Diminished Augmented System of Harmony and Scales
Based on the Uni-Chord Theory of Music Composition and Tonal Navigation
by Ashby Anderson
The Diminished Augmented System of Harmony and Scales is based on the nine-note symmetrical scale below. It is a remarkable resource for musicians and composers. It represents a pathway to a new paradigm in the tonal organization of harmony within the Western Tonal System. This nine-note symmetrical scale organizes tonal harmony in unique repetitive transpositions which allows for more creative avenues in improvisation and composition. Each scale contains over eighty-four sonorities currently used in jazz and classical music. These sonorities are outlined in chart form with unique artistic visuals to help the reader gain a better understanding of the Diminished Augmented System of Harmony.
Outlined first in written form by pianist and composer Ashby Anderson, the Diminished Augmented System of Harmony is a naturally occurring phenomenon within the Western Tonal System. The Diminished System of Harmony and Scales E-Book outlines the relationship of the Diminished Scale and the Augmented Triad as one complete interdependent system of harmony. This system aligns the harmony of the 7 tonal systems into Four nine-note symmetrical scales that can be accessed from any Diminished Scale or Augmented Triad.
The four nine-note scales produced by this system are classified as the complete augmented scale. Its properties are also similar to the half-step whole-step diminished scale. For this reason, it is called the Half-Step Whole-Step Diminished Augmented Scale.
The Diminished Augmented System of Harmony and Scales is a systematic organization of the relationships between all diminished scales and all augmented scales. The result of this relationship is four nine-note symmetrical scales that combines the properties of both the diminished and augmented systems. The scale has been termed the Diminished Augmented Scale in order to classify its properties.
The Diminished Augmented System of Harmony and Scales is an astonishing organization of tonal resources that allows more freedom from the constraints of viewing music in the form of set keys. The Diminished Augmented System of Harmony and Scales outlines another level of tonal organization that does not abandon western tonal harmony but expands it logically. For composers and improvisers, this method provides the order of tonality and the freedom of atonality into a new paradigm of harmony and scales within the western tonal system.
The above example outlines the versatility of the Diminished Augmented System of Harmony. The harmonies above are all generated from the D Half Step Whole Step Diminished Augmented Scale. The individual chords can be derived from their respective parent scales: C melodic Minor, Bb Harmonic Major, Bb Major, B minor, C HW-Diminished, D HW-Diminished, F# Major, B Harmonic Minor and D Major.
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A more modern twist is given in this example: a D Phrygian sonority and theme developed from the D Half-Step Whole-Step Diminished Augmented Scale.