Coltrane Slonim Sky

Nicholas Slonimsky
and the expanding Tonality of

John Coltrane
BY DENNIS BELISLE
Nicolas Slonimsky
• Born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1894, to a family with a long
line of scientists, musicians, and brilliant inventors.
• Before reaching the age of three, the family had

confirmed that Nicolas acquired the gift of “perfect pitch.”
• His maternal aunt, Isabelle Vengerova, later a founder of

Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music, was his first piano
teacher.
• He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory until 1914
• In 1918 he began touring as a vocal accompanist, then

worked his way through Turkey and Bulgaria as a pianist in
theaters and silent movie houses, arriving in Paris in 1921.
Nicolas Slonimsky
 Hecame to the United States in 1923 to work as an
accompanist in the newly created opera department at the
Eastman School of Music in Rochester, where he continued his
composition and conducting studies
 Healso taught music theory at the Boston Conservatory and

the Malkin Conservatory
 Slonimsky
was a formidably gifted musicologist and
lexicographer who also made his mark as a conductor, pianist
and composer
 He died on Christmas day in 1995 at the age of 101

Nicolas Slonimsky – the author
 His first book, "Music Since 1900," appeared in 1937. A day-by-day chronology
of important as well as amusing but trivial events in 20th-century music
 He wrote his Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns in 1947
 Other books written by Slonimsky include:

 Lexicon of Musical Invective (1953), a collection of scathing reviews of
musical masterpieces
 Music of Latin America (1945)
 The Road to Music (1947)
 A Thing or Two About Music (1948).
 His autobiography (which he wanted to call ‘Failed Wunderkind’) was

published as "Perfect Pitch" in 1988.
Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns
 This Thesaurus is an extension of several different theorists’
concepts on suggesting the possibility of forming entirely new
scales based on the division of the octave into several equal parts
 Domenico Alaleona (1911)

 Italian musician proposed such scales
 Alois Haba (1927) in neue harmonielehre
 classified
several scales based on equal intervals and suggested
harmonization
 Joseph Schillinger in Schillinger System of Musical Compositions
 Classified new tonal progressions in the chapter ‘Theory of Pitch-Scales’
 The scales and melodic patterns in the Thesaurus are systematized
in a manner convenient to composers in search of new material
 The Thesaurus is arranged in the form of piano scales and melodic

studies
 The notation throughout is enharmonic and all accidentals affect

only the note immediately following
 The title’s use of the word ‘Thesaurus’ is chosen advisedly

 Theterm ‘Scale’ refers to a progression, either diatonic or
chromatic, that proceeds uniformly in one direction, ascending
or descending, until the terminal point is reached
 The
term ‘Melodic Pattern’ refers to any group of notes that has
melodic plausibility
 There are scales of 4 notes, scales and patterns of 12 different
notes
 Counting repeated notes in different octaves, a scale may
have as many as 48 functionally different notes as with the
Disjunct Major Polytetrachord (No. 958)
 As with melodic patterns, there is virtually no limit to the number of

such tones
Before I get ahead of myself
 There is some terminology that must be

presented in order to explore the Thesaurus
fully
 The Thesaurus is arranged according to principle intervals
broken up into different chapters
 To avoid association with definite tonality, intervals are referred

to by Latin and Greek names
 Inaddition, new terms have been coined for intervals not in the
system of historic scales
 The prefix sesqui designates the addition of one-half of a tone giving us the
following table:
 Semitone………. Minor Second Tritone…………….. Augmented Fourth

 Whole Tone…….Major Second Diapente…………. Perfect Fifth
 Sesquitone…….. Minor Third Quadritone………. Minor Sixth
 Ditone………….. Major Third Sesquiquadritone..Major Sixth
 Diatessaron…… Perfect Forth Quinquetone……..Minor Seventh
 Sesquiquinquetone…………….. Major Seventh
 Sepitone….Interval of Major 9th indicating 7 whole tones

 These
basic intervals are regarded as fractions of one or more
octaves and are broken up in the Thesaurus as follows
 For
each of these intervals to divide evenly, the use of multiple
octaves is necessary in some cases
Intervals divided over ONE octave
 Tritone Division – ONE octave into 2 equal parts
 Ditone Division - ONE octave into 3 equal parts
 Sesquitone Division – ONE octave into 4 equal parts
 Whole-Tone Division – ONE octave into 6 equal parts
 Semitone Division – ONE octave into 12 parts

Intervals divided over multiple octaves equally
 Quadritone Division – TWO octaves into 3 equal parts
 Sesquiquadritone Division - THREE octaves into 4 equal parts
 Quinquetone Division – FIVE octaves into 6 equal parts
 Diatessaron Division – FIVE octaves into 12 equal parts

Intervals divided over multiple octaves equally
 Septitone Division – SEVEN octaves into 6 equal parts
 Diapente Division - SEVEN octaves into 12 equal parts
 Sesquiquinquetone Division – ELEVEN octaves into 12 equal parts

 Scales and melodic patterns are formed by the
Thesaurus process of Interpolation, Infrapolation, and

Ultrapolation
of Scales
and
Melodic
Patterns
Progressions and patterns – unequal division
 SCALES
 Heptatonic Scales (7-tone scales)
 Major, minor, church modes
 Pentatonic Scales
 There are 49 variations in the Thesaurus
 8-tone scales
 These are the whole/half & half/whole diminished scale
 ARPEGGIOS
 Heptatonic Arpeggios – Spread out in thirds
 BitonalArpeggios – C major arpeggio combined with arpeggios in
all 23 major and minor keys
12-tone patterns
 Patterns stacked on intervals
12-tone patterns
 Mutually exclusive chord combinations that generate 12-tones
2 major & 2 minor chords
12-tone patterns
4 augmented triads
12-tone patterns
4 different triads combined
3 different triads combined
3 diminished 7th chords

11-interval technique
 Austrian musician Fritz Klien introduced the idea in 1921
 Inhis composition Die Maschine: Ex-Tonal Self-Satire, Klein
introduced a Mother Chord which contains 11 different intervals
and 12 different notes
11-interval technique
 Slonimsky further elaborated on the Mother Chord
 Hearranged the chord in an invertible 11-interval, 12-tone chord
that he introduced as the Grandmother Chord
12-tone Spiral Patterns (GM Chord)

Pandiatonic
 Pandiatonicdenotes the free use of all 7 tones of the diatonic
scale (both melodically & harmonically)
 Pandiatonic progressions
 Pandiatonic counterpoint
 The use of 7 different notes in each voice, with no vertical duplication
Pandiatonic
 Pandiatonic Harmony
 20th century counterpart of classical harmony
 Usedby Ravel, Stravinsky, Hindemith, Milhaud and Copeland to
name a few
 Pan-diatonicism harmony sanctions the simultaneous use of any or all
seven tones of the diatonic scale, with the bass determining the
harmony. The chord-building remains tertian, with the seventh, ninth, or
thirteenth chords being treated as consonances functionally equivalent
to the fundamental triad.
4-part harmony 5-part harmony
Harmonization of the scales & patterns
 There are 2 formulas used

By common triad
By seventh-chords
 Triads
 Only root positions of major triads in close
harmony are applied
 Either the root, third or fifth may appear in the
melody
 Root (octave or 8)
 Third (tertian or 3)
 Fifth (quintan or 5)
 This
type of harmonization is found in the
works of Debussy, Mussorgsky and other
composers of the French and Russian
schools
 The MASTER CHORD
 These chords are dominant 7th chords with
the fifth omitted
 These chords are indicated for ascending
scales and patterns in the Thesaurus by
numbers within circles
The Thesaurus in use
The permutations of all the different scales and patterns

along with the harmonization of such patterns, specifically
with the Dominant 7th chord…
The Thesaurus in use
Along with the extended use of interval cycles within the

patterns of the Thesaurus began to attract the attention of
serious jazz musicians wanting to expand their vocabulary
John Coltrane
John Coltrane
 Due to time constraints, I will assume everybody knows who

Coltrane is.
 If not, I will gladly do my best to give you more information
if you ask
John Coltrane – 4 periods of
creative activity
 1955-57: Miles Davis Quintet

 1957-59: Thelonious Monk/Miles Davis Sextet
 1960-64: Coltrane quartet
 1965 until his death: Coltrane’s quest (abstract period)
 Although converging influences were present with Miles, Monk and

saxophonist Ornette Coleman which led up to Coltrane’s quartet and the
use of chromatic third and interval cycles as well as the Thesaurus, the
focus of this presentation will be on the 3rd and 4th periods
John Coltrane – Giant Steps
 Released in 1960 alongside Davis’ Kind of Blue and Ornette
Coleman’s Free Jazz
 The title track Giant Steps, as well as the track Countdown,
were ground breaking in the world of jazz for their use of
major third cycles
 Coltrane would begin to use this cycle of thirds in his improvisation
 Known today as the “Coltrane Changes”, Coltrane would
substitute a series of V7 – I cadences descending by major thirds;
i.e. between the d minor and G7 chord for example
D minor – Eb7 – Ab major – B7 – E major – G7 – C major
 WhatDavid Demsey called ‘tonic prolongation’ in his article
Chromatic Third Relations in the Music of John Coltrane
 But what was his inspiration?

 In an example from the Thesaurus of applying dominant-tonic harmony to a
12-tone pattern to Impart a sense of tonality, Slonimsky choses for his example
a cadence forming a major thirds cycle, exactly like the type used by Coltrane
in “Giant Steps”
 As it happens, this is exactly the sequence of pitches (transposed up a P5) that
Coltrane uses in the second half of the melody to “Giant Steps” as well
Andrew White Transcriptions
 Saxophonist who has transcribed and published over 600
transcriptions of recorded improvised solos by John Coltrane
 “Around the beginning of 1965, the music started to take on more
abstract tones.”
 This cyclic pattern that first showed up on “Giant Steps” would be
applied broadly throughout most of the compositions of Coltrane
in the 4th period of creativity between 1965 and his death.
 “These patterns appear to be a regular part of Coltrane’s
improvisations all the way up to his final recording.”
Coltrane’s late period
 On the surface this material from Coltrane’s late period may appear
random and haphazard. However, a detailed analysis of the melodic
vocabulary relating to interval cycles reveals a structure of the highest
order and detail.
 Demsey states “Coltrane likely developed his awareness of three-key

cycles through practicing this material (the Thesaurus) in all keys
 Slonimsky labels one particular group of patterns included in the Ditone

progression portion of the Thesaurus as “Miscellaneous Patterns”
 Included are 16 patterns constructed using dominant 7th chords
progressing by the interval of a major 3rd
 Pattern #372 in Thesaurus
 The last chord is an outlined D7 chord. The last note of the chord
preceding it (F#7) is an “e”. This note is the lowered seventh of the
F#7 chord and the 9th of the following D7 chord
 The appearance of the 9th somewhere in the previous dominant
chord occurs in all sixteen of the Ditone Dominant 7th progressions
 The b7th/9th relationship acts as a pivot between the dominant 7th
chords
 Eb: V7 – I / B: V7 – I / G: V7 – I
 Bb: V7 – I / D: V7 – I / Gb: V7 – I
 Db major, A major, and F major
 E major, C major, and Ab major
Coltrane/Slonimsky Connection
In Conclusion
 Most of the patterns utilized by Coltrane out of the Thesaurus are derived
from intervallic progressions that divide one octave into equal parts. Given
John Coltrane’s penchant for the interval of the fourth, it is not surprising that
several of these patterns are utilized as well.
 Specific passages from John Coltrane’s improvisations show that the
influence of Nicolas Slonimsky’s Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns on
the developing melodic vocabulary of John Coltrane was profound.
 John Coltrane successfully changed the established direction of jazz style
without abandoning the traditional tenets of that style. This qualifies
Coltrane’s unique contribution to jazz melodic vocabulary as innovative.
 With a little help from Slonimsky!!!
References
 Bair, Jeff. Cyclic Patterns in John Coltranes Melodic Vocabulary as Influenced by Nicolas
Slonimskys Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns: An Analysis of Selected Improvisations.
2003.
 Demsey, David. Chromatic Third Relations in the Music of John Coltrane
 Martin, Henry. "Expanding Jazz Tonality: The Compositions of John Coltrane." Theory and
Practice 37/38 (2012): 185-219. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43864910.
 Slonimsky, Nicolas. Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns. New York: Charles Scribner’s
Sons, 1947.

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Nicholas Slonimsky

and the expanding Tonality of

• Before reaching the age of three, the family had

• His maternal aunt, Isabelle Vengerova, later a founder of

• He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory until 1914

• In 1918 he began touring as a vocal accompanist, then

 Healso taught music theory at the Boston Conservatory and

 He died on Christmas day in 1995 at the age of 101

 He wrote his Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns in 1947

 Other books written by Slonimsky include:

 His autobiography (which he wanted to call ‘Failed Wunderkind’) was

 Domenico Alaleona (1911)

 The Thesaurus is arranged in the form of piano scales and melodic

 The notation throughout is enharmonic and all accidentals affect

 The title’s use of the word ‘Thesaurus’ is chosen advisedly

 As with melodic patterns, there is virtually no limit to the number of

 There is some terminology that must be

 To avoid association with definite tonality, intervals are referred

 Semitone………. Minor Second Tritone…………….. Augmented Fourth

 Sepitone….Interval of Major 9th indicating 7 whole tones

 Ditone Division - ONE octave into 3 equal parts

 Sesquitone Division – ONE octave into 4 equal parts

 Whole-Tone Division – ONE octave into 6 equal parts

 Semitone Division – ONE octave into 12 parts

 Sesquiquadritone Division - THREE octaves into 4 equal parts

 Quinquetone Division – FIVE octaves into 6 equal parts

 Diatessaron Division – FIVE octaves into 12 equal parts

 Diapente Division - SEVEN octaves into 12 equal parts

 Sesquiquinquetone Division – ELEVEN octaves into 12 equal parts

Thesaurus process of Interpolation, Infrapolation, and

3 different triads combined

3 diminished 7th chords

12-tone Spiral Patterns (GM Chord)

 There are 2 formulas used

The permutations of all the different scales and patterns

Along with the extended use of interval cycles within the

 Due to time constraints, I will assume everybody knows who

 1955-57: Miles Davis Quintet

 Although converging influences were present with Miles, Monk and

 But what was his inspiration?

 Demsey states “Coltrane likely developed his awareness of three-key

 Slonimsky labels one particular group of patterns included in the Ditone

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