Glossary — short definitions of terms
Alphabetic list of basic and unique terms and names used by Tonalibus
(alphabetic order of terms and names in English)
Aeol / Eol — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality and pentachord names; indicates correlation to Aeolian; short for Aeolian
AeolDorian — name of the corresponding pentachord
Aeolian — a diatonic tonality; natural minor
Anchor, harmonic — fundamental pitch with its quint and quart, progressive and regressive
Anchor, primary harmonic — a corner pitch of the sound temple with its quint and quart: North as fundamental anchor, South as contrast anchor, East as minor anchor, and West as major anchor
Anchor realization shift — a harmonic miracle of nature in action
Anchor, secondary harmonic — a non-primary harmonically anchored pitch with its quint and quart (anchor head indication: NE=North-East, EN=East-North, ES=East-South, SE=South-East, SW=South-West, WS=West-South, WN=West-North, NW=North-West)
Aum / Ōṁ — the sound of a sacred spiritual symbol; ॐ or ओम् in Sanskrit; the essence of reality and consciousness
Axis, harmonic — two diametrically opposed pitches in an octave circle
Bal — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; indicates balance in its structure, generally a halfway mirrored pattern; short for balance
Blu — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; indicates a tonality includes an initial Reach step (off its fundamental), its quart in hexa- but not pentatonalities, and its quint, but not its tritone; short for partial blue
Blue — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; indicates a tonality includes one or more Reach steps (primarily off its fundamental and/or its quint), its tritone, plus generally both, its quart and its quint, exceptionally just one of the two; short for full blue; name of a corresponding lower pentachord and upper tetra/trichord
Blues — a diverse musical style originated in the United States from African roots; blues tonalities often include the tritone, one or two Reach steps, and/or consecutive half steps
BlueUp — name of an exceptional lower pentachord and upper tetrachord
BluNa — key syllable combination used by Tonalibus in exceptional tonality names; indicates a tonality includes both its minor and its major third; short for partial blue and natural harmonics
Cluster — key expression used by Tonalibus in tonality names; indicates correlation to clustered tonalities; short for clustered or melodic tonality
Clustered / melodic heptatonality — five whole steps and two half steps (or semitones) to an octave, alternating one or four whole steps between single half steps
Cor — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; indicates the presence of the four Core pitches or corners of the sound temple (North, East, South, and West); short for corners of the sound temple or Core tonality
Core tonality — contains all four corners of the sound temple
Corners of the sound temple — four equidistant tones within the octave, three semitones from each other
Derivative tonality — not included in the Tonalibus catalogue; slight mutation or challengingly harmonic variety of a catalogued tonality; e.g., HexaBlueUp as slight mutation of BlueUp without 7+, or the various derivatives of Core tonalities
Diatonic heptatonality — five whole steps and two half steps (or semitones) to an octave, alternating two or three whole steps between single half steps
Dor — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality and tetrachord names; indicates correlation to Dorian; short for Dorian
Dorian — a diatonic tonality
DorMixolydian — name of the corresponding tetrachord
Duality — worlds and states of consciousness with polarities and illusion
Duality, beyond — planes of existence and states of consciousness beyond polarities and illusion, states of unity and being, of soul and divine love
Eol / Aeol — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality and pentachord names; indicates correlation to Aeolian; short for Aeolian
Fidibus — lighter, kindling; Latin: chord, string, stringed instruments, faith, trust, loyalty, fidelity
Fundamental — fundamental pitch of a tonality, tonic, Do, or Sa
Gypsy scales — from Romani, Hungarian, Byzantine, Klezmer, Jewish, and Spanish music; often including one or two Reach steps and more or less Phrygian characteristics
Half step (or semitone) — minor second; twelve halftone steps or semitones make an octave
Harmonic heptatonality — one of a few specific, more common Reach heptatonalities; single or double harmonic
Harmonic realization shift — reconciles linear fundamentals and correlations with nonlinear curved actuality in relative harmony
Harmonic, reciprocal — mirror image or reverse harmonic relationship; e.g., the quart (perfect fourth) carrying the octave as primary harmonic or its quint (perfect fifth)
Harmonic series, natural — sequence of harmonics or overtones whose frequency is an integer multiple of a fundamental frequency
Harmonic tetrachord — Reach tetrachord; traditional name of a corresponding tetrachord
Harmonics or overtones, primary — correspond to the octave and quint
Harmonics or overtones, secondary — correspond more or less exactly to the major third, minor seventh, major second, tritone, and minor sixth
Harmonics or overtones, tertiary — correspond more or less exactly to the major seventh, minor second, minor third, quart, and major sixth — reciprocal harmonics
Harmony — the balanced relationship of different elements to each other; equilibrium; in music: the pleasant interplay of multiple tones or chords; in general: when opposites meet in unity and circles close, while always remaining open-ended
Hepta- — used like a prefix meaning seven
Heptatonality — tonality with seven different pitches per octave; sorted into four groups by Tonalibus: 1) regular diatonic heptatonalities, 2) clustered (or melodic) heptatonalities, 3) Tritone or Blues Tonalities and 4) Reach (or harmonic) heptatonalities
Hexa- — used like a prefix meaning six
Hexatonality — tonality with six different pitches per octave
HU (pronounced “hiou”) — ancient name for God; mantra of soul
Interval — distance between two tones, in a scale relative to the fundamental or tonic: prime, major/minor second, major/minor third, fourth, fifth, major/minor sixth, major/minor seventh, octave
Inversion — in music, a sequence of two or more notes rearranged so that one or more original bottom notes become upper notes
Ion — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality and tetrachord names; indicates correlation to Ionian; short for Ionian
Ionian — a diatonic tonality; diatonic major
IonLydian — name of the corresponding tetrachord
Key (or scale) — sequence of successive tones at certain intervals; key emphasizes the tonal gender (major/minor) at a particular pitch
La — key syllable used by Tonalibus in hexa- and pentatonality names; indicates the presence of the major sixth (La) and no seventh; the absence of La in an equivalent name indicates the presence of the minor seventh and no sixth; short for last harmonic in the series and the solfège pitch La
Lo — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; indicates correlation to the lower tetra- or pentachord or a lowered Reach or other step; short for low
Locor — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality and progression names; indicates that the lower tetrachord includes or consists of the initial three of the four corners of the sound temple (North, East, and South, but not West); short for low Core
Locrian — a diatonic tonality; regressive, without quint; name of the corresponding penta- and tetrachord
Lolo — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; indicates the lower pentachord consists of an initial Reach step followed by two consecutive half steps and a whole step; refers to the initial Reach step in the lowest possible position right off the fundamental in the lower pentachord; short for double low; name of a corresponding pentachord
LoloReach — subgroup of Reach tonalities with an initial Reach step followed by two consecutive half steps in the lower tetrachord
LoReachUp — subgroup of Reach tonalities with an initial or low half step and a Reach step pushed up by a whole step; indicates the lower pentachord consists of a half step followed by a whole step before a Reach step followed by a half step; name of a corresponding pentachord
Lyd — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; indicates correlation to Lydian; short for Lydian
Lydian — a diatonic tonality; progressive, without quart; name of the corresponding pentachord
Maj — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; first in a name it indicates the lower, last in a name the upper tetrachord consists of two consecutive whole steps followed by a half step; short for major (matching traditional tetrachord naming)
Major — common tonality classification with multiple meanings, including diatonic major, harmonic, melodic, Neapolitan, double harmonic, Gypsy, pentatonic, blues major, etc.; traditional name of a corresponding tetrachord
Mantra — a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit believed by practitioners to have a religious, magical or spiritual charge
Mantra, individual sound — an individually attuned tonal mantra
Melodic / clustered heptatonality — five whole steps and two half steps (or semitones) to an octave, alternating one or four whole steps between single half step
Min — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; first in a name it indicates the lower terachord consists of a whole step followed by a half and a another whole step; last in a name it indicates the upper tetrachord consists of a half step followed by two consecutive whole steps (partially in pentatonalities); short for minor; matching traditional naming for the lower but not the upper tetrachord (traditionally called Phrygian)
Mini-concert session — small concert session focusing on qualities of sound and harmony
Minor — common tonality classification with multiple meanings, including natural minor, harmonic, melodic, Neapolitan, double harmonic, Gypsy, pentatonic, blues minor, etc.; traditional name of a corresponding tetrachord
Miracle of nature — tendency of regressive appearances to mutate naturally based on their own physical and harmonic properties to their progressive counterparts; as such, in music, a regressive tonality, with quart but no quint, tends to convert itself as the quart naturally gravitates to assume the role of fundamental, thus making the original fundamental its quint, the first and main overtone in the natural harmonic series that is not an octave
Mirror shift pattern — mirror image of a pattern, reverse order of intervals in an octave
Mix — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; at the end of a name it indicates the upper tetrachord consists of a whole step followed by a half step and another whole step (partially in hexa- and pentatonalities); short for mixed, in relation to Mixolydian (traditional tetrachord name: minor)
Mixolyd — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality and pentachord names; indicates correlation to Mixolydian; short for Mixolydian
Mixolydian — a diatonic tonality
MixolydIonian — name of the corresponding pentachord
Na — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; indicates a correlation to the natural harmonics series, that the whole or a part of a tonality consists more or less of the initial harmonics in the series; short for natural harmonics
NaReach — subgroup of Reach tonalities with primary and secondary natural harmonics pitches in the lower pentachord and a Reach step in the upper tetrachord
Na tonality — a more or less consecutive segment of the natural harmonic series
NaTri — key syllable used by Tonalibus in exceptional hexa- and pentatonality names; indicates that the lower tetrachord of a hexatonality or the whole pentatonality consists of the initial harmonics in the series, but without second and with the tritone; short for natural harmonics and tritone
Natural harmonic series — sequence of harmonics or overtones whose frequency is an integer multiple of a fundamental frequency
Neapolitan scales — two scale patterns or systematic sets of scales, so-called minor and major; both patterns include three consecutive half steps, the first also a Reach step; the first contributed four fully or partially anchored Reach tonalities, the second two clustered Na tonalities to the Tonalibus catalogue
Norcor — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality and progression names; indicates that an octave contains the Northern three of the four corners of the sound temple (North, East, and West, but not South); short for Northern Core
Octatonality — tonality with eight pitches per octave
Ōṁ / Aum — the sound of a sacred spiritual symbol; ॐ or ओम् in Sanskrit; the essence of reality and consciousness
Penta- — used like a prefix meaning five
Pentachord — five-tone sequence within a quint; lower portion of an octave
Pentatonality — tonality with five pitches per octave; basic (regular, clustered, extra) or extended
Phryg — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality (and tetrachord) names; in the first part of a name it indicates the lower tetrachord consists of an initial half step followed by two consecutive whole steps; indicates correlation to Phrygian; short for Phrygian
PhrygAeolian — name of the corresponding tetrachord
Phrygian — a diatonic tonality; name of the corresponding pentachord; traditional name of a corresponding tetrachord
Pitch — property of sounds that allows their ordering on a frequency-related scale
Prime Na tonality — a very consecutive segment of the natural harmonic series
Pro — key syllable used by Tonalibus mostly in hexa- and pentatonality names; indicates the lower tetrachord consists of the initial natural harmonic pitches in the series, the major second, major third, and quint; Pro heptatonalities further include the tritone and have in most cases no Pro in their name; short for Progressive tonality; name of a corresponding tetrachord
Pro tonality — progressive, without regressive quart, anchored in main discernible overtones (quint, major third, major second) in the lower tetrachord, flexible in upper
Quart — so-called perfect fourth
Quart, progressive — regressive quint or fifth
Quart, regressive — progressive quint or fifth
Quint — so-called perfect fifth
Quint, progressive — regressive quart or fourth
Quint, regressive — progressive quart or fourth
Reach — key syllable used by Tonalibus also in tonality names; in the first part of a name it indicates the lower (or both, the lower and upper), in the last part of a name the upper tetrachord contains a Reach-step in some context, the norm being a half step on either side framing the Reach step (traditional tetrachord name: harmonic); name of a corresponding penta- or tetrachord
Reach, Lolo- — subgroup of Reach tonalities with an initial Reach step followed by two consecutive half steps in the lower tetrachord
ReachNa — subgroup of Reach tonalities with an initial half step creating a Reach step before following primary and secondary natural harmonics pitches in the lower pentachord; name of a corresponding pentachord
Reach, Na- — subgroup of Reach tonalities with primary and secondary natural harmonics pitches in the lower pentachord and a Reach step in the upper tetrachord
Reach step — augmented second — three semitones or half steps in one step
Reach tonality — contains one or more Reach steps (augmented seconds)
ReachUp — subgroup of Reach tonalities with a Reach step framed by half steps pushed up over an initial whole step in the lower pentachord; indicates the lower pentachord consists of an initial whole step followed by a half step, a Reach step, and another half step; name of a corresponding pentachord
ReachUp, Lo- — subgroup of Reach tonalities with an initial or low half step and a Reach step pushed up by a whole step; indicates the lower pentachord consists of a half step followed by a whole step before a Reach step followed by a half step; name of a corresponding pentachord
Reach, Uplo- — subtype of an exceptional Reach tonality with an initial Reach step followed by two consecutive half steps in the upper tetrachord
Realization shift, anchor — a harmonic miracle of nature in action
Realization shift, harmonic — reconciles linear fundamentals and correlations with nonlinear curved actuality in relative harmony
Reciprocal harmonic — mirror image or reverse harmonic relationship; e.g., the quart (perfect fourth) carrying the octave as primary harmonic or its quint (perfect fifth)
Reg — key syllable used by Tonalibus in names of regressive tonalities; partially anchored on their quart, they lack their quint, the first diverse harmonic pitch in the series; so far there are but few regressive tonalities in the Tonalibus catalogue, most without Reg in their name; short for Regressive tonality
Reg tonality — regressive, without the progressive quint, inverse to Pro tonalities
Scale (or key) — sequence of successive tones at certain intervals; key emphasizes the tonal gender (major/minor) at a particular pitch
Semitone (or halftone step) — minor second; twelve halftone steps or semitones make an octave
Session, mini-concert — small concert session focusing on qualities of sound and harmony
Sound temple, corners of the — four equidistant tones within the octave, three semitones from each other
Spiritualibus — Latin: of or pertaining to breathing, the wind or air; of or pertaining to spirit, spiritual
Step, halftone (or semitone) — minor second; twelve halftone steps or semitones make an octave
Step, Reach — augmented second — three semitones or half steps in one step
Step, whole — major second — two semitones or half steps; six whole steps make an octave
Symphony of Life and Love — title of a CD created and released in 2014
Tetra- — used like a prefix meaning four
Tetrachord — four-tone sequence within a quart; lower or upper in an octave; exceptionally within a quint (lower portion of an octave)
Tetratonality — tonality with four pitches per octave
Tonalibus — Latin: tonality, book of musical rules
Tonalibus exploration courses — aim at deepening one’s understanding and insights about harmony and tonalities, in music and in life
Tonality — relationships between tones, sounds and chords (or also colors); relationship to the fundamental, the tonic; the totality of the properties and qualities of a given key or scale relative to a fundamental
Tonality, Core — contains all four corners of the sound temple
Tonality, derivative — not included in the Tonalibus catalogue; slight mutation or challengingly harmonic variety of a catalogued tonality; e.g., HexaBlueUp as slight mutation of BlueUp without 7+, or the various derivatives of Core tonalities
Tonality, fully anchored — with both, the quint and the quart to the fundamental
Tonality, Na — a more or less consecutive segment of the natural harmonic series
Tonality, partially anchored — with either the quint or the quart to the fundamental
Tonality, prime Na — a very consecutive segment of the natural harmonic series
Tonality, Pro — progressive, without regressive quart, anchored in main discernible overtones (quint, major third, major second) in lower the tetrachord, flexible in the upper
Tonality, Reach — contains one or more Reach steps (augmented seconds)
Tonality, Reg — regressive, without the progressive quint, inverse to Pro tonalities
Trichord — three-tone sequence within a quart; upper in an octave; exceptionally within a quint (lower portion of an octave)
Tritone — between quart and quint; deviation of overtone and equally spaced steps
Ulrico — creator of Tonalibus, author of the Spiritualibus blog, and owner of the Fidibus shop
Up — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality names; indicates a shifted up Reach (or other) step or a correlation to the upper tri- or tetrachord; short for upper or lifted up
Upcor — key syllable used by Tonalibus in tonality and progression names; indicates that the upper tetrachord consists of the latter three of the four corners of the sound temple (North, West, and South, but not East); short for upper Core
Uplo — key syllable used by Tonalibus in an exceptional tonality name; indicates the upper tetrachord consists of an initial Reach step followed by two consecutive half steps; refers to the initial Reach step in the lowest possible position in the upper tetrachord right off the quint; short for upper low; name of a corresponding tetrachord
UploReach — subtype of an exceptional Reach tonality with an initial Reach step followed by two consecutive half steps in the upper tetrachord
Whole step — major second — two semitones or half steps; six whole steps make an octave
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