From sound to musical systems.
Start with what can be heard, follow the mechanism that produces it, turn that mechanism into a compositional decision, then express the decision as a reusable process. Every chapter supports all four depths.
One process, six decisions
The chapters explain each decision; Builder keeps only the currently relevant choices visible.
- 01Context
Style prior, tonal centre, collection, meter and tempo.
timepitch - 02Layer
Beat, bass, melody, arpeggio, chords or transition.
roles - 03Approach
A concrete musical relation before its abstract formula.
relations - 04Phrase
Bars, contour, harmonic behavior, rests and energy.
phrasing - 05Scene
Several layers, their collisions, instruments and boundaries.
form - 06Orca
Clock, cursor, condition and bang expressed as process.
systems
One mechanism, four useful depths
what changes×time
when it changes×pitch
how repetition is organized→musical form
memory + expectation
music = sound organized through timePitch is one powerful organization of sound—not the whole of music.What distinction should become audible?
What physical, perceptual or musical relation causes it?
Which decision does that relation enable?
Which variables and transformations reproduce it?