Transformations in serial music and language games

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study contributes to the investigation of formal similarities between music and language by examining commonalities between reversing operations found in language games and pitch patterns found in serial music. Our approach provides a new framework for analysing transformations in serial compositions, especially those involving pitch–class relationships between invariant hexachords. Although transformations in serial repertoire have been argued to be complex and difficult to aurally comprehend, we demonstrate that the structure of these transformations parallels language games commonly found across languages. Reference to language game patterning illustrates systematic relationships between hexachords which cannot always be related using conventional serial operators.