Pitch Class Sets for Python.
Project description
pcsets:
Pitch Class Sets for Python
version 2.0.1
Bruce H. McCosar
Welcome, and thank you for downloading pcsets. This is the second
official (non-beta) release. The core modules have been tested again
and again, not only through unit testing, but in the most important
way: I've gotten practical compositional use out of them. And with this
release, I also present the first experimental module, pcsets.tonerow
(see "About this Package", below).
Learning about Pitch Class Sets is easy -- the four modules presented
here are, like many Python programs, self documenting. They work well
with pydoc <http://docs.python.org/lib/module-pydoc.html>.
Learning how to use these for pracical compositional purposes, on the
other hand ... well, that takes a lot of individual experimentation. In
future releases of this module, I will include a short tutorial, and
demonstrate some of the techniques I've learned. However, you are a much
better judge of what you want to know than I -- please, try the module
out, and most of all, have fun learning something new.
About Pitch Class Sets
======================
Pitch Class Sets are a mathematical model for analyzing and composing
music. Each note 'C' through 'B' has an equivalent pitch class number
0 through 11. Sets of these numbers may be operated on by mathematical
functions such as transpose and invert.
The goal of this project is to, eventually, have:
* A Python library capable of fully implementing Pitch Class Sets
and their common operations, as well as several convenience
functions to bring these abstract concepts to the real world.
(Mapping pitch classes to note names, for instance).
* A tool for composition. Some applications are harmonization,
chord voicing generation, and melodic motif creation.
* More exotic goals -- creation of new chordal elements, musical
progressions, and harmonic relationships.
As you can see, these goals range from easy (already implemented) to
insanely difficult!
Why
===
I became interested in pitch class sets as an offshoot of my earlier
work in jazz (see 'About the Author', below). At the end of this
file is a list of text and Web references that might provide an
introduction to the theory.
I decided to write a Python module after finding most of the programs
available online were GUI-only / interactive only (or worse . . .
applets). For various reasons, I needed to be able to set up long
computational chains on a group of pitch class sets. Typing them into
a web browser one at a time and poking buttons was not an option!
I released the module to the public under the GPL for three reasons:
1. It might serve as an educational tool for music theory and
Pitch Class sets.
2. The addition of functions to connect set theory to the more
traditional chord/scale theory might lead to innovative, new
types of music software.
3. There wasn't a module available that provided the same
functionality.
On the other hand, here I am, publishing a module that requires the
end user to be knowledgeable about 1.) Python and 2.) Musical Set
Theory (obscure). So I don't expect to be the next GNU grep.
About this Package
==================
The API will not change for any of the modules referred to as 'core'.
Bugs will be fixed and new modules will be added, but you won't wake
up one day and find that PcSets wants input in statcoulombs or Dutch
Guldens. In the version 2 series, the core will always behave like
the core. Occasionally new functionality will be introduced, but the
original functionality will never be 'broken' -- that's why I spent all
that time writing unit tests.
This is the core as of 2.0.0:
pcsets.pcset
The base class, PcSet, includes methods that operate on single
sets, such as inversion and transposition.
pcsets.pcops
Operations on two or more sets, such as subset_of(a,b).
pcsets.catalog
Generates the entire catalog of 224 prime sets as a Python
object. Since this takes a while to generate, it saves the
catalog in a pickle file (catalog.pkl) for future use.
pcsets.noteops
The 'universal translator' from PcSets to named notes and
vice versa.
Any *new* modules will enter as 'experimental', however, not core.
Experimental modules can change at any time.
With version 2.0.1, I introduce the first experimental module:
pcsets.tonerow
Implements the ToneRow class. Unlike PcSets, which are
unordered, a ToneRow consists of all 12 pitches in an
*ordered* arrangement.
There is a lot of good information on this subject in the Straus book
referenced below. I've also put a lot of time into writing documentation
strings for the module; a run through it with pydoc will probably tell
you somewhere between too much and far too much ;-)
Another experimental module in development (and still in hiding,
until I settle on a usable, workable interface):
* Operations on the familiar chords and scales -- sort of a noteops
for the common language of chord-scale theory.
These modules won't make it to the core until at least version 2.1.
Be sure to check back at the project website for updates. I seem to
have embraced Google Code's slogan, "Release early, release often."
http://code.google.com/p/pcsets/
--BMC
About the Author
================
Bruce H. McCosar is a middle and high school science teacher residing
in Gainesville, Florida; he switched to teaching after a career in
medicinal chemistry. He is a member of the Mvskoke (Creek) Nation.
Besides a lifelong interest in science, Bruce is a musician. He plays
bass guitar, electric guitar, Hammond organ, and conga drums.
In 2006, he began releasing his music online under a Creative Commons
license for free download at Jamendo. So far he has two albums,
'evolution' (Nov. 2006) and 'handmade' (Feb. 2007), available from his
artist page at:
http://www.jamendo.com/us/artist/bruce.h.mccosar/
And if all that wasn't enough, he then got into Python programming!
References
==========
I'm not one of those that's going to post a zillion references just
to prove I can read. These are the best, the most helpful, the ones I
look at all the time. That's right, I read wholesale and passed the
savings on to you!
Web
* If you want a short introduction or tutorial, Jay Tomlin's site is
the best. Sort of the 'Classics Illustrated' of Pc theory.
http://www.jaytomlin.com/music/settheory/help.html
* If you want a LOT of information without chasing down a book,
well... here's the next best thing.
http://solomonsmusic.net/setheory.htm
Text
* The classic of the field, "The Structure of Atonal Music", by
Allen Forte (1973).
* A relatively new (but extremely thourough and readable) work,
"Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory", by Joseph Straus (3rd ed.,
2005).
Pitch Class Sets for Python
version 2.0.1
Bruce H. McCosar
Welcome, and thank you for downloading pcsets. This is the second
official (non-beta) release. The core modules have been tested again
and again, not only through unit testing, but in the most important
way: I've gotten practical compositional use out of them. And with this
release, I also present the first experimental module, pcsets.tonerow
(see "About this Package", below).
Learning about Pitch Class Sets is easy -- the four modules presented
here are, like many Python programs, self documenting. They work well
with pydoc <http://docs.python.org/lib/module-pydoc.html>.
Learning how to use these for pracical compositional purposes, on the
other hand ... well, that takes a lot of individual experimentation. In
future releases of this module, I will include a short tutorial, and
demonstrate some of the techniques I've learned. However, you are a much
better judge of what you want to know than I -- please, try the module
out, and most of all, have fun learning something new.
About Pitch Class Sets
======================
Pitch Class Sets are a mathematical model for analyzing and composing
music. Each note 'C' through 'B' has an equivalent pitch class number
0 through 11. Sets of these numbers may be operated on by mathematical
functions such as transpose and invert.
The goal of this project is to, eventually, have:
* A Python library capable of fully implementing Pitch Class Sets
and their common operations, as well as several convenience
functions to bring these abstract concepts to the real world.
(Mapping pitch classes to note names, for instance).
* A tool for composition. Some applications are harmonization,
chord voicing generation, and melodic motif creation.
* More exotic goals -- creation of new chordal elements, musical
progressions, and harmonic relationships.
As you can see, these goals range from easy (already implemented) to
insanely difficult!
Why
===
I became interested in pitch class sets as an offshoot of my earlier
work in jazz (see 'About the Author', below). At the end of this
file is a list of text and Web references that might provide an
introduction to the theory.
I decided to write a Python module after finding most of the programs
available online were GUI-only / interactive only (or worse . . .
applets). For various reasons, I needed to be able to set up long
computational chains on a group of pitch class sets. Typing them into
a web browser one at a time and poking buttons was not an option!
I released the module to the public under the GPL for three reasons:
1. It might serve as an educational tool for music theory and
Pitch Class sets.
2. The addition of functions to connect set theory to the more
traditional chord/scale theory might lead to innovative, new
types of music software.
3. There wasn't a module available that provided the same
functionality.
On the other hand, here I am, publishing a module that requires the
end user to be knowledgeable about 1.) Python and 2.) Musical Set
Theory (obscure). So I don't expect to be the next GNU grep.
About this Package
==================
The API will not change for any of the modules referred to as 'core'.
Bugs will be fixed and new modules will be added, but you won't wake
up one day and find that PcSets wants input in statcoulombs or Dutch
Guldens. In the version 2 series, the core will always behave like
the core. Occasionally new functionality will be introduced, but the
original functionality will never be 'broken' -- that's why I spent all
that time writing unit tests.
This is the core as of 2.0.0:
pcsets.pcset
The base class, PcSet, includes methods that operate on single
sets, such as inversion and transposition.
pcsets.pcops
Operations on two or more sets, such as subset_of(a,b).
pcsets.catalog
Generates the entire catalog of 224 prime sets as a Python
object. Since this takes a while to generate, it saves the
catalog in a pickle file (catalog.pkl) for future use.
pcsets.noteops
The 'universal translator' from PcSets to named notes and
vice versa.
Any *new* modules will enter as 'experimental', however, not core.
Experimental modules can change at any time.
With version 2.0.1, I introduce the first experimental module:
pcsets.tonerow
Implements the ToneRow class. Unlike PcSets, which are
unordered, a ToneRow consists of all 12 pitches in an
*ordered* arrangement.
There is a lot of good information on this subject in the Straus book
referenced below. I've also put a lot of time into writing documentation
strings for the module; a run through it with pydoc will probably tell
you somewhere between too much and far too much ;-)
Another experimental module in development (and still in hiding,
until I settle on a usable, workable interface):
* Operations on the familiar chords and scales -- sort of a noteops
for the common language of chord-scale theory.
These modules won't make it to the core until at least version 2.1.
Be sure to check back at the project website for updates. I seem to
have embraced Google Code's slogan, "Release early, release often."
http://code.google.com/p/pcsets/
--BMC
About the Author
================
Bruce H. McCosar is a middle and high school science teacher residing
in Gainesville, Florida; he switched to teaching after a career in
medicinal chemistry. He is a member of the Mvskoke (Creek) Nation.
Besides a lifelong interest in science, Bruce is a musician. He plays
bass guitar, electric guitar, Hammond organ, and conga drums.
In 2006, he began releasing his music online under a Creative Commons
license for free download at Jamendo. So far he has two albums,
'evolution' (Nov. 2006) and 'handmade' (Feb. 2007), available from his
artist page at:
http://www.jamendo.com/us/artist/bruce.h.mccosar/
And if all that wasn't enough, he then got into Python programming!
References
==========
I'm not one of those that's going to post a zillion references just
to prove I can read. These are the best, the most helpful, the ones I
look at all the time. That's right, I read wholesale and passed the
savings on to you!
Web
* If you want a short introduction or tutorial, Jay Tomlin's site is
the best. Sort of the 'Classics Illustrated' of Pc theory.
http://www.jaytomlin.com/music/settheory/help.html
* If you want a LOT of information without chasing down a book,
well... here's the next best thing.
http://solomonsmusic.net/setheory.htm
Text
* The classic of the field, "The Structure of Atonal Music", by
Allen Forte (1973).
* A relatively new (but extremely thourough and readable) work,
"Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory", by Joseph Straus (3rd ed.,
2005).
