Symetritonix is a word that I coined to indicate a vertical balance of total elements in music
composition. I am not a crazy old fool who thinks he has discovered something that will change
the way music is written, but it may offer some fresh perspectives to composers who wish to
expand their tonal vocabulary. The very interesting thing about this method of composition is
that, after I had developed the principles (probably in the 60's and 70's) I went back to a piano
piece that I had written about 1958 and found that it is based almost totally on symetritonix -
from a time when I was not thinking about these principles in any way.
Basic Principles of SYMETRITONIX
As anyone with musical training will know, there are two whole tone scales; (1) C D E F# G#
A# (2) Db Eb F G A B
In basic two-part writing I balance the tones in the upper voice with those in the lower voice. At
any given moment the upper voice will contain a tone from the first whole tone scale, and the
lower voice will contain a tone from the second whole tone scale, or vice-versa.
In three-part writing it is obvious that no balance can occur, because there would always be two
parts from one of the whole tone scales and a third from the other whole tone scale, or it is
possible that all three might be from the same whole tone scale.
In four part writing this method does not stand out as radical, because if your intent is to
create tonal harmony, that is still very possible within the bounds of Symetritonix. Some
doubling of voices occurs that is not according to the "rules" of Bach chorales, but since the
intent is to break new ground and avoid cliches, that is not necessarily a bad thing.
In five part writing one of the parts is usually doubled, so what I have said about four parts
would apply. As in the case of three parts, it is obvious that there is no way to achieve a
perfect vertical balance among five parts.
Six part writing, which I have only begun to explore, seems to have a lot of possibilities for
creativity. It is three separate parts from one whole tone scale balanced against three separate
parts from the other whole tone scale. In my writing thus far I have discovered that when the
six parts are balanced and working well, you can insert an additional familiar tonal melody, and it
can be heard in its independence and its blend with the whole.