Tonalibus

Meaning of the word Tonalibus

Tonalibus is the ablative or dative plural of the Latin noun “tonale” meaning “tonality” or “book of musical rules”. Ablative expresses concepts similar to those of the English prepositions “by”, “with”, and “using” (instrumental), “at” and “in” (locative in space and time), as well as “of” and “from” (origin). Dative indicates recipients or beneficiaries.

Goal and purpose

Tonalibus’ goal overall and with this website is to contribute to a deeper understanding of harmony in general, and in particular of tonalities in music, to be perceived in life and consciously applied for well-being and spiritual unfoldement — individually and collectively.

Tonalibus serves as my repository of compiled discoveries and insights relating to harmony and tonalities. I, Ulrico, trust they can be useful references for whoever may use them. This very much includes also myself. I continue and love to research harmony and tonalities as they manifest in music and further apply themselves in life.

Tonalibus history

Tonalibus started with an inspiration I, Ulrico, scribbled on a shred of paper at a retreat in the Swiss Alps. You can see the original sketch below. Based on this I set out to create a few graphs and tables to explore and capture more of its meaning. Within just two weeks this proliferated into some 250 images. They were the beginning of the catalogue of anchored tonalities and of modules 3), 4), and 5) of the five-part course series Harmonic and Tonality Fundamentals.

Assembling the collections of fundamental Tonalibus concepts and the initial version of the catalogue of anchored tonalities took three months. This included the grouping, qualification, naming, and sound sampling of anchored tonalities, as well as discovering fascinating fundamental concepts, such as primary and secondary harmonic anchors, harmonic axes, the realization shift, and harmonic pivots. All this emerged and continues to unfold through intense inner and outer research and some exchange with a few good friends, including my two sons. Thank you. You know who you are.