Harmony begins as arithmetic and ends as compromise. A dialogue on why a perfectly tuned instrument cannot play in every key.
returns of Move 4 — Back to the comma: the remainder that cannot be spent, only moved.
The comma never disappears. It is only ever distributed: into a temperament, into a wolf, into the player's thousand tiny adjustments. The flaw is conserved; we only choose where to keep it.
illustrates of Move 14 — The arrival is sweeter for the tension the compromise leaves humming inside it.
Sheet music: Cadence Home, key C, 3/4 time
concludes of Move 1 — From the monochord's clean ratio to the living, slightly out-of-tune chord.
Harmony, then, is not the absence of dissonance but its skillful placement: arithmetic that agreed to bend a little, so that the music could move.
The dialogue is concluded
A perfectly tuned instrument can play one key flawlessly; we chose, instead, to play them all.
