structural / Symbolic

Pitch-class set

A selection of the twelve pitch classes, independent of octave and order. It says which pitches are present without choosing a chord root or voicing.

One set, several readings

Explore a set without octaves

Start with C, E, and G. Click a dot on the clock or a bit below it to change the set. The binary, number, letter, and decimal forms update together. Choosing MIDI notes, an inversion, or a root is a separate step.

Binary

100010010000

Numbers

0-4-7

Letters

C-E-G

Decimal

2192

Explore the interactive binary notation

Written forms

Ways to write this set

Each notation describes the same underlying object. Load a playable example to hear one MIDI realization in the Code Sequencer.

binary

Open guide

12-bit binary showing present pitch classes

100010111101
101010110000

binary num

numeric counterpart of the 12-bit binary showing present pitch classes

16
56

numbers

Comma-separated pitch class numbers

0-4-7
0-3-7

chord name

Traditional chord naming, when applicable

Cmaj7
Dm9

scale name

Traditional scale naming, when applicable

C-major
D-dorian

Choose Load beside a convertible example to open its live player. Some catalog formats describe analysis or a display label and have no note realization yet.

Pitch classOne of the twelve pitches from C to B, independent of octave. Transposition rotates its position around the chromatic circle.Point SetA rootless arrangement of semitone offsets from the lowest note. Its shape stays the same when a MIDI voicing is transposed.Note setA group of concrete MIDI pitches with octaves. It specifies one voicing and can be reduced to pitch classes or a rootless point shape.Pitch-class spaceA twelve-bin distribution of pitch-class weights. It combines matching pitches across octaves while retaining their counts.Note SpaceA 128-bin distribution over MIDI notes. Counts or weights retain register and repeated occurrences.