Musical Mandala in the Sagian Mode

The idea of the “Musical Mandala” is to combine musical and visual circularity. For music, the epitome of ‘circle’ is the endlessly repeating ’round’ or ‘canon’ (like “Row, Row, Row your Boat”). Notating a canon in a circle seems rather appropriate. Visually, labyrinths are frequently circular in shape, and canons and labyrinths are both ‘puzzling’

Musical Mandala in the Barian Mode

The idea of the “Musical Mandala” is to combine musical and visual circularity.

For music, the epitome of ‘circle’ is the endlessly repeating ’round’ or ‘canon’ (like “Row, Row, Row your Boat”). Notating a canon in a circle seems rather appropriate. Visually, labyrinths are frequently circular in shape, and canons and labyrinths are both ‘puzzling’ and can evoke meditative states. The word “mandala” is Sanskrit for ‘circle’, so I’m calling these ‘Musical Mandalas’. For further explanation, see this blog.

Using the Western piano keyboard, and only allowing steps up to a major third, it turns out there are 1490 possible scales, or ‘modes’ as they are officially called in music world (see my website www.AllTheScales.org). The Barian mode can be found here.

In this mp3, the Musical Mandala is performed by glass armonica, oboe d’amore and bass clarinet (with cello playing a supporting repeating bass line).

It’s in a three part canon at the unison. First the piano plays the mode (scale) on which the Musical Mandala is based, then the piece starts.

Solution:

Musical Mandala in the Modian Mode

The idea of the “Musical Mandala” is to combine musical and visual circularity.

For music, the epitome of ‘circle’ is the endlessly repeating ’round’ or ‘canon’ (like “Row, Row, Row your Boat”). Notating a canon in a circle seems rather appropriate. Visually, labyrinths are frequently circular in shape, and canons and labyrinths are both ‘puzzling’ and can evoke meditative states. The word “mandala” is Sanskrit for ‘circle’, so I’m calling these ‘Musical Mandalas’. For further explanation, see this blog.

Using the Western piano keyboard, and only allowing steps up to a major third, it turns out there are 1490 possible scales, or ‘modes’ as they are officially called in music world (see my website www.AllTheScales.org). The Modian mode can be found here.

In this mp3, the Musical Mandala is performed by glass armonica, oboe d’amore and bass clarinet (with cello playing a supporting repeating bass line).

It’s a three part canon at the unison. First the piano plays the mode (scale) on which the Musical Mandala is based, then the piece starts.

Solution:

Musical Mandala in the Katathian Mode

The idea of the “Musical Mandala” is to combine musical and visual circularity.

For music, the epitome of ‘circle’ is the endlessly repeating ’round’ or ‘canon’ (like “Row, Row, Row your Boat”). Notating a canon in a circle seems rather appropriate. Visually, labyrinths are frequently circular in shape, and canons and labyrinths are both ‘puzzling’ and can evoke meditative states. The word “mandala” is Sanskrit for ‘circle’, so I’m calling these ‘Musical Mandalas’. For further explanation, see this blog.

Using the Western piano keyboard, and only allowing steps up to a major third, it turns out there are 1490 possible scales, or ‘modes’ as they are officially called in music world (see my website www.AllTheScales.org). The Katathian mode can be found here.

In this mp3, the Musical Mandala is performed by glass armonica, oboe d’amore and bass clarinet (with cello playing a supporting repeating bass line).

It’s a three part canon at the unison. First the piano plays the mode (scale) on which the Musical Mandala is based, then the piece starts.

Solution:

Musical Mandalas

In the following blogs I discussed the elements of ‘Musical Mandalas’:

  • In the blog “Row, Row, Row your Boat” I discussed musical “canons” (rounds). I noted that canons have a circular character, repeating over and over as they do. I also noted that the word ‘mandala’ means ‘circle’ in Sanskrit.
  • In the blog “All the Scales” I introduced the essentially unexplored realm of Western ‘musical modes’ (of which the Mytitonic mode is one example). A musical ‘mode’ is essentially a scale (like “DO, RE, MI…”) upon which a piece of music is based. Limiting ourselves to the Western piano keyboard, and steps no larger than a major third, there are 1490 possible modes.
  • In the blog “Labyrinths” I shared some thoughts on labyrinths and mazes. Labyrinths appear in the decorated scores of the Musical Mandalas.

All recordings of Musical Mandalas use glass armonica plus other instruments (like clarinet, cello, harp). In the mp3s for each Musical Mandala the piano first states the mode (playing up then down once), then solo glass armonica begins the Musical Mandala itself.

Musical Mandala in the Mynitonic Mode

In this blog I introduce the idea of the “Musical Mandala”, and an example. The “Musical Mandala” combines elements discussed in these previous blogs: In the blog “Row, Row, Row your Boat” I discussed musical “canons” (rounds). I noted that canons have a circular character, repeating over and over as they do, and suggested one

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