Chapter 1

Basic Concepts and Definitions

Octave Equivalence
There is something special about the octave. Pitches separated by one or more
octaves are usually perceived as in some sense equivalent. Our musical notation
reftects that equivalence by giving the same name to octave-related pitches. The
name A, for example, is given not only to some particular pitch, like the A a minor
third below middle C, but also to all the other pitches one or more octaves above or
below it. Octave-related pitches are called by the same name because they sound so
much alike and because Western music usually treats them as functionally equivalent.
Equivalence is not the same thing as identity. Example 1-1 shows a melody
from Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 4, first as it occurs at the beginning of the first
movement and then as it occurs a few measures from the end.

Example 1-1 1\vo equivalent melodies (Schoenberg, String Quartet No. 4).

The two versions are different in many ways, particularly in their rhythm and range.
The range of the second version is so wide that the first violin cannot reach all of the
2 Basic Concepts and Definitions

notes; the cello has to step in to help. At the same time, however, it is easy to recog­
nize that they are basically the same melody-in other words, that they are octave

4-5.
equivalent.
In Example l-2, the opening of Schoenberg's Piano Piece, Op. l l , No. 1 , com­
pare the first three notes of the melody with the sustained notes in measures

Piano

Example 1-2 Two equivalent musical ideas (Schoenberg, Piano Piece, Op. 1 1 , No. 1 ).

There are many differences between the two collections of notes (register, articula­
tion, rhythm, etc.), but a basic equivalence also. They are equivalent because they
both contain a B, a GI, and a G.
We find the same situation in the passage shown in Example 1-3, from a string
quartet movement by Webern. The first three notes of the viola melody-G, B, and
Cl-return as the cadential chord at the end of the phrase. The melody and the chord
are octave equivalent.

Example 1-3 Two equivalent musical ideas (Webern, Movements for String
Quartet, Op. 5, No. 2).

W hen we assert octave equivalence, and other equivalences we will discuss

later, our object is not to smooth out or dismiss the variety of the musical surface.
Rather, we seek to discover the relationships that underlie the surface and lend unity
and coherence to musical works.
 Basic Concepts and Definitions 3

Pitch Class
We will distinguish between a pitch (a tone with a certain frequency) and a pitch
dass (a group of pitches with the same name). Pitch-elass A, for example, contains
all the pitches named A. To put it the other way around, any pitch named A is a mem­
ber of pitch-elass A. Sometimes we will speak about specific pitches; at other times
we will talk, more abstractly, about pitch elasses. W hen we say that the lowest note
on the cello is a C, we are referring to a specific pitch. We can notate that pitch on the
second ledger line beneath the bass staff. When we say that the tonic of Beethoven's
Fifth Symphony is C, we are referring not to some particular pitch C, but to pitch­
elass C. Pitch-elass C is an abstraction and cannot be adequately notated on musical
staves. Sometimes, for convenience, we will represent a pitch class using musical
notation. In reality, however, a pitch class is not a single thing; it is a class of things,
of pitches one or more octaves apart.
The passage shown in Example 1-4 consists of seventeen three-note chords.
The pitches change as the instruments jump around, but each chord contains the same
three pitch classes: Fl, G, andAI> (notice that the violin is playing harmonics that pro­
duce a pitch two octaves higher than the filled-in notehead).

Slow
�.<>. �.<>.
" Jl.<>. Jl.<>. Jl.<>. ��� • • Jl

Violin
.,

L L L L
Tuba
ll- ll-
#• #i #i #i #•
�.. �.. �..
...

� � 15'"',
" - - Jl
Piano
., fl- fl- fl- fl'

Example l-4 Many pitches, but only three pitch elasses: Fl, G, and Al> (Feldman,
Durations l/l, No. 3).

Enharmonic Equivalence
In common-practice tonal music, a B� is not the same as an Al. Even on an equal­
tempered instrument like the piano, the tonal system gives B� and Al different func­
tions and different meanings, representing different degrees of the scale. In G major,
for example, Al is 12 whereas B� is �3. and scale-degrees 2 and 3 have very different
musical roles both melodically and harmonically. These distinctions are largely
4 Basic Concepts and Definitions

abandoned in post-tonal music, however, where notes that are enharmonically equiv­
alent (like B� and Al) are also functionally equivalent. For example, the passage in
Example 1-5 involves three repetitions: the A retums an octave higher, the B retums
two octaves lower, and the M returns three octaves higher as a GI . M and GI are
enharmonically equivalent.

!;
�
-r-�-; =
�J�

II r-3--.

I
tl 4 L I b 5

:
8P p
L J p 11if' 8 f
�J J
f
Example 1-5 Enharmonic equivalence (Stockhausen, Klavierstuck 111).

There may be isolated moments where a composer notates a pitch in what

seems like a functional way (sharps for ascending motion and flats for descending,
for example). For the most part, however, the notation is functionally arbitrary, deter­
rnined by simple convenience and legibility. The melodies in Example 1--6 are enhar­
monically equivalent (although the first one is much easier to read).

,,
a.

� r .w I .w. J� J I J J

'
b.

I ''F ,,J I ,�,J. �oP.J I wd ..J

•

Example 1--6 Enharmonic equivalence.

Integer Notation
Octave equivalence and enharmonic equivalence leave us with only twelve different
pitch classes. All the Bis, Os, and rns are members of a sing1e pitch class, as are a11
the Cls and l).s, a11 the C.s, Ds, and E!l>s, and so on. We will often use integers from 0
through 1 1 to refer to the pitch classes. Figure 1-1 shows the twe1ve different pitch
classes and some of the contents of each.
 Basic Concepts and Definitions 5

integer name pitch-elass content

0 BI, C, ffi
1 Cl, 1)1,
2 C., D, EIJ,
3 DI,B
4 Dx, E, P.
5 EI, F, (]II.
6 FI,G
7 Fx, G,AJh
8 GI,M
9 Gx,A,Bil>
10 AI,B�
11 Ax,B,Q

Figure 1-1

We will use a "fixed do" notation: the pitch class containing the Cs is arbitrari1y
assigned the integer 0 and therest follows from there.
Iotegers are traditional in music (figured-bass numbers, for example) and use­
ful for representing certain musical relationships. We will never do things to the inte­
gers that don't have musical significance. We won't divide integers, because, while
dividing 7 into 11 makes numerical sense, dividing G into B doesn't make much
musical sense. Other arithmetical operations, however, will prove musically useful.
We will, for example, subtract numbers, because, as we will see, subtraction gives us
a simple way of talking about intervals. Computing the distance between 7 and 11 by
subtracting 7 from 11 makes numerical sense, and the idea of computing the distance
between G and B makes musical sense. We will use numbers and arithmetic to model
interesting aspects of the music we study. The music itself is not "mathematical" any
more than our lives are "mathematical" just because we count our ages in integers. In
this book, we will identify pitch classes with either traditional letter notation or inte­
gers, whichever seems clearest and easiest in a particular context.

Mod 12
Every pitch belongs to one of the twelve pitch classes. Going up an octave (adding
twelve semitones) or going down an octave (subtracting twelve semitones) will just
produce another member of the same pitch class. For example, if we start on the B
above middle C (a member of pitch class 3) and go up twelve semitones, we end up
back on pitch class 3. In other words, in the world of pitch classes, 3 + 12 = 15 = 3.
More generally, any number !arger than 11 or smaller than 0 is equivalent to some
integer from 0 to 11 inclusive. To figure out which one, just add or subtract 12 (or
any multiple of 12). Twelve is called the modulus, and our theoretical system fre­
quently will rely upon arithmetic modulo 12, for which mod 12 is an abbreviation. In
a mod 12 system, -12 = 0 = 12 = 24, and so on. Similarly,- 13,- 1,23, and 35 are all
6 Basic Concepts and Definitions

equivalent to 11 (and to each other) because they are related to 11 (and to each other)
by adding or subtracting 12.
It is easiest to understand these (and other) mod 12 relationships by envision­
ing a circular clockface, like the one in Figure 1-2.

0
11
10 2

9 3

8 4
7 5
6

Figure 1-2

In a mod 12 system, moving 12 (or a multiple of 12) in either direction only brings
you back to your starting point. As a result, we will generally be dealing only with
integers between 0 and 11 inclusive. W hen we are confronted with a number larger
than 11 or smaller than 0, we will us11ally write it, by adding or subtracting 12, as an
integer between 0 and 11. We will sometimes use negative numbers (for example,
when we want to suggest the idea of descending), and we will sometimes use num­
bers larger than 11 (for example, when discussing the distance between two widely
separated pitches), but in general we will discuss such numbers in terms of their mod
12 equivalents.
We locate pitches in an extended pitch space, ranging in equal-tempered semi­
tones from the lowest to the highest audible tone. We locate pitch classes in a modu­
lar pitch-elass space, as in Figure 1-2, which circles back on itself and contains only
the twelve pitch classes. It's 1ike the hours of the day or the days of the week. As our
lives unfold in time, each hour and each day are uniquely located in linear time, never
to be repeated. But we can be sure that, if it's eleven o'clock now, it will be eleven
o'clock again in twelve hours (that's a mod 12 system), and that if it's Friday today,
it will be Friday again in seven days (that's a mod 7 system). Just as our lives unfold
simultaneously in linear and modular time, music unfolds simultaneously in pitch
and pitch-elass space.

lntervals
Because of enharrnonic equivalence, we will no Ionger need different names for
intervals with the same absolute sire-for example, diminished fourths and major
thirds. In tonal music, such distinctions are crucial; intervals are defined and named
according to their tonal function. A third, for example, is an interval that spans three
steps of the diatonic scale, while a fourth spans four steps. A major third is conso­
nant, while a diminished fourth is dissonant. In music that doesn't use diatonic scales
 Basic Concepts and Definitions 7

and doesn't systematically distinguish between consonance and dissonance, it seems

cumbersome and even misleading to use traditional interval names. It will be easier
and more accurate musically just to name intervals according to the number of semi­
tones they contain. The intervals between C and E and between C and R both contain
four semitones and are both instances of interval4, as are BI-ß, C-0.., and so on.
Example 1-7 extracts a series of seven harmonic intervals played in rhythmic
unison by the second violin and viola in a passage from Elliott C arter's String
Quartet No. 3, a piece in which two instrumental duos often play distinct intervals.
The first six intervals are spelled as major thirds while the seventh is spelled as a
diminished fourth, but in this musical context it is clear that all seven intervals are to
be understood as enharmonically equivalent.

8---------------------- -----·
2ndViolin a

�a ��
..

.... ..

8'6-------------------------..

Example 1-7 Enharmonically equivalent intervals (Carter, String Quartet No. 3,

mm .245-62).

Figure 1-3 gives some traditional interval names and the number of semitones
they contain.

traditional name no. of traditional name no. of

semitones semitones
unison 0 major6th, diminished7th 9
minor2nd 1 augmented 6th, minor7th 10
major2nd, diminished 3rd 2 major7th 11
minor 3rd, augmented2nd 3 octave 12
major3rd, diminished4th 4 minor9th 13
augmented3rd, perfect4th 5 major9th 14
augmented4th, diminished5th 6 minor10th 15
perfect5th, diminished 6th 7 major10th 16
augmented5th, minor6th 8
Figure l-3
8 Basic Concepts and Definitions

Pitch lntervals
A pitch interval is simply the distance between two pitches, measured by the number
of sernitones between them. A pitch interval, which will be abbreviated ip, is created
when we move from pitch to pitch in pitch space. It can be as large as the range of our
hearing or as small as a sernitone. Sometimes we will be concemed about the direc­
tion of the interval, whether ascending or descending. In that case, the number will be
preceded by either a plus sign (to indicate an ascending interval) or a minus sign (to
indicate a descending interval). Intervals with a plus or minus sign are called directed
or ordered intervals. At other times, we will be concemed only with the absolute
space between two pitches. For such unordered intervals, we will just provide the
number of semitones between the pitches.
Whether we consider the interval ordered or unordered depends on our particu­
lar analytical interests at the time. Example 1-8 shows the opening melody from
Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 3, and identifies both its ordered and unordered
pitch intervals.

ordered pitch
intervals: -1 +3 -5 �

unordered pitch
intervals: 3 15 6 s 8 4

Example 1-8 Ordered and unordered pitch intervals (Schoenberg, String Quartet No. 3).

The ordered pitch intervals focus attention on the contour of the line, its balance of
rising and falling motion. The unordered pitch intervals ignore contour and concen­
trate entirely on the spaces between the pitches.

Ordered Pitch-Ciass Intervals

A pitch-elass interval is the distance between two pitch elasses. A pitch-elass inter­
val, which will be abbreviated i, is created when we move from pitch dass to pitch
elass in modular pitch-elass space. lt can never be larger than eleven semitones. As
with pitch intervals, we will sometimes be concemed with ordered intervals and
sometimes with unordered intervals. To calculate pitch-elass intervals, it is best to
think again of a circular elockface as in Figure l -2. We will consider elockwise
movement to be equivalent to movement upward, and counterelockwise movement
equivalent to movement downward. With this in mind, the ordered interval from Cl
to A, for example, is -4 or +8. In other words, from pitch-elass Cl, one can go either
up eight sernitones or down four semitones to get to pitch-elass A. This is because + 8
and - 4 are equivalent (mod 1 2). lt would be equally accurate to call that interval 8 or
 Basic Concepts and Definitions 9

-4. By convention, however, we will usually denote ordered pitch-elass intervals by

an integer from 0 to 1 1 . To state this as a formula, we can say that the ordered interval
from pitch elass x to pitch class y is y - x (mod 1 2). Notice that the ordered pitch
elass interval from A to Cl ( 1- 9 = -8 (mod 1 2) = 4) is different from that from Cl to
A (8), since, when discussing ordered pitch-elass intervals, order matters. Four and 8
are each other's complement mod 12, because they add up to 1 2, as do 0 and 1 2, 1 and
1 1, 2 and 1 0, 3 and 9, and 5 and 7. Six is its own complement mod 1 2.
Figure 1-4 calculates some ordered pitch-elass intervals using the formula.

The ordered pitch-elass interval from Cl to B is 3 - 1 = 2

from B to Cl is 1 - 3 = 10
from B to F is 5 - 1 1 = 6
from D to m is 10 - 2 = 8
from B� to Cl is 1 - 10 = 3

Figure l-4

You will probably find it faster just to envision a musical staff, keyboard, or a clock­
face. To find the ordered pitch-elass interval between Cl and A, just envision the Cl
and then count the nurober of half-steps you will need to go upward (if you are envi­
sioning a staff or keyboard) or clockwise (if you are envisioning a elockface) to the
nearest A.

Unordered Pitch-Ciass lntervals

For unordered pitch-elass intervals, it no Ionger matters whether you count upward or
downward. AU we care about is the space between two pitch elasses. Just count from
one pitch class to the other by the shortest available route, either up or down. The for­
mula for an unordered pitch-elass interval is x - y (mod 1 2) or y - x (mod 1 2),
whichever is smaller. The unordered pitch-elass interval between Cl and A is 4,
because 4 ( 1 - 9 = - 8 = 4) is smaller than 8 (9 - 1 = 8). Notice that the unordered
pitch-elass interval between Cl and A is the same as that between A and Cl. lt is 4 in
both cases, since from A to the nearest Cl is 4 and from Cl to the nearest A also is 4.
lneluding the unison, 0, there are only seven different unordered pitch-elass intervals,
because, to get from one pitch elass to any other, one never has to travel farther than
six semitones. Figure 1-5 calculates some unordered pitch-elass intervals using the
formula. The correct answer is underl ined.

The unordered pitch-elass interval between Cl and B is 3 - 1 = 2 or 1 - 3 = 10

B and Cl is 1 - 3 = 10 or 3 - 1 = 2.
B and F is 5 - 1 1 = Q or 1 1 - 5 = Q
D and B� is 1 0 - 2 = 8 or 2 - 1 0 = :!
m and Cl is 1 - 10 = .3. or 1 0 - 1 = 9

Figure l -5
10 Basic Concepts and Definitions

Again, you will probably find it faster just to envision a elockface, musical staff, or
keyboard. To find the unordered pitch-elass interval between B� and Fl, for example,
just envision a B� and count the number of semitones to the nearest available Fl (4).
In Example l-9a (again the opening melody from Schoenberg's String Quartet
No. 3), the first interval is ordered pitch-elass interval ll , to be abbreviated as i l l .

..
ordered pitch-<:lass
intervals: II

Q
��
i;
*
unordered pitch­
elass intervals:
�� "--../
I

b.

·��I e
ordere<! pitch-elass
intervals: 4 4 8

I* F
unordered pitch-elass
intervals: 4 4 4

Example 1-9 Ordered and unordered pitch-elass intervals (Schoenberg, String

Quartet No. 3).

That's because to move from B to B� one moves -I or its mod 1 2 equivalent, ill .
Eleven is the name for descending semitones or ascending major sevenths or their
compounds. If the m had come before the B, the interval would have been i I, which
is the name for ascending semitones or descending major sevenths or their com­
pounds. And that is the interval described by the two subsequent melodic gestures,
CI-D and F-FI . As ordered pitch-elass intervals, the first is different from the second
and third. As unordered pitch-elass intervals, all three are equivalent. In Example
1 -9b, two Statements of i4 are balanced by a coneluding i8; all three represent
unordered pitch-elass interval 4.

Interval Class
An unordered pitch-elass interval is also called an interval class. Just as each pitch­
elass contains many individual pitches, so each interval class contains many individ­
ual pitch intervals. Because of octave equivalence, compound intervals-intervals
larger than an octave-are considered equivalent to their Counterparts within the
octave. Furthermore, pitch-elass intervals larger than six are considered equivalent to
their complements mod 1 2 (0 = 1 2, 1 = 1 1 , 2 = 10, 3 = 9, 4 = 8, 5 = 7, 6 = 6) . Thus, for
 Basic Concepts ar1d Definitions 11

example, intervals 23, 1 3, 1 1, and 1 are all members of interval class 1 . Figure 1-6
shows the seven different interval classes and some of the contents of each.

interval class 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

pitc h intervals 0,12,24 1,11,13 2,10,14 3 9,15

, 4,8,16 5,7,17 6,18

Figure 1-6

We thus have four different ways of talking about intervals: ordered pitch inter­
val, unordered pitch interval, ordered pitch-elass interval, and unordered pitch-elass
interval. If in some piece we come across the musical figure shown in Example 1-10,
we can describe it in four different ways.

ordered pitch interval: + 19

unordered pitch interval: 19
ordered pitch-elass interval: 7
unordered pitch-elass interval: 5

Example 1-10 F our ways of describing an interval.

If we call it a + 19, we have described it very specifically, conveying both the size of
the interval and its direction. If we call it a 19, we express only its size. If we call it a
7, we have reduced a compound interval to its within-octave equivalent. If we call it a
5, we have expressed the interval in its simplest, most abstract way. None of these
Iabels is better or more right than the others-it's just that some are more concrete
and specific while others are more general and abstract. Which one we use will
depend on what musical relationship we are trying to describe.
It's like describing any object in the world-what you see depends upon where
you stand. If you stand a few inches away from a painting, for example, you may be
aware of the subtlest details, right down to the individual brushstrokes. If you stand
back a bit, you will be better able to see the larger shapes and the overall design.
There is no single "right" place to stand. To appreciate the painting fully, you have to
be willing to move from place to place. One of the specially nice things about music
is that you can hear a single object like an interval in many different ways at once.
Our different ways of talking about intervals will give us the flexibility to describe
many different kinds of musical relationships.