The impetus for this project came from my desire to understand intuitively-based pitch organization within my own compositions.
In this dissertation I am interested in finding connections between modality, tonality, 12-tone, set theory, and modes of limited transposition. Since learning of these various methods pitch organization I have often wondered how they are interconnected, and how I could use them with more precision as a composer.
While composing, many times I have encountered the problem of having little grasp of how my pitch material was working internally. I often would compose intuitively without much logical control over the exact pitch material.
Until about 2009 my compositional methods worked well enough, but suddenly I felt the need to know more about my musical work on the microscopic level.
This led to my investigation of various methods of pitch organization. Initially I was very unsatisfied with my own attempts at using the 12-tone and set theory approaches. These methods used the full chromatic spectrum but lacked in the aural pay-off that tonally based chromatic music provided.
However there was one composer's work I have admired for many years that seemed to circumvent this problem. Olivier Messiean's music utilizes a system of 'modes of limited transposition' which captured the harmonic quality that I have been striving for in my own music since I began composing seriously in 1999.
Messiaen explains his techniques in his own book 'My musical language'. However, I had a suspicion that it was possible for a composer to create equally logical pitch networks that create a similar musical pay-off to tonal and modal harmony.
I began to find the answer was searching for in interval cycles. Interval cycles, by manipulating the pitch series more freely and at the same time utilizing the entire chromatic landscape, provided a way to compose that satisfied my desires aurally and logically.
Thus began my adventure with this dissertation project.
