mathematic processes & tone clock

[Katja <e.k.vetter@freeler.nl>]

Hi,

Dutch composer Peter Schat works with a tonal system visualised by the 
dodecahedron since long. He calls it 'Toonklok', Tone Clock. In his view, 
all possible triads within the clock (the 'hours', starting with a triad 
based on two minor second intervals) have meaning in relation to each 
other, just like the classical triads within major and minor scales have. 
With the important difference that the Tone Clock offers so many more 
possibilities. All of Schat's music of the past decades is based on it. He 
promotes the system wherever and whenever he can, but seems to have little 
succes. The trouble is, you have to listen to this kind of music quite 
often before you actually hear the interrelations. For the casual listener 
it does not distinguish itself from other 'difficult' modern composed 
music. And because very few composers work this way we might not live the 
day the audience will enjoy this music on a large scale. You can check 
some 
of the Tone Clock theory on www.xs4all.nl/~taede/toonklok/main-e.html.

Katja Vetter.



Douglas wrote:

>Briefly: Draw the chromatic scale out like a twelve-pointed circle - a
>dodecahedron - and note the locations of various chords and scales on this
>circle. This simple geometric view of intervals will quickly reveal 
>numerous
>patterns in the music you care to chart in this way, and in the 
>construction
>of music generally. Now I often "hear" these shapes and associate the 
>shapes
>with certain sounds. I am amazed that this simple process is not used in
>music education.
>Douglas Baldwin, coyote-at-large
>coyotelk@optonline.net