A Framework for Representing and Manipulating Tonal Music

Abstract

This paper describes a novel set of tools, collectively known as “Smart Harmony”, that allows the composer to control and manipulate music at a high level, while constraining the music to conform to a designated functional tonal framework. The Smart Harmony system permits two essential types of operations. First, it allows musical material to be taken from one context and used in a new context – that is, with a new key and/or chord progression – and automatically transforms the material to sound appropriate in that context. Second, it enables musical material to be reshaped, pulling notes higher or lower in pitch, while constraining the material to sound appropriate within a given harmony. An important benefit of our mechanism derives from its relaxation of a strict interpretation of harmonic function, by which means we gain the flexibility to perform these manipulations. We describe data structures and algorithms to implement this mechanism, and offer motivation steeped in traditional functional harmony for its behavior. Lastly, we present musical examples.