The Diatonic Diamond is an interactive harmonic lattice that visualizes and sonifies relationships within heptatonic (seven-tone) scales.
Designed for compositional research, creative exploration, and didactic purposes, it offers a dynamic, embodied approach to understanding scale structure, chord construction, and harmonic motion.
Rather than presenting static theoretical models, the Diatonic Diamond enables users to experience harmonic fields spatially and sonically through direct interaction.
Concept and Methodology
The Diatonic Diamond maps chords onto a two-dimensional lattice based on a selected root and one of 18 available heptatonic scales — ranging from the traditional diatonic modes to advanced structures like Hungarian Minor, Neo-Classical (Prometheus), and Enigmatic scales.
Each move within the lattice follows a strict geometric and harmonic logic:
- Diagonal moves from top-left to bottom-right (↘) produce chords sharing three tones, offering smooth, consonant transitions.
- Diagonal moves from top-right to bottom-left (↙) produce chords sharing two tones, creating moderate harmonic tension.
- Vertical moves (↓) connect chords sharing only one tone, generating strong harmonic contrast and dynamic forward motion.
This tonal sharing structure gives users predictable control over harmonic tension and release, allowing for both fluid harmonic landscapes and dramatic shifts depending on navigational choices.
Fractal Harmonic Structures
Beyond immediate relationships, the Diatonic Diamond reveals fractal properties embedded within harmonic systems.
- Any starting chord recursively seeds harmonic patterns in its surrounding structure.
- The same intervallic relationships that build individual chords propagate across the lattice, creating self-similar harmonic architectures.
This fractal behavior illustrates how small harmonic units can generate expanding fields of tension, resolution, and variation — offering a rich source for both composition and theoretical analysis.
Features Overview
- Root and Scale Selection: Choose any tonic and explore its harmonic landscape across 18 heptatonic scale systems.
- Chord and Tone Interaction: Trigger single tones or full four-note chords built dynamically from the scale structure.
- Real-Time Synthesis: Immediate sonic feedback via integrated synthesis engines.
- Dynamic Tension Control: Navigate harmonic space using intervallic logic to design tension and release.
- Fractal Visualization: Discover recursive tonal geometries embedded in simple chordal movements.
Artistic and Epistemic Vision
The Diatonic Diamond embodies the principles of Methodical Transfer Epistemology (MTE):
translating structured systems into sensorially accessible models for new forms of understanding.
Through the integration of geometric mapping, live synthesis, and recursive harmonic logic,
the Diatonic Diamond offers musicians, composers, theorists, and researchers a method for not just analyzing,
but experiencing and shaping harmonic structure — moving beyond representation into affective, embodied knowledge.
Explore the Structure
Experiment with harmonic fields, navigate tension and resolution through spatial movement, and discover new sonic architectures hidden within familiar scales.
Enter the Diatonic Diamond