PITCH SET THEORY

[jesshmusic]

Here is a pretty simple explanation and a cool java applet that will generate inversions and matrices. My Composition teacher wrote a bitchin' sax sonata using Pitch set theory.

Misconception: Pitch set does not mean atonal. On the contrary, it is kind of like having a whole new set of scales to play with. Please, young composers, I encourage you to study this.

http://www.jaytomlin.com/music/settheory/help.html

[southportJim]

Here is a pretty simple explanation and a cool java applet that will generate inversions and matrices. My Composition teacher wrote a bitchin' sax sonata using Pitch set theory.

Misconception: Pitch set does not mean atonal. On the contrary, it is kind of like having a whole new set of scales to play with. Please, young composers, I encourage you to study this.

http://www.jaytomlin.com/music/settheory/help.html

There's some more on this topic, by a professor at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro (Dr. J. Kent Williams), applied to Bartok's "Mikrokosmos" at this site=> http://music.uncg.edu/MkSets/html/mkfrmset.html

Especially note the presentations under the "Analyses" tab at the top of the page. Dr. Williams also has some spreadsheets for pitch-class theory available that can be ordered here=> http://music.uncg.edu/SetTools/. I don't know enough about it yet to know if his spreadsheets offer any advantage over the java app that Jess mentioned originally.

Not sure what all this means yet and how it really applies to composition...but interesting stuff nonetheless.

;-)