Melodic Transformation in George Garzone’s Triadic Chromatic Approach; or, Jazz, Math,

and Basket Weaving

jonathan de souza

The Triadic Chromatic Approach (TCA) is a melodic improvisation technique, created by the saxo-
phonist and jazz educator George Garzone. With the TCA, successive triads are connected by a
semitone and must have different inversions. The resulting lines mysteriously resolve to any under-
lying harmony. This article develops transformational and Markov-chain models of the TCA,
showing how this melodic process approaches a probability distribution where every pitch class is
equally likely to appear. Nonetheless, theorizing the TCA is different from performing it, and

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

insights from Garzone’s students—and the anthropology of weaving—suggest that goals are less
fundamental here than characteristic gestures.

Keywords: jazz, improvisation, triads, transformation theory, Markov chains.

I
n Generalized Musical Intervals and Transformations, attitude, then, is an improvisatory attitude. In this article, I in-
David Lewin frames the “transformational attitude” in vestigate connections between transformation and improvisa-
terms of a question: “If I am at s and wish to get to tion by examining the work of a major figure in jazz
t, what characteristic gesture . . . should I perform in order to performance pedagogy, the saxophonist George Garzone.4
arrive there?”1 While an all-seeing Cartesian observer would A kind of transformational thinking often characterizes
survey musical space from the outside, Lewin’s “idealized analyses by jazz musicians. For example, John Coltrane’s
dancer and/or singer” has a particular location within musical “Giant Steps” (1959) is widely analyzed in pedagogical materi-
space (s) and a particular goal (t).2 This dancer/singer is not a als, whether published, posted online, or shared informally.
passive viewer but an active performer. Yet Lewin does not de- “Giant Steps” famously tonicizes three major chords whose
scribe the dancer/singer’s movement. Instead, his question sets roots form an augmented triad. These harmonic goals are
up a musical decision. The path from s to t has not been pre- commonly represented geometrically, as points of an equilat-
determined, so the dancer/singer’s capacity for action is also a eral triangle. Jazz analysts chart different pathways between
capacity for choice—that is, for improvisation. An idealized these points. The guitarist Pere Soto annotates the
jazz musician might ask, “If I am at Am7 and wish to get to augmented-triad triangle with arrows to emphasize that
GM7, what characteristic gesture should I perform in order to “‘Giant Steps’ is not only a cycle” but also “a round-trip song”:
arrive there?” A ii–V gesture would connect these chords via the first eight-measure section “goes forward,” with arrows
D7 (with roots falling through the cycle of fifths), while a pointing clockwise; the next section “returns,” indicated by
tritone-substitution gesture would connect them via A[7 (with counterclockwise arrows.5 While Soto’s analysis recalls spatial
roots descending chromatically).3 Each gesture represents a networks that emphasize formal relationships among nodes,
way of moving through tonal space. The transformational Pat Martino supplements the triangular representation with an
event network, read from left to right.6 Here Martino simpli-
I wish to thank Andrew Goldman and Steven Rings for productive con- fies the composition’s chord progression, presenting it in terms
versations about this project, as well as the journal’s editors and anony-
mous reviewers. An earlier version was presented at the Society for Music
Theory’s Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, November 2014. those that leave twelve-note ET space to consider microtonal
1 Lewin (1987, 159). possibilities.”
2 For discussion of Lewin and Cartesianism, see Klumpenhouwer (2006) 4 According to the jazz magazine DownBeat, Garzone is “one of the fore-
and De Souza (2018, 1–4). Note, also, that August Sheehy (2013) exam- most jazz saxophone teachers in the world” (Garzone 2009, 59).
ines improvisatory aspects of Lewin’s work in particular, and of music 5 Soto (2010). By contrast, Weiskopf and Ricker (1991, 9) emphasize a
analysis in general. slower, continually ascending major-third cycle in “Giant Steps,” with
3 As Andrew Goldman (2016) argues, improvisers have distinctive knowl- goal chords arriving on the downbeats of odd-numbered measures. In
edge of functionally equivalent substitutions, and Western musicians with mm. 1–8, these goals are approached via descending major thirds; in mm.
or without improvisation experience tend to categorize chords in different 9–16, by ii–Vs. Again, this suggests two different answers to the question,
ways (Goldman, Jackson, and Sajda 2018). I have described only two “If I am at B and wish to get to E[, what characteristic gesture should I
functionally equivalent gestures here, but as Chris Stover (2014, 187–88) perform in order to arrive there?”
observes, there are limitless options “when the notes that comprise a har- 6 Capuzzo (2006, Ex. 10). On the distinction between spatial/formal net-
monic space are taken as points of orientation and the improviser imagines works and event/figural networks, see Lewin (1993, 45–53), Rings (2011,
any number of linear paths to get from one point to another, including 140–44), and Roeder (2009).

213
 214 music theory spectrum 44 (2022)

of two interlocking major-third cycles—one involving major method in the late 1980s.13 It emerged from his study of
seventh chords, and the other involving minor seventh chords. Coltrane’s three-tonic systems, as well as his teaching activities
Meanwhile, saxophonist Javier Arau maps an extended theo- at the Berklee College of Music, the New England
retical space with triangles and squares, coordinating the aug- Conservatory, and other institutions.14 He released an instruc-
mented “three-tonic system” found in “Giant Steps” with an tional DVD about the TCA in 2008. Melodies generated
octatonic “four-tonic system,” which appears, for example, in via the TCA are not derived from pre-existing chord progres-
Coltrane’s “Central Park West” (1964).7 These analyses do sions—but are also not completely divorced from them. As
not simply describe fixed harmonic structures; they are ori- Garzone notes, the melodies seem to automatically resolve to
ented toward musical decisions and actions, toward improvisa- any underlying harmony. Through the TCA, Garzone teaches
tional strategy. Even Arau’s speculative theoretical map is used a kind of strict improvisation, with the aim of balancing con-
to generate practice exercises on “Giant Steps.” straints and creativity, rules and randomness.
Such analyses are readily compared with work by profes- In this article, I look at Garzone’s TCA from several per-

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

sional music theorists, such as Matthew Santa’s interpretation spectives. After describing the TCA in detail, I develop formal
of “Giant Steps” in terms of nonatonic cycles with parsimoni- models of it. Drawing on Lewinian transformational theory, I
ous voice leading, or Keith Waters’s analysis of its sequential examine a space of triadic permutations used in the TCA.
“ic4 routines.”8 The boundary between theory and practice is Then, I investigate pitch-class probabilities that emerge in
porous here. Many theorists are also practicing jazz musicians, Garzone’s system by constructing a series of Markov chains
and many jazz musicians have extensive training and teaching (stochastic processes that have been extensively studied in
experience in music theory. For example, Arau holds an un- mathematics). Together, the permutational and probabilistic
dergraduate degree in theory and composition, and he studied models help to explain the seemingly automatic resolutions
with George Russell, the influential author of The Lydian that characterize TCA-generated melodies. I also discuss gen-
Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization.9 Such thinkers have eralized “Garzone chains,” pitch-class processes that extend
often been excluded from institutional music theory, in part the TCA to every trichord class. Finally, I consider impro-
because of the discipline’s white racial frame.10 Their work visers’ lived experiences of the TCA, approaching comments
recalls Marc Hannaford’s term “fugitive music theory,” “a from Garzone and his students via work on weaving and crea-
branch of music theory largely ignored by academic discourse tivity by the anthropologist Tim Ingold. The article is not cen-
outside of jazz studies, one that comprises black writers and trally concerned with Garzone’s performances or influence as a
artists engaged in a broad range of knowledge-generating teacher, and I do not analyze his solos for traces of the TCA.
activity.”11 These musicians’ theoretical contributions are Instead, I mainly engage with Garzone as a musical thinker, a
grounded in the jazz tradition, yet they can also offer more system builder, a theorist. After all, he regularly describes the
general insights about music and music theory. TCA as a “concept” (a term that recalls Russell’s Lydian
While the aforementioned analyses of “Giant Steps” focus Chromatic Concept). My goal here is to illuminate the TCA
on harmonic transformations, Garzone has created a musical as a musical system by combining music theory, mathematics,
system that prioritizes melodic transformations: the “Triadic and cultural anthropology—and at the same time, to develop
Chromatic Approach” (TCA). The TCA offers a way to gen- new ideas about melodic transformation in general and, in the
erate melodies that string together triads. Successive triads are article’s conclusions, to rethink the transformational attitude in
always connected “with a half-step in between” and must have light of improvisation.
different permutations.12 Garzone began to develop the
the triadic chromatic approach
7 Arau (2008).
8 Santa (2004) and Waters (2010, 142). Other transformational research on
George Garzone’s album Four’s and Two’s (1996) features the
jazz includes studies of modern jazz harmony by Steven Strunk (2003;
2016) and Keith Waters (2005; 2016; Waters and Williams 2010), as well
jazz standard “Have You Met Miss Jones?” This 1937 compo-
as Garrett Michaelsen (2018). Additionally, Michael McClimon (2017) sition by Richard Rodgers includes a “Giant Steps”–style
has examined tonal aspects of jazz harmony, drawing on Steven Rings’s major-third cycle in the bridge. But the most distinctive aspect
(2011) transformational approach to tonality. of Garzone’s arrangement is an active countermelody, played
9 Russell (1953). by Garzone and pianist Joey Calderazzo while saxophonist Joe
10 Ewell (2020). Lovano presents the standard melody. Both lines are tran-
11 Hannaford (2019, 221). As Hannaford notes, the most famous instance
of fugitive music theory is probably Coltrane’s engagement with Nicolas
scribed in Example 1. My annotations in the example high-
Slonimsky’s Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns (1947; Hannaford light triads embedded in the countermelody, which alternately
2019, 223). A related concept, “invisible music theory,” is discussed by converge and clash with the underlying harmonies.15 Because
Momii (2020).
12 Garzone (2008, 1). Garzone’s 2008 DVD, The Music of George Garzone 13 Lorentz (2008, 197–98).
and the Triadic Chromatic Approach, includes a PDF with supplementary 14 Ibid., 197; Nemeyer (2008).
materials. For this source, references with page numbers refer to the PDF, 15 For analysis of Garzone’s solo on “Have You Met Miss Jones?,” see
whereas references with chapter numbers refer to the video. Lorentz (2008, 109–36).
 melodic transformation in george garzone’s triadic chromatic approach 215

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

example 1. George Garzone, arrangement of “ Have You Met Miss Jones?” from Four’s and Two’s (1996), mm. 1–9 (Garzone 2009,
59). My annotations highlight triads embedded in the countermelody

of the countermelody’s triadic emphasis, Garzone has used it D[5i and hA[4, C5, E[5i are prohibited, because Garzone’s
to exemplify his Triadic Chromatic Approach.16 Two aspects second rule prevents direct repetition. Note, however, that
of the countermelody are particularly relevant here. First, in Garzone uses the term “inversion” interchangeably with
several places, major triads are separated by a semitone. For ex- “position” and “permutation.” Successive root-position triads
ample, in m. 1, the countermelody presents F and G[ triads are allowed if the permutation is varied. Example 2 reproduces
over the tonic FM; it includes G and A[ triads, when this har- one of Garzone’s figures, where he shows that hC4, E4, G4i
mony returns in m. 9. Second, adjacent triads have different may lead to hA[4, E[5, C5i—what he calls a “displaced
permutations throughout. These aspects of the freely com- permutation.” Displaced permutations involve triads that do
posed countermelody correspond to strict rules in the TCA. not simply ascend or descend; they are characterized by an up-
Garzone presents these rules for connecting triads as down or down-up contour. Importantly, displaced permuta-
follows: tions help to clarify that Garzone’s system approaches triads as
ordered sets of pitches, not pitch classes. The abstract pitch-
1. Triads MUST be connected with a half-step in between; class pattern hC, E, Gi can be realized in multiple ways: for
2. The same inversion CANNOT be repeated back to back.17
example, hC4, E4, G4i is a root-position triad; hC5, E4, G4i, a
Garzone calls this system the “Random Triadic Approach.” first-inversion triad with displaced permutation; and hC5, E5,
It involves several levels, which might be compared to tradi- G4i, a second-inversion triad with displaced permutation.
tional contrapuntal species. Initially, students are instructed to Each has a distinct contour (ascending, down-up, and up-
follow these rules using only close-position major triads, limit- down, respectively), and Garzone would consider them to be
ing the rhythm to steady quarter notes. They eventually move different positions. Triadic permutations are clearly central to
on to minor, diminished, and augmented triads (again using his thinking, and Garzone starts with them when he introdu-
close-position triads, and keeping quality and durations consis- ces the TCA on his instructional DVD: “You have in the triad
tent). Then, different triad qualities are combined. At a still system 1–3–5, 3–5–1, 5–1–3. Okay, you’re going to couple
further stage, Garzone adds connective material between triads these triads with a half-step in between.”19
via a “Random Chromatic Approach” that generates non- The TCA’s constraints facilitate melodic consistency, while
repeating intervals smaller than a perfect fourth. Finally, also prohibiting a kind of literal repetition that is associated
improvisers can freely combine the triadic and chromatic ele- with well-practiced patterns. For example, Garzone is critical
ments of the TCA.18 of Walt Weiskopf ’s book of triad-pair exercises, which feature
Garzone’s first rule ensures efficient connections from the systematic, repeated contours: “[The Triadic Chromatic
last note of each triad to the first note of the subsequent triad. Approach] is the most challenging for even the [impressive]
After hC4, E4, G4i, for example, the improviser must move up players that I have everywhere . . . It’s incredible how this can
or down one semitone from G4; either F]4/G[4 or G]4/A[4 stop them. Why? Because they never thought like that before.
will be the first note of the next triad. From here, hG[4, B[4, Anyone that’s learned jazz—99% of the people again—have
learned it from a symmetrical patternistic view.”20 Garzone is
16 Garzone (2009, 59).
17 Garzone (2008, 1). 19 Ibid., Ch. 2.
18 Ibid., Ch. 1. 20 Lorentz (2008, 196); see also, Weiskopf (1995).
 216 music theory spectrum 44 (2022)

example 2. Illustration of the Random Triadic Approach, with displaced permutations (Garzone 2008, 3)

but also “locked on” to the changes. “Now again, that wasn’t
premeditated,” Garzone insists after another spontaneous reso-
lution. “That’s just the way it fell. I mean, I didn’t plan, like,
‘Okay, when I come to this one I’ll stop.’ I just felt it coming

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

around the corner, and that was the natural order of events.”23
With the TCA, then, the improviser can effectively ignore the
example 3. Random major triads over a bass fundamental harmony. Yet the melody seems to resolve itself, regardless of
(transcription of Garzone 2008, Ch. 3, Ex. 2) the player’s intentions. For Garzone, this means that it is pos-
sible to “play anything [melodic] against anything [harmonic]
promoting his invention here, and his conclusion is debatable: in the triadic sense.”24 The TCA thus expands Coltrane’s
at most, symmetrical pattern exercises represent one element
three-tonic system to an every-tonic system and borrows, as
in a jazz student’s practice regime, and Weiskopf supplements
Garzone puts it, from “the twelve-tone row.”25
them with etudes based on well-known standards. Still,
The rules of the TCA are simple, but they produce complex
Garzone’s method does represent a new way of thinking for
results. Why do these rules generate lines that mysteriously re-
many musicians, whether novices or experts. It is simple in
solve? Does this property somehow emerge from the structure
principle, yet juxtaposing random triadic permutations can be
of major or minor triads? And what does it mean to borrow
surprisingly difficult.
from “the twelve-tone row”? These are open-ended questions,
On his DVD, Garzone demonstrates the Random Triadic
Approach over a “bass fundamental”—that is, a sustained per- yet some answers can be reached through theoretical
fect fifth, which provides a rudimentary harmonic context. formalization.
Sooner or later, his melodies land on the drone’s root pitch
class at the beginning or end of a triad. For example, the mel- triadic permutations in the tca
ody transcribed in Example 3 begins with an F] major triad,
but the fourth triad ends with a C that matches the underlying We can begin to model the TCA by examining triadic permu-
drone. “Without really trying I resolve the chord right to its tations. What melodic shapes are used in the method, and
tonality,” he comments. “Eventually it has to come around be- how do they relate to each other? In this section, I will con-
cause you’ve coupled these triads with a half-step in sider how aspects of Garzone’s triadic materials resemble
between.”21 As the video progresses, Garzone seems increas- mathematical groups. Then, a Generalized Interval System
ingly delighted by these surprise resolutions. He puzzles over (GIS) based on these groups will help us to describe relations
the method, after a duet exercise with guitarist Christopher among triadic permutations.26 This GIS will also support brief
Crocco (transcribed in Example 4): analyses of triad shapes and transformations in Garzone’s
demonstrations of the TCA. While I will investigate the
Right on that note we’ll stop—which happens to be the
root. Trust me, we didn’t plan it that way. Right, Chris? TCA’s harmonic and pitch-class implications in the subse-
[Crocco smiles and shakes his head, eyebrows raised.] quent section, the current section approaches triadic permuta-
Maybe we did! [Garzone looks into the camera and grins.] tions as a system of characteristic melodic gestures.
So, again you can see—listening to him do this—I think
within every second or third triad there’s an absolute resolu- 23 Ibid., Ch. 7.
tion. So as much as I allege this concept to be a non- 24 Lorentz (2008, 193).
tonality, it’s really probably more locked on more to these 25 Garzone (2008, Ch. 1). Although Coltrane’s music inspired the TCA, his
chord changes or chord systems that will be played under it three- and four-tonic systems are primarily compositional devices (used to
than even playing bebop.22 generate chord changes), whereas Garzone’s system is mainly an improvi-
sational technique (used to generate melodies). That said, the boundary
The TCA gives rise to musical paradoxes. They “didn’t between composition and improvisation is fuzzy here. For example,
plan” the resolution, but it feels as though they did (prompting Coltrane used melodies based on his three-tonic system in solos over jazz
Garzone’s ironic “maybe we did!”). The approach is non-tonal standards such as “Limehouse Blues” and “Summertime” (see Weiskopf
and Ricker 1991, 22–23).
21 Garzone (2008, Ch. 3). 26 Lewin (1987). For introductions to Generalized Interval Systems, see
22 Ibid., Ch. 6. Satyendra (2004); Rings (2011, 10–24).
 melodic transformation in george garzone’s triadic chromatic approach 217

example 4. Christopher Crocco (guitar) demonstrates the Random Triadic Approach, with Garzone on piano (transcription of Garzone
2008, Ch. 6, Ex. 7)

135 r 351 r 513

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

F F F
r r
153 315 531

example 6. Network of triadic rotations (r) and flips (F), corre-

sponding to the triangles in Example 5

We can clarify relationships among these permutations by

example 5. Basic triadic permutations correspond to the rota- arranging Garzone’s numbers in a network. In Example 6,
tions and flips of an equilateral triangle. The root is marked as a each node corresponds to one of the triangular positions from
reference point. Each row of triangles involves rotation (counter- Example 5. These nodes are interconnected by two operations:
clockwise for the top row, clockwise for the bottom). Meanwhile, rotation and flipping. The solid arrows, indicating rotation (r),
the top and bottom rows are related by flip (holding the top posi- move the first number in each triad to the end. The dashed
tion and exchanging the others) arrows represent flipping (F), exchanging the second and third
numbers in the triad. For example, r takes 135 to 351, while F
Garzone’s triadic permutations (1–3–5, 3–5–1, and 5–1–3) takes 135 to 153. Rotation sets up two three-element cycles,
have a common structure. They recall the rotations of an equi- which appear in the top and bottom halves of Example 6.
lateral triangle, the shape that is ubiquitous in analyses of That is, three consecutive rotations take us back to our starting
“Giant Steps.” The top half of Example 5 illustrates by pre- node (r3 ¼ r0). Rotation is also invertible (r1  r-1 ¼ r0).
senting three rotated versions of the same triangle. Each point Flipping, by contrast, works like an on-off switch. Its dotted
on the triangle is labeled with a number. If we start with the arrows in the network are double-headed, because repeating
highest point on each triangle and read the numbers clockwise, this operation undoes it (F2 ¼ F0). In mathematical terms, F
the three positions of the triangle correspond to Garzone’s is an involution (a transformation that is its own inverse).
basic permutations (from left to right, 1–3–5, 3–5–1, and Note, also, that r and F do not commute: rotating-
5–1–3). Displaced permutations add three more patterns then-flipping a triangle and flipping-then-rotating it produce
(1–5–3, 3–1–5, and 5–3–1), which may be understood as flipped different results. The network in Example 6 maps a transfor-
versions of the triangle. These flipped versions appear in the bot- mational space, which begins to formalize what Garzone calls
tom half of Example 5: each one is derived from the triangle “the triad system.”
above it, holding the highest point in place while swapping the While Example 6 is based on Garzone’s initial description
lower points. Again, starting at the top and reading the numbers of the triad system, this network is insensitive to register and
clockwise gives the relevant sequence (from left to right, 1–5–3, contour. It cannot distinguish between pitches and pitch clas-
3–1–5, and 5–3–1). In mathematical terms, these triadic permu- ses, an important distinction that emerged from the earlier dis-
tations correspond to the dihedral group with six elements D6, cussion of displaced permutations. For example, Example 6
which is isomorphic to the symmetry group S3. Theorists have would treat hC4, E4, G4i, hC5, E4, G4i, and hC5, E5, G4i as
used these groups to model diverse musical elements, from neo- equivalent versions of 135, even though they are different per-
Riemannian transformations to the arrangement of parts in triple mutations for Garzone. To address this problem, Example 7
invertible counterpoint to banjo picking patterns.27 presents a network of three-note contour segments.28 Each
node represents a melodic shape, with the numbers referring
27 For applications of these groups to neo-Riemannian transformations, see
Clampitt (1998); Clough (1998). For triple invertible counterpoint, see 28 This numerical approach to musical contour was developed in the 1980s
De Souza (2017, 114); Gollin (2000, 324–37); Harrison (1988). For by theorists such as Friedmann (1985); Marvin and Laprade (1987); and
banjo picking patterns, see Rockwell (2009). Morris (1987).
 218 music theory spectrum 44 (2022)

r contour). Ultimately, the direct product group gives the eigh-

teen triadic permutations used in Garzone’s system, and the
012 r 120 r 201
GIS defines intervals among them.30
I I I This GIS facilitates analysis of the changing triadic per-
r r mutations that are required by Garzone’s second rule, which
210 102 021
stipulated that “the same inversion CANNOT be repeated
r back to back.”31 For example, let us reconsider the demon-
stration of displaced permutation, reproduced earlier in
example 7. Network of rotations (r) and inversions (I) for a Example 2. Two transformation networks for this passage
three-note contour segment. The lowest note in each contour is appear in Example 9. Not all permutations or triads are
represented by 0 unique here: the second and final triads share the permuta-
tion (0, 021), and there are two C-major triads. Yet the inter-

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

to the lowest pitch (0), middle pitch (1), and highest pitch (2). vals between adjacent triads, labeled in Example 9(a), are all
These contours are related by rotation (r) and inversion (I). In distinct. In this case, as Garzone avoids direct repetition of
this context, inversion makes the lowest and highest pitches (0 triadic permutations, he also varies the moves that take one
and 2) trade places, while keeping the middle note in the same triad to the next. Example 9(b) helps to reveal connections
spot. For example, I takes 012 (an ascending contour) to 210 between non-adjacent triads. The first, third, and fifth per-
(a descending contour), and vice versa. Like flipping, inversion mutations in the passage steadily ascend through the triadic
is an involution, represented by dashed, double-headed arrows inversions, while the second, fourth, and sixth are in root po-
in the network. Though the system of three-note contours in sition. Inverted contours also recur at this temporal distance.
Example 7 closely resembles the triadic system from Example Similar patterns appear in Garzone’s short improvisation over
6, it makes no assumptions about specific pitch content. Any a drone, as seen in Example 3. Though Garzone goes from
triadic inversion—or, indeed, any kind of trichord—could be an F]-major triad to a C-major triad, he starts and ends with
used to realize these basic melodic shapes. the same permutation: a first-inversion ascending triad (1,
To model the TCA’s permutations, then, we can combine 012). Example 10 indicates this recurrence with a line that
three-note contours with triadic inversions. Example 8 illus- connects the first and last nodes in the network. The arrows
trates these contour-inversion pairings with a C-major triad in this network analyze triad-to-triad moves. The opening
(though the same pairings are possible with any triad). Each transformation, (þ1, rI), moves in two dimensions, shifting
column in the example corresponds to a contour from from first to second inversion and introducing a displaced
Example 7; each row, to a triadic inversion. This set of combi- permutation. The remaining operations gradually undo the
nations can be formalized as a direct product group that is iso- initial transformation, reversing course through triadic per-
morphic to Z3  D6. The resulting theoretical space includes mutation space. While the GIS helps to reveal such relation-
all ordered pairs of the form (x, y), where x indicates the triadic ships, they should not be over-emphasized. The main point
inversion (0 for root position, 1 for first inversion, or 2 for sec- is that Garzone’s method involves more variety than his in-
ond inversion) and y is a three-element contour. For example, troduction might suggest—in its triadic permutations and
(0, 012) would indicate a root-position triad with an ascending also in the transformations that connect them.
contour (appearing near the top left in Example 8). This space How can these random permutations arrive at a particular
readily supports a Generalized Interval System (GIS). Every musical goal? As noted earlier, this GIS does not yet explain
GIS involves a space or set of elements (S) and a group of how Garzone’s melodies relate to underlying harmonies, be-
intervals (IVLS). In this case, our GIS’s space includes triadic cause it focuses on triadic permutations instead of pitch-class
permutations from Example 8, and its intervals formalize rela- content. Its eighteen permutations could be paired with each
tions among them. The GIS’s interval labels are ordered pairs. of the twelve major triads (assuming enharmonic equivalence)
The first element measures distances in triadic inversion, using to produce 216 distinct melodic building blocks. But with the
the integers mod 3, written as 0, þ1, and –1.29 The second el- TCA’s resolving property, musical objects seem less important
ement represents contour transformations, using the rotation
than musical processes. To understand this resolving property,
(r) and inversion (I) operations discussed earlier. For example,
then, we will formally model the TCA via a kind of random
the interval from (0, 012) to (1, 210) is (þ1, I). This can be
process known as a Markov process or Markov chain.
understood as a musical action that takes one to the other (i.e.,
to get from a root-position ascending triad to a first-inversion 30 Combining the triad system from Example 6 with the network of con-
descending triad, go up one triadic inversion and invert the tours would give a different direct product group, isomorphic to D6  D6.
In practice, though, Garzone uses only close-position triads. For example,
29 In this case, 1 is formally equivalent to þ2. But the former option seems he avoids hC4, G4, E5i, which would correspond to (153, 012). As such,
slightly more intuitive and, along with the plus and minus signs, helps to the chart in Example 8 includes 18 permutations, not 36.
distinguish intervals from elements. 31 Garzone (2008, 1).
 melodic transformation in george garzone’s triadic chromatic approach 219

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

example 8. Chart of the eighteen triadic permutations used in the TCA, combining three triadic inversions with six contour segments

(a) 0, 012 0, 021 1, 012 0, 201 2, 210 0, 021 certain number of melodic moves?” After a brief introduction
0, r-1I +1, rI -1, r-1 -1, rI +1, r-1 to Markov chains, I will examine chains for different stages of
+1, r0 +1, I the Random Triadic Approach—corresponding to major, mi-
(b) 0, 012 0, 021 1, 012 0, 201 2, 210 0, 021
nor, augmented, and diminished triads—before comparing
generalized “Garzone chains” for every trichord class. Finally,
0, I 0, I
we will bring together insights from the permutational and
probabilistic approaches to reflect on the TCA as a whole.
example 9. Two transformation networks for triadic permuta-
For a preliminary Markov chain, we can turn to a mathe-
tions in Garzone’s demonstration of displaced permutation
matical example known as the “Drunkard’s Walk.” Imagine an
(notation in Example 2)
idealized drunkard, with no sense of direction and no memory,
who randomly steps to the right or left on a number line. In
1, 012 2, 102 2, 120 1, 012 Example 11, the drunkard starts at 0. There is a 1/2 chance
+1, rI 0, I -1, r-1 that they will go to 1 (represented by the rightward arrow,
marked 0.5), and a 1/2 chance that they will arrive at –1 (rep-
example 10. Transformation network for triadic permutations resented by the leftward arrow). Regardless, the drunkard will
in Garzone’s drone example (notation in Example 3) move to a new starting point and repeat the process, again
with an equal chance of moving in either direction. The
markov chains for the tca Drunkard’s Walk is a basic kind of Markov chain, a simple
random walk. Much as a GIS requires a space or set of ele-
How does the TCA set up a melodic process that seems to ments (S) and a group of intervals (IVLS), every Markov chain
generate harmonic resolutions? In this section, I address that has a state space (S)—again, a set of elements—and a proba-
question through a series of Markov-chain models. Markov
bility distribution (P) that governs transitions among these ele-
chains are discrete, stochastic processes, where future moves
ments.33 With the Drunkard’s Walk, the set S is the integers
are not constrained by preceding ones.32 They offer a way of
Z, and P assigns equal probability to ascending or descending
evaluating the TCA in terms of probability. For example, they
steps (i.e., 0.5 to þ1 and –1). We can ask several questions
will help to answer questions such as, “If I start on F], what is
about the overall process. How often will the drunkard return
the chance of arriving at C after two major triad-plus-
semitone moves?” Or, more generally, “Given a starting pitch to their starting position? Are there any points that they will
class, what is the chance of arriving at a goal pitch class after a never visit? How likely is it that they will make it home to
point x, from a pub at point y? Mathematicians have proved
that, if the process continues indefinitely, the drunkard will
32 Markov models have many applications. In music, they have been used to
study folksong melodies (Pearce and Wiggins 2004), harmonic function 33 Levin, Peres, and Wilmer (2017, 2) provide a more formal definition: “A
(White and Quinn 2018), and key (White 2018), as well as improvisatory Markov chain is a process which moves among the elements of a set X in
processes in Greek church chant and various styles of jazz (Mavromatis the following manner: when at x 2 X, the next position is chosen accord-
2005, 2009; see also, Miller 2020). ing to a fixed probability distribution P(x, ) depending only on x.”
 220 music theory spectrum 44 (2022)

0.5 familiar to many theorists: a Tonnetz.36 Example 14 presents a

. . . -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 ... Tonnetz where the horizontal axis involves interval class 5, and
0.5 the diagonal axes, interval classes 3 and 4. Arrows in the exam-
ple illustrate within-triad movement on the Tonnetz, starting
example 11. The Drunkard’s Walk is an example of a simple on C. Each triad traverses two edges and stops one step away
random walk. With each step, an idealized drunkard moves up or from the starting point. Any starting note leads to six possible
down one integer, and these moves have equal probability (0.5, as pitch classes, then, creating a random walk on the Tonnetz.
noted in the arrow labels) Example 15 presents a transition matrix for this “Tonnetz
Walk,” where each starting state has six non-zero probabilities
visit every point an infinite number of times—so the drunkard in its row. This probability distribution for the Tonnetz Walk
will certainly return to their starting point and will eventually can be combined with that of the Chromatic Walk via matrix
get home.34 multiplication. Example 16 presents a new transition matrix

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

By combining the same probability distribution with partic- that we will call X, which is the product of Example 15 
ular musical sets, we can define various melodic random walks: Example 12. It gives pitch-class probabilities after one com-
for example, a Chromatic Walk (on the pitch-class clockface), plete “move” in Garzone’s Random Triadic Approach (i.e., af-
or a Diatonic Walk. These are isomorphic to random walks on ter a major triad plus a half-step). In other words, the TCA
the integers mod 12 (Z12) and mod 7 (Z7), respectively. Such can be understood as a Markov chain that combines random
processes can be represented via transition matrices, which walks on the Tonnetz and the pitch-class circle.
show the probability of moving from any starting state (ar- The zeros in Example 16 show that, after one complete move,
ranged vertically) to any subsequent state (arranged horizon- the melody cannot be at its starting point or a semitone above or
tally). Example 12 presents a transition matrix for the below it. Yet the process continues from here. Combining X
Chromatic Walk, and Example 13, a transition matrix for the with itself—again, through matrix multiplication—demonstrates
Diatonic Walk. To find a specific transition probability in how probabilities change over time. X2, presented in Example
the matrix, pick the starting state on the left, then move across 17, gives pitch-class probabilities after two complete moves. This
the row to the column that corresponds to the goal state matrix includes no zeros. That is, after two major triad-plus-
on the top. For example, in Example 13, the probability of semitone moves, the melody could theoretically arrive at any pitch
moving from do to ti (0.5) appears near the top right corner of class, regardless of its original starting point. Values here range
the matrix. The matrices in Example 12 and Example 13 help from 0.125 (a 1/8 chance) to 0.056 (a 1/18 chance). As the pro-
to reveal several features of the corresponding Markov chains. cess continues, however, this range shrinks. In X5 (i.e., after five
The probability of stepping up or down is always the same, so complete moves), all values in the matrix are close to 1/12 (see
these are all symmetric processes. Moreover, the probabilities Example 18). The Markov chain is approaching stationarity.
for each starting note are related by transposition, meaning Every irreducible and aperiodic Markov chain converges on a sta-
that the chain “looks the same” from any point in S. Markov tionary distribution, a stable set of transition probabilities that is
chains with this property are called transitive.35 These melodic conventionally represented by the Greek letter p.37 This has in-
walks are also irreducible, because it is eventually possible to teresting musical consequences for the TCA. As time goes on,
reach every note from any starting note. Markov-chain theory this process asymptotically approaches a probability distribution
can also differentiate between these melodic processes. The in which every pitch class is equally likely to appear.38 Example 19
Chromatic Walk is periodic. It always alternates between the uses a series of charts to demonstrate this convergence. Each
two whole-tone collections, or between pitch classes with even chart indicates changing probabilities for a certain pitch class, al-
and odd number labels. By contrast, the Diatonic Walk is ape- ways assuming that the process started on C. After one triad-
riodic and cannot be partitioned into distinct subsets of S. plus-semitone move (at the left of each chart), the probabilities
Melodic walks, then, can be used to illustrate some key mathe- differ: for example, there is no chance of arriving on B, C, or C],
matical concepts associated with Markov chains. and a relatively high chance of arriving on E, F], or A[. But later
The Chromatic Walk is directly relevant to Garzone’s in the process (toward the right of each chart), the transition
method, as it models between-triad movement in the TCA (a
semitone up or down). We can also represent within-triad 36 A Tonnetz (tone network) is a graph of harmonic relations, whose axes are
generated by particular interval classes. For present purposes, we will use a
movement as a Markov chain. If you start on a C and play a
Tonnetz introduced by Ottokar Hostinsky in 1879, which features in the
major triad, what notes can you land on? If that C is the root, late writings of Hugo Riemann and in neo-Riemannian theory (Cohn
you can ultimately arrive at E or G; if it is the chordal third, 2011, 2012). For a discussion of the Tonnetz in jazz analysis, see Park
A[ or E[; and if it is the chordal fifth, F or A. Each of these (2016).
pitch classes is one step away from C in a musical space that is 37 See Levin, Peres, and Wilmer (2017, 52–53) for a proof. Multiplying the
initial probability distribution by the stationary distribution gives the sta-
tionary distribution itself (i.e., Pp ¼ p).
34 For a detailed introduction to random walks, see Konstantopoulos (2009). 38 This process is “asymptotic” because it continually approaches—but never
35 Levin, Peres, and Wilmer (2017, 29). completely reaches—its goal (in this case, the stationary distribution).
 melodic transformation in george garzone’s triadic chromatic approach 221

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

example 12. Transition matrix for a Chromatic Walk. Starting pitch classes are listed on the left. The matrix’s entries show the probabil-
ity of moving to each pitch class, which varies depending on the starting point. These probabilities are always between 0 and 1, and rows al-
ways sum to 1

or not—because eventually the chance of the melody resolving is

the same for every tonic.
Does this property hold for later stages in Garzone’s
method, as the player moves on to other triadic types? With
minor triads, evolving transition probabilities are the same as
with major ones, since this process again involves a random
walk on the Tonnetz. With augmented and diminished triads,
however, probability distributions differ. Coupling augmented
triads with a half-step between creates a process whose transi-
tion matrix, Y, appears in Example 20. This is a periodic
Markov chain. Like the Chromatic Walk, it always alternates
example 13. Transition matrix for a Diatonic Walk
between the two whole-tone collections. Probabilities do even
out over time, so that eventually any member of the relevant
whole-tone collection is equally likely to arise. Example 21
presents a transition matrix Y6 (after six augmented triad-plus-
semitone moves), and Example 22, another matrix Y7 (after
seven moves). Both have a checkerboard pattern, where all the
notes from one whole-tone collection have values close to 1/6,
and the other whole-tone collection has zeroes. In Y6, the pos-
sible whole-tone collection always includes the original starting
pitch class; in Y7, it excludes the original starting pitch class.
example 14. Within-triad motion from the TCA can be modeled
This process lacks a stationary distribution, since, as noted ear-
as a random walk on the Tonnetz. Each move traverses two edges
lier, to have a stationary distribution, a Markov chain must be
and ends one step away from its starting point. This diagram
both irreducible and aperiodic. This melodic process might
illustrates three of the six possible moves for major triads
still generate spontaneous resolutions, yet it never converges
probabilities have stopped fluctuating and are effectively identical on a stable set of pitch-class probabilities—a significant differ-
for all pitch classes. With this in mind, Garzone’s comment ence from the chains based on major and minor triads.
about “borrowing from the twelve-tone row” makes more sense: Coupling diminished triads with a half-step between creates
the long-term probability distribution of pitch classes in this another Markov chain. Though this is the last chain in the
method is evenly weighted, like the actual distribution of pitch Random Triadic Approach, it is possible to generalize here, to
classes in most twelve-tone compositions. Garzone’s random pro- create “Garzone chains” based on any trichord (or, indeed, any
cess generates resolutions—whether the harmony is static or set class). That is, we can define a Garzone chain as a process
changing, whether the improviser is aware of the accompaniment that involves melodic permutations of a particular set class,
222 music theory spectrum 44 (2022)

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

example 15. Transition matrix for a random walk on the Tonnetz

example 16. Transition matrix (X) for one complete move in Garzone’s Random Triadic Approach (major triad plus a semitone)

example 17. Transition matrix (X2) for two complete moves in Garzone’s Random Triadic Approach with major triads
 melodic transformation in george garzone’s triadic chromatic approach 223

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

example 18. Transition matrix (X5) for five complete moves in Garzone’s Random Triadic Approach with major triads, converging on
the Markov chain’s stationary distribution

example 19. Pitch-class transition probabilities, starting on C, for 1–7 moves in the Random Triadic Approach (major). As time goes on,
the probability for every pitch class approaches 1/12 (0.0833). Because the Markov chain is transitive, any initial pitch class would give
an equivalent pattern

where successive permutations are different and are connected likely. But does this Garzone chain for the set class 3-10[036]
by a semitone. The diminished-triad chain again converges on reach its stationary distribution sooner or later than the major-
a stationary distribution where every pitch class is equally or minor-triad chains? And how would these compare to
224 music theory spectrum 44 (2022)

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

example 20. Transition matrix (Y) for one complete move in Garzone’s Random Triadic Approach with augmented triads

example 21. Transition matrix (Y6) for six complete moves in Garzone’s Random Triadic Approach with augmented triads

example 22. Transition matrix (Y7) for seven complete moves in Garzone’s Random Triadic Approach with augmented triads
 melodic transformation in george garzone’s triadic chromatic approach 225

Garzone chains for non-triadic trichords? Do their probabili- preceding states—what is called a second- or third-order
ties even out at the same rate? Markov chain—because successive intervals cannot repeat. Its
To examine the changing probabilities in various Garzone transition matrix might include twelve columns for the pitch
chains, we can turn to the information-theoretic concept of en- classes, but its rows would correspond to ordered pairs or or-
tropy.39 Entropy is a measure of disorder, calculated for a vec- dered triples. For example, its first row might indicate melodic
tor of probabilities.40 When the distribution of probabilities is probabilities after the sequence C, C]. Representing a second-
uniform (for example, when all pitch classes are equally likely order Markov chain in this way generally requires a matrix
to appear), entropy is maximized; when one outcome is 100% with n columns and n2 rows, though in this case, rows for re-
certain, entropy equals 0. The charts in Example 23 show how peated pitches (like C, C) could be safely omitted. There is a
entropy changes over time for Garzone chains involving all tri- theoretical/analytical tradeoff here: as the models become more
chord classes. Probabilities for the chain with major/minor tri- accurate, they also become more convoluted.
ads 3-11[037] even out at the same rate as those associated Still, it is possible to draw some conclusions about these

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

with other near-symmetrical trichords 3-2[013], 3-3[014], and complicated Markov chains without fully constructing them.
3-7[025]. Comparatively, entropy increases more slowly in Would they be irreducible? Yes, in each case, all states com-
Garzone chains involving the symmetrical set classes 3- municate. Every pitch class or permutation can eventually lead
10[036], 3-1[012], and 3-9[027]. Major or minor triads do to any other. Would they be aperiodic? Yes, with greater diver-
not create the fastest dispersing Garzone chain, though: 3- sity of transitions, it is highly unlikely that elements will
4[015] starts with the highest entropy and soon maximizes it. cleanly split into complementary subclasses. And would
Meanwhile, chains involving the whole-tone subsets 3-6[024], they be transitive? Yes, each element’s probabilities would be
3-8[026], and 3-12[048] give rise to periodic Markov chains, transpositionally equivalent to the others’. If these processes
which lack a stationary distribution. Their entropy does in- are irreducible and aperiodic, then they will converge on a
crease slightly but is much lower overall. For example, they stationary distribution, and because they are transitive, this
never reach the initial entropy level of the 3-11[037] chain. Of stationary distribution will again “borrow from the twelve-tone
course, these processes extend the Triadic Chromatic row,” ultimately making every pitch class equally probable.
Approach beyond triads. Generalized Garzone chains may As with any Markov chain, local randomness gives rise to
present randomized iterations of any trichord—or a set class of emergent patterns. With the TCA, the improviser—like the
any cardinality—connected by half-step motion. mathematical drunkard—makes random moment-to-moment
Markov chains, like the earlier GIS, present simplified the- decisions but eventually gets home.
oretical models of the TCA. At the most advanced stage of
the TCA, improvisers are not limited to a single set class: in- improvisation—making or weaving?
stead, they may combine all four triad types and may interpose
random connective material (involving intervals smaller than a Though mathematical models have helped us examine the
perfect fourth). This requires a more complicated probability TCA, Garzone and his students insist that the method is not
distribution from the beginning. More importantly, these about musical calculation.41 For example, Ben Britton writes,
Markov chains ignore triadic permutations. Because successive “Even if you are following all the technical rules, it’s important
permutations must vary, only seventeen of the eighteen triadic to remember that it’s not mathematics, as George says.”42
permutations are available at any given moment. A more accu- When Garzone tells students that the TCA is not mathemat-
rate Markov-chain model might incorporate the GIS’s triadic ics, he might be emphasizing expressive qualities such as tone,
permutations. With major triads alone, its state space would articulation, or rhythmic feel, even in highly constrained exer-
include 18 permutations  12 major triads. Its probability dis- cises. But this statement also offers insights about lived experi-
tribution, then, would require a 216  216 transition matrix— ence: it suggests that improvising these lines does not feel like
that is, a matrix with 46,656 entries. With all four triad types, doing arithmetic, or solving equations, or following an algo-
it would get even larger. Similarly, the connective material rithm step by step. “As a former student of George’s,” com-
(Garzone’s Random Chromatic Approach) would require a ments Greg Sinibaldi, “I think after 20–30 years of playing
process where future probabilities are constrained by the he’s figured out a way to explain what he does naturally. I
don’t think when he’s playing he’s thinking ‘up a major 3rd
39 Another approach would consider Markov-chain “mixing.” It could assess here, play a diminished triad, down a minor second, play a
distance from stationarity at each step of a process via variation distance,
the maximum difference between any probability in the transition matrix
and the corresponding value in p (Levin, Peres, and Willmer 2017, 53). 41 It would also be possible to investigate Garzone’s system by composing
Entropy is preferable for present purposes, however, because distance etudes or programming a computer to follow its melodic rules. For a com-
from stationarity cannot be calculated for periodic Markov chains (e.g., puterized implementation of the TCA, accessed 18 February 2020, see
the augmented-triad version of the TCA). Entropy has been used to study [Link] and [Link]
musical style since the 1950s (see Youngblood 1958). For a more recent Lcb9MHBVqbQ . More generally, Miller (2020) offers a critical exami-
application of information theory to music, see Temperley (2019). nation of “computational jazz.”
40 Shannon (1964). 42 Britton (2008).
 226 music theory spectrum 44 (2022)

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

example 23. Entropy in Garzone chains for all trichord classes. The x-axis indicates time, measured in discrete steps of the Markov chain.
Entropy here is calculated on a single row of the relevant transition matrix (because these processes are transitive, all rows are equivalent)

major triad up, etc.’ He’s just doin’ his thing. . .”43 Theoretical beginners consciously follow rules, while experts can respond
models of the TCA, then, do not necessarily reflect players’ to situations almost automatically. For example, novice chess
experiences of it. players are taught to assign point values to each piece, and this
Such experiences vary from player to player, of course. And explicit rule can help them decide whether a particular move is
even a single player’s experience of the TCA changes with advantageous. Grandmasters have much greater calculative
training. For novices, explicit calculation seems unavoidable. abilities, but for them, individual piece values are less impor-
Focusing on the rules can create a sense of detachment, as they tant than overall positions or longer-term plans. And in blitz
consciously observe their melodies as they play. While this chess (with accelerated time controls), they can rely on rapid
strategy can lead to basic competency in the TCA, it is also situational responses, playing moves with astonishing speed.
cognitively demanding. Picking new triads, trying to avoid Similarly, music students are initially taught step-by-step pro-
patterns, recognizing repeated inversions or contours as they cedures for analyzing and generating intervals or chords.
go by—all of this can be overwhelming. In such moments, it Expert music analysts, instead, see such elements immediately
might feel like the metronome is speeding up. It is difficult to and attend to larger patterns and their relation to particular
plan further ahead, and at faster tempos, everything easily idioms, formal conventions, and so forth. Novice improvisers
breaks down. While one’s calculative skills increase with prac- are often taught explicit techniques too, and they typically
tice, this strategy is costly and ultimately unsustainable. To think only a couple of notes ahead.45 Experts are more likely
to focus on larger goals in performance, such as crafting a solo
achieve greater proficiency, performance must become intui-
with an engaging musical narrative or interacting with co-per-
tive. Here, immersed in a musical situation, it becomes easier
formers.46 For example, in a study of improvisational thinking
to attend to a longer line, rather than individual triads; it
by Martin Norgaard, a jazz pianist “described the thought be-
becomes easier to listen to the melody and its shifting relations
hind a line that clearly reflected the underlying harmonic
to an underlying drone. There is a sense of global consistency,
structure as being concerned with the contour of the line: ‘I
despite local unpredictability. The rules temporarily recede (at
think what I think about there is like “How can I gracefully
least, until the improviser progresses to the next level). For get down from this register?” you know, and then secondarily
experts like Garzone, even the sense of decision-making might to that, okay, I’m gonna play notes that reflect the chords of
withdraw. Here it simply feels like following the triads, giving the blues.’”47 In Norgaard’s summary, “internalized melodic
in to musical forces inherent to the process. rules appear to shape the line continuously outside of conscious
All of this reflects general principles of skill acquisition, dis- control while the improviser monitors the outcome.”48 In
cussed by the phenomenologist Hubert Dreyfus.44 In many
domains, from improvising to driving a car to playing chess, 45 Norgaard (2016).
46 Berliner (1994); Monson (1996).
43 Sinibaldi (2008). 47 Norgaard (2011, 122).
44 Dreyfus (2002). 48 Ibid., 122.
 melodic transformation in george garzone’s triadic chromatic approach 227

various domains, then, skill levels relate to qualitative experien- active and sensuous engagement of practitioner and
tial differences, and expert performance seems less material.56
“mathematical” than novice performance. As Garzone puts it,
Baskets are neither built up from nor chipped away from
“the goal is to get this into your subconscious.”49
passive material. Instead, the weaver engages in a pattern of
Invoking the subconscious raises epistemological questions,
skilled movement, forcing the fibers, bending them, wrapping
questions about skill’s relation to other kinds of knowledge.
them, crossing them, pulling them. And at the same time, the
Theorizing or analyzing produce knowledge, and they might
fibers’ own force, their material resistance, creates the tension
be improvisatory in some sense.50 But because the TCA
that lets the basket hold its shape. Woven patterns emerge
requires embodied know-how (akin to riding a bicycle), such
activities cannot substitute for hands-on practice or from an interactive process, at the interface of weaver and fi-
“woodshedding.”51 Still, Garzone and his students clearly dis- ber. Making and weaving, then, offer alternate perspectives on
cuss permutations, even if they have not formally studied creativity. “To emphasize making,” writes Ingold, “is to regard
the object as the expression of an idea; to emphasize weaving

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

group theory, and it would be very difficult to pick up the
TCA without this foundational understanding of triads. Some is to regard it as the embodiment of a rhythmic movement.”57
might argue that they also have implicit knowledge of the sys- Improvisation, for Ingold, should be understood as a kind
tem’s underlying structure. For example, Dmitri Tymoczko of weaving. As he puts it, “To improvise is to follow the ways
has made similar suggestions about mathematics, skill, and im- of the world, as they open up, rather than to recover a chain of
plicit knowledge, comparing composers and basket weavers.52 connections, from an end-point to a starting-point, on a route
Expert weavers, he notes, are aware of various “basket types” already travelled.”58 The TCA’s melodies do not pre-exist in a
that correspond to particular symmetry groups. For the ethno- player’s mind but appear through the rhythmic repetition of
mathematician Paulus Gerdes, who has written extensively on skilled movements involving certain materials—that is, triads
weaving practices in Mozambique, making a basket can be a and semitones. These tonal building blocks might seem rela-
way of “doing geometry.”53 This implies that practical and re- tively immaterial. But they do have specific, emergent tenden-
flective knowledge are deeply intertwined, that each at times cies, much like the fibers, culinary ingredients, or architectural
might guide the other. materials that Ingold discusses.59 Learning to play these lines
Yet it is also important to consider makers’ materials. After is not about enacting a pre-conceived set of moves or a pre-
all, the embodied mind is not outside of the world but within defined musical design. It is about following melodic pathways
it. This challenges a traditional view—what the anthropologist as they unfold; it is, in Garzone’s words, about “coming
Tim Ingold calls the “hylomorphic model”—in which making around the corner.” This method focuses on process over prod-
imposes form (morphe) on matter (hyle).54 In that model, crea- uct. As Garzone notes, it does not teach pre-defined licks or
tivity starts with an idea, a design that is then realized or patterns, and in performance, the system itself is usually aban-
expressed. The mind is active; matter, passive. But Ingold doned. “I cannot, will not and won’t even try to apply [the]
argues that hylomorphism approaches creativity backwards, TCA directly (‘note-for-note’) in my improvisations,” explains
working from the object back to an intention.55 By contrast, Marc-Andre Seguin.60 “I don’t see the point in doing so. I
he interprets creativity forwards, from the bottom up, as an personally work hard at the TCA simply to open my ears and
ongoing process: fingers to different sounds and new possibilities . . . . and hon-
estly, I don’t think even George Garzone himself applies the
According to the standard view, the form pre-exists in the
maker’s mind, and is simply impressed upon the material. concepts when he blows!” The purpose of the TCA, then, is
Now I do not deny that the basket-maker may begin work to open “ears and fingers”—that is, perception and action—
with a pretty clear idea of the form she wishes to create. and to reveal “different sounds and new possibilities.” The
The actual, concrete form of the basket, however, does not TCA offers not a concept to be applied, not an end in itself,
issue from the idea. It rather comes into being through the
gradual unfolding of that field of forces set up through the
56 Ingold (2000, 342).
57 Ibid., 346.
58 Ingold (2010, 97).
49 Koransky (2009, 99). 59 The architectural metaphor points to another aspect of the TCA. Much
50 Goldman (2019); Sheehy (2013). as building materials are assembled in an environment, Garzone’s lines are
51 De Souza (2017, 28–29); Leong (2016). affected by specific musical contexts. From a simple drone to a dynamic
52 Tymoczko (2012). set of chord changes, underlying harmonic and metric structures define
53 Gerdes (2010). which notes are “resolutions.” The melodic process has its own tendencies,
54 Ingold (2010). but it is not completely autonomous, and it might agree or disagree with
55 Ingold’s critique of the hylomorphic model informs a study of musical no- this musical background in various ways. Addressing this would require a
tation and annotation by Emily Payne and Floris Schuiling, which consid- broader analysis of performances by Garzone and others, though, as I
ers notation not as a textual representation of an idealized musical work note, it is unlikely that they strictly employ the TCA in their
but “as one of the materials with which musicians work” (Payne and improvisations.
Schuiling 2017, 441). 60 Seguin (2015).
 228 music theory spectrum 44 (2022)

but a set of techniques that help to cultivate a musical orienta- did!” On a general level, they did plan for the melody to re-
tion, a certain improvisational attitude. solve to the drone, sooner or later. But on a local level, they
did not actively try to achieve this goal, or to make choices
conclusions that would bring the melody and drone into greater alignment.
Instead, they pursued an open-ended process, one that made
In this article, I have examined the Triadic Chromatic resolution inevitable. In other words, they prioritized the
Approach from several disciplinary perspectives. From the field “characteristic gesture” itself—and this is arguably the most es-
of music theory, transformational theory helped to map its tri- sential element in Lewin’s question. While the intervallic atti-
adic permutations. From mathematics, Markov chains helped tude derives measurements from fixed points, the
us to theorize pitch-class probabilities and to understand why transformational attitude must put action first. Garzone’s sim-
TCA-generated melodies seem to resolve themselves. And ple rules do this by defining melodic gestures, gestures that are
ideas from cultural anthropology informed my interpretation practically independent of any harmonic goal or harmonic con-

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

of players’ comments, which offered different insights and a text. The characteristic gesture, in this view, is not derived
different kind of evidence. Music theory, mathematics, and from s and t; rather, it can reveal them.
anthropology worked together to develop a multi-faceted view
of Garzone’s system for melodic improvisation.
Yet, while music theory illuminates aspects of the TCA, works cited
the TCA can in turn prompt reflection on music theory. Let
us return, then, to the transformational attitude: “If I am at s Arau, Javier. 2008. “Jazz Line and Augmented Scale Theory:
and wish to get to t, what characteristic gesture should I per- Using Intervallic Sets to Unite Three- and Four-Tonic
form in order to arrive there?” In light of the TCA, Lewin’s Systems.” Paper presented at the International Jazz
question might be revised. Starting with the goal t suggests a Composers’ Symposium, 14, June, Tampa, FL. Accessed
hylomorphic mode of analysis, which reads creativity back- 25 March 2022. [Link]
wards from an intention. In the course of play, the goal t is not scale-theory.
always clear. When playing the TCA without accompaniment, Berliner, Paul F. 1994. Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of
there might be no pre-defined goal. When playing it over a Improvisation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
drone or harmonic changes, the goal might exist, but it might Britton, Ben. 2008. Comment on David Valdez, “Triadic
be unknown (if played by another musician) or out of mind. Etude #3: Combining a traditional triadic approach with
Even then, multiple goals could coexist (e.g., several melodic Garzone’s TCA.” Casa Valdez Studios (blog). December 17.
notes might constitute a “resolution” over a C-major chord— Accessed 25 March 2022. [Link]
C, E, or G, but possibly also A, B, or D). In any case, truly 2008/12/[Link].
inhabiting a space means giving up pretensions to an all-seeing Capuzzo, Guy. 2006. “Pat Martino’s The Nature of the Guitar:
Cartesian view, accepting the limits of perspective.61 I cannot An Intersection of Jazz Theory and Neo-Riemannian
see past the horizon or around the corner (to use Garzone’s Theory.” Music Theory Online 12 (1). [Link]
metaphor), even when I know what is there. Things may be issues/mto.06.12.1/[Link].
hidden behind other things, and those that are farther away Clampitt, David. 1998. “Alternative Interpretations of Some
are less distinct. If the transformational attitude is “inside” the Measures from Parsifal.” Journal of Music Theory 42 (2):
music, it should be oriented but not omniscient. Its goals 321–34.
should not be ever-present. They might come in and out of fo- Clough, John. 1998. “A Rudimentary Geometric Model for
cus. They might mysteriously appear. Contextual Transposition and Inversion.” Journal of Music
Even with an obvious goal, though, there might not be an Theory 42 (2): 297–306.
obvious way to arrive at it. While the intervallic attitude treats Cohn, Richard. 2011. “Tonal Pitch Space and the (Neo-)
the distance between s and t as a single measurement, the Riemannian Tonnetz.” In The Oxford Handbook of Neo-
transformational attitude remains open to multiple pathways. Riemannian Music Theories. Eds. Edward Gollin and
Some routes may be more common, more characteristic than Alexander Rehding. 322–48. New York: Oxford University
others. But there is always more than one way to get from s to Press.
t, as tritone substitution demonstrates. The TCA prefers cir- ———. 2012. Audacious Euphony: Chromaticism and the
cuitous routes, which cannot be mistaken for direct intervals Triad’s Second Nature. New York: Oxford University
between two points. Garzone’s drone exercise also shows how Press.
goals and pathways can diverge in a player’s experience. “Trust De Souza, Jonathan. 2017. Music at Hand: Instruments, Bodies,
me,” says Garzone, “we didn’t plan it that way. . . . Maybe we and Cognition. New York: Oxford University Press.
———. 2018. “Fretboard Transformations.” Journal of Music
61 De Souza (2018, 2–4) discusses spatiality in Lewin and Merleau-Ponty. Theory 62 (1): 1–39.
For a phenomenological discussion of depth and perspective (with refer- Dreyfus, Hubert L. 2002. “Intelligence without
ence to the music of Debussy), see Wiskus (2013). Representation – Merleau-Ponty’s Critique of Mental
 melodic transformation in george garzone’s triadic chromatic approach 229

Representation.” Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 1 Leong, Daphne. 2016. “Analysis and Performance, or Wissen,
(4): 367–83. Können, Kennen.” Music Theory Online 22 (2). http://
Ewell, Philip A. 2020. “Music Theory and the White Racial [Link]/issues/mto.16.22.2/[Link].
Frame.” Music Theory Online 26 (2). [Link] Lewin, David. 1987. Generalized Musical Intervals and
issues/mto.20.26.2/[Link]. Transformations. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Friedmann, Michael L. 1985. “A Methodology for the ———. 1993. Musical Form and Transformation: Four Analytic
Discussion of Contour: Its Application to Schoenberg’s Essays. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Music.” Journal of Music Theory 29 (2): 223–48. Lorentz, Jonathan. 2008. “The Improvisational Process of
Garzone, George. 2008. The Music of George Garzone and the Saxophonist George Garzone with Analysis of Selected
Triadic Chromatic Approach. Directed by Jody Espina. Jazz Solos from 1995–1999.” Ph.D. diss., New York
Savannah, GA: JodyJazz. DVD. University.
———. 2009. “Basics of the Triadic Chromatic Approach.” Marvin, Elizabeth West, and Paul A. Laprade. 1987.

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

DownBeat 76 (5): 58–59. “Relating Musical Contours: Extensions of a Theory for
Gerdes, Paulus. 2010. Otthava: Making Baskets and Doing Contour.” Journal of Music Theory 31 (2): 225–67.
Geometry in the Makhuwa Culture in the Northeast of Mavromatis, Panayotis. 2005. “A Hidden Markov Model of
Mozambique. Morrisville, NC: Lulu Enterprises. Melody Production in Greek Church Chant.” Computing
Goldman, Andrew. 2016. “Improvisation as a Way of in Musicology 14: 93–112.
Knowing.” Music Theory Online 22 (4). [Link]/ ———. 2009. “Minimum Description Length Modeling of
issues/mto.16.22.4/[Link]. Musical Structure.” Journal of Mathematics and Music 3 (3):
———. 2019. “Live Coding Helps to Distinguish between 117–36.
Embodied and Propositional Improvisation.” Journal of McClimon, Michael. 2017. “Transformations in Tonal Jazz:
New Music Research 48 (3): 281–293. ii–V Space.” Music Theory Online 23 (1). [Link]/
Goldman, Andrew, Tyreek Jackson, and Paul Sajda. 2018. issues/mto.17.23.1/[Link].
Michaelsen, Garrett. 2018. “Chord-Scale Networks in the
“Improvisation Experience Predicts How Musicians
Music and Improvisations of Wayne Shorter.” Gamut 8 (1):
Categorize Musical Structures.” Psychology of Music 48 (1):
123–88.
18–34.
Miller, Brian A. 2020. “‘All of the Rules of Jazz’: Stylistic
Gollin, Edward. 2000. “Representations of Space and
Models and Algorithmic Creativity in Human-Computer
Conceptions of Distance in Transformational Music
Improvisation.” Music Theory Online 26 (3). https://
Theories.” Ph.D. diss., Harvard University.
[Link]/issues/mto.20.26.3/[Link].
Hannaford, Marc. 2019. “One Line, Many Views:
Momii, Toru. 2020. “Performing Te: Gesture, Form, and
Perspectives on Music Theory, Composition, and
Interculturality in Dai Fujikura’s neo for Solo Shamisen.”
Improvisation through the Work of Muhal Richard
Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for
Abrams.” Ph.D. diss., Columbia University. Music Theory, 7, November.
Harrison, Daniel. 1988. “Some Group Properties of Triple Monson, Ingrid. 1996. Saying Something: Jazz Improvisation
Counterpoint and Their Influence on Compositions by and Interaction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
J. S. Bach.” Journal of Music Theory 32 (1): 23–49. Morris, Robert D. 1987. Composition with Pitch-Classes: A
Ingold, Tim. 2000. The Perception of the Environment: Essays Theory of Compositional Design. New Haven, CT: Yale
on Livelihood, Dwelling, and Skill. London: Routledge. University Press.
———. 2010. “The Textility of Making.” Cambridge Journal Nemeyer, Eric. 2008. “Interview: George Garzone.” Jazz
of Economics 34 (1): 91–102. Improv NY, November 2008. Accessed 25 March 2022.
Konstantopoulos, Takis. 2009. Markov Chains and Random [Link]
Walks. Accessed 25 March 2022. [Link] [Link].
[Link]/~cfung/docs/books/konstantopoulous2009_mcrw. Norgaard, Martin. 2011. “Descriptions of Improvisational
pdf. Thinking by Artist-Level Jazz Musicians.” Journal of
Koransky, Jason. 2009. “Review of The Music of George Research in Music Education 59 (2): 109–127.
Garzone and the Triadic Chromatic Approach.” DownBeat 76 ———. 2016. “Descriptions of Improvisational Thinking by
(1): 99. Developing Jazz Improvisers.” International Journal of Music
Klumpenhouwer, Henry. 2006. “In Order to Stay Asleep as Education 35 (2): 259–71.
Observers: The Nature and Origins of Anti-Cartesianism Park, Joon. 2016. “Reflection on (and in) Strunk’s Tonnetz.”
in Lewin’s Generalized Musical Intervals and Journal of Jazz Studies 11 (1): 40–64.
Transformations.” Music Theory Spectrum 28 (2): 277–89. Payne, Emily, and Floris Schuiling. 2017. “The Textility of
Levin, David A., Yuval Peres, and Elizabeth L. Wilmer. 2017. Marking: Performers’ Annotations as Indicators of the
Markov Chains and Mixing Times. 2nd ed. Providence, RI: Creative Process in Performance.” Music & Letters 98 (3):
American Mathematical Society. 438–64.
230 music theory spectrum 44 (2022)

Pearce, Marcus T., and Geraint A. Wiggins. 2004. “Improved Stover, Chris. 2014. “Jazz Harmony: A Progress Report.”
Methods for Statistical Modelling of Monophonic Music.” Journal of Jazz Studies 10 (2): 157–97.
Journal of New Music Research 33 (4): 367–85. Strunk, Steven. 2003. “Wayne Shorter’s Yes and No: An
Rockwell, Joti. 2009. “Banjo Transformations and Bluegrass Analysis.” Dutch Journal of Music Theory 8 (1): 40–56.
Rhythm.” Journal of Music Theory 53 (1): 137–62. ———. 2016. “Tonal and Transformational Approaches to
Roeder, John. 2009. “Constructing Transformational Chick Corea’s Compositions of the 1960s.” Music Theory
Signification: Gesture and Agency in Bartok’s Scherzo, op. Spectrum 38 (1): 16–36.
14, no. 2, measures 1–32.” Music Theory Online 15 (1). Temperley, David. 2019. “Uniform Information Density in
[Link]/issues/mto.09.15.1/mto.09.15.1.roeder_ Music.” Music Theory Online 25 (2). [Link]
signifi[Link]. issues/mto.19.25.2/[Link].
Rings, Steven. 2011. Tonality and Transformation. New York: Tymoczko, Dmitri. 2012. “Basket Cases.” Music Theory
Oxford University Press. Spectrum 34 (1): 152–53.

Downloaded from [Link] by guest on 26 September 2022

Russell, George. 1953. The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Waters, Keith. 2005. “Modes, Scales, Functional Harmony,
Organization. New York: Concept Publishing. and Nonfunctional Harmony in the Compositions of
Santa, Matthew. 2004. “Nonatonic Progressions in the Music of Herbie Hancock.” Journal of Music Theory 49 (2): 333–57.
John Coltrane.” Annual Review of Jazz Studies 14: 13–26. ———. 2010. “‘Giant Steps’ and the ic4 Legacy.” Integral 24:
Satyendra, Ramon. 2004. “An Informal Introduction to Some 135–62.
Formal Concepts from Lewin’s Transformational Theory.” ———. 2016. “Chick Corea and Postbop Harmony.” Music
Journal of Music Theory 48 (1): 99–141. Theory Spectrum 38 (1): 37–57.
Seguin, Marc-Andre. 2015. “Garzone Triads: The Triadic Waters, Keith, and J. Kent Williams. 2010. “Modeling
Chromatic Approach.” Jazz Guitar Lessons (blog). February Diatonic, Acoustic, Hexatonic, and Octatonic Harmonies
14. Accessed 25 March 2022. [Link] and Progressions in Two- and Three-Dimensional Pitch
[Link]/blog/garzone-triads-the-triadic-chromatic- Spaces; or Jazz Harmony after 1960.” Music Theory Online
approach. 16 (3). [Link]/issues/mto.10.16.3/mto.10.16.3.
Shannon, Claude E. 1964. “The Mathematical Theory of waters_williams.html.
Communication.” In The Mathematical Theory of Weiskopf, Walt. 1995. Intervalic Improvisation: The Modern
Communication. By Claude E. Shannon and Warren Sound: A Step Beyond Linear Improvisation. New Albany,
Weaver. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. IN: Jamey Aebersold.
Sheehy, August. 2013. “Improvisation, Analysis, and Weiskopf, Walt, and Ramon Ricker. 1991. Coltrane: A Player’s
Listening Otherwise.” Music Theory Online 19 (2). www. Guide to His Harmony. New Albany, IN: Jamey Aebersold.
[Link]/issues/mto.13.19.2/[Link]. White, Christopher Wm. 2018. “Feedback and Feedforward
Sinibaldi, Greg. 2008. Comment on David Valdez, “Review of Models of Musical Key.” Music Theory Online 24 (2). www.
George Garzone’s Triadic Chromatic Approach DVD.” [Link]/issues/mto.18.24.2/[Link].
Casa Valdez Studios (blog). December 13. Accessed 25 March White, Christopher Wm., and Ian Quinn. 2018. “Chord
2022. [Link] Context and Harmonic Function in Tonal Music.” Music
[Link]. Theory Spectrum 40 (2): 314–35.
Slonimsky, Nicolas. 1947. Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Wiskus, Jessica. 2013. The Rhythm of Thought: Art, Literature,
Patterns. New York: Coleman-Ross Company. and Music after Merleau-Ponty. Chicago: University of Chicago
Soto, Pere. 2010. “Giant Steps Analysis.” Casa Valdez Studios Press.
(blog). July 28. [Link] Youngblood, James. 1958. “Style as Information.” Journal of
2010/07/28/pere-sotos-giant-steps-analysis/. Music Theory 2 (1): 24–35.

Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 44, Issue 2, pp. 213–30, ISSN 0195-6167,
electronic ISSN 1533-8339. V C The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford

University Press on behalf of The Society for Music Theory. All rights
reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [Link]@[Link].
[Link]