four voices
up or down, 0236OPT is related by single-​semi-
tone voice leading to eight other tetrachords,
only seven of which have been accounted for.
Evidently 0136OPT should appear in this list—​
but the tetrachord with OPT normal form 0136
appears at a considerable distance from 0236OPT
in layer 1 of Figure 11.6.4b, seemingly too far
FIGURE 11.6.4 (a) A fundamental region for four-​voice OPT-​space in four-​voice T-​space; (b) layers of
lattice points in four-​voice OPT-​space

The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 471

FIGURE 11.6.6 The voice leading (0, 2, 3, 6) → (0, 1, 3, 6) through the boundary of four-​voice
OPT-​space
for a single-​semitone connection. To understand
this apparent anomaly, we must examine the
complex nature of the boundaries of the tetrahe-
dron—​complexities we have learned to expect in
fundamental regions.
In each layer, some OPT-​classes appear twice,
along the edges parallel to the w and z axes. For
example, OPT normal form 0125OPT appears
twice in layer 1: on the bottom edge (that is, the
front face of the tetrahedron) it appears as the
OPT normal form of the T-​class 0125T, while on
the left edge (the left face of the tetrahedron) it
appears as the OPT normal form of a different T-​
class, 0789T. In fact, in OPT-​space the front face
of the tetrahedron is conjoined with the left face,
as signaled by arrowheads along the bottom
and left edges of the layers in Figure 11.6.4b.
The right rear face, meanwhile, divides into
two halves at the diagonal dotted line, and in
every layer the same OPT normal forms (such as
0156OPT in layer 1) appear on that face on both
sides of that line. The two halves of the right rear
face are thus conjoined in reversed orientation,
indicated by double arrowheads . Generally,
points on the boundary of layer k are tetra-
chords in which the smallest pitch-​class interval
k occurs twice; thus 0125OPT and 0156OPT each
contain two occurrences of pitch-​class interval 1.
Because of these duplications, only 116 different
OPT normal forms are represented by the 152
lattice points in the tetrahedron. Of these 116
OPT normal forms, 73 lie in layer 0 and contain
pitch-​class doublings, leaving 43 distinct OPT
normal forms of four-​note pitch-​class sets in lay-
ers 1, 2, and 3.
472 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
We can now explain the enigmatically
large apparent distance between 0236OPT and
0136OPT. In T-​ space, the straight-​ line voice
leading from α =​(0, 2, 3, 6) to β =​(0, 1, 3, 6)
is a short line segment parallel to the x axis.
To understand the path of this voice leading
in OPT space we must recognize that although
tetrachords αOPT =​0236OPT and βOPT =​0136OPT
both lie in layer 1, the continuous voice leading
α → β includes intermediate points that are not
equal-​tempered and lie not in any of the four
layers shown in Figure 11.6.4 but between those
layers. At its midpoint this voice leading passes
through (0, 11 2 , 3, 6), which lies in layer 11 2 ,
midway between layers 1 and 2. As Figure
11.6.6 shows, [0, 11 2 , 3, 6]OPT lies on the bound-
ary of layer 11 2 of the tetrahedron (it contains
two occurrences of pitch-​ class interval 11 2 ),
and therefore appears twice in that layer. One
of the two appearances, labeled γ, corresponds
to T normal form [0, 11 2 , 3, 6]T and lies nearly
above 0236OPT in layer 1, while the other,
γ′, corresponds to T normal form [0, 6, 71 2 ,
9]T and lies closer to 0136OPT. In OPT-​space,
the voice leading α → β begins with segment
① in Figure 11.6.6, but it never gets to β =​[0,
1, 3, 6]T, which lies outside the tetrahedral fun-
damental region for OPT-​ space. Instead, the
path hits the boundary of the tetrahedron at
γ, teleports to the other boundary point γ′ rep-
resenting the same OPT-​class, and from there
follows segment ②, arriving at its destination
β′, the representative of the same OPT-​class as
β within the fundamental region, after a total
motion through only a single semitone.
Exercise 11.6.7 Consider the two straight-​
line voice leadings (0, 2, 5, 8) → (0, 3, 5, 8) and
(0, 2, 5, 8) → (0, 2, 5, 9). In OPT-​space, these
voice leadings define two different paths from
0258OPT (a half-​diminished seventh chord) to
0358OPT (a minor seventh chord). Describe both
paths
   geometrically.66
Exercise 11.6.8 Draw geometrically accurate
pictures of the front, left, and right rear faces
of the tetrahedron, labeling all lattice points in
each
   face with OPT normal forms.67
The front, left, and right rear faces of the
tetrahedron are false boundaries of OPT-​space:
a straight-​line voice leading similar to the one
in Figure 11.6.6 can pass through any of these
boundaries and re-​ emerge elsewhere in the
FIGURE 11.6.9 (a) A five-​chord omnibus progression; (b) the omnibus progression in four-​voice OPT-​
space; (c) a long omnibus progression
tetrahedron. As with other false boundaries we
have encountered, points on these faces are not
singularities; it would be possible to construct
different fundamental regions for OPT-​space
in which these points do not lie on boundaries
at all. The base of the tetrahedron (layer 0), in
contrast, is a true mirror boundary. For an illus-
tration of a reflection at this boundary, consider
the three central chords β → γ → δ from the five-​
chord omnibus progression in Figure 11.6.9a.
These chords execute a voice exchange in which
a dominant seventh sonority (β, OPT normal
form 0368OPT) passes to an inverted form of
the same chord (δ) via a second-​inversion minor
triad (γ). In OPT-​space, as shown in segments ③
and ④ in Figure 11.6.9b, the voice leading moves
from β =​0368OPT to γ =​0377OPT and then back
to δ =​ β =​0368OPT. Chord β lies in layer 2, and
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 473
γ lies directly beneath β in layer 0; at γ the path
bounces back vertically in the direction from
which it came. The path crosses through layer 1
in both directions, but no equal-​tempered tetra-
chord occupies that location in layer 1.
The five-​chord omnibus is a straight-​line voice
leading, the outer voices both moving at the rate
of one semitone per chord. Chords α, β, δ, and
ε, however, are all the same point 0368OPT in
layer 2 of OPT-​space. This may seem counterin-
tuitive: how can a straight line pass through the
same point four times in such close succession?
The bounce off the mirror boundary at γ is only
part of the answer. A complete answer must take
into account the other characteristic parts of the
omnibus: the distinctive moves α → β and δ → ε,
pairs of consecutive 0368OPT chords related by
contrary single-​semitone voice leading in two
voices. The two moves are essentially the same,
as δ → ε retrogrades α → β in OPT-​space; we shall
consider the δ → ε pair.
In cpitch4, enumerating voices from the
bass upwards, δ and ε are the 4-​tuples (2, 8, 11,
16) and (1, 8, 11, 17) respectively. Both lie in
layer 2 of OPT-​space because in both cases the
smallest pitch-​class interval between two notes
of the chord is 2: between pitch classes 2 and 4
in chord δ and between 11 and 1 in chord ε. The
straight-​line path δ → ε, however, rises above
layer 2. It is tempting to suppose that this path
reaches its apex in OPT-​space at its midpoint,
the point (11 2 , 8, 11, 161 2 ) in layer 21 2 (21 2 being
the pitch-​class interval between 11 and 11 2 ).
That is not correct: the high point occurs ear-
lier, only one-​third of the way from δ to ε, at the
point η =​(12 3 , 8, 11, 161 3 ) in layer 22 3 . Pitch-​
class interval 22 3 occurs twice in η, between
pitch classes 11 and 12 3 and also between 12 3
and 41 3 . Therefore η, with OPT normal form [0,
3, 52 3 , 81 3 ]OPT, lies on a boundary of layer 22 3
and appears on two different faces of the tetra-
hedron. Figure 11.6.9b shows these two points,
η and η′, both representing the same OPT-​class.
The point η, on the tetrahedron’s front face,
lies directly above δ. The omnibus voice lead-
ing, after completing the vertical segment ④ (γ
→ δ), continues via segment ⑤ up to η, where it
hits the false boundary; it re-​emerges on the left
face at η′ and returns via segment ⑥ to ε (the
same point as δ in OPT-​space). Though δ and ε
are consecutive chords in the omnibus, the path
joining them encompasses both segments ⑤
(δ → η) and ⑥ (η′ → ε). The α → β portion of the
omnibus (segments ①–​②) traces segments ⑤–​⑥
in reverse, α → η′ and η → β.
474 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
Part (c) of the figure extends the progres-
sion γ → δ → ε into a so-​called long omnibus,
modulating repeatedly by minor third. The long
omnibus, studied previously in OP-​space in
Exercise 11.5.8d–​e, is a segmental straight-​line
voice leading; the bass descends steadily, but
in cpitch4 or in OP-​space the motion changes
direction at ε (and at ε1, ε2, …), whenever one of
the three upper voices stops moving as another
starts. In OPT-​ space, the long omnibus sim-
ply retraces segments ③–​⑥ from Figure 11.6.9b
again and again. This path reflects off the base
of the tetrahedron at every appearance of γ (γ1,
γ2, …). The paired segments ⑤–​⑥ occur in every
cycle, the path turning a corner each time ε is
reached, heading down to γ via segment ③ to
begin the next cycle.
The α → β and δ → ε moves in the omnibus
progression illustrate smooth voice leading
between T3-​related dominant seventh chords.
As noted previously, such a connection is pos-
sible because the chords divide the octave nearly
evenly. In OP-​space, this nearly equal division
results in a location near the central axis of the
space. In OPT-​space, that central axis of dimin-
ished seventh chords collapses to the single
point 0369; accordingly, the most intricate parts
of the voice leading in the omnibus progression
unfold between layers 2 and 3 of the tetrahedron
of OPT-​space, near the 0369 vertex.
Exercise 11.6.10 Between chords α and ε,
the five-​chord omnibus in OPT-​space passes,
twice each, through one point in layer 1 and
two different points in layer 21 2 . Determine the
coordinates of these three points in cpitch4
and their OPT normal forms, and locate them
on  
the path in Figure 11.6.9b.
Exercise 11.6.11 As an alternative to the
long omnibus of Figure 11.6.9c (though less
viable musically), suppose that the five-​chord
progression from 11.6.9a is extended as a
single straight-​line voice leading, the top voice
continuing to ascend as the bass descends. After
those two voices have each traversed an octave,
chord α will reappear, its bass an octave lower
and soprano an octave higher than before. Trace
the graph of this extended straight-​line voice
leading
   in OPT-​space.
Light dotted lines bisect the base and the
right rear face of Figure 11.6.4’s tetrahedron and
each of its layers, dividing the tetrahedron in
half. These dotted lines, along with the edge from
0000 to 0369, lie in a vertical plane; this plane
separates the two halves of the tetrahedron and
consists of inversionally symmetric tetrachords
such as 0336OPT in layer 0, 0347OPT in layer 1,
and 0358OPT in layer 2. The vertical plane acts as
a plane of inversional symmetry for OPT-​space.
If a tetrachord lying on one side of this plane is
inverted, the inverted tetrachord will occupy the
corresponding point in the opposite half of the
tetrahedron. For example, OPT-​class 0136OPT
lies near the upper left corner of layer 1 in Figure
11.6.4b, and its inversion 0356OPT lies at the cor-
responding point near the lower right corner of
the same layer.
FIGURE 11.6.13 (a) A fundamental region for four-​voice OPTI-​space in four-​voice T-​space; (b) layers
of lattice points in four-​voice OPTI-​space
Exercise 11.6.12 Five tetrachords are listed
below in OPT normal form. Determine the
OPT normal form of the inversion of each
tetrachord, and locate the corresponding pairs
of points in Figure 11.6.4b.
(a) 0237
(b) 0368
(c) 0344
(d) 0158
(e)  0027
Each half of the tetrahedron is a smaller tet-
rahedron in its own right, and either half could
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 475
FIGURE 11.6.15 Four voice leadings for Exercise 11.6.14
serve as a fundamental region for four-​voice
OPTI-​space. Thus one OPT fundamental region
comprises two OPTI fundamental regions, as
was also the case with the corresponding three-​
voice spaces (Figures 11.4.12 and 11.4.21; also
recall Exercise 11.4.24). We choose the half-​tet-
rahedron adjacent to the z axis (the front half in
the view of Figure 11.6.4a) as our OPTI funda-
mental region. Figure 11.6.13a shows a three-​
dimensional view of this smaller tetrahedron
in T-​space; the adjacent rear half of the origi-
nal larger tetrahedron appears in light outline.
Figure 11.6.13b shows the 84 lattice points in
the four layers of the OPTI fundamental region,
labeled with their OPTI normal forms. Every
OPTI normal form in 11.6.13b matches one of
the OPT normal forms in 11.6.4b, but some of
the OPTI normal forms come from one half of the
original tetrahedron, some from the other half.
Though the geometry is difficult to visualize, the
three dimensions of four-​voice T-​space are filled
with copies of the tetrahedral OPTI fundamental
region in various orientations, analogous to the
tiling of the plane of three-​voice T-​space by the
OPTI fundamental region in Figure 11.4.11.
Reducing the OPT fundamental region to the
smaller OPTI region complicates the boundary
behavior further. The base of the tetrahedron,
layer 0, has been reduced to half its former
size but remains a mirror boundary. The origi-
nal plane of inversional symmetry is now a left
rear face of the smaller tetrahedron and has
become a mirror boundary also. The right rear
face, formerly a false boundary, is also halved in
size and has become yet another mirror bound-
ary. Finally, the front face, though geometrically
unchanged, now consists of two halves conjoined
with each other in reverse orientation (indicated
with double arrowheads in the layers of
Figure 11.6.13b); these are false boundaries
like the halves of the right rear face of the OPT
fundamental region in Figure 11.6.4. Exercise
11.6.14 below provides examples of voice-​lead-
ing behavior at all four of these boundary faces.
Because of the boundary identifications, the 84
lattice points in the OPTI fundamental region
476 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
represent only 72 different OPTI normal forms.
Of these, 43 lie in layer 0 and contain pitch-​
class doublings, leaving 29 distinct OPTI normal
forms of four-​note pitch-​class sets in layers 1, 2,
and 3—​the 29 tetrachordal set classes enumer-
ated in standard set-​class tables.
Exercise 11.6.14 Four straight-​line voice
leadings are shown in Figure 11.6.15. Each
of them crosses or reflects off of one of the
boundaries of the OPTI fundamental region.
Determine the OPT and OPTI normal forms of
each chord, and trace the voice leadings in OPT-​
space
   and in OPTI-​space.68
Exercise 11.6.16 A tetrachord of OPTI normal
form 0247 may be related by single-​semitone
voice leading to tetrachords belonging to eight
other OPTI set classes. Graph these eight single-​
semitone voice leadings in OPT-​space and in
   space.69
OPTI-​
Exercise 11.6.17 Locate three different points
in four-​voice OPTI-​space (Figure 11.6.13) that
are all OPTIC-​equivalent and must therefore be
conjoined in OPTIC-​space. (Nothing of the sort
is possible in three-​voice OPTI-​space. The fact
that three different points must be identified
begins to hint at the complexity of cardinality
equivalence
   in higher-​dimensional spaces.)70
NOTES
1. The concept of orbifolds is a relatively recent one,
dating from the 1950s; the most important work on orbi-
folds is that of William Thurston from the 1970s. While
Weeks 2020 offers an excellent nontechnical introduc-
tion to manifolds, published descriptions of orbifolds
tend to be highly technical (e.g., Thurston 1980, 300).
2. The circle, which is both a one-​dimensional torus
𝕋 1 and a one-​dimensional sphere 𝕊1, is the simplest
example of a sphere among the OPTIC spaces. Spheres
can also result from the introduction of additional
equivalence relations. For example, Tymoczko (2009a,
251) observes that 𝕊2 can arise musically as a space
we might denote cpitch4/​~TM, the space of ordered
four-​note pitch sets modulo transposition and multi-
plication by positive real numbers.
3. The curious properties of this example pro-
vide further justification for a fact noted in Chapter
10: I equivalence is rarely invoked in the absence of
T equivalence. The pairings of notes in I-​classes and
the location of the singularity in I-​space are arbitrary,
determined by the choice of C4 as the zero point of
pitch space. The arbitrariness vanishes when T equiva-
lence is introduced (although spaces of two or more
voices must be considered in order for TI equivalence
to be a nontrivial relation).
4. Every manifold (without singularities) is an
orbifold by definition. The formal definition of orbi-
folds requires that every point have a neighborhood
topologically indistinguishable from some point in a
quotient space of ℝn under some group action. The
spaces derived from the O, P, T, and I symmetries are
quotient spaces of exactly this kind and so are orbi-
folds automatically.
5. Hint for Exercise 11.1.2: The pitches F3, G3, F4,
and G4 are all OI-​equivalent (they share the OI normal
form 5). This space has not one but two singularities.
6. Hint for Exercise 11.2.2: All the points (x, y) on a
given line of transposition share a common value of
int(x, y), an interval in pitch space. What intervals cor-
respond to the three lines shown?
7. Hint for Exercise 11.2.5c: If you draw vertical
lines through (0, 6), (0, 0), and (6, 0), dividing the O
normal region into four parts (two triangles and two
trapezoids), the OP normal region will be the union of
two of these subregions; your answers to (b) should
help you figure out which two. The OP normal region
is not a connected region in the plane, but if you con-
ceive of the O normal region as a torus, the OP normal
region is a connected region within that torus.
8. Though oriented differently, Figure 11.2.6 is
otherwise similar to Figure 2 in Tymoczko 2006, 73,
and to Figure 3.3.1 in Tymoczko 2011, 71.
9. The number of equal-​tempered two-​note pitch-​
class sets is the number of “combinations of 12 things
2 at a time,” which is 12! ∕ (2!10!) =​66. (See Hook
2007d for the combinatorial principles underlying
such calculations.) In addition to these 66 dyads, there
are twelve unison multisets CC, C♯C♯, …, for a total of
78 multisets. There are 85 labeled points in Figure
11.2.6, because the seven points along the top edge
duplicate those at the bottom.
10. The orbifold of two-​voice OP-​space cpitch2/​~OP
might be called 𝕋 2/​𝒮2 by mathematicians, indicat-
ing that it is a quotient space of O-​space (the torus
𝕋 2) produced by the action of the symmetry group
(𝒮2) associated with permutational equivalence.
Analogously, n-​voice OP-​space is the orbifold 𝕋 n/​𝒮n.
Similar notations appear in Tymoczko 2006 and in
Callender, Quinn, and Tymoczko 2008.
11. The word state suggests an analogy with the
mathematical theory of computation: a space may
be regarded as a sort of abstract machine that at any
moment may be in any of various possible states;
a voice leading describes a series of transitions from
state to state.
12. In this example, the lower voice is listed first in
all ordered pairs. It is not always possible to observe
such a rule consistently while respecting voice leading,
because voice leadings may include voice crossings.
13. Extending an idea from Section 2.3, it would be
possible to formalize the temporal nature of voice lead-
ings by modeling them not merely as paths in cpitchn
but as functions from time into cpitchn. For example,
segment α → β in Figure 11.2.8 could move from α =​
(−1, 3) at time t =​0 to β =​(5, 9) at t =​1 via the function
f(t) =​(−1 +​6t, 3 +​6t). A straight-​line voice leading is
one modeled by a linear function, all of whose compo-
nents are of the form a +​ bt (as they are in this exam-
ple). We will not rely on such formalism often, but it is
useful occasionally; see Exercise 11.3.13.
14. In a convenient abuse of notation, we use the
letter α both for a point in cpitch2 (the ordered pair
(−1, 3)) and for a point in OP-​space (the OP-​class BD♯).
At times we may use the same letter for corresponding
equivalence classes in other quotient spaces as well.
In a more precise but cumbersome notation, we could
write αOP for the OP-​class.
15. Hints for Exercise 11.2.9: In part (c), although
the dyads must be exactly the same size as equal-​
tempered ic3 and ic5, the pitches involved need not
be equal-​tempered, and so the dyads need not corre-
spond to lattice points in Figure 11.2.6. (For example,
if both notes in an equal-​tempered DF dyad are raised
by a quarter-​tone, the resulting dyad is still ic3.) In
part (d), you should find that one of the two pictures
is unaffected by the change.
16. Hints for Exercise 11.2.10a: This voice leading
consists of four segments of straight-​line voice lead-
ing, but three of the four must be broken into two
apparently separate segments in OP-​space. A straight
line from the point labeled DD to the point labeled AD
in Figure 11.2.6 is not the correct way to model the
first segment. The last segment involves straight-​line
voice leading that is not parallel, zero-​sum, or oblique,
so this line segment should appear at an angle differ-
ent from any of those in Figure 11.2.8.
17. Hints for Exercise 11.2.10b: Although this coun-
terpoint would presumably be performed in discrete
pitches, you may model it as a continuous voice lead-
ing as in previous analyses. The regularity of the chain
of 7–​6 suspensions may not be apparent in your pic-
tures. Why not?
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 477
 18. In this and a few subsequent examples we use
the word isomorphic in a topological sense that we
have not defined precisely. In these cases the corre-
spondence between points of the spaces should be
clear even if the conditions that such an isomorphism
is required to satisfy have not been spelled out, and
the similarity of form should be clear as well. The
intuition underlying topological isomorphism was
described in Section 1.1: topological properties are
preserved if a space is stretched, compressed, bent,
twisted, or continuously deformed in other ways,
but without tearing, punching holes, or pasting
together parts that were not originally connected.
Topological isomorphisms are called homeomorphisms
by mathematicians.
19. Figure 11.2.12b does not show anything analo-
gous to the balanced forms of 11.2.12a. In fact, every
two-​voice OT-​class contains not one but two ordered
pairs, related by T6, whose coordinates sum to 0 mod
12. For example, (11, 1) and (5, 7) are both “balanced”
in this way, but they are OT-​equivalent, both corre-
sponding to the normal form [0, 2]OT.
20. Hint for Exercise 11.2.15: The five pairs are rep-
resented by four different points in T-​space but only
two different points in OT-​space and a single point in
OPTI-​space.
21. Hint for Exercise 11.2.17: One of the straight-​
line voice leading segments in Figure 11.2.8b consists
entirely of points that map to a single point of T-​space;
this segment therefore corresponds to no movement
at all in any of the spaces in Figure 11.2.12.
22. Three-​voice OP-​space is described in Tymoczko
2006 (especially the supporting online material) and
in Chapter 3 of Tymoczko 2011.
23. Hint for Exercise 11.3.3b: The major triad CEG
belongs to sum class 11. What fractional transposition
Tr of this triad belongs to sum class 0?
24. Figure 11.3.4 resembles Figure S5 in the
supporting online material to Tymoczko 2006, as
well as Figure 3.8.2 in Tymoczko 2011, 86, one of
the most characteristic and widely cited images in
Tymoczko’s work.
25. Figure 11.3.4 slightly exaggerates the vertical
dimension for clarity, giving the cubes a somewhat
elongated appearance.
26. Adding O normal forms to Figure 11.3.4
requires choosing one of the six possible orderings of
the three voices. Six different regions in O-​space result
from these choices, but as depictions of OP-​space they
all look the same. It is difficult to visualize, but six
copies of the Möbius prism slice at angles across the
12 × 12 × 12 cube of O-​space, completely filling the cube.
27. Hint for Exercise 11.3.7a: The equal-​tempered
trichords of sum class 8 include CE♭F and its transpo-
sitions by T4 and T8 (shown in Figure 11.3.5), as well
478 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
as the G-​major, B-​major, and E♭-​major triads visible in
Figure 11.3.4. These trichords do not lie in the same
places in the triangular cross section as the equal-​tem-
pered trichords of sum class 0 in Figure 11.3.1; they lie
at the centers of some (not all) of the small equilateral
triangles formed by the gridlines in that figure. The
major triads lie at points corresponding to ρ, σ, and τ.
28. Hints for Exercise 11.3.8: Start by locating the
projections of the listed points in the sum-​class-​0
plane in a copy of Figure 11.3.1, indicating the layer
of the prism to which each point belongs by noting
its sum class. In the perspective of Figure 11.3.4, the
four points containing pitch-​class doublings all lie on
the front face of the prism; the other points are inte-
rior to the prism, but all lie fairly close to the front
face. Techniques other than those described above can
often be devised to locate points in OP-​space. Locating
the B-​diminished triad for part (b), for example, may
be facilitated by the observation that the straight-​line
voice leading DFA → B♭DF, easily located in Figure
11.3.4, could be extended through another semitone
to arrive at BDF.
29. Hint for Exercise 11.3.9: To depict the con-
nection from the bottom of the figure to the top
accurately, notice what chord the straight-​line voice
leading between the C-​ major and A-​ minor triads
passes through at its midpoint. See Figure 3.11.6b in
Tymoczko 2011, 108.
30. Passages similar to Figure 11.3.10a, featuring
major thirds, augmented triads, and other whole-​
tone sonorities moving chromatically in contrary
motion, occur in Grieg’s “Illusion,” Op. 57, No. 3,
at mm. 27–​31, and in several late works of Sibelius,
among them the storm depiction in the Prelude to
The Tempest, Op. 109, and mm. 523–​576 of Tapiola,
Op. 112.
31. Hints for Exercise 11.3.11c–​d: For the T4 trans-
position, the starting and ending points α and η
remain unchanged, but the path in between is differ-
ent. For the T2 transposition, the path starts at η and
ends at α—​but it still ascends!
32. Hints for Exercise 11.3.12: For (c), construct
a path that reflects off the front wall of the prism.
Because α and η lie at the centers of the sum-​class-​3
and sum-​class-​9 planes, respectively, a bounce point
θ at the center of the front edge of the sum-​class-​6
plane will work. Determine the chord represented by
θ (it is one of the points located in Exercise 11.3.8),
and describe the voice leading from α to θ to η. For (d),
consider a path similar to the one in Figure 11.3.10,
but compressed in the vertical dimension so that each
segment traverses a smaller vertical distance, and
therefore more segments, and more reflections, are
required to reach η. For (e), imagine several copies of
the prism stacked on top of each other, and try joining
widely separated appearances of α and η via a path
with a single bounce.
33. Saariaho describes some of the procedures
at work in Vers le blanc in Saariaho 1987, 104–​05.
Callender 2004 analyzes this voice leading, displaying
graphs in T-​space, PTI-​space, and OPTI-​space, which
will be explored in Exercises 11.4.6 and 11.4.23 below.
Callender does not consider OP-​space, whose struc-
ture had yet to be described at the time of the article’s
publication.
34. The organization of Section 11.4 is indebted to
Callender 2004.
35. In contour theory (Morris 1993), the “middle-​
low-​ high” contour is notated 〈1 0 2〉. The online
supplemental material to Callender, Quinn, and
Tymoczko 2008 includes commentary on contour
theory in relation to the OPTIC spaces; see especially
their Figure S14, which proposes that contours may
be distinguished more finely by associating a contour
not with a large region in T-​space but with a direction
from the origin.
36. Hints for Exercise 11.4.6: The path in T-​space is a
straight line from αT to βT. See Figure 12 in Callender
2004. (Callender writes <9, 11>T for the T-​class whose
yz form is [0, 9, 11].) The answer to the first question
in (b) may seem counterintuitive; remember that two
pitch triples coincide in T-​space if they are transpo-
sitionally equivalent, so it is possible for two voice
leadings to describe the same path through this space
even if they do not comprise the same pitch-​class sets.
Describing the moving triple precisely as a function of
time, as in Exercise 11.3.13, is not necessary for this
exercise, though you may use the result of your cal-
culations in the earlier exercise to locate γ precisely in
PT-​space.
37. Strictly speaking, the dashed line is a line of I
symmetry for PT-​classes, not for pitch triples. A pitch
triple such as (0, 2, 4) is not I-​symmetric but PTI-​
symmetric, as illustrated by the chain of equivalences
(0, 2, 4) ~I (0, −2, −4) ~T (4, 2, 0) ~P (0, 2, 4).
38. The pitch triple (0, 2, 7) is not OI-​symmetric
but OPTI-​symmetric, as illustrated by the chain of
equivalences (0, 2, 7) ~O (0, 2, −5) ~P (2, 0, −5) ~T
(0, −2, −7) ~I (0, 2, 7).
39. Figure 11.4.11 is similar to Figure 9 in
Callender 2004.
40. Hints for Exercise 11.4.13: Two of the four
graphs in part (a) are identical. For (c), what sonority
occurs midway through the R voice leading? Recall the
discussion of the apparent intersection points formed
by the edges representing R in Figure 10.2.15. For (d),
a pure parallel voice leading represents no motion at
all in OPTI-​space, so if two voice leadings are the same
except for a transposition of one chord, their paths in
OPTI-​space will look the same.
41. Hints for Exercise 11.4.16: First put each triple
in yz form. You should find one point illustrating each
type of symmetry mentioned in the first paragraph of
the exercise, one point that illustrates two different
types because it lies at the intersection of two lines
of symmetry, and one point with no symmetry at all.
42. Hints for Exercise 11.4.17: All the solid lines
have equations of the form x =​ y +​ c, x =​ z +​ c, or y =​ z +​
c, and all the dashed lines have equations of the form
x +​ y =​2z +​ c, x +​ z =​2y +​ c, or y +​ z =​2x +​ c, where c is
some integer multiple of 12. Parallel lines have equa-
tions that differ only in the value of c.
43. Two different OPT-​equivalent pitch triples can-
not both be in OPT normal form. In this case [0, 2, 7]
and [0, 0, 6] are in OPT normal form, while (0, 5, 7)
and (0, 6, 6) are not. Only the lower of the two false
boundary segments contains normal forms.
44. Three-​voice OPT-​space may be described as a
cone. In Figure 11.4.21a, the reader may imagine pull-
ing the vertex at [0, 4, 8] up out of the plane of the
paper as the two false boundary segments are glued
together, producing a cone-​shaped figure with a sharp
point at [0, 4, 8]. See Callender, Quinn, and Tymoczko
2008, 347, for a three-​dimensional depiction of this
space. Topologically, the cone could be flattened to a
plane region such as a disk, but the cone may be dif-
ferentiated from a disk using distance measurements
to be described in Chapter 12.
45. Hints for Exercise 11.4.23: In your PT-​space
graph from Exercise 11.4.6, you should see that both
segments, from α to γ and from γ to β, cross the axis
of inversional symmetry, so two new bounces will
appear in the PTI-​space graph. Using your formu-
las from Exercise 11.3.13 and the equation for the
axis of symmetry, you should be able to locate these
points exactly. In PTI-​space, α lies to the right of the
line of OI symmetry, so in OPTI-​space the first part of
this graph will need to be reflected to the left side of
that line. As pitch-​class sets, α and β have the same
prime form, so the entire path forms a closed loop in
OPTI-​space, perhaps bearing a loose resemblance to
the graph in Figure 11.4.18d. See Figures 14 and 15
in Callender 2004 for graphs in PTI-​ and OPTI-​space.
The OPT-​space graph (not studied by Callender) may
be produced by reflecting appropriate portions of the
OPTI-​space graph to the opposite side of the inver-
sional axis, keeping in mind the special nature of the
false boundary segments described above. Sonorities
α and β are OPT-​equivalent, so this path too should
end where it began.
46. Hint for Exercise 11.4.24: In a valid fundamen-
tal region for ~OPT, every OPT-​class (with the possible
exception of some on the boundary) must be repre-
sented exactly once. In one of the regions proposed
in the exercise, you will find, for example, that the
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 479
OPT-​class (0, 1, 3)OPT appears twice and (0, 2, 3)OPT
not at all. When one fundamental region is exchanged
for another, a point originally on a false boundary may
no longer be on a boundary at all, but a point on a mir-
ror boundary must remain on a boundary.
47. The points [0, 0, 5]OPT and [0, 5, 5]OPT lie at
corresponding locations on the two mirror boundary
segments of OPT-​space. To form OPTC-​space these
two mirror boundaries must be conjoined, forming
a false boundary that essentially continues the false
boundary already defined by the other two edges of
the kite-​shaped region in Figure 11.4.21. When all
appropriate identifications are made, three-​ voice
OPTC-​space has the topology of a sphere.
48. Hint for Exercise 11.4.25: One of the OP normal
forms labeled in Figure 11.3.1 is OPC-​equivalent to
one of the trichords in Exercise 11.3.8.
49. A 4-​cube is sometimes called a tesseract. In light
of the several ways to draw a cube that we encountered
in Section 3.1, it should come as no surprise that many
different graphic depictions of a 4-​cube are possible.
50. Hint for Exercise 11.5.2: In a 3-​cube, each vertex
belongs to three edges, each edge belongs to two faces,
and each face belongs (of course) to one 3-​cube. In a
4-​cube, each vertex belongs to four edges, each edge
belongs to three faces, each face belongs to two facets,
and each facet belongs to one 4-​cube.
51. In Section 10.2 we noted the relation-
ship between the hexatonic triad cube chain and
Douthett’s Cube Dance graph. The octatonic seventh-​
chord hypercube chain is closely related to another of
Douthett’s graphs, dubbed “Power Towers” (Douthett
and Steinbach 1998, 256). The three “towers” in the
published Power Towers graph are not complete
hypercubes (the French augmented-​sixth chords are
missing), though an earlier version, presented by
Douthett in 1993, included complete hypercubes.
Another version of the graph appears in Cohn 2012,
158, with the name “4-​Cube Trio.”
52. Hints for Exercise 11.5.5: Tetrachords of a given
sum class symmetric about a single axis in pitch-​class
space lie in a plane in OP-​space. The chords labeled in
Figure 11.5.4 include enough chords symmetric about
the C–​F♯ and E♭–​A axes that you should be able to
locate these two planes. Tetrachords simultaneously
symmetric about both axes lie in the intersection of
the two planes—​a straight line.
53. Bulger and Cohn 2016 study subspaces of
OP-​space spanned by voice leadings similar to those
in Figures 11.3.10 and 11.5.7a, in which some voices
are constrained to move in strict parallel or contrary
motion.
54. Hint for Exercise 11.5.6a: The most difficult task
is locating γ and ε. One way to locate ε is to consider
the straight-​line voice leading (4, 12, 4, 4) → (8, 8, 0, 8)
480 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
in four-​voice pitch-​tuple space, in which voices w
and z ascend through four semitones while x and y
descend through an equal interval. In OP-​space, this
voice leading forms a straight segment from CEEE to
A♭A♭A♭C lying entirely on one face of the sum-​class-​0
tetrahedron, passing through ε at its midpoint.
55. Hints for Exercise 11.5.6d: The voice leading (7,
11, 1, 5) → (11, 11, 1, 1) describes a straight line seg-
ment through the interior of the tetrahedron from
D♭Fr to BBC♯C♯, passing (though not at its midpoint)
through the C♯m7 chord. The midpoint of the segment
mentioned in the last question is the center of the
tetrahedron. The six chords mentioned in (c) and (d)
form the vertices of an octahedron.
56. Hint for Exercise 11.5.8d: The voice leading in
cpitch4 consists of three straight-​line segments, but
in OP-​space there are more segments, as the path
must bounce off a face of the tetrahedron at any chord
with a doubled pitch class.
57. What we are calling a hyperprism is more
technically known as a uniform prismatic polytope.
The Möbius hyperprism in Figure 11.5.9 (without the
chain of hypercubes) resembles Figure S6c in the sup-
porting online material to Tymoczko 2006, as well as
Figure 3.9.1c in Tymoczko 2011, 94.
58. See Tymoczko 2011, 97–​103, a section titled
“Triads are from Mars; seventh chords are from Venus.”
Tymoczko presents statistics showing that chord pro-
gressions in the works of Schubert and Chopin reflect
this difference, with juxtapositions of major-​ third–​
related triads and minor-​third–​related seventh chords
occurring more commonly than the reverse.
59. Hint for Exercise 11.5.10: Think about sum
classes.
60. Especially relevant to the present analysis
of Chopin’s Prelude are discussions of the piece by
Tymoczko and Cohn, both of whom study it in rela-
tion to the similar voice leading in Chopin’s Mazurka
in F Minor, Op. 68, No. 4. Tymoczko (2011, 287–​93)
does not present the graph in Figure 11.5.12b explic-
itly, but this path is implicit in his discussion. Cohn
2012, 160–​66 maps the path in his 4-​Cube Trio graph,
equivalent to the hypercube chain. The reduction in
Figure 11.5.12a respells Chopin’s E♭ in mm. 2–​3 as D♯
(which does not affect the geometry) and disregards
the upper neighbor notes in the right-​ hand mel-
ody. In generic space the labeled chord roots form a
descending-​thirds pattern; see Exercise 14.1.32.
61. Hints for Exercise 11.5.13: The patterns in (a)
and (b) are sequential with the exception of the first
chord in (a), and remain entirely within the octatonic
seventh-​chord hypercube chain. A pattern similar to
(a) in the cadenza of Chopin’s Prelude in C♯ Minor,
Op. 45, is studied in Childs 1998, 182–​84 and 189–​
90. The voice leading in (c) is somewhat irregular and
includes one chord lying outside the hypercube chain.
This chord may plausibly be omitted, or it may be
located approximately in the picture by studying the
correspondence between the four voices and the four
dimensions of the nearest hypercube.
62. Hint for Exercise 11.5.19: A two-​dimensional
cube is a square. The cube chain in two-​voice OP-​space
is depicted in Tymoczko 2011, 98, in an orientation
that differs from Figure 11.2.6.
63. For somewhat different presentations of four-​
voice OPT-​ and OPTI-​spaces, see Callender, Quinn,
and Tymoczko 2008, particularly Figure S5 in the
Supporting Online Material. See also their Table
S2, which describes ways to construct fundamental
regions for n-​voice spaces involving all possible com-
binations of the O, P, T, and I symmetries. For ear-
lier depictions of tetrachordal set classes in four-​voice
OPTI-​space, see the two-​dimensional graph in Straus
2003, 339, and the tetrahedron in Cohn 2003, Figure
10. Cohn’s tetrahedron is not a complete fundamen-
tal region for four-​voice OPTI-​space, as (like Straus’s
graph) it does not include multisets with doublings,
but it could be extended to a fundamental region dif-
ferent from the one described here.
64. The units of distance in this discussion will be
called v-​units in Section 12.5. See Exercise 12.5.28 for
additional distance calculations in four-​voice T-​space.
65. Hint for Exercise 11.6.3: Do not use the four-​
dimensional coordinates shown in Figure 11.6.1; use
the geometry of an ordinary three-​dimensional cube.
Consider a triangle formed by the center of the cube
and two appropriately chosen corners, and use the
law of cosines: if a, b, and c are the three sides of a
triangle and θ is the angle opposite side c, then c2 =​ a2
+​ b2 − 2ab ∙ cosθ.
66. Hint for Exercise 11.6.7: The OPT-​classes
0258OPT and 0358OPT both lie in layer 2 of the tetra-
hedron. One of the two paths lies entirely within layer
2; the other hits a boundary at layer 21 2 .
67. Hints for Exercise 11.6.8: There are only two
different pictures to draw, as the front and left faces
are identical; the two halves of the right rear face are
mirror images of each other. Each face is an isosceles
triangle with (0369) at its apex.
68. Hints for Exercise 11.6.14: The voice leading in
part (a) repeats segments ③–​④ from Figure 11.6.9a,
whose path in OPT-​space has already been described.
The voice leading in (b) lies within one layer of OPT-​
space and passes through the plane of inversional
symmetry; in OPTI-​space this voice leading remains
in the same layer but bounces off the left rear bound-
ary. The paths in (c) and (d) each begin at a point in
one layer and soon reach a boundary point in a differ-
ent layer. The path in (c) reflects at a right angle to its
starting point in OPTI-​space; the path in (d) does not,
though it does return to its original layer.
69. If multisets with doublings are not consid-
ered, 0247 is the only equal-​tempered four-​note set
class related to eight other set classes in this way
(an observation attributed to Ian Quinn in Cohn
2003, par. 11). With doublings allowed, several other
OPTI-​classes have this property, including 0236 as
noted above.
70. Hint for Exercise 11.6.17: Start with an asym-
metrical trichord and double one note at a time.
SUGGESTED READING
Callender, Quinn, and Tymoczko 2008 remains the
reference most relevant to much of this chapter.
Section 11.4 is importantly influenced by Callender
2004, which describes three-​voice T+​spaces and
analyzes the voice leading in Saariaho’s Vers le blanc,
the subject of several exercises in this chapter. The
OP-​spaces described here are developed in some detail
in Tymoczko 2006. Cohn 2003 presents a not-​quite-​
complete tetrahedron for four-​voice OPTI-​space (lack-
ing the multiset classes with pitch-​class doublings);
the description of the four-​voice spaces here differs
significantly from those of both Cohn and CQT. For
other related items see the suggested reading for
Chapter 10.
The Geometry of OPTIC Spaces • 481
 12
Distances
CONCEPTS OF distance capture important
musical intuitions in many spaces, and the word
distance has appeared many times in the preced-
ing chapters. Already in Chapter 1 we noted that
musical spaces can sometimes be distinguished
from each other by different ways of measuring
distances. A graph-​ theoretic kind of distance
was introduced in Chapter 3, offering a way to
measure the distance between two objects if
those objects can be modeled by the vertices in a
graph. Specific applications appeared as we stud-
ied distances in graphs of consonant triad space
in Chapter 4. Interval functions, introduced in
Chapter 5, convey information something like
distances, but no sooner had we presented the
definition of interval functions than we began
to notice ways in which those functions do not
correspond with common intuitions of distance.
Distances between points in OPTIC spaces were
mentioned occasionally in Chapters 10 and 11,
and in particular the concept of voice-​leading dis-
tance was introduced in Section 10.2. The possi-
bility of measuring distances gives these spaces a
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0012
geometric structure as well as a topological one,
but we have said little so far about exactly how
distances are measured in multidimensional
spaces or how the distance measures we have
formulated in various spaces are related.
In this chapter we present a general formu-
lation of distance functions and distance spaces
(known to mathematicians as metrics and metric
spaces). Distance spaces are in some ways sim-
pler than interval spaces, and readers may find
them easier to grasp intuitively. For one thing,
distances are always real numbers, not ordered
tuples or elements of some other abstract group,
and so it is clear when one distance is larger or
smaller than another. We shall see that some
distance functions bear simple relationships to
interval functions while others do not.
Section 12.1 reviews some of the shortcom-
ings of interval functions as a way of describing
musical distances; many OPTIC spaces, as we
shall see, cannot be interval spaces at all. This
first section is not essential for what follows,
but it ties together several concepts from recent
chapters and provides some justification of the
need for a different kind of formalism for mea-
suring distance. Section 12.2 presents the gen-
eral theory of distance functions and distance
spaces, describes some categories of these spaces
that relate most directly to interval spaces, and
introduces the notion of isometry. Section 12.3
examines distance spaces derived from graphs or
groups; such spaces arise in many musical set-
tings but do not generally correspond to inter-
val spaces. A study of products and quotients
of distance spaces in Sections 12.4 and 12.5
shows how distance functions may be defined on
OPTIC spaces; we will see that a variety of differ-
ent distance functions may be defined in some
of these spaces.
12.1 INTERVAL FUNCTIONS
AND MEASURES OF
DISTANCE
A single theoretical construction cannot be
expected to solve every problem. The attention
devoted to interval spaces in Chapters 5–​ 7,
along with work by Lewin, Rings, and others,
should suffice to convince the reader that inter-
val spaces possess a powerful and appealing
structure, valuable for an assortment of theo-
retical and analytical study. But the restrictions
imposed by that structure make interval spaces
less than completely satisfactory even as a way
of modeling some things that are traditionally
called “intervals,” and even more problematic as
a way of modeling some other musically relevant
notions of distance. This section explores some
of these limitations in preparation for the intro-
duction of the concept of distance functions in
Section 12.2.
In an interval space, as we know from
Chapter 5, the interval from x to y is generally
not the same as the interval from y to x but
rather its inverse in the interval group. In pitch
space pitch, for example, int(F5, C4) is −17, the
descending perfect eleventh, while int(C4, F5) is
+17, the additive inverse of −17. In pitch-​class
space pc, int(F, C) is 7, measured clockwise in the
pitch-​class circle, while int(C, F) is 5, the inverse
of 7 in the modular group ℤ12. The interval mea-
sured by an interval function, in other words, is
always a directed (or ordered, or oriented) interval;
the particular kinds of intervals just mentioned
may be called directed pitch intervals and directed
pitch-​class intervals.
In pitch-​class set theory, undirected (unor-
dered, unoriented) intervals are routinely invoked
as well.1 The undirected pitch interval between
F5 and C4 is 17 regardless of the order in which
the two notes are listed, and the undirected
pitch-​ class interval (interval class) between
F and C is 5, the shortest distance separating
the two notes in the circle. These undirected
interval measurements cannot be modeled by
interval functions: there is no interval-​space
structure on pitch in which int(F5, C4) and
int(C4, F5) are both 17, and no interval-​space
structure on pc in which int(F, C) and int(C,
F) are both 5. It is true that the undirected
intervals can be deduced from the directed
intervals—​an undirected interval may be con-
sidered an equivalence class of two directed
intervals—​so in that sense the interval spaces
pitch and pc contain the essential information
about intervals of both types. But to make even
elementary observations about undirected
intervals, strictly speaking, requires stepping
out of the formalism of interval spaces.
These simple observations suggest that the
group-​ theory–​ based conception of interval
spaces is perhaps not sufficiently flexible to
account for everything that we might want to
call an “interval.” Other questions arise if we
wish to think of an interval as a measure of the
distance separating two points of a space.2 To
regard an interval as a measure of distance would
seem to require that intervals measure size in
some concrete way, enabling us to deduce that
some intervals are smaller or larger than oth-
ers and therefore that some pairs of elements of
the space are closer or more distant than others.
Perception of interval size generally depends on
the structure of the interval group, which may
take a wide variety of forms; indeed, any group
at all can theoretically serve as an interval group.
The group axioms make no mention of the “size”
of group elements, so if the only thing we know
about an interval is that it is an element of a
group, that may or may not give us any sense of
how “large” it is.
In the case of a real interval space, in which
the interval group is the additive group ℝ of real
numbers or some subgroup of ℝ, the notion of
interval size is relatively unproblematic: intervals
far from 0 may be considered larger than intervals
close to 0. In pitch, therefore, we may say that C4
is closer to A♭4 (interval 8) than to E♭3 (interval 9).
(Notice that this argument tacitly makes use of
undirected rather than directed pitch intervals:
the size of the interval from x to y is taken to be
not int(x, y), which could be a negative number,
but rather the absolute value |int(x, y)|.) But we
Distances • 483
FIGURE 12.1.1 An impossible interval in three-​voice OPTI-​space
have seen many examples of interval spaces with
other groups. In Section 6.3 we noted that con-
tinuous pitch space is isomorphic (as an interval
space) to frequency space freq, whose interval
group is multiplicative. In freq, an ascending
(equal-​tempered) minor sixth corresponds to an
interval of approximately 1.59, while a descend-
ing major sixth is about 0.59; it is far from obvi-
ous, looking at those numbers, which interval is
larger. We have several times considered conso-
nant triad space triad as an interval space whose
interval group is the dihedral group 𝒯ℐ12. The
intervals from C major to two other triads in this
space are int(C, A♭) =​ T8 and int(C, a) =​I4; there
are no clear grounds for saying that one of these
intervals is larger than the other.
Various problems arise if we attempt to rec-
oncile the requirements of interval spaces with
the ideas of voice-​leading distance that we began
to develop in the OPTIC spaces of Chapters 10
and 11. Three-​ voice OPTI-​ space (the space of
three-​note multiset classes), shown originally in
Figure 11.4.12 and reproduced in Figure 12.1.1,
offers a plausible model of voice-​leading distances
between trichords. (Exercise 3.3.3 explored
related questions in the simpler setting of the
trichordal set-​class space of Figure 3.3.1, of which
the later figure is a refinement.) The trichords
most widely separated in this figure are 000 and
048. The voice-​leading distance from 000 to 048
is eight semitones: in the coordinates shown in
Figure 12.1.1, one path from 000 to 048 con-
sists of four semitones of motion in the positive
z direction and four in the negative x direction,
indicating that a triple unison can be transformed
into an augmented triad if two voices move by
four semitones in opposite directions.3
No interval function can capture this concep-
tion of distance in OPTI-​space. If int(000, 048)
484 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
=​8 in some interval space, the homogeneity
axiom from Section 5.4 then requires that every
other trichord lie at interval 8 from something.
For example, there must be some trichord β such
that int(014, β) =​8—​but if intervals correspond
to voice-​leading distances, there can be no such
β, for every other trichord lies at a voice-​leading
distance of 4 or less from 014. In pitch-​triple
space cpitch3, there exist points at a voice-​lead-
ing distance of 8 from (0, 1, 4); for instance,
(−4, 1, 8) is such a point. But in OPTI-​space,
(−4, 1, 8) is represented by the point labeled
with its OPTI normal form, which is 005—​and
this point lies quite close to 014 in OPTI-​space
(at voice-​leading distance 2).
Homogeneity requires that all points of an
interval space look alike as far as the interval
structure is concerned, but some OPTIC spaces
by their very nature are not homogeneous. As
we know from Chapter 11, many of these spaces
are orbifolds with boundary points that do not
resemble other points in the spaces. Many of
them are also not as symmetrical as an interval
space would require. Interval spaces effectively
display the symmetry of their interval groups:
the Cayley diagram for an interval group can be
relabeled with the elements of an interval space
with that group. But three-​voice OPTI-​space does
not “look like a group”: it is hard to imagine what
sort of group could have a Cayley diagram that
resembles the asymmetrical triangle in Figure
12.1.1. In Section 12.2 we will present a defini-
tion of homogeneity for distance spaces; while
some distance spaces are homogeneous, many
others are not.
Figure 12.1.2 illustrates another problem that
arises if intervals are conflated with distances.
Part (a) shows, at ①, a tritone CG♭ resolving to a
major third D♭F, followed by a series of semitone
FIGURE 12.1.2 Tritone resolutions in two-​voice OP-​space
transpositions of this resolution. Part (b) then
plots these resolutions in two-​voice OP-​space,
the Möbius strip from Figure 11.2.6. Suppose for
the moment that OP-​space is an interval space;
then each of these resolutions defines a single
interval between a pair of dyads. Let i denote
int(CG♭, D♭F), the supposed interval between the
dyads in voice leading ①. It stands to reason that
voice leading ②, C♯G–​DF♯, should define the same
interval i: after all, some dyad must lie at interval
i from C♯G, and surely the intervallic relationship
between the dyads C♯G and DF♯ is the same as
that between CG♭ and D♭F. By this reasoning, all
the successive transpositions should define the
same interval i between dyads. When the voice
leading has been transposed by T6 (voice leading
⑦), it becomes F♯C–​GB, so presumably int(F♯C,
GB) is i like the others. But int(F♯C, GB) cannot
be the same as int(CG♭, D♭F), because the dyads
F♯C and CG♭ are the same point in OP-​space, and
homogeneity does not permit one point of an
interval space to lie at the same interval from
two other points. This contradiction shows that
no interval function on OP-​space can behave
as we supposed. The Möbius-strip structure of
OP-​space in part (b) of the figure shows a way
of understanding what is happening topologi-
cally: as the dyads are transposed, the arrow
shifts through the space, seemingly maintain-
ing its original orientation—​but by the time it
has circumnavigated the strip, that orienta-
tion has been reversed. Arrows ① and ⑦ begin at
the same point but aim in opposite directions,
a phenomenon not possible if both arrows are
supposed to represent the same interval in an
interval space.
Lest the reader conclude that none of the
voice-​leading spaces studied in Chapters 10
and 11 are interval spaces, we should point out
that in fact a few of them are. Pitch-​tuple space
cpitchn, the basis for the construction of all of
the OPTIC spaces, is itself an interval space with
the additive interval group ℝn. In Section 7.4 we
observed that octave and transpositional equiva-
lence give rise to quotient interval spaces. In one
dimension, O-​space is simply the circle of contin-
uous pitch-​class space cpc, an interval space with
interval group ℝ12 (the real numbers mod 12).
More generally, n-​voice O-​space cpitchn/​~O,
also known as cpcn in Section 10.3, is an n-​torus:
Distances • 485
an interval space whose group is (ℝ12)n, the
direct product of n copies of ℝ12. The interval
structure of T-​space is less familiar but was also
described briefly in Chapter 7: cpitchn/​~T is an
(n − 1)-​dimensional space whose interval group
is the quotient group ℝn/​K, where K is the con-
gruence subgroup consisting of all multiples of
the n-​dimensional vector (1, 1, …, 1). As was
suggested in Exercise 7.4.1, OT-​space, obtained
by combining O and T equivalence, is an interval
space as well.
But that is as far as we can go: permutational
equivalence, inversional equivalence, and cardinal-
ity equivalence do not produce quotient interval
spaces, and any space incorporating one or more
of these relations has no interval-​space structure
that is compatible with voice-​leading distances. In
n voices for n ≥ 3, of the 32 spaces that may theo-
retically be constructed from different combina-
tions of the OPTIC relations, only four are interval
spaces: pitch-​tuple space itself (with no equiva-
lences applied), O-​space, T-​space, and OT-​space.
The lack of compatibility with interval struc-
ture should come as no surprise in the case of car-
dinality equivalence, which has already proven
troublesome in many other ways. We know
from Section 10.3, however, that P and I equiva-
lence, like O and T equivalence, are defined by
symmetry groups, so one might expect that the
formation of quotient interval spaces should be
possible for these relations. Our work in Chapter
11 provides a glimmer of a reason why this is not
the case: permutational and inversional equiva-
lence are precisely the relations that introduce
singularities when quotient spaces are formed,
in violation of the homogeneity required of
interval spaces. But the symmetry groups come
into play in other ways, and it is worth taking a
moment to consider them.
Using three-​voice spaces to illustrate, let us
refer to the symmetry groups for ~O, ~T, ~P, and
~I in cpitch3 as GO, GT, GP, and GI respectively. GO
consists of transpositions through three-​dimen-
sional intervals all of whose components are mul-
tiples of 12: writing Trans(x, y, z) for transposition
through the three-​dimensional interval (x, y, z)
in the interval space cpitch3, GO =​{Trans(x, y, z) |
x, y, z ∈ 12ℤ}. A pitch-​tuple transposition Tr cor-
responds in cpitch3 to a transposition through
an interval of the form (r, r, r); the symmetry
group for transpositional equivalence is therefore
GT =​{Trans(r, r, r) | r ∈ ℝ}. These groups GO and
GT are different in structure—​the former is a dis-
crete three-​dimensional group while the latter is
a continuous one-​dimensional group—​but they
486 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
share the crucial feature that they are both groups
of transpositions in the interval space cpitch3.
By the usual equivalence of intervals and
transpositions, GO and GT may be identified
with subgroups of the interval group ℝ3, GO′ =​
(12ℤ)3 and GT′ =​{(r, r, r) | r ∈ ℝ}. Pitch triples α
and β are octave-​equivalent if and only if int(α,
β) ∈ GO′, and transpositionally equivalent if and
only if int(α, β) ∈ GT′. A practical consequence
of this observation, explored in Exercise 12.1.3
below, is that one can tell whether two pitch tri-
ples are O-​ or T-​equivalent from knowing noth-
ing more than the interval between them. Also,
because ℝ3 is a commutative group, GO′ and GT′
are automatically normal subgroups; in termi-
nology from Section 7.4, this means that ~O and
~T are normal equivalence relations on cpitch3
and therefore give rise to quotient interval
spaces. The interval-​space structure of O-​ and
T-​space is thus seen to be a consequence of the
transpositional-​intervallic structure of the sym-
metry groups for these two relations.
The situation with permutational and inver-
sional equivalence is very different. The sym-
metry group for permutational equivalence GP
is the symmetric group 𝒮3 of permutations of
three objects; this group acts on pitch tuples
in cpitch3 by permuting the coordinates. The
symmetry group for inversional equivalence is
GI =​{E, I}, whose only non-​identity transforma-
tion is the inversion operator I. Neither GP nor GI
is a group of transpositions in cpitch3; there can
be no groups GP′ and GI′ analogous to GO′ and
GT′ above. (Because GP and GI are finite groups,
neither one is isomorphic to any subgroup of ℝ3,
which has no nontrivial finite subgroups.) We
therefore cannot conclude that ~P and ~I give
rise to quotient interval spaces. In fact they do
not: Exercise 12.1.4 below shows that the equiv-
alence relations ~P and ~I, as well as cardinality
equivalence ~C, are not normal, and correspond-
ing quotient interval spaces therefore cannot be
formed.
Exercise 12.1.3
(a) Suppose α and β are pitch triples for
which int(α, β) =​(−7, −7, −7). Are α
and β octave-​equivalent? Are they
transpositionally equivalent? First answer
the questions in the abstract; then
produce examples of specific triples α and
β in the given relationship and verify that
your answers are correct.
(b) Answer the same questions if int(α, β) =​
(24, 0, −12).
(c) Answer the same questions if int(α, β) =​ 12.2 DISTANCE FUNCTIONS;
(−24, −24, −24). REAL AND MODULAR
(d) Answer the same questions if int(α, β) =​ INTERVAL SPACES AS
  (6, −6, 0).
DISTANCE SPACES
Exercise 12.1.4 Some of the musical spaces with which we are
(a) To show that permutational equivalence acquainted are distance spaces of particularly
cannot be deduced from intervals in simple kinds. In this section we define dis-
cpitch3, give examples of pitch triples tance functions and distance spaces, and show
α1, β1, α2, and β2 for which int(α1, β1) =​ that simple distance functions can always be
int(α2, β2) =​(6, −6, 0) but for which α1 and defined in two of the most important kinds of
β1 are permutationally equivalent while α2 interval spaces: real interval spaces and modu-
and β2 are not. lar interval spaces. At the end of this section we
(b) To show that inversional equivalence cannot discuss distance-​preserving mappings, known
be deduced from intervals in cpitch3, give as isometries. In the following sections we will
examples of pitch triples α1, β1, α2, and β2 describe other kinds of distance spaces, includ-
for which int(α1, β1) =​int(α2, β2) =​(−24, −24, ing many that do not correspond to interval
−24) but for which α1 and β1 are inversionally spaces at all.
equivalent while α2 and β2 are not. A word on terminology is needed. In the
(c) To show that cardinality equivalence cannot mathematical community, the function that we
be deduced from intervals in cpitch3, give are calling a distance function is known as a met-
examples of pitch triples α1, β1, α2, and β2 for ric, and what we are calling a distance space is
which int(α1, β1) =​int(α2, β2) =​(0, 2, 0) but a metric space. These terms are well established,
for which α1 and β1 are cardinality-​equivalent dating to the early years of the twentieth cen-
while α2 and β2 are not. tury, but employing them here seems inadvis-
(d) Explain why it follows from (a), (b), and (c) able because of possible associations of the
that the equivalence relations ~P, ~I, and ~C word metric with musical meter rather than dis-
on cpitch3 are not normal and therefore do tance—​and particularly because the literature
  not give rise to quotient interval spaces.4 on rhythm and meter has often employed the
term metric space in reference to meter.6 In an
One way of generalizing the notion of inter- effort to avoid this confusion, we will substitute
val is suggested by the observation that an the customized terms distance function and dis-
interval defines an equivalence class of ordered tance space in our definitions and in most other
pairs.5 If (S, G, int) is an interval space, an equiv- circumstances (though we may occasionally refer
alence relation ~ may be defined on S × S so that to a metric when no confusion seems likely).
(x1, y1) ~ (x2, y2) whenever int(x1, y1) =​int(x2, y2). The definition of distance spaces, like the
The structural requirements of interval spaces definition of interval spaces in Chapter 5, is
limit the sorts of equivalence relations that arise axiomatic. Formally, a distance space (S, dist)
in this way; it seems plausible that other equiva- consists of a set S (often referred to as the
lence relations on S × S, not defined by interval space itself) and a function dist: S × S → ℝ≥0,
spaces, may offer more flexible conceptions of called the distance function of the space. The
interval (or distance). We may imagine such con- notation dist: S × S → ℝ≥0 means that the dis-
structions as a way of addressing the problems tance function maps ordered pairs of elements
brought to light by Figures 12.1.1 and 12.1.2: for of the space to nonnegative real numbers; the
an appropriate equivalence relation ~ on three-​ number dist(x, y) may be called “the distance
voice OPTI-​space, perhaps there is no trichord from x to y.” The following three distance-​space
β such that (000, 048) ~ (014, β), while in two-​ axioms must be satisfied:
voice OP-​space, perhaps the relation (CG♭, D♭F) ~
(F♯C, GB) could be possible after all. Equivalence • Positivity. For every element x in the space S,
classes of ordered pairs may of course be defined dist(x, x) =​0. For all x and y in S with x ≠ y,
in many ways; the distance functions introduced dist(x, y) > 0.
in the next section give rise to their own concep- • Symmetry. For all x and y in S, dist(y, x) =​
tion of equivalence classes—​one that behaves in dist(x, y).
the ways just described and is compatible with • Triangle inequality. For all x, y, and z in S,
our understanding of voice-​leading distance. dist(x, z) ≤ dist(x, y) +​dist(y, z).

Distances • 487
 While the notation for distance functions is
similar to that for interval functions, some differ-
ences are apparent. The first difference involves
the values taken by the function: interval func-
tions can map into any group, but distances are
always nonnegative real numbers. The relation
symbols > and ≤ appearing in the axioms make
sense as long as the things surrounding them are
real numbers; these relations are not defined for
general group elements. In practical situations
distances are measured in units of some sort:
perhaps miles, feet, or millimeters for distances
in physical space, or octaves, semitones, or cents
for distances in pitch space. In Section 12.3 it will
be convenient to consider the distances between
some pairs of points to be infinite; in such situa-
tions we may take the distance function to map
into the set ℝ≥0 ∪ {∞}.
The positivity axiom says that while the dis-
tance from any point to itself is 0, the distance
between two different points is always a positive
number. The symmetry axiom says that the dis-
tance between two elements does not depend on
the order in which the two are listed. Distances
are therefore fundamentally undirected, in con-
trast with the directed nature of interval func-
tions noted in Section 12.1. Parts (a) and (b) of
Figure 12.2.1 contrast the symmetry axiom with
the inverse interval property of interval func-
tions from Section 5.4. Because of symmetry,
FIGURE 12.2.1 Comparison of interval func-
tions and distance functions: (a) the inverse
interval property for interval functions; (b) the
symmetry axiom for distance functions; (c) the
interval-​sum equation for interval functions; (d)
the triangle inequality for distance functions
488 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
we may speak of the distance “between x and y”
rather than specifying “from x to y”; the specific-
ity of the latter is always necessary with interval
functions.
Parts (c) and (d) of Figure 12.2.1 contrast
the triangle inequality with the interval-​ sum
equation, one of the interval-​space axioms from
Section 5.4. The symbol +​appearing in the trian-
gle inequality always indicates ordinary addition
of real numbers, in contrast with the operation ⊕
in the interval-​sum equation, which may denote
some other group operation. Intervals add like
vectors, but distances do not: the distance from
x to z cannot be greater than the sum of the dis-
tances from x to y and from y to z, but it may
well be less than that sum. The inequality takes
its name from a familiar property of distances in
the everyday world, where the length of one side
of a triangle is always less than the sum of the
lengths of the other two sides: you will put fewer
miles on your car driving directly from Chicago
to Pittsburgh than if you drive from Chicago to
Nashville and from Nashville to Pittsburgh.
Pitch space, in either its discrete form pitch
or its continuous form cpitch, is a distance space
with the distance function defined by dist(x, y) =​
|y − x| for all pitches x and y. The notation |x|,
as usual, denotes the absolute value of the num-
ber x. If pitches are numbered in the familiar way
from Figure 1.1.1, then this distance function
measures distances in semitones. This distance
function may be called distpitch or distcpitch in
situations where the space may be in question or
confusion with some other distance function is
a concern. Some examples of this distance func-
tion are given here:
dist(F4, F4) =​|5 − 5| =​|0| =​0;
dist(F4, A♭5) =​|20 − 5| =​|15| =​15;
dist(A♭5, F4) =​|5 − 20| =​|−15| =​15;
dist(A♭5, C5) =​|12 − 20| =​|−8| =​8;
dist(F4, C5) =​|12 − 5| =​|7| =​7.
The positivity axiom is illustrated by the fact
that the first distance in the list, between the
note F4 and itself, is zero, while all the distances
between two different notes are positive. The
second and third examples, the distances from
F4 to A♭5 and vice versa, illustrate the symmetry
axiom; the numbers y − x and x − y are always
negatives of each other, so they have the same
absolute value. The triangle inequality is illus-
trated by the second, fourth, and fifth exam-
ples: dist(F4, C5) is 7, much less than the sum
dist(F4, A♭5) +​dist(A♭5, C5) =​15 +​8 =​23.
 For this distance function, the triangle
inequality takes the form |z − x| ≤ |y − x| +​|z − y|.
To see why this inequality must always be true,
write a for y − x and b for z − y; then a +​ b =​ z − x,
so the inequality asserts that |a +​ b| ≤ |a| +​|b|.
In fact, the latter statement (which is itself also
sometimes called the triangle inequality) is true
for all real numbers a and b. If a and b are of the
same sign (both positive or both negative), or if
either of them is zero, then |a +​ b| =​|a| +​|b|,
while if the two numbers are of opposite sign,
then |a +​ b| is always strictly less than |a| +​
|b|. What this means in pitch space is that if the
intervals from x to y and y to z are both ascending
or both descending—​that is, if y lies between x
and z—​then the distances dist(x, y) and dist(y, z)
sum to dist(x, z), but if one interval is ascend-
ing and the other descending (as is the case in
the above example involving F4, A♭5, and C5), then
dist(x, z) is smaller than that sum.
Exercise 12.2.2 Below are five pitch triples x, y,
z. The first two triples repeat the example above
but with the notes in different orders. For each
triple, calculate dist(x, y), dist(y, z), and dist(x, z)
in the space pitch, and verify that these
distances satisfy the triangle inequality.
(a) F4, C5, A♭5
(b) A♭5, F4, C5
(c) F4, A♭5, E6
(d) F4, E♭4, C4
(e)  E♭4, C4, F4
Exercise 12.2.3
(a) If you know that x, y, and z are three notes
in cpitch such that dist(x, y) =​15 and
dist(y, z) =​8, what are the possibilities for
dist(x, z)?
(b) If x, y, and z are three points in any distance
space (not necessarily in cpitch) with
distances as in (a), what can you conclude
  about dist(x, z)?7
We introduced distance functions as an alter-
native to interval functions, but the word inter-
val has already crept into our discussion. Pitch
space is both an interval space and a distance
space, and the interval function int and the dis-
tance function dist are closely related: dist(x, y)
is the same as |int(x, y)|, the absolute value of
int(x, y). In terminology discussed in Section
12.1, int(x, y) is the directed (or ordered or ori-
ented) pitch interval from x to y, while dist(x, y)
is the undirected (or unordered or unoriented)
pitch interval. Distance functions thus allow us
to formalize some such types of “intervals” that
are not accommodated by the theory of interval
functions. (Undirected pitch-​class intervals will
be considered shortly.) With the exception of the
value 0, every possible value of the (undirected)
distance function on cpitch corresponds to two
possible values of the (directed) interval func-
tion: for example, a distance of 8 may indicate an
interval of either 8 or −8.
In fact, every real interval space is also a dis-
tance space, with distances corresponding to
undirected intervals in exactly this way. Loosely
speaking, if a space looks like a number line,
we can measure distances along that line. To be
precise, suppose (S, G, int) is an interval space
whose interval group G is the additive group
(ℝ, +​) or some subgroup of (ℝ, +​) (such as the
integers (ℤ, +​)). If we define dist(x, y) =​|int(x,
y)| for all x and y in S, then dist is a distance
function, and (S, dist) is a distance space.
Exercise 12.2.4 Use the properties of the
interval function int in the real interval
space (S, G, int) to explain why the distance
function dist defined by dist(x, y) =​|int(x, y)|
satisfies the three axioms required of distance
functions.
   8
The equation dist(x, y) =​|int(x, y)| ensures
that an interval function and distance function
related in this way are metrically compatible in the
sense that equal intervals imply equal distances:
whenever x, y, x′, and y′ are elements of the space
such that int(x, y) =​int(x′, y′), then dist(x, y) =​
dist(x′, y′) is true as well.9 The converse does not
hold: in pitch space, as we have seen, a single dis-
tance may correspond to two different intervals.
The musical spaces we have encountered by
now include several different real interval spaces,
so we therefore have an assortment of distance
spaces at our disposal as well. Generic pitch space,
for example, is an interval space with interval
group ℤ, in which int(C4, C5) =​7 and int(C5, C4)
=​−7; it is also a distance space in which dist(C4,
C5) =​dist(C5, C4) =​7. Other examples of real
interval spaces with a corresponding distance-​
space structure include diatonic pitch spaces
dpitch(n), other scalar spaces such as whole-​
tone and octatonic pitch spaces, the (continuous)
time domain time, (discrete) beat space beat,
and spelled pitch-​class space spc (the line of
fifths). In spc, dist(G♭, G♯) =​14, because fourteen
fifths separate G♭ and G♯. In discrete spaces with
the interval group ℤ, all distances are integers,
Distances • 489
but in continuous spaces such as cpitch with
group ℝ, non-​integer distances are possible.
Exercise 12.2.5 Calculate each of the distances
below in the space indicated.
(a) dist(A3, E♭5) in pitch
(b) dist(A3, E♭5) in dpitch(−2) (two-​flat diatonic
pitch space)
(c) dist(A3, D♯5) in dpitch(+​4)
(d) dist(A3, E♭5) in wt1 (the whole-​tone pitch
space containing the notes in question)
(e) dist(A3, E♭5) in oct01
(f) dist(A3, E♭5) in oct23
(g) dist(A, E♭) in spc
(h)  dist(A, D♯) in spc
In Section 5.4 we noted that a subset of an
interval space is not generally an interval space
in its own right, for instance because the inter-
vals formed by elements of the subset may fail
to form a group. For distance spaces there are no
such restrictions: every subset of a distance space
is itself a distance space. The distance function on
the subspace is inherited from the larger space;
that is, any distance in the subspace is the same
as the distance between the same elements in the
larger space. The triad {C4, E4, G4} in pitch space
does not form an interval space—​in Chapter 5 we
introduced the term interval configuration for this
reason—​but this triad does form a distance space.
The only distances occurring in this small space are
0, 3, 4, and 7; these numbers do not form a group
or any other sort of algebraic structure, nor are
they required to. The same triad is also a subset of
the distance space oct01, from which it inherits a
different distance function, one for which the only
distances occurring in the triad are 0, 2, 3, and 5.
FIGURE 12.2.6 Three paths from E♭ to G in
pitch-​class space
490 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
We turn our attention next to pitch-​ class
space, either discrete (pc) or continuous (cpc),
where we wish to model the undirected pitch-​
class interval between two pcs (the traditional
“interval class”) by means of a distance func-
tion. Intuitively it seems plausible to say that,
for example, the distance between the pitch
classes E♭ and G is 4 because four semitones sep-
arate them in the pitch-​class circle. Of course,
as shown in Figure 12.2.6, we could travel eight
semitones from E♭ to G (or vice versa) by taking
the long way around the circle, or even farther
by circumnavigating the space more than once—​
but if we want to define a single number as the
distance, we should choose 4, the length of the
shortest possible route. This idea of distance as
the length of the shortest possible path joining
two points will be revisited in several other con-
texts later in this chapter, notably including the
context of voice-​leading distances.
The mathematical description of the distance
function in pitch-​class space is not quite as simple
as the formula distpitch(x, y) =​|y − x| in pitch
space.10 A special notation will be useful. If x is
either a real number or a real number mod 12, we
write |x|12 for the smallest real number r ≥ 0 such
that either r ≡ x (mod 12) or r ≡ −x (mod 12). For
example, |4|12, |8|12, |−4|12, |16|12, and |20|12
are all equal to 4. We may think of |x|12 as the
“mod-​12 absolute value” of x, although |x|12 is
technically a nonnegative real number, not a num-
ber mod 12. Intuitively, |x|12 is the length of the
shortest path from 0 to x in the mod-​12 circle, just
as the usual absolute value |x| is the length of the
shortest path from 0 to x in the number line.
A similar definition of |x|n is possible for any
modulus n; for example, |3|4 =​1 and |11|7 =​3.
The following properties of |x|n are direct conse-
quences of the definition:
• The inequalities 0 ≤ |x|n ≤ n/​2 always hold; in
particular, 0 ≤ |x|12 ≤ 6.
• |x|n =​0 if and only if x ≡ 0 (mod n).
• |x|n =​|y|n if and only if either x ≡ y (mod n)
or x ≡ −y (mod n); in particular, |−x|n =​|x|n.
• If x is a real number with |x| ≤ n/​2, then
|x|n =​|x|, whereas if |x| > n/​2, then |x|n
< |x|. The inequality |x|n ≤ |x| therefore
always holds: the mod-​n absolute value of
a number can never be larger than its usual
absolute value.
• If x is an integer, then |x|n is also an integer.
The definition of |x|n, however, makes sense
also for non-​integers (numbers in ℝ or ℝn);
for example, |8.3|12 =​3.7.
 With this definition in hand, the distance
function in pitch-​class space (distpc or distcpc) is
given by the formula dist(x, y) =​|y − x|12, where
x and y are mod-​12 pitch-​class numbers. Here
are a few examples of this distance function,
which the reader should visualize in the pitch-​
class circle:
dist(F, F) =​|5 − 5|12 =​|0|12 =​0;
dist(F, A♭) =​|8 − 5|12 =​|3|12 =​3;
dist(A♭, F) =​|5 − 8|12 =​|9|12 =​3;
dist(A♭, C) =​|0 − 8|12 =​|4|12 =​4;
dist(F, C) =​|0 − 5|12 =​|7|12 =​5.
In the above examples x and y are numbers
mod 12, and the calculation of y − x is performed
mod 12. Treating x and y as real numbers, how-
ever, would yield the same results: for instance,
we could calculate dist(A♭, F) =​|5 − 8|12 =​|−3|12
=​3, the same answer as above. As in pitch space,
the equation for the distance function may be
expressed in terms of the interval function:
dist(x, y) =​|int(x, y)|12. Here int denotes the
usual directed interval function on pc or cpc,
and dist gives the undirected pitch-​class inter-
val—​an interval class in the usual definition of
the term. (An interval class is a distance, not
an interval.) The number 0, though not usu-
ally recognized as an interval class, is a possible
value of this distance function, and non-​integer
values are also possible in cpc. As with the dis-
tance function in pitch space, one value of this
distance function typically corresponds to two
values of the interval function—​a pitch-​class
distance of 4 may correspond to a directed pitch-​
class interval of either 4 or 8. But in pitch-​class
space there are two exceptions to this generaliza-
tion, not just one as in pitch space: distances 0
and 6 each correspond to a single interval.
The first three examples in the above list illus-
trate the positivity and symmetry properties
of the distance function, which are immediate
consequences of the definition of the mod-​12
absolute value. The general validity of the tri-
angle inequality for this function is perhaps not
so obvious. Before proving it, we note that the
second, fourth, and fifth items in the above list
provide an example: dist(F, C) is 5, less than the
sum dist(F, A♭) +​dist(A♭, C) =​3 +​4 =​7.
In pitch space, by writing a =​ y − x and
b =​ z − y, we showed that the triangle inequality
was equivalent to the statement |a +​ b| ≤ |a| +​
|b|. In similar fashion, the triangle inequality in
pitch-​class space reduces to |a +​ b|12 ≤ |a|12 +​
|b|12. To see why this inequality must be true in
general, let |a|12 =​ r and |b|12 =​ s. Then r and s are
nonnegative numbers such that a ≡ ±r (mod 12)
(that is, either a ≡ r or a ≡ −r) and b ≡ ±s (mod 12).
It follows that a +​ b is congruent mod 12 to
one of the four numbers of the form (±r) +​(±s),
and therefore that |a +​ b|12 =​|(±r) +​(±s)|12.
Using the property |x|12 ≤ |x| and the triangle
inequality in the form |a +​ b| ≤ |a| +​|b| for the
usual absolute value (both of which were noted
previously), it follows that
|a + b|12 =|( ± r ) + ( ± s )|12 ≤ |( ± r ) + ( ± s )|
≤ |± r|+|± s| = r + s =|a|12 +|b|12 .
Exercise 12.2.7 Below are five pitch-​class
triples x, y, z. For each triple, calculate
dist(x, y), dist(y, z), and dist(x, z) in the space
pc, and verify that these distances satisfy the
triangle inequality.
(a) F, C, A♭
(b) A♭, F, C
(c) F, A♭, E
(d) F, E♭, C
(e)  E♭, C, F
Exercise 12.2.8 If you know that x, y, and z
are three notes in cpc such that dist(x, y) =​3
and dist(y, z) =​4, what are the possibilities for
dist(x,
   z)?
The distance function on pitch-​ class space
suggests a way to define an undirected distance
function on any modular interval space. Suppose
(S, G, int) is an interval space whose interval
group G is a modular group (ℝn, +​) or any sub-
group of (ℝn, +​) such as (ℤn, +​). Because int(x, y)
is a number mod n for all x and y in S, the
notation |int(x, y)|n makes sense, so we may
define a distance function on S by the equation
dist(x, y) =​|int(x, y)|n. The positivity and sym-
metry axioms follow easily from the properties
of the interval function and of the mod-​n abso-
lute value function. The triangle inequality may
be proved exactly as in pitch-​class space above,
writing a and b for int(x, y) and int(y, z). As was
the case with real interval spaces, this definition
of the distance function ensures that the interval
function and the distance function are metrically
compatible: equal intervals imply equal distances.
Besides pc and cpc, familiar modular interval
spaces in our repertoire include generic and dia-
tonic pitch-​class spaces gpc and dpc(n). These
Distances • 491
are discrete mod-​7 spaces with interval group ℤ7,
so the distance function dist(x, y) =​|int(x, y)|7
takes only the values 0 (for unisons/​octaves),
1 (generic or diatonic seconds/​ sevenths), 2
(thirds/​sixths), and 3 (fourths/​fifths). In gpc,
for instance, dist(F, B) =​dist(F, C) =​3. Other
modular spaces of various cardinalities include
scalar spaces such as whole-​tone and octatonic
pitch-​class spaces.
We have seen that the elements of some
modular spaces may be rearranged to produce
different interval spaces with similar modu-
lar structure, so those spaces also are distance
spaces. The most familiar example is mod-​12
fifths space fifth (the circle of fifths), a rear-
rangement of pc. In fifth, intfifth(C, C♯) =​7 and
therefore distfifth(C, C♯) =​|7|12 =​5: the distance
from C to C♯ around the circle of fifths is 7 in the
clockwise direction, but 5 if we are allowed to
choose the shortest path. The spaces of generic
fifths and thirds, gfifth and gthird (Figures
1.3.8 and 1.3.12), along with their diatonic coun-
terparts, are examples of mod-​7 interval spaces
on which distance structures may be defined
similarly.
Exercise 12.2.9 Calculate both the interval and
the distance from C to B in each of the indicated
spaces.11
(a) int(C, B) and dist(C, B) in pc
(b) int(C, B) and dist(C, B) in fifth
(c) int(C, B) and dist(C, B) in gpc
(d) int(C, B) and dist(C, B) in gfifth
(e)  int(C, B) and dist(C, B) in gthird
As interval spaces, the mod-​ 12 spaces pc
and fifth are isomorphic, while all three of
the mod-​7 spaces gpc, gfifth, and gthird are
isomorphic. Mathematicians usually do not use
the term isomorphic for metric spaces (distance
spaces), preferring the term isometric. An isom-
etry is a distance-​preserving mapping of distance
spaces, defined analogously to the interval-​pre-
serving mappings of interval spaces studied in
Chapter 7. That is, if (S1, dist1) and (S2, dist2) are
two distance spaces, a function f: S1 → S2 is an
isometry if dist2(f(x), f(y)) =​dist1(x, y) for all x
and y in S1. Every isometry is a one-​to-​one func-
tion (see Exercise 12.2.11 below); if some isom-
etry maps S1 onto S2, then the distance spaces S1
and S2 are said to be isometric.
Familiar examples of isometries include the
usual transposition and inversion operators on
pitch and pitch-​class space. In fact, transpositions
492 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
and inversions are isometries in every real or
modular interval space. Because these spaces are
commutative, we know from Sections 7.5 and
7.6 that every transposition is interval-​preserv-
ing and every inversion is interval-​reversing. The
distance-​preserving property for transpositions
then follows from the metric compatibility that
we have noted (equal intervals imply equal dis-
tances). For inversions, the property |−x| =​|x|
(or |−x|12 =​|x|12) ensures that opposite inter-
vals imply equal distances as well. The following
exercise provides illustrations.
Exercise 12.2.10
(a) In pitch, verify that dist(E4, C♯5) =​dist(T−5(E4),
T−5(C♯5)).
(b) In pitch, verify that dist(E4, C♯5) =​dist(I(E4),
I(C♯5)), where I (=​ I0) is inversion about C4.
(c) In pc, verify that dist(A, G) =​dist(T6(A),
T6(G)).
(d) In pc, verify that dist(A, G) =​dist(I9(A),
I9(G)).
(e) In gpc, verify that dist(C, F) =​dist(t3(C),
t3(F)).
(f) In spc, verify that dist(B♭ ♭, G♭) =​
dist(τ15(B♭ ♭), τ15(G♭)), where (as in Sections
2.6 and 7.5) τk transposes a spelled pitch
  class by k positions along the line of fifths.
Exercise 12.2.11 Use the distance-​space
axioms and the definition of isometry to
explain why every isometry of distance spaces is
a one-​
   to-​one mapping.
Exercise 12.2.12
(a) Is it true that distfifth(C, B) =​
distfifth(T3(C), T3(B))? Are the usual
transposition operators Ti isometries in
the distance space fifth?
(b) Let QE: spc → fifth be the quotient map
of the enharmonic equivalence relation;
that is, QE maps every spelled pitch class
(for example, E♯) to the corresponding pitch
class (5) in the circle of fifths. Is QE
  an isometry?12
We observed in Section 7.2 that the interval
spaces pc and fifth are isomorphic via the map-
ping f(C) =​C, f(C♯) =​G, …, which associates every
pitch class in the chromatic pitch-​class circle
with the pitch class in the corresponding loca-
tion in the circle of fifths. This mapping is also
an isometry of distance spaces. The analogous
mappings among the mod-​7 spaces gpc, gfifth,
and gthird are likewise interval-​space isomor-
phisms as well as isometries.
In Section 12.1 we noted that interval spaces
are required to be homogeneous in ways that dis-
tance spaces are not. The concept of isometry
enables us to give a precise definition of homo-
geneity for distance spaces. A distance space (S,
dist) is said to be homogeneous if any point of
the space can be mapped isometrically to any
other—​that is, if for every x and y in S, there
exists an isometry f: S → S such that f(x) =​ y.
The corresponding property for interval spaces
always holds, but while some distance spaces
are homogeneous, others are not. All the dis-
tance spaces considered so far in this section are
homogeneous. If S =​(S, G, int) is a real or modu-
lar interval space such as pitch, cpitch, pc, or
cpc, then S is also a distance space as described
in this section, and for any x and y in S, the trans-
position Ti, where i =​int(x, y), is an isometry that
maps x to y. The discussion from Section 12.1
suggests that many OPTIC spaces are not homo-
geneous, as we will verify in Section 12.5.
It is reasonable to regard an isometry as an
“isomorphism of distance spaces,” but in some
cases things may not be as straightforward as
they appear. Recall from Section 7.2 that an
interval-​space isomorphism is not required to be
interval-​preserving; it is therefore possible that
two interval spaces may be isomorphic while the
associated distance spaces are not isometric. The
following exercise offers an illustration.
Exercise 12.2.13 Consider the whole-​tone
pitch space wt0 =​{. . ., A♭3, B♭3, C4, D4, E4, …}.
In Section 7.2 we described wt0 as an interval
space with interval group ℤ, isomorphic to
pitch, in which intervals are measured by
counting scale-​steps—​in this case whole steps,
so that, for example, int(C4, D4) =​1. But wt0 is
also an interval space with the interval function
it inherits from pitch, in which intervals are
measured in semitones, so that int(C4, D4) =​2.
In this space only even intervals are present, and
the interval group is 2ℤ. Let us write wt0 for the
space with group ℤ and wt0′ for the space with
group 2ℤ. Because they are real interval spaces,
wt0 and wt0′ are therefore distance spaces as
well, with different distance functions: dist(C4,
D4) =​1 in wt0 while dist′(C4, D4) =​2 in wt0′.
(a) Consider the mapping f: wt0 → wt0′ that
maps every pitch in wt0 to itself. Explain
why f is an interval-​space isomorphism. (As
in Section 7.2, you must show that there is
some group isomorphism g: ℤ → 2ℤ with
which f is interval-​compatible.)
(b) Explain why the spaces wt0 and wt0′ are
not isometric, and in particular why the
  function f in part (a) is not an isometry.
A mapping such as f in the above exercise,
which multiplies all distances by a constant factor,
is called a dilation. Spaces related by dilation, such
as wt0 and wt0′, have distance structures that
are completely proportional and therefore may
be said to convey equivalent information about
distances, even though they are not isometric.13
12.3 DISTANCE FUNCTIONS
DEFINED BY GRAPHS
OR GROUPS
In our study of graphs in Section 3.1, we defined
the distance between two vertices in a graph to be
the length of the shortest path joining them, the
length of a path being the number of edges of the
graph in that path. This graph-​theoretic notion of
distance is a valid distance function in the sense
defined in this chapter, and therefore every graph
may be regarded as a distance space. More pre-
cisely, if A is any undirected graph, a distance func-
tion distA may be defined on the vertices of A—​or
on any set used to label those vertices as long as
the label function is a bijection. (That is, we may
use a graph A to define distA(x, y) as long as there
is exactly one vertex in A labeled x and exactly one
vertex labeled y.) In a disconnected graph, pairs of
vertices in different components are joined by no
paths at all; if the graph A provides no route from
x to y, distA(x, y) is defined to be ∞.
It should be clear that distA satisfies the
positivity and symmetry axioms for distance
functions. Symmetry depends on the ability to
traverse a path in either direction, as in an undi-
rected graph. In a directed graph, requiring that
paths be traversed in the direction of the arrows
may lead to a notion of “distance” that violates
the symmetry axiom and therefore is not a
proper distance function as defined here. (Such
functions are sometimes useful—​in a city with
one-​way streets, distances can be asymmetric—​
but we will not consider them here.)
To see why the triangle inequality always
holds for distA, suppose distA(x, y) =​ r and
distA(y, z) =​ s. This means that r is the length of
the shortest path from x to y and s is the length
of the shortest path from y to z. By combining
these two paths we may obtain a path from x to
z whose total length is r +​ s. This combined path
Distances • 493
may or may not be the shortest path from x to z,
but the fact that such a path exists at all shows
that distA(x, z) ≤ r +​ s =​distA(x, y) +​distA(y, z). If
either distA(x, y) or distA(y, z) is ∞, the inequality
distA(x, z) ≤ distA(x, y) +​distA(y, z) is true regard-
less of what distA(x, z) is.14
In Sections 4.1 and 4.2 we defined three
graph-​theoretic distance functions on consonant
triad space triad: the circle-​of-​fifths distance,
Weber distance, and neo-​Riemannian distance
(PLR distance). Table 4.2.16 and Exercise 4.2.17
compared these distance functions and explored
some of their properties. The graphs from which
these distance functions are derived are repro-
duced in Figure 12.3.1, with some modifications
as noted below.
FIGURE 12.3.1 Graphs defining triadic distance
functions: (a) circle-​of-​fifths distance (from Figure
4.1.4b); (b) Weber distance (Figure 4.2.3); (c) neo-​
Riemannian distance (Figures 4.2.5b, 4.2.8)
494 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
The idea that there may be different ways of
measuring distance in the same space should be
unsurprising. The distance traveled by a vehicle
constrained to follow roads is longer than the
distance flown by the idiomatic crow. We rarely
consider that in three-​ dimensional Euclidean
space, the shortest distance between widely sep-
arated cities is the length of a straight line that
burrows beneath the earth’s surface, a shorter
distance than the crow’s if not a realistic travel
route. Triad space has many possible pictures,
not limited to the graphs in Figure 12.3.1. In
particular, double-​circle spaces come in many
possible configurations. The arrangement in
12.3.1a, unchanged from Figure 4.1.4b, is based
on T7 (which generates the circles of major and
minor triads) and the relative transformation R
(dictating the radial juxtaposition of R-​related
triads). Diagonal edges such as the one joining C
major to E minor ensure that all keys tradition-
ally considered to be closely related are separated
by a distance of 1.
For other double-​ circle alternatives, the
reader may refer back to the two graphs of
Figure 4.1.1, each of which defines a differ-
ent distance function and therefore a different
distance space. Both of these graphs arrange
the triads by semitone rather than by fifth and
eliminate the diagonal edges. To understand the
notion of distance determined by each graph,
one may think of the graph as a kind of game
board on which the edges define the admis-
sible moves. The arrowheads appearing on a
few edges in Figure 4.1.1 may be disregarded, as
each edge may be traversed in either direction.
In 4.1.1a the admissible moves are semitone
transpositions (up or down) and mode changes
(P); thus the distance from E♭ major to C minor
is 4, because a minimum of three semitones of
transposition and a mode change are required
to get from one to the other. In 4.1.1b, P is
replaced with the fixed inversion operator I as
an admissible move, and the distance between
the same two triads is only 3. If this distance
function seems less intuitive than the others we
have considered, the following exercise suggests
one possible reason.
Exercise 12.3.2
(a) In the distance space defined by the graph
in Figure 4.1.1b, give an example to show
that transposition is not an isometry. That
is, show that the distance between two
triads can change when both are transposed
by the same interval.
(b) Is the inversion operator I an isometry in
  this space?
In Weber space or neo-​ Riemannian triad
space, the relative transformation R is an admis-
sible move and the distance between the relative
triads E♭ major and C minor is therefore only 1.
As described in Chapter 4, both of these spaces
are toroidal; parts (b) and (c) of Figure 12.3.1
show only a single tile of each. In comparison
with the original picture of weber in Figure
4.2.3, Figure 12.3.1b incorporates a shearing
transformation to convert the parallelogram tile
into a rectangle. The graph’s formerly vertical
edges are now slanted, but the continuations of
these edges across the boundary are traced more
easily when the boundary is rectangular. Three
kinds of moves are admissible in either weber
or nrtriad. P and R are available in both spaces
(these two transformations alternate in each
row of Weber space); weber also allows transpo-
sition up or down by perfect fifth, while nrtriad
allows moves by the leittonwechsel L.
The graph of nrtriad and the associated neo-​
Riemannian distance function suggest still other
metric structures that may be defined on the set
triad. One of these involves a simple refine-
ment of the graph-​theoretic definition of dis-
tance. In the standard interpretation of Figure
12.3.1c, a move by P, L, or R traverses a single
edge of the graph, a path of length 1. Musically,
however, it could be argued that R traverses a
longer distance than P or L, because R entails a
two-​semitone displacement in one of a triad’s
voices rather than a single semitone. The figure
calls attention to this difference by depicting
the R edges as dotted lines. If we consider the
dotted edges to be of length 2 rather than 1, a
new distance function emerges, which we call
the neo-​Riemannian voice-​leading distance. (Each
R edge in Figure 12.3.1c could be converted to a
path of length 2 by adding a new vertex within it;
the rather different picture of neo-​Riemannian
triad space from Figure 10.2.15 may be helpful
as another way of visualizing this distance func-
tion.) The distance between two triads remains
the length of the shortest path joining them; the
length of a path, however, is no longer simply the
number of P, L, or R edges, but instead the sum
of the lengths of those edges—​now some com-
bination of 1s and 2s. Let us write distNR for the
original neo-​Riemannian distance and distNRVL
for the neo-​Riemannian voice-​leading distance.
Then distNR(C, e), distNR(C, a), and distNRVL(C, e)
are all equal to 1, but distNRVL(C, a) =​2.
More generally, rather than assuming that all
edges of a graph have length 1, we may assign
each edge its own length independent of all the
others. A distance function may be defined as
above, using the length of the shortest path. The
only requirement, needed to ensure the positiv-
ity axiom, is that all edge lengths be positive real
numbers.15
Exercise 12.3.3
(a) Calculate distNRVL(C, f♯) and distNRVL(C, g♯),
and compare them with distNR(C, f♯) and
distNR(C, g♯).
(b) In Exercise 4.2.17b you identified B♭
minor as the triad at the greatest possible
neo-​Riemannian distance (5) from C
major. What is distNRVL(C, b♭)? Is this the
largest neo-​Riemannian voice-​leading
distance from C major to any other triad?
(c) The smoothest voice leading from a
C-​major triad to an F-​minor triad requires
only that two voices move by semitone.
What is distNRVL(C, f)? Considering that
the definition of distNRVL was motivated
by voice-​leading distances, why is this
  distance not equal to 2?
The last part of the exercise above, which
recalls a discussion from Section 10.2 about
shortcomings of the tonnetz as a voice-​lead-
ing space, suggests that distNRVL is not entirely
adequate as a measure of voice-​leading distance.
More satisfactory voice-​leading distances will be
examined in the next section. In the meantime,
the following exercise suggests something closer
to the mark.
Exercise 12.3.4 Let S be the set consisting of
the 24 major and minor triads and the four
augmented triads. Let distCube be the distance
function on S defined by the Cube Dance
graph from Figure 10.2.11. Either 10.2.11a
or 10.2.11b will work, as will Figure 8.2.19
(including the dashed edges); all share the same
graph. Since triad is a subset of S, distCube also
defines a distance function on triad.
(a) Determine distCube(C, c), distCube(C, a), and
distCube(C, f), and compare these distances
with distNR and distNRVL. As a function on
triad, is distCube the same as either distNR or
distNRVL?
(b) What is distCube(C, b♭)? Is this the greatest
possible Cube Dance distance from C major
  to any other triad?
Distances • 495
 The only (major or minor) triads sharing two
common tones are those related by P, L, or R—​
exactly the triads at neo-​Riemannian distance 1.
The neo-​Riemannian distance function does not
always correlate so perfectly with the number
of common tones (see Exercise 12.3.5 below),
but a common-​tone distance function distCT can
be defined directly—​and not only for triads.
Suppose S is a collection of pitch-​class sets of
some fixed cardinality n (with no doublings),
and suppose X and Y are sets in S. As in Exercise
2.1.5, write X\Y for the set X ∩ Y ′ consisting of
those elements that belong to X but not to Y.
Then distCT(X, Y) is defined to be #(X\Y), the car-
dinality of X\Y. This is not the number of com-
mon tones but the number of other notes—​the
number of notes of the set X that must change
in moving from X to Y. The number of common
tones is n − distCT(X, Y), so as the number of com-
mon tones decreases, the distance increases, as
we should expect. Among triads, for example,
distCT(B♭, g) =​1 while distCT(B♭, G) =​2. Exercise
12.3.6c confirms that distCT is a proper distance
function.
Exercise 12.3.5 True or false: If two triads
share one common tone, the neo-​Riemannian
distance
   between them is always 2.
Exercise 12.3.6
(a) When S is the space triad, determine
distCT(C, F♯), distCT(C, f), and distCT(C, g♯),
and compare these distances with the
values of distNR, distNRVL, and distCube.
(b) What is the largest possible common-​tone
distance from C major to any other triad,
and how many triads lie at that distance
from C major?
(c) Explain why distCT satisfies the three
axioms (positivity, symmetry, and the
triangle inequality) required of a distance
  function.16
Voice-​leading distances, clearly, are not gov-
erned by common tones alone. The function
distCT is defined entirely in terms of shared pitch-​
class content, without regard to the voice leading
involved in moving from one set to another. The
focus on triads and the tonnetz makes common-​
tone distances appear more similar to voice-​
leading distances than they are for many other (e) A graph of Pythagorean pitch space was
kinds of chords. In a voice-​leading space such
as three-​voice OP-​space (Figure 11.3.4), every
triad lies in close proximity to the other triads
with which it shares two common tones (its P-​,
496 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
R-​, and L-​partners), but this relationship breaks
down if chords other than triads are considered.
For example, the C-​major triad {C, E, G} shares
two common tones with the trichord {C, D♭, E},
so the common-​ tone distance between these
two chords is only 1, but at least six semitones
of total voice-​ leading displacement (in some
combination of voices) are required to connect
the two.
Exercise 12.3.7 This book includes many
graphs in which the concept of distance is
of some musical interest. Consult graphs
from earlier chapters as noted to answer the
questions below, making sure you understand
the musical implications of the distances being
calculated. Use the standard graph-​theoretic
distance functions, assuming that all edges are
of length 1.
(a) In the graph of twelve-​tone row space in
Figure 4.1.12a or Figure 4.1.16 (the graphs
are the same), determine dist(P10, RI9).
Also determine dist(P10, RI9) in Figure
4.1.12b (a different graph).
(b) In signed letter space, depicted by any
of the three graphs in Figure 1.2.11,
determine dist(G♭, G♯), dist(F, A♯), dist(F, B♭),
and dist(F♯ ♯, B♭ ♭). Compare each of these
distances with the distance between the
same notes in spelled pitch-​class space
(Figure 1.3.3).
(c) In the triangulated neo-​Riemannian
tonnetz of Figure 3.3.10 (the dual graph of
neo-​Riemannian triad space), determine
dist(C, D), dist(C, E), dist(C, A♭), and
dist(C, B♭). What is the greatest distance
between any two pitch classes in
this graph?
(d) Assume that the Riemannian tonnetz of
Figure 1.4.14 is triangulated in the obvious
way, with edges joining notes related
by major and minor thirds and perfect
fifths. The distances dist(C, D), dist(C, E),
dist(C, A♭), dist(C, C♯), and dist(C, B♯) along
the central row are the same as in spc.
Calculate these distances and compare them
with dist(C, D), dist(C, E ), dist(C, Ab),
dist(C, C♯), and dist(C, B♯ ). Also determine
dist(C, C), dist(C, C♯), and dist(C, B♯).
described in Exercise 2.3.25 and revisited
in Section 7.3. Assume that edges in this
graph connect each note to its neighbors
in both the fifth and octave dimensions, so
 that for example B4 is adjacent to E4, F♯5, B3, lengths can be determined in fairly straightfor-
and B5. Determine dist(C4, D4), dist(C4, D5), ward ways and offer intuitive ways of conceiving
dist(C4, D♭4), dist(C4, C♯4), dist(C4, F♯4), and of distances.
dist(C4, G♭4) in this graph. The second connection is group-​ theoretic,

determine dist(h.,  ) and dist(h., w). Does

(f) In the ski-​hill lattice of Figure 3.4.10, and we will explore it in more detail. In our
discussion of edges in a graph as “admissible
it make musical sense to you that these moves,” the reader may have noticed that many
distances should be the same? of these moves are well-​defined transformations,
(g) In Exercise 4.1.7 you constructed a space of perhaps elements of a transformation group. In
diatonic modes, a toroidal graph with a 12-​ the cyclic graph of pc, the admissible moves are
by-​7 modular tile. Assume that edges in this T1 and its inverse T11; both must be allowed in
graph connect each mode to its circle-​of-​ order that edges of the graph may be traversed
fifths neighbors in both the chromatic and in either direction. Either T1 or T11 generates the
diatonic dimensions, so that, for example, cyclic group 𝒯12, this group is isomorphic to the
G lydian is adjacent to C lydian, D lydian, interval group of the interval space pc, and we
C♯ locrian, and D ionian. In this graph, know from Chapter 6 that the Cayley diagram
determine dist(G ionian, G aeolian), dist(G of the group is essentially the same as the graph
ionian, E aeolian), dist(G ionian, D♭ ionian), of the space with which we started. A statement
  and dist(G ionian, C♯ locrian). such as dist(C, E♭) =​3 may be interpreted as a
statement about either the graph or the group.
The graphs in parts (b), (d), (e), and (f) of the In the graph, this statement means that the ver-
above exercise are infinite graphs. Each of these tices representing C and E♭ may be joined by a
graphs is connected, so the distance between path of length 3 but not by any shorter path.
any two vertices is a finite number, but there is As a statement about the group, dist(C, E♭) =​3
no upper bound to how large distances in these means that C is mapped to E♭ by the transforma-
graphs may be. tion T1T1T1, a word formed by combining three
admissible moves (in this case three identical T1
—​—​—​ moves)—​but not by any transformation that can
be written as a shorter word.
Graph-​ theoretic distance functions are con- In neo-​Riemannian triad space nrtriad,
nected with two other concepts introduced pre- each of the admissible moves P, L, and R is an
viously. First, the idea that a distance may be involution, so in this case there is no need to
defined as the length of the shortest path from consider inverses separately. Figure 12.3.1c may
one point to another emerged also in Section be seen as a Cayley diagram for the group ℛ of
12.2 in the context of pitch-​class space; recall Riemannian transformations from Section 8.2,
the illustration in Figure 12.2.6. If the discrete or as a transformation network showing the
space pc is drawn as a cyclic graph with twelve action of the generators P, L, and R on the space
vertices, the graph-​ theoretic distance is the triad. The neo-​Riemannian distance between
same as the distance defined in Section 12.2—​ two triads is the length of the shortest path join-
but the notion of the shortest path makes sense ing them, which is also the length of the shortest
also in the continuous space cpc, which is not word composed of the transformations P, L, and
a graph at all. This point illustrates a way in R that maps one triad to the other.
which distance functions can sometimes be con- Starting from any triad in the graph, paths
structed. In some spaces (including graphs, but through the graph correspond exactly to words
other spaces as well), prior to the definition of composed of P, L, and R. For example, distNR(A,
a distance function, it may be possible to define B♭) =​4, a large distance by the standards of neo-​
paths—​ways of getting from a point x to a point Riemannian triad space. It is characteristic of
y—​and there may be a simple way of measur- this space that triads separated by large dis-
ing the lengths of those paths. Then the distance tances may often be linked by several different
between x and y may be defined as the length of paths of minimal length.18 There is not just one
the shortest such path. This idea can be formal- path of length 4 from A major to B♭ major; Figure
ized in a general mathematical setting, though 12.3.8 shows that there are four such paths.
the general theory of path length is rather tech- These paths correspond to four different words
nical and we will not need the details here.17 In in the symbols P, L, and R: the paths labeled ①,
many cases of musical interest, however, path ②, ③, and ④ correspond respectively to the words

Distances • 497

FIGURE 12.3.8 Four paths of length 4 from A
major to B♭ major in neo-​Riemannian triad space,
corresponding to four PLR words of length 4
LPRP, RPLP, RLPL, and PLRL, and the graph
shows that each of these words, interpreted as
a series of transformations in the group ℛ, leads
from A major to B♭ major.
It is important to note something the pre-
ceding paragraph did not say: we did not assert
that four different transformations in the group
ℛ map A major to B♭ major. We have identified
four different words, but they all denote the
same transformation. Whatever the input triad,
the four words always yield identical outputs, so
they are simply four different ways of realizing
the same mapping. Recall from Section 2.3 the
general principle that if f(x) =​ g(x) for all x, then
f and g are the same function; also recall from
Theorem 8.2.2d that the action of ℛ on the set
triad is simply transitive, which implies that if
two words produce the same output for even a
single input triad, those words must represent
the same transformation. The four words listed
above are not the only possible notations for the
unique Riemannian transformation that maps A
to B♭: while no other words of length 4 define the
same mapping, many longer words do, such as
LPLPRL or LRPRPR. (Exercises 4.2.12 and 6.2.16
included some other relevant examples.)
The concept of words is related to the idea of
group generators, introduced in Section 5.3.19
Suppose G is a group and Z is a set of symbols
standing for some elements of G. We may iden-
tify Z with a subset of G, but it is useful to dis-
tinguish the group elements from the symbols
that stand for them. The set Z may theoretically
be finite or infinite, but in most applications
Z consists of only a small number of elements
of a much larger group. Because G is a group,
every element has an inverse; let Z* denote the
498 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
set obtained by adjoining to Z additional sym-
bols denoting the inverses of the elements in
Z. For some elements of Z it is possible that the
inverses are already present in Z (this is auto-
matically true in the case of elements that are
involutions); because those inverses are already
accounted for, it is not necessary to introduce
new symbols for them in Z*.
The elements of Z* correspond to the admis-
sible moves in the above discussion. Inverses
must be included to ensure the symmetry of the
distance function to be defined below. A word on
Z is a string of symbols selected from Z*. Even
if Z is an infinite set, words are always finite;
the length of a word is the number of symbols
appearing in it. For example, if a, b, and c are
elements of Z, then abcccb−1b is a word on Z of
length 7. All repetitions of the same symbol are
counted; b−1 is considered a single symbol, the
symbol denoting the inverse of b. The substring
ccc may be abbreviated c3, but c3 still contributes
3 to the word length. The substring b−1b contrib-
utes 2 to the word length, even though multiply-
ing by b−1b leaves the group element unchanged.
There is no upper limit to the length of a word, so
infinitely many different words are possible even
on a small finite set Z.
Because every element of Z* denotes an ele-
ment of the group G, every word on Z denotes
an element of G as well, obtained by combin-
ing the elements in the proper order using the
group operation. If G is a group of transforma-
tions acting on some set S, then every word on
Z also defines a transformation on S, formed by
composition of functions. For example, if P, L,
and R denote the neo-​Riemannian transforma-
tions on triad, then the word LPLPRL denotes
L ● P ● L ● P ● R ● L, which is also a transformation
on triad; transformations are composed using
left-​to-​right orthography as usual. Two words on
Z are equivalent if they denote the same element
of G; the above discussion of Figure 12.3.8 shows
that LPRP, RPLP, RLPL, and PLRL are equivalent
words in the group ℛ. This notion of equivalence
is indeed an equivalence relation on the set of all
possible words.
To say that Z generates the group G means
that every element of G is denoted by some word
on Z. The transposition group 𝒯12 on pc is gener-
ated by the single element T1 (that is, by the set
Z =​{T1}), while the dihedral group 𝒯ℐ12 is gener-
ated by the two elements T1 and I. As we know
from Section 8.2, the Riemann group ℛ is gen-
erated by P, L, and R. If G is a finite group gen-
erated by Z, then we can draw a Cayley diagram
for G using the generators in Z. As described in
Section 6.2, the vertices of a standard Cayley dia-
gram are labeled with the elements of the group,
but if G is a transformation group acting on a
space S in simply transitive fashion, then the
elements of G are in one-​to-​one correspondence
with the elements of S, and the vertices may
instead be labeled with elements of S in such a
way that the Cayley diagram becomes a transfor-
mation network on S. This is why the graph in
Figure 12.3.1c may be regarded both as a Cayley
diagram for ℛ and as a transformation network
on the space triad. (Strictly speaking, the edges
in this graph should be labeled in some way to
identify them with P, L, and R—​the elements of
the generating set Z—​and each edge should be
interpreted as a bidirectional arrow, each of the
generators being an involution.)
As Figure 12.3.8 illustrates, we may start at
any vertex in such a graph and associate any word
on Z with a path through the graph. The length
of the path matches the length of the word (4
in the case of the words in Figure 12.3.8). The
distance between two points in the space may be
defined in either of two equivalent ways: in the
graph, by minimal path length, or in the group,
by minimal word length. For any transformation
group G with generating set Z acting on a space
S, a word-​length distance function may be defined
on S without reference to graphs at all: for all ele-
ments x and y in S, distZ(x, y) is defined to be the
length of the shortest word on Z that denotes a
transformation mapping x to y.20
Many of the distance functions described pre-
viously in this chapter may be defined as distZ for
an appropriately chosen group G and generating
set Z. The neo-​ Riemannian distance function
distNR is the same as distZ, where Z is the generat-
ing set {P, L, R} for the group ℛ. For the Weber
distance function, Z could be either {P, R, T7} or
{P, R, T5}; because of the inclusion of inverses in
Z*, either T7 or T5 guarantees the availability of
the other. The group generated by this set Z is the
Weber group 𝒲, introduced in Section 8.3; the
action of 𝒲 on triad is not simply transitive.
The role of the generating set Z is an impor-
tant one. Word length is not an intrinsic prop-
erty of a group element. Groups usually have
more than one possible set of generators, lead-
ing to different sets of possible words and dif-
ferent distance functions; there may be no clear
reason why one generating set should be privi-
leged over another. For example, the transposi-
tion group 𝒯12 may be generated by the element
T1 or equally well by T7 (or by either of their
inverses, T11 or T5). The choice of T1 (or T11) gives
rise to the chromatic pitch-​class circle and the
usual distance function on pc, while T7 (or T5)
leads instead to the circle of fifths and its very
different conception of distance. In the Riemann
group, it may seem natural to regard the trans-
formations P, L, and R as somehow “primitive”
and all others as “composite,” but many other
generating sets could be chosen for this group—​
including a smaller generating set, as Exercise
12.3.11 below demonstrates.
Exercise 12.3.9 In the general setting
described above, explain why the word-​length
distance distZ satisfies the three axioms
(positivity, symmetry, and the triangle
inequality)
   required of a distance function.21
Exercise 12.3.10 As noted in Exercise 12.3.3b,
distNR(C, b♭) =​5. There are no fewer than nine
different paths of length 5 from C to b♭ in the
graph of Figure 12.3.1c, and correspondingly
nine different words of length 5 on the
symbols P, L, and R that denote the unique
transformation in ℛ that maps C to b♭. Can you
find
   all nine?
Exercise 12.3.11
(a) The inclusion of P in the generating set {P,
L, R} for the group ℛ is redundant, because
by Theorem 8.2.2e the smaller set Z =​{L, R}
generates ℛ. Construct a transformation
network on triad in the form of a Cayley
diagram for ℛ on the generators L and R.
(b) With the distance function distLR on triad
defined by this smaller generating set Z,
what is the LR distance between parallel
  triads such as C major and C minor?22
Exercise 12.3.12 Each of the distance
functions listed below, considered earlier in
this chapter, may be defined as a word-​length
distance function distZ for some generating
set Z in an appropriate group. Describe the
transformations in Z in each case. (The distance
functions in parts (c)–​(g) are the same as some
of those in Exercise 12.3.7.)23
(a) The usual distance function in discrete pitch
space pitch
(b) The distance function in spelled pitch-​class
space spc (Figure 1.3.3)
(c) Two distance functions in twelve-​tone row
space, corresponding to the two graphs in
Figure 4.1.12
Distances • 499
(d) The distance function in signed letter space
sl, as in any of the graphs in Figure 1.2.11
(e) The distance function in the (triangulated)
conformed tonnetz (Figure 3.3.10)
(f) The distance function in the (triangulated)
Riemannian tonnetz (Figure 1.4.14)
(g) The distance function in the ski-​hill lattice
  (Figure 3.4.10)
Exercise 12.3.13 By the methods described in
this section, every Cayley diagram for a group
defines a distance function on the group itself.
This observation relates to Cayley’s theorem,
discussed in Section 6.2, whereby every Cayley
diagram may be regarded as a transformation
network on the group.
(a) Figure 6.4.3 showed Cayley diagrams for
the group ℤ4 × ℤ3 on two different sets of
generators: Z =​{(1, 0), (0, 1)} in part (a),
and Z =​{(1, 1)} in parts (b) and (c). These
diagrams define two different distance
functions on ℤ4 × ℤ3. Determine dist((0, 0),
(3, 1)) and dist((0, 0), (3, 2)) according to
each of these distance functions. What is
the largest possible distance between two
elements of the group according to each
function?
(b) The distance space defined by one of these
two distance functions on ℤ4 × ℤ3 is isometric
to another distance space that we have
  described previously. Which space is this?
12.4 DISTANCE FUNCTIONS
ON PRODUCT SPACES
The primary aim of the remainder of this chap-
ter is to enhance our understanding of the geom-
etry of the OPTIC spaces by studying distances in
these spaces. Paths through these spaces depict
voice leadings as detailed in Chapters 10 and
11, and distance measures provide ways to make
precise many intuitions about voice leading. The
length of a path is a measure of voice-​leading effi-
ciency; longer paths require the voices to do more
musical “work” by moving through larger inter-
vals.24 In general, the distance between two points
in an OPTIC space is the length of the shortest
path joining them—​a measure of the size of the
most efficient possible voice leading. The distance
between two chords can be highly dependent on
the choice of space in which the chords are consid-
ered (pitch-​tuple space, OP-​space, or OPTI-​space,
for example). Additionally, we will see that even in
a single space several different distance functions
500 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
may be defined—​ there are three particularly
important ones—​giving rise to several different
(but strongly correlated) notions of voice-​lead-
ing efficiency. This means that each OPTIC space
is technically not just a single distance space but
several different ones. Informally, we will con-
tinue to regard each OPTIC space as a single space,
but whenever we refer to distances we must spec-
ify which metric we are using.25
We constructed the OPTIC spaces as quo-
tients of pitch-​tuple space cpitchn. Continuous
pitch space cpitch is a real interval space and
therefore a distance space as discussed in Section
12.2; our concern now is with products and quo-
tients of distance spaces. We investigate products
in Section 12.4, quotients in Section 12.5. As it
turns out, it is always possible to define a dis-
tance function on a product of distance spaces,
but there is not just one way to do so. A different
complication arises in the case of quotients: it is
not always possible to define distance functions
on quotient spaces formed from distance spaces.
In the case of the OPTIC spaces, distance func-
tions can always be defined, but with some cave-
ats to be noted involving cardinality equivalence.
We begin with the two-​ dimensional space
cpitch2, a Cartesian product of two copies of
cpitch. Figure 12.4.1 shows two pitch pairs α
=​ (x1, y1) and β =​(x2, y2) in cpitch2, along with
three proposed ways of measuring the distance
between them. The x and y axes in this figure
are oriented horizontally and vertically, unlike
the tilted coordinate systems used in pictures of
cpitch2 in Chapter 11. We introduce the nota-
tions Δx and Δy for the displacements in the
x and y coordinates between the two points:
that is, Δx =​dist(x1, x2) =​|x2 − x1| and Δy =​
FIGURE 12.4.1 The max, Euclidean, and voice-​
leading distance functions in cpitch2
dist(y1, y2) =​|y2 − y1|, where dist denotes the
usual one-​ dimensional distance function in
cpitch. The displacements Δx and Δy are thus
the lengths of the horizontal and vertical legs
of the triangle in the figure. The three proposed
measures of the distance between α and β are as
follows:
• The max distance is defined as distMax(α, β) =​
max(Δx, Δy), the larger of the two displace-
ments Δx and Δy. In Figure 12.4.1, Δx is larger
than Δy, so distMax(α, β) =​ Δx.
• The Euclidean distance is distEuc(α, β) =​
( ∆x )2 + ( ∆y )2 =​[(Δx)2 +​(Δy)2]1 ⁄ 2, the length
of the hypotenuse of the triangle.
• The voice-​leading distance is distVL(α, β) =​
Δx +​ Δy, the sum of the two displacements.
This definition matches the way we have
described voice-​leading distances previously,
starting in Section 10.2.
The Euclidean distance formula corresponds
to the usual way of calculating the diagonal dis-
tance between two points in the xy coordinate
plane. The formula is nothing more than the
familiar Pythagorean theorem in geometry: (Δx)2
+​ (Δy)2 =​ c2, where c is the length of the hypot-
enuse of the triangle. Euclidean distances can be
measured in the plane with an ordinary ruler,
assuming that the space is drawn accurately and
the ruler is marked in the appropriate units.
The other two distance formulas are simpler:
the voice-​leading distance merely adds the two
displacements—​no square root needed—​while
the max distance uses only one of the two,
whichever is larger. The voice-​leading distance
may also be called the sum distance; mathema-
ticians sometimes refer to it as the city-​block
metric or the taxicab metric because it records
the distance you must travel from one point to
another if constrained to follow a rectilinear
grid rather than cutting across the grid diago-
nally. Although we reserve the name voice-​lead-
ing distance for this sum, one of the points of the
present discussion is that the Euclidean and max
distances are relevant measures of some aspects
of voice leading also.
For example, suppose α is the pitch pair α =​
(A3, F♯4) =​(−3, 6) while β =​(D4, E♭4) =​(2, 3). Then
Δx =​|2 − (−3)| =​5 and Δy =​|3 − 6| =​3: in mov-
ing from α to β, one voice (the x coordinate in
the ordered pairs) moves by five semitones, the
other (y) by three. It follows that distMax(α, β) =​
max(5, 3) =​5, distEuc(α, β) =​ 52 + 32 = 34 ≈
5.83, and distVL(α, β) =​5 +​3 =​8. Musical inter-
pretations of the voice-​leading distance and the
max distance are straightforward: the former
accounts for the eight semitones of displace-
ment in the two voices combined, while the lat-
ter measures the largest distance moved by one
voice (five semitones). The Euclidean distance,
meanwhile, is geometrically accurate as a mea-
sure of distance in the plane of cpitch2. As this
example illustrates and as Figure 12.4.1 probably
suggests in general, the inequalities distMax(α, β)
≤ distEuc(α, β) ≤ distVL(α, β) are true for all α and
β, with equality holding only if either Δx or Δy is
0. (The “max” in the max distance refers to the
maximum displacement in any voice; for fixed
α and β, the max distance is the smallest of the
three distance functions.)
The values of all three distance functions are
completely determined by the displacement multi-
set {Δx, Δy}, which is {3, 5} in the above example.
The distances computed by any of the functions
would be the same for any other pair of points
for which Δx and Δy are 3 and 5—​in either order,
which is why we write {Δx, Δy} as an unordered
multiset rather than an ordered pair. Because Δx
and Δy may be the same in some cases, {Δx, Δy}
must be regarded as a multiset rather than as a
set. All the standard distance functions in the
OPTIC spaces are calculated from displacement
multisets. The distance between two chords, or
the efficiency of a voice leading, is essentially a
measure of the “size” of the associated displace-
ment multiset, in a sense that involves not only
the cardinality of the multiset but also the size of
its elements.26 A complication is the fact that in
some OPTIC spaces there may be more than one
straight-​line path from one point to another,
with different displacement multisets and there-
fore different path lengths; in such a case the
distance is defined using whichever path pro-
duces the smallest value for the chosen distance
function. The possibility of multiple paths will
come into play in the quotient spaces studied in
Section 12.5, but this is not a concern at present,
because in cpitchn the straight-​line path joining
two points is unique.
Exercise 12.4.2 For each of the following
pairs (α, β) of points in cpitch2, determine
the displacement multiset and the distances
distMax(α, β), distEuc(α, β), and distVL(α, β).
(a) α =​(G4, E♭4), β =​(F4, D4)
(b) α =​(C4, G5), β =​(C♯4, A5)
(c) α =​(C4, C4), β =​(C♯4, C♯4)
Distances • 501
(d) α =​(C4, E♭4), β =​(E♭4, F♯4) First, the same construction works in any prod-
(e) α =​(C4, E♭4), β =​(F♯4, E♭4) uct of distance spaces at all. That is, if (S1, dist1)
(f) α =​(A3, F4), β =​(C4, A4) and (S2, dist2) are distance spaces, we can define
(g)  α =​(C4, G4), β =​(C5, C5) max, Euclidean, and voice-​ leading (sum) dis-
tances on the Cartesian product S1 × S2 exactly
All three of the functions distMax, distEuc, and as above, substituting dist1(x1, x2) for Δx and
distVL are proper distance functions. The positiv- dist2(y1, y2) for Δy in our original formulas. (For
ity and symmetry axioms should be evident in all distances in the product space to be meaningful,
cases. The triangle inequality for the Euclidean the distances in S1 and S2 should be measured
distance is intuitively clear, as it simply asserts, in in the same units—​typically semitones in the
two-​dimensional Euclidean space, the property for cases of interest to us.) Second, and of particu-
which the inequality is named: the length of one lar importance for our study of OPTIC spaces,
side of a triangle can never exceed the sum of the the formulas generalize readily to more than
lengths of the other two sides.27 To understand two dimensions. For pitch triples α =​(x1, y1, z1)
the triangle inequality for the other two distance and β =​(x2, y2, z2) in cpitch3, the three distance
functions requires consideration of three points, α functions take the following forms (of course, Δz
=​ (x1, y1), β =​(x2, y2), and γ =​(x3, y3). For the voice-​ denotes dist(z1, z2) =​|z2 − z1|):
leading distance the inequality takes the form
• distMax(α, β) =​max(Δx, Δy, Δz);
distVL(α, γ) ≤ distVL(α, β) +​distVL(β, γ). • distEuc(α, β) =​​ [(Δx)2 +​(Δy)2 +​(Δz)2]1 ⁄ 2;
• distVL(α, β) =​ Δx +​ Δy +​ Δz.
Because the voice-​leading distance is the sum of
the componentwise displacements Δx and Δy, The extension to spaces of four or more dimen-
which are simply distances in one dimension, sions should be clear.30
this inequality is equivalent to
Exercise 12.4.5 For each of the following pairs
[dist(x1, x3) +​dist(y1, y3)] ≤ [dist(x1, x2) +​ of points in cpitch3 or cpitch4, calculate the
dist(y1, y2)] +​[dist(x2, x3) +​dist(y2, y3)]. displacement multiset and the distances distMax,
distEuc, and distVL.
We know from Section 12.2 that the triangle
inequality holds in the one-​dimensional space (a) (C4, E4, G4), (D♭4, F4, A♭4)
cpitch. This applies in both the x and y com- (b) (C4, E4, G4), (B♭3, D♭4, F4)
ponents; that is, the inequalities dist(x1, x3) ≤ (c) (C4, E4, G4), (B♭3, F4, D♭5)
dist(x1, x2) +​dist(x2, x3) and dist(y1, y3) ≤ dist(y1, (d) (C4, E4, G4), (B♭3, G♭4, C5)
y2) +​dist(y2, y3) both hold. The inequality in the (e) (C4, D4, E4), (D4, E4, F♯4)
two-​dimensional case follows by adding together (f) (C4, D4, E4), (F♯4, D4, E4)
these two simpler inequalities. (g) (B3, D♯4, A4), (C4, E4, G4)
(h) (C3, E4, G4, B♭4), (F3, C4, F4, A4)
Exercise 12.4.3 Using the one-​dimensional (i) (F3, B3, D♯4, G♯4), (E3, B3, D4, G♯4)
inequalities in the x and y components as above, (j)  (F3, B3, D♯4, G♯4), (E3, G♯3, D4, B4)
explain why the triangle inequality holds for the
max distance: Parts (c) and (d) of the above exercise illus-
trate an important property. The displacement
max[dist(x1, x3), dist(y1, y3)] multisets are {1, 2, 6} in (c) and {2, 2, 5} in (d).
≤ max[dist(x1, x2), dist(y1, y2)] The first multiset can be converted to the sec-
+​ max[dist(x2, x3), dist(y2, y3)].28 ond by decreasing a large displacement in the
   first set by one semitone (changing 6 to 5) while
Exercise 12.4.4 Suppose we try to define increasing a smaller displacement by the same
the “min distance” in cpitch2 by the formula amount (changing 1 to 2). This change, which
distMin(α, β) =​min(Δx, Δy), the smaller of the has the effect of leveling the distribution of
two componentwise displacements. Is distMin a displacements, does not affect the voice-​lead-
proper
   distance function?29 ing (sum) distance, but it reduces both the max
and Euclidean distances. This is a general prin-
The three distance functions just described ciple: if a displacement multiset is made more
in cpitch2 may be generalized in several ways. even while preserving its sum, the Euclidean

502 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces

distance will decrease, as will the max distance
if the largest displacement is decreased by the
change.31
Pitch-​tuple space cpitchn, as we know, is
both an interval space and a distance space. The
interval-​space structure on cpitchn is deter-
mined by the general principles of product
interval spaces described in Section 7.3, with
intervals calculated componentwise; in cpitch3,
for example, the interval between the two pitch
triples in Exercise 12.4.5g is int((B3, D♯4, A4), (C4,
E4, G4)) =​(1, 1, −2). The distance-​space struc-
ture, meanwhile, arises from the choice of any
of the distance functions distMax, distEuc, or dis-
tVL introduced above. By any of these metrics,
the distance is calculated from the displace-
ment multiset, and this multiset ({1, 1, 2} in
the present example) can be deduced from the
multidimensional interval. It follows that equal
intervals imply equal distances, which is to say
that the interval and distance functions are met-
rically compatible as defined in Section 12.2.
Moreover, the product space cpitchn is also a
homogeneous space as defined in Section 12.2
(any point can be mapped isometrically to any
other): the transposition T(1,1,−2) is an isometry
of cpitch3 that maps (B3, D♯4, A4) to (C4, E4, G4).
The following exercise provides more general
statements of these properties.
Exercise 12.4.6
(a) Suppose S1 and S2 are spaces on which both
interval-​space structures and distance-​space
structures are defined, and suppose that
on both spaces the interval function and
distance function are metrically compatible.
On the product space S1 × S2, show that
the product interval function is metrically
compatible with all of the distance
functions distMax, distEuc, and distVL.
FIGURE 12.4.7 Comparison of max, Euclidean, and voice-​leading distances between triads
(b) Suppose S1 and S2 are homogeneous
distance spaces. Show that with any of
the distance functions distMax, distEuc, or
distVL, the product space S1 × S2 is also
  homogeneous.32
Figure 12.4.7 compares the three distance
functions on cpitch3 as they apply to two pairs
of triads: the R-​related F major and D minor, and
the hexatonic poles F major and C♯ minor. The
displacement multisets are {0, 0, 2} for the F–​d
pair, {1, 1, 1} for F–​c♯. All three functions agree
that the F–​d distance is 2 (they will always agree
when the motion takes place in a single voice),
but the three metrics return different distances
for F–​c♯: the voice-​leading distance between the
hexatonic poles is 3, while the other two dis-
tances are smaller than 2. The distance functions
are therefore in disagreement about which voice
leading covers a larger distance. Many musicians
may share an intuition that F major seems closer
to D minor than to C♯ minor; this judgment is
likely in part an effect of the common tones, but
musical intuitions about “closeness” may also be
influenced by many factors besides voice-​leading
displacements, in this case perhaps including the
familiarity of the relative relation between triads,
the fact that triads in this relation (unlike hexa-
tonic poles) belong to a common diatonic scale,
or associations between (for example) C♯ minor
as the name of a triad and as the name of a scale
or key.
The above example, in any case, is relatively
exceptional. In a broader sense the three dis-
tance functions are not very different. The three
functions produce different numbers, to be sure,
but the three are strongly correlated; more often
than not, they are in agreement about which of
two distances is larger. Figure 12.4.8 returns to
a previous example in cpitch2, involving dyads
Distances • 503
FIGURE 12.4.8 Zone of disagreement for distance functions in cpitch2 (after Hall and Tymoczko)
α and β for which Δx =​5 and Δy =​3. Originally
α was (−3, 6) while β was (2, 3), but this figure
assumes that α =​(0, 0) while β =​(5, −3). This
adjustment does not affect the values of the
distances calculated previously, which depend
only on Δx and Δy: distMax(α, β) =​5, distEuc(α,
β) =​ 34 , and distVL(α, β) =​8. We are interested
in comparing these distances from α to β with
distances from α to other points. In particular,
we are interested in the question of whether
dist(α, β) is larger or smaller than dist(α, χ) for
various points χ, and whether the three distance
functions are in agreement about which of the
two distances is larger. The preceding paragraph
provided an example in cpitch3 in which the
functions disagreed.
The three large regions of cpitch2 outlined
in the figure—​two squares and one circle, all
centered on α—​each show, for one of the three
distance functions, the locations of all dyads
χ for which dist(α, χ) takes the same value as
dist(α, β). The points χ for which distMax(α, χ) =​5
lie on the boundary of the 10 × 10 square with
sides parallel to the coordinate axes. The larger
tilted square consists of those χ for which
504 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
distVL(α, χ) =​8. Threading its way between the
two squares is a circle of radius 34 compris-
ing the points χ for which distEuc(α, χ) =​ 34.
The three regions may be regarded as general-
ized spheres, or at least as something analogous
to spheres for each of the three distance func-
tions, in that they consist of all points at a fixed
distance from the fixed point α: in two dimen-
sions a max-​distance sphere is a square, a voice-​
leading–​distance sphere is a tilted square, and a
Euclidean sphere is a circle. The “radii” of these
spheres, 5, 8, and 34, are chosen to match the
respective distances from α to β, and therefore
β lies on all three spheres, at a point where the
three region boundaries intersect.
The area shaded in the figure consists of points
lying inside at least one of the three regions but
outside at least one other. For a point χ within
the shaded area, therefore, dist(α, χ) may be
either larger or smaller than dist(α, β) depend-
ing on which distance function is chosen. These
areas of disputed territory form only a small part
of the plane, however: the zone of disagreement
fills less than half as much area as the unshaded
octagonal central region, in which dist(α, χ)
< dist(α, β) for all three distance functions, and
is of course vastly smaller than the unbounded
exterior region where dist(α, χ) > dist(α, β) for
all three functions. Similar observations apply in
higher dimensions.33
Exercise 12.4.9 Ten points in cpitch2 are listed
below. Taking each point in turn as χ, locate χ in
Figure 12.4.8. Calculate distMax(α, χ), distEuc(α,
χ), and distVL(α, χ) for each χ, compare these
values with the corresponding distances from α
to β, and verify that the measures disagree about
the relative sizes of dist(α, β) and dist(α, χ) only
for those points χ lying within the indicated
zone of disagreement. Some of the points lie
exactly on a boundary of this zone. Do the
distance functions disagree at these points?
(a) (4, 6)
(b) (41 2 , 41 2 )
(c) ( 17 , 17 )
(d) (5, 4)
(e) (6, 3)
(f) (6, 2)
(g) (6, 1)
(h) (51 2 , 0)
(i) (5, −1)
(j)  (4, −2)
The choice of an appropriate distance function
should depend on the purposes for which it is to
be used. For studying cpitchn and the OPTIC
spaces geometrically, the Euclidean distance
function is likely to be the most useful choice.
Several references to distances in these spaces
in Chapters 10 and 11 implicitly assumed the
Euclidean distance, and awareness of Euclidean
distances is required of anyone who sets out to
draw accurate pictures of voice leadings through
OPTIC spaces. Calculation of areas (in cpitch2)
and volumes (in cpitchn for n ≥ 3), such as the
areas mentioned above in Figure 12.4.8, also
typically presupposes a Euclidean understand-
ing of distance.34
On the other hand, Euclidean distances may
sometimes seem computationally awkward or
musically unintuitive. To assert a microtonal
value such as 34 semitones for the distance
between two equal-​tempered dyads may strike
musicians as peculiar. The voice-​ leading dis-
tance probably matches musical intuitions best
in many cases, as reflected in the name we have
chosen to use for it. Indeed, the voice-​leading
distance has been used, explicitly or implicitly,
in many studies of voice leading.35
But the voice-​ leading distance too has its
drawbacks. A large value of distVL may disguise
the smoothness of a voice leading in many
voices. Moreover, it is a mistake to assume that
voice leadings through the smallest distances
(by any measure) are always musically desir-
able. The two chords in Exercise 12.4.5h above
imply a V7–​I resolution illustrating voice leading
traditionally considered proper, the large voice-​
leading distance notwithstanding (a smaller
distance would result from “wrongly” resolving
the top three voices upward). Meanwhile we are
taught to avoid parallel motion as in part (a) of
the same exercise, for which the voice-​leading
distance is small. In resolving a bo7 chord to a C-​
minor triad (with a doubling) in four voices—​a
traditional leading-​tone resolution of the dimin-
ished seventh—​ the smallest possible voice-​
leading distance is 5 semitones. In contrast, a
common-​tone resolution of bo7 to B minor can
be accomplished with a voice-​leading distance of
only 3 semitones, and the nonstandard resolu-
tion of bo7 to C♯ minor with 4. The max distance is
2 for all three resolutions, perhaps reflecting an
intuition that all three are comparably smooth;
the preference for the resolution to C minor evi-
dently depends on considerations other than
voice leading. For some purposes a voice lead-
ing in which all voices move stepwise (by no
more than two semitones) may be considered
appropriately “smooth”; only the max distance
recognizes this property. In other cases we may
choose to give priority to a voice leading that
minimizes the number of moving voices, a quan-
tity not measured by any of the three distance
functions in this section (but, for chords of fixed
cardinality, by the common-​tone distance func-
tion introduced in Section 12.3).36
If the chords are triads there are still more
options, in the form of the circle-​ of-​fifths,
Weber, and neo-​Riemannian distances described
previously. These distance functions are not
directly comparable to distMax, distEuc, and dis-
tVL, partly because they are defined only for tri-
ads, but also because they regard those triads as
pitch-​class sets—​OP-​ or OPC-​classes—​rather
than pitch triples. In order to see how the dis-
tance functions defined on cpitch3 may apply
to OP-​space and other OPTIC spaces, we must
consider the problem of distance functions on
quotient spaces—​the topic of the next section.
Distances • 505
12.5 DISTANCE FUNCTIONS
ON QUOTIENT SPACES;
OPTIC SPACES AS
DISTANCE SPACES
If ~ is an equivalence relation on a set S, then as
described in Section 2.4, a quotient set S/​~ may
be formed as a set of equivalence classes. If S is
endowed with some additional algebraic, topo-
logical, or geometric structure, and if we would
like to define the same sort of structure on
S/​~, we may or may not be able to do so: the
relation ~ must be compatible with the struc-
ture in some way in order for the structure to
carry over to the quotient space. In Section
6.6 we studied the conditions under which an
equivalence relation ~ on a group G allows for
the formation of a quotient group G/​~, and in
Section 7.4 we considered the analogous ques-
tion for an interval space (S, G, int); in both
cases the required condition involved a normal
subgroup of G. It should not come as a surprise,
then, to learn that if ~ is an equivalence relation
on a distance space (S, dist), we may or may not
be able to define a distance function on the quo-
tient space S/​~, depending on the properties of
the relation ~.
A general characterization of the require-
ments for a quotient distance space turns out to
be a thorny problem, which we will not consider
in its full generality. Fortunately, the relations
of octave, permutational, transpositional, and
inversional equivalence are well-​behaved in this
regard, and distance functions in quotient spaces
involving these relations are easily described
conceptually (though not always so easy to cal-
culate in practice). Cardinality equivalence, as is
so often the case, poses extra challenges, to be
considered at the end of this section.
We begin with two-​voice O-​space cpitch2/​~O,
a straightforward case. We know from Chapters
10 and 11 that two-​voice O-​space may be iden-
tified with cpc2, a product of two copies of the
continuous pitch-​class circle cpc, represented by
a torus with a 12-​by-​12 modular tile. As shown
in Section 12.2, cpc is itself a distance space, so
distance functions distMax, distEuc, and distVL can
all be defined on cpc2 via the general construc-
tion of distance functions on product spaces
from Section 12.4. This product construction
works only for O-​space (P-​, T-​, and I-​spaces in
two or more voices cannot be constructed as
products of one-​dimensional spaces), but some
aspects of the distance functions on two-​voice
O-​space carry over to the other relations, so a
506 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
grasp of this example will aid our understanding
of the more general problem.
Figure 12.5.1a shows the torus of cpitch2/​~O.
This space corresponds to the fundamental
region in cpitch2 from Figure 11.2.1. The square
in the earlier figure was tilted along with the
coordinate axes, but in Figure 12.5.1a the axes
are horizontal and vertical. Points in this space
correspond to O normal forms [x, y], ordered
pairs of mod-​12 real numbers representing pitch
classes. The edges of the figure are false boundar-
ies, as usual for a torus, and the point (C, C) =​[0,
0] appears at all four corners of the square.
Points labeled α, β, γ, and δ are shown in the
interior of the square. Path ①, near the center,
depicts a straight-​line voice leading from α =​(D♯,
F) =​[3, 5] to β =​(G, E) =​[7, 4]. The component-
wise displacements are Δx =​4 and Δy =​1, from
which the values of the distance functions are
readily calculated as distMax(α, β) =​4, distEuc(α, β)
=​ 17 ≈ 4.12, and distVL(α, β) =​5.
Now consider the same calculation for the
points γ =​(A, B) =​[9, 11] and δ =​(C♯, A♯) =​[1,
10]. Because γ and δ are tritone transposi-
tions of α and β, dist(γ, δ) should presum-
ably be equal to dist(α, β) according to any of
the standard distance functions. Indeed, cal-
culations of Δx and Δy for γ and δ, using the
distance function in cpc from Section 12.2,
give Δx =​|1 − 9|12 =​4 and Δy =​|10 − 11|12 =​ 1,
matching the displacements between α and β,
so all of the distance calculations will give the
same results as well. But a need to distinguish
between distance and path length becomes more
apparent in the case of γ and δ, which lie near
corners of the square.
The shortest path from γ to δ in the torus, path
②, crosses a false boundary, wrapping around to
the other side of the square. For this path, the
displacements in the x and y coordinates are 4
and 1, matching the calculation above. Path ③ is
another straight-​line voice leading from γ to δ,
one that does not wrap across the boundary—​
but path ③ is longer than path ②. Path ③ gives
displacements Δx =​8 and Δy =​1, so the length
of path ③ is 8 by the max distance, 65 by the
Euclidean distance, or 9 by the voice-​leading dis-
tance. These are all larger than the corresponding
values calculated from paths ① and ②. Because
path ② is the shortest path from γ to δ, the dis-
tance between γ and δ is equal to the length of
path ②; path ③ is irrelevant to the distance cal-
culation. In cpitchn there is only one straight-​
line voice leading from one point to another, and
so we did not need to distinguish distance from
FIGURE 12.5.1 (a) Paths in two-​voice O-​space; (b) corresponding voice leadings and distances; (c)
corresponding points in cpitch2

Distances • 507
path length. In quotient spaces, however, there
can be many such paths with different displace-
ment multisets and therefore different lengths;
the distance between two points is the length of
the shortest path.
Voice leadings corresponding to paths ①, ②,
and ③ are shown in musical notation in Figure
12.5.1b along with a summary of the path-​length
calculations. We are working in O-​space, not
OP-​space, so the order of elements within each
ordered pair is fixed: the musical notation shows
the first pitch class in each ordered pair with a
downward stem, the second with an upward stem.
In moving from α =​(D♯, F) to β =​(G, E) along path
①, D♯ must move to G and F to E. (As shown in
Exercise 12.5.2a below, there is a shorter path
from α =​(D♯, F) to β′ =​(E, G), but β and β′ are
two different points in O-​space.) Moreover, even
though we are working under the assumption of
octave equivalence, D♯ must move up four semi-
tones to G—​not down eight or up sixteen, for
example—​in order to match path ①, which shows
the x coordinate increasing by 4 over the course
of the voice leading. We may place the notes of α
in whatever register we wish—​D♯ could be writ-
ten in a higher register than F, for example—​but
in order to obtain the displacements implied by
path ①, D♯ must move up four semitones to G,
and F must descend by semitone to E.
Figure 12.5.1c shows another way to think
about these distances. This figure shows a por-
tion of the infinite plane of cpitch2, includ-
ing nine copies of the fundamental region for
octave equivalence. Each region contains one
point representing each pitch-​ class pair; the
points representing α, β, γ, and δ are shown with
their coordinates in cpitch2. It is evident in this
figure that many pairs of points representing
α and β, and many other pairs representing γ
and δ, are in the relationship corresponding
to paths ① and ② in part (a), with Δx =​4 and
Δy =​1; for instance, the points α0 =​(3, 5) and
β0 =​(7, 4) form such a pair, as do γ0 =​(9, 11)
and δ0 =​(13, 10). Many α–​β pairs are separated
by greater distances than that, but no pairs
are closer together. The path from any α to
the nearest β lies entirely in one fundamental
region, but the point from any γ to the nearest
δ crosses a region boundary. By whichever dis-
tance function we choose, the distance between
any of these minimal-​distance pairs of points
in cpitch2 matches the value we calculated for
the distance in O-​space (4, 17, or 5). That is,
the distance between two points in the quotient
space cpitch2/​~O equals the smallest possible
508 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
distance between any representatives of those
equivalence classes in cpitch2.
This reasoning generalizes to more than two
dimensions and applies to P, T, and I equiva-
lence as well. To be precise, suppose ~ denotes
~O, ~P, ~T, ~I, or a composite equivalence rela-
tion obtained by combining some of these (such
as ~OP or ~OPTI), and suppose dist is any of the
distance functions distMax, distEuc, or distVL on
cpitchn. Then a corresponding distance func-
tion dist ~ may be defined on the quotient space
cpitchn/​~ by the quotient distance formula
dist~( α, β) = min {dist(α 0 , β0 )|α 0 ∈α, β0 ∈β} .
The elements α and β of cpitchn/​~ are equiva-
lence classes of points in cpitchn modulo the
relation ~; the quotient distance formula says
that the distance dist~(α, β) in the quotient
space is the smallest possible value of dist(α0, β0)
among all possible pairs of points (α0, β0) in
cpitchn such that α0 belongs to the equivalence
class α and β0 belongs to the equivalence class β.
This definition implies that dist~ is measured in
the same units as the original distance function
dist, typically semitones. We generally omit the
subscript ~ from the notation dist~, using the
same notation for the distance function on the
quotient space as for the one on cpitchn.
While the above form of the quotient dis-
tance formula applies to O, P, T, and I equiva-
lence, it fails to work for many other equivalence
relations. We will see later that this formula does
not produce a valid distance function on quo-
tient spaces involving cardinality equivalence,
and Exercise 12.5.3 below shows another exam-
ple of a quotient space, unrelated to the OPTIC
relations, on which no suitable distance function
can be defined at all.37
Exercise 12.5.2
(a) Let β′ be the pitch-​class pair (E, G) obtained
by exchanging the components of β in the
above discussion. For each of the three
distance functions, calculate the distance
in O-​space from α =​(D♯, F) to β′. Draw
the shortest path from α to β′, and write
a corresponding voice leading in musical
notation. Observe that the distances from α
to β′ are shorter than those from α to β.
(b) For each of the three distance functions,
calculate the distance from β =​(G, E) to
γ =​(A, B). Draw the shortest path and write
a corresponding voice leading.
(c) For each of the three distance functions,
calculate the distance from β =​(G, E) to δ =​
(C♯, A♯). There is not a unique shortest path
in this case (why not?), but the distance is
uniquely determined. Write voice leadings
corresponding to each of the possible
shortest paths.
(d) In Figure 12.5.1c, draw a diagonal line
graphing the equation x =​ y. Of the pairs of
points representing α and β and separated
by the smallest possible distance, some
pairs (such as (3, 5) and (7, 4)) have the
property that the path joining them crosses
this diagonal line, while other pairs (such
as (15, 5) and (19, 4)) do not have this
property. What does this property say about
  a voice leading?
Exercise 12.5.3 For any real number x, let
⎣x⎦ denote the greatest integer in x, the largest
integer n such that n ≤ x. We may interpret this
function musically as a mapping from cpitch
to pitch that rounds every note down to the
next lower equal-​tempered semitone. Define a
relation ~ on ℝ so that x ~ y is true whenever
⎣x⎦ =​ ⎣ y⎦—​that is, x and y round off to the
same number (or note). All numbers x such that
3 ≤ x < 4 are equivalent by this relation, as they
all round down to 3. Write n for the equivalence
class containing the integer n; that is, n =​
{x ∈ ℝ | n ≤ x < n +​1}. The point of this exercise
is to show that, if we start with the usual
distance function dist on ℝ (or on cpitch),
then the quotient distance formula dist~(m, n)
=​ min{dist(x, y) | x ∈ m, y ∈ n } fails in several
different ways to produce a proper distance
function on the quotient space ℝ/​~.
(a) Consider how we would calculate dist~(3, 5)
using the quotient distance formula. Show
that for any number r slightly larger than 1,
such as r =​1.001, one can find numbers x ∈
3 and y ∈ 5 such that dist(x, y) =​ r, but that
there are no such x and y for which dist(x,
y) =​1 exactly. Therefore the minimum value
specified in the formula does not exist.
(b) The problem described in part (a) may be
circumvented by defining dist~(m, n) to be
the greatest lower bound of all suitable values
of dist(x, y) rather than the minimum. The
greatest lower bound of the real numbers
greater than 1 is 1, so dist~(3, 5) =​1 by
this modified formula. But there are other
problems not solved by this modification.
Show that this redefinition of the quotient
distance formula implies dist~(3, 4) =​0. Since
3 and 4 are two different equivalence classes
(elements of the quotient space ℝ/​~), the
positivity axiom from Section 2.2 requires that
a proper distance function record a positive
distance between them, not 0.
(c) Calculate dist~(1, 3), dist~(3, 5), and
dist~(1, 5) using the modified formula, and
show that these values violate the triangle
  inequality.
38
Before leaving O-​ space, we recall from
Section 12.1 that O-​ space is one of the few
OPTIC spaces to possess an interval-​space struc-
ture. We should therefore expect O-​space to
be a homogeneous distance space. Indeed it is:
every pitch-​class pair is mapped to every other
pair by some transposition, and transpositions
are isometries of O-​space, so any point can be
mapped isometrically to any other. (This homo-
geneity also follows from Exercise 12.4.6b, using
the product-​space construction of O-​space.) We
will see below that many other OPTIC spaces fail
to be homogeneous.
The quotient distance formula shows con-
ceptually how distances can be measured in any
of the quotient spaces described in Chapter 11
(excluding cardinality equivalence). On the other
hand, the formula can be impractical to apply, as
it requires that we compare distances dist(α0, β0)
for all possible representatives α0 and β0 of the
equivalence classes α and β. There are often a
great many representatives to choose from—​in
some cases (as in Figure 12.5.1c) infinitely many.
When calculating a distance in a quotient space,
it is usually more feasible to consider a funda-
mental region for the space, as in 12.5.1a, con-
taining only a single representative of each class.
Because the shortest path joining two points in
the fundamental region may cross the boundar-
ies of the region, recognizing the shortest path
requires an understanding of the geometry of
the region and the topological properties of its
boundaries. This is a fairly simple matter in the
torus of O-​space, but potentially more confus-
ing in some other spaces. Writing voice leadings
in musical notation is often helpful as well, as a
way of visualizing displacement multisets. The
examples and exercises in the remainder of this
section offer many illustrations.
Figure 12.5.4a shows several voice-​leadings
in two-​voice OP-​space, the Möbius strip from
Figure 11.2.6. The associated musical notation
and distance calculations are presented in Figure
Distances • 509
FIGURE 12.5.4 (a) Paths in two-​voice OP-​space; (b) corresponding voice leadings and distances
12.5.4b. The orientation of the space here is as
in Chapter 11, so transposition is vertical in the
figure, zero-​sum voice leading is horizontal, and
motion in a single voice is diagonal. Dyads are
denoted by OP normal forms; because permuta-
tional equivalence is assumed, there is no fixed
association of displacements in the x and y com-
ponents with directions in the figure.
Path ① connects dyads D♯F and EG, the OP-​
classes corresponding to the pitch-​class pairs
α =​(D♯, F) and β =​(G, E) studied in O-​space in
Figure 12.5.1. Because the dyads are now unor-
dered, a note in the first dyad is now free to move
to either note in the second. The shortest path
510 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
joining these dyads is the straight line shown,
corresponding to the voice leading D♯ → E, F → G
with both voices ascending. If it is not clear how
the path translates to this voice leading, it may
be helpful to divide the motion into single-​semi-
tone moves, D♯F → EF → EF♯ → EG. Each step in
this chain is easily traced in the space as a move
to a nearby lattice point, and the three steps in
combination produce the given voice leading.
The displacement multiset for this voice lead-
ing is {1, 2}. In O-​space the displacement mul-
tiset from α to β was {1, 4}, so the distance, by
whichever metric we choose, is reduced in OP-​
space: the max distance is 2 (instead of 4), the
Euclidean distance is 5 ≈ 2.24 (instead of 17 ≈
4.12), and the voice-​leading distance is 3 (instead
of 5). These distances should agree with the dis-
tances computed in Exercise 12.5.2a between α
=​ (D♯, F) and β′ =​(E, G). The pitch-​class pairs β =​
(G, E) and β′ =​(E, G) are two different points of
O-​space corresponding to the same dyad in OP-​
space. The distance between D♯F and EG in OP-​
space is the shortest possible distance between
representatives of those classes in O-​space—​and
in this case the shortest distance is dist(α, β′)
rather than dist(α, β).
Path ② in Figure 12.5.4 transposes path ① by
tritone to the dyads AB and A♯C♯ corresponding
to γ and δ in Figure 12.5.1. Path ② mirrors path
① across the central axis of the Möbius strip; the
distance remains the same. Path ③ transposes
path ② up an additional semitone to A♯C and BD.
Our standard picture of OP-​space places these
two dyads near opposite corners of the funda-
mental region, but they are joined by a short
path across the false boundary. In tracing voice
leadings and calculating distances across a false
boundary, it is sometimes helpful to imagine the
continuation of the figure beyond the boundary,
as suggested by the extra copy of the dyad BD
included at the top of Figure 12.5.4a. The por-
tion of OP-​space around BD falls in the lower-​
left portion of the fundamental region, but it is
directly adjacent to the upper-​right portion, in
the relationship implied by the arrow to BD. The
displacements and distances in path ③ are the
same as those in paths ① and ②.
Paths ④ and ⑤ involve a different pair of
dyads, DF♯ and F♯A. Both are relatively near the
center of the fundamental region, and in the
figure the most obvious path joining them is
the straight-​line path ④, which corresponds to
a voice leading in which D descends five semi-
tones to A. But the alternative path ⑤ across a
false boundary must also be considered; in this
voice leading both voices ascend. From a quick
glance at paths ④ and ⑤ in (a) and the voice
leadings in (b), it is perhaps not obvious which
of the two is shorter or more efficient. In fact,
this example illustrates a situation in which
the shortest path depends on which distance
function is chosen. The displacement multisets
are {0, 5} for path ④ and {3, 4} for path ⑤, from
which it follows that path ⑤ is shorter as mea-
sured by the max distance but path ④ is shorter
by the voice-​ leading distance. The Euclidean
distance gives exactly the same length (5) for
both paths: path ⑤ traces the hypotenuse of a
3–​4–​5 right triangle. In OP-​space, therefore, the
calculation distMax(DF♯, F♯A) is governed by the
minimal length (4) of path ⑤, while distVL(DF♯,
F♯A) =​5 because of path ④. For distEuc(DF♯, F♯A)
the minimal length is attained by both paths.
Exercise 12.5.5 For each of the following pairs
of dyads, determine the shortest path between
the two in OP-​space, write a corresponding
voice leading in musical notation, and calculate
the distance by each of the three distance
functions.
(a) CD and FA
(b) CD♯ and G♯C♯
(c)  F♯G♯ and AC♯
Exercise 12.5.6 In OP-​space, draw “spheres”
centered on the point DF♯, similar to the regions
in Figure 12.4.8, as follows: a sphere of radius
4 using the max distance, a sphere of radius
5 using the Euclidean distance, and a sphere
of radius 5 using the voice-​leading distance.
Because these radii match the distances from
DF♯ to F♯A calculated above, the dyad F♯A
should lie at a point of intersection of all three
spheres.
   39
The examples in Figure 12.5.4 include situa-
tions in which the shortest path from one point
to another crosses the false boundaries at the top
and bottom of the figure, but the mirror bound-
aries at the sides of the Möbius strip do not come
into play in any of these examples. Straight-​line
voice leadings may bounce off of these boundar-
ies (recall Figure 11.2.8c, in which this happens
twice), but paths of this sort never need to be
considered in distance calculations with any of
the standard distance functions, because they
can always be replaced by shorter paths, or at
worst equally short paths, that do not include
such reflections. A bounce off a boundary indi-
cates a voice crossing in pitch-​class space—​a
temporary doubling of pitch classes—​and the
most efficient path between two non-​ unison
dyads never involves such a voice crossing.
This point may be illustrated by comparing
two voice leadings from D♯F to EG: voice lead-
ing ① from Figure 12.5.1b, which includes a
voice crossing, and voice leading ① from Figure
12.5.4b, which does not. Assuming that both
voices move continuously at constant speed,
the crossing in the first example is a momentary
unison at a pitch class between E and F, a point
on the mirror boundary of the Möbius strip.
Distances • 511
The corresponding path in OP-​space, shown as a
dashed arrow near the top left of Figure 12.5.4a,
starts at D♯F, bounces off the boundary at the
point corresponding to the doubling, and con-
tinues to EG. It is apparent geometrically, and
the distance calculations confirm, that the path
without the crossing (path ① in Figure 12.5.4a) is
shorter, just as it is clear musically that the voice
leading without the crossing is more efficient. As
the following exercise shows, there are some sit-
uations in which the voice-​leading distance may
be the same with or without a crossing, but it is
never shorter for the path with the crossing, and
for the other two distance functions the path
with the crossing is always longer.
Exercise 12.5.7 For each of the following pairs
of dyads, write two voice leadings, one joining
the two dyads with a voice crossing (which will
always take place at the dyad AA) and the other
without a crossing. Draw the corresponding
paths in OP-​space and calculate the lengths
of both paths according to each of the three
distance functions.
(a) GA♯ and G♯B
(b) GA and AB
   ♯ and A♯B
(c) GG
Exercise 12.5.8 Because permutational
equivalence introduces singularities into
quotient spaces in the form of mirror
boundaries, we should expect that OP-​space, as
a distance space, fails to be homogeneous. This
exercise confirms this expectation.
(a) In OP-​space, what is the largest distance
from the unison dyad AA to any other dyad?
Answer the question for each of the three
distance functions.
(b) For each distance function, what is the
largest distance from CF♯ to any other dyad?
(c) Use the answers to parts (a) and (b) to
show that, using any of the three distance
functions, there can be no isometry of OP-​
space that maps AA to CF♯, and therefore OP-​
  space is not a homogeneous distance space.40
In three-​voice OP-​space, the Möbius prism
from Figure 11.3.4, considerations are similar to
those in the two-​voice OP-​space just discussed.
The walls of the prism are mirror boundaries,
and the shortest path between two points never
reflects off a wall. The false boundaries at the
top and bottom of the prism, however, must
512 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
be considered, as must the 120-​degree twist
imparted to the prism when those two faces are
glued together.
Figure 12.5.9a shows two paths joining
the chromatic trichords G♯AB♭ and CC♯D. Both
chords lie in the sum-​class-​3 plane, so one pos-
sible path, path ①, is a straight line within that
plane—​a zero-​sum voice leading. In this voice
leading, as shown in (b), G♯ descends by tri-
tone to D while the other two voices ascend by
three semitones. (In part (b) the second chord
is spelled B♯C♯D for ease of notation. If the voice
leading corresponding to path ① is not clear, you
may wish to consult Figure 11.3.1, the arrange-
ment of trichords within the sum-​class-​0 plane,
of which the sum-​class-​3 plane is a T1 transposi-
tion.) Because CC♯D is a T4 transposition of G♯AB♭,
another possible path, path ②, follows a vertical
line of transposition, crossing the false bound-
ary at the trichord BCC♯ in the sum-​class-​0 plane.
Path ② corresponds to the parallel voice leading
in which all three voices ascend four semitones.
The displacement multiset {4, 4, 4} for path ② is
a more even distribution with the same sum as
path ①’s multiset {3, 3, 6}, so the two paths have
the same length by the voice-​leading distance but
path ② is shorter by either the max or Euclidean
distance. The points in this example lie near the
corners of their sum-​class layer, so the distance
between them within that plane is large enough
to make the zero-​sum voice leading inefficient in
comparison with the parallel voice leading.
Exercise 12.5.10 Listed below are three
pairs of T4-​related trichords. For each pair,
locate the chords in three-​voice OP-​space
(the two always lie in the same sum-​class
plane). Draw a straight-​line zero-​sum voice
leading joining the two chords, and also
a parallel voice leading through the false
boundary; write the corresponding voice
leadings in musical notation. Using each
of the three distance functions, determine
which path is shorter.41
(a) DFA♭ and F♯AC
(b) FGA♭ and ABC
(c)  DDD and F♯F♯F♯
Major and minor triads inhabit three-​voice
OP-​space, so every distance function in this
space provides a measure of distance in con-
sonant triad space triad, supplementing the
several other triadic distance measures we have
already studied. It would be possible to construct
FIGURE 12.5.9 (a) Two paths from G♯AB♭ to CC♯D in three-​voice OP-​space; (b) corresponding voice
leadings and distances
tables similar to Table 4.2.16 showing the max,
Euclidean, and voice-​leading distances between
all possible pairs of triads, but we limit the dis-
cussion here to a few general remarks and spe-
cific exercises.
The major and minor triads, together with
the augmented triads, form the chain of hexa-
tonic triad cubes surrounding the central axis
of OP-​ space (Figure 11.3.4). Every edge in
each of these cubes signifies a single-​semitone
voice leading, a distance of length 1 by all three
measures, but the three functions give diver-
gent values for distances between more widely
separated triads. The calculations involving the
F-​major, D-​minor, and C♯-​minor triads from
Figure 12.4.7, though conceived in cpitch3,
remain valid in OP-​ space because the voice
leading shown there was already the most effi-
cient possible. Figure 12.5.11 shows the relative
positions of these triads in the chain of cubes as
a way of visualizing the distance calculations in
OP-​space.
Exercise 12.5.12
(a) In Exercise 10.2.3 you identified a non-​
equal-​tempered augmented triad lying at
the smallest possible Euclidean distance
from the C♯-​minor triad. What augmented
Distances • 513
FIGURE 12.5.11 Max, Euclidean, and voice-​leading distances between triads in OP-​space
triads (equal-​tempered or not) lie at the
smallest possible max and voice-​leading
distances from C♯ minor?
(b) For the neo-​Riemannian distance, the
unique triad at the maximum distance from
C major is B♭ minor. What equal-​tempered
major or minor triad or triads lie at the
largest possible max, Euclidean, and voice-​
  leading distances from C major?42
Exercise 12.5.13 We have now identified many
different distance functions on consonant triad
space triad, including the following:
• The circle-​of-​fifths, Weber, and neo-​
Riemannian distances (Figure 12.3.1);
• The neo-​Riemannian voice-​leading distance
(Exercise 12.3.3);
• The cube distance (Exercise 12.3.4);
• The common-​tone distance (Exercise 12.3.6);
• The LR distance (Exercise 12.3.11);
• The max, Euclidean, and voice-​leading
distances inherited from OP-​space.   11. The voice-​leading distance from the origin to
The above list (which excludes some of the
variant double-​circle space distances considered
in Section 12.3) appears to contain ten distance
functions, but only nine of them are different.
Which two are the same function on triad?
For the remaining OPTIC spaces consid-
ered here, we limit our discussion to brief
514 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
descriptions without complete proofs, generally
focusing on the voice-​leading distance (usually
the most musically intuitive) and the Euclidean
distance (the most geometrically revealing). The
three-​voice spaces involving transpositional
equivalence were derived from the triangular
grid of T-​space first exhibited in Figure 11.4.1b.
Voice-​leading distances are measured in this grid
in a straightforward fashion, by counting units
parallel to the x, y, and z axes in whatever way
yields the smallest total. The T-​class (4, 2, 5)T,
first used as an illustration in Figure 11.4.1c, is
shown again in Figure 12.5.14a. The voice-​lead-
ing distance from the origin (0, 0, 0)T to this
point is 3 semitones, because the shortest path
from (0, 0, 0)T to (4, 2, 5)T combines two semi-
tones of motion in the negative y direction with
one semitone in the positive z direction. The
components of this motion match the compo-
nents of [0, −2, 1], the T normal form of (4, 2,
5), which was also called the yz form in Chapter
any point can always be read directly from the
xy form, the xz form, or the yz form, whichever
gives the smallest sum of displacements.
Euclidean distances may be measured with
a ruler in the plane of T-​space, but with two
caveats. First, the triangular grid does not lend
itself to distance calculations as easily as a tra-
ditional rectangular grid. The Euclidean distance
formula [(Δx)2 +​(Δy)2]1 ⁄ 2 is applicable only if the

FIGURE 12.5.14 (a) Calculation of a voice-​lead-
ing distance in three-​voice T-​space; (b) the units
v and u for measuring Euclidean distance in T-​
space; (c) calculation of a Euclidean distance in
three-​voice T-​space
displacements Δx and Δy are perpendicular, so we
cannot use the displacements 2 and 1 in Figure
12.5.14a to calculate distEuc((0, 0, 0)T, (4, 2, 5)T).
Suppose the Euclidean distance between adja-
cent grid points such as (0, 0, 0)T and (0, 0, 1)T
is labeled v, as in Figure 12.5.14b. The spacing u
between parallel gridlines is shorter than v, by
the ratio of the altitude of an equilateral triangle
to one side of the triangle, which is 3 4 ≈ 0.866.
Distances between grid points can be figured by
combining v-​units and u-​units in two perpen-
dicular directions, to which the usual Euclidean
distance formula is then applicable. Figure
12.5.14c shows that one can move from the ori-
gin to (4, 2, 5)T by moving two v-​units along the
positive z axis in combination with two u-​units
in a perpendicular direction, yielding a distance
of [(2v)2 +​(2u)2]1 ⁄ 2. If we substitute v =​1 and u =​
0.866, this formula yields a Euclidean distance of
approximately 2.65 v-​units (the exact value is 7
v-​units) from (0, 0, 0)T to (4, 2, 5)T.
There is another complication. It may come
as a surprise to realize that the v-​unit, the dis-
tance in T-​space from (0, 0, 0)T to (0, 0, 1)T, is not
equal to one semitone according to the quotient
distance formula for the Euclidean metric on the
quotient space cpitch3/​~T. Certainly distEuc((0,
0, 0), (0, 0, 1)) =​1 in cpitch3, but in T-​space,
distEuc((0, 0, 0)T, (0, 0, 1)T) is the smallest pos-
sible Euclidean distance in cpitch3 between (0,
0, 0) and α, where α is any pitch triple of the
form (x, x, x +​1), transpositionally equivalent to
(0, 0, 1). This minimal distance turns out to be
v =​ 2 3 ≈ 0.816, attained when α is (−1 3 , −1 3 , 2 3 ).
A semitone of motion in one voice brings about
motion through a distance of only v ≈ 0.816
semitones in T-​space, not one whole semitone.
(Recall from Section 11.4 that three-​voice T-​
space is obtained by projecting cpitch3 onto a
sloping plane perpendicular to the vector (1, 1,
1). The projections of the points (0, 0, 0) and (0,
0, 1) onto this plane are slightly closer together
than the original points are.) The shorter u-​unit
is therefore u = 3 4 ⋅ 2 3 = 1 2 ≈ 0.707. A proper
ruler for Euclidean measurements in the plane of
T-​space is one that shows 0.816 units between
adjacent grid points. By this measure, distEuc((0,
0, 0)T, (4, 2, 5)T) is not 2.65, as suggested above,
but that value multiplied by v ≈ 0.816, or approx-
imately 2.16.
As a practical matter, the length of the v-​unit
is simply a scale factor for the Euclidean distance
function. We may regard the v-​unit as a “voice-​
leading unit” for Euclidean T-​space, a convenient
measure because it corresponds to a motion
through a single semitone in a single voice.
When studying Euclidean relationships inter-
nal to T-​space (or any space assuming T equiva-
lence), there is often little harm in measuring
distances in v-​units, effectively assuming that
v =​1 rather than the theoretically correct
smaller value. When comparing distances in T-​
space to distances in cpitch3, however, or when
Distances • 515
comparing the numerical size of Euclidean dis-
tances to voice-​ leading distances, the scaled
values reflecting the correct size of the v-​units
should be used: 1 v-​unit ≈ 0.816 semitones in the
Euclidean metric on the quotient space.
Exercise 12.5.15
(a) An alternative path from (0, 0, 0)T to (4,
2, 5)T in Figure 12.5.14c would move 21 2
v-​units along the negative y axis combined
with one u-​unit in a perpendicular
direction. Verify that this calculation gives
the same result as above for the Euclidean
distance (about 2.65 v-​units, or 2.16
semitones).
(b) Because distEuc((0, 0, 0)T, (4, 2, 5)T) ≈ 2.16,
there must be a pitch triple α in cpitch3,
transpositionally equivalent to (4, 2, 5),
such that distEuc((0, 0, 0), α) ≈ 2.16. Can you
  find this α?43
Exercise 12.5.16 Determine the voice-​leading
and Euclidean distances between each of the
following pairs of points in T-​space. Give the
Euclidean distances both in v-​units and in
semitones.
(a) (0, 0, 0)T and (0, 4, 7)T (a triple unison and a
major triad)
(b) (4, 2, 5)T and (0, 4, 7)T
(c) (4, 2, 5)T and (2, 4, 5)T (recall Figure
  11.4.5b)
Exercise 12.5.17 Determine the size of the
v-​unit in two-​voice T-​space. That is, calculate
dist
  Euc((0, 0)T, (0, 1)T) in cpitch2/​~T.
Exercise 12.5.18 In three-​voice T-​space, draw
a “sphere” of radius 3 centered on the origin,
similar to the regions in Figure 12.4.8, using the
FIGURE 12.5.20 Voice-​leading and Euclidean distances between multiset classes in three-​voice
OPTI-​space
516 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
voice-​leading distance. A sphere of this kind is
neither a circle nor a square; what is it? Because
the radius matches the voice-​leading distance
from the origin to (2, 4, 5)T calculated above,
the point (2, 4, 5)T should lie on the boundary
of  
the region.
Exercise 12.5.19 The max distance was not
included in the above discussion of distances
in T-​space. Determine distMax((0, 0, 0)T, (0, 0,
1)T) and distMax((0, 0, 0)T, (4, 2, 5)T). In T-​space
there is a simple relationship between the max
distance and the voice-​leading distance. Can you
see  what this relationship is, and why?44
The features of distances in T-​space carry
over to quotient spaces formed from T-​space.
False boundaries must be considered when
they are present, but of the several quotients
of three-​voice T-​ space examined in Section
11.4, only OPT-​space (Figure 11.4.21) has false
boundaries. PT-​space (Figure 11.4.4), PTI-​space
(11.4.7), and OPTI-​space (11.4.12) have mirror
boundaries only, which do not come into play
in distance calculations. Measuring distances
in these spaces is therefore no more difficult
than in T-​ space—​ perhaps easier, because of
the smaller sizes of the spaces. Figure 12.5.20
locates the multiset classes 002 and 025 in
OPTI-​space. The displacements along the grid-
lines, 2 and 1, are the same as between (0, 0, 0)T
and (4, 2, 5)T in Figure 12.5.14a, so the distance
calculations will give the same results: in OPTI-​
space, distVL(002, 025) =​3 and distEuc(002, 025)
=​ [(2v)2 +​(2u)2]1 ⁄ 2, about 2.65 v-​units or 2.16
semitones.
Exercise 12.5.21 Construct minimal voice
leadings to confirm the above distance
calculations. That is:
(a) Identify two pitch triples representing
OPTI-​classes 002 and 025, separated in
cpitch3 by a voice-​leading distance of 3
semitones.
(b) Identify two pitch triples representing
OPTI-​classes 002 and 025, separated
in cpitch3 by a Euclidean distance of
  approximately 2.16 semitones.45
Exercise 12.5.22 Locate the inversionally
related OPT-​classes 016 and 056 in three-​
voice OPT-​space (Figure 11.4.21a). Although
these points appear widely separated in the
fundamental region, they are separated only by
a voice-​leading distance of one semitone and
a Euclidean distance of one v-​unit. Construct
minimal voice leadings to confirm these
distances.
OPTI-​space is bounded, and distances in this
space are limited in size. The most distant points
in Figure 12.5.20 are 000 and 048. The voice-​
leading distance between them is eight semi-
tones; the Euclidean distance (the length of the
diagonal line joining them) is eight u-​units, the
equivalent of 48 ≈ 6.93 v-​units or 32 ≈ 5.66
semitones. The straight-​line voice leading (0, 0,
0) → (−4, 0, 4) in cpitch3 has both a voice-​lead-
ing length of 8 and a Euclidean length of 32 .
These observations provide a more rigorous con-
firmation of an intuition we first formulated in
conjunction with Figure 12.1.1. For a multiset
class such as 014 near the middle of OPTI-​space,
there are no other points in the space at dis-
tances as large as a voice-​leading distance of 8 or
a Euclidean distance of 5.66. There can therefore
be no isometry from OPTI-​space to itself that
maps 000 to 014; it follows that OPTI-​space is
not a homogeneous distance space (which is as
we should expect of any P+​ or I+​ space).
More can be said. Because the triangle of
OPTI-​space is not symmetrical, there can be no
isometry from OPTI-​space to itself at all except-
ing the trivial case of the identity mapping.
Points in OPTI-​space are not interchangeable
as far as their distances from other points are
concerned (in the way that points in an interval
space must be): every multiset class is unique in
the distance relations that it forms with other
points in the space.
Exercise 12.5.23 Define the eccentricity of a
point in OPTI-​space to be the greatest distance
from that point to any other point.46 The above
discussion shows that the eccentricity of the
multiset 000 is 8 semitones by the voice-​leading
distance or 5.66 semitones by the Euclidean
distance. (The Euclidean eccentricity is the
radius of the smallest circle about the given
point that encompasses the entire space.) The
point 048 has the same eccentricity as 000
by either measure, but these are points of
maximum eccentricity.
(a) Determine the voice-​leading eccentricity of
the point 014. Some other points share this
same value of the voice-​leading eccentricity;
what are they? Do any points have a smaller
voice-​leading eccentricity than this?
(b) Determine the Euclidean eccentricity of 014.
One equal-​tempered trichord has a smaller
  Euclidean eccentricity than 014; what is it?
Some sense of how distances vary from one
space to another may be gleaned from Table
12.5.24. The bass clarinet line in mm. 4–​ 6
of “Nacht” from Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire
begins with the ordered trichord α =​(E3, G3,
E♭3) and ends with β =​(B♭2, A2, G♭3). (These are
two of the eight trichords whose normal forms
were studied in Exercise 10.4.6.) The table
shows the distance between α and β in cpitch3
and in seven of the most important OPTIC
spaces, using all three of the standard distance
functions. The displacement multiset that
produces each distance is also shown. Several
things are apparent in this table:
• As more equivalence relations are added and
spaces shrink, distances generally decrease.
• Trichords α and β share the prime form 014,
so they are the same point in OPTI-​space,
separated by zero distance. They are different
points in every other space listed, however,
including OPT-​space, because as pitch-​class
sets they are related by inversion.
• The distances in PT-​ and PTI-​space are the same,
because α and β lie in the same half-​region of
PT-​space.
• In the first three rows of the table, the
same voice leading is minimal for all three
distance functions, so the same displacement
multiset appears for all three. This is always
true in cpitch3 and in O-​space, and often in
OP-​space (the dyads DF♯ and F♯A in Figure
12.5.4 were an exception). In T+​ spaces,
different minimal voice leadings for the
three distance functions are common.
• The last five rows should confirm your
observation from Exercise 12.5.19 about a
Distances • 517
Table 12.5.24. Max, Euclidean, and voice-​leading distances between two trichords
from Schoenberg’s “Nacht” in selected OPTIC spaces

S PAC E N OR M A L F OR M S DI S TA N C E S A ND A S S O C I AT E D
DI S PL AC E ME N T MU LT I S E T S

α β distMax( α , β ) distEuc( α , β ) distVL( α , β )

cpitch3 (−8, −5, −9) (−14, −15, −6) 10 145 ≈ 12.04 19

=​ (E3, G3, E♭3) =​ (B♭2, A2, G♭3) {3, 6, 10} {3, 6, 10} {3, 6, 10}
cpitch3/​~O [4, 7, 3]O [10, 9, 6]O 6 49 =​ 7 11
{2, 3, 6} {2, 3, 6} {2, 3, 6}
cpitch3/​~OP [3, 4, 7]OP [6, 9, 10]OP 5 33 ≈ 5.74 9
=​E♭EG =​G♭AB♭ {2, 2, 5} {2, 2, 5} {2, 2, 5}
cpitch3/​~T [0, 3, −1]T [0, −1, 8]T 61 2 798 3 ≈ 9.42 13
{21 2, 61 2 , 61 2} {12 3 , 52 3 , 71 3 } {0, 4, 9}

cpitch3/​~PT [0, 1, 4]PT [0, 1, 9]PT 21 2 150 3 ≈ 4.08 5

{21 2 , 21 2, 21 2 } {12 3 , 12 3 , 31 3} {0, 0, 5}
cpitch3/​~PTI [0, 1, 4]PTI [0, 1, 9]PTI 21 2 150 3 ≈ 4.08 5
{21 2 , 21 2, 21 2 } {12 3 , 12 3 , 31 3} {0, 0, 5}
cpitch3/​~OPT [0, 1, 4]OPT [0, 3, 4]OPT 1 24 3 ≈ 1.63 2
{1, 1, 1} {2 3, 2 3, 11 3 } {0, 0, 2}
cpitch3/​~OPTI [0, 1, 4]OPTI [0, 1, 4]OPTI 0 0 0
{0, 0, 0} {0, 0, 0} {0, 0, 0}

consistent relationship between the max
and voice-​leading distances, which holds in
all T+​ spaces.
• The three distance functions give different
values, but the three remain loosely
proportional from one row of the table to
another, confirming our observation in Section
12.4 that the three are “not very different.”
Exercise 12.5.25
(a) Construct voice leadings to confirm the
distance calculations in Table 12.5.24.
(b) Construct a similar table for the trichords α
and β in Saariaho’s Vers le blanc from Figure
  11.3.14 and several exercises in Chapter 11.
Euclidean distances can be used as the basis for
calculating areas and volumes in OPTIC spaces,
measured in the possibly odd-​sounding units of
square semitones and cubic semitones. The musi-
cal significance of such a calculation may seem
obscure, but some areas and volumes are fairly
intuitive; for example, a hexatonic triad cube
(Figure 10.1.1, or any of the cubes surrounding
the central axis in Figure 11.3.4) has a volume
of one cubic semitone in OP-​space. Three-​voice
OPTI-​space (Figure 11.4.12 or 12.5.20) is a right
triangle with legs 6v and 4u; its area is therefore
(6v)(4u)/​2 =​ 12uv =​ 12 ⋅ 1 2 ⋅ 2 3 = 48 ≈ 6.93
square semitones. The exercises below show some
ways in which areas and volumes can be used to
compare the sizes of different portions of a space.
Awareness of areas and volumes can also
give us a fresh perspective on symmetry. In any
OPTIC space in two or more voices, symmetrical
chords form lines or planes of a smaller dimen-
sionality than the space, and therefore a set
whose area or volume, as measured in the larger
space, is zero. Recall, for example, the axes of
symmetry in T-​space shown in Figure 11.4.11:
many such axes crisscross the plane, but they
are all lines with no area. Symmetrical chords fill
zero percent of the area of any OPTIC space; if
we choose a point in an OPTIC space at random,
the probability that we will choose a symmetrical
set is zero.47 In this regard our experience with
equal-​tempered chords in the mod-​12 world is
highly misleading: five of the twelve trichordal
set classes, or 42%, are symmetrical in some way,
as are twelve of the nineteen trichordal multiset

518 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces

classes, or 63% (remember that multisets with
doublings are P-​symmetric). In the wider uni-
verse of continuous spaces, symmetry is statisti-
cally a rare phenomenon.
Near-​symmetry, on the other hand, is very
common. In three-​ voice OPTI-​space (Figure
12.5.20), the symmetrical multiset classes are
those on the boundaries of the triangle. Among
the equal-​ tempered multiset classes not on
the boundary, 026 lies at a Euclidean distance
of one v-​unit (0.816 semitones) from two dif-
ferent points on the boundary (027 and 036),
and every other multiset class lies closer than
that to some boundary point. Even among the
non-​equal-​tempered multiset classes, the large
majority lie within one v-​unit of some boundary
point—​that is, of some symmetrical multiset
class (see Exercise 12.5.26c below).
Exercise 12.5.26
(a) The trichords containing two pitch classes
separated by a pitch-​class interval of one
semitone or less form a strip along the bottom
edge of three-​voice OPTI-​space (Figure
12.5.20), bounded at the top by the horizontal
line through 012 and 016. Calculate the
area of this strip. What percentage of the
total area of OPTI-​space is contained in this
strip? This percentage may be regarded as the
probability that a randomly chosen trichord
in OPTI-​space will contain two notes within a
semitone of each other.
(b) What percentage of the twelve equal-​
tempered trichordal set classes contain an
interval of a semitone? What percentage
of the nineteen multiset classes contain an
interval of size 0 or 1?
(c) The points of OPTI-​space lying at a
Euclidean distance greater than one v-​unit
from the nearest point on the boundary of
the space form a small triangle in the center
of the space. This triangle is similar (that is,
proportional) to the triangle formed by the
whole space; its sides lie parallel to the sides
of the space, at a distance of one v-​unit,
with 026 at its upper-​right corner. Show
that this triangle contains less than 5% of
  the area of OPTI-​space.48
Exercise 12.5.27
(a) Calculate the area of the sum-​class-​0 cross
section of three-​voice OP-​space shown in
Figure 11.3.1.49
(b) With the exception of symmetrical multisets
(which contribute no area), every OPTI-​class
is represented by six different points in this
cross section (three related by transposition
and three others by inversion). We should
therefore expect the area of the cross section
to be exactly six times the area of OPTI-​
space. Verify that this proportion is correct.
(c) The height of the prism of three-​voice OP-​
space (the vertical dimension of Figure
11.3.4) is the same as the Euclidean length
of path ② in Figure 12.5.9. By multiplying
this height by the area you calculated in (a),
determine the volume of OP-​space.
(d) What percentage of OP-​space consists of
trichords lying at a Euclidean distance of 1
or less from some augmented triad? What if
the distance is 2 or less?50
(e) Three-​voice O-​space is a 3-​torus whose
fundamental region is a cube of volume
123 =​1,728 cubic semitones (one cubic
octave). Except for symmetrical sets, every
OP-​class is represented by six different
permutations in this cube, so we should
expect the volume of OP-​space to be exactly
one-​sixth of the volume of O-​space. Is this
  expectation correct?
Volumes can be calculated in higher dimen-
sions also. The following exercises develop
analogs in four-​voice spaces of some of the prop-
erties described above in lower dimensions. It
is instructive to note the wide variation in the
magnitudes of the distances, areas, and volumes
calculated here: some of these spaces are much
larger than others.
Exercise 12.5.28
(a) Show that the length of the v-​unit in four-​
voice T-​space (the Euclidean distance from
(0, 0, 0, 0)T to (0, 0, 0, 1)T) is v =​ 3 4 ≈ 0.866
semitones. (When distances in four-​voice
T-​space were mentioned informally in
Section 11.6, the implicit units of measure
were v-​units, not semitones. All calculations
below are in semitones.)
(b) Recall that the v-​unit in three voices is 2 3 ;
you calculated the v-​unit in two voices in
Exercise 12.5.17. Can you deduce a general
formula for the v-​unit in n voices?
(c) Show that distEuc((0, 0, 0, 1)T, (0, 1, 1, 1)T) is
exactly one semitone.
(d) Consider layer 0 of the fundamental region
for four-​voice OPT-​space from Figure
11.6.4, specifically the small triangle at the
lower-​left corner with vertices 0000, 0001,
Distances • 519
 and 0111. Use trigonometry together with
the results of parts (a) and (c) to show that
the angle at 0000 is approximately 70.5
degrees, and calculate the other two angles
in that triangle.51
(e) Show that the distance between horizontal
rows of lattice points in layer 0 (or any
other layer) of Figure 11.6.4b is d =​ 2 3 ≈
0.816 semitones.
(f) Use the above values of v and d to show that
the area of layer 0 is 36 ⋅ 2 ≈ 50.9 square
semitones.
(g) The tetrachord 0246 in layer 2 of the
tetrahedron lies directly above 0336 in
layer 0. Calculate the Euclidean distance
between these two points, and use it to
show that the spacing between layers is
1 ≈ 0.707 semitones.
2
(h) If a tetrahedron has a triangle of area
A as its base and if its height measured
perpendicular to the base is h, then its
volume is Ah/​3. Show that the volume of
four-​voice OPT-​space is exactly 36 cubic
semitones, and therefore that the volume
of four-​voice OPTI-​space is exactly 18 cubic
semitones.
(i) Show that the probability that a randomly
chosen tetrachord in four-​voice OPTI-​space
contains two notes separated by a semitone
  or less is slightly more than 70%.
Exercise 12.5.29
(a) Figure 11.5.4 showed the sum-​class-​0
tetrahedron in four-​voice OP-​space. Show
that four edges of this tetrahedron (such
as the edge CCCC–​E♭E♭E♭E♭) have Euclidean
length 6 ⋅ 3 ≈ 10.4 semitones while the
other two (such as CCCC–​F♯F♯F♯F♯) are
of length 12 semitones. If line segments
AAAA–​E♭E♭AA and E♭E♭AA–​E♭E♭E♭E♭ are
drawn to bisect two of the tetrahedron’s
faces, show that each of these two
segments is of length 6 ⋅ 2 ≈ 8.49
semitones.52
(b) Use the lengths calculated in (a) to show
that the bisecting line segments form a
right angle at E♭E♭AA. If the base of the
tetrahedron lies in a horizontal plane,
therefore, E♭E♭E♭E♭ lies directly above E♭E♭AA.
Where else in the tetrahedron do two faces
meet at a right angle?
(c) Show that the volume of the sum-​
class-​0 tetrahedron is exactly 144 cubic
semitones.
520 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
(d) With the exception of symmetrical
multisets, every four-​voice OPTI-​class
is represented by how many different
points in this sum-​class-​0 cross section?
Verify that the ratio of the volume of
OPTI-​space to the volume of the sum-​
class-​0 tetrahedron is consistent with this
observation.
(e) As was shown in Figure 11.5.9, the Möbius
hyperprism of four-​voice OP-​space is
obtained by extruding the sum-​class-​0
tetrahedron through a fourth dimension.
Show that the length of the hyperprism
in this fourth dimension is exactly
six semitones, and therefore that the
four-​dimensional volume of four-​voice
OP-​space is exactly 864 (measured in
semitones-​to-​the-​fourth-​power).53
(f) Four-​voice O-​space is a 4-​torus whose
fundamental region is a 4-​cube of volume
124 =​20,736. Except for symmetrical
multisets, every OP-​class is represented
by how many permutations in this cube?
Verify that the ratio of the volume of OP-​
space to the volume of O-​space is consistent
  with this observation.
In calculating distances as in many other
respects, cardinality equivalence presents chal-
lenges unlike any of the other OPTIC relations.
A consideration of the voice-​leading distance
between the A♭7 and c♯ø7 chords in OP-​space
and OPC-​space illustrates some of the compli-
cations involved. Figure 12.5.30a locates these
two chords in the octatonic hypercube chain
that surrounds the central axis of OP-​space
(from Figures 11.5.3 and 11.5.9). A path join-
ing the two chords in a series of six single-​semi-
tone voice-​leading moves is highlighted. Many
other paths of length 6 can be found in the fig-
ure, but they all correspond to the voice leading
shown in Figure 12.5.30b, in which two voices
descend by one semitone and two others by two
semitones; the various paths differ only in the
order in which the voices are assumed to move.
If the voices moved simultaneously, a straight-​
line path would be traced; that path would be
shorter as measured by Euclidean distance but
its length by the voice-​leading distance would
remain 6. In fact, by the voice-​leading distance
there can be no shorter path: a single-​semi-
tone move always changes the sum class of a
chord by 1, and the A♭7 chord is of sum class
5 while c♯ø7 is of sum class 11, so a minimum
of six moves are required to move from one to
FIGURE 12.5.30 The distance from A♭7 to c♯ø7 in OP-​space and OPC-​space: (a) a path of voice-​leading
length 6 in four-​voice OP-​space; (b) a corresponding voice leading; (c) a voice leading of apparent length
5; (d) with split/​fuse relations in OPC-​space; (e) in five-​voice OP-​space

the other. In four-​voice OP-​space, therefore,
distVL(A♭7, c♯ø7) =​6.
Exercise 12.5.31 How many different paths
of length 6 join A♭7 and c♯ø7 in the octatonic
hypercube
   chain?54
If the voice-​leading distance between A♭7 and
c♯ø7 is 6, then what are we to make of the voice
leading in Figure 12.5.30c, in which the two
chords are linked by only five single-​semitone
voice-​leading moves? The trick is that this is not
a voice leading in four-​voice OP-​space. As (d)
shows in more detail, this voice leading shuttles
between four-​voice and three-​voice spaces, two
Gs fusing into a single voice at the second chord
and a single C splitting in two later on. The fuse
and split moves relate chords in spaces of differ-
ent dimensions, but the chords so related are C-​
equivalent (that is, CE♭GG ~C CE♭G and CEG ~C
CCEG). The fuse and split do not correspond to
any motion at all in OPC-​space and contribute
nothing to the length of a path in that space.
Apparently, then, while the voice-​leading dis-
tance from A♭7 to c♯ø7 in OP-​space is 6, in OPC-​
space it is only 5.
But which OPC-​space? A voice leading such as
that in (c) or (d) cannot be modeled adequately
in cpitch4/​~OPC, a quotient space formed from a
space cpitch4/​~OP of four-​voice chords, because
the complete voice leading cannot be realized in
four voices: the voice created by fusion is not the
same one that subsequently splits. To realize the
voice leading in a space of a fixed dimension, five
voices are required, as shown in (e). Indeed, in
five-​voice OP-​space, the voice-​leading distance
between the multisets CCE♭G♭A♭ and BC♯EGG is
5, not 6. In the curious world of C-​space, it seems
that the shortest path between two chords in
four-​dimensional space does not lie in that space:
it must pass through either a three-​dimensional
or a five-​dimensional space along the way.
Exercise 12.5.32 Explain this apparent
paradox in Figure 12.5.30c: three of the five
single-​semitone voice-​leading moves ascend

Distances • 521
while only two descend, yet the last chord in
the progression is lower in register than the
first. Does the voice leading in (e) resolve this
paradox?
  
Exercise 12.5.33 Determine the voice-​leading
distance between the trichords CDF♯ and D♭FG
in three-​voice OP-​space. Show that under the
assumption of C equivalence, a shorter path
may be obtained, passing through either a two-​
or  
a four-​voice space.
An adequate understanding of cardinality
equivalence requires that we work not in a space
of a fixed dimensionality but in a space such as
cpitch*, the union of the spaces cpitchn for all
n. For any given example, a space of the form
cpitch≤n consisting only of spaces up through
a certain finite dimension n will suffice, but
we have just seen that the limiting dimension
n may need to be larger than the number of
apparent voices in the example, so for simplic-
ity we refer to the all-​embracing space cpitch*.
We will work directly with pitch tuples for the
time being, thereby disregarding complications
due to octave and permutational equivalence.
In the following discussion, the name C-​space
refers to cpitch*/​~C, the quotient space of
cpitch* under the assumption of cardinality
equivalence.
To examine the behavior of distances in C-​
space more closely, consider the pitch triples α =​
(C4, D♭4, G♭4) =​(0, 1, 6) and β =​(D4, G4, A♭4) =​(2, 7,
8). Both α and β belong to cpitch3, but we con-
sider them now as equivalence classes αC and βC
in C-​space; for example, αC includes not only the
original triple (0, 1, 6) but also larger tuples such
as (0, 1, 6, 6) or (0, 0, 0, 1, 6, 6, 6, 6). In cpitch3,
the displacement multiset between α and β is {2,
2, 6}, and the voice-​leading distance is therefore
10 semitones. Figure 12.5.34 shows, in a fash-
ion similar to Figure 12.5.30d, that the distance
between αC and βC in C-​space is much smaller:
FIGURE 12.5.34 A voice-​leading distance in C-​space
522 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
through the judicious deployment of one fuse
and one split, the need for a large displacement
like six semitones is avoided altogether.
The tuples in this example are labeled γ1, δ1,
γ2, δ2, γ3, and δ3; they are of cardinalities 3, 3, 2,
2, 3, and 3, respectively. For each i (i =​1, 2, or
3), γi and δi are tuples of the same cardinality,
so the voice-​leading distances between them—​
1, 2, and 1—​may be computed normally. The
links from δ1 to γ2 and from δ2 to γ3 are the fuse
and split; these links join C-​equivalent tuples of
different cardinalities, so there is no distance
between them in C-​space. The first tuple γ1 is the
same as α—​that is, γ1 is a pitch triple belonging
to the class αC —​while the last tuple δ3 is the
same as β (belongs to βC). The total length of the
voice leading in C-​space is thus only four semi-
tones, which is indeed the voice-​leading distance
between αC and βC in C-​space: distVL(αC, βC) =​4.
This example shows that the quotient distance
formula presented earlier in this section does
not work for cardinality equivalence. That for-
mula would require us to find tuples α0 and β0 in
cpitch*, in the C-​classes αC and βC respectively,
for which distVL(α0, β0), computed normally
within some cpitchn, is as small as possible. But
there are no such α0 and β0, of any cardinality, for
which distVL(α0, β0) is as small as 4. The best we
can do is distVL(α0, β0) =​6, for the tuples α0 =​(0,
1, 6, 6) and β0 =​(2, 2, 7, 8) in cpitch4.
The calculation in Figure 12.5.34 suggests a
chain technique by which distances in C-​space may
be defined in general. To determine distVL(αC, βC)
for any C-​classes αC and βC, we must examine
chains of pitch tuples γ1, δ1, γ2, δ2, …, γk, δk with
the following properties:
• γ1 is a representative of the C-​class αC;
• δk is a representative of the C-​class βC;
• for each i =​1, 2, …, k, the pitch tuples γi and δi
are of the same cardinality;
• for each i =​1, 2, …, k − 1, the pitch tuples δi
and γi +​1 are C-​equivalent.
We then form the sum distVL(γ1, δ1) +​distVL(γ2,
δ2) +​ ⋯ +​distVL(γk, δk), where each segmental dis-
tance distVL(γi, δi) is calculated in the appropriate
pitch-​tuple space cpitchn. The distance distVL(αC,
βC) in C-​space is the smallest possible sum of this
form, for any such chain of intermediate points.
A few comments on this definition are in order.
Each segmental distance distVL(γi, δi) is a straight-
forward voice-​leading distance in some n-​dimen-
sional space, but successive segments may lie in
spaces of different dimensions. Because δi and
γi +​ 1 are the same point in C-​space, the distance
between them is 0, so distances distVL(δi, γi +​ 1) do
not affect the sum: these links in the chain—​the
0s in Figure 12.5.34, the splits and fuses, worm-
holes from one dimension to another—​come for
free. The definition does not require that α and
β be tuples of the same cardinality; tuples of all
sizes determine C-​classes which can always be
linked by appropriately devised chains, so the
chain technique enables a distance to be calcu-
lated in C-​space between any two tuples at all.
A voice-​leading distance calculated in this way
measures the length of a voice leading of the kind
illustrated in Figure 12.5.30d or 12.5.34, but it
does not necessarily correspond to a voice lead-
ing in a fixed number of voices.
The above definition applies to C-​space as the
quotient of cpitch* under cardinality equiva-
lence, but the same principles apply when other
OPTIC relations are present. To calculate a dis-
tance in OPC-​space cpitch*/​~OPC, for instance,
we consider chains of points in OP-​spaces, pos-
sibly of various cardinalities, measuring each
segmental distance distVL(γi, δi) within the
appropriate OP-​space cpitchn/​~OP. The above
discussion assumes that we are working with
the voice-​leading distance—​probably the most
intuitive way to understand distances in C-​
space—​but the chain technique may be applied
with either the Euclidean or the max distance,
the segmental distances dist(γi, δi) being calcu-
lated in the manner appropriate for the chosen
distance function. For the Euclidean distance,
square roots may be involved in the calculation
of the segmental distances distEuc(γi, δi), but not
in the final sum—​the linking distances are sim-
ply added. The exercises below illustrate several
of these points.
Exercise 12.5.35 The example above involved
the pitch triples α =​(0, 1, 6) and β =​(2, 7, 8).
Consider the corresponding trichords in three-​
voice OP-​space, αOP =​[0, 1, 6]OP =​CD♭G♭ and
βOP =​[2, 7, 8]OP =​DGA♭.
(a) Using techniques similar to those illustrated
in Figure 11.3.5, locate αOP and βOP in the
Möbius prism of three-​voice OP-​space.
(b) The voice leading C → D, D♭ → G, G♭ → A♭
is not the shortest voice leading joining
αOP and βOP in OP-​space. Identify the
shortest voice leading (it does not cross
the false boundary) and use it to show that
distVL(αOP, βOP) =​6, distEuc(αOP, βOP) =​ 18,
and distMax(αOP, βOP) =​4.
(c) In OPC-​space, the voice leading in
Figure 12.5.34 is possible. Using a
straightforward shorthand, this voice
leading may be written
(0, 1, 6) → (1, 1, 6) ⇢ (1, 6) → (2, 7)
⇢ (2, 7, 7) → (2, 7, 8),
where the dashed arrows indicate the split
and fuse, which link C-​equivalent points and
therefore cover no distance in C-​space. Trace
the segments of this path in three-​voice and
two-​voice OP-​space as appropriate. The total
length of this path in C-​space by the voice-​
leading distance is 4. Show that the length
is 3 by the max distance and approximately
3.41 by the Euclidean distance.
(d) The voice-​leading distance between αOPC and
βOPC is indeed 4, but the path in (c) is not
the only way to achieve it. Moreover, that
path is not minimal for either of the other
distance functions. Repeat the calculations
for the path
(0, 1, 6) → (1, 1, 7) ⇢ (1, 7) ⇢ (1, 7, 7)
→ (2, 7, 8),
in which the split and fuse occur at the same
point [1, 7]OPC of OPC-​space. This path turns
out to be minimal for all three distance
functions; your calculations should show
that distVL(αOPC, βOPC) =​4, distEuc(αOPC, βOPC)
  ≈ 2.83, and distMax(αOPC, βOPC) =​2.
Exercise 12.5.36 Figure 12.5.9 showed paths ①
and ② joining the trichords [8, 9, 10]OP =​G♯AB♭
and [0, 1, 2]OP =​CC♯D in OP-​space. Because
both points lie near the boundaries of the prism
where trichords with pitch-​class doublings may
be found, shorter paths are possible in OPC-​
space. Consider the following paths:
Path ③: (8, 9, 10) → (81 2 , 81 2 , 10) ⇢ (81 2 , 10)
→ (0, 11 2 ) ⇢ (0, 11 2 , 11 2 ) → (0, 1, 2)
Distances • 523
 Path ④: (8, 9, 10) → (81 2 , 81 2 , 101 2 )
⇢ (81 2 , 101 2 ) → (111 2 , 11 2 )
⇢ (111 2 , 11 2 , 11 2 ) → (0, 1, 2)
Path ⑤: (8, 9, 10) → (9, 9, 9) ⇢ (9)
→ (1) ⇢ (1, 1, 1) → (0, 1, 2)
One of these three paths is minimal for the
voice-​leading distance, another for the max
distance. Trace each of these paths in the
appropriate OP-​spaces. Calculate the length of
each path by both the voice-​leading and max
distance functions, and compare the results
   the values for paths ① and ②.55
with
NOTES
1. Forte (1973, 14) discusses directed and undi-
rected pitch-​ class intervals (though not by those
names), introducing the term interval classes for the
latter. Several more recent sources offer complete pre-
sentations of directed and undirected pitch and pitch-​
class intervals, among them Rahn 1980, 20–​29, and
Straus 2016, 9–​12.
2. The reservations raised here about the suitability
of interval spaces for measuring distances are devel-
oped at greater length in Tymoczko 2009a. In par-
ticular, see pp. 243–​48 for the question of “whether
Lewinian intervals are supposed to have size.”
3. This formulation of the total distance, in which
the distances traversed by different voices are added,
corresponds to a path in Figure 12.1.1 from 000 to
004 to 048; this description is also consistent with the
discussion of voice-​leading distance given in Section
10.2. We will see in Sections 12.4 and 12.5 that there
is not just one way to measure distances in OPTI-​
space; whether a straight-​line path from 000 to 048
may represent a distance smaller than 8 depends on
which distance function we choose. Regardless of that
choice, however, the distance between 000 and 048
exceeds the distance between any other pair of points
in the space.
4. Hints for Exercise 12.1.4: In parts (a)–​(c), most
triples separated by the given interval are not equiva-
lent in the desired way; the tricky part is to find one
pair of triples, α1 and β1, that are equivalent. In part
(a), the first two components of α1 must be six semi-
tones apart. In (b), there is only one possibility for
α1. In (c), try making the first two components of α1
the same, and consider what other pitch triple could
be cardinality-​equivalent to this α1. For (d), review
the definition of normal equivalence relations from
Section 7.4 to see why it is not possible for two pitch
triples to be equivalent by such a relation while two
524 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
other pitch triples separated by the same interval
are not.
5. This general conception of intervals as equiva-
lence classes was suggested by Tymoczko (2009a, 241).
6. See, for example, Cohn 2001, Leong 2007, and
Murphy 2009.
7. Hint for Exercise 12.2.3: In cpitch, the possibili-
ties depend only on whether the intervals from x to y
and from y to z are ascending or descending. In other
distance spaces the number of possibilities may be
larger, but the triangle inequality implies a numerical
range, valid in all cases (consider permuting the vari-
ables in the statement of the inequality).
8. Hint for Exercise 12.2.4: The proof of the triangle
inequality in the general case relies on the property
|a +​ b| ≤ |a| +​|b| noted above.
9. Tymoczko (2009a, 245–​46) defines a Lewinian
interval system to be a space on which both an interval
function and a distance function are defined, metri-
cally compatible in this way. Real interval spaces and
(as discussed later in this section) modular interval
spaces always satisfy this condition.
10. Texts in pitch-​class set theory typically define
undirected pitch-​class intervals in a simple and intui-
tive way, saying for instance that the interval between
pcs x and y is whichever of the mod-​12 numbers y − x
and x − y is “smaller.” The intent of such a definition is
that 4 is “smaller” than 8; this is easy to understand
but does not stand up to mathematical scrutiny. For
numbers mod 12, the concept of “smaller” is not
defined: ℤ12 (or ℝ12) is not an ordered set. The defini-
tion of |x|12 in this section is one way of making this
idea more precise.
11. Hint for Exercise 12.2.9: Four different numbers
appear among the five distances in the answers to this
exercise.
12. Hint for Exercise 12.2.12b: Distances in spc can
be greater than 6.
13. Metric spaces automatically acquire a topologi-
cal structure; spaces related by dilation have the same
topology.
14. For readers who may be wondering about arith-
metic with the ∞ symbol, the statements ∞ +​∞ =​∞,
∞ +​ x =​∞, ∞ ≤ ∞, and x ≤ ∞ are true for all real num-
bers x. Elements of the set ℝ ∪ {∞, −∞} are sometimes
called extended real numbers; only the nonnegative half
of the extended real number line is being used here.
Many arithmetic operations can be carried out with
extended real numbers, although they do not form a
group or any other standard kind of algebraic struc-
ture. They do form an ordered set with a well-​defined
topological structure.
15. Theoretically, edge lengths do not even need to
be integers. A graph with edge lengths defined inde-
pendently may contain configurations that appear
to violate the triangle inequality—​for example, a tri-
angle with sides of length 1, 2, and 5. The violation is
illusory, however: the edge of length 5 will not occur
in the shortest path joining any two vertices, and is
therefore irrelevant to the distance function.
16. Hints for Exercise 12.3.6c: Symmetry depends
on the assumption that all sets in the space S are of
the same cardinality. For the triangle inequality, use
the result of Exercise 2.1.5d.
17. See Chapter 2 of Burago, Burago, and Ivanov
2001. The authors define a class of admissible paths
whose length can be measured; the underlying space
is initially assumed to have a topological structure
but no metric structure. A length function defined on
the class of admissible paths, satisfying certain speci-
fied properties, is then used to define a metric on the
space. Metric spaces constructed in this way are called
length spaces; not every metric space is a length space.
18. Figure 4.2.18 made a somewhat similar point
about Weber space, but the distance function implicit
in the discussion of that figure, in which diagonal
moves were available, was not the same as the Weber
distance.
19. Chapter 6 of Grossman and Magnus 1964 pro-
vides a straightforward introduction to words in group
theory and their relation to graphs. Determining
whether two different words represent the same ele-
ment is straightforward in the Riemann group and in
many other musical applications, but in general this
problem (known as the word problem for groups) is
difficult. Gollin 2000 uses words and word lengths to
study the structure of many Lewinian transformation
groups.
20. The definition of distZ does not require that the
action of G on S be simply transitive. If it happens that
no word on Z maps x to y, then distZ(x, y) =​∞. If two
different transformations in G map x to y, then words
representing those transformations are not equiva-
lent, even though they both correspond to paths from
x to y in the graph.
21. Hints for Exercise 12.3.9: The empty word of
length 0 represents the identity element of G, which
maps every element of S to itself. Symmetry depends
on the availability of inverses of elements of Z; using
the result of Exercise 5.3.3c, you should be able to see,
for example, that if the word ab−1c represents a transfor-
mation that maps x to y, then c−1ba−1 represents a trans-
formation that maps y to x. For the triangle inequality,
if you have a word that maps x to y and one that maps y
to z, how can you obtain a word that maps x to z?
22. Hint for Exercise 12.3.11: Exercises 4.2.2 and
8.2.5 are relevant.
23. Hints for Exercise 12.3.12: All of the generat-
ing transformations are reasonably familiar with the
exception of those in sl (part (d)). In sl you should
be able to find two generators, one producing horizon-
tal motion in Figure 1.2.11a and the other producing
vertical motion. The generators for the two tonnetzes
(parts (e) and (f)) are musically very similar, but the
generators in the Riemannian tonnetz are more dif-
ficult to describe mathematically. If you wish to do
this, you may find it helpful to review the discussion
of just frequency-​class space in Section 7.4. For the
conformed tonnetz, it should be clear that the set
of three generators is redundant, because any two
of them generate the group. Is this true also for the
Riemannian tonnetz? For the ski-​hill graph (part (g)),
recall Figure 3.5.8c.
24. Cohn (2012, 6) defines voice-​leading work in
a way equivalent to the voice-​leading distance as we
define it here.
25. In some circumstances distances between
chords may also be regarded as a measure of the
similarity of the chords, shorter distances represent-
ing greater similarity. This idea, not explored here,
engages the sizable literature on similarity measures
that determine, for any given pair of chords, a numeri-
cal measure of their similarity. Ian Quinn (2006 and
2007) comments extensively on similarity measures
en route to his construction of a spatial representation
of the concept of chord quality based on Fourier prop-
erties introduced in telegraphic fashion in Lewin 1959.
26. The distance functions described here are
related to the concept of norm, important in linear
algebra and related areas of mathematics. Norms are
defined axiomatically, but the relevant examples are
as follows. If A =​(a, b) or A =​{a, b} is either an ordered
or an unordered set or multiset of real numbers of car-
dinality 2, the max norm of A is ||A||Max =​max(|a|,
|b|), the Euclidean norm of A is ||A||Euc =​(a2 +​ b2)1 ⁄ 2,
and the sum norm of A is ||A||Sum =​|a| +​|b| (with
analogous formulas in higher dimensions). The norm
of A, loosely speaking, is a measure of the “size” of A,
or of the distance of A from the origin in some appro-
priate space. Our distance functions are therefore cal-
culated as the norms of the associated displacement
multisets.
27. Though the triangle inequality for the
Euclidean distance seems obvious, a rigorous proof is
more difficult than might be expected. Exercise Q1.4
in Ó Searcóid 2007, 279, provides a general proof
applicable in multiple dimensions.
28. Hint for Exercise 12.4.3: The quantity on the left
side of this inequality is always equal to either dist(x1,
x3) or dist(y1, y3), so the inequality may be established
by showing that both of those are less than or equal to
the quantity on the right.
29. Hint for Exercise 12.4.4: Do not overlook
the obvious. If α =​(C4, E4) and β =​(C4, G4), what is
distMin(α, β)?
Distances • 525
 30. Mathematically, all three of the distance func-
tions considered here belong to a family of so-​called
p-​norm metrics—​or, more precisely, the Euclidean and
voice-​leading distances are p-​norm metrics, and the
max distance is a limiting case of that family. Let p be
any real number ≥ 1. In three dimensions, the p-​norm
distance is given by [(Δx)p +​(Δy)p +​(Δz)p]1 ⁄ p, the pth
root of the sum of the pth powers of the component-
wise displacements. This formula defines a distance
function distp for every p ≥ 1. In particular, distp for
p =​1 is the same as distVL, while distp for p =​2 is the
same as distEuc. As p grows larger, the p-​norm dis-
tance between a fixed pair of points of the space gets
smaller. As p approaches infinity, the p-​norm distance
approaches max(Δx, Δy, Δz), the max distance, as a
limiting value, so the max distance may be considered
to be distp for p =​∞.
31. See the online supplementary material to
Tymoczko 2006 for a more precisely formulated ver-
sion of this property in a form called the distribution
constraint; see also Hall and Tymoczko 2012. Straus
2003 discusses uniformity as a property of a voice
leading; a transposition, for example, is a completely
uniform voice leading. While a highly uniform voice
leading will feature a level displacement multiset, the
converse is not necessarily true, because a multiset in
which all displacements are the same may include a
mix of displacements in the ascending and descending
directions.
32. Hints for Exercise 12.4.6: The proofs involve
little more than a careful understanding of the defi-
nitions, but some notational complexity arises in the
details. Use notations such as (S1, G1, int1), (S2, G2,
int2), (S1, dist1), and (S2, dist2) for the spaces involved.
For part (a), we are assuming that equal intervals
imply equal distances in both S1 and S2. That is, if
x1, y1, x1′, and y1′ are elements of S1 with int1(x1, y1)
=​ int1(x1′, y1′), then dist1(x1, y1) =​dist1(x1′, y1′), and
a corresponding statement holds for S2. You must
show that the corresponding property holds in S1 ×
S2: if int((x1, x2), (y1, y2)) =​int((x1′, x2′), (y1′, y2′)), then
dist((x1, x2), (y1, y2)) =​dist((x1′, x2′), (y1′, y2′)), where
int is the product interval function and dist is any of
distMax, distEuc, or distVL. (Think about what the inter-
val equation implies about the one-​dimensional inter-
vals and the displacement multisets.) In part (b) there
are no interval spaces to consider. By homogeneity, we
know that if x1 and y1 are elements of S1, then there is
an isometry f1: S1 → S1 such that f1(x1) =​ y1, along with
a corresponding property of S2. Show how to combine
these two isometries to produce an isometry f: S1 × S2
→ S1 × S2 that maps (x1, x2) to (y1, y2).
33. The comparison of metrics in ℝn is of interest
in several disparate fields. Figure 12.4.8 is inspired
by Figure 5 in Hall and Tymoczko 2012, 270, where
526 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
the authors note applications not only to the study of
voice leading but also to economics.
34. Callender 2004 explicitly uses Euclidean dis-
tance calculations in several spaces.
35. For example, Straus (2003, 320–​22) defines
smoothness in terms of the voice-​leading distance;
much of the neo-​ Riemannian literature of the
1990s adopts the same understanding implicitly.
Though usage has been inconsistent, some authors
have drawn subtle and often informal distinctions
between “smooth” and “parsimonious” voice lead-
ings, perhaps using the voice-​leading distance as a
measure of “smoothness” and either the max dis-
tance or the number of common tones as a measure
of “parsimony.” For related discussion see Cohn
1997, Douthett and Steinbach 1998, Cook 2005,
and Tymoczko 2006 (supplemental online material).
Roeder (1987, 381–​84) may have been the first to
contrast the Euclidean and voice-​leading distances
in a musical context, considering the latter more
appropriate as a measure of distance in his “ordered
interval space” (not exactly the same situation con-
sidered here).
36. Cohn (2012, 5) documents references to har-
monic proximity based on common tones in treatises
throughout the nineteenth century, beginning with
Francesco Galeazzi in 1796.
37. Suppose the following three conditions are
true of an equivalence relation ~ defined on a met-
ric space (S, dist): (1) the relation ~ is defined by the
action of a symmetry group G on S (that is, the equiv-
alence classes are orbits of G); (2) all elements of G
are isometries of the space S; and (a rather technical
requirement) (3) all orbits of G are closed subsets in
the topology of S. Under these conditions, a distance
function on the quotient space S/​~ may be defined
by the quotient distance formula presented here. The
relations ~O, ~P, ~T, and ~I satisfy these three condi-
tions. Cardinality equivalence does not, nor does the
relation in Exercise 12.5.3.
38. Many texts on the subject of metric spaces do
not even consider quotient spaces. It is always pos-
sible to define a pseudometric on a quotient space,
a pseudometric being a function that satisfies the
properties required of a metric except for the sec-
ond part of the positivity axiom (that is, distances
between distinct points are allowed to be 0). The
simple quotient distance formula given in this sec-
tion, even with the refinement suggested in Exercise
12.5.3, is not sufficient for defining the quotient
pseudometric in general: the general case requires a
chain technique similar to that discussed below for
cardinality equivalence. (See, for example, Burago,
Burago, and Ivanov 2001, 62, where pseudomet-
rics are called semi-​metrics.) A pseudometric can be
reduced to a metric by gluing together all points
separated by zero distance, but the metric space that
results may be very different from the quotient set
S/​~. For the space in the exercise, the quotient pseu-
dometric turns out to be 0 in all cases, so when it
is reduced to a metric the space becomes trivial—​a
single point. The general question of when the quo-
tient pseudometric is actually a metric does not have
a simple answer.
39. Hints for Exercise 12.5.6: The spheres are large
in comparison with the size of the space: most dyads
in OP-​space lie within one or more of them. It may
be helpful to plot the shapes first by imagining the
figure continuing beyond the boundaries (both the
false boundaries and the mirror boundaries), then
determining which parts of the fundamental region
correspond to the areas beyond the boundaries.
Because of the orientation of the figure, the sphere
for the voice-​leading distance is a square in the ori-
entation , while the sphere for the max distance is
a tilted square (the opposite was true in Figure
12.4.8).
40. Hint for Exercise 12.5.8c: A very simple proof is
possible for the voice-​leading and Euclidean distances.
For the max distance this simple reasoning does not
work, but see if you can find a way to establish the
same result by considering the number of different
points at the greatest possible distance from each of
the two dyads.
41. Hint for Exercise 12.5.10: In one case the parallel
voice leading is shorter according to all three distance
functions; in one case the zero-​sum voice leading is
shorter; and in one case the distance functions are in
disagreement about which path is shorter.
42. Hints for Exercise 12.5.12: In part (a), you
should find three different augmented triads for the
three distance functions. For part (b), if you tabulate
the displacement multisets from C major to every
other triad, you should be able to see which ones maxi-
mize the distance functions.
43. Hint for Exercise 12.5.15b: Try multiples of 1 3
for the coordinates. Readers versed in calculus may
be able to write a formula for distEuc((0, 0, 0), (x, x
− 2, x +​1)) (or, more simply, the square of that dis-
tance) in terms of x, then apply a standard technique
involving derivatives to find the minimum value of
this function.
44. Hint for Exercise 12.5.19: To calculate a max
distance in T-​space you must find a transposition of
one of the triples that minimizes the max distance in
cpitch3. Try transposing by multiples of 1 2 .
45. Hint for Exercise 12.5.21b: As in some pre-
vious examples, a minimal voice leading for the
Euclidean distance may be found by starting with a
minimal voice leading for the voice-​leading distance
and displacing one of the two pitch triples by mul-
tiples of 1 3 .
46. Eccentricity is defined this way for vertices in
graphs; see Harary 1969, 35.
47. To say that the probability of an event is zero
is not the same as saying that it is impossible. Many
nonempty sets in a plane have zero area. If S is a set of
zero area and a point is selected from the plane at ran-
dom, the probability of selecting a point of S is zero—​
but the only set from which it is impossible to select an
element is the empty set. (This discussion disregards
some other technical considerations, such as the ques-
tion of what it means to choose a point “at random”
from an unbounded set.)
48. Hints for Exercise 12.5.26: The area of the strip
in (a) may be calculated as the difference between the
areas of two triangles. In (c), the height of the small
triangle is 2u − v; its base may be calculated from the
proportion with the large triangle.
49. Hint for Exercise 12.5.27a: The small triangles
forming a grid in Figure 11.3.1 are not the same size
as the triangles in T-​space, so distances are not mea-
sured in v-​units here. The triangles are equilateral,
however, so the ratio of altitude to base is 3 4 , the
same as the ratio between u and v—​which is also the
same as the ratio for the entire cross section.
50. Hint for Exercise 12.5.27d: These trichords form
a cylinder of radius 1 (or 2) about the central axis of
the prism.
51. Hint for Exercise 12.5.28d: This result is con-
sistent with Exercise 11.6.3, which showed that the
obtuse angle at the origin is approximately 109.5
degrees. As in that exercise, the law of cosines will be
useful. Like the tetrahedron as a whole, the triangle is
symmetrical about the dashed diagonal line.
52. Hint for Exercise 12.5.29a: Some of these line
segments are not the shortest paths joining their
endpoints in OP-​space. To calculate the length of a
segment you must determine the displacement mul-
tiset for the particular voice leading the segment
represents.
53. Hint for Exercise 12.5.29e: The same sum-​class-​
0 tetrahedron appears at both the top and bottom of
the hyperprism. The length of the line segment CCCC–​
E♭E♭E♭E♭ in the fourth dimension is not the same as the
length of the line segment CCCC–​E♭E♭E♭E♭ within the
tetrahedron at either end.
54. Hint for Exercise 12.5.31: A path of length 6 may
either ascend or descend from A♭7 to c♯ø7; the two kinds
of path are not equal in number, and only the descend-
ing paths are visible in Figure 12.5.30a. Requiring that
the path stay within the octatonic hypercube chain
eliminates some paths that would otherwise be possi-
ble in OP-​space. The number of possible paths is large
enough that you will probably arrive at the correct
Distances • 527
number more easily through some simple calculations
than by trying to locate them all.
55. Hints for Exercise 12.5.36: The first segment of
path ③ joins G♯AB♭ to one of the two nearest possible
points on the boundary of the prism, in the same
sum-​class layer. Path ④ leaves that sum-​class layer.
The most efficient voice leading for the Euclidean dis-
tance is not any of these, passing instead through the
point (81 2 +​ r, 81 2 +​ r, 10 +​r), a transposition of the
point (81 2 , 81 2 , 10) from path ③ by Tr where r =​ 1 3 ,
giving a Euclidean distance of approximately 5.77
between G♯AB♭ and CC♯D in OPC-​space.
528 • E x p l o rin g M u sica l S paces
SUGGESTED READING
Several general introductions to the theory of met-
ric spaces are available. Ó Searcóid 2007 is quite
accessible; some special topics mentioned in this
chapter, including path lengths, group actions,
and quotients of metric spaces, are treated more
extensively in Burago, Burago, and Ivanov 2001.
Tymoczko 2009a discusses the unsuitability of
Lewinian intervals in some geometric settings and
proposes some approaches different from the dis-
tance functions considered here.
PART FOUR
Theory of Scales
Diatonic and Beyond
 13
Scales I
Diatonic Spaces
SCALES HAVE made many appearances in this
book. This chapter and the next delve into scalar
spaces in more detail. In Section 13.1 we inves-
tigate the structure of diatonic or generic spaces
with seven notes per octave, consolidating some
of our observations about these spaces from
previous chapters and noting that while some
properties of chromatic spaces carry over to the
mod-​7 case essentially without change, there are
other ways in which the mod-​7 universe is very
different. Sections 13.2–​ 13.4 examine mod-​ 7 of the material depends only incidentally on ear-
and mod-​12 spaces not in isolation but in tan-
dem, as subset and superset, with an exploration
of the subtle and complex relationship between
a diatonic scale and the chromatic space in which
it lies. These sections introduce concepts from
the fields sometimes known as diatonic theory
(or diatonic set theory) and scale theory, pioneered
by John Clough in several publications around
1980 and developed by many scholars in the
ensuing decades. Among these concepts are well-​
formed scales, signature transformations, and the
principle cardinality equals variety. The scope will
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0013
broaden in the following chapter as we increas-
ingly turn our attention to scalar spaces other
than the diatonic, including some with some-
thing other than seven or twelve notes.
The placement of these chapters late in the
book is motivated by their many points of con-
tact with ideas introduced previously; in par-
ticular, there are occasional references to OPTIC
spaces and normal forms. Many of the concepts
here, however, are fairly elementary, and much
lier chapters.
13.1 DIATONIC AND
GENERIC SCALES AS
MUSICAL SPACES
Diatonic and generic spaces have been familiar
to us since Chapter 1. The reader may wish to
review the construction of generic pitch space
gpitch (Figure 1.1.6), diatonic pitch space
dpitch(n) (1.1.7), generic pitch-​class space gpc
(1.2.8), diatonic pitch-​class space dpc(n) (1.2.9),
scale-​degree space sd (1.2.10), generic fifths
space gfifth (1.3.8), and generic thirds space
gthird (1.3.12).
Recall also the difference between diatonic
and generic. A diatonic space corresponds to a
particular diatonic collection; thus dpc(+​4), the
diatonic pitch-​class space with four sharps in its
key signature, contains the note D♯ but not D♮ or
D♭. Generic pc space gpc, in contrast, contains
an element D that is understood to stand for
an entire class of generically equivalent notes,
including D♭ ♭, D♭, D♮, D♯, and D𝄪; this single space
may therefore represent any diatonic scale, as
well as other collections that contain the seven
letter names once each, such as a harmonic
minor scale. (Generic equivalence was intro-
duced in Section 2.4 as an equivalence relation
on signed letter space.) In the next chapter we
will broaden our use of the term generic to accom-
modate some other situations, but at present it
continues to refer to these abstract spaces with
seven notes per octave, identified by the usual
seven letter names.
In generic pitch-​class space, or in white-​note
diatonic space dpc(0), the trichord CDF is related
by generic or diatonic transposition to EFA and
by inversion to FAB, even though in chromatic
space these three sets represent three different
set classes. (See Sections 7.5 and 7.6 for musical
examples involving diatonic transposition and
inversion.) The normal-​form algorithm, intro-
duced in Section 10.4 for mod-​12 space, is easily
adapted to a mod-​7 context. The trichords just
mentioned share the generic OPTI normal form
013; the first two also have 013 as their OPT nor-
mal form, while FAB has the OPT normal form
023. The generic set classes, to be enumerated
shortly, are few in number; 013 and its comple-
ment 0124 turn out to be the only asymmetric
OPTI-​classes.
As detailed in Chapter 7, diatonic and generic
pitch spaces are infinite discrete interval spaces
with interval group ℤ. The interval function
counts scale steps, considered positive in the
ascending direction. From Section 12.2 we know
that these spaces are also distance spaces with
the distance function defined by the equation
dist(x, y) =​|int(x, y)|. The spaces gpc, dpc(n),
sd, gfifth, and gthird, meanwhile, are modular
interval spaces with the interval group ℤ7; in any
of these spaces the interval function measures
intervals as mod-​7 numbers in the clockwise
direction in the appropriate circular figure. Each
of these spaces is also a distance space with the dis-
tance function defined by dist(x, y) =​|int(x, y)|7,
532 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
using the mod-​7 absolute value from Section
12.2. Exercises 12.2.5 and 12.2.9 explored inter-
val and distance calculations in these spaces; the
largest possible distance between two points in a
discrete mod-​7 space is 3.
As interval spaces, the spaces with interval
group ℤ7 are all isomorphic (this is a consequence
of Theorem 7.2.7, the interval-​space homomor-
phism theorem), and the corresponding distance
spaces are isometric. Several intervallic relation-
ships among the circles of gpc, gfifth, and
gthird are easily derived.1 In generic pitch-​class
space, a fifth is equal to four steps. It follows that
if x and y are pitch classes such that intgfifth(x, y)
=​1 (for example, x =​D and y =​A), then intgpc(x,
y) =​4. More generally, the equation
intgpc(x, y) =​4 ∙ intgfifth(x, y) (mod 7)
holds for all generic pitch classes x and y. This
equation expresses intgpc in terms of intgfifth.
We can derive an equation for the inverse rela-
tionship—​intgfifth as a function of intgpc—​by
observing that in generic pc space, a step such
as D–​E is equal to two fifths (D–​A–​E); therefore
intgfifth(x, y) =​2 ∙ intgpc(x, y) (mod 7)
for all generic pitch classes x and y. The examples
intgpc(A, F) =​5 and intgfifth(A, F) =​3 illustrate
both of these equations, because 5 =​4 ∙ 3 and
3 =​2 ∙ 5 (mod 7).
The relationship between the two equations
displayed above deserves closer scrutiny. The
second equation can be derived from the first
by solving for intgpc. A few observations from
earlier chapters are relevant here. Because 7 is a
prime number, we know from Sections 2.5 and
5.2 that every nonzero integer mod 7 has a mul-
tiplicative inverse, and if a and b are mod-​7 inte-
gers with a ≠ 0, then the equation an =​ b (mod 7)
always has a unique solution n =​ a−1b. (Group
structure is lurking here: by Exercise 5.2.7b the
nonzero integers mod 7 form a multiplicative
group ℤ7×, and by Exercise 5.3.7, every non-
zero integer mod 7 generates ℤ7 as an additive
group.) Write b =​intgpc(x, y) and n =​intgfifth(x,
y); then the first of the two equations displayed
above says 4n =​ b (mod 7). The mod-​7 multipli-
cative inverse of 4 is 2, so solving this equation
for n yields n =​4−1b =​2b (mod 7), which is the
second equation above.
Exercise 13.1.1 Write formulas, valid in ℤ7,
relating the interval functions as specified
below, and verify that your formulas are correct
for the various intervals from A to F.
(a) Write a formula for intgthird as a function
of intgpc.
(b) Write a formula for intgpc as a function of
intgthird.
(c) Write a formula for intgthird as a function
of intgfifth.
(d) Write a formula for intgfifth as a function of
  intgthird.
Exercise 13.1.2
(a) If x and y are generic pitch classes such that
intgpc(x, y) =​6, what can you conclude about
distgfifth(x, y)?
(b) If distgfifth(x, y) =​3, what can you conclude
about intgthird(x, y)?
(c) If distgthird(x, y) =​2, what can you conclude
  about distgpc(x, y)?2
Exercise 13.1.3
(a) Refer to the depictions of gpc and gfifth
in Figures 1.2.8 and 1.3.8. Let mi denote
mod-​7 multiplication by i. Show that the
function m4 maps each gpc number in
gpc to the number at the corresponding
location in gfifth, while m2 maps similarly
in reverse, from gfifth to gpc. (Recall
from Exercise 6.1.9b that the mod-​12
multiplication operator M7 maps in both
directions between pc and fifth.)
(b) Which operator mi maps from gpc to
gthird (Figure 1.3.12)? From gthird
to gpc? From gfifth to gthird? From
  gthird to gfifth?
Musically, the solvability of equations of the
form an =​ b (mod 7) implies that every nonzero
interval in generic pitch-​ class space divides
evenly into every other interval, and also that
every interval can be divided evenly into n parts
for every nonzero number n. The possibility of
equal division depends on octave equivalence:
a step in gpitch cannot be divided in half,
but in gpc a step is equal to two fifths. The
analogous properties in chromatic (mod-​ 12)
pitch-​class space do not always hold: even
allowing for octave equivalence, a minor sev-
enth cannot be divided evenly into minor
thirds, and a perfect fourth cannot be divided
into two equal parts.
Another consequence of the solvability of
mod-​ 7 equations is presented in the follow-
ing theorem, which will prove useful at the end
of this section when we discuss analogs of the
OPTIC spaces in a mod-​7 setting.
Theorem 13.1.4: Sum classes of generic
transpositions Let X be a generic pitch-​class
set whose cardinality #X satisfies 1 ≤ #X ≤ 6, or
more generally a generic pitch-​class multiset
X such that #X ≠ 0 (mod 7). Then the generic
transpositions X, t1(X), …, t6(X), in some
order, are sets whose mod-​7 sum classes are
0, 1, …, 6. That is, for every mod-​7 integer m,
there is exactly one mod-​7 integer n such that
tn(X)
   is a set of sum class m.
An analogous property does not hold in
chromatic space, where, for example, all twelve
major triads are of sum class 2, 5, 8, or 11. To
see why the theorem holds in mod-​7 space, sup-
pose the given multiset X is of cardinality #X =​
k and of sum class s. Then t1(X) is of sum class s
+​ k, because each of the k notes of t1(X) is raised
by one generic step relative to the corresponding
note of X. More generally, tn(X) is of sum class
s +​ kn. We are therefore interested in finding a
number n such that s +​ kn =​ m (mod 7), where s
(the sum class of X), k (the cardinality of X), and
m (the desired sum class) are known. Because 7
is prime and k ≠ 0 (mod 7) by assumption, every
such equation has a unique solution.
Exercise 13.1.5 In the situation described in
Theorem 13.1.4, write a general formula for n
in terms of k, s, and m. Then verify that your
formula is correct in each of cases (a)–​(e) below:
(a) X is the dyad CD; m =​0 (that is, what generic
transposition of CD is of sum class 0?)
(b) X is the triad CEG; m =​0
(c) X is the triad CEG; m =​1
(d) X is the asymmetric trichord CDF; m =​0
(e) X is the asymmetric trichord FAB; m =​0
Finally, show that the theorem’s conclusion
fails for the multiset CCCCEGG (for which k =​0
(mod 7)), and notice why your formula does not
apply
   in that case.
Generic space gpc has many characteristics
in common with chromatic space pc, but when
there are differences in their behavior, they
generally have to do either with the fact that 7,
unlike 12, is a prime number, or with the even
simpler fact that 7 is a smaller number. We
noted in Section 4.3 that the number 7 is just
the right size to guarantee an appealing feature
Diatonic Spaces • 533
of the triangulated generic tonnetz, reproduced
in Figure 13.1.6: each of the six nonzero generic
transpositions t1–​t6 corresponds to motion in a
particular direction along one of the three axes
of this tonnetz. The axes are the seconds axis, the
thirds axis, and the fifths axis; we may imagine
that the circular spaces gpc, gthird, and gfifth
have been unrolled in these three directions to
form the tonnetz. We noted in Chapter 4 that
as a finite graph, this tonnetz is K7, a complete
graph on seven vertices.
Two common sequence patterns were
graphed in the generic tonnetz in Figure 4.3.4.
FIGURE 13.1.6 Transpositions t1–​t6 in the generic
tonnetz
FIGURE 13.1.7 Hierarchy of generic sequential motion in Beethoven, Sonata in G Major for Violin
and Piano, Op. 30, No. 3, I, mm. 57–​61
534 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
The fact that every nonzero integer mod 7 is a
generator of the additive group ℤ7 has important
ramifications for sequential behavior in generic
space. If a musical fragment is repeated sequen-
tially, transposed by the same generic trans-
position operator tn at each repetition, seven
iterations will always cycle through every pos-
sible generic transposition level. Here is another
difference between generic and chromatic space:
successive chromatic transpositions by T2 or T3,
for example, will never cycle through the twelve
possible transposition levels, because 2 and 3
are not coprime to 12. Generic (or diatonic)
sequences, in contrast, automatically complete
a generic aggregate without repetitions; Clough
(1979–​80, 469–​73) refers to this property as a
“serial” feature of the diatonic system.
The structure of ℤ7 also ensures that generic
sequences form predictable kinds of hierarchi-
cal patterns. Figure 13.1.7 illustrates with a
short passage from Beethoven’s Violin Sonata,
Op. 30, No. 3.3 The passage is not completely
diatonic, but it is sequential in generic space,
the chord roots descending by step (generic
transposition t6). As is commonly the case in
sequences, motivic and metric organization
groups the chords in pairs, in this case form-
ing a descent by thirds (t5) at the one-​measure
level. Changes of register and instrumenta-
tion group the two-​chord blocks themselves in
pairs, creating larger two-​measure groupings,
descending by fifth (t3). The C♯ (generic C) chord
at the end of the example hints at the possibil-
ity of an even higher four-​measure level of struc-
ture, descending again by step, recapturing in
eight-​chord blocks the t6 transpositions of the
original pattern. If the sequence were to con-
tinue indefinitely, every level in this hierarchy
would illustrate the “serial” property, cycling
through all seven generic pitch classes before
repeating; the fact that 7n =​0 (mod 7) for every
mod-​7 integer n ensures that the eighth generic
pitch class at any level will always be the same
as the first. The three transpositions involved,
t6, t5, and t3, circumnavigate the three axes of
generic space—​the seconds, thirds, and fifths
axes respectively. Adjacent levels in the hierar-
chy illustrate the transformational identities
t6 ● t6 =​ t5, t5 ● t5 =​ t3, and t3 ● t3 =​ t6. Any sequence
generated by t6, t5, or t3, sufficiently prolonged,
will reproduce this hierarchy.4
This equation t6t6 =​ t5 (we henceforth sup-
press the ● symbol) holds because 6 +​6 =​5
(mod 7), or equivalently 6 ∙ 2 =​5 (mod 7), and
it implies that if every second note is selected
from a t6 sequence, the result is a t5 sequence.
Similarly, from the equation 6 ∙ 3 =​4 (mod 7), if
every third note is selected from a t6 sequence,
the result is a t4 sequence. The notes D, A, and E
in Figure 13.1.7 illustrate this property, though
this grouping is not articulated musically in the
example. Clough (1979–​80, 476) uses the word
extraction for this process: the t5 sequence is a
2-​fold extraction of the original t6 sequence, and
the t4 sequence a 3-​fold extraction. Generally, a k-​
fold extraction of a tn sequence is a tm sequence,
where m =​ kn (mod 7).
A hierarchy such as that in Figure 13.1.7
may be read from the bottom up, so that new
sequences are formed by interpolating a fixed
number of new notes between each pair of adja-
cent notes in a given sequence: the figure shows
that a t3 sequence is a 2-​fold subdivision of a t6
sequence. Extraction and subdivision are inverse
processes: if a k-​fold extraction of a tn sequence
is a tm sequence, then a k-​fold subdivision of a tm
sequence is a tn sequence. If any two of k, m, and n
are known nonzero integers mod 7, the equation
m =​ kn (mod 7) uniquely determines the third.
If m and n are known, we can be sure that some
k can be found for which a tm sequence occurs
as a k-​fold extraction from a given tn sequence.
If k and m are known, then we know that for a
given tm sequence, a k-​fold subdivision exists as
a tn sequence for some n.
Exercise 13.1.8
(a) Exercise 5.3.2g asked that you solve
the equation 4 ∙ k =​3 (mod 7). Having
determined the solution k, verify that a
k-​fold extraction of a t4 sequence is a t3
sequence, and a k-​fold subdivision of a t3
sequence is a t4 sequence.
(b) If a t2 sequence is a k-​fold extraction of a t3
sequence, what is k?
(c) If a t4 sequence is a k-​fold subdivision of a t6
sequence, what is k?
(d) What sort of sequence can be a 5-​fold
  subdivision of a t2 sequence?5
Exercise 13.1.9 Construct a hierarchy
analogous to that in Figure 13.1.7, starting with
a sequence that ascends by step (t1). Compare
the result with the original figure, and also
consider connections between this hierarchy
and the formulas relating intgpc, intgfifth, and
int  
gthird from Exercise 13.1.1.
6
Example 13.1.10: Brahms, Symphony
No. 4, I Schoenberg and many subsequent
commentators have observed that the opening
theme of Brahms’s Fourth Symphony outlines
a chain of descending thirds.7 A close analysis
of generic structure, summarized in Figures
13.1.11 and 13.1.12, shows that this opening
spawns a rich network of related sequential
patterns featuring extraction, subdivision,
and shrewdly altered inversion, which figure
significantly in developmental processes
throughout the movement.8
The opening theme is shown at level 3 of
Figure 13.1.11a. Only the melody is shown; the
motivic structure is sequential even though
the harmony is not. The pattern is generic but
not strictly diatonic; the pitch content is a
harmonic minor scale. The numbers appearing
in Figures 13.1.11 and 13.1.12 indicate generic
transpositions directed from left to right, so the
5s at level 3 describe the descending thirds as
generic t5 transpositions.
The upper portion of Figure 13.1.11a shows
successive extractions from this t5 sequence.
The short-​long rhythm implies a grouping in
two-​note segments, each segment related to
the next by t3 (=​ t5t5). This 2-​fold extraction
appears at level 2, where the long and metrically
accented note of each pair is extracted. Because
the segments appear alternately as descending
thirds and ascending sixths, the two-​note
groups form a sequence in gpc but not in
gpitch, and traditional terminology fails to
recognize a melodic sequence at this level. A
clear melodic sequence emerges at the four-​note
level, though there are only two such segments,
related by t6 (=​ t3t3), before the pattern changes.
The figure shows two musically feasible
alternatives for notating this extraction: metric
accent favors the notes at level 1a, while those
Diatonic Spaces • 535
FIGURE 13.1.11 Sequential hierarchies in Brahms, Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98, I: (a) mm.
1–​4 and 19–​22; (b) mm. 1–​9
at 1b are registrally prominent. Both options
are t6 sequences, 2-​fold extractions from level
2’s t3 sequence, and 4-​fold extractions from
level 3’s t5 sequence.
The second statement of the theme at m. 19
is elaborated in violas and woodwinds as shown
in simplified form at level 5. The pattern is three
descending steps followed by an ascending step,
or t6t6t6t1 =​ t5: the subscripts sum to 5 mod 7,
as they must, since the original t5 sequence is
reproduced in every fourth note of this pattern.
Of course, each ascending step effectively
negates an adjacent descending step. These
countervailing moves (two 6s and two 1s in each
measure) are eliminated in the reduction at level
4, which is a straight t6 sequence, a descending
scale—​and a 2-​fold subdivision of the original
t3 sequence from level 3. Levels 1 (a or b) and
4 display t6 sequences at two different levels,
and the t6–​t3–​t5–​t6 hierarchy between these two
levels essentially matches that of Figure 13.1.7.
Figure 13.1.11b extends levels 1a, 2, and 3
of 13.1.11a to encompass mm. 1–​9. At m. 5,
536 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
the melodic thirds at level 3 reverse direction,
now ascending (t2) rather than descending (t5).
Crucially, however, the pattern is not precisely
inverted: the occasional repeated pitch classes,
in the form of octave leaps, are new. A strict
inversion of mm. 1–​4 would produce a t4
sequence at level 2, as a 2-​fold extraction of a t2
sequence and the inversion of the t3 sequence
that occurs at this level in mm. 1–​4. The repeated
notes, however, result in a t4t2 pattern at level 2
and a t6 sequence at level 1a above, allowing the
t6 established at this level in mm. 1–​4 to continue
without interruption to m. 9. Three ascending
thirds in this second part of the melody occur
in the time of four descending thirds in the first
part, and both groupings produce t6 at the two-​
measure level (t2t2t2 =​ t5t5t5t5 =​ t6). One might
expect that if a sequence is inverted, all its
extractions should also be inverted—​as indeed
they must be in cases of strict inversion. Here, a
subtle deviation from strict inversion allows the
extraction at level 1a to maintain, rather than
invert, its original pattern.
FIGURE 13.1.12 Sequential elaborations in Symphony No. 4, I: (a) elaboration of t6 sequences in mm.
37–​40; (b) elaboration of t5 sequences in mm. 157–​61; (c) elaboration of t3 sequences in mm. 169–​75
The developmental techniques to which
Brahms subjects his materials in this movement
feature a great deal of small-​scale sequential
patterning, prominently featuring the t5,
t3, and t6 relationships introduced in the
opening measures. Figure 13.1.12 shows three
such passages, structured as elaborations
of sequences generated by t6 (13.1.12a), t5
(b), and t3 (c). In (a), the essential motion of
all the parts shown is parallel, and they all
exhibit t6 motion at the half-​measure level,
indicated with downward stems and 6s on all
staves. Throughout this figure, stems indicate
segments of sequential structure, not parts in
the instrumental texture. The t6 motion at the
half-​measure level implies t5 at the one-​measure
level; in the simple scalar t6 line that begins in
the woodwinds and passes to the first violins,
the up-​stemmed notes spell out B–​G–​E–​C,
the first notes of the opening theme (level 3
from 13.1.11a). The other parts, meanwhile,
elaborate t6 in other ways. A t3 pattern, four
notes per measure, starts in the first violins
and passes to the cellos and basses. The second
violins present two forms of a t5t1 subdivision:
in the third measure the metric relationship
between the two notes is reversed, reshaping
the figure to resemble a retrograde inversion of
the original.
Figure 13.1.12b, from the beginning of
the development section proper, features t5
sequences and elaborations thereof. The down-​
stemmed notes in the flute spell out a G-​minor
statement of the opening theme, its original
Diatonic Spaces • 537
octave displacements intact. One of every two
descending thirds in this theme is filled in
stepwise, creating a t6t6t5 =​ t3 pattern in one-​
measure blocks. Because the t5 leaps coincide with
rests in the line, this pattern is easily conceived
as a gapped t6 sequence whose every fourth
note is missing (shown with small noteheads in
parentheses). The violins, meanwhile, elaborate t5
not with t6 but with a t4t1 pattern that resembles
the t5t1 elaboration of t6 in 13.1.12a. This generic
pattern persists for several beats even after the
rhythm changes at the beginning of the fourth
measure of the example.
Figure 13.1.12c reintroduces inversion, and
specifically the idea that a not-​quite-​literal
inversion may align with the original pattern at a
larger level. The violin line begins with the same
t6t6t5 =​ t3 pattern just encountered in (b). The
bass line, however, moves in three-​note segments
of an ascending (t1) rather than a descending
scale. At a glance the two parts appear to form a
canon in inversion, at the time interval of a half
measure. Closer inspection reveals, however, that
the inversion is not exact: no notes are missing
from the bass line’s scale, which forms t1t1t1 =​ t3
in every measure rather than t1t1t2 =​ t4, the literal
inversion of the upper voice. Three ascending
steps in the bass line therefore appear in the
time of four descending steps in the violins. Both
parts form a descending-​fifths pattern (t3) at the
one-​measure level (t1t1t1 =​ t6t6t6t6 =​ t3), allowing
the relationship between the parts to remain
consistent from measure to measure so that
the sequence can continue. The relationship is
notably similar to the relationship between levels
1a and 3 in the two halves of Figure 13.1.11a; in
fact, if all transpositions in the equation t1t1t1
=​ t6t6t6t6 =​ t3 are doubled, the result is t2t2t2 =​
t5t5t5t5 =​ t6, precisely the equation that described
that earlier situation. After four measures of
Figure 13.1.12c, the counterpoint is inverted: the
gapped descending scales move to the bass, the
ascending
   scales to the violins.9
Exercise 13.1.13 Construct an analysis similar
to Figure 13.1.11a for the opening theme of
Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K.
550. Show a hierarchical structure of three or
more levels, two of them outlining t6 patterns
proceeding at different rates. How does the
pattern change at m. 21? When the theme
recurs to open the development section, it is
altered chromatically; is the generic pattern the
same as before? Study other related passages in
the
  development as well.
538 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
In addition to the transposition operators
t0–​t6, generic space admits inversion operators
i0–​i6, calculated by the equation in(x) =​ n − x
(mod 7). In the mod-​12 case, structural differ-
ences between inversion operators with even
index and those with odd index may be recalled.
For example, Figure 5.5.4 showed that even
inversions have two fixed points in pc while
odd inversions have none; parts (c) and (d) of
Exercise 6.1.12 showed that the two kinds of
inversions have different cycle structures when
regarded as permutations. In mod-​ 7 space,
these differences vanish: all inversions have the
same cycle structure, determined in Exercise
6.1.12e, and every in has a single fixed point at
generic pitch class 4n (mod 7), a property noted
for inversions in diatonic pitch-​class space in
Exercise 7.6.9a. Cayley diagrams for the cyclic
group 𝒯7 (or 𝒞7) and 𝒯ℐ7 (or 𝒟7) were con-
structed in Exercise 6.2.11.
In some situations in which we might employ
inversions in chromatic space, the correspond-
ing inversions in generic space turn out to be
superfluous. We have noted, for example, the
simply transitive action of the dihedral group
𝒯ℐ12 on triad, the set of 24 major and minor
triads. The distinction between major and
minor triads cannot be made in generic space,
where there is only a single generic triad on a
given root (CEG, DFA, …). Generic triads are
symmetrical sets of mod-​ 7 prime form 024;
the set {0, 2, 4} (CEG) is invariant under i4. The
inversions in therefore do not produce any sets
that cannot already be produced by transposi-
tions tn. Generic triad space gtriad is a set of
cardinality 7, not 14; for many purposes we may
identify a generic triad with its root and con-
sider gtriad to be the same space as gpc. Such
an identification was implicit in Figure 13.1.7,
where the note names stood for triads, as well as
in the sequence diagrams in Figure 4.3.4.
Close affinities between third-​related triads
were remarked upon previously in Sections 1.3
and 4.3. In generic space, third-​related triads
share two common tones and are related by
single-​step voice leading in the remaining voice
(for example, CEG and EGB are joined by C →
B), a smoother connection than between triads
related by fifth (which requires motion in two
voices) or by step (which requires motion in
all three). For these reasons, the generic circle
of thirds gthird offers an appealing organiza-
tion for generic triad space. Implications of the
generic circle of thirds for functional progres-
sions were observed in Figure 4.3.8.

FIGURE 13.1.14 (a) A double-​circle diagram of
generic triads and seventh chords; (b) a Cayley
diagram of a transformation group on gtriad ∪
gsev generated by t2 and sup*; (c) an expanded
diagram showing sup* and sub*
We introduced double-​circle spaces in Section
4.1 in part as a way to display major and minor
triads in the same space. Though generic space
lacks the major-​minor distinction, double-​circle
diagrams may be put to other uses, for instance
by pairing triads with seventh chords as in Figure
13.1.14a. In this arrangement the circles follow the
organization of gthird, generated by t2, and each
generic triad is radially aligned with the generic
seventh chord sharing the same root. The relation-
ship between these two chords may be described
by the Rameau-​inspired operation of superposi-
tion (“sup” in the figure), which extends a stack
of thirds upward to include a fourth note (CEG →
CEGB).10 Superposition, thus defined, is a function
from the set gtriad of generic triads to the set
gsev of generic seventh chords; it is not a trans-
formation defined on the entire space gtriad ∪
gsev. We can obtain a function sup* on this larger
space by combining sup with its inverse: that is,
if X ∈ gtriad, then sup*(X) =​sup(X), while if Y ∈
gsev, then sup*(Y) =​sup−1(Y). Thus sup*(CEG) =​
CEGB and sup*(CEGB) =​CEG. Defined in this way,
sup* is an involution on gtriad ∪ gsev, so that
replacing sup with sup* allows the radial arrows in
the double-​circle space to become bidirectional. In
the graph in 13.1.14b these arrowheads have been
omitted entirely, as has been our practice in other
graphs with involutions.
Figure 13.1.14b is a Cayley diagram for a
transformation group acting on gtriad ∪ gsev,
with the generators t2 and sup*. The transposi-
tion group 𝒯7, generated by t2, effects circum-
ferential motion around either circle, while
movement from one circle to the other is accom-
plished by sup*, which by itself generates a group
{E, sup*} of order 2. Because sup* commutes with
t2 (see Exercise 13.1.15 below), we know from
Section 6.4 that the full transformation group
is the direct product of these two groups, 𝒯7 ×
{E, sup*}, which is isomorphic to 𝒞7 × 𝒞2. This is
not the dihedral group 𝒟7 but rather a commuta-
tive group of order 14, acting in simply transitive
fashion on gtriad ∪ gsev. (This group is in fact
cyclic; see Exercise 13.1.16.)
A generic triad can give rise to a seventh
chord not only by superposition but also by sub-
position (sub), which extends its stack of thirds
downward (CEG → ACEG). The four functions
sup, sub, sup−1, and sub−1 are all different: the
first two are functions from gtriad to gsev
while their inverses are functions from gsev to
gtriad. As with superposition, subposition may
be combined with its inverse to create a trans-
formation sub* defined on all of gtriad ∪ gsev.
The symmetric relationship between superpo-
sition and subposition, and between sup* and
sub*, is highlighted by offsetting the two circles
as in Figure 13.1.14c. This figure is the graph of
a voice-​leading distance function on the space
gtriad ∪ gsev; see Exercise 13.1.20.
Diatonic Spaces • 539
Exercise 13.1.15
(a) Show that if X ∈ gtriad, then sup(t1(X)) =​
t1(sup(X)), and also that if Y ∈ gsev, then
sup−1(t1(Y)) =​ t1(sup−1(Y)).
(b) Explain how Figure 13.1.14a illustrates
relationships like those in part (a) but with
t2 in place of t1.
(c) Explain why the result of either (a) or (b)
implies that sup* commutes with every
  generic transposition tn.
Exercise 13.1.16 Because 7 and 2 are coprime,
we know from Section 6.4 that the direct product
𝒞7 × 𝒞2, the group whose Cayley diagram appears
in Figure 13.1.14b, must be isomorphic to 𝒞14,
a cyclic group. Identify a single transformation
that
   generates the group in the figure.11
Exercise 13.1.17
(a) Draw a double-​circle diagram similar to
Figure 13.1.14b in which triads and seventh
chords related by sub* (rather than sup*) are
aligned radially.
(b) Do the equations from Exercise 13.1.15a
hold if sup is replaced with sub?
(c) Your picture in (a) is the Cayley diagram of
a transformation group on gtriad ∪ gsev,
generated by t2 and sub*. Is this group
isomorphic to the group 𝒯7 × {E, sup*}
  discussed above?
Exercise 13.1.18
(a) Show that sup =​t2 ● sub =​sub ● t2.
(b) Show that sup−1 =​ t5 ● sub−1 =​sub−1 ● t5.
(c) Is the equation sup* =​t2 ● sub* =​sub* ● t2
correct? The functions in this equation are
defined on gtriad ∪ gsev.
(d) Write equations analogous to those in
(a) and (b), reversing the roles of sub and
sup—​that is, expressing sub and sub−1
as compositions of sup and sup −1 with
appropriate transpositions.
(e) Is sub* an element of the group generated
by t2 and sup*? Is sup* an element of the
group generated by t2 and sub*? Are the two
  groups the same?12
Exercise 13.1.19
(a) In generic space, the complement of a triad
(such as CEG) is a seventh chord (BDFA).
Construct a double-​circle space in which
triads are aligned with their seventh-​chord
complements.
(b) Is the group generated by t2 and the
complement transformation (acting on
540 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
gtriad ∪ gsev) isomorphic to the group 𝒯7
× {E, sup*} discussed above?
(c) Complements are defined for all subsets
of gpc, but for some purposes it is
convenient to consider functions defined
on triads and seventh chords separately.
Write comp: gtriad → gsev for the
function that maps each generic triad to
its seventh-​chord complement. Show that
comp =​sub ● t1 =​sup ● t6, and write similar
equations for comp−1 (a function from
  gsev to gtriad).
Exercise 13.1.20
(a) Show that third-​related seventh chords
may be connected by single-​step voice
leading—​that is, by a voice leading in
which only one of the four voices moves by
a single step.
(b) Show that a triad and seventh chord related
by sup* or sub* may be connected by single-​
step voice leading in four voices, with an
appropriate doubling in the triad.
(c) Parts (a) and (b) above, together with our
previous observations about triadic voice
leading, show that adjacent chords in Figure
13.1.14c are always related by single-​step
voice leading. No other pairs of chords in
gtriad ∪ gsev are so related. Using the
techniques developed in Section 12.4, we
may therefore regard the distance function
defined by this graph as the generic voice-​
leading distance on gtriad ∪ gsev. What is
the greatest generic voice-​leading distance
between any two chords in this space?
Which pairs of chords are separated by this
  maximum distance?13
Exercise 13.1.21 Expand Figure 13.1.14c to
a larger diagram with five concentric circles
showing generic tertian chords of cardinalities
1 through 5. The innermost circle contains the
seven generic pitch classes; the second circle
contains the generic thirds CE, EG, …; the next
two circles are the triads and seventh chords;
and the outermost circle consists of generic
ninth chords such as CEGBD. Edges connect
chords in adjacent circles whenever they are
related by superposition or subposition; for
example, EG is adjacent to E, G, CEG, and
EGB, as well as to CE and GB in its own circle.
Arrowheads may be omitted. Adjacent circles
should be offset like the two circles in 13.1.14c,
but EG in the second circle should align radially
with CEGB in the fourth. Drawn symmetrically,
the complete picture should resemble a large
blossom with seven petals. Does the distance
function defined by the graph as a whole
describe
   a voice-​leading distance?14
There are, of course, other kinds of generic
pitch-​class sets—​subsets of gpc—​besides triads,
seventh chords, and the other tertian chords
mentioned in the last exercise above. The vari-
ety of such sets, however, is much smaller than
we might expect on the basis of our experience
FIGURE 13.1.22 The generic set classes (after Clough)
with mod-​12 pitch-​class sets, as the smaller size
of generic space limits the possibilities consider-
ably. In mod-​12 space, as noted in Section 6.5,
there are 4,096 pitch-​class sets, which are parti-
tioned into 352 orbits (T-​classes) by the action
of the transposition group 𝒯12, or into 224 orbits
(the usual set classes, or TI-​classes) by the action
of the dihedral group 𝒯ℐ12. In mod-​ 7 space,
the corresponding numbers are dramatically
smaller: there are only 128 pitch-​class sets, 20
T-​classes, and 18 TI-​classes.15
Diatonic Spaces • 541
 The 224 mod-​12 TI-​classes are tabulated in
Straus 2016 and other texts on post-​tonal theory.
The complete roster of mod-​7 T-​ and TI-​classes,
first enumerated by Clough, appears in Figure
13.1.22.16 Each of the clock diagrams in the first
column of this figure shows two complementary
T-​classes of sets in gpc: a set of cardinality ≤ 3 in
the pitch classes shown as small black circles, and
its complement, a larger set, in white circles. The
last clock diagram shown, for example, depicts
generic triads and seventh chords: the black
pcs form a triad such as CEG or any of its rota-
tions, while the white pcs form a seventh chord
such as BDFA. The ten circles thus depict twenty
T-​classes, each labeled with OPTC and OPTIC
normal forms. Every generic pitch-​class set is a
rotation of one of these twenty sets.17
If the sets in the shaded area of Figure 13.1.22
are disregarded for the time being, the remain-
ing sets share a number of appealing properties.
First, as shown by the axes drawn on the circles,
they are inversionally symmetric; consequently,
T-​classes are the same as TI-​classes for all these
sets, and OPTIC normal forms match OPTC nor-
mal forms. Moreover, each of these sets is a gen-
erated set—​a partial interval cycle, constructed
by starting from a particular note k and mov-
ing repeatedly through a single generic interval
g to obtain the other notes (k +​ g), (k +​2g), …
(the addition performed mod 7). For example,
the set {0, 1, 4} is generated from generic pitch
class k =​1 by generic interval g =​3: the gener-
ated order for the set is 1–​4–​0, each note after
the first being obtained by adding 3 (mod 7) to
its predecessor. (Musically, this means that a
chord such as CDG can be written as a quartal
chord—​a stack of fourths—​in generic space.)
The description columns show that all of these
sets are easily described: besides the trivial sets
of cardinalities 0 and 1 and their 6-​and 7-​note
complements, the other sets include the generic
interval classes identified as gic 1, 2, and 3 (each
a set of cardinality 2); generic clusters (scale seg-
ments, generated by gic 1); tertian chords (tri-
ads, seventh chords, and others from Exercise
13.1.21, generated by gic 2); and quartal/​quintal
chords (generated by gic 3).
The sets in the shaded portion of the figure
differ from the others in several ways. The two
trichords here, with OPTC normal forms [0, 1,
3]OPTC and [0, 2, 3]OPTC, are not inversionally
symmetric but are related to each other by inver-
sion; they therefore share the OPTIC normal
form [0, 1, 3]OPTIC. No generic interval gener-
ates either of these sets. Similar remarks apply
542 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
to the tetrachordal complements of these two
trichords, which are inversionally related and
share an OPTIC normal form while their OPTC
normal forms differ. These four T-​classes and
two TI-​classes are the only exceptions to the
generalizations in the preceding paragraph, and
they explain why the ten circles in Figure 13.1.22
account for twenty T-​classes but only eighteen
TI-​classes.
Exercise 13.1.23
(a) Verify that the generic T-​classes [0, 1, 3,
4]OPTC, [0, 1, 3, 5]OPTC, [0, 1, 2, 3, 5]OPTC,
and [0, 1, 2, 4, 5]OPTC are generated by the
intervals shown for them in the last column
of Figure 13.1.22.
(b) Explain why every generated set in
generic space must be inversionally
symmetric. Does this property hold also in
chromatic space?
(c) Explain why the complement of every
generated set in generic space is also a
generated set. Does this property hold in
chromatic space?
(d) Apart from the trivial cases of the empty
set and its complement (the generic
aggregate), no generic set class possesses
transpositional symmetry. That is, no
nonempty proper subset of gpc is invariant
under any mod-​7 transposition operator
tn other than t0. Use the fact that 7 is a
prime number to explain why nontrivial
transpositional symmetry is impossible in
generic space.
(e) Figure 13.1.22 also shows that no
nonempty proper subset of gpc is
symmetric about more than one axis.
Explain why this must be the case, again
  using the fact that 7 is prime.18
The prevalence of the properties noted
above in generic space differs markedly from
the prevalence of the same properties in chro-
matic space. Sixteen of the eighteen TI-​classes
in gpc (89 percent) are inversionally sym-
metric and generated; in pc, only 96 of 224
TI-​classes (43 percent) are inversionally sym-
metric, and only 33 TI-​classes (15 percent) are
generated. In chromatic space 63 TI-​classes
are inversionally symmetric but not generated
(for example, prime form 0134), a combination
that does not occur at all in generic space. Also,
sixteen chromatic TI-​ classes exhibit trans-
positional symmetry, and fifteen of those are
inversionally symmetric about more than one
axis—​properties that, as noted in the above
exercise, are impossible in mod-​7 space except
in trivial cases.
Exercise 13.1.24
(a) Write a generic interval-​class vector for
each of the TI-​classes in Figure 13.1.22.
This will be a three-​place vector indicating
the number of occurrences of gic 1, 2, and 3
within the set.
(b) What is the relationship between the
generic interval-​class vector of a set and
that of its complement?19
(c) Are there any Z-​related sets in generic
space? That is, do two different TI-​classes
  ever share the same interval-​class vector?
Exercise 13.1.25 Construct a voice-​leading
graph analogous to Figure 3.3.1 for generic
trichordal set-​class space. Include the four
three-​note OPTIC-​classes shown in Figure
13.1.22 as well as the four multiset classes
[0, 0, 0] through [0, 0, 3]. Vertices in the graph
should be adjacent whenever the set classes
they represent are joined by single-​generic-​step
voice leading. Include loops on any set classes
that can lead to themselves by single-​step
voice leading; for example, a loop on [0, 2, 4]
FIGURE 13.1.26 Two-​voice mod-​7 OP-​space
indicates the smooth voice leading between
third-​
   related triads.20
The OPTIC spaces were presented in Chapters
10 and 11 on the assumption of an underlying
mod-​12 space, but OPTIC spaces may be con-
structed for other moduli as well.21 The choice
of modulus has no bearing on the topological
structure of the continuous spaces. In com-
parison with the mod-​12 spaces, mod-​7 OPTIC
spaces are scaled down by a factor of 7 12 in every
dimension but otherwise take the same forms,
determined only by the number of voices in
the chords and the choice of OPTIC relations,
not by the cardinality of the underlying scale.
Figure 13.1.26 illustrates with the mod-​7 ver-
sion of two-​voice OP-​space, which may be com-
pared with the mod-​12 space from Figure 11.2.6.
The Möbius-​strip structure of the mod-​12
space remains intact in its mod-​7 counterpart.
As in the earlier figure, horizontal lines indicate
fixed sum classes, vertical lines indicate inter-
val classes, and motion in the vertical direction
indicates transposition. The numerical values,
however, have changed. In the mod-​7 space the
sum classes range continuously from 0 to 7 (not
0 to 12); interval classes range only from 0 to 31 2
(not 0 to 6); and the transposition intervals
Diatonic Spaces • 543
shown at the left side of the figure likewise range
only from t0 to t3.5 (rather than from T0 to T6).
In the mod-​12 space, the dyad at the lower-​right
corner was [6, 6]OP, or F♯F♯; the correspondingly
positioned dyad in mod-​7 space is [31 2 , 31 2 ]OP,
which cannot be expressed in note names as it is
not a lattice point in generic space. Lattice points
(that is, points whose mod-​7 OP normal forms
have integer coordinates) are depicted as black
circles, labeled with normal forms written in
generic note names; [31 2 , 31 2 ]OP and a few other
non-​lattice points are shown as open circles,
their OP normal forms indicated numerically.
We have emphasized several times that
generic and diatonic spaces, at least in our usual
conception of them, are discrete by their very
nature: there are no generic notes between C
and D. A continuous space such as that of Figure
13.1.26 is therefore in some sense a musical fic-
tion. Points other than lattice points have no
obvious musical interpretation, and the reader
may justifiably wonder what to make of a num-
ber such as 31 2 in a mod-​7 normal form or index
of transposition.22 Nevertheless, the fiction is a
useful one. As in the mod-​12 case, a picture of
the continuous space is automatically a picture
of the discrete space as well, and displaying an
underlying continuous space in this manner
enables us to see relationships among the dis-
crete points that are hard to visualize in any
other way. (Because we are considering continu-
ous spaces in the remainder of this section, when
restricting our attention to lattice points we will
sometimes refer to “integer-​ valued” generic
pitch classes, pc sets, and so on.)
Even as the essential structure of the contin-
uous mod-​7 OP-​space mimics that of the mod-​
12 space, the discrete spaces display notable
differences, reflected in the different distribu-
tions of lattice points in the two pictures.23 The
central axis of mod-​12 space consists of tritones
(ic 6), but because 7 is an odd number, no generic
interval divides an octave in half and no lattice
points appear on the central axis of mod-​7 space,
an axis that corresponds to a non-​integer inter-
val class (gic 31 2 ). The following exercise explores
dyadic chord progressions in the vicinity of the
central axis in both spaces.
Exercise 13.1.27
(a) Trace the following dyadic circle-​of-​fifths
progression in the mod-​7 OP-​space of
Figure 13.1.26. Assume that the dyads
alternate between fifths and fourths in
544 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
pitch space, producing the smoothest
possible voice leading.
GC –​CF –​FB –​BE –​EA –​AD –​DG –​GC
(b) Trace the following similar progression in
chromatic OP-​space (Figure 11.2.6):
GC –​CF –​FB♭ –​B♭E♭ –​ ⋯ –​AD –​DG –​GC
(c) Comment on the differences between the
progressions in (a) and (b).24
(d) Also trace the following progression in
mod-​7 OP-​space, assuming that thirds
alternate with sixths:
GB
   –​CE –​FA –​BD –​EG –​AC –​DF –​GB
As in the mod-​12 case, each horizontal line
across the continuous space of Figure 13.1.26
represents a sum class and contains every inter-
val class twice, except that the central interval
class occurs only once. Each row of lattice points,
however, contains each integer-​valued generic
interval class (gic 0, 1, 2, and 3) exactly once. This
property is ensured by the feature of sum classes
of generic multisets demonstrated in Theorem
13.1.4: the seven generic transpositions of a two-​
note set range through the representatives of an
interval class, and the theorem states that those
seven transpositions exhaust the seven sum
classes, once each. The corresponding property
does not hold in mod-​12 space (Figure 11.2.6),
where some rows of lattice points contain only
even interval classes and other rows only odd
interval classes.
More generally, Theorem 13.1.4 says that
when only integer-​valued multisets, transposi-
tions, and sum classes are considered, each OPT-​
class occurs exactly once in every sum class.
This principle is useful to keep in mind in the
two challenging exercises below, which lead the
reader through the construction of a few addi-
tional examples of mod-​7 OPTIC spaces.
Exercise 13.1.28
(a) Determine the twelve integer-​valued
generic trichordal multisets of sum class 0,
expressing them using note names.25
(b) Draw the sum-​class-​0 cross section of three-​
voice mod-​7 OP-​space, analogous to the
mod-​12 picture in Figure 11.3.1. Show the
locations of the twelve lattice points from
(a) within this picture.26
(c) Draw a picture of all of three-​voice mod-​7 Relationships among generic, diatonic, and
OP-​space, a Möbius prism analogous to chromatic scales may be conceived in several
Figure 11.3.4, making sure you understand different ways, some of which are illustrated in
how the sum-​class layers relate to each Figure 13.2.1 using the three-​flat diatonic col-
other. Label all lattice points appearing on lection dpc(−3) as an example. The three circu-
the various edges of the prism (the three lar pictures in the top row of this figure depict
vertical edges and the boundaries of the top generic, diatonic, and chromatic pitch-​ class
and bottom triangles).27 space—​gpc, dpc(−3), and pc—​ in the scalar
(d) One of the mirror boundary walls of ordering. Those in the bottom row depict the
this prism is a rectangle with CCC at two circle-​
of-​
fifths ordering of the same spaces,
opposite corners. Draw this rectangle gfifth, dfifth(−3), and fifth. In the center is
carefully, showing the locations of all lattice
spelled pitch-​class space spc, the line of fifths.
points that lie on this face.28 Generic (mod-​ 7) pitch-​
class numbers are
(e) Locate the seven generic triads in this space,given in the generic spaces gpc and gfifth. As
and graph a triad cycle descending by thirds, noted in Exercise 13.1.3, the gpc numbers in the
CEG –​ACE –​FAC –​DFA –​BDF –​GBD –​EGB two generic spaces are related by the mod-​7 mul-
–​CEG. Compare this picture of the generic tiplication operators m4 and m2, as shown by the
cycle with your picture of the diatonic triad pair of large curved arrows at the left side of the
cycle descending by thirds, C –​a –​F –​d –​bofigure. At right, the usual mod-​12 pc numbers
  –​G –​e –​C, from Exercise 11.3.9.29 are shown in pc and fifth, related by M7 in both
directions. In the middle, it would be possible to
Exercise 13.1.29 use either gpc or pc numbers to label the notes
(a) Construct a picture of mod-​7 three-​voice of the diatonic spaces dpc(−3) and dfifth(−3),
OPTI-​space, analogous to Figure 11.4.12. but in the figure these spaces are labeled instead
Label the eight lattice points in the figure with spelled pitch-​class numbers from spc. This
with their OPTI normal forms.30 numbering distinguishes, for example, E♭ (spc
(b) Compare your picture of OPTI-​space with −5) from E♮ (2), a distinction not recognized by
the voice-​leading graph you constructed gpc numbers (both are gpc 2), and it also distin-
in Exercise 13.1.25. Each of the loops in guishes E♭ (−5) from D♯ (7), not distinguished by
the earlier graph should determine a path pc numbers (both are pc 3).
through the space, reflecting off a mirror The spaces dpc(n) and spc do not recognize
  boundary; identify these paths.31 enharmonic equivalence; the note names shown
in these spaces are spelled in the only correct way
13.2 DIATONIC SCALES IN for notes in dpc(−3). Every diatonic collection
CHROMATIC SPACE dpc(n) is a consecutive seven-​note segment of
the line of fifths, comprising spc numbers from
The generic properties discussed in the previ- n − 3 to n +​3. Thus the spcs in dpc(−3), the exam-
ous section are premised on nothing more than ple in the figure, range from −6 to 0—​that is,
mod-​7 structure; they do not require that the from A♭, the leftmost, or flattest, note of dpc(−3),
seven-​note scale be embedded within a larger to D, the rightmost, or sharpest. In the chromatic
scale or musical space. But of course we are spaces pc and fifth, note names are shown for
accustomed to thinking of a diatonic scale as convenience only; pitch class 3 could be labeled
a subset of a chromatic scale. That is, we often D♯ as well as E♭. The designation edpc(9) and the
associate generic space gpc with a diatonic space solfège syllables appearing in some of the spaces
dpc(n), which in turn we identify with a seven-​ will be explained below.
note subset of pc. It is the subtle and complex A diatonic collection may be interpreted
relationship between a diatonic scale and an in several ways in relation to the other spaces
underlying chromatic space to which we next shown in Figure 13.2.1. We may regard dpc(n) as
turn our attention. This section presents some a contiguous subset of spc, or we may interpret
preliminary observations and definitions, to be it in either a generic (mod 7) or a specific (mod 12)
followed by discussions of signature transfor- sense. The projection functions γ: spc → gpc
mations in Section 13.3 and the principle car- and π: spc → pc were introduced in Section 2.6
dinality equals variety and related properties in as the quotient maps QG and QE of the relations
Section 13.4. of generic and enharmonic equivalence. That

Diatonic Spaces • 545

FIGURE 13.2.1 The diatonic collection dpc(−3) in relation to various spaces
is, γ maps any spelled pitch class to the generic
pitch class with the same letter name (stripping
the spc of its accidentals, if any), while π maps
any spc to the mod-​12 pitch class corresponding
to that spc and all others enharmonically equiva-
lent to it. For example, γ(E♭) is the generic pitch
class E, and π(E♭) is pitch class 3. We will at times
identify dpc(n) with gpc, via γ, and at other
times with a subset of pc, via π; in a minor abuse
of notation we will not always make explicit ref-
erence to the functions γ and π.
Allowing for multiple sharps and flats, the
number of distinct collections dpc(n) is theo-
retically infinite. The six-​flat and six-​sharp col-
lections dpc(−6) and dpc(+​6) contain different
546 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
spcs: spcs −9 through −3 in the former case, +​3
through +​9 in the latter. These collections are, of
course, enharmonically equivalent in the usual
sense of the term, because spcs differing by 12
(or multiples of 12) are always enharmonically
equivalent; the projection π maps both dpc(−6)
and dpc(+​ 6) to the same seven-​ note subset
of pc, theoretically along with infinitely many
other spaces whose indices differ by multiples
of 12, such as dpc(−18) and dpc(+​30). It is use-
ful to introduce a different name for these dia-
tonic subsets of pc, predicated upon enharmonic
equivalence; we refer to them as the enharmonic
diatonic pitch-​class spaces edpc(n). There are only
twelve of these enharmonic spaces, and their
index numbers are integers mod 12. Thus the
space edpc(6) is associated with both the six-​
flat and six-​sharp diatonic collections. In Figure
13.2.1, the enharmonic space associated with
dpc(−3) is labeled edpc(9); theoretically this
subset of pc could represent a nine-​sharp dia-
tonic collection (the D♯-​major scale) as well as the
three-​flat collection. The notes of an enharmonic
space edpc(n) are not spelled pitch classes like
the notes of dpc(n), but ordinary pitch classes,
which are enharmonic equivalence classes of
spcs. For convenience we may sometimes refer
to these notes by letter names, but in an enhar-
monic space such as edpc(9), as in the space pc
of which it is a subset, it makes no difference
whether we call a note E♭ or D♯. Similarly, we will
sometimes use familiar scale names such as “E♭
major,” but this too is for convenience only: a
collection edpc(n) implies nothing either about
the spelling of its notes or about a tonal center
for the collection.
Intervals between notes of dpc(n) may be
measured in several different ways. The generic
interval function intgpc may be used to count
steps of the scale as if the notes were elements
of gpc; alternatively, intervals may be measured
specifically (chromatically), by applying the mod-​
12 interval function intpc to the corresponding
notes in pc. We will sometimes write intg and
ints for the generic and specific interval func-
tions on a diatonic space. Thus in dpc(−3) we
may write intg(A♭, F) =​5 and ints(A♭, F) =​9. The
equation intg(A♭, F) =​5 really means intgpc(γ(A♭),
γ(F)) =​intgpc(A, F) =​intgpc(5, 3) =​5, correspond-
ing to the generic transposition t5(A) =​F; the
equation ints(A♭, F) =​9 really means intpc(π(A♭),
π(F)) =​intpc(8, 5) =​9, corresponding to the chro-
matic transposition T9(A♭) =​F. The line of fifths
offers yet another way to measure the interval
between A♭ and F: intspc(A♭, F) =​3, corresponding
to the spc transposition τ3(A♭) =​F. (As defined in
Section 2.6, τk shifts every spelled pitch class by
k places in the line of fifths, a rightward shift if
k > 0 or leftward if k < 0.) The space dpc(n) is a
modular interval space with the generic interval
function intg. Via either ints or intspc, dpc(n) is
not by itself an interval space because the homo-
geneity condition is not satisfied: there is no
note x in dpc(−3) for which ints(A♭, x) =​1, nor
is there a y for which intspc(D, y) =​1. But dpc(n)
is a subset of spc and edpc(n) is a subset of pc,
and both of these larger spaces are proper inter-
val spaces in which the missing notes (A in both
cases) may be found.
A diatonic scale may be interpreted generi-
cally via γ, and conversely a generic space may
be interpreted as a diatonic scale. We introduce
the diatonic interpretation functions δn: gpc →
dpc(n) for this purpose: for any integer n, δn
maps every generic pitch class to the note in
dpc(n) with the same letter name. The function
δn may be regarded as the application of a key
signature with the appropriate number of sharps
(for positive n) or flats (for negative n). Thus δ−3,
shown in the figure, maps the gpcs B, E, and A to
the corresponding flatted notes in dpc(−3) while
mapping the other four gpcs to notes with no
sharps or flats. As the figure suggests, for a fixed
value of n the functions δn: gpc → dpc(n) and γ:
dpc(n) → gpc are inverses.
Exercise 13.2.2 If k is a mod-​7 gpc number
and n is any integer, the spc number of δn(k) is
the number congruent to 2k +​5 mod 7 that lies
closest to n. Verify that this formula matches
  above description of δ−3 for all seven gpcs.32
the
As sets, the circular spaces on the bottom row
of Figure 13.2.1 are identical to those in the top
row (being merely rearrangements of the same
objects), so γ and π may also be regarded as func-
tions from spc to gfifth and fifth, respectively,
and δn as a function from gfifth to the diatonic
fifths space dfifth(n).33 Relationships between
the diatonic scale in spc and the various circles
of fifths are particularly suggestive. The map-
pings γ: spc → gfifth and π: spc → fifth simply
wrap the line of fifths into a circle: conjoining
every seventh note produces gfifth, while con-
joining every twelfth note produces fifth. The
wrapping preserves the adjacency of fifth-​related
notes, so the seven notes of a diatonic collection
remain clustered in the mod-​12 circle of fifths.
The same cannot be said of the chromatically
organized circle of mod-​12 space pc at the top
right: rather than clustering together, the pitch
classes of edpc(n) form in pc the familiar pat-
tern of whole and half steps characteristic of the
diatonic scale.
Exercise 13.2.3 A diatonic scale in fifth has
the same appearance as a cluster of prime
form 0123456—​a chromatic heptachord—​in
chromatically arranged pitch-​class space pc.
Verify that M7, the multiplication operator
that transforms the space pc to fifth and
vice versa, also transforms a seven-​note
chromatic cluster to a diatonic collection and
Diatonic Spaces • 547
vice versa. What does a chromatic heptachord
look
   like if drawn in fifth?
Several familiar properties of diatonic col-
lections emerge in these constructions. First,
as a subset of pc, edpc(n) is a generated set. We
observed in Section 13.1 that generated sets are
proportionally much rarer in mod-​12 space than
in mod-​7, but the diatonic collection is such a
set: the generated order matches the order
of spcs in the line of fifths. In Figure 13.2.1,
edpc(9) is generated from pitch class 8 (A♭, the
leftmost note of dpc(−3) in the line of fifths)
by the generating interval 7 (the perfect fifth);
the pitch-​class numbers in generated order are
8, (8 +​7), (8 +​2 ∙ 7), …, (8 +​6 ∙ 7) (mod 12).
Alternatively, edpc(9) may be generated from
pitch class 2 (D, the rightmost note) by the gen-
erator 5, the inverse of 7 in the interval group
ℤ12, corresponding to a right-​ to-​left traversal
of the line of fifths. The generation process also
ensures that edpc(n) is inversionally symmetric:
its symmetry in the line of fifths or the circle of
fifths is obvious, and its symmetry in pc will be
discussed further below. (Recall also Exercise
13.1.23b.)
Though inversionally symmetric, edpc(n)
is not transpositionally symmetric. Transposi­
tional symmetry is an uncommon property, and
according to Exercise 6.5.8b a set of cardinality
7 in pc can never be T-​symmetric. A few scales
of other cardinalities, notably the whole-​tone
and octatonic, are T-​ symmetric. The lack of
such symmetry for diatonic scales carries the
important consequence of intervallic distinguish-
ability: any element of a diatonic collection can
be distinguished from any other by its mod-​12
intervallic relationships to the other notes in
the collection. More precisely, if x and y are two
different elements of edpc(n), then there must
be some interval i such that Ti(x) ∈ edpc(n) but
Ti(y) ∉ edpc(n). Intervallic distinguishability fol-
lows from the lack of transpositional symmetry
according to Exercise 6.5.9, but it may also be
seen as a consequence of the fifth-​generation
procedure. Suppose that x lies to the left of y in
the line of fifths, both within the span of dpc(n).
Then clearly there is some number k such that
τk(x) lies within dpc(n) but τk(y) does not. As
shown in Section 2.6, the pitch-​class transposi-
tion corresponding to τk is T7k, so it follows that
T7k(x) ∈ edpc(n) but T7k(y) ∉ edpc(n).34
Musically, intervallic distinguishability is what
enables us to infer a note’s location within a dia-
tonic scale by hearing intervallic relationships—​a
548 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
skill called position-​finding in Browne 1981. For
example, if we hear a note x with the property
that x, T1(x), and T7(x) all belong to some edpc(n),
we can deduce that x is the note corresponding
to scale degree 3̂ of a major scale, or the tonic of
a phrygian scale. Position-​finding of this kind is
not possible in transpositionally symmetric scales
such as whole-​tone or octatonic. Intervallic dis-
tinguishability ensures that the seven modes of a
diatonic scale all have different interval arrange-
ments; the relationship between the number of
modes of a collection and its transpositional sym-
metry was explored in Exercise 6.5.10.
Descriptions such as “the note correspond-
ing to scale degree 3̂ of a major scale, or the
tonic of a phrygian scale” are awkward. It is use-
ful to have a way of referring to the position of a
note within a diatonic collection whose tonic we
do not know. Solfège syllables may be used for
this purpose: whatever the tonic and mode, the
note just described is mi.35 If the scale is major,
then mi is 3̂; if it is minor (aeolian), then mi is 5̂;
if it is phrygian, then mi is 1̂—b ​ ut the syllable
unambiguously describes the position of a note
within a diatonic collection even if the mode
and tonic are unspecified. In dpc(−3), do is E♭;
syllables are provided for dpc(−3) and edpc(9)
in Figure 13.2.1.
Each of the seven diatonic positions has its
own characteristics. Along the line of fifths, the
notes of a diatonic collection always proceed
in the order fa–​do–​sol–​re–​la–​mi–​ti from left to
right—​the generated order. The framing notes
fa and ti form the collection’s unique tritone;
fa is the flattest note of the collection and ti
the sharpest. The centrally positioned re is the
note about which the collection is symmetric,
and the note whose spelled pitch-​class number
matches the index number n of the collection
dpc(n). Re is the dorian tonic, and dorian is the
only mode whose interval arrangement is sym-
metric when written as an eight-​note scale from
1̂ to 1̂. (We have remarked on aspects of this
symmetry previously, for instance in Example
7.6.10, an instance of inversion in the Allegretto
of Brahms’s First Symphony.) In pc and fifth, if
an axis of symmetry passes through one note, it
passes also through the tritone relative of that
note (recall Figure 5.5.4c); in either pc or fifth,
edpc(n) is symmetric not only about re but also
about the pitch class re +​6, a note not present
in edpc(n) (it is the note that falls chromatically
between sol and la). The same axis of symmetry
for edpc(n) appears in both pc and fifth; when
n is odd, as in the example of dpc(−3), the axis
notes re and re +​6 trade places between the two
pictures.
Exercise 13.2.4 As an inversionally symmetric
set, edpc(n) must be invariant under some
inversion operator Ik in pc. Write a formula for
k in
  terms of n.36
Exercise 13.2.5 Suppose a chord is written on
a five-​line staff with no accidentals. Then reflect
the notation about a horizontal axis, so that a
note originally on the bottom line is now on the
top line and so on. Whatever clef one chooses
to place on the staff, the new chord is always an
inversion of the original chord in generic space.
Give an example to show that if the staff is read
in treble clef, one or more interval qualities may
change in the inversion, so that the new chord
fails to be an exact inversion of the original
chord in chromatic space. If the staff is read in
bass clef, however, the inversion will always be
exact
   in chromatic space as well. Why is this?37
Another intervallic property of the diatonic
collection, much rarer than the symmetry just
discussed, involves the collection’s interval-​class
vector, the enumeration of the occurrences of
each of the six interval classes ic1–​ic6 within a
pc set. (Recall from Section 12.2 that interval
classes are actually distances, not intervals, in
the space pc.) The vector of the diatonic collec-
tion—​that is, the vector of any set edpc(n) as a
subset of pc—​is 254361, which has the remark-
able property that each interval class occurs a
different number of times. A set with this prop-
erty is known as a deep set.38
The deep property is readily explained
through the generation of diatonic scales by
fifths. In the space fifth (Figure 13.2.1, lower
right), where distfifth(C, G) =​1, distfifth(C, D)
=​2, and so on, it is apparent that a diatonic col-
lection contains six pairs of notes separated by
distance 1, five pairs at distance 2, and so on, up
through a single pair at distance 6; we may say
that the fifth-​distance vector of the diatonic col-
lection is 654321. These are the same six digits
as in the interval-​class vector and they enumer-
ate pairwise distances among the same notes,
but the distances are measured differently and
listed in a different order. Exercise 13.2.6 below
explores the details.
The deep property of the diatonic collection
has important ramifications involving key rela-
tionships. Generally, if the number k appears in
the ith position of the interval-​class vector for a
set X, then as long as 1 ≤ i ≤ 5, the sets X and Ti(X)
have exactly k common tones.39 If the set is a dia-
tonic collection, then a transposition by fifth—​
τ1 or τ−1 in the line of fifths, T7 or T5 in pc—​is
a transposition to a closely related key, such as
from edpc(9) (E♭ major) to edpc(10) (B♭ major).
If two collections in this relationship are viewed
in spc or in fifth, it is clear that they share six
common tones, in agreement with the 6 in the
ic5 position of the interval-​class vector. Diatonic
collections separated by two fifths—​τ2, τ−2, T2, or
T10, for example edpc(9) and edpc(11)—​share
five common tones, corresponding to the 5 in
the ic2 position; collections separated by three
fifths (ic3) share four common tones; and so on.
With each successive shift around the circle of
fifths, each new diatonic collection has one fewer
common tone with the original collection, pro-
ducing a clean hierarchy of common-​tone rela-
tionships among keys.
The pattern breaks with the tritone transpo-
sition. If the same relationship were to persist
through transposition by six fifths (τ6 or T6), then
a diatonic collection and its transposition by T6
would share only a single common tone. It is
true that a diatonic collection contains only one
instance of ic6, and it is true that τ6-​related dia-
tonic collections dpc(n) in spc share only a single
common tone, but this is not true of T6-​related
diatonic collections edpc(n) in pc. For example,
in the line of fifths, properly spelled A-​major and
E♭-​major collections share only the note D, but
edpc(3) and edpc(9) share pitch classes 2 (D)
and 8 (G♯/​A♭). In fact, it is not possible for two
seven-​note pitch-​class sets to have only a single
note in common (see Exercise 2.1.4b). Because
the tritone divides the octave in half, each occur-
rence of ic6 in any set brings about not one but
two common tones between the set and its T6
transposition in pitch-​class space. In fifth, if
the seven-​note cluster of a diatonic collection is
rotated halfway around the circle, the new clus-
ter overlaps the original at both ends, resulting
in two shared pitch classes: tritone-​related dia-
tonic collections share a common tritone, with
the roles of fa and ti interchanged.
Exercise 13.2.6
(a) In the notation from Section 12.2, show
that if x and y are pitch classes such that
distfifth(x, y) =​ k, then distpc(x, y), the interval
class formed by x and y, is equal to |7k|12.
(b) Use the result of (a) to explain why a set
with fifth-​distance vector 654321 has
  interval-​class vector 254361.
Diatonic Spaces • 549
Exercise 13.2.7
(a) Verify that a chromatic heptachord of
prime form 0123456 (as in Exercise 13.2.3)
has interval-​class vector 654321 and
fifth-​distance vector 254361—​the same
two vectors as the diatonic collection, but
interchanged—​and is therefore another
example of a deep set.
(b) Besides diatonic collections and chromatic
heptachords, there are only two other
TI-​classes of deep sets in pc. Like the two
collections just mentioned, they are related
to each other by M7. Their interval-​class
vectors are 543210 and 143250. What
  are they?
Several important properties of diatonic
scales involve relationships between chromatic
and generic interval and subset structure. Such
properties include Carey and Clampitt’s formula-
tion of well-​formed scales, Clough and Myerson’s
property cardinality equals variety, and Clough
and Douthett’s maximal evenness, each of which
we will examine in this chapter or the next. The
well-​formed property involves fifths—​the gen-
erating interval—​and in particular the relative
positions of fifth-​ related notes in a diatonic
scale, interpreted generically. In the circle of
gpc (or in dpc(0), identified with gpc via γ) it is
evident that the intervals intgpc(F, C), intgpc(C,
G), …, intgpc(E, B) are all equal to 4. If you draw
straight line segments cutting across the circle
of gpc to connect notes in generated order (F –​C
–​ G –​ ⋯), all such segments will be equally long.
This is Carey and Clampitt’s definition: a well-​
formed scale is a generated set in which every
instance of the generating interval spans the
same number of steps within the scale.40
The well-​formed property of a diatonic col-
lection captures something we have already
observed about the generic circles gpc and
gfifth in Figure 13.2.1. Because of the sys-
tematic intervallic relationship between the
two circles, the fact that fifth-​related notes are
always adjacent in one circle guarantees that
they are always separated by the same distance
in the other. Because 4 and 7 are coprime, the
multiplication operator m4, which maps pitch-​
class numbers in gpc to those in gfifth, is
an automorphism of the group ℤ7, illustrat-
ing another characterization of well-​ formed
scales also formulated by Carey and Clampitt: a
scale is well-​formed if and only if the mapping
from scalar order to generated order is a group
automorphism.41
550 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
Well-​formedness may appear straightforward
in the circle of gpc, but the property is a subtle
one. For one thing, well-​formedness does not
preclude other intervals from spanning the same
number of scale-​steps as the generating interval:
in dpc(−3) the generic interval from D to A♭ is
also 4, even though D–​A♭ is not an instance of
the generating interval (that is, D and A♭ are
not adjacent in the line of fifths). Moreover,
many generated sets, even some fifth-​generated
sets, are not well-​formed, as the following exer-
cise shows.
Exercise 13.2.8
(a) A diatonic (Guidonian) hexachord such as
CDEFGA is a six-​note fifth-​generated set.
Draw a circle with these six notes spaced
equally around the circle in scalar order.
Draw line segments across the circle to
connect notes in generated order (F–​C–​G–​
D–​A–​E), and observe that the segments
are not all equal in length, because not all
instances of the generating interval span
the same number of steps within this
scale. Also write out the mapping of mod-​6
pitch-​class numbers that relates the two
orderings, and show that this mapping
is not an automorphism of ℤ6. Each of
these observations shows that the diatonic
hexachord is not a well-​formed scale.
(b) Consider fifth-​generated sets with five
notes (pentatonic collections such as
CDFGA), four notes (CDFG), and three
notes (CFG). Verify that two of these are
  well-​formed scales. Which one is not?
13.3 SIGNATURE
TRANSFORMATIONS
Figure 13.3.1 shows a prototypical example of a
signature transformation in the first movement
of Schubert’s B♭-​Major Sonata. After eighteen
measures of B♭ major the music veers into G♭,
shifting from dpc(−2) to dpc(−6). The phrase
in G♭ imitates the melody in B♭ from the outset
of the movement, but it has not been trans-
posed. Instead, it repeats at its original regis-
tral position, with adjustments as needed to
fit the new key: the notes A, C, and D are now
flatted. Schubert does not write the six-​flat key
signature, instead notating the inflections with
accidentals, but the diatonic context is clear and
the figure employs the signature as an analytical
shorthand. The shift of diatonic scale is modeled
with the signature transformation s−4, indicating
FIGURE 13.3.1 The signature transformation s−4 in Schubert, Sonata in B♭ Major, D. 960, I
FIGURE 13.3.2 Comparison of the signature transformation s−4 and the spc transposition τ−4 as map-
pings from dpc(−2) to dpc(−6)
that the underlying diatonic collection has
shifted four places in the flatwise direction—​the
four new flats in the key signature—​but with the
notes otherwise unchanged.
Signature transformations are a powerful
tool in analyzing music that moves among dia-
tonic collections; we encountered them briefly
in a discussion of changing scalar contexts
in Adams’s Phrygian Gates in Example 4.5.5.
Musical notation with key signatures, as in
Figure 13.3.1, often provides the easiest way
to grasp the behavior of these transformations,
but the subtlety of their behavior benefits from
additional formalization. This section presents
such a formalization, highlighting the intricate
interactions between signature transformations
and the more familiar diatonic and chromatic
transposition operators.42
Figure 13.3.2 shows dpc(−2) and dpc(−6)
as subsets of spc, and compares the action
of the signature transformation s−4 with that of
the spc transposition τ−4. Both s−4 and τ−4 map
the seven notes of dpc(−2) to the seven notes
of dpc(−6), but they are not the same map-
ping: τ−4 shifts every note four places to the
left, whereas s−4 shifts four notes seven places
to the left while leaving the other three notes of
dpc(−2) unchanged. The notes remaining fixed
under the action of s−4 are E♭, B♭, and F, the notes
in the intersection of dpc(−2) and dpc(−6); the
other notes of dpc(−2) must leapfrog leftward
across the fixed notes to find their new homes
in dpc(−6).
When s−4 is applied to music in dpc(−2), as in
Figures 13.3.1 and 13.3.2, C changes to C♭, but if
s−4 is applied instead to music in dpc(0), the note
C will be unaffected, since C♭ is not one of the
first four flats added to the key signature. Before
we can apply a signature transformation, there-
fore, we must know the key signature. Signature
transformations may be applied to single notes
within diatonic spaces, to lines (ordered sets of
notes), chords (unordered sets), melodies as in
Figure 13.3.1, or combinations of these—​essen-
tially to anything that can be notated on a musi-
cal staff with a traditional key signature and no
accidentals—​but the key signature must always
be specified.
It is convenient to introduce a term that can
be used loosely to describe musical fragments
of this sort. We will use the general term design,
modified by various adjectives, to refer to any
musical structure that can be notated on a staff
subject to certain restrictions. In particular:
• A diatonic design is a design all of whose notes
belong to one diatonic scale dpc(n).
• An enharmonic design is a design all of whose
notes belong to one enharmonic space
edpc(n).
• A generic design is a design whose notes are
generic pitch classes in gpc.
• A chromatic design is a design whose notes are
mod-​12 pitch classes in pc.
• An spc design is a design whose notes are
spelled pitch classes in spc.
Diatonic Spaces • 551
FIGURE 13.3.3 Examples of diatonic, enharmonic, generic, and chromatic designs
The first four types are illustrated in Figure
13.3.3. As the annotations show, several of the
designs here are nothing more than lines or
chords: ordered or unordered sets of notes from
a space of the appropriate kind. In general, how-
ever, a design may include more complex musical
textures with rhythmic notation (as in the first
diatonic design shown, reproduced from Figure
13.3.1) and possibly other elements. In all of the
cases considered here, the notes of a design are
understood to be pitch classes, not pitches; that
is, octave equivalence is assumed, so if a design
contains the note C it does not matter whether
the note is positioned on the staff as C4 or C5.
In the case of a diatonic design, the underly-
ing diatonic collection dpc(n), typically signaled
by a key signature, is understood to be a part
of the design. Of the four diatonic designs in
Figure 13.3.3, three belong to dpc(−2) and one
to dpc(−4). The two three-​note diatonic lines
both contain the notes B♭–​G–​F, but they are dif-
ferent designs because they belong to two differ-
ent diatonic collections. A G-​minor triad by itself
is not a diatonic design unless we have speci-
fied whether it belongs to dpc(−1), dpc(−2), or
dpc(−3), any of which is theoretically possible.
It is diatonic designs to which signature trans-
formations may be applied most directly, though
we will show below that their application may be
extended to enharmonic designs as well.
An enharmonic design is an equivalence
class of diatonic designs under enharmonic
552 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
equivalence. The figure shows only a single
enharmonic design, but it appears in two differ-
ent notations corresponding to the two common
notations for the enharmonic space edpc(6),
the six-​flat and six-​sharp diatonic collections.
These notations could represent two different
diatonic designs, one in dpc(−6) and the other
in dpc(+​6), but as enharmonic designs they are
equal. A diatonic design in dpc(n) may always
be interpreted as an enharmonic design in the
corresponding enharmonic space edpc(n). The
last n is a mod-​12 integer: to be more precise we
could write dpc(n) and edpc(n), where n denotes
the mod-​12 congruence class of n. Enharmonic
equivalence of diatonic designs will be examined
in greater detail below.
The notes of a generic design are generic pitch
classes (letter names) only, with no key signa-
ture and no accidentals. Visually a generic design
looks like a diatonic design in dpc(0), but the two
are conceptually distinct in the same way that
the spaces gpc and dpc(0) are distinct. In Figure
13.3.3 the space name gpc signals the generic
designs. A diatonic design may be interpreted as
a generic design via the mapping γ from Section
13.2, which essentially discards the original key
signature. Conversely, a generic design may be
interpreted as a diatonic design in any space
dpc(n) by the interpretation mapping δn—​that
is, by applying the appropriate signature. The
two diatonic lines in the top row of Figure 13.3.3
both have as their generic interpretation the
generic line B–​G–​F in the third row. If any of the
three generic designs in the figure is interpreted
via δ−2, the result is the diatonic design appear-
ing above it.
Every diatonic or enharmonic design may
be interpreted as a chromatic design by regard-
ing its notes as pitch classes in pc rather than
in dpc(n) or edpc(n). The first chromatic design
in Figure 13.3.3 is the chromatic interpretation
of the enharmonic design in the figure. Spelling
is of no consequence in chromatic designs: this
design could equally well be spelled with flats,
or even with a combination of sharps and flats,
as long as its pitch classes are unchanged. The
first of the two three-​note chromatic lines in the
figure is the chromatic interpretation of both of
the diatonic lines in the top row of the figure.
The second chromatic line, B♭–​G–​F♯, is not the
interpretation of any diatonic design at all, as no
diatonic collection contains all its pitch classes.
Spc designs, the last item in the above list, will
not concern us in this chapter, but we will find
uses for them in Chapter 14. An spc design may
be thought of as a chromatic design in which
each note has a specified spelling, not merely
an identity as a pitch class. A diatonic design
uniquely determines an spc design because its
notes have well-​defined spellings, but this is not
true of enharmonic or chromatic designs, which
may be interpreted as spc designs in more than
one way.
Figure 13.3.4a exhibits three interrelated dia-
tonic designs from Schubert’s sonata. Three dif-
ferent kinds of transformational relationships
are shown, each preserving a different feature
of the design. The two designs that start on B♭,
FIGURE 13.3.4 (a) Transformational relationships among three diatonic designs in Schubert; (b) the
genus common to the three designs
shown previously in Figure 13.3.1, are related
by the signature transformation s−4. These two
designs have different key signatures but their
notes are generically the same (B–​B–​A–​B–​C–​D):
signature transformations preserve generic pitch
classes. The two designs in dpc(−2) are related
by diatonic transposition t2; they have differ-
ent notes, but the diatonic transposition pre-
serves the key signature. The two designs in the
second row of the figure (mm. 19–​21 and mm.
347–​49) have neither the same key signature
nor the same notes, but the notes of these two
designs are positioned in the same way relative
to their scales, reflected in matching solfège syl-
lables. Both begin on mi, and the first interval
in both is a whole step, in contrast to mm. 0–​2,
where the first note is do and the first interval is
a semitone. (Solfège syllables indicate diatonic
position as described in Section 13.2. Mi need
not always imply scale degree 3,̂ though in this
figure it does because all of the excerpts are in
the major mode.) The figure shows these two
designs related by T4, a chromatic transposition
that relates not only the notes of the designs but
also the diatonic collections in which they reside.
The label T4 is in quotation marks in the figure
because the application of a chromatic transpo-
sition to the notes of a diatonic space dpc(n) is
theoretically problematic for reasons related to
enharmonic equivalence—​a deficiency to be rec-
tified shortly.
The three designs in Figure 13.3.4a share the
basic form given in 13.3.4b. The lack of clef and
key signature in this figure indicates that both
the diatonic scale and the exact notes are vari-
able. We may imagine an idealized C clef free
Diatonic Spaces • 553
to slide up and down the staff to any position,
capable of fixing any line or space as C, and
applying any traditional key signature to define
the governing scale as a particular diatonic col-
lection dpc(n).43 We refer to the form in (b) as
a genus, and we say that the three designs in
(a) realize that genus. Via the addition of a clef
and key signature, any genus may be realized in
many ways, the various realizations related to
each other by combinations of signature trans-
formations and diatonic transposition. If the
notes of the genus in (b) were shifted uniformly
higher or lower on the uncleffed staff, the genus
would not change. A genus is not the same thing
as a generic design, since in a generic design
the generic pitch classes are specified; thus
the generic designs in Figure 13.3.3 have clefs
but no key signature. A genus may be formally
defined in either of two ways: as an equivalence
class of generic designs related by generic trans-
position tj, or as an equivalence class of diatonic
designs related by all possible sk and tj.
If a design is a line or chord, the OPTIC rela-
tions provide a precise means of identifying its
genus: a line genus is a mod-​7 OT-​class, while
a chord genus is a mod-​7 OPTC-​class. A mod-​7
O-​class is a line (ordered set) of generic pitch
classes (letter names), and a line genus is an
equivalence class of those lines under generic
transposition. A mod-​7 OPC-​class is a chord in
generic space—​an unordered subset of gpc—​
and a chord genus is an equivalence class of
those chords under generic transposition. Chord
genus and line genus differ in the presence or
absence of the relations P and C: permutational
equivalence for a chord genus means that the
FIGURE 13.3.5 Examples of line and chord genera
554 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
order of notes does not matter, and cardinality
equivalence eliminates doublings (a line genus
may have repeated notes).
A few line and chord genera are shown in
Figure 13.3.5. OT-​ and OPTC-​classes are identi-
fied by their mod-​7 normal forms. In the next
section we will work with both mod-​ 7 and
mod-​12 normal forms, which we distinguish by
means of superscripts (7) and (12). The mod-​12
counterpart of a genus is called a species; a line
species is a mod-​12 OT-​class while a chord spe-
cies is a mod-​12 OPTC-​class. The reader may
find it useful to review the description of vari-
ous OPTIC equivalence classes in Table 10.3.15
(where mod-​12 structure was assumed).44
The first two line genera in Figure 13.3.5 are
different because the differing order of the notes
leads to different OT normal forms. The second
and third, however, are the same because a genus
is a transpositional equivalence class. Likewise
the first two chord genera in the bottom row are
the same. The third chord genus differs from the
first two because inversion is not among the rela-
tions defining a genus. The fourth and fifth chord
genera are the same because O and C equivalence
are among those relations for a chord genus: uni-
son or octave doublings do not matter. All of the
chord genera shown here can be found among
the OPTC normal forms in Figure 13.1.22;
indeed, the twenty OPTC-​classes in that figure
exhaust the possible chord genera. The number
of possible line genera, in contrast, is unlim-
ited. The Schubert genus from Figure 13.3.4b,
reduced to a line genus (and therefore stripped
of its rhythmic information), is the fourth
line genus in Figure 13.3.5, [0, 0, 6, 0, 1, 2](OT7 ) .
 The last chord genus in Figure 13.3.5 has an
unusual property. In general, as we have noted,
the exact generic pitch classes present in a
genus are unspecified. In this chord, however, it
is clear which gpcs are present: all of them. No
matter how we position a clef on this staff, this
chord is a generic aggregate CDEFGAB. Such a
chord is transpositionally symmetric in mod-​7
space, unchanged by any tj. A diatonic or generic
design that is invariant under mod-​7 transposi-
tion is called a trivial design, and the associated
genus, such as this seven-​note chord genus, is
a trivial genus. (The only transpositional sym-
metry possible in mod-​7 space is a trivial kind:
every nonzero transposition generates the mod-​
7 transposition group 𝒯7, so if a set or design
in mod-​7 space is invariant under one nonzero
transposition it is invariant under all of them.)
Triviality implies that whenever any gpc is pres-
ent, all seven must be present simultaneously.
There are only two trivial chord genera, the
empty set and the generic aggregate in the fig-
ure. Every nonempty line genus is nontrivial,
even a seven-​note line such as a scale, whose
seven generic transpositions are distinguishable
because they arrange the seven gpcs in differ-
ent orders. Trivial genera may seem unworthy
of much attention, but we define them carefully
here because they will be the only exceptions to
some of the general principles described in the
remainder of this chapter.
Of the three diatonic designs in Figure 13.3.6,
the two in the top row are enharmonically equiv-
alent. One is a design in dpc(−6) and the other
in dpc(+​6). They are related by the composite
transformation s12t6: the signature transforma-
tion s12 converts from dpc(−6) to dpc(+​6) and
the diatonic transposition t6 (or t−1) shifts all the
generic pitch classes one step down (from B to A
for the first note). As we observed in conjunction
FIGURE 13.3.6 Enharmonic equivalence of diatonic designs
with Figure 13.3.3, the enharmonic equivalence
of these two diatonic designs ensures that they
both represent the same enharmonic design in
edpc(6). The transformation s12t6 always relates
enharmonically equivalent diatonic designs; we
will see below that when applied to enharmonic
designs, s12t6 is the identity mapping.
Enharmonic equivalence of diatonic designs
is a strong condition requiring not only that
corresponding notes of the two designs be
enharmonically equivalent but also that the
underlying diatonic collections be enharmoni-
cally equivalent. The last design in Figure 13.3.6,
even though its notes match those of the six-​
sharp design, is not enharmonically equiva-
lent to the six-​flat design in this sense, because
dpc(+​ 5) is not enharmonically equivalent to
dpc(−6). The solfège syllables in this design
also differ from the others. The diatonic design
in dpc(+​ 5) represents an enharmonic design
in edpc(5), which differs from the enharmonic
design in edpc(6) represented by the other two
diatonic designs.
As we have described them so far, signature
transformations are defined on diatonic spaces
dpc(n). More precisely, the signature transfor-
mation sk is a mapping from dpc(n) to dpc(n +​ k),
which maps any note in dpc(n) to the note in
dpc(n +​ k) sharing the same letter name (or
equivalently the same generic pitch-​class num-
ber). Some of the most interesting features of
signature transformations, however, involve
enharmonic equivalence and therefore require
applying the transformations to enharmonic
designs in edpc(n). Because the elements of
edpc(n) are pitch classes that have neither fixed
spellings nor generic pitch-​class numbers asso-
ciated with them, it may be unclear how a sig-
nature transformation can be defined on such a
design. Before we give this definition formally,
Diatonic Spaces • 555
further consideration of the spaces edpc(n) will
be helpful, with attention to ways of describing
relationships between notes in different enhar-
monic spaces.
There are twelve different spaces edpc(n),
each containing seven notes. We define the uni-
fied enharmonic space edpc* to be a space of car-
dinality 84 containing the elements of all twelve
spaces edpc(n). This definition itself requires
elaboration: if we consider the elements of
edpc(n) to be ordinary pitch classes, then it is
not sufficient to define edpc* as the union of the
twelve spaces edpc(n), as that union is nothing
more than mod-​12 pitch-​class space pc. Let us
write each note of edpc(n) as an ordered pair
(n, q), where n is the index number of the space
edpc(n) and q is a solfège syllable (or, as described
below, a mod-​7 integer associated with a solfège
syllable) identifying one of the seven notes of
that space. For example, the ordered pair (6, mi)
indicates the note mi of edpc(6), which could be
written either as B♭ in the G♭-​major scale or as A♯
in the F♯-​major scale.
A similar ordered-​ pair notation could be
introduced to identify notes in diatonic spaces
dpc(n), but in that case there would be other
options for the second component of the ordered
pair. For example, (n, g) could designate the note
in dpc(n) whose generic pitch-​class number is g.
Generic pitch-​class numbers cannot be used in
this way in edpc(n), because gpcs are not defined
for notes in enharmonic spaces: gpc numbers
correspond to letter names, while notes in
edpc(n) may be spelled in more than one way.
Notes in edpc(n) may theoretically be identi-
fied by their mod-​12 pitch-​class numbers, but
doing so is awkward since for each n only seven
of the twelve pitch classes are used. Solfège syl-
lables circumvent these difficulties, as a note of
a space edpc(n) is uniquely determined by its
diatonic position. It is helpful to have a numeric
representation for the syllables, so we introduce
the solfège indices 0 =​do, 1 =​re, 2 =​mi, 3 =​fa, 4
=​ sol, 5 =​la, 6 =​ti. These are mod-​7 integers; in
any major scale, the note with solfège index 0 is
scale degree 1̂, solfège index 1 is 2̂, and so on. For
scales such as C major or C♯ major in which do
corresponds with the letter name C, solfège indi-
ces match gpc numbers. With this convention,
every note of every enharmonic space edpc(n),
and therefore every note of the unified space
edpc*, is represented by a unique ordered pair
(n, q), where n is an integer mod 12 and q is an
integer mod 7. We refer to this notation as enhar-
monic coordinates, and to the two components as
556 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
the (mod-​12) scale index and the (mod-​7) solfège
index. The enharmonic coordinates for the note
B♭ in the G♭-​major scale, or equivalently for A♯ in
the F♯-​major scale, are (6, 2).
Exercise 13.3.7
(a) Write the enharmonic coordinates for the
note D in the E♭-​major scale.
(b) Identify the scale and note specified by
the enharmonic coordinates (5, 5). Write
your answer in two enharmonically
equivalent ways.
(c) For what value of q do the enharmonic
coordinates (4, q) specify the note F♯?
(d) For what value of n do the enharmonic
  coordinates (n, 3) specify pitch class 10?
Exercise 13.3.8
(a) If q is a solfège index (an integer mod 7),
then as noted above, q is also the gpc
number of the note in dpc(0) whose solfège
index is q. The spc number of that note of
dpc(0) is then δ0(q), which according to the
formula from Exercise 13.2.2 is the number
congruent to 2q +​5 mod 7 that lies closest
to 0—​that is, in the range −3 ≤ δ0(q) ≤ 3.
For example, if q =​5, this formula gives
δ0(q) =​1, and indeed the note in dpc(0)
whose solfège is la (solfège index 5) is A
(spc 1). Write the values of δ0(q) for all
seven values of q.
(b) The pitch-​class number x of the note with
enharmonic coordinates (n, q) may be
calculated by the formula x =​7(n +​ δ0(q)) +​
2 (mod 12). For example, if (n, q) =​(6, 2),
then the formula from part (a) gives δ0(q)
=​2, and x =​7(6 +​2) +​2 =​10 (mod 12),
confirming that the coordinates (6, 2)
represent the note B♭ or A♯ as described
above. Verify that this formula gives correct
results for all four of the sets of enharmonic
  coordinates in Exercise 13.3.7.
Enharmonic coordinates identify edpc* with
the Cartesian product ℤ12 × ℤ7. Indeed, edpc* is
an interval space with that direct product as its
interval group.45 Because the numbers 12 and
7 are coprime, we know from Section 6.4 that
ℤ12 × ℤ7 is a cyclic group isomorphic to ℤ84—​a
structure that the perspective provided by sig-
nature transformations will clarify. We now
proceed to show that mappings of the three
types that appeared in Figure 13.3.4a—​chro-
matic transpositions Ti, diatonic transposi-
tions tj, and signature transformations sk—​are
all well-​defined functions on the enharmonic
spaces edpc(n) and therefore on edpc*. All
these mappings are elements of the simply
transitive transformation group associated
with the interval group of edpc*, and all are
important ways of navigating this space. These
transformations act on individual notes within
the space, and thereby on enharmonic designs
comprising such notes.
Of the three types of transformations,
the action of tj is easiest to describe. Diatonic
transposition operates on the second compo-
nent—​the mod-​7 component—​of enharmonic
coordinates, as given by the formula tj(n, q) =​(n,
q +​ j): that is, tj transposes a note’s solfège index
up j steps, leaving the diatonic scale edpc(n)
unchanged. For example, the equation t3(6, 4)
=​(6, 0) in enharmonic coordinates indicates
a transposition from sol (solfège index 4) to do
(solfège index 0) in edpc(6), a transposition that
could be interpreted as t3(D♭) =​G♭ in G♭ major or
t3(C♯) =​F♯ in F♯ major. The space edpc(n), like
dpc(n), is a mod-​7 interval space, and a transpo-
sition operator tj on edpc(n) works just as it does
on dpc(n). Because tj is defined on every space
edpc(n), it is defined on the unified space edpc*.
The seven diatonic transpositions tj on edpc*
form a cyclic group of order 7. The action of this
group is simply transitive on each space edpc(n)
individually but not on the unified space edpc*,
inasmuch as diatonic transposition cannot map
from one space edpc(n) to another.
Exercise 13.3.9
(a) Verify that the equation t4(8, 5) =​(8, 2) is
consistent with the formula given above for
tj in enharmonic coordinates, and interpret
the statement musically.
(b) The equation t3(D♭) =​G♭ in edpc(6) could
be written using pitch-​class numbers in the
form t3(1) =​6. This notation is awkward in
several ways, among them the fact that the
action of tj depends on the space edpc(n)
relative to which tj is defined. While t3(1) =​
6 is a true statement in edpc(6), there are
some mod-​12 integers n for which t3(1) is
not defined in edpc(n) because pitch class 1
does not belong to edpc(n) in the first place.
For at least one value of n, t3(1) is defined
in edpc(n) but is something other than 6.
Give an example of such an n. Is there more
than one such n? What familiar property of
diatonic scales explains the answer to the
last question?
(c) What equation in enharmonic coordinates
describes the diatonic transposition from C♯
  to G in the D-​major scale?
Chromatic transposition Ti technically can-
not be defined on the diatonic spaces dpc(n)
because the mod-​ 12 operator Ti presumes
enharmonic equivalence: if we wish to trans-
pose dpc(0) (C major) by T6, we have no crite-
rion for deciding whether it should transpose
to dpc(−6) (G♭ major) or to dpc(+​6) (F♯ major).
The appearance of T4 in Figure 13.3.4a was
problematic for this reason. Notes in enhar-
monic spaces edpc(n), however, have identi-
ties as mod-​12 pitch classes but are not tied to
specific spellings, and therefore may be trans-
posed by Ti.
Generally Ti is not a mapping from edpc(n)
to the same edpc(n), as tj is; Ti alters the scale,
mapping from edpc(n) to some other enhar-
monic space edpc(m). To see how the new
scale index m is related to the original index n
and the interval of transposition i, recall from
Section 2.6 that chromatic transposition Ti cor-
responds to spc transposition by τk for any k
with k =​7i (mod 12). When a diatonic collection
dpc(n) is transposed by τk, it shifts by k posi-
tions in the line of fifths, to dpc(n +​ k). The new
scale index m is therefore n +​7i (mod 12); Ti is
a well-​defined mapping Ti: edpc(n) → edpc(n +​
7i). In Figure 13.3.4a, therefore, while it is not
technically correct to say that T4 maps from
dpc(−6) to dpc(−2), we may say instead that T4
maps from edpc(6) to edpc(10), which is con-
sistent with the formula above because the new
index number is n +​7i =​6 +​7 ∙ 4 =​10 (mod 12).
Chromatic transposition may be applied to any
enharmonic design in edpc(n), always transpos-
ing the underlying scale along with the notes.
Ti is defined on every enharmonic space
edpc(n) and is thus a well-​defined mapping on
the unified space edpc*. In enharmonic coor-
dinates (n, q), Ti operates on the first (mod-​12)
coordinate only, adjusting the scale index by 7i
as described above; the solfège syllable associ-
ated with a note remains the same in the new
scale. That is, Ti(n, q) =​(n +​7i, q). For example,
the equation T4(6, 2) =​(10, 2) describes the T4
transposition of B♭ in G♭ major to D in B♭ major,
as in the first notes of the two T4-​related designs
in Figure 13.3.4a. All twelve transpositions Ti
may be obtained by iterating T1; because T1
adjusts the mod-​12 coordinate by 7, and 7 is a
generator of the cyclic group ℤ12, it follows that
Diatonic Spaces • 557
the chromatic transpositions on edpc* form
a cyclic group of order 12, consistent with our
expectations.
Exercise 13.3.10
(a) Verify that the equation T9(4, 1) =​(7, 1) is
consistent with the formula given above for
Ti in enharmonic coordinates, and interpret
the statement musically.
(b) What transposition Ti maps the C♯-​major
scale to the C♭-​major scale? First answer
the question by figuring an interval of
transposition in the usual way; then
express the two scales as edpc(n) and
edpc(m) and verify that m =​ n +​7i (mod
12). Write an equation in enharmonic
coordinates describing what happens to the
note B♯ in this transposition.
(c) Write a general formula for determining
the transposition Ti that maps from
edpc(n) to edpc(m), expressing the
mod-​12 integer i in terms of n and m.
Verify that your formula is correct in the
  examples from (a) and (b).46
We turn now to the action of the signature
transformation sk on the enharmonic spaces
edpc(n) and edpc*. The possibility of defining sk
on edpc(n) depends on a simple theorem:
Theorem 13.3.11: Enharmonic compatibility
of signature transformations If a note x in a
space dpc(m) and a note y in a space dpc(n) are
enharmonically equivalent (in the strong sense
defined above for diatonic designs), and if the
same signature transformation sk is applied to
both of them, then the notes sk(x) in dpc(m +​ k)
and sk(y) in dpc(n +​ k) are also enharmonically
equivalent.
  
FIGURE 13.3.12 The signature transformation s1 applied to two enharmonically equivalent designs
558 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
Figure 13.3.12 illustrates the theorem, show-
ing the action of s1 on the two enharmonically
equivalent designs from Figure 13.3.6. (This
transformation does not occur in Schubert’s
sonata; it is shown for illustrative purposes
only.) While s1 adds one sharp to any key signa-
ture that already contains sharps, it removes one
flat from a signature with flats, with the same
effect. The original diatonic collections dpc(−6)
and dpc(+​6) are enharmonically equivalent, and
the same is true of the transformed collections
dpc(−5) and dpc(+​7). The only notes affected
by s1 are the enharmonically equivalent notes
C♭ and B, which occur at the same places in the
two designs and are altered in the same way by
the transformation (raised chromatically), so
the transformed designs remain enharmoni-
cally equivalent. The original note, whether C♭ in
dpc(−6) or B in dpc(+​6), is (6, 3) in enharmonic
coordinates, while the transformed note, C in
dpc(−5) or B♯ in dpc(+​7), is (7, 6) in either case
(originally fa, it is now ti).
The line-​of-​fifths perspective should make
the general validity of the theorem clear.
Enharmonically equivalent notes and spaces
look just alike in the line of fifths, shifted left or
right by twelve places or some multiple thereof,
and the action of a signature transformation on
the two spaces takes exactly the same form.
To define the action of a signature transfor-
mation such as s1 on a note such as (6, 3)—​B or
C♭ in the enharmonic space edpc(6)—​we may
assume any convenient spelling for the space;
that is, we may choose dpc(+​6) or any other
space dpc(n) enharmonically equivalent to
dpc(+​6), such as dpc(−6). If we choose dpc(+​6),
then the note is B; applying s1 to B in dpc(+​6)
gives B♯ in dpc(+​7). Finally, we reinterpret this
result as a pitch class in the enharmonic space
FIGURE 13.3.13 Transformations of a diatonic scale by diatonic transposition, chromatic transposi-
tion, and signature transformation
edpc(7), confident that if we had performed the
calculation in a different spelling we would have
reached the same result. In this way we obtain
a well-​defined mapping s1: edpc(6) → edpc(7),
or more generally sk: edpc(n) → edpc(n +​ k).
Because sk is defined on every enharmonic space
edpc(n), it is also a well-​defined mapping on the
unified space edpc*.
The transformations of the white-​note scale
in Figure 13.3.13 may be helpful in understand-
ing how the transformations Ti, tj, and sk act on
enharmonic coordinates. Each scale is a simple
diatonic design—​a line through the seven notes
of one enharmonic space edpc(n). (We write
seven-​note scales because of octave equivalence;
the eighth note could be written, but it would
duplicate the first.) In edpc(n) the spelling of
notes is arbitrary; three of the four scales in the
figure have only one likely spelling, but the D♭-​
major scale could be written as C♯ major instead,
with a seven-​sharp key signature. The names
shown for the scales are thus somewhat arbi-
trary, as signaled by the cautionary quotation
marks. A space edpc(n) does not imply a tonal
center, but the scale names take the first note of
each scale to be the tonic.
The transposition operators t1 and T1 trans-
form the scale in accordance with the descrip-
tions above. Diatonic t1 shifts each note one
step higher within edpc(0) and adds 1 to the
solfège index of each note in enharmonic coordi-
nates, converting the original C-​major scale to D
dorian. Chromatic T1 maps C major to D♭ major,
adding 7 (mod 12) to the scale index but leaving
solfège indices unchanged. Had we chosen to
notate this scale in sharps, the enharmonic coor-
dinates would be unaffected.
The signature transformation s1, though it
leaves the written notes unchanged, alters both
the scale index (from 0 to 1) and the solfège indi-
ces. The resulting scale still starts on C but is now
lydian; the C that was originally do (0) is fa (3) in
the new scale, and the indices of the other notes
shift likewise by 3 (mod 7). The number 3 may be
explained by the observation that do in dpc(n)
and do in dpc(n +​1) lie three diatonic steps
apart. Accordingly, s1 adds 1 to the mod-​12 coor-
dinate and 3 to the mod-​7 coordinate of every
note: s1(n, q) =​(n +​1, q +​3). Other signature
transformations sk may be produced by iterating
s1; the general formula is sk(n, q) =​(n +​ k, q +​3k).
Exercise 13.3.14
(a) Verify that the equation s5(4, 3) =​(9, 4) is
consistent with the formula given above for
sk in enharmonic coordinates, and interpret
the statement musically.47
(b) What equation in enharmonic coordinates
expresses the application of the signature
transformation s−4 to the note G♯ in an A-​
major scale? Confirm that your equation is
  consistent with the formula for sk.
The next exercise shows, empirically, that
some composite functions formed of Ti, tj, and
sk give results that seem to match other simpler
transformations. Explanations for these obser-
vations will emerge in the discussion below.
Diatonic Spaces • 559
Exercise 13.3.15 pair reduces to (n, q +​1), which is nothing more
(a) Starting with enharmonic coordinates (0, 6) than t1(n, q), a one-​step diatonic transposition.
(the note B in C major), apply the composite Whereas s7 is the same as chromatic T1, s12 is the
transformation T1s5 (that is, apply T1, then same as diatonic t1. Again consider the chain of
s5). Give the enharmonic coordinates of the s1-​related scales starting on C major, and con-
resulting note, and interpret the answer sider extending the chain beyond C♯ major (s7
musically. What simpler transformation, of C major). For convenience we may respell C♯
applied to the same note, would yield the major as D♭ major with no change in enharmonic
same result? coordinates. The next s1 produces D♭ lydian, after
(b) Also calculate the result of applying T1s5 to which D♭ is raised to D♮ and the cycle of modes
enharmonic coordinates (2, 0) and (10, 5). starts again on D: locrian, phrygian, aeolian.
Does the simpler transformation you The fifth application of s1 after D♭ major, or the
found in (a) give the same results in these twelfth after C major, produces D dorian, a t1
cases also? transposition of the original C-​major scale.48
(c) Identify a simpler transformation The equivalence of s12 and t1 is intimately
equivalent to t1s2 by applying this connected with the meaning of enharmonic
composite transformation to several equivalence. Return once more to the two enhar-
different notes in enharmonic coordinates. monically equivalent diatonic designs from
(d) What simpler transformation is equivalent Figure 13.3.6. These two designs are related by
  to T7t3? s12t6, but we now know that s12 =​ t1, so s12t6 =​
t1t6 =​ t0, the identity mapping on edpc*. From a
Because there are only twelve enharmonic slightly different perspective, Figure 13.3.6 itself
spaces edpc(n), one might expect that the sig- may be taken as a demonstration of the equa-
nature transformation s1 generates a 12-​cycle tion s12 =​ t1. When s12 is applied to the design in
of enharmonic designs. The truth is much more dpc(−6), the resulting design in dpc(+​6) does
interesting. Because s1 alters both the mod-​12 not match the dpc(+​6) design shown in the fig-
and mod-​7 components of the enharmonic coor- ure but is one diatonic step higher in the F♯-​major
dinates (n, q), iteration of s1 produces not a 12-​ scale, starting on B rather than on A♯ (because
cycle or a 7-​cycle but an 84-​cycle. As odd as the the signature transformation leaves generic pitch
idea of adding dozens of sharps or flats to a key classes unchanged). This observation shows that
signature may sound, signature transformations the action of s12 matches that of t1.
sk with indices much larger than 12 or smaller As the s1-​chain of scales starting on C major
than −12 are of considerable theoretical and ana- is extended beyond s12, every seventh scale is a
lytical interest. major scale, some Ti of C major: D♭ major at s7, D
The behavior of the transformations s7 and major at s14, E♭ major at s21, and so on. Meanwhile,
s12 merits particular attention. Adjusting a key every twelfth scale is a scale in dpc(0), some tj of
signature seven places in the sharpwise direction C major: D dorian at s12, E phrygian at s24, F lydian
always has the effect of raising the scale and all at s36, and so on. Because 12 and 7 are coprime,
its notes by one semitone; hence s7 is enharmon- the two interleaved cycles will realign only after
ically the same mapping as the chromatic trans- 12 ∙ 7 =​84 iterations of s1, when C major finally
position T1. We may confirm this by plugging k reappears. By that time, all 84 modal scales will
=​7 into the formula for sk, which gives s7(n, q) =​ have been traversed: seven modes starting on
(n +​7, q +​21). Because the second component is each of the twelve pitch classes.49
mod 7, this reduces to (n +​7, q), which is exactly The formula for sk gives s84(n, q) =​(n +​84, q +​
T1(n, q). If we apply s1 repeatedly to the C-​major 3 ∙ 84), which reduces to (n, q) because 84 is divis-
scale in Figure 13.3.13, after C lydian, the next ible by both 12 and 7. Indeed, s84, which is equal
application of s1 will raise C to C♯, producing a to both T112 and t17, is the identity transforma-
C♯ locrian scale; repeated applications of s1 will tion on edpc*, and could be written equivalently
then cycle through the modes on C♯ in the pro- as T0, t0, or s0. The signature transformation s1
gressively brightening order locrian–​phrygian–​ generates a cyclic group of order 84, the signa-
aeolian–​dorian–​mixolydian, arriving at C♯ major ture group. Every Ti, tj, and sk belongs to this
with the seventh application of s1. group, and every element of the group may be
If k =​12, the formula for sk gives s12(n, q) =​ written as sk for some k between 0 and 83; for
(n +​12, q +​36). Because the first component is instance, T5 may be written as s35, t5 as s60, and s−5
mod 12 and the second is mod 7, this ordered as s79. We will not always write transformations

560 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces

in these ways, however, because chromatic and
diatonic transpositions and small negative sig-
nature transformations remain the most intui-
tive descriptions of some musical relationships.
As a cyclic group, the signature group is auto-
matically commutative; all transformations Ti,
tj, and sk commute. The space edpc* has 84 ele-
ments given by enharmonic coordinates (n, q),
and action of the signature group on this space
is simply transitive.
The formulas for Ti and tj as signature trans-
formations have many implications. They may
be used to derive the observations in Exercise
13.3.15 above; for example, the calculation T7t3
=​ T17t13 =​ s77s123 =​ s49s36 =​ s85 =​ s84s1 =​ s1 confirms
the result of 13.3.15d. They also show why some
of the transformations we have observed in
Schubert’s sonata combine as they do. Figure
13.3.16 revisits the sonata for a final time, show-
ing several related designs that appear in the
movement. The three fragments arranged along
the left side of this figure are those from Figure
13.3.4a, related by s−4, T4, and t2. The designs
shown here are enharmonic designs, so the use
of the chromatic transposition T4 is now justi-
fied. Because T4 =​ T14 =​ s74 =​ s28, the composite
transformation from mm. 0–​2 to mm. 347–​49 is
s−4T4 =​ s−4s28 =​ s24, which is the same as t2 since
t1 =​ s12. The enharmonically spelled form in six
sharps, from Figure 13.3.6, does not occur in
the piece but is included here to clarify the s−3
relationship with the three-​sharp design below,
which appears at mm. 121–​23. The mapping
FIGURE 13.3.16 Network of signature transformations and transpositions in Schubert, D. 960, I
from mm. 0–​2 to mm. 121–​23 is therefore s−4s−3
=​ s−7, which is the same as T−1 or T11, and indeed,
both the key signature and the notes are a semi-
tone lower at mm. 121–​23 than at the outset.
(Measures 121–​ 23 tonicize F♯ minor, not A
major, but recall that a diatonic or enharmonic
space dpc(n) or edpc(n) does not imply a tonal
center.)
At the bottom of the figure, relations are
shown also between mm. 121–​23 and mm. 347–​
49. These two designs are not related by any Ti
or tj or by any simple sk, but we can describe the
relationship between them in at least two differ-
ent ways and show that they are equivalent. The
first possible description is T1t2: that is, we imag-
ine transforming the three-​sharp design by T1 to
put it back in B♭ major, then raising the notes
diatonically by two additional steps to match
mm. 347–​49. Alternatively, we could accomplish
the same thing by s−5t3, obtaining the desired
key signature via a five-​step flatwise signature
transformation from three sharps to two flats,
after which adjustment by three diatonic steps
is required. The algebra of signature transforma-
tions reassures us that both of these composite
transformations are the same: T1t2 =​ s7s24 =​ s31
while s−5t3 =​ s−5s36 =​ s31. While there may be a
variety of ways to think of this relationship, s31 is
the only transformation in the signature group
that relates these two designs as shown.
Any two enharmonic designs in the same
genus are always related by some signa-
ture transformation sk. In group-​ theoretic
Diatonic Spaces • 561
terminology from Section 6.5, a genus is an orbit
of the signature group. We have seen that the
chromatic and diatonic transpositions Ti and
tj may be expressed in terms of sk. Our discus-
sion of the last two designs in Figure 13.3.16
suggests, conversely, that in lieu of a signature
transformation, we can always find some com-
posite function of the form Titj to describe the
relationship between two designs of the same
genus, choosing Ti to obtain the correct relation
between key signatures and tj to shift the notes
to the proper position. In fact, we can say exactly
which transpositions Ti and tj will combine to
produce a given signature transformation sk; the
following exercise provides the details.50
Exercise 13.3.17 For any integer k, let i be a
number congruent to 7k mod 12, and let j be a
number congruent to 3k mod 7. Show that the
composite transformation Titj is equal to the
signature
   transformation sk.
The two enharmonically equivalent designs
in Figure 13.3.16 are the same enharmonic
design in edpc(6), but as diatonic designs in
dpc(−6) and dpc(+​6) they are different. The for-
mulas t1 =​ s12 and s84 =​ s0 are valid in enharmonic
space edpc* but not in the diatonic spaces
dpc(n). Notes in dpc(n) have fixed letter names,
which signature transformations are powerless
to change, so no sk can duplicate the effect of t1
on these spaces; moreover, dpc(n) differs from
dpc(n +​12), to say nothing of dpc(n +​84). On
the family of spaces dpc(n), s1 generates an infi-
nite cyclic group. If two diatonic designs belong
to the same genus but contain different generic
pitch classes, they will not be related by any
signature transformation, but they will always
be related by some combination of transforma-
tions tj and sk.
In enharmonic space edpc*, an s1-​cycle like
the one described above for scales can be recre-
ated for any genus: iteration of s1 always pro-
duces a cycle through 84 designs, which exhaust
the realizations of the genus. The transforma-
tion s1 is not the only generator of the group;
any sk for which k is coprime to 84 will produce a
complete cycle. Other ways to arrange the cycle
may be revealing. Figure 13.3.18 shows the 84
realizations of the line genus [0, 3, 1](OT7 ) , one of
the line genera shown earlier in Figure 13.3.5.
Each three-​note group is one realization of this
genus; the 84 realizations are arranged in a
12-​by-​7 array. Reading horizontally, the seven
562 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
realizations on each staff share a key signature
and all belong to the same space edpc(n); these
seven designs are therefore related by diatonic
transposition tj. (The line for edpc(6) appears in
the figure twice, notated in sharps and equiva-
lent flats.) Vertically aligned realizations, mean-
while, are related by chromatic transposition Ti.
The array could have been organized stepwise,
by t1 horizontally and T1 vertically, but instead
we have chosen a fifth-​generated arrangement
in both dimensions, so that horizontally adja-
cent designs are related by t4, vertically adjacent
designs by T7, as the arrows show. The figure
wraps around on itself in both the horizontal and
vertical dimensions in the manner of a torus. An
advantage of arranging the realizations by fifths
is that the signature transformation s1 becomes
a diagonal move , illustrated by the diagonal
chain of arrows starting at the top right. This
diagonal move combines a vertical move by
T7 with a leftward move by t4−1 =​ t3, so the fig-
ure shows explicitly that T7t3 =​ s1, as calculated
above. The reader may trace this s1-​chain beyond
the twelve arrows shown and verify that it traces
a path through all 84 realizations. The structure
of the array illustrates the group isomorphism
ℤ12 × ℤ7 ≅ ℤ84 in much the same way that Figure
6.4.3 illustrated the simpler isomorphism ℤ4 ×
ℤ3 ≅ ℤ12. The figure suggests two different Cayley
diagrams for the signature group, one (compris-
ing all the horizontal and vertical arrows) on the
pair of generators t4 and T7 and highlighting the
direct-​product structure, the other (the single
84-​cycle of diagonal arrows) on the single gen-
erator s1 and showing the cyclic structure.
Some pairs of realizations share the same
notes. For example, the first four realizations
in the s1-​chain in Figure 13.3.18 all have the
notes A♮–​D♮–​B♮; not until the fourth applica-
tion of s1, when D♮ becomes D♯, do any of these
notes require adjustment. Interpreted as chro-
matic designs in pc, these four realizations
are identical, but they differ as enharmonic
designs because of the differing key signatures;
in enharmonic coordinates the note A is (0, 5)
in the first design in the chain (la in edpc(0))
and (1, 1) in the second (re in edpc(1)). Because
s1 always changes the key signature, no enhar-
monic design can be invariant under s1, even if
its notes are unchanged.
The commonality among the four A♮–​D♮–​B♮
realizations has further implications. Vertically
aligned realizations are related by Ti, so as chro-
matic designs, all 48 designs in the rightmost
FIGURE 13.3.18 The 84 realizations of the line genus [0, 3, 1](OT
four columns of the array are related by chro-
matic transposition. These realizations all con-
sist of an ascending perfect fourth followed by
a descending minor third; that is, they all share
the mod-​12 OT normal form [0, 5, 2](OT12 ). This
mod-​12 OT-​class is the species associated with
7)
, related by t4, T7, and s1
these 48 realizations of the given genus. There are
a total of three species for this genus, as indicated
at the bottom of the figure: [0, 5, 1](OT12 ) is the spe-
cies for all the realizations in the first two col-
umns, and [0, 6, 2](OT12 ) is the species for the third
column alone. The genus-​ species relationship
Diatonic Spaces • 563
will be examined in detail in the next section.
That this three-​note genus comes in exactly three
species is no accident; it illustrates the impor-
tant principle cardinality equals variety.
An array like Figure 13.3.18 may be con-
structed for any genus. For most genera the
84 realizations are all different as enharmonic
designs, as is the case for the line genus in the
figure. The only exceptions to this generalization
are the genera that we have called trivial—​those
that are transpositionally symmetric in mod-​
7 space, invariant under any tj, such as a chord
containing all seven generic pitch classes. A triv-
ial genus has only twelve different realizations,
distinguished by key signatures. Every nontriv-
ial genus has 84 different realizations, and the
action of the signature group on them is simply
transitive.
The following theorem consolidates the main
observations we have made about signature
transformations and transpositions.
Theorem 13.3.19: Properties of signature
transformations and transpositions The
chromatic transpositions Ti, diatonic
transpositions tj, and signature transformations
sk, all defined on unified enharmonic space
edpc*, satisfy the following properties:
(a) The chromatic transpositions Ti form a
cyclic group of order 12, generated by
T1; T12 is the identity T0. In enharmonic
coordinates, Ti(n, q) =​(n +​7i, q).
(b) The diatonic transpositions tj form a cyclic
group of order 7, generated by t1; t7 is the
identity t0. In enharmonic coordinates,
tj(n, q) =​(n, q +​ j).
(c) The signature transformations sk form
a cyclic group of order 84, the signature
group, generated by s1; s84 is the identity s0.
In enharmonic coordinates, sk(n, q) =​
(n +​ k, q +​3k).
(d) All transpositions Ti and tj belong to the
signature group: Ti =​ s7i, while tj =​ s12j. All
transformations Ti, tj, and sk commute.
(e) Every signature transformation sk may be
written as the product of some Ti and tj.
Specifically, sk =​ Titj, where i =​7k (mod 12)
and j =​3k (mod 7).
(f) Every nontrivial diatonic genus has exactly
84 different realizations in enharmonic
spaces edpc(n). The signature group acts in
simply transitive fashion on the set of these
  84 realizations.
564 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
A common phenomenon easily modeled by
a signature transformation is the inflection of a
triad from major to minor or vice versa, which
we have described previously using the parallel
transformation P. Signature transformations
can sometimes reproduce the behavior of other
triadic transformations as well. An analysis of
a triadic progression via signature transforma-
tions, however, requires assigning a diatonic
context to each triad in the form of a key signa-
ture or a space edpc(n), an additional layer of
interpretation that a standard transformational
analysis does not require, and which may be con-
sidered desirable in some situations but not nec-
essarily in others.
Consider, for example, the PR-​cycle C–​c–​
E♭–​e♭–​G♭–​f♯–​A–​a–​C from Smetana’s Bartered
Bride overture, examined previously in Exercises
4.2.13c and 10.2.12b. For each triad three dia-
tonic collections are available. For consistency,
assume that each triadic root is a temporary
tonic of a major or aeolian scale; that is, the root
of every major triad is do and the root of every
minor triad is la. With this understanding, the
C-​major triad belongs to edpc(0) while C minor
and E♭ major belong to edpc(9). The C–​c pro-
gression and the other parallel moves become
s−3, while c–​E♭ and the other relative moves are
t2. The composite transformation s−3t2 =​ s−3s24 =​
s21 =​ T3 captures the relationship between the C-​
major triad in edpc(0) and the E♭-​major triad in
edpc(9), and repeating s−3 and t2 in alternation
produces the entire cycle. Another feature of the
signature-​ transformation approach is that s−3
and t2, unlike P and R, are defined on individual
notes within triads; the transformational action
maps root to root, so in the case of R it does not
reflect the smooth voice leading characteristic of
the triadic transformation.
Signature transformations and transposi-
tions are not involutions as are the wechsels P
and R. While s−3 captures the behavior of P on
a major triad and t2 captures the behavior of R
on a minor triad, these transformations must
be replaced by their inverses if the modes
are reversed. Thus an oppositely directed
PR-​ chain, descending by thirds, alternates
s3 and t5.
Exercise 13.3.20 Use signature transformations
to analyze the sequence C–​c♯–​C♯–​d–​D–​d♯–​D♯–​e
from Prokofiev’s Scherzo in A Minor,
Op. 12, No. 10 (analyzed as a P′P-​chain in
Exercise
   8.2.26e).
Exercise 13.3.21
(a) A signature-​transformation alternative to
the leittonwechsel transformation L is less
intuitive than that for P or R. In edpc(0),
C-​major and E-​minor triads are related by
t2 or t5, but the note E is mi, not la, in this
diatonic context. Above we considered s3
the most appropriate representation for
minor-​to-​major P. Show that, starting on a
C-​major triad in edpc(0), an alternation of
t2 and s3 does not generate an LP-​c ycle.
(b) The deficiency of the t2s3-​chain in (a) as a
model of an LP-​chain may be rectified in
two ways: by choosing a representation
for L different from t2, or by choosing
a representation for P different from s3
(and therefore a different “P” from the
one used above in the PR-​chain). Solve
the problem both ways, and show that the
solutions both produce the same composite
transformation at the two-​chord level (that
is, the same transformation equivalent
  to “LP”).51
Example 13.3.22: Debussy, Sonata for Violin
and Piano, I The first movement of Debussy’s
Violin Sonata is a loose sonata form whose
development section opens with arpeggiations
of a first-​inversion triad in the piano, over
which a violin melody enters at m. 88, as
shown in greatly simplified form at the left side
of Figure 13.3.23a.52 The diatonic context is
unambiguous: the arpeggiated triad is E major,
and the entire ten-​measure melody remains
within dpc(+​4), the E-​major scale, engaging
every note of the scale except B, which appears
in the piano arpeggiations. The arpeggiations
return in m. 106 and the melody in m. 110, but
there are differences. The arpeggiated chord is
now C major, but the melody is not in dpc(0): it
is in dpc(+​1), apparently C lydian. The melody
is not transposed: it starts on F♯ both times,
and the remaining notes are identical except
for chromatic alterations to the notes C, D,
and G to fit dpc(+​1)—​a textbook example
of the signature transformation s−3. The
transformation is applied scrupulously through
all 37 notes of the melody, beginning as shown
in the figure. Because enharmonic equivalence
will soon come into play in this analysis, the
figure gives the enharmonic labels for the
spaces, edpc(4) and edpc(1) rather than
dpc(+​4) and dpc(+​1).
The relationship between the piano’s E-​major
and C-​major chords is evidently not s−3. The
pitch classes in the chords are transposed by T8,
but as we have defined chromatic transposition
on enharmonic designs, T8 transposes music
in edpc(4) to music in edpc(0), not edpc(1).
The figure therefore shows this transposition as
T8s1, the unique element of the signature group
that maps an E-​major triad in edpc(4) to a C-​
major triad in edpc(1). We may note that T8s1 =​
s56s1 =​ s57, and the index numbers of s−3 and s57
are congruent mod 12, as must always be true
of signature transformations whose initial and
final diatonic spaces agree.
This melody is the first of several features
of Debussy’s development section for which
a signature-​transformation analysis proves
revealing. In mm. 133–​39, as shown in part
(b) of the figure, the violin hovers around G♭
while the piano arpeggiates the perfect fifth
E♭–​B♭. The violin’s G♭ is neighbored by A♭ and the
piano’s B♭ by C♮, so the mode is E♭ dorian; the
diatonic space is dpc(−5) or enharmonically
edpc(7). The echo at m. 140 introduces a new
modal context: the piano’s fifths drop to D–​A ,
the violin’s G♭ and A♭ are respelled as F♯ and G♯,
and the mode is D lydian—​dpc(+​3) or edpc(3).
This too is a simple signature transformation,
now s−4, clarified in the figure by first respelling
E♭ dorian as D♯ dorian. In contrast to the s−3
transformation of the earlier melody, this s−4
acts on the entire violin-​and-​piano texture as
a single enharmonic design, though it has the
effect of changing only the notes in the piano.
In all four of the segments in parts (a)
and (b) of Figure 13.3.23, the violin enters
on the same F♯, neighbored each time by a
prominent G or G♯, but the modal context
is different each time. Part (c) assembles
this information into a network that spans
the entire development section. The first
two “measures” in (c) are a shorthand form
of (a), while the next two repeat (b). Three
different transformations, s6, s−9, and s6t1,
are shown spanning from the measures of (a)
to the measures of (b); see Exercise 13.3.25
below for interpretations of these. The note-​
grouping bubbles in (c) vary in size to show
the extent of the designs on which the various
transformations act.
At m. 146 the continuing piano figuration is
transformed by s−5 to dpc(−2). The movement’s
primary tonality is G minor, and the recapitulation
Diatonic Spaces • 565
FIGURE 13.3.23 Signature transformations in Debussy, Sonata for Violin and Piano, I, mm. 88–​150
is signaled at m. 150 by G in the bass and the
return of the triadic melody from the opening of
the movement. (This melody is first heard in the
piano, as the instruments trade material briefly; it
is then restated in the violin and is shown in the
violin line of Figure 13.3.23c for convenience.) The
piano’s A and D are the only notes of the D lydian
scale that are unaffected by this s−5. As B♮ gives way
to B♭, however, an ingenious role reversal takes
place: in the G-​minor context, B♭ is heard not as
an upper neighbor to A, as B♮ has been, but as the
stable note to which the now dissonant A resolves.
Figure 13.3.23 skips over two eight-​measure
passages featuring perfect-​fifth dyads in
566 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
parallel motion. Although these segments do
not linger for long in one diatonic collection,
at any moment a listener readily assimilates
the music into an imagined diatonic context,
and signature transformations are useful
for modeling these changing perceptions, as
illustrated in Figure 13.3.24. The top half of
the figure shows mm. 98–​106; the bottom half
shows mm. 120–​28.
The first of these passages immediately
follows the E-​major section described above,
so the E–​B dyad at m. 98 is initially heard
in a four-​sharp context, edpc(4). Already in
the next measure (the perfect-​fifth dyads
FIGURE 13.3.24 Signature transformations in Debussy, mm. 98–​106 and 120–​28
move regularly at one chord per measure),
the D–​A dyad challenges that assumption,
so our hypothetical listener fits it into the
nearest available collection with D♮, edpc(3).
Retrospectively, she realizes that the E–​B
dyad belongs to edpc(3) as well, so it may be
reinterpreted that way, as a sort of pivot chord.
E–​B in edpc(4) and E–​B in edpc(3) are related
by s−1. All double-​line vertical arrows in Figure
13.3.24 are pivot transformations of this kind,
relating dyads with the same notes in different
key signatures. A short horizontal t6 arrow
shows the relationship between the E–​B and
D–​A dyads in edpc(3).
The F–​C dyad that follows poses a greater
challenge to diatonic hearing as it requires a
larger scale shift, an s−3 all the way to edpc(0).
Again, though, retrospective hearing allows the
Diatonic Spaces • 567
entire segment (so far) to be accommodated
in this white-​note scale; in the figure, a pivot
s−3 maps a bubble containing both the E–​B and
D–​A dyads in edpc(3) to a similar bubble in
edpc(0). This new context then holds sway for
three more measures. The fifth and sixth dyads
repeat the first two, but are no longer likely to
be heard in reference to edpc(4) or edpc(3)
because of what has intervened. With the B♭–​F
dyad in m. 104, the possibility of hearing the
entire passage in one diatonic collection is
finally shattered, as this dyad forces a shift to a
one-​flat collection, edpc(11), incompatible with
the previously heard B♮s. Here the preceding D–​
A is the only possible pivot.
The final dyad in this first segment, C–​G,
becomes absorbed in the arpeggiations of the
C-​lydian section discussed previously. From
edpc(11), an s2 pivot to edpc(1) is required
when the lydian context emerges. The arrow
at the top right in Figure 13.3.24 describes the
relationship between E major at m. 98 and C
lydian at m. 110 in two ways. The first, T8s1,
was noted earlier in 13.3.23a. Alternatively,
an E–​B dyad is mapped to a C–​G dyad by t5
(and the diatonic transpositions to this point,
t6t2t1t5t6t5t1, combine to produce t5), so this t5
may be combined with the signature change s−3
from edpc(4) to edpc(1). Calculation confirms
that T8s1 and t5s−3 are both equal to s57. Indeed
they must be equal: the simply transitive action
of the signature group ensures that one and
only one group element maps E–​B in edpc(4)
to C–​G in edpc(1).
The T8 transposition has a further
ramification: the second passage of perfect-​
fifth dyads, in mm. 120–​27, is an exact
T8 transposition of the first, as shown by
the vertical arrow joining the two largest
bubbles in Figure 13.3.24. The two passages
are, however, in different relationships with
their surroundings. The music preceding the
C–​G dyad of m. 120 is not in C major but in
C lydian, so the initial pivot transformation
here is s−2 rather than s−1. This s−2 reverses the
s2 with which the previous segment ended,
leading back to edpc(11), and the following
measures push further flatward, to edpc(8) and
eventually edpc(7). In edpc(11), the first two
dyads at mm. 120–​21 retrograde the last two
dyads of the earlier passage; in fact, allowing
for signature adjustments as needed to fit
edpc(8), the first four dyads of this passage
retrograde the last four of the previous passage.
The final three dyads of the second passage
568 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
are in edpc(7), the diatonic context for the E♭
dorian passage from Figure 13.3.23b, which
follows immediately. The plagal t4 into m. 128,
however, is new: until this point the dyads have
moved exclusively by step or by third (t1, t2,
t5, or t6). The longest arrow in Figure 13.3.24,
looping around the left side of the figure, is s−9
from m. 98 to m. 128. This s−9 appears also in
Figure
   13.3.23c; see the exercise below.
Exercise 13.3.25
(a) Explain the transformations s−9 and
s6t1 appearing in the piano in Figure
13.3.23c, and verify that the composite
transformation (T8s1)(s6t1) in the bass is
equal to s−9.
(b) In the violin part in the same figure, the
transformation from m. 88 to m. 133
is s−3s6, which is s3, not s−9. Explain the
discrepancy.
(c) Explain the transformations T3s−3 and t2s−6
shown from m. 120 to m. 128 in Figure
13.3.24, and verify that both are equal to s18.
(d) Verify that the transformations s57 and s18
combine to produce s−9, as implied by the
  three longest arrows in Figure 13.3.24.
13.4 GENUS AND SPECIES
Figure 13.3.18 noted the three species arising
as realizations of the line genus [0, 3, 1](OT7 ) .
Figure 13.4.1 shows a more familiar example,
the chord genus of triads. The seven generic tri-
ads CEG, DFA, …, diagrammed in gpc in the top
row of this figure, share the mod-​7 OPTC nor-
mal form [0, 2, 4]OPTC
(7 )
. The bottom row shows
the corresponding white-​note chords in mod-​
12 space pc and demonstrates a familiar fact:
the triads within a diatonic scale include three
major triads, three minor triads, and one dimin-
ished triad.
Let us carefully examine what this observa-
tion means. We may interpret the generic pitch
classes in the triads in gpc as white notes, dia-
tonic pitch classes in dpc(0) (technically using
the interpretation function δ0 to do this). We
may then regard those white notes as mod-​12
pitch classes in edpc(0), a subset of pc (techni-
cally using the projection function π), obtain-
ing triads in pc. While the original chords in
gpc all had the same mod-​7 interval structure,
the new subsets of pc exhibit three different
mod-​ 12 interval structures, commonly called
qualities but known in this context as species.
FIGURE 13.4.1 One chord genus and three chord species of triads
The three major triads have mod-​12 OPTC
normal form [0, 4, 7](OPTC 12 )
, the three minor tri-
ads [0, 3, 7]OPTC , and the one diminished triad
( 12 )
[0, 3, 6](OPTC
12 )
. There are no augmented triads in a
diatonic scale, nor other kinds of “triads” such as
CEG♭. Normal forms may be calculated using the
algorithm from Section 10.4. Although major
and minor triads belong to the same traditional
set class (OPTIC-​class), they belong to different
species (OPTC-​classes) because I equivalence is
not among the relations defining a species. In
summary, the diatonic transpositions of one
triad through generic space yield three different
kinds of sets in chromatic space; the single genus
of triads is realized in three different species.
Clough and Myerson introduced the terms
genus and species, and the associated adjec-
tives generic and specific, in exactly this context,
when studying the various possible forms that a
generic pitch-​class set may take when it is situ-
ated as a subset of a diatonic scale within chro-
matic space.53 Clough and Myerson considered
only lines and chords, special cases subsumed
by the broader notion of designs introduced in
Section 13.3. We noted there that a genus is an
equivalence class of diatonic designs related by
any combination of diatonic transpositions tj
and signature transformations sk, or an equiva-
lence class of enharmonic designs related by
sk. Genera may also be determined for generic
designs: if X is a generic design, the various dia-
tonic interpretations δn(X) are identical except
for their key signatures, so they are related by
signature transformations and therefore belong
to a common genus. Two generic designs belong
to the same genus if and only if they are related
by some generic transposition tj, leading to yet
another definition of genus: a genus is an equiv-
alence class of generic designs related by tj. Thus
every diatonic, enharmonic, or generic design
realizes a unique genus. Among the categories of
designs defined in Section 13.3, only a chromatic
design does not determine a genus. A chord
genus is a mod-​7 OPTC-​class, which may also
be described as a t-​class of generic pitch-​class
sets; a line genus is a mod-​7 OT-​class, a t-​class of
generic pitch-​class lines. If any diatonic design in
a genus is trivial (transpositionally symmetric in
generic space), then all are trivial; in this case we
call the genus itself trivial as well.
A species, generally, is an equivalence class of
chromatic designs related by chromatic trans-
position Ti. Because diatonic and enharmonic
designs may be interpreted chromatically, a
unique species may be determined for any dia-
tonic, enharmonic, or chromatic design, but not
for a generic design. (A generic design may be
interpreted as a diatonic design in multiple ways,
and as we saw in the case of triads, the different
interpretations do not generally share the same
species.) A chord species is a mod-​12 OPTC-​class,
or a T-​ class of ordinary pitch-​ class sets—​ the
same thing that in other contexts may be called a
chord quality. A line species is a mod-​12 OT-​class,
a T-​class of lines in pitch-​class space.
A diatonic or enharmonic design realizes both
a genus and a species. In such a case we may say
also that the species realizes the genus. Every
genus, clearly, is realized by one or more species,
because the notes of any diatonic design in the
genus may always be interpreted as pitch classes
in chromatic space. We have seen that the line
genus [0, 3, 1](OT7 ) and the chord genus [0, 2, 4](OPTC7)
are realized in three species each. Some spe-
cies do not realize any genus at all because they
imply pitch-​class patterns not occurring in any
diatonic scale—​an obvious example being the
chord species [0, 1, 2](OPTC
12 ) . If a species does realize
Diatonic Spaces • 569
a genus, the genus is almost always unique; the
rare exceptions will be discussed below.
Every design, of any type, can be reduced to
a chord: the unordered set of all pitch classes
in the design. Consequently, any genus can be
reduced to a chord genus and any species to a
chord species. For example, the generic lines
C–​E–​G, G–​E–​C, E–​C–​G–​G, and C–​E–​C–​G–​C–​
E–​G–​ C all reduce to the generic triad CEG,
and the corre-sponding line genera [ 0, 2, 4](OT7 ) ,
[0, 5, 3](OT7 ) , [0, 5, 2, 2](OT7 ) , and [0, 2, 0, 4, 0, 2, 4, 0](OT7 )
all reduce to the chord genus [0, 2, 4](OPTC
normal forms for line genera may be reduced
to OPTC normal forms for chord genera by the
algorithm from Section 10.4.) When the line G–​
E–​C is transposed diatonically through dpc(0),
it produces three line species, which, reduced to
chord species, match the chord species identified
previously for the genus of triads. The generic
transpositions of E–​C–​G–​G also produce three
different line species, each containing a repeated
note—​but these line species reduce to the same
three three-​note chord species as before. While
a line genus or any other genus may always
be reduced to a unique chord genus, a chord
genus is potentially associated with many differ-
ent line genera—​an unlimited number, allowing
for both permutations and repeated notes.
In the context of designs, genera, and spe-
cies, we will use the word cardinality to mean
pitch-​class cardinality. That is, the cardinality of
a design is the number of distinct pitch classes
(generic, diatonic, or chromatic) in the design;
equivalently, it is the cardinality of the design’s
chordal reduction. Thus the generic line E–​C–​
G–​G is of cardinality 3. All designs belonging to
one genus or species are of the same cardinality,
so we may speak of the cardinality of a genus
or species without ambiguity. In particular, the
cardinality of a genus is the cardinality of any
design in that genus. (It is not the number of
designs in the genus.) The largest possible car-
dinality of a diatonic, generic, or enharmonic
design, or of a genus, is 7; the largest possible
cardinality of a chromatic design or of a spe-
cies is 12.
The fact that there are three qualities of tri-
ads in a diatonic scale is elementary, but Clough
and Myerson recognized that it illustrates a
broadly applicable principle, one of the most
elegant theorems in mathematical music theory.
Consider the generic seventh chord, the genus
[0, 1, 3, 5](OPTC7)
. In generic pitch-​class space there
are just as many seventh chords as triads, but
570 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
seventh chords come in more species: every dia-
tonic scale includes two major seventh chords,
three minor sevenths, one dominant seventh,
and one half-​diminished seventh. Whereas tri-
ads—​ three-​
note sets—​ were realized in three
species, seventh chords—​four-​note sets—​are
realized in four. Clough and Myerson’s observa-
tion, stated formally in the following theorem, is
that the number of species always matches the
cardinality of the genus.
7)
. (OT Theorem 13.4.2: Cardinality equals variety
Every nontrivial genus of cardinality k is
realized
   in exactly k species.
Cardinality equals variety is often abbrevi-
ated “C =​V.” Recall that the only trivial chord
genera are the genera of the empty set and the
7-​
note generic aggregate, and that all non-
empty line genera, including those of cardi-
nality 7, are nontrivial. For chords and lines,
therefore, the theorem may be recast in the fol-
lowing forms:
• C =​V for chords: If 1 ≤ k ≤ 6, then every chord
genus of cardinality k is realized in exactly k
species.
• C =​V for lines: If 1 ≤ k ≤ 7, then every line
genus of cardinality k is realized in exactly k
species.
It is these two forms in which Clough and
Myerson presented the theorem and in which
it has usually been stated, but both are encom-
passed by the more general formulation given in
Theorem 13.4.2.
We shall prove the theorem after considering
a few more examples, starting with the assort-
ment in the exercises below.
Exercise 13.4.3 For each of the following chord
genera, determine the associated species and
verify that C =​V holds.
(a) [0, 1](OPTC
7)
(generic interval class 1)
(b) [0, 2](OPTC
7)
(gic2)
(c) [0, 3](OPTC
7)
(gic3)
(d) [0, 1, 2](OPTC
7)
(a three-​note generic cluster)
(e) [0, 1, 3](OPTC
7)
(one of the two asymmetric
trichord genera from Figure 13.1.22)
(f) [0, 2, 3](OPTC
7)
(the other asymmetric
trichord genus)
(g) the genus of the chord CDFG
(h) [0, 1, 2, 3, 4](OPTC
7)
(a five-​note generic
  cluster)
Exercise 13.4.4 For each of the following
line genera, determine the associated species
and verify that C =​V holds; also identify the
associated chord genus and species.
(a) [0, 2](OT7 )
(b) [0, 5](OT7 )
(c) [0, 3](OT7 )
(d) [0, 4](OT7 )
(e) [0, 3, 1, 4](OT7 ) (compare with Exercise
13.4.3g)
(f) the genus of the line E–​C–​D–​G
(g)  [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6](OT7 )
Exercise 13.4.5
(a) Consider a diatonic design consisting of
the two chords GBDF–​CEG in dpc(0). This
is a design of cardinality 6; verify that is
realized in six different species.
(b) Consider a diatonic design consisting of
the two chords BDFA–​CEG in dpc(0).
This is a nontrivial design of cardinality 7;
verify that it is realized in seven different
  species.54
Exercise 13.4.6 The C-​m ajor fugue from
Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues, Op.
87, is played entirely on white keys. The
subject, shown in Figure 13.4.7, is treated in
the course of the fugue to each of the seven
possible diatonic transpositions within the
white-​note scale. As a diatonic design, this
subject is of cardinality 5. Write the seven
diatonic transpositions of the subject, locate
them in the score if possible, and verify
that they belong to exactly five different
species.
   55
FIGURE 13.4.7 Shostakovich, Twenty-​Four Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87: Fugue No. 1 in C Major,
subject
The genera of cardinality 2 merit special
attention. A chord genus of cardinality 2 is a
generic interval class. The first three parts of
Exercise 13.4.3 formalize the familiar fact that
each generic interval class is realized in exactly
two species—​for example, a third (gic2) can be
either minor (ic3) or major (ic4). A line genus of
cardinality 2 is a directed mod-​7 interval: the
line genus [0, 5](OT7 ) in Exercise 13.4.4b also comes
in two species, of which [0, 8](OT12 ) could refer to
either an ascending minor sixth or a descend-
ing major third while [0, 9](OT12 ) is an ascending
major sixth or descending minor third. The par-
ticular case of C =​V for directed intervals (lines
of cardinality 2) is known as Myhill’s property.56
The line species [0, 6](OT12 ) appears among the
realizations for both parts (c) and (d) of 13.4.4
because ic6 can occur diatonically as either an
augmented fourth or a diminished fifth. Any line
species of cardinality 2 that reduces to the chord
species [0, 6](OPTC
12 )
realizes two different genera,
but this is a rare property: no other line species
realizes two genera, nor does any chord species
at all. (The chord genus for both an augmented
fourth and a diminished fifth is [0, 3](OPTC 7)
, which
is the only genus realized by the species [0, 6](OPTC 12 )
.)
As a chord, the generic aggregate, the unique
generic pitch-​class set of cardinality 7, is a trivial
design, realized not by seven species but by only
one: [0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10](OPTC
12 )
, the OPTC-​class of the
diatonic collection as a subset of pc. Thus C =​V
fails for chords of cardinality 7. An ordered set
containing all seven generic pitch classes, how-
ever, such as the scale in Exercise 13.4.4g, is
realized by seven different line species, as is the
two-​chord genus of cardinality 7 from Exercise
13.4.5b.
The examples above offer few clues to suggest
why C =​V should be true. In Figure 13.4.1, there
is no obvious reason why the species should
be equal in number to the notes of the chord.
Because the chord genera in Figure 13.1.22 are
limited in number, one could verify C =​V for
chords by enumerating the associated species for
Diatonic Spaces • 571
each of them. In lieu of such a tedious exercise,
we will exhibit a species-​enumeration process
that may be applied to the designs of any genus;
we will then establish the validity of the theo-
rem by showing that for nontrivial designs this
process produces species equal in number to the
cardinality.57
The process is a familiar one: it is the cycle
generated by the signature transformation
s1. We have observed that a 12-​by-​7 array like
Figure 13.3.18 may be constructed for any
genus, and that if the genus is nontrivial, the
array contains 84 distinct enharmonic designs.
The twelve designs in any one column of the
array are related by chromatic transpositions
Ti and therefore automatically belong to the
same species—​but as Figure 13.3.18 showed,
more than one column can share a species. Our
objective, therefore, is to determine how spe-
cies are distributed among the seven columns
of the array.
The discussion below emphasizes chords,
but at the end we will comment on the applica-
tion to other genera. The process may be dem-
onstrated for any nontrivial genus; we illustrate
with the chord genus [0, 1, 3](OPTC7) ,
the chordal
reduction of the line genus from Figure 13.3.18.
The beginning of an s1-​cycle for this chord genus
appears in Figure 13.4.8. Any [0, 1, 3] chord
in any space edpc(n) could serve as the start-
ing point for the cycle; we choose to start with
ABD in edpc(0), the chord corresponding to the
three-​note line A–​D–​B at the upper-​right corner
of Figure 13.3.18, which was also the starting
point of the s1-​chain illustrated in that figure.
The chords shown in musical notation at
the left side of Figure 13.4.8 are obtained by
repeated application of s1 to this initial chord.
These chords are labeled as enharmonic designs
in the spaces edpc(n) as noted. In principle, any
of these designs could be spelled in more than
one way. To get started we may choose a spelling
for the first chord; for convenience we of course
choose dpc(0) (rather than, say, dpc(+​12),
which is also theoretically possible). This three-​
note spelled pitch-​class set A♮B♮D♮ is pictured in
the top row of the figure as a subset of dpc(0), a
contiguous seven-​note subset of spc. ABD is the
mod-​7 OP normal form for the generic set, but
the line-​of-​fifths order for this set is D–​A–​B. A
single fifth separates D and A, while two fifths
separate A and B; that is, intspc(D, A) =​1 and
intspc(A, B) =​2, using the interval function intspc
from Section 7.2. We say that the fifth-​string of
the spc set ABD is 1–​2.
572 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
The fifth-​ string describes the appearance
of the set in the line of fifths by enumerating
the gaps between notes in order from left to
right. We also say that the span of this spc set
is 3: the span of a set is the fifth-​interval from
the set’s leftmost (flattest) spc to its rightmost
(sharpest), and is equal to the sum of the num-
bers in the fifth-​string. A fifth-​string and span
are defined for every finite nonempty spc set.
Two spc sets have the same fifth-​string if and
only if they are related by some spc transposi-
tion τk; a fifth-​string may be regarded as a sort
of normal form for spc sets.58 A set is completely
determined by its flattest spc and its fifth-​string.
Because a diatonic collection dpc(n) comprises
seven consecutive notes in spc, the span of a dia-
tonic spc set (a subset of some dpc(n)) can never
exceed 6. Conversely, every spc set of span ≤ 6
is a diatonic set. Importantly for the discussion
below, one set may be a subset of more than one
diatonic collection.
Figure 13.4.8 situates each chord of the
s1-​
chain in the appropriate diatonic collec-
tion dpc(n) within spc and shows the chord’s
fifth-​string and species. The species of ABD is
12 ) ,
[0, 2, 5](OPTC the OPTC normal form of ABD as
an ordinary pitch-​class set (technically, the set
obtained from the diatonic set ABD by the map-
ping π).
The first three applications of s1 do not change
any of the chord’s notes. The figure shows the
boundaries of the diatonic collections from
dpc(0) to dpc(+​3) shifting rightward around the
fixed notes D, A, and B. These four ABD chords,
situated in four different diatonic collections,
constitute what we will call a stable segment of
the s1-​chain. These are the only four diatonic
collections containing the chord A♮B♮D♮; see the
exercise below. Since the notes of the chord are
unchanged, the fifth-​string and species are also
unchanged by these first three applications of s1.
Exercise 13.4.9 Write a simple formula,
involving the span of the set, for the number
of different diatonic collections of which a
given
   diatonic spc set is a subset.
In dpc(+​3), D♮ is the flattest note (fa); it
is not a note of dpc(+​4) at all. As such, D is
altered by the next application of s1, giving
way to D♯, the sharpest note (ti) of dpc(+​4).
The next set in the chain, consequently, is not
ABD but ABD♯. As the curved arrow in the fig-
ure shows, when D moves to D♯ it jumps seven
places to the right, leapfrogging the other two
 7)
FIGURE 13.4.8 Demonstration of C =​V for the chord genus [0, 1, 3] (OPTC

notes of the chord and dramatically changing At this point, in dpc(+​6), B is fa, so the next
the fifth-​string of the set, from 1–​2 to 2–​4. s1 replaces B with B♯. But A♯B♯D♯ in dpc(+​7) is
The chord’s species changes accordingly, to identical to ABD in dpc(0), except that the dia-
[0, 2, 6](OPTC
12 )
. A horizontal line separates the spe- tonic collection and all the notes of the chord
12 ) .
cies [0, 2, 5](OPTC
12 )
and [0, 2, 6](OPTC have shifted seven places to the right; the
The note A has become fa in dpc(+​4), so the initial fifth-​string 1–​2 and species [0, 1, 5](OPTC
12 )

chord changes again at the next step, to A♯BD♯ recur here. Recall that in enharmonic space
in dpc(+​5), bringing with it another new fifth-​ s7 =​ T1 by Theorem 13.3.19d; in the array of
string, 4–​1, and another new species, [0, 1, 5](OPTC
12 )
. Figure 13.3.18, the first seven applications
This chord A♯BD♯ is unaffected by the following s1. of s1 cycle through all seven columns of the

Diatonic Spaces • 573

array, back to the initial column, where the
T1 transposition of the initial design appears.
As far as species are concerned, therefore,
the first seven designs in the s1-​chain tell us
everything we need to know; the same pattern
of fifth-​strings and species will simply repeat
over and over thereafter. In the remainder of
this section we use the term s1-​c ycle for a seg-
ment of an s1-​chain consisting of seven designs
and seven s1 transformations. An s1-​c ycle
is therefore not a real cycle of chords, as the
eighth chord differs from the first by T1 trans-
position, but it is a cycle of fifth-​strings and
species. The first seven lines of Figure 13.4.8
constitute an s1-​c ycle; the three species in this
cycle, in groupings of 4, 1, and 2 from top to
bottom, correspond to the species in the col-
umns of Figure 13.3.18, read from right to left.
Here, then, is an intuitive explanation of
C =​V: in the course of an s1-​cycle, the chord
changes every time a note jumps to the right,
and because every note in the chord jumps once
per cycle, the number of jumps is equal to the
number of notes in the chord.
This explanation is plausible and ultimately
correct, but it is not quite a rigorous proof. The
consecutive chords between jumps, in the stable
segments of the cycle, are all the same, so clearly
they all belong to one species. Chords from dif-
ferent stable segments always contain some dif-
ferent notes—​but to conclude C =​V we need to
know that such chords always belong to different
species. The three stable segments of the cycle
in Figure 13.4.8 all give rise to different species,
but how can we be sure that is always the case?
The question is not a simple one. The answer
depends on two observations, one (implicit in
the discussion above) involving the equivalence
of species and fifth-​strings, the other about the
numbers appearing in the fifth-​string for a given
chord. We present the first observation in the
form of the following theorem.
Theorem 13.4.10: Equivalence of species and
fifth-​strings For diatonic spc sets, species are in
one-​to-​one correspondence with fifth-​strings. That
is, two diatonic spc sets have the same fifth-​string
if and
   only if they belong to the same species.
Half of this theorem is clear. Any two spc sets
with the same fifth-​string are related by some
spc transposition τk; the corresponding pc sets
are therefore related by T7k, so the sets belong to
the same species.
574 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
The converse—​sets of the same species have
the same fifth-​ string—​ holds only for diatonic
sets, spc sets of span ≤ 6. We can see as much
by considering the implications of enharmonic
equivalence. We could respell ABD as AC♭D, replac-
ing B with C♭, twelve places to the left. The new
set is enharmonically equivalent to the old—​it
defines the same subset of pc—​so it certainly
belongs to the same species, but as an spc set it
takes a very different form (its fifth-​string is 9–​1).
With a span of 10, this is of course not a diatonic
set. If some but not all of the notes of a diatonic
set are respelled enharmonically, the result will
almost always be a set whose span is greater than
6, hence a non-​diatonic set whose fifth-​string dif-
fers from that of the original set. (There is a single
exception: if the set is a tritone, whose fifth-​string
is the single number 6, transposing its leftmost
note by τ12 or its rightmost note by τ−12 yields a
respelled tritone, also with fifth-​string 6.) The
only way that two diatonic sets can be enharmon-
ically equivalent is if the entire sets are related by
τ12i for some i (or τ6i if the set is a tritone), as is the
case, for example, with ABD and B♭♭C♭E♭♭. In par-
ticular, enharmonically equivalent diatonic sets
(even tritones) always share the same fifth-​string.
To complete the proof of Theorem 13.4.10,
suppose X and Y are diatonic spc sets of the same
species. Then as pc sets, X and Y—​or technically
π(X) and π(Y)—​are related by some chromatic
transposition in pc, say Ti(π(X)) =​ π(Y). An spc
transposition corresponding to Ti is any τk with
k =​7i (mod 12). The equality of the pc sets Ti(π(X))
and π(Y) does not imply that the spc sets τk(X) and
Y are the same, but it does imply that τk(X) and Y
are enharmonically equivalent. But we have just
noted that enharmonically equivalent diatonic
sets always share the same fifth-​string, so in the
present situation Y has the same fifth-​string as
τk(X), which is the same as the fifth-​string of X.
The second observation involves the num-
ber of times each chord species occurs in the
( 12 )
s1-​cycle of Figure 13.4.8. The species [0, 2, 5]OPTC
( 12 )
occurs four times in this cycle, [0, 2, 6]OPTC once,
and [0, 1, 5](OPTC
12 )
twice. These numbers 4, 1, and 2
are the same numbers that appear in the fifth-​
strings 1–​2, 2–​4, and 4–​1 for the three species.
It is not difficult to see why this is the case. For
example, the number 2 in two of these fifth-​
strings reflects the fact that the notes A and B
are separated by two fifths, which ensures that
two steps of the cycle separate the moves A♮
→ A♯ and B♮ → B♯; the stable segment between
these moves is therefore a segment of length 2.
 Figure 13.4.11 shows the chord ABD in the
generic circle of fifths gfifth. The three numbers
1, 2, and 4 are clearly visible here as the gfifth
intervals between successive notes around the
circle: intgfifth(D, A) =​1, intgfifth(A, B) =​2, and
intgfifth(B, D) =​4. The chord in gfifth has a
cyclical fifth-​string that could be read in any of the
rotations 1–​2–​4, 2–​4–​1, or 4–​1–​2, depending on
where one chooses to start. The fifth-​strings in
Figure 13.4.8 are the same, but with the final
interval—​the wraparound interval—​omitted
from each. The various fifth-​strings associated
with the stable segments of an s1-​cycle for any
chord are always obtained by rotating a single
cyclical fifth-​string in this way.
In light of this observation, the question that
lingers from our explanation of C =​V may be
rephrased and answered at last. If it is somehow
possible for two different stable segments of an
s1-​cycle to belong to the same species, then by
Theorem 13.4.10 they must also have the same
fifth-​string. Because all the fifth-​strings in an s1-​
cycle arise through rotation of a single cyclical
fifth-​string, it follows that two different rota-
tions of one cyclical fifth-​string must match. This
means that the picture of the set in the generic
circle of fifths is rotationally symmetric, and
therefore the set is invariant under some generic
transposition tj (a one-​place clockwise rotation
in the generic circle of fifths corresponds to
generic t4). In other words, this situation is pos-
sible only for transpositionally symmetric sets
in generic space, the kind we have called trivial.
This completes the proof of C =​V for nontrivial
chord genera—​that is, for nonempty chords of
cardinality ≤ 6.
Any other kind of genus of cardinality
≤ 6 reduces to a chord for which C =​V holds.
In an s1-​cycle for a line or a genus of a more
FIGURE 13.4.11 The set ABD in generic fifths
space gfifth, with the cyclical fifth-​string 1–​2–​4
complex type, a note of the design changes at
the same step where the corresponding note of
the chordal reduction changes, so the species for
such a genus are in one-​to-​one correspondence
with the species for the chord. It follows that C =​
V holds for every such genus.
Generic designs of cardinality 7, which we
will call complete designs, require special consid-
eration. Some such designs are trivial and so are
explicitly excluded in the statement of Theorem
13.4.2. We have noted that the trivial chord of
cardinality 7 does not satisfy C =​V; the last step
in the above proof is invalid in this case because
all rotations of the cyclical fifth-​string 1–​1–​1–​
1–​1–​1–​1 are the same. But such cases are rare:
the only trivial designs are those in which all
seven generic pitch classes are always present
simultaneously or not at all, such as a pattern of
cardinality-​7 chords alternating with rests. Other
complete designs, such as a seven-​note line or
the two-​chord genus from Exercise 13.4.5b, are
nontrivial, and C =​V holds for them. For non-
trivial complete genera, C =​V may be regarded
as a generalization of the intervallic distinguish-
ability property of the diatonic scale discussed in
Section 13.2: loosely speaking, every such genus
has seven distinguishable “modes.”
To see why this is true, consider a complete
genus, interpreted as a diatonic design in some
diatonic space dpc(n). Suppose two different
diatonic transpositions belong to the same spe-
cies, say X and tj(X) for some j with 1 ≤ j ≤ 6. The
corresponding designs in chromatic space, π(X)
and π(tj(X)), are then related by some chromatic
transposition Ti. But the total pitch-​class con-
tent of X is dpc(n), which as a subset of chro-
matic space is not invariant under any Ti other
than T0. It follows that the chromatic designs
π(X) and π(tj(X)) must be identical. Two different
complete diatonic designs in one space dpc(n)
can never be the same in chromatic space, so
this means the diatonic designs X and tj(X) are
identical as well. Once again, we have shown
that a duplication of species implies that the
original design must be trivial (transpositionally
symmetric).
This discussion of complete designs shows
that the transpositions tj within one diatonic
space dpc(n) produce all the species, as illus-
trated previously for triads in Figure 3.4.1. The
s1-​cycle in Figure 13.4.8 produces the species
in a different way, via signature transforma-
tions. The array in Figure 13.3.18 shows that
Diatonic Spaces • 575
either of these processes will always produce the
same species. Diatonic transpositions occur on
one row of the array, while the s1-​chain traces a
diagonal path; either process will cycle through
all seven columns, and the chords obtained by
diatonic transposition are chromatic transposi-
tions of those in the s1-​cycle.
A fifth-​string such as 4–​1 for a diatonic set
may be considered an abbreviated form of a
cyclical fifth-​string 4–​1–​(2), obtained by adjoin-
ing the wraparound interval for the set in the
generic circle of fifths. The wraparound interval,
now given in parentheses, is redundant in the
sense that it is uniquely determined by the other
intervals: it is 7 − s, where s is the span of the
set in spc. The above discussion shows that the
number of occurrences of a given species within
one s1-​cycle is always equal to the wraparound
interval of the fifth-​string associated with that
species. Thus in Figure 13.4.8, the species with
the fifth-​string 1–​2–​(4) occurs four times, 4–​1–​
(2) twice, and 2–​4–​(1) only once. This property,
dubbed structure implies multiplicity by Clough
and Myerson (1985, 254), holds not only for
chords but for other genera as well, using the
fifth-​string of the design’s chordal reduction.59
As a consequence of this property, a species such
as the one with the fifth-​string 1–​2, which takes
a compact shape in the line of fifths, will occur
more frequently than a species whose notes are
more widely dispersed, such as 4–​1. Exercise
13.4.15 below presents another interpretation
of the wraparound interval.
Figure 13.4.8 shows that the notes fa and ti
play special roles in the s1-​cycle. If a set in dpc(n)
contains the note fa of that scale, the next appli-
cation of s1 will raise that note, producing a new
species in which the raised note is ti in dpc(n +​
1). In the seven designs in one s1-​cycle, there-
fore, fa and ti each occur in exactly one set per
species. A species containing a tritone, such as
2–​4, is always of span 6 and can occur only once
in the cycle.
Exercise 13.4.12 The fact that 7 is a prime
number is crucial to the conclusion that a
cyclical fifth-​string other than 1–​1–​1–​1–​1–​
1–​1 can never be rotationally symmetric, and
therefore crucial to the C =​V property. Give an
example of a string of positive integers (not all
equal) summing to 8 that matches one of its
rotations. Also give a similar example summing
to 9 and one summing to 12, noting that
576 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
your example summing to 12 could describe
the interval structure of a transpositionally
symmetric
   pitch-​class set.
Exercise 13.4.13
(a) In the s1-​cycle in Figure 13.4.8, verify that
both fa and ti occur in exactly one set per
species, while no other solfège syllable has
that property.
(b) Write the seven diatonic transpositions
of the chord ABD in dpc(0), transposing
the set repeatedly by t3. Verify that the
transpositions produce the same species
as in Figure 13.4.8, in the same order
and each with the same multiplicity. Why
does transposing by t3 (rather than t1 or
something else) guarantee that the order of
species will be the same?60
(c) Of the seven sets in dpc(0) from (b), verify
that the notes F and B each occur in exactly
one set per species, while no other note of
  dpc(0) has this property.
Exercise 13.4.14 For each chord genus listed
below, enumerate the species by producing
an s1-​cycle similar to Figure 13.4.8. For each
species, also verify the “structure implies
multiplicity” property and verify that fa and ti
occur only once per species.61
(a) [0, 3](OPTC
7)
(generic interval class 3)
(b) [0, 1, 4](OPTC
7)
(c)  the genus of seventh chords
Exercise 13.4.15
(a) Wraparound intervals were defined above
by situating a diatonic set within a generic
circle of fifths. Instead, such a set may be
drawn in the appropriate diatonic circle
of fifths; a picture of A♯BD♯ in dpc(+​5),
for example, shows the correctly spelled
notes of dpc(+​5), including A♯ and D♯. Draw
pictures of the eight chords from Figure
13.4.8 in this way. The pictures will show
eight different diatonic collections; arrange
all of the circles with C or C♯ at the top.
A diatonic circle of fifths always includes
one diminished fifth, between ti and fa.
Observe that the diminished fifth always
occurs within the wraparound interval
for each chord. Trace the movement of
the diminished fifth around the circle as
the s1-​cycle unfolds, and observe how this
 process illustrates the “structure implies
multiplicity” property.
(b) Draw another series of diatonic circles of
fifths to illustrate the species of this same
genus, this time rotating the set within the
circle of fifths for a fixed diatonic collection.
  Compare these pictures with those in (a).
NOTES
1. Exercise 6.5.16 is relevant to the discussion here;
in that exercise, similar relationships were described
in terms of automorphisms of ℤ7.
2. Hints for Exercise 13.1.2: Some of the functions
in this exercise are interval functions while others
are distance functions, and three different spaces are
involved. In two of the three parts, the desired inter-
val or distance is uniquely determined by the informa-
tion given. In the other part, the answer is not unique,
but the possibilities are limited.
3. Figure 13.1.7 and Example 13.1.10 are revised
from Hook [2014] 2020.
4. The pattern in Figure 13.1.7 may be compared
with a somewhat similar sequential hierarchy in chro-
matic space from Figure 4.5.25c. Chromatic sequences
do not obey the “serial” property, nor does the chro-
matic hierarchy exhibit the recursive structure of the
generic one, with the same transpositions appearing
on different levels.
5. Hint for Exercise 13.1.8: These problems may be
solved algebraically through the careful use of mod-​
7 multiplicative inverses. There are, however, only six
possible answers in each case, so the desired number
can probably be found quickly by trial and error.
6. The hierarchy constructed in Exercise 13.1.9
arises less frequently in tonal music than the t6–​t5–​t3
hierarchy from Figure 13.1.7, as sequences moving by
descending step, descending third, and descending
fifth are all more common than their opposites.
7. See Schoenberg [1947] 1975, 405–​ 06. The
descending-​thirds description has not gone unchal-
lenged: Rothgeb (1987, 210) writes that “the idea
that the theme of the Fourth Symphony consists of
(seven) descending thirds … contains not the small-
est grain of truth, and is in fact inimical to a correct
understanding of the most fundamental properties
of Brahms’s tonal language.” Rothgeb then presents a
voice-​leading framework on which the theme is said to
be truly based.
8. See also Clough 2008, 41–​44, for an analysis
using techniques related to those in this section. The
analysis here may also be compared with Clough’s
briefer analysis of the opening theme of the Scherzo
from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 (Clough 1979–​80,
480–​81).
9. A variety of other observations may be made
about relationships between the two parts in Figure
13.1.12c. For example, one can define two contextual
inversion operators on three-​note generic scale seg-
ments: operator J inverts a segment in generic space
about its first note, operator K about its last note.
The first segment in the violins (generic F–​E–​D) is
K-​inverted to produce the first segment in the bass
(B–​C–​D), which is then J-​inverted to produce the next
segment in the violins (B–​A–​G), and so on.
10. The mod-​7 OP normal form of a triad proceeds
upward from the root (CEG), but the OP normal form
of a seventh chord begins with the chordal seventh
(BCEG, not CEGB). In the present discussion, for ease
of recognition, we list the notes of both chords begin-
ning with the root.
11. Hint for Exercise 13.1.16: The group has several
possible generators. A generator must be a transfor-
mation f such that repeated application of f on a chord
such as CEG will cycle through all fourteen chords in
gtriad ∪ gsev. All transformations in the group are
of the form tn or tn ● sup* for some n. Because an appli-
cation of tn can never lead from one circle to the other,
no tn by itself can generate the entire group.
12. Hints for Exercise 13.1.18: The equation in (a)
expresses a relationship between sup and sub, as func-
tions from gtriad to gsev. To prove it, you must show
that if X ∈ gtriad, then the seventh chord sup(X) is
the same as sub(t2(X)) or t2(sub(X)). How does Figure
13.1.14c illustrate this relationship? For (b), you must
show that if Y ∈ gsev, then sup−1(Y) =​sub−1(t5(Y)) =​
t5(sub−1(Y)). The two groups in (e) were considered in
Exercise 13.1.17c, where the question was whether
they are isomorphic. The present exercise asks if
they consist of precisely the same transformations on
gtriad ∪ gsev—​a stronger condition.
13. The single-​step voice leadings CEG → ACEG
and CEG → CEGB require two different doublings
in the triad. A path such as ACEG → CEG → CEGB
in Figure 13.1.14c therefore cannot be realized with
single-​step voice leading in a four-​voice setting. The
generic voice-​leading distance described in Exercise
13.1.20 is a distance function defined on triads and
seventh chords as generic pitch-​class sets, not multi-
sets—​elements of mod-​7 OPC-​space, not OP-​space.
See Section 12.5 for related considerations in chro-
matic space.
14. The graph constructed in Exercise 13.1.21
is not a Cayley diagram. The functions sup, sub,
sup−1, and sub−1 are defined on most, but not all, of the
Diatonic Spaces • 577
chords depicted here, and transformations sup* and
sub* are not well-​defined on this space.
15. Hook 2007d describes combinatorial tech-
niques for enumerating sets and set classes in a space
of cardinality n. The number of pitch-​class sets is sim-
ply 2n ; there is not a simple formula for counting T-​ or
TI-​classes.
16. See Clough 1979, 48. Clough uses the term
“diatonic chords” for generic T-​ and TI-​classes, con-
ceiving them as subsets of a diatonic scale. Rather
than identifying them by the normal forms given
here, he employs an interval-​string notation inspired
by Chrisman 1971 and Regener 1974. For example,
OPTC normal form [0, 2, 3] is (214) in Clough’s nota-
tion, the three digits signifying intervals between
successive notes in the circular diagram. Clough also
calculates an interval-​class vector for each set; see
Exercise 13.1.24 below.
17. Recall from Table 10.3.15 that the concept of
pitch-​class set presupposes octave, permutational,
and cardinality equivalence. T-​ and TI-​classes of pitch-​
class sets are therefore the same as OPTC-​ and OPTIC-​
classes of pitch tuples, respectively. Figure 13.1.22
is a complete enumeration of mod-​ 7 OPTC-​ and
OPTIC-​classes. These normal forms are also OPT and
OPTI normal forms, respectively, but the list is not a
complete enumeration of OPT-​ or OPTI-​classes when
multisets with doublings are considered; for example,
[0, 0, 1, 3] is an OPTI normal form but not an OPTIC
normal form.
18. Hints for Exercise 13.1.23: For (b), let n be the
sum of the first and last generic pitch-​class numbers
in the generated order of the set, and consider the
inversion operator in. For (c), remember that every
interval cycle in generic space exhausts all seven pitch
classes; what can you conclude about the complement
of a partial cycle? The yes-​no questions in (b) and (c)
have different answers. For (d), reconsider Exercise
6.5.8a, modified as needed for the mod-​7 context. For
(e), use the result of (d) together with the result of
Exercise 6.5.7e.
19. Hint for Exercise 13.1.24b: The relationship can
perhaps be seen by inspecting a few examples, but it
may also be deduced from Theorem 7.5.1.
20. Hint for Exercise 13.1.25: The graph should
include eight vertices and sixteen edges, includ-
ing loops.
21. Mod-​7 spaces make occasional appearances
in Tymoczko 2011. See in particular pp. 103–​ 18;
Tymoczko’s Figure 4.1.4b resembles our Figure
13.1.26. Frederick 2019 examines this and several
other mod-​7 OPTIC spaces in detail, noting the inde-
pendence of the structure of the space from the cardi-
nality of the underlying scale.
578 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
22. One could construct a musically real example
of a continuous mod-​7 space by dividing the octave of
continuous pitch-​class space into seven equal steps,
or by imposing mod-​7 rather than mod-​12 congru-
ence on continuous pitch space (using the perfect
fifth rather than the octave as the modulus for scale
structure)—​but neither of these is a musically famil-
iar construction, and neither one corresponds to the
intended interpretations of the generic spaces in this
section.
23. As we will discuss in more detail in Section
14.2, Tymoczko distinguishes several families of lat-
tices depending on the relationship between the car-
dinality of the chords and that of the underlying scale.
Among two-​voice OP-​spaces, the mod-​12 and mod-​7
cases are of different types because 2 is a divisor of 12
but is coprime to 7.
24. Hints for Exercise 13.1.27c: Among other dif-
ferences, the two progressions circumnavigate their
respective Möbius strips a different number of times.
Also, if the progressions are realized in pitch space
with smooth voice leading, both starting on a perfect
fifth, one progression will arrive back at GC on a per-
fect fifth, the other on a perfect fourth. The progres-
sion in (a) is shown in Tymoczko 2011, 109, Figure
3.11.7; the one in (b) is implied in Tymoczko 2011,
98, Figure 3.10.2a.
25. Hints for Exercise 13.1.28a: By Theorem 13.1.4,
sum class 0 contains one representative of each OPT-​
class. Five three-​note OPT-​classes appear among the
OPTC-​classes in Figure 13.1.22. Multisets with dou-
blings account for the other seven; note that [0, 0, 1],
[0, 0, 2], and [0, 0, 3] exhibit permutational but not
inversional symmetry.
26. Hints for Exercise 13.1.28b: Like Figure 11.3.1,
this cross section is an equilateral triangle and may
be oriented with CCC at the lower right. The other
two corners of the triangle are OP normal forms [21 3 ,
21 3 , 21 3 ] and [42 3 , 42 3 , 42 3 ], which also have OPT
normal form 000 but are not lattice points. The five
lattice points without doublings lie in the interior of
the triangle; the symmetrical ones fall on an axis from
CCC to the midpoint of the opposite side, which is
the only axis about which the arrangement of lattice
points is symmetrical. Multisets with doublings lie on
the boundary of the triangle. Along the bottom edge,
proceeding leftward from CCC, one of the other lattice
points lies 3 7 of the way to the lower-​left corner, and
another lies 6 7 of the way.
27. Hints for Exercise 13.1.28c: The sum-​class-​0
layer from (b) appears as both the bottom layer and
the top layer of the prism, in two different rotations.
The other six sum-​class layers are arranged in between;
each layer is a t1/​3 transposition of the layer below it.
Lattice points do not fall in the same positions in all
the layers; the configuration of lattice points occurs in
three different rotations. See also Exercise 14.2.15 for
another approach to the construction of this space.
28. Hints for Exercise 13.1.28d: All multisets with
the note C doubled fall on the diagonal of the face
from CCC to CCC. Some doublings of D, E, A, and B
also appear on this face (but no doublings of F or G).
29. Hints for Exercise 13.1.28e: When a generic
trichord descends by thirds (t5), its sum class increases
by 1. It is difficult to graph such progressions clearly in
these spaces, but the mod-​7 picture should look more
regular than the mod-​12; the difference is analogous
to the difference between the sequence graphs in parts
(a) and (c) of Figure 2.3.4.
30. Hints for Exercise 13.1.29a: This space is a tri-
angle in the same proportions as Figure 11.4.12; in
fact, it may be obtained by slicing off that figure at an
appropriate vertical line. As in the mod-​12 case, the
three edges of the triangle contain trichords exhibit-
ing P, I, and OI symmetry. The only lattice point in the
interior of the mod-​7 triangle is the unique trichordal
OPTI-​class that exhibits none of those symmetries.
31. Hint for Exercise 13.1.29b: All these reflections
are at right angles to the boundary. The path corre-
sponding to the loop at [0, 2, 4] does not pass through
a corner of the triangle.
32. Hint for Exercise 13.2.2: The relationship between
gpc and spc numbers in Table 2.6.1 may be helpful in
understanding why δn(k) is always congruent to 2k +​5
mod 7. Exercises 2.6.2b and 2.6.7b are also relevant.
33. This interpretation of π was noted in Section
7.2, where we established that π: spc → fifth is an
interval-​ space homomorphism. Some relationships
shown in Figure 13.2.1 are potentially misleading for
reasons connected with the dual depictions of γ and
π. For example, as mappings of sets, the functions γ:
spc → gpc and γ: spc → gfifth are the same, so it
should not be inferred from the arrows in the figure
that the composition of γ: spc → gpc with m4: gpc
→ gfifth is equal to the mapping γ: spc → gfifth.
Mathematicians would say that the diagram “does not
commute.”
34. Again we are abusing notation slightly, using
the names x and y both for spelled pitch classes and for
the corresponding pitch classes: technically if spelled
pitch classes x and y are related by τk, then T7k relates
the pitch classes π(x) and π(y).
35. The use of solfège syllables to indicate diatonic
position without implying tonic or mode was sug-
gested by Nathan Lam. This convention is consistent
with the practice in some pedagogical traditions of
singing melodies in do major and la minor.
36. Hint for Exercise 13.2.4: You may be able to
induce a formula by considering a few examples,
starting with those in Figure 13.2.1. The formula may
also be derived as follows. The index n of the collection
dpc(n) is the spc number of re. Use the formula for
π(n) from Section 2.6 to convert this spc number to a
pc number, and recall from Section 5.5 that the axis of
symmetry through a note j corresponds to invariance
under the inversion I2j.
37. Arthur von Oettingen exploited this property
of the bass-​clef staff in illustrating aspects of his dual-
ist harmonic theory. See Harrison 1994, 249–​50.
38. The deep property of the diatonic collection
is noted in Babbitt [1965] 2003, 195. An early study
of deep sets is Gamer 1967; Gamer borrows the
name deep from an unpublished manuscript by Terry
Winograd.
39. For the relationship between interval-​ class
vectors and common tones under transposition, see
Straus 2016, 96–​100.
40. Well-​formed scales were introduced in Carey
and Clampitt 1989, with further developments in
Carey and Clampitt 1996.
41. The mapping between the scalar and generated
orders is described here in terms of generic pitch-​class
numbers, but it may also be described in terms of the
two interval functions, as in the formula intgpc(x, y) =​
4 ∙ intgfifth(x, y) (mod 7) from Section 13.1. As noted
in Section 6.5, the automorphisms of a cyclic group ℤn
are precisely the mod-​n multiplication operators Ma
for which a is coprime to n. In the present situation n =​
7 and a =​4. Because 7 and 12 are coprime and the sca-
lar and fifth-​generated arrangements of the chromatic
pitch-​class circle are related by the mod-​12 operator
M7, it follows that the 12-​note chromatic scale is also
well-​formed.
42. Signature transformations were introduced in
Hook 2008, but the presentation here is significantly
different. The illustrations from Schubert’s B♭-​Major
Sonata may be compared with more extensive exam-
ples from the same piece and other works by Schubert
in Lam 2020.
43. Clough 1979–​80 includes several clefless exam-
ples of this sort, with the stated aim of identifying fea-
tures of each example that are shared by all possible
realizations.
44. This use of the terms genus and species general-
izes, but is consistent with, the usage in Clough and
Myerson 1985, to be discussed further in Section 13.4.
Of course, Clough and Myerson did not use the OPTIC
terminology, which was not available in the 1980s.
45. As an interval space, edpc* is isomorphic to
Rings’s space sd × pc, described in Section 7.3, though
the two spaces were conceived in different ways and
for different purposes.
46. Hint for Exercise 13.3.10c: Solve the congruence
m =​ n +​7i (mod 12) for i.
Diatonic Spaces • 579
 47. Hint for Exercise 13.3.14a: In interpreting the
statement musically, you may find it helpful to break
s5 into a composite transformation s2s3. The initial
s2 leads to edpc(6), where for convenience you may
change spelling before continuing with s3.
48. An s1-​chain much like the one described here
occurs in the opening section of Michael Torke’s 1985
composition The Yellow Pages. A two-​ measure seg-
ment of diatonic music—​a diatonic design—​is played
thirteen times, with an additional sharp in the scale
at each iteration. The effect is that the music initially
heard in G major is in A♭ major after seven transforma-
tions and in A dorian after twelve. At this point the
cycle breaks with a t6 transposition back to G major,
illustrating the equation t6 =​ t−1 =​ s−12. See Hook 2008,
147–​49.
49. For another description of this cycle of scales
see Exercise 14.2.5d.
50. Arithmetically, this property says that any
integer may be written as the sum of a multiple of 12
and a multiple of 7, which is true because 12 and 7
are coprime. This property is related to the Chinese
remainder theorem, mentioned in Exercise 2.5.5, as
well as to the calculations in Exercise 2.6.6.
51. Hint for Exercise 13.3.21b: For the “L” alterna-
tive, consider the signature transformation that maps
a C-​major triad in edpc(0) to an E-​minor triad in
edpc(1). For the “P” alternative, having settled on t2
for “L,” choose “P” to ensure that “LP” maps a C-​major
triad in edpc(0) to an E-​major triad in edpc(4).
52. This analysis is abridged from Hook 2008,
151–​58.
53. The genus-​ species terminology originates
in Clough and Myerson 1985 and 1986, though the
essential idea is found in some of Clough’s earlier writ-
ings on diatonic theory. For example, Clough (1979,
46) observes that A–​C–​E, A–​C♯–​E, and A–​C♭–​E “are
all equivalent collections in a diatonic world,” just as
A–​C–​E, A–​B♯–​E, and A–​D♭ ♭–​E are equivalent in the
chromatic world. The terminology has been adopted
by many other writers, but even in the literature on
diatonic theory and scale theory the usage has not
been entirely consistent, especially when the terms
are extended to scales of other cardinalities. In other
contexts the same words have been used in mark-
edly different ways; notable examples include Forte’s
(1988) system of pitch-​class set genera, Parks’s (1989)
categorization of genera in the music of Debussy, and
Quinn’s (2006, 2007) far-​ reaching study of chord
quality.
54. Hint for Exercise 13.4.5: Normal forms are not
defined for designs like those in this exercise; the spe-
cies of BDFA–​CEG in dpc(0) could be recorded, for
example, in a form such as [0, 3, 6, 10]–​[1, 5, 8].
580 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
55. In effect the subject is presented in all seven
modes, but because two generic pitch classes are omit-
ted from the subject, two pairs of modes are inter-
vallically indistinguishable. The fugal exposition, as
is traditional, alternates subjects in the tonic with
answers in the dominant, here a t4 transposition.
Because the subject lacks scale degree 7̂, neither F♮ nor
F♯ occurs in the t4 transposition, so the theoretically G
mixolydian answer cannot be distinguished from the
expected G major. The next transposition introduced,
at m. 40, is t2 of the subject—​but this E phrygian pre-
sentation is indistinguishable from aeolian because
the subject lacks 2̂ as well. Only when the phrygian
statement is answered at m. 48 with a B locrian (t6)
entry in the bass do we hear the subject in a strik-
ingly unexpected intervallic setting. (Although only
five modes are distinguishable in the subject itself, the
contrapuntal texture projects all seven; for example,
the countersubject presented concurrently with the
G mixolydian answer contains F♮.) The opening of
Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3, Op. 36 (Symphony
of Sorrowful Songs), features a long diatonic melody
of cardinality 7, immediately subjected to all seven
diatonic transpositions, all of them intervallically
distinguishable.
56. The name recognizes John Myhill, a mathema-
tician who worked with Clough and Myerson.
57. An enumeration of all the chord genera and
species is found in Clough and Myerson 1985, 251–​
53. The use of signature transformations differenti-
ates our approach here from the proofs of the theorem
in Clough and Myerson 1985 and 1986, but there
are points of contact; our representations of sets in
the line of fifths may be compared with Clough and
Myerson’s rotations of sets in the diatonic circle of
fifths. Clough and Myerson’s proofs turned out to
contain a logical gap; Silverman and Wiseman 2006
offer a fix.
58. The interpretation of fifth-​strings as normal
forms can be formalized. In principle, one could define
an entire family of normal forms for tuples of spelled
pitch classes in spcn , closely analogous to the OPTIC
family of normal forms for tuples in cpitchn . P and C
equivalence mean the same things in both spaces, and
T and I equivalence are closely analogous (referring in
spc to equivalence under τ-​transposition and inver-
sion along the line of fifths). Mod-​12 congruence in
spc, however, refers to enharmonic rather than octave
equivalence: spc normal forms are thus based not on
OPTIC relations but on EPTIC relations. In this termi-
nology the fifth-​string 1–​2 for an spc set corresponds
to the PTC normal form [0, 1, 3]PTC. (It is merely coin-
cidental that [0, 1, 3] is also the mod-​7 OPTC normal
form for the chord ABD.)
 59. This property holds even for nontrivial designs
of cardinality 7: the cyclical fifth-​string of the chordal
reduction of such a design is 1–​1–​1–​1–​1–​1–​(1), and
each of the seven species occurs once in the s1-​cycle.
60. Hint for Exercise 13.4.13b: Figure 13.3.18 may
suggest an answer to the last question.
61. Hint for Exercise 13.4.14: If the generic set you
start with does not contain ti, it will not be the “first”
set in its species as described above. The s1-​cycle will
then start with an incomplete enumeration of a spe-
cies; the remaining sets in this species will occur at the
end of the s1-​cycle.
SUGGESTED READING
Among important early landmarks in diatonic
theory, Clough 1979 and Clough 1979–​80 exam-
ine the structure of generic space, engaging with
much of the material in Section 13.1. Browne
1981 studies the diatonic as a subset of the chro-
matic, as in Section 13.2, with special attention to
intervallic distinguishability and related matters.
The discussion of well-​formed scales in Carey and
Clampitt 1989 delves much deeper than the brief
discussion here, and Carey and Clampitt 1996
explore the concept further still, in relation to scale
descriptions from early medieval treatises. The
genus-​species terminology and the principle cardi-
nality equals variety originated in the collaboration
of music theorist John Clough and mathematician
Gerald Myerson, who published this work twice,
in the Journal of Music Theory (1985) and in the
American Mathematical Monthly (1986). For a more
extensive study of the mod-​7 OPTIC spaces see
Frederick 2019.
The discussion of signature transformations here
is a substantially new formalization of a concept
first published in Hook 2008. This formalism and
the enharmonic coordinates introduced here are
related to a transformational system developed
in Lam 2020, which also tracks a scale’s tonic and
mode, aspects not accounted for by signature
transformations.
Diatonic Spaces • 581
 14
Scales II
Beyond the Diatonic
IN THIS chapter the focus broadens progres-
sively from the diatonic to scales of other kinds.
In Section 14.1 we examine non-​diatonic seven-​
note subsets of the chromatic scale as spelled
pitch-​class sets, or spelled heptachords, an
approach with applications in the study of chro-
matic harmony. Section 14.2 discusses maximal
evenness, a property often noted of the diatonic
scale but of considerable interest in other con-
texts as well; the geometric perspective pro-
vided by the OPTIC spaces proves fruitful in this
connection.
There are of course many kinds of scales
besides those with seven or twelve notes.
Section 14.3 generalizes observations from
this and the previous chapter to scales of other
cardinalities, with special attention to ways in
which a subset of a larger scale may be consid-
ered analogous to the 7-​in-​12 diatonic scale.
This final section is, of necessity, highly selec-
tive and somewhat cursory in nature. The litera-
ture on scales and microtonal tunings is so vast
Exploring Musical Spaces. Julian Hook, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2023. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190246013.003.0014
that its surface can barely be scratched here,
and in any case the common scales are probably
the examples of greatest interest to most read-
ers. Nevertheless, a brief examination of some
unorthodox scale systems may enable us to see
the distinctive features of the familiar ones in
a new and revealing light, and to understand
more completely what makes diatonic and chro-
matic scales so remarkable.
In some applications in this chapter it will be
useful to broaden our definitions of the words
generic and specific. Until now, we have used the
word generic exclusively in reference to scalar
spaces with seven notes per octave, and specific
in relation to the familiar twelve-​note chromatic
scale. These terms may be generalized to other
situations in which one scale (the generic) is a
subset of another (the specific). In Section 14.2
we will consider maximally even sets of various
generic sizes within the usual chromatic scale of
specific cardinality 12. Section 14.3 will explore
other specific cardinalities as well.
14.1 SEVEN-​N OTE
SCALES AND SPELLED
HEPTACHORDS
Figure 14.1.1 shows the dissonant opening
chords of Ravel’s Menuet antique alongside two
modified restatements of these chords later in
the piece. A generic aggregate—​a complete col-
lection of the seven generic pitch classes—​is
present in each of the three passages, and in fact
all three are identical in generic space, but one or
more accidentals are altered at each subsequent
appearance. In terminology from Chapter 13,
the three may be considered inflected versions of
a single generic design. The relationships among
them are similar to relationships described using
signature transformations in Section 13.3, but
signature transformations are not applicable
here because only the last of the three passages,
in dpc(+​6), is diatonic.
The pitch collection in the first excerpt in is
an F♯ harmonic minor scale. That in the second
excerpt may also be regarded as an inflected
diatonic scale, though one of a less familiar
type. The labels hmin(+​4) and nmin(+​3) will
be explained in the course of this section; both
labels identify spelled heptachords—​seven-​note
sets in which each letter name is represented
once. A spelled heptachord may be thought of
as a generalized key signature; the techniques
described here offer one way of extending the
application of signature transformations to con-
texts that are not entirely diatonic. As we will
see, spelled heptachords offer a perspective ele-
gant in its theoretical aspects and one with wide-​
ranging implications for the study of chromatic
harmony.1
Spelled pitch-​class space spc is an essential
part of this perspective. In order to interpret a
collection as an inflected form of something dia-
tonic, we must know how its notes are spelled. For
example, in a way that was tentatively explored
in Exercise 2.6.8, the chords B♭DFA♭ and B♭DFG♯
FIGURE 14.1.1 Spelled heptachords in Ravel, Menuet antique
are identical as mod-​12 pitch-​class sets but very
different when viewed through a diatonic lens.
The first, a dominant seventh chord, is a subset
of a unique diatonic collection, dpc(−3). The sec-
ond, an augmented-​sixth chord, does not belong
to any diatonic collection but may be considered
an inflected form of a chord from a different
diatonic collection, perhaps B♭DFG in dpc(−1).
Attentiveness to spelling allows distinctions like
these, crucial in tonal contexts, to be recognized.
We begin with some general observations
about spc sets before narrowing our focus to
heptachords. Table 14.1.2 displays the two
sets just mentioned along with several others
as subsets of spc, the line of fifths. The dots in
the fifth-​orderings stand in for notes in the line
of fifths absent from the sets in question; we
will sometimes identify spc sets in forms such
as A♭∙B♭F∙∙D for the B♭7 chord or B♭F∙∙D∙∙∙∙∙G♯ for
the augmented sixth. The fifth-​string and span
are shown for each set; these are as defined in
Section 13.4, but for compactness we now omit
the dashes previously included in fifth-​strings. A
fifth-​string is a string of c − 1 numbers, where c
is the cardinality of the set; these numbers sum
to the span of the set. The column headed α will
be explained below.
Every spc set determines an ordinary pitch-​
class set via the projection mapping π from
Section 2.6. For example, the B♭7 and augmented-​
sixth chords in the table share the π-​projection
{2, 5, 8, 10}; the spelling information present
in each spc set is lost in the pc set. An spc set
also determines a generic (mod-​7) pitch-​class set
by the generic projection mapping γ. The γ-​pro-
jection of the B♭7 chord is {D, F, A, B}, or in gpc
numbers {1, 3, 5, 6}, while that of the augmented
sixth is {D, F, G, B} or {1, 3, 4, 6}.
The first three chords in the table are domi-
nant seventh chords. The π-​projections of dom-
inant sevenths are always pc sets of species [0,
12 )
3,6, 8](OPTC and are all related by T-​transposition
Beyond the Diatonic • 583
Table 14.1.2. Eight spelled pitch-​class sets
DE S C R IP T ION F I F T H -​OR DE R I N G
B♭7 chord B♭DFA♭ A♭ ∙ B♭ F ∙ ∙ D
F7 chord FACE♭ E♭ ∙ F C ∙ ∙
7
C chord CEGB ♭ B♭ ∙ C G ∙
♯ø7 ♯
f chord F ACE C ∙ ∙
Ger+​6 chord B♭DFG♯ B♭ F ∙ ∙ D
f♯o7 chord F♯ACE♭ E♭ ∙ ∙ C ∙ ∙
Whole-​tone scale E♭FGABC ♯ E♭ ∙ F ∙ G ∙
♭ ♯
Octatonic scale ABCDE FF G ♯ E♭ ∙ F C ∙ D
in pc; their γ-​projections (along with those of
other species of seventh chords) are gpc sets
of genus [0, 1, 3, 5](OPTC
7)
, related by t-​transposi-
tion in gpc. In spc, dominant sevenths share
the fifth-​string 213 and span 6, and all are
related by spc transposition (τk)—​that is, they
appear identical in spc space except for left-​
right translation along the line of fifths. The f♯ø7
chord, the fourth chord in the table, is inver-
sionally related to the dominant sevenths in
spc, just as their π-​projections are inversionally
related in pc. If we write ɩ (iota) for inversion
about D (spc 0) in the line of fifths, then f♯ø7 is
related to C7 by ɩ, and to any other dominant
seventh by some ɩτk. Inversionally related spc
sets have the same span, and their fifth-​strings
are retrogrades. As noted in Section 13.4, a
fifth-​string may be used as a label for a τ-​trans-
position class of spc sets, hereafter called a τ-​
class. A pair of retrograde-​related fifth-​strings
together define a τɩ-​class.
While a τk relation between spc sets always
implies a T7k relation between their π-​projec-
tions as pc sets, a T relation between pc sets does
not imply a τ relation between spc sets. The B♭7
and augmented-​sixth chords in the table are not
τ-​ or τɩ-​related; they have different fifth-​strings,
and the large span of the augmented sixth sig-
nals its non-​diatonic status (only sets of span ≤ 6
are subsets of diatonic collections). By Theorem
13.4.10, however, a T relation does imply a τ
relation for diatonic spc sets.
Fully diminished seventh chords, whole-​
tone scales, and octatonic scales, in the spell-
ings shown in Table 14.1.2, are symmetrical in
spc space as they are in pc space. Nonstandard
spellings of the same pc sets, such as {C, D ♯ ,
F♯ , B♭ ♭ } for the diminished seventh, are not
584 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
FIF T H -​S T R IN G S PA N α
213 6 −2
A 213 6 −1
∙ E 213 6 −1
A E ∙ F♯ 312 6 1
∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ G♯ 136 10 0
A ∙ ∙ F♯ 333 9 0
A ∙ B ∙ C♯ 22222 10 0
A ∙ B F♯ ∙ G♯ 2121212 11 1
τ-​related to the standard spellings and may
be asymmetrical. Generally, inversional sym-
metry of a set in spc implies inversional
symmetry of its π-​projection in pc, but not
vice versa.
An spc set may contain a letter doubling such
as F–​F♯, an enharmonic doubling such as E♯–​F, or
even a crossing such as E♯–​F♭. The π-​projection of
an spc set with an enharmonic doubling may be
regarded as a multiset, the doubled notes becom-
ing an element of multiplicity 2. An spc set with
no letter doublings is called letter-​distinct; an spc
set with no enharmonic doublings or crossings is
called proper. The largest possible cardinality for
a letter-​distinct spc set is 7 (the octatonic scale
in Table 14.1.2 is not letter-​distinct as it con-
tains the letter doubling F–​F♯), while the largest
possible cardinality for a proper spc set is 12. The
π-​projection of a proper spc set is a pc set of the
same cardinality.
Section 2.6 introduced the accidental index
α(n) of the spc n, an integer that counts the
sharps or flats in a note name. We define the
accidental index α(X) of an spc set X to be the
sum of the accidental indices of its notes—​that
is, a count of all accidentals in the set, counting
sharps positive and flats negative. The acciden-
tal index generalizes the index numbers we have
used for diatonic collections throughout this
book: dpc(n) is an spc set of accidental index
n. The final column of Table 14.1.2 displays the
accidental index of each listed set. For example,
the accidental index of the whole-​tone scale in
the table is 0 (its one sharp balanced by one flat),
and that of the octatonic scale is 1 (two sharps
minus one flat). Other enharmonic spellings of
the same scales may have different accidental
indices.
Exercise 14.1.3
(a) Calculate the fifth-​string, span, and
accidental index of the spc set X =​{C, D♯, F♯,
B♭ ♭}. Your fifth-​string should confirm that X
is asymmetrical in spc.
(b) Give an example of two spc sets X and Y
such that π(X) and π(Y) are related by some
Ik in pc even though X and Y are not τɩ-​
related in spc.
(c) If all the sets in Table 14.1.2 are transposed
by τ1, the accidental index changes in
some cases but not in others. How can
you determine easily what will happen
to the accidental index of a set under τ1
transposition?
(d) To describe how the accidental index of a
set changes when the set is transposed by
τ7, one needs to know only one simple thing
about the set. What is it? Write a formula
for α(τ7(X)) in terms of α(X).
(e) In pc there are two whole-​tone collections.
Is it possible to write standard spellings
with fifth-​string 22222 for both of them so
that both have the same accidental index?
(f) The octatonic scale in Table 14.1.2 could be
respelled with A♭ in place of G♯. The respelled
set has fifth-​string 1212121 and span 10,
making it more compact than the spelling
in the table. There is no single correct way
to spell an octatonic scale, but spellings of
the 2121212 type are generally preferred to
those of the 1212121 type. Why? What is
  awkward about the spelling with A♭?2
Exercise 14.1.4
(a) If n is an spc number, then ɩ(n), the
inversion of n about D, is the spc −n.
Explain why π(−n) =​ I4(π(n)) (mod 12),
where I4 is the usual inversion operator of
that name in pc.
(b) Write a similar formula relating γ(−n) and
  γ(n) in gpc.
A spelled heptachord is defined to be a letter-​
distinct spc set of cardinality 7. Letter-​distinct-
ness ensures that each generic pitch class (letter
name) appears exactly once in every spelled
heptachord. The generic projection γ(H) of every
spelled heptachord H is therefore {C, D, E, F,
G, A, B}, the generic aggregate. Because letter
names recur with periodicity 7 in spc, the spc
numbers of the notes of a spelled heptachord
include exactly one representative of every mod-​
7 congruence class.
Several different notations for spelled hep-
tachords are useful depending on the circum-
stances. For example, a G harmonic minor
scale defines a spelled heptachord that may be
written in the form GAB♭CDE♭F♯. This notation
highlights the familiarity of the scale, but in
principle a spelled heptachord is an unordered
set and does not imply a tonic. Writing hepta-
chords in C-​scale order, in this case CDE♭F♯GAB♭,
can facilitate comparison of spelled heptachords
with the white-​key diatonic scale CDEFGAB and
with each other. A general spelled heptachord
takes the form Cλ0Dλ1Eλ2Fλ3Gλ4Aλ5Bλ6, where the
seven letter names are inflected by accidentals
λ0–​λ6, which may be identified with integers
(♯ =​1, ♭ ♭ =​−2, and so on). A spelled heptachord is
completely determined by these seven acciden-
tals, which may be presented in a seven-​place
vector such as (0, 0, −1, 1, 0, 0, −1) for G har-
monic minor. Finally, the line-​of-​fifths repre-
sentation E♭B♭∙CGDA∙∙F♯ may be useful, because
the structure of a spelled heptachord in spc is
often of interest.
Spelled heptachords have some distinctive
properties not shared by spc sets generally,
and proper spelled heptachords have some even
more notable properties. We summarize these
properties in two theorems, Theorem 14.1.5 for
general spelled heptachords, and, later, Theorem
14.1.11 for proper spelled heptachords.
Theorem 14.1.5: Properties of spelled
heptachords
(a) If H is a spelled heptachord and k is
an integer, then τk(H) is also a spelled
heptachord, and α(τk(H)) =​ α(H) +​ k.
(b) Every τ-​class of spelled heptachords
contains exactly one heptachord of every
accidental index.
(c) If H is a spelled heptachord with α(H) =​0,
then the sum of the spc numbers of the
  notes of H is equal to 0.
Part (a) of this theorem involves the behavior
of accidentals as a spelled heptachord is τ-​trans-
posed in spc space. The example of a diatonic
scale is illuminating. Transposition of a diatonic
scale dpc(n) by τ1 always alters exactly one acci-
dental, yielding dpc(n +​1):
τ1(CDEFGAB) =​GABCDEF♯ =​CDEF♯GAB.
In the case of a diatonic scale the signature
transformation s1 gives the same result as τ1,
Beyond the Diatonic • 585
but signature transformations are available only
in diatonic spaces. Part (a) implies, more gener-
ally, that an analogous property holds for the τ1
transposition of every spelled heptachord: τ1(H)
is another spelled heptachord, and its accidental
index is α(τ1(H)) =​ α(H) +​1. Whatever accidentals
may inflect the six notes CDEFGA of a spelled
heptachord H, the notes GABCDE will appear in
the transposed heptachord τ1(H) with those same
accidentals. But because τ1(B) =​F♯, the acciden-
tal originally on B must be adjusted one place in
the sharpwise direction when it appears on F in
τ1(H). For example, if H is the C harmonic minor
scale, then
τ1(H) =​ τ1(CDE♭FGA♭B) =​GAB♭CDE♭F♯,
while if H is the G melodic minor scale, then
τ1(H) =​ τ1(GAB♭CDEF♯) =​DEFGABC♯.
In both cases, of the accidentals in the trans-
posed heptachord only the one on F differs from
the original accidental. The general property may
be written in the form
τ1(Cλ0Dλ1Eλ2Fλ3Gλ4Aλ5Bλ6 )
=​ Gλ0Aλ1Bλ2Cλ3Dλ4Eλ5Fλ6+ ​1:
the first six accidentals are unchanged but λ6 has
been incremented to λ6 +​1, so the accidental
index of the set as a whole has increased by 1.
Because τ1 increases the accidental index
of a spelled heptachord by 1, it follows that
τk increases it by k; this is part (a) of the
theorem. A τ-​class consists of all spc trans-
positions of one heptachord, so (b) is an
immediate consequence of (a). In light of (b),
we may use the accidental index as a means of
indexing the elements of any τ-​class of spelled
Table 14.1.6. Five representatives of the τ-​class 121113 =​ hmin (harmonic
minor scales)
HE P TAC HOR D S C A L A R OR DE R I N G
hmin(−2) CDE♭FGA♭B A♭ E♭ ∙ F C G D
hmin(−1) GAB♭CDE♭F♯
hmin(0) DEFGAB♭C♯
hmin(+​1) ABCDEFG♯
hmin(+​2) EF♯GABCD♯
586 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
heptachords, as we have done all along with
diatonic scales dpc(n).
In particular, every τ-​class of spelled hepta-
chords contains exactly one balanced form H0 for
which α(H0) =​0. The only spelled heptachord with
no sharps or flats is of course the balanced diatonic
scale dpc(0). The spc numbers of dpc(0) sum to 0,
and any other balanced spelled heptachord may
be obtained from dpc(0) by adding sharps and
flats in equal numbers. The spc sum increases by
7 with each added sharp and decreases by 7 with
each added flat, so the sharp-​flat balance ensures
that the sum remains 0, as stated in part (c) of the
theorem.
A spelled heptachord may be regarded as a
seven-​note space similar to a diatonic scale, and
we will use labels analogous to dpc(n) for some
of the most important spelled heptachords: a
descriptive name identifying the τ-​class, written in
small capitals, followed by the accidental index of
the heptachord in parentheses.3 We may imagine
the accidentals of a spelled heptachord attached
to the lines and spaces of a musical staff, acting as
a kind of generalized key signature. For another
metaphor, we may associate a spelled heptachord
with a positioning of the pedals of an idealized
harp, one that allows for unlimited numbers of
sharps or flats.
Table 14.1.6 illustrates the properties from
Theorem 14.1.5 as they apply to the τ-​class
hmin, with fifth-​string 121113, comprising the
various transpositions of the harmonic minor
scale. The balanced form of this τ-​class, hmin(0),
is the D harmonic minor scale, which has one flat
and one sharp. Its spc transpositions hmin(n) =​
τn(hmin(0)) are also shown for values of n from
−2 to +​2. With each successive τ1 transposition
one note crosses either the B♭–​F or B–​F♯ bound-
ary with a resulting increment in its accidental,
ensuring that α(hmin(n)) =​ n for every n. In
F IF T H -​OR DE R IN G COMMON NA ME
∙ ∙ B C harmonic minor
E♭ B♭ ∙ C G D A ∙ ∙ F♯ G harmonic minor
B♭ F ∙ G D A E ∙ ∙ C♯ D harmonic minor
F C ∙ D A E B ∙ ∙ G♯ A harmonic minor
C G ∙ A E B F♯ ∙ ∙ D♯ E harmonic minor
accordance with Theorem 14.1.5c, the sum of the heptachords may be regarded as pitch-​class sets,
spc numbers of hmin(0) is whose chord species (mod-​12 OPTC-​classes) are
identified by OPTC normal forms in the last col-
(−4) +​(−3) +​(−1) +​0 +​1 +​2 +​5 =​0. umn; a correspondence between spelled hepta-
chords and chord species will be made explicit in
The properties described in Theorem 14.1.5 Theorem 14.1.11 below.
are specific to heptachords. The following exer- Several of the heptachord labels in the first
cise shows that they do not generally hold for spc column of Table 14.1.8 refer to familiar scale
sets of cardinalities other than 7. types, but it should be reiterated that a spelled
heptachord is an unordered set and does not
Exercise 14.1.7 imply a tonic. Thus the familiar dpc(0) could be
(a) Give an example of an spc set X and a positive C major or any of six other modes. The melodic
integer k for which α(τk(X)) < α(X) +​ k, and minor heptachord mmin(0) could be a G melodic
another example for which α(τk(X)) > α(X) +​ k. minor scale, GAB♭CDEF♯, but it could also be a C
(b) Give an example of a τ-​class of spc sets acoustic scale (a major scale inflected by ♯4̂ and
containing no sets of accidental index 0, ♭7̂), CDEF♯GAB♭.5 The balanced harmonic minor
and another example containing at least heptachord hmin(0), as seen previously in
two different sets of accidental index 0. Table 14.1.6, is D harmonic minor; hmaj(0) is
(c) Give an example of an spc set of accidental a G harmonic major scale (a major scale with ♭6̂),
  index 0 whose spc numbers do not sum to 0.4 GABCDE♭F♯.
The remaining heptachords in Table 14.1.8
Twelve spelled heptachords of types arising are as follows. A Neapolitan minor scale is a
in many analytical examples are listed in Table harmonic minor scale inflected by ♭2̂, while
14.1.8. An identifying label for each appears in Neapolitan major is a major scale inflected with
the first column, the index number 0 signify- ♭2̂; the balanced forms are nmin(0), A Neapolitan
ing that all are given in their balanced forms. minor (AB♭CDEFG♯), and nmaj(0), G Neapolitan
The notes of each heptachord are given in C-​ major (GA♭BCDEF♯).6 Double harmonic is an ethni-
scale order and in fifth-​ordering, along with the cally neutral name for the scale sometimes called
fifth-​string and span. Via the projection π the the Gypsy or Hungarian minor scale, distinctive

Table 14.1.8. Balanced forms of twelve proper spelled heptachords

NA M E C -​S C A L E F I F T H -​OR DE R IN G FIF T H -​ S PA N C HOR D

OR DE R S T R IN G S PE C I E S

dpc(0) CDEFGAB F C G
DA E B 111111 6 013568t
mmin(0) CDEF♯GAB♭ B♭ ∙ C G D A E ∙ F♯ 211112 8 013468t
hmin(0) C♯DEFGAB♭ B♭ F ∙ G D A E ∙  ∙ C♯ 121113 9 0134689
hmaj(0) CDE♭F♯GAB E♭ ∙ ∙ C G D A ∙ B F♯ 311121 9 0135689
nmin(0) CDEFG♯AB♭ B♭ F C ∙ D A E ∙ ∙ ∙ G♯ 112114 10 0124689
nmaj(0) CDEF♯GA♭B A♭ ∙ ∙  ∙ C G D ∙ E B F♯ 411211 10 0135789
dharm(0) C♯DE♭F♯GAB♭ E♭ B♭ ∙  ∙ G D A ∙ ∙ F♯ C♯ 131131 10 0125689
swt(0) C♯DE♭FGAB E♭ ∙ F ∙ G D A ∙ B ∙ C♯ 221122 10 012468t
socta(0) CDE♭FG♯AB E♭ ∙ F C ∙ D A ∙ B ∙ ∙ G♯ 212123 11 0134679
soctb(0) C♯DEFGA♭B A♭ ∙  ∙ F ∙ G D ∙ E B ∙ C♯ 321212 11 0235689
shexa(0) CD♯EFGA♭B A♭ ∙ ∙ F C G ∙ ∙ E B ∙ ∙ ∙ D♯ 311314 13 0124589
shexb(0) CD♭EFG♯AB D♭ ∙ ∙ ∙ F C ∙ ∙ A E B ∙ ∙ G♯ 413113 13 0134589

Beyond the Diatonic • 587

for its two augmented seconds and two consecu-
tive semitones; the balanced form dharm(0) is
GAB♭C♯DE♭F♯. The super–​whole-​tone (or whole-​
tone-​plus-​one) collection is a seven-​note superset
of a whole-​tone scale; the balanced form swt(0)
adds the central D to the whole-​tone collection
from Table 14.1.2. There are two different suboc-
tatonic heptachords socta and soctb, seven-​
note subsets of an octatonic collection; socta(0)
matches the octatonic scale from Table 14.1.2
but for the missing F♯. Finally, shexa and shexb
are the two superhexatonic heptachords, seven-​
note supersets of a hexatonic collection.7
Other heptachords of the same types are
readily obtained by τ-​transposing the balanced
forms in the table. To write the B♭ harmonic
major scale as a spelled heptachord, for example,
one may observe that hmaj(0) is G harmonic
major and that B♭ is τ−3(G), from which it follows
that B♭ harmonic major is hmaj(−3).
Horizontal lines in Table 14.1.8 partition the
heptachords into singletons and pairs. The hep-
tachords dpc, mmin, dharm, and swt, appear-
ing singly, are inversionally symmetric in spc
space, as their palindromic fifth-​strings confirm.
As a consequence of this ɩ symmetry in spc, the
π-​projections of these sets are also symmetric
in pc. The other eight heptachords in the table
come in four pairs, hmin/​hmaj, nmin/​nmaj,
socta/​soctb, and shexa/​shexb. The two hep-
tachords in each pair are ɩ-​related, and their
π-​projections are I-​related in pc.
Exercise 14.1.9
(a) Explain why the sum of the spc
numbers of the notes in every spelled
heptachord (balanced or not) must be
divisible by 7. Can you give a simple
formula for this sum in terms of the
accidental index?
(b) If H is a spelled heptachord, explain why the
sum class of π(H) (the sum of all the pitch-​
class numbers of the notes of H) is equal to
  α(H) +​2 (mod 12).8
Exercise 14.1.10
(a) The balanced form of every inversionally
symmetric spelled heptachord is symmetric
about D. Explain why this balanced form
must always contain the note D.
(b) What can you say about the note on the axis
of symmetry of an inversionally symmetric
spelled heptachord of accidental index +​1?
Of index −1? Of index n?
588 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
(c) Can a finite spc set be symmetrical about
more than one note in spc?
(d) Can a seven-​note pc set be symmetrical
about more than one note of the set
  in pc?9
Spelled heptachords, like other spc sets,
may have enharmonic doublings or cross-
ings; for instance, the whole-​tone heptachord
CDEF♯G♯A♯B♯ contains the enharmonic doubling
B♯–​C. All the heptachords in Table 14.1.8, how-
ever, are proper—​free of doublings or cross-
ings—​which ensures that as the seven letters
proceed around the circle of generic pitch-​class
space, the corresponding π-​projected notes
proceed similarly around the circle of pc, with-
out pausing (for an enharmonic doubling) or
reversing direction (for a crossing). Proper
spelled heptachords satisfy several attractive
properties beyond those satisfied by all spelled
heptachords.
One such property involves enharmonic
equivalence. We have seen examples of enhar-
monically equivalent spc sets with very different
structures in spc space (for example, dominant
seventh and augmented-​sixth chords), but for
proper spelled heptachords, respellings are
limited to those with the same fifth-​ string.
Consider, for instance, the E♭ harmonic minor
heptachord hmin(−5) =​E♭FG♭A♭B♭C♭D, and sup-
pose we wish to respell this set as a proper
spelled heptachord containing B♮ rather than C♭.
Letter-​distinctness requires that the original B♭
be respelled, and to avoid crossings it must be
respelled as A♯ rather than C♭ ♭ or G♯ ♯ ♯ or some
more remote possibility. Continuing in this way,
we find that the only possible repelling of the
set is D♯E♯F♯G♯A♯BC𝄪, which is the D♯ harmonic
minor heptachord hmin(+​7), the τ12 transpo-
sition of the original set. (This process closely
resembles the application of the signature trans-
formation s12, which respells a diatonic scale in
the sharpwise direction, but signature transfor-
mations are not applicable for this non-​diatonic
collection.) In short, the only possible ways to
respell a proper spelled heptachord as another
proper spelled heptachord are the obvious ones,
obtained by respelling the entire set in the same
way: enharmonically equivalent proper spelled
heptachords are always related by τ12k for some
integer k.
The following theorem restates this observa-
tion in (a) and presents several other properties
as consequences.
Theorem 14.1.11: Properties of proper
spelled heptachords
(a) If H1 and H2 are enharmonically equivalent
proper spelled heptachords, then H2 =​
τ12k(H1) for some integer k.
(b) For proper spelled heptachords, τ
equivalence is the same as T equivalence.
That is, if H1 and H2 are proper spelled
heptachords, then H2 is a τ-​transposition of
H1 in spc if and only if π(H2) is a
T-​transposition of π(H1) in pc.
(c) For proper spelled heptachords, τɩ
equivalence is the same as TI equivalence.
That is, if H1 and H2 are proper spelled
heptachords, then H1 and H2 are inversionally
related in spc if and only if π(H1) and π(H2)
are inversionally related in pc.
(d) For proper spelled heptachords, ɩ symmetry
is the same as I symmetry. That is, if H
is a proper spelled heptachord, then H is
inversionally symmetric in spc if and only if
π(H) is inversionally symmetric in pc.
(e) There are 66 τ-​classes of proper spelled
heptachords, corresponding to the 66 seven-​
note chord species (mod-​12 OPTC-​classes,
or T-​classes of seven-​note pitch-​class sets).
There are 38 τɩ-​classes of proper spelled
heptachords, corresponding to the 38 seven-​
  note set classes (mod-​12 OPTIC-​classes).
Parts (b)–​(d) of this theorem are “if and only
if” statements. In each case one implication
(τ equivalence implies T equivalence, τɩ equiva-
lence implies TI equivalence, and ɩ symmetry
implies I symmetry) holds for spc sets in general.
We must demonstrate the converses, which are
specific to proper spelled heptachords; all follow
from (a), which was established above.
To prove (b), suppose π(H2) =​ Ti(π(H1)).
Because Ti is the same as τ7i up to enharmonic
equivalence, it follows that π(H2) =​ π(τ7i(H1)),
which means that τ7i(H1) and H2 are enharmoni-
cally equivalent. Both are proper spelled hep-
tachords, so (a) implies that τ7i(H1) and H2 are
related by some τ12k, from which it follows that
H1 and H2 are τ-​related.
For (c), suppose π(H2) =​ Ik(π(H1)). The set
π(H1) is also I-​related to π(ɩ(H1)), from which it
follows that the pc sets π(ɩ(H1)) and π(H2), both
I-​related to the same set π(H1), are T-​related to
each other. By (b), therefore, ɩ(H1) and H2 are
τ-​related, from which it follows that H1 and H2
are inversionally related in spc (that is, they are
related by ɩτj for some j).
Part (d) follows from (c) by letting H1 and H2
be the same heptachord H. Symmetry of π(H) in
pc means that π(H) is I-​related to π(H), so by (c),
H is ɩ-​related to H—​that is, H is symmetric in spc.
Part (b) implies that τ-​classes of proper spelled
heptachords are in one-​ to-​
one correspondence
with T-​classes of seven-​note pitch-​class sets, and
(c) likewise implies that τɩ-​classes are in one-​to-​
one correspondence with TI-​classes. T-​classes of
pc sets are OPTC-​classes (recall Table 10.3.15), also
called chord species in Chapter 13, while TI-​classes
are OPTIC-​classes, the traditional set classes. Set
tables show 38 seven-​note set classes (TI-​classes),
of which ten are symmetrical and each of the
other 28 divides into two T-​classes. The number of
T-​classes is therefore 2 ∙ 28 +​10 =​66, as noted in (e).
For example, the τ-​class mmin from Table
14.1.8 contains all proper spelled heptachords
whose π-​projections have the symmetrical prime
form 013468t, which is both the OPTIC and
OPTC normal form for the twelve pc sets in that
class. The τ-​classes hmin and hmaj both contain
heptachords of prime form (OPTIC normal form)
0134689; the heptachords in hmin have OPTC
normal form 0134689 while those in hmaj have
the inversionally related OPTC normal form
0135689. It is the τ-​classes, not the τɩ-​classes,
to which we have assigned labels such as hmin
and hmaj and to which we will devote the bulk
of our attention. For a table of the 66 τ-​classes of
proper spelled heptachords, including the span,
fifth-​string, balanced form, OPTC normal form,
Forte number, and other information for each,
see Hook 2011, 96–​97.10
Exercise 14.1.12 Write the spcs in each of the
spelled heptachords listed below.11
(a) mmin(+​3)
(b) hmaj(−4)
(c) nmin(+​5)
(d) swt(−6)
(e)  swt(+​6)
Exercise 14.1.13 Each of the following
heptachords, written in C-​scale order, is some
spc transposition of one of the heptachords in
Table 14.1.8. Identify each of them by name and
accidental index.
(a) C♯DE♯F♯GA♯B
(b) C♭D♭E♭F♭GA♭B♭
(c) C♭DE♭F♯GAB♭
(d) C♯DEF♯GAB♭
(e)  CD♭E♭F♭G♭A♭B♭
Beyond the Diatonic • 589
Exercise 14.1.14 The heptachords in Table
14.1.8 feature relatively uniform step sizes, a
characteristic of most common scales. The notes
of some other heptachords are more tightly
packed, the most extreme example being the
chromatic heptachord of prime form 0123456.
Write the balanced form of this set as a spelled
heptachord; also write its fifth-​string and span.
What quality of “second” or “seventh” is the
interval formed by the notes at opposite ends of
the
  chromatic cluster?12
Exercise 14.1.15 The super–​whole-​tone
heptachord swt(0) from Table 14.1.8 consists of
a whole-​tone scale plus the note D. Suppose we
replace the D in this set with E, a different whole-​
tone outlier. The old and new sets are different,
but they are T-​related as pitch-​class sets and they
both have accidental index 0. If T equivalence
implies τ equivalence by Theorem 14.1.11b, why
does this example not violate Theorem 14.1.5b,
which states that one τ-​class cannot contain two
heptachords
   of the same accidental index?
In Section 13.2 we defined the diatonic inter-
pretation functions δn: gpc → dpc(n). For any
integer n, δn maps every generic pitch class to the
note with the same letter name in the diatonic
collection dpc(n). Later in Chapter 13 we applied
δn more broadly to gpc sets, lines, and generic
designs of various kinds. A similar construction
is possible for spelled heptachords of other τ-​
classes besides the diatonic. In principle we could
define a large family of functions δ MMIn
n , δ n , and
HMIn
so on; for example, δ 2 applied to the gpc D
HMIn
yields the spc D♯, because the note of hmin(+​2)
with the letter name D is D♯. Such an abundance
of functions is unwieldy in analytical practice,
however, so we will adopt a simpler notation.
Suppose X is a generic design as defined in
Section 13.3—​ any musical fragment whose
notes are generic pitch classes—​and H is a spelled
heptachord. Imagining H as a generalized key
signature, we may read the gpcs of X as spcs by
attaching the accidentals of H to the correspond-
ing gpcs wherever they appear; this process, tan-
tamount to applying a particular function δ as
described above, reinterprets X as an spc design
rather than a gpc design. This spc design will be
called X inflected by H, denoted X ∕ H.
For example, suppose X is the generic sev-
enth chord CEGB. If H is dpc(0), then X ∕ H is
the major seventh chord C♮E♮G♮B♮, whereas if
H is dpc(−1), X ∕ H is the dominant seventh
chord CEGB♭; these are the same as the diatonic
590 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
interpretations δ0(X) and δ−1(X). If H is hmin(0)
(C♯DEFGAB♭, from Table 14.1.8), then X ∕ H is the
spc set C♯EGB♭, a diminished seventh chord; we
may write CEGB ∕ hmin(0) =​C♯EGB♭. Similarly,
CEGB ∕ dharm(0) is C♯E♭GB♭, an augmented-​sixth
chord. In these examples the design X is an unor-
dered set (chord), so the order in which the notes
are written does not matter either in X or in X ∕ H.
The same kinds of inflections are possible, how-
ever, for lines and other designs in which order
is significant.
A variety of intuitions may shape our under-
standing of the role of the heptachord H in this con-
struction. We will sometimes refer to H as a field of
spcs defining the notes available in a particular spc
design. This conception of a field is somewhat akin
to Tymoczko’s idea of macroharmony (Tymoczko
2011, especially Chapters 1 and 5), described as
a collection of notes controlling the pitch content
of music over a certain span of time. We may also
regard H as a filter through which the notes of X are
passed, determining their chromatic inflections;
this perspective relates to the filtered point-​sym-
metry models to be discussed in Section 14.2.
Figure 13.3.13 showed transformations of a
diatonic scale by diatonic transposition (t1 of C
major =​D dorian), chromatic transposition (T1 of
C major =​D♭ major), and signature transformation
(s1 of C major =​C lydian). Analogous transforma-
tions may be performed on scales defined by other
spelled heptachords—​indeed, not merely on scales
but on any design X ∕ H. Figure 14.1.16 illustrates
in the case of the D harmonic minor scale. Though
we have informally been describing some spelled
heptachords as “scales,” a spelled heptachord is
an unordered set of spcs and does not capture the
note order of a scale. The D harmonic minor scale
in the figure is therefore formalized as X ∕ H, where
X is a generic D scale (an ordered set of seven gpcs,
D–​E–​F–​G–​A–​B–​C) and H is the spelled heptachord
hmin(0). The boxes at the top of the figure display
the components from which the spc designs below
are formed: the generic designs X and t1(X) in the
outlined box and the spelled heptachords H and
τ1(H) in the shaded box. Note order matters in the
generic designs but not in the spelled heptachords,
which are shown in black noteheads in C-​scale
order. Several subsequent figures will similarly
display generic designs in open boxes and spelled
heptachords in shaded boxes.
Three transformations of the scale X ∕ H are
shown. First, we may transpose the notes of X
generically by t1, leaving the heptachordal field
H unchanged; the resulting spc design t1(X) ∕ H
is a different mode of the same scale, starting
FIGURE 14.1.16 Three transformations of a D harmonic minor scale
on E. Alternatively, we may transpose the entire
spc design X ∕ H by τ1, shifting each of its notes
one position to the right in the line of fifths. As
always, transposing spcs by τ1 has the effect of
transposing the corresponding pcs by T7; this
transposition changes the original D harmonic
minor scale to A harmonic minor, τ1(X ∕ H).
Finally, we may change the heptachordal field H
while leaving the generic scale X unaltered. This
process is a kind of inflection, changing only the
accidentals of the spc design. When H is trans-
posed by τ1 it becomes hmin(+​1), the A harmonic
minor collection; the D scale X inflected by this
new heptachord τ1(H) is X ∕ τ1(H), the D mode of
the A harmonic minor scale. The figure shows a
special arrow style that will signal inflections in
subsequent analytical illustrations.
Although we have described the scale altera-
tions in Figure 14.1.16 as transformations, a
mathematical function is not necessarily the
most convenient description for a general inflec-
tion—​a change of heptachordal field. The three
Ravel excerpts from Figure 14.1.1, for example,
are related to each other by inflection, as the
field changes first from hmin(+​4) to nmin(+​3)
and then to dpc(+​6). While we could define a
function from hmin(+​4) to nmin(+​3) that pairs
notes with the same letter name, this strategy
would result in an unmanageable profusion of
notations; simply recording the change of field is
sufficient for our purposes.
The use of the word mode in the above discus-
sion merits elaboration. Any proper spelled hep-
tachord H may, like hmin(0) in Figure 14.1.16, be
realized as a scale via a construction of the form
X ∕ H, where X is a generic scale. Transposing X
generically enables the scale to start on any of
its seven notes, yielding seven different modes
of the heptachord. The seven modes of a proper
spelled heptachord always have distinct interval
patterns: if two modes were the same, the pc set
π(H) would be invariant under some transposi-
tion Tn, which is impossible because there are no
transpositionally symmetric pc sets of cardinal-
ity 7 (a principle noted first in Exercise 6.5.8 and
several times in Chapter 13).
In Figure 14.1.17, the seven modes of the D
harmonic minor scale are arranged in successive t1
transpositions from left to right across the center
of the figure. The modes are numbered with mod-​
7 integers so that each mode of the balanced form
of the heptachord H =​ hmin(0) is assigned the gpc
Beyond the Diatonic • 591
FIGURE 14.1.17 The seven modes of harmonic minor scales obtained by t-​transposition or
τ-​transposition
number of its starting note; mode 0, for example,
is the balanced heptachord’s C scale, which in this
example happens to start on C♯. With diatonic
scales we are familiar with the idea that the seven
modes can be obtained in two different ways, by
starting the same scale on different notes or by
changing the key signature. Something analogous
is true of proper spelled heptachords in general,
as illustrated by the inflections of the C scale run-
ning up and down the left side of the figure. The
inflections are obtained by τ-​transposing the hep-
tachord, producing the other harmonic minor col-
lections hmin(n) =​ τn(H). Transposition of H by τ1
adjusts the numbered mode by 3 mod 7, the same
mode shift as generic transposition of X by t3 (as
when a major scale is altered to become lydian).
Vertically, the modes repeat in a mod-​7 pattern:
for any seven consecutive values of n, the C-​scales
of hmin(n) exhaust the seven modes. The figure
could be filled out as a seven-​by-​seven array by
supplying D-​, E-​, …, and B-​modes for each scale
X ∕ τn(H) in the first column; a pattern of the same
kind would appear in every column. Two designs
of the same mode, such as t3(X) ∕ H and X ∕ τ1(H)
(both mode 3), are related by τ-​transposition—​in
592 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
fact X ∕ τ1(H) is equal to τ1(t3(X) ∕ H)—​and their π-​
projections in pc space are related by T-​transposi-
tion. Designs of different modes cannot be τ-​ or
T-​related.
The same pattern arises for every proper
spelled heptachord H. The generic design X need
not be a scale. As long as X is complete and non-
trivial as defined in Chapter 13—​that is, as long
as X contains all seven generic pitch classes and
is not invariant under any nonzero generic trans-
position—​the spc design X ∕ H gives rise to seven
distinguishable modes, which may be obtained
either by t-​transposing X or by τ-​transposing H. In
the general (non-​scalar) case the modes may more
appropriately be called species, using the sense of
the word introduced in Chapter 13. Designs of the
same species are τ-​related in spc and T-​related in
pc, while designs of different species are not. If H
is a diatonic heptachord, the seven species illus-
trate the “cardinality equals variety” principle for
nontrivial designs of cardinality 7, as detailed in
Section 13.4—​but as described here the analo-
gous seven-​mode principle holds for any complete
nontrivial generic design and any proper spelled
heptachord, diatonic or otherwise.
Exercise 14.1.18 C =​V does not hold in full
generality for non-​diatonic heptachords. Give
an example of a generic design X of cardinality
k < 7 for which the seven spc designs
tj(X)
   ∕ hmin(0) do not form exactly k species.
Exercise 14.1.19 The arrangement of Figure
14.1.17 is similar to that of Figure 13.3.18,
which showed the 84 diatonic realizations
of a line genus, but there are differences.
Horizontally adjacent realizations in the earlier
figure were related by t4 rather than t1 as in the
present figure, and in the vertical dimension
the ordering is reversed. Also, the earlier figure
assumed enharmonic equivalence via the use
of the spaces edpc(n) rather than dpc(n). No
such assumption underlies Figure 14.1.17,
which theoretically has infinitely many distinct
rows (though the modes repeat in a seven-​row
pattern).
It is possible, however, to define enharmonic
versions of spelled heptachords. The
enharmonically equivalent E♭ and D♯ harmonic
minor heptachords hmin(−5) and hmin(+​7)
may be identified with the enharmonic space
ehmin(7), whose index number is the mod-​12
integer 7. If X is the generic C scale as in Figure
14.1.17, are the designs X ∕ hmin(−5) and
X ∕ hmin(+​7) enharmonically equivalent? If not,
how   are they related?
Exercise 14.1.20
(a) The equation X ∕ τ1(H) =​ τ1(t3(X) ∕ H) relating
two different designs of the same species
was noted above. Reiterating this τ1
transposition k times produces the more
general formula X ∕ τk(H) =​ τk(t3k(X) ∕ H),
valid for any generic design X, spelled
heptachord H, and integer k. Show that if
X is a generic C scale, H is hmin(−5), and
k =​12, this formula confirms the
observation at the end of Exercise 14.1.19.13
(b) Several other formulas describing
relationships among generic transposition,
spc transposition, and field transposition
may be derived. By comparing the two
designs of mode 1 appearing in Figure
14.1.17, determine an integer a for which
t1(X) ∕ H =​ τa(X ∕ τ−a(H)). Repeating this t1
transposition j times, conclude that tj(X) ∕ H
=​ τaj(X ∕ τ−aj(H)). This formula is again valid
for every X and H. Check that it holds when
X is the generic seventh chord ACEG, H is
dharm(+​2) =​ CD♯EFG♯AB, and j =​3.
(c) With X and H as in Figure 14.1.17, write the
scale τ1(X ∕ H). By comparing τ1(X ∕ H) with
X ∕ τ1(H) in the figure, write an equation of the
form τ1(X ∕ H) =​ tb(X) ∕ τ1(H) for some integer b,
implying the more general equation τk(X ∕ H)
=​ tbk(X) ∕ τk(H). Check that your formula holds
when X is the generic line E–​F–​G–​A, H is
  swt(−3) =​CDEFG♭A♭B♭, and k =​4.
The spelled-​heptachord perspective enables
us to formalize and broaden our understand-
ing of chromatic inflections. In principle any
generic design may be inflected by any spelled
heptachord; if the design is complete and non-
trivial, seven different species will be available
for each of the 66 τ-​classes of heptachords, mak-
ing a total of 462 different musical realizations
of the same design, all of which are inflectionally
related but no two of which are τ-​related in spc
or T-​related in pc. While many of these realiza-
tions may be considered musically unsuitable for
a variety of reasons, many others—​especially
those constructed from the common heptachord
types from Table 14.1.8—​may be viable, and
composers may exploit the similarities and dif-
ferences among them.
Figure 14.1.21 illustrates with 21 different
inflections of the generic design BDFA–​CEG—​a
generic B7 chord resolving to a generic C triad,
a design we will call “the VII7–​I design.” All are
shown in the transpositions at which the root of
the C chord is C♮; the two chords in the design
are unordered sets, which in musical examples
may appear in inversions different from those
shown. Analytical notations show that several
of the realizations are common in the tonal rep-
ertoire, but the others occur in the literature as
well, some with some frequency. Across the 21
realizations, the first chord of the pair in particu-
lar exhibits a wide variety of qualities beyond the
familiar types of seventh chords, and a variety
of voice-​leading relationships to the triad that
follows.
Exercise 14.1.22 Each of the examples below
is an inflection of the VII7–​I design belonging
to the same species as one of the examples in
Figure 14.1.21. Identify each spelled heptachord
by name and accidental index. Only two of
these examples are the same species; which two
are these?
(a) AC♭E♭G♭–​B♭D♭F (Chopin, Nocturne in B♭
Minor, Op. 9, No. 1, mm. 80–​81)
Beyond the Diatonic • 593
FIGURE 14.1.21 Twenty-​one inflections of the VII7–​I design BDFA–​CEG
(b) C♯E♭GB♭–​DFA (Clara Schumann, Ballade,
Op. 6, No. 4, mm. 109–​10)
(c) CE♭G♭B♭–​D♭FA (Tchaikovsky, Romeo and
Juliet, m. 193)
(d) BD♭FA–​CEG (Franck, Symphony in D
Minor, I, mm. 135–​36)
(e) C♯EG♯B♭–​DF♯A (Bruckner, Symphony No. 9,
II, mm. 1–​22)
(f) C♯EG♯B♭–​DFA (same movement,
mm. 47–​50)
(g) G♯BD♭F–​ACE (Brahms, Symphony No. 4,
III, mm. 78–​79)
(h) D♯F𝄪A♯C♯–​EG♯B (same movement, m. 149)
(i) GBDF–​AC♯E (Brahms, Trio in A Minor, Op.
114, I, mm. 221–​22)
(j) EG♯B♭D–​FAC (Strauss, Sonata for Cello and
Piano, Op. 6, III, m. 2)
(k) EG♯B♭D♭–​FAC (Strauss, Till Eulenspiegels
lustige Streiche, mm. 47–​49)
(l) DF♭A♭ ♭C♭–​E♭G♭B♭ (Dukas, Piano Sonata in E♭
Minor, I, mm. 161–​62)
(m) ACEG–​B♭DF (Ravel, String Quartet, I, m. 1,
beats 3–​4
(n) CE♭GB♭–​D♭F♭A♭ (Holst, The Planets, “Venus,”
   mm. 4–​5)
Exercise 14.1.23 The spelling of notes is
generally crucial in working with spelled
heptachords, but composers do not always
spell things as we might expect. Two examples
are given below in the original spellings,
which involve letter doublings, but in each
594 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
case one or more notes may be respelled to
produce an inflection of the VII7–​I design.
Make the necessary respellings and identify the
heptachords; if possible, consult the scores and
consider possible reasons for the composers’
spelling choices. One of the examples, when
respelled, matches a species shown in Figure
14.1.21; the other does not, though the
heptachord type matches one in the figure.
(a) D♭EA♭B–​FAC (Rachmaninoff, “Daisies,” Op.
38, No. 3, mm. 2–​3)
(b) CE♭G♭B♭–​EGB (Szymanowki, Etude in B♭
  Minor, Op. 4, No. 3, mm. 22–​23)
Exercise 14.1.24 Consult scores of the two
Brahms works below and identify the spelled
heptachord that governs each passage.
(a) Violin Concerto, Op. 77, I, mm. 90–​97 (first
solo entrance)
(b) Trio in A Minor, Op. 114, I, mm. 217–​24
(end of movement). (The final cadence
was analyzed in Exercise 14.1.22i above.
Do the scale passages present the same
  heptachord?)
Spelled heptachords offer possible interpre-
tations of a wide assortment of chromatic phe-
nomena at a more granular level than is often
possible with other approaches, in that notes
and chords that might otherwise be dismissed
FIGURE 14.1.25 Enharmonic equivalence and inflection of spelled heptachords in Liszt, Valse
oubliée No. 1
as mere embellishments or byproducts of voice
leading may be assigned to specific scalar con-
texts.14 Of countless analytical examples that
could be shown at this point, we will present
only a few, suggesting others as exercises.
Among unambiguous uses of non-​ diatonic
heptachords, the classes hmin and mmin are
particularly common. Minor-​key music typically
mixes dpc, hmin, and mmin heptachords freely.
Occasionally, however, one of the non-​diatonic
heptachords is used exclusively over an extended
span. Figure 14.1.25 shows how the first main
section of Liszt’s first Valse oubliée is trans-
formed from the original F♯ major to G minor at
its later reappearance.15 The figure postulates a
two-​step transformation, first via enharmonic
respelling from dpc(+​6) (F♯ major) to a hypo-
thetical dpc(−6) (G♭ major), then by inflection
from dpc(−6) to hmin(−1) (G harmonic minor).
The enharmonic change combines a t1
transposition of the generic notes with a τ−12
respelling of the diatonic heptachord. The flat-
wise enharmonic respelling ε−1 shown here acts
on any design X ∕ H by the formula ε−1(X ∕ H) =​
t1(X) ∕ τ−12(H); the counterbalancing sharpwise
enharmonic respelling ε1 is given by ε1(X ∕ H) =​
t−1(X) ∕ τ12(H). As a consequence of Theorem
14.1.11a, respellings of these types account
for all possible instances of enharmonic equiv-
alence for realizations of complete generic
designs by proper spelled heptachords. This
enharmonic equivalence is strong in a sense sim-
ilar to that described in Section 13.3: not only
are all the notes enharmonically equivalent, but
the underlying heptachords are as well.
The F♯-​major and G-​ minor tonic triads in
the Liszt example are potentially related by the
triadic transformation we know as P′ or slide
from Section 8.2, but the heptachordal inflec-
tion models a more comprehensive relationship
encompassing tonic, dominant, and decorative
harmonies and a wide-​ ranging melodic line:
a sixteen-​measure passage starting at m. 124
inflects the earlier music from m. 17 note for
note, the only exceptions being a very few
extrascalar notes such as the G𝄪 visible in the
score at m. 22.16 The inflection from dpc(−6)
to hmin(−1) alters five of the heptachord’s
seven notes; one of the two unaffected notes,
E♭ (originally D♯), plays an important pivot role,
appearing prominently in the melody on every
downbeat and functioning as 6̂ in both keys. The
music is governed by hmin(−1) until m. 144, at
which point the transformation is undone, E♭
again becoming D♯ in F♯ major.
Near the end of the A section of the third
movement of Dvořák’s second piano quartet,
an mmin heptachord governs a twelve-​measure
span of music, the beginning of which appears
in Figure 14.1.26. The alternation of tonic triads
with modally mixed plagal embellishing chords
is characteristic of the harmonic major scale,
Beyond the Diatonic • 595
FIGURE 14.1.26 The spelled heptachord mmin(−5) in Dvořák, Piano Quartet in E♭ Major, Op. 87, III,
mm. 94–​96

FIGURE 14.1.27 Inflections in Schubert, Impromptu in G♭ Major, D. 899 (Op. 90), No. 3, mm. 35–​38

here hmaj(−4) =​C♭DE♭FGA♭B♭. But the violin’s
echo of the piano’s melodic motive persists in
stating D♭, not D♮, situating the whole passage
in mmin(−5) (C♭D♭E♭FGA♭B♭). The E♭ mode of this
scale is not either one of the two modes most
commonly associated with mmin, the melodic
minor and acoustic scales.
The same rare mmin mode—​a major scale with
♭6̂ and ♭7—
̂ ​appears within the C♭-​major episode
in the middle section of Schubert’s Impromptu
in G♭ Major, shown in Figure 14.1.27. The two
two-​bar segments are generically identical
but inflected differently. Perhaps surprisingly,
Schubert presents the darker inflection first,
drifting flatward as far as mmin(−9) and, for the
augmented-​sixth chord in the second measure,
dharm(−8). The second two-​bar presentation is
a nearly diatonic restatement of the same music.
In the opening measures of Gounod’s Faust,
shown in Figure 14.1.28, generic seventh chords
DFAC resolve to generic triads CEG four times,
but the species is different each time, and none

596 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces

FIGURE 14.1.28 Inflections of the generic design DFAC–​CEG in Gounod, Faust, Act I, Introduction,
mm. 2–​8
of the four are diatonic. The DFAC–​CEG design is
of cardinality 6; the heptachords identified in the
figure assume that the missing note in every case
is B♮, the leading tone of the chord of resolution.
Figure 14.1.29 presents a spelled-​heptachord
analysis of a more extended passage, the cen-
tral section of Chopin’s first Etude. Between the
cadence chord for the opening period at m. 16
and the thematic return at m. 49, an extended
t3 sequence makes five nearly complete circuits
of the generic circle of fifths, shortcut only by
a descending-​ third move at mm. 20–​ 21 and
an ascending third to the dominant at m. 48.
Almost every chord succession is analyzed as
t3, τ−1, or an inflection with no change of root.
Only mm. 38–​45, lodged in C major, strikes the
ear as obviously sequential; elsewhere the under-
lying regularity is obscured by the variety of
heptachordal fields. An initial tonicization of A
minor (hmin(+​1)) is followed by two short chro-
matic descending-​fifths sequences (mm. 23–​29
and 35–​38) illustrating the identity τ−1(X ∕ H)
=​ t3(X) ∕ τ−1(H), a special case of the equation
from Exercise 14.1.20c. The analysis interprets
the A♭-​minor triad at m. 32 as an fø7 chord miss-
ing its root and postulates two enharmonically
equivalent spellings for the French augmented
sixth in m. 34, one rooted on B♭ and the other
(theoretically the next link in the descending-​
fifths chain) on E. This enharmonic equivalence
is weak in the sense that while the chords are
enharmonically equivalent, the tritone-​related
fields they inhabit (dharm(−5) =​C♭DE♭F♭GA♭B♭
and dharm(+​1) =​ C♯DEFG♯AB♭) are not.17
Exercise 14.1.30 Each of the following
excerpts features a series of scale passages
outlining several different spelled heptachords
in succession. Analyze each of them, identifying
the applicable heptachords and considering
the relationships between the scales and the
underlying harmonies.
(a) Mozart, Sonata in F Major, K. 533/​494, I,
mm. 82–​87
(b) Mozart, Don Giovanni, Overture, mm. 23–​26
(c) Schubert, Sonata in A Major, D. 664
(Op. 120), I, mm. 57–​64
(d) Chopin, Nocturne in B Major, Op. 62, No. 1,
mm. 21–​24 and 81–​88
(e) Brahms, Sextet in B♭ Major, Op. 18, II,
  mm. 65–​80 (Variation 3)
Exercise 14.1.31 The passage in Figure 14.1.27
is one of several instances in Schubert’s G♭-​
Major Impromptu of inflected repetition with
little or no change in generic structure. Analyze
each of the pairs of passages listed below using
spelled heptachords.
(a) mm. 13–​14 and 21–​22
(b) m. 30 and m. 31
(c) mm. 42–​43 and 46–​47
(d)  mm. 74–​77 and 78–​8118
Exercise 14.1.32 Analyze the first phrase (mm.
1–​12) of Chopin’s Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28,
No.
  4, using spelled heptachords.19
14.2 MAXIMAL EVENNESS
AND THE GEOMETRY OF
SCALES
Consider a circular dinner table with twelve
chairs, and suppose seven people wish to sit
in seven of the chairs, distributing themselves
around the table as evenly as possible. How
should they do it? The answer is that they should
Beyond the Diatonic • 597
FIGURE 14.1.29 Spelled-​heptachord analysis of Chopin, Etude in C Major, Op. 10, No. 1, mm. 16–​49 (chordal reduction)
occupy a diatonic subset of the twelve chairs,
with gaps between occupied chairs in the pattern
2–​2–​1–​2–​2–​2–​1. Maximal evenness is one of the
most frequently noted properties of the diatonic
collection, explored at length in Clough and
Douthett 1991 and in much subsequent work
in scale theory. Though the property is readily
grasped intuitively, it is perhaps not clear what
precisely is meant by “as evenly as possible.” We
examine this question in this section and pres-
ent some justification for the musical relevance
of the concept, acknowledging at the outset that
the technical nature of some of this work pre-
cludes anything like a complete discussion; some
properties will be stated without proof.20
Figure 14.2.1 illustrates maximally even sets
(commonly abbreviated “ME sets”) of each car-
dinality d from d =​2 to d =​10 within pitch-​class
space pc. The pitch classes shown in black and
white form complementary sets; if a set is ME,
so is its complement. For some cardinalities,
the maximally even set is obvious. If d is 2, 3,
4, or 6, as shown in black notes in four of the
pitch-​class circles in the figure, then d is a divi-
sor of 12, and the maximally even distribution
is perfectly even: it is a division of the octave
into d equal parts, a complete interval cycle
generated by an interval of 12/​d semitones.
These sets are of course the familiar tritone,
FIGURE 14.2.1 Maximally even subsets of pc
FIGURE 14.2.2 A maximally even seven-​note set, and three impostors
augmented triad, diminished seventh chord,
and whole-​tone scale.
Cardinalities 8, 9, and 10 are almost as
straightforward. These numbers are not divisors
of 12, and the ME sets—​the octatonic, ennea-
tonic, and tritone-​complement collections—​are
not perfectly even, nor are they generated by a
single interval. But these sets are the comple-
ments of the ME sets of cardinalities 4, 3, and
2 respectively, and the sets related by comple-
mentation are similar in other ways as well. The
enneatonic collection (d =​9), for example, may
be regarded as the union of three augmented
triads (ic4 cycles of cardinality 3 =​12 − d); alter-
natively, it may be constructed as a cluster cycle,
cyclically generated not from a single start-
ing note but from a three-​note chromatic clus-
ter (three adjacent white notes in the picture)
combined with copies of itself in a cycle of T4
transpositions.
As in several other situations we have encoun-
tered, something is distinctive about the numbers
5 and 7, which are coprime to 12. The penta-
tonic and diatonic collections are the only sets
in Figure 14.2.1 that are neither perfectly even
interval cycles nor cluster cycles, and maximal
evenness is probably less obvious for these sets
than for the others. Figure 14.2.2 shows four sets
of cardinality 7, labeled with spelled-​heptachord
Beyond the Diatonic • 599

FIGURE 14.2.3 Construction of a maximally even
set from a perfectly even set via quantization
names from Section 14.1 and with OPTC normal
forms: a diatonic scale, a melodic minor or acous-
tic scale, a harmonic minor scale, and a super–​
whole-​ tone collection. Intuition may suggest
that the diatonic is the most even of the four, but
it can be difficult to explain why, at least in a way
that could apply generally to sets and scales of
other cardinalities.
As it turns out, the maximal evenness con-
dition may be formalized in several equivalent
ways. Perhaps the most intuitive formulation
is based on the observation that if we consider
subsets not just of pc but of continuous pitch-​
class space cpc, then a perfectly even division of
the octave into seven equal parts (or any desired
number) is possible. Such a set is an interval
cycle generated by a fractional interval, in this
case 12 7 , consisting of the numbers 0, 15 7 , 33 7 ,
51 7 , 66 7 , 84 7, and 102 7 , shown in the inner circle of
Figure 14.2.3. Truncating each of these numbers
to an integer, discarding the fractional remain-
ders, yields the set {0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10} shown in
the outer circle. This set is a diatonic collection,
specifically the D♭-​major collection dpc(−5)—​or
more properly the enharmonic diatonic pitch-​
class space edpc(7) as defined in Chapter 13. The
process may be regarded as a kind of quantiza-
tion, whereby continuously varying quantities
(pitch classes in cpc) are restricted to a discrete
set of possible values (pitch classes in pc). The
perfectly even seven-​note division shown in the
inner circle of the figure cannot be realized in the
discrete space of the outer circle, so each note
(except 0) must travel a short distance counter-
clockwise until an available note is encountered.
600 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
Quantization processes like that in Figure
14.2.3 are characteristic of the filtered point-​
symmetry models developed by Jack Douthett
and Richard Plotkin. Douthett conceives of the
inner circle as a beacon sending seven beams of
light outward; the beams are then redirected
through a filter when they reach the outer circle.
Details and many examples may be found in
Douthett 2008, Plotkin and Douthett 2013, and
Plotkin 2019; the following exercises explore a
few possibilities.
Exercise 14.2.4
(a) Use a quantization process similar to that of
Figure 14.2.3 to construct a maximally even
five-​note set, and verify that the resulting
set is a pentatonic collection.
(b) Use a similar process to construct a
maximally even eight-​note set, and verify
that the resulting set is an octatonic
  collection.
Exercise 14.2.5 Many variants of the
quantization process are possible, yielding
essentially the same results. This exercise
explores a few such variants.
(a) Repeat the above construction of a
maximally even seven-​note set, but round
all fractions up instead of down, so that
for example the number 15 7 will produce
pitch class 2 rather than 1. Show that the
resulting set is another diatonic collection.
(b) Repeat the construction again, this time
rounding each fraction to the nearest
integer, so that 15 7 will produce pitch class
2 while 33 7 will produce 3. Again show that
the resulting set is a diatonic collection.21
(c) The relative alignment of the two circles in
Figure 14.2.3 may be adjusted; that is, the
perfectly even set in cpc need not contain
0. If the pitch classes in the inner circle are
rotated clockwise by anything less than
1 semitone, the ME set resulting from
7
the rounding-​down process in the figure
will not change, but for larger rotations
it will. Starting with a perfectly even set
whose first two elements are 1 7 and 16 7 , and
rounding fractions down as before, verify
that the resulting ME set is again diatonic.
What if the perfectly even set contains the
number 1?
(d) Suppose the beams from the inner circle of
Figure 14.2.3 fire one at a time, starting with
 the beam in the 0 position and proceeding
clockwise. The result will be an ordered set
of pitch classes on the outer circle—​a C
locrian scale. Now suppose the inner circle
is rotated clockwise in increments of 1 7
semitone, the beams always firing in the
same order. Show that the scales produced
are C phrygian, C aeolian, C dorian, …, in
the same order generated by the signature
  transformation s1.22
Exercise 14.2.6 This exercise outlines a
different procedure for constructing ME sets.
Start by constructing perfectly even sets of
cardinalities 5 and 7 in cpc, coloring the notes
of the five-​note set black and those of the
seven-​note set white. Draw both sets in one
circle, rotating each of them to any desired
position, subject only to the constraint that
no black note and white note are in precisely
the same location. Finally, redraw the picture,
preserving the order of black and white notes
but spacing the twelve notes evenly around
the circle. Verify that the resulting sets are
the familiar ME pentatonic and diatonic
collections.
   23
Another important characterization of maxi-
mal evenness presents the first occasion on
which it becomes useful to broaden our defi-
nition of the word generic, allowing any non-
empty proper subset of the chromatic scale to
be regarded as a generic scale. Following Clough
and Douthett, we write d for the cardinality of
the generic scale and c for the cardinality of the
specific scale (borrowing the initial letters of the
words diatonic and chromatic for this purpose).
We are now interested in maximally even sets of
various generic cardinalities d, not just d =​7. For
the moment c remains 12, but soon we will con-
sider other specific cardinalities as well.
For example, we may regard an octatonic
collection as a generic scale of cardinality d =​
8 embedded within the usual chromatic scale.
Figure 14.2.7 shows that within such a scale, we
may measure intervals either generically or spe-
cifically; the two interval functions are denoted
intg and ints. Three steps of the scale separate
the notes C and E, so intg(C, E) =​3; the inter-
val intg(C♯, F♯) is likewise 3. The specific interval
function ints is the usual interval function in pc,
so ints(C, E) =​4 while ints(C♯, F♯) =​5.
The idea that a single generic interval may
correspond to two different specific intervals
was encountered in the context of diatonic
FIGURE 14.2.7 Generic and specific intervals in
an octatonic scale
scales in Section 13.4. Myhill’s property (cardi-
nality equals variety for lines of cardinality 2)
ensures that every generic interval in a diatonic
scale comes in precisely two species; thirds, for
example, may be major or minor. Myhill’s prop-
erty does not hold for octatonic scales—​ for
example, two octatonic scale-​steps always span
a minor third, so generic interval 2 corresponds
only to specific interval 3, never to anything
else—​but generic interval 3 is realized in two
different specific intervals, as Figure 14.2.7 con-
firms. Clough and Douthett’s insight is this: a
set is maximally even if and only if every generic
interval is realized either in a single specific
interval or in two specific intervals which are
consecutive integers. The octatonic scale illus-
trates both possibilities: if intg(x, y) =​2, then
ints(x, y) is always 3, while if intg(x, y) =​3, then
ints(x, y) may be either 4 or 5.
Exercise 14.2.8
(a) Write out all generic intervals and the
corresponding specific intervals for a
diatonic scale, an octatonic scale, and a
whole-​tone scale, and confirm that they
satisfy the intervallic condition for maximal
evenness described above.
(b) Examine the melodic minor, harmonic
minor, and super–​whole-​tone scales from
Figure 14.2.2. For each of these scales, show
that some generic interval comes in three
different specific sizes, in violation of the
required condition for maximal evenness.
(c) Consider the hexatonic collection {0, 1, 4,
5, 8, 9} as a generic scale. Show that for
this scale, every generic interval comes in
either one or two specific sizes, but in the
Beyond the Diatonic • 601
 latter case the two specific sizes are not
consecutive integers as required by the
  maximal evenness condition.
An application of maximally even sets with
chromatic cardinalities other than c =​12 arises
in the realm of rhythm, in the form of maximally
even beat-​class sets in various meters.24 Figure
14.2.9 shows four examples. The 3 +​3 +​2 tresillo
rhythm, familiar in music of Latin America and
many other cultures, is a maximally even beat-​
class set with d =​3 and c =​8. The 2 +​2 +​2 +​3
rhythm in the second example, a 4-​in-​9 ME set,
occurs in examples as varied as the first move-
ment of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, Ravel’s
“Alborada del gracioso,” Bartók’s Mikrokosmos
No. 152, and, famously, Brubeck’s Blue Rondo à la
Turk. The rhythmic manifestation of the 7-​in-​12
diatonic collection, common in Cuban and sub-​
Saharan African music, is sometimes known in
the rhythm literature as the bembé rhythm or the
standard pattern. The second strain of Joplin’s
Maple Leaf Rag features a 5-​in-​16 ME rhythm in
sixteenth notes, spanning two measures.
Rhythms such as these often repeat in the
manner of an ostinato. They may be rotated so
that the downbeat falls at various points in the
pattern. The 3 +​2 +​2 +​2 rotation of the 4-​in-​
9 rhythm occurs occasionally in the first move-
ment of Brahms’s Quintet in G Major, Op. 111;
the Maple Leaf Rag pattern is rotated so that no
articulation falls on the first downbeat. Maximal
evenness implies inversional symmetry, appar-
ent in all the diagrams in Figure 14.2.9; conse-
quently the retrograde of any of these rhythms
always matches some rotation, as the just-​noted
Brahms example illustrates. If an attack is added
to the diatonic rhythm at beat class 8 (the eight
o’clock position), the resulting rhythm is no lon-
ger ME but remains symmetrical because bc 8 lies
on the axis of symmetry; if this pattern is played
FIGURE 14.2.9 Four maximally even rhythms
602 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
starting at bc 7, the result is ,
a rhythm associated with Steve Reich because
of its appearance in Clapping Music and several
other works.25
—​—​—​
Our knowledge of the OPTIC spaces and distance
functions from Part Three offers another way to
conceive of maximal evenness, one that was not
available to Clough and Douthett in 1991, and
which enables us to quantify just how “even” any
set is. In three-​voice OP-​space, the central axis
consists of augmented triads—​ perfectly even
three-​part divisions of the octave. (Preliminary
forms of this property were noted in Chapter
10; for the complete space see Figure 11.3.4.)
Analogously, perfectly even diminished sev-
enth chords lie on the central axis of four-​voice
OP-​space (Figures 11.5.3 and 11.5.9). Diatonic
scales and other seven-​note scales inhabit seven-​
voice OP-​ space. Geometric relationships in
seven dimensions are difficult to visualize, to say
the least, but this space too has a central axis, a
line consisting of perfectly even divisions of the
octave into seven parts, such as the set we con-
structed in the inner circle of Figure 14.2.3 as a
first step toward obtaining an ME set via quanti-
zation. That process—​particularly the rounding
method described in Exercise 14.2.5b—​is tan-
tamount to taking a perfectly even point on the
central axis of this continuous space and locating
the nearest lattice point. ME sets, that is, are the
closest integer-​valued points to the central axis
of OP-​space.
Armed with our understanding of distance
functions from Chapter 12, we can calculate
exactly how far a point is from the central axis
and use the result as a measure of the set’s even-
ness.26 The following exercise explores this idea.
For any set in OP-​space, the nearest point on
the central axis is always a set of the same sum
class as the original set. A perfectly even set of
the desired sum class may be calculated; alterna-
tively, we may transpose the original set so that
its sum class is 0 and compare it to a perfectly
even set of sum class 0. The exercise adopts the
latter approach.
Exercise 14.2.10
(a) Explain why, whenever a seven-​note set
is transposed by perfect fifth (T7), its sum
class increases by 1.
(b) As a seven-​note pitch-​class set, which
diatonic collection is of sum class 0?
Write this set as a 7-​tuple β of pitch-​class
numbers, starting with 0.27
(c) Take the diatonic 7-​tuple β that you
identified in (b), and compare it with the
perfectly even 7-​tuple α =​(0, 15 7 , 33 7 ,
51 7 , 66 7 , 84 7, 102 7 ), whose sum class is
also 0. This α is the point on the central
axis of OP-​space that lies closest to β.
Construct the displacement multiset as
described in Section 12.4—​a list of seven
numbers Δx1, …, Δx7, the absolute values
of the differences between corresponding
numbers in the two tuples.
(d) Verify that the voice-​leading distance
distVL(α, β) =​ Δx1 +​ ⋯ +​ Δx7 is equal to 15 7 .
(e) Verify that the Euclidean distance
distEuc(α, β) =​[(Δx1)2 +​ ⋯ +​(Δx7)2]1  ⁄  2 is
equal to 28 / 7 ≈ 0.76.
(f) The distance values in (d) and (e) are
difficult to interpret out of context, but
they become meaningful when compared
with similar calculations for other sets.
Consider a melodic minor scale, a harmonic
minor scale, and a super–​whole-​tone
collection as in Figure 14.2.2. For each set,
determine a transposition of sum class 0.
Compare all of these sets with the perfectly
even set α from (c), determining the voice-​
leading and Euclidean distance in each
case. Your calculations should confirm that
none of these sets is as close to α as the
diatonic collection is. (Before undertaking
these calculations, you may wish to guess
which of the three collections appear most
and least even to you, and see if the results
  confirm your intuition.)
Tymoczko has extensively studied relation-
ships among scales and other nearly even col-
lections of various cardinalities, constructing an
assortment of “voice-​leading lattices” of points
representing those collections. As described
above, a lattice of seven-​ note scales may be
conceived as a discrete subset of seven-​voice
OP-​space cpitch7/​~OP, but there are ways to con-
struct some such lattices without confronting
the complexities of seven-​ dimensional geom-
etry. Figure 14.2.11 shows relationships among
several diatonic, melodic minor, harmonic
minor, and harmonic major scales.28 This appar-
ently three-​ dimensional picture is potentially
misleading as a depiction of the seven-​dimen-
sional space,29 but it accurately captures single-​
semitone voice-​ leading relationships between
scales that are adjacent in the figure.
The lattice structure is determined by the
scales as pitch-​class sets; which note is the tonic
is of no consequence, but familiar scale names
are provided for convenience in the form of
spelled heptachord labels. The label (F♯)hmaj
(+​5), for example, refers to the heptachord
hmaj(+​5), the F♯ harmonic major scale. Spelling
is irrelevant in OP-​ space, so the same point
also represents G♭ harmonic major, hmaj(−7).
The scales are therefore theoretically the enhar-
monic versions of the spelled heptachords, and
so would more properly be labeled ehmaj(5)
and so on—​a technicality that the figure ignores.
Pitch classes are also shown for each scale. The
strings of pitch classes stand for OP-​classes, but
in order to clarify voice-​ leading relationships
with neighboring scales they have not been
rotated to give OP normal forms (the OP normal
form for hmaj(+​5) is [5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 1, 2]).
Exercise 14.2.12 Calculate the number of
integer-​valued lattice points in seven-​voice OP-​
space in the two different ways described below,
and verify that both methods give the same
result.
(a) Each lattice point represents a seven-​note
subset of pc, so the number of lattice points
must be the number of seven-​element
subsets in a twelve-​element set. Calculate
this number.30
(b) Each lattice point also represents one of
the twelve transpositions of one of the 66
spelled heptachord types. Calculate this
  number.
There are some resemblances between the
scale lattice in Figure 14.2.11 and the chain of
hexatonic triad cubes at the center of three-​voice
OP-​space (recall Figures 10.2.1 and 11.3.4) or
the analogous chain of octatonic seventh-​chord
hypercubes in four-​ voice OP-​space. The scale
Beyond the Diatonic • 603
FIGURE 14.2.11 A partial lattice of seven-​note scales (after Tymoczko)
lattice, however, appears more complex, partly
because there are no perfectly even seven-​note
sets comparable to the augmented triads and
diminished seventh chords that lie on the cen-
tral axes of their respective spaces. To include
not only the diatonic scales but other nearby
scale types as well, a single chain of cubes, joined
at the corners as in the three-​and four-​voice
spaces, will not suffice; instead Figure 14.2.11
shows cubes attached by their faces in a more
complex pattern. The chain of fifth-​related dia-
tonic scales, shown in heavy outline, spirals
around the central axis of OP-​space, always lying
closer to that axis than the points represent-
ing any of the other scale types, in a way that
the three-​dimensional view cannot adequately
capture.
The reason why seven-​voice space lacks per-
fectly even sets is simple: the cardinality of the
sets under consideration (7) is not a divisor of
the cardinality of the underlying specific scale
(12). Tymoczko describes two families of lattices
604 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
depending on whether this divisibility relation is
satisfied, and shows that the features just noted
are characteristic of the two types: if d divides c,
then the most nearly even set types form a sim-
ple chain of d-​dimensional cubes linked by single
vertices, whereas if d and c are coprime, the lat-
tice configuration is more complex, involving
cubes sharing faces or facets of some intermedi-
ate dimension.31
Another situation of interest in which d and c
are coprime is the case in which d =​3 and c =​7.
That is, the sets under consideration are three-​
note chords in mod-​7 space. This mod-​7 space is
what we know as generic pitch-​class space gpc—​
but it now plays the role of the specific scale, to
be examined in relation to its subsets. Figure
14.2.13a shows the appropriate quantization
process, in which the perfectly even 3-​in-​7 set {0,
21 3 , 42 3 } yields the maximally even set {0, 2, 4}. A
mod-​7 set of OPTC or OPTIC normal form [0, 2,
4] is a triad; triads and their four-​note comple-
ments, seventh chords, are ME sets in generic
FIGURE 14.2.13 A triad as (a) a maximally even set in generic space; (b) a second-​order maximally
even set in chromatic space
space. This observation reminds us that maximal
evenness is a property of a set not in isolation
but in relation to a larger scale: while it is com-
mon to speak of a “maximally even set,” the term
“maximally even subset” is more precise.
If the mod-​7 space in Figure 14.2.13a is inter-
preted as a diatonic scale, then its 024 subsets
include major, minor, and diminished triads—​
none of which are maximally even in chromatic
space pc, where only augmented triads are ME.
Major, minor, and diminished triads can arise in
chromatic space, however, as second-​order maxi-
mally even sets: maximally even subsets of maxi-
mally even subsets. Figure 14.2.13b illustrates.
This filtered point-​symmetry model has three
circles, with three notes equally spaced around
the inner circle, seven in the middle circle, and
twelve in the outer circle. The 3-​in-​7 quantiza-
tion yields a generic triad as in part (a) of the
figure; the circles in (b) are oriented so that the
7-​in-​12 quantization applied to this triad then
yields the C-​major triad {0, 4, 7}.
Exercise 14.2.14
(a) Numerical calculations are not shown
in Figure 14.2.13b. Show the details of
calculations yielding the second-​order ME
set {0, 4, 7}.32
(b) When the 7-​in-​12 quantization process
is applied to all seven notes of the mod-​7
circle in the figure, which diatonic set is the
result?
(c) Show that by rotating only the inner circle
in Figure 14.2.13b to different orientations,
triads of all three diatonic species (major,
minor, and diminished) can be produced.
(d) What chord progression results if the
inner circle is rotated continuously in the
clockwise direction?
(e) What chord progression results if the inner
and outer circles are fixed as shown in the
figure, and the middle circle is rotated
continuously in the counterclockwise
direction?33
(f) Construct a 3-​in-​8-​in-​12 filtered point-​
symmetry system in which all three circles
are initially aligned on pitch class 0. What
chord progression results if the inner circle
  is rotated clockwise?34
A particular alignment of the circles in a
filtered point-​symmetry system, called a con-
figuration, may be specified by coordinates that
record the rotations of each circle. Rotations of
the circles generate transformation groups act-
ing on the space of possible configurations. Each
configuration determines a chord, scale, or other
pitch-​class set of the appropriate type via the
filtering process.35 Plotkin and Douthett show
ways to trace paths in configuration spaces, sug-
gesting relationships with tonnetz diagrams and
other techniques we have studied.
We conclude this section by returning briefly
to the observation that the cardinalities 3 and
7 in Figure 14.2.13a are coprime. Our remarks
above suggest that a lattice of nearly even
trichords in generic space could be constructed,
and that such a lattice may share some of the
characteristics of the 7-​ in-​12 case shown in
Figure 14.2.11. In fact, the 3-​in-​7 lattice looks
very much like the 7-​in-​12, as the following exer-
cise shows.
Beyond the Diatonic • 605
Exercise 14.2.15 Redraw or trace the lattice
in Figure 14.2.11, omitting the vertex labels.
Then label the vertices with three-​note chords
in generic space gpc, using mod-​7 OP normal
forms. The points on the heavy line, originally
fifth-​related diatonic scales, are now third-​
related generic triads; place ACE at the bottom,
in the position originally occupied by the
B♭-​major scale, and FAC above it, in place of the
F-​major scale. Other nearby points should be
labeled with other types of trichords, less even
than triads; for example, the points originally
labeled mmin(−1) and hmin(−1) are now DEA
and BCE respectively. Indicate the mod-​7 sum
classes. The original figure is large enough so
that two of the trichords at the bottom will be
duplicated
   at the top.36
14.3 BEYOND THE
CHROMATIC: OTHER
SPECIFIC CARDINALITIES
Our study of scales has focused on the most
familiar examples, especially the twelve-​ note
chromatic and the seven-​note diatonic. In the
preceding sections we have considered some
non-​diatonic pitch-​class sets as possible “scales,”
but still in the context of the twelve-​note space
pc. In principle there are no theoretical barriers
to constructing scale systems with more than
twelve notes, though there are practical hurdles
to overcome in composing, notating, and per-
forming music in such scales. In this final sec-
tion of the chapter we explore some approaches
to generalizing what we know about diatonic and
chromatic scales to scales of other cardinalities.
As noted at the outset of the chapter, this discus-
sion will be far from exhaustive.
A specific scale C of cardinality c may be iden-
tified with ℤc, the integers mod c, and inter-
preted as a c-​note pitch-​class space analogous to
pc. As usual we will not devote much attention
to the question of tuning; for our purposes we
may assume c-​note equal temperament, a divi-
sion of the octave into c equal intervals of fre-
quency ratio 21 ⁄c. We sometimes refer to C as the
chromatic universe. Any nonempty proper subset
D of C, of cardinality d < c, may be regarded as
a generic scale. A generic scale D, together with
the specific scale C of which it is a subset, will be
called a scale system; the scale system consisting
of the usual 7-​note diatonic and 12-​note chro-
matic scales is the canonical system. The elements
of D may be listed in ordinary set notation; it is
useful to indicate the specific cardinality c with a
606 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
subscript. For example, the usual C-​major scale
may be written {0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11}12. For many
purposes transpositionally equivalent generic
scales may be considered the same; a T-​class
of scales may be labeled with its mod-​c OPTC
normal form, the mod-​c equivalent of a d-​note
chord species. For the diatonic scale in the
canonical system the OPTC normal form is [0, 1,
3, 5, 6, 8, 10](OPTC
12 )
, which we will write in the sim-
pler form [0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10]12 as long as confu-
sion with other normal forms is unlikely.
The interval between any two notes of C may
be measured using the specific interval function
ints: C × C → ℤc. Because D is a subset of C, inter-
vals between notes of D may be measured with
ints in this way, but they may also be measured
with the generic interval function intg: D × D →
ℤd, which counts steps from note to note within
D regardless of how far apart those notes may be
in C. Corresponding to these two interval func-
tions are transposition operators: any note of C
may be transposed by the specific transposition
operator Ti: C → C, where i is an integer mod c,
and notes of D may also be transposed by the
generic transposition operator tj: D → D, where j
is an integer mod d.
Many of the concepts defined in Chapter 13
and previously in this chapter extend in straight-
forward ways to this more general setting. D is
a generated scale if its notes may be arranged in
a generated order starting with some note x and
continuing with successive transpositions Tg(x),
T2g(x), …, T(d−1)g(x) (mod c) through some gener-
ating interval g (defined as a specific interval). D
is well-​formed if it is generated and every instance
of the generating interval spans the same generic
interval, or equivalently if the mapping from
scalar order to generated order is an automor-
phism of ℤd. Specific intervals determine interval
classes (actually distances, the mod-​c absolute
values of the specific interval function), which
range from 0 to ⎣c/​2⎦ (the greatest integer less
than or equal to c/​2), which is equal to c/​2 if c
is even or to (c − 1)/​2 if c is odd. D is a deep scale
if every interval class occurs a different number
of times between pairs of notes in D. A chord
genus is a mod-​d OPTC equivalence class of sub-
sets of D (where T equivalence refers to generic
transposition tj); a chord species is a mod-​c OPTC
equivalence class of subsets of C (where T equiv-
alence refers to specific transposition Ti). A line
genus is a mod-​d OT-​class of tuples in D; a line
species is a mod-​c OT-​class of tuples in C. D sat-
isfies cardinality equals variety for chords if every
chord genus of cardinality k is realized in exactly
k species for every k with 1 ≤ k ≤ d − 1; D satis-
fies cardinality equals variety for lines if every line
genus of cardinality k is realized in exactly k spe-
cies for every k with 1 ≤ k ≤ d. D has Myhill’s prop-
erty if every generic interval is realized in exactly
two species; this is the special case of C =​V for
lines of cardinality k =​2. D is maximally even if it
may be obtained by quantizing a perfectly even
set of cardinality d {x, x +​ c/​d, x +​2c/​d, …, x +​
(d − 1)c/​d}c in mod-​c space, or equivalently if
every generic interval is realized either in a sin-
gle specific interval or in two specific intervals
which are consecutive integers. For any given
cardinalities c and d, a maximally even d-​in-​c set
may always be constructed by quantization, and
it is essentially unique in the sense that all such
sets are related by specific transposition.
Relationships among these properties have
been studied extensively. Clough, Engebretsen,
and Kochavi 1999 offer many details, a few of
which we shall summarize quickly; Exercises
14.3.1 and 14.3.2 below offer a number of exam-
ples. Notably, all of the properties enumerated
above imply inversional symmetry: an asym-
metric scale D cannot be generated, deep, well-​
formed, or ME, and cannot satisfy any form of
C =​V. While Myhill’s property is ostensibly a
special case of C =​V for lines, the special case
turns out to imply the general: if D has Myhill’s
property, then C =​V for lines is always satisfied.
The full generality of C =​V for chords does not
necessarily follow, however; the property of C =​
V for chords is generally more difficult to charac-
terize than C =​V for lines.37 Every scale satisfy-
ing C =​V for either lines or chords is well-​formed
(and therefore generated). Clough and Myerson
(1985, 263–​ 64) show that Myhill’s property
implies the existence of a “generalized circle of
fifths”: in the generated order of the scale D, the
wraparound interval from the last note to the
first is generically the same as the generating
interval, but its specific size is different (gen-
eralizing the situation in the canonical system,
where the generating interval is a perfect fifth
and the wraparound interval is a diminished
fifth). While C =​V implies well-​formedness, the
converse is not true: perfectly even scales such
as a whole-​tone scale are well-​formed but do not
satisfy C =​V for lines or chords. The intervallic
condition for maximal evenness suggests a rela-
tionship with Myhill’s property and therefore
with C =​V, but in general neither maximal even-
ness nor C =​V implies the other. If c and d are
coprime, however, a maximally even scale satis-
fies Myhill’s property and C =​V for lines.
Exercise 14.3.1 Seven generic scales in the
usual mod-​12 chromatic scale are listed below.
Determine which, if any, of the following five
properties each scale satisfies: (1) generated,
(2) well-​formed, (3) deep, (4) C =​V for lines, (5)
maximally even.38
(a) The pentatonic scale [0, 2, 4, 7, 9]12
(b) The whole-​tone scale [0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10]12
(c) The hexatonic scale [0, 1, 4, 5, 8, 9]12
(d) The diatonic hexachord [0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9]12
(e) The harmonic minor scale [0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9]12
(f) The chromatic heptachord [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]12
(g)  The octatonic scale [0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10]12
Exercise 14.3.2 Consider the same properties
as in the previous exercise for the following
scales in chromatic universes with values of c
other than 12.39
(a) [0, 1, 2, 4]6
(b) [0, 1, 3, 4]7
(c) [0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8]10
(d) [0, 1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 14]17
(e) [0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 17]20
(f) [0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18]20
(g)  [0, 2, 6, 10, 12, 16, 20]24
The next exercise provides a simple reason
why some of the scales in the two preceding exer-
cises cannot be deep: they are not big enough.
Exercise 14.3.3
(a) If n is a positive integer, the sum 1 +​2 +​⋯
+​ (n − 1) is equal to n(n − 1)/​2, which is also
the number of 2-​element subsets of a set of
cardinality n. Use these properties to show
that for a deep scale to exist, the specific
and generic cardinalities c and d must
satisfy d ≥ ⎣c/​2⎦.40
(b) Call a set internally deep if all the nonzero
entries in its interval-​class vector are
different—​that is, if every interval that
actually occurs in the set occurs a unique
number of times. Of the non-​deep scales
examined in Exercises 14.3.1 and 14.3.2,
four are internally deep. Which scales
  are these?
Evidently the distinctive nature of the usual
7-​in-​12 diatonic scale is not encapsulated by a
single easily defined property, but rather is char-
acterized by a large assortment of attributes
like those discussed above. Exercises 14.3.1 and
14.3.2 suggest, accurately enough, that while
Beyond the Diatonic • 607
each of these properties is satisfied by a variety
of scales, there are few scales that satisfy all the
properties. Each property, therefore, provides
its own generalization of the concept of diato-
nicity: the aim of generalizing the diatonic scale
to other cardinalities may be approached in a
variety of ways, depending on which features are
considered most desirable.
In this discussion of some rather technical
aspects of scales, we should not lose sight of
some simple arithmetical properties of the num-
bers 7 and 12 that come into play in the canoni-
cal system in various ways. Eight such properties
are listed below. Here c and d denote, as usual,
the cardinalities of the specific and generic scales
C and D. We assume that D is a generated scale,
and we write g for the specific size of the gener-
ating interval. It is a simple matter to verify that
the properties in this list hold in the familiar set-
ting with c =​12, d =​7, and g =​7; below we will
consider the implications of these properties for
other values of c, d, and g.
(a) d =​ g.
(b) c is an even number, and in particular a
composite number (not prime).
(c) c is divisible by 3.
(d) d is an odd prime number.
(e) c and d are coprime. In light of (a),
therefore, c and g are coprime.
(f) d 2 =​1 (mod c). In light of (a), therefore,
g2 =​1 (mod c) and dg =​1 (mod c).
(g) d =​ c/​2 +​ 1.
(h) d is the sum of two consecutive integers
whose product is c.
Property (a) reminds us that we have encoun-
tered the number 7 in two different roles, as the
cardinality of the generic scale and also as the
specific size of the generating interval, the per-
fect fifth. There is no obvious reason why these
two numbers should be the same, and it is diffi-
cult to make a case for this property as an impor-
tant determinant of diatonic structure. If interval
g generates a scale, so does the complementary
interval g′ =​ c − g (in the canonical case g′ =​12 − 7
=​ 5); d may be equal to either g or g′ but not both.
Also, the scale [0, 2, 6, 10, 12, 16, 20]24 from
Exercise 14.3.2g may be interpreted as the usual
diatonic scale situated within a specific scale that
has been enlarged to contain quarter-​tones (so
that the usual semitone is specific interval 2); for
this scale d remains 7 but g is 14.
Some of the other listed properties, how-
ever, are essential to many familiar musical
608 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
phenomena. We are accustomed to being able
to divide an octave equally in several different
ways, including in half, which requires that c be
even (property (b)). Property (c), the divisibility
of c by 3, will be discussed further below in rela-
tion to (h). Both (b) and (c) are properties of the
chromatic scale only, not involving the diatonic.
Properties (d) and (e), the prime cardinality of
the diatonic scale and the coprime nature of c
and d, have been noted many times in this and
the preceding chapter. (If d is prime, then c and
d are automatically coprime unless c is divisible
by d.) The alternative formulation of (e)—​c and
g are coprime—​ensures that the interval g that
generates D also generates the entire specific
scale C, so that C may be arranged in a “circle of
g’s”—​the circle of fifths in the familiar setting—​
of which D forms a contiguous segment.
Of the three formulations of property (f), the
greatest musical importance perhaps attaches
to the statement dg =​1 (mod c). Consider D as
a contiguous segment of the circle of g’s as just
described, referring back if necessary to the pic-
ture of dpc(−3) as a subset of fifth at the lower
right corner of Figure 13.2.1. Adjacent notes in
this circle are related by specific interval g. If D
is rotated one position clockwise, the resulting
set is a Tg transposition of the scale D; in Figure
13.2.1, dpc(−3) becomes dpc(−2). These two
transpositions of the scale have d − 1 notes in
common. The new note (A) is d places clockwise
from the note it replaces (A♭), so the mod-​c spe-
cific interval from the old note to the new (from
A♭ to A) is dg. To say that this interval is 1 ensures
that the new scale is related to the old by the
smoothest possible voice leading: only one note
changes, and it changes by the smallest possible
interval—​as is the case, of course, in moving
from one diatonic scale to a closely related one.
Transpositions by the complementary genera-
tor g′ =​ c − g are just as smooth as transpositions
by g, because g′ =​−g (mod c) and therefore dg′
=​−1 (mod c). This property ensures that closely
related diatonic scales are adjacent in the lattice
of Figure 14.2.11; it allows diatonic scales to par-
ticipate in “maximally smooth cycles” as defined
in Cohn 1996, 15–​ 16; and its importance is
noted also in Balzano 1980, 70–​71, where it is
dubbed the “F–​F♯ property” and described as
essential to the behavior of key signatures.
When a circle of g’s exists, the multiplication
operator Mg (M7 in the canonical system) con-
verts the chromatic (scalar) arrangement of C
to the circle of g’s. The statement g2 =​1 (mod c),
another formulation of property (f), guarantees
that the same operator Mg maps also in the other
direction, from the circle of g’s to the chromatic
circle, as discussed previously in conjunction
with M7 in Figure 13.2.1.
Properties (g) and (h) describe particular
arithmetical relationships between the cardi-
nalities c and d. Property (g), d =​ c/​2 +​1, requires
that c be even. If we also assume that d is odd,
then (g) implies that c is a multiple of 4, that c
and d are coprime, and that d 2 =​1 (mod c) (see
Exercise 14.3.4a below). Agmon 1989 defines a
family of “diatonic systems” which turn out to
be precisely the maximally even d-​in-​c sets for
which d =​ c/​2 +​1 and d is odd; the next possibili-
ties for such systems after the canonical 7-​in-​12
are 9-​in-​16 and 11-​in-​20 (the scale in Exercise
14.3.2f).41 Clough, Engebretsen, and Kochavi
1999 show that every scale with this combina-
tion of properties is deep and well-​formed, and
satisfies C =​V for lines.
Balzano 1980 calls attention to property (h),
which in the canonical case is the observation
that 7 =​3 +​4 while 12 =​3 ∙ 4. In the general
setting this property says that for some inte-
ger k, d =​2k +​1 and c =​ k(k +​1). We know from
Section 6.4 that the factorization 12 =​3 ∙ 4 is
important in the group structure underlying the
neo-​Riemannian tonnetz, and indeed Balzano’s
motivation is to generalize this aspect of the
tonnetz. The assumption d =​ g is also implicit in
Balzano’s argument.42 After 7 and 12, the next
numbers satisfying Balzano’s condition are d =​
4 +​5 =​9 and c =​4 ∙ 5 =​20. This 9-​in-​20 system
is the one in Exercise 14.3.2e above; for a corre-
sponding tonnetz see Balzano 1980, 76. Zweifel
1996 argues that Balzano’s 9-​in-​20 scale is more
closely analogous to the pentatonic scale than to
the diatonic, and proposes its complement, the
11-​in-​20 scale from 14.3.2f, as a better analog of
the diatonic. Either g =​9 or g =​11 generates both
of these scales, but d =​9 in one case while d =​11
in the other.
Another approach to generalizing the tonnetz
is that of Cohn 1997. With the goal of recaptur-
ing the parsimonious voice-​leading behavior of
the familiar transformations P, R, and L, Cohn
arrives at the stipulation that c be divisible by 3
(property (c)); he constructs tonnetz variants for
c =​18 and c =​24.
These properties, clearly, do not always accord
with each other. In fact, no pairs of integers c
and d other than the familiar 12 and 7 satisfy
both (g) and (h) (see Exercise 14.3.4b below).
As noted above, c =​20 is consistent with either
(g) or (h), but two different generic cardinalities
d are implied. Cohn’s condition (c), meanwhile,
disallows c =​20 entirely. The case c =​24 is consis-
tent with (c) and (g), but not (h). If c =​24, how-
ever, then (g) implies that d =​13, so this generic
scale is not the usual diatonic—​even though, as
we have suggested, a 24-​note quarter-​tone scale
contains the usual 12-​note chromatic and there-
fore also the usual 7-​note diatonic scale among
its subsets.43
Moreover, we have paid no heed to tuning,
a primary consideration for many who study
microtonal scales. Twelve-​ note equal tem-
perament is often described as an acoustical
compromise, appealing because it offers close
approximations to the “pure” intervals of the
perfect fifth and major third as determined by
small integer ratios from the harmonic series.44
Neither c =​18 nor c =​20 approximates these
intervals well, but c =​19 does. A 19-​note uni-
verse, though it violates many of the arithmeti-
cal properties listed above, is of great interest,
and we will study it briefly at the end of this
section.
Exercise 14.3.4
(a) Assume that d =​ c/​2 +​1 (property (g)),
and assume that d is odd. Show that c is a
multiple of 4, that c and d are coprime, and
that d 2 =​1 (mod c).45
(b) Show that the only numbers c and d
satisfying both property (g) (d =​ c/​2 +​ 1)
and property (h) (d =​2k +​1 and c =​ k(k +​1))
  are c =​12 and d =​7.46
Even if a generic scale shares many structural
properties with the usual diatonic, it is reason-
able to wonder how closely musical behavior
can resemble familiar diatonic behavior if the
generic cardinality d is anything other than 7.
This is a difficult question to answer: musical
examples composed in such scales are scarce,
partly because the complexities of notation are
considerable. A simpler situation of interest,
however, is the case in which d remains 7 but
c is something other than 12. In this case the
notes of the generic scale may be given the usual
seven letter names and even written in tradi-
tional staff notation with some modifications
in the treatment of accidentals, and a composer
may choose to mimic familiar diatonic patterns
within this scale even if the tuning is unfamil-
iar and the specific intervals “wrong.” One com-
poser to have pursued this approach is Easley
Blackwood, whose Microtonal Etudes will be dis-
cussed below.
Beyond the Diatonic • 609
FIGURE 14.3.5 An enharmonic system
Enharmonic systems, introduced in Hook
2007c, model scale structures of exactly this
kind. As shown in Figure 14.3.5, an enharmonic
system consists of seven “white notes,” identi-
fied by the usual letter names and separated by
variable numbers of “black notes.” The specific
interval from C to D is denoted θC; the θC − 1
black notes between C and D are C♯, C♯ ♯, …, C(θC−1)♯
(the last of these is to be read as a C with θC −
1 sharps). It is understood that CθC ♯, a C with θC
sharps, is the same note as D; the system thus
provides a new definition of enharmonic equiv-
alence. The symbol ♭ may be used for chromatic
inflections in the descending direction, so that
D♭ is the same as C(θC−1)♯. The numbers θC, θD, …,
θB are the specific interval sizes associated with
the generic steps C–​D, D–​E, …, B–​C; the relative
sizes of these numbers determine the intervallic
structure of the white-​note scale. Enharmonic
equivalence may be understood as an equivalence
relation on signed letter space sl from Figure
1.2.11a, generalizing Exercise 1.2.12, which
investigated the usual enharmonic equivalence
relation in this space. The step size θC, for exam-
ple, determines how the notes in the C column of
Figure 1.2.11a are to be identified with the notes
in the D column.
The canonical system, as an enharmonic sys-
tem consisting of the usual 7-​in-​12 scales, will be
denoted enh12. In this system θE =​ θB =​1, as there
are no black notes between E and F or between
B and C, while the other five θs are all equal to
2. The general definition of an enharmonic sys-
tem, however, allows the θs to be as large as
610 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
desired, so that c may be much larger than 12.
It is advantageous to list the seven step sizes in
circle-​of-​fifths order. The 7-​tuple Θ =​(θF, θC, θG,
θD, θA, θE, θB) is called the enharmonic equivalence
vector, or EE vector, of the system, so the EE vec-
tor of the canonical system is (2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1).
When the numbers are interpreted as accidentals
assigned to the seven generic pitch classes in the
same circle-​of-​fifths order, this vector specifies
the spelled heptachord {F𝄪, C𝄪, G𝄪, D𝄪, A𝄪, E♯, B♯},
which we may recognize as dpc(+​12), the B♯-​
major scale. More generally, an EE vector Θ may
be regarded as a generalized spelled heptachord
describing a scale enharmonically equivalent to
the white-​key scale in a sharper spelling.
An EE vector completely determines the
enharmonic equivalence relation, and indeed
the entire structure of the enharmonic system;
the enharmonic system defined by the vector Θ
is denoted enhΘ. The sum of the components in
Θ, θF +​ θC +​ ⋯ +​ θB, is called the accidental index
of the vector (a name consistent with our use of
the same term for spc sets), and is equal to c, the
total number of notes in the system. The specific
scale consisting of all the notes of enhΘ is a mod-​
c pitch-​class space in which a specific interval
function and specific transposition operators are
available; the system also contains in its white
notes a copy of generic pitch-​class space gpc
with its own mod-​7 interval structure.
The canonical EE vector (2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1)
is a standard vector, meaning that it is con-
stant through the first several components,
then steps down by 1. This vector is standard of
step position 5; the step position is the number Nonstandard key signatures may be employed as
of equal components before the step. A vector well, even in the canonical system; for instance
whose components are all the same is stan- the nonstandard vector (0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, −1) of
dard of step position 0. The step position 5 of accidental index 0 denotes a key signature with
the canonical EE vector derives from the five C♯ and B♭, corresponding to a D harmonic minor
whole steps and two half steps in the diatonic scale. Every signature vector of accidental index
scale. Slightly more general than standard vec- n represents some spelled heptachord whose
tors are regular vectors: a vector is regular of accidental index is n (but not necessarily a proper
step position k if its first k components are the spelled heptachord; doublings and crossings are
same and the remaining components are the possible).
same (but the difference between the two values
need not be 1). The properties of the diatonic Exercise 14.3.7
scale explored earlier in this chapter may be (a) For each of the five accidental indices n =​
checked for the white-​note scale in enhΘ; it can 5, −2, −7, 12, and −12, write the standard
be shown that standard or regular EE vectors of vector Φn and identify the key signature
certain step positions guarantee certain proper- and the traditional major key to which
ties of the scale. Standard vectors of step posi- it corresponds. For any number n, what
tion 5 are particularly well-​behaved: if Θ is any can you say about the step position of the
such vector, then the white-​note scale in enhΘ vector Φn? The key signatures of accidental
is generated, well-​formed, and maximally even, indices 12 and −12 are not exactly
and satisfies Myhill’s property and therefore C =​ “traditional,” but what are they, and what
V for lines (Hook 2007c, 109).47 are they enharmonically equivalent to in
the canonical system? Where have we seen
Exercise 14.3.6 the vector Φ12 before?
(a) Write a regular EE vector of step position (b) Signature vectors corresponding to
5 for a 17-​note enharmonic system whose harmonic minor scales are nonstandard,
white-​note subset is some transposition but as with standard vectors there is exactly
of the scale [0, 1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 14]17 from one such vector of every possible accidental
Exercise 14.3.2d. index. Write the harmonic minor signature
(b) Write a similar EE vector for a 22-​note vectors of accidental index −1, 0, 1, and 7,
enharmonic system. and identify the harmonic minor scales to
(c) What EE vector describes a diatonic scale   which they correspond.49
in a quarter-​tone (24-​note) enharmonic
system? Is this vector standard? Is it Musical behavior in an enharmonic system
  regular? Is the scale maximally even?48 with a key signature depends on the interaction
of two vectors, the EE vector defining the system
Because enharmonic systems admit the use and the signature vector that determines the
of standard pitch notation with sharps and flats, key signature. The key signatures of accidental
they also admit the use of key signatures. A key index 5 and −7 in the above exercise determine
signature may be written as a 7-​place signature keys that are enharmonically equivalent in the
vector (λF, λC, λG, λD, λA, λE, λB) resembling an EE canonical system, but in some other systems the
vector. Each λ is an integer indicating the acci- keys with those signatures would not be equiva-
dental applied to the corresponding note, with lent at all. The problem of determining when
sharps denoted 1 and flats −1. The signature vec- two signature vectors define enharmonically
tor for the traditional three-​sharp key signature equivalent scales (possibly even if the vectors are
is (1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0), while the vector for a five-​ nonstandard) is one of many questions that can
flat signature is (0, 0, −1, −1, −1, −1, −1). The first be addressed, either in a particular enharmonic
of these vectors is of accidental index 3 and is system or more generally. Another question of
a standard vector of step position 3, as defined interest is whether familiar diatonic interval
above; the second is of accidental index −5 and names may be used in consistent ways. In some
standard of step position 2. All traditional dia- systems, for example, the intervals C–​E and E♭–​G
tonic key signatures have standard signature may be of different specific sizes, so it is not clear
vectors; in fact, there is a unique standard vec- whether labels such as “major third” are mean-
tor Φn of any given accidental index n, and it cor- ingful. Once again, standard EE vectors of step
responds to the usual key signature for dpc(n). position 5 ensure the most familiar results: if Θ

Beyond the Diatonic • 611

is such a vector, then diatonic interval names in
enhΘ are coherent (Hook 2007c, 114).
Easley Blackwood’s Twelve Microtonal Etudes
for electronic synthesizer, Op. 28 (1980),
explore all equal-​ tempered tunings from c =​
13 to c =​24, using traditional notation some-
times supplemented with additional accidentals
besides sharps and flats. That Blackwood sought
when possible to recapture familiar features of
diatonic scales and common triads is evident in
the notation, in the musical structure, in his own
descriptions of the pieces, and in the title of his
subsequent book The Structure of Recognizable
Diatonic Tunings (1985). He writes, for example,
that 15-​note tuning “contains triads that are
sufficiently in tune to serve as the final har-
mony in cadences. The major scale, however, is
so strange that even the most common diatonic
progressions are disturbing unless precautions
are taken” (Blackwood 1994). This composi-
tional approach is well suited to modeling by
enharmonic systems, and eleven of Blackwood’s
twelve Etudes are notated in ways that are essen-
tially consistent with enharmonic systems.50
After Φ12 =​(2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1), the next stan-
dard vector of step position 5 is Φ19 =​(3, 3, 3,
3, 3, 2, 2), suggesting that the enharmonic sys-
tem enhΦ19, which we abbreviate to enh19, may
have many familiar properties. In fact, a scale
with 19 notes per octave has enjoyed occasional
advocacy, especially in the Renaissance and
in the early twentieth century, because of the
familiar sound of its diatonic scale and its simi-
larities with—​some might say improvements
upon—​the 12-​note system enh12. The EE vec-
tor Φ19 specifies three specific steps in every
major second in the diatonic scale (for example,
C–​C♯–​D♭–​D), and two in each of the two minor FIGURE 14.3.8 (a) A keyboard for a 19-​note
seconds (E–​E♯–​F, with E♯ enharmonically equiva- scale; (b) the 19-​note enharmonic system enh19;
lent to F♭). Figure 14.3.8a shows a keyboard lay- (c) the 19-​note circle of fifths
out for this scale—​a not entirely hypothetical
construction, as a number of 19-​note keyboards
of similar design were constructed in the six- for example, that every traditionally notated
teenth century. Part (b) of the figure shows the perfect fifth such as C–​G, B–​F♯, or A♭–​E♭ spans
scalar arrangement of the enharmonic system, eleven chromatic steps, while major and minor
and (c) shows the generated order, the 19-​note thirds always span six and five chromatic steps,
circle of fifths.51 respectively. Major and minor scales may be
The standard EE vector of step position 5, as notated traditionally, with the usual key signa-
we have seen, ensures that many of the usual tures, and all such scales are specific transposi-
properties of the canonical system are satisfied tions of the white-​note scale, so we may apply
by enh19. In particular, the 7-​in-​19 white-​note the name diatonic to any of them. There are more
scale is generated, well-​formed, and maximally specific interval classes in enh19 than in enh12,
even, and it satisfies Myhill’s property and there- and according to Exercise 14.3.3a, a 7-​in-​19 scale
fore C =​V. Diatonic interval names are consis- does not have enough notes to be a deep scale;
tent throughout the scale: the reader may verify, the following exercise shows, however, that the

612 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces

diatonic scale in enh19 possesses a property should make us think twice before relying on
nearly as strong. aspects of the 12-​note chromatic scale in ana-
lyzing diatonic behavior: any credible analysis
Exercise 14.3.9 What is the interval-​class of diatonic music, it seems, should apply equally
vector of the white-​note scale in enh19? How well to the diatonic scale in enh19.
does it resemble the vector of the usual 7-​in-​ There are other ways, however, in which enh19
12 diatonic collection? Verify that the 7-​in-​19 differs markedly from the canonical system.
diatonic scale is internally deep as defined in Earlier in this section we identified eight arith-
Exercise
   14.3.3b. metical conditions (a)–​(h) satisfied by the num-
bers c =​12, d =​7, and g =​7 in the 7-​in-​12 scale.
The acoustical sizes of common intervals in The corresponding numbers in enh19, c =​19, d =​
19-​note tuning may be considered either better 7, and g =​11, violate six of these conditions as we
or worse than those in 12-​note tuning, depend- presented them: (a), (b), (c), (f), (g), and (h). An
ing on one’s point of view: the following exer- especially significant difference is that because
cise shows that measured against interval ratios the cardinality c =​19 is a prime number, equal
from the harmonic series, the perfect fifth is bet- divisions of the octave in enh19 are impossible.
ter in tune in enh12, while both major and minor Every nonzero interval is coprime to 19 and
thirds are better in enh19. therefore generates a complete cycle through the
19 pitch classes; in this respect the 19-​note scale
Exercise 14.3.10 resembles a 7-​note generic scale more closely
(a) To calculate the tuning error of the perfect than a 12-​note chromatic scale. The chromatic
fifth in 12-​note equal temperament, first circle (Figure 14.3.8b, generated by specific
express the pure interval as a fraction of an interval 1 or 18) and the circle of fifths (14.3.8c,
octave by taking the base-​2 logarithm of generated by 8 or 11) are no longer the only com-
the 3 2 frequency ratio, and then convert to plete interval cycles; there are seven other such
cents by multiplying by 1200; you should cycles, all essentially different. A diminished sev-
find that a pure perfect fifth is about enth chord such as B–​D–​F–​A♭ divides the octave
702¢. A perfect fifth in 12-​note tuning is of enh19 into specific intervals in the pattern
exactly 7 12 of an octave, or 700¢, which is 5–​5–​5–​4: three minor thirds and one smaller
therefore about 2¢ too small. Perform the augmented second. A diminished seventh chord
corresponding error calculation for the therefore no longer lends itself to enharmonic
perfect fifth in an equal-​tempered 19-​note reinterpretation; instead of just four different
scale (where a perfect fifth is 11 specific diminished seventh chords, there are nineteen.
steps, or 11 19 of an octave). Similar considerations apply to augmented tri-
(b) In a similar way, calculate the tuning errors ads (6–​6–​7) and whole-​tone scales (3–​3–​3–​3–​
of the major third and minor third in enh12 3–​4). Each of these sets is maximally even but
  and enh19.52 no longer perfectly even. Transpositional sym-
metry, in fact, is impossible, by the same reason-
It is likely because of the familiar diatonic ing as in Exercise 13.1.23d for the mod-​7 case: in
properties of enh19 that Blackwood places his enh19, with the trivial exceptions of the empty
19-​note Etude last in the set of twelve. This set and the 19-​note aggregate, every pc set has
Etude begins with a section entirely diatonic in nineteen different transpositions.
C major, featuring familiar functional progres- The diatonic cardinality d =​7 and genera-
sions and diatonic sequences. Although differ- tor g =​11 do not match in enh19, as property
ences from 12-​note tuning are audible, most (a) would require, but both remain coprime to
listeners are struck by the perception that these c =​19, satisfying property (e). Regarding (f),
common diatonic processes “work” in the 19-​ while neither d 2 =​1 nor g2 =​1 (mod c) holds,
note scale just as they do in the 12-​note scale. the important form dg =​1 (mod c) remains true
One could perform in enh19, with musically (7 ∙ 11 =​1 (mod 19)), ensuring, as noted above,
satisfying results, a piece such as the variations that closely related diatonic scales are related by
from Mozart’s A-​Major Sonata, K. 331, which smooth voice leading.
involves only brief decorative chromaticism.
A Schenkerian analysis of such a piece, pre- Exercise 14.3.11
pared with the 12-​note system in mind, would (a) Construct a circle of major thirds and a
be equally valid in enh19. These observations circle of minor thirds in enh19.

Beyond the Diatonic • 613

(b) Arrange the nineteen diminished seventh
chords in a maximally smooth cycle. Each
chord should be related to the next by voice-​
leading distance 1 in enh19 (motion of one
voice through a single step of the specific
  scale).
A short segment of the circle of fifths in
Figure 14.3.8c or of one of the circles of thirds
in Exercise 14.3.11 resembles the mod-​12 case,
but the redefinition of enharmonic equivalence
prevents these circles from closing in the accus-
tomed ways. Something similar is true of the
19-​note tonnetz in Figure 14.3.12, which may
be compared with the mod-​ 12 tonnetz from
Figure 1.4.2. Pitch classes remain organized
by minor thirds horizontally and major thirds
vertically, but the familiar 3-​by-​4 tiles (one of
which is shown in light outline) do not fit the
19-​note version of enharmonic equivalence. One
possible tiling consists of the parallelograms
shown (no rectangular tile is possible in a prime
cardinality).
The enh19 tonnetz may be triangulated in the
manner of Figure 1.4.5, each triangle represent-
ing a major or minor triad, and adjacent triads
retain musically familiar relationships that we
may still label P, R, and L. But the algebra of these
transformations is evidently different now: a
PL-​chain in enh19, for example, cycles through
all 38 major and minor triads before repeating,
rather than returning to its starting point after
only six transformations like the hexatonic PL-​
cycles familiar to us since Section 3.1. There is
FIGURE 14.3.12 A tonnetz in enh19
614 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
nothing “hexatonic” about this larger cycle;
indeed, the word has no clear meaning in enh19,
where no set exhibits the distinctive symmetry
of the usual hexatonic collection. In the 19-​note
version of three-​voice OP-​space, the chain of
cubes containing major and minor triads is not
like the chain of hexatonic triad cubes, joined at
single vertices, that lies along the central axis of
the 12-​note space (Figures 10.2.1 and 11.3.4);
instead, it resembles the scale lattice of Figure
14.2.11, in which cubes share faces. Triads such
as C major and E major, related by major-​third
transposition, do not share a sum class in enh19
as they do in enh12. Because enh19 differentiates
a chromatic semitone (specific interval 1) from a
diatonic semitone (specific interval 2), the trans-
formations P and L are no longer equally smooth,
and the PL-​chain is not maximally smooth: in P
the moving voice traverses one specific step, but
in L it traverses two.53 In an imagined perfor-
mance in 19-​note tuning of Liszt’s Consolation
No. 3 (analyzed in Exercise 4.2.13b), the L and
P transformations might retain their musi-
cal effect, but the piece would ascend by major
thirds from D♭ through F and A to C♯, ending off
the original tonic. In contrast with the Mozart
example mentioned previously, a Schenkerian
analysis of this Liszt work, if it shows the final
tonic as a prolongation of the initial tonic, can-
not be valid in enh19.
Exercise 14.3.13 Review the chains of P, R, and
L transformations in the examples from Exercises
4.2.13a (Beethoven), 4.2.13c (Smetana), 4.2.14
(Verdi), and 4.2.15 (Schubert). Assume that the
Verdi example returns to F minor at the end. In
enh12 each of these four progressions is then
tonally closed, ending on the starting triad. If the
same chains of transformations are performed
in enh19, only one of these progressions will be
tonally closed. Which one? Where will each of the
others
   end up?
Blackwood’s 19-​note Etude is a sonata form
that contrasts a diatonic first theme with a chro-
matic second theme. The second theme has a
clear tonal center, E major—​Blackwood employs
the traditional four-​sharp key signature—​and it
continues to make ample use of major and minor
triads. These triads are juxtaposed, however, in
intervallic relationships that are like nothing
available in 12-​tone tuning and sound utterly
alien to many listeners. In particular, Blackwood
exploits the division of enh19’s perfect fourth
(specific interval 8) into two equal augmented
seconds. At the beginning of the second theme,
major triads move in parallel through this inter-
val: E–​G♭–​A–​G♭–​E–​D♭–​B. The melodic intervals
are all equal; the effect cannot be captured by
playing the same notated chords in enh12. A few
measures later, in the closing section of the expo-
sition, the E–​D♭–​B progression is expanded in the
sequence shown in Figure 14.3.14, which moves
from tonic to dominant via two augmented sec-
onds. In the first measure of this sequence, an
augmented-​sixth chord gives way to a dimin-
ished seventh in a way that cannot be matched
in enh12. The augmented sixth and diminished
seventh are enharmonically equivalent intervals
in enh19, and the chords thus share two common
tones, C and A♯/​B♭ ♭. Both chords relate to the sur-
rounding major and minor triads in traditional
ways, but the effect of the sequence is neverthe-
less quite novel.
FIGURE 14.3.14 A chromatic sequence in Blackwood, Etude in 19 Notes, Op. 28, No. 12, mm. 35–38
Exercise 14.3.15 Which of the following
statements are true in enh12, and which are
true in enh19?
(a) An augmented second is enharmonically
equivalent to a minor third.
(b) Two augmented seconds add up to a doubly
augmented third.
(c) A doubly augmented third is enharmonically
  equivalent to a perfect fourth.
Exercise 14.3.16
(a) The development section of Blackwood’s
19-​note Etude (mm. 43–​63) modulates
loosely around the 19-​note circle of fifths,
following this succession of tonal centers:54
E –​F♯ –​G♯ –​B♯ (=​C♭) –​F♭ –​D♭ –​A♭ –​C
In enh12, does the same chain of diatonic
intervals, starting on E, end on C, or does it
lead somewhere else?
(b) At m. 55, Blackwood briefly visits the key
of F♭ minor. There is no key signature here,
but theoretically what is the key signature
for F♭ minor in enh19? What is its relative
major? What is the key signature for the
enharmonically equivalent key of E♯ minor?
Are these key signatures the same as the
key signatures for F♭ minor and E♯ minor
  in enh12?
Exercise 14.3.17
(a) The 19-​note system, like 7-​note generic
space or any other pitch-​class space of
prime cardinality, has the property that
every interval is divisible by every other
interval. In mm. 112–​13 in the coda of the
19-​note Etude, Blackwood moves rapidly
Beyond the Diatonic • 615
 from the tonic C to the subdominant F via a
sequence of descending minor thirds. How
many minor thirds are required?
(b) How many ascending whole steps are
required to move from tonic to dominant in
  enh19? How many descending whole steps?
Exercise 14.3.18 Although major and minor
triads cannot form maximally smooth cycles
in the 19-​note universe, there are more
possibilities for such cycles in enh19 than in
enh12. The cycle of diminished seventh chords
in Exercise 14.3.11b provides one example
without a counterpart in enh12. In fact, every
maximally even set type, of any cardinality
from 1 to 18, can form a maximally smooth
cycle. The maximally even set of cardinality
5 in enh19 is a set with no close analog in
enh12. Describe this set and write a complete
maximally smooth cycle of sets of this type in
musical
   notation.
NOTES
1. The presentation of spelled heptachords here is
revised from Hook 2011.
2. Hints for Exercise 14.1.3: Examples for (b) can be
found among the sets in Table 14.1.2. For (c), the acci-
dental index changes under τ1 transposition for five
of the eight sets in the table. The answer to (e) is yes,
though only some values of α are possible. For (f), try
writing both sets in scalar order.
3. For diatonic scales we have distinguished the
pitch space dpitch(n) from the pitch-​ class space
dpc(n); in Chapter 13 we also introduced enhar-
monic spaces edpc(n). In principle, these distinc-
tions could be made for every spelled heptachord; for
harmonic minor scales, for example, we could define
spaces hminpitch(n) (an infinite set of pitches) and
hminpc(n) (a seven-​note spc set) for every integer n,
and ehminpc(n) (a seven-​note pc set) for every mod-​
12 integer n. Apart from brief references to the enhar-
monic spaces in Exercise 14.1.19 and Section 14.2, we
will not find it necessary to make these distinctions;
we generally understand that hmin(n) refers to the
seven-​note space hminpc(n).
4. Hints for Exercise 14.1.7: Several possible exam-
ples for this exercise may be found among the spc sets
in Table 14.1.2. Try sets of cardinalities both smaller
and larger than 7.
5. References to melodic minor here always refer to
what is traditionally known as the ascending form of
616 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
the melodic minor scale, with raised 6̂ and 7.̂ Every
melodic minor scale is also an acoustic scale on a dif-
ferent tonic.
6. The name Neapolitan minor is used elsewhere as
we use it here. Some sources define Neapolitan major
to be a scale such as CD♭E♭FGAB, identified here as a
super–​whole-​tone heptachord. The use of the word
major for a scale with ♭3̂ is counterintuitive; the ter-
minology used here also has the advantage that nmin
and nmaj are inversionally related in spc and in pc.
7. For previous analytical applications of some of
these scale types, see Tymoczko 2004 (melodic minor/​
acoustic), Riley 2004 (harmonic major), and Chapter
7 of Rings 2011b (double harmonic). Werker 1898
makes sweeping claims for the Gypsy scale as the
source of a wide range of chromatic phenomena in the
music of many cultures.
8. Hint for Exercise 14.1.9b: Calculate the sum class
of dpc(0) as a pitch-​class set, and consider what hap-
pens to the sum class as accidentals are adjusted.
9. Hints for Exercise 14.1.10: The fact that the set’s
cardinality is odd is crucial for (a). Two notes can lie on
one axis of symmetry in pc, but with the qualification
“more than one note of the set” included in (d) as writ-
ten, the answers to (c) and (d) are the same.
10. The 66 τ-​classes of proper spelled heptachords
are implicit in the structure of the diatonic bell, a
graphical representation of seven-​note scales devised
by Pierre Audétat in 2006. See www.cloche-​diatonique.
ch; also see Junod et al. 2009 for further applications.
11. Hint for Exercise 14.1.12: Three of the hepta-
chords in this exercise require one or more double
sharps or flats in their spelling.
12. Hint for Exercise 14.1.14: The heptachord is
symmetric, so Exercise 14.1.10a is relevant. This
heptachord and a few others of large span have the
property that some transpositions of the pc set can-
not be written as spelled heptachords without the use
of triple sharps or flats, though the balanced form
always can.
13. Hint for Exercise 14.1.20a: The index k in τk is
an integer, but when the same k appears in tk (or in
this case t3k), it may be regarded as an integer mod 7
(because t7 =​ t0). For example, if k =​4, then t3k is the
same as t5.
14. A related perspective is the chord-​scale theory
familiar to many jazz musicians, originating in work
of George Russell (2001) dating to the 1950s.
15. Satyendra 1992, 310–​18, offers a more exten-
sive study of inflected repetition in this waltz.
16. While dismissing selected notes as foreign to
the heptachord is often appropriate, it is sometimes
not difficult to identify another heptachord from
which such notes may have been borrowed. A source
for the G𝄪 at m. 22, for example, could be nmin(+​7) =​
C♯D♯E♯F♯G𝄪A♯B.
17. Most of the chords in Figure 14.1.29 are sev-
enth chords. The occasional links between triads and
seventh chords may be modeled with the function
sup* from Section 13.1.
18. Hint for Exercise 14.1.31d: Schubert’s enhar-
monic notation in mm. 79–​80, respelled by ε1, con-
verts the spelled heptachord for the minor Neapolitan
from hmin(−13) to hmin(−1)—​remarkably still in flat
territory even after the sharpwise respelling.
19. Hints for Exercise 14.1.32: Apart from the
initial tonic and the concluding pre-​dominant and
dominant, the remaining chords (shown previously
in Figure 11.5.12a) form a generic descending-​thirds
sequence, discussed in Hook [2014] 2020. Almost
every chord may be assigned to a spelled heptachord
with index number +​1 or +​2. Assume that Chopin’s
E♭ in mm. 2–​3 is a D♯. The diminished seventh at the
end of m. 4 presents the greatest challenge; you may
consider respelling it to clarify a connection with the
preceding or following chord. The generic voice lead-
ing in this example illustrates Exercise 13.1.20a and
may be visualized in Figure 13.1.14.
20. Maximal evenness is fundamentally a math-
ematical concept, not an intrinsically musical one,
and many non-​musical manifestations may be imag-
ined. The set {Monday, Wednesday, Friday} is a maxi-
mally even subset both of the mod-​7 week and of the
mod-​5 week (excluding weekends). The seven 31-​day
months form a maximally even subset—​ indeed, a
diatonic subset—​of the twelve months of the year. If
equally charged particles are somehow constrained to
occupy discrete positions around a circle, maximally
even configurations will be the most stable. A related
situation arises in the Ising model, a celebrated math-
ematical model of ferromagnetism involving particles
with spins in certain orientations, in which energy
is minimized for maximally even arrangements. See
Douthett and Krantz 2007 for more discussion of the
Ising model and other examples of maximal evenness
beyond the musical realm.
21. A fraction ending in 1 2 will never appear when
the fractions are multiples of 1 7 , but in some quanti-
zation procedures half-​integers are possible. In such
cases one must observe a consistent convention,
either rounding all half-​integers up or rounding them
all down.
22. A 1 7 -​semitone rotation is exactly 1 84 of a circle,
consistent with the observation from Section 13.3
that s1 generates a cyclic group of order 84. The inner
circle may be rotated continuously rather than in
discrete jumps; the resulting pitch-​class set, however,
changes only at multiples of 1 7 semitone.
23. For the procedure in Exercise 14.2.6, see
Clough and Douthett 1991, 152, Theorem 3.5.
24. London (2012, 128–​29) includes a maximal
evenness condition in a list of well-​formedness con-
straints for meter as a way of ensuring regularity with-
out requiring isochrony (perfect evenness). Toussaint
(2020, 129–​38) examines some alternate character-
izations of maximal evenness in a rhythmic context.
The rhythms in Figure 14.2.9 are all generated sets, a
property explored in Cohn 2016.
25. Time signatures are not displayed in Figure
14.2.9 because each of these patterns may be
heard metrically in a variety of ways. There are
significant perceptual differences, for example,
between hearing the tresillo rhythm as a synco-
pation against an underlying  meter and hear-

ing three unequal beats per measure, as Bartók’s
 +  + notation in Mikrokosmos No. 153 implies.
26. The principle that maximally even sets are the
closest integer-​valued points to perfectly even sets
generally holds if distance is measured using either
the Euclidean distance or the voice-​leading distance.
See Tymoczko 2013 for a more general discussion of
this principle.
27. Hint for Exercise 14.2.10b: Part (a) may be help-
ful. Alternatively, recall the relationship between sum
class and accidental index for spelled heptachords
from Exercise 14.1.9b.
28. Figure 14.2.11 is modeled on Tymoczko 2011,
111, Figure 3.11.9. See also Tymoczko 2012 for fur-
ther commentary on the structure of scale lattices.
29. In seven-​voice OP-​space, for example, the
F major, C major, and A harmonic minor scales do
not lie on a straight line, as they appear to in Figure
14.2.11.
30. Hint for Exercise 14.2.12a: The answer is the
number of “combinations of 12 things 7 at a time.”
The number of ordered seven-​element sets (“permu-
tations of 12 things 7 at a time”) is 12 ∙ 11 ∙ 10 ∙ 9 ∙
8 ∙ 7 ∙ 6, but this number counts every unordered set
7! times.
31. See Tymoczko 2011, 103–​12, and Tymoczko
2012, 15–​16. There is theoretically a third case in
which d is neither a divisor of c nor coprime to c, but
this case rarely arises in familiar musical situations.
32. Hint for Exercise 14.2.14a: All the calculations
may be done mod 12. The two inner circles contain
three-​and seven-​note perfectly even sets in continu-
ous mod-​12 space. These two circles are rotated, how-
ever, so that neither of them contains the number 0.
To determine the numbers in these sets, examine the
Beyond the Diatonic • 617
figure carefully, noting which points align with points
in other circles.
33. Hint for Exercise 14.2.14e: The progression is one
that we have encountered several times previously. You
will obtain the correct result if you rotate the middle
circle in increments of 2 7 semitone at a time. After
six such rotations the circle will have moved through
exactly one-​seventh of an octave, so it will appear as
it did initially; the progression therefore repeats after
six chords. Each time a note on the middle circle moves
past a stationary note on the outer circle, one voice in
the chord moves down by semitone, but when a note
on the middle circle passes a note on the inner circle,
a voice moves up instead. This system is depicted in
Douthett 2008, 81, with the progression traversed in
the reverse order from the description here.
34. Hint for Exercise 14.2.14f: Because the outer
two circles are fixed, this progression remains within
one octatonic scale. Even if the inner circle rotates
continuously, voices sometimes move by whole step
rather than by semitone. See Plotkin and Douthett
2013, 108.
35. The transformation groups act on configura-
tions, which determine chords; the groups do not act
directly on the space of chords. For example, write r
for a counterclockwise rotation of the middle circle in
Figure 14.2.13b by 1 7 semitone. In the configuration
shown, a single application of r does not change the
chord, but the chord does change when r is applied a
second time. If X denotes the C-​major triad, it seems
to follow that r(X) =​ X but r(r(X)) ≠ X, which is clearly
impossible. The problem is that r is not a well-​defined
function on chords: every application of r changes the
configuration, but different configurations may deter-
mine the same chord.
36. See Tymoczko 2011, 105, Figure 3.11.2b for
a version of the lattice described in Exercise 14.2.15.
While Figure 14.2.11 was somewhat misleading as a
depiction of seven-​voice mod-​12 OP-​space, this new
lattice accurately shows a central portion of three-​
voice mod-​7 OP-​space (see Exercise 13.1.28), because
there are now as many dimensions as voices. Frederick
2018 examines the relationship between the two fig-
ures in greater detail, and comments more generally
on Tymoczko’s two types of lattices.
37. For a thorough study of C =​V for chords see
Clampitt 2008. The exclusion of trivial genera in
Theorem 13.4.2 suggests a reason why C =​V for
chords is more difficult than for lines: if d is not prime,
many chords may be transpositionally symmetric. The
word trivial is not appropriately applied to transposi-
tional symmetry in such cases, but transpositionally
618 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
symmetric designs must be excluded from the state-
ment of the theorem or accounted for separately.
38. Hints for Exercise 14.3.1: Some properties may
be somewhat tedious to check; the work can be sim-
plified by relying on some of the logical relationships
mentioned in the paragraph before the exercise. You
should find that two of the given scales have four of
the five properties, one scale has three properties, one
has two, one has one, and two have none of the prop-
erties at all. Because the usual diatonic scale satisfies
C =​V, the properties of the chromatic heptachord in
(f) may appear to contradict Clough and Myerson’s
demonstration (1985, 266) that for given c and d, a
scale satisfying C =​V is “essentially unique.” This theo-
rem applies only to what Clough and Myerson call
semireduced scales, in which the two specific intervals
corresponding to generic interval 1 are consecutive
integers. The chromatic heptachord is not semire-
duced; it may be converted to a semireduced scale by
removing four of the five notes of C that are not in the
heptachord. In this sense the chromatic heptachord
is “essentially” the same as [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]8, the
unique C =​V scale with c =​8 and d =​7.
39. Hints for Exercise 14.3.2: One of these scales
has all five properties; one scale has four properties,
two scales have three, one has two, and two have one.
Clough, Engebretsen, and Kochavi 1999 show that
the scale in (a) is the unique scale with its particular
combination of attributes. Note the similarities of the
seven-​note scales in (d) and (g) to the usual diatonic
[0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10]12: the usual half and whole steps
have been replaced by intervals of specific sizes 1 and
3 in (d), 2 and 4 in (g). Scales (e) and (f) are comple-
ments in the mod-​20 universe; complementary scales
often share many, but not all, properties.
40. Hint for Exercise 14.3.3a: If n =​ ⎣c/​2⎦, then an
interval-​class vector consists of n numbers, which for
a deep set must all be different (though one of them
may be 0).
41. See also Agmon 1996, which examines alterna-
tive formulations of the concept of “diatonic system”
in relation to the work of Clough and others.
42. For Balzano, k and k +​1 are the generat-
ing intervals of the tonnetz, and their sum is g,
the generating interval of the scale—​but this sum
must also equal d in order for the scale to match the
appearance of the diatonic scale in the usual ton-
netz. Recall Figure 1.4.12, based on Balzano’s ton-
netz, in which the diatonic scale spans one 3-​by-​4
block diagonally.
43. Douthett and Hook 2009 show that a quarter-​
tone system admits a consistent system of diatonic
interval names, extending the usual system to include
intervals that are traditionally forbidden; for example,
an interval of 31 2 semitones is a “perfect third,” and
51 2 semitones is a “major fourth.”
44. The approximations are described by the
approximate equalities 27⁄ 12 ≈ 3 2 for the perfect fifth
and 24 ⁄ 12 ≈ 5 4 for the major third. These formulas may
be recast in forms describing near-​matches between
powers of 2 and powers of 3 and 5, namely 219 ≈ 312
and 27 ≈ 53. In the general case the latter formulas
become 2c+​g ≈ 3c and 22c+​h ≈ 5c, where g and h are the
specific intervals approximating the perfect fifth and
major third, respectively.
45. Hints for Exercise 14.3.4a: If d is odd, then d =​
2k +​1 for some integer k. Write c and d 2 in terms of k.
To show that c and d are coprime, calculate 2d − c, and
observe that any number that is a factor of both c and
d must be a factor of this number.
46. Hint for Exercise 14.3.4b: Use the formulas from
(h) to rewrite (g) in terms of k, and solve for k.
47. In Hook 2007c the accidental index of a vec-
tor is called its weight, and the step position is called
its index. The terminology is adjusted here to be more
consistent with spelled heptachords.
48. Hints for Exercise 14.3.6: The two small steps
in the white-​note scale in the 17-​note system, and
also in the 22-​note system, should correspond to the
intervals B–​C and E–​F. In the 24-​note system, because
two specific steps add up to one traditional semitone,
the interpretation of the accidentals ♯ and ♭ is poten-
tially confusing. If we write ↑ and ↓ rather than ♯ and
♭ for the incremental (quarter-​tone) modifiers in this
enharmonic system, then by defining ♯ =​ ↑↑ and ♭ =​ ↓↓
we may preserve the usual meanings of the symbols
♯ and ♭.
49. Hint for Exercise 14.3.7b: See Table 14.1.6.
50. See Hook 2007c, 116–​18. In some cases acci-
dentals must be redefined; in Blackwood’s notation
for the 17-​note Etude, for example, a ♯ alters a note by
two specific steps. The scale used in the 13-​note Etude
is not a 13-​note enharmonic system but comprises
every other note of a 26-​note system whose EE vec-
tor Φ26 =​(4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3) is standard of index 5. The
only Etude whose notation is not consistent with any
enharmonic system is the Etude in 23 notes, a scale
that Blackwood describes as “a particular challenge.”
Although tuning is not a criterion in the definition
of enharmonic systems, some aspects of enharmonic
systems align well with properties that Blackwood
formulates in terms of tuning. For example, the equal
tunings that contain what Blackwood calls “recog-
nizable” diatonic scales (defined in Blackwood 1985,
195–​99, on the basis of acoustic interval sizes) turn
out to be precisely those whose EE vectors are regular
of index 5, of the form (a, a, a, a, a, b, b) with a > b > 0
(Hook 2007c, 119).
51. Mandelbaum 1961 offers a wealth of detail on
the history and theory of 19-​note scales and tunings.
See also Yasser 1932, 281, for a keyboard diagram
essentially matching Figure 14.3.8a.
52. Hints for Exercise 14.3.10: The frequency ratio
of the pure major third is 5 4 ; of the minor third, 6 5.
Base-​2 logarithms may be calculated if necessary by
the formula log2(x) =​log10(x)/​log10(2). You should
find that the minor third in 19-​note tuning is almost
perfectly in tune. Notwithstanding the results of this
exercise, for many first-​time listeners to 19-​note tun-
ing it is the major thirds that sound noticeably odd,
because they are so much smaller than the large
major thirds we are accustomed to hearing in the 12-​
note scale.
53. In the transformation R, the moving voice
moves through a whole step, which is now three
specific steps. Cohn’s requirement that the car-
dinality c be a multiple of 3 (Cohn 1997, 13; our
property (c) above) is derived from the stipula-
tion that transformations analogous to P, R, and L
entail no more than two specific steps of voice lead-
ing, thus excluding R in enh19 from consideration.
Acoustically, however, R is a smoother transforma-
tion in enh19 than in enh12, as 3 19 is a smaller frac-
tion of an octave than 2 12 .
54. All the pitch classes indicated are local ton-
ics with the exception of A♭, which arrives at m. 58
as a dominant of D♭, then resolves as an augmented
sixth in C.
SUGGESTED READING
Spelled heptachords were introduced in Hook
2011. Clough and Douthett’s 1991 article on
maximally even sets, while long and technical,
explores many details not considered here, and
Douthett and Krantz 2007 describe non-​musical
applications of maximal evenness. Filtered point-​
symmetry models made their first appearance
in Douthett 2008, with more applications and
further theoretical development in Plotkin and
Douthett 2013 and Plotkin 2019. Tymoczko 2012
examines relationships between scale lattices and
tonnetzes, and Tymoczko 2013 studies maximal
evenness in relation to signature transformations
and considerations of voice leading and geometry.
Toussaint 2020 diagrams many rhythms in beat-​
class circles like those in Figure 14.2.9 and studies
their mathematical properties.
Beyond the Diatonic • 619
For logical relationships among many properties
of scales of various specific and generic cardinali-
ties like those studied in the first part of Section
14.3, see Clough, Engebretsen, and Kochavi
1999. For other approaches to the problem of
identifying scales that mimic some aspects of
the canonical 7-​in-​12 system, see Balzano 1980
and Cohn 1997 (which propose two very dif-
ferent ways to generalize the tonnetz to other
620 • E x p l o r i n g M u sical S p aces
cardinalities) as well as Agmon 1989 and 1996.
Žabka 2014 proposes a theory of generated
scales modeled via interval lattices, with con-
nections to spelled heptachords and other con-
cepts discussed here. For enharmonic systems
and a tabulation of the systems employed in
Blackwood’s Microtonal Etudes, see Hook 2007c.
For a wealth of background on 19-​note tuning
see Mandelbaum 1961.
 Appendix 1
List of Musical Spaces
The most important musical spaces described in
this book are listed on the following pages. The
following abbreviations are used:
Reference: Section, figure, and exercise
numbers in this book
IS, IG, IF: Interval space, interval group,
interval function (5.4)
DS, DF: Distance space, distance
function (12.2)
QS: Quotient space (2.4, 7.4)
~C: Cardinality equivalence (2.4, 10.3)
~E: Enharmonic equivalence (1.2, 2.4, 2.6)
~G: Generic equivalence (2.4.5, 2.6)
~I: Inversional equivalence (10.3)
~O: Octave equivalence (1.2, 2.4, 10.3)
~P: Permutational equivalence (2.4, 10.3)
~T: Transpositional equivalence (2.4, 10.3)
≅: Isomorphic interval spaces (7.2)
or isometric distance spaces (12.2)
L AB E L NA M E REFERENCE N OT E S

bc(n) mod-​n beat-​class 2.5 Finite modular IS of cardinality n with IG

space (ℤn, +​); QS of beat modulo mod-​n beat
equivalence; finite DS
beat beat space 1.4 Infinite IS with IG (ℤ, +​), ≅ pitch; DS ≅ ℤ
cpc continuous pitch-​ 1.2.3 Continuous modular IS with IG (ℝ12, +​); QS
class space cpitch ∕~O; DS with DF defined by | |12 (12.2)
cpcn n-​voice pitch-​ 10.3 Cartesian product cpc × ⋯ × cpc (n copies),
class–​tuple space ordered n-​tuples of elements of cpc;
(O-​space) topologically 𝕋 n; IS with IG ℝ12n; DS with
max, Euclidean, or voice-​leading DF; QS
cpitchn/​~O
cpitch continuous pitch 1.1.1 Infinite IS with IG (ℝ, +​); DS ≅ ℝ
space
cpitchn n-​voice pitch-​tuple 10.3 Cartesian product cpitch × ⋯ × cpitch
space (n copies), ordered n-​tuples of elements of
cpitch; topologically ℝn; IS with IG ℝn; DS
with max, Euclidean, or voice-​leading DF;
OPTIC spaces are QSs of cpitchn modulo
combinations of ~O, ~P, ~T, ~I, ~C
cpitch≤n pitch-​tuple space 10.3 Union of pitch-​tuple spaces up to n voices,
up to n voices cpitch1 ∪ cpitch2 ∪ ⋯ ∪ cpitchn
cpitch* general pitch-​tuple 10.3 Infinite union of all pitch-​tuple spaces,
space cpitch1 ∪ cpitch2 ∪ cpitch3 ∪ ⋯
dfifth(n) diatonic (mod-​7) 13.2.1 Same set as dpc(n); ≅ dpc(n) as IS but
fifths space with different IF
index n
dharm(n) double harmonic 14.1.8 Double harmonic (Gypsy) spelled
heptachord of accidental index n
dpc(n) diatonic (mod-​7) 1.2.9, 13.2.1 n ∈ ℤ is central note of diatonic collection
pitch-​class space in spc, also indicates number of sharps or
with index n flats in scale; 7-​note modular IS with IG
(ℤ7, +​), ≅ gpc; QS dpitch(n) ∕ ~O; finite DS;
may be identified with a subset of spc; via
~E becomes edpc(n), a subset of pc; also a
spelled heptachord (14.1.8)
dpitch(n) diatonic pitch space 1.1.7 n ∈ ℤ is central note of diatonic collection in
with index n spc, also indicates number of sharps or flats
in scale; infinite IS with IG (ℤ, +​), ≅ gpitch
and pitch; DS ≅ ℤ
edpc(n) enharmonic 13.2 n ∈ ℤ12; space formed by ~E from all dpc(m)
diatonic pitch-​class with m ≡ n (mod 12); subset of pc; 7-​note
space with index n modular IS with IG (ℤ7, +​), ≅ gpc; finite DS
edpc* unified enharmonic 13.3 Union of all 12 spaces edpc(n); finite IS of
space cardinality 84 with IG ≅ ℤ84

622 • A ppe n di x 1
L AB E L NA ME REFERENCE N OT E S

enhΘ enharmonic system 14.3 Modular IS with IG (ℤc, +​), where c is the
with vector Θ accidental index of vector Θ; contains a copy
of gpc in the 7 white notes
enhn standard 14.3 enhΘ, where Θ =​ Φn (standard vector of
enharmonic system accidental index n); modular IS with IG
of accidental index n (ℤn, +​); contains a copy of gpc in the 7
white notes; enh12 is the same as pc
enn012, enneatonic pitch or 3.1.17 ennabc is the enneatonic collection
enn123, pitch-​class space containing pcs a, b, c; ennabc may refer to a
enn234, pitch space (infinite IS with IG (ℤ, +​), ≅ pitch
enn345 and gpitch; DS ≅ ℤ) or to a pitch-​class space
(9-​note modular IS with IG (ℤ9, +​); finite DS)
fifth enharmonically 1.3.1 12-​note modular IS with IG (ℤ12, +​); same
conformed fifths set as pc; ≅ pc as IS but different IF; QS
space (the circle of spc ∕ ~E; finite DS
fifths)
freq frequency space 1.1.5 Same notes as cpitch, interpreted as
frequencies; infinite IS with IG (ℝ>0, ∙);
≅ cpitch as IS, but different IF

gfifth generic (mod-​7) 1.3.8 Same set as gpc; ≅ gpc as IS but different
fifths space IF; QS spc ∕~G; finite DS
gpc generic (mod-​7) 1.2.8 7-​note modular IS with IG (ℤ7, +​); QS gpitch ∕~O;
pitch-​class space finite DS with DF defined by | |7 (12.2)
gpitch generic pitch space 1.1.6 Infinite IS with IG (ℤ, +​), ≅ pitch; DS ≅ ℤ
gsev generic seventh-​ 13.1 Space of the 7 generic seventh chords
chord space (CEGB, DFAC, …); ≅ gpc as IS
gthird generic (mod-​7) 1.3.12 Same set as gpc; ≅ gpc as IS but different IF
thirds space
gtriad generic triad space 4.3.1, 13.1 Space of the 7 generic triads (CEG, DFA, …);
≅ gpc as IS

hex01, hexatonic pitch or 4.2 hexab is the hexatonic collection containing

hex12, pitch-​class space pcs a, b; hexab may refer to a pitch space (IS
hex23, with IG (ℤ, +​), ≅ pitch and gpitch; DS ≅ ℤ)
hex34 or to a pitch-​class space (6-​note modular IS
with IG (ℤ6, +​); finite DS)
hmaj(n), harmonic major, 14.1.8 Harmonic major and harmonic minor
hmin(n) harmonic minor spelled heptachords of accidental index n
just just pitch (or 2.3.26, 7.3.7, Infinite IS with IG {2a · 3b · 5c | a, b,
frequency) space 7.4 c ∈ ℤ} ≅ ℤ × ℤ × ℤ; subspace of freq;
just frequency-​class space just ∕~O
(Riemannian tonnetz space) is infinite IS
with IG {3b · 5c | b ∈ ℤ}
key key space 4.1 Same elements as triad, interpreted as
keys; various possible IS and DS structures

A ppe n di x 1 • 623
L AB E L NA M E REFERENCE N OT E S

mmin(n) melodic minor 14.1.8 Melodic minor (or acoustic) spelled

heptachord of accidental index n
nmaj(n), Neapolitan major, 14.1.8 Neapolitan major and Neapolitan minor
nmin(n) Neapolitan minor spelled heptachords of accidental index n
nrtriad neo-​Riemannian 4.2.5 Same set as triad; 24-​element DS with
triad space DF defined by neo-​Riemannian distance
distNR (12.3); noncommutative IS with
IG ℛ (Riemann group)
oct01, octatonic pitch or 2.1.5, 7.5.11 octab is the octatonic collection containing
oct12, pitch-​class space pcs a, b; octab may refer to a pitch space
oct23 (IS with IG (ℤ, +​), ≅ pitch and gpitch;
DS ≅ ℤ) or to a pitch-​class space (8-​note
modular IS with IG (ℤ8, +​); finite DS)
pc discrete chromatic 1.2.3 12-​note modular IS with IG (ℤ12, +​);
(mod-​12) pitch-​class QS pitch ∕~O; finite DS with DF defined
space by | |12 (12.2)
pcset set of all pitch-​class 2.3 No standard IS or DS structure on the
sets full set pcset; sets of ≤ n pcs form QS
pitchn/​~OPC
pent(n) pentatonic pitch or 7.5.14 Index number is central note of pentatonic
pitch-​class space collection in spc; label may refer to a pitch
with index n space (IS with IG (ℤ, +​), ≅ pitch and gpitch;
DS ≅ ℤ) or to a pitch-​class space (5-​note
modular IS with IG (ℤ5, +​); finite DS)
pitch discrete chromatic 1.1.1 Infinite IS with IG (ℤ, +​); DS ≅ ℤ
pitch space
pyth Pythagorean pitch 2.3.25, 7.3, Infinite IS with IG {2a · 3b | a, b ∈ ℤ} ≅ ℤ × ℤ;
(or frequency) 7.4 subspace of freq; Pythagorean frequency-​
space class space pyth ∕~O is infinite IS with IG
{3b | b ∈ ℤ}, ≅ spc
row 12-​tone row space 6.5, 9.5 Complete space contains 12! rows; 48 forms
of one row form a noncommutative IS with
IG 𝒮er12 ≅ 𝒯ℐ12 × 𝒞2; other IS structures
possible (4.1.12, 4.1.16, 9.5)
sd scale-​degree space 1.2.10 7-​note modular IS with IG (ℤ7, +​), ≅ gpc and
dpc(n); finite DS
sev dominant/​half-​ 8.3.19 24 dominant and half-​diminished seventh
diminished seventh chords; various IS structures similar to
chord space triad
shexa(n), superhexatonic 14.1.8 2 superhexatonic spelled heptachords of
shexb(n) accidental index n
sl signed letter space 1.2.11 Infinite IS with IG ℤ7 × ℤ; QS srl ∕~O; same
set as spc, but different IF, ≇ spc as IS

624 • A ppe n di x 1
L AB E L NA ME REFERENCE N OT E S

socta(n), suboctatonic 14.1.8 2 suboctatonic spelled heptachords of

soctb(n) accidental index n
spc spelled pitch-​class 1.3.3, 2.6.1 Infinite IS with IG ℤ, ≅ pitch; DS ≅ ℤ
space (the line of
fifths)
srl signed registral 1.1.11 Infinite IS with IG ℤ × ℤ
letter space
swt(n) super–​whole-​tone 14.1.8 Super–​whole-​tone spelled heptachord of
accidental index n
time temporal space 1.4 Infinite IS with IG (ℝ, +​), ≅ cpitch; DS ≅ ℝ
tonn conformed 1.4.2–​1.4.10, Same set as pc; 12-​note IS with IG ℤ4 × ℤ3;
(neo-​Riemannian) 3.3.10, 6.4.4 ≅ pc as IS, but different IF
tonnetz space
triad consonant triad 4.1–​4.2, 8.1 Set of cardinality 24; various possible IS
space (major, minor and DS structures, including circle-​of-​fifths
triads) distance, nrtriad, weber (4.1–​4.2, 12.3)
weber Weber space 4.2.3 Same set as triad; DS with DF defined by
Weber distance (4.2, 12.3)
wt0, wt1 whole-​tone pitch or 2.1.5 wta is the whole-​tone collection containing
pitch-​class space pc a; wta may refer to a pitch space (IS with
IG (ℤ, +​), ≅ pitch and gpitch; DS ≅ ℤ) or to
a pitch-​class space (6-​note modular IS with
IG (ℤ6, +​); finite DS)

A ppe n di x 1 • 625
 Appendix 2

List of Sets and Groups

Many sets and groups in this list are familiar are customized for the musical applications in
to mathematicians, and many of the labels are this book.
standard in the mathematical literature; others
L AB E L NA M E REFERENCE N OT E S

𝒜n alternating group on n 6.1 Even permutations; a group of order n!/​2;

objects noncommutative for n ≥ 4
𝒜𝑓𝑓n affine group on n objects 6.1 Generated by transpositions and
multiplication operators Ma with a
coprime to n; a group of order n ∙ φ(n)
𝒞n cyclic group on n objects 5.3 General name for a cyclic group of order n,
generated by a single element; rotations of
an n-​sided polygon
𝒞∞ infinite cyclic group 5.3 General name for an infinite cyclic group,
generated by a single element; ≅ (ℤ, +​)
𝒟n dihedral group on n 5.5 General name for a dihedral group, a
objects noncommutative group of order 2n;
rotations and reflections of an n-​sided
polygon
𝒟∞ infinite dihedral group 5.5 General name for an infinite dihedral
group; translations and reflections of ℤ
Kn complete graph on n 3.3 A graph with n vertices, each pair joined by
vertices one edge
ℳ mediant group 8.3 Triadic transformation group generated by
the mediant transformation M; ≅ 𝒞24
ℳn multiplication group 6.1 Mod-​n multiplication operators Ma with a
on ℤn coprime to n; group of order φ(n), ≅ ℤn×
ℚ the rational numbers 2.1 An infinite additive group; ℚ≠0 and ℚ>0 are
multiplicative groups
𝒬 QTT group 8.3 All quasi-​uniform triadic transformations;
a group of order 1152, ≅ 𝒟12 ≀ 𝒞2
ℝ the real numbers 2.1 An infinite additive group; ℝ≠0 and ℝ>0 are
multiplicative groups
ℝn the real numbers mod n 2.5 An infinite additive group; quotient group
of ℝ by congruence mod n
ℝn n-​dimensional Euclidean 2.2 The Cartesian product ℝ × ℝ × ⋯ × ℝ
space (n copies)
ℛ Riemann group 8.2 Riemannian triadic transformations (PLR
group); a noncommutative group of order
24, ≅ 𝒟12, generated by L and R
𝕊n n-​dimensional sphere 11.1 𝕊2 is (the surface of) the usual sphere; 𝕊1 is
a circle
𝒮n symmetric group on n 6.1 All permutations; a group of order n!
objects
𝒮e𝑟n serial group on 6.2 Generated by transposition, inversion, and
permutations of n retrograde; a noncommutative group of
objects order 4n, ≅ 𝒟n × 𝒞2; familiar example is 𝒮e𝑟12

628 • A ppe n di x 2
L AB E L NA M E REFERENCE N OT E S

𝒮e𝑟12+​ extended serial group 9.6 Generated by transposition, inversion,

retrograde, and rotation; a noncommutative
group of order 576; ≅ 𝒟12 × 𝒟12
𝒮e𝑟12X extended serial group 9.6 Generated by 𝒮e𝑟12+​ and X (order/​pitch-​
with order/​pitch-​class class exchange); a noncommutative group
exchange of order 1152; ≅ 𝒟12 ≀ 𝒞2; also ≅ 𝒬
𝒮𝑖𝑔𝑛 sign group 5.2 Multiplicative group {1, −1} or {+​, −}; ≅ 𝒞2
𝕋n n-​dimensional torus 1.4, 10.1 𝕋 2 is (the surface of) the usual torus; 𝕋 1 is
a circle
𝒯n transposition group on 5.3 A cyclic group of order n, ≅ 𝒞n; familiar
mod-​n pitch-​class space examples are 𝒯12 (acting on pc) and 𝒯7 (on
gpc); acts primarily on pitch classes but
also on pc sets, rows
𝒯S general transposition 5.6 Group of transposition operators Transi on
group an IS S; ≅ the IG of S
𝒯∞ transposition group on 5.1, 5.3 An infinite group, ≅ 𝒞∞
discrete pitch space
𝒯ℐn transposition/​inversion 5.5 A dihedral group of order 2n, ≅ 𝒟n; familiar
group on mod-​n pitch-​ example is 𝒯ℐ12; acts primarily on pitch
class space classes but also on pc sets, rows
𝒯ℐ∞ transposition/​inversion 5.5 An infinite group, ≅ 𝒟∞
group on discrete pitch
space
𝒰 UTT group 8.1 All uniform triadic transformations; a
group of order 288, ≅ 𝒞12 ≀ 𝒞2
𝒱4 Klein group 6.3 A group of order 4, ≅ 𝒞2 × 𝒞2
𝒲 Weber group 8.3 Subgroup of 𝒰 of order 48, generated by
P, R, and D
ℤ the integers 2.1 An infinite additive group, ≅ 𝒞∞
ℤn the integers mod n 2.5 A cyclic group of order n, ≅ 𝒞n; quotient
group of ℤ by congruence mod n
ℤn× group of units mod n 5.2 Integers mod n that are coprime to n; a
multiplicative group of order φ(n)

A ppe n di x 2 • 629
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 Index

Page numbers in italics indicate definitions, primary discussions, or musical examples.

Abel, Niels Henrik, 202n9 algebraic equations (in groups), 179–​80

abelian (group). See group (commutative) Alkan, Valentin
absolute value (|x|), 51 Etude (Op. 39/​10), 34n18
mod-​n (|x|n), 490 all-​interval tetrachord, 357, 362–​64, 382n39
abstract subset relation, 99–​100 alternating group (𝒜n), 213–​14, 628
accidental index Amiot, Emmanuel, xv(n12)
of an enharmonic equivalence vector, 610 angle brackets 〈 〉
of an spc, 69–​71 for generated groups, 181–​83
of an spc set, 584 for UTTs, 301–​02, 334n2
of a spelled heptachord, 585–​86 anti-​automorphism, 247
and sum class (for spelled heptachords), 588 anti-​homomorphism, 247
accidentals anti-​isomorphism, 247, 285–​86, 309, 328, 329,
integer notation for, 585 334–​35n10
nonstandard, 612, 619n48/​50 anti-​uniform (triadic transformation), 327
in spelled heptachords, 585–​86 antisymmetric (binary relation), 98
acoustic scale, 298n37, 587, 616n7 argument (of a function), 46
See also melodic minor scale array (serial), 378–​80, 383–​84n63, 384
action. See group action See also matrix
Adams, John, 335n19, 338 arrow
China Gates, 152, 165n60 for boundary identification, 23–​24
Phrygian Gates, 149–​52, 165n60/​62, 551 in a directed graph, 96–​97, 117n36
additive group. See group in function notation, 45–​46, 74n17
adjacent (vertices), 80 for inflections, 591
admissible move, 494, 497 for intervals vs. transformations, 171
admissible path, 525n17 for involutions, 111, 128, 221, 341
affine group (𝒜ffn), 213–​14, 223, 248–​49n21, 249n22, 381n27, for pivot transformations, 567
628 for straight-​line voice leadings, 433
associative property Balzano, Gerald, 27, 251, 608–​09, 618n42
of addition, 170 banjo pick permutation, 247n5
of composition of functions, 172 Bartók, Béla, 165–​66n71
generalized, 179 Mikrokosmos: No. 109, “From the Island of Bali,” 238;
group axiom, 173 No. 152, Dance in Bulgarian Rhythm, 602; No. 153,
asymmetrical, 236 Dance in Bulgarian Rhythm, 617n25
Audétat, Pierre, 616n10 Music for String Instruments, Percussion, and Celesta, 32, 282
augmented-​sixth chord Beach, David, 157
French, 124, 161–​62n13, 199, 236, 461 beacon. See filtered point-​symmetry
German, 73, 583–​84, 590 beat-​class space (bc(n)), 68, 77n55, 619, 622
augmented triad, 336n25, 478n30, 513 as an interval space, 270
in 3-​voice OP-​space, 442–​43 maximally even sets in, 602
in a 19-​note scale, 613 transposition in, and serial rotation, 383n54
and hexatonic bridge families, 314–​15 beat space (beat), 31, 68, 622
in hexatonic triad cubes, 79–​87, 388–​401 as a distance space, 489
maximal evenness of, 599 as an interval space, 264
notation for, 114n1 product with pitch space (pitch × beat), 264–​65
symmetry of, 236 Beethoven, Ludwig van, 161n11, 336n28
and tonnetzes, 23, 25, 132, 336n27, 404 Quartet, string (Op. 18/​6, B♭), 110, 321, 324–​25
and transformations, 112, 314–​16, 336n27 Sonata, piano (Op. 53, C, “Waldstein”), 157, 166n75/​77
automorphism Sonata, piano (Op. 57, f, “Appassionata”), 161n10, 380n11
vs. anti-​automorphism, 247 Sonata, piano (Op. 111, c), 104
of a group, 239–​40, 352, 550, 579n41 Sonata, violin (Op. 24, F, “Spring”), 133, 134–​35, 162n28,
inner, 246 163n33, 614–​15
of an interval space, 255, 352 Sonata, violin (Op. 30/​3, G), 534–​35
of ℤ7, 240 Symphony No. 1 (C), 413, 420
of ℤ12, 239 Symphony No. 3 (E♭, “Eroica”), 413, 420–​21
automorphism group, 239–​40 Symphony No. 4 (B♭), 264–​65
axiom system (mathematical logic), 381n18 Symphony No. 5 (c), 413
axiomatic definition, 168 Symphony No. 7 (A), 577n8
of distance spaces, 487 Symphony No. 9 (d), 104, 117n49, 133, 135, 162–​63n28,
of groups, 173 413
of interval spaces, 183–​84 bembé rhythm. See diatonic rhythm
axis of inversion Berg, Alban
in pitch-​class space, 20–​21, 161n3, 192–​93, 214 Concerto, violin, 375
in pitch space, 191–​93, 409–​10, 423n41 Lyric Suite, 365
axis of symmetry “Schlafend trägt man mich” (Op. 2/​2), 413
in generic space, 541–​42 Bering Strait flaw, 35n27
in OPTIC spaces, 451–​55 Berio, Luciano
in pitch space and pc space, 237–​38, 548–​49 Quartetto per archi, 75n21
in spc space, 238–​39, 588 Berlioz, Hector
axis of transposition. See line of transposition Symphonie fantastique, 137–​38
bijection, 50
Babbitt, Milton, 167, 201n2, 298n28, 364, 383n54, 579n38 binary operation. See operation
Composition for Four Instruments, 375 binary relation. See relation
Du, 379 bipartite (graph), 84, 129, 396, 461
Babbitt hexachord theorem. See hexachord theorem Blackwood, Easley, 609
Bach, Johann Sebastian, 161n11, 254, 335n19 Twelve Microtonal Etudes (Op. 28), 612, 613, 615–​16,
Chorale No. 356, “Jesu, meine Freunde,” 105–​06 619n50, 620
Fantasia and Fugue (BWV 542, g), 319, 325, 336n33 Boolean algebra, 114n11
Goldberg Variations, 104 Borwick, Leonard, 297n20
Musical Offering, 166n78 boundary
Sinfonia (BWV 789, D), 248n13 false, 23–​24, 432, 458–​59, 473–​74, 476
Sinfonia (BWV 795, f), 217, 248n13 mirror, 427, 435–​36, 441–​42, 451, 453–​55, 473–​74, 476
Well-​Tempered Clavier, Book I: Fugue No. 2 (c), 217, 248n12; See also fundamental region; orbifold; singularity
Fugue No. 14 (f♯), 28, 164n52; Fugue No. 15 (G), 290–​91; bounded (space), 407
Fugue No. 21 (B♭), 215–​17 braces { } (for unordered sets), 39–​40
Well-​Tempered Clavier, Book II: Fugue No. 9 (E), 47–​48; brackets [ ]‌(for normal forms), 416
Prelude No. 20 (a), 336n35 Brahms, Johannes, 117n41, 249n30
Well-​Tempered Clavier, key sequence, 325 Capriccio (Op. 76/​8, C), 104, 117n48
Bach, P. D. Q. Concerto, piano, No. 2 (B♭), 104
Short-​Tempered Clavier, 164n58 Concerto, violin (Op. 77, D), 594
BACH form (tetrachord), 148–​49, 331, 370–​71, 379 Concerto, violin and cello (Op. 102, a), 81, 114n5, 132, 134,
Bailey, Kathryn, 367–​68 135, 136, 354
balanced form Ein deutsches Requiem, 335n23
of a spelled heptachord, 586 Intermezzo (Op. 116/​4, E), 104
of a T-​class, 437, 449, 469, 478n19 Quartet, string (Op. 51/​1, c), 104

644 • Index
 Quartet, string (Op. 51/​2, a), 104 and Lewin’s theorem, 221
Quartet, string (Op. 67, B♭), 104, 117n47 as a transformation network, 221, 308
Quintet, string (Op. 111, G), 104, 602 Cayley’s theorem, 221, 500
Sextet, string (Op. 18, B♭), 597 center (of a group), 246–​47, 295
Symphony No. 1 (c), 291–​92, 294, 548 center of inversion. See axis of inversion
Symphony No. 2 (D), 102–​03 centralizer, 246–​47, 285–​86, 329
Symphony No. 3 (F), 104 centroid, 146–​47
Symphony No. 4 (e), 535–​38, 577n7/​9, 594 chain technique (for distance calculations in C-​space), 522–​23
Trio, clarinet, cello, and piano (Op. 114, a), 594 change ringing, 201n1
Vier ernste Gesänge (Op. 121), No. 1, “Denn es gehet,” 104 chart of the regions (Schoenberg), 127, 162n18
Britten, Benjamin Chausson, Ernest
Billy Budd, Act III, Scene 2, 152–​53, 165n64 Trio, piano (Op. 3, g), 335n19
Peter Grimes, Passacaglia, 322 Chew, Elaine, 146–​47
Brubeck, Dave chicken-​wire torus (Douthett-​Steinbach), 162n22
Blue Rondo à la Turk, 602 Chinese remainder theorem, 69, 71, 77n58, 580n50
Bruch, Max Chopin, Frédéric, 480n58
Scottish Fantasy, 166n75 Etude (Op. 10/​1, C), 597–​98
Bruckner, Anton Etude (Op. 10/​6, e♭), 466, 468
Psalm 150, 398, 402 Etude (Op. 10/​8, F), 466, 468
Symphony No. 9 (d), 594 Etude (Op. 10/​10, A♭), 466, 468
Bryars, Gavin, 338 Fantasy (Op. 49, f), 134, 162–​63n28, 163n29, 313–​14,
bubble notation (in transformation networks), 108–​09, 335n23
118n55/​56, 266, 278, 281–​82, 320–​21, 332–​33, 341, Mazurka (Op. 68/​4, f), 480n60
349–​52, 356, 366–​71, 380n10, 565–​68 Nocturne (Op. 9/​1, b♭), 594
Nocturne (Op. 37/​1, g), 123–​24
C =​V. See cardinality equals variety Nocturne (Op. 62/​1, B), 597
C equivalence. See cardinality equivalence Prelude (Op. 28/​4, e), 466–​67, 480n60, 597, 617n19
C-​scale order (for spelled heptachords), 585 Prelude (Op. 28/​9, E), 124, 161n11, 164n46
C-​space, 412–​14, 439, 520–​24 Preludes (Op. 28), key sequence, 325
C+​ space, C+​normal form, 416 Prelude (Op. 45, c♯), 480–​81n61
calculus, 297n9, 527n43 Sonata, cello (Op. 65, g), 166n75
calendar, 77n51, 617n20 Sonata, piano, No. 3 (Op. 58, b), 415
Callender, Clifton, xiv, 388, 423n45, 424, 479n33/​34, 481 chord genus, 554, 568–​77
canonical scale system, 606, 610 in non-​canonical scale systems, 606
cardinality chord quality. See chord species
of a design, 570 chord-​scale theory, 616n14
of a genus, 570 chord species (quality), 554, 568–​77
infinite, 40, 73n4 in non-​canonical scale systems, 606
of a multiset, 45 and OPT-​classes, 410, 414–​15
vs. order (of a group), 177 and OPTC-​classes, 413–​15, 554, 569
of an ordered set, 43 and spelled heptachords, 587, 589
of a set, 40 chordal core (Lerdahl), 141–​42, 164n44
of a species, 570 chordal-​regional space (Lerdahl), 136, 142, 153–​54, 164n45/​
cardinality equals variety, 564, 570–​76, 580n57, 581, 618n38 46, 166
for chords, 570, 606–​07, 618n37 chordal space (Lerdahl), 141–​42
in enharmonic systems, 611, 612 chroma circle, 13
for lines, 570, 606–​07 chromatic design. See design
in non-​canonical scale systems, 606–​07, 618n37 chromatic fifths space. See fifths space
and proper spelled heptachords, 592–​93 chromatic heptachord (0123456), 547–​48, 550, 590, 607,
cardinality equivalence (~C), 65, 405–​06, 412–​14, 520–​24 618n38
anomalous behavior of, 413–​14, 520–​24 chromatic inflection. See inflection
in OPTIC spaces, 439, 459–​60, 476, 520–​24 chromatic pitch space. See pitch space
See also C-​space chromatic universe, 606
Carey, Norman, 550, 581 circle of fifths, 18–​21, 121–​24, 127, 161n8, 223
Carter, Elliott in a 19-​note scale, 612, 615
Scrivo in vento, 382n39 chromatic vs. diatonic vs. generic, 545–​50
String Quartet No. 2, 75n21 generalized, 607, 608
Carter, Nathan, 251 See also fifths space
Cartesian product, 43–​45 circle-​of-​fifths distance, 122, 136–​37, 494, 514
of more than two sets, 44–​45 circle of thirds
See also direct product in a 19-​note scale, 613
Castel, Louis-​Bertrand, 36n37 and functional harmony, 142–​43
category theory, 380–​81n12 generic, 22, 142–​43, 538–​41
Cayley, Arthur, 248n17 See also thirds space
Cayley diagram, 218–​24, 248n17, 307–​09, 364 city-​block metric, 501
and distance functions, 497–​500 Clampitt, David, 383n49, 550, 581
and label functions, 254 class (vs. set), 73n1

Index • 645
closure (group property), 170, 173, 175, 189 connected (graph), 81
Clough, John, xiv, 163n41, 337n53, 531, 542, 569–​70, See also strongly connected
580n53, 581, 599, 619 consistency (of an axiom system), 381n18
cluster cycle, 599 consistency properties (of transformation graphs). See path
coarse (equivalence relation), 63, 77n46 consistency; realizable
codomain (of a function), 75n26 consonant triad space (triad), 119–​24, 625
Cohn, Richard, xiii, 313, 315, 335n19, 338 as a commutative interval space, 231–​32, 301, 325, 351–​53
collection, 73n1 distance functions on, 136–​38, 494–​95, 512–​14
See also set as a noncommutative interval space, 199, 232, 254, 261,
combination (vs. permutation), 477n9, 617n30 353
comma. See syntonic comma; Pythagorean comma See also neo-​Riemannian triad space; Weber space
common-​tone distance, 496, 505, 514, 526n36 constant (vs. variable), 74–​75n20
common-​tone graph, 92 contents (of a vertex), 80
common tones, 25–​26, 146 contextual inversion, 120–​21, 161n3, 306, 310
and interval-​class vectors, 549, 579n39 of twelve-​tone rows, 125
between triads, 55, 129–​30, 496, 526n36, 538 continuous function, 47, 75n22
commutative diagram. See diagram continuous pitch-​class space (cpc), 13–​15, 622
commutative group. See group as a distance space, 490–​91
commutative interval space. See interval space as an interval space, 188, 270
commutative property See also pitch-​class–​tuple space
of addition, 170 continuous pitch space (cpitch), 4–​7, 174, 228, 249n31, 622
of binary operations, 172, 380–​81n12 as a distance space, 488–​89
of functions, 53–​54 as an interval space, 186
in groups, 173, 202n8 See also frequency space; pitch-​tuple space
of transposition groups, 172 continuous space, 6–​7, 34n7, 389–​90, 578n22
See also group (commutative); interval space (commutative) continuous voice leading. See voice leading
commutator, 246–​47 contour class, 451
commutator subgroup, 246–​47 contour theory (and OPTIC spaces), 479n35
complement (of a set), 41, 273–​74, 599 contrapuntal configuration, 215
in generic space, 540–​42 control group (in a wreath product), 305
complete bipartite graph, 116n29 Cook, Robert, 335n18, 344, 380n9
complete generic design, 575, 592 coordinate axis subgroup, 249–​50n32
complete graph (Kn), 94–​95, 116n29, 163n40, 628 coordinate system
K5 in neo-​Riemannian tonnetz, 94–​95 in pitch-​tuple space, 388–​89, 421n3, 427, 447–​48, 460, 469
K7 and diatonic tonnetz, 138–​39, 534 for twelve-​tone rows, 365–​70, 382–​83n47
completeness theorem coordinate transformation (for twelve-​tone rows), 367–​70
for first-​order languages, 381n18 coordinates (of an ordered tuple), 43
for transformation graphs, 347 coprime, 69, 230
complex multiplication (in serial theory), 384 coset, 240–​45, 268–​69, 406
complex numbers, 202n13 right vs. left, 244–​45
components cosines, law of, 481n65, 527n51
of a graph, 82 counterpoint
of an ordered tuple, 43 and permutations, 215–​17, 248n10/​13
componentwise, 229, 264 CQT spaces. See OPTIC spaces
composite equivalence relation. See equivalence relation Crawford (Seeger), Ruth
composition of functions, 52–​54, 171–​73 Quartet, string, 248n10
associativity of, 172 cross section
as a binary operation, 56, 171–​73 of OP-​space, 440–​41, 463–​65
for interval-​preserving and interval-​reversing mappings, of a product space, 267
283–​84, 293–​94 cross-​type transformation, 277–​82, 290–​93, 332–​33, 342,
for interval-​space homomorphisms, 261–​63 380n6
orthography for. See orthography crossing (in an spc set), 584
for permutations, 211–​12 crystallography, 202n5
for transpositions and inversions, 193–​95, 282–​84, 293–​94 cube, 4-​dimensional. See hypercube
cone, 479n44 Cube Dance (Douthett), 315–​16, 336n26, 400–​02, 422n22,
configuration space (filtered point-​symmetry), 605, 618n35 480n51, 495
conformance, 19, 27–​28, 36n44, 37n59, 74n13 cube distance, 495, 514
conformed tonnetz. See conformance; tonnetz (neo-​Riemannian) cubic octave, 407, 422n28
congruence class, 66, 269 cubic semitone, 422n28
congruence mod H (subgroup), 242 cycle (graph), 81–​82
congruence mod n, 65–​66, 240–​42 directed vs. undirected, 97, 346–​47
congruence subgroup, 269 cycle (permutation), 210–​17, 422–​23n30
conjoin, 13 cycle type (of a permutation), 210
conjugacy class, 246 cyclic graph, 81–​82
conjugate cyclic group (𝒞n), 181–​82, 214, 224–​26, 628
of a function, 245–​46, 350, 358, 376 Cayley diagram for, 218–​19, 221–​22
of a group element, 180, 245–​46, 251n47 direct product of, 229–​31

646 • Index
 group table for, 217–​18 dilation, 493
infinite (𝒞∞), 182, 228, 628 dimension, 14, 35n25, 74n14
cyclic permutation, 211–​12 and cardinality equivalence, 520–​24
cylinder, 16–​17, 24, 35n30, 146–​47 diminished seventh chord, 124
in a 19-​note scale, 613
Dahlhaus, Carl, 157–​58, 160 maximal evenness of, 599
de la Motte, Diether, 76n32 in octatonic seventh-​chord hypercubes, 460–​62
de Morgan’s laws, 41, 114n11 symmetry of, 235
Debussy, Claude, 161n11, 166n78, 580n53 in a tonnetz, 23, 25–​26
Images I, No. 3, “Mouvement,” 282 diminished triad, 336n27
Prélude à “L’après-​midi d’un faune,” 265–​67, 275, 277, direct product
297n20, 336n35, 345 of groups, 229–​33, 250n36
Sonata, violin, 565–​68 of interval spaces, 263–​68
deep (interval property), 549–​50, 606, 607 See also Cartesian product
degree of symmetry, 236 direct transformation. See transformation
degree of a vertex, 80 directed graph, 96–​106
design, 551–​53, 569–​70 distances in, 493
chromatic, 551–​53 underlying, 109–​10
complete, 575 directionally adjusted (transformational product), 346
diatonic, 551–​52 disconnected (graph), 81–​82
enharmonic, 551–​52 discrete pitch-​class space. See pitch-​class space
generic, 551–​53, 583, 590 discrete pitch space. See pitch space
inflections of, 590–​97 discrete space, 6–​7, 34n7
reduction to a chord, 570 discrete voice leading. See voice leading
spc, 551–​53, 590 disjoint (sets), 40
diagram (commutative vs. noncommutative), 380–​81n12, 579n33 displacement dissonance, 117n45
diatonic bell (Audétat), 616n10 displacement multiset, 501, 603
diatonic collection distance
in a 19-​note scale, 612 between key areas, 136–​38
arithmetical properties of, 608 as shortest path length, 490, 497–​98, 500, 506–​08
and chromatic collection, 545–​50 between triads, 136–​38, 512–​14
maximal evenness of, 599–​601 as an undirected “interval,” 489
in OP-​space, 602–​04 between vertices in a graph, 81, 493
recognizable (Blackwood), 619n50 distance function, 487–​89
as a spelled heptachord (dpc(n)), 585–​86 vs. interval function, 184, 264, 324, 488–​89
symmetry of, 27, 37n54, 236, 291–​92, 548–​49 metric compatibility of, 489, 491, 503
See also diatonic pitch-​class space in a product space, 500–​05
diatonic design. See design in a quotient space, 506–​24
diatonic fifths space (dfifth(n)), 21, 545–​47, 576–​77, 622 and similarity measures, 525n25
diatonic hexachord, 550, 607 See also distance space; specific distance functions by name
diatonic interpretation (δn), 547, 590 (e.g., neo-​Riemannian distance)
diatonic interval. See interval distance-​preserving mapping, 163n38/​39
diatonic mode. See mode See also isometry
diatonic pitch-​class space (dpc(n)), 16, 532–​50, 622 distance space, 264, 487–​524, 528
as a distance space, 491–​92, 532 axioms for, 487–​89
as an interval space, 269, 532 and topology, 524n13
as a spelled heptachord, 585–​86 See also distance function
See also enharmonic diatonic pitch-​class space distribution constraint (for displacement multisets), 526n31
diatonic pitch space (dpitch(n)), 9–​10, 622 distributive laws (in set theory), 41
as a distance space, 489–​90, 532 divisibility lattice, 182
as an interval space, 257, 532 division (in multiplicative groups), 178
diatonic rhythm, 602 dodecahedron, 115n12
diatonic system (Agmon), 609, 618n41 domain (of a function), 46
diatonic tonnetz. See tonnetz, diatonic dominant transformation (D), 122, 161n6, 322,
diatonic triad space, 138–​43 336n37/​38
dice games, 247n5 double-​circle space, 119–​27
diesis, 162n20, 163n33, 272 as a Cayley diagram, 222
difference (of sets), 42 and direct products, 231–​32
difference tone, 189 for generic chords, 539–​41
digraph. See directed graph for twelve-​tone rows, 376–​78
dihedral group (𝒟n), 192–​95, 204n39, 213–​14, 226, 232, for UTTs and QTTs, 305, 327
248n19, 628 double harmonic scale (dharm(n)), 587–​88, 616n7, 622
automorphisms and isomorphisms of, 309, 328–​29, 354–​55, doubly transitive (group action), 199, 360
382n33 Douthett, Jack, 315, 336n26, 382n45, 480n51, 599, 600, 605,
Cayley diagram for, 221–​22, 307–​09 619
generalized (𝒟ℝ), 411 dual graph, 85–​86, 130, 162n24
infinite (𝒟∞), 192–​95, 628 dual-​UTT, 330

Index • 647
duality, 114–​15n11 Euclidean space (ℝn), 35n25, 264, 390, 405, 426, 628
of inversion operators (Invuv , Invvu), 294–​95 Euler, Leonhard, 27, 37n55
in mathematics, 114–​15n11 See also phi function
of permutations, 383n56 Euler characteristic, 95–​96, 116n32
in physics, 114–​15n11 of a sphere, 95
of pitch-​class and order numbers, 371–​80, 383n53/​55/​56/​57, of a torus, 95–​96
384 See also Euler’s formula
of QTTs, 330 Euler’s formula
Riemannian, 114–​15n11, 302–​03, 334n3/​8, 335n13, 366 for connected planar graphs, 85, 95
of TI group and Riemann group, 329–​30, 337n55/​59 for disconnected graphs, 85
of transpositions and interval-​preserving mappings, 284–​86, for toroidal graphs, 95–​96, 126, 128, 129, 138
298n39, 329–​30, 374, 383n57, 422–​23n30 See also Euler characteristic
Dukas, Paul even permutation, 212–​13
Sonata, piano (e♭), 594 event network, 113–​14, 118n61, 216–​17, 341–​42, 370
Dvořák, Antonín, 117n41 exchange transformation (X)
Quartet, piano, No. 2 (Op. 87, E♭), 165n70, 595–​96 order/​pitch-​class exchange, 375–​80
Symphony No. 7 (d), 110, 466–​68 triad/​seventh-​chord exchange, 333, 337–​38n62
exponential function, 51–​52
eccentricity, 517, 527n46 exponentiation (and groups), 178
edge (in a graph), 80 extraction (of a sequence), 535
multiple edges, 92, 115–​16n20
edge labeling, 80 face
EE vector. See enharmonic equivalence vector of a cube, 83–​84
embedding, 14, 84–​85 of a hypercube, 460
planar, 84–​85 of a planar graph, 85–​86, 114n9
in a product space, 267 facet (of a hypercube), 87, 460
spherical, 85–​86 factorial (n!), 43
toroidal, 95–​96, 126, 138–​39, 143–​44, 163n20 false boundary. See boundary
empty set, 40 family, 73n1
empty word, 525n21 See also set
Enchiriadis treatises, 34n10 Fauré, Gabriel
enharmonic coordinates, 556 Barcarolle No. 4 (Op. 44, A♭), 396–​98, 422n19
enharmonic design. See design Pavane (Op. 50), 141, 164n43
enharmonic diatonic pitch-​class space (edpc(n)), 546–​49, 556, 622 Quartet, piano, No. 1 (Op. 15, c), 105
enharmonic diesis, 162n20, 163n33, 272 Quartet, string (Op. 121, e), 422n19, 424
enharmonic doubling (in an spc set), 584 Fechner, Gustav Theodor, 75n28
enharmonic equivalence (~E), 19, 34n17, 61–​62, 234, 260, Fechner’s law, 75n28
545–​46 fiber group (in a wreath product), 305
of diatonic designs, 555 field (of spcs), 590
as an equivalence relation, 61–​62 fifth-​distance vector, 549
in non-​canonical scale systems, 610–​16 fifth-​string
of proper spelled heptachords, 588–​89 cyclical, 575
strong, 555, 595 of a diatonic set, 572–​74
weak, 597 as a normal form, 572, 580n58
enharmonic equivalence vector, 610 of an spc set, 572, 583
enharmonic respelling (εk), 595 and species, 574
enharmonic system, 610–​16, 619n50, 620, 623 fifths space (fifth), 18–​19, 623
enneatonic collection, 42, 86, 274, 314, 623 chromatic vs. diatonic vs. generic, 545–​50
maximal evenness of, 599 as a cyclic graph, 81–​82
enneatonic seventh-​chord graph, 86, 92 as a distance space, 492
enumeration techniques, 74n12, 247n5, 250n38, 382n42, as an interval space, 188, 269–​70
477n9, 578n15 vs. pitch-​class space, 18–​19, 188, 260, 532–​33
EPTIC relations (for spelled pitch-​class tuples), 580n58 See also diatonic fifths space; generic fifths space
equal temperament, 34n17, 57, 609 filter (spelled heptachord), 590
equality (as an equivalence relation), 63 filtered point-​symmetry (Douthett), 600–​01, 604–​05, 618n35, 619
equivalence class, 60 fine (equivalence relation), 63, 77n46
equivalence relation, 60–​65 fix, 235
composite, 61–​62, 408–​15, 423n32 fixed-​0 row labeling, 365
induced by a normal subgroup, 269 fixed point, 191–​93, 210, 288, 427
normal, 269, 297n25, 486 See also invariance
and transformation groups, 233–​34 Forte, Allen, 73n2, 77n45, 117n39, 202n5, 580n53
Euclid, 33n5 Fourier properties, xv(n12), 424, 525n25
Euclidean distance Franck, César, 335n19
as a measure of evenness, 602–​03 Quintet, piano (f), 133, 162–​63n28, 344
in a product space, 501–​05 Symphony (d), 594
in a quotient space, 508, 514–​20 Frederick, Leah, 578n21
between triads, 513–​14 free (group action), 204n44

648 • Index
French augmented-​sixth chord. See augmented-​sixth chord generic thirds space (gthird), 22, 240, 532–​33, 538–​41, 623
frequency, 5–​6 as a cyclic graph, 81–​82
frequency-​class space (freq ⁄~O), 271–​72 as a distance space, 492, 532
frequency space (freq), 8, 178, 623 as an interval space, 492, 532
as an interval space, 188–​89, 196–​97 generic tonnetz. See tonnetz
vs. pitch space, 51–​52, 189, 228, 249n31, 258–​59, 263 generic transposition. See transposition
quotients of, 271–​72 generic triad space (gtriad), 138, 154–​55, 538–​41, 623
function (mapping), 45–​58, 74n18 generic voice-​leading distance, 540
common notations, 45–​46 genus, 554, 568–​77, 579n44, 580n53, 581
definition by cases, 75n27 geometry (vs. topology), 6, 14–​15
equality of functions, 46 German augmented-​sixth chord. See augmented-​sixth chord
graph of. See graph Gesualdo, Carlo, 335n19
vs. harmonic function, 74n18 Ginastera, Alberto
of multiple variables, 56 Danzas argentinas No. 1, 280–​82, 284, 292
vs. relation, 58–​59 Glazunov, Alexander
of subsets, 55 Symphony No. 3 (Op. 33, D), 319, 336n31
functional harmony, 96–​97, 116–​17n33 glissando (as a voice leading), 389
and the diatonic circle of thirds, 142–​43, 164n48, 323–​24 Gödel, Kurt, 381n18
See also harmonic function Gogol, Nikolai, 331
fundamental region, 15, 24, 407 Gollin, Edward, 145
boundary points of, 422n29 Górecki, Henryk
vs. normal region, 428 Symphony No. 3, 580n55
fundamental theorem of finite abelian groups, 249n26 Gounod, Charles
fuse function (for pitch tuples), 412, 521–​24 Faust, 596–​97
and voice leading, 423n45 graph (of a function), 47–​48
fuzzy transposition and inversion, 76n38, 421n1 graph (in graph theory), 79–​96
alternate definitions of “graph,” 115n20, 116n26
Galeazzi, Francesco, 526n36 as a distance space, 493–​97
Galois, Évariste, 167 infinite, 92–​94
Gamer, Carlton, 579n38 See also directed graph; transformation graph
generalized interval system (Lewin), 203n26 greatest integer function (⌊x⌋), 51, 509
See also interval space greatest lower bound, 100, 509
generated set, 541–​42, 548–​50, 606, 607, 611–​12, 617n24 Grieg, Edvard, 335n19
generated subgroup, 181 “Illusion” (Op. 57/​3), 478n30
generating interval, 18, 22, 541–​42, 548–​50, 606 Sonata, violin (Op. 45, c), 279–​80
generating set (for a group), 182–​83, 219–​20, 498–​500 group, 167–​68, 173–​83, 201n1/​2
generator (of a group), 176, 180–​83, 203n25, 218–​20, 230–​31 additive, 174–​76
generic, 8–​10, 37–​38n61, 601 axioms for, 173
vs. diatonic, 8–​10, 532 classification of, 225–​27, 249n26/​27
vs. specific, 34n9, 545, 569, 580n53, 583, 601, 606 commutative (abelian), 173, 202n9, 242–​44, 249n26
generic aggregate, 534, 555, 583, 585 modular, 176–​77
generic design. See design multiplicative, 177–​78
generic equivalence (~G), 9, 19, 34n11, 62, 65, 272, 532, 545–​46 noncommutative, 243–​47
as an equivalence relation, 62 trivial, 176
generic fifths space (gfifth), 21, 240, 532–​33, 545–​47, 623 See also interval group; symmetry; transformation group;
and C =​V, 575 specific groups by name (e.g., dihedral group)
as a cyclic graph, 81–​82 group action, 189, 203–​04n35, 406
as a distance space, 492, 532 group congruence, 242, 297n25
as an interval space, 492, 532 Group Explorer (web application), 251
generic interval. See interval group operation, 173–​74
generic interval class. See interval class group table, 217–​18, 248n16
generic inversion. See inversion grouping dissonance, 117n45
generic pitch class, 15–​16 Gypsy scale. See double harmonic scale
generic pitch-​class numbers, 15–​16
generic pitch-​class set, 541–​43 half-​line, 34n6
generic pitch-​class space (gpc), 15–​16, 240, 532–​47, 623 Hamilton, William Rowan, 114n6
as a cyclic graph, 81–​82 Hamiltonian cycle, 114n6
as a distance space, 491–​92, 532 Hanon, Charles-​Louis, 163n41
as an interval space, 188, 257, 269, 532 harmonic function, 36n41, 74n18, 142–​43, 164n48
as a specific scale, 604–​05 See also functional harmony
generic pitch space (gpitch), 8–​11, 623 harmonic major scale (hmaj(n)), 587, 616n7, 623
as a distance space, 489, 532 in OP-​space, 603–​04
as an interval space, 187, 256–​57, 532 harmonic minor scale (hmin(n)), 280, 413, 424n47, 599–​601,
isomorphism with pitch, 10, 92, 187, 256–​57 611, 623
generic projection. See projection as a generic scale, 607
generic set class, 541–​43 in OP-​space, 603–​04
generic seventh-​chord space (gsev), 539–​41, 623 as a spelled heptachord, 585–​87, 590–​92

Index • 649
Harrison, Daniel, 248n10 image
Hasse diagram, 117n38 of an element, 46
Hauptmann, Moritz, 36n41, 114–​15n11, 335n13/​22 of a function, 75n26
Haydn, Joseph, 336n28 of a subset, 55
Symphony No. 94 (G, “Surprise”), 413 in-​degree (of a vertex), 96–​97
Symphony No. 98 (B♭), 163n32 incidence function (in a graph), 82
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 114–​15n11 incident (vertex and edge), 80
Heinichen, Johann David, 161n8 inclusion lattice, 100, 117n42
helix (pitch space), 12–​13 inclusion mapping, 259, 278
hemiola, 102 independent equations, 392
hereditary (graph properties), 347 index (of inversion), 190–​91, 204n37
hexachord theorem, 273–​74, 298n28, 578n19 index (of a subgroup), 241–​42
hexatonic bridge family, 314–​15, 336n27, 354 indirect transformation. See transformation
hexatonic bridge group, 315, 318–​19 induced. See equivalence relation; homomorphism; quotient
hexatonic collection, 25–​26, 80, 132, 162n26, 310–​12, 314–​ interval space
15, 394, 623 inflection (of generic designs) (X ∕ H), 590–​97
as a generic scale, 601–​02, 607 injection. See one-​to-​one (function)
hexatonic cycle. See PL-​cycle inner automorphism. See automorphism
hexatonic pole, 92, 122, 310–​12, 320–​21, 335n18/​19, 503 instrumental space, 203n30
hexatonic system, 63, 80, 114n2, 118 integers (ℤ), 40, 629
hexatonic triad cube, 82–​87, 233, 388–​94, 518 as an additive group, 173–​74
hexatonic triad cube chain, 394–​402 integers mod n (ℤn), 66–​69, 629
in 3-​voice OP-​space, 442, 513, 603–​04 as a group, 176–​77
and octatonic hypercube chain, 462–​63 integral (calculus), 297n9
and scale lattices, 603–​04 internally deep (interval property), 607, 613
tonnetz in, 403–​04 interscalar mapping, 256, 278–​82, 290–​93
twisted, 400 intersection (of sets), 40–​41
See also Cube Dance interval
hexatonic triad family, 314–​15, 336n27, 354, 370, 396 diatonic, 9–​10, 34n15, 611–​12, 618–​19n43
hexatonic triad graph, 79–​87, 233, 388 directed vs. undirected, 168–​69, 483, 489, 524n1/​10
hexatonic triad group, 223–​24, 237, 249n29, 312, 314–​15, as an equivalence class, 487, 524n5
318–​19 generic, 9–​10, 541–​44, 547, 601, 606
Holst, Gustav in an interval space, 183
The Planets, “Venus,” 594 inverse, 169, 185
homeomorphism, 478n18 and label functions, 253
homogeneity specific, 9–​10, 601, 606
distance-​space property, 493, 503, 509 vs. transformation, 195–​201, 204n50
group property, 176, 202n12 See also interval function; interval space
interval-​space axiom, 183–​84, 484 interval class, 116n22, 490–​91, 524n1
homometric, 202n5 in 2-​voice OP-​space, 431–​32
homomorphism as a distance, 490–​91
vs. anti-​homomorphism, 247 generic, 541–​44, 571, 578n16
of groups, 224–​25 in non-​canonical scale systems, 606
induced, 258 interval-​class space, 91, 116n22, 437–​39
of interval spaces, 254–​63, 296n4 interval-​class vector, 274, 298n29/​30, 549–​50, 579n39
of transformation graphs and networks, 381n26 generic, 543, 578n16
Humperdinck, Engelbert in non-​canonical scale systems, 618n40
Hänsel und Gretel, 249n30 interval-​compatible (mapping), 255–​58
Hungarian minor scale. See double harmonic scale interval configuration, 169–​70, 185
Hyer, Brian, 161n6, 326 interval-​content equivalence (of pitch-​class sets), 63, 250n38
Hyer group (𝒰even), 326–​27, 337n49 interval cycle, 81–​82, 542, 600
hyper-​Tk and hyper-​Ik, 362–​64, 382n38 See also generating interval
hypercube, 87, 460, 480n49 interval equations, solving, 185–​86
hypermeter, 102 interval function, 168–​69, 183–​89
hypernetwork. See network of networks vs. distance function. See distance function
hyperprism, 465, 480n57 inadequacy as a distance measurement, 483–​87
and “size,” 483, 524n2
I-​space, 426–​27 interval group, 170, 183–​89
I+​ space, I+​normal form, 416 vs. transformation group, 171–​73
icosahedron, 115n12 interval-​preserving mapping, 169, 257, 297n13
identify, 13 and transposition, 276–​86, 298n39, 329–​30, 351, 374
identity element (of a group), 170, 173, 175, 179, 202n7 interval-​reversing mapping, 169, 286–​87, 289–​96
group axiom, 173 impossibility in noncommutative interval spaces, 295–​96
vs. identity function, 173 and inversion, 285–​86, 289, 293–​96
identity function, 53, 75n31, 172–​73, 190 interval space, 174, 183–​89, 203n26
identity interval property, 184–​85 axioms for, 183–​84, 299
if and only if, 76n39 commutative, 184

650 • Index
 direct product, 263–​68
and group structure, 195–​201, 221–​22, 228, 252–​54,
268–​69
label functions for, 252–​54
mappings of, 254–​63, 273–​96
modular, 188, 490–​91
noncommutative, 199, 254, 285, 286–​87, 294–​96
quotient, 268–​73, 486
real, 186, 483, 489–​90
interval-​space homomorphism theorem, 228, 258, 297n8
interval-​string notation, 578n16
interval subspace property, 186–​87
generalized, 243
interval-​sum equation
in continuous pitch space, 174
in fifths space, 188
interval-​space axiom, 184
in pitch-​class space, 188
in pitch space, 168–​69
vs. triangle inequality, 488
intervallically distinguishable, 237, 548, 575, 581
invariance, 149, 233–​37
See also fixed point; matrix; symmetry
inverse
group axiom, 173
of a group element, 170, 173–​75, 179
of a group element vs. of a function, 173, 190
vs. inversion, 204n36
inverse function (f−1), 50–​52, 190
inverse image (of a subset), 55–​56
inverse interval property, 185, 488
inverse mapping (f(x) =​ x−1), 247, 259, 289, 297n11
inversion
conditions 1 and 2 for, 287, 294–​95
contextual (vs. fixed). See contextual inversion
cross-​type “inversion,” 290–​93, 299n45
diatonic vs. chromatic, 291–​92
dual inversions (Invuv , Invvu), 294–​95
generic (in), 538
in an interval space (Inv[u]i, Invuv ), 286–​96, 299
vs. inverse, 204n36
as an isometry, 492
as a network isomorphism, 349–​50, 352–​53, 356
non-​uniformity of, 301, 310, 327
in noncommutative interval spaces, 286, 294–​96
and permutation, 438
in pitch-​class space (Ik), 54, 191–​95
in pitch space, 190–​95
in spc space (ɩ), 584–​85, 588–​89
and transposition, 189–​95, 293
as a triadic transformation (QTT), 327–​29
of twelve-​tone rows, 125, 364–​66, 372–​75
inversion sign (in a twelve-​tone row label), 369
inversional equivalence (~I), 405–​06, 410–​12, 426–​27
axis for, 423n41
in PT-​space, 451–​53
symmetry group for, 411, 486
vs. TI equivalence, 411, 477n3
See also I-​space; TI equivalence
inversional symmetry, 27, 124, 236–​37
in generic space, 541–​42
in OPTIC spaces, 451–​53, 479n37
in spc space, 584
involution
arrow conventions for, 111, 128, 221, 341
function, 51, 202n16
group element, 179, 202n16, 203n18
Ising model, 617n20
isography (of transformation networks), 109–​10, 333, 353–​
57, 381n20
of K-​nets, 358–​63
negative, 359
positive, 358–​59
strong, 109–​10, 112, 118n57, 341, 348–​51, 357, 359,
381n20
isometric (distance spaces), 492
isometry (of distance spaces), 492
vs. isomorphism, 493
isomorphism, 6
vs. anti-​isomorphism, 247
of directed graphs, 98, 117n35, 348, 381n21
generalized definition, 90
of graphs, 87–​90
of groups, 171, 224–​228, 348, 352–​55
of interval spaces, 187, 255–​63, 348, 351
strong (for transformation networks), 348–​51, 367, 381n20
topological, 478n18
of transformation graphs, 348, 353–​57, 381n20/​21
of transformation networks, 109–​10, 347–​57, 367–​70,
381n22
isomorphism class 225–​26
Jablonsky, Stephen, 123
Joplin, Scott
Maple Leaf Rag, 602
Journal of Mathematics and Music, ix
just pitch-​class (frequency-​class) space (just ⁄~O), 272
just pitch (frequency) space (just), 57–​58, 76n37, 268,
297n24, 272, 623
just tuning, 37n57, 57–​58
K-​graph, 358, 362
K-​net. See Klumpenhouwer network
K relation (Forte), 117n39
Kellner, David, 121–​22, 161n8
kernel (of a homomorphism), 244–​45, 307
key area, 81, 119–​23, 141–​43
relationships among, 18, 121–​23, 127–​28, 136–​38, 162n18,
494, 549
vs. triad, 135, 503
key signature, 8–​9, 11–​12, 20, 608
in enharmonic systems, 611–​12, 615
and signature transformations, 550–​51, 560
and spelled heptachords, 583, 586, 590
See also diatonic interpretation; signature transformation
key space (key), 122–​23, 623
Klein bottle, 38n64/​66
Klein group (𝒱4), 226–​27, 229, 240, 364, 629
Klumpenhouwer, Henry, 118n57, 357, 381n20
Klumpenhouwer network (K-​net), 352, 357–​64, 381n20, 384
consistency properties, 360–​61, 382n36
and paired transpositions, 357–​58, 360–​61
recursion, 362–​64, 382n41
Kopp, David, 326–​27, 337n52
Krebs, Harald, 117n45
Krumhansl, Carol, 127–​28, 136–​37
Kuratowski, Kazimierz, 114n8
L′ (nebenverwandt), 312–​15, 335n20/​22/​23, 336n28, 354, 455
label-​compatible (mapping), 256
label consistency (for transformation networks), 107, 340
and path consistency, 118n56, 344
label function, 56–​57
for an interval space, 252–​54, 296n1, 269, 382–​83n47
Index • 651
label-​preserving mapping, 276, 289 LP-​cycle. See PL-​cycle
label-​reversing mapping, 289 LR-​chain, 127, 130, 322–​24, 332–​33, 334n9, 335n23, 404
Laitz, Steven G., 141 and the circle of fifths, 127
Lam, Nathan, 36n38, 579n35 vs. M-​chain, 322–​24
lattice, 99–​105, 117n38, 182, 419–​20 LR distance, 499, 514
lattice point (in a continuous space), 389 Lutosławski, Witold
least upper bound, 100 Jeux vénitiens, 75n21
left-​to-​right orthography. See orthography Musique funèbre, 29–​31, 38n66, 123, 152, 365
leittonwechsel (L), 36n43, 54–​55, 76n32, 336n37
in 3-​voice OPTI-​space, 455 macroharmony (Tymoczko), 590
in non-​canonical scale systems, 609, 614–​15 Mahler, Gustav, 335n19
vs. relative, mediant, and submediant, 132, 322–​24 manifold, 14, 24, 426, 476n1, 477n4
as a UTT, 301–​02, 310 mapping. See function
Lendvai, Ernő, 165–​66n71 Martin, Frank
length Prelude No. 2, 320–​21, 336n35, 356
of a path (in a graph), 81, 497 Mathematics and Computation in Music (conferences), ix
of a path (in an OPTIC space), 506–​24 Mathieu group, 249n27
of a word, 498 matrix
length function, 525n17 invariance, 384
length space, 525n17 permutation, 209–​11, 371–​72, 383n52, 383–​84n63
Lerdahl, Fred, 35n29, 127, 130, 137, 141, 162n18, 164n44 twelve-​tone, 218, 378, 383n52/​62, 383–​84n63
See also chordal-​regional space See also array (serial)
letter-​distinct (spc set), 584 Mattheson, Johann, 161n8
letter doubling (in an spc set), 584 max distance
letter space. See generic pitch-​class space in a product space, 501–​05
Lewin, David, ix, xiii, xv(n1/​6), 28, 73n1, 157, 166, 205, 209, in a quotient space, 508–​09, 516–​18
297n24 between triads, 513–​14
and group theory, 167, 248n10, 298n39 maximally even set, 597–​606, 617n20, 619
and interval spaces (generalized interval systems), 185, in beat-​class space, 602, 617n24
203n26, 265, 294–​96, 296n1, 297n25, 298–​99n40, 299 in enharmonic systems, 611–​12
and intervals vs. transformations, 171, 183, 195–​201 in non-​canonical scale systems, 607
and inversion, 294–​95 in OP-​space, 603–​06, 617n26
and transformation graphs and networks, 106, 113, second-​order, 605
118n61, 339, 343–​45, 380n1/​2/​3/​8/​11, 381n14, 384 maximally smooth cycle, 310–​11, 335n17, 608, 614, 616
and triadic transformations, 161n6, 322, 336n37/​38, 338 mediant group (ℳ), 324, 336–​37n42, 628
and twelve-​tone theory, 126, 162n16, 364 mediant transformation (M), 132, 162n27, 322–​24, 336n37/​
Lewinian interval system (Tymoczko), 524n9 39
Lewin’s theorem, 199–​201, 221, 228, 254, 285, 324, 329, 345 vs. leittonwechsel, relative, and submediant, 132, 322–​24
lexicographic ordering, 229 M-​chain, 322–​24, 336n40
Lie group, 423n35 melodic minor scale, 587, 599–​601, 616n5/​7, 624
Ligeti, Győrgy, 75n21 in OP-​space, 603–​04
line. See ordered set as a spelled heptachord (mmin(n)), 587
line genus, 554, 568–​77 Mendelssohn, Felix
in non-​canonical scale systems, 606 Song Without Words (Op. 38/​3, E), 105
line of fifths. See spelled pitch-​class space Messiaen, Olivier
line of transposition, 392–​93, 409–​10, 427–​28, 432, 442–​44, modes of limited transposition, 250n41, 274, 298n31
447–​49 non-​retrogradable rhythms, 250n41
line species, 414, 554, 568–​77 Quatre études de rythme, “Île de feu 2,” 249n27
in non-​canonical scale systems, 606 metric, 487
linear algebra, 203n27, 424 See also distance function
linear equation, 391–​92, 421n5/​6/​10, 424 metric dissonance, 117n45
Liszt, Franz, 336n28 metric space, 487, 528
Années de pèlerinage, troisième année, No. 2, “Aux cyprès,” See also distance space
467–​68 metric state (in ski-​hill lattice), 101–​05, 112, 117n46, 227–​28,
Concerto, piano, No. 2 (A), 166n75 249n30
Consolation No. 3 (D♭), 133, 135, 162n28, 614 metrically compatible (interval and distance functions), 489,
Dante Symphony, 321, 336n36 491, 503
Etudes d’exécution transcendante, No. 8, “Wilde Jagd,” 110, microtonal scales, 606–​16
320 microtone, 35n28
Grande fantaisie symphonique über Themen aus Berlioz’ “Lélio,” minor seventh chord, 86–​87, 124, 461, 464
319, 336n31 mirror boundary. See boundary
Valse oubliée No. 1, 467–​68, 595, 616n15 Möbius hyperprism, 465–​68, 480n57
log-​frequency space, 75n28 Möbius prism, 441–​42
logarithm, 51–​52, 75n29 Möbius strip, 28–​30, 38n64, 151–​52
London, Justin, 118n59 as an 016 tonnetz, 28–​30
loop (in a graph), 90–​91, 115–​16n20 as a generic tonnetz, 143, 164n49
Losada, C. Catherine, 382n41 topology of 2-​voice OP-​space, 431–​32, 543

652 • Index
mode neo-​Riemannian triad space (nrtriad), 128–​36, 341–​42, 624
diatonic, 122–​23, 560, 600–​01 alternate representations of, 143–​44, 164n50, 403–​04
of a genus, 575 as a distance space, 494–​95, 497–​98
of a pitch-​class set, 237 as dual graph of a triangulated tonnetz, 130–​31
of a spelled heptachord, 590–​92 and the Riemann group, 306
mode-​preserving (triadic transformation), 133, 302 vs. Weber space, 128–​29, 162n25, 163n35
mode-​reversing (triadic transformation), 133, 302 See also tonnetz
mode space, 122–​23, 161n9, 233, 497 neo-​Riemannian voice-​leading distance, 495, 514
model (of an axiom system), 381n18 network. See transformation network
modular arithmetic, 65–​69, 77n51, 77n52 network of networks, 118n55, 362–​64, 381n22
modular group. See group nineteen-​note scale, 612–​16, 619n51/​52/​53, 620
modular interval space. See interval space diatonic behavior in, 613
modulo, 60, 65 interval sizes in, 613
monochord, 33n5 node. See vertex
monster group, 249n27 node/​arrow system (Lewin), 117n34
Monteverdi, Claudio, 335n19 See also directed graph
Morris, Robert, xv(n6), 248–​49n21, 312, 335n20 Nolan, Catherine, 367–​68
movable-​0 row labeling, 365 non-​C, non-​I, non-​O, non-​P, non-​T, 416
Mozart, Wolfgang, 161n11 Nono, Luigi
Don Giovanni, Overture, 597 Il canto sospeso, 365
Fantasy (K. 475, c), 34–​35n18 norm, 525n26
Quartet, piano (K. 493, E♭), 343, 380n7 normal equivalence relation, 269, 297n25, 486
Requiem (K. 626), Confutatis, 319 normal form (in OPTIC spaces), 415–​21
Sinfonia concertante (K. 364, E♭), 166n75 algorithm for, 416–​18, 424n52/​53
Sonata, piano (K. 331, A), 613, 614 bracket notation [ ]‌, 416
Sonata, piano (K. 533/​494, F), 597 generic (mod-​7), 532, 577n10, 578n17
Symphony No. 39 (K. 543, E♭), 163n32 hierarchy, 419–​20
Symphony No. 40 (K. 550, g), 538 lattice, 419–​20
Symphony No. 41 (K. 551, C, “Jupiter”), 248n10, 413 of an spc set, 572, 580n58
multigraph, 115n20 normal order (OPC normal form of a pc set), 415, 417–​18
multiplication group (ℳn), 213–​14, 628 normal region, 428
multiplication operator vs. fundamental region, 428
in a group (Multa), 221, 248n18 normal subgroup, 244–​45, 255, 268–​69, 297n25, 486
and K-​nets, 359, 382n40 note-​name space, 8
left vs. right, 248n18 number theory, 78
as a network isomorphism, 352–​53, 381n26
in pitch-​class space (Mk), 195, 210–​14, 223 O-​class, 406–​07, 554
in serial theory, 248–​49n21, 373–​74, 384 O equivalence. See octave equivalence
multiplicative group. See group O-​space
multiplicity (of an element in a multiset), 45 1-​voice, 427
multiset, 45, 74n15 2-​voice, 426, 428–​30, 506–​08
in OPTIC spaces, 399, 402, 408–​09, 413–​15, 430 3-​voice, 270, 407, 426, 517–​19
reduction to set, 45 4-​voice, 520
Murphy, Scott, 163n36 as a distance space, 506–​08, 517–​18
musica ficta, 34n8 homogeneity of, 509
musical space. See space as an interval space, 270, 485–​86
Myerson, Gerald, 569–​70, 580n53, 581 as a manifold, 426
Myhill, John, 580n56 O+​ space, O+​normal form, 416
Myhill’s property, 571, 601, 606, 611, 612 obverse (of L, P, R). See L′; P′; R′
OC-​space, 423n44
Neapolitan major scale (nmaj(n)), 587–​88, 616n6, 624 octahedron, 86
Neapolitan minor scale (nmin(n)), 587, 616n6, 624 octatonic bridge family, 315
near-​symmetry, 164n51, 519 octatonic bridge group, 315, 318–​19
nearly even (chord), 396, 442–​45, 466, 474 octatonic collection, 25–​26, 42, 132, 315, 317–​18, 336n29,
nebenverwandt. See L′ 460, 462, 624
negative isography. See isography as a generic scale, 601, 607
neighborhood (in tonnetz), 166n73 as an interval space, 275, 279–​80
neighborhood (topology), 14, 426 maximal evenness of, 599, 601
neo-​Riemannian (vs. Riemannian), 37n58, 55, 162n23, as a pitch space, 11
303 as an spc set, 584–​85
neo-​Riemannian analysis, 132–​36, 162n25, 309–​22, 338 octatonic seventh-​chord graph, 86, 92
See also Riemann group; schritt; uniform triadic octatonic seventh-​chord hypercube, 115n14, 460–​62
transformation; wechsel; specific transformations by name octatonic seventh-​chord hypercube chain, 462–​68,
(e.g., parallel) 520–​21
neo-​Riemannian distance, 136–​37, 163n35, 403, 494, 499, octatonic triad family, 315
514 octatonic triad graph, 86, 92
neo-​Riemannian tonnetz. See tonnetz octatonic triad group, 315, 318–​19, 325, 337n48

Index • 653
octave equivalence (~O), 12–​16, 19, 342–​43, 405–​07 OPTI equivalence, 411–​12
congruence subgroup for, 269, 406 symmetry group for, 412
as an equivalence relation, 60–​62, 269 OPTI-​space
in frequency space, 271 2-​voice, 437–​39
fundamental regions for, 407, 427–​29 3-​voice, 404, 412, 453–​58, 479n44, 484, 516–​19, 545
in a hexatonic triad cube chain, 398–​99 4-​voice, 474–​76, 481n63, 519–​20
normal region for, 428–​29 area and volume calculations in, 519–​20
in PTI-​space, 453–​55 asymmetry of, 484, 517
and quotient groups, 240–​42 boundaries of, 437–​39, 454–​55, 476, 479n43
symmetry group for, 406, 428, 486 as a distance space, 516–​20
See also O-​space fundamental regions for, 454–​55, 475–​76
ocularcentrism, 33n1 generic (mod-​7), 545
odd permutation, 212–​13 inhomogeneity of, 484, 517
Oettingen, Arthur von, 27–​28, 37n56, 335n13, 579n37 isometries in, 517
OI-​space, 1-​voice, 427, 439 normal region for, 454–​55
OI symmetry, 453, 479n38 voice leading in, 455–​58, 476
omnibus progression, 464–​65, 473–​74 OPTI symmetry, 455–​56
one-​to-​one (function), 48 OPTIC relations, 65, 404–​21
one-​to-​one correspondence, 50 OPTIC-​class, 413
onto (function), 48 and prime form, 415
OP-​class, 408–​09 OPTIC spaces, 387–​481, 500–​24
OP equivalence, 408–​09 area and volume calculations in, 518–​20
OP-​space, 408–​09 as distance spaces, 500–​24
2-​voice (Möbius strip), 429–​37, 485, 509–​12, 543–​44 elements of, 414
3-​voice (Möbius prism), 399, 402, 439–​47, 460, 478n22/​26, generic (mod-​7), 543–​45, 578n21
512–​14, 517–​19, 523–​24, 544–​45 inhomogeneity of, 484
4-​voice (Möbius hyperprism), 463–​68, 520–​21 and interval spaces, 484–​87
5-​voice, 521 names for, 388, 414, 424n51
7-​voice, 602–​04, 617n29 voice leading in, 432–​33
in a 19-​note scale, 614 See also specific spaces by name (e.g., OP-​space)
area and volume calculations in, 519–​20 optimize (in normal form calculation), 416
boundaries of, 431–​32, 435–​36, 440–​42, 463, 510–​12 orbifold, 426–​27, 476n1, 477n4/​10, 484
cross section of, 440–​41, 463–​65 orbifold spaces. See OPTIC spaces
as a distance space, 509–​14 orbit (OrbG(x)), 149, 217, 233–​36, 364, 406
fundamental regions for, 429–​32 orbit-​stabilizer theorem, 235–​36, 250n39, 364, 408
generic (mod-​7), 543–​44 order
inhomogeneity of, 485, 512 of a group, 177
label functions for, 429–​30, 440 of a group element, 181–​82
normal region for, 430–​31, 477n7 order numbers (for twelve-​tone rows), 364, 371–​80
as an orbifold, 432, 277n10 order/​pitch-​class exchange transformation (X), 375–​80
voice leading in, 434–​37, 445–​47, 463–​68, 509–​13 order relation (≤), 99, 117n37
OP symmetry, 455–​56 order transformation (vs. pitch-​class transformation), 233,
OPC-​class, 412–​13 372–​80, 383n53/​55/​56/​57
generic (mod-​7), 554 ordered pair, 43–​44
and normal order, 415 ordered set, 43–​45, 405
OPC equivalence, 412–​13 orthography (for composition of functions), 52–​54, 75n30,
OPC-​space, 460, 520–​23 203–​04n35, 248n18
generic (mod-​7), 577n13 OT-​class
operation, 45, 56, 74n16 mod-​7 (line genus), 554
See also function mod-​12 (line species), 554
operator. See function OT-​space
OPI-​space, 439 2-​voice, 438
OPT equivalence, 410 as an interval space, 270, 297–​98n26, 486
OPT-​space OTI-​space, 437–​39
2-​voice, 437–​39 out-​degree (of a vertex), 96–​97
3-​voice, 458–​59, 516–​18
4-​voice, 470–​74, 519–​20 P-​class, 407
area and volume calculations in, 519–​20 P equivalence. See permutational equivalence
boundaries of, 458–​59, 471–​74, 480n47, 516 p-​norm metric, 526n30
as a distance space, 516–​20 P-​space, 408
fundamental regions for, 458–​59, 470, 479–​80n46 P+​ space, P+​normal form, 416
normal region for, 458–​59 P′ (slide), 312–​13, 335n20/​21, 455, 595
voice leading in, 458–​59, 472–​74 Pachelbel, Johann
OPTC-​class Canon (D), 140
mod-​7 (chord genus), 554 packed to the left (in normal form calculation), 415, 418,
mod-​12 (chord species), 554 424n53
OPTC-​space, 459–​60, 480n47 paired paths. See path

654 • Index
pairwise commuting groups, 232, 285–​86, 328–​30, 373–​74, pitch-​class space (pc), 13–​15, 624
377–​78 chromatic vs. diatonic vs. generic, 545–​50
paradigmatics, 118n61 as a cyclic graph, 81–​82
parallel transformation (P), 54–​55, 76n32, 336n37 as a distance space, 490–​91
in 3-​voice OPTI-​space, 455 vs. fifths space, 18–​19, 188, 260
in non-​canonical scale systems, 609, 614–​15 as an interval space, 188, 268–​69, 299
as a UTT, 301–​02, 310 See also continuous pitch-​class space; diatonic pitch-​class
parallel voice leading. See voice leading space; generic pitch-​class space; spelled pitch-​class space
parity, 212 pitch-​class transformation (vs. order transformation), 233,
Parks, Richard, 580n53 372–​80, 383n53/​55/​56/​57
parsimonious (voice leading), 526n35 pitch-​class–​tuple space (pcn, cpcn), 264, 270, 407, 414, 622
See also voice leading pitch multiset, 408, 414
Pärt, Arvo pitch numbers, 4
Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, 105 pitch-​pair space. See pitch-​tuple space (2-​voice)
partial order, 98–​99 pitch retention loop, 166n73
partition of the aggregate, 384 pitch set, 408, 414
path (in a graph), 80–​81, 114n3 pitch space (pitch), 4–​8, 624
directed, 97 as a distance space, 488–​90
length of, 81, 497 as an interval space, 168–​70, 185–​86
paired (directed), 343 label functions for, 253–​54
paired (undirected), 346 as a quotient set (srl ⁄~E), 61–​62, 273
path (in OPTIC spaces), 388–​94, 426–​27, 432–​37, 445–​47, See also continuous pitch space; diatonic pitch space;
451–​53, 456–​59, 466–​68, 472–​74, 497–​98, 506–​13, frequency space; generic pitch space
520–​21 pitch-​triple space. See pitch-​tuple space (3-​voice)
path-​connected, 34n7 pitch tuple, 65, 264, 405, 414, 422n26
path consistency (for transformation graphs and networks), pitch-​tuple space (pitchn, cpitchn), 264, 405, 414, 622
118n56, 317–​18, 343–​47, 380n8/​9/​10/​11, 380–​81n12, 2-​voice, 264, 427–​29
381n14 3-​voice, 405
of K-​nets, 360–​61, 382n36 as a distance space, 500–​05
and label consistency, 118n56, 344 as an interval space, 264, 406, 485
strong, 346–​47 as a manifold, 426
pentatonic collection (pent(n)), 280–​82, 292–​93, 550, 607, voice leading in, 432–​33
624 pivot interval (Rings), 266, 275
indexing convention for, 280, 298n36 pivot transformation, 567
maximal evenness of, 599 PL-​cycle, 81, 165–​66n71, 223–​24, 249n29, 335n19, 455, 565,
as a pitch space, 11 580n51
perfectly even, 599–​600 in a 19-​note scale, 614
periodic, 15, 24 in a tonnetz, 130, 132–​33, 163n30, 310–​12, 404
permutation, 43, 209–​17, 247n3/​5, 248n10/​13, 326, 337–​ as a transformation graph, 111–​12, 345, 354
38n62, 407–​08 PL group. See hexatonic triad group
vs. combination, 617n30 planar (graph), 84–​85, 114n8, 116n29
cycle representation, 210–​17, 407–​08, 422–​23n30 planing, 280–​82
of elements vs. of order positions, 383n56, 422–​23n30 Platonic solids, 86, 115n12
even vs. odd, 212–​13 Plotkin, Richard, 600, 605
and inversion, 438 PLR-​cycle, 134, 156, 312–​13, 354–​55, 404
matrix, 209–​11, 371–​72, 383n52, 383–​84n63 PLR distance. See neo-​Riemannian distance
of triads, 305 PLR group. See Riemann group
and twelve-​tone rows, 371–​72 position-​finding (in a diatonic collection), 548
permutation group, 209–​17 positive isography. See isography
permutational equivalence (~P), 65, 213, 390, 405–​06, 407–​09 positivity (distance-​space axiom), 487–​88
in a hexatonic triad cube chain, 398–​99 power notation (in groups), 181, 203n20, 203n21
symmetry group for, 407–​08, 430, 486 Power Towers (Douthett), 480n51
in T-​space, 450–​51 PR-​cycle, 127, 130, 165–​66n71, 315, 404, 564
See also P-​space Prater, Jeffrey, 76n32
permutational symmetry, 451, 455–​56 precedence relation (in a directed graph), 98–​99
Petrushka chord, 124, 161–​62n13, 235, 237, 250n42 predecessor (in a directed graph), 98
phi function (φ), 178, 223 Presuv. See interval-​preserving mapping
pitch class, 13 prime form (OPTIC normal form of a pc set), 415–​16, 455
See also generic pitch class; spelled pitch class prime numbers, 73n3
pitch-​class multiset as generic/​diatonic cardinality, 68, 532–​33, 542,
and OP-​classes, 408–​09, 414 576, 608
pitch-​class numbers, 13 as group orders, 227
generic, 15–​16 and modular arithmetic, 68, 178
pitch-​class set as specific/​chromatic cardinality, 613, 615–​16
generic, 541–​43 principal homogeneous space, 203n29
and OP-​classes, 409, 414–​15 product (of group elements), 173–​74
and OPC-​classes, 412–​15 product space. See Cartesian product; direct product

Index • 655
projection R′, 312–​13, 335n20, 455
in gpc space (γ), 69–​73, 545–​47, 579n33, 583 Rachmaninoff, Sergei
in pc space (π), 69–​73, 545–​47, 579n33, 583 “Daisies” (Op. 38/​3), 594
from a product space, 63, 267 Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, 105
projective geometry, 114n11 Sonata, cello (Op. 19, g), 319
Prokofiev, Sergei Rameau, Jean-​Philippe, 36n37/​41, 539
Cinderella, 165n67 range (of a function), 48–​50, 75n26
Scherzo (Op. 12/​10, a), 320, 564 rational numbers (ℚ), 40, 628
prolongation (vs. transformation), 105–​06, 117n50/​51 as an additive group, 174
promiscuity (of K-​nets), 359–​60 multiplicative groups within, 177
proof by contradiction, 94–​95 Ravel, Maurice, 336n29
proper spc set, 584 Gaspard de la nuit, I, “Ondine,” 316–​17, 354
proper spelled heptachord, 588–​90 Menuet antique, 583, 591
proper subset, 40 Miroirs, No. 4, “Alborada del gracioso,” 602
pseudograph, 115n20 Pavane pour une infante défunte, 141
pseudometric, 526–​27n38 Quartet, string (F), 594
PT-​space Sonatine, 316–​18, 345
2-​voice, 438 real interval space. See interval space
3-​voice, 450–​52, 516–​18 real numbers (ℝ), 40, 628
4-​voice, 470 as an additive group, 174
boundaries of, 451–​52 extended, 524n14
as a distance space, 516–​18 multiplicative groups within, 177–​78
fundamental regions for, 450–​51 real numbers mod n (ℝn), 69, 628
normal region for, 450–​51 as an additive group, 177
voice leading in, 451–​52, 455–​58 realizable (transformation graph), 345–​47
PTI-​space universally, 346–​47
2-​voice, 438 realize
3-​voice, 452–​53, 516–​18 diatonic design realizes a genus, 554, 569–​70
boundaries of, 453 diatonic design realizes a species, 569–​70
as a distance space, 516–​18 species realizes a genus, 569–​70
fundamental regions for, 452 transformation graph realizes a directed graph, 109–​10
normal region for, 452 transformation network realizes a transformation graph,
voice leading in, 452–​53, 455–​58 109–​10, 341
PTI symmetry, 455–​56 reference point (for a label function), 253, 296n1
Puccini, Giacomo, 335n19 reflection factor (for a QTT), 327–​28
punctured plane, 35n30 reflexive (binary relation), 64
Pythagorean comma, 37n59, 74n13, 76n36, 271 Regener, Eric, 77–​78n60
Pythagorean pitch-​class (frequency-​class) space (pyth ⁄~O), Reger, Max
271–​72 Sonata, clarinet (Op. 49/​2, f♯), 34n18
Pythagorean pitch (frequency) space (pyth), 57, 76n36, 267–​68, regional space (Lerdahl), 127, 162n18
496–​97, 624 registral letter space. See generic pitch space
Pythagorean semitone, 271 regular (enharmonic equivalence vector), 611
Pythagorean tuning, 37n57, 57 regular (graph), 80
regular (polyhedron), 86
QTT. See quasi-​uniform triadic transformation Reich, Steve, 383n54
qualia, tonal, 265 Clapping Music, 602
quality. See chord species relation
quantization, 600 binary, 58–​65
quarter-​tones, 608, 609, 611, 618–​19n43 vs. function, 58–​59
quasi-​uniform triadic transformation (QTT), 327–​30, 337n53, ternary, 60, 106
367 unary, 60
duality, 330 relative transformation (R), 54–​55, 76n32, 336n37
group structure, 328–​30, 628 in 3-​voice OPTI-​space, 455
serial applications, 375–​78 vs. leittonwechsel, mediant, and submediant, 132, 322–​24
Quinn, Ian, xiv, xv(n12), 388, 424, 481n69, 481, 525n25, 580n53 in non-​canonical scale systems, 609, 614–​15, 619n53
quotient distance formula, 508, 526n37 as a UTT, 300–​02, 310
quotient distance space, 506–​24 retrograde operation, 88–​89, 111, 124–​25, 222–​23, 227, 233,
quotient graph, 93–​94 364–​75
quotient group, 177, 240–​45, 268 as an order transformation, 373
quotient homomorphism, 244–​45, 255 retrograde sign (in a twelve-​tone row label), 369
quotient interval space, 255, 268–​73 Revuv. See interval-​reversing mapping
quotient interval-​space homomorphism, 269 reverse (of a transformation graph or network), 109, 350
quotient map, 60, 244–​45, 269, 342–​43 reversible (transformation graph or network), 109, 343
quotient set, 60–​61, 268 rhythm
vs. product, 63 generated, 617n24
quotient space, 60–​61, 91, 414, 477n10 maximally even, 602, 617n24
and orbifolds, 426–​27 See also beat-​class space; beat space; ski-​hill lattice

656 • Index
RI-​chaining (rows), 383n50 scale index (in enharmonic coordinates), 556
Riemann, Bernhard, xv(n11) scale lattice. See voice-​leading lattice
Riemann, Hugo, xv(n11) scale system, 606–​16
and dualism, 114–​15n11, 302–​03, 334n3/​8, 366 canonical, 606, 610
and harmonic function, 36n41, 74n18, 336n38 Schenker, Heinrich, 165n65
and the tonnetz, 27–​28, 37n56 Schenkerian theory, xv(n2), 36n41, 165n65, 613, 614
and triadic relationships, 120, 302–​03, 334n3/​8, 335n13 and transformational/​tonnetz analysis, 105–​06, 117n50/​
Riemann group (ℛ), 204n47, 306–​10, 336–​37n42, 628 51, 135–​36, 158, 163n34, 363
Cayley diagram for, 307–​09 Schillinger, Joseph, 298n38
duality with TI group, 329–​30, 337n55/​59 Schnittke, Alfred, 338
and voice leading, 310, 335n14 Schoenberg, Arnold, 167, 222, 373, 535
Riemann space. See neo-​Riemannian triad space chart of the regions, 127, 162n18
Riemannian Fantasy, violin and piano (Op. 47), 162n16, 162–​63n28
vs. neo-​Riemannian, 37n58, 55, 162n23, 303 “Farben” (Op. 16/​3), 248n14
vs. non-​Riemannian, 303 Moses und Aron, 162n16
See also uniform triadic transformation (Riemannian) Piano Piece (Op. 11/​1), 415
Riemannian tonnetz. See tonnetz Piano Piece (Op. 23/​3), 337n59
Riepel, Joseph, 248n10 Piano Piece (Op. 33a), 126–​27
right-​to-​left orthography. See orthography Pierrot lunaire: No. 4, “Eine blasse Wäscherin,” 217; No. 8,
Rimsky-​Korsakov, Nikolai “Nacht,” 32, 144, 415–​16, 420, 517–​18
Christmas Eve, 331–​34, 337n61, 338n63, 345, 351, 466 Quartet, string, No. 4 (Op. 37), 371–​78
Legend for orchestra (Skazka, Op. 29), 322, 336n36 Quintet, wind (Op. 26), 383n54
Scheherazade, 110 Serenade (Op. 24), 365
Rings, Steven, 265, 299, 344 Verklärte Nacht, 313
RL-​chain, RL-​cycle. See LR-​chain schritt, 36n43, 306–​22, 334n8, 335n13
Rodgers, Richard vs. transposition, 310, 317–​18, 320–​21, 336n30, 366
The Sound of Music, 166n75 schritt group (ℛ+​), 306–​08
Roeder, John, 118, 424, 526n35 schritt-​wechsel group. See Riemann group
Romanesca, 140 Schubert, Franz, 137, 166, 336n28, 480n58
rooted graph, 165n66 Fantasy, piano four hands (D. 940, f), 319, 336n32, 341–​42
Roslavets, Nikolai Impromptu (D. 899/​2, E♭), 166
Sonata, piano, No. 1, 34n18 Impromptu (D. 899/​3, G♭), 596–​97, 617n18
rotation (serial), 372–​73, 383n54 Impromptu (D. 935/​1, f), 155–​56
See also serial group (extended) Mass (D. 950, E♭), Sanctus, 319, 336n31
rotational array (Stravinsky), 383n54 Octet (D. 803, F), 319, 336n31
Rothgeb, John, 577n7 Quartet, string (D. 887, G), 156–​60, 166n72/​74/​76/​77/​78
rounding off, 259, 600, 617n21 Quartettsatz (D. 703, c), 160, 166n80
row, 74n11 Quintet, piano (D. 667, A, “Trout”), 134, 135, 309–​10,
See also twelve-​tone row 614–​15
row class, 235, 364 Quintet, string (D. 956, C), 313, 415
See also row space (forms of one row) Scherzo (D. 593/​2, D♭), 141
row/​column permutation property (for group tables), 218, 248n16 Die schöne Müllerin, No. 8, “Morgengruss,” 166, 336n35
row space Sonata, piano (D. 664, A), 597
all twelve-​tone rows (row), 235, 364, 374, 624 Sonata, piano (D. 958, c), 319
forms of one row, 124–​27, 222, 364, 496, 499 Sonata, piano (D. 960, B♭), 160, 163n33, 165–​66n71, 166,
RP-​cycle. See PR-​cycle 550–​51, 553, 561, 579n42
ruler group, 175 Trio, piano, No. 1 (D. 898, B♭), 160
Russell, Bertrand, 201n3 Winterreise, No. 7, “Auf dem Flusse,” 153–​55, 165n65/​68/​
Russell, George, 616n14 69, 336n27
Schumann, Clara
s1-​chain, 572–​76 Ballade (Op. 6/​4, d), 594
s1-​cycle, 574–​76, 581n61 Schumann, Robert
Saariaho, Kaija Dichterliebe, 162n25
Vers le blanc, 447, 451, 459, 479n33, 481, 518 Seeger, Ruth. See Crawford (Seeger), Ruth
Saint-​Saëns, Camille segmental straight-​line voice leading. See voice leading
Symphony No. 3 (c), 321 semantics (vs. syntax), 347, 381n18
scale semidirect product, 334n7
cross-​type mappings, 278–​82, 290–​93 semigroup, 175–​76, 182, 190, 380n1/​3, 381n24, 382n29
as an interval space, 257, 532 semilattice, 106
measuring by step, 10, 187, 256 semireduced (scale), 618n38
microtonal, 606–​16 semiregular (group action), 204n44
See also specific scale types by name (e.g., harmonic minor) sequence
scale-​degree space (sd), 16, 624 “ascending 5–​6,” 48–​49, 106, 141
as a distance space, 532 ascending fifths, 158
as an interval space, 265, 532 chromatic, 106, 110, 132–​34, 157–​60, 319–​22
product with pitch-​class space (sd × pc), 265–​67, 275, 292, descending fifths, 110, 140–​41
299, 335n19, 579n45 diatonic, in a generic tonnetz, 140–​41, 163n42

Index • 657
sequence (cont.) equivalence with interval space. See Lewin’s theorem
extraction of, 535 generalized, 199, 306, 360
generic, 534–​38 and network isography, 356–​57
hierarchy, 159–​60, 534–​38, 577n4 subgroups of the UTT group, 324–​25, 336–​37n42
Laitz notation, 141 singularity, 427
Pachelbel (Romanesca), 140–​41 See also boundary
vs. series (in mathematical terminology), 74n11 sink (in a directed graph), 97–​98
subdivision of, 535 ski-​hill lattice (Cohn), 100–​05, 112, 117n41/​42, 227–​28,
serial group (𝒮𝑒𝑟12), 222, 233, 235, 248n20, 364–​66, 628 249n30
Cayley diagram for, 125, 364 as a distance space, 497, 500
commutative counterpart to (𝒮𝑒𝑟12′), 365–​66, 382n46 slide. See P′
extended (𝒮𝑒𝑟12+​), 373–​75, 629 Slonimsky, Nicolas
extended with exchange (𝒮𝑒𝑟12X), 375–​80, 629 51 Minitudes, 298n38
serial transformation, 222–​23, 235, 239, 364–​80 Smetana, Bedřich
series (vs. sequence, in mathematical terminology), 74n11 The Bartered Bride, Overture, 133, 162–​63n28, 402, 564,
set, 39–​42, 73n1 614–​15
common notations, 39–​41 smooth (voice leading). See voice leading
See also multiset; ordered set solfège index (in enharmonic coordinates), 556
set class solfège syllables, 548, 579n35
generic, 541–​43 source (in a directed graph), 97–​98
and group action, 234 space, x–​xi, 4–​8
and OPTI-​classes, 411–​12, 414–​15, 476 formal/​syntactic vs. physical/​acoustic, 7–​8
and OPTIC-​classes, 413–​15 names/​labels for, 7
and spelled heptachords, 589 See also specific spaces by name (e.g., pitch space)
set-​class space space assignment function (in a cross-​type transformation
2-​voice (dyadic), 91, 439 graph), 380n5
3-​voice (trichordal), 90–​91, 404, 455, 484 span (of an spc set), 572, 583
seventh chord span optimization (in normal form calculation), 418, 424n53
generic, 539–​41 spanning cycle (in a graph), 81, 114n6
inflections of, 590 spatial network, 113–​14, 118n61, 216–​17, 341–​42
as a nearly even set, 466, 474 spc. See spelled pitch class
as an spc set, 583–​84 spc design. See design
transformations on, 330–​34, 337n58, 337–​38n62, 539–​40 spc transposition (τ). See transposition
shearing transformation, 26, 162n21 species, 554, 563–​64, 568–​77, 579n44, 580n53, 581
Shepard, Roger, 35n19 equivalence with fifth-​string for diatonic sets, 574
Shostakovich, Dmitri, 335n19 of proper spelled heptachords, 592
Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87, Fugue No. 1 (C), 571, 580n55 specific (vs. generic), 10, 34n9, 545–​46, 569, 580n53, 583,
Sibelius, Jean 601, 606
Tapiola, 478n30 specific interval. See interval
The Tempest, 478n30 specular reflection, 436
sign group (𝒮ign), 177, 301, 629 spelled (vs. signed), 35n32
signature group, 560–​64 spelled heptachord, 583–​97, 616n1, 619
signature transformation, 150, 161n9, 280, 550–​68, 579n42, 581 and chord species, 587, 589
and chromatic and diatonic transposition, 553, 559–​64 common types, 587–​88
of diatonic scales, 161n9, 559–​60 definition and basic properties, 585–​87, 589
enharmonic compatibility, 558 and enharmonic equivalence, 588–​89, 610
in enharmonic coordinates, 558–​59 enharmonic form of, 593, 603, 616n3
and spc transposition, 551 and inflections, 590–​97
and spelled heptachords, 585–​86 and key signatures, 583, 586, 590
summary of properties, 564 in pc space vs. pitch space, 616n3
See also s1-​chain symmetry of, 589
signature vector, 611–​12 τ-​classes of, 589
signed (letter), 9 τɩ-​classes of, 589
vs. spelled, 35n32 spelled pitch class, 17–​21
signed letter space (sl), 16–​18, 610, 624 spelled pitch-​class numbers, 19–​20, 292
as a distance space, 496, 500 spelled pitch-​class set, 73, 583–​85
as an interval space, 272–​73 spelled pitch-​class space (spc), 17–​21, 234, 238–​39, 625
See also spelled pitch-​class space and chromatic and diatonic spaces, 545–​50
signed registral letter space (srl), 11–​12, 625 as a distance space, 489–​90
as an interval space, 272–​73 as an interval space, 188, 260–​61
signed scale degree, 20–​21 spelled heptachords in, 583–​90
similarity measure, 525n25 spelled pitch space. See signed registral letter space
simple (graph), 115n20 sphere
simple (group), 227, 249n27 in a distance space, 504, 511, 516, 527n39
simplicial coordinates, 421n8 graphs embedded in, 85–​86, 95
simply transitive (group action), 197–​201, 204n44/​45/​47 as a manifold, 426
choice of group in analysis, 324, 336n41 n-​dimensional (𝕊n), 426, 628

658 • Index
 as a quotient space, 476–​77n2, 480n47 sum distance. See voice-​leading distance
vs. torus, 36n45, 95 super–​whole-​tone heptachord (swt(n)), 587–​88, 590,
spiral (pitch space), 12–​13 599–​601, 603, 625
spiral array (Chew), 146–​47 superhexatonic heptachords (shexa(n), shexb(n)), 587–​88, 624
spiral of fifths, 21 superposition (of tertian chords), 539
split (pitch tuple), 412, 521–​24 superset, 40
and voice leading, 423n45 surjection. See onto (function)
sporadic group, 249n27 symmetric (binary relation), 64
stabilize, 235 symmetric difference (of sets), 42
stabilizer (StG(x)), 235–​36 symmetric group (𝒮n), 213–​14, 407–​08, 628
stable segment (of an s1-​chain), 572 action on twelve-​tone rows, 374
standard (enharmonic equivalence vector), 610–​11, 623 symmetry, 205
standard pattern. See diatonic rhythm in beat-​class space, 602
state (in theory of computation), 477n11 degree of, 236
state class (in ski-​hill lattice), 103–​05, 227–​28, 249n30 distance-​space axiom, 487–​88
Stedman, Fabian, 201n1 in generic space, 541–​42
step position (of an enharmonic equivalence vector), 610–​11 of graphs, 115n15
Stockhausen, Karlheinz group property, 176, 202n12
Klavierstück III, 118n61, 337n58 and group theory, 167, 233–​40
straight-​line voice leading. See voice leading and invariance, 233, 235–​39
Straus, Joseph N., 90–​91 in OPTIC spaces, 518–​19
Strauss, Johann II in pc space vs. pitch space, 237–​38
An die schönen blauen Donau, 413 of pitch tuples, 455–​56
Strauss, Richard, 335n19 and scale properties, 607
Sonata, cello (Op. 6, F), 594 in spc space, 238–​39, 584, 588
Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, 594 of spelled heptachords, 588–​89
Stravinsky, Igor, 166n78, 383n54 and stabilizers, 235–​36
Le sacre du printemps, 413, 424n47 of transformation networks, 350
See also Petrushka chord of twelve-​tone rows, 125, 239, 364–​65, 375, 378–​79,
string. See ordered set 382n42, 423n44
string length, 5–​6 See also inversional symmetry; permutational symmetry;
stroboscopic portrait, 38n67 stabilizer; transpositional symmetry
strong isography. See isography symmetry group, 236, 406, 486
strong isomorphism. See isomorphism syntagmatics, 118n61
strong path consistency. See path consistency syntax (vs. semantics), 347, 381n18
strongly connected (graph), 98, 218 syntonic comma, 27–​28, 37n57/​59, 58, 74n13, 272, 336n40
structure implies multiplicity, 576 syntonic drift, 37n60
subdivision system modulation (Lewin), 251n50
of a graph, 94–​95 Szymanowski, Karol
of a sequence, 535 Etude (Op. 4/​3, b♭), 594
subdominant transformation (D−1), 322 Etude (Op. 33/​3), 292–​93, 294, 299n48
subgraph, 80–​81
subgroup, 174–​75 T-​chaining (rows), 383n50
generated, 181–​83 T-​class
subgroup lattice, 182 generic, 541–​43
submediant transformation (M−1), 322–​24 of pitch-​class sets, 234, 414
suboctatonic heptachords (subocta(n), suboctb(n)), 587–​88, 625 of pitch tuples, 409, 414, 437–​38, 448–​49, 469–​70
subposition (of tertian chords), 539 of twelve-​tone rows, 235, 364
subset, 40 T-​complete (K-​net), 361
abstract, 99–​100 T-​connected (K-​net), 361
as a partial order relation, 99 T equivalence. See transpositional equivalence
subset lattice, 99, 419–​20 T-​net, t-​net. See transposition network
subspace, 7 T-​partition (of a K-​net), 358, 360–​62
of a distance space, 490 T-​set (in a K-​net), 358, 360–​62
of an interval space, 186–​87 T-​space, 409–​10
subtraction (in additive groups), 178 1-​voice, 427
successor (in a directed graph), 98 2-​voice, 437–​38, 516
Sudoku puzzle, 218, 248n16 3-​voice, 270, 447–​50, 514–​18
sum axis, 391–​92 4-​voice, 468–​70, 519
sum class, 83 axes of symmetry in, 453–​56
and accidental index (for spelled heptachords), 588 dimension of, 409–​10, 439, 447, 468
and generic transpositions, 533 as a distance space, 514–​18
in hexatonic triad cubes, 389, 391, 396, 422n20 as an interval space, 270, 486
in a hexatonic triad graph, 83 voice leading in, 449, 451–​53, 455–​58
in OP-​space, 431–​32, 443–​44, 463–​65, 603 T type (of a pc set or multiset), 417–​18, 424n54
in pitch-​tuple space, 427 T+​ space, T+​normal form, 416
sum-​class plane, 391, 409–​10, 423n36 Taneyev, Sergei, 34n15

Index • 659
tangent space, 164n45
τ-​class (of spc sets), 584
τ equivalence (of spelled heptachords), 589
τ-​transposition. See transposition, spc
τɩ-​class (of spc sets), 584
τɩ equivalence (of spelled heptachords), 589
taxicab metric, 501
Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich
Eugene Onegin, 297n19
Romeo and Juliet, 47, 594
Symphony No. 4 (f), 105, 156, 602
teleport, 24, 435
temporal space (time), 30–​31, 489, 625
ternary. See relation
tesseract, 480n49
tetrahedron, 115n12
in a 3-​dimensional tonnetz, 145–​46
4-​voice OPT-​space, 470–​74
4-​voice OPTI-​space, 474–​76
cross section of 4-​voice OP-​space, 463–​65
third-​substitution (in sequences), 141, 164n43
thirds space
vs. fifths space, 532–​33
and functional harmony, 142–​43, 323–​24
generic, 22
vs. pitch-​class space, 532–​33
Thurston, William, 476n1
TI-​class, 414
generic, 541–​43
See also set class
TI equivalence (~TI), 63, 65, 234–​38
in continuous space, 410–​11, 423n41
in generic space, 541–​43, 578n17
symmetry group for, 411
TI-​space, 437–​38
TI type (of a pc set or multiset), 417–​18, 424n54
tile, 23–​24
See also fundamental region
time domain. See temporal space
tonality graph (Jablonsky), 123–​24
tonnetz, 22–​33, 36n43, 130–​36
3-​dimensional (tetrahedral), 145–​46
in a 19-​note scale, 614
alternate definitions of “tonnetz,” 25, 131
analysis in, 131–​35, 140–​41, 316–​20, 338
diatonic, 138–​41
as a direct product, 230–​31, 267–​68, 272
distance in. See neo-​Riemannian distance
finite vs. infinite, 93–​94
generic, 32–​33, 138–​41, 143, 163n42, 534
as a graph, 92–​96
in a hexatonic triad cube chain, 403–​04
neo-​Riemannian (conformed), 23–​28, 92–​96, 130–​36,
310–​20, 496, 500
and neo-​Riemannian triad space, 130–​31
non-​triadic, 28–​32, 144–​46, 164n52
planarity of, 94–​95, 116n28
Riemannian (unconformed), 27–​28, 76n37, 96, 163n33,
496, 500
triangulated, 25–​27
and voice leading, 402–​04, 422n23
See also neo-​Riemannian triad space
tonnetz pole, 163n36, 315
tonnetz space (tonn), 25, 96, 231, 625
topology (vs. geometry), 6, 14–​15
Torke, Michael
The Yellow Pages, 580n48
660 • Index
torus, 24–​25, 126, 390
doughnut-​shaped, 24–​25
flat, 24–​25
as a manifold, 426
n-​dimensional (𝕋 n), 36n46, 146, 390, 407, 426, 629
vs. sphere, 36n45
See also embedding, toroidal
total order, 99
total transposition (of a UTT), 306, 307, 326
Tovey, Donald Francis, 248n13
transfer principles (Kolman), 296n4
transformation, 45, 74n16
direct vs. indirect, 107–​08, 140–​41, 342
and intervals, 195–​201, 204n50
neo-​Riemannian, 54–​55, 74n19
vs. prolongation, 105–​06, 117n50/​51
Riemannian, 55, 302–​03, 306–​22
on a set, 46
vs. transposition, 202n6
See also cross-​type transformation; function; specific
transformations by name (e.g., parallel)
transformation graph, 109–​10, 339–​64, 380n3, 384
cross-​type, 342
graphic conventions for, 341–​42
underlying, 109–​10, 340
transformation group, 171, 183, 189–​95
vs. interval group, 171–​73
transformation network, 106–​14, 339–​64, 384
cross-​type, 342, 380n5/​6, 381n23
graphic conventions for, 341–​42
transformational attitude, 200–​01, 204n50, 205
transformational voice leading, 421n1
transitive (binary relation), 64, 204n43
transitive (group action), 197–​98, 204n43/​44
See also simply transitive
transitive closure (of a binary relation), 117n36
transposition
chromatic (Rings), 275
cross-​type “transposition,” 278–​82
in enharmonic coordinates, 557–​58
of a field (spelled heptachord), 591–​93
generic (tk), 72–​73, 138–​41, 163n41, 274, 533–​34,
547, 606
interscalar, 298n34
in an interval space (Transi), 195–​201, 273–​86, 299
and inversion, 189–​95, 293
as an isometry, 492
and label functions, 274
as a network isomorphism, 349, 353
octatonic, 275
pentatonic, 281–​82, 292–​93
in permutation theory, 247n3
in pitch-​class space (Tk), 54, 72–​73, 189–​95
in pitch space (Tk), 171–​73, 193–​95
pivot (Rings), 275
real (Rings), 275
scalar (intrascalar), 274, 298n31
of sets, 275
and signature transformations, 553, 559–​64
in spc space (τk), 72–​73, 274–​75, 547, 551
specific, 606
of spelled heptachords, 590–​93
vs. transformation, 202n6
as a UTT, 301–​02, 334n4
See also line of transposition
transposition group (𝒯12, 𝒯∞), 171–​73, 182, 190, 629
Cayley diagram for, 221–​22
 continuous, 409 graph (underlying a labeled graph), 80
in an interval space (𝒯S), 195–​201, 204n42, 629 space (underlying a transformation network), 113–​14
transposition/​inversion group (𝒯ℐ12, 𝒯ℐ∞), 192–​95, 204n38, transformation graph (underlying a transformation net-
243–​44, 629 work), 109–​10, 340
action on pitch-​class sets, 234–​38 unified enharmonic space (edpc*), 556, 622
action on pitch classes vs. order numbers, 373–​75 action of signature group on, 556–​64
Cayley diagram for, 221–​22 as an interval space, 556
duality with Riemann group, 329–​30, 337n55/​59 uniform flip-​flop circle (Clough), 336n24
transposition network (T-​net), 106–​11, 171, 352, 358 uniform prismatic polytope, 480n57
diatonic (t-​net), 140–​41 uniform triadic transformation, 300–​10, 338
transpositional equivalence (~T), 63, 65, 234–​37, 270 action of, 302–​04
in continuous space, 405–​06, 409–​10, 423n34, 447–​49, dual, 330
468–​70 even vs. odd, 326–​27, 337n50/​51
in generic space, 541–​43, 578n17 group structure, 304–​05, 325–​27, 337n47, 629
normal region for, 437 inverse of, 302–​04
symmetry group for, 409–​10, 423n35, 486 mod-​n applications, 331, 337n60
See also T-​space non-​triadic applications, 330–​34, 337n56/​57/​58/​59
transpositional-​inversional equivalence. See TI equivalence order-​24, 324–​25
transpositional symmetry, 236–​37 ordered-​triple notation for, 301–​02
in generic space, 542 as a permutation, 326
tresillo, 602, 617n25 product (composition) of, 302–​04
triad Riemannian, 303, 306–​22
generic, 538–​41 serial applications, 331, 366–​71, 382n45
as a nearly even set, 396, 442, 444–​45 and voice leading, 303, 334n4
ordered-​pair notation for, 301 uniformity
as a second-​order maximally even set, 604–​05 of a triadic transformation, 301
triad space. See consonant triad space; diatonic triad space; generic of a voice leading, 526n31
triad space; neo-​Riemannian triad space; Weber space union (of sets), 40–​42
triadic transformation, 54–​55, 132–​34, 300–​34 union-​cardinality law, 41–​42
See also uniform triadic transformation unit (mod n), 178, 202n15, 203n23
triangle inequality (distance-​space axiom), 487–​89, 491 units group (ℤn×), 178, 213, 223, 227, 239, 629
vs. interval-​sum equation, 488 universal equivalence, 63
in product spaces, 502, 525n27 universal set, 40
triangulation (of a graph), 95 universally realizable (transformation graph). See realizable
trichordal array (Babbitt), 375, 383n54 unsigned (letters), 8–​9
triple sharp, triple flat, 11–​12, 34–​35n18 UTT. See uniform triadic transformation
Tristan chord, 413, 415, 420, 502
trivial (design), 555, 618n37 v-​unit (distance in T-​space), 481n64, 515, 519
trivial (genus), 555, 564, 569 value (of a function), 46
trivial (group), 176 variable, 46–​47
Tufte, Edward, 33n1, 38, 165n63 vs. constant, 74–​75n20
tuning, 7–​8 Vaughan Williams, Ralph
as a mapping, 8, 57–​58 A Sea Symphony, 335n19
in microtonal scales, 609, 613, 619n44/​50/​52 vector, 43, 184, 203n27, 392–​93, 421n10/​13, 424
tuple. See ordered set See also enharmonic equivalence vector; interval-​class vec-
twelve-​tone area, 126–​27, 162n16, 371 tor; ordered set; signature vector
twelve-​tone array. See array vector space, 203n27
twelve-​tone matrix. See matrix Venn diagram, 41, 73n6
twelve-​tone operator (Morris), 248–​49n21 Verdi, Giuseppe
twelve-​tone row, 88, 214, 233 La traviata, “Si ridesta,” 75n25, 325
labeling, 115n16, 126, 365–​70 Il trovatore, “Ah sì, ben mio, coll’essere,” 134, 163n31,
in OC-​space, 423n44 163n33, 614–​15
as an order-​pc bijection, 371–​72 vertex (in a graph), 80
as a permutation, 371–​72 vertex labeling, 80
transformations on, 222–​23, 235, 239, 331, 364–​80 and graph isomorphism, 88
twelve-​tone row space. See row space Vial, François-​Guillaume, 162n17
Tymoczko, Dmitri, xv(n6), 590 VII7–​I design, 593–​94
and geometry, xiv, 388, 424, 478n22/​24, 481 voice crossing, 477n12, 510–​12
and scales, 603 voice exchange, 398–​99, 435–​36, 445
and the tonnetz, 422n23 voice leading
and voice leading, 421n12, 466, 480n58 of 014 trichords, 144
arrow notation for, 433
u-​unit (distance in T-​space), 515 continuous vs. discrete, 432–​33
unary. See operation; relation as a function of time, 47–​49, 447, 477n13
unconformed. See conformance in generic space, 538–​40, 577n13
underlying and interval spaces, 387
directed graph (underlying a graph or network), 109–​10 of nearly even chords, 444–​45, 466

Index • 661
voice leading (cont.) wechsel, 36n43, 120, 306–​22, 334n8, 335n13
oblique, 435 vs. inversion, 310, 335n16, 366
parallel, 392–​94, 421n12, 435 as a relation, 310, 335n15
as a path in a space, 14, 388, 432–​33 and transpositions, 310, 317–​18, 320–​21, 324
in pitch-​tuple space and OPTIC spaces, 432–​33 Weitzmann, Carl Friedrich, 36n49, 313, 335n22, 336n25/​26
segmental straight-​line, 433 Weitzmann region. See hexatonic bridge family
smoothness, 387, 505, 526n35 well-​formed scale, 550, 579n40/​41, 606–​07, 611, 612
straight-​line, 433 Westergaard, Peter, 367–​68
and transformations, 123, 129–​30, 144, 303, 310, 333, 387, Westminster Quarters, 43, 65, 213
421n1, 433 Whitman, Walt, xiv–​xv
zero-​sum, 393–​94, 421n12, 435, 463–​64 whole-​tone collection, 25–​26, 625
voice-​leading distance, 403, 422n24 in a 19-​note scale, 613
generic, 539–​40 as a generic scale, 607
as a measure of evenness, 603 maximal evenness of, 599, 601
in a product space, 501–​05 as a pitch space, 11
in a quotient space, 508, 514–​18 as an spc set, 584–​85
between seventh chords, 539–​40 symmetry of, 236
between triads, 513–​14, 539–​40 whole-​tone heptachord (improper), 588
as “work,” 500, 525n24 whole-​tone-​plus-​one collection. See super–​whole-​tone
voice-​leading lattice, 603–​06, 608, 617n28/​31, 618n36, heptachord
619–​20 Winograd, Terry, 579n38
voice-​leading space, 387–​481 Wolf, Hugo
Mörike-​Lieder, No. 22, “Seufzer,” 402
Wagner, Richard, 380n11 word (in group theory), 249n23, 497–​500, 525n19
Parsifal, Grail theme, 34–​35n18, 164n49, 249n30, 311–​12, equivalence of, 498
314, 335n19 on a set of generators, 498
Das Rheingold, Scene 4, 311–​12 word-​length distance, 499
Tristan und Isolde, Preludes to Acts I and III, 278–​79 wormhole, 24, 435, 460
See also Tristan chord wraparound interval (for a diatonic spc set), 575
walk (in a graph), 114n3 wreath product, 304–​05, 328, 334n7, 337–​38n62, 376
Weber, Gottfried, 27, 127 wxy, wxz, wyz forms (of a 4-​voice T-​class), 469
Weber distance, 136–​38, 163n35, 494, 499, 514
Weber group (𝒲), 325–​26, 499, 629 x form (of a 2-​voice T-​class), 437
Weber space (weber), 127–​29, 142, 155, 166, 162n17/​20, xy, xz forms (of a 3-​voice T-​class), 449
325, 625 xyz form (of a 4-​voice T-​class), 469
as a distance space, 494–​95, 525n18
vs. neo-​Riemannian triad space, 128–​29, 162n25, 163n35 y form (of a 2-​voice T-​class), 437
Webern, Anton, 123, 365 Yust, Jason, xv(n12)
Concerto for Nine Instruments (Op. 24), 365, 382n45 yz form (of a 3-​voice T-​class), 270, 449, 454–​55
“Herr Jesus mein” (Op. 23/​3), 88–​89, 112–​14, 115n16, 217
Quartet, string (Op. 28), 148–​49, 164n59, 331, 370–​71, Z relation (Forte), 170, 202n5, 357, 543
379, 383n49/​50/​51 zeitnetz, 118n59
Symphony (Op. 21), 365 zero-​sum voice leading. See voice leading
Variations, piano (Op. 27), 265, 366–​70, 383n48 zone of disagreement (for distance functions), 503–​05

662 • Index