Harmony as Process: Diatonic Sequences and the Organization of Pitch Relations in Time
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article proposes a process-based reconceptualization of harmony as an emergent organization of pitch relations unfolding in time. Rather than treating the chord as a static pitch collection, the model shifts analytical focus to the consistent connection of pitches within the diatonic scale. Step sequences are introduced as a new class of musical material: repeatable orderings of relations that generate characteristic patterns of stability, change, and directionality independently of local pitch structures. The article demonstrates that different orderings of identical pitch material give rise to distinct hearing processes, even when the resulting pitch collections coincide. The consistent application of a chosen sequence produces a specific model of harmonization, not as an aesthetic prescription, but as a generative consequence of the process itself. Compositional agency is thereby relocated from chord selection to the choice of sequences, the definition of interruption points, and the integration of pitch processes with other musical parameters. Harmony is thus described as a temporal and relational phenomenon, offering an alternative perspective that intersects with, yet remains distinct from, both functional harmony and freely post-tonal techniques.
Author: Polak, Tomasz Paweł
Institution: Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
Language: English
Subfield: Music
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7125395281
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